Amanda The ingredient of the week was rice and Spanish ( or Mexican) rice was on the menu. This recipe is simple and it tastes almost as good as the rice served at our favorite restaurant. I used tomato soup instead of tomato sauce, also added oregano. It’s a keeper. Nikita We've been eating a lot of rice lately - for better or for worse. It keeps in the pantry so well, and I've been trying to limit my daily runs to the grocery stores lately. I found this recipe perusing Pinterest for new ideas and have been making it now at least once a month since the beginning of the new year. Coconut Chicken Curry on a bed of Coconut Rice. The recipe calls for potatoes, but I used turnips the first time. Wonderful and healthy sub, if I say so myself. I've also subbed the potatoes for white & orange chopped carrots. And then, we've tried it with just the potatoes. This meal has become a favorite. The coconut rice pairs perfectly with the curry but be sure you have your range fan on. The whole apartment will smell like curry for 24 hours. LOL! Amy Amy's moved and settling in.. Looking forward to seeing what she creates in her new place.. Georgia Thanks to Mandy, rice was on the menu. Thanks to our already planned menu. Rice was also on the menu. I actually made this out of leftovers. Rice, italian sausage and steamed broccoli.. Voila! Lunch in a jif. Jen Join us next week when Nikita has us singing the California Raisin song!
Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia & Jen
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Jen Bacon is a special treat here in my house – I make probably only a handful of times per year. We love it on burgers, sandwiches, by itself, etc. Our favorite bacon treat is a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. When I was in labor with my younger daughter, I literally waited for McDonalds to open before I would go to the hospital because I wanted one!!! I learned from the first go-around that they don’t let you eat at the hospital when you’re in labor. 😂 When cooking these, I’ve learned that the best order so that everything is ready at the same time is 1) start cooking the bacon on the stove, then 2) open the biscuit package (Pillsbury flaky layers or similar) and get it on a pan in the oven, then 3) crack the eggs and cook (I scramble mine then top with cheese while in the pan). Takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. Yum!!! Amanda Bacon was hard to find in our city this week. All we could find was turkey bacon. So I played it safe and made breakfast tacos. I knew the family would like them and it was easier to get them to eat the turkey bacon without confrontation. We already had the flour tortillas, the eggs to scramble, and we topped them with cabbage and sriracha I am all about keeping meals simple and quick these days. I hope everyone had better luck than us this week. Can’t wait to see how everyone used bacon. Have a great week! Mandy Nikita Although Nikita does not have a contribution to Saturday Bites today she promises to share a tasty bake tomorrow. Amy Amy's in the middle of unpacking. It's been a busy couple of weeks for her and we are looking forward to having her jump back in. Georgia Like both Jen and Mandy we are all about keeping it simple right now. Chef salad with hard boiled eggs and crispy thick bacon. We've even been making our salad dressing. Olive oil, balsamic, red wine or apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper It's pretty obvious that bacon fits into any meal. Simple or elaborate.
Until next week, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy & Georgia Georgia Oops. I did it again. For some reason I keep making these yummy dishes and neglect to note the recipes. Here's what I remember Sun dried tomatoes (the star of the show) garlic and shallots Pasta (recipe called for linguine, but oddly pasta is on the hoarders list of things to hoard right now) Spinach - wilted (I used steamed broccoli instead) I think the creaminess came from tomato paste and ricotta FYI. I love sun dried tomatoes. I usually have a jar in the fridge at any given time Jen Amanda Nikita Mmmm....mmmm! I'm not sure why I don't use sun-dried tomatoes more often, but this is also why I love our weekly challenge. It pushes me to get out of the weekly dinner routine and try new flavors of the culinary world. I combined two recipes together to create this creamy linguine. A Phoenician friend of ours created his own sun-dried tomato cream pasta dish and shared his recipe with me. I made some minor changes such as replacing the cream with a sour cream/greek yogurt mixture to make this my own. It was just perfect with a light salad. The funny part of this picture is how I realized that I forgot the chicken breasts in the oven on warm while we all sat down to eat. LOL! The family was understanding and allowed me to throw the chicken right on top. Here's what I did: Pan-sear your chicken breasts coated with your favorite seasoning in 1 TBS of olive oil. I used just salt and pepper. Simple can be delicious. Set your chicken aside in a warm oven (200F). Boil your preferred pasta until al dente. Reserve a cup of hot pasta water and set aside. Saute (1) diced onion, (1) green bell pepper (or any color you want), (4) minced garlic cloves, and (1/2) cup diced sun-dried tomatoes in another TBS of olive oil in the same pan until veggies soften and become translucent. I would recommend finely dicing or slicing the sun-dried tomatoes. Mine were a bit chunky this time and punched my mouth with salt and flavor. It was a bit too much at times. Reduce heat to low and add (1) can of diced tomatoes, (1) TBS of tomato paste, & (1) TBS of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Stir until combined. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine (1/2) cup of greek yogurt and (1/4) cup of sour cream then add slowly to the pan while whisking to incorporate. Return heat to medium until pasta cream sauce is hot, stirring occasionally. Throw in a handful of chopped fresh basil and parsley. Then add to your cooked pasta. If the cream sauce is too thick, add some hot pasta water to thin it out. A little goes a long way. Toss in your chopped chicken breasts! Don't forget about the chicken! Serve with salad. We took a bagged salad and added lime juice and salt. No dressing, and it balanced the pasta magnificently. Shout out to Jay Burks for the inspiration! Amy If you've never used sun dried tomatoes in a dish you really must try them. YUM!
Until next week Georgia, Jen. Amanda, Nikita and Amy Nikita At this point, it's safe to assume that we have all been ordered to stay in our homes. What's odd about this is we are all in different parts of the world. To make light of the worldwide pandemic lockdown, I chose our Saturday Bites theme to be Quarantini's. I've been baking A LOT but also walking quite a bit because walking a dogs seems to be my only pass to legally get out of the house. Matt and I have been drinking this concoction each night and it has little to zero calories. Nikita's Lose Weight Quarantini 2 ounces of preferred Vodka 2 lime wedges Sparkling Water That's it! Crisp and refreshing. Perfect for a hot day in the backyard or to sip on while cooking dinner! Enjoy and stay safe out there in these weird and trying times. Georgia I went for a mocktail. With a family riddled with some type of addiction I learned a long time ago to avoid alcohol during stressful times. I found this green appletini. Pretty tasty. If I were to change one thing I'd leave out the lemon juice. Which I ended up doing later on. I really like the crispness of the apple juice. Jen Mandy Dirty Vodka Martinis (shaken) are my drink of choice this week and non-quarantine weeks too. I used water instead of vermouth since we didn’t have any on hand. Didn’t even miss it. Cheers! 🍸 Stay healthy, Mandy Stay safe and healthy!
Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Jen and Mandy |
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June 2021
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