Open faced ground beef with tomato sauce on spinach

We haven't been cooking much lately - pretty much due to the fact that we have no kitchen. Literally. Kitchen renovations are exciting, expensive, and disruptive. And for us, we have experienced scope creep, so it is encompassing almost the entire first level of our house now. Everything is covered in plastic, and we have no more inner walls in the kitchen area, no dishwasher or stove, very little counter space and a temporary sink. Oh yeah, and no lights, and only a couple working plugs. We did keep our fridge, which rolls around as required plugged in to an extension cord, and we use a construction work light. The microwave works, and is perched on box.  All this to say it is hard to cook anything. We've been BBQ'ing a bit, and we have a university style two burner deal. But we have to unplug the fridge temporarily to use it. But really, it is exciting to know what is coming!

Open-faced ground beef with tomato sauce on spinach

When SO threw this concoction together, it was like decadent heaven!  Objectively, it really was tasty, although that was mostly due to the tomato sauce that was made by our Italian friend (no really). The other part was the bun which is fresh from the Portuguese bakery, sold at our local butcher, along with the ground beef we used. We did this in the slow cooker, but that was just convenience for us. It was not browned, but it was soft and tender. Browning the meat is just too complicated for our current setup, plus not everyone thinks that you have to get that Maillard reaction going every time meat comes out of the fridge. There are also in between views on the topic - see Alton's opinion.  Finally, add some spinach between everything just so there is something green and healthy in the mix.

Next Time:  maybe try Alton's dual method, i.e. brown only part of the meat

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

Spicy chicken with black beans and rice, with crispy topping

Two things off the top:  One - SO came up with the whole plan for this dish, and two - we couldn't figure out exactly what to call it, hence the awkward name.  In any case, it turned out great and was very easy. Was one of the first meals in one of our new pots. Learned the hard way about how to cook with them as well. It turns out you need a much lower temperature. The copper core distributes heat very efficiently and quickly, and the weight of them really holds the heat. Since we just donated our rice cooker to someone, we made rice in one pot and used our new saucier (aka chef's pan) for the chicken. Here's a link if you are curious.

Spicy chicken with black beans and rice, with crispy topping

A few changes would make this even better. I would put in some hot peppers, and sprinkle with some fresh cilantro at the end. Maybe try a different sort of rice. The crispy topping is just crunched-up dipping nacho chips. Don't underestimate the power of a little crunch!  It (almost) made the dish.

Next Time: chilis, and fresh cilantro, maybe even a bit of corn

Me: 8/10
SO: 10/10
SSO: 8/10  (really! he went from almost running away from the sight, to wow this is pretty yummy)

Lettuce-wrapped Adobo Chicken Thighs with Avocado

This was completely SO's idea. She spiced and cooked the chicken, obtained the fantastically huge and fresh   veggie stand lettuce, and told me how to assemble. All I did was plate it. This feels like a summer dish somehow, I think it is the large lettuce wrap. It is quick and delish in any case.

Lettuce-wrapped Adobo Chicken Thighs with Avocado

Kind of hard to take a photo of this one, it is essentially a giant piece of lettuce with chicken goodness stuffed inside.  We cooked up some boneless skinless thighs with some Epicure Adobo seasoning.  I've made my own before when I was first super excited about my spice grinder, but the Epicure stuff is pretty decent.  The avocado in this case is actually avocado salad dressing, but I would slice up some real stuff next time.  Bake the chicken, wrap it up, and voila.

Next Time: real avocado, home made Adobo

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