I made the stuffing first thing in the morning so we could avoid heating up the kitchen at dinner time. The stuffing is a combination of sautéed ground beef, onion, garlic, oregano, salt, cooked rice, and Rao’s vodka sauce. I soften the pepper shells with a spin in the microwave and then bake the stuffed shells in a 400F oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Then I remove the foil for the last 10 minutes. The refrigerated peppers heat up in the microwave in 2 to 3 minutes when it is time to eat.
This is a very easy and economical dinner. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil. Add cut up turkey sausage followed by lentils, chicken stock and salt. Cook, making sure that the stock level stays high enough, until the lentils are done, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!
There was asparagus on sale this week for $1.99/lb. so I bought a bunch and cut the stalks into penne-length pieces. We like the whole grain penne with the asparagus. It has more flavor than plain penne. The sauce consists of pasta water and olive oil. Easy and very tasty!
John did a superb job grilling our lamb chops. I made the broccoli. John also had some rice but I wanted to concentrate on the protein.
Easy dinner tonight. We needed to use up three hot dogs and some sauerkraut as well as a packaged salad that was nearing its “best by” date. The hot dogs are the Costco brand that are bigger and so much cheaper than the Nathan’s hot dogs we usually buy. The Nathan’s brand seems to have experienced “shrinkflation” and the hot dogs don’t even fill up the average bun. Flavor-wise the Nathan’s brand might have a slight edge over Costco but not enough for the premium we were paying.
Tonight was Sarah’s night to cook. Since we had a leftover fennel bulb she was determined to find a pasta recipe that called for the leftover fennel and a little pork sausage that she had frozen. She also used shells instead of orecchiette. Here is the recipe she came up with —
https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/sausage-and-fennel-ragu-with-orecchiette
As all Sarah’s pasta dishes are, this was yummy!
I feel like this fish dish is becoming as prevalent in our menu as Classic Chicken. With the rice already made all I have to do is heat it up in the microwave and cook the broccoli. Quickly mix together a couple of different mustards, a teaspoon of capers, a dash of vinegar, a pinch of sugar and some water to make the sauce. Keep tasting it until you find your mustard sauce happy spot. Use the water to thin it out a bit.
Another new dish this week! John found this AI generated recipe while he was looking for hints for making chicken piccata. John said his chicken was a little tough but mine was perfect.
I think I would like a thicker sauce. We will have to work on that for next time.
Chicken piccata
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep the chicken: Slice your chicken breasts in half horizontally (butterfly them) and use a meat mallet to pound them to an even ¼ inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper, then lightly dredge in flour, shaking off any excess.
Sear: Heat the oil and 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for about 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and transfer to a serving plate.
Build the sauce: In the same skillet, whisk in the lemon juice, stock (or wine), and capers. Bring to a boil, scraping up the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the sauce reduce for about 3–4 minutes.
Finish: Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the remaining 3 tablespoons of cold butter until the sauce is glossy and emulsified. Return the chicken to the skillet to coat in the sauce, garnish with parsley, and serve.
