Menu for 4/20:
Ingredients:
Trader Joe's® ratatouille, crushed or minced garlic, dry white wine, wild halibut, red chili flakes, salt & pepper.
- Steamed broccoli
- Garlic potatoes
- Swordfish steaks
Ingredients:
Fresh broccoli, a bag of garlic potatoes (they appear to be roasted-ish), swordfish steaks.
So you may have noticed that the first attempt at a menu is all crossed out. This is because I could not find the all ingredients for the first recipe. I tried too. I went to three different Trader Joe's®, in one day, to find the essentials. No dice. So by the end of the day, both the boy and I were exhausted and just wanted to go home. We decided that this week, I am going to wing it. That is right, I am going back to winging the dinner this week.
Upon leaving the third TJ's, I turned to my darling and told him that I had two frozen swordfish steaks and a bag of garlic potatoes in the freezer and I had some broccoli. I then stated that if we put all those things together on a plate then it could be classified as a meal, and a some what healthy one at that. He liked this idea, and I am fairly certain that he was just tired of driving and wanted to go home. So thus is our dinner. I promised him that I would use some of my smoked chipotle Tabasco sauce on the fish. Swordfish is a rather dense fish, so it can hold up to the spice. As for the other things; the potatoes are coming from a bag and the broccoli is of the type that can steam in the bag that I bought them in. I am not expecting it to be a difficult dinner, but I will let you know if this prediction is a false one.
I would also like to apologize for updating a week late. These weeks when I have Monday off always throw me for a loop. Tuesday is Monday but it is Tuesday. Crazy.
Menu for 4/6:
- Shrimp on Polenta pillows
Ingredients for above mentioned dish:
Precooked polenta, olive oil, crushed garlic, julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil, capers, white wine, frozen raw large shrimp pre cleaned.
This is another recipe from the 'I ♥ Trader Joe's®' cook book. This week, however, I am putting a little twist on it. I have purchased all of these ingredients from a mainstream grocery chain. This is for a couple of reasons: 1) I know that not all of you who read this little blog have access to the wondrous establishment that is Trader Joe's®, 2) I want those who are inclined, to be able to reproduce what I make, and finally 3) I didn't have a choice in the matter and fate had me shop at the previously hinted at mainstream grocery store. If any of you are interested in trying out any of the past recipes that I have showcased here, leave me a comment and I will forward you the information for which ever nom dish you would like. See you on Thursday!!
Menu for 3/29:
- Corn and Basil Rice
- Minted Peas
- Sweet-Glazed Salmon with Corn Salsa
Corn and Basil Rice:
Trader Joe's® Thai Jasmine Rice, Butter, Roasted Corn, Organic Basil Leaves, Salt& Pepper.
So we might just corn ourselves out on this one. Corn in the rice and on the salmon. Whatever, it'll be good at the very least, if not downright delicious.
Minted Peas:
Boom goes the dynamite, that's all she wrote.
Minted peas from the bag that I bought them in. I plan on following the directions on the back of the bag. I'll let you know how it goes.
Sweet-Glazed Salmon with Corn Salsa:
Fresh or thawed salmon fillets, organic blue agave sweetener, fresh minced ginger, crushed garlic, rice vinegar, Trader Joe's® Corn and Chile Tomato-less Salsa.
How does that sound for a Nom factor? Pretty darned delicious if you ask me, and since I am the one writing this blog, I did ask me and I said that the Nom Factor seems really high for this dish. All of these recipes come from the 'I ♥ Trader Joe's®' cookbook that I found at the local Urban Outfitters. I knew that store was good for something that wasn't ironic hipster clothes. Anyway, this is a WHOLE BOOK of recipes that are just from the ingredients found at Trader Joe's® stores. I have a feeling that you may find a lot of the upcoming weeks to involve this book. It is just that awesome. I am slightly jealous of the writers though. They clearly live in a part of the country that liquor is allowed to be sold in grocery stores. Here in Massachusetts that type of tomfoolery is frowned upon and you can only find grocery store booze in few and far between places. Even then it is normally only wine and beer, none of the really good stuff. But I digress, I am blessed with a plethora of Trader Joe's-es.
Menu for 3/16:
- Tuna on sourdough with homemade hummus sandwiches
The Sandwiches:
Tuna in olive oil, minced celery, minced yellow onion, lemon juice, "good" mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper, hummus (ingredients to follow), sourdough bread.
The Hummus:
Canned chickpeas, tahini or sesame sauce, minced garlic, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, salt.
This recipe is from my Ina book. When we (my darling and I, not the royal 'we') first looked through this book we never considered looking at the lunch section. I think that we figured that since this whole project is about making him dinner then we should look at only dinner recipes. HA! We're adults! We could have ice cream for dinner if we want! Therefore we are living on the edge this week with this LUNCH recipe. Daring, I know. If I had an ice cream maker I think that I would make ice cream for dinner one of these nights and he would be over the moon. Alas though, I do not own an ice cream maker. *sigh*
Back to the recipe! This was one of the ones that we both agreed sounded om nom and since I am no stranger to making hummus from scratch, it doesn't seem like it will be all that difficult. I have to say that as of late the ease factor of a given recipe is a large part of whether I pick it or not. On weeks such as 10,8,7, and 4, I was nearly falling asleep while eating. So that fact coupled with the fact that I have been waking up at about ten of five in the morning to go to the gym at least twice a week makes the ease factor a huge deciding point. That and this one is rather healthy compared to some of the others that I have prepared for him *cough cough* steak *cough cough*.
I am planning on trying to stick to the letter of these recipes. I will tell you that I did omit the cornichons from the tuna because pickles give me heartburn like none other. It's weird, I love cucumbers (in my world they are called crunchy water) and I love dill and I love vinegar, but put them together and my body revolts and tries to burn itself from the inside out. Sad in a way. I have already asked him if he wanted them and he said no as well, so it is a mutual thing.Tahini has proved to be a difficult find so I have compensated and bought yogurt as a substitute. From my earlier hummus making experience I know that it is fine to use. I will still go out and look for it but I am not holding out much hope. I have to get Tabasco sauce too, preferably the smoked kind.
For easy shopping I took pictures of the recipe with my camera phone so I could see the ingredients. I might do that from now on and publish them at the end of my 'finished product' posts. I don't know though, what do you guys think?
Menu for 8/9:
- Shrimp Scampi
- Fettuccine Alfredo
Shrimp Scampi:
Shrimp, butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt & pepper, garlic, maybe white wine.
So this week it is back to the books; cookbooks that is. I received two cookbooks for Christmas and have since purchased 3 more so it is about time to put them to use. Both of this week's recipes come from a book that I bought about a week ago from "Used Book Superstore!", and yes that is the real name of the store. Well, I may have added the exclamation point. If you are unfamiliar with this place let me briefly enlighten you. Imagine the book section of your local thrift store, on steroids. That about sums it up; it has the same musty smell and weird selection just tons more of both. The book that the recipes are from is a gem; it is called "Cooking for 1 or 2" and was published in 1978. It is amazingly 70's-riffic and I am convinced that it was for the girls who just got married and had no idea what a kitchen was. It has a recipe for a baked potato. Awesome. My recipe for a baked potato; clean potato, wrap in tinfoil, put in 350° oven for 20 minutes, done. Well, after perusing the book a couple of times I've decided that I am going to try one of the "challenging" recipes with this Shrimp Scampi.
Fettuccine Alfredo:
Egg noodles, heavy cream, shredded Parmesan and Romano cheeses, butter, salt & pepper, a pinch of nutmeg.
This recipe is from the same book as the previous recipe. Again it is from the more "challenging" part of the book. The menu this week was a joint decision and I am going to state ahead of time that I think these recipes will not be too hard to complete and that I think I will finish at a rather normal time. I also think that they are going to taste delicious together, albeit really rich.
The camera that I normally use has been going through hissy fits as of late demanding that there is no memory card when there clearly is one. Hence I have been using the camera on my phone, so I apologize for the poor quality. I am hoping to replace the temperamental one soon but you, my dear readers, may have to put up with lesser quality photographs for a little while.
Menu for 3/2:
- Pizza (two types)
- Sea-salt caramel gelato
Pizza #1:
Pizza crust, pizza sauce, mozzarella and provolone cheese, fancy sausage, garlic.
I am going to fully admit right now that I am partially cheating. There is no real recipe this week. I have bought Pillsbury Pizza Dough™, and Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce™ and plan to make a mess of them. Furthermore I did not cure the sausage myself nor did I curd the cheese. Sue me. I don't even know if the expression "curd the cheese" is the correct term either, or if it is even a real term at all. Well it is now. Anyway, as you may have noticed, this pizza has meat on it to it is his pizza. We had fun on Saturday and went to BJ's Wholesale Club while incredibly hungry. I don't recommend this unless you are willing to pay $50 for only cheese, pizza crust, and Ruffles™. On the brighter side I can now make enough pizza crust to feed at least the Back Bay, if not all of Boston. Only pizza crust though. I could make Boston pizza bread sticks? Oooo! Cheesy bread sticks!! Hmm, I don't know if I want to share now that I thought of it.
Pizza #2:
Pizza crust, pesto, shrimp, broccoli, spinach, mozzarella and provolone cheese.
This one is clearly mine and it is going to be delicious. I am stoked for it and I don't even surf/skateboard so the fact that I am using the term "stoked" should emphasize the level of how much I am anticipating this nom-fest. I might add a little bit of garlic to it just to boost it into the stratosphere of nom. It is going to be good. That is what I am trying to convey, alright.
Sea-salt Caramel Gelato:
Yeah, this was an impulse buy, 100% impulse buy. You try walking past a little tub of delicious with that title. I dare you to resist it!*
*This dare does not apply to those whose don't like any of the following: gelato, caramel, sea-salt.
Menu for 2/16:
- Steak
- Hand-cut garlic fries
- A green veggie of some sort
Steak:
Bovine meat.
Seriously, it is just cow meat in a slab like form that I will cook to his liking.
Hand-cut garlic fries:
Russet potatoes, fresh garlic, salt & pepper, olive oil.
I found the recipe for these in one of my Real Simple® magazines. The article was titled "3-ingredient recipes for easy summer dinning". Now I know that it isn't the summer but I figured that this particular recipe could be used throughout the whole year and still be good. The idea of a recipe only having 3 ingredients is pretty awesome in my book; just good food and not much frou-frou in the way.
A green veggie of some sort:
I think that this is pretty self-explanatory.
I am currently thinking peas, green beans, or asparagus but I have to go and see what looks good at the market.
Menu for 2/2:
- Vegetarian Crock-Pot® chili with chocolate
Chili:
Mirepoix, garlic, green pepper, red pepper, black beans, red kidney beans, canned tomatoes with juice, paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano, sea salt, unsweetened coca powder, 60- 70% dark chocolate.
Yeah, you read right. Chocolate. For dinner. To be fair it isn't that much chocolate and it is mostly low on the sugar ratio. It is also going to be the last thing added to the meal before serving. The point is though, there is going to be chocolate for dinner and I know that you are jealous about it. HA!
I found this recipe on the Internet during a search for delicious veggie recipes that the boy would eat without commenting on the lack of meat. Since the both of us are fans of dark chocolate and chili, this one caught my eye. I think that I may cook some rice to go with it to make it a little more hearty but just keep it off to the side in case it is too much. This recipe also is letting me utilize my lovely little Crock-Pot®. Seriously, whom ever it was at the The Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago that thought to themselves "You know what? I want to be able to put a whole lot of stuff in a pot with liquid, cover it, and then let it cook for 8 hours on a low temperature so that I can get a ton of other stuff done and I don't have to worry about the food burning or catching fire.". That person is my hero of the day, perhaps even the week.
Alright, I will check back in on Thursday with the finished product and let you know how it goes. With any luck I will have a snow day tomorrow and be able to monitor the whole process. Thank you to whoever keeps scheduling the snow storms for Wednesdays!
Menu for 1/26:
Salad:
Baby spinach, arugula, carrots, tomatoes, Parmesan, sesame soy ginger dressing.
I am fairly certain that we have gone through this salad thing before. This one is a little bit different but nothing too extravagant. The Parmesan is is iffy though; I might not put it in. I don't know yet.
Shepard's Pie:
Garlic mashed potatoes, ground bison, hodge podge veggies, mirepoix, roux.
It has been years and years since I have made a Shepard's pie. I used to make them when my little sister and brother were young and I lived at home, neither of which has been the case for a long time. I am predicting this to be rather simple; brown the meat, cook the veggies, mix with roux, cook potatoes, layer, cook the whole thing. I will let you know if there is anything that makes it more difficult. If you are wondering about the bison it is merely because I could and none of the beef looked good enough. Also if you are paying attention and noticed in the last two posts that I mentioned that I am something of a vegetarian and are wondering how I am going to eat this I will tell you. I have 'fake meat' and I plan on making my own little Shepard's pie with that. I'll take a picture so that you can see.
Menu for January 12th
- Spaghetti Aglio E Olio
- Slow Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce
- Steamed Broccoli
- Bratwurst Sausage
Spaghetti Aglio E Olio:
Dried spaghetti, good olive oil, whole garlic cloves, crushed red pepper flakes, fresh minced parsley, fresh shredded Parmesan and Kosher salt.
This is another of dear Ina Garten's recipes from "How Easy Is That?". I am looking forward to a less intensive entree and I am fairly certain that I know how to cook spaghetti so this should be a snap. Also, for those who want to know, 'Spaghetti aglio E Olio' translates to, spaghetti garlic and oil.
Slow Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce:
Roma tomatoes, large yellow onion, garlic cloves, fresh basil, dried oregano, good olive oil, sugar, salt & pepper to taste.
As I told you at the end of last weeks post, I have decided to re-introduce myself to my Crock-Pot®. This recipe is how I am going to do that. Now I am sure that the above 'Spaghetti Aglio E Olio' is quite delicious on its own but my darling is on the type that he needs "red sauce" to truly enjoy pasta or pizza. Thus I am trying my hand at creating my own! This seems fairly straight forward so I am not expecting any surprises.
Steamed Broccoli and Bratwurst:
Broccoli, really hot water, bratwurst.
I don't really think that I need to elaborate on these things. I am not going to do anything fancy with anything in this step. Just cook them.
Onwards and upwards to 51/2!
