Category: Main Dishes

Beef, Main Dishes, One Tablespoon Testosterone, Recipes

OTT: Chili Burgers

Sarah

This is a guest post from my husband, Ben. Periodically, he has agreed to share some of his favorite recipes with you in a guest post column entitled One Tablespoon Testosterone, or OTT for short. View his other post here. Enjoy!

———-

Hello and welcome!  I have returned for another edition of my guest post column.  You may begin seeing me on a more regular basis (frightening, I know) as I will be performing the cooking duties on Monday nights this semester.  So without further ado, I present the most recent meal I’ve made.  As summer fades into the colorful hues of autumn, nights spent by the grill dwindle.  So as a last ode to summer’s perfect grilling weather, I present the following recipe that has been adapted from the blog Delightful Country Cookin’.

Chili Burgers | thepajamachef.com

Chili Burgers

  • Servings: 4
  • Print

from Delightful Country Cookin’

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon BBQ sauce
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teasoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into medium size bowl, except the meat.  Feel free to adjust the seasoning amounts or add some other delicious ingredients.  To make it spicier, add some cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes and/or increase the amount of hot sauce.  For BBQ burgers, get rid of the chili powder and significantly increase BBQ sauce.  The way I made them was very strong on the chili flavoring, but make these marinated burgers with just about any combination of these or other spices and you should be well-pleased.

After this is all mixed together, take the meat and massage it into the meat.  Then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours, even overnight (which is what I did).  Let that flavor soak in.

Prepare your grill, whatever that involves for you.  I go old school charcoal grill, but it’s a nice charcoal grill.  Whatever you use, it should be a grill.  That’s the point of this recipe, right?  But anyway, form the meat into patties and place them on your charcoal/gas/Foreman grill.  Cook to perfection.  Remove burgers from grill.  Eat burgers.  Enjoy burgers.  Think about bacon.  Then enjoy another burger.

Until next time, enjoy my wife’s blog posts.  I’m Ben, signing off with One Tablespoon Testosterone.

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Spaghetti + Meatballs=Love

Sarah

Spaghetti and meatballs. The Pioneer Woman has once again come through with an easy version of a classic dish everyone loves. There is so much to love about this recipe.

Spaghetti and Meatballs | thepajamachef.com #classic #recipe

I love that the meatballs are seasoned in an Italian-fashion, and not just like a variation of meatloaf (though I do love my meatloaf too).

I love that my husband thought the meatballs were some of the best he’d ever had.

I love that I wanted to eat the meatballs plain (and I don’t ever just want to eat meat to eat meat).

I love that the sauce was chunky with veggies and not pureed to oblivion.

I love that the sauce has a distinct wine flavor (but could be omitted if that’s not your thing).

I love that I got to use herbs from my balcony garden in both the sauce and the meatballs.

I love that I made this recipe on the second day of classes and it made extra that I can freeze and enjoy in week 8 when I am stressed out.

I love eating this dish, and smelling this dish, and tasting this dish, and making this dish, and loving this dish. And talking about this dish! So go make this dish. Yum!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

  • Servings: 6-8+
  • Print

from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs…

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
  • black pepper
  • milk
  • olive oil for frying

For the Sauce…

  • 1/3 whole onion, minced
  • 1/2 cup chopped peppers (I used red, yellow, and orange)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced
  • 1/8 cup fresh oregano, minced
  • cooked spaghetti

Directions:

For the Meatballs…

Fill a large bowl with beef, garlic, bread crumbs, eggs, and Parmesan. Add a splash of milk and a sprinkling of ground black pepper. Then, use your hands to combine everything together. Mix it real well! Then roll it into 1″ balls, and place in 9×13″ or cookie sheet. This should make about 3 dozen meatballs. Place in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes to firm up, but you can leave them up to 24 hours. I made my meatballs in the morning and cooked them in the evening and it worked out great.

Spaghetti and Meatballs | thepajamachef.com #classic #recipe
One way to make (somewhat) meatballs that are all the same size is to press the meat mixture into the bottom of the pan and then cut it up into squares and form each square into an individual ball…

Spaghetti and Meatballs | thepajamachef.com #classic #recipe
…like this!

When you’re ready to cook the meatballs, heat olive oil in a heavy stock pot (or a skillet deep enough for the sauce ingredients too) on medium-high heat. Brown meatballs in batches of 8-10, depending on the size of the pan or pot. When meatballs are browned (be sure to flip frequently to brown on all sides), drain on paper towel(s) over a plate and set aside. Do NOT wash the pot. Use it to make the sauce. It will be so good.

For the sauce…

Using the same pot as before, cook onions, peppers, and garlic until soft. This should take a few minutes but not much more. Add tomatoes and wine and stir together. Then add sugar, parsley, oregano, a dash of salt, and a healthy sprinkling of ground black pepper. Mix together, then let cook uncovered for 20 minutes over medium heat.  Add meatballs to the pot, stir to combine, and turn the heat down to low. Let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir every so often and be sure to taste it during this portion and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Meanwhile, make the pasta. Once the sauce is done, top pasta with sauce and extra Parmesan and enjoy!

Notes:

This makes a ton of sauce. Actually, about 8-9 cups. Not a ton, but close. For the two of us, this was more than enough for two generous servings for dinner, then one smaller serving to finish off the pasta I made (eaten another night as leftovers). Then, I froze the rest of the sauce and meatballs in 3 cup containers (full) for future dinners. You could decrease the amounts but I love the “work once, eat many times” approach here. 🙂

Main Dishes, Pizza, Recipes

The Bestest Pizza Sauce Ever [+ Pizza How-To]

Sarah

The Bestest Pizza Sauce Ever + a Pizza How-To

Remember yesterday? And the most amazing pizza crust ever? Made out of cornmeal [who knew?] Well today is your lucky day, because I am going to introduce you to the best pizza sauce I ever had.

Before, my problems with homemade pizza included a crust that never crisped, sauce without flavor, and cheese that didn’t brown. Well, I fixed the crust–and this recipe fixes the sauce.

My major gripe with homemade pizza sauce was that it wasn’t flavorful enough. I do want to taste tomatoes, but I also want more flavor and spice. More like a restaurant pizza sauce. When I saw a recipe on Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures that claimed to be more like a restaurant sauce, I knew I had to try it. And I’m so glad I did.

This sauce is different than any other pizza sauce I’ve made from scratch. This sauce tastes like more than just tomatoes! The herbs shine through and make their presence known, and there is just enough tang and sweetness to make everyone happy as can be. Except when the pizza is all gone. It’s also really easy. No cooking required–just throw it in a bowl, mix it up, and it’s ready for your pizza! What more can you ask for?

The Bestest Pizza Sauce Ever

from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures

  • 28 ounces tomato puree
  • 1 1/2-3/4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients except salt and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk together. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, taste, and add more salt if needed. Store in the refrigerator until use or up to 1 week. Can also be frozen.

That’s it! How simple. I love it.

The finished products.

The Bestest Pizza Sauce Ever + a Pizza How-To
His
The Bestest Pizza Sauce Ever + a Pizza How-To
Hers

Here’s how we made up those pizzas:

  1. Make the dough–cornmeal pizza dough–please!
  2. Preheat the oven to 450 way in advance. The hotter the better!
  3. Spread dough in two pans–his & hers. This time, I made a deep dish pizza for me in a 9″ springform pan and his was rolled thin on a 16×12″ rectangular baking  sheet [but was not that big–not sure of the exact dimensions.]
  4. Bake for about 14-16 minutes or until crust starts to brown and is not doughy.
  5. Brush edge of crust with olive oil.
  6. Top each pizza with sauce, a little mozzarella cheese, toppings, and more mozzarella cheese. My pizza was chopped deli ham and onions, while my husband wanted pepperoni. I love putting the toppings between a layer of cheese [25% of cheese below the toppings and 75% above makes for cheese the browns like a restaurant!]
  7. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until done.
  8. Eat and enjoy! Be sure to let it rest about 5 minutes before cutting so the cheese and toppings don’t slide off.
Main Dishes, Pizza, Recipes

Cornmeal Pizza Dough in the Breadmaker

Sarah

cornmeal pizza dough in the breadmaker | thepajamachef.comMmmmm pizza. Everyone loves it. [Except random people like my dad. He’ll eat it but I don’t think he loves it.] Even though I’m a huge proponent of home cooked meals, pizza was always one of those things that I felt was better left to the professionals… if not a pizza place, then even frozen pizza or store-bought pizza crust and sauce was better, in my mind, than homemade. I always wanted to like homemade pizza, and I know many people swear by it. I just wasn’t one of them. Not that I didn’t try.

Over the years, I have had many failed and/or halfway decent but mostly blah pizza attempts. Some were so bad they were inedible. Other times the crust was soggy or would not cook completely [no matter how long it baked]. Or the sauce wasn’t flavorful. Or the cheese wouldn’t brown. You name it, I failed at it. Until now.

Why is this the case, you might ask? [I certainly did.] After thinking about this perplexing situation for awhile, an answer dawned on me.

A good pizza–no matter your favorite component of a pizza–is built upon the crust. If the crust is bad, the pizza won’t be any good, no matter the quality of the cheese or the freshness of the veggies or the flavor of the meat. Funny… this sounds a lot like other things in life… the quality of the whole is based upon the strengths and weaknesses of individual components… who knew pizza could be so enlightening? 🙂

Anyways. Back to the point at hand. If you want to make great homemade pizza, you gotta make a great crust.

And this pizza dough makes the crust of your my dreams.

It’s absolutely incredible in your mouth, and incredibly easy. Not only did the crust cook all the way through, but it was chewy and crisp and soft and flavorful and versatile just like pizzeria pizza is.

And to make the best pizza ever? Of course you need the best sauce. But you know what… you’re just going to have to come back tomorrow for that. It’s worth it, I promise. 🙂

cornmeal pizza dough in the breadmaker | thepajamachef.com
Don’t you wanna come back for more? Look at this yummy pizza!

Cornmeal Pizza Dough in the Breadmaker

from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger, recommended by Life As Mom

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 3 2/3 unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal –> I’ve learned that freshly ground cornmeal is amazing. My parents got some for me at the Graue Mill. Yum!
  • 1 teaspoon salt –> I am so guilty of omitting salt from recipes but use it in bread or your bread will fail miserably. 🙂
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions:

Add all ingredients to the pan of your breadmaker according to the manufacturer’s directions. My breadmaker calls for liquids and salt, then dry ingredients, then yeast, but yours may be different.

Turn on the breadmaker using the “dough” setting.

When dough is prepared, remove from the pan and turn out the dough on a floured work surface or countertop.

Split into desired number of portions [2 thin 12-14″ pizzas, 1 deep dish 14″ pizza, 4 8″ pizzas, 6 individual pizzas, or 1 17×11″ rectangle] and shape into balls. Knead each ball [portion] a few times and then flatten slightly into a disc shape.

Cover with a damp towel and let rest for about 30 minutes or until the dough has grown in size about 20%. Then roll out and shape dough in your greased and cornmeal-ed [think flouring a pan, but with cornmeal] pan(s), and bake as desired.

I like to bake my dough for about 14-16 minutes at 450 degrees before topping with sauce and cheese and baking an additional 15-20 minutes, or until done. More on that tomorrow!

Notes:

This recipe can be prepared in advance and stored, unbaked, in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to 24 hours [let rest for 20 minutes at room temperature prior to use] or frozen up to 3 months [defrost for 24 hours in the refrigerator prior to use]. I have not tried this so I cannot speak about the quality

While I haven’t done this personally, tips for converting breadmaker recipes to manual [aka your own two hands] recipes can be found here and here. Good luck! 🙂

Chicken, Main Dishes, Recipes

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken

Sarah

I promise, I really do cook real food and not just desserts. And just to prove it to ya… here’s a fab new recipe I recently tried.

This Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken is a wonderfully easy summertime recipe. I used the fresh herbs growing on my balcony in the marinade, and it was absolutely divine. I loved being able to taste and smell a variety of flavors in this chicken. It cooked really quickly in the George Foreman grill, too, which was perfect for a weeknight meal, and didn’t require the use of the oven so the apartment didn’t get all toasty. What a plus! 🙂

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken - an easy summertime recipe | thepajamachef.com
grillin’ UP!

This recipe does require some advanced prep work, but it’s easy enough to whip up in the morning before work or the night before. Also, I found the red pepper flakes really spicy for some reason. My husband loved it, but feel free to omit those or decrease the amount if you want a milder dish.

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken - an easy summertime recipe | thepajamachef.com
Dinner is served!

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Print

[adapted from Midwest Living July/August 2010]

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb chicken breasts [I used 3]
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, or 4 teaspoons dried parsley
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the chicken, salt, pepper, and water. Mix well, and reserve 1/4 cup marinade. In a separate bowl or on a plate, season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken and water to the first bowl [not the reserved portion], toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate chicken, as well as reserved marinade for at least 4 hours or up to 24. I left mine for about 9 hours. Grill chicken [husband used the George Foreman] until cooked through. Cut into the chicken every so often to test for doneness. When chicken is tender and no longer pink on the inside, brush the marinade over the top and cook for an additional minute or two, holding open the grill cover. Remove to a plate and let rest for two minutes before serving.