I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately which has been quite enjoyable. It was nice to have someone to cook for the last few weeks…first my mom when she was in Charlotte and then my grandmother when we visited her in Florida. It’s also been fun to switch over to cooking and eating more fall-inspired foods.
Here are a few things that I cooked for my grandmother while we were in Florida. I asked her to think about what she might like to eat and give me her special requests. They included meatloaf, vegetable soup, pasta and chicken.
WHAT I COOKED IN FLORIDA
Meatloaf and baked potatoes. This is my veggie-packed turkey meatloaf but I used ground beef instead of turkey. I served this with sautéed brussel sprouts. My grandmother loves all things cabbage-like and I always consider brussel sprouts to be like baby cabbages. She doesn’t get them very often because my dad doesn’t cook them so she liked getting something different.
A fall-themed pasta dish that I’ll be posting the recipe for in the next week along with a side salad. Can we take a moment to appreciate these vintage salad bowls. I adore them.
Rotisserie chicken, couscous and steamed green beans. This was a simple dinner the day we got in because I didn’t have time to cook. I made my grandmother homemade chicken salad with the leftover rotisserie chicken. She loves to eat it with crackers.
I made a big pot of vegetable soup on the day that I left and packaged it into small portions that she could pull out of the freezer. I didn’t try the soup but the report I got was that it’s delicious! I based the soup on this recipe.
I’ll be back to restock your fridge and freezer soon, Mema! 🙂
WHAT I’VE BEEN EATING
Here are a few things that I’ve been eating recently here in Charlotte.
On the night that my dad was in town, we picked up takeout from Little Mama’s. My dad and I shared the penne a la vodka with Italian sausage and we got the Little Mama’s salad. We did the family portion and it was huge – it fed me for three meals!
Here is a leftover pasta bowl that I added my mom’s leftover chicken with artichokes to along with some roasted brussel sprouts.
Asparagus and cheddar stuffed chicken breast with a baked potato. I bought the chicken pre-stuffed at Food Lion and cooked the baked potato on the same baking sheet. You can read more about Food Lion’s Ready to Eat, Ready to Heat and Ready to Cook meal options in this Instagram post. They make it super easy, fast and affordable to get dinner on the table.
Baked Soyaki tempeh with roasted kabocha squash, sautéed mixed Asian-style veggies that came from the freezer and steamed rice. Sriracha on top of everything. I steamed the tempeh for 10 minutes and then marinated it in Trader Joe’s Soyaki sauce for about 20 minutes. I baked it on 375 for about 15-20 minutes, until it was a little crisp and browned on the edges.
Leftover tempeh and roasted kabocha squash over a quinoa/millet/buckwheat grain blend with sautéed shredded brussel sprouts, goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic.
This was the tempeh and squash that kept giving. Here’s a salad with a super greens mix, leftover tempeh and squash, sliced pears, goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pecans. All topped with tahini turmeric dressing.
Quiche Lorraine topped with avocado and served with fresh fruit and a homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. This is the lunch of my dreams. The quiche was from Whole Foods.
Dorie dropped off some roasted cauliflower and squash soup and it was wonderful. I ate it along with toasted and buttered Verdant Bread.
Jeni’s Gooey Butter Cake ice cream is currently in my top three when it comes to ice cream flavors. The combination of the cream cheese icing and cake pieces with that caramel-butterscotch swirl is nothing short of magical.
That’s all for me today!
QUESTIONS
What are some of your favorite things to do with leftover rotisserie chicken?
What’s your favorite winter squash? I know everyone is on team kabocha but I think butternut still reigns supreme for me.
What have you been eating for lunch lately?
