Afghani dal with rice and kale. 12/13/22

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Beebamom
Afghani dal with rice and kale

Dal are lentils and the type of lentils you use in this recipe are red lentils. Red lentils are actually coral colored and they turn yellow when you cook them. They tend to break down a bit which gives this dish its creamy texture. They are also faster cooking than brown lentils.

I got this recipe from an Afghani website and we make it fairly frequently. It is economical, nutritious, and delicious! Adding a base of raw kale and a portion of rice makes it quite filling. We made a double recipe yesterday since our daughter was eating with us but we still have plenty left over for a couple of lunches.

I added some plain yogurt on top of mine since John is in charge of the spices and I know his spice level is higher than mine. The yogurt is a nice cooling element. But if you want to keep it vegan skip the yogurt or use a plant-based yogurt.

Posted in Afghan, Easy, Healthy tips, Kitchen tips, Legumes, Recipes, stew, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Classic chicken dinner. 12/12/22

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Beebamom
Chicken breast with gravy, mashed butternut squash/potato, broccoli

We went to Costco today and bought one of their rotisserie chickens. What a deal for $4.99! I should buy one every time we go. When we got home I took the chicken apart. I knew John would like a leg and thigh while I would prefer white meat. After I deconstructed the bird I put the carcass in a pot with some water and thyme and cooked it for an hour.

At dinner prep John took our pieces from the fridge and warmed them slowly in a gravy made from the stock I made earlier. I cooked the potatoes and squash together in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes on high and then mashed them. The broccoli was simply steamed.

What a good dinner! And so economical! Plus I have more than half a chicken left! The Costco chicken, twice the size for almost half the price of a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

Posted in American, Easy, Instant Pot, Kitchen tips, Methods, Poultry, Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | Leave a comment

Big veg bowl 12/11/22

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Beebamom
Vegetables over cauliflower rice

Tonight I took the leftover edamame and cabbage and stretched those with onions, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and celery to make a big vegetable bowl. Keeping with the theme of all-veg I set those stir fried vegetables on top of cauliflower rice. As a condiment I used the leftover soy vinaigrette from Saturday as well.

This bowl of vegetables was very satisfying and kept me eating for quite a while, which I always like. No guilty feelings tonight!

Posted in Asian, Easy, Healthy tips, Legumes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weekly menu. December 12-18, 2022

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Beebamom
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Salmon bowl. 12/10/22

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Beebamom
Salmon with cauliflower rice, cucumber, edamame, avocado, cabbage, cilantro, and green onions in a soy vinaigrette

I have been having some trouble with a painful knee. It is obviously arthritis brought on by years of running, hiking, and playing tennis and mostly because as you get older your joints start to wear out. In order to postpone knee replacement as long as possible I looked into what foods help reduce inflammation. Foods that fight inflammation include salmon, legumes, cruciferous vegetables, and avocados. So why not put them all in one bowl!?

Luckily combining all these components with a delicious soy vinaigrette is also super tasty! In fact this dinner is the number one favorite at our house. Sometimes we make it with tofu or shrimp instead of salmon. All are equally delicious.

I think my knee feels better already!

Posted in Asian, Easy, Fish, Healthy tips, Legumes, pescatarian, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Fried scallops with tots and salad. 12/8/22

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Beebamom
Fried scallops and tartar sauce with tater tots and salad

This is my birthday dinner. I love fried scallops and have not had them since July 17, 2020! That’s the thing about having this blog I always know what and when I ate something. So obviously frying stuff is not usually on the menu.

The downside to not making something very frequently is that we are sometimes a little a hazy about the procedure. I suggested to John that he heat the oil to 375F. That temperature turned out to be a little hot and the scallops turned out a little dark. But they were still delicious.We all enjoyed the scallops with my Fish Market Tartar Sauce, my secret recipe!

Otherwise we also had a bunch of crispy Tater Tots and a packaged Caesar salad. Where’s the cake? No cake for me. Sweet things are just not in my wheelhouse. Instead my daughter made spice cookies, thin and crispy and about the size of a 50 cent piece, (Do they have those anymore?) The cookies are just barely sweet and get their heat from powdered mustard.

It was a lovely birthday dinner made lovingly by John, me, and our daughter.

Posted in American, Easy, Methods, pescatarian, Salad, Shellfish, Special occasion, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pasta Wednesday—pesto, asparagus, mushrooms 12/7/22

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Beebamom

Fusilli with pesto, asparagus, and mushrooms

About a month ago I cut off all the leaves from our basil plants and made pesto with the basil leaves, almonds, garlic, and olive oil. I froze the pesto in a quarter cup ice tray and then transferred the cubes to a zip lock bag in the freezer. It is so easy and delicious to plop one of those cubes in a pasta to make a yummy dinner.

I paired the pesto with onions, mushrooms, and asparagus. Asparagus was on sale this for less than $2.00/lb! It was like a delicious breath of springtime before winter has even started!

Posted in American, Easy, Italian, Pasta, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Taco Tuesday – carnitas! 12/6/22

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Beebamom
Instant Pot carnitas tacos with Southwest salad

Pork butt (shoulder) was on sale this week for $1.87/lb. So we thought we would buy a small one and try making carnitas in the Instant Pot for some dinners and lunches. We followed this recipe from the Well plated blog. The recipe calls for the pork butt to be cut into four pieces which John ignored so it was not done after the first 45 minutes. At that point he cut it into four pieces and gave it another go and it turned out perfectly. It was easy to shred with two forks right in the pot.

A quick broil in the oven while the tortillas heated up finished the carnitas. In my tacos I included salsa, cabbage, avocado crema, and onions. I served a prepackaged Southwest salad from Taylor Farms to round out the dinner.

I am sure you could do this dish in a slow cooker or in a Dutch oven. It just needs to cook slowly for a long time until it is fork tender. The Instant Pot merely speeded up the process. We really enjoyed our inexpensive Taco Tuesday. We rarely have pork so it was a treat!

Posted in American, Instant Pot, Mexican, Pork, Recipes, Salad, Southwest U.S., Vegetables, Weeknight dinners | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chicken, mashed squash/potato, broccoli. 12/5/22

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Beebamom
Pan roasted chicken breast, Instant Pot mashed potato and squash, broccoli

This is a pretty typical Chicken Monday. John started the chicken on the stove top and finished it in the oven. I cooked a few red skinned potatoes and a bit of butternut squash in the Instant Pot for 12 minutes which made them very easily mashable. The broccoli cooked quickly in a pan with a quarter of a cup of water and a teaspoon of butter. The gravy, which tied the whole dinner together, was a mix of packet chicken gravy and the very last of the turkey gravy from Thanksgiving, 2021. This simple chicken dinner is real comfort food for me!

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Birthday Week Menu. December 5-11, 2022

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Beebamom

It is my birthday this week and I will be (mumble) years old. So the food this week will be a little more indulgent. On Thursday, my birthday, instead of spending mega-bucks going to some fancy restaurant I have asked John to re-create one of my favorite meals. In 1980 I went with a bunch of girlfriends to Atlantic Beach, NC for the weekend. We left the kids at home with the husbands. One night we went to Morehead City to a restaurant called Sanitary Seafood. In fact it still exists today! I ordered fried scallops which came with French fries and cole slaw. It was amazing!! We don’t eat much fried food around here so John making it is a real treat.

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