Eating Dinner With My Family

Well I didn't  have/couldn't find/couldn't afford the size scallops the dish recommended.  12 scallops equaling 1.5 pounds would have cost way more than the $25 I spent on the 1.5 pounds that had about 30 scallops, so I didn't cook the second side as long, but other that that, I followed the recipe.  If you make this do not use a nonstick pan!  Oh and one other thing, the amount of scallops I had made for some tricky timing and the they cooled off the pan and gave off a bit more liquid than I would have liked.  Both those problems would have been solved with the pricier, larger scallops.  I found that there really wasn't any need to salt the chard mixture at the end as the bacon and soy added plenty salt, but I did give it a good dose of pepper. I loved it!  My husband, who normally isn't a fan of greens/ chard, liked the chard a lot.  The kids still aren't fans of chard:(.  The scallops were perfect.  Well there were a few that did...

I am going to have a hard time accurately judging this recipe.  The biggest impediment to impartiality is the fact that while the stew was cooking, one child was asleep and the other playing quietly, so I poured my self a glass of wine, read my book and reacquainted myself with the pleasure a piece of baguette and real butter can bring, so I wasn't exactly starving when the meal was finished. The other thing that may skew my perception, was that I tailored this to fit some ingredients I had on hand.  Those being acorn squash over the easier to peel butternut and the tiny, albeit delicious, but infinitely harder to chop yum yum peppers I had in my Front Porch Pickings basket.  My only valid complaint was that there wasn't much in the way of liquid and I thought the stew a bit too dry for me to think of it as a stew.  I also substituted flounder for the halibut as there wasn't any at my local publix.  Even with all that against it, I still tho...

For meatless Monday, I am making something I saw on Pinterest, and since my Husband won't be home for dinner, something extra 'healthy' that he most likely wouldn't like.  He doesn't need to eat light; he is one of those annoying people who can eat anything, never exercise and stay thin.  (Ugh I know!)  Now I put healthy in quotes because while the original recipe was from health.com and fairly light, I did add some fat and salt. (blush)  I did this partly because I didn't thoroughly read the recipe and partly because I knew it would need it.  How did I diverge from the recipe? I did the following: 3 tbsp oil in pesto 1/3 cup pasta water saved and used More salt Cooked eggs like I normally do in butter Now while that does add some fat and calories, it is just a bit and the end dish was actually really good!  It was super easy to make and even the kids liked it.  My son added sriacha to his so I did too and it just got tastier.  By the ...

This week for meatless Monday, I used some of my Swiss chard from my Front Porch Pickings basket.  I really loved this recipe.  My husband, who hates chunks of tomato and olives, wasn't as impressed as I was.  I did slightly change how I made it.  First of all, I had huge onions, so I only used one.  It was most likely just shy of two onions.  I also only had one bunch of chard.  Next time, I will make sure I have two.  I missed having more.  I was doubly impressed that I not only liked it, but it was reasonably low calorie. I think the nutritional information at the end of the recipe said 1/4 of it was just under 400 calories.  It was pretty quick to throw together too.    Whole-Wheat Spaghetti With Swiss Chard And Pecorino Cheese 1 Tbl olive oil 2 onions thinly sliced 2 Bunch Swiss chard trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups) 3 garlic cloves minced 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices 1/4 Cup dry white win...

I wasn't sure what I would think of the end product.  I like all the ingredients that went in to the dish, but I thought something was missing and was leery of what I would end up with.  Turns out, it wasn't missing anything.  The greens and mushrooms we perfect with the lentils, and the spices, while hinting at Indian, were very light and let you enjoy the flavors of the greens and mushrooms without drowning them in seasoning.  It isn't quite a soup, but it isn't a side either.  I did make one small change.  There was only one package of fresh shiitakes at Publix, so I got that one and a second package of "baby bellas".  I would have liked it so much better if I could have used all shiitakes since they are my favorite.  The mushrooms, greens and lentils make for a very meaty flavor despite the lack of any meat in it.  All in all a win for me:) Spiced Lentils With Mushrooms And Greens 1/2 c  brown or green lentils 3 T  extra-v...

Picture taken by flashlight! Well tonight's dinner was an adventure to say the least!  In the middle of sauteing the chard, the power kept flickering.  It continued to do so until the sauce making stage where it completely went out.  I make about 1.5 of the recipe, or as I said to my husband when the power started flickering, one and a half a$$ed!  It was cold but tasty.  I personally am not a big fan of tarragon, but it was subtle enough for me. The best part of the meal was the rice.  I just put 1 c. rice in my rice steamer with chicken stock instead of water, and a 1/2 cup of golden raisins along with about a tablespoon of soy sauce and about 1.5 tbsp of unsalted butter.  Cooked it in the steamer and when it was done, added chopped walnuts.  Yum!  We ate by candlelight which made up for the cool temp of the food:) Sauteed Tilapia Over Swiss Chard With Tarragon Butter       1    Tbs. extra-virg...

Well tonight my darling was home.  We cooked together:).  I enjoy that because (but not only because) he always does the things I dislike: like frying and  messing with raw meat.  He prepped the chicken for tomorrow and did the cooking, while I mostly got the mise en place ready. I offered to do more but he is like me, in that he likes to cook and that he is AWESOME;).  ( He really is!)  I could tell that he wasn't really jazzed about a meatless Monday, but, as always, he handled it with good grace. He also isn't a fan of tomato chunks, which this recipe has a full cup of.  Well, to make a long story short, he loved it!  I loved it, and the boy only thought it was alright.  What would I do different next time?  Well, for starters, I would chop the chard much smaller.  When we added the cheese, all the chard clumped up.  While tasty, we would have liked to have the chard spread out over the dish rather than in a giant tast...