Asian Inspired Meatball Sub

Ever since I found out how easy it is to make meatballs, I just can't get enough of them.  I have been thinking a lot about Thai BBQ, too, ever since I posted about it several weeks ago.  I though, "Why not Thai BBQ meatballs?  In a sandwich?  With sauteed veggies?  That sounds just about perfect!"
I didn't have a recipe for Thai BBQ sauce, so I took what I knew already about Asian sauces, and happily threw things together in my sauce pot.  I knew I wanted something thick and syrupy, a little sweet, but mostly savory with a kick of spice and acid: the perfectly balanced sauce.  Now, I'm not going to pat myself on the back and say that I accomplished the perfect sauce.  However, I made something that was pretty yummy...and something I will certainly make again.  It went especially well with meatballs and sauteed onions and bell pepper.
Usually, I do not put beer in my Asian dishes, but I had bough beer earlier in the day because we were going to our friend's house, and once I tasted the sauce without it, I though beer would be the perfect compliment to it.  I had Deschutes Jubelale, which is a dark, bitter brew.  That hint of bitterness was what the sauce really needed to be great.  It also toned down the spiciness a touch, but added more flavor.  I do believe other beers would taste good in this sauce, but you'll just have to experiment and find out!

Jess' Asian BBQ Sauce:
2 TB brown sugar
1-2 TB molasses
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sriracha (more or less depending on how spicy you like it!)
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beer (preferably something dark and bitter, though any beer will do)

Mix ingredient in a small sauce pan.  Heat to boiling, then lower heat and simmer until the consistency is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon.

Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef (5% fat)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg
salt to taste (about 2 tsp)
pepper to taste

Add ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly (now's a good time to use your hands!).  Roll into small balls about 1" diameter.  Spray baking sheet or casserole dish with oil and line meatballs on sheet.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until meatballs are browned on the outside and cooked through.  Let meatballs cool slightly, then pour BBQ sauce over them and coat with sauce.

Sauteed Veggies:
1-2 TB olive oil
1 onion (yellow or white), cut in half and sliced thinly
2 bell peppers
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat. (If you use too small a pan, the veggies will just steam which makes them soggy and less colorful.  When sauteing properly, your veggies slightly brown on the outside, but the veggies will keep their crunch and color.)  Add in onions and peppers and saute until slightly brown 3-4 minutes.  Add in sauce and coat veggies and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Take off the heat and cool slightly.  

NOTE! When using bell peppers, I try to be discerning.  Green bell peppers are very popular (especially in Asian dishes), however, they are very strongly flavored; they are less sweet and more grassy than other colored bell peppers.  Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are very mellow and sweet, plus they make dishes very colorful!  For this dish, I used red bell peppers, but any color would work.  It just depends on what taste you prefer.

Building the Sandwich:
1 small baguette or hot dog buns
sauteed veggies
BBQ meatballs
fresh cilantro

Cut baguette into sandwich portions and cut down the middle, so the bread opens like a sub.  Drizzle some BBQ sauce over the bread, add cilantro, meatballs, then veggies.  Drizzle a little more sauce on top.  Then, enjoy! :)  This is also great without the bread...low-carb stir fry!

What could have made this sandwich even better?  A little sriracha mayo!

Sriracha Mayonnaise:
1 cup mayo
2-3 TB sriracha (or more if you like spicy!)

Mix ingredients thoroughly.  Use like normal mayo or as a dipping sauce.

The Frugal Alchemist: Frozen Dinner

There are many nights when I just don't want to cook.  I feel like I cook constantly, so sometimes it's nice to take a break every once in a while.  However, we still need to eat.  I know this is a constant dilemma for people everywhere, whether you're single or have a family to feed.  There are just those days when cooking dinner is the last thing you want to do.  I can guiltily admit that I've gone out to dinner one to many times on those nights.  It is so easy to have someone cook for you.  But going out to eat, or even buying a frozen pizza can be really expensive, especially if you're focused on quality ingredients.  Most frozen dinners are cheap, but they have little nutritional value and on the other hand, frozen dinners that are high quality will wreck your wallet.  
A couple of months ago, when my job conflicted with me making dinner, I thought about buying some frozen burritos for my husband on those nights when I would be gone.  But I thought, "why buy frozen burritos when I can make them?  And I can make more for cheaper!"  So, I set about making a freezer full of frozen burritos from scratch.  I slow poached chicken and beef, simmered dry beans, and sauteed a bunch of bell peppers, onion, and garlic.  I also made my own salsa.  This process took all day, but my freezer was stocked, and we had easy dinner for weeks.
Although this was worth it, I realized that it would be much easier to just buy all the components, put them together, and then freeze them.  Although the burritos wouldn't be from scratch, they would still be cheap and delicious.  But I really wanted food that I made...from scratch, with my hands.  I'm big into nutrition, so I like being in control of what I eat everyday.  
I found there is a better, easier way of saving homemade food for later: double it!  When you're making lasagna, make two, freeze one, then you'll have dinner for when you need it.  In my house, we eat a lot of beans and rice.  So, when I make a pot of beans, I make a BIG pot of beans, or a BIG pot of rice, then freeze whatever is left over.  When I made stock the other day, I poached the entire chicken, then cooled it and divided up the meat.  Most of the dark meat went into a coconut chicken soup.  I froze the rest of the chicken and used it in my chicken tortilla soup pictured below.
The great thing about having all this frozen food available, is that you can just throw it in a pot with a few other ingredients and BOOM! you have dinner!

Frozen Dinner Night:
Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 pound cooked chicken, frozen
3-4 cups beans, cooked and frozen
1-2 cups rice, cooked and frozen
1 quart stock, previously made and frozen
1 28oz can tomatoes, pureed
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp cumin seeds (ground cumin is fine too!)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
3-4 TB cilantro, rough chop
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute garlic and jalapenos in 1-2 TB olive oil for 1 minute until fragrant.  Add in spices.  Saute 1 minute.  Add in tomatoes, rice, beans, chicken, stock, and cilantro.  BTAB, RTAS.  Take chicken out and dice (if it is not diced already).  Simmer about 10 mins, then dinner is ready!

Yes, I added all my frozen ingredients in at once.  Why not after all?

NOTE: If you are going to cook, then freeze food, make sure you cool it down FAST (see previous post about food safety).  Or if you are making something like lasagna, freeze the uncooked lasagna, then it is ready at any time to bake!

Voila!  Soup in minuets!  This took very little time and effort because of previous planning.  And I didn't have to compromise my health or wallet!

Enjoy!

All Stocked Up

For years, I have bought stock or bouillon for my soups.  To be honest, I didn't even realize that you could make your own, let alone, how to.  I was never satisfied with store bought stock because it was pricey, or tasted weird (depending on the brand) which made my soups taste less delicious.  I was also frustrated because I had no control over the salt content, especially with bouillon.  It seems that bouillon is made out of mostly salt...which is probably why it is a much cheaper option than pre-made stock.  Technically, most store bought stock is usually called broth because it contains salt; real from-scratch stock should never contain salt.  Why?  Because stock is just the base for soups and sauces, many of which are reduced down.  If you start with salty stock, and reduce that liquid down, you will have a very concentrated, salty product.  Classic stock is extremely flavorful because it contains lots of aromatics, meaty bones (unless it's veggie stock!), and is simmered for hours in order to extract all the flavors.  
At first, making stock was intimidating to me because of how long stock takes to make.  At culinary school there were always huge pots of stock simmering away all day.  It seemed that I would never have time to make my own if I had to sit around waiting on a stock all afternoon.  And, yes, this still is a concern.  Stock does take time.  However, I have found that with chicken stock especially, it doesn't take all day.  Plus, with the amount of stock that you can make in one go, you don't have to make stock more than once a month!  Just think, if you do have a few free hours in the daytime, and you feel like cooking, stock is one of the easiest and most rewarding project you can undertake!
With homemade stock, you can not only get great flavored stock, but you can do it for less money than store bought stock.  With one chicken, some veggies, and a few herbs, I can make 4-6 quarts of chicken stock which will last me at least a month (but I do make a lot of soup!).  I simply make my stock, fill plastic quart containers with it and freeze them.  They will last about 3 months or longer in the freezer.
The other great thing about making stock at home is that you can put (mostly) whatever you want into it!  Below is a classic stock recipe, but I have tried out a lot of variations depending on what I want to use my stock for.  For example, I make a lot of coconut chicken soup...so my variation would be take out the thyme and parsley, and add in lemongrass, garlic, hot peppers, and cilantro.  If I wanted a Latin-flavored stock, I might put in hot peppers, garlic, and tomatoes.  This way, you can double the flavor of your specific soup with the flavors you want.  
However, there are some things you do not want to put in stock!  Veggies like potatoes or cabbage can overpower your stock in different ways.  Since stock is simmered for several hours, potatoes would break down and make your stock cloudy.  Plus, they do little to enhance the flavor of your stock.  Cabbage, on the other hand, has a very strong, specific flavor and would make your whole stock taste like cabbage.  Remember, you are just making a BASE, not an entire soup!  You can add potatoes and cabbage in the cooking process. :)

Classic Chicken Stock: 4-6 quarts
(for veggie stock, exclude the chicken and add more veggies)
1 chicken carcass (or one whole chicken if you're poaching the meat)
1 cup onion, rough chop
1/2 cup carrot, rough chop
1/2 cup celery, rough chop
1 tsp black pepper corns
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
1-2 sprigs fresh parsley
cold water 

NOTE! Why use cold water when cooking?  Because hot water is more likely to leach heavy metals out of your pipes...which are not good for eating! 

Equipment:
1 large soup or stock pot (A pot large enough to comfortably fit a whole chicken covered with water)
1 mesh strainer
cheese cloth
plastic quart containers (or Tupperware that can hold liquid and be frozen)

Stock Additions: 
garlic, whole
jalapenos (or hot peppers), whole
lemon grass
tomatoes
mushrooms
white wine
lemon or lime juice

Directions:
Create a sachet that contains the pepper corns, bay leaf, thyme, parsley by tying them up in cheese cloth.  Or you can just throw them in the pot, but they will float which will make the stock harder to skim later. 

 Add sachet, chicken, and veggies into a large pot.  Cover ingredients with cold water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 

(NOTE! You do NOT want to boil your stock.  Boiling stock will release impurities and mix them back into the liquid which makes for a very cloudy stock.  When you see the stock begin to boil, turn down the heat and let it gently simmer.)  Once it has simmered for 10-15 mins, it is time to skim!  Use a spoon (not slotted) to skim off any foam, scum, and fat that rises to the surface.  By removing these, your stock will be clear of impurities and fat. 

 Make sure to skim your stock a few times as it simmers.  Some fat might be left over, but that can be skimmed off once it cools down completely.
Simmer for 4-6 hours.
Note: Sometimes I simmer my stocks for less time (2-3 hours).  Sometimes you don't need the full 6 hours!  Keep tasting the stock to see how flavorful it is, and you can decide when it is done.

Straining stock: 
When your stock is done, put your mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl or container and pour your stock over the strainer.  If you don't have cheesecloth, that is fine, but it's a good idea to consider it because it does a good job of filtering out your stock, making it clearer.

Cooling Stock:
Place your bowl or container in a larger container (or sink) full of ice water.  Cool until no longer warm (about 1 hour).  Stirring the stock occasionally will help it cool down faster.  Pour into smaller containers, then freeze.
OR: Pour hot stock into quart containers (if they are heat safe) and leave out to cool or put into an ice bath.  I use this method, because smaller containers cool down a bit faster.  They can be put right into the freezer once they are cool which will chill them fast.  Don't put hot liquid into your freezer, though, because that will raise the temperature of your freezer which could compromise your other food.  

IMPORTANT NOTE!!
Cooling down your stock fast is CRUCIAL! Food safety guidelines show that most foods should not be left out at room temperature (40-140F) for more than four hours before it is unsafe to eat.  Four hours TOTAL.  This means that if stock is left out cooling for two hours, then it is reheated for a soup and that soup is left out cooling for three hours...it is technically (from food safety standards) no longer safe to eat.  Although these are restaurant standards, it is always good to be conscious of time and temperature!  For this reason, make sure you cool your stock down quickly (around 1 hour)!

I reuse my New Seasons quart containers because they are heat resistant and dishwasher safe. 

Now you have stock!  And it is wonderfully delicious and healthy!  Plus, you've saved money in the process.  What can be better than that?  It is now time to go make some fabulous soups or sauces!