Innie or Outie

With all the humidity this time of year, standing in a hot kitchen to cook just doesn’t fit the bill. Hubby avoided the heat and went back to the basics with this light yet filling meal, Toasted Ham Sandwich:

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The sandwich consisted of ham and iceberg lettuce on toasted white bread spread with mayonnaise and whole grain mustard. As accompaniments, hubby chose low sodium potato chips and dill pickle slices. Finally, cream of mushroom soup was added to complete the meal.

Hubby came up with this tasty meal for a hot summer’s day, Fish Sandwich:

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The sandwich consisted of red snapper sautéed in olive oil and iceberg lettuce on whole grain bread with horseradish, mayonnaise, and dill weed. Accompanying the sandwich were dill pickle sticks and a side salad of arugula, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits topped with a creamy cheese dressing.

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Sometimes springtime can get humid enough to make it a little uncomfortable in the kitchen. Here’s a simple solution that requires very little heat, Papa’s Spring Salad:

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Hubby used iceberg lettuce, arugula, bacon, shrimp, red onion, avocado, and cherry tomatoes topped with a creamy cheese dressing. To accompany the salad, he made garlic toast strips.

In the late Spring, sometimes a light but filling quickie meal is all one really needs to calm those hunger pangs. This is a sandwich I came-up with to meet those needs. Toasted Tomato-Tuna-Avocado Sandwich:

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Mix together some Sea Chicken Spread (or you own favorite tuna salad spread). Quickly saut̩ some tomato slices in olive oil, minced garlic, and chopped fresh basil. Remove the tomatoes and toast bread slices in the remaining oil. Place lettuce, avocado slices, and the saut̩ed tomatoes to one slice of toasted bread. And tuna spread to the other slice of toasted bread. I chose New England clam chowder (shame on me Рcanned) as the accompaniment for the sandwich.

This dish is a combination of leftover Pork Tetrazzini and Chicken and Dumplings on a bed of Parsley Golden Rice, Leftover Mix on Golden Rice :

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This is a quick and tasty snack that makes further use of more leftovers, Tofall Cheddar Basil Hoagie:

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Simply place two tofalls with tomato sauce on the bottom half of a sliced bun; then place a slice of cheddar cheese and fresh basil leaves on the top half of the bun; and microwave for approximately 1 minute.

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We added a whole dill pickle as a side munchie to the hoagie to complete the snack.

Here’s a way to have a relaxing fondue meal without worrying about an open flame, Crockette Fondue:

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Approximately one hour prior to serving, begin preheating by placing 2 cups of water in the Crockette (mini slow cooker) and heating on high. When you are ready to serve the fondue, empty the water from the Crockette and transfer prepared fondue cheese into the mini slow cooker. Place the Crockette on a table and plug into an electric outlet. Serve with a prepared Fondue Platter.

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For our platter we chose bread pieces, raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, raw carrot, and bratwurst.

(NOTE: Because we could not find Gruyere cheese this time, we used a prepackaged fondue cheese product found in a local supermarket. This was a real time and energy saver because all that was required to prepare the product was to heat it in the microwave for three minutes. The flavor was not that bad at all – which surprised us because we had tried a prepackaged fondue cheese product two years ago without much satisfaction.)

Although the varieties of cheeses available to locals on Okinawa are limited, here is a different and tasty way of cooking cornbread.

Buttery Cake-Style Cornbread

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 egg (beaten)
1/4 cup butter (melted)
Grated cheese of your choice

Preheat oven to 250 degrees centigrade. Grease two 8 inch cake pans.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Stir in milk, butter, and egg until all ingredients are moist. Pour one-half of the batter into each pan. Place in the oven for about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn oven off, and close the oven door.

Turn one cornbread upside down on a cooling rack. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the upside down cornbread (similar to a thin layer of frosting). Replace the “frosted” cornbread in the baking pan. Place the other cornbread (right side up) on top of the “frosted” cornbread. Place back in the oven for approximately 10 – 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

*NOTE: I make this recipe with parmesan cheese, but then I think that particular cheese goes well with just about everything!

If you’re one of those people who really don’t care much for the crust on your sandwich bread, there’s no need for the crusts to go to waste. This is a simple recipe that creates a use for the crusts and is good for any leftover French bread you may have as well.

Pan-Fried Herbed Croutons

1 cup bread crusts or French bread (coarsely chopped)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon minced garlic paste

Warm frying pan on medium heat, then add butter and garlic paste.
Stir in bread chunks. Sprinkle with basil, oregano, and parsley. Fry until slightly golden, tossing occasionally.

Remove and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Place in air-tight container. Good for use in soups or salads.

Most tomato-based or pasta recipes taste great with garlic bread, but that isn’t always easy to find over here or on-hand at the time. One easy replacement for garlic bread is this simple solution:

Quick-n-Easy Garlic Toast

Toast wheat bread in your toaster. (If you don’t have wheat bread, you can use white bread. But wheat bread tastes better.) When done, immediately spread minced garlic paste on the toast and then butter. Slice the toast diagonally into four pieces. Depending on the size of the entrée, serve one or 1/2 slice of toast per serving.