Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Awesome pot roast!

I apologize.  I don't have a story to go with this recipe.  Just not in the story telling mood these days. 

So, for those of you who don't know me, I haven't always been vegetarian.  It's relatively new for me.  Since this is the case I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes from my meat eating days.  I don't have a pic of it as I haven't cooked it since before we had the blog but trust me, it's delicious.  Megan S always steals some or begs me to make it just for her to eat.  You won't be disappointed.

You will need -

1/2 an onion, cut into large sections
1/2 lb potatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 lb carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch long sections
small piece of beef (1 lbs ish)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Start by trimming any obvious fat off your meat.  Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.  In a skillet heat a small amount of oil.  Sear both sides of the beef (about 2 mins each side).  Place onion, carrots and potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot.  Set beef on top.  In a small bowl whisk together the last four ingredients and pour over the top of the meat in the crock pot.  Set on low and cook for 8-9 hours or until beef is fork tender. 

To be honest, I never had a clue how cuts of beef worked.  I don't know which ones are good and which ones aren't.  So, take your knowledge and grab something that sounds good and go for it.

Pair with a nice Malbec :)

Cheers!

Megan J

Monday, June 18, 2012

Peach Glazed Chicken


So I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point, partly because the whole book sounded interesting in general and partly because I'd like to discover a way to get this little blog of ours to "tip."  Really all I mean by that is that I would like it to gain a little bit (I mean a lotta bit) more popularity with folks outside of my family and closest friends.  Don't get me wrong, I love the attention from those of you who have become loyal readers, you know who you are, but now help us out and spread the word!!  I know it's called Dinner For Spinsters but our recipes are quite accessible for anybody that eats!  Modify them for your family, tell your bachelor friends, maybe they'll avoid the Mickey D's drive-thru for a night! 

For this recipe you will need:
1 chicken breast
2-3 T. peach preserves
a splash of red wine (I'm not good at measuring, I throw things in a pan and hope for the best)
salt and pepper to taste

 Put the preserves and red wine in a skillet on medium heat, whisk together, add a dash of salt and pepper, cook on medium heat, stirring regularly until it thickens to desired consistency.  If you're having trouble getting it to thicken you can whisk a bit of cornstarch in to help you out.  I brushed my chicken with the sauce and cooked 5+ minutes on each side until done, basting extra sauce on as well.  I happen to think this recipe would be extra delicious cooked on the barbecue, just in time for grilling season, if only I was better with charcoal!  Cook up a few tasty side dishes (I did broccoli and jasmine rice) and you've got yourself a tasty dinner.

Have a friend that loves grilling?  Tell them to try out this simple recipe!  Want to learn more about this blogger?  Check out my facebook page, username megz3pegz.  Love our blog?  Follow us on Twitter @DinnerSpinsters

Megan S.

Monday, June 4, 2012

pick-me-up-pancakes

Isn't it interesting the different changes you experience in life?  One of my favorite phrases has always been "the tide always turns" and I'm finding that I have to remind myself of that frequently these days.  For me life seems to operate in sort of an ebb and flow.  Some days everything is rainbows, sunshine, puppies, and popsicles and all of my relationships are full of juicy, satisfying contact and love.  And sometimes there are more dark and ominous and unicorns have gotten their horns chopped off and contact is sparse and I have to go to couples counseling with my manager.  I am currently in an ebb, which I think is the bad one so let's go with it.  Things aren't exactly going my way and I want to be a petulant child and lay down and throw a tantrum but that surely won't solve anything or really make me feel better.  So, I come up with ways to distract myself.  One of which is making some dank pancakes.  Which always help perk me up.  For your own lil dose of happy you will need the following:



1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 sliced almonds
1 tsp baking powder
1/4  tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie seasoning
1 medium banana
1/2 cup almond milk
1 egg white
1 cup frozen blueberries

In a bowl combine first five ingredients.  Mash half the banana in another bowl and add milk and egg.  Mix the two bowls together and add the other half of your banana.  Once it's all mixed up add your berries.  Heat up a skillet with some cooking spray on it.  Pour a small amount of batter into the skillet.  Don't go too thick or you be left with a nasty pile o yuck.  Trust me.  Cook until yummy which is about 2-3 mins per side.

I am personally not a maple syrup person so I serve mine with butter, brown sugar and more blueberries.  I fed these to a friend recently and we added nectarine as well which was quite yummy.  I tried to enjoy this with a nice, hot, cup of tea but somehow managed to spill most of it down my hand and my pants.  If you feel like you have a little more coordination than I do I'm certain a hot beverage would be lovely.  I think my dumb ass will be sticking  to water.

Cheers!  Megan J