Roasted Fennel and Artichoke Hearts

I am so NOT a fan of Martha Stewart, but after I opened a large jar of artichokes from Costco, I decided to look for something to do with them.  I knew I would never eat them straight out of the jar. Had I read the jar, and that it said: "once opened, use within 7 days", I wouldn't have even bought them.  I would only buy them now if I had to make a "dip" for company or a gathering.

Easter Dinner - Turkey, Taters, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole & Homemade Cranberry Sauce

I wasn't feeling turkey for Easter this year.  I wanted to do lamb but my son asked for the bird, so of course I obliged (I saw at Costco they had these roasted lamb shanks with garlic sauce, already cooked and just needed to be heated, so thought I would do that another time for $19.95).  I was glad we didn't have turkey at Christmas so it was enough of a break since Thanksgiving.  I usually buy a fresh turkey, but for cost savings this year, I bought a frozen Butterball - 10 lbs. for $20.  That took four days to defrost in my fridge!

Beef Stroganoff

I was watching a Food Network episode of "Guy's Grocery Games" the other night, a repeat of moms on Mother's Day and one of them made beef stroganoff.  It made me want to make it, so I bought the ingredients.  Round steak was the only thing on sale, so I decided to make this in my enamel cast iron dutch oven.  I have never used or bought round steak before but I knew for sure that it was tough.  I followed this recipe here with a couple of edits.  I used some fresh thyme (4 sprigs tied together with twine), Dijon mustard (about a tablespoon), 2 bay leaves and flour (3 tablespoons) which were the major changes.  I used one cup of wine and two cups of broth reversing what the recipe says.  Because I used flour is why I reversed the liquids, I wanted to cook out the wine and then thicken the broth after.

Roasted Rapini (Broccoli Rabe)

I've never made this before, in fact, I've never seen it at the grocery store before this week.  It was cheap too, $1.78 for a bunch at "No Frills" which carries President's Choice products.

Pork Spare Rib Ragù & Linguine

Yoo-hoo, it's the first day of spring, so I decided on  a heavy spaghetti sauce.  :p  OK, well, it was raining and it was really about using up what was in the freezer for Sunday dinner.  I still had some "sweet & sour style" spare ribs in there so decided to make those.  I didn't want to make the obvious with them so considered what else I could do?  Then I thought I'd slow cook them in the crock pot, take the meat off the bones, leave all the fat there and make a fresh pasta sauce - kind of like a Bolognese.  I put them in the crock pot at 7am on low for 10 hours.

Kimchi Pancakes, Szechuan Green Beans and Pork Egg Rolls

I was already making green beans tonight which I've already posted about before.  A recipe for Kimchi pancakes came up on my internet surfing travels today and I decided to make that too.  I based it on this recipe here.  The egg rolls came right out of a bag (frozen) from Costco.  I really like these egg rolls - they are individually wrapped too - something like you'd get at 7/11.  ;)

Chicken Fricassee

This recipe has been on my "to do" list for a LONG time now...as in years.  Still feeling "under the weather" (but with all my taste/smell intact) and at home today with a whole chicken sitting in the fridge, I decided today was the day...

Kale, Sausage & Navy Bean Soup

For my soup tonight I used these ingredients:

Salmon Cakes

I made some Sockeye salmon steaks the night before and I really wasn't thrilled with them, so much so, that I didn't eat them past a couple of bites.  I ended up just taking all the salmon off the skin and bones and put it into a bowl for another use for another time. What I learned from this is not to ever buy "Previously Frozen" Sockeye salmon ever again...

Pad Grapow (Thai Basil Chicken)

I saw this recipe pop up on facebook and thought I'd like to make it, even if it was inspired by "Chrissy Teigen" who I am so NOT a fan of...I used a pound and a half of chicken tenders as they were on sale today at IGA.  At my Korean market, I had the option of buying Serrano chilli or Thai Bird's eye chilli but I chickened out on the bird's eye ones.

Clam Chowder

I don't need a recipe for this.  It's a pretty straight forward soup to make.  Sometimes I thicken it with just grated potatoes but today I used flour as I wanted it thick.  Here are the ingredients I used:

Meatloaf stuffed with Cheese, Mashed Taters & Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Meatloaf is one of my favorite comfort meals, period.  I always have to serve it with mashed potatoes too as it just goes hand in hand.  I generally make meatloaf without a recipe but this time decided to try something new.  This was more time consuming than my regular loaf, so it is best done when not in a rush.

Pulled Pork & Cornbread Casserole

Today was the 3rd and final day of pulled pork.  The first day we started with the usual BBQ pulled pork buns with coleslaw.  The next day I made quiche and then quesadillas for dinner.  Today would be this.  We can't get this cornbread mix here.

Pulled Pork Quiche

I made pulled pork in the crock pot yesterday and there was tons left over.  I was thinking about ways to use it up, when the idea of quiche came to mind.  It was a Saturday afternoon, so seemed suitable.  I'm still "under the weather" though my taste/smell seems to have returned today.  I had a Pillsbury pie dough in the fridge that was just expiring so I had to use it soon or toss it.  I scouted through other items in the fridge and ended up using:

Koto Kapama - Chicken Stewed in Garlic and Cinnamon

I was up late watching a repeat show on Food Network and saw chef Cat Cora making this dish.  While she was my least favorite Iron Chef (I always hoped she'd lose), I did like the sounds of this recipe.  It seemed simple enough and I like dishes that have few ingredients but lots of flavor so I gave it a whirl.

Zuppa Toscana – Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup

When I made my Caldo Verde soup a week or two ago, my co-worker told me about a similar soup and how much he loved it at Olive Garden.  I decided I would try it next time I made soup.  As I was feeling "under the weather", today was the day.  Soup seemed appropriate even though my taste/smell functions were semi-muted at this point...