Innie or Outie

When we grill, I usually help with the food prep. Hubby decided to give me a day off and did all the prep and cooking on this dish, Papa’s Grilled Foil-Wrapped Sausage-Liver Penne:

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The pasta was precooked on the stove. Then topped with spicy sausage, smoked liver, mushrooms, and rosemary that had been grilled in a foil wrap on the BBQ pit. He added a simple salad made with homegrown greens from his first patio garden boxes. The greens were mixed with iceberg lettuce and cherry tomatoes and dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.

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Hubby is trying another delicious chicken dish, Papa’s Lemon Chicken with White Wine Sauce Penne Dinner:

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Hubby arrived at the idea by combining two seperate recipes. First he a sautéed the chicken in olive oil, then added garlic, butter, lemon, oregano, and white wine. After plating the penne, he topped it with the chicken and then sprinkled with some parmesan cheese. To accompany the dish, hubby made a small salad of iceberg lettuce, arugula, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits with creamy dressing.

Here is a quickie dish I came-up with that makes use of hubby’s leftover sauce, Shrimp and Mushrooms in Tuna-Lemon Sauce Pasta:

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Bow-tie pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
25 frozen shrimp (partially defrosted)
1/4 medium red onion (diced)
1 teaspoon minced garlic paste
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger paste
1 samll can sliced button mushrooms (drained)
1 cup Tuna-Lemon sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Grated parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley sprigs

Prepare pasta according to directions on package.

Meanwhile, cook shrimp in olive oil in skillet on medium heat. Once slightly pink, stir in onion, garlic, pepper, soy sauce, ginger, and mushrooms to the shrimp and liquid from remaining from defrosting. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has boiled down. Add tuna-lemon sauce to the mixture and bring to a light boil. Stir in cornstarch to thicken.

Once cooked, strain pasta and return to pot. Add shrimp mixture and chopped parsley to the pasta and toss lightly. Place in serving dishes, sprinkle with parmesan, and garnish with parsley sprigs.

Since we were having a busy day, hubby threw together a quick salad – Papa’s Okinawan Spinach Salad:

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For this salad, he used iceberg lettuce, handama (Okinawan spinach), spring onions, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits topping it all with a bottled Japanese creamy cheese dressing.

Hubby was in the mood to cook something a little less complicated, Papa’s Yakisoba:

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Stir-fried spam, carrot, onion, bell pepper, and soba noodles in sesame oil with ketchup, white pepper, and soy sauce added for seasoning.

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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Here's another leftover idea for the Couscous Skillet Paella with beans, 3 Sauce Couscous Paella Wraps:

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The mini-wraps consisted of blanched cabbage leaves or halved tortillas, filled with paella, and topped with one of the three sauces: creamy guacamole, honey-mustard, or creamy lemon with mint and toasted almonds. I served this with bacon-potato soup garnished with freshly snipped parsley.

Texiken Pasta

Guacamole flavored tortilla chips (crushed)
3 chicken breasts (precooked and sliced in bite-sized pieces)
1 large bell pepper (diced)
1/2 large onion (diced)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon red pepper powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
4 slices sandwich-style cheddar cheese
Grated parmesan cheese
Dried parsley flakes
Cravattine or farfalle (bow) pasta

Preheat oven to 250 degrees centigrade.
Line the bottom of a 10 x10 x 3 inch slightly greased casserole dish with a thin layer of the tortilla chips.
Combine chicken, bell pepper, onion, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, mushrooms, tomatoes, red pepper, white pepper, and garlic paste in a large bowl. Pour mixture over tortilla chips in casserole dish. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove casserole from oven, top with cheddar cheese slices, put back in oven and cook for another 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to directions.

Place drained pasta into serving bowls, top with casserole, sprinkle with desired amount of parmesan cheese, and then sprinkle with parsley. Serve

This is a quick, simple meal and the whole process takes little more than 20 minutes.

Sea Chicken (Tuna) Pasta

1/2 small onion (diced)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can tuna (in oil)
1 tablespoon oregano flakes
1 tablespoon basil flakes
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon red ginger (the julienned type that is more commonly used for Okinawan style soba)
Linguini

Begin cooking pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, and tuna (including oil) in a frying pan over medium heat for approximately five minutes.

After five minutes stir in oregano, basil, parsley, white pepper, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer until pasta is cooked.

Strain pasta and add to the tuna mixture. Thoroughly mix pasta and tuna mixture, then mix in red ginger and lightly toss until red ginger is evenly spread through out the pasta mixture and serve.

Sea Chicken (Tuna) Stroganoff

1/2 medium onion thinly diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 6 ounce can tuna (undrained)
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt
16 ounces fettuccini
Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.
When onions become translucent, add tuna, tomatoes, tomato paste, lemon juice, parsley, oregano, and basil. Cook on low heat until pasta is ready, stirring occasionally.

Once pasta is ready, drain liquid and replace pasta in cooking pot on low heat adding the tuna/tomato sauce and yogurt. Mix thoroughly.

Place in serving bowl and top with enough parmesan cheese to meet your own taste.