The Bulgar Bugle

There I was, coming home late, no plans for dinner, no energy for big cooking (I know, it’s a shocking thought, but this happens even to me).  Fortunately, there in the chest refrigerator was some left-over bulgar pilaf, and some left-over brisket, and some left-over yellow squash.  Wow, it was like finding gold.

So I chopped the brisket quickly, put it in the electric skillet with the left-over bulgar and yellow squash, added about 1/2 cup water, warmed it on medium heat, and voila, dinner in less than 5 minutes.  Very good and nutritious dinner too. 

There are three important lessons here:

+ Always make extra bulgar.

+ Always make extra brisket.

+ Always make extra squash.

If only true love were so simple.

Do you maybe have a finicky eater in your household, who looks at bulgar with suspicion and disdain as a “new food”?

Try mixing uncooked rice and uncooked bulgar in equal parts.  Cook it like a pilaf, with 2 cups rich and seasoned broth per cup of uncooked grain.

This is a great way to introduce bulgar to people who are habitually suspicious of “new foods”.

Two days ago I made “pork steak delight”. The involves browning pork steaks and cooking them in the oven on a bed of rice, with a rich gravy.

+ Brown pork steaks and remove from pan (this works nice with pork chops too).

+ Saute chopped onions, celery, mushrooms, hot peppers if you like ‘em, until the onions are clear and remove from pan.

+ Make a brown roux (equal parts flour and oil), I was making a lot, so I used 8 tablespoons oil and 8 tablespoons flour. The rule of thumb is 1 tb oil and 1 tb flour per cup of liquid to be thickened, for a “thin sauce”. A thicker sauce, like a gravy, calls for 2 tb oil and 2 tb flour per cup. I wanted a thinner sauce since the rice/bulgar mixture would be cooked in it.

+ When the roux is nicely browned, add 8 cups broth, mix thoroughly, then add the sauted veggies, and salt/black pepper to your personal taste. Cook until the liquid starts to thicken a bit.

+ In a large roasting pan, put 2 cups uncooked rice and 2 cups uncooked bulgar. Add the liquid and veggies and mix thoroughly. Lay the browned pork steaks or chops on top and cover tightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Don’t peek.

The combination of rice and bulgar has a great taste and texture! The bulgar adds a lot of nutrition and fiber.

This particular recipe, in these quantitites, makes a lot of rice and bulgar. This is good, because as I always say, Always Make Extra Bulgar. Last night I made a casserole by adding some cooked veggies, cooked hamburger, and a new pan of gravy to some of the leftover bulgar rice. I have enough bugar/rice left over for two more meals, so that’s going into the freezer today.