Pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli. 4/3/26

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Beebamom
Pork chop with mashed potatoes and broccoli

We don’t have pork often because “the other white meat” is so devoid of fat that it is almost impossible to cook it without drying it out. I was really feeling like trying pork again so John reluctantly went to the store with me to try to find something that looked appealing. We got a package of center cut loin chops which appeared to have some fat running through it and John cooked the chops on the stovetop very quickly. It came out pretty okay. Certainly for $3.91 it made a very economical dinner especially compared to steak which would have cost around $20! Maybe we will try it again some time.

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Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. 4/1/26

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Beebamom
Lamb chop, mashed potatoes, and asparagus

John grilled these lamb chops to a rosy hue for our Passover Seder. Along with the lamb chops were matzoh ball soup, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and macaroons made by Sarah.

Matzoh ball soup (thanks to Fine Cooking for the image)
Fabulous coconut-almond macaroon

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Tilapia with rice and salad. 3/31/26

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Beebamom
Tilapia with rice and salad

We were supposed to have fish tacos for dinner tonight but I had shrimp tacos for lunch so we pivoted to a plain dinner of roasted fish, rice, and salad. It wasn’t fancy but it was easy and a good choice for a quick dinner.

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Lentils with turkey sausage 3/30/26

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Beebamom
Lentils with turkey sausage and veggies

We are having one of our comfort dishes tonight, lentils with turkey sausage and vegetables. I have a phone call with my dear friend, Sophie, on Mondays late in the afternoon so I like to plan a dinner that John can do most of the prep while I am on the phone. He does a great job cutting up all the veg, the sausage, and weighing out the lentils. It makes cooking dinner super simple.

It turns out very tasty plus we have quite a bit left over for lunches!

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Spaghetti with amatriciana sauce and guanciale. 3/28/26

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Beebamom
Spaghetti with amatriciana sauce and guanciale

Sarah picked up a “Too Good To Go” bag from Eataly on Thursday when we were celebrating her birthday in San Jose. Among many other things was a jar of amatriciana sauce. Amatriciana sauce is flavored with some sort of pork. In this case, guanciale. It so happened that we also had a piece of guanciale in our freezer so Sarah cut it up and fried it and we had a delicious guanciale garnish.

It was a very enjoyable dinner!

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Fish sandwiches with beans and slaw. 3/27/26

Posted on March 29, 2026 by Beebamom
Fish sandwiches withs beans and slaw

We opted for something easy tonight. I enjoy having these crunchy but low-calorie fish fillets in the freezer. They cook up in the air fryer in about 12 minutes. Along side of our open-faced fish sandwiches I heat up some leftover spicy beans from our shrimp taco dinner and whip up some cole slaw using part of a package of pre-shredded cabbage.

Our 12 minute dinner is a hit!

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Birthday Lunch. 3/26/26

Posted on March 27, 2026 by Beebamom
Lunch at Zeni’s

We had a birthday lunch for Sarah at Zeni’s, an Ethiopian restaurant in San Jose. We ordered a veggie platter with extras of crispy lamb and a chicken dish. It was all delicious! For dinner we just had cereal since we were still pretty full for lunch.

Happy birthday, Sarah!

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Whole grain penne with broccoli and tuna 3/25/26

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Beebamom
Whole grain penne with broccoli and tuna

This is a super easy, quick, and delicious dinner. In the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta, I have sautéed half an onion in olive oil along with garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and oregano. With five minutes left on the pasta cook I add the broccoli to the onions and cook the florets until crisp/tender. I put chunks of tuna from a drained can in with the broccoli and onions and then spill the drained penne on top. After adding additional olive oil and some pasta water I carefully stir trying not to break up the chunks of tuna. A grating of Parmesan is all that is needed to complete the dish.

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Open-faced shrimp taco. 3/24/26

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Beebamom
Open-faced taco

One problem I have with tacos is that I eat them too fast! I have the taco cradled in my hand and it is impossible to put down without the insides falling apart. My open-face taco is like a tostada but without the fried tortilla. My tortilla is charred over a burner on my stovetop and then I just pile all the fixings on top and around it.

Tonight’s taco has shrimp, spicy black beans, cabbage, mango, salsa, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. I am slowed down by using a knife and fork. I feel much more satisfied with my non-traditional taco.

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Methods, Mexican, pescatarian, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fried rice with chicken, egg, and veg. 3/23/26

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Beebamom
Fried rice

In the age-old question, what came first the chicken or the egg, I can say that John made the egg first in our dinner tonight. He scrambled the eggs in our large skillet first and then put them aside while he stir-fried the rest of the dish. My job was to feverishly cut up all the vegetables and the chicken so they would be ready when he wanted them. The veg consisted of broccoli, carrots, green onions, and garlic. What came last? The green onions!

Posted in Asian, Chinese, Easy, Methods, Poultry, rice, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment