Our chest freezer somehow came unplugged-what a wonderful discovery to make about 5 minutes before leaving on an overnight "relaxing getaway". The getaway was nice. Having to discard 3 bags worth of unsalvagable food was not so nice. However, the majority of the items were thawed, but still cold. I had two turkey breasts and beef tenderloin that needed to be cooked. I did the turkey breast last night. I basted it in Wegmans basting oil, put it in a cooking bag, and roasted it in my convection oven. I always un-bag the turkey for the last half hour or so, as turkey that is not brown does not look as appealing to me (we all have our differences!) It was delicious, though!
Tonight, I will be making the tenderloin, probably in the same way described in the previous post. Should be yummy! In a way, having my freezer un-freeze will be a great way to force me to cook well!

Prime Rib Au Jus with Yorkshire Pudding Submitted by: Elissa Rated: 4 out of 5 by 7 members Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Ready In: 4 Hours 20 Minutes Yields: 6 servings "Classic bone-in prime rib au jus is a holiday favorite!" INGREDIENTS: 1 (5 pound) bone-in beef rib roast 8 cloves garlic, quartered 3/4 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper   2 cups eggs 2 cups milk 1 pinch salt 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup pan drippings from prime rib   1/2 cup white wine

2 cups beef stock DIRECTIONS: 1. Place the roast bone-side down in a roasting pan, and use a sharp paring knife to poke 24 small holes 1 inch deep all over the roast. Stuff each hole with a sliver of garlic. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and LOTS of black pepper. Allow the roast to stand at room temperature for 2 hours. This will take the chill off and allow the meat to cook more evenly. 2. Meanwhile, beat together the eggs and milk with a pinch of salt until smooth. Stir in flour until smooth. Cover the Yorkshire pudding batter, and place in the refrigerator. 3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). 4. Cook the roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue roasting until a meat thermometer inserted in the center of the meat reaches 140 degrees F (60 degrees C), about 1 hour. 5. When the roast is done, remove it from the roasting pan, cover with aluminum foil, and let rest in a warm spot while you make the Yorkshire pudding. Measure out 1/2 cup of the beef fat, and divide among 12 muffin tins; pour off the remaining fat, but save the roasting pan to make the jus.

6. Place the grease-filled muffin tins into the oven, and turn the temperature up to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Let the muffin tins preheat for 10 minutes, then fill 3/4 full with the refrigerated batter, and return to the oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the puddings have risen tall and are golden brown. 7. While the Yorkshire puddings are baking, place the roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir in the wine, and bring to a simmer while scraping to dissolve the pan drippings; pour in the beef stock and return to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, then strain and serve with the roast and puddings. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 12/30/2008

Thanks to Wegman's ideas, here is what I made for supper tonight:

Pan-Seared Chicken with Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

• Currently 4.5/5 Stars.ERVES 4   ACTIVE TIME: 15 min    TOTAL TIME: 25 min 

4   (6 oz each) Wegmans Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Wegmans Pan Searing Flour
2   Tbsp Wegmans Pure Olive Oil
1   Tbsp Wegmans Basting Oil
Wegmans Butter
1   pkg (8 oz) Wegmans Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

You'll Need: Oven-proof pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Dust chicken with pan-searing flour; pat off excess. Heat olive oil in pan on MEDIUM-HIGH on stovetop until oil faintly smokes; add chicken. Turn over when chicken changes color one-quarter of way up and seared side has turned paper bag-brown, 3-4 min. Turn off stove. 
    
2. Place pan with chicken in oven.  Cook 12-15 min, until internal temperature of chicken reaches 160 degrees; check by inserting thermometer halfway into thickest part of chicken. 
   
3. Remove from oven; place pan with chicken on stovetop on MEDIUM. Add basting oil and butter; carefully swirl.  Baste with spoon, 1-3 min, until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Add red pepper sauce;  heat through.

Vegetables: 1/4 cup(s)

Calories: 280

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 chicken breast, 1/4 cup sauce) contains 280 calories, 6 g carbohydrate, (0 g fiber), 28 g protein, 16 g fat, (4 g saturated fat), 85 mg cholesterol, and 490 mg sodium.

I also made soup following the directions on the Butternut Squash Puree from Williams Sonoma-Yum Yum!! and a box of Rice-a-roni chicken rice...yeah--real gourmet, aye??

  Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I need to put up my recipe for Prime rib with Yorkshire pudding that I made last week which was mighty yummy, if I may say so myself! I will put that in a different post so that they don't all run together here..

What are we doing with our leftovers??  My mom is the cook, and thus the holder of the majority of the leftovers.  I have to say that having her cook has it's benefits (SHE is doing the cooking, and she is an amazing cook-YUMMY-it's the best part of Thanksgiving!), and it's downfalls (SHE gets most of the leftovers!!)

  I will get some, but not enough to be super creative-I imagine we will have enough for a re-creation of dinner for one or two of us once or twice-which is great.  Anyone who has tons of leftovers (like those of you who cooked a 29 lb turkey!!), what do you do with them?  Any ideas for the readers?

  Christmas cookie season is upon us! I will be posting some of my favorites soon!

Yesterday, I made a roast with a packet of Lipton onion soup mix-dry, then added about 3/4 cup water. I also always add fresh ground pepper and other seasonings like Mrs. Dash and Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic, and add baby carrots and cubed potatoes.  I started it in the crock pot, completely frozen, then transfered it to the oven (covering the roast with foil) for the last half hour.  I also cooked Rice a Roni beef flavored rice, and roasted more cubed potatoes in olive oil and salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, Cosmo's Rub and Seasoning (see   www.cosmosauce.com), some Garlic Garlic.  I did not have any parmesean cheese, but typically, I use that at the end, as well.  YUMMY!!

 The soup mix really gave the roast a very good flavor-I will use it again for sure!

Crock Pot Chili

Here is a recipe that I got from my mom for crock pot chili.  I am making this on Monday. I have everything together and have already browned the beef, so all I have to do in the morning is dump everything in the crock pot, turn it on and go!  Then it will be ready when we get home! Yummy!  Feel free to add any crock pot recipes-there is nothing better than coming home to supper already finished-all you need to do is dish it out and garnish it!

1 ½ # ground beef

28 oz. chopped tomatoes (or 2 15oz. cans diced tomatoes)

2 15 oz cans kidney (chili) beans

6 oz. tomato paste

2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 teas. cumin

1/8 teas. nutmeg

dash salt

diced green pepper (opt.)

diced onion

 

Brown meat.  Add rest of ingredients.  you can put all in crock pot.  cook

for 5-6 hours on low setting.

 

Alternative: Microwave instructions:   micro on high for 30 minutes.  stir halfway.  Let stand for

5-15 minutes before serving

 

Serve with nacho chips, sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

Two Variations of Porcupine Meatballs

PORCUPINE MEATBALLS

1 box Rice-A-Roni 1 1/2 lb. ground beef 1 egg 1 can beef gravy Set aside envelope from Rice-A-Roni. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Make small meatballs with mixture and brown in frying pan. Add water amount on Rice-A-Roni box and add envelope contents. Add can of beef gravy. Serve over egg noodles. PORCUPINE MEATBALLS II   1 box beef rice-a-roni 1 lb. hamburger 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper 2 c. lukewarm water Roll hamburger meat in the rice that comes in box. Salt and pepper to taste. Make into small meatballs. Brown meatballs. Mix gravy packet with the lukewarm water. Add to meatballs and let simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.