November 2 -- Taco Salads

I like tacos and I like eating the bowl so this is a double win for me. Taco salads are simple and it is much better to make your own taco bowls rather than the store bought bowls.

To make a taco bowl you flip either a ceramic bowl or a coffee mug. Spray with non-stick cooking spray then drape the bowl over the bowl to make the indentation. After 10 minutes at 400, carefully remove the shell from the bowl. I usually use a spatula to carefully flip my bowls. You can allow them to cool on the baking sheet.

For the filling, brown your meat and add taco seasoning. Drain off the fat and set aside then open the balance of your toppings. Place the meat on the bottom, then I like black beans, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cheddar. Make sure all the vegetables are well drained so they don't leak through the bottom of your bowl. Put in a taco bowl, now with the flat bottom down, and put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Add the cold toppings, sour cream, salsa, or guacamole, and enjoy.

October 26 -- Shrimp and Spinach Risotto

Ever since Phyllis shared with me how easy risotto was to make, I've been not afraid to make it. This recipe had it all, hidden vegetables that you don't taste, shrimp, and a fine flavor with only 405 calories and 4 grams of saturated fat.

The recipe is here. The only change I would've made is choosing the larger shrimp. The medium shrimp were small and took a long time to untail. Other than that, I was loyal to the recipe and it came out fine. It was good but may not be so good I'll do it a second time good.

October 19 -- Southwest Chicken

I wanted something quick and easy and this met that requirement. Three cans and some chicken all in one pot. Here's the recipe. One day I threw a dollop of sour cream into the container and that was tasty too. I upped the heat but it didn't get too spicy. This was a winner of a dish that can be made up in a big batch and be parceled out.

October 12 -- Turkey Dinner

I have wanted turkey for a long time but nobody around her carries turkey out of season. Why? I have no idea.

This was standard with no recipe. I purchased turkey cutlets for way too much ($6.49 a pound) and marinated them for an afternoon with a variety of peppers, New Orleans seasoning and black pepper, and a healthy amount of olive oil. It was cooked on a Foreman grill then carved thin. I added mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. It was all very good, especially the turkey.

The turkey got a high compliment from someone at my lunch table. "Boy, that smells good," I'd imagine she's cooked many years as a long time married lady. My food is even starting to smell good to other people!

October 5-- Fast Chicken Parm

This recipe was even more tasty after the flavors had a chance to rest as leftovers. I stole it from Reader's Digest but the link I found is from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The lack of sauce and breading makes this fast and the fear of dripping sauce on myself at work was gone. I loved the idea of making bread crumbs then mixing them with the cheese. I used a bit of asiago that was left over from the salmon two weeks ago. The only mistake I made was skimping on the basil and using stuff from the spice rack that is long dead.

This was a winner that will have to come around again.

September 28 -- Arroz con Pollo, again

Because it was so good the first time, I made another pot of arroz con pollo, yellow rice and chicken. The recipe was from back in April. Here is the write up. I added some broccoli to the rice because I like to hide my vegetables. The recipe did bring up a question from one of my students, his mom makes a similar dish, locrio (accent on the end) con pollo. Locrio has a bit of tomato sauce. That may be coming up soon.

I had so much rice and chicken, I gave away three lunches, all three said it was good. I guess I might be getting good at this thing.

September 21 -- Salmon with Pesto

I was looking for suggestions at work and Maureen in the library had this suggestion.

I took some vacuum packed salmon from Aldi and put it under in the oven for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. It sprinkled it liberally with asiago cheese and let it bake. It came out perfect.

While that was going, I took a cup of olive oil, a bunch of basil, two garlic cloves, a handful of Italian parsley, and a liberal pile of parmesan into the food processor and blended until smooth for a pesto topping. That recipe is here.

I sat the fish on a bed of white rice mixed with more parmesan and some black pepper.