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Post by jolovespiggies on Jan 31, 2017 9:15:16 GMT
There is no limit to your culinary talent Piggles love, I hope your family appreciate all these wonderful dishes. Our favourite pizza is pepperoni although sometimes I just fancy a plain old cheese and tomato.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by 3piggles on Jan 31, 2017 20:50:32 GMT
I don't care for spicy meats, but I do love a loaded veggie pizza. Peppers, tomato, mushrooms, onions, etc. I love to cook, Jo, and I'm happiest when I'm doing that, no doubt about it. I'm glad the food generally comes out good, and people enjoy it. Makes it more rewarding to pursure what I love to do, anyway. We're slowly working our way through the left overs. Fun not to have to cook sometimes
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 1, 2017 14:35:14 GMT
I don't like them if they are too hot hunni, just mildly spiced. I don't like my mouth being on fire either LOL!! Cooking is so close to your heart sweetie and you are so very good at it. I used to love cooking but I agree, sometimes it is nice not to have to, let someone else do the cooking or have a take out. I am a great one for using leftovers, I cannot bear waste.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 1, 2017 19:09:38 GMT
Hubby keeps looking at the leftovers packaged up for his work lunches, and asking me what I'm going to do with them when he retired, lol I tell him he still has to eat them, but he can just sit at the dining table and eat If I make enough of something, such as the large batch of tomator sauce I'm going to make this week, I will freeze some so I have it for other meals. That is if I manage to get any frozen before it all gets eaten I used my 6-in-1 copper chef pan to fry some sweet potato fries, and some chicken fried steak. Chicken fried steak is just steak that has been dredged in flour, and is fried the way fried chicken would be made. I pounded the steaks thin, flavored them with herbs, then dredged them in the flour before frying them. The pan and the frying basket worked very well, I'm happy to say. Dinner took less than 10 minutes to cook, and was very tasty. www.amazon.com/dp/B01BDTWYOQ 6-in-1 pan I got instructions on how to bake eggs and bacon, and play to try that tonight. It takes a muffin tin, which I have and rarely use, and eggs are on sale, so I thought I'd play with baking eggs and bacon. Wish me luck
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 2, 2017 9:43:41 GMT
What a super pan Piggles, you get what you pay for and although that is expensive, it will last a life time. Is a chicken steak what we refer to as the breast? I am naughty it is the only part of the chicken I will eat. Good luck with the egg and bacon Piggles love, I know it will be perfect like all your other dishes. I love to hear about your cooking.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 2, 2017 21:04:09 GMT
No, Jo, a chicken fried steak is just a boneless beef steak seasoned, breaded and deep-fried. I had some thin steaks I seasoned, dredged in flour, and fried, so they had a breaded coating on them. Fried chicken uses the whole chicken, just cut into pieces, seasoned, dredged and fried. It's more the process that gets it called "chicken fried" steak. It is a great pan. I'm using it to make my eggplant and bell pepper tomato sauce. I'm making a double batch, so once it cools down in the pan on the stove, I'll start running it through the blender in batches, and pouring the blended sauce into that pan, which I used to sautee all the veggies. I should be able to do it all, that way. Then back to the pot on the stove to simmer with the added basil and parsley, until dinner time. I wanted to wait until tomorrow, which it's supposed to be cold, but hubby has been asking when I was going to make it, so I made it. I'll try to freeze half of it, before he eats it all, lol It is a great pan, and we bought it on sale for $39.99. We got one for our daughter, too. I haven't tried steaming in it, but I've done everything else. I love that it cleans up with a wipe of the sponge and a dry cloth. Nothing sticks to the insides!
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 3, 2017 9:26:17 GMT
Oh dear Piggles love, dopey here strikes again LOL. Thank you for explaining that to me. I would love some pans which really don't stick. Ours are not meant to stick but if you cook anything really sticky, it takes some removing. Good luck with the steaming hun.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 3, 2017 18:01:36 GMT
That is a great pan, Jo, and if you can find it on sale(reduced price), it's well worth the money. There's a whole series of them, all different sized fying pans, and even a wok, as well as other types of pans. I bought the baking pan for $19, which I still have to try. It should be great for making a batch of brownies. It will be nice to not have to grease the pan, and still not be able to get the brownies out without leaving a lot behind. The sauce came out great, and hubby even put half of it in the freezer before I had to remind him to It's about the only sauce he likes enough to not want meat added, so that's a nice change. I'm soaking beans to make a bean and ham soup, but I'm going to use Kielbasa, as I have that, and I don't have any ham. The idea was to use what I had. I have to soak the dried beans overnight, then I can make the soup tomorrow. Another dish we can freeze for later. I'm trying to get him away from meat more, so reducing the amount of meat is the first step.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 5, 2017 14:48:55 GMT
I will look out for it Piggles love and make sure I put enough money aside for it. I also want an Actifry because I hate oven chips. My space is very limited here so before I buy anything I have to plan where it is going to live beforehand LOL! How did the Bean soup go, excellent I should imagine? It would be wonderful with some crusty bread.
Hugs JO xx
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 5, 2017 15:54:45 GMT
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 5, 2017 15:58:47 GMT
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 5, 2017 19:52:27 GMT
I remember so many of those choccies, I could just cry to think what's no longer available. I do think a few were reissued as something new, but most are just gone. So sad I have an Actifry. It's heavy, bulky, has a small cooking reservior, and is expensive. I plan to use it more when hubby finally retires, as I can't carry it easily. It does a good job, and it has a limited capacity, so unlike making a whole cookie sheet of fries for the two of you, you won't make more than you need. The fries are good done in the Actifry, and The Actifry comes with a recipe book. We tried some of the recipes, which were also good. It just seems to be like a convection oven and all the other really helpful appliances that don't have any conversion tables for the commonly eaten foods such as a boxed brownie mix, pizza rolls, etc. I prefer some of the fried foods fried, and things like chicken and fries only need about 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of a pan, to fry really nicely. So much about frying being so terribly bad for our health, but it totally depends on the frying medium. I use oils low in Saturated fats, drain the fried foods, and don't think I'm getting more fat that I should. We have to have some fat. I think there's a lot of misinformation left over from when everything was fried in lard. The bean soup was really good, and very easy to make. I bought a bag of dried beans at the supermarket. I came with a seasoning packet I didn't even know was in the bag until I read the directions. I almost skipped it, as just the onions, kielbasa and beans seemed quite tasty. I was supposed to use 8 cups of water for the broth, but used veggie broth, instead. I think that made a difference. Very filling and tasty Jo, those pans come in all price ranges, and since they are new to the market, there's really not telling if paying more will buy a better pan, one that lasts longer. We were thrilled to be able to try it at a reduced price, though there are options that are at least twice what we paid. If this pan continues to be really good, I would definitely consider getting them in more styles.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 6, 2017 9:10:29 GMT
It is sad isn't it Piggles hunni? I remember thinking as a child how I looked forward to being grown up and having my own money so I could indulge in these lovely things, and then they disappear.
I didn't realise that Actfrys were so heavy, I just imagined them to be like a normal chip pan size and weight. I am glad the Bean soup was nice love, I never doubted it, you are such a great cook. I would love to start a collection of those pans, it is something to bear in mind for the future. I can remembery mother using lard to fry chips. It was a brand called Cookeen but I don't think it is available anymore.
Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 6, 2017 20:47:11 GMT
My mother was a nutritionist, and she didn't use lard, so even in the 50s, she knew it wasn't the best option. She used Crisco solid shortening. Now that lard has been banned in food prep in a lot of places, restaurants and manufacturers are using the same Crisco solid, or their generic version of it, that my other used. Crisco solide vegetable oil processed into a solid form like lard, only at that time, it couldn't be cut with a knife into cubes, the way lard could be. We had to measure it by adding water to a larger than needed measuring cup. 1/2 cup of Crisco solid went into a cup measure with 1/2 cup of water in it. When the water level reached 1 cup, we knew we had 1/2 cup of Crisco displacing the water. Now, it comes in sticks like butter, and like butter, premeasured at 1/4 cup per stick. We can just slice off what we need. Of course, now that it's really easy, I never back anything that requires it! Daughter took granddaughter to a chocolatier who taught a class in making chocolate covered strawberries. Hubby was at their house Sunday, and came home with a few for us to eat. Our granddaughter made them all. Very pretty, and I'm glad she got to do that, and had fun doing it I'm eating my way through the dark chocolate cream filled choccies we bought Saturday. I love dark chocolate, and would like to get back to the store and get another box Probably a good thing my back is out, and I'm not going anywhere!
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Post by Bean on Feb 6, 2017 20:50:16 GMT
I don't know most of those old chocolate bars and boxes, but do remember getting some Spangles in my stocking one year - they were horrid! This chocolate shop always makes me chuckle (they tend to do pop up shops running up to Christmas) - the things look soooooo real, they're brilliant (if rather expensive). They gave us a sample of the chocolate and it's really good. The only thing is no one wants to eat them as they look so amazing! The chocolate coated strawberries sound great and glad you've been enjoying the creams too.
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 6, 2017 21:57:01 GMT
Those handmade chocolates really are gorgeous, and expensive, and something a lot of people wish they could keep, but as with any chocolate, it needs to be eaten within a certain amount of time, or it will go bad. They do make great gifts for chocolate lovers, though. I would like to get a mould that let me make flavored solid chocolates with a design, as those are easy. The flavorings come in tiny bottles, only needing about 1/16 of a teaspoon per pound of chocolate. Just added it to the melted chocolate, pour into the moulds, and let it set.
I also want to make flavored cream filled chocolates, which tend not to have a design, but need to be deep enough to hold the cream filling. To make those chocolates, the mould is filled with melted chocolate, allowed to set long enough to create a strong outer shell, then the rest of the chocolate is dumped out to be reused. The cream filling as added to the shell in the mould, and enough chocolate is added to cover the open end. Once that chocolate sets up, the candy is done. It really is easy, just really time consuming.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 7, 2017 12:58:07 GMT
Haha, no Spangles were very nice Bean love as I recall. I did used to like the Trebor bitter orange and lemon though and they disappeared over night. Those chocolates are great Bean sweetie thank you for sharing them with us. I know a place in Liskeard that sells them around christmas and they are expensive. I bet the chocolate is nice though and I think they make really good stocking fillers. We don't have to worry about chocolate going off in our house Piggles hunni, it doesn't get the chance LOL!! Oh those fruit creams sound divine too sweetie, I would be so pleased if you decided to make some more but I realise it is fiddly and time consuming. I am just thinking about my tummy as usual. Hugs Jo xx
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Post by 3piggles on Feb 7, 2017 21:23:44 GMT
Fiddly and time consuming, yes, but you get exactly what you want, instead of one orange cream and a whole lot of truffles. Bean, thinking about those handmade candies made me do a little research. Look what I found: www.amazon.com/Chefmaster-Edible-2-ounce-Silver-Certified/dp/B00RETEKKG Turns out there are edible metal sprays that can make some thing look like real metal! I knew there were sheets of extremely thin, edible gold leaf, but since the spanners weren't gold, I wanted to figure out what was used. Might have been this product.
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Post by Bean on Feb 8, 2017 7:49:28 GMT
Yes, they look like the sort of thing that could get those metallic effects, don't they. The ones I've seen are decorated so delicately, they look very realistic. They have spanners etc that look rusty too and they're amazingly realistic.
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Post by jolovespiggies on Feb 8, 2017 9:43:03 GMT
That is amazing Piggles hunni, I love anything like this, quirky and unusual especially if I can eat it LOL!! I haven't seen the rusty edible spanners Bean, I bet people are wary of eating them they look so real.
I remember getting chocolate smoker's sets when I was a child, but that isn't acceptable anymore so they have moved on to other things. Just as the sweet cigarettes have now become candy sticks (I love them)
Hugs JO xx
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