What's for Dinner, Wed., Sept. 22, 2021

[NJCher]

I'm starting off with an appetizer using a new kind of cracker I bought. It's called "artisanal"--it's sweet potato and "ancient" grains, and is it ever good with a little touch of blue cheese salad dressing and some thinly sliced ham.

Creamy leek soup with mushrooms and cauliflower.

Another new product I'm trying is Gardeins sausages. Plant-based. That will go alongside the soup.

Dessert will be a chocolate chip waffle with coffee ice cream and a few shavings of chocolate quinoa bar on top. Cup of iced decaf coffee.

[lkinwi]

1. Pecan crusted chicken breast, fried cabbage

[Luciferous]

2. We're having potato soup and biscuits.

I made brownies yesterday so one of those for dessert.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. Gnocchi and sauce

Big tossed green salad
Ice cream

[irisblue]

4. An Italian lentil soup recipe from Budget Bytes and garlic bread

https://www.budgetbytes.com/chunky-lentil-vegetable-soup/

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
1 yellow onion ($0.50)
½ lb. carrots (3-4 carrots) ($0.55)
3 ribs celery ($0.80)
1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)---I had chickpeas
1 cup brown lentils ($0.31)
1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
Freshly ground black pepper ($0.05)
1 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes ($0.85)
4 cups vegetable broth* ($0.52)
1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
INSTRUCTIONS
Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Sauté both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until the onions are tender. Meanwhile, slice the celery and peel and slice the carrots. Add the celery and carrots to the pot and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more.
Drain the can of black beans and add it to the pot along with the diced tomatoes (with juices), dry lentils, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Finally, add the vegetable broth, and stir to combine.
Increase the heat to medium high and allow the pot to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, place a lid on top, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, test the lentils to make sure they are tender. If not, continue to simmer until they are tender.**
Taste the soup and add salt as needed (I added 1/2 tsp). Serve hot.


Brown lentils take about 20-30 minutes to cook, green or French lentils take closer to 45 minutes to cook.

It does smell good as it is simmering

[MissMillie]

5. leftover chicken

along w/ the rice from last night.

I made a gravy to put over the chicken & rice.

buttered beets


dessert: I baked a homemade chocolate cake.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. Spousal unit requested "comfort food"

so we are having "porcupine balls" aka porcupine meatballs, made in the instant pot. I've discovered I can make these in any number of varieties, using whatever jarred or bottled sauces I happen to have on hand and whatever ground meat I have. Tonight I had ground beef, so I offered him a choice of marinara, teriyaki, molé, or BBQ. He chose molé.

Accompanying these will be whole green beans and "chop salad" from the jar of that made last week.

[Cairycat]

7. Skillet apple cider chicken

very autumnal. We had it over boiled new potatoes, and accompanied by green beans. I found the recipe, but my weeknight chef (my son) cooked it.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/275905/skillet-apple-cider-chicken/

[csziggy]

8. Salad and chicken and yellow rice from scratch

I've been eating chicken and yellow rice all my life and other than the times I had it at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, I made it from Vigo brand kits. This time I wanted to make from scratch. While often the yellow rice is colored and flavored with saffron, I made it with turmeric today and noticed little difference in flavor. I sort of made my own recipe based on several from the internet and a couple from my cookbooks.

About 3 pounds of chicken (I used 2 huge boneless breasts and three thighs (bone in but I removed the skin)
powdered turmeric and cumin
olive oil
2 small yellow onions, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 cup brown rice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, drained

Cut chicken into desired pieces, sprinkle with turmeric and cumin. Let marinate in refrigerator for an hour.
Heat olive oil in large pan, add onions and cook until soft; add garlic and cook for about a minute.
Add bell pepper and cook until soft.
Stir in rice and spices, stir to blend.
Add chicken broth, stir, and bring to a boil. Place chicken pieces into pan, return to boil. After it comes to a boil again, reduce temperature to a simmer.
Cook for 30 minutes. Add peas and drained diced tomatoes. Turn over chicken pieces, stirring the rice mixture.
Cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve with black beans and salad.

NOTE: As you can see, I do not add salt as I cook. If you prefer and your health allows, add salt to taste.