Cashew Cauliflower Curry

I love this combination.  It's colorful, has a lot of textures, is quick and easy, and I really love the cashews that bring out the nuttiness of a great brown rice.  I splurged on the Lundberg mixed whole grain brown and might not ever go back.  This curry could be made with any combo of veggies, but I do like the green beans and cauliflower.  I fried the tofu in some peanut oil tonight but it's kind of a pain and might go back to just stir-frying it.

Creamy Turnip Soup with Sausage

A slight variation on creamy potato soup, I used 4 turnips, chopped and boiled in homemade chicken stock, plus the leftover roasted veggies from the weekend.  The soup was a little bland, needing salt and pepper, but spicy chicken sausage added a bit of both texture and flavor, and warm bread was a great dipper for the soup.

Lentil Brussel Spout Stir Fry

I read somewhere that brussels sprouts have been selectively bred to be less bitter.  I don't know if it's true, but the sprouts we had tonight were crisp and fresh and toasted nutty and fantastic.  Lightly caramelized with some tiny new potatoes and black lentils, with a sauce of mint and Greek yogurt, plus almonds and dates sprinkled on top.

Thomas wasn't interested, but he's not feeling 100%, and Andrew fought on principle, but the adults were happy and have big bowls for lunch tomorrow.

Salmon Burgers with Summer Salad

These burgers turned out fantastic, despite being a total improvisation.  A pound of salmon, a little bread crumbs, some bottled teriyaki sauce, and a spin in the food processor.  I lightly coated the outsides with bread crumbs before pan-frying them.  They were great on thin sandwich buns with some lettuce, although I might add a little sauce of some sort to the sandwiches.  Teriyaki mayo of some sort? Wasabi mayo?  Just a little teriyaki thickened up?

The salad was also great, very light and summery and nice after a hot few days.  Cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes in a tahini-lemon-yogurt dressing, with cayenne, cumin, and garlic.

Spinach and Ham Casserole

This casserole was good, with a nice flavor and a good consistency.  It would be easy to prepare and assemble, then bake the next day.  It's a bit light on the vegetables - we ate the rest of the fruit salad to round it out, but maybe a side salad or adding some red peppers?

I used red onions and skim milk with a lot less Gruyere.  It was a bit less saucy than I think whole milk would have done, but it might also sauce up overnight.  I'm excited for the leftovers, as I think it all meld together well.

Milk-poached Tilapia

I saw a recipe suggestion for fish poached in milk and thought it sounded a little weird, but worth a try.  I just laid tilapia fillets in a 9x13 pan, sprinkled on some Old Bay and covered with milk (a cup? maybe a little more, enough to just cover the fish).  I baked it uncovered for about half an hour, flipping them about 20 minutes in.  The milk evaporated a bit, although not enough to thicken into a sauce.

They were good, a little bit buttery almost, but without a thick creamy feeling.  It might be good to bake them longer and let the milk boil off or to pour it off and reduce into a sauce.  I served it with some simple roasted potatoes and steamed carrots.

Spring Gnocchi

We're trying to take full advantage of the spring weather before this weekend's snow, so this was another bright, light dinner.  It didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped, but might be worth trying again, with some modifications.  We also didn't make our own gnocchi, but the packaged ones are pretty good.  This was largely a bit of a trick of timing, so maybe that will help next time.

I put the proscuitto in the toaster oven to crisp and then started two pots of water boiling.  The larger is for the gnocchi and the smaller is just to blanch the peas.  I chopped and started sauteeing the shallots (in a large pan) while the peas blanched, and then drained the peas.  The peas went into the large pan and I tried to keep them stirring, then cooked the gnocchi.  Once they were floating, I threw into the large pan as well, and let them sautee as well.  This was tricky as I basically made a double-batch, maybe next time sautee in small sections.  I made (with Andrew's help) the lemon ricotta, which needed way more lemon, and sliced the cripsy proscuitto into pieces.

We plated it all with a scoop of gnocchi and peas, topped with a large spoonful of ricotta, and sprinkled some proscuitto, and served it up.  It needed salt and pepper, despite adding some during the cooking.

Shrimp Spinach Orzo Salad

Again taking advantage of the fantastic weather, this salad was light and summery and fairly easy to throw together.  We left about half the ingredients out, in the interest of time, thanks to once again spending too much time after work outside.

The ratios weren't quite right, and I think it would be better if it all set up together for a few hours or overnight.  It needed more dressing and the veggies should have been chopped a bit smaller.

Cook orzo.  Mix spinach, sliced cucumber and radishes and onions, and dress.  Drain orzo and rinse with cold water.  Grill shrimp with lemon juice and pepper.  Top salad with shrimp, crumble feta, and add in the rest of the dressing.

Not Pad Thai

Originally we were going to have pad thai tonight, as we tried it a few weeks ago and it worked fairly well (the trick was small batches).  But pad thai does require some prep work and with the time change combined with beautiful weather, we were a little pressed for time.  I had also grabbed a bag of microwave steam-in-the-bag veggies to boost the nutritional value, so I went a different route.

Instead, I just pan fried some tofu, mixed in the veggies, and softened the noodles in steaming water.  Then I mixed them into the pan and stirred it all together with some garlic, soy sauce, and lime juice.  It was good and quick and easy and easy to clean up.  Definitely something to try again, especially once the CSA veggies start rolling in.

Southwest Egg Rolls and Spanish Rice

While dinner did not look particularly noteworthy, it was pretty tasty.  Although these were written up as an appetizer, with a side of Spanish rice, they made a nice dinner.  If I consider this a trial run, this could probably be a good dinner for company.

The egg rolls were much easier than I had thought, and definitely something I'd try again, probably with a more typical Asian filling.  I used my favorite thing - chipotle cheddar- and black beans, frozen corn, and spinach.  These were spicy with a good heat, but not overwhelmingly so.

The Spanish rice was dry, but okay.  I made brown rice in the rice cooker and added a can of diced tomatoes and a couple tablespoons of cumin.  It wasn't saucy like the packaged stuff, but probably also not full of salt.  Worth some googling to see if someone has a better recipe.

Shrimp Picatta with Peas

I wanted something like chicken picatta, but without real meat (shrimp and fish don't count, in my version of vegetarianism) and so this super easy and bright dinner with hints of spring.  Which is a bit cruel as winter will probably last another month, or more.

Saute the (peeled) shrimp with a little garlic and oil, then remove while keeping the good juices in the pan.  We like it really piquant so I added just over a half cup of lemon juice and a small bottle of white wine.  Season with a little salt and pepper and parsley if you have it.  Meanwhile, cook small pasta (alphabets if you grocery shopped with a 3 year old) until al dente.  Scrape the bottom of the pan and then reduce the sauce to a thick, saucy consistency.  Add the shrimp back and coat and then mix in some peas.  Serve over the pasta.

The peas turned a bit of a murky canned-pea green, despite being good frozen ones.  I'd like to try either fresh peas (ideally from the pea pick at the farm in the summer) or steaming them first and adding in at the last second.  These needed to thaw in the sauce and maybe got overdone.  They tasted pretty good, despite my not liking cooked peas much.

It all came together nicely and quickly and was quite delicious.  I always forgot how much I like small pasta.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and tasty this turned out.  One (half-price!) pork tenderloin in the crockpot with bottled teriyaki sauce and a can of crushed pineapple.  Reminiscent of Natalie's family's party, but it worked quite well.  It was sweet and tangy and saucy.  We put it over the flatbread style buns and steamed some carrots on the side.

Veggie Calzone

Here's a nice alternative to pizza, that's not really any more work.

Make a simple pizza dough, rolled out into a rough circle.  Some tomato sauce, any toppings/fillings you want (this was leftover mushrooms, red pepper and some black olives) and a nice thick layer of mozzarella.  Fold in half, seal shut, and bake until the crust is cooked (not long, maybe 20 minutes?).  A bit hit all around, although I'm wary of how it'll fare for leftovers.

Stuffed Shells

 I love stuffed shells and hadn't made them in a long long time.  They're so easy, so versatile, and so good.

These were part of my "clean out the freezer" kick.  I had some leftover sausage with chopped peppers that I just mixed with a tub of ricotta cheese.  I cooked some shells and stuffed the mixture inside once they were cool.  Some marinara on top and they baked for half an hour or so, plus Parmesan to pass.  The outer shells were plenty hot but the ones in the middle were still just lukewarm.  Next time I'd do a little more veggie, a little less cheese, and a little longer in the oven.

Andrew ate three of these, and Thomas ate green beans for the first time!

Lentil Sausage Stew

Definitely not vegetarian!  This was thick and warm and a little spicey, and worth breaking a veggie streak.
I cooked hot Italian sausage meat (split open and remove the casings) and then took them out of the pot.  In the remaining fat I sauteed some onions, then added salt, pepper and thyme.  I added a bunch of sliced carrots and cooked the a couple minutes, but this is probably unnecessary.  Then added in diced potatoes and enough water to cover.  Cook 20 minutes or so, then add lentils.  I used red French and forgot they turn yellow-white.  Cook another half hour or until everything is soft and the stew is thick.  A little balsalmic vinegar and some more salt and pepper to taste.

Veggie Peanut Stir Fry

I liked this, but it needs some tweaking.

Vegetables  - tonight I used zucchini and carrots, cut into matchsticks.  Some whole wheat capellini and a Thai-flavored peanut sauce and it all came together quite quickly and easily.  I also threw in chick peas for some protein.

It was fine, but not anything to write home about.  Maybe different vegetables? Maybe marinating them?  The sauce should be spicier, I left out any heat because of Andrew and put Sriracha on the table, but no one used it.

Mexican Lasagne

This looked like a big pile of brown mush, but tasted pretty good, and the texture wasn't bad.

I layered salsa, tortillas, refried beans and then cheese (Monterey Jack and Cheddar), then again, lasagne-style.  Baked the next day until the cheese was bubbly and served with some homemade guacamole.  An easy, quick dinner that doesn't need to be made ahead, it's so easy.

Teriyaki Tofu

I made this up as I went, but it was very simple and pretty quick and worked out well.

Tofu, cut into small pieces, marinated in jarred teriyaki sauce and some water, then sauteed over high heat until crisped on the outside.  I reserved the marinade for sauce at the end, which is a nice feature of using tofu over meat.  I took the tofu out and then sauteed carrots and soy beans.  Throw it all back together with the reserved marinade and serve over rice.

Rice note: rinsing really does make a difference.  This was light and fluffy and not clumpy, after a quick rinse in the strainer.  I used 3C water to 1.5C brown rice and it was the perfect amount for dinner and leftovers.

Chicken Piccata

Served with farro and green beans, this was a very nice and simple dinner.  We used Giada's recipe again and it was excellent.  The reviewers said it had too much lemon, but we used a full 1/2 cup for three chicken breasts and thought it was good.  It was definitely piccata, too much for Andrew and his pursed face, but the adults liked it.

The farro was made with half chicken stock, half water and was great on its own, even better with the sauce.  The green beans were just steamed but rounded it out nicely.

Mushroom Tetrazzini

I tried Giada's recipe, leaving out the chicken to make this vegetarian.  It was a little bland, but some salt and pepper made it okay.

I thought I had a package of sliced button mushrooms as well as the portabellas, but I couldn't find them, so it was a little skimpy.  On the other hand, I wanted to use up some ice cream ingredients (cream and half-and-half) so I made the sauce from them, which made it nice and rich.  I switched out linguine with whole-wheat spaghetti (the protein kind).  Given the nutmeg in the recipe and the sweetness of the noodles, this made some people think it smelled like dessert.

Crockpot Chili and Cornbread

The chili was just thrown together - crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, an onion and a green pepper on its last leg.  I seasoned with salt and pepper, cumin, a little chipotle seasoning, the end of a clove of garlic, and chili powder.  An extra can of water to keep it from burning and it cooked all day.  It came out fine, although not especially fantastic.

The cornbread, however, was excellent.  There's 7 pieces left, and that may not be true in the morning.  I left out the jalepenos from Ina Garten's recipe and used that fantastic chipotle cheddar, and I'd make this every day if I could.  I halved it, which was plenty for us.

Mushroom Bourgignon

An absolutely delicious, rich, thick and satisfying meal for winter nights.  This is surprisingly easy, surprisingly delicious and surprisingly healthy, and vegan to boot.


Realistically, prepping the veggies and then throwing it all together is about half an hour.  I used creminis and button mushrooms, and added a stalk of celery.  Simmer another half hour or so and then cook some (whole wheat) wide egg noodles.  This makes enough dinner and plenty for lunch the next day.

Cauliflower Curry

This didn't work.  It wasn't bad, just really bland, despite a generous helping of curry powder.  I tried to remedy it with sriracha, but it wasn't enough.  The texture was good, though, and it's worth a second try, maybe with more curry and possibly garlic and ginger. ADDED: I forgot the second half of the recipe, the part where you add cashews and mango chutney, also known as the flavorful, good stuff.  The leftovers just got a lot more appealing!

I chopped carrots, a potato, and a head of cauliflower into large pieces and threw them in the slow cooker with curry powder, browned onions, and chickpeas.  I made black (Japonica) rice when I got home and threw it all together.  We ate it, but not gladly.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

I suspect there will be many versions of this meal, with different fillings.  This week is going to be all vegetarian, and this was a good, easy start.  I made it Sunday afternoon and baked them Monday evening.

I shredded 2 zucchini, chopped a bunch of kale, and mixed in Northern beans along with a good pile of cumin.  Wrapped in tortillas, a little cheese inside (the end of the chipotle Cheddar that we're definitely getting again and a Cheddar / Monterey Jack mix), and enchilada sauce with the end of the cheese on top.

A whole bunch of kale was too much for this, which was only 3 well-stuffed tortillas.  Maybe spread out a bit more, it would be OK, or chopped more finely.  Mine came out a bit more like Mexican lasagne than separate units, but the flavor was good.

Squash Soup

With a side salad and some take-and-bake bread, perfect on a chilly winter night.

I sauteed some onions and garlic until sizzling, added chicken stock and coconut milk and the leftover sweet potatoes.  Some baked acorn squash and spices: curry powder, salt and pepper, and ginger.  It all simmered together for a half hour and then I mashed it into a think, chunky consistency.

Cowboy Pie

A variation on shephard's pie from Cooking Light, this uses sweet potatoes in place of regular baking potatoes and adds some chipotle kick to the filling.  I used real ground sirloin this time, although ground turkey has worked fine in the past, and chopped carrots along with frozen peas and corn and canned tomatoes with green chiles.  We skipped the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce and made adobo sauce from scratch, then mixed it into the sweet potatoes.  I made some corn bread on the side using chipotle cheddar, which was not quite right, as we forgot the sugar.  A little honey drizzled on top helped it.  There's a ton of this for leftovers for lunch and probably another couple servings after that.

Curry "Meat"loaf

This didn't work at all.  I used TVP (Smart Ground) instead of the beef and it came out all crumbly, plus the juices overflowed the loaf pan and burned in the oven.  The flavor was good, especially with some mango chutney on top, but it wasn't meatloaf so much as a pile of veggies, rice, and TVP.  The TVP did make a good meat substitute, except I think the loaf needed some fat to stick together.

Moroccan Chicken Stew

Saturday, January 2

A hot, filling stew with a little kick on a very cold day, using leftover rotisserie chicken and cous cous plus sweet potato and zucchini. This could easily be vegetarian by substituting chick peas for the chicken.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagne

New Year's Day 2010

An old favorite from Cooking Light, using whole wheat, no-bake noodles and jarred sauce and the new All-Clad!  One pan made enough for dinner for 3 and leftovers for a couple days.