When you need to use up the vegetables in your crisper, dowsing them in some EVOO and salt and laying them out on a sheet pan is a great way to go. I made two sheets, one for harder vegetables (pictured above) and one for more tender vegetables and the turkey kielbasa. With the oven set at 425F I started the harder vegetables 10 minutes before the more tender ones. Dinner was ready in about 25 minutes.
Very yummy and very filling with easy clean-up!
I know it looks weird but when you need to avoid gluten you have to be inventive. John grilled the hamburgers and I charred two tortillas and formed a taco shape while they were still warm. I used my typical burger condiments, ketchup, mayo, and onion, inside the taco shell. Then I sliced the hamburger patty in half so it fit in my tacos perfectly.
How did it taste? It was very good and much better than imitation bread products. Most of them taste odd. I would rather adapt a real product than eat one that is trying to imitate the flavor and texture of bread.
On Saturday we attended a joint birthday party for my friend, George 12/9, and me, 12/8. We have been doing this for many years. The table was laden with many delicious treats- latkes and sour cream, chips and guacamole, shrimp cocktail, sandwich wraps, cookies, herring, deviled eggs, crackers and cheese rolls.
Of course it was too much for 10 people to eat! We brought a bunch home and had a second hors d’oeuvres dinner on Sunday. On Monday it will be time to get back to cooking!
Friday it was my birthday so we made a special meal. We tried to duplicate our son’s fancy meal which we last had a couple of weeks ago when we were in Utah. It is a delicious combination of leeks, potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, and scallops in a beurre blanc sauce. Wow, does it take a lot of pots and pans to make! But it came out so delicious that I had half eaten it before I remembered to take a picture.
Our daughter also made a bunch of cookies including macaroons which I can eat because of no gluten.
I love her cookies! They are not too sweet and have plenty of salt. We are taking some to a party tonight.
I also got some beautiful flowers from John and my best friend.
So far it has been a super birthday and I still have two parties to go!
So much yumminess in this bowl! With the exception of the rice underneath, everything else is raw. In the soy-ginger vinaigrette are shredded cabbage, extra firm tofu, thinly sliced cucumber, jalapeño, edamame, avocado, cilantro, and sesame seeds. A squeeze of lime finishes the dish.
The fish we used is tilapia. We buy it at Costco and we split the fillets lengthwise once they are done cooking. They are a perfect size for our corn tortillas. The tortillas are softened and charred over an open flame. Other components of our fish tacos are chopped onions, shredded cabbage, and a spicy avocado sauce.
After eating a large lunch at a new (to us) Ethiopian place, I whittled my dinner down to one lamb chop and a quarter of a baked potato. Here is a picture of my lunch.
It was fine but will not replace our favorite Ethiopian place, Zeni’s, in San Jose. Too bad because this restaurant is a lot closer.
Getting back to dinner, it was pretty straightforward —grilled lamb chop, microwaved and then grilled sweet potato, and Brussels sprouts sautéed in a pan with a little butter and dry sherry. Everything turned out deliciously well.
It is my birthday on Friday so we will be making a fancy dinner along with going to a party on Saturday. I have been celebrating with a friend whose birthday is the day after mine. We started doing this when I was 28 and he was 33. We have been doing it now for (mumble) years. This is a special landmark birthday for both of us this year so there will be lots of celebrating!
I am using the chicken that I shredded off our rotisserie chicken from Friday. This makes two dinners, 2 soups, and 1 lunch so far. I still have to use a wing, thigh, and leg. I foresee a leftover enchilada lunch for John, the leg and thigh portion for another lunch, and probably 2 more soups for me! What a bargain this $4.99 rotisserie chicken has been!
Chicken enchiladas are a combination of shredded chicken, salsa verde, chopped onion, and some cheese rolled into a corn tortilla. Any leftover salsa verde, onions, and cheese go on top. I bake it covered for 30 minutes at 350F and then uncover it and put it under the broiler until the cheese on top is melted, maybe 5 minutes.
Scrambled egg nachos are a fun treat to eat. After heating the beans and corn, I scrambled the egg and set it side. First I put down a layer of chips. Then I added a layer of corn and beans followed by some salsa. Next a layer of the scrambled egg and pre-cooked chicken. Finally a round of nacho chips and cheese. I cooked the whole thing under the broiler for a couple of minutes until everything was hot and the cheese had melted. Dinner as a snack, Yum!
(I just happened to have some chicken leftover from the rotisserie chicken we bought earlier in the week. This can certainly be a vegetarian dish.)
Omnivore 