Sarah bought a rotisserie chicken so that there would be some food in the house when we got home from vacation. We already made a burrito bowl out of one of the chicken breasts and on Monday we ate the other one. The chicken was warmed up in some chicken gravy that was also tasty on the mashed potatoes. Broccoli crowns were on sale so that was our vegetable.
On Sundays we usually have some sort of egg dish but I just was not feeling like it. I decided I would boil up a couple of ounces of pasta and add it to some sauteed onions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. It turned out great and was a quick and easy dinner.
Sarah was such a sweetie gathering all the ingredients we needed to make chicken burrito bowls when we got back from our trip. Just think of all the things you like in a burrito and put it in a bowl. So easy and less messy to eat!
We are home from our vacation in the Pacific Northwest. We had a great time and discovered once again that we like our own cooking better than most of the restaurants we ate at. Luckily we stayed in a unit near Forks, WA that had its own kitchen so we went to the store and bought lots of ingredients for our own dinners. Here’s some of what we made.
We had so much fun shopping and cooking for ourselves. Plus we ate much healthier and saved a ton of money. On the trip home we stopped for Ethiopian and Thai cuisine. And we had a fabulous anniversary dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. (Glad we saved all those dollars!)
Hey, I know it seems like I have gone dark on my site but it is only because John and I are on vacation! We are celebrating our 53rd anniversary of being married. I was going to say wedding anniversary but there was no wedding. We just sneaked off to a Justice of the Peace that we found in the Yellow Pages (an antiquated book where residential phone numbers were in the white pages and businesses were on the yellow pages.) So John and I eloped on July 17, 1972.
Anyway we are now traveling up the Northwest coast of the U.S. having more or less success finding restaurants we like, eating picnic lunches, and making breakfast in our hotel rooms. Here are a few pictures of our successes and failures.
Later on we have a picnic lunch at a California State Park in the Redwood Forest. I got a free pass to many of the parks through my local library
Later on we try some seafood at a restaurant in Arcata, California.
On Monday we eat breakfast at the hotel and have another picnic lunch next to the Rogue River.
Our next two overnights are in Yachats, Oregon. We try finding a restaurant with good, fresh, seafood. All the seafood around here seems to be fried or in a sauce with pasta. We order three appetizers and two smallish glasses of wine and the bill comes to over $100. We need to find a different way of approaching our food!
Okay, we are getting tired of mediocre food for high prices. It is time to switch gears!
We have figured out a set-up for hotels that do not to include a free breakfast.
We brought our induction burner from home, a toaster, and a water boiler for coffee and tea.
Yum, a good breakfast!
I guess I just really dislike spending too much money on substandard food. John and I have been happier on the days we roughed it a bit. One way to bring consumer prices down might be to take a vacation that eats like ours.
This sauce is also called agghiotta and is typically served in Sicily with swordfish. I used this recipe from Serious Eats.
As you can see I cooked two pieces of tilapia and added kale and zucchini for vegetables.
I used to be more of a purist when it came to cooking but I have been making dinners for over 50 years and taking some short-cuts no longer seems evil to me. So tonight’s chicken dinner employed a Costco rotisserie chicken, a packet of chicken gravy mix, and Idahoan instant mashed potatoes. The broccoli was fresh and steamed in a little water and butter. John really loves this dinner. I think he prefers the instant mashed potatoes over the ones I make with actual potatoes!
Over the weekend John was not feeling well so we scuttled all our plans. He felt better today so we made our Sunday holiday dinner on Monday. I have shown lots of hamburger pictures so I thought I would highlight the Texas caviar which is simple to make, tastes great, and looks colorful. Here’s my recipe –
I realize that shrimp tacos are not quite standard Fourth of July fare. We are having the family over on Sunday for a more traditional burger cookout. For our shrimp tacos John did his usual superlative job of cooking the shrimp. I made the toppings including a tasty mango/tomato salsa. Happy Fourth!
Omnivore 