I always get good ideas and inspiration from these! Am feeling quite under the weather today and wanted something sort of soup-ish for dinner, so I settled on amaranth, simmered with plenty of chopped onion, celery and carrots. I had a half a head of garlic I’d very helpfully pre-roasted for myself the last time I had … something … in the oven :dubious: so I threw that in.
It’s all simmering away as I type. Hopefully it will make me feel better.
Chicken wings are thawing in the fridge but I’m supposed to meet my dad for dinner tomorrow so hopefully they’re not thawing TOO quickly!
So, what’s the next meal you’re planning or preparing?
So far, March consists almost entirely of leftovers. Between a couple of events at church that didn’t feed nearly as many people as anticipated, a frozen casserole from a few weeks ago that I only just finished off, and my mom having a bunch of split peas she wanted to use up, I’ve had leftovers for the main meal of the day every day for the past week and a half, and I still have about another week yet worth of meals in the fridge and freezer.
I’ve been into vaguely Asian noodles lately, at least for throw-together after-work-and-I’m-tired food.
Tonight was linguine tossed with sliced carrots, bell peppers, a little leftover broccoli slaw from a bag, leftover pork loin roast sliced thin, onions, garlic, ginger, green onions. Sauce was chicken stock, peanut butter, white wine, lots of chile paste, lots of Sriracha, some sesame oil, some soy sauce, thickened with corn starch. Easy and very comforting.
Would have liked to have some better veggies, like broccoli, but was using what was in the fridge.
I made these paprika chicken thighs a week ago, and I’m making them again tonight. Normally I wouldn’t repeat a recipe so soon, but they were so delicious, I just have to. The recipe calls for just one diced potato, for some reason, but this time I’m going to add more, plus I finish off the sauce with a little heavy cream. Very subtle flavor, but so good.
Tonight it’s pork chops. Served with egg noodles, glazed carrots and gravy. Tomorrow night will be taco salad/nachos to use up some leftovers, then fish and chips on Sunday.
However, Friday dinners are never very inspiring. We’ve slashed our grocery bills lately by eating leftovers more often. I was cooking every night, but the young adults in the household are always asleep/gaming/doing homework and would rather eat cereal at midnight than a fresh meal cooked with love. sob
Anyway, we are down to “jambalaya” which is sort of a last-ditch effort. I’ll cook a pot of Zatarain’s jambalaya rice mix and put in all the leftover scraps of veg and meat. Gotta clean out the fridge before grocery shopping tomorrow!
Don’t feel like cooking so tonight we’re going with a selection of cheeses, italian meats, assorted sides of olives, pickles, jams and warmed baguette. Chased down by a nice Claret.
One of my Friday “usuals” - vegetarian lasagne. Well, “vegetarian” in that it uses meatless tomato sauce and I include some layers of spinach - it’s usually a thin layer of tomato sauce along the bottom of the baking dish, then pasta, ricotta, sauce, spinach, mozzarella, pasta, ricotta, sauce, spinach, mozzarella, pasta, ricotta, sauce, spinach, mozzarella, pasta, and the remaining tomato sauce and cheese on top.
Last week, it was “crepeless crepes” - pretty much cubes of turkey, ham, and swiss cheese in a bowl; I used to use that as crepe filling, but I never could get the crepes thin enough so that they wouldn’t overpower the filling.
Me - it will be a big hot pretzel or two with hot cheddar cheese to dip it in.
Husband - he’s eating a can of soup. He WANTED a can of soup - I’m not forcing him or starving him or anything. Honest!
Tomorrow - baked tilapia with garlic, onion and lemon, with a side dish of some kind of noodly thing. It’s in the pantry and I don’t feel like getting up to look - maybe Parmesan. It’s one of those Knorr’s things.
I’m cooking the turkey breast I got “free” from the grocery store in November as I type (it’s in the crock pot).
So tonight we’ll have turkey, stuffing, and whatever vegetable jumps out at me. From what’s left, which is likely to be a lot because it’s just two of us at home, I intend to make tetrazzini and turkey croquettes.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten. I enjoy cooking, but I stink at meal planning, especially for weeknights. If I cooked the things I want to we’d have dinner at 9:00 most nights.
Tonight I am making a pork schnitzel and stuffed potato egg rolls. I have made some chocolate cheesecake brownies for dessert. I also baked some nice baguettes. Should be pretty good.
Last night I cooked as hard as I could, it turned out well! Actually the whole meal was simple to make, but without a sous chef, it kept me constantly busy.
The main dish was chorizo, black beans, and rice, with green pepper, onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms, cayenne, and basil. ETA: also tomato paste.
The side was broiled tomato slices topped with asiago cheese, bread crumbs, and chopped spinach, drizzled with a balsamic reduction. It was my first time making a reduction and it wasn’t at all hard but I was still proud of myself.
I made Skillet Lasagne last night, subbing the sausage with burger, no wine, and used no cook noodles. It was pretty good - not as toothsome as I would have liked, but decent.
We’ve been pulling a fair amount of recipes from that site and the majority are very good. The Dragon Noodle recipe is very good - I usually toss in some chicken, too.
We have issues regarding cooking in this house. I love cooking - I have a list of things to try a mile long. I also have a very finicky daughter. I don’t want to go all out and make something special, only to have her turn her nose up at it. So, more often then not, it’s fend for yourself.
Last night we had the second half of the manicotti I made over the weekend; a “planned-over.” And instead of broccoli, I served Brussels sprouts with it.
Oh man. Where have these things been all my life? I sauteed them in olive oil with chunky-diced onions and orange bell pepper. To die for. Oh and to top, I have this roasted-garlic garlic powder that is absolutely incredible. So, the Brussels sprouts last night were really, really good.
I guess tonight I’ll be having shame and sadness for dinner.