Three Easy Meat And Veggie Meals Concocted With Whatever Happens To Be In The House

If I wait too long after creating a dish before blogging about it, it takes even longer to translate my notes about said dish. For instance, the nameless creation pictured next was hastily noted on a small piece of paper as ~

“Leafy Green lettuce, Smokey deli Turkey, Polar..., Grand Cru..., Spinach cooked.”

What it means is ~ I cleaned, dried and laid out individual leaves of Leafy Green Lettuce. Each leaf was topped with a slice of Smoked Deli Turkey, then drizzled with a stream of mild Polar Mango Sauce (easily replaced with any favorite sauce). Grand Cru is a version of Gruyere Cheese that is produced in the United States. A strip of it goes on next and the final ingredient is cooked spinach.

Really quite good and I liked picking the leaves up and eating them with my fingers.


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Another note I came across, slightly more decipherable ~

“1 T. Scallions - Squirt EVOO, 1/2 c. Canned Beets, 10 stalks Asparagus, 1/4 c. Shredded Carrots, Spaghetti Squash 2 c., 1 T. Parmigiano Reggiano”

Here are the actual steps I took ~ First cooked a small spaghetti squash in the oven. After cooled slightly, cut in half and used a large fork to pull out the innards in spaghetti-like strands. Squirted a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in a medium casserole dish. Filled bottom with a layer of spaghetti squash; topped that with cut-up (leftover) cooked asparagus. Arranged canned beet slices around edges and scattered shredded carrots and small pieces of scallions (green onions) on top. Sprinkled with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Can’t remember whether I heated this one in the oven or in the microwave. Anyway, after it had time to heat, I sprinkled it with more Parmigiano Reggiano. Can never have too much cheese!


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Lastly, and I’m lacking notes on this one, so will go with my memory and the photo ~

A bed of torn lettuce, topped with bite-sized pieces of cube steak (cooked and seasoned however you like it--I simply used Salt & Pepper), pineapple chunks, sliced cooking onion, shredded carrots (the pineapple, onion and carrots were cooked with the cube steak). To top it all off, Polar Mango Sauce.

Such fun to mix and match whatever is in my refrigerator and cupboards.

Spinach Brownies ~ Really!

I keep thinking I’ve already posted about Spinach Brownies. I last made them in December and have come across my photos of them often, as I browse through my food pictures in iPhoto. So, maybe they’ve been on my mind so often that it seems I’ve already written about them.

Oh well, if I have, I have. Believe me, Spinach Brownies are worth a second look.

I first had Spinach Brownies many years ago -- over thirty years ago? The office staff stopped at the boss’ house for appetizers before going out to Christmas dinner. The boss’ wife (thanks, Mrs. Payne) made Spinach Brownies and and I have to admit, I can’t remember any other appetizer from that evening. From that day on, I was hooked!

Sorry if you’re wishing for chocolate. There's no chocolate in these brownies. Instead, think quiche. In fact, think the most delicious quiche you ever tasted, baked in a square pan and cut into brownie size pieces.

SPINACH BROWNIES
(Makes an 8-inch x 8-inch pan)

Ingredients...
1/2-cup unbleached or all-purpose flour
1/2-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1/2-cup milk (any, but whole milk gives richest taste)
1/4-cup butter, melted (I use salted. Unsalted will work just as well)
1/2-cup diced onion
1/2-pound shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I prefer the white cheddar)
1/2-box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained. Squeeze out any remaining liquid by hand.

Directions...
1. Whisk flour, salt and baking powder in medium-sized bowl.
2. Mix in egg, milk and butter.
3. Stir in onion, cheddar and spinach.
4. Pour into 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan. I like to line the bottom with parchment paper.
5. Bake in a preheated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for 35 minutes.
6. Cool. Cut into squares. Serve at room temperature.

See how easy these brownies are to mix and bake. For a 9-inch by 13-inch pan, double the ingredients.

Don’t get in a rut thinking of Spinach Brownies as only an appetizer. Can’t you just imagine serving them for breakfast or for a brunch? A late night snack?

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Portobellas and Porcinis at their finest

Just a short note to tell you about a dish I made tonight. Could be served for supper, lunch or breakfast. A vegetarian version of Eggs Benedict, made with portobella and porcini mushrooms, spinach, and other ingredients that lead to a taste of heaven.

Only the one photo this time and I’m not even including the recipe, ‘cause you can easily pop over to Closet Cooking’s blog and find everything you need to know about making Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Poached Eggs in a Creamy Mushroom Sauce.

What I will share is how I handled the recipe. After all, we all have our preferences in ingredients and styles of cooking, so most of us adapt recipes to suit us.

1. First of all, I’m cooking for one and Closet Cooking’s recipe is for four. So, I quartered the ingredients to the best of my ability.

2. Since I sometimes grill large portobellas in place of hamburgers, I automatically chose a large one for this recipe. Next time, I’ll use a medium sized one. Check your store and you'll find large “Poppa Bear” bellas, tiny “Baby Bear” bellas, but what you want for this recipe is the 2-3 inch “Momma Bear” size.

3. I was worried when I couldn’t find the porcini mushrooms in the produce section ‘till someone pointed out that porcinis come dried and are in the aisle with canned veggies. Allow 20-30 minutes to rehydrate these mushrooms and save the water after you drain it off.

4. Heavy cream, light cream. I say use whatever you like. Me, I chose Half’n’Half. Now I need a recipe to use up the rest of it. I’m working on a raspberry muffin recipe (version 3 coming up) and plan to sub Half’n’Half for the milk. More on this subject in another post.

5. I wish I had steamed the spinach a bit longer, plus I forgot to squeeze out the excess liquid.

My final word on this recipe. Absolutely delicious and easier to prepare than I thought it would be. The Creamy Mushroom Sauce was out of this world and I wished I had had more of it!

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Stir fry salad

Many of my meals are invented on the spot. When I notice it's time to eat, I check the refrigerator, the freezer and the cupboards. It's like a clothing closet, when you think you have nothing to wear. Experiment, mix and match, see what you can come up with.

A couple of days ago, I made this Stir Fry Salad. It's simple, really, so I won't give you a long, complicated recipe. Only one photo today, but in the future, there will be more for each entry.

The base of this dish is mixed greens. Earlier in the summer, I would have used mesclun from my garden. Sadly, I note that the mesclun is all used up and I truly miss having it fresh each day. You can use your favorite lettuce. Or uncooked spinach. Or any mixture of greens.

I stir-fried zucchini slices, green beans and scallion slices in a bit of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) in a wok. Toward the end of the cooking, I added a quick splash each of sesame oil and Tamari sauce. On another day, I might have used plain soy sauce in place of tamari. If I'd added meat, I might have used Worcestershire.

After placing the stir-fried veggies on the greens, I added some tomato chunks. There was a small amount of salmon left over from the previous night's meal, so I broke it up and added it to the salad. Wish I'd remembered I had olives in the frig; they would have been a nice addition, as would artichoke hearts if I had them.

I drizzled the whole thing with a small amount of EVOO. So easy. So delicious. So filling.


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