Innie or Outie

This is another simple and filling meal, Hearty Chicken & Pasta Dinner:

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Equipment and All Ingredients Needed

2 Frying pans 1 Medium Pot 1 Colander

2 Stovetop burners 1 Knife 1 Cutting board

1 Large skinless and boneless chicken thigh (cut into strips)

1 Can garbanzo beans with liquid

¼ Red onion (diced)

3 Shitake mushrooms (coarsely chopped)

1 Tablespoon fresh basil (chopped)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced garlic paste

1 Tablespoon minced ginger paste

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon white pepper

1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 Teaspoon powdered cumin

1 Whole wheat dinner roll

Short pasta of choice

Fresh basil sprigs (optional)

View further details here.

The island’s weather is getting a little nippy at times. When I began seeing various versions of this type of soup on TV and over the net, I thought I’d give it a try. So here’s my version, Eggless-Meatball Soup Dinner:

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This meal consisted of 1 carrot, 1 medium bell pepper, 1 medium potato, 1/4 red onion, 3.5 cups water, one 15 ounce can chili beans with sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon chicken broth granules, 1 teaspoon 1/2 sodium red miso paste, 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, 1.5 pounds hamburger meat, 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tablespoons fresh basil, 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon minced garlic paste, and whole wheat dinner rolls. View a video with further details here.

Finally a chance to do some outside cooking, This-n-That BBQ Dinner:

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This meal consisted of grilled ginger-chili sauce pork roast, grilled shikwasa-garlic chicken, grilled foil-wrapped chili beans and onions, grilled foil-wrapped parsley sweet corn cob, and ochazuke onigiri. View brief video with further details.

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.

Hubby was really in the mood for something a little different from our normal cuisine and decided to go washyoku (traditional Japanese cooking), Papa’s Shibui-Chicken Soup:

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Presoak chopped chicken chunks in sake and sea salt; in a large pot of water, simmer konbu (seaweed) sheet until soft; remove konbu and add katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), mirin, white pepper, soy sauce, and chopped shibui (Winter gourd); bring to rolling boil (remove one cup of stock and set aside); add presoaked chicken with liquid; reduce heat and simmer until shibui is tender and chicken thoroughy cooked.

Meanwhile, prepare the accompanying dish, Papa’s 10 Grain-Kamaboko Rice:

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Cook rice adding one 10 grain rice packet, chopped shitake mushroom, diced carrot, diced gobo (burdock root) stuffed kamaboko, soy sauce, and substituting the one cup reserved konbu stock for one cup of water; plate and garnish with chopped scallions.

Plate soup and garnish with fresh arugula. Serve.

Here’s a quick and tasty way to beat the munchies and make use of leftovers, Chili Steak Wrap:

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Simply place some cheddar cheese, fresh salad greens and arugula, and Chili Steak on a tortilla; heat in microwave, roll, and garnish with two small fresh arugula leaves.

Here’s a TexMex inspired dish that hubby created, Papa’s Chili Steak on Rice:

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For the dish, hubby sautéed cubed beef in olive oil; added chili pepper flakes, powdered cumin, minced garlic paste, Worcestershire sauce, and canned chili beans with sauce. He plated the beef mixture on a rice bed; topped with homegrown salad greens, sliced cheddar cheese, onion slices, and quartered cherry tomatoes; then sprinkled with dried cilantro flakes.

Hubby decided to take a try at Southern-style chicken-fried cooking, Papa’s Chicken-Fried Ham Dinner:

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For the meal hubby used ham slices stuffed with cheese and arugula (coated and cooked Southern chicken-fried style) and rice smothered in mushroom gravy, accompanied by an Oregon bean medley with minced chili peppers and a small side salad of iceberg lettuce, arugula, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits with a creamy cheese dressing.

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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.

This meal is neither your traditional beer-battered fish and chips nor your traditional tenpura. Instead, I came up with a meal that is a little of both worlds, Asian Beer Batter Niblet Dinner:

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Ingredients for the meal consisted of cooked rice sprinkled with crushed toasted sesame seeds, miso soup, 2 cups of freshly-made beer batter, and an Asian Beer Batter Niblet Platter:

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1 large Russian red fish fillet (cut into bite-size pieces)
6 shitake mushrooms
10 fresh green beans
10 fresh shiso leaves
10 fresh basil leaves
10 slices of carrot
1 medium zucchini (sliced)

Rinse a pat dry vegetables. Then simply coat the ingredients thoroughly in the beer batter (a few at a time) and cook in a mini deep fryer until golden brown. We also added some nori sheets to the meal as a side munchie and soy sauce as a dipping sauce.

(NOTE: Although this doesn’t look like much food, the platter actually ended-up making enough niblets for 3 – 4 persons.)