Beef with Bell Pepper

Beef with Bell Pepper

For dinner tonight I made us some beef with red bell peppers that was served over basmati rice.  I started off by getting ingredients for a recipe and then changing it drastically.  It was seasoned with dry mustard, cayenne pepper, chili powder, black pepper, and salt.  I was a bit worried that it might turn out spicy, but in the end it had a nice little bite and was well within the Guinea Pig's tolerance levels.

BBQ Chicken Crostini

BBQ Chicken Crostini

Sometimes I just want a simple, quick meal.  Last night was one of those times.  I threw together a sour dough crostini topped with BBQ chicken, guacamole, and shredded cheddar.

I wanted the texture of shredded chicken, but I didn't plan ahead enough to make it from scratch.  Canned chicken to the rescue!  By itself, canned chicken is pretty bland.  Add to it some BBQ sauce and it starts tasting pretty good.  For a quick meal, it's a real time saver.

To make up for the chicken, I did make the guacamole from scratch.  It came out delicious and served as a great topping for the crostini.  Luckily there was some left over to have as a dip for chips.

Eggplant Dip

Eggplant Dip

We are doing a pot-luck-like thing at work, where every two weeks someone brings a dish starting with the next letter of the alphabet.  My turn is the letter "E."  My first inclination was to make an egg salad with bacon and avocado, but after a trial run I was looking for something else to bring.  After being left on the counter for a little bit of time, the whole mixture turned an unappealing brown-ish color.  This didn't change the taste, but I was worried the color would be a prohibitive turn-off for most of my co-workers.

As I kept thinking of what I could do to improve the egg salad recipe appearance without changing the taste profile, I kept coming up with nothing.  Then I started thinking of what else I could make that started with "E" and would be more successful than the browning egg salad and came up with eggplant dip.

My family has a very delicious recipe for eggplant dip, but I wanted to create my own, as I usually do.  The dip dry run was a success and I will be bringing it in to work in another week or so.  I plan to serve the eggplant dip with some mini-toasts.  I hope that my co-workers enjoy it as much as The Guinea Pig has. 

Prosciutto and Fig on a Bed of Butter Lettuce

Prosciutto and Fig
on a Bed of Butter Lettuce

It's summer time and there is lots of fresh produce to enjoy.  Last night, I raided the fridge and through together a nice, light dinner.  All it took was a few leaves of butter lettuce, a slice of prosciutto, sliced figs, sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado, and a bit of goat cheese crumble on top.  

Salmon Tartare

Salmon Tartare

I've been wanting to make a tartare for a long time.  After finding a new favorite tuna tartare over the weekend, I decided this week was it!  So today was the day.

I came up with a combination of relatively simple flavors I wanted to combine and began dicing.  Salmon, avocado, shallot, and chives later were seasoned with lemon zest, masago, salt and pepper.  Simple yet delicious.

My perceived success made me proclaim that I were a genius as soon as The Guinea Pig walked in the house.  We quickly proceeded to devour every last bite.  The tartare was served with some sliced cucumbers and freshly made crostini.  I have a feeling I'll be making this one again, very soon.

Parsley and Rice Soup

Parsley and Rice Soup

I had a bunch of parsley in the fridge dying to be used.  I figured why not make a soup with it?  I started planning.  At first I was going to use potatoes, but then decided on rice instead.  Onions, carrots, and celery were a given.  Simple seasoning of salt and pepper worked out great.

Broccoli Bell Pepper Salad

Broccoli Bell Pepper Salad

To accompany Guinea Pig's amazing Korean BBQ Ribs, I decided to make a salad.  The dressing for this one envolved soy sauce, peanut butter, and honey.

At first I was a bit worried about the chunks of broccoli and how they would go together with the ribs, but my worries were unfounded.  I almost licked the bowl clean.

Needless to say that I will be making this again very soon.  Good thing I only made half the recipe and still have all the needed fix-ins.