Omnivore

Chicken piccata with rice and broccoli. 7/12/33

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Beebamom

Chicken piccata with rice mix and broccoli

As it turned out the weather was not as hot as expected so we went ahead and made chicken piccata. John pounded the chicken breast and dredged it in seasoned Wondra flour. He pan fried the two pieces in a bit of olive oil. He removed the chicken from the pan and made the sauce from the pan fond, white wine, lemon juice, butter, and capers. After letting the sauce cook for a couple of minutes he put the chicken back in the sauce to warm it through.

We made the rice in the morning so it only needed to be heated up in the microwave. I used a half cup of riced vegetables and a quarter of a cup rice on my plate. I simply steamed the broccoli while the sauce was being made.

The chicken piccata turned out probably the best we have ever made it. The tart, salty sauce went great with the chicken, rice, and broccoli. We were really happy with the results.

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Methods, Poultry, rice, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged chicken | Leave a comment

Salmon Niçoise salad. 7/11/23

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Beebamom

Here’s another good choice on a hot day, a Niçoise salad. Traditionally made with canned or jarred tuna we cooked up a couple of pieces of salmon. To keep it cooler stick with the tuna or make your protein chickpeas or tofu!

I boiled up the potatoes and eggs in the morning so with the exception of John quickly cooking the salmon on the stovetop, all that was needed at dinner time was some assembly. I used a Romaine mix as a base and laid the fish in the center surrounded by the potatoes, hard boiled eggs, edamame instead of green beans, cherry tomatoes, red onions, olives, pickles, and pepperoncini. The whole salad is dressed with olive oil and vinegar plus plenty of salt and pepper.

The rest of this week should be pretty toasty so I will have to think up some more hot weather entrees!

Posted in Easy, Eggs, Fish, French, Hot weather meals, Kitchen tips, Methods, pescatarian, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged Sa lmon | Leave a comment

Stuffed pepper with penne. 7/10/23

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Beebamom

What a delicious dinner!

I made the stuffed peppers in the morning to avoid turning on the oven in the hotter part of the day. First I microwaved 4 halved pepper shells until they were par-cooked. Then I sautéed just 4 ounces of ground beef with onions and garlic. (We froze a recent pack of ground beef in 4 ounce sizes. I realized that a small amount of ground beef is enough in lots of dishes!) Then I made a spaghetti sauce from whole canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, chile flakes, and red wine. Finally I mixed some of the sauce with the meat and a small pack of microwaveable brown and wild rice and stuffed the peppers. The completed dish baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 350F.

Now I had my dinner mostly ready to be popped in the microwave at dinner time. When it was time to eat John cooked the pasta in fairly shallow water and I used the 10 minutes of cooking time to reheat the peppers and extra sauce.

We were really happy with our dinner. It was so yummy!

Posted in American, Beef, Healthy tips, Hot weather meals, Italian, Kitchen tips, Methods, Pasta, rice, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged bell pepper, ground beef, pasta | Leave a comment

Breakfast tacos for dinner! 7/9/23

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Beebamom

I am always looking for something new to have as my Sunday “Breakfast for Dinner” or BFD. We had some shells leftover from our graduation party so I decided breakfast tacos would make a fine dinner.

I love the stand and stuff shells from Old El Paso with their squared off bottoms. You put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds for two and they come out warm, still crispy, and pliable. The box says that 2 are 130 calories which is a lot less than I was thinking they would be.

Along with a couple of eggs I scrambled a veggie patty that I had cut into small dice and a slice of ultra thin cheddar plus salt. I piled the egg mixture into the two taco shells added some halved cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of spicy avocado sauce.

No boring Sunday supper for me! I enjoyed my concoction and can see it appearing frequently on my BFD Sundays!

Posted in American, Breakfast For Dinner (BFD), Easy, Eggs, Hot weather meals, Mexican, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged Eggs, Tacos | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. July 10 – 16, 2023

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Beebamom

This week is starting out cool, then spiking into the 90s for a day, followed by seasonal temperatures in the 80s, and then ending in a blaze of heat for the weekend. So I am trying to roll with the temperatures, keeping the food and kitchen cool on the hot days and just my typical fare on the other days.

Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Tuna cakes and salad. 7/8/23

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Beebamom

After already eating a lot of legumes this week, we decided to change the menu on Saturday from lentils and turkey sausage to tuna cakes and salad. Plus changing to tuna cakes allowed us to use up the last of our mashed potatoes and tartar sauce.

Back in the early 1990s we used to watch a PBS cooking show called Cucina Amore with Nick Stellino. One episode had him making tuna cakes using leftover mashed potatoes. I made it a couple of times back then but not since. When trying to figure out what to do with the leftover mashed potatoes that old recipe popped into my brain.

I have included the “sort of“ recipe I have. For the six tuna cakes we made we had more mashed potatoes (at least a cup) and less tuna (1-7 ounce can.) We also used some shredded Mexican blend cheese that was on hand instead of Parmesan and basil instead of parsley. Our tuna cakes were probably a little more potato-y but that was fine. The recipe is pretty forgiving.

Posted in American, Fish, leftovers, pescatarian, Recipes, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged tuna | Leave a comment

Chicken and chickpeas with mashed potatoes and broccoli 7/7/23

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Beebamom

Chicken and chickpea stew with mashed potatoes and broccoli

Friday night’s dinner was a lot like the Moroccan chicken we had last week except I cooked cubes of chicken in the broth instead of using rotisserie chicken. To be honest the chicken came out a bit dry probably due to leaving it in the broth too long.

I also served this dinner with a couple of sides, (leftover) mashed potatoes, and broccoli. Traditionally you would serve couscous with the chicken and chickpeas but I am a “waste not, want not” kind of person. The sauce from the chicken dish tasted good on the potatoes. Broccoli, the vegetable which is always seasonal somehow, was simply steamed.

Posted in Easy, Legumes, North African, Poultry, stew, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged chicken, chickpeas | Leave a comment

Scallops, mashed potatoes, broccoli. 7/6/23

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Beebamom

Kind of a fancy no-occasion dinner for a Thursday night. Actually it was more like, here are a few items that need to be used so how can we put them together?

The scallops were nearing the end of their freezer life. The Russet potatoes’ eyes were growing, and the broccoli looked a little limp so John seared the scallops and I made mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a loose lemony tartar sauce to try to tie it all together. The sauce was fine with the scallops and broccoli but a little weird with the potatoes.

We ended up with a very nice dinner and enough mashed potatoes to use with our chicken and chickpeas instead of couscous tomorrow night. It may be another weird pairing!

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

Chickpeas with ditalini and kale. 7/5/23

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Beebamom

Chickpeas with ditalini and kale is a vegan or vegetarian dish that makes you feel good about yourself for choosing such a healthy dinner. It is packed with vegetables, delicious, and pretty to look at with all its bright colors. I chopped up my vegetables early in the day so that when supper time rolled around the whole dish took less than a half hour to make. Since the recipe is for 4 we have plenty left over for at least 2 delicious lunches this week.

Posted in Easy, Healthy tips, Legumes, Pasta, Recipes, soup, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged chickpeas | Leave a comment

Grilled hamburgers, salad, and chips. 7/4/23

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Beebamom

Happy Fourth of July to all that celebrate it! As is traditional we had a grilled entree. Hamburgers are my favorite meat to eat grilled and John does a spectacular job cooking them perfectly. On my part, I did a spectacular job assembling a Taylor Farms Steakhouse Salad (our favorite) and opening a bag of potato chips. Whew! Hard work for me today!

Since we had had a party with the whole family on Sunday when John grilled flank steak for tacos, tonight’s Fourth of July celebration was a little anti-climactic although heart-felt. I am including a picture of the Statue of Liberty that I took two weeks ago when we sailed into New York harbor.

Posted in American, Beef, Easy, Grilling, Salad, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged hamburgers | Leave a comment