Spicy chicken and mushrooms. 1/10/26

Posted on January 11, 2026 by Beebamom

This is a recipe that I adapted from the NYTimes Cooking site. Because we almost exclusively use rotisserie chicken for our chicken dishes, I omitted chicken thighs that needed to be cooked and subbed in thick slices of rotisserie chicken breast. Plus I also omitted a bunch of anchovies and added 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce. Here is a link to the original recipe.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/763568708-one-pan-spicy-chicken-thighs-and-mushrooms?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Here’s my adapted recipe –

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This dish is spicy and salty with plenty of umami. There is no need for any extra salt as the miso provides all the salt you need. Definitely serve the chicken with rice as there is plenty of sauce for it to absorb. The picture of the spicy chicken and mushrooms is not mine but is a picture that accompanied the original recipe.

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Gochujang potato stew with bean and greens. 1/9/26

Posted on January 10, 2026 by Beebamom

This is a NYTimes Cooking recipe that you should be able to access since the link has a “share” on it..

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024082-gochujang-potato-stew?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

It is pretty much carbo heaven since you have a combo of potatoes, beans, and rice. There is also quite a bit of salt in it. I woke up today with puffy eyes. It is really tasty comfort food that I am willing to make every once in a while.

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Shrimp and broccoli with polenta (plus a bonus recipe). 1/8/26

Posted on January 9, 2026 by Beebamom
Sautéed shrimp and broccoli over polenta

This is such a quick and easy dinner! Bring 3 1/2 cups of salted water to a boil and add 1/2 cup polenta in a steady stream. Stir for about 20 minutes until it thickens. Stir in a tablespoon of butter. We take turns with the stirring. Sauté shrimp in olive oil for a few minutes on each side while the broccoli cooks in a blend of a melted pat of butter and a sprinkling of water and salt.

The polenta will be quite loose and is almost like a thick sauce for the shrimp and broccoli. Leftover polenta will turn into a solid brick which is pretty yummy too.

Since Sarah had an eggplant and some mozzarella that needed using she found a recipe from Food Network and made herself an eggplant parmesan in the oven while we made our dinner on the stovetop.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/no-fry-sheet-pan-eggplant-parmesan-3543388

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Ras el hanout chickpeas and greens. 1/7/26

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Beebamom
Ras el hanout chickpeas and greens with yogurt and rice

This is a new recipe for a vegan dinner that I saw on the New York Times Cooking site. Much like everyone else I am trying to eat in a healthier manner. I am including the recipe below but I did not make it absolutely the same. First of all, I am just cooking for John and me so I cut the amount of chickpeas down to two cans. We like lots of sauce so I upped the stock to two cups and I opted for kale instead of spinach. Everything else I left the same.

It tasted very good. John suggested we put it into our dinner rotation which is high praise indeed.

Ras el hanout chickpeas and greens

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Posted in Easy, Legumes, North African, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chili. 1/6/26

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Beebamom

Chili made with ground beef and Muir Glen Chili Starter

Tonight is Sarah’s night to cook. She had found a large can of Muir Glen chili starter for $.99 and some ground beef on sale so she was eager to make chili. She added some garlic and onion plus some chipotle chili powder which gave the chili a pleasant smoky/spicy taste. She sautéed the garlic and onion and browned the meat before adding the chili starter. After a short time of simmering the chili was ready. She really made a great tasting chili!

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Pizza! 1/5/26

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Beebamom

Hello and happy 2026! John and I have just returned from some extensive traveling. We landed at SFO tonight during a heavy rainstorm which made the flight more stressful than usual. When we got in the house we were not prepared for cooking dinner so we called for pizza delivery. Tomorrow the cooking will start.

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Weekly Menu. January 5 – 11, 2026

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Beebamom

We are back from our travels and ready to start a new year of Dining Lite! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I am looking forward to a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

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Penne with broccoli and tuna. 12/15/25

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Beebamom
Whole grain penne with broccoli and tuna

This is an easy but very tasty dinner. And it can all be made in the time it takes to heat up the water and cook the pasta. While John was tending the water and the pasta, I sautéed onions and garlic in olive oil with some salt, chili flakes, and oregano. Then I added the broccoli florets making sure they were cooked but still retained their bright green color. After John drained the pasta he added it to the broccoli mixture and I stirred it around over a low flame adding a little reserved pasta water and a little more olive oil. Right before serving I added the canned tuna trying to leave it in large flakes while folding it into the pasta and warming it through. This is a quick and easy but satisfying dinner.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Italian, Methods, Pasta, pescatarian, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Red wine braised turkey legs. 12/14/25

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Beebamom
Red wine braised turkey legs

At the end of last week Sarah and I went shopping at Grocery Outlet where we saw frozen turkeys for $5. This was too good to pass up so we bought one which I would estimate was in the 13-16 pound range. All weekend the turkey defrosted in the refrigerator until Monday when Sarah butchered it into leg/thigh pieces, breasts, wings, and carcass.

She found a recipe on Serious Eats by Kenji Lopez-Alt for red wine braised turkey legs and made it for us. It was really good! It wasn’t like Thanksgiving turkey at all. It was like a tender meat in a divine sauce. I have copied the recipe below and at one point he tells you to strain the cooking liquid and discard the vegetables and herbs. We picked out the herb stems but kept the vegetables and they were delicious too!

I ate my turkey with rice and John had his with mashed potatoes. It was pretty fabulous. Here’s a picture of what it looks like before you cut the meat off the bones followed by a link to the recipe. Many thanks to Sarah for cooking us a wonderful dinner that probably cost less than $1 a serving.

https://www.seriouseats.com/red-wine-braised-turkey-legs

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Clam chowder. 12/13/25

Posted on December 14, 2025 by Beebamom
New England clam chowder

These chilly days really call for a bowl of warming soup. Our clam chowder really fills the bill.

For the recipe please see my post from October, 2025.

Clam Chowder. 10/15/25
Posted in American, pescatarian, Recipes, Shellfish, soup, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment