I have been cooking up a storm.
Deciding to make multiple recipes on Sundays has really helped me organize my week.
With this approach most of my dirty dishes can be washed in one day. Then, during the week, I can make a variety of meals using servings from various dishes with less to clean up. It has changed my attitude towards cooking. I feel more creative and positive. I just have to make sure when I choose the recipes for a Sunday, I have all the ingredients.
While most of the recipes I made in this marathon included several of standby recipes like the Universal Casserole, the Skillet Dish, my Imitation Tuna Fish, and Fritters, I did try some new recipes like: Falafel, two bread puddings, one with blueberries, the other with peanut butter, Corn Salsa, Glazed Carrots, Mug of Scrambled Egg with Corn and a Salsa Topping and more.
While most of the recipes came out well, some did not work as hoped.
This Sunday’s Recipes
Imitation Tuna
Falafel
Peanut Butter Bread Pudding
Previous Sunday Recipes
Blueberry Bread Pudding
Fritters: Corn, Carrot, Mamey
Corn Salsa
Skillet Dish - potatoes, carrots and cabbage
Glazed Carrots
Universal Casserole - Corn
Canned Chicken Salad
Sardine Dip
Scrambled Egg with Corn and Salsa
Potato Hash
The Imitation Tuna Fish came out great, I think one reason is I added the juice from a small can of sardines I had frozen and it gave the recipe just the right amount of fish flavor.
Sadly, the Falafel did not work out too well, the first batch of 10 balls came out good but the second batch never browned or cooked thoroughly, it may have been because the oil had collected bits and pieces from the first batch. I froze the second batch. I may try to make Falafel burgers out of the mixture and may need to add additional ingredients.
Oh, and I tried to make a meringue out of the garbanzo bean juice but failed. I don’t have a blender, so I don’t know if that would have helped.
Because the Blueberry Bread Pudding was a bit dry, when I made the Peanut Butter Bread Pudding, I did it a little different, I let the mixture soak in the frig for several hours. This was an experiment and it came out great. Nice appearance, texture, aroma and taste! My only concern is it is probably fattening.
Also, after the Peanut Butter Bread Pudding cools, the peanut butter gets thick again, so I reheated a serving in the microwave for a minute on high to warm it up and make the peanut butter soft again.
The Fritters were good but because I used a cream corn in the corn fitters they did not cook well, so next time I will use whole kernel corn. Also, I grated 13 baby carrots and only got about 4 Tablespoons of carrot filling. Just something to keep in mind.
I also wanted to avoid food waste. Because I had lots of carrots, I used them in the carrot fritters, Glazed Carrots and added them to the Skillet Dish.
The Corn Salsa was good. I like adding salsas as a kind of condiment.
Ingredients in the Skillet Dish can vary quite a bit. This time, I used basic ingredients: potatoes, carrots and cabbage and it saved a lot of food waste since I had been holding onto those items a bit too long.
Another good thing about the Skillet Dish is once you’ve put the ingredients in the skillet, you let them simmer for about 30-40 minutes which means you can do something else while it cooks.
The Universal Casserole with Corn was good but maybe a little dry.
The simple Glazed Carrots Recipe worked well but probably not as sweet as the original recipe intended.
I am happy to say, I found, with the help of a friend, canned chicken in the local grocery store. It was in with the tuna fish cans.
Here in Merida, there are numerous varieties of canned tuna. But, only one kind of canned chicken (excluding Costco's canned chicken) Ensalada de pollo (chicken salad), the salad is some peas and carrots added to the chicken. I treat it like regular canned chicken and add mayo and diced onion to make Canned Chicken Salad.
I found a recipe for scrambled eggs and corn with a salsa topping. I converted that to Mug of Scrambled Egg with a dollop of corn and milk which I microwaved 1-2 minutes on high or even more if the liquid has not cooked out. Then, I topped one half of a toasted roll with the cooked egg and topped it with salsa and some imitation bacon bits.
Again, to avoid food waste, during the week, I made a Hash using the remains of some of the dishes I had previously made : diced "baked"potatoes, corn salsa, and diced spam.
Blueberry Bread Pudding Recipe
Adapted from: http://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/peach-bread-pudding-warm-brown-sugar-sauce/?m&m
Makes about 6-8 servings
Next time, add more liquid, let it soak longer
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 Tbspn sugar
1/2 cup cream or coconut cream or yogurt
2 cups mil
2 tspns vanilla flavoring
6 slices of bread (multigrain), broken into chunks
(Or use french toast)
1 16oz can blueberry pie filling
Process:
Mix eggs, sugar, cream, milk and vanilla. Stir thoroughly.
Spread bread chunks thickly on bottom of casserole pan.
Spread pie filling over bread chunks.
Pour egg mixture over bread and fruit.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
When ready to cook, sprinkle cinnamon over top of mixture.
Cover dish with plastic wrap.
Microwave on high for 15 minutes.
Let casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Caution: pull edge of plastic wrap away from you to avoid steam burns.
This came out pretty good. Was surprised could not really taste coconut cream but I think it added texture.
Try with canned peaches, apple slices, cherry pie filling, or chocolate cream or peanut butter.
Peanut Butter Bread Pudding Recipe
Adapted from: my Blueberry Bread Pudding Recipe
Makes about 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 tbspn sugar
1 cup coconut cream or cream
2 cups milk
2 tspns vanilla flavoring
2/3rds of a 16oz jar of peanut butter
6 slices of bread (multigrain), broken into chunks
Cinnamon
Process:
Mix eggs, sugar, cream, milk and vanilla. Stir thoroughly and set aside.
Spread the peanut butter on the bottom of the casserole dish.Spread bread chunks thickly over the peanut butter.
Pour egg mixture over bread and peanut butter.
Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of the mixture.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap.Refrigerate for 3 hours.
Microwave on high for 15 minutes.Let casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Caution: pull edge of plastic wrap away from you to avoid steam burns.
Corn Salsa Recipe
Perused several Corn Salsa Recipes then made my own.
Ingredients:
1 14oz can kernel corn, drained
1 8oz can salsa, drained
1/4 white onion, diced
1 garlic clove, diced
1 Tbspn Basil flakes, crush in palms
Ground back pepper, to taste
1 capful Lemon juice
Process:
Mix all ingredients together.
Glazed Carrots Recipe
Ingredients:
1 16oz bag of baby carrots
1/2 cup water
A dollop of olive oil
1/2 tbspn sugar
S/P to taste
Process:
Add ingredients to a microwave casserole dish with a cover.
Mix well.
Cover and microwave on high for 10 minutes.
Mug of Scrambled Eggs with Corn and a Salsa Topping Recipe
Got the idea from: http://bstrecipes.blogspot.mx/2015/07/squaw-dish-scrambled-eggs-and-corn.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
Ingredients:
1 roll
a bit of olive oil
1 egg
A dollop of milk
1 tbpsn kernel corn
Ground black pepper to taste
A dash of paprika
Toppings:
1 tbspn canned salsa
1 tbspn imitation bacon bits
Process:
Cut roll in half and toast in skillet with a bit of oil. Set aside.
Break egg into an 8oz coffee mug with a wide brim.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Mix and stir vigorously for at least a 3o seconds.
Microwave 1-2 minutes until liquid has cooked off.
Scoop egg out and place on top of one half of toasted roll.
Top with salsa.
Sprinkle bacon bits over egg mixture.
Falafel Recipe
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cans of 210g of garbanzo beans, about 12 oz, drained
1/4 large white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
3 tbspns parsley, crush in palms
2 tspns cumin
2 tbspns flour
S/P to taste
Olive oil or other oil to fry
Sauce:
Plain yogurt
Process:
Add beans to a large bowl.
Mash beans into a paste.
Add onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, S/P to taste.
Mix ingredients well.
Add flour.
Mix again.
In a skillet with high sides, add enough oil to "deep" fry the falafel balls.
Heat medium to high.
Gather about a tablespoon of the mixture in your palm. By squeezing mixture between palms, make a ball.
Drop ball into hot oil.
Cook for about 3 minutes.
Turn balls over.
Cook for 4 minutes.
Remove cooked balls and place on cloth or paper towels to drain away oil.
Let them cool before serving.
I ate them just as they were with the plain yogurt topping.
I used olive oil to "deep" fry the falafel but I need to get a cheaper oil for deep skillet frying because olive oil is expensive.
I had planned on making apple and pineapple fritters as well as pineapple pancakes but as usual I overestimated my time and energy. But, I will make those recipes, soon.
The Sunday Cooking Marathon has been a good idea. Also, it is positive because I only went Big grocery shopping once in June.
I am getting better at meal planning and using what I have.
