Ham Bone Pinto Bean Soup with Okra

I had a ham bone, so soup was on the menu.  It was a high-end ham, uncured, no nitrates, antibiotic free, low-sodium (compared to all others) and I had a ton left over.  I soaked my pinto beans overnight and thought about how I'd put this together... I knew I wanted some heat in it but that was all.  I slept on it and below is what I came up with today.  I will say my ingredients may have been inspired as I marathoned a 20 year old cooking show today called "Great Chefs of New Orleans" on Amazon Prime...😊

Macaroni & Cheese x Three!

I certainly don't make this often as it's so unhealthy.  Period.  However, over the holidays, I don't mind excess and splurging, and I'm not going to lie - we have been...  It's part of enjoying the season, though I am starting to wind down with the "bad foods".  Personally, I honestly feel better when I eat well (healthy).  For my son, this dish was for him.  He LOVES mac 'n cheese. 🥰

Christmas Day Dinner: Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding and more...

Merry Christmas!!!  ❄🎄⛄❄ There was a lot of debate over what would become Christmas dinner this year - steakhouse surf & turf? Greek pastitsio?  Porchetta (next year!)?  In the end, it was Prime Rib, again (at my son's request), and I chose to make this as a side in place of my usual Yorkshire pudding.  I took my own liberties with it.  I love stuffing, so this seemed suitable to serve.  I also made these pomegranate roasted carrots as the veggie side.  Riced potatoes w/ butter and cream completed the entree course.  There was no appetizer, but I did do dessert!

Christmas Day: Maple Apple Tarte Tatin

This looked "relatively" easy to make for Christmas Day dessert so I gave it a go with minor edits...also, puff pastry and Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream from the grocery store.  I made it in the afternoon and served it at room temperature after dinner.

Baked Brie with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce and Diced Green Chilies

Appy night at my house.  This was one of those 3-ingredient dishes.  You know, dinner is easier to do than making a bunch of appetizers and less work too, just sayin'...The good thing was I was off work for the Christmas break now, so I just puttered at everything throughout the day.

Beef Barley Soup

I always make my barley soup with ground beef but today I decided to use stewing beef.  I bought a blade (chuck) roast for it.

MacLaren’s Cheddar Jam Squares

I googled this cheese as I used it in my potato soup and I wanted to provide a link to it.  When I did, I came upon this recipe and knew I had to make it.  I've always been a huge fan of cheese and jam together, and I love cheddar melted on apple pie too.  But I really made them for my son as I knew he'd love them.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I made a chicken bone broth the day before and with that, this became dinner.  My idea was to make a cheesy potato soup and then dress it up like a baked potato.  It was a good day for this, brrrr chilly evening and comfort food (a.k.a carb coma) seemed right.  Ahem, it was the night before my return to work as well, after a wonderful 3 weeks off... 😒

Chicken Marbella

I have never heard of this before.  The recipe immediately reminded me that somewhere buried in my personal book of recipes which I gathered over the years, is a newspaper clipping of a beef pot roast I used to make with prunes.  And I remember how much I loved it.  I halved this because only 3 of us would be dining tonight.

Crock-Pot: Mississippi Pot Roast by Robin Chapman

I saw this woman on Food t.v.  Her recipe had over a million saves on "Pinterest" apparently.  This brought her fame.  When I saw it, I had to give it a try though those package sodium counts always make me nauseous.  However, since I find the crock pot mutes flavors, maybe it would be okay?  I got it ready on Friday evening, so I didn't have to fuss to make dinner Saturday as it was going to be a busy day...

Instant Pot: Curry Beef Brisket

I had beef brisket in the freezer which I thawed overnight.  I remembered I had made Chinese curry beef in my crock pot and I didn't love it.  I haven't made it since.  I decided to try again in the Instant Pot.  Would this be an easy, delicious weeknight dinner???

Death By Chocolate Pie

This was dessert for my son tonight.  I had intended to make it for Thanksgiving, but ran out of steam...  I had all the ingredients so wanted to do it before the cream went bad.  I made the crust and the filling the night before as there is a long period of time that it needs to set.

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Casserole

Ugh - this was the LAST of the turkey.  I was getting rid of it, and that was that!  This is my own creation.  I wanted mushrooms.  Mmmm, mushrooms sounded great to me!  More turkey, not so much, haha.

French Lentil Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

My son and I were out for Happy Hour at this Greek place.  We tried this lentil salad below.  When it arrived, it didn't look promising - not the most attractive dish, but its taste blew us away.  We gobbled it all up.  I had to try and recreate it at home.  This became Friday night dinner...

Thanksgiving Leftover Sliders

Well I was excited when I saw a local grocery store selling King's Hawaiian Rolls.  My co-worker would get them in Washington state for me on occasion but it was nice to see them available in Canada.  $3.99 for 12 at Save On Foods.

Thanksgiving Turkey Soup

I've already posted about this soup previously.  Because I am giving this to a few people, I thought I'd post how I made it this time.  I made the stock the day before and let it cool in the fridge so I could skim the fat off.  It was made with the neck, bones, bay leaves, parsley, rosemary, thyme, savory, onion, carrot, celery,  cayenne pepper and S&P.  I simmered it for 8 hours and strained it through cheesecloth.

Thanksgiving Challah Bread, Sausage, Sage & Dried Cherry Stuffing (...and the rest of dinner)

Every year I like to try new stuffing recipes and this time I was inspired by this one.  I made it my own though but did use the main ingredients.  I go to this bakery by my office which only makes Challah Bread on Fridays.  I ran over at early coffee break as it often sells out by lunch. This post is a bit of a mess, it's over two days and turkey day I was scrambling and not as organized as I would have liked...

Steamed Korean Eggplant (Gaji-namul)

A friend was talking about my "smashed cucumber" post and said she does this with eggplant and gave me her recipe (which I edited to my liking).  She said she thinks it's better with eggplant.  I was intrigued, so decided to give it a try, though it took me a long while to find the eggplant at the grocery store, but I finally did.  I had them in the crisper for a few days and they lost some quality in there, so it was good I used them up today!

Blueberry Buckle

Courtesy of Alton Brown, I made this for my son.  It's supposed to be one of Alton's best recipes.  I should have made this when blueberries were abundant here and fresh from the farms.  I found his measurements confusing and when googling it to convert to cups, I got different results, however, this was my best guess at it...

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Garlic & Herbs

Well this is special for dinner, isn't it?  Costco had a good deal on frenched lamb racks ($4 off) so that's what was on the plate this evening.

Cheesy Mushroom Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

Good Eats - The Return came back to food t.v.  I was happy to see this again, as I was sick to death of the old re-runs.  Cooking Channel Canada plays them for multiple hours on a daily basis.  So much that it made me cringe and flip the channel whenever I saw the old show repeats.  I was even happier to see a quinoa recipe from him so decided to give it a go.  I followed it exactly with no edits of my own.  I DVR'd the show too, and watched it again before I began making this tonight.

Canned Salmon & Yam Fish Cakes

I wanted fish cakes tonight and was only going to use what was in my house without going out for anything as it is my last day of vacation.  That meant instant mashed potatoes or yam, so I went with the yam.  I roasted my garnet yam after I scrubbed it well and then dried it.

Apple Walnut Cinnamon Bread

I made this for my son long after he had gone to bed last night.  He loves my banana bread, but I wanted to try something different.  I followed the recipe, but added toasted walnuts and tweaked a little for my tastes.

Instant Pot: Stock/Broth

I decided to see how the Instant Pot did for making bone broth.  I usually do this as an all day activity, simmering for 8 to 10 hours and then seeing it turn into gelatinous goodness after sitting in the fridge overnight.

Herbed Tomato Gratin

I based my recipe on this one.  My grocery store by work sells local farm produce throughout the summer and this week they had "Old Time Tasty" tomatoes from Oliver, B.C.  They are like a beefsteak.  I tried one before I bought a bunch and I was very happy with it.  Sweet and delicious.  They were $2.99 a pound.  I pay $4.99 a pound from the "Tomato Man" at the farmer's market...

Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs with Romesco

I saw this and knew I wanted to make it for Sunday dinner.  He made this on his show with Sammy Hagar.  As it turns out, I was under the weather on Sunday from imbibing out Saturday night, so this become Monday's meal.  I used pork back ribs and the seasoning was fresh cracked black pepper, kosher salt and smoked paprika.  I detest smoked paprika, but thought it may be okay in this instance...

Summer Beef Stew

I guess this is beef stew in the summer, but I did throw zucchini in it 😉...  I don't know why but I was craving beef stew and couldn't get it out of my head, even in the hot summer weather as of late.  Thankfully it was cooler and rainy today which I took as my cue to fulfill my desire.  I got my son to get the beef from Costco.  The smallest package he could find was 4 lbs.  I decided I'd put in a roasting pan and bake it low all day as it would be tough to fit that much meat and all the veg in a dutch oven.  I could have froze some of the beef but elected to freeze some of the finished stew instead.

Shrimp and Blue Grits

STAT holiday here, so I had to make a celebratory meal. 

I was so excited when I received my delivery from Anson Mills from my kind co-worker.  She gets deliveries from the U.S.A in the U.S.A., otherwise, I'd never be able to order.  I spent almost $200 this time and all my treasures took up half my freezer!  The first plan with all my new finds was to make shrimp & grits again as its been a long while since I've had them.  I've never had blue grits before, they are coarse.  Anson Mills said no dairy advised for them, but butter at the end, so no cheesy grits this time.

Vietnamese Pork Chops with Green Beans.

At the farmer's market, I picked up these local chops from Gelderman farms.   They weren't cheap at $18 for 4.  I marinated them overnight, using this recipe.  I also picked up green beans so would grill those along side.

Red Currant Crumb Bars

I was shopping at Costco and saw these beautiful red currants.  Below, 12 oz or 340 grams container was $6.  I thought I'd use them in a salad, but they were quite "pucker up" sour.  So, I didn't know what to do with them now...  I found this recipe (easiest one I found!) and decided to give it a try... I'll leave the ingredients/measurements to the link and show you the outcome here.  I changed her recipe by adding some pure almond extract to the currants and adding chopped almonds on the topping.  I also cut down the sugar by 1/3 cup and used unsalted butter.

Roasted Broccoli Soup with Gruyere Cheese and Ham

This was ingredients I had in the fridge today.  I went to the farmer's market earlier and picked up some excellent bread.  I thought it would be nice to have with soup.

Bulgur, Quinoa, Kale Salad with Lemon-Tarragon Dressing

It's funny, I love salads, I could eat them every single day - if someone else made them for me.  For some reason, I just get soooo lazy about making them myself.  I've made a good winter bulgur salad, and now this is my summer version.  I say it's summer because there was a zucchini in there.  😊 This was a mishmash of fridge/pantry contents and a notion from my brain...

Coq Au Vin Blanc

It's summer so it calls for a lighter version of the red wine classic.  This was recipe I watched on "The Chew", a t.v. show now long gone - I never made it, but tailored it to me, and now it's time to give it a try...

Instant Pot: Dal Makhani

I found this recipe and as soon as I did, I knew I would make it.  I've been on "Dal" kick these days.  My co-worker makes it and occasionally brings me some.  It's very good at times.  I've also been ordering it every time I go out for Indian food lately.

Blueberry Crisp

I decided to stay away from flour, so the planned pie I was going to make changed to a crisp.  I don't know what the difference is between crisp, cobbler, crumble and whatever else they're called.  Frankly I don't even care enough to google it either.  I just know it's a lot easier to make than a pie.  😊  The heatwave cooled today, so I could use the oven.  I followed this recipe by the Neelys as my guideline.

Pork Fest with Braised Cabbage, Carrots, Onion and New Potatoes

I wasn't even going to blog this because I've done this here with sauerkraut and here with braised cabbage.  However, this was a spin on both so I decided to post it, though I didn't take too many pictures as I wasn't in the mood today.

Roasted Tomato Basil Sauce with Bucatini

I've never eaten bucatini, but I had a box in my cupboard.  I was watching "Cooking Channel" last night and saw this on Guy's show...we all know who Guy is, right?  I decided this would be how I would try it.  I'm preparing for heat wave weather next week, so was going to take advantage of using my oven...

Butter Chicken

I got this recipe from a co-worker from India.  She's from south India - Chennai, but said this wasn't a family recipe, just one she got from a friend and has been making for a very long time.  Anyway, she had invited me for dinner last year and I couldn't make it, but another co-worker said I missed out and that her butter chicken was delicious, so I was anxious to give it a try!  She gave me two recipes, one with more ingredient/steps and one easy.  Below is the more involved recipe though still easy.  She said she uses fresh tomatoes.  I did not as they are not quite ready at the farmer's market yet, meaning "the tomato man" has not made his appearance there yet:

Homemade Cherry Pie

It's cherry season, so this would be the summer dish I would use to make my son his annual homemade local "fresh fruit" dessert with.  I'd lie if I didn't say I'm thinking about this song as I write this.  I actually love cherry pie and can't even remember the last time I've had a slice -  maybe when I was a kid?  This will be rare dessert that I taste test myself.  I was going to make my own pie dough too...🤞

Grilled Panzanella Salad

I've always wanted to make this salad, but never have.  Grilling everything seemed what I wanted to do this evening, though by the time I got home from work I was less enthusiastic with my idea...  I found a good Rustic Ciabatta by Terra Breads which I love.  Everything else came from what looked fresh and tasty in the produce aisles today.

Soy Sauce Braised Chicken

OMG, this looked so good!  I absolutely had to give it a try.  The pictures of it sold me. I found the soy sauces and anise at the Asian market.  This sort of reminded me of when I first started cooking as a teen.  I'd make these whole chicken wings and I baked them in casserole dish with honey, garlic and soy sauce.  They were so ugly (wrinkly poached beige color) looking when they came out, but were delicious nonetheless (at least back then)...In hindsight, I think broiling them at the end would have made them appealing.  I had higher hopes for this!

Asian Soba Noodle Salad with Chicken

I was sure I had blogged this before, but nope, never have, even though I've made it a few times now.  This was supposed to be dinner last night, but I ended up cutting up a bunch of fruit for sangria, and lost interest in the vegetable chopping...

Brined BBQ Pork Chops, Grilled Cherry Tomatoes and Nugget Potatoes

Happy 152nd  Birthday 🍁 Canada!  My son and I were both home today so enjoyed a nice day off with each other.  I found these beautiful one inch thick centre cut chops.  They were cheap too, 2 for under $6.  So, I did a brine and let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours.

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.

Chicken, Snap Pea, Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

I recently learned that my son loves sugar snap peas so I decided to use them for dinner tonight.  I made some long grain brown rice when I came in the door first.  I made this dinner without care or finesse.  It may show in my pictures?  I was too lazy to blog my sauce tonight, but it was similar to this one.  I was watching the "Survivor - 38th season" finale, I was busy with that and cooking was a rare chore tonight!  😊

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

I felt like using my KitchenAid stand mixer today and wanted to make cookies.  I can't even remember the last time I've made them... I saw I still had a Costco size huge bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard that I bought at Christmas for something.  I decided cookies it was, sweet and salty ones!  What I used today:

Cedar Plank Pork Tenderloin & Grilled Okra

I have a feeling by the end of this year's grilling season, I will have put many a different foods on the cedar plank.  My head went through so many different possibilities of rubs and marinades, but in the end decided to keep it simple.

Cowboy Caviar

Now that I'm seeing fresh corn for sale, I decided to make this.  Loved the colorfulness of it and the name of the recipe.  I didn't think I'd be able to find black eyed peas, but I did in "No Frills" grocery store - No Name brand... What I used:

Cedar Planked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

I planned to do burgers on the grill tonight, however, I remembered I had a pack of chicken in the fridge that I was going to cook yesterday and didn't get to it.  I was going to make my own teriyaki marinade for it.  It had to be used tonight so when I  got home I soaked a plank for 2 hours and marinated the chicken.  I just used Olive Garden Italian dressing, crushed chili flakes and Italian seasoning.

Baked Ravioli with Marinara Sauce Appetizer

I learned this recipe a long time ago, but I can't remember where...We were going to watch "Game of Thrones" at a neighbors and they asked that we bring some finger foods.  I thought of this, as it was easy.  I also made this one which is even easier and always a hit - plus it played into "Cinco de Mayo".  What I used:

Instant Pot: Lazy Lasagna Soup

Can you say easy weeknight comfort food?  I did.  Seemed perfect to end the work week because I don't like cooking on Fridays.  I walked 11 km today after only a few hours of sleep last night and a long work week.  I didn't end up making this till 10pm - after a nap!  😴 I made minor edits.  You don't need an instant pot to make this, it will just take longer in a dutch oven to simmer the soupy sauce.  What I used:

Veggie Meatloaf

I thought this looked really good, so it became my Sunday night meal.  My son got a baked potato with his, I got a baked yam.  I knew this was going to be a hard sell to him, so I decided to make a brown gravy (vegetarian), because gravy makes everything better.  I made a couple of my own tweaks and edits to the recipe.

French Lentil Turkey Vegetable Soup

Turkey soups are my absolute favorite to make and really are my specialty.  The homemade broth is always spectacular and I did what is in that link to make it.  This one took 6 hours to make.

Easter Dinner: Braised Beef Short Ribs, Stone-Ground Cheesy White Grits and Orange Gremolata

It's Easter weekend 🥚 🐰 and also my son's birthday 🎂, so this marks a special occasion.  We are expecting guests as well.  I've blogged short ribs before, but only the finished product.  I wanted to do it again with all the steps involved.  I find any Anson Mills product extremely special so serving grits as the base seemed appropriate.  When my son was little he loved Dairy Queen frozen cakes for his birthday parties, so this is what I got him for dessert tonight - probably haven't done this for twenty years or so now.  For the ribs:

Wild Sockeye Salmon Tacos. Slaw & Feta Cheese

The salmon was previously frozen, but it looked good today.  I pan fried it in a little olive oil, seasoned only with S&P.  I warmed the tortillas up in the oven.  Just covered them in foil.  For my crunchy slaw I used:

Creamy Garlic Chicken Spanakopita Casserole

I have never, ever used phyllo dough before (that I remember), so this would be a first.  I had some in my freezer but threw it out when it turned about 10 years old.  😉 It was half price on sale on this week so I got a new box for $1.99.  When I saw this on Serious Eats, I knew I must make it, though I edited it for my own tastes and technique.  I love using my cast iron pan but I just felt better about making it in my 13" x 9" Le Creuset casserole dish.  I didn't get a chance to get to Costco for the spinach so I paid double.  One pound cost me $8 at my grocery store beside the office.  Anyway, here's what I used:

Christine's Waldorf Salad with Pecans

This is another dish that popped into my head a while ago and I've been thinking about it on repeat.  As a young girl, I actually dreamed of one day having this salad at the famous Waldorf Astoria in NYC.  Anyway, luckily it's on the healthy side so there was no guilt involved while putting it together tonight.  What I used:

Italian Sub Sandwich

When I get something in my head to eat, I can't let it go...  I can often delay it, but it won't leave my brain until I indulge.  This was it today. 

Egg Drop Soup

This is simple to make.  This is my own spin on the classic Asian delight.  It's what I wanted for dinner tonight and it took no time to prepare.  I used:

Strawberry Shortcake

I had already sliced up some strawberries (1 lb)  and marinated them with a dash of balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon of sugar.  They were sitting in the fridge waiting to be macerated .  I was going to serve with vanilla ice cream to my son for dessert tonight.  Below, they just went into the fridge so the syrup hadn't developed yet.

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I have never made this and I think it's because I make Moussaka + newer version, which I love.  I have fried eggplant before and it sucks the oil - like a sponge.  I didn't want to try this dish with deep frying so I did it the same way I make my moussaka.  Eggplant was priced good where I bought it, and for $3, I picked up three.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Is this my first ever Guy Fieri recipe?  It indeed is!  I was away from the office, not feeling so great today and saw it on the t.v.  He made this with Tori Spelling's husband - which seemed really random, lol.  I had all the ingredients, so had to make it.  It looked really good.  I subbed coconut milk for the heavy cream.  I kept all the cheese though, and more...  😉  I forgot the thyme though... ☹  You're supposed to strip a couple of stems and put some leaves in.  Next time...

Potato, Leek, Onion Soup

My office had a pay lunch ($5) today.  It was potato leek soup with cheese toast.  It was great soup.  So good that I wanted more.  I decided to go home and make it for dinner.  I keep making all these wintry things still, not sure why... What came to mind and what I used:

Instant Pot: Roast Beef (for Beef Dip)

Today screamed and begged me for comfort food.  I had this mad craving for beef dip tonight.  I think because I saw it on a sandwich board outside a restaurant as I was lunch walking last week.  It hasn't left my mind, I guess.  The closest grocery store to work had "outside round" roasts on sale for $5 a lb.

Egg White, Spinach, Bacon, Cheese, Tomato Breakfast Bakes

So, my friend turned me onto this low carb protein bread which was not bad when toasted and only nets 1 gram of carb, per slice!  I thought I'd make these to go along side it for breakfast at work for this following week.  I made 6 in a jumbo muffin tin.  You could use whatever you want in them...bell pepper, green onions, red onions, mushrooms, zucchini, kale, cilantro, parsley, chives, etc. etc - the possibilities are endless!  I used what I had in my fridge/house today.

Asparagus, Tomato, Green Onion & Feta Salad

I had all the ingredients at home, so was inspired by this and is what accompanied my wild salmon dinner.  I don't usually use balsamic vinegar too much anymore, but for some reason I was craving it today.  Her measurements for the dressing are in the link of her recipe, up top.  If you google, there are endless balsamic vinaigrette recipes the same as hers. I used what she did but didn't measure as I've made numerous vinaigrettes.

Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese

I saw my son looking at this on social media so told him I would make it for him.  It was sure easy for me to put on the table for a weeknight.  I used:

Instant Pot: Curried Opo Squash & Chana Dal

I found opo squash in the grocery store today so looked for a recipe to utilize them.  I don't think I've ever cooked with them before, and if I have, I don't remember.

Instant Pot: Chicken, Lentil, and Bacon Stew With Carrots

It sounds comforting, no?  I got down to business and followed the ingredients exactly except I subbed apple cider vinegar for the sherry vinegar.  I used less pancetta and I cut the broth by half a cup too.  I couldn't find french lentils in my usual grocery stores so ordered them online from Amazon.  I didn't want drumsticks so just used thighs.  As an addition, I threw in some organic baby spinach at the end.

Curried Chicken Salad Lettuce Cups

I bought a rotisserie chicken from Costco and this is what came to my mind to make for dinner.

Homemade Quick Ramen

I made this for my son tonight.  It will not compare to the delicious ramen we love going out for here in Vancouver but I thought it would be comforting for him on this beautiful but nippy day.   I do wished I had homemade stock to use for this, but another time.  I walked to Chinatown at lunch and picked up BBQ pork and half a Soya chicken for $9!  Can't beat that.

Christine's Chopped Salad

I got back from Vegas and had a very pedestrian chopped salad.  I decided to make my own for Sunday dinner.  I'm not going to lie, I put a shit load of ingredients in.  This would make work lunches as well.  I'm not giving measurements for the greens, just use what you want/need.  I used leftover steelhead trout for myself and no nitrate turkey breast for my son's (he claims fish on a salad is not right).  I made a basic vinaigrette with red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, currants and S&P.

Leftover Pork Roast Cheesy Egg Noodle Casserole

I had quite a lot of pork roast leftover from last night's dinner.  I decided to invent a casserole with whatever I had in the house.  I went rummaging through the cupboards and fridge.  What I ended up using:

Bouillabaisse

One of my dreams is to travel to Marseille and have Bouillabaisse there.  I viewed a LOT of different recipes.  In the end, I did my own thing, with what I had.  I made a rouille (I added a fire-roasted red pepper) too and used it on toasted slices of potato bread.  My seafood was frozen except for the shrimp.  What I used:

Chicken, Mushroom, Stuffing Casserole

We had company coming over and I felt like making something easy but also comforting and crowd pleasing.  As it turned out, my son left work and was sick as a dog, so we cancelled our guests.  Anyway, this came to my mind for the casserole dish I would create.  I still made it as I had all the ingredients now.  It is so not diet friendly in any sense of the way of healthy eating but I like to make casseroles for them.  Besides that though, I think it'd be great with leftover turkey.  I used rotisserie chicken for this tonight, purely for the ease of it. I made a simple chicken gravy to serve with this.  I put cheese on because my son is not a huge fan of "stuffing" (I know, he's crazy!  😜) ...so both the sausage and cheese were added to make it more likeable/palatable for him:

Maple Syrup Pecan Glazed Sticky Buns

I saw a show on Food Network which featured Pennsylvania-Dutch Amish sticky buns made with potato flakes and they looked fantastic.  So, I found a recipe that used potato flakes and made them.  I have never baked anything like this before except out of a Pillsbury tube, so this was new.  I made them for my son.  I used:

Egyptian Barley Salad

This looked appealing to me so I thought I'd give it a go... adjusting to my own desires...

One-Pot Chicken and Whole Grain Rice with Swiss Chard

I saw some beautiful organic Swiss Chard.  I bought it because it looked so pretty.

Perfect Pot Roast

I saw a decent looking blade roast on sale so decided it was pot roast time.  This recipe was courtesy of Ree Drummond from Food Network.  I followed it as a baseline and did some adaptions to my liking:

Cod Florentine

I was inspired by a recipe I saw on Skinnytaste.  She adapted hers from another to make it healthier and it looked good to me.  I minor tweaked to suit me.  What I used:

Vegetarian Twice Baked Sweet Potato "Burritos"

I got the idea for tonight's dinner here.  I bought one huge mother of a potato!  So, this would be the whole dinner for two.  A half tater each.  I'd call this a yam, but I've read and it seems that what the grocery store calls yams are actually sweet potatoes.  Whatever they are, below is they type I like the best.

Belgian Endive and Walnut Salad

The last time I bought endive, it went bad.  I made sure I used it this time and it all came together in about 15 minutes.  This was as easy as can be.  I made a smaller amount than the recipe and what I used is below:

Skillet Ground Turkey, Quinoa Macaroni & Cheese

I've never seen this at Costco before but when I did last week, I had to buy it to try it.  I've tried pasta made from chickpeas (my fave), quinoa with brown rice (my 2nd fave), 100% whole wheat (good), ancient grains (good), black beans (meh) and red lentils (not a favorite).  Time to try macaroni quinoa with some organic white rice flour and two quinoa flours. I have a feeling I'll prefer the brown rice one I tried from Trader Joe's - though it is fusilli and I wanted macaroni today...

Egg White Vegetable Breakfast Bake

This looked like a good way to end the weekend.  I liked the recipe with the "crescent roll" idea.  I had those in the fridge and needed to use them.  I did my own spin on this and used what I had in the fridge.

Sautéed Kale with Onions, Garlic and Tomatoes

I loves me some kale.  Mmm Mmm.

Quick Homemade Chana Masala

I needed to make something quick and easy for dinner and this is what I came up with what was in my cupboard.  I bought some excellent garlic naan from this "hole in the wall" Indian place by work.  He makes them fresh "made to order" in the clay oven and it takes about 10 minutes.  I watch him roll them out and put the garlic on and then stick it on the sides of the oven.  Expensive though at $7 for two, but do they ever smell and taste heavenly when done (swoon).

Baked Steelhead Trout with Maple Glaze

I like farmed steelhead trout better than wild salmon (I don't eat farmed salmon).  There, I said it and I mean it.  We cook this all the time.  Normally we just do it very simply with S&P and pan fried in a little olive oil. The crispy skin is our favorite part.  My son picked up a huge pack at Costco yesterday, so I decided to bake it this time.  Leftovers are great cold, in salad - even in sandwiches as well...

Homemade Falafels in Pita

Back to healthy eating now that it's January.  Honestly, I asked my son to pick the falafels up pre-made from Costco today.  He told me a manager he asked said they are discontinued and they would no longer carry them.  That was a drag, as they were vegan and EASY to make - heat and serve!  So, after perusing a few recipes and not wanting to spend hours on this tonight, I came up with my own idea and crossed my fingers...