Hot dogs etc. 11/10/25

Hot dogs, sauerkraut, and beans

Other than these Nathan’s hot dogs being too skinny and my over-seasoning the beans with chipotle powder, this was an all-American dinner. The hot dogs were advertised as spicy which they were not. They were also “bun length” which made the tubes of all-beef meat skinnier. Between the bun and the condiments it was hard to find the dog! However they were on sale for $2.50 so I guess I was willing to overlook their skinny selves when I bought them.

I boiled the hot dogs and warmed up the beans on the stove with a can of Rotel, cumin, and too much chipotle powder. I fancied up the canned sauerkraut with some sauteed onions and garlic, caraway seeds, and a dash of sugar. John toasted the buns in the oven. It was a summertime kind of meal which fits in with the weird weather we have been experiencing. The temperature’s high yesterday was 83. What is going on? We are in the second week of November!

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Simple pasta dish. 11/9/25

Spaghetti with spinach, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese

Although Sunday is supposed to be breakfast for dinner night I was just not feeling like it. Instead I boiled up 3 ounces of thin spaghetti and drained it by putting the spinach in the bottom of the colander and pouring the spaghetti and the hot water over it. Then I mixed it up in a bowl with some olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Seriously, I could eat a dinner like this every night.

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Weekly Menu. November 10-16, 2025

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Meatloaf, potatoes, and snow peas. 11/8/25

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and snow peas

Now that John has the green light to eat what he wants again he chose meatloaf. I have not made meatloaf in a long time except for dabbling in trying to make it with oatmeal once last year. Saturday’s meatloaf turned out kind of tough. I used my mom’s method for making it—ground beef, an egg, some breadcrumbs, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and garlic powder. It just did not turn out quite right. Sigh. I think I will email my sisters to get the proportions right. All in all it was just an okay dinner.

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Salmon with mustard sauce, rice, broccoli. 11/7/25

Salmon with mustard sauce, rice, broccoli

Usually I am just so-so when it comes to salmon but last night’s was really, really good. We went to Costco and bought a package of six really nice pieces. We would have three for tonight and freeze the other three. It worked out that the salmon cost about $10 for our dinner. This was Atlantic farm-raised salmon and I know that a lot of people think that it is inferior to wild caught but this salmon that John cooked in the oven for 12 minutes was silky and delicious.

John made some rice and I cooked the broccoli and made the mustard sauce. It was an outstanding dinner!

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Merguez sausages with crispy chickpeas. 11/6/25

Merguez sausages with crispy chickpeas and preserved lemon yogurt

Recently Sarah got a 2-Good-2-Go surprise bag from Eataly, an Italian gourmet market. Among other things a package of six Merguez sausages was included. She looked through recipes and found one that we had all the ingredients for and made it for our dinner on Thursday. It was delicious!

Merguez is a spicy lamb sausage which is hard to find in grocery stores. I am wondering if we can make it again using a more readily available (and much cheaper) sausage. Here’s a link to the recipe she used.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/merguez-sausages-with-crispy-chickpeas-and-preserved-lemon-yogurt/

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Chickpea stew. 11/5/25

Chickpea stew

We have been eating a lot of vegetarian dinners lately and this chickpea stew is one of my favorites!

Chickpeas with ditalini and kale 

Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs thyme (or herb of your choice)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes and chiles with liquid (like Rotel)
Parmesan rind (optional)
½ cup ditalini
Big handful of kale or any type greens
Salt and black pepper
Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until tender and the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic and herb then cook until the garlic is fragrant. Pour in the broth, water, and the can of spicy tomatoes with their liquid. Add optional parmesan rind.

Once the mixture is boiling, add the chickpeas and ditalini. Reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer 10 minutes, or until the ditalini is tender. Uncover and stir in the greens and optional zucchini, letting them simmer until incorporated.

Your mixture will be quite stew-like. If you want the mixture to be more soupy, add some additional water. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish the bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and optional parmesan cheese..
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Red lentils with spinach and rice. 11/4/25

Red lentils with spinach and rice (Afghani dal)

I usually make this dish with kale instead of spinach but I felt the spinach would be softer in John’s mouth. I dressed my bowlful with the some yogurt mixed with salt and cumin and cherry tomatoes. John goes back to the dentist on Thursday and I am hoping he will give him the green light to start eating chewier foods.

Posted in Afghan, Easy, Indian, Legumes, rice, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Autumn soup. 11/3/25

Autumn soup with squash bread

It is definitely Autumn what with our changing to standard time, cool mornings and pleasantly warm afternoons. Given the season and John’s recent oral surgery it is definitely time for Autumn soup! This soup is kind of a lot of prep. There is a lot of peeling and chopping but once that is done it just burbles along for a while and when the vegetables are soft I purée it with a plunge blender. Then add the half and half or cream,the lemon, and if you like sweet things, the maple syrup.

I am including the original recipe with some deviations. For our soup today I added extra stock and cut the half and half to 1 cup. I substituted a turnip for the rutabaga and left out the maple syrup. I did not sieve the soup.

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Weekly Menu November 3-9, 2025 (and Sunday night’s BFD)

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Last night I had a pretty straight-forward BFD (breakfast for dinner). I often jazz mine up while John is content with endlessly making an omelet.

My BFD

This is two eggs scrambled with a bit of cheese, two tiny sausage patties, and a piece of country style bread with butternut squash and butter.

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