Strip Loin Steak

Fern was out for dinner so I had to cook just for myself. Baked potato done in the microwave. Green peppers from the garden and fresh mushrooms sliced. I fried the mushrooms then added the peppers with 1-2 tablespoons beef stock and cooked off the liquid. Sour cream and chives on the potato.  The steak was seasoned with salt and black pepper then brushed with oil and cooked on the BBQ over high heat for 2x2x2x2 minutes to get crossed grill marks on both sides. That was it. I think the plating looks pretty good too. All around, a great meal in under twenty minutes.

Beef Tacos

Fern suggested tacos so of course I immediately jumped on that bandwagon. I bought spinach soft tacos, guacamole and extra lean ground beef, the rest came from the garden. I browned the ground beef with plenty of taco seasoning and salt.  Then I dusted flour over top and cooked it in a minute. I added a splash of beef stock to moisten the meat and put meat on a taco.  On the meat I put grated extra old cheddar and rolled up the taco. I plated it with sour cream on top, guacamole on that and a bit more cheddar on top.  Beside the taco was more guacamole and beans!

Refried Beans

1/2 can pinto beans

salt

lime juice (lemon would have been better)

chopped parsley (cilantro would be better)

beef stock

(chilli powder would have helped too)

Mash the reheated beans with a wooden spoon, stir it all up into a mash and plop it on the plate. 

Vinaigrette

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

salt

chopped parsley

Slice cucumber, half cherry tomatoes and chop a celery stick into small pieces. Toss in the vinaigrette. I served the salad on chiffonade iceberg lettuce which Fern suggested I either include in the salad or leave it off the plate.

Fern said at least twice while eating that it was really good and he typically doesn't like this kind of meal. I inhaled mine. Next time I'll buy refried beans.

Chicken Breast with Peppers

This meal had one goal, use peppers. To that end I bought breasts from Mitchell's and seasoned them with salt and poultry seasoning then dusted them with flour. Then I brushed them with oil and put them in the oven at 400ºF for 20 minutes (they're small). They didn't brown nearly as well as on the BBQ. 

Rice was just basmati rice cooked with salt, olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice.

Dice an onion and sweat it. Add diced peppers and cook till softened. I sprinkled a little flour over top and added a dash of beef stock.  That cooked down quickly and I served it up on my rice with a little soy sauce. Fern had his rice plain. It didn't look as good as it tasted. Next time I'll use the BBQ for the chicken. Plating is still suburban but at least everything goes together well.

Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki from Mitchell's is really good. I can't tell yet what's in it, but they do all the work, so I'm happy to let them keep their secret. All I had to do was brush oil on the meat and BBQ it on high for 10-15 minutes, rotating so it cooks evenly. The rice was simply half beef stock instead of water with a little salt, cooked in the microwave using the moisture sensor. Just push Rice button, it's like magic.

Faux Greek Salad

tomatoes, seeded cucumber and onion diced and sliced

chunk of feta cheese broken on top

2 tsp olive/canola oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

salt

I didn't add black olives, can't remember why. Simple as it was it was good and satisfying. Fern liked the rice, as a change. I think he'd tire of it quickly if I served it all the time. The souvlaki is just yummy, but I didn't season it so can't claim credit. The salad was great. Fresh from the garden tomatoes and cucumbers have so much flavour, how could I miss!

Breaded Pork Cutlet

I had pork cutlets in mind when I went to the store. If there was a pack small enough, I'd buy some. Save On Foods makes a really great tasting breaded pork but they package it up to feed a large family. All their meat is like that, packaged for economy for large families of at least 5 people. The average family is only 3 or 4 people so why target only huge families, I just don't know. If I ask them to break up a package for me, they'll reprice the smaller package so it costs more than buying the larger package. Yes, they actually did that once and then couldn't understand why I wouldn't buy the package I asked for. The original pack had 7 breasts in it for $11. I asked them to give me a pack with two breasts in it. They did and it was priced at $12.65. That got me buying meat from Safeway, Mitchell's and the butcher instead. 

Mashed potatoes and broccoli steamed and finished in olive oil with some salt. The salad is fresh tomatoes and fresh cucumber all from the garden. I did add a few black olives for flavour, I would have put feta cheese in too if I'd had some. I tossed the salad in a:

Vinaigrette

2 tsp olive/canola oil

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper

1/4 tsp ground garlic or fresh 

Whisk and toss the salad in it. I didn't put any condiment with the pork and neither of us missed it. The flavour was great and they weren't too dry.

It probably tasted really, really terrific but because dinner is like that every day, it's not remarkable.

Prawns and Pasta with Romaine, Kale and Tomato Salad

We haven't had prawns and pasta for a while so I suggested it along with a romaine and kale salad. Fern liked the idea so that was it. I put 6 prawns each in cold water to thaw. I had a box of tomato sauce so I only needed to go next door and pilfer some basil. They have lots, they don't mind.

I diced a slice of onion finely and sweated it to golden then added the prawns. I got colour on both sides of the prawns but didn't cook them through. I removed them from the pan. I added tomato sauce to the pan along with a little cayenne. I chopped two tablespoons of basil and added that to the tomato sauce along with salt and pepper. I continued to cook down the sauce while I worked on the salad.

I had romaine torn up for the Caesar salad the other day so I only fleshed it out with chopped kale. I gathered some fresh cherry and plum tomatoes and cut them in half for the salad.

Vinaigrette

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp canola oil

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

salt

pepper

dried basil

Whisk, pour over salad and toss. 

Cook the pasta as desired, strain and add to the sauce. Add the prawns and heat through. Plate and garnish with grated parmesan.

I never seem to get tired of this meal, I guess it's because the salad is always different. 

Pork Souvlaki

It feels like I'm cheating when I buy marinated meat but Mitchell's does such a good job I just can't convince myself I can do better. I'm not sure what they put in their marinade but the pork is delicious. Now that I think about it we tried their chicken breasts and we loved them as well. I've tried other mass produced skewers which were more expensive and they didn't hold a candle to Mitchell's. To cook them I just brush the BBQ grill with oil and put the skewers over medium meat for 15 minutes. I rotated them every few minutes so they cooked evenly on all sides.

The basmati rice is cooked with olive oil, salt and a few drops of lemon juice. The broccoli was steamed and finished in olive oil and salt.

My plating is a relic of my attempts to remove the meat from the skewer without flinging it all over the counter and floor. I use a carving fork to push the first one off then two or three at a time after that.  If they are stuck, push just one piece of meat so you don't fling it across the room when it lets go. I guess I just pushed the meat aside and loaded the broccoli onto the plate. It's all so good it doesn't stay on the plate long enough to matter anyway.