A Meatloaf, Vinaigrette Potatoes, and Broccoli Meal From The Careless Cook

 

 

Most of the time the Careless Cook offers just a single recipe, but this whole meal is easy to put

together and delicious!  Most of the time you settle on the protein, and then just clutter the plate with anything that floats through your mind.  This meal is worth cooking it all!

 

First is meatloaf.  I know, every mother and grandmother has their own recipe. This one is not too different, except it calls for turkey instead of beef.

 

Been shocked by the price of beef lately?  I’m still recovering. 

 

Also, there is a lot of chat about beef not being good for you. Who knows? On the net, medical charlatans abound. Nothing new. Snake oil has been around since the days of the pioneers. But, I’m getting off track.

 

My Meatloaf

 

3 pounds ground turkey

½ cup yellow mustard

½ cup of Catchup 

1/3 cup Worcestershire 

 

Salt and pepper

 

Mash everything together.  Grease a loaf pan. Put the mixture in.  Set the oven to 350 deg F

And cook for an hour and a half.  

 

Potatoes in Truly French Vinaigrette

 

1 bag of small potatoes, cleaned and sliced into halves or more, depending on the size

 

Important to boil only until barely soft.

 

Vinaigrette 

 

¼ cup shallots, minced or use regular onions. I did.

¼ cup white or red wine vinegar (I used red ‘cause that’s what I had!)

¼  cup of Dijon, or stone ground mustard. (I used the stone ground variety ‘cause guess what!)

½ cup virgin olive oil. Personally I prefer oil with a little experience. 

 

Mix everything together very well, cover and let it sit for 10-15 minutes or so. 

 

Put the warm boiled potatoes in a bowl and pour in the vinaigrette. Toss carefully. Don’t want to mash the potatoes.

 

Broccoli 

 

Steam as much broccoli as needed.  Then splash dashes of Balsamic vinegar over the broccoli as you wish.

 

So, how long did it take? An hour and a half, but you’ve been working only thirty minutes or so.

Even my three lazy constant readers can pay attention for thirty minutes! 

 

I should have mentioned wine. That would have kept them focused.

Braised Beans and Sardines with Fennel from The Careless Cook

 

Unlike most recipes from The Careless Cook, this takes a little time, but no worries, the time is just chopping and slicing and dicing. Even The Careless Cook can get this done pretty quickly while he’s sipping an excellent white wine from the Alsace.

 

Another good thing about this recipe is it feeds at least four of your freeloader friends. Bad thing is, this is so delicious, they’ll be embarrassed to invite you over. 

 

Ok, let’s get going!

 

Ingredients

 

1 fennel bulb. Hack off the stalks and fronds

1 lemon, cut in half

¼ cup olive oil. I don’t care if you’re sacrificing a virgin oil or now.

2 medium shallots, sliced thin

6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

¼ cup Italian herbs (I used The Spice Lab Italian Rustico from Amazon)

½ teaspoon (or more) red pepper flakes

½ cup dry or barely sweet white wine

6 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson Organic Chicken Broth)

2 cans of beans of choice (I used one can of red beans and one can of chickpeas)

5 chicken Andouille sausages, cut in arounds

1 can of oil packed sardines, drained (Someone in my house does not like sardines. She sliced and cut excellent salami.)        Both are delicious and with no fish or meat, it's still delicious.

1 cup coarsely chopped parsley

Coarse salt to taste

 

Serve with toasted bread.  I bake 2 Hour Fastest No Knead Bread by JennyCanCook.com.  Online recipe. Don’t let 2 hours scare you. The dough sits for an hour and it bakes for 45 minutes.  And no, I do not know this woman, nor does anyone pay me, but I do love her bread.

Puttin’ it together!

 

Slice the fennel bulb in half, then slice the halves thinly.

Thinly slice one half of the lemon and pick out any seeds.

 

Heat the oil in a large pot with the top off. Add the sliced fennel,

shallots, garlic, lemon slices, red pepper flakes, andouille sausage rounds, and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft. 

Takes about 5-7 minutes.

 

Add wine to the pot. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil.

 

Reduce to a simmer, stirring for about five minutes. Fennel should be tender.  

Add the beans and cook another 8-10 minutes to let the beans soak up some broth.

 

Stir in the parsley, taste and add more salt to taste.

 

Serve in bowls of your choice, and place the sardines or whatever your heart desires and squeeze the other half of the lemon over the top.

 

There will be some luscious wine left for you! No worries. Your freeloaders are probably Beer swillers. 

With sardines on top.

 

 

Blueberry Muffins from The Careless Cook

 

Sometimes someone snaps the whip to let me know I better get cracking and bake something for a hens’ party that starts within the hour. Normally happens when I have just mixed an icy martini, and settled into my lounge chair, just at kickoff.

 

But, the Careless Cook is one fast cookie, or muffin man. He’ll be back in front of the TV rapidly. 

 

Few know that my muffins are quick.  I say let those of the gentle sex continue to think the Careless Cook is a kitchen marvel. Or as the French say, C’est une merville! !  (Say-toon-mairvay) Sounds better in French. A lot of things do. But we’ll discuss that over a second martini.

 

Dang! My team just fumbled! It's time to get baking!

 

Ingredients

 

¼ cup sugar

1/3 cup butter melted

2 eggs

1 teaspoon or a quick slosh of vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

¾ cup milk

Two cups blueberries, fresh or thawed

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

Oven to 425 F or 220 C. Do it now!

 

Large bowl.  Put together sugar and melted butter and mix well. I used an electric hand mixer.

 

Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well. 

 

Toss in flour, salt, and baking powder, and beat well.

 

Pour in the milk a little at a time and beat just long enough to be combined.

 

Gently fold in the blueberries.

 

Drop scoops of the batter into greased muffin tins or do as I do and use paper muffin cups (Amazon), as you can see.

 

Bake muffins for 22 minutes.  

 

Took me about thirty minutes or less to get it in the oven and get back to the game. Quelle merveille! Kel mer-vay.

 

 

French Stew by the Careless Cook

Is this stew really French?  Well, kinda.  I started with what is a French stew, Navarin d’agneau, stewed lamb. But for various reasons, lamb doesn’t suit my tastebuds, so I used pork.  Yes, even the Careless Cook has some peculiarities, even if they are so few you’d barely notice. 

 

But, as my three faithful readers already know and expect, the Careless Cook views a recipe as just a mild suggestion. And besides, in this case I’d guess every French wifey and grandmother (femme et grand-mére) has a cherished recipe, handed down from the last time France won a war.  

 

But in between defeats, one would have to say, they have done well with memorable cuisine.  Which takes me back to the first time I had Fruit de Mer and a snail had the misfortune to try to crawl off my plate. Ever heard a snail scream? Then there’s my stories about the combination of French wine and French women, but I know you’d rather get on to the magnificent recipe.  Me too. Let bygones be bygones.

 

French Stew by the Careless Cook

 

Ingredients

 

2.2 lbs, or so, pork shoulder, fat trimmed, cut in 2-inch cubes
1 tsp salt

2 tbsps sugar
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Herbs if you want. I did not use any.
3 carrots peeled and sliced on a diagonal
1 large onion, peeled and sliced in chunks
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 and a half cups red wine
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock. I used vegetable stock.
About 12 - 20 small new potatoes. I used a small bag full.
3 medium golden beets, peeled and cut into fairly large chunks
Jar of pearl onions, drained
2 tbsp butter
A good slosh of olive oil

 

Set the oven to 350 deg.

 

Puttin’ it Together

 

Put olive oil in a Dutch oven (or any large pot with a top) and toss in the chunks of meat. Turn up the heat. Stir until the meat is deeply browned.

 

Toss in the chunks of onions and garlic. Stir until onions are translucent. 

 

Add the salt.

 

Pour in the stock and stir a bit.

 

Add the sugar, potatoes, carrots, beets, and butter.

 

As the potatoes, add the red wine and the pearl onions. 

 

Bring to a boil, cover the Dutch oven and plop it in the oven. Set your timer for an hour and a half.

 

I served the stew with a baguette and a bottle of red wine! No French women were available. Had to settle for the wine.

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Sadly half the page has a white background.  No known way to remove the white background without an engineering degree and sacrificing the will to live.

 

French Breakfast Puffs By the Careless Cook

 The Careless Cook is back.  I know it gets ho-hum to read about another bout with muffins, but this batch is worth your while. Even the name sounds tasty and European and glamorous: French Breakfast Puffs!  Ah, yes. French cafes, the softness of misunderstood language, spoken at a reasonable level.  Civil Conversations. Slim men and women, no matter the age, who could be fashion models.

Have you been to France lately, or Germany, or the UK, or Europe in general?  You may have noticed, unlike Americans, the Europeans do not dress in rags or slosh down food and coffee in disreputable grab-and-go second class slop shops. And which of those joints use ceramic cups instead of classless paper cup trash?

 No, and no again, those in more civilized countries sit, well-dressed, in sidewalk cafes that make you want to leisurely sip a coffee and come back every morning for fresh pastry, served by professional waiters and waitresses.  By the way, you may quickly surmise I do not use the word waitstaff. Have a little pride in your sex, for goodness sakes!

Ok, lovers of civility, let's put some easily made, wonderful French Breakfast Puffs on your table at home!

Set you oven to 350ºF or 180ºC

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter at room temp.....I used my microwave

1 cup milk at room temp....once again...microwave in my kitchen!

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For The Topping

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Puttin' It Together

Grease muffin cups with butter, or do as I do and use Teflon muffin trays, with paper muffin cups inserted.

Get a sizable bowl and toss in all the dry ingredients (not the topping ingredients!!! for goodness sakes!) use a fork or whisk to stir.

In a larger bowl, use an electric beater to whip butter and sugar together.  Blend in the eggs.

Now beat in milk and the flour mixture, some of each at a time, until all are well blended.

Put a 2/3 cup of dough into each muffin tin or paper cup and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.  The edges should be brown, or you can use a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean.

Allow the baked muffins to cool.

Time to mix the sugar and cinnamon for the toping.

Now paint the muffins tops with the melted butter and dip the tops of the muffins in the sugar mixture.

Voilà! You'll be tossing your paper cups and plates before you know it!

You may even begin to use cloth napkins, just like civilized people!

Sunshine Muffins by The Careless Cook

 

I admit this is not totally my recipe. Well, it kinda is.  This is one of those bakery stories that can have many endings.  As you will see, there is room to customize, add, subtract, and make these extraordinarily delicious muffins your very own.  That’s what The Careless Cook did! What the heck, it’s your kitchen and you’re in charge! 

 

Maybe you’re the cook who likes a quick time in the kitchen, ending with breaking open the Procecco and basking in glory, surrounded by appreciative guests begging for more, which may even include your spouse! Well, maybe. Well,  I'm here for you my close, gastronomic friend! Quick. Easy. Delicious.

 

Ok, time to chill the Prosecco and press the button on the oven that says 350ºF or 180ºC. Baking time is 25 minutes in my oven. Yours may be different.

 

Sunshine Muffins by The Careless Cook

 

Ingredients

 

This recipe makes 24 muffins, but feel free to half it.

Grease two muffin pans or one if you’re making half the recipe.

 

2 ½ cups flour (I used unbleached, all purpose flour)

2 ½ cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 heaping cup chopped nuts (or more). I used walnuts, but others use pecans

10 oz frozen mango, chopped.  I chopped them while frozen and let them thaw. Here’s where you can steer your own course with any fruit that delights you, such as apples and berries

½ heaping cup golden raisins, or other raisins if you wish

1 heaping cup unsweetened shredded coconut

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (I used Canola)

3 tablesppons vanilla extract

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

In a big bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, including the nuts and raisins and coconut, then mix in the mango.  I used my hands for mixing the dry ingredients.  Yes mama, I did wash my hands several times. Yes, I could have used gloves. Yes, let’s get on with the recipe.

 

In a separate bowl, mix well the eggs, oil, and vanilla

 

Add the liquids to the dry incredients and mix well.  Make sure to mix in ALL the flour. Flour tends to hide at the bottom of a big bowl! I used a Danish Dough Whisk. Works well and doesn’t mash things up.

 

 

I used a heaping tablespoon to fill the muffin cups about ¾ full, but a little more or less will do the job.

 

25 minutes later you will be the toast of the hungry neighbors! Recharge those Prosecco flutes and wait for the smiles!

 

Slightly Spicy Cheese Biscuits by The Careless Cook

 

Two of the things The Careless Cook likes to bake are biscuits and scones.    Is it because he is thoughtless and lazy?  No! Not entirely.  Often he is called upon to scape together massive amounts on short notice, to feel hordes of hungry and fabulously beautiful women.  Really? You ask.  Well, some are just hungry. 

Do women drop by the Cook’s kitchen and say, “Get with it you bad boy!  Can’t you tell we’re hungry”? It’s worse than that.  There are groups that meet every week and someone close to The Careless Cook insists these ladies are helpless and must be fed, and that he should also bake enough to satisfy their husbands and unknowns who simply pass through and catch a whiff of fresh baked goods.

But, not only does The Careless Cook bake for the multitudes, but also publishes recipes on this blog.  What a guy!

You may have read and perhaps baked the many biscuit and scone recipes that have appeared on these wonderful pages. If so, he applauds your taste and energy.  We shan’t discuss those who don’t bother and just want to be fed.

But, The Careless Cook still has high hopes for those who dedicate themselves to depending on charity, and will change their slovenly ways.   With that in mind, he offers this wonderful (and easy) biscuit recipe for Slightly Spicy Cheese Biscuits.

On to the baking…..

Slightly Spicy Cheese Biscuits

Oven set to 425ºF

Baking time about 14 minutes 

Every oven is different and the size of these drop biscuits may vary.  

You’ll know when the biscuits are done when the edges are brown and crispy and the peaked tops are a beautiful brown.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups course yellow cornmeal

1 heaping tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper (more if you favor a mouth full of fire)

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, chopped fine or shredded

2-3 cups coarsely, not finely shredded sharp cheddar (I used Australian sharp cheddar because I prefer the flavor)

1 cup butter milk (I used whole milk and added a teaspoon of fresh lemon to sour the milk)

Putin’ It T-gether

1. In a medium sized bowl, all all the dry ingredients and mix well
2. Add the butter and use your hands (as The Careless Cook does) or use a beater to mix
3. Add the coarsely shredded cheese and use your hands to mix well
4. Add the milk and mix well.  The Careless Cook uses a Danish hand held whisk/paddle because he finds it a fabulous mixer and easy to clean.

Prepare a cookie sheet by taking a sheet of parchment paper and lightly splash some water on one side so it sticks to the cookie sheet.

Use a tablespoon to scoop up some dough and drop it on the cookie sheet. Keeping going to fill the cookies sheet with lumps of dough about a inch or two apart.

Pop ‘em in the oven, set the timer, and wait for the goodness to happen! This recipe should make about 25 or more biscuits.

Don’t know what a Danish whisk looks like?  Check Amazon!

The Careless Cook has tried this recipe on both the ravenously hungry and the unfortunately picky eaters. Both groups showed surprise and disappointment when the last biscuit disappeared.

Scones with Macadamia Nuts by The Careless Cook

 

Scones with Macadamia Nuts by The Careless Cook

 

As my three faithful readers know, The Careless Cook is a proponent of regarding a recipe as a mere starting point, a rough guide, a batting of beautiful eyes from across the room, not a date, not a marriage, nor the last word on what goes in the oven.  No change in attitude when I first looked at this scone recipe.

 

The original recipe called for an egg.  I didn’t have an egg.  Of course the Kitchen Warrior did not let that stop him, and neither should you.

 

Then, there was another item that was not on hand. Heavy Cream.  Can you really make scones that taste like scones without something so essential as Heavy Cream?  Yes.  Will it taste OK?  Yes again.  Better than OK!  Rave reviews!

 

So, hopeful readers, what are the secrets to guide you to success?  Only a few: ingenuity, creativity, and no fear of failure.  Don’t worry about the last one, I got you ready! And ditto, you can skip the first two as well.  And if you don’t care for The Careless Cook’s standby ingredients and prefer to go back to the traditional way, he’s got you covered for that too. 

 

Time to stop the chatter and get cookin’, but first heat the oven to 400ºF!

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups all purpose flour 

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

½ stick butter, chilled (straight from the refrig)

1 cup of oat milk (or ½ cup heavy cream and one egg)

(more oat milk or heavy cream for painting the scones before baking)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract 

About 70 whole, salted Macadamia nuts (this bit of salt joins wonderfully with the sweetness of the scones)

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Use a box grater to grate the butter and add the butter and work it into the flour mixture.  I used a dough cutter, but a couple of forks will work.

 

Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.

With me so far?

 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or your fingers or anything else you have handy.  Keep mixing until you have the dough completely blended.

 

Using a tablespoon, drop the dough, spoonsful by spoonful onto a baking sheet.  This made 23 small scones for me. But don’t worry about the small size, they SPREAD while baking.

 

Paint the scones with oat milk or heavy cream.

 

Lightly mash in three macadamia nuts on each scone.

 

Place the scones in the oven and set your timer for ten minutes. Check to see if the edges of the scones are browning, as well as the macadamia nuts.  EVERY OVEN IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT, TEMPERATURE WISE.  I needed another 3-5 minutes.

 

The scones will flatten while baking and may stick to the baking sheet a bit.  I used a metal spatula to loosen them and gently lift them onto the counter to cool.

 

Time for a second cup of coffee. Don’t be ashamed to sip in a slosh of your favorite gift from Scotland.

 

I made these for a ladies group. Older ladies. Very grateful ladies, insuring that I will bake for them again and again.