A bit ago we made a simple dinner: chicken tenders with sweet potatoes and pull apart garlic bread. The chicken tenders were very simply made, and if I were being honest, a little bland so each could add a sauce individually for dipping.
Looking at those sad, pepper covered white tenders, I decided to try something new.
I grabbed a can of mandarin oranges from the pantry, poured them into a saucepan on medium, added dried cranberries, a tiny bit of orange peel and vanilla extract, and mixed them, letting the oranges crush just a little bit. It thickened just slightly, and when it was warmed, I poured it over my chicken tenders.
It was lovely.
From the photo, you can see that I still need to work on my food color balancing, but all in all, delicious.
We eat turkey all week after Thanksgiving, and while many complain about the amount of turkey leftover, I love it!
Here are a few samples of our dinners this week (not pictured Turkey Cottage Pie):
Holiday Dinner: Turkey, of course, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potato pie, macaroni & cheese, cranberry sauce, and a dinner roll.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s Turkey Trot Tot Hot Dish (with a few of my own modifications). It was cheesy and delicious!
Turkey Salad sandwich. I usually put in cranberries, but we had none in the house, so I spread some cranberry sauce on the bread. The turkey is very simple: chopped turkey, 1/2 granny smith apple, fresh ground pepper, and mayo all mixed together. I wish I had enough turkey for more than one sandwich!
Will eggs be cheaper? No, they won’t. Gas? That’s a big NOPE on that, too. Peace in Gaza? Hah! But those are subjects for another post.
I’ll hope to have more useful things to say about the next two years of American politics. In the meantime, join me as I look towards the comfort foods of my childhood.
Tonight, we had roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas for dinner.
I’m looking forward this week to baked sweet potatoes, macaroni & cheese, Chinese take-out, an egg bagel with cream cheese, quite possibly a knishe, and a Diet Coke. Not all at the same meal.
Potato Pancakes with applesauce & sour cream. (c)2024
I never ate oatmeal as a kid, but when I started attending retreats, I began to eat oatmeal for breakfast on any of the weekend retreats that I went on.
I can’t explain why or how much I love oatmeal on the retreat weekends.
I get an extra helping and add butter, brown sugar, and craisins.
I eat it slowly and savor it. It’s warm and wholesome, and all I need to start my day.
Well, with a cup of tea, but that is how I start my days on retreat.
I plan to share some of the amazing vacation food we enjoyed on our visit to Canada. When we returned, we had our thirtieth anniversary and the end of summer through Labor Day and there was food fun throughout!
I tried this recipe last week with a larger loaf of bread and it wasn’t quite right. When I sliced the Italian bread into thinner, medium slices, the oil was perfect. My son likes to make simple garlic bread with garlic powder, but I find that it doesn’t quite have the same oomph as using fresh garlic.
I take about half a head of garlic, but use as many cloves as you want. Mash them in a mortar and pestle or just with a spoon.
Put a small skillet on medium heat, and add olive oil, I probably used about two tablespoons, then added the garlic, oregano, and basil, and let it saute until the garlic was fragrant.
Pour over sliced bread. I made six slices.
Broil on high for five minutes, perhaps longer, but watch it carefully.
I’ve decided to share two recent family dinners, put together easily. The first one is a tiny bit more work than the second but they were both extremely satisfying. Give them a try.
As these come up in my life, I notice them more and more. I know that they are idiosyncratic, and some are downright weird, but they are what they are, and I thought I’d share them with you. Please share some of yours in the comments.
I call everything “jelly,” but I never buy jelly. I only buy jam or preserves.
When I add ice to my cup at McDonald’s, I always pour out a couple of cubes.
I only and always eat latkes with applesauce AND sour cream. I also eat them year-round, and more at Passover than at Chanukah.
This isn’t food related, but I put NO Chanukah ornaments on our Christmas tree.
Now that I have a collection of Big Mac Sauce packets, I bring them with me when we go to a local restaurant that has patty melts (which I love) but no Thousand Island dressing.
Food adjacent – I don’t use Saran Wrap. It never works.
I wing cooking but never baking. Baking is too precise.
I won’t eat matzo or gefilte fish after Passover. I may make an exception for matzo brei.
I only eat kosher all beef hot dogs. When people talk about not knowing what’s in their hot dogs, I have no idea what they’re talking about. My hot dogs only have beef, no fillers, no anything else. Also, Mustard only. And sauerkraut when available.
Real NY bagels – never toasted.
I love bagels and lox, but I only eat it on Fridays in Lent.
The only soda I drink is Diet Coke. Not Pepsi, not Coke Zero, not RC.
I have had a recent obsession with peanut butter and bananas – any bread including matzo. (Not pictured English muffin.)
Peanut butter and banana on a Waffle. (c)2024Peanut butter and banana on egg bagel. (c)2024Peanut butter and banana on matzo. (c)2024
Brand names. I am a good tryer of generic and store brand foods. Except:
Cream Cheese – Philadelphia Kraft
Macaroni & Cheese – Kraft in the blue box, 7.25 oz.
Butter – Land O Lakes or Cabot. Exception for Kerrygold when I have the money for it.
Orange Juice – Tropicana or Florida’s Natural
Bachman Jax Cheese Curls only.
Skippy Peanut Butter.
Pretzels – Rold Gold
Hot dog rolls – Martin’s Potato Long Rolls
Craisins – Ocean Spray only
This is also food adjacent: Ziploc bags and Reynold’s Aluminum Foil. Hands down, generic just doesn’t have the same strength.
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 