Tag: Hints

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Pasta Salad

This pasta was delicious. I don’t usually make vinaigrettes because they tend to be too bitter for me or over power the dish. The proportions for this dish are perfect for covering the pasta, but still allows the flavor of the pasta to come through. This would be a fantastic summer dish to give a refreshed feeling, or served heartier with the addition of other veggies, cheeses, or even a meat. Some ingredients that would be a good addition include broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, diced red peppers, diced onion, shredded or cubed sharp cheese, cubed pepperoni or hard salami, etc.

When I made this pasta, I used the ingredients below: apple cider vinegar, canola oil, and buckwheat blossom honey from a local beekeeper. I used the specified vinegar and oil, however, I did add an additional teaspoon of plain honey to add additional sweetness without the additional buckwheat flavor. The buckwheat honey did give it a very unique flavor though! The apple flavor was perfectly complimented by the buckwheat honey, and because of the honey, there was a floral aftertaste that was very unique. Buckwheat honey also added additional bitterness, so that was why I added additional plain honey.

  1. Bring to a boil 3 cups of water in a large pot.
  2. Once boiling add 8 oz of rotini pasta and cook for 15 minutes. Strain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Shake off excess water, then transfer to your desired serving bowl.
  3. In a small bowl/ramekin, mix together 1/4 cup of canola oil, 3 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar, and 1 Tbsp honey. Stir until homogeneous and adjust to taste.
  4. Stir together pasta, apple cider vinaigrette, and any other ingredients you desire. Refrigerate until serving. Serves 4 as a side dish.
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Sous Vide Venison Chops

Sous vide is a technique that has been growing in popularity among home chefs over the last 2-3 years or so. It is the process of placing a sealed container into a water bath that is holding a consistent temperature thanks to the machine. It is also special because cooking with the sous vide is meant to take a longer time at a lower temperature giving consistent results.
This was my first time using my sous vide on meat. I got my sous vide the Christmas of 2018 on sale on amazon when they were starting to become very popular. I find it incredibly practical and consistent. This being my first time cooking meat with a sous vide, I have some advice. First, don’t add any of the meat’s blood to the bag before you seal it. Blood will come out of the meat itself, and excess blood won’t cook, just pool. And, second, feel free to season before you seal the meat. This time I added no seasoning because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the meat at that point, but it would have been better to at least add butter, since it came out of the bag and out of the skillet with a strong gamey smell. It had no gamey flavor though and was cooked to an absolutely perfect medium rare. It was like butter, and what little fat ran through it, just melted in your mouth.

  1. Set up your water bath in a large cooking vessel. Attach your sous vide. Fill your vessel to a height between the min and max line on your sous vide. Then, set your sous vide to 135F and wait for the water to reach temp.
  2. While the water is warming up, place your venison chops into a freezer bag or a vacuum seal bag and add desired seasoning for the meat. Seal bag with as little air left as possible, either via vacuum sealer or water displacement method.
  3. Once water is heated, drop bag into water and attach to side of container with a chip clip. Cook venison at 135 F for 2 hr (2.5 hrs if still slightly frozen).
  4. Once cooked, heat up a pan to high. Once hot to a hovering hand, add 1 Tbsp of butter and add contents of venison bag. Brown each piece then immediately remove from heat.
  5. Let rest for 5 minutes, serve, and enjoy!
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Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This was my first time making a stuffed chicken breast, however, I know many people enjoy stuffed chicken breasts. I probably cut too far when i was butterflying the chicken, since a lot of the cheese leaked out of the tail of the breast. I also used this mixture, because I will be using the rest of the mozzarella and cottage cheese to make Lasagna later this week. I also chose cottage cheese for it’s nostalgia, but you can also use ricotta if that’s something you have. I served it with french cut green beans and Knorr’s Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine. Josh and I also split 1 breast since we get big chicken breasts from Aldi’s, and usually 1 breast is big enough to share when we have sides.

  1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  2. Butterfly your chicken breasts by cutting them in half with a sharp knife. Open up the breast to stuff.
  3. Mix 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese, 1/2 of mozzarella, and 1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning. (This is enough to stuff 2 large breasts). Place 1/2 a cup of cheese mixture onto opened breast, then close.
  4. Place chicken in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 F.

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Potato Salad

Potato salad is another one of those sides that goes over perfectly well at any picnic or family Bar-B-Que. Potato salad perfectly compliments the meat dish it is usually served with; usually being hotdogs, cheeseburgers, or whimpies aka. Manwich or sloppy Joe’s. And, you can make a lot of potato salad without too much effort and without breaking the bank.

  1. Wash, peel, cube, then rinse 4 medium potatoes (2 1/4 cups).
  2. Cover potatoes with an additional inch of water, boil until done or when you can stab a potato with a for, it breaks into 2.
  3. Strain your potatoes and rinse with cold water. Transfer potatoes into your serving bowl.
  4. To your potatoes add 1 cup of mayo, 1/4 cups of sweet bread & butter pickles (I used my Thousand Island Pickles), and 2 tablespoons of mustard. You can also optionally add 1 smashed hard boiled egg at this point. This is enough to serve 3 people as a side.
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Venison Stir fry

This recipe is almost identical to my recipe for Turkey Stir fry except this recipe includes minced garlic and includes a meat that isn’t pre-cooked. I also like to use a little more Worcestershire sauce to my taste, however you can also use soy sauce and get less garlic and onion flavors. I also like how easy it is to make this recipe. I made this meal in less than 20 minutes including making rice. I also made way too much rice for 2 people. I made 4 cups of cooked rice, and that was a bit too much. After we ate, there was enough for both of us to have lunch for the next day, and a cup of plain rice left over.

  1. Start by placing 2 Tbsp of oil into a wok or dutch oven and heat to medium-high.
  2. Carefully add 1/2 to 1 pound of raw cubed venison and cook for 5-7 minutes until mostly to fully cooked.
  3. Add a bag of frozen veggies (stir fry or desired). Add 4 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp of ground ginger, and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic. Coat everything in the sauce and cook until veggies are hot.
  4. Serve over rice!
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