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.

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.

Egg Drop Soup

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

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.

Turkey, Red Pepper, and Spinach Panini

From the backlog: 6/5

Huevos Rancheros

From the backlog: 5/28

Veggie Panini

From the backlog: 5/23
Vegetable panini on the Foreman grill, with leftover Artichoke-Olive dip (don't worry, it wasn't leftover from the original blog posting), red onion, roasted red pepper, and mushrooms.

Parmesan Cream Crackers

From the backlog: 5/18
Parmesan Cream Crackers from the Minimalist.

Black Bean Quesadillas

From the backlog: 5/16

J. and I worked all afternoon into evening, and just as we were deciding to run out to the grocery store, a downpour started. So I fashioned these black bean and roasted red pepper quesadillas out of the ingredients I could scavenge from my refrigerator - black beans, roasted red peppers, red onion, cheddar cheese, whole wheat tortillas, and cilantro.

Huevos Rancheros, Parts I and II

From the backlog: 5/11 and 5/13

Huevos Rancheros from Smitten Kitchen. So good on Monday, I made it again on Wednesday.

Artichoke-Olive Pasta

From the backlog: 5/5

I used some of the remaining Artichoke-Olive mixture to make a pasta dish, with roasted red peppers and flaked salmon.

Man, this photo makes me want to go back in time and sprinkle some parsley over the top of that dish for color. Sigh.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw

From the backlog: 5/4

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2009. Tasty, and pretty quick.

Eggplant Terriyaki Stirfry

From the backlog: 5/1

This was an experiment. I marinated eggplant cubes in purchased teriyaki sauce for awhile, then stir-fried them with snow peas and green onions. Served over brown rice, garnished with cilantro. I wouldn't necessarily reproduce the results, but it was a fun experiment and it fed me for the night.