Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
I love winter food and I'm looking forward to all the great food that I'm going to be making in the coming months. But one thing I do miss during the winter is really juicy, fresh fruit.
For a mid-day snack I like to eat an apple and a slice (or 2) of cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe is one of my favorite fruits. I could seriously eat a whole one in one sitting, if I let myself.
Although it doesn't feel like it here in Las Vegas, summer has ended and fall is here so I'm enjoying my juicy cantaloupe while I can. Soon my afternoon snack will be a bowl of chili and some hot apple cider. :)
Happy Eating!!
“Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night; and thus he would never know the rhythms that are at the heart of life.” - Hal Borland
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
The other day I was craving sweet potatoes and I had it in my head to make sweet potato fries.
While I was at the store, getting ready to pick out my sweet potatoes, I saw that the white sweet potatoes were on sale. So in my basket they went.
To make the sweet potato fries I peeled and sliced the sweet potatoes. Then I tossed them in some extra virgin olive oil and spread them out on a baking sheet. I cooked them for 20 min. in a 400 degree oven. Then I flipped them and baked them for another 10-20 min. Once they were out of the oven I sprinkle them with salt and dried parsley.
I was just pulling them out of the oven when my husband came home from work. He walked over to the stove and popped one in his mouth, before I could tell him what they were. His response was "Well, that was weird." He said that he could tell by looking at them that they weren't regular potatoes but he wasn't sure what they were. I told him and he said "Ok, that makes sense!" popping another one in his mouth.
Happy Eating!!
“There is no sight on earth more appealing than the sight of a woman making dinner for someone she loves.” - Thomas Wolfe
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
For dinner last night I was having a hard time deciding what to make. Not feeling very motivated or creative I decided on my go-to dish for times like these. Roasted veggies served with either rice or pasta.
I opened the fridge to take out the veggies, so I could start chopping them, and there, sitting on the shelf were two beautiful eggplants that I had totally forgotten that I had purchased.
If this was a cartoon, the moment I saw the eggplants a light bulb would have appeared above my head.
It hit me that I could stuff the eggplants with the other veggies and it would be way more fun.
So that's what I did!
I started by slicing the eggplants in half and cutting out the insides, being careful not to cut too deep. I then seasoned the eggplant halves with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. In a pan, on the stove, I heated some oil and sauteed my veg; onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow summer squash, red and green bell pepper, and the eggplant that I had scooped out of each side. I cooked the vegetables until they were tender and seasoned them with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and turmeric.
Once the vegetables were done, I filled each eggplant and sprinkled some panko crumbs on top. Then baked them in a 350 degree oven for 45 min.
I served it with some more grilled salad, because I'm totally obsessed with it now! :)
Happy Eating!
"I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant." - Ursula K. LeGuin
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
I have heard about grilled salad and I've seen it on other blogs and, while I've been intrigued by it, I've also been a bit skeptical. Could grilling it really make that much of a difference?
I finally decided to try it and see what it's like for myself.
I don't have an outdoor grill so I used my stove top cast iron grill.
I cut a romaine heart in half and brushed each side with oil. I then grilled it for 2 min. on each side.
For the dressing I used the Caesar's salad dressing recipe from Vegannomicon.
I was completely blown away by this salad! It had me feeling like I was eating something way more decedent than a salad!
James really enjoyed it too. After we were done eating I asked him how he liked it and he said, while holding his belly, "It was too good. I ate it way too fast!" :)
Happy Eating!!
“To remember a successful salad is generally to remember a successful dinner; at all events, the perfect dinner necessarily includes the perfect salad.” - George Ellwanger
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
Potatoes are one of my favorite foods. I love them pretty much any way they come. I especially love them for breakfast. While I have been known to eat this dish for dinner, it's my go-to when I want a hearty breakfast.
Start by cutting up a couple of potatoes (I like to make enough so there are leftovers). Heat some oil in a large saute pan and add the potatoes. Cook them until they are almost done, turning often. Next add whatever vegetables you'd like. I usually chop up 1 onion, 1 red & green bell pepper and mince a couple cloves of garlic.
Continue cooking until vegetables are tender and season with salt, pepper and paprika.
Happy Eating!
"What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow." - A. A. Milne
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
There are times when I just start to crave, in a major way, a nice crisp salad.
This time it was just sliced apples, walnuts and sliced button mushrooms on a bed of romaine and iceberg lettuce. Drizzle with your choice of vinaigrette and enjoy!
Happy Eating!!
"The addition of nuts in a salad.... I always find to be beneficial." - Larry David
Easy Dishes Made From Refrigerator and Pantry Staples.
On Monday night, while I was in the kitchen trying to decide what to make for dinner, my husband was in the living room watching football. While half listening to the game I started to pull out ingredients that I could make into a meal.
Earlier in the day it had been raining and with the sounds of football in the background it was really starting to feel like fall here in Las Vegas. So it's no surprise that the meal I ended up with looked pretty much like a Thanksgiving diner. As we were eating I told James the only things we were missing were mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
For dinner we had a corn flake crusted baked tofu, cranberry stuffing, and a stove top green bean casserole. I plan on sharing the recipes for the tofu and green bean casserole later but I will share how I made the cranberry stuffing, which was my favorite thing on the plate!
I used a box of plain bread crumb stuffing. For the most part I followed the recipe on the box except I substituted vegan butter for butter and I used vegetable broth instead of chicken. I also added a little more butter and broth than directed to because I like a wetter stuffing.
Start by melting butter in a sauce pan, add onion and celery. Cook until tender. This is were the box said to add the broth and bread crumbs, I added the broth and some seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder). Then I stirred in the bread crumbs and half a package of dried cranberries. I then dumped the stuffing into a casserole dish that I had sprayed with olive oil cooking spray and baked it in the oven according to the package directions.
So Yummy! I probably could have just eaten the stuffing for dinner and been happy :)
"Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing." - Walt Kelly
