Wednesday, June 6, 2012

What Was Dinner 06/05/2012

Artichoke green for the favorite thing on my plate last night.Dinner was a simple casserole dish and not my best effort.Thank goodness for the Artichoke it was the star of the show.
 I had ground beef defrosting and an idea of sorts. I searched for a recipe that would be like hamburger helper you know beef, noodles and a sauce of some kind. Well I came across a recipe for a Spanish Rice Bake and it looked promising.Rice and beef in a chili sauce baked with lots of cheddar on top.The recipe is basic and easy and it had 2 things going for it,it looked tasty and the recipe was in one of the groups of recipes that I need to make and review.That meant 2 birds with one stone.Then I called my friend Barb and had her remind me how to cook an Artichoke so it is tender and tasty.
  The Casserole,what didn't I like? A few things, some of them the cooks fault and the rest the recipe it self. My fault was in thinking the dish was more then it really was,not real sure what I was thinking but it was something much better then the dish actually was,also I should have gone to the store and gotten chili sauce instead of making my own.What I made tasted very good but maybe store bought would have been better. The recipe's down falls were it was to bland no zip to make it different from all the other rice and beef casserole.To tomatoie tasting and because of that almost to sweet. (it smelled heavenly putting it together)The rice never cooked through it was crunchy.I did what reviewers suggested and did not stir the pot occasionally keeping the lid sealed and the steam in, I extended the cooking time as long as I could with out cooking the life out of it.Last but not least the rice over powered the beef and you didn't even know the beef was there. If I were to ever make this dish again this recipe would just be a place to start.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spanish-Rice-Bake/Detail.aspx?prop31=2
Here is the Chili Sauce recipe that I used.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-Sauce/Detail.aspx?prop31=2
The Artichoke was both easy and very good,we each got a 1/2 of the thing and we both wanted more. As instructed I left as much of the stem on as possible and cleaned of that outer edge of the base,I didn't clean the choke out until after cooking and cutting it in half. With points down I put the Artichoke in my steaming pan and steamed until a knife went easily into the base of the Artichoke.About 10 minutes I would guess. I put it on the stove when the casserole went in the oven and they were done together.If you don't have a steaming pan I am told you can do this in a few inches of water just don't let the pan go dry or over water. For dipping the tasty petals(leaves?) in I made butter infused heavily with lime juice. After dinner I kept wondering to my self when did I have lemon lime chiffon pie because the lime taste stayed on my palette for a while.

 Dinner wasn't the smashing success I always hope for but it was ok. We both ate our fill of the casserole,we both happily enjoyed the Artichoke and most importantly we both walked away from the table full and content.

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