Posts filed under ‘Lunch’
Recipe of the Week – Bean Soup
From the Soup Collection at emealsforyou.com
Bean Soup
The calendar says Fall but the weather outside says shorts. This is the time of the year that I begin to get into great soups and hearty meals in my kitchen. While I enjoy the weather reprieve I still look forward to some of those good basic meals that make the cooler weather seem almost worth while.
With this thought in mind I decided to make a huge pot of bean soup on Sunday. You know, just enough for lunch, a pot to take to the neighbors and three containers for my freezer. In this house it doesn’t make much sense to make a small pot of anything. Anyway the soup was really good, it hit the spot and then we took a walk around the neighborhood; wearing shorts and no socks.
Bean Soup
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Soups |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | large | onions, diced |
| 1 | lb | ham, steaks |
| 2 | large | potatoes |
| 2 | large | carrots, diced |
| 2 | 15 oz can | tomatoes, diced |
| 1 | 15 oz can | beans, white, great northern |
| 1 | 15 oz can | beans, black |
| 1 | Tb | caraway seeds |
| 2 | Tb | vinegar, cider |
| 20 | oz | water |
| 2 | 15 oz can | chicken broth |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 3 | Tb | flour |
| 2 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Cut potatoes and carrots into small cubes. Heat oil in pan, add onions and ham, sauté until lightly brown, and add potatoes, broth, tomatoes, beans, water, vinegar and caraway seeds. Boil for about 10 minutes; simmer for 30 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Lightly toast flour in a non-stick pan, add oil and continue cooking, stirring for an additional 3 minutes to form a roux. Add some of the soup to the roux and mix, add mixture to soup and stir to mix.
More Fall pleasures at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Pasta alla Costco
From the Starch/ Pasta Collection at emealsforyou.com
Pasta alla Costco
This could be called Pasta alla Sam’s Club or whatever wholesale warehouse you belong to. The main point is that when you buy in bulk; purchasing large containers of everything leaves you with large containers of everything and needing a reason to use them. We call this Pasta alla Costco because the extra large jars of olives, artichokes and capers came from our local Costco.
This is ideal for a quick dinner or a Saturday lunch when you can’t figure out what you want to eat. I mean who doesn’t like pasta. Add some chicken, sausage or just as it is and you will think you are in a small corner tavern in Little Italy.
Pasta alla Costco
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Starch/ Pasta |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | onions, chopped |
| 4 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 14 oz. can | tomatoes, diced |
| 1 | Tb | capers |
| 1 | Tb | peppers, pickled rings |
| 2 | Tb | artichoke hearts |
| 2 | Tb | olives, mixed, pitted |
| 1 | tsp | garlic chili sauce |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, mozzarella, shredded |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | lb | pasta, cooked |
| 1 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the onions, and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, capers, peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced, the olives, chopped and the chili paste and sauté for 5 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Cook and drain pasta. Add mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste to the pan. Add cooked pasta to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow pasta to absorb some of the sauce. Plate and sprinkle ¼ of the Romano on the top of each plate.
Want some more easy meals; try emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Heritage Tomato Salad
From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com
Heritage Tomato Salad
For those of you who don’t know what heritage tomatoes are or those who haven’t tried them yet; a word of caution. You probably won’t experience a “WOW” moment. While some of these tomatoes are very good; most are just over-priced. Having said that, they look really great in a salad. This is one of those salads that adds color to your meal and provides a chance to add your own ideas; adding your special touch to everything from burgers to fresh grilled fish.
Don’t have feta, add blue cheese or shaved Romano. Like olives, add them; like capers add them. Got some bread laying around, make croutons and add them. Add grilled chicken, shrimp or steak for a great lunch. Support your local Farmers’ Market and buy some tomatoes.
Heritage Tomato Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Welcome Fall Dinner (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 1 | lb | heritage tomato |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 1 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Cut tomatoes into bite size wedges. Place in bowl, add remaining ingredients, toss, let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
More salads and great meal ideas at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Fresh Ginger Sauce
(From the Misc Category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Ravioli in Fresh Ginger Sauce
Trying to come up with something different for lunch reminded me that ravioli are not just for tomato sauce. It was time to put together a meal that was unexpected. I wanted something that was substantial yet easy to prepare. I remembered I had a some fresh ginger and decided to make the Fresh Ginger Sauce and serve it over some ravioli. Checking on the other ingredients on hand it was a go.
We serve pasta with many meals and ravioli is one of the easiest as it freezes well and is fairly inexpensive. Simply take a handful or a bag out of the freezer, heat it in boiling water for a few minutes and plate with any number of sauces or toppings. Add some sliced mushrooms or fresh spinach at the last minute to enhance the meal. Your family will think they are at an expensive restaurant, your budget will like you and the smiles you receive will brighten your day.
Fresh Ginger Sauce
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 24 | oz | chicken broth |
| 2 | medium | scallions, sliced |
| 3 | Tb | carrots, sliced |
| 2 | Tb | ginger, fresh, minced |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | tsp | cornstarch |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 1 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
Place chicken broth (you may substitute vegetable broth) in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Slice scallions and carrots as thinly as you can, on the diagonal, add to pan. Add ginger and lemon juice and cook until carrots are tender, about 8 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove about 4 oz of the liquid from the pan, allow to cool and add cornstarch, stir to blend. Return the cornstarch mixture to the pan, increase heat slightly and stir until thickened. Serve over pasta or chicken, sprinkle with grated Romano.
Recipe of the Week – Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
(From the Vegetarian Entree category at www.emealsforyou.com)
Grilled Portabella Sandwich
Our company arrived in the rain and the rain stayed most of the weekend. We decided that we would have something a little different from the usual fare for lunch on one of the days. As I don’t mind grilling in the rain and cold; I decided to do grilled veggie sandwiches. This is a really easy to prepare lunch and always gets a smile from the guests as it is unexpected and visually attractive.
We grilled portabella mushrooms, red peppers, onions, yellow squash and asparagus. I peeled the asparagus, I always peal my asparagus. It is amazing that this is such filling and satisfying meal, even without meat.
Grilled Veggie Sandwiches
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Vegetarian Entrée |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 1 | large | baguette |
| 0.25 | cup | olive oil, divided |
| 3 | medium | squash. yellow |
| 8 | oz | mushrooms, portabella |
| 1 | 10 oz container | roasted red peppers |
| 1 | medium | onion, red |
| 0.33 | lb | asparagus |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 8 | oz | cheese, Alloutte |
Cut baguette in half lengthwise and drizzle with 1 Tb of the olive oil. Cut squash, mushrooms and onion in thick slices and place in a large bowl; add the red peppers. Peel asparagus and place in the bowl, add salt and pepper and the remaining oil and stir. Place veggies on a hot grill and grill quickly on both sides, about 4 minutes. Remove veggies from the grill and place in the bowl. Grill the baguette on the grill until just slightly brown. Spread Alloutte on each half of the bread, arrange the veggies on top and cut into pieces and serve.
Recipe of the Week – Cuban Paninis
Cuban Paninis
Football is back; the weather is getting cooler and the corn is almost gone for another year. Chef Teresa has put together this great combination to help celebrate great food geared to the yearly practice of being a couch potato. We welcomed the baseball season with the Recipe of the Week Hot Dogs . It is only fitting to begin the new sports season with a delicious new sandwich.
Here is a note to those of you who like the idea of Pininis but don’t have the pan or press to make them. Don’t let marketing ploys sell you yet another electric gadget that only does one thing. Use a grill pan, and you should have one of these for all kinds of foods, with another heavy pot or pan placed on top. Flip the sandwich over halfway through the cooking cycle and you will get the same results. This is precisely the way Chef Teresa made this sandwich… see you couldn’t tell the difference. This method works really well on those grilled cheese sandwiches the kids love and they will love you for the new look and increased flavor. GO BEARS!!!
Cuban Paninis
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Easy Recipes I Can Cook |
| Meal: | Sunday Night Supper (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 8 | slices | bread, french |
| 0.75 | lb | ham, shaved |
| 0.75 | lb | roast pork |
| 0.75 | lb | cheese, provolone |
| 1 | Tb | mustard, yellow |
| 4 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 8 | medium | dill pickle slices |
Layer thinly sliced pork roast, ham, cheese slices,and dill pickle slices on four pieces of bread. Spread other pieces of bread with mustard. Butter both sides of sandwich and cook on panini grill until cheese is hot and melted.
Note: no panini grill; use a grill pan with a heavy pan on top to hold the panini down.
Recipe of the Week – Special Lunch
French Lunch
Color me a romantic. We have always enjoyed an easy, eat what you want lunch. Whether strolling, well you can’t just walk, in Paris or just as a quick Saturday late lunch thing; you really can’t beat the creature comfort of this take-with-you or buy-it when-you-get there meal. The photo above actually was taken when we returned from the Findlay Market, the oldest under-roof farmers market in the country. We arrived a little early, by Findlay standards, on Sunday. The vendors where still putting their wares out and we were on a mission to get some ground chuck from the local butcher shop. I guess it might have been because we were strolling (walking aimlessly) around to kill time that we began to think of lunch. Why don’t we pick up some cheese, olives , a baguette and some salami for lunch? Let’s get some grapes as well. Great idea!!!
So we had our “French Lunch”, not on the Rive Gauche but on our coffee table. Even though we had been together for the last 3 hours it was still special to take the time to eat the good food and talk the good talk. We have these lunches whenever the mood strikes us, usually in our busy lives we are not stuck enough so I guess that is why they are so special.
Recipe of the Week – Chicken Salad
(from the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
There are certain dishes or meals that key fond memories from an early time… for me chicken salad is all about Jane Nardoni. In our early twenties, many moons ago, the group would get together at one house or the other and have a party. When it was Bob’s turn we somehow would always wind up at his mom’s house. Mrs Nardoni was a wonderful cook and Bob was a little, shall we say lazy? So there we would be at the Nardoni house with Mrs Nardoni putting out all kinds of wonderful food, mostly Italian, for us. While all the food was great, her chicken salad was legend. No amount of pleading could pry the recipe from Jane. Running into her years later we still laughed about the chicken salad, and still, I might add, try our best to get that recipe.
While this chicken salad is not Jane’s, it is damn good. Give it a try and perhaps your kids’ friends will remember it for a long time.
Chicken Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Ladies Luncheon (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 5 | medium | chicken breasts, boneless, skinless |
| 3 | Tb | mayonnaise |
| 2 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | small | scallions, sliced |
| 0.25 | cup | cranberries, dried |
| 0.25 | cup | pecans, halved |
| 1 | pinch | dill weed |
| 0.25 | cup | tomatoes, cherry |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Cook chicken breasts in microwave until done. Reserve cooking fluids. Lightly toast pecans. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, add reserved juices and all other ingredients and mix well.
Serve on bed of spinach or lettuce
This recipe and others may be found on our website emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Pulled Pork
The kids stopped in yesterday with their kids, Avery is almost 3 and Alexis is just 5 weeks. After a trip to the playground in the heat it was time to figure out lunch. I guess i could have called this, “Too Hot to Cook but Not to Thaw”. As we talked about in Meal Planning – Winning the Trifecta it pays to cook batches of food and freeze them for later use. I microwaved a frozen container of pulled pork, made a quick coleslaw, added pickles and chips and everyone was happy. Side note here… I usually like my coleslaw directly on top of the sandwich, unlike my photo above.
P.S. For dessert we had carrot cake, also frozen in individual packets and thawed as needed. The carrot cake is the Featured Recipe this week at www.emealsforyou.com.
Pulled Pork
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | The Other Meat Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 4 | lb | pork, shoulder roast, bone-in |
| 1 | recipe | dry rub |
| 3 | Tb | vinegar, cider |
| 1 | Tb | ketchup |
| 4 | Tb | water |
Rub dry rub (recipe follows) all over pork roast. Place in oven-proof pan and cook in oven at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours or until meat pulls easily off the bone. Remove from pan and shred meat with two forks. discard the bone. Pour water, vinegar and ketchup into pan and stir to remove all fond (the brown bits) and juices. Pour over meat and stir.
Note: You may choose to serve pork with additional store-brand barbeque sauce.
Dry Rub
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 0.75 | Tb | cumin, ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, cayenne |
| 1 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 1 | tsp | paprika, sweet |
| 1 | Tb | garlic powder |
| 1 | Tb | onion, granulated, dry |
| 2 | tsp | mustard, dried |
| 1 | Tb | chili powder |
| 2 | Tb | sugar, brown |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. May be stored in an air-tight container for months.
Note: Use on pork, beef and chicken.
Recipe of the Week – Black Bean Burritos
(from www.emealsforyou.com Meal Plans/Theme Meal/Veggie – 14 Across…Healthy)
Black Bean Burritos
Warning, this post gets close to being a Rant. Beyond the cost savings of planning and cooking meals for your family there is the “healthier food” aspect to consider. Take for instance the Black Bean Burrito shown at the bottom left side of this post. Even if you don’t like or think you don’t like black beans you have to give me it looks pretty appetizing. This is especially true when you compare it to the “Taco Hell” burrito above the made-at-home burrito. Is this, the one on the top, what you want your family eating a couple of days a week? Think of all the time you will save on “wash day” not having to get the grease stains out of the kids’ shirts, ’cause you know it is impossible to eat a greasy taco in the car without a little spillage.
I knew the “Taco Hell” burrito was going to be bad for me; knew it like you know it is going to rain just after washing your car. What I didn’t expect was just how bad. Here are the numbers: The bean burrito has 350 calories but more importantly 1190mg of Sodium, just under half your daily recommended amount. If you step up to the plate to the Grilled Stuft Burrito- Chicken, as I did; then you are looking at 640 calories with 2160 mg Sodium; add a diet coke and you are over the limit.
The made-at-home bean burrito comes in at 192 calories with only 293 mg of Sodium.
Planning and cooking at home allows you to take charge of what you are eating. You can control the ingredients; want less salt, just read the label on the beans and buy the no or low sodium brand. Want low fat, get the low or non-fat sour cream. Don’t like white flour buy the whole wheat tortillas. See, it is about just re-directing your hand in the grocery store to foods that are better for you; and if it is better for you, you will feel better about feeding it to your family.
Black Bean Burritos
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Vegetarian Entrée |
| Meal: | Veggie – 14 Across…Healthy (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 1 | 14 oz. can | beans, black |
| 4 | medium | tortillas, whole wheat |
| 1 | medium | tomatoes, whole |
| 1 | medium | scallions, sliced |
| 2 | Tb | sour cream |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Warm beans in a pan, lightly toasted tortillas. Place beans on tortillas, slice tomato and scallion, place on top. Add ½ Tb of sour cream to each burrito.
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