Monday Night Football – Pizza Time
Some days, like everyone else, I just don't feel up to cooking a meal with all the sides. I was at Costco yesterday morning buying some fruit when I came upon their Take-and-Bake pizzas. BINGO! Monday Night Football - it was a no-brainer. Their large all meat pizza is only $9 which is perfect for the two of us. Dinner and leftovers - the breakfast of champions ...
Preheated my MAK 2 Star wood pellet smoker-grill to 400ºF (20-30 minutes). With most wood pellet smoker-grills there is virtually no smoke produced above temperatures of 300ºF. Therefore it doesn't matter what type of barbecue flavored wood pellets you use. I normally just use what pellets I have in the hopper.
Costco pizzas are cooked at 400ºF for 10 to 15 minutes.To ensure proper even cooking of the pie and crust I like to rotate the pizza 33 degrees every 4 minutes. This puts me in the middle range of the required cooking time. There's nothing I dislike more that limp soggy crust. The pellet grill solves that by producing a nice brown crispy/crunchy crust. A pizza paddle is a must have accessory and a pizza cutter really comes in handy.
Instant Pot Pinto Beans and Ham
Instant Pot Pinto Beans and Ham
Instant Pot Pinto Beans and Ham - This Instant Pot pinto beans and ham recipe combines the quick soak pinto bean method with the beauty and versatility of an Instant Pot programmable pressure cooker. An Instant Pot is the latest 3rd generation programmable pressure cooker designed with the objectives of being safe, convenient and dependable. It speeds up cooking by 2 to 6 times using up to 70% less energy. With multiple sensors and a micro-processor, Instant Pot is an intelligent multi-cooker, capable of completely replacing pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker/porridge maker, sauté/browning pan, steamer, yogurt maker and stockpot warmer. Most importantly, Instant Pot cooks meals faster with less energy while preserving more nutrients.
Using this simple pinto bean recipe will ensure that you can have exquisite tasty beans any day of the week without having to soak the beans overnight and simmering them all day long. It allows you to be more spontaneous.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dry pinto beans
- 4 cups chicken stock/broth
- 5 stalks celery chopped
- medium red onion diced
- 3 cups diced smoked ham
- 1 can Italian stewed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions:
- Pinto Bean Quick Soak Method
- In a large pot cover the dry beans with at least 2 inches of water above the beans
- Bring the beans to a hard boil for 3 minutes
- Cover the beans and set aside for 2 to 5 hours
- Drain and rinse the beans
- Combine all the ingredients in the Instant Pot Smartcooker
- Pressure cook the pinto beans for 60 minutes
- Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes before quickly releasing any remaining pressure
Oven Baked Marinaded Chicken Thighs
Wowza!! Time flies when you're having fun ... I can't remember the last time I used Mr Yoshida's Original Gourmet Marinade & Cooking Sauce. It's a fantastic way to infuse teriyaki flavor profiles into chicken thighs and pork. I'd forgotten just how savory the results are. With the temperature reaching 96ºF in Northern California I decided to stay indoors and have oven baked marinaded chicken thighs. It just isn't right to have temperatures in the the mid nineties ... after all, we've been known to have what it commonly referred to as Indian Summer but now that we're in the middle of September I'm ready for some Fall weather and hopefully lots of rain again this year. We need to refill all our lakes and reservoirs after the devastating drought we've experienced over the last few years.
Decided to supplement the Mr Yoshida's Original Gourmet sauce with McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Trimmed the excess skin and fat from the fresh Foster Farms chicken thighs before applying the seasoning on and under the skin. Layered the bottom of a glass dish with the gourmet sauce before placing the seasoned chicken in. Topped off the chicken thighs with more sauce and refrigerated them for 4 hours.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bake the marinaded chicken thighs for 40 to 50 minutes until the internal temperature of the thighs reach 180ºF. Rest the oven baked marinaded chicken thighs for 10 minutes loosely under a foil tent before serving.
Remember to always cook to internal temperatures and use times listed for planning purposes only. Just because they look done doesn't mean they are. There's nothing less appealing and more dangerous than serving under cooked chicken. That's where a digital instant read thermocouple cooking thermometer like a Thermapen Mk4 or a ThermoPop is the perfect tool to own and use.
Bacon Wrapped Roasted Pork Loin
Bacon Wrapped Roasted Pork Loin - Man-oh-man ... it doesn't get any better than this!! Course, bacon makes EVERYTHING taste that much better and this recipe does not disappoint. Boneless pork loins are mildly favored, are relatively lean, and best cooked using low-and-slow method, moderate heat, or a combination of both. I prefer to infuse a touch of Hickory smoke before increasing the pit temperature and cooking the roast to an internal temperature of 145ºF. Yesterday I decided to take the roast over the top by wrapping it in Hickory smoked bacon and am I glad I did ...
Preheat your wood pellet smoker-grill (I prefer using a MAK 2 Star General) to 180º-190ºF with Hickory barbecue pellets and smoke the bacon wrapped pork loin for 45 minutes before increasing the pit temperature to 350ºF. Roast the pork loin roast at 350ºF until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the roast reaches 145ºF. Rest the pork loin loosely under a foil tent for 15 minutes before carving against the grain and serving.
With the rising costs of meat prices it's easy to save yourself $2+ a pound by carving up your next pork loin yourself. As the photo below shows, a 10 pound boneless pork loin from Costco, Sam's Club, your local butcher shop, or grocery store will provide you with two 3 pound roasts and six 2 inch center cut pork chops. Vary the size of the roasts and/or thickness of the boneless chops depending on your family needs and preferences.
The Sirloin portion of a pork loin is pictured above on the left while the Ribeye portion of a pork loin is on the right. Note the marbling in the ribeye roast. As noted before, marbling is known to provide great flavor profiles. If you don't own a vacuum sealer I highly recommend you purchase one so that you can preserve meats, poultry, and seafood in properly sized portions. I've used items properly vacuum sealed and frozen 6+ months later with no problems.
Trim the fat cap and silver skin from the boneless pork loin. Rub the roast with roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil and season with a liberal amount of Plowboy's BBQ Bovine Bold rub. Wrap the seasoned pork loin with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
A bacon weave is easy to create. Note in the photos above how the bacon slices are easily interwoven. I created the bacon weave on parchment paper which was used to roll the bacon around the seasoned sirloin pork roast. Rather than using twine or toothpicks to hold the bacon weave in place I like to use silicone cooking bands to keep the bacon weave tightly wrapped to the pork loin.
No need to always use your Wood Pellet Smoker-Grill
Yes, you're reading correctly ... the author of The Wood Pellet Smoker & Grill Cookbook is saying that pitmasters do not live by wood pellet smoker-grills alone.
There are times when it's more convenient to use something other than your wood pellet smoker-grill to cook a meal. Take last night for example - I selected a package of fresh Foster Farms chicken thighs for our main course. Now that there is only the two of us at home these packages are perfect as they normally contain 3 or 4 thighs. So rather than heating up and using my MAK 2 Star wood pellet smoker-grill to smoke/roast the chicken thighs I decided to just roast them in the oven.
I would have used my Green Mountain Grill Davy Crockett tailgate unit but alas I don't own that unit anymore. While on travel in the RV this Summer I had the opportunity to introduce my oldest Son to the joys and benefits of using a wood pellet smoker-grill. We had a great time smoking and cooking quite a few items and his family really enjoyed the results. So before returning home I left the Davy Crockett, pellets, and some accessories with my Son to use for his family.
Prepare your chicken thighs by trimming the excess skin and fat before rubbing roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil under and on the skin. Then season under and on the skin with your chosen chicken seasoning or rub. I chose and highly recommend Jan's Original Dry Rub. You'll love the results ... wrapped the seasoned chicken thighs in plastic and refrigerated the thighs for 4 hours. Preheated the oven to 350ºF and roasted the thighs for approximately 45 minutes until the internal temperature of the thighs reached 180ºF. Rested the thighs loosely under a foil tent for 10 minutes before serving.