Trying Something New: Asian Coat & Cook

Though it has been a crazy few weeks, I've been making progress on my promise to get back to creating in the kitchen.  

More importantly, my promise to get back to trying new recipes, as well as a variety of Epicure tools and offerings that we bought and have been sitting here waiting. You can get this in a package of 3 Asian Coat and Cook mixes for just $15, or you can get 1 in a sampler pack of 3 that also includes one Tex Mex and one Italian. 

It's not that I'm not using Epicure - don't misunderstand - but we've amassed so much that it's all too easy to go for the tried-and-trues and not grab something new to experiment.  

Earlier this week I decided I decided to try out the coat & cook mixes, as I hadn't done that yet.  In my defense however, I have been getting panko bread crumbs and adding our Lemon Dilly Dip, Italian Dressing or Pico Salsa, among other favourites to make our own blends.  So far the biggest surprise is how amazing a little bit of Salsa seasoning could change the whole dynamic of a meal.  

Have I mentioned lately how much I love spending time in the kitchen? 

I'd decided that trying these were long overdue .. but which one?   I finally decided on the Asian, since the Italian wouldn't be too far off what we normally whip up.  

I was a little bit worried that there wouldn't be enough in the package to coat the 3 pieces we were doing, but it did and there was plenty left over.  

I served it with some leftover mashed potatoes that I'd fried with a little bit of butter and added some Red Garlic Sansel, and a little bit of dried chives.   

The other two were cooked simply with Tuxedo Pepper this night, to make meal prep the next night much faster.  

There's some irony in having learned so many time (and energy) saving tricks for someone who'd be content working in the kitchen all day long but during the week those luxuries aren't always possible.  Living with chronic med issues as well, it's so nice to be able to make something extra today, that might end up being a simple lunch of leftovers later in the week, or for a night when you just don't feel like cooking.  

As for the Asian coated chicken - Wow!  

I was worried it might be a bit spicy, but it was mild.  I'll definitely use this one again! 

Sorry, I didn't think to tell my hubby that I wanted photos of it coming out of the oven, and I'd neglected to get a photo of them coated as I was in a bit of a rush to get them in.   Hubby offered to take a photo of the remaining one (designated for his lunch the next day) but I thought that taking a photo of just one seemed silly -- like maybe I'd burnt the other two.  (ha ha)

Have you tried something new in the kitchen this week?  I'd love to hear about it!  Leave me a comment below :)  

The Epicure Multipurpose Steamer

Speaking of trying new things.  Another item I tried out this week that I hadn't used before was our Multipurpose Steamer.  I have our two smaller ones, which I have used, but I hadn't tried this one out yet. 

One night last week I'd gotten hung up on a client call, and didn't get potatoes on for supper. I really didn't want to wait 45 minutes or more for them to boil, and was considering options until something clicked and I thought -- wait STEAMER!!  

In just a few minutes we had perfectly cooked potatoes that you'd think I had boiled (except they weren't mushy or wet).  I was able to mash them with my fork, and didn't have to put them in the chopper -- so that was a plus too! 

Have you checked out our steamers?  You can buy them individually, or in a package of all 3 together.  You can also buy the multi purpose try (that fits inside the multipurpose steamer) separately too.  The multipurpose steamer does come with one multipurpose tray already 

Shop 24/7 via www.tammywilson.myepicure.com or contact me to place your order! 

What are you waiting for? Just dive in and DO IT!

It seems like such a simple thing..  

We all have to eat, and nobody can afford to eat out every day, so ultimately SOMEONE has to cook, right?

There's cooking, however, and there's COOKING.  Some folks aren't content unless they're making a 4 star meal, and others are content if the can opener doesn't jam as they're opening up the soup-du-jour.  

Some of us live in an entirely different group however, one that dances around in the light somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. 

I have always loved to cook, and I'm always on the hunt for new recipes and new ways to twist on an old favourite.  Every once in a whlie life gets busy and it gets away for me for a while but then like an old friend, it comes back around again.  

Years ago, I spent an inordinate amount of time laid up in hospital after surgery.  As I struggled to get back on my feet, I did a lot of reading and research. Nurses laughed at me because I was researching recipes and things I wanted to make for my family when I got back home even though I was in hospital and not being able to eat anything.  I guess the Mom instinct kicks in and stays lit.. at least that's what I told them when they bugged. 

I was going through some things and found my notebooks from that time period. So many thoughts, notes, tips and tidbits written on the pages and at random in the margins. Almost like a time capsule of sorts. 

I have been getting back to keeping a promise I made myself some time ago to make something new every week.  Sometimes that takes the form of taking a meal we eat all the time and changing it up just a little bit, other times it's adding an item to the grocery cart I've never tried before, or choosing a new-to-me spice from my Epicure shelf and buiding a recipe around it, and of course quite often I'll go surfing on Pinterest.  The trick,  however, is actually going back to actually TRY some of the things you've saved there. Baby steps, right?

I've taken to taking pictures of some of my creations in progress but things get busy and it's always my own "stuff" that goes by the wayside. I will endeavor to do better.. 

I seem to have levelled up in my quest to alleviate the amount of food waste in our household lately.  I was introduced the concept of CORN night years ago from an article I'd read where the author had referred to one night a week as "Clean out the Refridgerator Night" and I adopted it.  The kids thought that was hilarious.  

Last night I made something I've dubbed "Corn Soup" for the same reason.  I'd set about cleaning out the fridge and decided to re-invent some leftovers after first getting the OK from my teddybear that he was OK with having me use him for a guinea pig.  

Normally I'd take a leftover piece of beef, pork or ground meats and turn that into a soup.  This time I'd gone in a different direction.  

Given that I was using leftovers that might have died in the fridge, I've seen some call it "Garbage Soup" but nobody likes the idea of eating garbage.. so CORN Soup it is!  The key being is that all food is still in good shape, nothing spoiled, nothing that would make anyone ill.  The challenge is in the creativity of reinvention. 

So into the crockpot goes..  

First there was the beef broth I'd saved from the roast I'd made last week.  I found 2 cups of leftover chili. Then I diced up a leftover steak.  I used my beloved ceramic slicer and chopped up two celery stalks, and fried up some mushrooms.  

I had amped up Dad's Swiss Steak that we'd always eaten as kids and after having it for dinner, and then lunch the next day there was still a little left over. Diced up the steak, and put the vegies through the food processor. (It looked a little like a marinara sauce by the time it was done). 

I added half a freezer bag of rice that was left in the fridge from the night before.  I'd never added rice to a soup before so that was new (and a little scary). 

At this point I had a thick stew-chili like mixture, to which I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of peas and corn and mixed it all up.  

It spent the afternoon in the crockpot on low to marry all the components (it was already cooked).  I'd planned to save it for the following day, but we ended up testing it out Sunday.  

"CORN" Soup ~ Sometimes the surprise is in just how fabulous it turns out! 

The result was a soup that tasted JUST LIKE cabbage rolls.  We'll definitely try to recreate this one again!  

I forgot to take a photo when I'd first made it but got this photo the next day.  You can tell it's been popular around here! 

Super Supper - Ramping up an old favourite

Years ago my Dad used to make us steak dinner that he'd called "Swiss Steak."  I never knew why it was swiss (because it didn't have the cheese with the holes in it anywhere in it) but I never argued.  I just knew we liked it.  

Essentially Dad would be a fairly inexpensive cut of steak and pour a can of whole tomatoes over the top and then they'd cook in the oven.  The result was always the most tender piece of steak.  He was always so proud of how it turned out and would joke that he was Chef Boyardee.  

He always knew how to make us laugh.  

This past week, I decided I was going to amp up that favourite dish a little bit and see how it turned out. 

I didn't have whole tomatoes, so I figured diced would have to do the job.  They were easier to spread out across the top of everything anyhow.  

I took my ceramic slicer and sliced up two small onions very thinly and layered them over top,  then sliced two oblong peppers, one red - one green, and arranged them over top. 

I contemplated adding cheese but thought that might have been pushing my luck.  

I sprinkled one of my new favourite go-to's on next.  Epicure's "SPG" seasoning.  It's promited for oven fries, but I've tried it in a few days -- most recently across a roast going into the crockpot..  AH-MAZING to say the very least. :) 

In any case, it doesn't look like a whole lot here, but just wait.. 




In about 45 minutes out comes this.  



Hubby loved it!  I had to grind mine up of course, but I joked that the vegies on top came out looking much like salsa - it's all good! 

I made a side of sweet potatoes  since the toppings were more condiment than dinner..  

Needless to say this is one I'll definitely try again! 

Have you tried something new lately?  I'd love to hear about it!  Send me a comment :)