Quick week-day one hour Jambalaya

This was actually a Sunday Family Dinner recipe, but it turned out so good and was so quick, I'll make it on a weekday next time. We always have some sort of sausage in the freezer, and with the addition of a few basic veggies from the fridge - a delish dinner with lots of leftovers is 45 minutes away.

Normally recipes call for Andouille sausage and fiery spices, but there isn't any reason you can't just use Farmer sausage like what happened to be in our freezer. I toned way down the fiery seasoning as well so SSO wouldn't melt. It may not be Jambalaya but it sure tastes awesome. I actually used the "Emeril's Essence" seasoning I've had in my cupboard for a longtime but never paid attention to. I did a bit of googling and turns out it is simply a Creole seasoning mix - a basic combination of paprika, onion powder, pepper, cayenne, oregano, and a couple of other things.

Quick week-day one hour Jambalaya

Next Time: not much I would do differently

Me: 10/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10

Mid-week pan-salmon with veggie rice and peas & corn

Ok that just won the award for the most awkward blog post title. I was really stoked making this for some reason. It turned out good, even approaching great, but didn't quite live up to my expectations. I think it is because the flavours were too similar. I think if I added some crunch to the veggies it would've made it much better. Like corn flakes or something (they seem to be doing that a lot lately on "the cooking shows"; I saw it twice on the Bobby Flay show, and once on Iron Chef).

In any case, this Thursday meal was a crossroads of sorts.  If I were to characterize it further I would say it is the meeting of necessity, opportunity, and inspiration, although not necessarily in equal proportions. The necessity was "we need to eat", and "we only have celery and mushrooms in the fridge for veggies" (probably the biggest portion). The opportunity, well that is "I got home early and I have time to make this without having to rush out of the house delivering SSO to some activity" (second biggest portion). Finally, the inspiration was what ended up being the preparation and combination of ingredients and flavours. Smallest portion.

First, let's marinate the salmon for 30 minutes while I clean the kitchen and do some prep.

Fresh salmon steaks, marinating in maple syrup,
teriyaki sauce, and dijon mustard

Next, I'll start the rice. I'll fry up the celery a bit, add the mushrooms, then the rice. Mix for a bit, then add water with chicken bouillon (I like the Epicure stuff, it isn't overloaded with sodium like other pre-made stuff).

Rice with celery, mushrooms, and chicken stock

Now start the veggies. Brown up the mushrooms in butter - slowly, but get a good brown on them. Then, add frozen corn and peas, mix it all up. Simmer it on the back burner, and heat up a pan for the salmon. It should be pretty hot, if not smoking hot. Two or three minutes per side with the lid on (to prevent the house from smelling like fish for the rest of the week).  Plate it all, wow looks delish, especially for a Thursday.

The pan salmon with veggie rice, and peas & corn

Next Time: I would spice things differently, maybe try different veggies

Me: 7/10
SO: n/a
SSO: 9/10

Baked Chicken Rollups

If only chicken wasn't so expensive these days, I'd make recipes like this more often.  Seriously, 5 chicken breasts for almost $25? What the heck are they feeding these things? In any case, this is a good family meal since there is lots of leftovers, and everyone likes it.  And there's that 'easy' factor as well. A big difference here I think is using good quality sliced ham. Not pre-packaged stuff that you wonder if it's actually ham or not, but something that looks and smells like a real ham. Sliced a bit thinner than regular, and slices at least as big as pre-sliced swiss cheese.

Pounding the chicken is kind of fun, thin enough to roll, but don't get too overzealous or it'll have see-through holes like an old quilt. Or socks. I put it in a zip-lock to avoid splatter. Cling wrap I find doesn't work so well.

Pound the chicken flat in a zip-lock

I had a great idea as I was doing this.  I sliced off the filet part of each breast, and cooked them up like bonus chicken fingers. This was ideal for SSO, and the filet doesn't add anything to the roll-up anyway.

Out of the oven, making use of the filets
for some bonus chicken strips

I should have sliced it up for a much nicer presentation - you can see all the layers that way. Oh well, we were so hungry I barely had time to snap off a photo let alone present it well. Since it was Sunday (I think that was the reason?) let's low-brow it and do tater tots alongside.

Chicken roll-up, tater tots, and cuke slices

Next time: SO thought it wasn't cheesy enough, although it was fine for me.

Me: 9/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 7/10

Yet another Hummus recipe

Not sure what possessed me to make hummus again. And then actually blog about it. If you check Instagram, Pinterest, or even Twitter these days, there abounds many recipes for hummus - many of which don't even contain chick peas. There is also many a substitute for the tahini, or just plain strange additions like peppers, peanut butter, beets, ginger, pretty much anything.

I like a more traditional hummus with actual garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. I do like experimenting though, so I added black beans, jalapenos, and chili flakes. I figure SSO won't eat this anyway so might as well spice it up a bit. So I guess I'm no different than all those others - time to get an Instagram account.  On a side note, I haven't bothered with that since a) it is a lot of work self-promoting yourself, and let's face it that's what you have to do - I mean why bother otherwise; and b) although I'm a decent photographer when it comes to my family or landscapes or whatever, I can't seem to take good food photos. I know the theory, just can't seem to put it into practice. This one is a bit better, but I've had some pretty horrid ones. Thing is, I break a lot of the "rules". I usually whip out my cell phone as it is easier, it is often at night so the lighting sucks, and I'm in a rush making supper so no time for setup let alone a tripod.

More or less traditional hummus, except with
black beans and hot peppers

This turned out a bit "nutty", think I was a bit heavy on the tahini. I would make it creamier next time as well. Not less chunky, but less thick. Maybe try for some bolder flavors. It still rocks on crackers though.

Next time: less tahini or more chick peas, maybe a bit of lemon rind or different spices

Me: 8/10
SO: 7/10
SSO: n/a

Sausage Pasta Casserole

Once in a while we go back to an old recipe from years ago. In this case, it was from a book given to SO by her aunt, called "The Best of Bridge". It says they sold a million copies. Made in Canada, it contains old fashioned meat and potato staples passed down by Moms and Grandmas for years. This recipe is your basic pasta casserole. I "adapted" it slightly, I can't believe they would really suggest adding 3 cups sour cream and a full pound of cheese. Talk about the Paula Deen school of cooking. SO has a good butcher near her work downtown, and brought home some nice sausage on Friday. So we'll use that instead of ground beef. The rest is pretty straight forward. I made extra to ensure lots of leftovers for lunches.

Sausage Pasta Casserole - ready to go in the oven

Was pretty awesome in the end. Glad I cut back on the cheese and sour cream. A good spicy sausage really makes it I think.

The leftovers - 7 lunches ready to go

Next Time: More sausage, and maybe more mushrooms

Me: 8/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 5/10