Vegetarian Texas caviar in Utah and a have-it-your-way burger – 4/30/17

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Beebamom

As I mentioned we have a lot of hunks of meat in the freezer here in Utah that need to be eaten. That being said I love almost anything that has ground beef in it. So, yum, to the burger that John cooked and yay for the Texas caviar that I made with a little prep assistance from John. (Seriously though, you could make this vegetarian/vegan by substituting a non-meat burger or portobello mushroom.)

Texas caviar is a dish that was first made in Texas and served at the Houston Country Club around 1940. The name was given ironically due to the expensive nature of caviar and the humble nature of black-eyed peas.

Burger with Texas caviar

Texas caviar is usually made with black-eyed peas but since I didn’t have those I went with black beans. Other ingredients include chopped tomatoes, carrots, celery, green onions, bell pepper, and jalapeño. Corn, onions, cilantro, and garlic are also included. The dressing includes oil, vinegar, lime juice, Tabasco, chili powder, and cumin. Mix it all together and add salt to taste. The longer it sits around the better it is. I like to eat it at room temperature.

Posted in Beef, Legumes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Easy cooking – Michael Angelo eggplant Parmesan – 4/29/17

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Beebamom

We are opting for an easy heat and serve dinner tonight. This Michael Angelo eggplant Parmesan has been hanging out in the freezer for too long so it is time to heat it up and eat it. In some world it serves six but not in ours. I probably have two portions and John has four. It takes about 15 – 20 minutes in the microwave to cook through from frozen. Along with a salad this is a tasty vegetarian meal and a lot less mess than when I make eggplant Parmesan myself!

IMG_4975Eggplant Parmesan and salad

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

Lamb chops in Utah – 4/28/17

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Beebamom

Once we got to Utah, we looked in the freezer. I feel like we need to eat what we have.  Most of the proteins lend themselves to the hunk of meat, vegetable, starch kind of dinner. Ergo, lamb chops, couscous, and broccoli.

Lamb chops, couscous, and broccoli

John expertly cooked the lamb chops on the grill. They were very filling so I gave most of my second chop to him. I augmented the couscous with some vegetables, and steamed the broccoli.

Posted in Lamb, Pasta, Uncategorized, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Penne with asparagus – 4/27/17

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Beebamom

Hello from Southern Utah! We left on Wednesday around noon and stayed overnight on the road. Had some spicy Buffalo chicken wings at Chili’s for dinner.

Tonight’s dinner is the vegetarian dinner we were supposed to have Tuesday.

Asparagus and penne

I know we just had this recently but when the asparagus is in season you just have to go for it.  It is already creeping back up in price.

While the water is heating up for the pasta I saute onions and garlic and cut up the asparagus into penne shaped pieces. In the last minute of pasta I add the stalks to the water and then sauté the penne, stalks, onions, garlic, and the asparagus tips with some of the pasta water. If you like, add some Parmesan.

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

Chicken curry – 4/25/17

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Beebamom

Well, here it is Tuesday and we were supposed to have this chicken on Monday. We had a late lunch on Monday and the whole dinner plan went by the wayside. So we had an old favorite that John calls BFD, breakfast for dinner!

Tonight the chicken made an appearance with a new curry spice I got from Penzeys, Rogen Josh. It smells really good. John did a rub on the chicken and also put it in the rice. I cut up some onions, garlic, carrots, and broccoli to make the dinner filling and healthier.

Chicken Curry with broccoli and carrots

We are taking the leftovers with us to Utah. We should be eating our vegetarian day on Thursday from the desert.

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

Tacos with an Asian twist – 4/23/17

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Beebamom

I bought a spice at Penzey’s, Singapore Seasoning. It smelled really good, warm and inviting. We were supposed to be having pork tacos tonight. But do they need to be tacos with Mexican spices? Why not dry rub the pork with the Singapore spice and base the dish on Asian flavors?

Asian slaw and black beans with Asian spices are the sides, plus some toppings for the tacos

The slaw is dressed with a peanut sauce and the other dish has black beans, corn, carrots, cilantro, jalapeño and a sweet and salty sauce.

John sautes the pork and warms the toritillas. The whole dish is served with a crema made with yogurt, salt, the Singapore seasoning, and a little sugar.

Asian pork tacos with peanut slaw and Asian flavored black beans

 

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

Pork fried rice – 4/22/17

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Beebamom

Happy Earth Day! To help save the earth we had a dinner that was mostly vegetables and rice.

Pork fried rice

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

Sometimes you just gotta have a burger – 4/21/17

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Beebamom

I have been pretty much getting my way with the food choices lately so I thought I’d throw a bone to John and let him have a hunk of meat. I suggested burgers because if I am going to have a hunk of meat, I’d like it to be a burger. We started out with an innocent enough salad.

Italian salad prepackaged with greens, cheese, salami, and dressing

Then John cooked the burgers. When forming the patties he puts in a little baking soda (thanks to America’s Test Kitchen for the hint) which keeps them really moist. They came out a little rare for me but were pretty tasty nonetheless.

Rare hamburger with ketchup on a hard roll

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

Last minute Thursday – Potstickers and salad – 4/20/17

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Beebamom

Potstickers and dipping sauce with cucumber, tomato, cilantro salad

I had to rustle this up out of the refrigerator and the freezer after we returned home around 8PM. Tonight was our grandson’s first band concert. The traffic was brutal on the way over and merely bad on the way home.

So I needed something easy and fast.

Potstickers in the freezer and some leftover tomatoes and cucumbers for salad made an unlikely but quick dinner.

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

Leftover Wednesday – Lamb Tacos – 4/19/17

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Beebamom

So extra pictures did not do the trick as far as blog traffic was concerned. Nonetheless I have two pictures today.

Ingredients!

So I have leftover lamb, onions, and taco seasonings for the tacos along with feta cheese, mint, lettuce, and scallions. I am putting this in a small corn tortilla. The black beans will mix with the spicy Rotel. I am combining cucumber, onions, and tomatoes with some spices, sugar, and vinegar for a little salad.

This comes together quickly and here is the finished dish –

Lamb tacos with feta and mint, spicy black beans, and cucumber and tomato salad

Posted in Lamb, leftovers, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment