Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Ummmmm broth!

Pictured here are 11 pints of wonderful rich turkey broth.

After we cook a turkey, Craig saves all the 'stuff' in the bottom of the roasting pan and puts it in a freezer bag and in the freezer. After we've eaten enough turkey, he salvages the rest of the meat and freezes it for later use. (Craig makes a wonderful turkey rice casserole) Then he freezes the rest of the carcass. This turkey, we didn't have regular stuffing, so he 'stuffed' it with onions, celery, and oranges. They help to keep the turkey moist, and add some nice flavor too. So all this 'stuffing' gets frozen also. Also when ever he trims veggies for meal, he keeps a freezer bag in the freezer he adds the veggie scraps to it. Once he has accumulated enough stuff, he makes a batch of broth.
First in the pan, the frozen liquid from the roaster pan.

once that has thawed, the rest of the stuff.
Add enough water to cover everything, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let simmer for 6-8 hours. When it's done, it should look like this.
Strain in a colander, pour into containers, cool, and freeze for future use.
This would make a wonderful soup base, but we're not much soup people. So Craig uses it for making mashed potatoes, boiling rice or noodles, anything where he can substitute for water. Makes things taste richer. And if you want clearer broth, use a finer screen colander.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Pork stir fry

This is another tasty stir fry.
Start with pork cutlets trimmed of fat and thin sliced.
You can add what ever vegies you like, but for this stir fry, I added the following..
Sliced red pepper,
baby portabela mushrooms,
sliced carrots,
sliced onions,
slivered almonds.

saute the veggies with a little olive oil until tender crisp. Set aside. Add almonds.
And pork to pan with more oil if needed. Season with your favorite seasonings. Craig used garlic powder, minced garlic, and Mrs Dash, onion and herb. Cook until no longer pink.
And sauteed veggies and 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup teriaki sauce, and 1/8 cup cornstarch mixed with water to thicken .
simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thick and bubbly.
serve over rice.
And boy was it good!