lizzycooks Blog Thoughts & Statistics--2022 Update

I started this blog/recipe website 12 years ago and set it up primarily as a place to hold my favorite and most often made recipes. There are also recipes here from people that hold a special place in my heart. 

The blog is a creative outlet for me and there are now 207 posts. I haven't felt like cooking much during the pandemic but am starting to more and more, and have also been posting more recipes lately. I decided to remove ads from the blog over a year ago because they were more trouble than worth. You can subscribe to the blog if you'd like to receive an email each time there's a new post.

I took a look at some of the statistics generated by blogger for lizzycooks and learned the following about my viewers. The United States makes up 58% of total viewers, Russia is in second at 5%, followed by France, Romania, Canada, United Kingdom, Poland, and Ukraine. About 19% of viewers are from the "other" category...not sure what that's about. Don't worry, I can't see specifically who is looking at my blog! Just browsers and traffic sources and things like that.

Enjoy your food and keep on cooking!

Black Bean, Corn, & Avocado Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette

I've been trying to satisfy a craving for a salad with avocado, corn, and cilantro, and came up with this today. This salad tastes really fresh, has crunch from the corn, smoothness from the avocado, sweetness from the onion, the beans are really good for you, and everything is surrounded by an earthy flavored garlic vinaigrette. This salad is easy to make and could be lunch, dinner, or a zesty side dish to go with grilled fish or chicken. 

Salad:

1 can sweet corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium avocados, cubed

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Garlic Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8+ cup red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt 

Pepper to taste

With a wooden spoon in a large bowl, gently mix together all of the salad ingredients. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Stir vinaigrette into the salad. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour or two before serving so the flavors can marry. Makes 4-5 cups. Eat it fast--first day best!

Red Wine & Rosemary Pot Roast

My Midwest roots tell me this is how your house is supposed to smell on a Sunday afternoon. The gravy makes the dish. Leftovers are yummy if you have any, but this dish is best as soon as it's out of the oven.

2 tablespoons olive oil

10 cloves garlic, minced

3 lb boneless chuck roast

1/2 cup water

2 cups dry red wine

1/2 teaspoon course grind black tellicherry pepper

1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

3 carrots, cut into 1-2" slices
3 small Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 6 pieces
1 medium yellow onion, chopped rough

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and then add the oil. Add the garlic and cook briefly, then push to the sides. Add the beef and brown on both sides. This will take 6-7 minutes per side. Pour the water and wine over the meat then sprinkle the pepper, salt, and rosemary over the top. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer. Now you can either cover and simmer for 90 minutes on the stovetop, OR cover and bake in a preheated 325 oven for 90 minutes before you add the vegetables.

After the first 90 minutes, add the carrots, potatoes, and onion to the Dutch oven. Cover again and simmer an additional 90 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Pour remaining juices into a large, glass measuring cup and skim the excess fat. Add water if you don't have 2 cups of juice. Add the 2 cups back to the Dutch oven. Whisk the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water in a small bowl and add it to the juices. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly to thicken.

Drizzle the gravy over the meat and veggies. Serve the rest of the gravy on the side in a proper gravy boat. hahaha

lizzycooks Sloppy Joes

Certain days require a good sloppy joe. Simple comfort food and memories of eating these as a kid. These sloppy joes have a sweet and deep tangy taste--almost bbq-y. Really delicious. 

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

2 large garlic cloves, diced

3/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

Few dashes of Tabasco

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a medium pan over medium heat. Drain. Add the remaining ingredients to the ground beef mixture and stir well. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Serve hot on brioche buns, with a side of cole slaw and chips. Makes 4 large sandwiches.

Guacamole Boris Karloff

Scary good. Even without garlic.

Buffalo-Style Chicken Meatballs

With just seven ingredients you can whip these spicy and crunchy little appetizers up in about 30 minutes. You can adjust the heat if you need to, but if you do use the full 1/2 cup of hot sauce called for in this recipe it will definitely make you sweat and your nose run. They are delicious and low in fat. Makes 3 dozen.

1 lb. ground chicken breast

5 green onions, diced

2 large stalks celery, diced

1 egg

1/3-1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Tabasco)

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 400.

Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up really well. Roll the meatballs into a 2" size and put them 2" apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake for 25 minutes and serve with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Modified from a recipe at:  theholdernessfamily.com

Roasted Garlic and Goat Cheese Galette

This appetizer or main event is fancy enough for a party, really rich, tart, and fun to create. Here is my recipe for roasted garlic to use in the galette recipe. It’s difficult to describe just how good garlic smells when roasting in your oven... 

1 large head of garlic

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted and unrolled
1/3 cup olive oil (give or take)
5 ounces plain goat cheese, softened
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste (⅛-¼ teaspoon) 

Raspberry balsamic or balsamic glaze

Preheat oven to 400. Roast the garlic and set aside to cool down.

Roll out puff pastry dough to about 1/8” thick and cut into a 12” round. Put on a round sheet pan covered with a baking mat, lightly crimp the edges of the dough, and put in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Squeeze the garlic out of each clove into a bowl. Add the olive oil and stir to blend. Add the goat cheese, rosemary, salt, and pepper and stir until smooth.

Remove the crust from the freezer and spread the bottom with the goat cheese mixture, leaving a 1” border. Fold the border over the edge to close dough into a half moon shape. 

Bake until the crust is light golden and puffy, about 25 minutes. 

Remove from oven and put on a plate. Drizzle raspberry balsamic glaze over the top and cut into small pieces after letting it cool for a few minutes.

Avocado & Tomato Salad with Garlic-Chive Dressing

Chives were just harvested so it was time for a homemade salad dressing. This is a super quick summer salad and the dressing really makes it. It has a deep garlic taste and the avocado oil makes it extra delicious.

3 vine ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 large avocado, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled

4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons avocado oil

1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Kosher salt 

Black pepper

Mix the garlic and a sprinkle of Kosher salt together in a bowl and smash it up with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste, vinegar, and oil. Whisk everything together and put in fridge for an hour or so. Serve the dressing over chopped tomatoes and avocados and add a dash of cilantro on top.

Pickled Jalapeno Peppers

This 5-ingredient recipe makes a pint of pickled jalapeno peppers--just like in the jar at the store. The pickled version has less kick than fresh jalapenos. You can keep the jar in the fridge for a few months. 

15 jalapeno peppers, sliced with tops removed 

3/4 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup water

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp Kosher salt

In a small saucepan stir together the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring a few times 

to dissolve the sugar and salt. 

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the jalapenos. Let sit for 15 minutes. Use tongs to transfer the peppers from the pan to a pint glass jar. Pour the hot liquid over the peppers. You might have leftover liquid that won't fit in the jar. Let the peppers sit to room temperature, add a lid, put in the fridge, and voila!--you're finished and you have jalapenos for your nachos.

Pickled Red Cabbage

Pickled red cabbage recipes are plentiful in the Google machine. This one is a combination of recipes found for our crunchy, red, friend. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable and very good for you. Snack on pickled cabbage by itself, put it on fish tacos, sandwiches, in salads, or whatever else your own creativity comes up with. Other vinegars can be used, and coriander seeds, whole peppercorns, and caraway seed can also be added for extra flavor.

1/2 head red cabbage, cored & thinly sliced

1 1/3 cups water
1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
6 garlic cloves, peeled & sliced
1 1/2 tbsp Kosher salt

2 tsp granulated sugar

Put the cabbage in a large bowl. Bring the water to a full boil in a small saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Stir. Pour the hot mixture over the shredded cabbage. Use a slotted spoon to fill the jars with cabbage. Make sure you see garlic in both jars. Pour the liquid over the cabbage, put on the jar lids, and store in the fridge for 24-48 hours before eating. This recipe makes 2 pints of pickled cabbage which needs to be stored in the fridge for no more than 2 months.