What to eat on vacation – 7/31/17

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Beebamom

I know, hard to believe I am on vacation again. For the next three weeks I will try to highlight what might be a good choice and what is going on behind a bad decision. Plus, when what you thought was a good choice ends up sabatoging you.

First up, lunch at the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining, CA. then dinner at the Tonopah Brewing Co., Tonopah, NV.

Whoa Nellie Deli

There are some good choices here. Ahi sashimi and some salads. The fish tacos are a trap because they are fried. I just don’t think I want to eat sashimi in the middle of the mountains and salads do not fill me up. So I go with vegetarian chili. To their credit, they ask if I want shredded cheese in case I am a vegan. But I get cornbread and that is made with eggs I am sure. Anyhow, it is a bit gloppy and thick. Uh oh, it tastes best when I crumble the corn bread into it. Grade? I tried

Vegetarian chili with cornbread

Tonopah Brewing Co.

I ordered a Pulled BBQ chicken sandwich. Basically it was some pieces of chicken breast on a roll. I took out the chicken and dipped it in some vinegar based BBQ sauce. I took a bite of the roll but it wasn’t worth eating. I ate the coleslaw and the chicken. Grade? Wish it tasted better

Pulled chicken sandwich and coleslaw

 

 

 

Posted in Dining out, Healthy tips | Leave a comment

Leftover fresh tomato sauce – 7/29/17

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Beebamom

The fresh tomato sauce from a couple of night’s ago is sitting in the refrigerator and we have been out all day and I do not feel like making the planned dinner. So I decide to boil up some pasta, add another tomato to the sauce, and microwave some frozen meatballs. I add the meatballs to the sauce and in the time that it takes to heat up the water and cook the pasta, dinner is ready.

Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and beef meatballs

Posted in Beef, leftovers, Pasta, Vegetables | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Firing up the grill – 7/27/17

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Beebamom

It is grilling night! John selects one of the rib eye cap steaks that I bought at Costco last week. He grills it on low until it reads 115F and then finishes it on high. In the meantime I make an Italian salad and warm potato salad. I included a carrot, 1/2 onion, and a clove of garlic as I steamed the potatoes for a little more color and nutritional value. The potato salad is dressed with some olive oil and a capful of cider vinegar, celery seed, salt and pepper.

Grilled steak with a green salad and warm potato salad

Posted in Beef, Grilling, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salad, peppers and onions, polenta, sausage – 7/27/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Beebamom

Leftovers night! The sausages and polenta are from the night we had friends over for dinner, the peppers and onions are newly made but originally for the friends dinner, and the salad is the same as the golden beet, tomato, arugula, and watermelon from the salad on the 24th. So there is hardly anything new here except that I prepared fresh components because I bought too much in the first place. Not sure that these are technically leftovers but we are leaving for the “Great Road Trip, 2017” on Monday and I need to get this stuff eaten up!!

Sausage, onions and peppers, polenta, and summer salad

Posted in Pork, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fresh tomato/basil sauce – 7/26/17

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Beebamom

Spaghetti with fresh tomato/basil sauce

I made this sauce with three pounds of our large supply of tomatoes. I blanched and peeled the tomatoes but did not de-seed them. Here is my process –

Blanch, peel, and chop tomatoes

Saute 1/2 onion, 1/2 tsp. pepper flakes, and 2 cloves garlic in some olive oil

Add tomatoes and two large basil leaves

Use potato masher to crush tomatoes while simmering for half an hour

salt and pepper to taste

cook pasta

Remove spent basil leaves and garnish dish with fresh basil

 

Posted in Pasta, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Curried chicken and rice – 7/25/17

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Beebamom

Using pre-cooked chicken strips means that this dinner only takes about a half an hour to rustle up. John sautes the curry spices while I cut up an onion, garlic, carrot, and ginger. They are added to the spices and cooked briefly. In goes the chicken, rice, raisins, and water or chicken stock. Simmer until the rice is cooked through.

Curried rice and chicken with carrots and raisins

 

Posted in Poultry, rice, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cool salad on a hot night – 7/24/17

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Beebamom

I made this visually stunning and delicious salad last night for dinner. The key components were a bed of arugula, diced watermelon and roasted golden beet, a variety of chunked heirloom tomatoes, and crumbled feta. It is dressed with a light vinaigrette. To make this super-simple I bought ready-to-use watermelon, pre-washed arugula, and crumbled feta. I also roasted the golden beets first thing in the morning before it got hot.

Salad composed of arugula, watermelon, tomatoes, roasted golden beets, and feta

Posted in Healthy tips, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reacting rather than planning – 7/22/17

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Beebamom

I have been often accused of over-planning so here is an example of what happens with no planning. I did not decide early on a very hot day what was for dinner. I knew that it was going to be in the upper 90’s and I would not want to heat up the kitchen. Nonetheless I did not plan and ended up going to the grocery store and grabbing a bunch of bad-for-me pre-prepared stuff. Mea culpa.

Take-out ribs, potato salad, and coleslaw

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Spaghetti with shrimp – 7/21/17

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Beebamom

Easy and delicious dinner tonight. While the pasta was cooking I sautéed some shrimp and onions in olive oil. Finished the dish by adding the spaghetti to the shrimp and adding some pasta water and oregano.

Spaghetti with shrimp

Posted in Pasta, pescatarian, Shellfish | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Balance your plate – 7/19/17

Posted on July 20, 2017 by Beebamom

Ideas keep changing about how we should eat. I think balanced is probably the best way. But the proportions towards that balance have also changed. I used to make my plate in thirds – protein, complex carbohydrate, and vegetable. These days I am more like 4/5 vegetable and starch and 1/5 protein, especially if that protein is meat.

we have been eating a lot of vegetarian meals lately so I thought I would throw my husband a bone (so to speak.) I bought a rib cap steak from the prime meat section at Costco. He started it on the grill on the cooler side and finished it on the hot side. He used his trusty thermopen to check its temperature. In the meantime I steamed some new potatoes and cooked snow peas with cherry tomatoes and oregano in a little oil.

New potatoes and snow peas with a small portion of rib cap steak

 

Posted in Beef, Grilling, Healthy tips, Vegetables | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment