Turkey enchiladas with spicy beans. 1/14/23

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Beebamom
Turkey enchiladas with spicy beans

The plan originally was to make chicken enchiladas. I thought I had two packs of rotisserie chicken in the freezer but I did not. While pulling out everything in the freezer looking for the chicken we came across two frozen turkey thighs which must have been frozen a long time ago. We defrosted them in the microwave, roasted them in the oven, and finally I shredded the meat so we could make turkey enchiladas! It was more work than I had bargained for but the turkey enchiladas turned out pretty tasty.

I warmed corn tortillas in the oven and then filled each tortilla with a combination of pulled turkey meat, diced onion, shredded cheese, and salsa verde. In a 350F oven I baked my twelve tortillas in a 9×13 dish that had a layer of salsa verde in the bottom, followed by the tortillas, and then more salsa verde, the onions that were left, and some cheese. After 30 minutes they were heated through with the cheese melted on top.

The spicy beans were simply a combination of pinto and black beans plus a can of Rotel. I tried a new version of Rotel that is made with Serrano chiles instead of jalapeños. We all appreciated the extra spice.

Between the three of us we ate eight of the enchiladas and most of the beans. I figure that the four remaining enchiladas will make a nice lunch for John and our daughter or a dinner for John and me if I get tired of cooking in the coming week!

Posted in American, Legumes, Methods, Mexican, Poultry, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Noodles and zoodles with spicy tomato sauce. 1/13/23

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Beebamom
Noodles and zoodles with spicy tomato sauce

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.

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

Lightened clam chowder and salad. 1/12/23

Posted on January 13, 2023 by Beebamom
Lightened clam chowder

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.

Posted in American, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, Methods, pescatarian, Recipes, Shellfish, soup, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fusilli arrabiata over kale. 1/11/23

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Beebamom
Fusilli arrabiata over kale

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.

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

Tilapia sub with coleslaw 1/10/23

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Beebamom

Tilapia on a small sub roll with spicy tartar sauce and coleslaw

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!

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

Salmon bowl. 1/9/23

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Beebamom
Salmon over rice with cabbage, cucumber, avocado, and edamame

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.

Posted in Asian, Easy, Fish, Legumes, Methods, pescatarian, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Birthday Pizza Party. 1/8/23

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Beebamom
Pizza Margherita (thanks internet)

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.

Posted in Dining out, Healthy tips, Italian, Special occasion, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged | Leave a comment

Weekly Menu January 9-15, 2023

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Beebamom
Posted in Weekly menu | Leave a comment

Chickpeas with ditalini and vegetables 1/7/23

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Beebamom
Chickpeas with ditalini and vegetables

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.)

My bowl of goodness!
Posted in American, Easy, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Methods, Pasta, soup, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Shrimp and grits with broccoli. 1/6/22

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Beebamom
Shrimp and grits with broccoli

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!

Posted in American, Easy, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, Methods, Shellfish, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , , | Leave a comment