Chicken enchiladas, rice, beans. 10/21/20

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Beebamom

Chicken enchiladas, rice, and spicy beans

Tired of taco night? Of course not! But here is an easy Mexican change-up.
Tonight we made chicken enchiladas, tomato-y rice, and spicy black beans. To make things really easy I used precooked chicken breast strips that I shredded (a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store works well, too), bottled salsa verde, and canned black beans.

First I made a mixture of beans, frozen corn, canned tomatoes with chiles, onions, garlic powder, cumin, cilantro, salt, and sriracha. The bean mixture plus the shredded chicken, and 2 teaspoons of salsa verde go in softened corn tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them in a baking dish seam side down that already has some salsa verde in the bottom. Finish with more salsa verde on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 375F.

John had made rice earlier in the day. Since we will be using it for multiple dishes this week, he made a lot. I heated a portion of rice up with some riced cauliflower, tomatoes, and sriracha. The beans were already made.

This is a nice change from tacos and you can make it with a variety of proteins from tofu or beans to lamb or beef!

Posted in Easy, Legumes, Mexican, Poultry, rice, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chilean sea bass, rice, and snow peas. 10/20/20

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Beebamom

Chilean sea bass with parsley tartar sauce, cauli-rice, snow peas

This is a very simple but delicious dinner. It is really the quality of the fish that makes the difference. We buy these individually frozen pieces of fish at Costco. We have never run into a bad piece or even a bone. John cooks them in the oven anywhere from 12 to 14 minutes depending on the thickness. They come out perfectly every time. Chilean sea bass is not cheap but it is worth the expenditure.

I made my rice and cauliflower rice combo, sauteed up some snow peas, and whipped together a tartar sauce that was heavy on the parsley but light on the mayonnaise. I use light mayonnaise but to stretch it even further I add some Greek yogurt to it. Tastes great and nobody knows. I am the diet magician in my kitchen.

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Change in plans and updated menu. 10/19/20

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Beebamom

After spending time carefully crafting my menu for this week, it all flew out the window when we decided to go up to Sonoma to pick up our wine shipment. The winery is now open for tastings al fresco with elaborate health and safety rules so we thought it would be safe enough for us to enjoy a tasting.

Wine notes for our tasting

The tasting was lovely and the weather was perfect. We finished up around 2:30 and needed to find something for lunch along the route home. We went through a drive-thru and got one hamburger and a plastic knife to cut it in half. I was not about to surrender my diet to a whole hamburger!

Needless to say, we did not feel like making an elaborate dinner. I declared it was every man or woman for theirselves. John settled on the last of the red lentils and rice and I made myself a pita with chicken, lettuce, and mustard. Our daughter had been baking while we were out for the day and we finished our dinners with a piece of pumpkin cake.

Chicken sandwich with pickles and pumpkin cake

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BFD Mushroom omelet and Thai salad 10/18/20

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Beebamom

First of all thanks to all my new viewers! Recently I have been averaging between 700 and 1000 views per day. Most of these are from India and Thailand. It is so exciting. So thanks!

Today is Breakfast For Dinner! John and I stand side by side at the stovetop making our omelets. I fill mine with sautéed mushrooms. With our omelets we have a Thai salad which is a combination of Romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, and red onion all in a nuoc cham dressing. Breakfast For Dinner does not have to be boring!

In the foreground Thai salad and behind mushroom omelet with parsley garnish

 

Posted in Easy, Eggs, leftovers, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weekly Menu October 18 – October 25, 2020

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Beebamom

This week’s menu is an international delight. I gave John the choice of an international or vegetarian menu this week and I think it was the chicken enchiladas that won him over. I am hoping to get this ambitious menu completed but I cannot guarantee what order the dinners will be this week. It kind of depends on when I get to the grocery store.

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LFD – Dal soup, hummus, and pita. 10/17/20

Posted on October 17, 2020 by Beebamom

Leftovers For Dinner are on the menu tonight. I am taking the Afghani dal from Tuesday and adding some additional stock along with spinach and tomatoes and making a red lentil soup.

Red lentil soup with spinach and tomatoes

With the soup we are having hummus with pita and a salad of curly lettuce, olives, tomatoes and pepperoncini.

Hummus and pita with a salad of curly lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and pepperoncini

Leftovers do not have to be boring! When you are making your menu for the week prepare a little extra of one dinner and have it be your “planned-over” for Saturday or any night!

Posted in Easy, Kitchen tips, leftovers, Legumes, Middle Eastern, soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Shrimp tostadas. 10/16/20

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Beebamom

Shrimp tostada with spicy black beans and Mexican rice

We originally decided to have shrimp tacos because I had bought a mango that now felt ripe and did not want to waste it. When I made the salsa, though, the mango turned out to be not ripe but green and bitter and the jalapeño I used from the garden was also unripe and bitter. So scratch the tacos.

A tostada is a fried or toasted tortilla with whatever you like on top. Actually it is an open-faced taco. I decided I wanted to pile all my shrimp on one tortilla and then give it a squirt of sriracha. I fixed our cauliflower rice/rice mix and add some canned tomatoes with chiles, plus cumin, salt, and also some sriracha. It was a hit. The black beans are simply canned beans drained, some of the canned tomatoes with chiles, salt, and cumin. Even though we made this dinner up on the fly it was really enjoyable and fun to eat!

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

Classic chicken dinner. 10/15/20

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Beebamom

Sous vide chicken breast with chicken/mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, and broccoli

In these roiling times preparing a classic, comforting dinner for you and your family soothes your soul. So tonight we decide to make sous vide chicken breast with tarragon, mashed potatoes with chicken/mushroom gravy, and broccoli. We also pass up watching the town halls by the presidential candidates and opt for reading about it tomorrow. We voted this week so our preference is locked in.

John cooked our chicken breast with some tarragon leaves at 159F in the immersion circulator. He also made the gravy using a packet of powdered chicken gravy, some sautéed mushrooms, and the cooking juice from the chicken breast. I made the mashed potatoes using 1 tablespoon of light faux butter and 1/4 cup of low fat milk. I cooked the broccoli in a little water and added light faux butter as the water evaporated and the broccoli was just cooked through.

Sitting down to our comforting meal which was still well within my diet regimen was delicious, filling, and soothing. Not watching the town halls had a good effect as well. Are there any undecided voters left? Make sure your voice is heard, VOTE!

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

Penne with zucchini and mushrooms. 10/14/20

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Beebamom

Whole grain penne with mushrooms, onions, garlic, zucchini, and fresh oregano

On Wednesday we were supposed to have chicken but we forgot to put the chicken in its sous vide bath so we opted for pasta. I salted the zucchini and let it sit for a half an hour to lose some water. I sautéed the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and zucchini while John cooked the penne. We added the pasta to the vegetables along with 1/3 cup pasta water. I garnished my bowlful with fresh oregano leaves and some good olive oil.

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Red lentils, rice, and crispy kale. 10/13/20

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Beebamom

Red lentils, rice, and crispy kale

The red lentil part of tonight’s dinner is also called Afghani dal. Here is the recipe for it. It is easy, quick cooking and tastes wonderful. Red lentils are actually coral colored and turn yellow when you cook them. You can make the dish the consistency you want by increasing or decreasing the amount of liquid you put in. I will probably save some and dilute it for Saturday’s LFD ( Lunch/Leftovers For Dinner). It will qualify as both a lunch and a leftover.

John requested that I include him in the rice and cauliflower rice combo even though he is no longer trying to lose weight. He likes the flavor and is aware of the lower glycemic load. So healthier for him and easier for me, a win-win situation!

Finally, here is my scoop on crispy kale. To make it I tossed a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of kosher salt, and a dash of garlic in a zip loc bag and shook it around with the kale pieces (no thick stems!) to get everything coated. It cooked on a sheet pan at 500F for about four minutes. These were only bite-sized leaf pieces and I was afraid they would burn if I left them in any longer but only the frilly part came out crispy. Maybe 5 minutes is the better time. The kale came out too, too salty even for me and bitter. The bitter was okay but the too much salt was really bad. If I make it again I will cut the Kosher salt down to 1/2 teaspoon.

All in all eaten together it was a pretty good dinner. But my fingers are puffy this morning from all the salt!

Posted in Afghan, Easy, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Recipes, rice, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , | Leave a comment