What's Cooking Wednesday - 7 Bone Steak

If ever there was a cut of meat with the "wrong" name, this has to be it. First, there's only 1 bone, not 7. The name comes from the fact that it's shaped like the numeral 7. And, although the butcher cut it into 1 inch thick pieces and called it a steak, it's really more like a chuck roast, filled with the connective tissues that cry out for long, slow, moist cooking. I fear grilling it without some massive tenderizing efforts would result in leather.

At any rate, despite the 'steak' designation on the package, I opted for my slow cooker. The recipe uses pantry staples and you could even skip the browning step if you're in a hurry.

Easy Crock Pot Seven Bone "Steak"

Ingredients:

2 T oil
1 7 bone steak (although you can use any sort of pot/chuck roast, and I'm sure it would be great.
Carrots, peeled and sliced (I just used a package of baby carrots)
2 Onions, quartered
1 can (undiluted) golden mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 c water
1 c red wine (or broth, stock, or just more water if you're not into wine)
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste (I also used seasoned salt)

What's Cooking Wednesday - Crockpot Roast Chicken

First and foremost. Happy Birthday to the Hubster. I should have a recipe for birthday cake, but I made this last week, and it was torture smelling the chicken as it cooked, and I wanted to share the recipe here.

And I've hit a milestone with likes and followers, so be sure to check the Deals & Steals tab. You can't win if you don't enter.  And on to the recipe. 

I have a large crockpot with a rack insert, but you can probably adapt the recipe to slow roast in your oven. Or, roast it in your crockpot on a bed of root vegetables to keep the chicken from being immersed in its own juices.(Which might not be that bad, either.) Anyway, the recipe is modified from the cookbook that came with the crockpot.

Lemon Roasted Chicken

Click for the recipe:

Connections - and a recipe

Thanks, Galen for that informative post. The query process is daunting enough. Good to know there's help out there.

First – a Happy Anniversary to my parents, who celebrated their 65th anniversary on Monday. They've been a phenomenal role model, and I wish them another 65!

Connections are great. As most of you know, hubby and I are ensconced in a tiny rental while we hunt for a real home. That means a lot of togetherness and tolerance. Yesterday, I hooked up with a couple of Colorado writers for lunch. It was wonderful being able to talk to people who not only understand what it means to be breaking into the crazy business of publication, but are in it with you. The hubster understands, but he's heard it all.


So over an Olive Garden soup and salad lunch, we could blather on about getting agents, getting rejections, conferences, writing groups, what books we love, what books make us wonder how they got published, and on and on. (Hey, the soup and salad are unlimited refills! Plenty of time to gab.)

Keep Reading...

But being able to have those connections with people who "get it" helps get me centered and motivated. And it's something to consider when you're creating scenes for your books. Your characters should have some way to make connections, to be able to hang loose and have someone understand them.

For my cops, they've usually got partners to bounce things off of. For my upcoming release, Nowhere to Hide, my heroine is new to town (and I wrote this LONG before we'd even thought of moving). I had to create a connection for her, both to spare the reader from interminable passages of internal monologue, and to reveal some of her personal "secrets" that tend to surface in girl-talk. Especially over ice cream. And, one hopes, by the end of the scene the reader knows more about the character, and the character is able to move forward.

As for our life here:

The forecast says there could up to a foot or more snow by the time you're reading this. We went to the grocery store to fill in a few blanks—we tend to run out of salad very quickly, and with limited storage space, we haven't done any 'serious' shopping beyond the basics.

However, we did borrow a crock pot from our daughter and bought the ingredients for a family favorite: White Chili. It's very simple to prepare, and yummy. It was originally a stovetop/oven recipe, but since I did so little with the oven in Florida where there was no point in adding heat to the kitchen unless absolutely necessary (or on one of the 5 cold days of the year), I simply threw everything into the crock pot, and the results were fine.


I figured I'd share it today, so maybe some of you can enjoy the enticing aroma the way we'll be doing. In a space this small, there's no escape!

1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t ground cumin
2 whole large chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, and cut into 1 inch
chunks
1 can (15-19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained
1 can (15 1/2 -19 oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 12 oz can white corn, darined
2 4 oz cans chopped green chilis
1 1/2 - 2 cups chicken broth

Stick everything in the pot.
When chicken is tender, it's done. Adjust liquid to taste.
To serve, stir in some hot pepper sauce, to taste, if desired.
Add 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese; garnish with parsley.

The crockpot I had at home had an "auto-shift" feature, so it would cook on high until things reached temperature, then kick down to low until you turned it off. I think this one is just "low" and "high" but it's not like we're going anywhere, so I should be able to handle that change.

And while the chili is cooking, I have some good reading material. For those of you who suggested a 'vacation' after Monday's post, this will be it.

What are your favorite "stuck in the house" pastimes?