The Holidays are generally ridiculous crazy. I’m sure I’m not the only one in that boat. And after the holidays there are often times when I end up sick or just feeling sluggish. But I usually try to come to my own rescue by planning ahead during the holidays. The first thing I do (preferably during the holidays) is freeze the extra turkey in cubes–perfect for salads or soup. I also make turkey stock and freeze it. It’s an easy process and the benefits are reaped big time later….
I don’t know if it’s really conveyed here (I try really hard to hide it), but I’m not a vegetable eater. They just don’t do it for me. I’m sure I don’t get the daily recommended produce requirement barely ever, and those I do get are usually fruits. I’ve always been a “sweets” person, so I’m sure that’s a huge part of it.…
Whatever day this recipe walked off the Turbinado Sugar package and into our family was a really good day. Honestly, this was sortof the first thing I ever liked that had actual Cayenne Pepper in it! Not only did I like them, I actually REQUESTED them from my mom whenever the Autumn leaves started changing. In law school, I made these for my roommate one year, and forever-more, they will be deemed “Yum” because that’s what he and all his friends called them.
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I have to say, the Fall is probably the one time a year I actually have an easy time coming up with recipes for “Meatless Mondays.” The harvest is abundant and I love the produce which comes out of it. Tomatoes are no exception. A good tomato can seriously make me fall in love. I had an acquaintance in law school who found out I loved food. He offered me a bag of fresh, home-grown tomatoes from his family’s Napa garden, and I’m not sure I would be exaggerating if I said this was the moment I knew we had to be friends. He brought me so many tomatoes that year I had to make pasta with tomatoes three times just to make sure I didn’t let any of the beautiful, multi-colored fruit go to waste–and that was with eating salads and raw tomatoes almost every day for approximately 2-3 weeks in the interim.
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Saturdays on the Hungry Dater tend to be slightly eclectic. But the standard themes of a Saturday night tend to be two things for me: dates and dinner parties. Sometimes they go hand in hand, but always they include some great food.
Today’s recipe is a great one for appetizers at any kind of get-together from a BBQ, to a Cinco de Mayo party, to a Fall dinner.
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An actual meatless recipe for “Meatless” Mondays this week, though admittedly, you probably want to eat this with something else as it’s not a meal in itself. I make this slaw frequently in the summer because it goes so well with traditional BBQ (including the Ribs posted here). Depending on what kind of meal I’m making, there are often times I won’t use all the dressing it calls for. Sometimes I’ll even add vinegar to the recipe to cut the mayo and make it feel a tiny bit healthier, while still making sure all the cabbage is covered. However, when it’s the mate for traditional BBQ, for a special occasion, that is the perfect time to use this recipe just as it is.
Welcome to summer BBQ! Happy Cooking!
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Happy Monday again, Hungry Daters! We have another recipe this week that’s only “meatless” in the way that it’s mostly veggies. If there’s one thing I like for lunches, it’s a good hearty soup. Soups are also a great way for me (a non-veggie lover) to get in extra veggies. Don’t get me wrong… It’s not that I don’t like veggies, necessarily. It’s more just that there are so many other good things to eat…. Like cupcakes or ice cream. But the “Meatless” Mondays on The Hungry Dater are a great way for me to encourage myself (as well as all of you) that veggies can be tasty and delicious. 🙂
Minestrone soup is FULL of great veggies. But, as you guys probably have already noticed, I love the depth of flavor that meat, and more specifically pork, gives a dish like this. Hence the addition of some crisped pancetta. One pot of this is full of protein, vegetables, and nutrients and is a great thing to have on hand for a week’s worth of lunches. It also freezes excellently!
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For my whole life, my mom has
been a great cook. I was lucky enough to have her throughout school as a homemaker who shuttled me around and made sure I got to eat dinner every night before or after whatever lesson or rehearsal it was I had that night.
Of course, when a family has kids who have schedules like this, there is a certain amount of “do what works” that comes out when making dinner. That is how the “regulars” are born. The recipe below became one of our family’s regulars during high school, but it is flavorful enough to survive throughout all these years. Today, it is one of my “regulars,” easy enough to be quickly made and consumed on a busy work night, but fun and interesting enough to have some friends over for a movie or game night. It even occurred to me to use this recipe on a Meatless Monday since it’s veggie based, but there’s nothing stopping us from putting it back in the rotation at some point. It’s that good….
Happy New Year!!!
I realize that January is over half way over, so a post on New Year’s Resolutions is a bit late. But, since the idea behind resolutions is that they last the whole year, I guess 15 days doesn’t hurt.
I have a friend who posted on Facebook the other day that he wished it was finally February so that all of the Resolutioners would be gone and the gym would be less crowded. Honestly, I really dislike making New Years’ Resolutions, and this is why. I don’t like the idea that to start a new habit, the New Year has to happen. I also don’t like that two thirds of the time, resolutions fall to the wayside as soon as January is over. That being said, the New Year does present a clean slate in which to outline a slightly new routine, and perhaps a slightly new me.
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