Sous vide pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables. 5/6/20

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Beebamom

I have some catching up to do! On Wednesday John sous vide a pork tenderloin. We have often sworn never to buy pork tenderloin again. Usually it turns out dry and tasteless. Using the immersion circulator set to 130F (a little too low, next time we will do 132F) kept the meat moist. Making a mustard sauce also helped. I made a giant tray full of roasted vegetable which I cooked in stages from hardest to most delicate in a 425F oven. One night I think I will just make a tray of vegetables and call it dinner!

Sous vide pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, and mustard sauce

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Pinto bean tacos. 5/5/20

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Beebamom

Happy Cinco de Mayo! To honor this quasi-holiday and because it is Tuesday we are having tacos! Since I am trying to do an every other day vegan/vegetarian dinner, we are preparing pinto bean tacos accompanied by cole slaw. My crema for the tacos and the coleslaw are not vegan but are vegetarian.

We put some salsa verde and cumin in the beans and also in the yogurt crema for additional flavor. The dressing for the cole slaw is a mixture of mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, a little vinegar, lime juice, cumin, and salt.

A great thing about tacos is that the can be made with beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, or vegetarian. You can go a whole month of Taco Tuesdays without repeating your protein. And who doesn’t like tacos!?

Pinto bean tacos with coleslaw

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Instant Pot biryani with shrimp. 5/4/20

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Beebamom

Since making shrimp in the Instant Pot under pressure is a no-go due to the shrimp being too delicate and becoming overcooked, I adapted a recipe to make the rice in the I.P. and the shrimp in a sauté pan. First soak 2 cups of basmati rice for 20 minutes. After sautéing a diced onion in the I.P., you add a minced Serrano chile, 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and the *spice mix (2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon chile powder, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika), and the zest of a lime. **Be sure to reserve a little of the spice mix to use as a rub on the shrimp.**

Toss in a can of chopped tomatoes and 1.5 cups of boiling water or stock. (I used shrimp stock that we had.) Drain the rice and add to the I.P. Close the lid and set for three minutes at high pressure. Release the steam immediately after the time is up.Release the lid, fluff the rice, and cover the pot with a dish towel for 5 minutes. That is plenty of time to cook the spice rubbed shrimp in a little neutral oil. Serve the rice with the shrimp on top with lime to squeeze and cilantro.

Shrimp biryani with broccoli

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Weekly Menu. May 3-9, 2020

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Beebamom

This week’s menu features four vegetarian dishes, two of which are vegan, two shellfish meals, and one meat meal. I have planned them out according to days of the week but as usual what I feel like making and eating on any  particular day may change.

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Sort of a British fry-up. 5/3/20

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Beebamom

For BFD (Breakfast for Dinner) this week I made an abbreviated British fry-up. I am missing beans and meat but I have the eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and toast. My eggs kind of got away from me due to the pan being too hot when I put them in. It was pretty tasty especially since I buttered the toast!

BFD scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes, rye toast

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Shrimp with roasted vegetables. 5/2/20

Posted on May 2, 2020 by Beebamom

To wind up this week we made sautéed shrimp served with a sheet pan of roasted potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, onions, and mushrooms. All this was served with a Dijon mustard sauce. In addition to being super easy with no actual cleanup, roasted vegetables are delicious! I put the vegetables in a plastic bag with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and some salt, shook it around to spread the oil, and then laid the vegetables on an aluminum foil lined sheet pan.  The roasted vegetables take around 20 minutes in a 425F oven. The mustard sauce which is a combination of Dijon mustard, onion, parsley, water, and a little olive oil is low in calories as well as being just the tangy spark that the vegetables need. Surprisingly the sauce went well with John’s perfectly cooked shrimp too.

Sautéed shrimp with roasted vegetables and a Dijon mustard sauce

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Mexican inspired salad. 5/1/20 #salad#chicken

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Beebamom

I don’t know about you but I am not a fan of making salad. It always seems like so much work for a very slim reward. However, since we are in the throes of a week where the scale is not cooperating, a salad seemed like a reasonable thing to eat.

For the salad I used a bed of spinach and Romaine with shredded chicken, corn, black beans, tomatoes, green onions, olives, and cilantro piled on top. My salad dressing was a concoction of nonfat plain Greek yogurt and salsa verde. Actually the salad was pretty good, for a salad.

Mexican inspired salad

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Pad Thai with tofu. 4/30/20

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Beebamom

Note: This is a vegan or vegetarian entree if you use a substitute for fish sauce.

Pad Thai takes quite a bit of prep but once you have finished the chopping up the cooking takes almost no time at all. I added some slivered snow peas and carrots and substituted firm tofu for the shrimp to the basic Food and Wine recipe.

If you are afraid to try making Pad Thai this is a good place to start. There are no unusual ingredients such as tamarind or exotic spices. I have made it with shrimp and tofu but I am sure it is equally good with pork or chicken.

Pad Thai with tofu

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Orecchiette with broccoli and tuna. 4/29/20

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Beebamom

We once took a cooking lesson with the father of the hotel manager where we were staying  in Taormina, Sicily. First we went shopping for the ingredients in the outdoor markets. Everyone seemed to know Aurelio and we were hailed by many passers-by. Stopping for an espresso was also part of the experience. It was all so laid back and grand. He had a tiny kitchen which his wife and he puttered around while we mostly watched. The ingredients were few and the cooking methods simple and straightforward. Our dinner tonight was pretty much the same way.

We boiled some salted water. We put orecchiette in and cooked the broccoli with it for the last couple of minutes. After draining we added the canned tuna, a little olive oil, and about 3/4 cup of reserved pasta water to the broccoli and pasta. We stirred the whole thing together over medium heat. The dish was finished with a little more olive oil and black pepper. Simple techniques, easy cleanup, and a really great dinner that brought back a very fond memory.

Orecchiette with tuna and broccoli

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Sous vide chicken breast with thyme. 4/28/20

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Beebamom

When we buy a package of chicken breasts they seem to come from giant breasted chickens. John and I share one and it is plenty. Tonight’s chicken breast is cooked at 160F using the sous vide method. John vacuum seals a little olive oil, a bay leaf, salt, pepper, and some thyme from our garden with the chicken breast. The herbs impart a subtle flavor to the chicken and also flavor the jus.  Our starch tonight is not a starch at all! It is a combination of some left over mashed rutabagas and some newly mashed cauliflower. To complete our dinner we have our old stand-by broccoli. It always seems to be in season and available.

Sous vide boneless, skinless chicken breast with rutabaga/cauliflower mash and broccoli

 

Posted in American, Easy, leftovers, Poultry, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment