Franks and Beans

July 6

Another simple recipe from The Minimalist column from a couple of summers ago, "101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less."

The "recipe," in full:

"54 Brown small pork (or hot dog) chunks in a skillet. Add white beans, garlic, thyme and olive oil. Or add white beans and ketchup."

I went with the garlic/thyme combination, though I also added a chopped roma tomato. It was surprisingly tasty, in a low-brow kind of way.

Taco Salad

July 5

Taco Salad from The Minimalist column from a couple of summers ago, "101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less."

Lettuce, tomato, corn, black beans, red onion, cheddar cheese, avocado, toasted corn tortilla strips, and lime-cilantro dressing. Chopping everything up (and baking the tortillas instead of buying chips) took me more than ten minutes, but it was simple.

J's Fabulous Birthday Dinner

From the backlog: 6/20

J's amazing beach weekend birthday celebration included a fabulous dinner, with everyone chipping in to bring a dish plus a main course of fresh fish from the nearby shop. Shrimp, scallops, several kinds of grilled fish, mac and cheese, salad, guacamole, veggie tray, etc.

Oh, and of course, dessert! I made a citrus cake (unfortunately, the frosting turned out strangely lumpy - moral of the story, don't try a new recipe when you're cooking for a bunch of people), and there was cherry pudding and several pies. We were definitely well fed this weekend!

Orzo salad

From the backlog: 6/25

Quick orzo salad with leftover veggies from a veggie tray and a simple lemon viniagrette dressing. Served as a side with leftover yummy fresh fish.

Quesadillas

 From the backlog: 6/23

Hungry and disappointed after seeing Terminator 4, I whipped up a quick quesadilla with black beans, roasted red peppers, red onions, and cheddar cheese.

Crispy black bean tacos with feta and slaw

From the backlog: 6/22

Crispy black bean tacos with feta and slaw from Smitten Kitchen.

Quick and tasty.

Broccoli and Ham Frittata

 From the backlog: 6/18

Take four egg whites remaining after a birthday cake used the yolks, and the desire for a quick dinner: voila! An egg-white frittata.  Filling includes sauteed onions, broccoli, bits of ham, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Chicken Salad Melt

 

From the backlog: 6/15

Chicken salad melt, with homemade English muffin, tomato slices, and melted cheddar cheese. 

Arugula/Bleu Cheese/Proscuitto Wraps and English Muffin Pizzas

From the backlog: 6/14

For the appetizer: slivers of bleu cheese wrapped with baby arugula leaves and proscuitto slices.

Main course: English muffin mini-pizzas, with ham, caramelized onion, and fresh mozzarella.

Homemade McMuffin

From the backlog: 6/14

Egg sandwich with a fresh English muffin, egg cooked with green onion, cheddar cheese, and mashed avocado.

English Muffins

From the backlog: 6/13
Yum. Who knew you could make English muffins from scratch, or that they'd be so tasty? Slightly more biscuity than the purchased kind. Recipe from Smitten Kitchen, originally from Ruth Reichl.

Egg Drop Soup

From the backlog: 5/25
Quick meal of Egg Drop Soup from Simply Recipes.

Waffles

From the backlog: 5/25

Eggs in a Basket

From the backlog: 5/24

Beef Fajitas with Pico de Gallo and Avocado

From the backlog: 5/23

Beef fajitas with Pico de Gallo (loosely following the Simply Recipes recipe here) and avocado slices.

Indoor Picnic!

Tonight's dinner has a backstory.

This morning I walked to the park and ended up taking the very long way home, through the zoo. While taking a break on a bench, watching a young mother trying to get her kids to eat a few bites of their lunch, I got a weird craving for a hot dog. Weird, because that hasn't happened in years. I actually tried to buy an over-priced zoo hot dog, but when the cashier took the temperature of one and said they wouldn't be ready for another ten minutes (because the hot water they were in didn't get the hot dogs hot enough yet?) I took it as a sign that I should make my own.

Fast-forward to dinner: hot dogs on the Foreman grill, roasted potato salad from Whole Foods, simple leftover grilled zucchini, and my favorite summer "salad": tomato slices drizzled with vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. And for dessert, juicy strawberries with sweetened sour cream for dipping.

Pasta with Tuna and Arugula

From the backlog: 6/13
Super-easy and quick, yet tasty, Spaghetti with Tuna and Arugula from Simply Recipes.

Blueberry Pancakes

From the backlog: 6/13

Arugula-Goat Cheese-Grapefruit salad and Chicken

From the backlog: 6/11
The appetizer was an arugula salad with goat cheese crumbles, grapefruit sections, pine nuts, and grapefruit vinaigrette. The main course was leftover chicken with lime-soy-cilantro sauce.

Grilled Chicken and Avocado with Lime-Soy-Cilantro Sauce and Zucchini Saute

From the backlog: 6/7

I used the sauce from Simply Recipe's Seared Tuna with Avocado recipe to marinate chicken, then grilled it, and boiled the marinade to use it as a sauce. I topped the chicken with green onion and crushed peanuts and served it with brown rice, avocado, and sauteed zucchini rounds.

Turkey, Red Pepper, and Spinach Panini

From the backlog: 6/5

Scones

Scones from the North Fork Table and Inn, via Smitten Kitchen. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins.

Baked Shrimp with Tomato-Feta Sauce

6/4
This is a great recipe from Simply Recipes. Simple, quick, tasty, and it starts with basic ingredients.

Orzo salad and quick zucchini squash

6/2
Very tasty Spinach and Orzo Salad from Simply Recipes, using a kind of spinach pesto to provide color and flavor in every bite. I think this will have to go in the rotation this summer, especially since it's very packable for dinner on class nights.

I served it with a Quick Zucchini Saute from Smitten Kitchen. My plate was very green, since I didn't think about my color palette when I was shopping for groceries.

Graham crackers

5/31
Awhile ago I spotted a recipe for homemade graham crackers on 101 Cookbooks and was intrigued, but it took this post on Smitten Kitchen to inspire me to actually do something about it. Very tasty (and with 1 Tbsp in half a batch, they should be!)

Oatmeal with Strawberries

From the backlog: 5/30

Pizza

From the backlog: 5/29
Pizza with mushrooms, red peppers, Italian sausage, and shallots.