Prize winner – Egyptian koshari. 2/2/21

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Beebamom

Egypt was the big winner last week with 1600 views of my blog. No doubt most of these were by mistake and I am really sorry-not-sorry that all these Egyptians ended up on my site when they were looking for something else. Nonetheless, Egypt was the winner and as a prize I created one of their comfort food dishes, koshari.

Koshari with kale

Koshari is a lot like the Indian dish mujadara which you probably have never heard of either. Our daughter used to order it all the time in Mountain View at the Mediterranean Grill House. It is a strange gemisch of rice, lentils, pasta, and chickpeas with some tomato sauce and fried onions. The major spice is ground coriander. Koshari is vegan and ours turned out quite tasty.

Since I am always trying to cut back on the calories in a dish, I sautéed the onions until they were caramelized in about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil instead of frying them. I also added kale so our dinner would seem healthier. John, who was in charge of the lentils and rice upped the amount of coriander he used which made them really delicious. I added sriracha to the tomato sauce for more zing. You use a lot of pots and pans to make koshari. I have a 5-burner stovetop and every burner was in use. If you would like to try making it, this is the recipe I used. Koshari is especially useful in using up leftover rice or lentils.

Thanks, Egypt!

Posted in Easy, Egyptian, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, leftovers, Middle Eastern, Pasta, Recipes, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Greens, eggs, no ham. 1/31/21

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Beebamom

Kale, broccoli, onions, crumbled veggie patty, cabbage, and mushrooms with paprika scrambled eggs

I really like eggs. I could eat them for a lunch. I could eat them in a bunch. I could eat them for a dinner. I like eggs. They are a winner.

Seriously, eggs are a very versatile component in any meal, not just breakfast. You can hard boil them for an egg salad lunch sandwich. You can put them in a Chinese fried rice for dinner. Eggs and vegetables were my choice for BFD (Breakfast For Dinner) this week. I sprinkled them with a bit of paprika for a different flavor and put them in the center of a ring of sautéed vegetables. It’s important to keep your dinners visually interesting as well as tasty.

For the zillionth time in a row, John had an omelet for his BFD. He makes it with ham, scallions, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese.

Posted in American, Easy, Eggs, Healthy tips, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. February 1 – February 7, 2021

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Beebamom

For some unknown reason I am getting a lot of views from countries around the world. I have no delusion that people from the Middle East and Asia are eagerly awaiting my post each day. I am sure that it must be some sort of bot that has gotten hooked on Dining Lite. However, since this week Egypt had the most views with over 500 on one day, I decided to thank all those people in Egypt by making an Egyptian dish on Monday.

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LFD, Shrimp fajitas, spicy black beans, rice. 1/31/21

Posted on January 30, 2021 by Beebamom

Shrimp fajitas, spicy black beans, rice

What a filling and tasty dinner made mostly from bits and pieces left over in the fridge from this week’s menu.  I used this recipe from healthyfitnessmeals.com. Changes we made to the recipe were lime juice in the shrimp/veg mixture, less cayenne, no black pepper (because I don’t like black pepper), more salt, added cabbage, and just olive oil spray instead of glugs of olive oil. Once you have everything cut up, the cooking goes quickly. We served the shrimp and veg over corn tortillas we warmed up in the oven.

As an accompaniment I made some spicy black beans which consisted of a drained and rinsed can of black beans, some salt, half of a can of petite diced tomatoes with chiles, cumin, and Mexican oregano. We also ate some leftover white rice.

How does this fit in with Leftovers For Dinner? (LFD) The leftovers were from a partially used head of cabbage, the remnants of a container of salsa, rice from dinners earlier this week, and the ends of a poblano and red bell pepper. This dinner was not what I had planned, but for Saturdays I look in the refrigerator for what needs to be eaten and create a dinner from what I see.

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, leftovers, Legumes, Mexican, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chicken, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts. 1/29/21

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Beebamom
Sous vide chicken breast, mashed potato, sautéed Brussels sprouts

On Friday we were supposed to have shrimp tacos but I needed something cozy, warming, and familiar. I suggested a rendition of Classic Chicken and John was totally on board. He set the sous vide for 159F and it was so nice to have the chicken wait on us to finish the rest of the meal instead of trying to get everything done at the same time.

I cooked up one russet potato for the mashed potatoes which was plenty for the two of us. I also made my Incredibly Yummy Brussels Sprouts. My kids named the sprouts that and usually just say IYBS when asking for that particular vegetable. If your kids call it “incredibly yummy” you know you have come up with a stellar way of cooking. The secret is dry sherry and a little sugar to help the sprouts brown.

John finished off by making a gravy from the chicken jus in side the sous vide bag and a packet of chicken gravy mix. It was a stellar dinner! (especially the Brussels sprouts)

Posted in American, Kitchen tips, Poultry, sous vide, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pasta puttanesca with mushrooms. 1/28/21

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Beebamom

Pasta puttanesca with mushrooms

This recipe which I have included below is not quite authentic. I have added mushrooms to it to make it hardier and decreased the amount of oil due to our dietary restrictions. When John and I were actively losing weight we used to make only 5 oz. of pasta but since we are maintaining now, we have edged our portion up to 3 oz. each. Additionally, we break our long strands in half before we cook them. On TV chefs are aghast at this culinary no-no but I think it makes your portion seem bigger and the pasta fits in the pot better.

We love pasta!

Pasta Puttanesca with mushrooms. Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman

Serves 2

Salt to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 cremini mushrooms, sliced
¼ large onion, chopped
Salt (use lightly because olives and capers are salty)
2 or more cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon fish sauce* (optional)
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with or without jalapeños
¼ cup sliced olives
2 tablespoons capers
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (do not use if tomatoes have jalapeños)
6 oz. linguine or other long pasta
Chopped fresh parsley, oregano, marjoram or basil leaves for garnish, optional

1. Bring pot of salted water to boil while making the sauce. Put 2 teaspoons oil in high sided skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms. When mushrooms are starting to brown, add onions. Season lightly with salt. When onions are translucent, add garlic to skillet. When garlic is fragrant (about one minute) move to next step.

2. Add tomatoes and fish sauce*, if using. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and mixture becomes saucy, about 10 minutes. Stir in olives, capers and red pepper flakes if you are not using spicy tomatoes. Simmer while pasta cooks.

3. Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until it is al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and toss in with sauce which is still over heat. Stir in pasta water a little at a time until you get the consistency you like. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary, garnish with herbs, and serve.

*Note: For vegan/vegetarian preparation use a little soy sauce or instant coffee in place of the fish sauce

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Italian, Kitchen tips, Pasta, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | 3 Comments

Tofu and vegetable stir-fry. 1/27/21

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Beebamom

Tofu and vegetable stir-fry

This dinner was a glorious celebration of vegetables and also a very good way to use up bits and pieces of vegetables left in your refrigerator. Except for the fact that we used fish sauce in our marinade, this is a vegan/vegetarian dinner. Marinate in soy sauce instead of a combo of fish sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil and you will be dining vegan.

John and I, working together, got the dinner made quickly. I was at my chopping board cutting up the vegetables in the order that they were going into the pan and John was doing the stir-frying. We started with the mushrooms and ended up with the edamame and tofu squares that John had marinated earlier in the day. He also made some rice while I was out with our daughter for our weekly drive-thru lunch.

We made a lot! Now we have leftovers for lunch. Or maybe I should say we have planned-overs. Making extra portions is an excellent way to manage food preparation time and lunch variety.

Posted in American, Chinese, Easy, Kitchen tips, rice, Thai, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Tuna casserole. 1/26/21

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Beebamom

When I was planning the menu for the week, I was thinking about foods which I would enjoy during a chilly, wet week. I thought fondly of a casserole that I used to make in the early days of our marriage which consisted of canned tuna, some vegetables, cream of mushroom soup, and corn muffins. Obviously we are not going to make this dish with cream of mushroom soup and corn muffins due to dietary constraints. So how to do this?

We came up with a solution of incorporating more vegetables (poblano chile, red bell pepper, corn, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms) that we would sauté first and then add the canned tuna to that mixture. To hold everything more or less together we decided on a packet of mushroom gravy and added less water to it. We also figured that incorporating an egg into it would help the cohesion. Then we baked it for about 20 minutes at 350F.

It came out pretty salty since I had salted the vegetables when I was cooking them and the gravy mix already has a lot of salt in it. Also the brown custard-y sauce is not very appealing to look at. Except for the saltiness, though, it was definitely edible.

Tuna casserole

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Kitchen tips, pescatarian, Vegetables | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Chicken Marsala, mashed potatoes, broccoli. 1/25/21

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Beebamom

Chicken Marsala, mashed potatoes, broccoli

To create our Marsala sauce I sautéed some mushrooms and John combined an ounce or two of Marsala with our leftover chicken gravy from last week. After adding the mushrooms and adjusting for seasoning, our sauce was ready.

John sautéed the chicken pieces in a pan with some olive oil spray. He cooked the chicken perfectly but I found it bitter and weirdly spicy from the pepper on it. John finds peppered food delicious and I find it obliterates the taste of the piece of food you are seasoning especially if used during the cooking process. He used a seasoning blend on the chicken that had pepper in it so I thought it was difficult to taste the chicken or the sauce. We are both grumpy about this. No doubt our long running argument over pepper will continue.

That aside the sauce was lovely on the mashed potatoes where I could actually taste it. I made two stalks of broccoli (a lot!) because it was getting old. No matter how much I make though, it always gets eaten. We are getting a new order from the grocery store today with more broccoli in it. We are planning on using it on Tuesday for our tuna casserole.

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BFD. Vegetarian fried rice. 1/24/21

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Beebamom

This Sunday’s Breakfast For Dinner (BFD) seems a little less breakfast-y than usual. But it is basically just a sliced up omelet, some vegetables, and a little rice which is mostly all breakfast components.

Fried rice with egg and vegetables

I made my omelet first and then took it out of the pan and tossed in scallions, broccoli, celery, carrots, and cabbage. I cooked them in a little oil and sauce soy. Then I added the rice. I don’t really like crispy rice so I just broke the rice up and warmed it through. Lastly I added the cut up omelet and topped everything with a squirt of sriracha. Because my BFD had a lot of vegetables it was much more filling than just an egg and toast!

Posted in Chinese, Easy, Eggs, Kitchen tips, rice, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment