Innie or Outie

Here’s another new chicken meal chocked full of herbs, Minty Ginger-Basil Chicken Dinner:

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This meal consisted of chicken in a mint, ginger, basil, walnut, soy sauce, white pepper, clove, and olive oil marinade on a bed of mushroom, leek, and garlic rice – garnished with a fresh basil sprig; accompanied with a small iceberg lettuce, cherry tomato, and black olive salad – drizzled with creamy cheese dressing and dried oregano flakes; and garnished with chopped fresh basil. Here’s a brief video with further details.

This simple dish has a spicy twist, Papa’s Curried Fried-Rice Dinner:

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For the meal hubby used chopped canned oysters, shrimp, carrot, and onion sautéed in olive oil; then added curry powder, chicken broth granules, and precooked rice. Accompaning the dish was a small salad of iceberg lettuce, homegrown arugula and salad greens, sliced cherry tomatoes, and chopped chives; topped with a creamy cheese dressing; and sprinkled with bacon bits.

Hubby created this twist on a popular Asian dish, Papa’s Mediterranean Veggie Steak Dinner:

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The meal consisted of a chopped onion and cubed beef sautéed in sesame oil, Mediterranean veggie mix, chopped brocolli, sliced carrot, white pepper, minced garlic paste, soy sauce and chopped fresh basil medley on rice with a small side salad of fresh homegrown arugula and salad greens, red onion slices, and pine nuts topped with a creamy cheese dressing.

This is another of hubby’s creations using items from his garden, Papa’s Pork and Potatoes in Basil-Rosemary Sauce Dinner:

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For the meal hubby used sliced pork roast sautéed in olive oil and boiled potatoes smothered in a sauce of fresh homegrown basil and rosemary, soy sauce, mirin, white pepper, Spanish olives, and balsamic vinegar. Accompanying the entrée, a salad of fresh homegrown salad greens and arugula, iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, chives, and bacon bits topped with a creamy cheese dressing and dried oregano flakes.

This is a simple and tasty meal, Bleu Cheese Chicken Roll Dinner:

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The meal consisted of bleu cheese, dried tarragon flakes,and white pepper rolled chicken thigh slices wrapped in thin slices of ham; fried rice with pine nuts and chopped fresh basil; and an iceberg lettuce, cucumber, and cherry tomato slice salad topped with creamy cheese dressing and dried oregano flakes. A video with further details is available here.

A quick and easy way to add a little extra spice to a supermarket pizza, Papa’s Frozen Pizza Plus Dinner:

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To one frozen pizza, hubby added fresh eggplant slices, chopped Spanish olives, Japanese pizza toast cheese, fresh basil, and grated parmesan cheese. As a side dish he made Papa’s Frozen Pizza Plus Salad:

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The salad consisted of homegrown salad greens and arugula, iceberg lettuce, cucumber slices, red onion slices, halved cherry tomeatoes, and chopped chives topped with a creamy cheese dressing.

Now that the somen has run its course, I’m experimenting with other pantry items, Curried Tuna-Rice Pocket Meal:

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For the meal, I preheated the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade; formed a stuffing of powdered curry, flaked canned tuna, precooked rice, almond slivers, dried parsley flakes, powdered thyme, chopped black olives, white pepper, and diced red onion; coated one side of a tortillas with egg wash; filled with stuffing; sealed, coated outside of stuffed tortillas with egg wash; placed pockets in greased baking dish and cooked for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the finger salad dip was made by mixing 1/2 sodium red miso paste, toasted sesame oil, minced garlic, white wine vinegar, toubanjyan sauce, soy sauce, and minced ginger paste; then set aside.

The finger salad was plated; consisting of iceberg lettuce leaves, topped with julienned carrot, cucumber, and red onion; black olives were added and the dip spooned into a lettuce cup bed then topped with grated black sesame seeds. The pockets were plated and the meal served.

A simple, yet tasty, way to use leftover rice, Papa’s 10 Grain-Pork Risotto:

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For this dish, hubby used 10 Grain-Kamaboko Rice, added cream, pizza-toast cheese, sliced pork sausage, and grated parmesan cheese; then garnished with chopped arugula and chives.

To accompany the entrée, a simple a side dish, Papa’s Red & Green Salad:

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The salad consisted of homegrown salad greens and arugula with iceberg lettuce, julienned red onion, quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced red radish, and bacon bits, topped with a creamy cheese dressing.

Another new creation using more unexpected combinations of ingredients, Asian-Flavored Seafood Mini Pizza Dinner:

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For the pizza, defrost frozen seafood (shrimp, clam, and squid) medley; premix a paste of 1/2 sodium red miso paste, cracked toasted sesame seeds, minced garlic paste, powdered red chili peppers, and fresh shikwasa juice. Set aside.

Meanwhile, dice yellow bell pepper and onion; saute in sesame oil until onion slightly translucent; place in bowl and let cool. Sauté seafood medley in olive oil until shrimp turn light pink, remove from heat and set aside.

Next, prepare the salad – julienne red cabbage, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, carrot, and iceberg lettuce; toss with fresh arugula and salad greens; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Start the mini pizzas Рspread tortilla with premixed miso paste; top with saut̩ed bell pepper, onions, and seafood; add cherry tomato slices and crumbled baby cheese; microwave for 1.5 minutes; remove and fry in olive oil until bottom lightly browned; remove and top with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) and julienned nori (dried seaweed); slice and plate.

Add the premade salad topped with a somen tsuyu sauce, minced ginger paste, soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil and white wine vinaigrette. Serve.

As if the weather knows summer is coming to an end, the temperatures and humidity are starting to rise again. Given that, Hubby decided to prepare a cool and refreshing salad of his own that also reflects the increase of produce available in local supermarkets,
Papa’s Chicken Salad:

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For the salad, hubby used recently new produce times, sliced red onion and red radishes, with standards cherry tomatoes and iceburg lettuce, threw in some homegrown greens and arugula, and topped that with sliced deep-fried chicken nuggets, and completed the dish with a creamy sesame dressing.