Innie or Outie

This home cooking meal idea is good for the road, as well. It takes up less room in the ice chest and/or provides an alternative to buns, Grilled Chili-Dog Dinner:

(Click on image to view large size)

The meal included grilled Portuguese sausage, cheddar melt cheese, and chili beans wrapped in toasted tortillas; leftover rice reheated with turmeric, butter, milk, and dried parsley flakes; molded and garnished with a pickled plum pinch; and a small salad of julienned iceberg lettuce, quartered cherry tomatoes and black olives, and dried oregano flakes; drizzled with a creamy sesame seed dressing.

This take-out bento meal, similar to bento #85, included goya-chanpuru (a bitter melon-tofu-pork luncheon meat mix – this one also had carrot) and gobo (burdock)-carrot mix, chicken, fish with sauce,and two types of rice mixtures (one with soy beans and one with seaweed).

(Click on image to view large size)

This is a traditional meal with “fireworks” added, Fiery Fourth of July BBQ:

(Click on image to view large size)

To arrive at the fiery results for this meal, prior to grilling, steak was marinated in store-bought hot salsa; sweet corn-on-the-cob was foiled wrapped with butter, dried chives, and powdered cayenne pepper; and chicken was marinated in sesame oil, minced ginger paste, and white pepper. To accompany the grilled goodies, a salad of julienned iceberg lettuce and carrot, sliced cherry tomato, sliced black olives, assorted mini-pasta, and cracked black sesame seeds; topped with an original creamy wasabi dressing; and garnished with crumbled nori flakes.

Here’s another of hubby’s unusual fusion meals, Papa’s Shrimp "Italiano":

(Click on image to view large size)

This meal consisted of fresh tomatoes, frozen shrimp, mustard greens, julienned onion, white pepper, minced garlic paste, bonito dashi, sake, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese on a bed of rice.

This meal is a twist on two well-known dishes, Tomato-Pepper Steak Stroganoff-Style:

(Click on image to view large size)

The meal included thin beef slices sautéed in butter with julienned onion, minced garlic paste, canned diced tomatoes and liquid, frozen julienned bell pepper, Bulldog sauce, powdered marjoram, dried oregano flakes, dried parsley flakes, white pepper, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, cracked black sesame seeds, and sour cream added, on a bed of steamed rice with a parsley sprig garnish.

Here’s a simple and tasty summer meal from hubby, Papa’s Ginger-Chicken BBQ Dinner:

(Click on image to view large size)

This meal included barbecued chicken thighs marinated in minced ginger paste, soy sauce, and white pepper; foiled-wrapped potato chunks, sour cream, chives, and white pepper; corn-on-the-cob, skewered leek chunks; and a small salad of quartered cherry tomatoes and iceberg lettuce drizzled with creamy cheese dressing.