Plague Dinner # 6

Spaghetti in Meat Sauce. 

You know how it goes. 

We used to have spaghetti every Saturday night when Noah was younger. Then we'd scramble to clean up so we could watch Saturday Night at the Movies on TVO. That's long gone, but I thought I could re-institute the spaghetti tradition. 

Not much different here. I tried to make the ground chicken more beefy by dousing it in beef bouillon. We enjoy spaghettini more than its thicker cousin. I added onion, half a green pepper and a handful of baby spinach leaves. 

Always a favourite. 8.9 out of 10. 

Next up: something with potatoes, eggs and 2 chicken breasts. 

Plague Dinner # 3

Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts in a Lemon/Garlic Sauce

AKA Half a packet of Store-bought Gnocchi, Half packet of Salami, Brussels Sprouts

What can I make from the fridge without having to go to the store?

This one's a winner. 

Serves 2 no problem. 3...well that's another story.  Took exactly 25 minutes. 

Ingredients

Olive oil 

1/2 onion

6 slices of sliced mild salami

30-36 Brussels sprouts

1 garlic clove peeled

1.5 tb butter

1.5  tb flour

1 cup milk

salt

1 tb lemon zest

1 tb mustard

Dash of white wine (optional)

1/2 package of store bought gnocchi

Here we go - 

Slice the onion. 

Slice the salami into strips

Tail the Brussels sprouts

Put the sprouts on to boil in a roomy pot for 15 minutes

Make the white sauce this way:

Soften the garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes in a small saucepan on medium/low. This will smell GORGEOUS. Smoosh down the garlic with the tines of a fork.

Add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until all mixed.

Add a little milk until you have a smooth paste.

Add a dash of salt.

Add the remainder of the milk. Turn up to medium/high stir with your wooden spoon until no lumps remain and the first bubbles appear. Then reduce heat to simmer. 

Stir in the mustard and lemon zest. Add a very small splash white wine. Keep saucepan on very low heat. Don't let the sauce boil.

Next, fry the onion and salami in a little oil on a medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes

When the Brussels sprouts have about 4 minutes to go add the gnocchi to the pot. When the 15 minutes is up, drain. 

Turn down the onion to low. 

Add the sprouts/gnocchi.

Add the sauce. Combine

This was really good. My guys gave it a 9 out of 10. They raised it to a 9.4 when I made them pasta shells to go with the sauce. My original quantities were not enough for 3. 

Next time, what can I create with ground chicken, left over 6-Layer dip and some left-over tomato sauce. 

Plague Dinner # 1

Plague Dinner # 1

This photo is from hearthandvine.com/chicken-black-bean-casserole/

I'm trying to cook fresh as long as I can. Although I can hardly remember how to blog, I thought I would share some light-hearted attempts of my cooking with left-overs and what's on hand at my local Sobey's/Soviet era grocery store.

This was some sort of chicken/bean casserole

1 boneless chicken breast, seared
1/2 onion softened in a little oil
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn - (I had leftover split yellow peas!)
1 can of black beans, drained
1/2 cup leftover black bean soup (optional, of course)
1/2 cup Six Layer Dip (we all have that, right?) just for a little zip.
nubbin of cheddar cheese
3/4 cup tomato sauce
seasoning.
3 cups cooked Basmati rice

Dice the browned chicken. It will still be a little pink inside. Combine all the ingredients except the cheddar in a small casserole dish. Grate a little cheddar on the top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Serve on the rice.

Will serve 3.

My guys gave it a solid 4 out of 5 and 2 thumbs up.

This photo is not mine.

Come back tomorrow to see what I can do with salmon and beets!

#Plague #PlagueDinner #Rationing #Sobeys

T

Off the Rails Pasta

truccis.com

Off the rails only because it wasn't gluten free. It does make a difference unfortunately. Like most of the things I create in the kitchen this one came off the top of my head. This recipe was SO good I have to write it down for posterity. 

What I needed:. 

Olive oil
Onion
Yellow pepper
Package of prosciutto
Spaghetti
Fat-free sour cream
Chevre
Cream 10%
Pico de Gallo - prepared
Salt
Parmesan

So, I fried half a chopped onion in olive oil for about 12 minutes. Adding 1/2 chopped yellow pepper after 6 minutes. Then I tossed in 1/2 package of prosciutto also chopped into inch-sized pieces. I stirred this about while I started the pasta. 225 grams or 8 ounces of spaghetti was perfect for the amount of sauce. 

Okay, then I added 3 large dessert spoons of zero fat sour cream to the frying pan, one 1/4 inch medallion of chevre, and 1/3 cup cream (10%), and one tablespoon prepared pico de gallo salsa. Then I added a generous pinch of salt. 

I added the spaghetti to the frying pan which was now on low. Stirred the noodles around in the goodness and grated about an inch-sized cube of Parmesan over the top. 

In total this meal took less than 25 minutes to prepare. It was amazing. 

I didn't photograph the event. But the above photo from Truccis.com hints at the idea.