Quaker Oats meatloaf, baked potato, mixed vegetables 11/13/23

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Beebamom
Quaker Oats meatloaf, baked potato, cauliflower and broccoli

I tried a new meatloaf recipe from Quaker Oats replacing the bread crumbs with old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats. It came out quite good except for being a bit crumbly. I have seen other recipes using quick oats which are finer in texture. Maybe they would have made the meatloaf hang together better but I just used what I had on hand. Here is the recipe –

https://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/classic-meatloaf

Since the meat loaf had to roast in the oven for almost an hour at 350F I zapped the potato halves in the microwave for 4 minutes to make up for the lower temperature and then stuck them in the oven with the meatloaf. They came out perfectly cooked.

Finally when the meatloaf and potato were done I sautéed the broccoli and cauliflower in a covered pan with 1/4 cup of water, a tablespoon of butter, and salt. After a few minutes I uncovered the pan letting the water evaporate and causing the vegetables to brown in the residual butter.

I served my plate with a puddle of ketchup which I love with baked potatoes and meatloaf. Excitingly we have enough meatloaf leftovers for lunch today!

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Methods, Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Breakfast for Dinner. 11/12/23

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Beebamom
Scrambled eggs and broccoli over Asian rice

For this Sunday’s BFD John made his usual omelet and I tried something different. At lunch I had a banh mi bowl from Lee’s Sandwiches, a local chain. As the rice component there was a jasmine rice that had some sweetness to it. I did not eat all of it so I figured that the rice could be the base for my dish.

I added a little soy sauce to the rice so it would not taste sweet and also added some broccoli florets and green onions. Heating up the rice in the microwave was enough to cook the florets and green onions. Then I scrambled two eggs to a soft curd and put them on top of the rice and broccoli. A garnish of green onions completed my BFD.

It was pretty tasty. I wish I had added more vegetables but I was feeling lazy.

Posted in Easy, Eggs, leftovers, Methods, rice, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. November 13-17, 2023

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Beebamom
Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Chickpea stew/soup. 11/11/23

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Beebamom
Chickpea stew/soup

Usually we make this recipe using ditalini as the stew pasta. Since I have been cutting out gluten in my diet we needed to find a different starch. I thought about adding potatoes or maybe rice noodles but I had a box of casarecce that was made from chickpea flour so I decided to go with that.

This is a soupy stew with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and zucchini. For the tomato flavor I used a can of Rotel. It uses a can of chickpeas and a handful of greens. The liquid is some sort of stock (I used chicken stock) and it can be finished with a grating of Parmesan cheese. A Parmesan rind is also a good flavor booster. Of course if you want to keep this vegan you would use vegetable stock and omit the Parmesan cheese.

A word about chickpea pasta. It does not have the flavor or texture of regular pasta. It kind of disintegrates in your mouth. It has a distinct chickpea flavor which in this dish was not awful. I would hesitate using it in other dishes.

Posted in American, Legumes, Pasta, Recipes, soup, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Roast Atlantic cod with sheet pan vegetables 11/10/23

Posted on November 11, 2023 by Beebamom
Roasted Atlantic cod with sheet pan vegetables

We were so pleased that Whole Foods had Atlantic cod on sale this week. We usually only get Pacific cod here on the West Coast and I like the taste of Atlantic cod better.

Since we were cooking the cod at 400F I figured I would put the vegetables on a sheet pan and cook them at an overlapping time. With a 20 minute cook time I started the vegetables first. On the sheet pan I had red onion, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, red bell pepper, and broccoli. I tossed them in a bag first with olive oil and salt.

With ten minutes to go on the vegetables John put the seasoned (salt, garlic powder, Old Bay, olive oil) cod in the oven. It came out perfectly after 10 minutes.

I made an olive oil, butter, lemon, and parsley sauce which went well with everything. The dinner was delicious and done quickly with little mess. Yay! for fish!!

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

California burger, microwave fries, salad. 11/9/23

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Beebamom
Grilled California burger, microwaved fries, salad

New Jersey is known for its iconic diners. We had one in our small town serving hearty diner-type food. We used to go there after dates or as a family for a low-priced meal. Of course they featured a lot of burgers. My favorite was the California burger. California might as well have been Mars to a kid growing up in the 1950s on the Jersey Shore. I probably liked this particular burger because it was exotic. Fresh vegetables and both ketchup and mayonnaise on a hamburger!? Gadzooks!

So tonight I recreated a childhood favorite, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo, ketchup, and a perfectly grilled hamburger with a toasted bun. Kudos to John for the great grilling job.

On the not-so-great front, I tried Ore Ida’s microwaveable French fries. They were on sale for 99¢. I should have saved my dollar. They came out weirdly dense and not crispy but we ate them nonetheless. And we had a salad.

So, yay! for the burgers, boo! for the fries, and ho-hum for the salad.

(Follow the link for a look at the actual Palace Diner in Red Bank, NJ)

https://images.app.goo.gl/C6TvxUcKzWraHdTt7

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

Chicken breast with gravy, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts. 11/8/23

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Beebamom
Chicken, gravy, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts

This dinner looks and eats like a pared down Thanksgiving dinner. The chicken is one of the sliced up breasts from Monday’s Costco rotisserie chicken. John made up a packet of chicken gravy and added some of the chicken jus for a better taste. Shortly before dinner he added the chicken slices to gravy until they were warmed through.

I took care of roasting and mashing the butternut squash. Since it is gourd season the squash was particularly flavorful. I did not even add butter to the mash just some salt.

I made the sprouts according to my own recipe.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH DRY SHERRY

Posted in American, Methods, Poultry, Uncategorized, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chilean sea bass, new potatoes, broccoli 11/7/23

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Beebamom
Roasted Chilean sea bass, steamed new potatoes, sautéed broccoli

On our way over to the rotisserie chickens at Costco we stopped at the fish counter and found a beautiful piece of Chilean sea bass. Instead of having a shrimp dish on Tuesday we decided to move our fresh fish into the Tuesday slot.

John cooked the fish in a 400F oven. Usually he cooks it for 12-14 minutes but since this piece was thicker it took longer to cook. I started steaming the potatoes ahead of the fish since they took 25 minutes. The broccoli was sautéed briefly in a little butter and water. A squeeze of lemon was the perfect pairing with the fish and the vegetables.

What a delightful treat for a Tuesday. The three of us were very happy with our dinner.

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Methods, pescatarian, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chicken enchiladas. 11/6/23

Posted on November 7, 2023 by Beebamom
Chicken enchiladas

John and I go to Costco about every three weeks and whenever we go we buy a Costco rotisserie chicken. A $4.99 chicken turns into at least two dinners, several lunches, and lots of stock. Plus my daughter and I have a great time taking it apart, separating the various components, and snacking on bits and pieces as we work on it.

We always make chicken enchiladas the first day we buy the chicken. The chicken is easiest to shred when the it is still warm. Our chicken was so big that one breast made more than enough shredded chicken for 13 enchiladas. I still have enough shredded chicken left over for a hearty soup.

Our enchilada casserole is mostly an assembly process. A layer of salsa verde goes down in my casserole dish. John chars the corn tortillas and hands them off to me. I cradle a tortilla in my hand and fill it with a spoonful of salsa verde, some shredded chicken, a sprinkling of chopped onions and shredded cheese, and a final dollop of salsa verde. I roll up the tortilla and nestle it tightly next to the others in the dish. I can fit 10 tortillas down the length of the casserole dish and 3 along the side.

Once the tortilla assembly is done I top it with salsa verde, shredded cheese, and any onions I have left over. I bake it, covered, for 35 minutes in a 350F oven. Then I uncover it and set the oven to broil for around 6 minutes. At this point you have to watch it so the top gets nice and brown but not burnt.

Yum! It is so good! The three of us managed to eat ten enchiladas. That means that tomorrow when I have my weekly lunch date with my daughter John will have a terrific lunch of chicken enchilada leftovers!

Posted in Methods, Mexican, Poultry, Southwest U.S., Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Salmon bowl with rice. 11/5/23

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Beebamom
Salmon bowl with rice

We started making these bowls when we came across a recipe from The NY Times. Since that original salmon bowl the recipe has morphed into tofu bowls and shrimp bowls. If you have access to The NY Times cooking site here is the URL. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022255-sesame-salmon-bowls?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Here are a few of my tips when making this dish – double the amount of dressing, add two cloves of garlic, a splash of water, and a pinch of sugar to the dressing. Since I use my mini prep to make the dressing, I omit the oil and sesame oil when I am whizzing the dressing. It makes for much easier cleanup. Each person can use the amount of oil they want by sprinkling it over the composed dish. John bakes the salmon in the oven. You really only need about 3 ounces per person since there are so many other components to the dish. I slice as much as I can on a handheld mandolin. I use cabbage that I shred myself from an actual head of cabbage. It is much juicier than the dried out shreds in a bag and much more economical.

My add-ons are cucumber, cabbage, edamame, avocado, cilantro, green onion, jalapeño, and a sprinkling of furikake. I use a combination of rice and riced cauliflower (50/50) for the base. It keeps the calories down.

As I said making a bowl like this is also good with shrimp or tofu. We have some sort of bowl every two weeks. Oh, and the ripeness of the avocado dictates when you will make it!

Posted in Asian, Fish, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Methods, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Uncategorized, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment