I used to like this when I was young. I haven’t had it in well over 45 years. I don’t think they even carry Catalina dressing out here in the PacNW.
Tonight was kung pao chicken with brown rice.
Well, dang that was good, after several delays! It’s been a long time since I’ve done Baked Sausages a la Wolfpup, but must do it again soon.
I don’t know why I put mac & cheese first in that description – the sausage was the highlight, the mac just the side. I had planned to have just one sausage, but it was so yummy that I scarfed down a second one.
I don’t know where I came up with the idea of tomato sauce, but it’s essential for coating the baking dish before adding the onions and green pepper – it helps cook the onion and keeps it from sticking. Drizzling a little over the sausage adds a bit of flavour. Just 22 minutes at 400F and the sausage is done, onions well cooked, and green pepper still crunchy.
As an aside, many years ago I dropped and broke an old Pyrex baking dish, and consoled myself with the thought that I’d just buy a new one. Ha! Any “Pyrex” you get now in North America and in much of the world outside Europe is not PYREX, it’s pyrex, due to various corporate shenanigans over the years. The difference is that the former is real Pyrex, made of borosilicate glass, while the latter (all lower case) is “pretend Pyrex”, made of tempered but otherwise ordinary soda-lime glass. Every time I use this baking dish I half expect it to explode in the oven. So far it has mercifully failed to detonate.
Greens&Beans made with kale, cannellini beans, and way too much turkey bacon. My gf made the meal and suffered the post-dinner critique. The sauce was great, built with broth, lemon juice, white wine, herbs, but the bacon totally covered up the more delicate flavors.
Are we the only ones who discuss meals over after dinner drinks?
And then, for a late-night snack, I nuked a third one, sliced it up, and had it on a small plate with Dijon mustard. I’m definitely doing these baked sausages again soon!
Still two leftover chorizo sausages with lots of onions and green pepper and half the mac & cheese for dinner tonight.
Next time I make these sausages, the plan will be BBQ baked beans (Wolfpup style, with caramelized onions) with rosemary and garlic roast potatoes crisped in the air fryer.
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We finally finished off the muffuletta for dinner tonight, still wonderfully delicious.
Grilled Turkey/Spinach/Feta burgers served with potato salad.
We didn’t eat until 10, but had sliced honey crisp apple and Borganzola cheese with Sauvignon Blanc as an appetizer/snack before dinner.
For dinner tonight, I made one of my favorite things: Instant Pot mac and cheese. Doing it that way, I don’t need to use a roux, and I use evaporated milk.
Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Adapted from Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese Five Ways | foodiecrush.com
Servings: 8
INGREDIENTS
1 pound macaroni pasta such as shells or cavatappi (just enough to cover the bottom of the Instant Pot)
3 cups water (just enough to cover the noodles)
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 5- ounce can evaporated milk
2 cups shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups soft white cheese such as smoked Gouda or havarti (four slices at thickness level 2)
STEPS
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In the insert of an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, add the macaroni, water, butter, and kosher salt.
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Cook in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes on high, then quick release.
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Add the evaporated milk and half of the cheeses and use a wooden spoon to vigorously stir until the cheeses have melted then repeat with the rest of the cheese, stirring until the sauce is creamy.
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Serve warm.
I made Peach Cobbler for dessert.
Peach Cobbler
Adapted from Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler - Tastes Better From Scratch
Servings: 9
INGREDIENTS
2 cans sliced peaches, with juice
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
Cinnamon to taste
STEPS
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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Slice butter into pieces and add to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
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Place the pan in the oven while it preheats, to allow the butter to melt. Once melted, remove the pan from the oven.
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In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, just until combined.
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Pour the mixture into the pan, over the melted butter and smooth it into an even layer.
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Spoon the canned peaches over the batter. Sprinkle cinnamon generously over the top.
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Bake at 350 degrees for about 38-40 minutes. Serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.
They both turned out wonderful, and fed much of the house.
Smoked salmon pasta tonight - had a little disaster while I was making the sauce, though I was able to fix it. We like cracked pepper here quite a bit, so I have a bottle of it with a shaker top that has big holes in it. I grabbed it to shake some into the sauce when the shaker top fell off, dumping half the bottle of pepper into the sauce!
Fortunately I was at the stage before I need to add the milk, so I turned off the heat and carefully scooped the 1/4 cup of extra pepper out of the pan, added a bit more butter and flour to the mix and proceeded as normal. But losing that much pepper for another purpose kinda sucked.
Came out pretty good - served with fresh blackberries and focaccia, chardonnay to drink.
Grilled salmon and couscous. Not very exciting, but it was good. Sauvignon Blanc to drink.
This week, including entrees, sides, and desserts, I have made five first-time recipes.
Tonight I made a new entree and a new dessert.
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Bake
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)
STEPS
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Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
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Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
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Season chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper.
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Sear the chicken breasts in the skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly browned.
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Transfer the chicken to a baking dish.
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In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and chicken broth. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.
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Add the broccoli florets to the cheese mixture and mix well.
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Spread the broccoli and cheese mixture evenly over the seared chicken breasts in the baking dish.
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Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly and golden.
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Let the dish rest for a few minutes before serving.
NOTES
FoodyDash on Facebook
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes
Kcal: 400 kcal per serving | Servings: 4 servings
Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding
Adapted from Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding Recipe
Servings: 4
INGREDIENTS
½ cup white sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 ¾ cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
STEPS
-
Gather all ingredients.
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Stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk.
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Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
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Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.
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Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in the refrigerator until serving.
The chicken was juicy and delicious, and so was the broccoli. I cooked the broccoli in the microwave for about 6 minutes before adding it to the other ingredients.
We ate the chocolate pudding warm, and it’s the best chocolate pudding I’ve ever tasted. And all the ingredients are in plenty supply, so I can make more whenever I want.
Tonight we went to an Oktoberfest at a brewery that specializes in German beers.
The beer was good as always, but the fest was a bit of a ripoff - $20 each to get in, and what we got for that was a beer stein and a not-very-good band.
They have a small snack bar that was serving a stripped down menu. It was so packed with people we skipped that to peruse the food trucks. Only one was serving German food and mr. romans thought it was way overpriced, so we moved on. The other choices were Mexican and BBQ.
I’ve never had tacos at a Oktoberfest before, but hey, there’s a first for everything. Mine were chorizo in a corn tortilla, topped with onion and cilantro. Came with some very garlicky salsa verde and lime slices (the lime juice was an excellent addition to the spicy chorizo). They were fantastic.
This afternoon, we went to buy me some shoes and have Portillo’s for dinner. I had an Italian beef, and my wife had a couple of Chicago dogs. It was as wonderful as I remember it in Chicago, and my only regret is that I didn’t have the gastronomic capacity to have a dog on top of what I actually ate.
Yesterday was a birria burrito bowl with 4 different salsas, and a margaritas. Today was leftover birria burritos with more pico de gallo, and an IPA.
I’m making chili tonight. Yes, I include beans.
I’ve never made chili without beans. Even my white chicken chili has cannellini beans. The vegetarian chili I make for my daughter is all about the beans.
Tonight was a crab melt. I was expecting it to be open-face, but it was a closed grilled sandwich on extra-thick bread. Also truffle fries.
Jalapeno cheddar sausages on bolillo rolls with grilled poblanos and onions. No mustard, that just gets in the way of things with these sausages.
We both enjoy working in the kitchen, so we divide cooking duties. Often I cook Tuesdays and Thursdays, my gf cooks Mondays and Wednesdays.
We eat out Fridays and Saturdays. Which leaves Sundays. My gf often does something special for Sunday dinner, as she doesn’t “work” on Sundays (well, yard work, laundry, etc).
Yesterday was Sunday. We spent the day pontooning with the dogs. I was exhausted, as I go to the marina and prepare the boat early, then captain all day, then stay at the marina to put the boat to bed.
When I got home my gf handed me a pineapple. Told me she’d bought Albuquerque Turkey chunks from the turkey store and asked me to grill kebabs.
So, marinated turkey, pineapple, onion, yellow bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes. Came out delicious, but I was too tired to even think about a side dish.
Last night I made Cheddar Bay Sausage Meatballs for the second time in the past two weeks. There was enough to fill two baking pans and feed practically the entire house. For veg we had broccoli with my sister’s famous cheese sauce.
Cheddar Bay Sausage Meatballs
Adapted from Cheddar Bay Sausage Balls (Just 4 Ingredients) - Insanely Good
Servings: 30
INGREDIENTS
1 (11.36-ounce) box Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix
1 pound ground sausage
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
STEPS
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment on LOW speed, mix the biscuit mix and seasoning packet with the uncooked sausage, cheddar cheese, and cream cheese until just combined.
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Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.
NOTES
For extra cheesy goodness, add a small cube of cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, or pepper jack) to the center of each ball before baking.