Yogurt marinated Cedar Plank Cod

Had a best friend from high-school coming over for dinner and it's been over 20 years since I've seen her.  I asked her what she wanted me to make and in our brief discussions about food, she said she'd be interested in eating something from the Mediterranean diet.  I prepared this salad to eat with the cod.

Roasted Carrot and Garlic Soup with Fresh Herbs

I asked my son to buy me a 2 lb bag of organic carrots and he brought me BABY carrots - which I detest!  Last time he did this I also made a soup. It was a good day to make this, not very hot outside so the house wouldn't mind the hot oven being on...The only ingredient in these carrots, were "organic carrots", no preservatives so at least that was good.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

I saw this on "Girl Meets Farm" on Food Network on the weekend.  I guess she's calling it "Moroccan" because of the harissa paste?  I thought it looked really delish, so put it on my to-do list.  I followed the recipe as is with a couple of my own tweaks:

Green Papaya, Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese

I've blogged my watermelon salad recipe before and it's here.  Today I did a spin on it.  I want to remember what I did tonight, so this is why I wrote it up again.  What I made this time:

EPIC Deep Dish Lasagna

I've always wanted my lasagna to look like this .  It took a long time for me to find a deep dish lasagna pan.  I ended up just ordering one from Amazon (4 inches deep), but I looked locally everywhere.  I also spent a long time deciding what ingredients to use.  If you've ever been to an Italian nonna's home and had their lasagna, there are no others that will ever match it...ever, just sayin'...

Ziti with Fresh Arugula, Kale, Cherry Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

I was at home from work today limping around in pain from a bad fall, head foggy from muscle relaxants.  Rooting through the cupboards to see what I could make for dinner became my days only purpose.  This is what I came up with:

Smashed Cucumber Chicken Salad

Cucumbers are one of my favorite foods of all, and my son hates them.  So everything I make cucumber is not eaten by him.  Anyway, this was a great weeknight dinner - super simple.  It was supposed to be last night's din din except I had a bad tumble on some concrete so was not able to prepare it, but was good enough to make it tonight...

Shirley Mae's Meatloaf

I saw this on a food t.v. show and was inspired to make it.  Shirley Mae has a restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky.  I didn't have a recipe, just saw what her daughter did on the program.  Shirley Mae said there was no recipes in their family - her mom taught her by feel and their palettes taught them taste.  So here's my take on it.  This was Sunday comfort food dinner and then tomorrow, it's back on the healthy eating program.  Into a blender I put:

Christine's Green Papaya Salad

I am in LOVE (obsessed?) 💘 with this salad and will order it whenever I see it on a menu.  Mostly at home here I find the Vietnamese version, but I have been fortunate to try Andy Ricker's Pok Pok Thai version as well.  I made my own take on it today.  But first, here are pics of three versions I've consumed while dining out: 

Homemade Baked Beans with Weenies

On vacay now and I felt like making this - who doesn't love weenies and beans?  Plus it was surprisingly cold, grey and chilly when I woke up, so this dish seemed perfect for today.  I remember years ago making baked beans and after all the time it took, I decided it tasted just like opening a can of pork 'n beans and haven't made them since.  However, canned processed products are way down on my list of use nowadays... This recipe (my own concoction) is time consuming so not something I would make while working.