Gazpacho, salad, and hummus. 7/26/23

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Beebamom
Salad, hummus, gazpacho

Only appliance I needed for this dinner was a blender. For the gazpacho I blended a large can of whole tomatoes, a can of Rotel, half of a cucumber, half an onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt to taste. (At our house that means a lot of salt.) This blends up to a slightly thick purée. If you want it more liquid-y you might add some tomato or V-8 juice. I chilled the soup down for a few hours before serving it.

The rest of the dinner was really easy. I used a salad kit, Sabra hummus with red peppers, and Toufayan whole wheat pita. No complaints and everything was eaten!

Posted in Easy, Hot weather meals, Mediterranean, Methods, Recipes, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Southwest salad with chicken 7/25/23

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Beebamom
Southwest salad with chicken

Here is another good idea for hot nights, southwest salad with chicken. We bought a Costco rotisserie chicken on Monday. I took it apart with the idea of legs and thighs for John’s lunches, one breast for the salad, the other for chicken piccata, and the carcass for stock. I merely chopped the salad meat into bite sized pieces. alternatively you could cook a chicken breast.

Everything else about the salad is assembly. I added cherry tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, corn, shredded cheese, chopped cucumbers, cilantro, sliced red onions, and tortilla chips to my buffet of toppings. As a base I used a Taylor Farms southwest salad kit and a head of Romaine chopped up. The dressing packet was extended with some olive oil and lime juice.

John, our daughter, and I have really been enjoying our hot weather dishes. We have managed to only minimally use air conditioning during these hot spells by keeping the house cool. So it is a win-win situation.

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Kitchen tips, Poultry, Salad, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Open-faced fish taco with salad. 7/24/23

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Beebamom
Open-faced tilapia taco with cabbage, tomatoes, and guacamole and salad

We are back home after our week’s jaunt up the Pacific Coast to Vancouver, BC. Temperatures at the coast were usually in the 50s overnight and would climb to about 68 during the day. Thank you, Pacific Ocean! Our temperatures here in the East Bay are somewhat effected by the ocean but we often have summer temps around 100. Too hot for much cooking!

We have a couple of hot days this week so quick cooking fish fillets and salads are the way to go. John cooked up the fish and I just laid mine on a white corn tortilla piling the taco accoutrements of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, and guacamole around it. A salad completed the dinner.

I like eating open-faced tacos or sandwiches because it takes longer to eat them. Once you bite into a folded taco it usually stays in your hand until you finish it. It’s also a lot neater!

Posted in American, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Hot weather meals, Mexican, pescatarian, Salad, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu. July 24 – 30, 2023

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Beebamom

Hi, I am back from a week’s vacation up the West Coast to Vancouver, BC to celebrate our 51st anniversary. John did a super job driving and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. From a food point of view the best thing we had was the tasting menu at Maenam, a Thai restaurant where we have been celebrating the past few years. Delicious!

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Shrimp tacos, avocado slaw, spicy black beans. 7/16/23

Posted on July 16, 2023 by Beebamom
Shrimp tacos, avocado slaw, spicy black beans

We are big taco fans at our house. We make them mostly with shrimp or fish but occasionally with beef too. Quick cooking shrimp uses minimal stove time which is good on a hot night. Along with the tacos I made a slaw that had a spicy avocado sauce and mayo dressing. The beans were my usual combination of black beans and Rotel seasoned with salt and cumin. I heated them up in the microwave.

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Legumes, Mexican, pescatarian, Shellfish, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Greek salad with hummus and pita. 7/14/23

Posted on July 15, 2023 by Beebamom
Greek salad with hummus and pita

On Friday it was hot here, probably close to 100F. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter so there is very little actual cooking going on. Nonetheless we were able to make a dinner that we all enjoyed.

My Greek salad started with a layer of assorted lettuces and herbs (fresh oregano and mint), then there was a layer of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, feta, pepperoncini, and olives. This was all dressed simply with olive oil and vinegar. In the center I put a scoop of hummus with jalapeños and served whole wheat pita on the side.

I put all the components out like a buffet and each of us fashioned our own salads. I find doing it this way makes everyone happy. When dinner was over there was not a scrap left.

Posted in Easy, Hot weather meals, Kitchen tips, Mediterranean, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Turkey sausage in buns with sauerkraut and chips. 7/13/23

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Beebamom

Turkey sausage in buns with sauerkraut and chips

Here is another hot weather dinner with minimal cooking. I took about 4 ounces of turkey sausage and microwaved it for two minutes. Then I split it in half length-wise and put it in two buns that I toasted in my toaster oven. I topped it with my favorite hot dog condiments, yellow mustard, relish, and onions.

For the sauerkraut I used this recipe, https://www.loavesanddishes.net/how-to-cook-canned-sauerkraut/#recipe, to improve the flavor of canned sauerkraut. I cooked it in a pan on the stove but I probably could have made it in the microwave as well.

A handful of chips completed our easy dinner. Everyone enjoyed it!

Posted in American, Easy, Hot weather meals, Poultry, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

Salmon Niçoise salad. 7/11/23

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Beebamom
Salmon Niçoise salad

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 | Leave a comment

Stuffed pepper with penne. 7/10/23

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Beebamom
Stuffed pepper with penne

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 , , | Leave a comment