Lemon Garlic Lamb Chops

I never cooked with lamb until tonight and OH MY, GOD. These are so freaking fantastic. And easy AND cheap which is also important.

Ok, so, I got these three pretty good sized lamb chops for about $5, and the ears of corn were 3 for $1, and the Rice-A-Roni was something like $2-3. So that's a $7-8 meal with leftovers because there's no way you can finish all that Rice-A-Roni in one sitting by yourself.

Now for the recipe!

You Will Need:

• lamb chops
• garlic powder
• lemon pepper
• salt
• black pepper
• olive oil
• a lemon
  

Just take the lamb chops out of the packaging and plop 'em down on a cutting board. Cover each side with an even spread of garlic powder, lemon pepper, black pepper, and salt.

While you're seasoning the chops, get out a frying pan and pour some extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of the pan. I didn't measure anything in this recipe since I was flying by the seat of my pants, but I'd say about 3-4 TBSP of olive oil will do it. Set the heat on medium or medium-high.

Now, take your lemon and roll it around on the counter with the palm of your hand. Press kind of firmly. This with smoosh the lemon and make it more juicy. Cut it in half and squeeze it into the oil.

When the oil is hot, gently place the lamb chops into the frying pan. If you just plop them in there, the hot oil my fly up and burn you. I had to learn that the hard way and now I have a scar on my chin!
In this photo, they're not fully cooked, for me anyway. I don't really like my meat to be bloody. The time it takes to cook really depends on how rare you like your meat:


Rare: 3-4 minutes on each side
Medium-Rare: 5-6 minutes on each side
Medium: 7-8 minutes on each side
Well Done: 9-10 minutes on each side


Mmm, yummy. I ate one of the lamb chops while I was waiting for the corn and rice to cook. But, so, yeah, this was a very filling meal, my friends. And it was soooo good! I was actually startled at how good it came out so I hope you'll like this recipe, too.


Oh, by the way, to boil corn: boil the water first, duh, then corn. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Smother with butter and salt because that's the way it's done. Scrumpty!

Love,

Liz

Be a dirty hippie without the dirt: SAVE THE RAINFOREST!

This is (Lil) Green Patch.

To find out how YOU can help save the rainforest in an easy facebook application-type way, click on the little tomato boy.

Not My Mama's Chili

Like I said, this isn't my mama's chili, it's my boyfriend's mama's chili. Oh, my GOD. My roommate and I finished off the leftovers in a little over 24 hours. It was so good! Better than my own mama's chili (she uses beef tips which I think is weird).

After the last meal he made without recording the recipe, I hounded my boyfriend to keep track of what he was doing while he was making this gem. We're actually going to enter it in a chili cook-off this Saturday. If you think you've got the stuff, maybe YOU should enter this recipe in a cook-off . . . just not the one we're entering, that would be stupid.

What you'll need:

• chili powder
• 1 large cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 large can tomato juice
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• salt
• 1 small can kidney beans
• 2 lbs ground beef

As always, brown the beef in a skillet, drain, and then place back on the burner. Add your onions and peppers to the beef and let the flavors mingle and mix.

In a large pot, put in the tomato juice, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, and the beef/pepper/onion mix.

This part I was a bit startled by but I'm not about to argue with what works. Take 1/3 of a 2.25 oz bottle of chili powder to the pot. It sounds like a lot, it is a lot, but it works somehow. Then add your sugar and salt. As the pot is simmering, taste your chili frequently to see if it might need more salt, sugar (takes away bitter tastes), or a little extra spice. For this I suggest a small amount of cayenne pepper ( if you add to much you could ruin your chili) or crushed red pepper (like you find at pizza places).

What I really like about this recipe is that the spiciness doesn't attack your tongue like it usually does. In fact, the spice gets you after you've swallowed the chili by leaving a wonderful after-taste.

So you've got everything in your pot, have you? Well done. Now comes the waiting. Let your chili simmer for 30 minutes to 4 hours. I give you this large time frame because the longer you let your chili simmer the more integrated the ingredients become and the better the chili tastes.

I hope you enjoy this hot little number. Wish us luck on Saturday!

Love,

Liz

BBQ Meatloaf

I don't know why on TV everybody's like: "Meatloaf for dinner?! Ugh!" I LOVE meatloaf, it's so good! IF you make it right. This is a super duper easy recipe, which is appropriate for the title of this blog I suppose, so here we go.

This is my Mamma's BBQ Meatloaf recipe and this is what you'll need:

• 2 lbs of ground beef
• 1 cup of BBQ sauce (any brand)
• 4 slices of white bread, diced
• 1/8 tablespoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of Grey Pupon mustard
• 2 tablespoons of minced onion

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Here's the gross part, I didn't like it very much but it's TOTALLY worth it, with your BARE HANDS mix the beef, salt, pepper, mustard, BBQ sauce, and minced onion together in a medium sized mixing bowl. I'm sorry, but you have to do it. When it's mixed up real good, place the beef on a greased cookie sheet (you can grease it with butter, margarine, Pam Cooking Spray, etc.). Mold the beef into a loaf shape and pop it into the oven for 50 minutes. After it's done, take it out and pour some extra BBQ sauce on the meatloaf and let it cool.

See? Super easy recipe.

MEATLOAF!

Love,

Liz