Weekly Cooking and Recipes: April 15-21

Normally I wouldn't post two of these back to back, but yesterday's was spur of the moment and today is my meal planning day for the week to come! Hopefully I'll get in the habit of starting this weekly on Friday or Saturday.

For the reasoning behind this post, please check out the first one -- https://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/6039883/Recipes-and- Weekly-Meal-Plans-April-8-April-14/

Please include recipes - either the text of the recipe or a link to the recipe. If the recipe comes from a source other than your brain, please let us know the source.

Monday - Kofta Balls with Indian Tomato Sauce, rice for the guys
I haven't made this in a while and I remember that it's one we love.

Tuesday - Basic Frittata (broccoli, bacon, mexican cheese blend, maybe some green onions)
I love having leftovers of this cold for lunch.

Wednesday - Pastrami (recipe below), rye bread for the guys (recipe below)
I made the Pastrami a while ago, so this is part of my mission to clear out the freezer. It was "fun" to make - I did it when I was staying at my mom's for a week while she was out of town, so I had an empty fridge all to myself.
I'll bake the bread slightly differently than the recipe says. I'll just form it into a simple ball and bake it in a dutch oven that I'll preheat with the oven. About 25 minutes covered and then 10 uncovered. I do this for the other ABI5 breads I make and it works well, hopefully it'll work well for this one too.

Thursday - Moo Shu Pork, tortillas for the guys
I'm replacing the pork with chicken because I wanted to get some chicken in this week and I've got an unclaimed pack of chicken in the freezer.

Friday - FFS (Fend For Self)

Saturday - Pulled Pork Hash
When Art smokes pork, he always smokes as many shoulders as he can fit in the Big Green Egg and the extra goes in the freezer. This is our favorite way to use those leftovers.

Sunday - FFS

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Pastrami from Modern Israeli Cooking

Ingredients

For the brine
3 1/2 quarts (3.3 L) water
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 cup (240 g) coarse kosher salt (use the weight amount)
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/2 cup (110 g) dark brown sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) honey [Gwen note: I subbed maple syrup since I can't eat honey.]
3 tbsp (12 g) pickling spice
2 tbsp (35 g) pink curing salt
1 tbsp (11 g) yellow mustard seeds
1 tbsp (15 ml) liquid smoke

3 lb (1.3 kg) beef brisket

For the spices
3 tbsp (23 g) coriander seeds
2 1/2 tbsp (28 g) yellow mustard seeds
1 1/2 tbsp (12 g) black peppercorns
1 tbsp (7 g) paprika

Directions

Author Note: I highly recommend using the weight measurements when following this recipe

Bring the brine mixture to a boil and then let it come to room temperature completely. Place the brisket in the brine and let it sit in the fridge, untouched, for 5 to 7 days. Don't try to rush this process.

Remove the brisket from the brine and rinse. Pat it dry with paper towel. Lay it on a baking sheet and allow it to air-dry for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 225*F (105*C).

In a dry pan, toast the coriander seeds, mustard seeds and peppercorn for 3 minutes until fragrant and they begin to pop. Transfer them to a bowl and grind with a mortar and pestle, in batches, leaving the mix fairly coarse. You can also do this in a spice grinder; just be cautious not to grind the mixture too finely. Combine the crushed seeds with the paprika and press the mixture onto the brisket, taking care to cover it entirely.

Pour about an inch (2.5 cm) of boiling water at the bottom of a roasting pan with a wire rack. The water should be below the rack. Place the crusted brisket on top of the rack and cover with the lid or tent the roasting pan tightly with two layers of heavy-duty tinfoil. You do not want any moisture to escape. Roast the brisket for no less than 6 hours and up to 10 hours.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let it rest for at least an hour before removing the lid.

Remove the pastrami from the roasting pan and let it rest on a cutting board for 15 minutes before slicing into it.

This will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week, in an airtight container or wrapped very well in plastic wrap. The pastrami will be easier to slice if it is cold out of the fridge.

Slice the pastrami against the grain as thinly as possible without crumbling the meat. This is easier if the meat has been refrigerated.

Steam the sliced meat to warm it through and keep it juicy.

Spread a very generous amount of mustard on both sides of the rye. Top with the warmed meat. Close your eyes. Thank the meat gods.

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Deli-Style Rye Bread from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Makes enough for 4 ~1-pound loaves

Ingredients

By Volume
3 cups lukewarm water
1 tablespoon granulated yeast
1.5 tablespoons caraway seeds
1-1.5 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup rye flour
5.5 cups all purpose flour

By Weight
24 ounces lukewarm water
0.35 ounces granulated yeast
0.35 ounces caraway seeds
0.6-0.9 ounces tablespoons kosher salt
4.5 ounces cup rye flour
27.5 ounces all purpose flour

Directions

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast, salt, and caraway seeds with the water in a 6-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Mix in the flours without kneading, using a spoon or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). If you?re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate the container of dough and use over the next 14 days.

5. On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Elongate the ball to form an oval loaf?do it roughly or use the letter-fold technique (see sidebar). Allow to rest and rise on a pizza peel prepared with cornmeal or parchment paper for 40 minutes (see sidebar).

6. Preheat a baking stone near the middle of the oven to 450°F (20 to 30 minutes), with an empty metal broiler tray on any shelf that won?t interfere with rising bread.

7. Using a pastry brush, paint the top crust with cornstarch wash or water and then sprinkle with additional caraway seeds. Slash with ½-inch-deep, parallel cuts across the loaf, using a serrated bread knife.

8. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of ho****er into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door (see here for steam alternatives). Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes until deeply browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking time.

9. Allow to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.

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What are you cooking?

Very well done meal and recipe post Gwen! You are an amazing cook I am sure of it:-) I am always on the lookout for a good Rye Bread recipe, I am going to try yours. I don't have a full 5 days worth of meal ideas, but I am going to post what I have.

Monday-Lazy Chiles Rellenos from The Pioneer Woman

8 Whole roasted and seeded green chilis(I use canned)

1 1/2 cups of Monterey Jack Cheese

5 whole eggs

2 cups whole milk

salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste

Layer chilis(split open and lay flat) and cheese in a baking dish. Mix together milk, eggs and seasonings and pour over chilis. She bakes the dish in a ho****er bath, I do not and it turns out fine. 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Tuesday-Baked Cod with butter and lemon, steamed brocliflower

Wednesday-Chicken spinach salad

I still have never figured out how to paste a link on OH:-)

Oh, I make something similar to this but also includes chopped chicken breast. Yumm!

Lazy Chiles Rellenos from The Pioneer Woman

Could you post a link to this one, please?

Thank you,

Liz

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/lazy-chiles-rellenos/

Thank you for posting this Gwen, I still haven't figured out how to post a link on OH using the commands they want...I am not very tech savvy:-)

Haha, no worries! (Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I'm out of town so just wanted to get the link up quickly.)

What device do you use for OH? I can try to explain the linking process to you!

Hi Gwen! I am just on my regular desk top PC. When I try to paste a link I get use the-

Cntrl+V/Cmd+V keyboard shortcut to paste content message, not sure what or how to do that:-) Thank you for your help. Hope you had a good trip out of town!

You MADE a pastrami? You must be a wizard!!

Haha. Not quite, but I enjoy experimenting!