Spaghetti with tomato sauce. 10/24/23

Whole grain spaghetti with tomato sauce

Originally we were supposed to be having chickpea stew for dinner. When we looked for the ditalini we discovered that it had been used. So, what to do? I decided on making a quick tomato sauce and using the pasta that we had!

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Easy and quick spaghetti sauce

  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 2 14 oz. cans Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • Salt to taste

Heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic powder, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and cook until the onion is softened. Add the tomato paste. Stir mixture and cook for a minute. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan. Add the two cans of tomatoes. Cook for 1/2 hour covered at a simmer, stirring occasionally. Correct for seasoning before adding pasta to the sauce. This recipe makes enough for two dinners so be sure to put half of the sauce in a container to refrigerate or freeze before adding the pasta.

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Before draining the pasta we always reserve a cup of salty, starchy pasta cooking water. Use the water to get the consistency of the sauce to your liking.

This on-the-fly dinner turned out super yummy! Using good ingredients like Barilla pasta and Muir Glen tomatoes makes a difference.

Posted in Easy, Italian, Pasta, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Roasted salmon with tarragon sauce, succotash/maque choux, and steamed new potatoes. 10/23/23

Salmon, succotash, and potatoes

This was a pretty fancy dinner for a Monday night! This is our first time trying Atlantic farm raised salmon and we liked it a lot. John seasoned the fish and cooked it in a 400F oven for 12 minutes. The fish was beautifully cooked without the albumin coming out the sides. I made a white wine, butter, and tarragon sauce to go with it.

For the vegetables I steamed some new potatoes and made kind of a cross between succotash and maque choux. Plus I added edamame instead of lima beans because I do not like lima beans. (I have a very short list of things I do not like—lima beans, peas, and raw oysters.) First I sautéed chopped onion, garlic, and poblano chile . Then I added defrosted kernel corn and let that cook on low while I was waiting for the fish to finish. Finally I added the edamame just so they would get warm but still retain their bright green. A couple of tablespoons of cream finished off the dish.

The dinner was delicious but too rich and too much for me to eat! I had leftover everything which John happily ate. Next time a smaller portion of salmon and plain vegetables are what we will be making!

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Weekly Menu. October 23 – 29, 2023

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Grilled hamburgers and salad. 10/21/23

Easy dinner tonight! I started out by making the Taylor Farms Steakhouse Wedge salad and added some Power Greens, diced red onion, and the last of our daughter’s cherry tomatoes from the community garden. This made enough salad so that John and our daughter could have two helpings.

A big salad with blue cheese dressing

John manned the grill and did a superlative job cooking the burgers and toasting the rolls. We all like the same toppings—mayonnaise, ketchup, and a red onion slice.

Grilled hamburger on a toasted, seeded bun and salad
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Light shrimp scampi with rice and broccoli. 10/20/23

Light shrimp scampi with rice and broccoli

We have not made this in quite a while and we were pleasantly surprised at how good and easy it was. Since we are not strictly on our diet regimen we added 2 teaspoons of butter to the sauce at the end. It made a delicious difference.

Light Shrimp Scampi

Serves 2

4 ounces pasta or 1 cup cooked rice
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
½ tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 count)
Salt to taste
¼ low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 pitted and chopped olives or 2 tablespoons of capers
2 teaspoons butter (optional)

Cook the pasta or rice according to package direction. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring until the shallots are soft, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and the salt and cook over medium high heat turning occasionally until the shrimp are opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broth, wine, lemon juice, and olives or capers. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute and then reduce the heat to medium. Stir , the parsley, the zest, and the optional butter stirring to coat the shrimp and remove from heat. Plate the shrimp on the rice or pasta and drizzle the remaining sauce over.

Serve in bowls.
Posted in Easy, Italian, pescatarian, Recipes, rice, Shellfish, Special occasion, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Chana dal with rice and kale. 10/19/23

Chana dal with rice and kale

Chana dal are dried, split chickpeas that we make in the Instant Pot. The recipe calls for Indian spices, onions, ginger, and garlic. Along with water we add a can of Original Rotel for some extra zing. John also garnishes his bowl with sriracha to take the spiciness to the next level. This is the recipe that I use – https://pipingpotcurry.com/instant-pot-chana-dal/#wprm-recipe-container-6238

When the Chana dal is ready I put a bunch of kale (chopped and pre-washed from a bag) in my bowl and then my white rice, cauliflower rice 50/50 combo topped with the Chana dal. Tonight since I was craving something crunchy I ate it with a few tortilla chips scooping the dal up like a dip. It was kind of a Mexican-Indian mashup and it really tasted good!

Posted in Indian, Instant Pot, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Recipes, rice, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stuffed peppers. 10/18/23

Stuffed peppers

During the third week in September I made a batch of meaty spaghetti sauce. I divided it in thirds and froze two containers. Tonight I made stuffed pepper with my remaining third. I mixed the ground beef and tomato sauce with a cup of microwaveable rice. That was a mistake. The microwaveable rice lost all its texture and turned into mush! The peppers still tasted good but were badly missing any texture.

Lesson learned – Do not use fast-cooking microwave rice in a dish that is going to bake in the oven!

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Weekly Menu. October 16 – 22, 2023

All I can say is better late than never! At least I know that I have stuck to the menu for the first three days of the week!

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Fusilli with broccoli and mushrooms. 10/17/23

Fusilli with broccoli and mushrooms

I have been eating gluten-free but my doctor wants me to add gluten products back into my diet so we can test what is going on. So we decided on pasta for tonight. It came out fine but I could not eat my whole portion. I think I am nervous about having too much.

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Chilean sea bass, new potatoes, asparagus. 10/16/23

Oven roasted Chilean sea bass, steamed new potatoes, asparagus

John and I have decided to make Mondays “Fish of the Week” day and purchase whatever fish is on sale at Whole Foods. Luckily for us Chilean sea bass was on sale this week. The fellow behind the fish counter cut us a piece and even skinned it for us. John did have to wrestle a few bones out and then cooked the fish in the oven at 400F for 14 minutes. I made the potatoes and asparagus. One of our nearby grocery stores had asparagus on sale for $1.99/lb. Our delicious dinner cost about $15.00 per person. Can you imagine what this would have cost at a restaurant?!

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