Food on Friday ~ Easy Lunches
Time is an illusion ~ lunchtime doubly so…..
So many people either grab something from the deli, or supermarket, or just eat out at lunchtime. Actually, at weekends there’s no reason even a working person should do that. It’s perfectly possible to prepare and cook a great lunch in about 30 minutes at home, and that way you know exactly what you’re eating without having to puzzle over just what’s in your lunch burrito. And, if you make lunch, (or supper), at home, then you’re going to have some great leftovers to take to work the following day.
From Dianes Kitchen there’s this wonderful-looking crab meat Frittata. Now, while I like both frittata and crab this is a combination I’ve never thought of. I agree with Diane, this dish would be great at breakfast, lunch, or supper ~ or for something to take to work the following day.
Crab Meat Fritatta
Chungah at Damn Delicious has a recipe for creamy red pepper shells, I think this dish would make a wonderful lunch along with a glass of Italian or Californian red wine, and maybe a hunk of crusty bread. I think I could whip this together in 30 minutes, and it’s another dish to take to work the following day.
Creamy Red Pepper Shells
Well then, Tiffany at Creme de la Crumb invites us to try this dish of Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers, which she assures us are the BEST healthy stuffed peppers you’ll ever eat. If you don’t want your peppers too hot, then choose green and not red. As well as ground beef and rice you could use a host of similar Southern and Californian ingredients to make you stuffed peppers luncheon. I guess you could make this dish in 30 ~ 45 minutes.
Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Here’s an awesomely artistic dish from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest; Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing. This is big, green, nutritious, filling, and healthy. OK, so this may be a 40 minute recipe, but there are so many cheats and shortcuts into making this that I think preparing this dish just takes as long as you want to take.
Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing
I am very well aware that you American guys like your mac and cheese, so just for you here’s a recipe. Found for us by Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes this dish, by Aaron Hutcherson, combines two classic American comfort foods into Chili Mac and Cheese.
Chili Mac and Cheese
This week’s collection is brought to us by Good Housekeeping who have no less than 70 Healthy Lunch Ideas That Will Actually Keep You Full Until Dinner ~ wow! From this collection I’ve chosen to feature a Kale and Roasted Cauliflower Salad ~ even I like to be healthy sometimes. Anyhow you can make this dish in 25 minutes, and as well as being a good lunch or supper, it will make a good side for any of the other dishes featured in this weeks Food on Friday.
Kale and Roasted Cauliflower Salad
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Marmaduke isn’t a big fan of Mac and Cheese
and then again, neither am I
Food on Friday ~ New Year’s
What the New Year brings to our tables will depend on what we bring to the New Year.
Next Year I will have a new focus for each week’s food on Friday ~ concentrating on recipes, foods, and dishes to enhance our wellbeing, health, and happiness. I have no doubt whatsoever that the great cooks I have featured thus far in this series of blog posts will be more than up to the challenge of our creating a healthier lifestyle, while still retaining each of their unique signature styles.
But, for this last Food on Friday of 2018, I want to show you some recipes and dishes which will be great to offer your guests at whatever New Year’s get-together or wild party you are hosting.
No part would be complete without a great cheese board, so from San Diego cook Averie Sunshine we have ideas on just how to make the best cheese board. I really like that Averie uses prosciutto on her cheese boards! Me, I like to have a soft blue cheese, or maybe just a good old English Stilton. There are as many wines to drink with cheese as there are cheeses, but with Stilton it should be a good warm port.
The Very Best Cheese Board
Should you want to drink beer at New Year, then what about having these spinach and artichoke stuffed soft pretzels to go with your brew? From Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. Of course, what we English call beer and the fizzy pop the rest of the world drinks are two very different ales.
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels
So, if you live by the sea, then you should serve a dish that reflects that. I guess none of you live on the Chesapeake, but from Dianes Kitchen I offer you this Chesapeake Crab Strata. Serve it like slices of pizza. Here in the North East of England we get some really great crab from the cold North Sea. Some say you should drink a Pinot Grigo with crab, but I would always prefer a cold Verdicchio.
Chesapeake Crab Strata
After my recent trip to Albuquerque I said that I would never eat meatloaf again ~ but brought to us by Elise Bauer at Simply Recipies here’s an idea for bbq meatloaf bites. Now I know that the chef, Nick Evans, intended these to be part of a meal for kids ~ but after a few drinks all men are just kids anyhow. As far as I’m concerned you can drink whatever the fuck hell you like with meatloaf….. personally I would choose a red Cotes du Rhone Villages.
BBQ Meatloaf Bites
From Chungah at Damn Delicious there’s this new recipe collection; 15 best quick and easy New Year’s Eve appetisers….. My favourite dish here is this really clean-looking dish of lemon garlic shrimp kabobs ~ try these with a really cold vodka martini.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Kabobs
And finanally for 2018, from Country Living Magazine, we have a collection of 40 unbelievably easy New Year’s Eve appetisers. From this collection I like the look of these smoked salmon and cream cheese cucumber bites. Just how easy is that? If you want to show some real class, then you drink single malt whisky with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Cucumber Bites
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
not many are man enough to drink Laphroaig
Food on Friday ~ Comfort Food (Soups)
Comfort food is absolutely moving upscale.
Here in England the weather outside my garret is cold, dark, frosty, wet, and very windy. Like a lot of people around here I’ve just got over the flu, and I still feel cold and shivery. What I need to eat most is something hot, nourishing, and comforting ~ like a bowl of home-made soup.
These great soup recipes are mostly easy to make, don’t cost so much, but are absolutely upscale meals you could serve to any guest.
Ergo, first up this week, from Jessica Merchant at How Sweet Eats, we have this silky ginger sweet potato soup. I love the idea of adding fresh ginger to a soup recipe. This recipe is vegan I think.
Silky Ginger Sweet Potato Soup
Another pretty soup, this time from Petra at Food Eat Love; celeriac and cumin soup with watercress. This looks as though it would keep us warm in the cold winter nights. Cumin is an interesting spice with lots of health benefits.
Celeriac and Cumin Soup with Watercress
Chungah at Damn Delicious has this great recipe for roasted cauliflower soup, with lots of garlic and herbs. Looks fabulous to me!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
From Amanda at Chez Le Rêve Français we have a recipe for fat-free potato and leek soup ~ and I do love leek and potato soup. This recipe is pretty easy, fat-free, and gluten-free. Oh so warming on a cold winter’s day.
Fat-Free Potato and Leek Soup
Dana at Minimalist Baker has a fantastic recipe for a 1-pot everyday lentil soup ~ and I do love one-pot recipes. This recipe uses just 10 ingredients and should only take you 30 minutes to make. If you don’t like lentils you could use white beans or chickpeas instead.
One-Pot Everyday Lentil Soup
Here’s a very interesting and filling soup from In Diane’s Kitchen; Cajun shrimp, hot sausage & pasta soup ~ Wow! This recipe is chock full of noodles, hot Italian sausage, shrimp, and a really great broth.
Cajun Shrimp, Hot Sausage, and Pasta Soup
And last but not least for this week we have a cool recipe from Averie Sunshine at Averie Cooks; easy 30-minute homemade chicken noodle soup. I like easy recipes you can prepare in 30 minutes or less.
Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
A big thank you to all the great cooks featured in this week’s Food on Friday.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Marmaduke’s comfort food is
a couple of soft-boiled eggs
Food on Friday ~ Winter Soups
The most beautiful foods for this cold winter season.
We have just had the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. When winter comes howling in like a wolf perhaps only a hot, nourishing bowl of soup will do.
These days we don’t have to rely on ‘seasonal’ vegetables, our stores hold a wide range throughout the year, so these recipes include things that my mom couldn’t have made in winter when I was are kid.
So everyone, here are some totally smashing recipes for winter soups.
I know that in Southern California you can still get squash at the store. So perhaps my friend in Orange County will like this recipe for butternut squash soup with toasted seeds and crispy sage leaves from Yvette’s Gourmet Kitchen. I’m pretty certain this dish is vegan.
Butternut Squash Soup with Toasted Seeds & Crispy Sage Leaves
This is a real ‘stick to your ribs’ recipe from Heather Christo; roasted sweet potato and butternut squash soup with cilantro sauce. Just the job for this freezing cold weather. You could make this as a vegetarian dish if you used vegetable stock rather than chicken stock. Just how colourful is this!?
Roasted Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup with Cilantro Sauce.
Another sweet potato soup. This time Cookie + kate have a sweet potato, kale, and chickpea soup. Kate says this is a hearty and delicious one-pot meal, and I like one-pot recipes. As far as I can tell this recipe is vegan and gluten-free, and will only take you 45 minutes to make.
Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup.
For a healthy, colourful, and easy to make soup, you could try this creamy roasted red pepper tomato soup from Dana, the Minimalist Baker. This 30 minute recipe is vegan, (it uses coconut milk), full of antioxidants, and looks delicious. If you check out this recipe there are also links to a half-dozen more soup recipes from Dana.
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup
I absolutely love the look of this french onion and potato soup from Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest. And, you have just got to do the cheesy bread topping. What a great lunch, or maybe you could have it as a starter, (without the cheesy bread topping).
French Onion and Potato Soup
If you want a filling soup that really is a meal all by itself then you couldn’t do much better than this creamy tortellini soup from In Dianes Kitchen. Seems that this is version #2 of this soup ~ maybe you should check out version #1 too. Diane also has a recipe for a delicious creamy potato soup, and a really rich loaded potato soup.
Creamy Tortellini Soup
This week’s collection is from delicious magazine. Their winter soup recipes include this fabulous looking and great sounding smoked bacon, leek, and butter bean chowder from Debbie Major. I have to try this recipe.
Smoked Bacon, Leek, and Butter Bean Chowder
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Marmaduke and I
Wish You A Merry Christmas
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