Tilapia with sheet pan veg. 3/15/22

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Beebamom
Sautéed tilapia and tartar sauce with sheet pan squash and cauliflower

We tend to buy frozen fish and shellfish. Costco has some good seafood products at reasonable prices so we always keep salmon, Chilean sea bass, shrimp, scallops, and some sort of white fish in the freezer. For our mild white fish we have been using mahi mahi but I find it a little too fishy. On our last trip to Costco we bought a bag of tilapia.

Tilapia has the reputation as being a pretty nothing fish. I figured it would be good for making tacos, maybe putting in our sesame bowl, or making fish sticks. Tonight we tried it out for the first time just as fillets sautéed in a pan. John cooked the fish a little too much but it was okay. There is a learning curve with something new. Next time I figure he will nail it.

Along with the fish, I made some tartar sauce and sheet pan vegetables. The butternut squash and cauliflower turned out really well, delicious and sweet. I decided on an oven temperature of 425F on the convect setting. The vegetables were cooked in 20 minutes with some nice browning from the olive oil I tossed them in.

I was quite pleased at our first foray with tilapia. I think it will definitely be great as fish sticks and in tacos. I’d love to batter and deep fry it but, you know, healthy lifestyle!

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Sheet pan, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chicken dinner. 3/14/22

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Beebamom
Rotisserie chicken, Instant Pot rutabagas, Brussels sprouts

This homey chicken dinner reminds me of Thanksgiving, but easier. The rotisserie chicken I buy from Costco is not the whole bird but their vacuum packed offering of cooked breast meat. I divide the package in half (about 1 lb. portions) and freeze one and refrigerate the other. I use the refrigerated one for soups, salads, sandwiches, and dinners like tonight’s.

The chicken is warmed in a packet of gravy while I pressure cook the rutabagas and sauté the Brussel sprouts. This is definitely comfort food for me!

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Sunday simple supper. 3/13/22

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Beebamom
scrambled eggs, veggie patty, rye toast, and salad

It’s Sunday and you have been cooking all week. Give yourself a break! Sunday supper around here is an everyone-make-your-own-eggs dinner. John always makes himself an omelet and I make a variety of egg dinners. This week I am doing the basics – scrambled eggs, rye toast, microwaved veggie patty, and a simple salad. After dinner I usually will have an apple. So try a simple dinner that is healthy and delicious.

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Weekly Menu March 14-20, 2022

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Beebamom

Wonder of wonders this past week we actually ate exactly what we planned! This week coming up we have two special event dinners, Purim with its triangular food, and St. Patrick’s Day with its soda bread.

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Marinated tofu and vegetable stir-fry 3/13/22

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Beebamom
Marinated tofu and vegetables stir fry

I marinated the tofu in a nuoc cham sauce for about two hours. Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese sauce and is basically fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice. With John manning our large fry pan, I cut the vegetables up in the order he wanted to cook them – mushrooms, onions, ginger, garlic, carrots, celery, broccoli, and snow peas. The tofu went in about the same time as the snow peas.

Our dinner dish turned out well although it was a little tofu heavy. I used a whole package of extra firm tofu because I never know what to do with leftover tofu. John ate his over rice with some sriracha. I put my veg and tofu over cauliflower rice.

Posted in American, Chinese, Easy, Kitchen tips, Vegetables | 1 Comment

Farro stuffed pepper. 3/11/22

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Beebamom
Farro and vegetable stuffed pepper on arugula

This dish which luckily I made in the morning has a lot of components. First I needed to make the farro. I used an oven method where 1.5 cups of farro cook in a covered dish with 2 1/3 cups of water and some salt. The oven temperature is 375F and it cooks for an hour.

During the hour of cooking I spent time cutting up and sautéing vegetables to put in the farro. I used onion, garlic, mushrooms, and broccoli stems. I mixed the vegetables in with the cooked farro.

I also made a spicy tomato sauce from a couple of cans of diced tomatoes and one can of spicy tomatoes with chiles (Rotel.) Before putting the tomatoes in the sauce I sautéed onions, garlic, bell pepper scraps, and tomato paste and then deglazed the pan with red wine.

I put some of the sauce in the farro mixture and in the bottom of a baking dish. I filled the halved peppers with the farro mixture and then put a dollop of sauce on each stuffed pepper. As dinner approached I baked the peppers in a 350F oven in a covered dish for 30 minutes. When I checked them the peppers were stiff pretty hard so I upped the temperature to 425F and let them cook for another 20 minutes.

John and I each had two pepper halves and we have two leftover. They should make a nice lunch. I am glad that we will get another meal out of this dish because it was a lot of work!

Posted in American, Grains, Methods, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sesame shrimp bowl 3/10/22

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Beebamom
Sesame shrimp bowl with cucumber, avocado, cabbage, edamame, andvride

Sesame shrimp or salmon bowls are fast becoming the number one choice for dinner at our house. There is really very little cooking involved, make some rice or heat up some leftover rice and quickly cook the shrimp. Everything else is cut up and assemble.The dressing for the salad is mostly soy sauce with a little neutral oil and a few drops of sesame oil. My mini-prep makes short work of the garlic, ginger, and scallions that go in the dressing. In tonight’s bowl I added edamame which was a nice contrasting texture. On top is a sprinkling of furikake. We like the kind that has dried shrimp in it. I buy it through Amazon.

Posted in Easy, Japanese, Methods, pescatarian, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables | 1 Comment

Fettuccine arrabiata. 3/9/22

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Beebamom
Fettuccine arrabiata

I had frozen a portion of arrabiata sauce from a dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was not enough for our dinner but it was a good base to start from. There were already onions, garlic, and mushrooms in it. I added a can of Rotel (spicy tomatoes with chiles) and the rest of a bag of kale I had. It turned out really well. Not only was it delicious but all the vegetable additions made a really hearty portion, Yay! for a giant bowl of food (GBOF)!

Note: For a vegan/vegetarian preparation omit parmesan cheese.

Posted in American, Easy, Healthy tips, Italian, leftovers, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | 1 Comment

Salmon salade Niçoise. 3/8/22

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Beebamom
Salmon salade Niçoise

In addition to the salmon we had French green beans that were blanched, a hard boiled egg, kale, olives, and cherry tomatoes. I made a mustard sauce to dress the salad. It is about equal parts, horseradish mustard, whole grain mustard, plain yogurt, Skinny Girl buttermilk dressing, and a splash of water to thin it out.

I also has some new potatoes that I boiled but, in a Chopped-like moment, I neglected to get them on the plate and no one noticed. John and I ate them afterward for a potato dessert. ( For readers from other countries, Chopped is an American TV program where contestant chefs try to make a dish out of four disparate ingredients. Forgetting to get an ingredient on the plate is a common, usually eliminating, mistake.)

Posted in Easy, Eggs, Fish, French, Methods, pescatarian, Salad, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Rotisserie chicken with gravy and sheet pan sprouts and squash. 3/7/22

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Beebamom
Pulled rotisserie chicken breast with gravy and sheet pan roasted Brussels sprouts and butternut squash

I am actually a little embarrassed to post this dinner since I took every shortcut imaginable to prepare it! The chicken comes from a pre-pulled pack of Costco rotisserie chicken. The gravy was made from a packet of McCormack’s powdered chicken gravy mix (just add water!) The butternut squash was already peeled and chunked from Trader Joe’s. I did have to cut up the Brussels sprouts.

The vegetables were shaken together with some olive oil and salt in a plastic bag and then put on an aluminum foil lined sheet pan that was sprayed with olive oil spray. The vegetables cooked for about 20 minutes in a 425F oven. John made up the gravy and then gently heated the chicken through.

There is no question that you pay more for the convenience. But a quick, tasty, and easy dinner with little clean-up can be worth sometimes. Plus it is much cheaper than take-out or dining out!

Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Methods, Poultry, Sheet pan, Vegetables | Tagged | 1 Comment