Innie or Outie

Hubby’s hooked and on a roll, Papa’s Snack Sandwich#3:

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This mini-sandwich version consisted of iceberg lettuce, cured bacon, sliced cherry tomato, red onion, cheddar cheese, and fresh basil on a whole wheat dinner roll slathered with mayonnaise and whole grain mustard.

Another tasty and simple creation by hubby, Papa’s Snack Sandwich#2:

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This creation consisted of iceburg lettuce, red onion slice, ham, and cheddar cheese on a whole wheat dinner roll slathered with a thin layer of whole grain mustard and mayonnaise, then topped with a Spanish olive.

This is a quick and tasty snack by hubby, Papa’s Snack Sandwich:

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For the snack, hubby sliced one whole grain dinner roll in half; then added mayonnaise, iceburg lettuce, ham, cheddar cheese, sliced cherry tomatoes, and whole grain mustard.

The weather is cooling is a bit, so I decided it’s time to drag out the slow cooker, Crockpot Seafood Minestrone Stew Dinner:

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This original meal for two consisted of 1 potato, 1 small carrot, 1 small bell pepper, 1/2 medium onion, 1 1/2 cups frozen seafood mix, 1 tablespoon minced garlic paste, 1 tablespoon minced ginger paste, 1 tablespoon chicken broth granules, 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, one 15 ounce can tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce,1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon white pepper, 10 Spanish olives, 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes, 3 small bay leaves, 100 grams pasta, 1 whole wheat dinner roll, 1 teaspoon minced garlic paste, 1 teaspoon almond baby cheese, and four fresh basil leaves. View this video for further details.

Here’s another quick and tasty use of leftovers, Curried-Tuna Roll:

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Simply half a whole grain roll; spoon on some Curried-Tuna Rice; top with crumbled baby cheese, fresh whole basil leaves, and halfed cherry tomatoes; then microwave for 1.5 minutes.

Here’s another original home cooked meal idea that’s colorful and flavorful, Stuffed Chicken Thigh Dinner:

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Sauté julienned yellow bell pepper and red bell pepper, sliced red onion, sliced mushrooms, fresh rosemary leaves, and almond slivers in sesame oil; sprinkle with white pepper; remove from heat and set aside. Slightly flatten boneless chicken thighs skin side on outside; sprinkle with black pepper; spread on a thin layer of cream cheese; sprinkle with dried oregano flakes, powdered clove, and powdered sage; top with sautéed bell pepper mixture; fold outer edges of chicken towards center to form a roll; peg with toothpicks; sear on all sides in medium hot frying pan with heated olive oil; place in baking dish and bake in preheated oven at 200 degrees Centigrade for approximately 10 minutes.

While chicken is baking, grind black olives, green olives, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil in food processor; slice one whole grain dinner roll into four pieces; spread on thin layer of minced garlic paste; toast on both sides in frying pan with heated olive oil. Sauté defrosted grilled Mediterranean vegetable medley (potato, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, eggplant, and zucchini chunks) and pine nuts in heated olive oil. Meanwhile, remove toasted bun slices from heat and top with olive mixture; blanch julienned red cabbage and carrot.

Plate cabbage-carrot mix forming a thin bed; sprinkle with crushed sesame seeds; plate toasted olive-basil bread and drizzle with olive oil; plate sautéed Mediterranean veggie mixture; remove chicken from oven, remove toothpicks, place on red cabbage-carrot bed and garnish with fresh basil leaves. Serve.

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Still another simple way to use the 25 pieces of 70 grams package of noodles and leftovers, Meat Sauce Somen:

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This was almost effortless, place desired amount of leftover meatloaf, diced onion, tomato juice, tomato paste, dried parsley flakes, dried oregano flakes, and soy sauce in a container and let defrost and marinate over night. About twenty minutes prior to serving, start somen water; place meatloaf mixture in a pot; add diced green bell pepper and sliced mushrooms; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until somen is ready, stirring occasionally and breaking meatloaf into chunks. Cook and strain somen, add to meatsauce and toss thoroughly. Plate, top with fresh basil leaves, and sprinkle with parmesan. Serve.

To go with the somen dish, I tried something a little different, Toasted Basil-Baby Cheese Garlic Brown Bread:

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While the meat sauce somen was cooking, the slices of walnut-raisin brown bread (soemthing hubby had picked-up at a local bakery) was placed in a toaster until slightly crunchy; topped first with a thin layer of minced garlic paste, second with small chunks of baby cheese, and third with a fresh basil leaf; finally the toasted bread was microwaved for 2.5 minutes. The result of this unusual cooking method combination was a bread with a creamy, nutty, and light fruit flavor and a texture reminiscent of melba toast.

This dish was inspired by a chicken recipe on a Japanese foodie television site, Papa’s Olive-Chicken in Cream Sauce:

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For this meal, hubby pan-fried julienned onion, chopped chicken thighs, and carrot slices in olive oil; added minced garlic paste, sliced green olives with pimento, sliced black olives, mushroom slices, fresh chopped basil, mirin, white wine, and white pepper, simmered for about fifteen minutes, stirred in cream, and simmered for approximately five more minutes. To accompany the dish, he chose walnut bread for sopping-up the sauce.

This was a tasty and simple meal that Hubby threw together, Papa’s Gratin Dinner:

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While at a local restaurant supply market, Hubby found this Potato and Bacon Gratin:

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The only preparation for this entr̩e was to pop it into the microwave oven. (The sauce was tasty, but I found the ingredients to be a little lacking Рmainly no onions.)

To accompany the gratin, hubby made a simple and light side dish, Papa’s Tomato-Free Salad:

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Although he forgot to pick-up tomatoes, the salad – which consisted of iceberg lettuce, arugula, julienned yellow bell pepper, chopped fresh chives, cucumber slices, herbed croutons, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and topped with a creamy cheese dressing – was still light and packed with flavor.

To complete the meal, hubby added two types of fresh bakery bread, Toasted Garlic Bread with Walnuts:

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He simply sautéed the bread slices in olive oil with minced garlic paste. (The walnut chunk bread was extremely tasty when prepared in this manner.)

This is a simple and light meal for those hot summer days, Chicken Nugget Salad:

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Sauté chicken nuggets in olive oil and flavor with Italian seasonings. Cut into bite size chunks and toss in a salad of choice. I used iceberg lettuce, arugula, julienned yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, chives, and chopped fresh basil, parsley, and rosemary leaves. Then drizzled the salad with a whole grain mustard/white wine vinaigrette.

To accompany the salad, I used Bleu Cheese Toast Strips:

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Simply toasted bread with bleu cheese melted on top and then sliced into strips.