Drunken Carrots

With Apple Juice

So, here's the thing: I really really REALLY hate cooked carrots. Like, I pick them out of canned soup, hate them. There is only one way I have ever truly liked them--and that is smothered in butter and nutmeg and cinnamon like my grandmother used to make them....and I've never been able to duplicate them. So yeah, I don't like cooked carrots....But these are absolutely DIVINE. Like, I made 2 full pounds of them for 2 people and there are no leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. LOL!


So...what you need:

2 pounds of baby carrots
1/2 cup (thawed) frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 cup rum--whatever, really, I used Bicardi Gold because I'm not a rum drinker and it was super cheap. LOL!

That's it, really. You could totally garnish with some fresh rosemary at the end, but really, no need.

Roast your carrots in a single layer on a baking tray at 400-425* for about 20 minutes, turning half way through. While your carrots are in the oven, mix together the orange juice, sugar and rum in a big bowl. Pull the carrots out and toss them with the other ingredients in the bowl to coat, and then put them back on the tray and back into the oven, tossing around to coat again every 5 minutes until the sauce is gooey and not runny.

And just to show you how good these carrots were....I saved some in the bowl to plate and snap a photo of after we ate....and my husband ate them....straight out of the bowl. *sigh*

Don't believe me?

You'll just have to trust me that they are awesome, and they look as amazing as they taste. Make them.



*****Variation******

Tonight I made these carrots again, but substituted apple juice concentrate, and added a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon. Again, pure bliss. I added a photo of the finished carrots from tonight's dinner. :)

My Absolute Least Favorite Thing to Do in the Kitchen....

....next to dishes, anyway....

#firstworldproblems

I *LOATHE* sorting and packaging meat to freeze!!! Hate it hate it hate it!!!! I hate it enough that I snapped this pic and called for volunteers on Facebook today....and then proceeded to tear apart my refrigerator's freezer and scrub it all down first. Wouldn't ya know the pile was still there waiting for me when I finished? *sigh*


What is your least favorite kitchen chore?

So, I haven't been blogging...

....but I have a good excuse! Well, ok, not really. It's summertime, and our meals aren't all that complicated or spectacularly worthy of sharing these days. A lot of salads, grilled meat, fruit, etc. And when I do actually make something more substantial, I forget to take photos, or my process is a lot like this:

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Hmmm....I'm hungry....but I need to go shopping. Ugh. Ummmm...Ohhh!! Let's make some of Mom's drop biscuits! Yes, that's it!

*scoops some flour into a bowl.

*pours some sugar on top

*adds a good spoonful of baking powder

*adds a heavy pinch of salt

*scoops in some Country Crock (yes, I use this crap. Sue me.)

*mix*mix*mix*mix*mix*mix*

At this point, I remember I have blueberries in the freezer from before our vacation because I found them on a killer sale three days before we left and never used them...(lol)...and in a fit of brilliance, decide to add blueberries and some vanilla.

*pour a good splash of the vanilla extract into the coffee mug of milk waiting to go into the batter and add it to the batter.

*mix*mix*mix*mix*mix*mix*

Hrm....a little on the thin side, crap.

*adds more flour

Still thin. ugh.

*adds more flour

Ugh now it's too thick. Hrm. OHHHHH Yes, I have lemons in the fridge for my water and iced tea. Yes. I will sacrifice one to the baking gods.

*zests a lemon and adds it to the batter

*cuts lemon in half and squeezes the juice into the batter.

Awesome!

*stirs in blueberries

I suppose these are no longer drop biscuits...they're really more like scones at this point. Oh well. We'll just call them Lemon Blueberry Scones and all will be ok. Except...there's no way I'm taking the effort to roll them out and cut them into pretty triangles. In the spirit of the drop-biscuits they were originally supposed to be...I shall just scoop and drop them into the pan.

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So yes...this is how my cooking processes have been lately. Not exactly blog-worthy, and even if I wanted to blog it, I couldn't, really, because I didn't measure anything OR take photos, or even use a recipe I could share. LMAO!

I do so very hope that everyone has been having a great summer, though!!! :) I will resume cooking again after school starts up in a few weeks, I'm sure. :)

Beer Battered Fish

In a word, YUM!


Very very simple--you can use any kind of fish you like. I had some swai the night I did this, but you can use tilapia, catfish, cod, trout, red snapper...anything you like.

I didn't take any photos until the end because it was an afterthought since this is really that simple.

Start by filling a heavy-bottomed pot with about 2 inches of frying oil--vegetable oil is fine, peanut oil works well, too. Heat this to about 375-400. While your oil is heating up, put a little more than a cup of flour on a plate, and a little more than a cup of flour into a vessel that'll hold liquid. Season it with salt, pepper, and Old Bay. To one, add a whole 12 ounce beer and whisk it together. Prepare your fish--pat it dry, slice it into pieces that'll suit your purpose--making fish and chips? Slice it into strips. Making sandwiches? Sandwich sized portions. :)

When your oil is hot, take the fish, dredge lightly in the flour, then dunk it into the beer batter, and then back into the flour for a good coating before slipping it into the oil. (Do not overcrowd your pan--it will lead to greasy fish! Blech.) Cook for a few minutes on each side until it is perfectly golden brown, pull it out and drain it on a tea towel or paper towels or newspaper or a paper bag or or or, well, whatever. Serve. :)

This was my husband's sandwich....I may or may not have eaten mine while I was cooking....

Yet Another Tip

I slack, I know.


I have a few quick recipes to put up, but in the meantime, here's another tip....

I've always shredded cheese on top of a paper towel or directly onto my counter top or into a bowl or onto a plate, etc. But then I discovered pan lining paper....and this stuff is awesome. It doesn't tear under my box grater like foil or plastic wrap....and you can wrap up and store the leftovers right in the sheet you shredded the cheese onto, and there's literally *NO* mess to clean up. :) I cannot express enough love for pan lining paper. :)

Basic Shredded Chicken

I have another "recipe" in the works for a post in the next few days using this, but since I haven't posted lately, I thought I'd give you a quick method for shredded chicken that is more versatile than my taco chicken. Sorry no photos...I'll probably edit this post at some point with a photo, though. :)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock (honestly even plain water will do if you don't have stock)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
30? grinds of black pepper
1 tbsp Old Bay
heavy pinch of salt if you use water

Bring everything but the chicken to a boil on your stove top. Add the chicken and cover the pot. Let the chicken poach in the simmering liquid for an hour or so, moving it around every so often. Pluck it out with tongs and shred it up.

Awesome for EVERYTHING from chicken salad to chicken in gravy to chicken burritos to salads to...well...everything.

Another Tip...

I promise I'll have a recipe up in the next few days (maybe tonight if we don't eat out?), but in the mean time, here's another little tip.

You remember my post about my kitchen sponge, right? As awesome as that tip is...and I do still use that for the sponges for my dishes....this one is a little more useful. :)

I love this. If your kitchen is anything like mine, you are constantly gathering miscellaneous sponges and scrubbies and whatnot behind your faucet. I know I am. That's just where they seem to collect and multiply. SOS pads, Magic Eraser bits, bottle brushes, old dried up sponges, etc. They all land behind my kitchen faucet never to be used again. This is up there with my biggest pet peeves, actually. This grody mess drives me absolutely out of my mind and I am forever cleaning that catch-all spot out.

A couple months ago, my husband brought me some gorgeous flowers, and I pulled a vase out from under my sink to stick them in. When they died, I washed the vase and put it on the back of my sink to dry since I didn't put it in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes from that load. Well, it took me a couple days to get around to putting it away, and when I went to put it away a few days later, my husband had conveniently (lazily? inconsiderately?) tossed my bottle brush and an SOS pad into it.

At first, I have to admit, I was irritated. That was a CLEAN vase, and now I would have to wash it again before I put it away. But then I thought about it.....I kind of like the idea of a "pretty" spot to stick all of this kitchen sink clutter. So instead of whining about it (haha!) I just tossed the rest of my clutter into it.

Ever since, I have no clutter behind my kitchen faucet. And even better? All those little bits of leftover Magic Eraser and SOS pads and whatnot? They actually get tossed into the trash because I don't want them in my vase! haha!

I figure sacrificing one of my favorite vases to use as a pretty clutter catcher is better than the grody mess behind my sink, right? :)

So...this tip totally goes to my husband for not thinking and dirtying my clean vase. LOL!