Individually frozen 6 oz. portions of swordfish were on sale at our local grocery store a few weeks ago. We have had some good swordfish in Italy so we went about looking for an Italian recipe that looked tasty and possible for us to make. John was in charge of cooking the fish and I made the sauce. The sauce consists of tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes), capers, pine nuts, onions, and olives. I think it came out tasting really good! The sauce went really well with the fish and we had some bread to sop up the rest. Six ounces of fish is too much for me so I have a hunk left over for lunch today!
We chose rice as the starch to soak up the garlicky sauce of shrimp scampi. Pasta would work well too. I am including the recipe. Be careful with the lemon juice, tasting and adding a little at a time. You don’t want it to take over the dish.
Shrimp Scampi
Serves 2
4 ounces pasta or 1 cup cooked rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 count)
Salt to taste
¼ low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice or to taste
6 pitted and chopped olives or 2 tablespoons of capers
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons butter (optional)
Cook the pasta or rice according to package direction. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the shallots are soft, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and the salt and cook over medium high heat turning occasionally until the shrimp are opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, wine, lemon juice, and olives or capers. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute and then reduce the heat to medium. Add the parsley, the zest, and the optional butter stirring to coat the shrimp and remove from heat. Plate the shrimp on the rice or pasta and drizzle the remaining sauce over.
The chicken enchiladas that we make are stuffed with shredded chicken, chopped onions, cheese, and a bit of salsa verde. What made these especially good was the medium spicy salsa by Las Palmas and shredded habanero pepper jack cheese. They were spicy and the cheese that we grated ourselves melted really nicely on top of the enchiladas.
John and I were out most of the day visiting old friends who were staying near their kids and grandkids in the North Bay. Since we would not be back home until 6 PM I figured we would need a quick and easy dinner. I had defrosted some leftover Rao’s tomato and basil sauce so while John cooked up the penne pasta I worked on enhancing the jarred sauce with onion, garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and my secret ingredient, fish sauce! Fish sauce brings the umami while tamping down the sweetness that commercial products seem to always include. With a sprinkle of basil leaves and parmesan our dinner was ready in about 15 minutes.
On Sunday I decided that I just did not want to eat eggs. Instead I boiled a couple of ounces of pasta and when it was done I put it back in the pot with some shredded carrots, kale, green onions, a little pasta water, and olive oil. I stirred this over heat and in no time I had my vegetarian Sunday dinner.
Curried tomatoes and chickpeas over raita and rice
This is a new recipe for us and needs a little working on. The tomato and chickpeas part was delicious, the rice was fine, but the raita overpowered everything. Next time I might thin the raita out a bit and serve it on the side.
I am back home and ready to start cooking with John again. We have decided on two new recipes this week, Curried Tomatoes and Chickpeas and also Sicilian Swordfish. Should be exciting!
Sarah likes to make all sorts of “bowls” for her dinners. On Wednesday she made burrito bowls for John and her. A burrito bowl consists of everything you might find in a burrito over rice. In this burrito bowl she included crushed tortilla chips, lime, corn, black beans, cilantro, shredded rotisserie chicken, tomatoes, cabbage, and sour cream.
John made this sheet pan dinner for Sarah and him the other night. I wish I could have been there. it looks so good! Here are John’s notes about the dinner.
I do not know how much more cooking John is planning on. I know he got a pizza and is figuring on Chinese take-out in the near future. As for me, I am still with my grieving friend in South Carolina where we are making our way through numerous casseroles. I will be back on Saturday so I figure John and I will be back to our weekly menu and nightly dinners next week.
John is taking over cooking duties this week while I am away. Tonight he makes one of his favorites, orecchiette with sausage and greens. This is a dish we first had in Puglia, the heel of the boot of Italy.
Boil orecchiette until al dente (these took 16 minutes).
In the meantime, saute hot Italian sausage in a little olive oil.
Add some sliced garlic, minced onion and chili flakes; cook until just done.
Add kale, toss and warm through.
Add pasta, toss, garnish with olive oil and grated parmesan.
On Tuesday John did most of the chopping for our dinner of chicken lo mein. I was hurriedly packing for a trip to the East Coast to be with my dear friend whose husband had died a few days before. I have made this dish a couple of times lately and you can find the recipe in the related link below. The dinner was fine and we had enough for John to have a leftovers dinner while I was gone.
I got an email this morning with a picture and explanation of what John did with the leftovers for his dinner on Wednesday night. Here is what he said—
Recipe:
Warm leftover lo mein in a large frying pan.
Scramble and season two eggs.
Add to lo mein and stir over medium heat until cooked.
He says the dark bits are the fried up chicken skin. At least I know he is not starving while I am away. As for me I am helping to eat the casseroles that so many friends have brought over. I am certainly not starving either!
Omnivore 