Innie or Outie

Here’s another homemade meal that’s easy and flavorful, Rosemary-Garlic Pork Roast Dinner:

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The meal consisted of a pork roast infused with fresh rosemary leaves and garlic chips; then sprinkled with white pepper and powdered thyme; baked and topped with whole grain mustard; chopped white onion and potatoes sautéed in pork fat with white pepper and red wine vinegar added, then garnished with chopped chives; and sliced red pepper, carrot, zuccini, and pine nuts sautéed in sesame oil.

For more complete directions, check out this first attempt at an original foodie video totally from scratch.

As summer comes to an end, so is the supply of 70 gram somen gift packets. Here is another new idea where East meets West, Miso-Tomato Sauce Somen:

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Sauté spicy pork sausage slices and diced red onion in sesame oil; add minced garlic paste, tomato paste, 1/2 sodium red miso paste, chicken broth, frozen grilled Mediterranean vegetable (zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, eggplant, and potato) medley, dried red chili pepper flakes, dried parsley flakes, dried oregano flakes, and dried thyme flakes; bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced. Cook somen; strain and toss with miso-tomato sauce mixture; plate and garnish with julienned nori. As an accompaniment, I served Toasted Olive-Basil Bread.

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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One of my favorite aspects of home cooking is taking whatever can be found in the pantry and creating a dinner with the items. This is one such meal, Grilled Mini-Meatball Kabob Dinner:

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What I found readily available in the pantry to use for this meal was:

2 medium potatoes
1 slice bacon (diced)
1 slice large onion (thinly diced)
1 small carrot (sliced)
1 teaspoon-size chunk baby cheese (diced)
1/2 cup heavy cream
7 medium frozen shrimp without shells (coarsely chopped)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon powdered nutmeg
1 teaspoon powdered paprika
1 package 10 frozen cocktail mini-meatballs in sauce (defrosted)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 small bell pepper (chunk-style diced)
1/8 large onion (chunk-style diced)
5 small cherry tomatoes
5 bamboo skewers (soaked in water to prevent charring – something I forgot to do, ugh…)

When I first envisioned this meal, I wanted a version of twice-baked stuffed potatoes. Unfortunately, the pantry potatoes were the wrong type. Instead, I created Baked Creamy Shrimp-Potatoes:

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Microwave potatoes until tender (about 8 minutes); remove skin; coarsely mash with baby cheese, cream, shrimp, parsley, white pepper, and nutmeg; put mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle with paprika; place in preheated oven at 200 Centigrade for 15 – 20 minutes (until lightly browned).

To accompany the potatoes, a side dish with a twist, Baked Glazed Carrots:

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While potatoes are in the microwave, sauté bacon and thinly-diced onion until browned; place bacon mixture with fat on top of carrot slices and, after the potatoes are finished microwaving, microwave for 3 minutes; place microwaved carrot mixture in an aluminum foil packet and top with cocktail sauce gently scraped from defrosted mini-meatballs; seal and bake in oven at the same time as the potatoes.

For the entré, something a little different, Grilled Mini-Meatball Kabobs:

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As the potatoes and carrots bake in the oven, sauté bell pepper and chunky-diced onions in sesame oil until onions are slightly translucent; alternate sautéed bell pepper and onion, cherry tomatoes, and meatballs on skewers (use a salad fork’s prongs to slide the bell pepper and onion into place if too hot to handle); grill until lightly charred (about 5 minutes each side on low heat in a gas pair-broiler).

The kabobs, potatoes, and carrots should be done at about the same time. Simply plate and serve.

(NOTE: Although this meal sounds difficult, it really was quite uncomplicated because of the timing and rhythm of the preparation and cooking of the individual dishes.)

Sometimes a simple standard meal is just what the taste buds demand, Mama’s Basic Beef & Potato Dinner:

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A true standard, meatloaf made with hamburger, panko (bread crumbs), dried parsley flakes, dried oregano flakes, white pepper, Worcestshire sauce, white pepper, sage, diced onion, and egg topped with a minced garlic paste, ketchup, Worcestshire sauce, and fresh basil sauce; baked potato with melted sour cream, baby cheese, and nutmeg sauce topped with chopped chives, and chunky mixed veggies with almond slivers and white pepper sautéed in sesame oil.

A basic meal for beef eaters, Papa’s Steak & Potato Dinner:

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Hubby pan fried the steak in olive oil – using the juices with garlic and Worcestershire sauce, whole grain mustard, and white pepper for the “gravy”. Accompanying the meat entrée are baked potato with sour cream and a salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, arugula, julienned yellow bell pepper, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and chives drizzled with a white wine vinegar, whole grain mustard, and olive oil vinaigrette

Sometimes we get caught up in various activities in life, limiting preparation time for meals. This is one solution hubby came up with for an impromptu outdoor barbecue, Papa’s Grilled Chicken Thigh Dinner:

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Hubby began by preparing a simple marinade of fresh rosemary leaves, dried thyme flakes, tsuyu somen sauce, seasme oil, and white wine vinegar. He placed the ingredients in a zip-lock plastic bag, added chicken thighs, and let marinade in the refrigerator for about one hour until the BBQ charcoals were ready.

Meanwhile, he placed potatoes in the microwave and half-baked for about five minutes. After removing the potatoes from the microwave, he cut in half and wrapped in a foil packet.

As the potatoes were baking in the microwave, hubby took some frozen mixed veggies out of the freezer, placed in a foil packet, adding some dried garlic slices, white pepper, sea salt, and olive oil.

Once the charcoals were at the right temperature, hubby placed Papa’s Grilled Chicken Thighs, Papa’s Simple Grilled Foil-Wrapped Veggies, and Papa’s Grilled Foil-Wrapped Half-Baked Potatoes on the grill and cooked until done (about 30 – 40 minutes).

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The weather’s giving us a break and allowing for outdoor cooking fun. Here’s another simple meal I came-up with for the BBQ pit, Grilled Foil-Wrapped Pork and Potato Dinner:

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The meal consisted of Grilled Foil-Wrapped Garlic-Mustard Pork with Onions:

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Pork roast strips, whole grain mustard, red wine vinegar, minced garlic paste, fresh parsley, white pepper, sesame oil, and white onion slices wrapped in foil and grilled on medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes.

Also included in the meal was Grilled Foil-Wrapped Ginger-Basil Potatoes with Red Bell Pepper:

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Potato slices, chopped fresh basil, minced ginger paste, lemon juice, diced red bell pepper, black pepper, olive oil, and grated parmesan cheese wrapped in foil and grilled on medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes. (Please make sure the heat is not too high or you end up with a bit of charring as a result.)

To finish the meal, I added a fresh salad of homegrown arugula, iceberg lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits with a creamy cheese dressing sprinkled with dried oregano flakes.

Hubby decided to try his hand at a Tex-Mex flavor meal, Papa’s Salsa Sauce Dinner:

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This simple, but tasty, meal consisted of steak cubes sautéed in olive oil, boiled carrots and potaotes sautéed in olive oil, and blanched handama (Okinawan spinach). The items were plated and then smoothered in a salsa sauce recipe he found on this Japanese foodie site.

Hubby’s back in the kitchen and this is what he came up with for a birthday surprise for our two year old dog (Jaco), Papa’s Rosemary Pork with Tuna-Lemon Sauce Dinner:

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The Rosemary Pork recipe came from this Japanese foodie site. (Our dog really got down on a little of this as a special birthday treat.) For the side dish, Hubby blanched the veggies. Then he sautéed the veggies in sesame oil and topped with warm sesame thousand island dressing.