36-17 (but mostly Easter goodies)

Homemade awesomeness

Even the gumdrop rosettes.

Lemon cake!

With candied lemons!

So. Much. Nom.

Cheese, meet cheese.

The Gouda... it is so lonely.

But look! It has a friend!

Now even more friends!

All the cheese, now time for the other nomness.

EPIC CHEESE PLATTER!

Peas

Like Skittles®, but healthy. Taste the rainbow, yo.

It just looks so colorful!

Working real hard on this recipe.

You know you heard that noise in your head 'Thusmackud'

Must resist eating raw dough...

That's right, bunny and tulip shaped rolls! It makes them taste better. For real.

The aftermath

Mom's Easter basket.

Always fresh, just like me.



Finished meal :)



As you can tell, not all of this is from last night. Since this past weekend was Easter, and I made a ton of things for the holiday, most of this is from then. My darling gave me a pass for this week. I took pictures of all that I made for Easter and instead of making him dinner, I bought it for him from Subway. I feel Subway is a less of most evils when it comes to fast food. We also walked to it as apposed to taking the car, so that is a little healthier too. All right, so, all the Easter stuff... I know what you are thinking, "Easter? But the first picture is of a birthday cake?!". This is because my mom's birthday was the Monday after Easter Sunday, and she needed a dedicated birthday cake, just like everyone needs a dedicated birthday cake when it is their birthday. I am also ridiculously proud of that cake because it is 100%* homemade, frosting and all, (*The only things I didn't make by hand on that cake are the pearls that spell 'happy birthday', and the blackberry jam that is in the inside) which is why it is first in the pictures. It took me a while to make too, but I did it and it was delicious! I also made the lemon cake from the recipe of my darling boy's grandmother. I made the candied lemons that are on top of that cake too. The point is I made a lot: the cheese platter, the peas, the peppers & onions, the Easter basket for my mom, the rolls, both the cakes, and the mess of dishes that followed. The boy told me that I should state that I also made the Subway building, hired the crew, bought all the ingredients, got all the proper permits, trained the crew, then I had them make his sandwich. This, of course, is a bit of a stretch, but I will take credit for it if he insists. Well, there you have it. Week 17 is now toast! Onward and upward!

37-16

Ingredients

Naked swordfish

Slathered in Nom Sauce

Sizzling

Potatoes

How to microwave broccoli in a microwave safe bag: Step one, put bag in microwave.



Step Two: microwave for three and a half minutes



Step Three: Do not get burned by the steamy steam.

Stirring potatoes

Flipping and sizzling



Final stirring of the potatoes.



Finished meals.

Alright, so here is my 'fly by the seat of my pants' meal. It garnered an 8 from the boy, who was shocked that it took me about 15-20 minutes to make. In all honesty it was kind of a cheat meal. Swordfish does not take that long to cook, the potatoes were from a bag and just needed to be heated in a skillet for about 7 minutes with the occasional stir, and the broccoli was the type that you microwave in the bag. If you would like instructions about the broccoli, I have included them in the above pictures.  I really do not have that much to say about this week's meal. It was good and hearty; plenty of green from the broccoli and the potatoes were delicious, I will most likely be buying them again. I did, slightly, under cook the fish, another 90 seconds and it would have been perfect. Over all though, it was quite good. Nothing to flashy or eye catching, just good and hot. The fish stood up to the Tabasco® sauce that I slathered on it, quite well. It could have actually used a little more in mine and his opinion, but if you are the type that doesn't like the spicy, then this would have served you very well.

I have been busy trying to structure all the things that I am doing for Easter, so I have put absolutely no thought into what I am going to do for next week. Check in next Tuesday to see if I get it together enough to make a meal! :) Till then I hope you all have a lovely holiday.

Take Two

Menu for 4/20:

• South of France Halibut

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.

38-15

Ingredients

Pre washing and chopping

Peeling

Time to get chopped

An artsy-fartsy close-up type photo.

Another of the artsy-fartsy.

All chopped.

Time to die boil.

Everyone in the pool!

Steamy

Everyone else in the pool!

Pesto time

Now goat cheese time

Recipe finished

Finished Meal (I added tuna to both of them in the end)

I can not even tell you how excited I am that I have made it to week 15. That is three and a half months! In 11 more Wednesdays I will be half way done! Of course that puts me at the end of June, so, naturally I will be half way done. Well now that that is over with, shall we proceed on with the show? Okay then.

This week I made another recipe from the "I ♥ Trader Joe's®". It was the 'One-pot Pesto Pasta, Potatoes, and Green Beans', and it was good. I do apologize for not including a picture of the recipe like I have been doing. I had a stroke of luck last night; the digital camera decided that it wanted to work. This is why the picture quality is so high. I missed using that camera. You can really tell how Nom-tastic all the food is when you can get all up in its grill.

I received the ranking of 9 from the boy. I agree with him on this, however, we couldn't really give you a good reason why it is not a 10. It just isn't. The title of the recipe is 100% true by the way, it really is all in one pot. You first boil the potatoes, take them out and throw in the green beans, then take them out and throw in the pasta. After the pasta is finished you just toss it all together. Then; BOOM Goes the dynamite, you're done. Simple and delicious! I did deviate from the recipe slightly and I added tuna to the finished product. I did this for a couple of reasons: 1.) With the amount of carbs that this easy and simple recipe contains I felt it necessary to add a little bit of protein 2.) I had, like, three cans of tuna that I needed to use for something, so why not put one in here 3.) The chicken sausages that he had left over from 'Bangers & Mash' were slimy like a worm and totally gross.

This meal was totally delicious but very filling. For those of you that do not like goat cheese (i.e. crazy people), you will be happy to know that, even though, there is a lot in here you do not taste it at all. The boy and I were actually marveling at this and we think that it is the pesto that does the trick. Both flavors are so in-your-face, but the pesto kicks the goat cheese in the bum, then converts it to his way of being. I like the outcome; it resembles something of a creamy pesto.  

As for next week... I am thinking something healthier than this, but just as nom. I don't have any recipes in mind yet though.

Having your cake and eating it too.

Menu for 4/13:

•  One pot pesto pasta, potatoes, and green beans

Ingredient list:

One large or two small boiling potatoes, fresh washed and trimmed green beans, thin pasta (like spaghetti or linguine), goat cheese. 

For reasons I can not explain, I have always been of the state of mind that having both pasta and potatoes on the same plate is something you just do not do. Sort of like how you don't drink soda before noon or how scrambled eggs are (normally) a breakfast food. It just is, that's why. Then I came across this little ditty. I am pretty sure that this recipe is going to rock my world view and I can not wait. The boy found this one in the book, when he brought it to my attention I noted that one can add what ever protein source one wanted to this and I bet it would still be really nom. He still has chicken sausage in the fridge; they are fully cooked but he needs to use them up. As for me, I am thinking of adding some tuna that has been kept in olive oil. I guess that I could use regular tuna if I wanted. I honestly do not know. We will have to see what Wednesday night holds. Stay tuned!

39-14

Ingredients



eminent doom for the polenta



Seriously people, it's going to get it.



Mid carnage



I killed it dead.

Then lovingly brushed it with olive oil.

Sun-dried tomatoes and their delicious blood oil.

Capers, they are up to no good ( I think they are planning on stealing something)

Sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, sizzling away and making my kitchen smell super Nom.

Stimp Shrimp

Kitchen is smelling super duper Nom at this point.

Shrimp and all the nomness.

Polenta "pillows".



Finished meal.




Alright, so this was another recipe from the 'I ♥ Trader Joe's' cookbook, but like I stated in my Tuesday post, I made a slight difference in that I bought all the ingredients at a "mainstream" grocery store. This was for a few reasons, the most important of which was to show that these recipes are not exclusive only to the TJ's. I will say that, I am sure there are recipes in the book that are exclusive to only TJ's but not all of them are and this is one that falls in the latter category. Okay, on with the meal.

This one was fairly simple like last weeks, but, it did require some specialized equipment. That being the broiler, a feature of my oven that I have used, but I don't make a habit of it. I remembered why I don't use it all the time now. It is a huge pain in the @$$, that's why. The recipe called for me to cook the polenta in the broiler, and since I have never cooked polenta before I was going to trust the book. I now know better. Cooking the rounds in the broiler made them a bit mushy in the middle and a little burnt on the outside (see picture above).

This meal over all got a 6 from both of us. The over all ingredients are very good, and together they are also very good, it was the specificity of them that left us feeling rather 'meh' about it. For instance the shrimp; the frozen, raw, shrimp that I could find was simple peel. Next time I would definitely get fully peeled shrimp so that it would soak up more of the flavor and we won't be left with a pile of 'skins' when we are done. I would also cook the polenta in the oven and not the broiler, to try and get more of a 'pillow' like texture; something that these rounds lacked.

The meal was good enough to garner the boy getting seconds, so that is a good thing. It also made my house smell fantastic!! This is all owed to the sun-dried tomatoes; they just smell so good. They taste good too, I bet that some culinary genius could come up with a delicious sun-dried tomato ice cream. Ah, sun-dried tomatoes...



Next week: I have nothing planned so far. The weather is supposed to be really, really nice, so maybe something with a summery feel to it? Or made I will get that grill that my BFF has promised me and light it up; I do have frozen swordfish steaks in my freezer, hmmm...

Pillow Time

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!!