John’s first lonely meal, congee. 3/16/24

Congee

As promised John sent along a picture and recipe of his first solo meal since I left on vacation. Congee is an Asian rice porridge suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Thanks and ❤️ to John!

Savory Dinner Congee (kind of a hot and sour vibe)

2 Tbs chopped onion

1 Tbs chopped ginger

2 cloves garlic, chopped

some chili flakes

1 slice deli ham, chopped

1 cup leftover cooked rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 Tbs rice or cider vinegar

1 Tbs soy sauce

1/2 cup or more diced leftover chicken

1 egg

1/4 tsp sesame oil

leftover vegetables, chopped

1 scallion, sliced thin

Sweat the onion, ginger, chili flakes and ham in a little oil.

Add rice and broth.  Stir to combine.  Bring to strong boil.

Boil at least 10 minutes, whisking often until the mixture thickens.

Reduce heat.  Add vinegar, soy sauce, and chicken.  Stir to combine and heat through.

Crack the egg into the mixture.  Let sit for at least 3 minutes until the egg white is set.

Whisk mixture to break up egg white and disperse egg yolk thoroughly.

Add sesame oil and any chopped vegetables at this point.  Stir and simmer to warm through. 

Correct with additional salt, soy, vinegar, chili, sesame oil and/or Tabasco as needed.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallions.

Makes 2 ample bowls.

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Chicken breast with rice and asparagus. 3/15/24

Chicken breast with gravy, rice, and aspragus

I am taking a vacation with our daughter starting tomorrow. Since we will be on a plane for a long time I wanted to make sure dinner tonight was easy on my digestive system. Therefore we made chicken breast with a gluten free gravy, plain white rice, and asparagus. It turned out fine and I feel confident that my tummy will be happy tomorrow.

I will send along a post if we eat something interesting. Maybe I can get John to send me a picture or two of what a guy makes and eats when he is on his own. Otherwise I will be back posting regularly in a couple of weeks.


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Gochujang potato stew. 3/14/24

Gochujang potato stew

This potato stew is so delicious! We could not help ourselves and ate the whole pot. According to Wikipedia Gochujang is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. We found it in our regular grocery store’s Asian section in a red rectangular plastic container.

The stew is pretty simple. It starts out by sauteeing onions and garlic, adds the Gochujang, chicken or vegetable stock, potatoes, and a can of cannellini beans. After 10 minutes you add kale and cook it another 10 minutes. Two changes we made to the recipe from the NY Times Cooking was to add both waxy and russet potatoes and to omit the honey. It is sweet enough from the Gochujang.

Here’s a link to the recipe I used.

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

NY Times Cooking is behind a paywall but no doubt there are plenty of recipes on the internet.

Seriously, I could eat this every week!

Posted in Asian, Easy, Legumes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Hamburger on a lettuce bed with Texas caviar 3/13/24

Hamburger on a lettuce bed with Texas caviar

Since I have trouble digesting gluten, sandwiches and burgers on buns are no longer in my dinner plans. I know that there are gluten-free breads but they are a woeful substitution. Last night I decided just to eat the innards of a traditional grilled hamburger. I put the meat on a bed of lettuce that had a smear of mayo and topped it with onions and ketchup. It was not like the real thing but it was fine.

I made our family favorite, Texas caviar, as a side. The combination of beans and fresh vegetables that is spiced up with a jalapeno, Tabasco, and chipotle chile powder is really tasty.

Posted in American, Beef, Grilling, Legumes, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shrimp with broccoli and polenta. 3/12/24

Shrimp with polenta and broccoli

Love the way that the creamy polenta acts as a starch and also a sauce for the shrimp and broccoli!

Posted in American, Easy, Shellfish, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Tofu bowl with soy vinaigrette 3/11/24

Tofu bowl with edamame, cucumber, avocado, and cabbage

Making these bowls full of Asian flavor is a real favorite at our house. Tofu bowl is especially good because it is pretty much non-cooking. This means we can eat it winter and summer. John marinates the tofu in the soy vinaigrette. I always make extra vinaigrette. So, rice in first, followed by the vegetables, followed by green onion, cilantro, and jalapeños. Dressing on top.

Posted in Asian, Easy, Hot weather meals, Legumes, rice, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Leave a comment

Lentil stew with turkey sausage. 3/9/24

Lentil stew with turkey sausage

I am playing a little catch-up from last week this morning. Lentil stew was our Saturday night dinner and on Sunday we were having a family party where we ate tacos and fancy little cakes. Our daughter-in-law’s sister is a very talented cake and all things sweet maker and has been featured and won in competitions on Food Network. She made these dazzling heart shaped individual cakes for her niece’s (our granddaughter’s) 18th birthday.

Individual heart-shaped birthday cakes

Unfortunately I could not eat one because of gluten but I did try some candied citrus peel and a glazed almond that were part of the decoration and that was yummy and everyone said the cakes were great too.

Back to the lentil stew—We used Butterball turkey sausage instead of our usual Hillshire Farm and I found them to be a little sweet. Combine that with the carrot in the stew and the whole thing was sweeter than I like. I also put in some onion, garlic, and celery and scattered the top with broken up tortilla chips. Next time we have this I will go back to the Hillshire Farm turkey sausage and use a smaller carrot.

Posted in American, Desserts, Easy, Legumes, Poultry, Special occasion, stew, Vegetables | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weekly Menu. March 11 – 17, 2024

I have an abbreviated menu this week because it is time for our daughter’s annual birthday trip! This year only she and I are going and John is staying home. Surely he will make and eat something but I am not tasking him with making a menu as well. I foresee lots of egg dinners, peanut butter on toast, pasta, and take-out.

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Tilapia with broccoli and rice. 3/8/24

Roasted tilapia with rice and broccoli in a creamy tartar sauce

Since we eat fish at least once a week I am always looking for new ways to make our dinners more exciting. Friday’s dinner had the excitement of mixed rice and quinoa plus a creamy tartar sauce.

John roasted the tilapia in a 400F oven for 13 minutes. While he was doing that I heated up some leftover white rice and a small container of quick brown rice and quinoa. It only takes a minute in the microwave. Then I mixed it all together for a nice visual on the plate.

The creamy tartar sauce is a take on the now defunct Fish Market’s tartar sauce. It’s a combination of mayo, yellow mustard, lemon juice, capers, onion, and relish. What makes it creamy? I add a tablespoon of water!

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, pescatarian, rice, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grilled lamb chops with sweet potato and asparagus. 3/7/24

Grilled loin lamb chops with sweet potato and asparagus

Lamb is our favorite “red” meat. John does such a great job cooking it on the grill. Tonight was no exception. He put a nice char on the sweet potatoes that I had previously microwaved as well. Surprisingly, the asparagus that I cooked in a little water, salt, and butter got the most rave reviews of the night. I guess I got them just right—not too crunchy and not too mushy.

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