Weeknight meals

[dgaddis]

We've got our awesome 'what are you cooking this weekend' thread, and it's great. But anyone can make a good meal if they've got all day to do it. What about fast and easy, but tasty, week night meals? Whatcha got?

Here's what I made last night :: Drumsticks on the grill using the vortex set up for indirect heat. It's a FAST and HOT cook, temp in the 500-650*F range and they only took 15mins on the grill - and they were delicious! Good crispy skin, very moist inside. I used Hardcore Carnivore Red for seasoning. Paired 'em with some steamed veggies and rice and it's an easy weeknight dinner. CHEAP too, a pack of six drumsticks was less than $3.

[Too Tall]

I make Hummos in about 5 mins., put that on a large platter, toss a bunch of veg. around the sides, warm pita bread, olive oil and a dash of cayenne and go nuts.
If there is some protein lying around I'll add that to the pile.
VERY satisfying, fast and makes good use of orphaned left overs.

[Octave]

Preparation and multitasking are your friends. Example from last night:

Had, as always, a bag of "soup mix" in the freezer made of diced carrot, onion, celery, leek and halved garlic cloves. Tossed that into a hot pot with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and a sprig of rosemary as soon as I walked in the door. Once I could smell it I walked back over and added some water, brought it up to a simmer and walked away. About 30 minutes later, a bit before we were hungry, chucked in a few handfuls of pasta (we make big batches once a month and dry it all out). Five minutes later dinner.

In those 30 minutes I unpacked by bag from work, cleaned up my bike, started a load of laundry and walked around the corner for a baguette.


Ad infinitum with batch-made and fridge/frozen pizza doughs, lentil-balls (or meatballs if thats your thing), cookie dough... make a weekly or monthly ritual of making a huge batch of something to stuff your freezer with and your life will be infinitely easier. No one deserves half-assed meals, life is too short for sh!tty food.

[guido]

I took skinless boneless chicken thighs, each cut in half, a quart of defrosted frozen tomato sauce for our garden, onions from out garden, 5 cloves of garlic from our garden, green italian olives, capers, thyme, bay leaf and salt & pepper and threw it all in the InstantPot. 25 minutes at pressure, 15 minutes prep time. Perfect for a rainy damp evening... Enough left overs for a lunch.

[rwsaunders]

Like Octave, we make a lot of soup, especially in the Fall and Winter...no French bakery around the corner, though. Tonight is some variation of minestrone that smells pretty good from my perch in my home office. Starting next Fall we are empty nesters for the first time in 25 years so cooking will take on a new spin.

[maunahaole]

These are both pressure cooker recipes, but we have done them multiple times.

Curry rice. Good as a side or add shrimp or chicken to serve as a one bowl dish.

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/inst...egetable-rice/

Beef and Broccoli

We cut the sugar down and added some ginger. It was better our way. This is a little heavy on the prep side, but good result. Serve over rice.
https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com...-and-broccoli/

[LarryA]

Don't know what this is called, but I'm taking the sauce from yesterday's brasato and using it to cook pasta as if it was risotto. Looking pretty good!

No pics as I can't get my new phone to play nice with VSalon

[dgaddis]

I've read about 'petite tender' here and there every once and a while, supposedly nearly as tender as filet mignon at half the price. While grocery shopping this weekend we happened to run across a pack - it had two of them, 1.32lbs, a little over $11. SOLD!

Last night we opened it up and cooked one and froze the other for later. Simply easy cook - pat it dry, apply seasoning (I used the Black rub from Hardcore Carnivore), seared on a hot cast iron, then set on the cool side of the grill to slowly finish. Cooked to an internal temp of 135, wrapped it foil to rest for a few minutes, and then sliced into medallions.

Y'all - it was crazy good!!! My new favorite cut of beef. I could have easily eaten the whole thing myself. Next time I'll marinate it in something to make it even better.

On the cast iron griddle on the grill.


Done, ready to slice. Not the most beautiful looking piece of meat before slicing!


AH, so good!!


Had green beans and mashed potatoes on the side. Not bad for a Weds night dinner.

[dgaddis]

Bought some beef ribs this weekend to BBQ, and then never got around to it. Well the baby ran a fever Sunday morning, so I stayed home with her yesterday, and took advantage of the day at home and smoked the ribs. They turned out awesome!

Here, we go, start to finish.

Used the Hardcore Carnivore Black rub and Dizzy Pig's Raising the Steaks rub.


Trimmed and rubbed.


5hrs in. I've cooked these four or five times now, this is the best looking rack yet, and the first one where all of the bones 'pulled back' the same direction.


Done, after 7.5hrs


Brisket on a stick!


Ate them with leftover veggies and leftover mushroom/asparagus risotto. An odd mix for sure, but it was good.

[mnoble485]

^^^^
For the win!

Mike

[dgaddis]

Didn't get any pictures, but we finished off the ribs in tacos the following night. Seriously I think my favorite tacos I've ever had, definitely the best I've made at home, the taco's at the authentic mexican restaurant/grocery store in North Augusta are the best I've ever had, they make their own corn tortillas and everything.

Beef from the ribs, chopped arugula, onion, jalapeno corn salad (from Fresh Market), and some lime juice. Awesome. Next time we do beef ribs I think I'll just make tacos the first night with them!

[Tom]

Another Milk Street recipe tonight linguine with a beef sauce that has cumin paprika cinnamon garlic onions and tomatoes and if it tastes like it smells while cooking oh boy. Feta and mint to finish it.

[Tom]

More on the prep. Toasting dried coconut, fennel, cardamom, coriander, pepper and poppy seeds in a dry skillet to make chicken curry with tomatoes, another Milk Street recipe. I could do that all day long.

[rwsaunders]

For the past month or so, I've been on the road logging some heavy miles and it is nice to be home and whipping up some simple food with Mrs. RW.

[guido]

Mussels with canned home grown tomato-saffron sauce...

[Octave]

Mussels with canned home grown tomato-saffron sauce...

Sorry if this is a dumb question but is the saffron home-grown, too? We are planning a thorough spice garden at the moment and if you're growing saffron, I'd love to pick your brain a bit.

[guido]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but is the saffron home-grown, too? We are planning a thorough spice garden at the moment and if you're growing saffron, I'd love to pick your brain a bit.

Oh I wish! I still need to get the expensive Spanish stuff... One can certainly grow crocus flowers in the US but I'm not sure of they are the right type. You would need to grow a huge quantity to make a worthwhile harvest. But that wouldn't be a bad thing...

The google found this...

Grow Your Own Saffron! | Gardens Alive!

[Tom]

I am messing around with grilling vegetables trying to branch out from sweet corn. That which I think I've figured out. Peel it, stick it in foil with some 85% butterfat butter and a pinch of kosher salt. Foolproof which is a good idea when you open the wine after the knives get put away but before the fire is out.

The other night was eggplant in a yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala (cheating!) olive oil and lemon juice sauce. Really good but tomorrow night cauliflower gets the treatment.

Tonight was baby Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, steaks all just tossed in olive oil kosher salt and ground pepper. Yum.

Ideas. I need ideas. Help me here!

[robin3mj]

I am messing around with grilling vegetables trying to branch out from sweet corn. That which I think I've figured out. Peel it, stick it in foil with some 85% butterfat butter and a pinch of kosher salt. Foolproof which is a good idea when you open the wine after the knives get put away but before the fire is out.

The other night was eggplant in a yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala (cheating!) olive oil and lemon juice sauce. Really good but tomorrow night cauliflower gets the treatment.

Tonight was baby Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, steaks all just tossed in olive oil kosher salt and ground pepper. Yum.

Ideas. I need ideas. Help me here!

Today for lunch I quartered three carrots (unpeeled) and cut up a red pepper. Salt, pepper, paprika, and a spray of olive oil then into the oven on 350 for 20 mins. Dipped them in a quick mix of plain yogurt, olive oil, and lemon juice.

[TMB]

I am messing around with grilling vegetables trying to branch out from sweet corn. That which I think I've figured out. Peel it, stick it in foil with some 85% butterfat butter and a pinch of kosher salt. Foolproof which is a good idea when you open the wine after the knives get put away but before the fire is out.

The other night was eggplant in a yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala (cheating!) olive oil and lemon juice sauce. Really good but tomorrow night cauliflower gets the treatment.

Tonight was baby Yukon Gold potatoes, fennel, steaks all just tossed in olive oil kosher salt and ground pepper. Yum.

Ideas. I need ideas. Help me here!

In my house we call these veggie pockets, they get done all the time.

See what you have. Always potatoes and carrots and onion. Rutabaga does well, corn does well, green beans, jalapeno, etc…

Butter in the foil pocket, garlic cloves (15 or so ��), salt and pepper, olive oil. Close up the foil packages, bung them onto the Q. Fabulous.