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Category: Tips
Lately I have been cooking several different side dish staples using sous vide and I thought it was time to start sharing them with you. I know it may seem boring and a bit redundant to write about cooking rice, but trust me this is great information for cooking small amounts of rice perfectly while helping you minimize waste or to help you from over indulging! The first of these posts (except for the Mashed Potato for One post I wrote at this time last year) is cooking white rice for one. I’ll admit, rice is common ingredient in many of my recipes, but it is difficult to cook the optimal serving size for just one person. I’ve tried stove top in my smallest…
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Of course, this week’s menu will include Thanksgiving and I am getting a treat. Two of my brothers are coming over and we will be preparing a feast. Both of my brother’s have serious kitchen skills so this dinner will be nothing short of amazing. I nicknamed my younger brother ‘Iron Chef’ many years ago based on his fearlessness in preparing new dishes. He will deep fry the turkey after it has had a nice long soak in his top secret brine. Last year’s turkey was incredible and I am sure this year’s will be also. My other brother will bring dessert; a family favorite and staple of Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie, that never fails to…
Well, this weekend in the Pacific Northwest has been interesting weather-wise. As I write this post, the snow is falling and beginning to pile up. This snow event is definitely atypical for this area and makes me want to cook carbohydrate laden meals and prepare for hibernation! So I will try to resist that desire when planning this week’s menu so we do not fall into late Autumn lethargy. To combat that ‘carb coma’ trap, I will toss several stir fry type meals into the menu to inject vibrant fresh vegetables and robust flavors. Of course, I will not completely remove all those wonderful Fall comfort foods from this week’s menu. Everything in moderation, right? Here we go, let’s…
Another month comes to a close and it is time for me to post the meals made during the month that did not become a blog post – or were a previous blog post now that I am posting the weekly menus. For those not following my Instagram account where I post pictures of the meal made each night, this post is a great way to catch up… and see what you have missed. Be prepared to get hungry as these pictures certainly whet my appetite. Ready, set, go! Pizza Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Prosciutto Bark Beef with Broccoli Cavatappi with Sausage Ragu Caribbean Arroz con Pollo Chicken Cordon Bleu with Roasted Asparagus in a Porcini Sherry Cream sauce Sausage Manicotti with Steamed Broccoli Pan seared coriander…
Here we are quickly closing in on the holidays as October ends and November begins. The weather is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and comfort foods are on my mind. This week’s menu is based on previously posted recipes that showcase simple yet delicious comfort foods… or at least my type of comfort foods. I am sure as the weeks go on, I will showcase many other ‘comfort foods’ I have posted in the past. For now, let’s just enjoy these! Sunday – Schnitzel, Spaetzle, and Rotkohl Could I eat this meal every week? Yeah, I could… but I won’t. Monday – Beef and Bean Enchiritos These hybrid of two popular Mexican restaurant staples is another…
How about another cheesecake recipe, this time perfect for any Fall celebration? Here is a versatile and surprisingly easy cheesecake recipe that will definitely delight your friends and guests. The versatility of this recipe is in the construction – you can layer the pumpkin filling or swirl it throughout if you are feeling especially creative for the marbled effect. As for the ease in preparation, it is as simple as turning on the mixer. Well… sort of. I like this cheesecake recipe for it’s lightness and subtle sweetness. If the recipe looks familiar it is because I based it on the Cheesecake with Smoked Cherries I prepared in August. This base cheesecake combined with pumpkin creates a unique dessert that is slightly sweet and warmly…
Well, here we are moving right on through October with another weekly menu. I followed last week’s menu well so let’s see how well I do this week. I hope these weekly menus provide some help in your own meal planning. I know they really benefit me in grocery shopping and kitchen time management so I enjoy my evenings. Of course, the menu also gives me something to anticipate when dinner time comes around! So without further ado, let’s jump right in! Sunday – Berbere and Orange Chicken Breast Salad Tonight it is time to enjoy something light… but filled with flavor! Monday – Egg Roll Noodle Bowl I have a guest requesting this dish from a post a few week…
I hope you have enjoyed following along with the dinner picture posts on Instagram form the past two weeks. Keeping the trend going, here is the menu for the coming week. This week I am re-using many previously posted recipes like I have in each of the prior weeks. Again, the goal is to enjoy a variety of delicious meals while minimizing waste. Last week was fun since I ended up swapping a few meals around during the week to accommodate my schedule. It will be interesting to see how this coming week pans out. Are you ready to see what is on deck for the week? OK, let’s go! Sunday – Swedish Meatballs With the warmth of allspice and nutmeg prominent in these meatballs…
Well, now that we are fresh off the success of last week’s menu planning, let’s keep up with this concept and put together another weekly menu. Did you see the common ingredients that were shared in last week’s menu? Did you also notice (via @cooking_4_one Instagram updates) which meals I switched during the week to show flexibility? I invite you to follow me there and see pictures of the previously posted dishes I prepare. Besides who doesn’t love the plethora of food pictures flooding social media? Anyway, this week will follow the same focus – a wide variety of meals to enjoy while optimizing ingredients to minimize waste. So if you are ready, here’s the plan! Sunday –…
In talking with followers, I regularly get two requests. Videos of the dish being prepared and the weekly menus I use. So, I think it is high time I tackle the weekly menu request. Now that there are 13 months of posts of a myriad of dishes, here is my next week’s menu using some of them and incorporating a few new dishes. As always, the concept behind the menu is to create a varied dining experience throughout the week while optimizing the ingredients without getting burned out. From this menu, I created a targeted shopping list for the ingredients needed so there would be no surprises when I am ready to cook. For those that see this level of effort as restrictive or rigid, having…