Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw

Another good idea from SO. I think it came about because we had half a cabbage left in the fridge. The first half of it went to "Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls" last week, which should be another post. In any case, this was easy to throw together and very delicious. Has that Asian flair from the 5 spice on the chicken, and the dressing is slightly spicy with fresh cilantro and ginger and a few of the "usual" flavours like rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and a bit of hot sauce. Round it out with some Edamame, peanuts, and some sprouts.

Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw

Everything about this has a fresh taste - the grated carrot, the fresh cilantro, the sprouts. Kind of an Asian take on the Chicken Caesar in a way. I've never been a big lettuce fan, but this I could eat every week.

Next time: I would crank up the spice a bit. The sprouts give it some crunch, but maybe a sprinkle of those dried chow mein noodles would help.

Me: 9/10
SO: 9.5/10
SSO: n/a

Shepherd's Pie

EDIT 15 Nov, 2015: I think I found a version that the family likes better. Just little things can make a big difference it seems. I tried pork instead of beef, omitted the garlic, celery, and carrots, and substituted regular frozen corn and frozen peas. A bit of beef broth keeps it moist, and maybe a tad less Worcestershire. I added this as version #2 below.

Shepherd's Pie - version 2

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This is probably one of my all-time fav dishes, probably top 3 ever. When you look up "comfort food" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Shepherd's Pie.  There are as many variations as there are people who make this I think. My fav is close to "traditional", except I don't use lamb. This is also one of those dishes that is almost better the next day. Yea, hot lunches for work!

Beef, carrot, onion, & celery mixture.

The one big difference is cream style corn. That is the secret ingredient. Gives it a nice creamy texture, and prevents the dish from being too dry. I'm not one for gravy or stock in the beef layer, and I don't like the potatoes to be too smooth. Normally cheese on anything is awesome, but I don't like cheese in or on this. In my opinion it ruins the rustic and simple nature of the dish So a straight-forward ground-beef layer, a moist corn layer, and a rough-mashed potato layer. Perfect.


Next Time: sometimes SO likes peas mixed in the middle, but I prefer not.

Me: 10/10
SO: 8/10  update: version #2 is 10/10
SSO: 7/10 (with cheese on the side and little to no middle layer)

Almost Vegan Black Bean Soup

Another great supper made by SO, who had a craving for black beans lately. Delicious, not too thin, warming on a cool night. The almost vegan part is because of the late addition of crushed Doritos for some crunch and a blob of sour cream. You'd have to pick vegetable broth over chicken broth obviously. That is about as close to a vegan dish as you'll find on this blog, except for salads I suppose. And salsas. And granola bars. Never mind.

(almost vegan) Black Bean Soup

I would normally not crunch up Doritos in a soup, but we had dozens of those little tiny 16g bags left over from Halloween. Hate to waste. Other then that, I think the fresh cilantro and a bit of hot sauce made the dish.

Next Time: a different ingredient for the crunch

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