Family Fall Fest – 10/23/16

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Beebamom

Since my previous post we drove home from Utah and had breakfast for dinner when we got in from 12 hours on the road. Saturday night we opted for Chinese food. But on Sunday we had the whole family over for hamburgers (better known as Zaydeburgers), Brussels sprout slaw, and warm olive oil and thyme potato salad. Plus there was cranberry upside down cake for dessert!

Brussels sprout slaw

Brussels sprout slaw in my 70’s casserole dish!

Warm potato salad with olive oil and thyme

Warm potato salad with olive oil and thyme

Cranberry upside down cake

Cranberry upside down cake

Grandson in a bubble at the Pumpkin Patch

Grandson in a bubble at the Pumpkin Patch

 

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Out of the freezer – 10/20/16

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Beebamom
Cannellini stew from the freezer

Cannellini stew from the freezer

I made this dinner on September 11, 2016 and stuck the leftovers in the freezer. Since we are leaving Utah for home tomorrow and don’t want to mess up our just cleaned kitchen, tonight is the perfect time for planned-overs. I usually make this dish with chickpeas but cannellini work just as well.

The stew tasted just as good as it did the first time but freezing it turned the ditalini mushy. It would have been better to just freeze the vegetable part and add new ditalini into the reheat.

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Polenta and deli meat leftover dinner – 10/19/16

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Beebamom

We are still working our way through the leftovers! What we had left was a few slices of deli meat and a container of polenta left over from our sausage and polenta dinner on Sunday night.

Polenta with deli meat and a salad

Polenta with deli meat and a salad

This was not totally successful. We cut the polenta into triangles and tried to get a crust on them in a frying pan. Mostly they just fell apart. I heated the deli meat up in the microwave and made a salad. It was okay but nothing special.

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Ninfa’s, St. George, Utah – 10/19/16

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Beebamom

After years of not trying any new places to eat in St. George we decided these past two weeks to try again. Part of this was driven by our son who likes to eat lunch out and enjoys Mexican food. Mexican food is tricky for “dining lite” but if you order well and don’t overeat, it is doable.

Shrimp tacos with refried beans and rice

Shrimp tacos with refried beans and rice

In order to not overeat I ate the insides of the tacos which were basically grilled shrimp, lettuce and tomato. There was no sauce, weirdly. I used some hot sauce that was on the table. I also ate one of the four small corn tortillas. A forkful of the rice that had lots of dried out, hard pieces was self-limiting. The beans were good but at this point I was so bummed by the meal that I just gave up. Sometimes “dining lite” is easier than you think!

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Chicken fajitas redux – 10/18/16

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Beebamom

Having purged my refrigerator of fresh ingredients at lunchtime, I turned to previously prepared foods for dinner. I had rice and beans left over from last week’s chicken fajitas that needed using plus a bunch of peppers and onions that Jonathan had sliced up beautifully for our sausage and polenta on Sunday. Add to this some cooked chicken strips from Costco with a packet of fajita mix we didn’t use and three remaining tortillas and, ta-da, dinner!

Chicken fajita redux

Chicken fajita redux

 

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Refrigerator soup – 10/18/16

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Beebamom

We’ve decided to head home on Friday and need to start the eat-down. For lunch today I made a variation on “null soup”, my pointless WW vegan soup. This soup contains everything left in the refrigerator, including meat and starchy vegetables, that makes sense together in a soup.

Refrigerator soup

Refrigerator soup

Today’s soup included two limp carrots, half of a leftover onion, a small stalk of broccoli, a few new potatoes, the rest of a head of garlic, some parsley, the remnants of a bag of frozen corn, and a piece of turkey sausage all in some chicken broth. I added some pepper flakes for a little zing. Originally I figured I would eat it for lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday but John decided to help by chopping up the garlic so I had to share it with him. I will have to make something magical from my empty refrigerator tomorrow!

 

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A bonanza of leftovers – 10/17/16

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Beebamom

After hugging Jon goodbye, it was time to take stock of what we had left over in the refrigerator. Hmmm, beans, rice, lasagna, peppers and onions, and the remnants of my lunches at Mongolian BBQ and Mad Pita Express.

For lunch I ate the rest of my Mongolian BBQ take-along and for dinner we heated up the lasagna and embellished a salad with Mad Pita leftovers.

Salad with leftovers

Salad with leftovers

Leftover lasagna with salad

Leftover lasagna with salad

Tomorrow we will cobbled together another leftover dinner with the rest of the bits and pieces in the refrigerator and a chicken breast. Time to get back on the straight and narrow – the holidays are looming ahead!

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Sausage and polenta with peppers and onions – 10/16/16

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Beebamom
Sausage with peppers and onions over polenta

Sausage with peppers and onions over polenta

Tonight was a collaborative effort, Jon did a beautiful job cutting the vegetables and John cooked everything. I directed from the couch. John makes the polenta 5:1 so it is really creamy. This was our last dinner together before Jon leaves for home tomorrow morning. What a great week we had together!

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Lunch at the “Q” – 10/16/16

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Beebamom

Our son’s last full vacation day with us was filled with favorite things to do and eat. First thing in the morning we played tennis for an hour and a half to have a little calorie cushion. After rest up and clean up we headed over to Mongolian BBQ or “the Q” as we call it.

Vegetarian bowl from the Q

Vegetarian (and vegan) bowl from the Q

At the Mongolian BBQ in St. George you select a bowl size and then proceed down a long counter filled with fresh ingredients. I always choose all vegetables, noodles, and peanuts. The guys also took pork and beef. After dousing your concoction with various sauces, it is ready for the big, round flat top grill. In a matter of minutes it’s cooked and returned to you. Yum, fresh and delicious! I brought part of mine home to enjoy for lunch tomorrow.

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Fried Scallops with brussel sprout salad – 10/15/16

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Beebamom

Last night we took a little break from cooking but tonight we were back on the make-it-at home trail. Since our son is visiting us this week we are making everything he likes best. Tonight it’s fried scallops with a brussel sprouts salad.

Fried scallops and tartar sauce with brussel sprout salad

Fried scallops and tartar sauce with brussel sprout salad

This doesn’t take a great picture but, boy, is it good! The first time I ever had fried scallops was at Sanitary Seafood in a coastal town in NC over 30 years ago. The first time I ever tried to make them myself was just a few months ago. They are so delicious made this way. I know it isn’t the healthiest way to eat scallops but it is a real treat once in a while.

We found some good looking scallops at our local Harmon’S grocery store in Santa Clara, UT. I dredged them in seasoned flour, then egg, and finally seasoned panko breadcrumbs.  John took our electric wok filled with oil outside and fired it up to 375F. Once the oil was hot, he cooked them for about 5 minutes, rolling them around until they ere golden brown and delicious. We did them in small batches.

What a great dinner!

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