I have a few quick food inspirations to share with you today.
These are soups or other dishes that I’ve cooked up
in the past several weeks . . . and that we really, really enjoyed!
We are trying to pinch our pennies a little extra much the last while,
so that means less {almost zero} eating out for us so far this year,
except for the rare restaurant date night.
This means we eat at home a lot more,
and that means that I need much more inspiration
in the culinary arts!
Also, we have had the privilege to have numerous friends
to our table in recent weeks,
as well as delivering food with love to
church friends and family experiencing
joys and sorrows of life in their personal lives.
{Delivering food presents it own unique challenges:
that of finding the appropriate disposable containers,
delivering food cold early enough in the day
so the recipient can heat it . . .
or delivering it nicely cooked and keeping it hot,
and also knowing whether the dish
that I love to present at my own table
will look appetizing or taste right
after setting around in a plastic
or flimsy foil-covered pan for an hour or so!
So it’s not something I have down pat yet,
but I’m learning and enjoying the process!}
So with a flourish,
wishing you were seated at my table,
I present . . .
Black Bean Chowder {with} Yogurt Cilantro Relish
{photo courtesy of pioneerwoman.com}
I’ve made many black bean soups . . .
because we love black beans and eat them in many forms,
and from time to time I may try another recipe,
but this one is just so good.
And the cilantro sauce!
Oh. My.
Words don’t do justice
to the loveliness of this sauce alone,
much less on a bowl of beans.
You must try it!
I have served it with corn bread
or crusty sour dough bread,
or those yellow organic corn chips
from Costco.
***
Roast Chicken
{photo courtesy of pioneerwoman.com}
We had roast chicken just last night.
I made mine like Pioneer Woman,
except I added crushed garlic
and herbamare to the butter mixture.
I love garlic on chicken,
and Herbamare is my
all-time, hands-down, use-it-all-the-time,
on everything from popcorn to eggs to meat seasoning!
Oh. It was soooo good.
Butter & lemon juice dripping from everywhere,
and as a bonus meal-planning tip,
I will tell you that I had a bit of leftover,
dreamfield pasta in the refrigerator
from our pasta meal two nights ago,
so I just poured some of those butter & broth drippings
from the pan right over that pasta . . .
and I had myself a bee-U-tiful “S” meal,
along with salad and veggies of course.
{For those who unfamiliar with the block-buster book,
Trim, Healthy Mama,
I apologize for the little rant about the “S” meal,
and the loveliness of the low-carb pasta known as “Dreamfield.”
But if you stick around here or me long enough,
you won’t escape without hearing something
about it, I can promise you that. 
}
***
Oven Roasted Broccoli
{photo courtesy of simplyrecipes.com}
There’s not much to say.
I just love broccoli.
In a simple, “boring” steamed state
with butter and herbamare,
or in a more elegant state
of roasting and garnishing with
Parmesan cheese.
Yes, I just love it.
My husband not so much,
but he tolerates it,
and I think is finally coming to believe
that I actually do love it,
and am not just cooking it
because I think it’s something
that everyone should learn to eat.
And the children?
I am definitely the greater influencer in this one!
They think that “little green trees”
or “little snow-covered trees” (cauliflower)
are really great to eat.
***
Creamy Oven-Baked Mashed Potatoes
{photo courtesty of recipegirl.com}
When I make mashed potatoes for my man
and the children who love them so,
I usually just do the basic butter, salt, and milk recipe,
because they’re simple and so good.
I know I must be light years behind the times,
but I just never made make-ahead mashed potatoes
and didn’t know a good recipe
for transporting when I took meals to others.
But that changed last week when I tried this recipe,
and then got rave reviews from my recipients
as well as my family.
This recipe is now safely filed
for many happy, stress-free
portable and make-ahead
mashed potato meals to come.
***
And every-once-in-a-while,
my husband gets inspired to create in the kitchen . . .
and this was his prize-winning dish this week!
{photo courtesy of keyingredient.com}
I mean, it was sooooo good.
We ate this heavenly seafood dish
{which could also be served with shrimp if you prefer}
over the aforementioned Dreamfield pasta
with a salad on the side,
and Trim, Healthy Mama {THM}
cheesecake crunch for dessert.
Goodness in edible form. Amen.
***
And that’s this edition of kitchen inspiration.
I’d love to cook and photograph each of these dishes
and make them my “own” on my blog someday,
but there’s so little time . . .
so in the meantime,
I hope you’ll be inspired
to concocting soul-stirring dishes
in your kitchen.
Oh, and if you have a favorite recipe
from your week or month,
please do share!
Also, if you wish,
help this girl out by sharing your
favorite transportable meal,
along with tips for the actual transporting!
I have much to learn.
Oh, wow, I LOVE posts like this!
Any food recommendations from you are just so great.
I want to try those recipes above, and yes, I’m with you on making meals for people these days. It’s not ever been uncommon, but lately it seems that everyone is either sick or having a baby or a there’s a funeral or something… and food is such a practical way of saying “I’m thinking of you and love you.” I love to learn from other people how to care and prepare a meal – so thank you!
I know you say it’s not your strong point, but I’ve gotten some pretty great food ideas from you myself! I was just looking through my recipes the other day, smiling dreamily at the foods I’ve eaten at your house . . . and then got the recipes for. Not only is food an “emotional” thing while we’re eating it, but I love the connection and memories it brings between families and friends for years to come!!
Loved your post. The food looked so yummy it made me want to eat the pictures.
Lasagana is a great make-ahead meal. (I know, how boring is that?) I always make the kind where you don’t have to cook the noodles. You can make it a couple of days ahead. I also have a garlic bread recipe that I slice the bread and then spread the slices with the butter/garlic/herb mixture. Wrap it in foil and put it back in the bag. The next day you can pop it in the oven and you have fresh garlic bread. I often compliment this meal with a Ceasar salad. I have a favorite recipe for the dressing so I make that a day or two before. The day of your meal all you need to do is pop the lasagna and bread in the oven at the right time, prepare your salad and add the dressing right before serving.
This meal has done wonders for me on more than one occasion. I find that the more I can do ahead of time when entertaining always makes it a lot easier with the littles!
Thanks for your handy meal plan and ideas, Sharilyn. I always love to learn from others! Especially the ones that have *organization* worked into their cooking, which is something I need to work on.
The food looks yummy! We have been working on eating less carbs in our meals and as a result have learned to be creative with vegetables, this is one of our favorites – http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/2011/03/shrimp-or-chicken-fried-rice.html
Thanks for sharing this recipe, Rosita. It looks great! Since reading/cooking with the Trim, Healthy Mama book, I’ve had my first experiences with using cauliflower as a substitute for carbs. The pizza crust was pretty good as were the “rice” meals that I ate. But I love asian food, so I’m looking forward to trying yours as well!
brocoli is almost the only veggie P eats….maybe one or two tree tops per meal. =( still working on it. M and I both love it though.
Really Evie?? I don’t feel like I’ve tried too hard and my children love their cooked veggies . . . again this past week they were devouring cooked carrots, green beans three times, and mixed veggies once. Makes me feel happily satisfied, but I don’t think it’s really anything I’ve done. Maybe have Paul hang out with us for a week and we could influence him?!
I love this Shelly, it is such an inspiration! The black bean soup is on my menu this week. Broccoli is actually one of our favorite vegetables! And about making meals for other people-I love doing it once I can get past the What shall I make? What if they don’t like it? Do I have the pans I need? I try to take everything in disposable containers, to hopefully make it easier on them. The last meal I took to someone I made Aussie Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade bread, and a dessert of some sort. It actually was not too stressful, and hubby ended up delivering it for me in the afternoon, as he was in the area! It’s an area I really want to improve on this year!
Yes, you are so right about the fun . . . when you finally get past all those “barriers” to cooking and delivering food! And I think I might just need your Aussie chicken recipe! Never heard of it! Oh and I know you can easily afford crossovers, so you’re good to go, but when I made the black bean chowder *twice*, I just scooped out my portion of beans before adding the cheese & milk . . . and then was able to eat mine with the cilantro relish since i made it with greek yogurt. Nice THMing, right?
thanks for sharing all your recipes! can’t wait to try the black bean soup… May I have your recipe for the crusty sourdough bread, please? thanks!
That’s sounds easy enough to just scoop a portion out for myself before adding the cheese and milk. Because I certainly want to be able to eat it with the cilantro relish:) Oh, and here’s the recipe, you could probably sub out the honey to make it THM friendly! http://amysfinerthings.com/sherrys-aussie-chicken