What I Made for Dinner: March 10, 2009

Chicken and black bean tacos.

I served the tacos with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red bell peppers, green onions, shredded carrots, guacamole, and shredded cheese. Mandarin orange sections on the side.

This was Meal No. 3 from the roast chicken on Friday night. I departed from Gourmet's suggestion of gyro sandwiches because I already had taco shells and the right kind of cheese. (Also because in a weak moment, I bought an institutional-size box of taco seasoning from Costco. We need to eat a lot of tacos to make that bargain pay off.)

So the answer is yes, it is possible to get at least three dinners for five people out of two chickens. In fact, we have enough leftovers, of both the chicken pie and the taco mixture, to make about four individual lunches. If I had been conservative, I definitely could have stretched the meat for one more dinner. (It would have been a stir-fry.) Inner frugal housewife is very pleased with herself.

What I Made for Dinner: March 2, 2009

Chicken tikka masala, roast cauliflower, Clara's Depression lentils and rice.

For the tikka masala, I used an Archer Farms jarred sauce from Target. It was pretty good but way spicier than any tikka masala I've ever gotten from an Indian restaurant. I added milk to make it edible for us.

The real story here is the lentils and rice, which I made in honor of the stock market. It's a recipe from Great Depression Cooking with Clara, http://www.youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking. Clara and that whole video project are awesome. I highly recommend checking it out, both for the historical value and also for ideas for inexpensive, simple, tasty dishes.

My plan is to make all of her recipes. So this is my inaugural effort, and it was really easy and good! I was a little worried the kids wouldn't even touch the lentils, because lentils just don't look that appetizing when cooked. So I had a flash of inspiration and told them: Guys, this is something Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder's mothers would have made, so it's like a pioneer dish. (Josh was immediately hooked. "I love pioneer stuff!") So when you eat it, I want you to imagine you worked hard on the farm all day in the snow, and this is the hot meal on the table when you came in. (That got Alex for some reason.)

So okay, my characterization was off by like sixty years. But it got them to try it and they loved it!

For next time, however, I must remember that a bag of lentils and a cup of rice makes a pot big enough to feed a family of ten.

What I Made for Dinner: February 9, 2009

Nordstrom tomato-basil soup and pressed sandwiches.

Cub Scout Night = easy dinner.

Pressed sandwiches are so simple. The good people at Williams-Sonoma would like us all to believe that you need this to make panini: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku7117047/popup.cfm?tool=vLarger.

It is very shiny and gourmet looking. You could maybe open a sandwich stand with it. It retails for $249.95.

If you are having cash flow issues these days--and, well, anyone who is anyone is having cash flow issues--Williams-Sonoma obliges with this budget item: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku4635009/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1|16|||0|||||||panini%20press&cm_src=SCH

which Le Creuset offers for a mere $80. If Bernie Madoff stole your retirement fund, you could go for the LeCreuset.

You know what I use to make panini? A cast iron skillet, and a cast iron skillet. And the sandwiches are lovely to behold. Although I bet they'd taste better if I had fancier equipment.

What I Made for Dinner: February 2, 2009

Roast chicken with carrots and potatoes; sauteed spinach; garlic toast.

There are many things to love about my job; one of them is that I do not have to go to the office on Mondays or Tuesdays. This weekend was so busy I had no time to cook, except for competition chili. So today, I made a big roast meal. It's actually easier than it sounds, because it only takes about ten minutes to get the chicken and veggies ready to go into the oven, and then I don't have to do anything else while it cooks (which takes about two hours).

The chicken came out well, and I made an extra one so I can make a fast pasta dish, with shredded leftover chicken, later this week when I get home late from work.

I make garlic toast with Costco's roasted garlic loaf. I just split it open, brush it with olive oil, and toast it in the oven. It's delicious, but we can't think of anything creative to do with the leftovers (other than just reheating and re-serving).

I am very serious about using leftovers. I have an inner Depression-era housewife. For example, tonight's chicken will get used twice more, once for that pasta dish and once for chicken salad for lunch. Usually, when I roast chicken I boil the carcass to make stock, but not tonight because I already have a freezer door full of stock.

I will, however, be making banana muffins with the black bananas sitting on my fruit stand.