Second Annual He Said/She Said Contest

Last year my husband and I ran a 6 week He Said/She Said Contest with recipes from  Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005 by Meredith Corporation.  The rules of the contest is that each of us chose 6 recipes from the book, cooked them and then blogged about each recipe.  In the end there was supposed to be a winner but by the end of the contest we were both winners because we had explored new recipes.  This year's he said/she said contest will focus on exploring Company's Coming® Heart-Friendly™ by Jean Paré.

Jean Paré has been a favourite Canadian cookbook author of ours for years.  We have several of her cookbooks.  Company's Coming® cookbooks are published in Edmonton, Alberta.  Her recipes are always top notch!  This cookbook was a very generous gift to my husband from our kids.  This is the perfect opportunity to explore another great Company's Coming® cookbook.

This year the contest will run from August 1 to August 31.  It is a shorter time frame than last year's contest.  In light of that each of us will choose 4 recipes from this cookbook, cook them and then blog about them.  Each will be identified by a he said or she said notation in the title.  At the end of the contest there will be 8 recipes total from the cookbook.  I will run a poll for each of us followed by a final combined poll for voting.  If last year is any indication this will be another great contest pitting husband and wife together.  I hope you enjoy our little challenge and the recipes we come up with.

Braised Beef Ribs

I was looking through the very full freezers to find something a bit different for a summer meal when the temperatures took a bit of a dip even though the humidex was still quite high.  One package of beef was labeled as braising ribs so I thought that would work well.  Instead of using the slow cooker or conventional oven I braised the ribs in the countertop roaster.  This small kitchen appliance gives the same results as a conventional oven without heating up the kitchen reduces our carbon foot print on high humidex days where using the natural gas grill is not as desirable.

Braising means to cook in liquid usually long and slow.  This method is best used for cheaper, less tender cuts of meat.  I placed the ribs on a bed of sliced Spanish onion then poured 2 cups of water over the ribs.  After sprinkling with a little Montreal Steak Seasoning and Worcestershire sauce, I set the roaster to 110ºC (250ºF) for about 2 hours.  Then I stirred in 3 tins of condensed mushroom soup and the potato chunks.  I increased the temperature to 175ºC (350ºF) and let cook for an hour. 

The meat was nice and tender, fall off the bone.  It was a bit fattier than I would have liked but the fat helped keep the meat tender as well.  The mushroom soup formed a simple yet tasty gravy for the potatoes.  I served with a side of steam broccoli.  The meal took on more of a comfort meal which is surprising as we really needed it.  The weather was wearing very thin on us with high temperature and humidity combined with violent storms.  A little comfort food was needed!

Cheese & Mushroom Stuffed Meatloaf

During the summer months we are used to hot and humid weather.  However the weather has been rather unpredictable this year.  A couple of days ago the weather turned cool so I took advantage of that to make meatloaf.  Meatloaf in the summer is great hot on cooler nights but slices nicely for sandwiches the next day.  It also freezes nicely for later use for sandwiches or wraps. 

I seldom use an actual loaf pan for meatloaf.  I hand forming into a baking pan which results in oblong cuts or I use a deeper (about 8" x 9" x 4")  but smaller baking pan.  I made a basic meatloaf base consisting of lean ground beef, mustard, eggs, ketchup, seasonings and bread crumbs.  Then I pressed ¾of the mixture into the pan pushing up the sides to form a type of shell.  Once the shell was formed I filled with raw spinach, sautéed onions and bacon pieces, and provolone cheese.  When the well was stuffed I topped with the remaining ¼ of the meat mixture forming a top.  I baked the meatloaf at 180ºC (350ºF) for about 45 minutes.

Meatloaf stuffed with cheese oozes its rich, yummy goodness so I've never had it cut neatly.  We cut meatloaf cooked in the wider baking dishes into squares rather slices.  This makes for a nice substantial piece of meatloaf easily topped with sauce and big enough to appreciate the stuffing.  I served the meatloaf with oven baked russet potatoes and sautéed, garden fresh zucchini with spanish onions in butter.  The zucchini was picked from the garden moments before doing the sautée!  This is the way I like to have fresh vegetables when the garden is producing.  This is very much a summertime comfort meal on the cooler days.

Kitchen Quick Tips - Kitchen Garbage

Keep a spray bottle of ammonia near the outside kitchen garbage can.  Spray the with the ammonia to keep animals away.