Burnt dinner blues

I thought I had concocted a wonderful and tasty meal last night…using the various items found in the my fridge that either needed to be used fast or tossed in a day or two. It was a stove top meal based on chicken tetrazinni and included fresh cubed chicken breasts, chopped onion and mushrooms, minced garlic, some chopped broccoli, home made chicken broth and cooked leftover plain spaghetti. My final touch- a little embarrassing to admit but seriously- it tasted good! was a can of good old cream of mushroom soup. Comfort food at it’s best! I gave it a little taste, then another, then after a few minutes thought ‘The heck with it’ and prepared a small plate to gobble up right then…too hungry to wait for hubby.Unfortunately, I had turned up the heat for my ‘sampler plate’ and forgot to turn it down again. I went upstairs, happy with the thought of dinner done and got back to work on my computer. Due to my defective olfactory bulbs I didn’t realize that I was burning the crap out of our dinner. I went back down and the main floor was filled with smoke! I guess the smoke alarm was on the fritz too-not good for someone like me. After turning the heat off and moving the pan of blacked pasta and chicken off the heat, I flung open front and back doors and waited for the smoke to clear. Frank has since tested the alarm and it’s good to go. I guess the magnet on my fridge has a semblance of truth, ‘Dinner is ready when the smoke alarm goes off’. I’ll try to be more careful in the future!

Bean Dip is a Winnah!

Last month I entered my summer bean dip recipe in the Bullfrog Power Vegetarian Recipes Content- it was a winner! Yay! I am the happy recipient of a $50 gift certificate to Grassroots. This recipe was inspired by one Sharon made a few years back but I tweeked it and changed it until it suited us better. It’s healthy and very adaptable…try it!

Bean Dip / Salad

• 19 oz. mixed beans (romano, kidney, chickpea)
• 19 oz. black beans
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• ½ cup finely chopped green peppers
• ½ cup finely chopped red peppers
• ½ cup finely chopped yellow peppers
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 – 1 ½ cups of salsa
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Drain & rinse both cans of beans in a colander.
Put into a large bowl and add vegetables and cilantro.
Stir to combine and then add salsa.
Stir again to combine, taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Do not mash up…it’s served chilled with a spoon and ‘scoop’ style tortilla chips.
You just put a little into each chip and pop in your mouth!

This will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.

*Also delicious as a salad on a bed of lettuce or stuffed into a pita. A great way to use up leftovers is to mix with cooked rice and serve hot or cold as a salad. Add extra fresh chopped cilantro, parsley and serve on a bed of lettuce (if cold).

Strange combo but good!

Fridge Items: leftover grilled salmon (overdone to the point of contemplating pitching it) Freshly ground lean turkey (must use today)…plus all the odds & sods in the fridge.

Dinner: Fish & Potato Herb Chowder followed by Turkey Meatball Sandwiches with freshly grated Romano, grilled onions, red & banana peppers on dark Farmers bread.

Managed to use up so many items I already had, leftover fish, celery, a carrot, a small potato, 1/2 an onion, about 8 quartered mushrooms, saute then add a little flour, milk, veggie stock, fresh herbs- Frank raved about the soup.

The meatballs are easy of course, mix the ground turkey with minced onion, garlic, some italian seasoning. Saute until browned. Then I sauteed the garlic and sliced onion and chopped up a banana pepper I grew in the garden and a red pepper too. Yum. I had bought a gorgeous fresh loaf of dark Farmer’s Bread so cut 1/2 ” thick slices, topped one side with tomato sauce, the other with freshly grated romano and then broiled a few minutes until melted and slightly crispy. Topped with meatballs and sauteed onions and peppers and sliced in half. Really tasty if I do say so myself!