I’m still really enjoying these Chrissy Teigen books, Cravings and Cravings: Hungry for More (Amazon links). They are not fussy recipes but do deliver on flavor. As an example, I’ve made coconut rice with red beans many times before. In the version I made this week, there are no red beans but there is toasted coconut and a little sugar. Wow!
- Mon: Pineapple short ribs, coconut rice, roasted broccoli and butternut squash
- Tue: Rib eye steaks with blue cheese sauce, roast asparagus with Parmesan, cream and thyme roast onions
- Wed: Split pea soup with crispy hot dogs
- Thur: Pasta with spinach, ricotta and crispy bread crumbs, pan-fried radishes
- Fri: Peruvian chicken, sweet potatoes, roast cauliflower, spinach salad
- Sat: Skirt steak, roasted butternut squash and cauliflower, and salad
- Sun: Hamburgers, sweet potato wedges, Sriracha Caesar salad
Pineapple grilled short ribs, coconut rice, roasted broccoli and butternut squash
These short ribs were from Cravings and were fantastic! You marinate the flanken (cross cut) short ribs in soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, mirin, minced pineapple, onion, Sriracha and sesame oil, then grill or cook in a cast iron skillet or griddle over high heat, adding pineapple slices at the end.
Rib eyes, roast asparagus with Parmesan, cream and thyme roast onions
The rib eyes were good but the blue cheese sauce was a waste of effort. Skip that next time! I’ve roasted asparagus many times before. Sometimes I just leave it plain but this time I added some grated Parmesan, which was tasty. The star of the meal though was these Sheet Pan Cream and Thyme Roasted Onions from Cravings: Hungry for More. I will definitely be making them again!
Split pea soup with crispy hot dogs
Does that sound weird? I was intrigued just by the name and I had just bought some good all beef hot dogs to have with sauerkraut for lunch a couple of days and had some left over. The split pea soup part is pretty normal. Cook some onion and sliced hot dogs in oil, then add carrots, celery, garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the carrots are soft. Add split peas, a bay leaf and water and simmer until the peas are done. Meanwhile throw some more sliced hot dog into a skillet and cook until crispy and set aside. Cut up a hot dob bun into crouton-sized pieces and cook in butter until crispy. Top the soup with the croutons and crispy hot dogs. Mmm!
Pasta with spinach, ricotta and crispy bread crumbs, pan-fried radishes
This one I made up as I went. I had some spinach to use up and felt like having pasta. Cook up your pasta and drain, reserving a cup or so of the pasta water. Put the pasta back in the pot and throw in as much spinach as you’d like, tossing to wilt the spinach. Add some of the pasta water if it seems too dry. In a small bowl, mix some ricotta, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Stir that into the pasta, thinning with more pasta water if needed. Top with some grated Parmesan and crispy bread crumbs. (Take dried or fresh bread crumbs and cook them in a bit of oil until crispy. You can add minced garlic if you’d like. I always like garlic.)
I also pan-fried some halved radishes with a bit of garlic, thyme and rosemary. I’d never cooked radishes before but they were quite good!
Peruvian chicken, sweet potatoes, roast cauliflower, spinach salad
I’ve made this Peruvian chicken before and highly recommend it! The green sauce is great both on the chicken and the sweet potatoes. And for a few lunches I was making soft tacos out of various leftovers, including sweet potatoes, and added the leftover green sauce. Mmm! Roast cauliflower is so easy and makes a great side dish.
Skirt steak, roasted butternut squash and cauliflower, and salad
No picture here but a good dinner and the leftover skirt steak has made several nice soft taco lunches this week.
Hamburgers, sweet potato wedges, Sriracha Caesar salad
Hamburgers were my version of Jamie Oliver’s. The sweet potato wedges are from Cravings: Hungry for More and after having made them three times now I can probably stop referring to the recipe. The Sriracha Caesar Salad is from Cravings but I added some toasted pecans, too.
Repurposed Leftovers
I had leftover roasted cauliflower, butternut squash and sweet potato wedges which I turned into a simple soup by sauteing some chopped onion in a bit of olive oil, then adding the chopped vegetables and an equal amount of chicken broth. Let this simmer for half an hour or so then mash up or blend with an immersion blender. Serve topped with a bit of olive oil and some croutons. Thanks to Tamar Adler for this idea in her wonderful book An Everlasting Meal.
Slices of skirt steak became some delicious soft tacos, with wedges of sweet potato and some of the Peruvian green sauce. I cooked up some peppers and onions to go them too.
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