Pot Roast and Mashed Potatoes

Bizarro Meal: Pea Burger Pea Burger

Alton Brown is greatly appreciated in my household and his recipes are featured often in our meals. Today we decided to try his split pea burgers. They had a great taste, topped with some sauteed onions and mushrooms, baby spinach, and tomato. Instead of french fries, we served roasted cauliflower "fries" and extended the bizarro 50's diner meal theme with Silk shakes.. milk shakes made with soy milk.

The pea mixture while it was still cooking and not yet formed into patties tasted wonderful in itself. I've never had split pea soup but now I'll just have to make it some day.

Chicken Fajitas

I marinated the chicken in some wine, lime juice, orange juice, and spices for a few hours before cooking it on the griddle pan. While the chicken cooked I sauteed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms on the other side of the griddle. Everything was spooned onto flour tortillas and consumed with salsa, cheese, and plain yogurt. I love sour cream but the yogurt is better healthwise and works well enough, so I try to use it more often.

Cheesesteaks

Greg and I are both students, so quick, cheap, and delicious are big factors in our dinners. Sandwiches creep up often during busier times. Today we seared up a cheap cut of beef, chopped it up, and heaped it along with sauteed onions, sauteed mushrooms, and plenty of cheese onto a nice baguette. The remainder of a bag of curly fries our former roommate had left in the freezer and some baby spinach rounded things out.

More Broiling: Shrimp, Salmon, and Asparagus

The broiled salmon with mustard was so easy and good that Greg and I decided to make it again already. Today it was accompanied by shrimp wrapped in bacon, broiled asparagus, and brown rice. I used Alton Brown's baked brown rice method and it worked wonderfully. My rice cooker usually leaves brown rice still a bit hard on the inside but it came out perfectly in the oven. My roommate, Eric, couldn't get over the asparagus. It was simply tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and some chopped garlic, then broiled until starting to darken. It's my favorite way of preparing asparagus and is now Eric's as well.

Vietnamese Style Curry

I love Vietnamese curry best with just chicken or beef, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and made with plenty of liquid in which to dip some crusty bread. Today I used beef and a little broccoli because I felt I needed some green vegetables.

Broiled Salmon and Green Beans

Broiling some salmon that's been seasoned with just salt and pepper and brushing it with a mixture of white wine, whole-grain mustard, olive oil, minced garlic, and some spices like rosemary and thyme is so simple but delicious. Steam some rice and green beans and dinner could barely be any easier.