Clean out the Fridge Dinner

 That's right! Those days when you just gotta get rid of what is left in the fridge to make room for more.

>Pan-grilled Chicken
>Brown Rice
>Sauteed Collards cooked with apples to reduce bitterness
>Roasted Broccoli
>Sauteed Yellow Summer Squash

Sometimes it be like that!

Oven-Grilled Chicken, Rosemary Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Salad

>Oven-Grilled Paprika Chicken
>Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
>Brussel Sprouts
>Broccoli & Lettuce Salad

I have been posting a lot of beef/red-meat lately and some not quite up to par with the 'grub a plate philosophy' so...I had to appease it with this plate.

Here is a a recipe I found online for cooking Brussel Sprouts for those who are not quite believers. I haven't followed this yet, but my hubby is all about claiming his superpower recipe (no meat added) to make brussel sprouts not taste like butt juice (okay that probably shouldn't be on a blog about food, but there it is). 

Cumin Chicken, Cauliflower Mac & Cheese, Kale Salad

>Cumin Pan-Grilled Chicken w/sauteed bell peppers & onions
>Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
>Kale Salad


So this was one of those collaboration meals with my neighbors... which help good eating come easy, because you make one or two items and then someone else makes one or two and voila! Plate. to. grub.
Sarah (who's an amazing cook) made the Cauliflower mac and cheese and I asked her "what's in this?" she said it's with Cauliflower mac and cheese gluten-free pasta & italian sausage and white wine

Shrimp & Bean Stew, Spaghetti Squash & Salad with Homemade Dressing

>Shrimp and Bean in stewed tomato sauteed with onions & veggie oil
>Oven-Roasted Spaghetti Squash
>Side Salad...with oranges & homemade dressing.
(make it vegan, by leaving out the shrimp).

I can't believe it's March already. I made this meal for friends who just had a baby in January, and I asked for a photo, and they sent me one! Yay!

Friend making us food soon after we had our baby, combined with my mom making me anything I requested, was such a lifesaver. So I'm all about it.

Now that our baby is in the solid-eating phase of her life, woohoo! I'm hoping to post some more Kid-friendly & Nigerian inspired meals (not necessarily in that order or that combination). Although really we're kinda feeding her off our plate/pot so maybe not.  Breast-milk yogurt anyone? haha.

Okay. That's all I have to say about this. Until next time.

Orange-glazed Pork Loin Kebabs, Broccoli Salad & Cassava Corn Bread

>Pork Loins on skewers with Carrots, Pears & Bell Peppers, glazed with fresh orange sauce
> Cast-iron Yucca/Cassava Cornbread
>Broccoli salad
 I knew I wanted to make Kebabs.

I had just made like a bazillion beef ones for a friend's bbq party, and I had it in my head. So combined with memories of the best kebabs ever at this restaurant Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica when I went for Annie's wedding, and left over skewers I knew I had to make some.

It was time for some lean pork loins on the 'protein rotation'. I searched around for some pork recipes because I don't really eat pork and this was my second time cooking it. I knew I wanted to find a different taste or way to cook it (because otherwise I would default to something I do all the time). So I found a site dedicated to pork recipes! Wow. Fancy that. And you can search by themes, cut, and preparation time. Since I had some cut loin I knew it wouldn't take me that long to make something anyway (and I wanted this meal to happen quickly), and so yeah I searched by cut. I picked this recipe well, kinda. Haha. I pretty much didn't actually do any of what it says here except for the concept of a glaze. I squeezed some fresh oranges, and reduced it with maple syrup, and thickened with a tiny bit of flour.

I didn't roast over an open flame. I put the pork into a cast iron pan, and threw some black pepper, herb de provence & sea salt on it and threw it into the oven 375. After about 15-20mins? When it was part-way cooked, I brought it out and cut into chunks for skewering. I seasoned some veggies (bell pepper & carrots) and pears chunked and skewered them with the pork. Okay DON'T BE LIKE ME AND TRY TO SKEWER RAW CARROTS. Which I know not to do but did anyway because I don't know I just did.  And then threw it back into the oven at 500 degrees to grill.

For the Cassava (Yucca) & Corn Bread: Okay I get recipe requests from friends a lot and I really never know what I do, and I can't remember. I just do stuff and then it's done. So when I saw we had some leftover Yucca from a previous meal, and some corn on the cob from another meal, I decided they could all get together and party with cornmeal, egg, oil & milk in the oven. And that's what they did and it was GOOD. (And I didn't just say so myself)

Broccoli Salad, Emilie my upstairs neighbor made this and it was delicious.

This was an awesome meal!

Spinach Egg Stew, Roasted Plantain & Sweet Potatoes, Sauteed Cabbage

>Spinach, Tomato & Onion Egg Scramble
>Roasted Plantain
>Roasted Sweet Potato
>Sauteed Cabbage

This is my ALL-Time favorite meal as a child (and probably still, because I haven't figured out what else I like more). The only problem with this meal to me, is that I love it so much I eat way too much of it.

Actually this is an adaptation of my favorite meal.

The original version is Fried plantains, Fried 'Irish' potatoes, Fresh Tomato & Onion Egg Stew.

I have made this healthier (and easier to prepare) by roasting instead of frying, a taste which I have come to love so much more than deep-fried, so it's all good! I have also added loads of spinach to the Tomato, Onion and Egg goodness, which helps pack so much more nutrients and flavor to an already amazing meal.

Fast, Easy, Healthy, Cheap AND Tasty. Geez, can I really have it all?

To prepare:

• Peel Plantains, place in ungreased baking pan, and throw into 450-500 degree oven.
• Put in Sweet Potatoes whole and unpeeled (you can peel after it's cooked, or even eat with skin if you like).
• Sautee Cabbage with a dash of olive oil, black, pepper, and salt
• Throw some vegetable oil in a pan to heat up, caramelize onions, throw in diced tomatoes, let cook until a lot of the water is absorbed, season with salt and your favorite spices and herbs (I used curry powder, thyme and black pepper), whip eggs and pour into mixture, stirring as it cooks, add chopped spinach soon after, once eggs are cooked, it's ready!

Notes:
You can find plantains at some regular grocery stores, or look in Latin Food or African food stores (that's where I get them)

Make it vegan, by using Scrambled Tofu instead of eggs.

Tuna Tortilla Salad for Lunch

                                                                                            
Tuna
Corn Tortilla Chips
Spring greens with tomatoes & cucumbers
Homemade Non-Fat Yogurt Dressing

For the dressing: Throw in some non-fat yogurt, a bit of olive oil, salt, your favorite dried herbs, black pepper and apple cider vinegar. Whip and done!

Wanna make a Vegan 'Tuna' salad? Check out this recipe.

Rosemary Pesto Chicken, Polenta & Tomato Stew, Fresh Fruits/Veggies

 >Rosemary, Mint & Basil Pesto Oven-baked Chicken topped with Caramelized Onions
Polenta
>Marinara sauce with peas
>Cucumber, Baby Carrots & Grapes 'that tastes like grape juice'

Make this veggie/vegan using Tempeh in place of chicken

This meal is my Italia-inspired meal. I really like polenta as a quick, filling and versatile grain option. Our backyard is currently abundant with herbs, and since I'm trying to put a dent in the Rosemary I decided I'd use it in a pesto. Our trip to Oregon still has us stacked with wonderful organic, and great tasting veggies, thanks to friends who own farms and have amazing gardens (the cucumbers & grapes). Really the grapes taste like grape juice. lol.

Because the combination of polenta, tomato & chicken seemed so heavy, I just had a taste for veggies that were crisp, fresh and ready to eat, so I thought it would be a good compliment. A glass of wine and you're good to go!

Pan-Grilled Tri-Tip, Roasted Potatoes & Carrots, Almond Gravy Green Beans etc

 >Pan-Grilled Tri-Tip
> Roasted Potatoes & Carrot Blend
>Almond Gravy over Sauteed Green Beans
>Persimmon, Plum & Pomegranate Spring Greens Salad

Grub this!

Pan-Grilled Tofu, Sauteed Greens & Potatoes

>Extra-Firm Tofu seasoned with salt and spices and grilled in a cast iron pan
>Mixed Greens sauteed in onions and olive oils with apples to cut the bitter
>Cubed potatoes loaded with herbs & spices and cooked with bell peppers and onions, simmered in a pan.
>Spring Greens Salad

Plate: Chicken Soup, BuzzwordFood Salad, Fresh Garlic & Rosemary Toast

 >Chicken Soup with Bell peppers & Onions
> Buzzword Food Salad
> Garlic & Rosemary Toast

I was on my way to the grocery store to pick up some household staples, and see if something may inspire me for dinner, when I ran into my upstairs neighbor Emily and found out she would be making chicken soup that evening. I invited myself into her meal by offering to make a salad and 'some bread thing'. Awesome! I was glad to have someone else make a good chunk of the meal, because I had been a bit stuck. I was also excited about soup, because I kinda-sorta never like soups and just never really think to make them. Well our forces combined to make something that I was really excited about.

I have been pretty much using a lot of Rosemary to cook these days, because you know if you've ever had a rosemary plant, that baby GROWS. So I've been trying to put a dent in it (even doing things like rosemary pesto; another post on that).

How to:
>BuzzwordFood Salad? Check here to learn how I made this
>For the toast: I threw some fresh garlic cloves and some butter into a mini mortar and pounded. Spread it on whole wheat bread, sprinkled fresh rosemary on top of the bread and threw it in the broiler. Another way to make it would be to throw all the herbs and garlic in the mortar and pound with butter.
>Make your favorite chicken soup recipe, just make sure to throw in lots of veggies too, to make it a true grub-a-plate meal

Chicken Pesto Linguini, Toasted Curry Cauliflower, Spring Green Salad

For dinner my husband made:
>Pan-Fried Chicken
>Whole Wheat Linguini & Basil Garlic Pesto
>Oven Toasted Curry Cauliflower
>Farm Fresh Spring Greens

This is one of those super fast meals. I'm usually not excited about pasta because I feel like it goes through me so quickly and makes me hungry, but whole wheat or rice pastas keep me full with just a little bit.

You can search the internet for pesto recipes and or ask your friends.

This pesto he made with basil, almonds, garlic, olive oil, parmesan and salt tossed in a food processor and done.

Baked Chicken, Creamed Spinach and more

Baked Chicken
Roasted Potatoes
Creamed Spinach
Spring Greens Salad

-Grub this plate!

Chicken & Veggie Stew, Delicata Squash...

-Chicken & Mixed Veggies stew in Fresh Tomato sauce

-Roasted Delicata Squash

-Spinach, Cabbage & Raisin Salad

An in-season plate, with Fall veggies (Squash, Spinach, Cabbage). This meal was relatively quick, filling and delish. And I have to say, I really notice the difference between organic produce (not like huge manufacturer organic, but some good ol' small farm food). That shit is GOOD!  It just tastes better, it really does. We had the privilege of getting these delicata squashes, tomatoes and other veggies from a friend's farm, and boy I tell ya. Yum!

For the stew: Chopped up some skinless chicken thighs, threw in a pot with chopped onions, garlic and tomatoes (no added oils, just the juice from the chicken and the tomatoes) season with salt, dried rosemary from our backyard, ginger powder, let it stew. Once chicken was cooked to my standard, threw in some organic frozen mixed veggies, let it sit for a bit and it was done.

for the squash: threw it in whole into the oven, 475 degrees, for about 30 mins or until tender.

for the salad: bag of 'coleslaw' mix, spinach, raisins, lemon cucumbers, apple cider vinegar, honey and some fresh herbs, toss.

Dinner: Turkey Quinoa Loaf et. al

Turkey Quinoa Loaf
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Fresh Cabbage & Raisin Salad


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