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Food from the freezer. 1/30/19
We get home today around noon from St. George, UT. During the time we were away we sold our car and completed the sale of our house. It was not a pleasant undertaking but it is done and we are glad.
So now we can plan menus and cook and eat reasonably again! Today is not a good day to make something brand new since we are tired and there is a lot of unpacking to do. Thank goodness for food that I have frozen extras of. The last time I made pasta sauce I made enough for several meals so that is what we eat tonight. It is all gone now but it certainly has come in handy. Next time I make pasta sauce I will make plenty of extra so I can freeze future dinners again.
Thick spaghetti with meat sauce
I will be posting the next several days menu later tonight.
Posted in Beef, Italian, Kitchen tips, Pasta, Vegetables
Tagged meat sauce, Spaghetti
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Fried scallops. 1/25/19
Things have been a bit chaotic this week. We are in the process of selling our house in Utah so we have spent a couple of days on the road and a couple of days packing up our stuff. Mostly we have been eating out but last night John fried up some scallops which we are trying to get eaten rather than throw them away.
The scallops are breaded and fried in our electric wok. John cooks out on the back patio to keep the frying smell and grease out of the house. I make a salad and some tartar sauce. We still have some scallops and shrimp left so I think this dinner will be appearing again on Sunday!
Fried scallops with tartar sauce, salad
Classic chicken dinner. 1/21/19
We used to sing this song in school which started “Today is Monday, Today is Monday. Monday, bread and butter! All you hungry soldiers we wish the same to you.” Here at our house the song is always Monday, chicken!
(I just looked this song up and mostly I see lyrics that are about hungry children. I learned this song in kindergarten (1954) not so very long after the end of WWII and maybe we were still concerned about hungry soldiers then. Anyway, the rest of the song was repetitious with different foods or events for each day. Tuesday, string beans; Wednesday, soup; Thursday, roast beef; Friday, fish; Saturday, payday; Sunday, church)
Sous vide chicken breast with gravy, steamed broccoli, mashed rutabagas
Tomorrow we are having fried rice leftovers and then we will be away for a few days. Hopefully I will find something to post about.
Posted in American, Easy, Poultry, sous vide, Vegetables
Tagged broccoli, chicken, rutabagas
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Seared scallops with collards and corn. 1/20/19
Seared scallops with collards and corn
John has not made seared scallops in a while since we have been enjoying the breaded and fried ones a lot. But new year, new goals for eating so we went back to a lower calorie preparation. This dish is quite delicious because scallops are so yum. The collards are a little bitter so the sweetness of the corn helps out.
Posted in American, Easy, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables
Tagged collard greens, corn, scallops
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Meats fried rice. 1/19/19
This morning I made some brown rice using the oven method. It turns out so well with this method and although it is not fast I really do not have to do anything except put it in the oven and take it out an hour later. Here is how you do it- Brown rice, oven method Spray 9 X 9 glass baking dish, set oven to 375F, in the baking dish put 1 1/2. cups brown rice, 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp salt, 2 1/3 cups of boiling water, cover tightly, bake for 1 hour. After hour is up uncover and stir rice and then recover the dish loosely for 5 minutes. Now you use it or just let it cool and then refrigerate it for use later.
Leftover chicken, pork, and beef smoked sausage fried rice
The vegetables I chop up are the whites of green onions, carrot, celery, and seeded jalapeñ0. Then I add the leftover meats to heat through. (Today I have a little pork, a chicken thigh, and a little smoked beef sausage.) Set aside. Scramble 2 eggs fluffy. Set aside. Add some butter to the pan and put in the rice and cook it until it is crispy on the bottom. Add back in all the vegetables, meat, and egg. Cook together briefly adding soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. Garnish with the tops of the green onions.
Posted in Easy, Eggs, leftovers, Pork, Poultry, Recipes, rice, Vegetables
Tagged brown rice, chicken, egg, Fried rice, Pork, smoked beef sausage
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Shrimp biryani. 1/18/19
So we were supposed to be eating the shrimp biryani on Thursday but realized that we did not have any limes. We had spaghetti and meat sauce instead. And as often happens when we are eating pasta, I was too excited to eat it and forgot to take a picture.
Fast forward to Friday-Tonight we prepare Instant Pot shrimp biryani, a dish whose recipe I found on The NY Times Cooking site. In order to cook the shrimp for three minutes under pressure we are advised to get big ones. We bought 20-25 size. The recipe recommended 16-20 but they are hard to find and expensive.
After sautéing the onions, chile, and garlic you toss in the seasoning and then a bunch of water, a can of tomatoes, curry leaves, and basmati rice. This is followed by the shrimp. Instant Pot is set for three minutes. The results-the shrimp and the rice are overcooked. We need to find bigger shrimp or try a different protein. Maybe chicken? The rice kind of clumped together. I think there was too much liquid.
Tasted good but needs work!
Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani- tasted good but overcooked
Posted in Easy, Indian, Instant Pot, rice, Shellfish, Vegetables
Tagged basmati rice, shrimp, tomatoes
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Afghani dahl with kale/chickpea/cucumber salad. 1/16/19
Every time I make this I think, “This is so good and easy to make. I should put it on the menu more often!” Basically this a chopped up medium onion, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/2 T. of minced ginger sautéed in some oil or butter. Add 1 cup of picked over and rinsed red lentils and 2 1/2 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are softened, about 15 minutes. Ta da, you are done except for making sure the seasoning is right. It is quite soupy and very delicious. You can put a swirl of yogurt on it or not.
Afghans dahl with kale/chickpea/cucumber salad served with pita
The salad is baby kale and cucumbers with chickpeas that I jazzed up with some onions and sumac, cumin, red pepper, and garlic powder. It is simply dressed with a little olive oil and vinegar. Pita makes a nice accompaniment.
Posted in Easy, Legumes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables
Tagged chickpeas, cucumber, kale, lentils, Pita, red lentils
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Sous vide/grilled pork with citrus. 1/15/19
Sous vide then grilled boneless spare ribs with citrus on hearty greens
John vacuum-seals 2 boneless spare ribs with a marinade of lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, and spices and cooks it in the immersion circulator for about two hours at 135F. After this he grills it briefly on both sides to give the outside some char. I prepare a bed of baby kale, cilantro and mint along with some shallot rings. The cooked marinade and squeezes of the grilled orange and lime halves serve as a dressing.
Although the dish is pretty tasty, the 2 hour sous vide is just not long enough to make the pork tender. Next time we need a longer time at a higher temperature to break down the meat collagen or to cook the pork in the Instant Pot after browning it.
Posted in Grilling, Pork, sous vide, Vegetables, Vietnamese
Tagged Grilling, Pork, sous vide
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Chicken Monday. 1/14/19
Tonight John grilled some chicken thighs and I made broccoli and a corn casserole. The dinner was not a total success because the chicken got over-cooked and the corn was a little rich. However, it was dinner and we will learn from our mistakes.
Grilled chicken with BBQ sauce, steamed broccoli and kernel corn with chive cream cheese
Omnivore 