What We Ate: a seasonal reminder of dinner at our house.

of the homemade variety. We love Chipotle (and I know, lots of people hate it) but for quick-could-be-healthy fast food option, it really is great. A few years ago I decided that on the nights when we didn't need quick, I could probably do a reasonably good version of burrito bowls for a fraction of the price. And let me tell you, I am killing it! These pictures are awful because I didn't even bother with the fancy lights but the bowls were fan. tas. tic. I started by making black beans in the instant pot. I came late to the instant pot cult but I am a full fledged member now and I can convert you too. Here's how I cook beans. Throw some beans in the pot. Enough to generously cover the bottom. Cover with water. Add a teaspoon of salt (you know you're not measuring that), a couple of small bay leaves, some chopped yellow onion (1/4 cup-ish). Set on high pressure (normal) for 20 minutes. Let release naturally for 10 minutes. (Store extra in a mason jar with th

Noodle bowls came into our repertoire a year or two ago, probably about this time of year because we're all longing for something crisp and fresh and the egg rolls (which are crisp) and the herbs (which are as fresh as it gets in February) really hit the spot. While I have a recipe card for this (note to self, it's an actual CARD in the recipe box), I follow about half of it so here's the more accurate version.  Ingredients: (all of the vegetables are optional but you'll want at least two) -- Chop these into tiny pieces one carrot one cucumber one green onion 1/3 or a red or orange pepper two bok choy leaves with stems Roughly chop these --  an handful of each: mint, parsley, cilantro, basil Mix this all together: 1 T brown sugar or cane sugar 1/2 T red chili paste 4 T of water 1 T soy sauce (for your non meat eating friends) OR  1 T of fish sauce (or a little of both if you forgot to read this recipe all the way thro

Well, actually there were about 7: spaghetti, meatloaf, shake and bake chicken, lasagna, mac and cheese and, the infamous, Baked Potato. As a meal. With steamed broccoli, butter and shredded cheddar. We had this meal so often that my siblings and I still comment on it. And, to the best of my knowledge, none of us make baked potatoes on a regular basis, however,  every once in a while, in the winter, we'll do baked potatoes with all the veg on the side. It's kind of perfect if you'd prefer to spend Sunday afternoon hiking in the state park rather than going to the grocery store and all you have left is a lot of slightly past their prime vegetables (I know this description is showing up in this blog with alarming regularity, please don't judge. I buy a lot of vegetables. More than we can usually eat in a week which means that 'clean out the fridge' means stir fry, roasted veg, veg lasagna... you get the idea. And who am I kidding - judge all you want. I would!)

It happened again. I planned meals, I wrote them down and when I went to make tonight's meal, I COULD NOT FIND THE RECIPE. Seriously. This is making me feel like I'm crazy. So I made THIS . I know it's not the recipe I planned but for the life of me, I don't know where that other one is. Here's what it looked like. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "did she get better lights?" And the answer is, "yes, yes she did." Here's how I'd modify this if I were making it again (and I'll probably make it again but only if I'm desperate and only have 30 minutes.) More black pepper More red pepper flakes Better pasta to sauce ratio (I used a large yellow onion, a half a pound of bacon and 15 oz of crushed tomatoes) ~ less pasta, more other stuff. I steamed broccoli to go along with this. Remarkably, there's hardly any left...  

We had dinner with our regular crew on Sunday. We've been eating dinner with them for 5 or 6 years on the 3rd Sunday of the month and they are among our very favorite people in all the world. The theme for Sunday was soup and bread. I brought Spicy Chickpeas  as a "winter salad" and potato leek soup... I know it's not much to look at but it tastes wonderful especially if you chop some chives or parsley for the top and add some hot butter bread on the side. Best of all, it really only has 5 ingredients - including seasoning - (which is the requirement for my mom to make it. And she's one of my three readers - Hi mom!) This recipe is adapted from Simply Vegetarian Pleasures . The original is called Leek and Potato Chowder and includes both milk and sour cream. My dairy free version is as follows: a leek or two depending on size (it really doesn't matter - whatever you have on hand) sauted in olive oil until it looks like this: A

My daughter told me recently that she thought she liked lasagna but she realized that actually what she likes is my lasagna which is, in a lot of ways, not like other people's lasagna but still mostly fits the definition of what lasagna is. I looked it up. Lasagna:  noun - pasta in the form of wide strips. A baked Italian dish consisting of wide strips of pasta cooked and layered with meat or vegetables, cheese, and tomato. You'll recall, if you've been hanging around here at all, that for a good portion of last year we had one veg kid and one dairy free kid which basically meant we ate vegan meals when we were all together. That is no longer the case, but some of the recipes have stuck or been updated to meet current eating preferences. This is one of them. It takes a bit of time so sometimes I make this over two days. And, it's a great way to use up veg that is ever so slightly past it's prime Ingredients suggestions: 9 lasagna noodles a large yellow

I want to be an Alison Roman fan but she and I just don't connect in the kitchen. I tried her much raved about Caramelized Shallot Pasta  which tasted so so. I probably could have opened up a jar of tomato sauce, added some red pepper, fresh herbs and parmesean cheese and had a better tasting dish. It was pretty though (I added the kale)

Because who doesn't love wings , coleslaw and mashed potatoes alongside their football? We've been making this slaw for sometime now - probably years. Secret ingredient has to be the pickle juice which is why, if you look in my fridge on any given day of the year, you'll see at least one, possibly two, pickle jars with no pickles in them. Don't you dare throw them out!  If you know us IRL then you know that we deal in chicken. Seriously, we're chicken dealers. A friend knows a farmer and places and order on a regular basis and we in turn make that order available to our friends and family which is why on the night after Thanksgiving last year, I found myself in the parking lot of a hair salon waiting to pick up 5 rogue, whole, frozen chickens so that I could deliver them to their respective freezers. But really that's a story for another post. Annnnnyyyyyway, we get chicken in bulk which means we get backs and wings and livers and all the parts. S

As happens nearly once a week, I discovered that the thing I had planned to make for dinner wasn't going to work. It's usually one of two things that lands me in this situation: a missing ingredient (for which I can often compensate) or not enough time/poor planning. Tonight it was neither of those, instead, I found myself staring at the list of options on the white board (which is silver in our house) and thinking that none of it was quite right to accommodate the evening activity. The activity in question is a district-wide band concert whereby dedicated parents sit in bleachers at the field house and watch every band in the district plan one, two or three pieces. There are eight bands. Eight. And tonight was our fourth round of this (it only happens every other year). So dinner needed to be something that could be ready by 5:30, eaten on the fly for one or two or three and still good four hours later when hungry musicians would again appear ready for "real dinner.

Tonight is a repeat of Crispy Spiced Chickpeas with Peppers and Tomatoes  mostly because of all the fresh herbs that were still hanging around in the fridge and need to be used: mint, basil (okay, it wasn't really that fresh), parsley, and dill. Here are the sheet pans that went into the oven just minutes ago And because it's a "sit in front of the TV" sort of night," I made a simple syrup with rosemary to try this Rosemary Gin Fizz from the  The Fabulous Ellie Kempton ! (Seriously, you should check her out) ROSEMARY GIN FIZZ [serves 1]: 2 oz gin 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 oz rosemary simple syrup [heat your simple syrup up with 2 sprigs of rosemary] 3 oz club soda 1 rosemary sprig Place gin, lemon juice, and rosemary simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a highball glass with ice and top with club soda. Garnish with rosemary sprig. We'll probably nibble on popcorn and chips and salsa a

It's still January. It's cold but the light is coming back and spring WILL come again even though it's hard to imagine right now. Thankfully, will still have remnants of summer in the freezer and on the canning shelves. If you don't have cooked chicken in the fridge, pop a frozen breast in the instant pot for 25 minutes with a half a cup of water. Make sure to salt and pepper liberally. Open a two cans of navy beans (or pull some cooked beans from the fringe - instant pot recipe guidance here ) Find a half pint of salsa verde (on the canning shelf or from the store). Open a box/jar/can of chicken stock. Mix it all together in a pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes or an hour. Serve with avocado, cilantro, tomato, and/or sour cream. Add rice, tortilla chips, biscuits or corn bread on the side for more heft.