Peas and Squash with Curry Powder

This was kind of an interesting side dish I made up. I basically added the peas to get some color on the plate; we had these with roasted potatoes and Jon Talbot Pork Chops.

Pumpkin Muffins

These turned out pretty well (unlike the pumpkin blondies I made, which were bad enough to get tossed. Those will not be on the site).

Sausage and Beef Meatballs

These were fun. We got both ground beef and ground sausage in the meat CSA, so I decided to combine them in order to make a meatball with a bit of a kick. These worked really well – I used them for both spaghetti and meatballs and Italian wedding soup.

Chili Bean Sauce Seems to Be My Clean-Out-The-Fridge Secret to Success Lately

Not so much a recipe as a tip — add chili bean sauce to your next stir fry and see what happens.

Today’s lunch was particularly filled with odds and ends. For the stir fry, I used a bit of onion, sliced mushrooms, green beans, leftover Peruvian chicken and water chestnuts. For the sauce, a cup of chicken broth, spoon of chili bean sauce, spoon of fermented black beans, a little chili oil, corn starch. Soy sauce was also involved.

So. Good.

It’s also a key ingredient in these solid stir fries.  Consider giving it pantry space.

Cheesy Cauliflower

I made this Smitten Kitchen recipe as a side yesterday. We served it with turkey patties/cutlets (we made both to use up freezer meat) in a quick mushroom sauce, as well as green beans with tomatoes. A really satisfying meal. The sauce turned out a little more watery than expected — this could have been because A) I parboiled the cauliflower the day before B) I could have squeezed out more water from the cauliflower or C) I cut down slightly on the flour and butter in the sauce, and used two percent milk. The flavors were still there though.

Note: Her recipe says it serves four; I’d say it serves at least six as a side.

Egg Drop Soup with Turkey

I’m on the verge of getting a cold, and this was just the right soup to help combat it. I basically added some turkey for protein to this recipe. I also poured it over some cooked rice for texture — this is totally optional, but if you go this route, store the rice separately so it doesn’t sop up all the broth if you have any leftovers. Definitely a keeper.

Butternut Squash Kimchee

Not bad for my first kimchee attempt! I basically halved this recipe and subbed hazelnuts for pine nuts because I had them on hand. Has a really nice kick to it.

Ina’s Mustard-Roasted Fish

I was very happy with this easy fish recipe, and John had seconds, so I’ll take it as an endorsement. The sauce reminded us of Chicken Sybil (we also paired this with quinoa as we tend to with that dish). Hardest part is probably finding creme fraiche, but Wegmans always seems to have it, and you could probably substitute sour cream without much issue.

So I didn’t realize Ina’s recipe called for 2 pounds (unnecessary) of fish, so this made more sauce than we needed, but eh. Even with the extra sauce it was reasonable, calories-wise. We served it with the quinoa and some roasted brussels sprouts.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

I’m sort of surprised I haven’t made this before, since it’s one of those foods I crave when I’m sick. But realistically, it’s pretty similar to chicken with snow peas or a basic chicken stir fry. This was the perfect clean-out-the-fridge lunch recipe on my day off because I had all the ingredients hanging out in my fridge or freezer.

Mandy’s Pumpkin Oreo Balls

My sister is much more artistic/successful in the baking department than I am, and these Halloween oreo balls she made over the weekend are no exception. The eyes look a lot cooler, but I actually preferred the taste of the cinnamon ones (I’m also not a huge chocolate person, so feel free to take that with a grain of salt).