More Frozen Finds

Last week we ate mostly from what we already had in the freezer and pantry.

To tell the truth (confession time), I had never made pie crust from scratch before, but it turned out great for the potato pie. I used yukon gold potatoes, dry thyme (because the fresh at the store looked kind of dried out anyhow), rosemary and marjoram. I added some mushrooms I had leftover from the pasta the week before and used a blend of grated cheese since Swiss isn't my favorite. I served it with a simple romaine salad. You could leave out the bacon and add roasted red pepper for a veggie version. This was very good and we had just enough leftover for lunch the next day.

One day was Dip Day. Since this was to be our dinner, I wanted to make it healthy too. I made an artichoke dip in a lower fat version (chopped artichokes, 1/3 cup mayo, 8oz cup non fat yogurt -- strained in a coffee filter to thicken it, 1 cup 2% milk Italian cheese blend, 1 tblsp lemon juice, salt & pepper). For protein, black bean hummus, except I used romaine ripped in ½ because it is much more nutritious and is already the right shape for wrapping. We also had veggies & grandma’s dill dressing (so much better than ranch) and sliced bananas (on sale) with chocolate ganache (using some of the cream leftover from pie).

For the herb crusted pork loin, I used less cumin a bit more cinnamon plus some cardamom for the rub. I used flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro and lemon instead of lime (I had for the dips anyhow). It was moist, flavorful, Yum! I served this with roasted fennel with grated cheese. Yeah, the family was not too fond of the fennel. I'll have to come up with another way to prepare it. For dessert -- roasted pears. I skipped the ice cream and added vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom to the brown sugar. I had just enough cream left for a dollop of whipped cream on each. I intentionally made twice as much pork as I would need to use for a second meal.

I made spaetzle with 1 cup of flour, 1 egg, and enough water to make a batter about as thick as brownie or cake batter, spread out like a thin layer of frosting on a board then slice strips and roll off with knife into hot water or stock. When they float to the top they're done. Toss with butter, salt, pepper and parsley. I just tossed them and butter into the pan I used to warm the thinly sliced leftover pork roast. I also made red cabbage and apples -- saute half a head of red cabbage thinly sliced, one granny smith apple sliced into thin wedges, a bay leaf (remove before serving), salt and pepper in butter until soft and wilty (about 20 minutes). Deglaze with stock and add a splash of apple cider vinegar and crumbled bacon. No leftovers, should have made more!

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Meals of Sales Past

This week I didn't purchase any meat so our meals centered around what I had purchased on sale and kept in the freezer.

One day we had fried tilapia with peas and roasted red potatoes. I combine 1 egg with a tablespoon or so of either lemon juice or rice vinegar and allow the fish to marinate for 10-20 minutes. Then directly from the egg bath, I dredge it in Andy's Fish coating (which is also a good coating for oven fried chicken) and fry in a small amount of oil for a few minutes on each side. We never have leftovers with this meal!

Another very busy day we had tuna salad with mini whole wheat bagels. Inspired by sushi roll, I packed the tuna salad with veggies to make a quick, easy, healthy meal. I mixed 2 envelopes of tuna with mayo, celery, diced onion, diced mango, diced avocado, minced garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt & pepper. Ok, so it was very different from the inspiration, but there was only a tiny bit leftover.

I like Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce, but saw a recipe I wanted to try. And it was Yum! 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 3/4 cup ketchup, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 tblsp dijon mustard, 1 clove of garlic minced, salt & pepper. I didn't measure, but these are the measurements from Giada. She also included Worcestershire, but I didn't have any -- didn't really need it. Stir all ingredients into a saucepan and simmer until reduced by about 1/3. Baste seasoned meat and grill, continue basting every few minutes until done. I used chicken thighs. They are cheaper than breasts, more flavorful and juicier because they have a little more fat and also have more iron. Served with roasted broccoli sprinkled with grated cheese.

Because the package of chicken was so big, and of course I didn't separate it before putting it into my freezer, we had chicken on another night too -- oven fried. Chicken dredged in seasoned flour, egg then panko bread crumbs. I like to use paprika in addition to salt and pepper, but if you prefer, thyme, rosemary, marjarom, oregano...whatever, give it a try. Served with tender, sweet, caramelized roasted cauliflower.

In the mix there was a meatless pasta dish. The original recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/rigatoni-with-creamy-mushroom-sauce-recipe/index.html. I used Barilla Plus penne instead of rigatoni, stock instead of white wine and sweet onion vs shallots. Mushrooms and onion were on sale, but the mascarpone was a splurge. Tasted wonderful!

There isn't much meat on the shopping list for this week either. Let's see what else we have in the freezer...

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