Faux hot dog with an inventive pita bun. 11/4/23

Turkey sausage “hot dog” on a pita bun

On Saturday we were supposed to be preparing an Asian salmon bowl. It is one of our daughter’s favorite things we make. Unfortunately she was not feeling well so we decided to push the bowl to Sunday and find something different for us to eat. What we came up with was kind of a hot dog on kind of a bun with a handful of tortilla chips all served on a paper plate.

We had two 4 ounce pieces of smoked turkey sausage. John left his whole but I sliced mine in half length-wise and cooked the pieces in the microwave for 90 seconds. To make my bun I took 1/2 pita and tore it into two equal semi-circles by separating the pita half along the rounded edge. One piece is usually a little thicker than the other. I toasted these briefly and when they came out of the toaster I folded them gently in my hand into the shape of a taco. They will hold that shape as they cool. Be careful not to burn your hand. Mold them as soon as they can be handled safely.

I slid the “hot dogs” into their “buns” and dressed them with mustard, relish, and chopped onions. A handful of tortilla chips completed my dinner paper plate.

So our dinner was not elegant but we had fun sitting on the couch and watching TV with our hot dogs and a glass of very “ordinaire “ wine.

Posted in American, Easy, Methods, Poultry | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. November 6-12, 2023

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Grilled flank steak, baked potato, zucchini. 11/3/23

Grilled flank steak, grilled baked potato, zucchini melange

John did a great job grilling the steak. He seasoned it with salt, garlic, powder, pepper, and smoked paprika. On a pre-heated grill the cooking time is only two and a half to three minutes per side. While he cooked the steak he also put the pre-baked potatoes on the grill for a little tasty char.

I also sautéed onions, garlic, and red bell peppers in some olive oil until they were soft and sweet. Then I added some sliced zucchini and cooked it along with the other vegetables. I needed to add the zucchini after the other vegetables were already cooked so they would not get over done and slimy.

On my plate you will see a pool of ketchup. Yes, I like ketchup with my steak. But mostly I like it with my potato. I started having baked potatoes with ketchup years ago because I rarely have French fries due to dieting. Having ketchup with my baked potato allows me to pretend I am eating French fries. (I know that’s pretty sad!)

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

Buffalo chicken wings and salad. 11/2/23

Not having a menu has dinner topsy-turvy this week. Since we did not take a flank steak out of the freezer early enough for dinner our fallback plan was to make some frozen Buffalo chicken wings and have a salad. It was easy but hardly worth reporting on.

I used a Taylor Farms Steakhouse Wedge as the base for our salad. I switched out the dressing using Bolthouse blue cheese dressing on mine. The Bolthouse dressing is yogurt based and many fewer calories. I used it for a chicken wing dip as well.

Salad with crumbles and cherry tomatoes dressed with Bolthouse blue cheese dressing

The chicken wings were cooked from frozen on a sheet pan for 22 minutes at 425 F and then for 5 minutes more at 450 F. They came out nice and crispy. We dipped them in hot sauce and blue cheese dressing.

Buffalo chicken wings with celery and carrot sticks and dips

I think we are back on track now. Dinner on Friday is grilled flank steak, Saturday is chicken enchiladas, and Sunday, our usual Breakfast for Dinner. Then it’s a new week of meal planning!

Posted in American, Easy, Poultry, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Too much sauce! 11/1/23

Spaghetti with too much tomato sauce!

I had some tomato sauce left over from last week’s pasta meal. Once I put it in a pan to reheat John and I agreed that it looked like it wasn’t enough for the amount of pasta that he was making. So I added another 14 ounce can of crushed tomatoes which made the amount too much! Deciding that having a small amount of sauce left over again made no sense, we went ahead and just used it all. A lot of sauce was perfect for John but too much for me! I ended up with lots of sauce left in my bowl (which John ate up afterwards.) I need to divide it up into two equal portions the next time I make spaghetti sauce. Plan ahead!

Posted in American, Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shrimp with polenta and broccoli. 11/1/23

Shrimp with polenta and broccoli

We have not planned a menu or gone food shopping for this week but we always have shrimp, broccoli, and polenta on hand. Except for all the stirring of the polenta (we take turns!) this is a really easy, quick, delicious dinner!

Posted in American, Easy, Grains, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sheet pan turkey sausage and vegetables. 10/30/23

Sheet pan turkey sausage with potatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, and cabbage

Sheet pan cooking is so easy and the clean-up is minimal. I preheated the oven to 425F and cut up, oiled, and salted some potatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, and cabbage. After 20 minutes I added the turkey sausage for the last 10 minutes. The zucchini was overdone but everything else turned out great. I ate my plateful with some yellow mustard while John enjoyed his with a few grinds of pepper. A great, quick, easy, and tasty dinner!

Posted in American, Easy, Poultry, Sheet pan, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ethiopian fare. 10/29/23

Ethiopian platter served over injera

Our daughter has had her best friend visiting from Belgium for the last several days so we have been eating out a lot. Her friend is originally from the Los Angeles area and when he comes to visit she and he like to visit all the ethnic cuisines that he doesn’t have in his local area around Ghent. We have been eating Mexican, Vietnamese, and our favorite, Ethiopian, cuisines while he has been visiting.

This yummy platter with various dishes is served on a bed of injera which is an Ethiopian bread made from the ancient grain, teff. Various things on the platter are spicy lentils, split peas, salad, greens, a combo of potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, plus two meat dishes of lamb, and chicken. A basket of rolled up pieces of injera are served and you tear off pieces to grab mouthfuls from the platter. No knives and forks!

It is super delicious and we had a good time sharing dinner and reminiscing about previous times we had been there. It’s been 4 years since our last visit what with the pandemic and the fact that it is about 25 miles away but it is such a treat that we want to go more often.

Hopefully we will get back to our regular cooking at home regime on Monday.

Posted in Dining out, Ethiopian, Grains, Lamb, Legumes, North African, Poultry, Salad, Special occasion, Vegetables | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New England Clam Chowder. 10/27/23

New England Clam Chowder

Here is my recipe for New England clam chowder. The heavy cream measure is as decadent as you like, anywhere from 2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup or more. The consistency is soupy not paste-like. I think it is delicious.

Posted in American, pescatarian, Recipes, Shellfish, soup, Vegetables | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sous vide pork tenderloin with new potatoes and broccoli. 10/25/23

Sous vide pork tenderloin with steamed new potatoes and broccoli

This is our last try with pork tenderloin. According to Serious Eats if you cook the tenderloin in a sous vide bath set at 130F, the pork should come out flavorful, juicy, and tender. You do not have to worry about not cooking it until well-done because time X temperature equals cooked enough to kill any problematic bugs.

John seasoned the pork with garlic, onion, thyme, salt and pepper. After it came out of the bath it got a quick sear on the grill. The pork came out tender, slightly juicy, and tasteless. So we are officially giving up on pork tenderloin. As far as I am concerned the only good pork is pork butt, country ribs, bacon, and sausage.

In order to make the tenderloin taste like something I dipped it in barbecue sauce. Then it tasted like barbecue sauce. I also steamed some potatoes and broccoli which were definitely more flavorful than the pork!

Posted in American, Grilling, Pork, sous vide, Vegetables | Tagged | 4 Comments