On our menu this week we were supposed to be having noodles and zoodles with peanut sauce. The peanut sauce dish was just more trouble than I felt like going to so I switched the sauce to the spicy tomato sauce that I had made earlier in the week. I made zucchini spirals (zoodles) with my handy Vegetti and the zoodles really bulked up our servings of fettucine.
It was nice to have a fairly simple dinner. I will make the peanut sauce some other time.
When I first saw this recipe I thought yes, I would like to make clam chowder but no, I cannot use three cups of heavy cream! So I went about trying to lighten it up. First I jettisoned the guanciale, upped the potatoes a bit, and cut out the three cups of heavy cream. Sometimes I make it with 2tablespoons of heavy cream but last night I used a cup of half and half. I think I like it better with the heavy cream. You can use however much your own personal taste and requirements allow. Using part of the potatoes as russet potatoes instead of all waxy potatoes gives it a creamier texture as well. In the recipe the soup is served over a big slab of bread. We opted for oyster crackers instead.
The salad was simply a bagged product. It said it had a Dijon dressing. It was so sweet that we ended up putting a lot more mustard in. I have noticed that most of the pre-packaged salads come with really sweet dressings. Certainly it would be easier for people to add more sweetness if they wanted it than find ways to make the dressings less sweet. (This is a pet peeve of mine!)
Here’s my recipe for lighter clam chowder.
I made a spaghetti sauce that started with sautéed mushrooms, onions, and garlic and added two tablespoons of tomato paste, a tablespoon of dried oregano, and a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes. Since arrabiata means “angry” in Italian my heat came from a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 5 shakes of Tabasco, and 2 squirts of sriracha. I let that simmer for about 45 minutes, tasted it, and corrected the salt level. Before the pasta was cooked I put half of my sauce in a container for another day.
John cooked the pasta and saved a cup of the pasta water. I put the drained fusilli into the sauce and cooked it together for a few minutes, adding in pasta water to give the dish the right consistency. I took shredded raw kale and placed a big handful in the bottom of our bowls and then ladled the saucy pasta on top. A sprinkling of Parmesan finished the dish. (Omit Parmesan for a vegan preparation.)
I love a big bowl of pasta! Using a bed of kale makes the dinner really filling without adding a bunch of calories.
Tonight’s simple dinner satisfied a craving for a sub. John cooked the fish quickly in a pan on the stovetop. I toasted the rolls under the broiler. I also made the coleslaw and some tartar sauce. The tartar sauce is basically mayonnaise, cider vinegar, yellow mustard, and capers. I added a shake of onion and garlic powders and a squirt of sriracha for spice.
The only problem with this dinner was that once I had eaten my sub I definitely wanted another one!
This is a family favorite but to be honest I am getting tired of all these bowls. I am sure that especially our daughter is not going to be happy about that! Last night all I could think of is how much I would have preferred the salmon with a mustard sauce. Oh, well, I will probably get out-voted.
I served my salmon over a riced cauliflower and white rice base. Around the salmon I have shredded cabbage, sliced cucumber, edamame, and avocado. I am also feeling a little annoyed about the avocado which had a big brown spot and was not as bright green as usual. Plus they had gone up to $1.50! The dressing is a mix of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, ginger, and green onions. Since we all like a different amount of oil we put our own over top. Garnish with cilantro, lime, and green onions.
Usually on Sunday nights we have Breakfast for Dinner, a light dinner which will aid in our weekly weigh-in on Mondays. Last night, however, we were celebrating our grandson’s birthday and he chose a festive outing to a local, very good pizza place. Since pizza is in my top ten things I like to eat and since I am currently trying to shed more than a few pounds accumulated over 2022, this was going to be hard.
I decided that at most I could have two smallish slices and a salad if I ate carefully the rest of the day. I managed that part of my plan. What threw me were the basket of garlic breadsticks. I could not resist and ate one. It was good but not as good as I was anticipating. I will store that away in my food memory bank for next time.
I am not beating myself up over this small lapse. I lost 4.8 lbs. this week. That’s a lot! I know you always lose more the first week and probably next week will be .5 lb. or something minimal. And that will be okay too.
Here’s a big pot of goodness burbling away on my stove top. The main components are chickpeas, some sort of small pasta, and vegetable or chicken stock. After that, use what you have vegetable-wise. I used onions, garlic, zucchini, carrots, celery, and a whole bag of spinach! Along with two cups of broth I added two cups of water, and a can of Rotel spicy tomatoes. If you do not like spiciness you can use regular diced tomatoes. Bring the pot to a boil and simmer until the pasta is cooked through.
Garnish with sliced green onions, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese (optional.)
Tonight John cooked up the rest of our smaller frozen shrimp that we had purchased for Christmas Eve. I took the time to cut each one in half to slow down my eating. By doing that, when John asked if I would like to split the rest of what was left after our first platefuls I was actually full! We make our polenta (grits) at a ratio of 5.5 parts water to 1 part polenta. So in this case .5 cup of polenta to 2.75 cups of water. We also added a tablespoon of butter. The polenta comes out really creamy and is a good base for the sautéed shrimp and like a sauce for the steamed broccoli.
A really good satisfying dinner!
Using rotisserie chicken, packet gravy, and an Instant Pot for the butternut squash makes this dinner a snap. I set the Instant Pot on high for 15 minutes and the butternut squash came out with a texture that was easy to mash. The chicken heated up on low in the gravy and all that was left to do was to sauté the green beans in a quarter cup of water and a pat of butter.
I always love this homey dinner. After the first filling of plates I managed to say “No thank you” when John asked if I would like seconds. My first instinct is to share everything equally. I need to practice remembering that he is a foot taller than I am and can consume and burn calories better.
Omnivore 