Pasta shells with sausage and kale. 5/7/25

Tonight was Sarah’s turn to cook and she made a delicious pasta dish reminiscent of the dishes we have eaten in Pulia. The ingredients for her dish were sausage, onion, garlic, kale, olive oil, salt, pepper, and pasta water. Her pasta was packed with flavor and all we added was a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

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Grilled hamburgers and salad 5/6/25

As a harbinger to summer John cooked hamburgers on the grill. Mmmm, the aroma of the burgers wafting through the screen dooor was sublime! I made a chopped salad with buffalo ranch dressing. It was all delicious!

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Chicken enchiladas. 5/5/2025

For Cinco de Mayo, chicken enchiladas with a southwest salad!

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Weekly Menu. May 5-11, 2025

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Chana dal (dried chickpea stew) 5/3/25

Chana dal over rice and kale

I got this recipe from https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-chana-dal/ . Using the Instant Pot or pressure cooker means that you don’t even have to soak the chickpeas. The only difference in our way of making it is that instead of 2 cups of water and 3/4 cup tomatoes we use a can of Rotel to give it some spiciness and decrease the water to 1 1/2 cups. We serve it over rice and add a layer of kale to give it extra fiber. It is definitely one of John’s favorite vegetarian/vegan meals.

Posted in Asian, Indian, Instant Pot, Legumes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Tilapia with tomato/olive sauce. 5/2/25

Tilapia with a tomato olive sauce over rice

I got the recipe for agghiotta di pesce spada (or swordfish with a sauce for the glutton) from Serious Eats a few weeks ago after buying some swordfish.The sauce was so delicious that I figured it would be good with almost any fish so I tried it with humble tilapia fillets. It totally elevated the fish. You can look up the whole recipe on Serious Eats or you can just use the portion of it below which only refers to the sauce.

Tomato olive sauce for fish

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium (8-ounce; 225 g) red onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds (680 g) small tomatoes, quartered, or one 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with juices, tomatoes roughly chopped
2 tablespoons (3/4 ounce, 21 g) salted capers, rinsed of excess salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces; 57 g) pitted mild green olives, such as Castelvetrano, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons (1 ounce; 28 g) pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons (1/4 ounce; 8 g) minced flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
Red wine vinegar and/or granulated sugar, to taste (optional)

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet along with the onion. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until onion has softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, capers, and olives and cook, stirring, until tomatoes have broken down and their liquid has thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. If desired, add 1 or 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar and a pinch or two of sugar to balance the sauce's flavor; whether or not you decide to do this will depend on the flavor of the tomatoes you're using, and how far into agrodolce ("sweet-sour") territory you want to push the sauce.

Reduce heat to medium. Stir in pine nuts and parsley, then return fish to the pan, nestling it into the sauce and cook until warmed through. Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or chilled.



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Beef pho. 5/1/25

Beef pho

We are all over the world this week with our menu—Italy, Morocco, Vietnam, and Spain and India coming up to finish off the week. After all our exciting culinary adventures this week maybe next week will feature steak and potatoes, burgers, and classic chicken!

We saw Jet Tila make this quick pho on Ready Jet Cook. We made it even simpler by using thinly sliced roast beef from the deli and spaghetti for the noodles. Left to my own devices I probably would have just put the vegetables, noodles, and beef in plain beef broth but John took the time to use all the aromatics and spices so that the broth tasted special.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/quick-beef-pho-7112948

Jet Tila’s beef pho
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Moroccan chicken and chickpeas. 4/30/25

Moroccan chicken and chickpeas

The first time I made Moroccan chicken and chickpeas was back in 2020 and it looks like I have only made it a couple of times since then. After eating it on Wednesday I cannot imagine why I have not made it more often. The sweetness of the raisins plays so nicely against the sourness of the preserved lemon and all the warm spices add the flavors of Morocco. Since I have changed the recipe to just warming up small chunks of rotisserie chicken breast warmed in the sauce at the end, the recipe is easy and totally doable on a weeknight.

Here is my updated recipe –

https://recipekeeperonline.com/recipe/UlSLn-2eXESONHdx3wzMyw

Posted in Legumes, North African, Poultry, rice, stew, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Spaghetti and meatballs 4/28/25

Spaghetti and meatballs

I made the sauce for our dinner out of large can of tomato purée, an 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, and olive oil. The meatballs came from a bag of frozen meatballs. I garnished my plate with Parmesan cheese, fresh oregano and parsley, and olive oil.

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weekly Menu. April 28-May 4, 2025

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