Beer Battered Vidalia Onion Rings

2 large Vidalia Onions
1 Cup flour
1 Cup beer (8 ounces)
2 Tbsp. corn meal
3/4 tsp. salt

Peel and slice the onions into rings.*

Combine dry ingredients, add beer, stir until fairly smooth.

Dip onions in batter, and then fry until golden brown.

Excellent dipped in ranch dressing. Try bacon ranch, too.

4 generous servings, 6 for normal people.

NOTES:
Augh... those cheapskates at the beer companies have changed the little bottles from 8 ounces to 7 ounces. You need a full cup of liquid for this batter, so if you use one of these, you'll need to add an ounce of water. Of course, you could open a 12 ounce bottle, pour out 8 ounces and drink the rest... but the beer you add to the batter should be room temperature (and the beer you drink should not).

* I actually cut the onion vertically into petals, they don't stick together as much in the fryer.  

Best in a deep fryer, but a skillet with hot oil will work, too.  If you're using a skillet, you should turn them over to brown both sides.

 

This Cake is Not a Lie!

Black Midnight Cake

2 ¼ cups cake flour*
1  cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup shortening
1 ¼ cups water
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Heat oven to 350ºF (325ºF for dark or glass pan)

Grease and flour pans. (13x9 rectangle, or two 9 inch rounds, or three 8 inch rounds.)

Beat all ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes, scraping occasionally. Pour into pans.

Bake:
Rectangle 40-45 minutes, or rounds for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on wire rack. Round layers should be removed from pans after 10 minutes, finish cooling on rack.

*You can use all purpose flour if you sift it. Don't use self-rising flour.

Buttercream Frosting

1 pound box powdered sugar
2/3 stick (1/3 cup ) butter, softened
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk or half & half*

In large bowl combine sugar, butter, milk, salt, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.

*Skim milk isn't really good for this, and that's usually all I have on hand... so I use mostly half & half.

This is probably not enough frosting for a three layer cake, but it will do a two layer, the 9x13 rectangle, or 24 cupcakes.

Pot Roast in the Instant Pot (for two)

It's true, I could eat this every day.  I even eat leftover pot roast, and I'm not much of one for leftovers.

Sometime in the future I'll take some better photos... but go ahead and make and eat the pot roast, life is short.

POT ROAST in the INSTANT POT

Beef Chuck Roast
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
Beef Broth
Flour and Water

Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE, on high, and wait for it to get hot.

Add a little oil, just enough to coat the bottom.  Any kind of cooking oil will do, I just use olive oil because it has a nice, subtle flavor.

Season the meat with salt and pepper.  At least.  I use a mixture of equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Rub it on both sides.  Add to the pot and brown for five (5) minutes.  This makes a lot of noise!

Turn it over and give the other side five minutes.  Remove the meat from the pot and add two cups of beef broth.  You could use water here if you want.  I use two cups of water and spoon full of Better than Bouillon Beef.

Last time I used Click List (shopper service) they gave me organic, roasted beef as a substitute for beef flavor.  It is OK, but it is pasty and not as good as the plain ole' regular beef variety.

Stir the pot some to de-glaze. If you don't, you might get the dreaded "burn" warning.  Add the meat back in.  Seal up the pot and cook at HIGH PRESSURE for forty (40) minutes.  When done, leave it alone for at least 25 minutes.  I've left it as long as 45 minutes and it's been fine, maybe even better than fine.

Here you have two choices...

1.  If it's not too greasy, you can make gravy from the cooking liquid.  But chuck roast usually has a bit of fat on it, it needs to have fat to be juicy and flavorful.  But you shouldn't eat it.  Don't fee it to Fat Dogs, either LOL  But if you want to throw caution to the wind on the aroma of the roast, remove the meat to a dish and cover.  Set the IP back to SAUTE and when the liquid boils, stir in a slurry of flour and water.  (1/2 cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons flour for two cups of broth).  Cook at least one minute to lose the flour taste.

2.  To be less fatty, make fresh gravy.  Remove the meat from the pot and cover.  Dump out the cooking liquid and rinse the inner pot.  With the IP on SAUTE, add in 2 cups of beef broth.  When the broth boils, stir in the flour and water slurry. (1/2 cup water mixed with 2 tablespoons flour).  Cook at least one minute to lose the flour taste.  (a slurry for one cup broth should be 1 Tablespoon flour, but your mileage may vary.)

3.  Jarred gravy can be awesome.

Better yet, cook some noodles.  Two (2) ounces uncooked, dry weight per person.  Add to the pot, and cover with beef broth.  (In the IP mini, for two people, I use 4 ounces noodles and 2 cups of broth.)  Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for half the time called for on the pasta package.  When done, quick release the pressure, turn the pot to SAUTE and bring to a boil.  Stir in the slurry and cook for one minute.  This is a good way to use leftover pot roast, if you ever have any.  Toss the cooked meat into the gravy and heat it up.

NOTES

Chuck Roast makes the best pot roast.  It should be marbled with some fat, like this:

I cut this in half.  Freeze the second half for later.

Remember, I am making two servings in an Instant Pot Mini (3 quart).  If I had a bigger IP I'd probably cook the whole thing and have leftovers.  I can't believe I'm saying that, I hate leftovers... but leftover pot roast is as a good as fresh made, just don't microwave it dry.  Heat it up in liquid or gravy. 

Ah, my pretties... chuck roast was on sale so I bought one in spite of having a piece of one already in the freezer.

This piece was way too fatty, I would never have picked this out, but I was using the shopper service.  It's really better to pick your own.

UPDATE:
A bit of a rethink on the pot roast...

It seems one half of the roast always has more fat and less meat than the other, so you get mixed results.  The last couple of times I made this, I cut it in half, but cooked both halves stacked up in the pot.  Same cooking time, etc. I put the fattier piece on top.

Take it out and cut the meat up, removing the fat, and store some in the refrigerator.
Don't put in the fridge not cut up, it solidifies when cold and you will need a chain saw to cut it up.  When it's hot you can almost cut it with a fork.

Pot roast is one of the few things I'll eat leftover, so it's a win-win. (An open-faced pot roast sandwich is the bomb)

I still (sometimes) brown it on all sides, which takes 20 minutes instead of 10, but browning isn't totally necessary.  I've thought about browning it in a big skillet, but that means I'd have to wash the skillet, and clean the stovetop, too...😏

Pork Tenderloin

Nothing could be easier... well, sure, a drive through is easier, but if you want some real food, this is pretty darn easy.

Makes TWO servings.  Double for four.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup very dry bread crumbs*
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 pound pork tenderloin**
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon butter

Directions

Slice tenderloin into 1/2 thick rounds.  Squish them flat with your hand, just a little bit.

Stir  bread crumbs, salt, parsley flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper together in a bowl.

Dip tenderloin slices in the crumb mixture to coat both sides.

Heat butter and oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.  Add the the pork and cook until the crumb coating is browned and the pork is no longer pink inside, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

NOTES:

* One slice of bread whirled up in the food chopper or processor and left out to dry for 24 hours, or you can use Panko.

** They don't come this small, I usually get a 1 pounder and put half in the freezer for later.

Taco Pasta

My free advice follows the recipe:

Taco Pasta in the Instant Pot

Ingredients

   ½ pound ground beef , lean
    1 teaspoon(s) taco seasoning*
    4 fl oz tomato sauce (½ cup)
    1 cups beef broth
    4 oz (dry weight) small pasta (medium shells or radiatore)
    ¾ cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend or cheddar jack)
    Sour Cream and cilantro

Set Instant Pot to saute. When hot, add meat.  Break it up as it browns.


Once ground beef is browned, stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce, beef broth and then pasta.  Be sure the pasta is completely covered.

Cover and seal lid. Change setting to manual/pressure cook and cook on high pressure for half the time needed to cook the pasta, according to the pasta package.  For this radiatore, I cooked it 5 minutes.

Do a quick release.

Open the pot and taste it... add salt if needed.

It gets better looking...

Stir in the cheese.

Serve with sour cream, or whatever floats your boat.  Sprinkle on some cilantro if you like.

*  If you want it spicier, add more. 1 tsp. was about Taco Bell level of spice. 

Now... for the FREE ADVICE

This makes two servings, and it was nasty when reheated, sticky icky because of the cheese.  I suggest stirring cheese into it after you've put it into your bowl, then when you refrigerate the rest, it won't glue itself together.

Be sure to get lean ground beef, or you'll have grease in the bottom and that's icky.

The best way to do a quick release on the Instant Pot is to whack the knob (gently of course) with something long, like wooden tongs, so the first burst of steam doesn't burn your hand.

Taco Seasoning

No story behind this... other than a packet of taco seasoning costs over a dollar, and this is cheap to make.

If you're cooking small amounts of food you might not even want an entire packet.  I don't really know, because I've never used any, since I don't make tacos at home... not since Taco Bell got drive- throughs...

This is from The Pioneer Woman, and it's supposed to be equal to one packet  (Your mileage may vary).

TACO SEASONING

    2 teaspoons chili powder
    1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    1/2 teaspoon paprika
    1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/4 teaspoon onion powder
    1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper



NOTE: granulated garlic and onion is the same as powder, or so close that it works.


Stay tuned for Taco Pasta in the Instant Pot!

Chocolate Covered Bacon

It's the perfect pairing for Valentine's Day!










CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON


You will need:

large cookie sheet
cooling/baking rack
pastry brush
microwave safe bowl or double boiler
skewers

Ingredients:

1 package (12-16 ounces) thick-cut bacon
1 cup (6 ounces by weight) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon shortening

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 F.

If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 10 minutes or so.

Place the rack on the cookie sheet.

Thread each slice of bacon on a skewer, place on the rack.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is crispy.






As soon as you put the pan in the oven, turn on your exhaust fan, then go around to every room and open all the windows... check your smoke detector...

When bacon is crisp, remove from oven.  Handle the cookie sheet carefully!  Let the bacon cool completely.

Place the chocolate and shortening in a Pyrex bowl, and microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until the chips are mostly melted.  About a minute or less. 

Stir until completely melted and smooth.  These can also be melted in a double boiler, or by putting the Pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water (but don't let any water touch the chocolate!).

Using the pastry brush, coat the bacon strips generously with chocolate.  Place on waxed paper and let cool completely.

Cool and store these in the refrigerator, unless your kitchen is in the arctic.

Want it sweeter? Use milk chocolate for all or part of the chocolate chips.