For our Breakfast for Dinner night I made a kind of mishmash of leftovers in the refrigerator. Pepperoni, chicken, green onions, jalapeño, shredded cheese, and an egg went into the mix. I scrambled the egg very loosely and put it on the top. Then I microwaved the whole dish for one minute which firmed up the egg and melted the cheese.
It tasted okay and was fun to eat.
The heat seems never ending and I am starting to recycle my hot weather meals. I use this NY Times recipe as a starting point for my gazpacho. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017577-best-gazpacho?unlocked_article_code=1.JE4.HT8S.aPXx_YXLQmVT&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share
Of course there are little tweaks along the way – more salt, more spice, some V-8 juice. I am tasting it as I put more ingredients in the blender.
The pita and hummus are store bought. I use the remainder of my gazpacho garnish, small diced onions, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber, to top the hummus.
We have leftover gazpacho for Sunday’s lunch. I will bet it tastes even better after a night in the refrigerator!
It has been very hot here in Northern California. Unless you live close to the ocean, which we do not, temperatures have been over 100F. Due to our inept electric company we are asked to conserve energy 4-8 PM. That means no air conditioning! We have been preparing meals that do not involve using the oven or much cooking on the stove top.
Poor John was tasked with grilling outside in the hot weather standing over the even hotter grill! Nonetheless he did a super job grilling our rib eye steak as you can see in the picture. It was delish with its rosy interior and char on the outside! My contribution was making the salad and putting together microwaveable mashed potatoes.
Tonight’s dinner dish starts with either a base of rice noodles or rice. We used rice because we already had it made and it could be heated in the microwave. On top of the rice are shredded chicken breast, avocado, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, cilantro, mint, bean sprouts, and peanuts. The dressing is what gives this salad its Asian flair. it is really tasty!
For the dressing
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime (or more)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 to 1 packet Splenda or 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 green onion
1 thick inch of ginger, chopped
Dash of sesame oil
I combine all the ingredients in my mini food processor.
We made these shrimp tacos in stand up taco shells which makes the filling of them much easier. John sautéed the shrimp and I was in charge of the beans and all the accompaniments. The accompaniments were sliced avocado and mango, shredded Romaine, cilantro, jalapeño, a squirt of Sriracha, and a sprinkling of lime juice. The black beans were a combo of the rinsed canned beans and a can of fire-roasted Rotel plus a half teaspoon of cumin.
Tacos are always a family favorite!
We spent part of our Labor Day watching the U.S. Open (tennis) and having a dinner of hot dogs and corn on the cob. John is quite the tennis fan and plays 3 to 4 times per week. I no longer play since my knee refuses to cooperate. Our favorite hot dogs are Nathan’s All-Beef Hot Dogs. I make the dogs by simply boiling them. I top them with diced onions, yellow mustard, and sweet relish.
For the corn I shuck it and put the ears in a dish with a little water and butter. Then I put the covered dish in the microwave for 2-3 minutes per ear depending on the size of the ear. Our local corn was on sale for 8/$1. What a delicious bargain!
Happy Labor Day!
I love the way that the asparagus mimics the shape of the penne in this super easy pasta dish. While the water gets to boiling I prep onion, garlic, and the asparagus. Once the pasta goes in the water to cook for 10 minutes I heat up some olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic. A few minutes before the pasta is done I add the asparagus. Once the pasta is drained it joins the vegetables. I stir them around a bit and add some pasta water to make a light sauce. After serving you might like to garnish it with a drizzle of olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese.
We were invited to our friends’ house for wine and snacks. Since the start time was 5 PM I wanted something filling since it would be taking the place of dinner. I decided on small meatballs in a red wine sauce. Here’s the link to the recipe. https://meaningfulmidlife.com/?p=30719
The recipe is for making your own meatballs which I did not do. Instead I used Rosina frozen meatballs which are a combination of beef, chicken, and pork.
After making the sauce I added the meatballs and let them cook in the sauce for 15 minutes until they were warmed through.
The meatballs came out soft and tasty and the sauce was good with them. I can imagine making these meatballs with Cabernet Sauvignon sauce for other functions or maybe just over some egg noodles.
Omnivore 