Rehab

My child would have pasta every day. When I ask her what she wants for dinner, she says, “PASTA” every. time. 

I find this to be a huge coup, considering we’re gluten free. 

The other night at the grocery, I purchased Barilla gluten free pasta. I did not want to buy it. I had a coupon that for some reason outweighed their views on homosexuality. I can’t overlook it. *sad face* 

Even sadder face that I must tell you, after five years of eating gluten free pasta, Barilla is hands down the best I’ve ever tasted. 

I cooked the pasta, and with about 2 minutes left, I added broken bits of asparagus. 

In a separate bowl, I whisked together 1 egg and 1/6 cup of Parmesan cheese. 

I tossed the hot pasta in the egg mixture. 

Eh. Mah. Gawd. 

It was Ah. Maze. Zing. 

You could easily cook some bacon and reduce the grease with white wine. 

It is not going to break my child of her pasta habit. And, now…I’ve got one myself. 

Highly recommend. 

So, I Could Have Done That

How many snicker doodles are too many? Say six, because I ate five.

I didn’t start with five. I started with two. And then I ate them. And then I went back for two more and realized how stupid that was, and grabbed a third. They’re so good. They’re also really easy. I always think I’ve forgotten an ingredient. You have to let them cool completely or they will just crumble. (That was completely not on purpose).

I should, instead, be working out. But…no. I did help a friend move today. It was so heartwarming and just what I needed. I was feeling kind of sorry for myself. Next thing I knew, I was in my car driving to the meeting place for a little brigade. It was a completely selfish act to make me feel better, and it worked. There was a lot of love there.

For dinner, I made pork tenderloin. I could have just made a little something for my daughter, and eaten chips and salsa standing up at the counter. But I didn’t. Tenderloin was thawed, and it is always delicious. I brown it in honey and butter on medium heat, then I finish cooking it in a 375 degree oven.

I remove the tenderloin and add hot water from my kettle to the pan to loosen the browned bits. I reduce the sauce and pour it over the tenderloin. And tonight, I made mashed potatoes. Only two items, but it was plenty.  

My daughter said, “I love this honey chicken.” I could have corrected her, but…no.

I could also throw the rest of these away.

Upping My Game

This dinner was absolutely delicious. And relatively easy.

When people tell me what a good [cook] I am, I sometimes think/say, “Well, the oven did all the work.” And that was basically true here, but it all came out so perfectly.

I started with olive oil and half a chopped onion. Soften the onion and add garlic and 2 cups of rice. Toast for 4 minutes. Add 4 cups chicken broth, and 1 cup of water. Stir. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. I’m certain vegetable broth would taste good, too. After, add 1 lb. of chopped asparagus. Stir. Bake 5 mins. more.

Finally, stir in the zest of a whole lemon and a cup of parsley.

Perfection, on the level of meeting Jill Goodacre in an ATM vestibule.

The rest of the meal consisted of three steaks cooked in the crock pot on low for 8 hours. I brushed each side with steak sauce and dijon mustard, and added a 1/4 cup of wine.

The salad is roasted vegetables (onion, carrots, red and yellow peppers)–zucchini would have been tasty. I roasted them in a balsamic vinaigrette that I made in the food processor. I think I will probably roast all vegetables in that henceforth. I put the vegetables on spinach leaves and drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Dessert, the gluten free donuts I’ve made a million times. Thank goodness for leftovers.