Hamburger Steak with Onions and Gravy Tasty & Easy with a Bit of Work

If you like hamburger, gravy, and onions, you'll probably enjoy this recipe from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hamburger-steak-with-onions-and-gravy/). It's easy to prepare, but takes a little bit of work. It serves 4 and takes a total of about an hour to prepare and cook. I served it with broccoli one night, and the leftovers with carrots and rum.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup thinly-sliced onion (about half a medium onion)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp cooking sherry

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Form into 8 balls and flatten into patties.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the patties and onion in the oil until patties are nicely browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the patties to a plate, and keep warm (I covered them with a skillet cover).
3. Sprinkle flour over the onions and drippings in the skillet. Stir in flour with a fork, scraping bits of beef off the bottom as you stir. Gradually mix in the beef broth and sherry. (I mixed the sherry into the beef broth first.) Season with seasoned salt.
4. Simmer and stir over medium-low heat about 5 minutes, until the gravy thickens. Turn heat to low; return patties to the gravy; cover; and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Fantastic Cornbread Recipe

There is a wonderful and easy cornbread recipe that I've made many times. It always turns out great. It's from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/) It's a 5-star recipe with nearly 3,900 great reviews.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2/3 white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease an 8 inch square pan
3. Melt butter in large skillet (I do this over very low heat so that the skillet is not too hot when the eggs are added.)
4. As soon as the butter is melted, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the sugar.
5. Quickly add the eggs and stir until well blended.
6. Combine the buttermilk with the baking soda, and stir into the mixture in the skillet. (I prepare the buttermilk and soda while the butter is melting.)
7. Stir in the cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. (I find that if I add the cornmeal and flour slowly, very few lumps are created.)
8. Pour the batter into the pan.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Keeping Track of Dishes I've Cooked

I maintain a database that catalogs all the dishes I've prepared. It helps me to quickly identify the tastiest entrees, sides, desserts, etc. 
It also helps me prepare special-purpose menus; e.g. a Tuscan menu or New Orleans menu. I list those I've served the dishes to so that I don't repeat the same dishes to specific guests.

The database contains the following fields:
- Name of the dish
- Foreign name for the dish (if it's a foreign dish)
- Type of dish - salad, dessert, etc.
- Taste results - Ex (Excellent), VG (Very Good), etc. I normally only repeat the excellent ones
- Level of difficulty
- Country of origin
- Comment - items such as city of origin; e.g., New Orleans, description; e.g., very rich
- Source of the recipe
- People to whom I've served the dish.

Delicious and Easy Chicken Breast Recipe

This chicken breast recipe from Food.com is really easy to make and very tasty. (http://www.food.com/recipe/melt-in-your-mouth-chicken-breasts-37336) The recipe I used is a variant based on one of the reviews I read. Many reviewers praised this variant. 

The variant involves wrapping the breasts individually in aluminum foil. That reduces cooking time from 45 minutes to 30 minutes and keeps the chicken breasts very moist. That reviewer also suggested adding a teaspoon of whole grain mustard to the sauce. I meant to do that, but forgot. I'll try it next time.

I also made a change of my own. After cooking, I sprinkled some French's cooked French fried onion rings on top. That was good, but the recipe would have been terrific either way.

The recipe below produces four servings. Since there were only two of us, I cut the amount of all ingredients in half.

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breast halves.
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 & 1/2 teaspoons of seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees 
2. Mix mayonnaise, cheese, and seasonings.
3. Spread mixture over chicken breasts.
4. Wrap each chicken breast separately in aluminum foil.
5. Cook for 30 minutes.

Publix - Why I enjoy Shopping There

For a number of reasons, I really enjoy shopping at my local Publix - over Walmart, Winn-Dixie, Target, and Fresh Market. If Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were closer, I would buy some things at those stores, but would still do the bulk of my shopping at my neighborhood Publix. There are a few things I do not buy at Publix - wine and baguettes.

For starters, I really like the employees. They seem much more customer-focused than those at any other supermarket chain. Almost all are friendly and helpful. There are some I especially like because they recognize me and really go out of their way to be helpful - Janet in the Deli Department, Bill in the Meat Department, and Thomas who packs groceries. One cashier I've gotten to know in the past few months is Sherri. She is both superb at her work and very customer-focused. I look forward to seeing them. I have learned a lot from Janet, Bill, and  Sherri. There are others I like as well, including Larry, Buck, and Marla.

I have also been very impressed with the attitudes and work ethics of the young Publix employees, many of whom are high school students.

I think that one of the key reasons for the great employee attitudes is that Publix is employee-owned. The only ones who can buy stock are Publix employees. Among their benefits are semiannual dividends. Consequently, they are very motivated to ensure Publix success.

I like the selection and store layout much better than those of competitors.

I love the Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGO) offers at Publix; for example, "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter," which we use a lot. The 15 oz. size sells for about $3.69 at Publix and $2.88 at Walmart. We always buy it at the BOGO price of two for $3.69. (It would be even less expensive to buy the Walmart 45 oz. size for $6.28, but that would not work well in our refrigerator.) I estimate (from my database) that I've purchased about 150 BOGO items in 2014 and saved about $650 over Publix normal prices for those items.

I also buy the Publix store brands of some items, like peanut butter and antacid calcium supplements (Tums equivalents).

Publix is very good at accepting competitor coupons if the competitor is within a reasonable distance of the Publix in question. (Each store posts a list of those they accept.) I used many, many Winn-Dixie $5 off $30 coupons and a few similar Target and Fresh Market coupons during the past year.

(When it comes to coupons, I can't begin to match my incredibly skilled sister, who seems to be able to buy $1 million worth of groceries for 15 cents at Publix:) )

I often take advantage of the Publix sales on gasoline gift cards and Master Card/Visa gift cards. These sales normally offer $10 off a $50 card with the purchase of $50 in groceries. With the credit card gift cards, there is a $4.85 activation fee, so that reduces the savings to $5.15 - but that is the equivalent of getting $5.15 in cash for free. The savings on the gas cards equates to 20% per gallon. The savings are even better when you consider the pre-income tax savings. For example, if your top income is in the 15% bracket, you would have to earn about $11.75 to spend $10. If your top income is in the 25% bracket, you would have to earn about $13.33.

Publix has a very friendly return policy. On the rare occasions I have had to return an item, the process has been smooth, friendly, and fast.

Like some other merchants, Publix will give you an item for free if the employees or the customer discover it has been mismarked. On one occasion, I was looking for four packages of chicken breasts that were supposed to be on sale. When I could not find the sale-priced chicken breasts, I asked. Bill discovered that the chicken breasts had been incorrectly marked. I was given the packages for free. (I did not have to ask.)

Publix is terrific at resizing and repackaging Publix brand items to meet customer needs. For example, if I only need two Italian sausages for a dish I'm cooking, but the packages all have four or more sausages, the butchers will readily repackage two for me.

I also have a soft spot in my heart for Publix because I learned the basics of cooking at their Apron's cooking school at the store at University and Tuttle.

Wine is one item I rarely purchase at Publix because their prices are usually significantly higher than those at Total Wine or Norman's. For example, I have seen Antinori's Peppoli for $24.99 at Publix and $19.99 at Norman's. Another example is Villa Antinori, which sells for $19.99 at Publix, $15.99 at Norman's, and as low as $13.67 at Total Wine with a $10 off $50 coupon. If I am looking for special wines, I will go a bit farther afield to Michael's Wine Cellar (Michael Klauber is terrific.).

Whenever I need baguettes for something like crostini appetizers for an Italian dinner, I always buy the baguettes at Fresh Market. They are far superior to the Publix version. (However, the Publix key lime pies are terrific.)

I do like to buy produce at Detwiler's Farm Market or Yoder's Marketplace, but they are not close enough to home to do regular shopping there.

I also like some of the Fresh Market ready-to-heat items like Quiche Lorraine.

The only way I wish Publix would emulate Walmart is to reach an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to pay one cent more per pound for tomatoes to help the farm workers receive reasonable pay for their backbreaking work.  Until then, I am motivated to buy my tomatoes elsewhere.

Green Beans with Bread Crumbs and Parmesan

This easy green bean recipe from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/green-beans-with-bread-crumbs/) produces nice, but unexciting results. It is good enough to keep in my inventory and reuse.

The recipe serves four and takes a total of 25 minutes.

Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Combine green beans and water in a medium pot. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and let beans cook for 10 minutes or until tender. (If the heat is not reduced enough, the water could boil away.) Drain well.

Place beans in a medium serving bowl, and mix in bread crumbs, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. Toss mixture until the beans are coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve.

Pork Chops with Maple Bacon Onion Jam - Yum

First of all - Happy New Year!

Last night, I decided to try a variant of the "Terrific Pork Chop Recipe" that I had found on YouTube and posted about 15 months ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAjlfkzr2sg). I have used that recipe over and over because it consistently produces such great results.

This time, I made a couple of changes that produced a very tasty dish (and also saved some onion chopping).

Part way through the cooking process, I spooned onto each pork chop a couple of spoons full of Stonewall Kitchen's Maple Bacon Onion Jam. (I had originally purchased this jam to put on Tuscan pecorino cheese and toasted baguette - a delicious appetizer.)

Below is the jam version of the recipe:

Ingredients

- Two - four pork loin chops 
- Several sprigs of fresh rosemary (or some dried rosemary)
- As many cloves of garlic as you'd like, chopped coarsely. I use four large cloves
- Two soup spoons (or more) of Stonewall Kitchen's Maple Bacon Onion jam for each pork chop
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet.
- Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
- Put the pork chops and rosemary into the skillet and cook the chops for 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Turn the chops with tongs, not a fork.
- Add the garlic, and put a couple of spoons full of jam on top of each pork chop.
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Put the skillet in the oven and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, using oven-safe gloves or other protection to hold the skillet.
- Remove the pork chops from the skillet  and let them rest for 4-5 minutes. Serve.