Happy on Wheels Cooks

On this page, we hope to provide information and recipes that you will find useful and adaptable to your own dietary needs/requirements.

I do have different options in the kitchen, so some recipes will use an oven, some will use a stove, some will use an air fryer, some will use an Instant Pot (or InstaPot as it’s sometimes referred to) and some will use a slow cooker.

I’m still debating how to best format this. Should I just do it as a blog-type page and list everything, or should I use links to different pages according to the type of recipe? I don’t know exactly what I’ll do; if you have any thoughts about this, please send an email to info@happyonwheels.com. Thanks. For now though, I’m just going to use a blog-type format.

Also, please note that I am not taking credit for all these recipes, if I made the recipe up, I will say so, but for other people’s recipes, I will give their name and contact info if known.

Restaurants

If you read my blog for this issue of the Newsletter (make into link), then it will not come as a shock to you that I am not totally back to the cooking game yet. I do enjoy cooking and I miss it when I’m not doing it, but I am easing back into it slowly. I’m using the air- fryer now and next I will move to the Insta-Pot and finally back to the stove and oven. In the meantime, we are eating meals provided by family/friends and ordering delivery more than usual.

The pandemic has certainly taken a toll on businesses, especially restaurants. We are fortunate to have a very good family-owned restaurant downstairs in our building, Rus-Uz. It provides a great selection of Russian and Uzbekistan dishes which, in most cases, were new to us.

We felt good that we were supporting a family owned business and helping them get through the pandemic. They delivered for free to anyone in the building and were nice enough to bring us a bottle of wine when we ordered dinner for our anniversary. The personal touch makes a difference. We want to continue to support family-owned businesses, especially restaurants, even as more things open up. They are good at their craft and it tastes like you are getting fresh food from your own kitchen.

Roasted Potatoes in the Air Fryer

This is, perhaps, my favorite way to have potatoes. I used to do this a lot using the regular oven, but it got to be kind of difficult (and somewhat scary) to be reaching into a 450°; so I decided to try the air fryer as that is a lot easier to use without risking some major burns! Sorry I have no pictures currently, but I will likely make some soon and I will add pics when I do.

Fortunately, I was able to find numerous recipes to roast potatoes in the air fryer, and by using various parts of different recipes, I have become fairly good at it!

I usually start with two white potatoes (sweet potatoes are great for this, they are just harder to cut). First, I wash them and then, because I’m always anxious during the pandemic, I peel them. I’ve roasted potatoes with skin on and that’s very good, it always just makes me a bit nervous. Anyway, after I peel them, I cut the potatoes into chunks, put them in a bowl, pour a little olive oil and whatever seasonings I have on hand on them. I usually use salt, pepper, turmeric (just a warning, turmeric will really stain whatever it touches so be careful if you use it!), a light sprinkle or two of cayenne pepper to give it a little kick, and finally paprika. Mix it all around and then preheat the air fryer to 400° and put the chunks in the basket and let them cook for 10 minutes. Then remove the basket and with a wooden spoon (it doesn’t have to be wood; I just try to avoid metal things that may scrape the sides) mix around the chunks and then cook for about 8 or 10 more minutes (also at 400°). Two potatoes provide a sufficient amount for two individuals as a side dish with whatever you are having as a main dish.

The times and temps above are what works for me, but they may vary slightly for you depending on your specific type of air fryer.

Slow Cooker Frittata

This past week, both Sheri and I had dental work, me a crown and cavities and Sheri had her wisdom teeth removed. This called for some very soft foods to eat. Fortunately, I had found recently a bunch of information about an egg dish using the slow cooker. I say a “bunch of information” rather than “a recipe,” as I did find many recipes and took various parts of each one and combined them to make what came out as kind of a slow cooker frittata.

Ingredients

Package of hash browns (plain potatoes would likely work too, but I used hash browns)
Any type of vegetables you want to use (I use cooked or raw)
Any type of sausage or bacon (cooked through and broken up into bite-size pieces; or you can leave this out if you don’t eat meat)
1 package of shredded cheese (whatever flavor you like with eggs, we use mozzarella or cheddar)
12 eggs (seasoned with whatever you like)

Directions

Make a few layers in the slow cooker of hash browns or potatoes and then the veggies/meat and cheese (just repeat until you are they are all gone, usually I have two or three layers)
Pour the cracked eggs over top of the layers
Cook on high for about 3.5 or 4 hours until the eggs are set (I have also seen recipes that say to cook on low for 8 hours, but I do the former)

That’s it! Very simple and easy on the prep. Some recipes suggest spraying the slow cooker dish with cooking spray, and I have tried it but actually, I forgot to do that last time and nothing was terrible without it; the edges were a bit dark, but not inedible or stuck to the dish.

Pizza

I know that, in most cases, we start off the New Year by celebrating with a very fine meal, this year, however, we had a lot going on so we just decided to take it easy and have our celebration with good food in a few days. I’ll write about that next month, but for now I’ll write about what we did last night for dinner because it is good and so easy.

We had homemade pizza. Granted, I just use stuff that is ready to be used/eaten, so a case could be made that it is not exactly homemade, but I think it qualifies. Uncooked pizzas

Anyway, I start with a pizza crust that is made by Schär. We find them at Giant, but you could also order them online. We use gluten-free crusts because Sheri is sensitive to gluten, but you can use a different kind. The Schär gluten-free crusts taste like regular in my opinion.

Next I spread the sauce on the crust and add the cheese. The sauce we use is Rao’s Pizza Sauce (you can also find that online) and the cheese we use is just regular or vegan cheese from Giant. Finally, add whatever toppings you want. We use peppers that are precut, but you can use any kind you want. If you want meat, then add away! I’ve used meatballs (frozen meatballs that Cooked Pizza are cooked), prosciutto, ground beef, pretty much anything you want.

Than you just bake it in a preheated oven at 410° for 10 minutes (more if you want it very crispy). It’s difficult to get easier than that!

French Fries Made in an Air Fryer

The air fryer is a fairly recent addition to our kitchen and it makes French Fries in a healthier and much less dangerous way because it does not involve boiling oil! While I am still getting a handle on this new machine, I think it works well and does a better job for me, because it doesn’t involve reaching into a 400° oven! After reading a lot of different recipes, I am getting better at it, but it is still a work in progress; and it’s never a bad thing to have to eat a bunch of French Fries that didn’t come out quite right!

I took a little information from here and a little from there, and just play around. I think soaking the Fries in water makes a huge difference and many of the recipes I read had you cooking the Fries twice at two different temperatures. So, here’s what I’m doing now, and you can take this and play around with it until it’s good with you.

I usually start with two white potatoes. I’ve also used sweet potatoes, but they are so much harder to cut, that I tend to just stick with white potatoes. Personally, I like to peel the potatoes rather than having to thoroughly wash them and the French Fries I like are usually skinned anyway. Then I slice the potatoes into Fries and then soak them in plain, cold water for at least 20 minutes (I’ve seen recipes that say to soak them overnight, but I’ve not tried that). Apparently, this step removes starch and will help the Fries come out crispier.

After they have soaked, I put them in a big plastic bowl and add some oil and seasonings (I use salt, pepper, and paprika as well as anything else I feel like using). Then I lay them in the basket of the air fryer, trying to minimize contact between Fries, but it’s not a deal-breaker if they are touching.

Then cook them for 7 minutes at 370°, then increase the heat to 400° and cook for 5 more minutes. Times are always relative as you know your air fryer better than I do, so it may be a bit shorter or longer for you. And the worst thing that might happen if they don’t come out right the first time, is that you have a great snack!

Cold weather makes us all want comfort foods. One of my favorites is a very simple sweet and sour meatball dish that has a total of 4 ingredients and you can just throw everything together into the slow cooker and let it go for about 5 hours!

Ingredients:
• 12 oz. jar of chili sauce
• 10 oz. jar of grape jelly
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 30-50 frozen meatballs (personally, I use Cooked Perfect Italian Style, but any kind of frozen meatball would work)
Here are the exact directions I received from My Mom: “Stir (first three) ingredients together in a crockpot; add meatballs; cook on low for 4.5-5 hours.” That’s it. You can’t get much easier than that! And they are really good for cold weather and football games.

This is one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes. It comes from Delish.com and on that site it is attributed to Makinze Gore. Below is the recipe straight from Delish, and I will note changes or alterations I made to accommodate our dietary or accessibility needs in parentheses.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed (I used boneless, skinless breasts chopped into bite-size pieces)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. sesame oil (I did not use sesame oil because I did not have any! It was fine without it, for me, anyway)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used just a few squeezes from a tube of squeeze garlic)
Juice of 1 lime (I just used a squirt or two of lime juice from a bottle)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (in most recipes that call for onion, I just use a few squeezes from a squeeze tube of ginger)
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper on both sides. Set Instant Pot to Sauté function and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add chicken, skin side down and cook until golden, about 3 minutes then flip and cook 3 minutes more. Work in batches as necessary. Turn Instant Pot off of Sauté function.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining ¼ cup olive oil, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, lime juice, green onions, and pinch of red pepper flakes. Place all chicken in Instant Pot and pour sauce over. Lock lid and set to Pressure Cook on High for 10 minutes.
3. Follow manufacturer’s guide for quick release, making sure to wait until cycle is completely before, unlocking and removing lid. Using tongs, remove chicken from Instant Pot and set on plate to keep warm.
4. Ladle out about ¼ cup of sauce from Instant Pot and whisk in cornstarch. Pour liquid back into Instant Pot and set to Sauté function. Let sauce simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
5. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and serve over rice.

This is a marinade that I made up by just using various spices and/or condiments that we had in our kitchen cabinets . One thing I have learned about marinades is that you rarely ruin them by substituting ingredients . That’s certainly possible, but you should feel free to try your own and if it doesn’t taste good, you do it differently the next time!

Honey Turmeric Marinade

1. 1. 1. - 1/2 cup avocado oil (you can substitute any type of cooking oil, avocado oil is just what we use)
      - 1/2 tsp salt
      - 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
      - 4 drops of Ginger oil
      - 1 heaping 1/2 tsp of turmeric
      - 1 splash organic tamari sauce (considered the same thing as gluten free soy sauce)
      - 3 tablespoons organic raw pure honey

Makes enough for 3 large boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or 2-3 medium sized pieces of fish (we have tried it on scallops, salmon and snapper). Score the chicken or fish (I just use a steak knife), so the marinade goes inside. Put over and let it marinate for at least 10 minutes, but up to a few hours is fine, then bake at 450 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

I have an instant read thermometer to check ensure that whatever I am cooking is completely done and not undercooked. Chicken should have an internal temperature of 165° and seafood 145°.

Please note that after 15 minutes a very small bit of the bottom of whatever you are cooking, will turn very dark and look like it has burned, but it is the honey that has burned, and not the chicken or fish.