A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That.

Mmmmmmm. This was from last week. This pizza looked so much better than my first. It probably had something to do with the fact that I rolled the crust's edge so that it actually baked up to look like a thick crust pizza. It was ground turkey supreme; and, though it could have used more sauce, it was very good.

We had lamb chops on Sunday. I said that it tasted like steak. Chris disagreed. We both enjoyed it. What I loved more was the grilled corn on the cob. Oh man, was that tasty!

Last week when I was supposed to have grilled pork, baked potatoes, and broccoli I ended up tossing everything together. I bought the chunks for pork kabobs and sauteed them on the stove. Then I prepared one of the frozen broccoli and cheese packs. I layered the broccoli and cheese on a buttered baked potato and put the pork on top. It was quick, easy, and surprisingly good!

Tonight is Chicken and Olives from the Pioneer Woman (linked below). I'm really excited about it. I have been wanting to try this recipe since I first saw it. The Summer Shrimp Stir-Fry (also linked below) was phenomenal!

Menu for the Week: 27 June - 3 July.

I will get into one or two things from last week, tomorrow.

Tonight:

Lamb Chops

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Baked Potatoes

Monday:

Summer Stir Fry from The Pioneer Woman

Tuesday:

Chicken with Olives from PW

Wednesday:

Lemon Shrimp

Brown Rice

Zucchini

Thursday:

Leftovers

This is a strange day. I thought Chris's 4-day weekend was Friday-Monday, meaning he wouldn't need food for Friday. Turns out I was wrong. Sorry, babe!

Friday:

BBQ Chicken

Baked Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

Saturday:

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs

Brown Rice

Menu for the Week: 20 June - 26 June.

Sunday:

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Monday:

Grilled BBQ Chicken

Sweet Potato Fries

Corn on the Cob

Tuesday:

Supreme Pizza with Ground Turkey on a Whole Wheat Crust

Wednesday:

Sauteed Pork

Baked Potatoes

Broccoli

Thursday:

Grilled Shrimp Skewers

Risotto

Broccoli

Friday:

Kristen's Free Reign Dinner Night

I have a going away dinner somewhere out in town that I'm hoping to make it to!

Saturday:

Lamb Steaks

Risotto

Corn on the Cob

Ohashi.

Another restaurant, another blog post.

(With horrible quality cell phone shots!)

We went out to Ohashi last night, and did we ever eat!

Fried Cheese with a sweet, strawberry-ish sauce.

Chris's Fried Chicken.

My Tempura dishes. Prawns, sweet potato, jalepeno, vegetables, some kind of fish, and something that I didn't recognize but was tasty nonetheless.

Chris's skewers.

Pork & Cheese rolls. These were delicious!

Grilled Miso Rice Balls. I was not a fan; it didn't taste like Miso.

Green Tea Ice Cream! Mmmm.

Overall, it was a very good meal, and the service was infinitely better than the last time we were there. It probably helped that we had a party of two instead of a party of twenty plus.

A Week in Review.

Because I never made it here during the week. Hey, taking four classes is rough.

First, a little about the Garlic Lemon Shrimp. This actually went in a different direction that I expected it to. I got a little crazy, and after cooking the shrimp in EVOO, garlic, and seasoning it with salt and pepper, I added a ton (like two very juicy lemons worth) of lemon juice and some white wine. I let it cook like that for a few minutes and added some heavy cream (bad, I know). When all was said and done I served it over rice, and it was delicious.

The Chicken Quesadillas turned out great too. I guess you really can't screw up quesadillas, but I'd never made one from scratch. At least not one with more than cheese in it. I cooked up a few chicken breasts and shredded them. Then I mixed some taco seasonings with the chicken. (Note: I just tossed the spices with the chicken. I didn't cook them with water or anything.) I spread shredded cheddar cheese over half of a large, somewhat thicker tortilla, added a layer of chicken, more cheese, and some taco sauce, and folded the empty half over the top. I sprayed a skillet with cooking spray and threw in the quesadilla, flipping halfway through. These were served with Taco Rice, which has officially become one of my favorite foods.

Finally, the "Jambalaya". Was it Jambalaya? Who knows, but here is how it went...

Kielbasa and garlic in EVOO.

Toss in some shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink.

After the shrimp is cooked, add some vegetables. I went with green peppers and onions.

Pour in some rice and enough chicken broth to cook the rice in. Cover the skillet and let steam until the rice is done.

It will look a little like this.

Finally, add a can of diced tomatoes and any spices desired. I went with salt, pepper, white pepper, paprika, and some red pepper flakes.

(Honestly, I added some of those spices to the shrimp and kielbasa before this point. I just forgot until now. Choose your own adventure!)

This is what you end up with, and it was very, very good.

Menu for the Week: 13 June - 19 June.

Sunday: 

Chicken with Mushrooms and Artichokes

Slices of Sourdough Bread and Butter

Salad

Monday:

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

Rice

Salad

Tuesday:

Chicken Quesadillas

Taco Rice

Wednesday:

Baked Chicken

Mashed Potatoes

Corn

Thursday:

"Jambalaya"

(It's in quotes because I know in my head what I'm making; I just don't know if it is actually jambalaya.)

Friday:

Kristen's Free Reign Dinner Night

Something at the Lia Sophia party I'm going to, I'm sure.

Saturday:

Out for Ramen, I hope!

(We are going hiking early on Saturday, and I'm certain we will be starving when we get back. I'm also certain I won't feel like cooking!)

I Like...

...the grill I bought Chris for his birthday because it allows me to make things like this:

The beef was marinated in soy sauce, a bit of worcestershire, salt, pepper, and probably some Lawry's. I added tomatoes, button mushrooms, green pepper, and onion to the skewers. Chris threw them on the grill for a bit, I baked up some potatoes, and there was dinner!

I also like my Griddler because it allows me to make things like this:

...without having to use a heavy can on top of a flat bottomed dish. These are Turkey Melts, and they are delicious. I once worked at a restaurant, and somewhere along the way I became hooked on their Turkey Melts. Luckily for me they are easy to recreate. Heat up a griddle or panini press or skillet. Cut a loaf of sourdough bread into thick slices. Layer a slice of bread with Monterey Jack cheese (half a slice or a whole slice depending on the size of the bread), thick sliced deli turkey, tomato slices, and another slice (or half slice) of Monterey Jack. Top the sandwich off with another piece of sourdough, and melt some butter onto your screaming hot griddle (or whatever you're using). I use the Griddler, so I just throw the sandwiches on, close the lid - pressing down to slightly squish everything together, and walk away until I think it's time to flip them. Now, is it necessary for me to flip the sandwiches when they are already being cooked on both sides? Probably not. However, there is always more butter on the bottom of the griddle, so I like to flip the sandwiches and let them cook on the opposite sides for just a minute to sort of "dry out" the bottom piece of bread. Dip these babies in ranch dressing, add a salad and/or sweet potato fries, and you have one of my favorite go-to meals.

Menu for the week: 6 June - 12 June.

Sunday:

Grilled Beef Kabobs

Baked Potatoes

Corn on the Cob

Monday:

Szechwan Chicken

Tuesday:

Double Musky Scampi

Salad

Wednesday:

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Salad

Thursday:

Turkey Melts

Sweet Potato Fries

Friday:

Kristen's Free Reign Dinner Night

Leftovers, Subway, or back to Sapporo for some more Spicy Miso Ramen!

Saturday:

Out to eat at Yoshino's.

Fake Chicken Parmesan.

I love chicken parmesan.

I don't love that the chicken in chicken parmesan is usually breaded and at least slightly fried.

(Okay, I do love that, but my waistline does not.)

I've made fake chicken cordon bleu, so I figured chicken parmesan would be even easier to 'healthy-up', and it was.

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, parsley, and basil.

Heat a tablespoon of EVOO on high in a skillet.

Lightly sear both sides of the chicken.

Turn down the heat and cook the chicken until the inside is no longer pink, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook some rice. I used Minute and cooked it in the microwave. When the microwave stopped I sprinkled basil and garlic powder into the rice. Set it back in the microwave (don't turn it back on) to steam the flavors in and to allow the rice to finish cooking.

When the chicken is done remove it from the pan.

(If you're me this is where you rinse out the pan and use it to cook your broccoli. Then you rinse out the pan again and set it back on the stove.)

Pour in the desired amount of marinara sauce, sprinkle in some garlic powder, and return the chicken to the pan.

Flip the chicken around to coat it in the sauce, and grate some parmesan over the top.

After a minute or so put a lid on the pan to help melt the cheese.

When the parmesan is melted, it's done!

Serve chicken next to or over the rice.