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Classic Chicken dinner. 2/1/25
I know you are probably tired of classic chicken dinner appearing almost every week. So am I. We changed it a little this week with rice instead of mashed potatoes but our second dinner with a rotisserie chicken needs an updating. I found a recipe for Chicken Lo Mein that I think I will try the next time we go to Costco and buy a chicken.
As usual I sliced up one of the chicken breasts and warmed it gently in a pot of chicken gravy made from a packet. The rice was left over from an earlier dinner. I had 20 Brussels sprouts which turned into 40 when I sliced them in half. I start them cut side down in a large frying pan with a little water, a tablespoon of butter, and a sprinkling of sugar. After the water comes to a boil I turn it to simmer and cover the pan and let them cook for about 5ish minutes. Then I take off the cover and let the water steam off. When the water is almost gone I add a shot glass of dry sherry. The sherry cooks off leaving a nice nutty flavor. Then I just wait until the sprouts are browned in the remaining butter in the pan. They are really good. Trust me.
Posted in American, Easy, Methods, Poultry, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged brussels sprouts, chicken, rice
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New England Clam Chowder. 1/31/25
Except for chopping up potatoes, onions, leeks, and celery everything else is pretty much a pantry item. We used canned minced clams, clam juice, the liquid from the clams, and some heavy cream. We made a big pot of it in the hopes that there would be plenty left over. Only problem is that we all liked it so much that each of us had two bowls! There was only enough left for John’s lunch on Saturday.
Mediterranean Bowl. 1/30/25
Tonight Sarah made us a Mediterranean bowl. Loaded on top of rice were chickpeas, slivered red onions, hummus, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, olives, and feta cheese. We gave it a drizzle of olive oil and it was ready to eat. It was tasty, healthy, and filling. I am really enjoying Sarah’s Thursday night creations.
Posted in Easy, Legumes, Mediterranean, rice, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners
Tagged chickpeas, hummus
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Happy Lunar New Year! 1/29/25 The Year of the Snake!
Lots of folks here in Northern California are celebrating Lunar New Year. Since we are a family who likes to share in the celebrations of lots of cultures, we decide to make a holiday dinner of Asian treats. We started off with pot stickers. I cannot claim to have made them. The Ling Ling pork and vegetable pot stickers come in a frozen bag but I did have to follow directions and try to get them unstuck from the pan!
After our first course of pot stickers we completed cooking the Vietnamese soup, pho, with beef. I used a shortened recipe from Jet Tila of the Food Network. We started by enhancing some beef stock with spices, onions, ginger, and fish sauce. When the stock has cooked for a bit you sieve it and serve the soup with some cooked rice noodles, jalapeño, onion slices, bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, and some very thinly sliced beef. We took a short cut and used some rare beef sliced from the deli.
Here’s a link to Jet Tila’s recipe in case you would like to try making it.
Here’s a picture of how ours turned out. We had too many accompaniments for the amount of broth. Next time we will double the amount of beef broth.
We had fun trying some dishes that we don’t normally make. It was also pretty delicious!
Posted in Appetizers, Asian, Beef, Holidays, soup, Vegetables
Tagged pho, pot stickers, soup
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Chicken soft tacos with spicy beans. 1/28/25
Instead of our usual chicken enchiladas we decided to go with chicken tacos this week. I shredded up a chicken breast from our Costco chicken and fashioned a make-your-own taco bar. John toasted tortillas and we filled our tacos with the shredded chicken, shredded cabbage, chopped onions, cheese, salsa verde, and a sprinkling of our spicy beans. The beans were simply a combination of canned black beans and Rotel (a spicy tomato mixture) and some cumin. (In typing this up I just realized I forgot the cilantro!)
The dinner was fine but I think that we will be going back to enchiladas next week!
Posted in American, Easy, Legumes, Methods, Mexican, Poultry, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged black beans, chicken, taco
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Grilled hamburgers and salad. 1/27/25
It’s chilly out but not too cold to grill hamburgers! We had a summer dinner at the end of January. John did a great job grilling our burgers to medium rare. I made a fresh salad to go along side. January or June, grilled hamburgers are a great dinner.
Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged hamburgers
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Penne with kale and mushroom 1/26/25
Our dinner for Sunday night was a hearty pasta bowl. While the salted water heated up I sautéed the mushrooms with onions and garlic and wilted the kale in the same pan. When the penne was cooked John drained it and put it in my pan of vegetables. I stirred the penne and veg and then added a half cup of pasta water and a tablespoon of olive oil. We sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top.
Posted in American, Easy, Methods, Pasta, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners
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Salmon and broccoli with polenta. 1/24/25
We make a very loose polenta, about a ratio of 6:1, and use it as both a starch and a sauce. It is especially good with broccoli. John cooks the salmon in a 400F oven for 10 to 12 minutes depending on thickness and it is cooked but still moist inside. The whole dinner comes together in about 30 minutes. Easy, quick, and delicious!
Posted in American, Easy, Fish, pescatarian, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners
Tagged broccoli, polenta, salmon
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Omnivore 