Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #2

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Over the past month, the food distribution has included big bags of lentils. I looked at lots of recipes to see if I could find something I’d like. I didn’t use one specific recipe but I put them in the crockpot with veggie broth, diced onion, diced garlic, diced tomatoes and diced celery. I used the Kosher salt now that I know its importance! I added black pepper and a bay leaf too. I saw where some recipes had diced carrots but I am just not feeling carrots today. It may be more like a soup which is ok. I saw where some recipes called for Parmesan cheese at the end. That sounds tasty. Stay tuned.

I think I’ll make cornbread to go with it. It is a dreary, rainy day here in SWFL so comfort food is calling me.
 
Over the past month, the food distribution has included big bags of lentils. I looked at lots of recipes to see if I could find something I’d like. I didn’t use one specific recipe but I put them in the crockpot with veggie broth, diced onion, diced garlic, diced tomatoes and diced celery. I used the Kosher salt now that I know its importance! I added black pepper and a bay leaf too. I saw where some recipes had diced carrots but I am just not feeling carrots today. It may be more like a soup which is ok. I saw where some recipes called for Parmesan cheese at the end. That sounds tasty. Stay tuned...

I'm not sure that this is the same recipe that I used for a lentil "meatloaf", but it has most of the same ingredients. DH enjoyed it, but I thought it was a little dry. I could remedy that by adding a small can of diced tomatoes. You could probably put the lentil mixture in your cute mini loaf pans :)

The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf - The Simple Veganista (simple-veganista.com)
 
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Over the past month, the food distribution has included big bags of lentils. I looked at lots of recipes to see if I could find something I’d like. I didn’t use one specific recipe but I put them in the crockpot with veggie broth, diced onion, diced garlic, diced tomatoes and diced celery. I used the Kosher salt now that I know its importance! I added black pepper and a bay leaf too. I saw where some recipes had diced carrots but I am just not feeling carrots today. It may be more like a soup which is ok. I saw where some recipes called for Parmesan cheese at the end. That sounds tasty. Stay tuned.

I think I’ll make cornbread to go with it. It is a dreary, rainy day here in SWFL so comfort food is calling me.
I'm not sure that this is the same recipe that I used for a lentil "meatloaf", but it has most of the same ingredients. DH enjoyed it, but I thought it was a little dry. I could remedy that by adding a small can of diced tomatoes. You could probably put the lentil mixture in your cute mini loaf pans :)

The Ultimate Vegetable Lentil Loaf - The Simple Veganista (simple-veganista.com)
I definitely would not eat that. I can't do meatloaf, regardless of what it is made of. I'm sure that is because we had to eat so much of it as a child. My youngest daughter might since she is gluten free. She sure comes up with some weird combinations. LOL! Last night I roasted a big pan of veggies. Today she put some in a bowl, added a can of drained chick peas and doused it in BBQ sauce. Not the least bit appealing to me.

My oldest made lasagna bell peppers last night. It is tomato meat sauce which she used ground turkey. She cut the peppers in half and cleaned them out. Layered meat sauce, ricotta cheese, meat sauce, mozzarella cheese. Bake for 12 min. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake 5 more minutes. She says they're delicious. I was thinking of using zucchini boats instead of bell peppers.
 
I like lentils, I used to make lentil soup with veggies. Quick to make after work, cheap, filling, low cal, and high protein. I like to cook them, rinse, and toss them with fresh veggies, lemon juice, olive oil, makes an excellent cold salad.
 
I like lentils, I used to make lentil soup with veggies. Quick to make after work, cheap, filling, low cal, and high protein. I like to cook them, rinse, and toss them with fresh veggies, lemon juice, olive oil, makes an excellent cold salad.
I thought they were okay but kinda bland. I put a little Parmesan cheese on top of mine. Then I sprinkled a little more table salt. There was very little liquid left which makes them more of a side dish rather than a soup.

My youngest says you have to almost over season them. Maybe I’ll add them to some of the roasted veggies from last night. At least the GF cornbread was tasty. So was the mini candy bar for dessert. :)
 
I thought they were okay but kinda bland. I put a little Parmesan cheese on top of mine. Then I sprinkled a little more table salt. There was very little liquid left which makes them more of a side dish rather than a soup.

My youngest says you have to almost over season them. Maybe I’ll add them to some of the roasted veggies from last night. At least the GF cornbread was tasty. So was the mini candy bar for dessert. :)

Lentils really need an acid to brighten up the flavor. Lemon, balsamic vinegar, something to change it up.
 
...I definitely would not eat that. I can't do meatloaf, regardless of what it is made of. I'm sure that is because we had to eat so much of it as a child. My youngest daughter might since she is gluten free. She sure comes up with some weird combinations. LOL! Last night I roasted a big pan of veggies...

We had weekly meatloaf with mashed potatoes in my home in the '50s and '60s, but it is still one of my favorite "comfort foods". Mom always put ketchup on top - not a condiment that I favor. One of my favorite dorm dinners was meatloaf with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. They served Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy sometimes, too, and it basically tasted like the meatloaf in patty form. DH requests traditional meatloaf (beef, pork, veal) occasionally, but we mostly make turkey meatloaf, our favorite version with sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh spinach. Lots of folks like cold pizza, but I love a cold meatloaf sandwich :D
 
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We did go out to eat last week, first time in over a year. It was really nice. We had Sake cocktails, a couple of different sushi dishes. So much fun. I don't usually make cocktails at home.

So glad that you were able to enjoy a night out :) We were accustomed to having dinner out every 7-10 days - it was just a regular thing. Now that we are only going out once or twice a month, it is truly a special occasion.
 
I like lentils, I used to make lentil soup with veggies. Quick to make after work, cheap, filling, low cal, and high protein. I like to cook them, rinse, and toss them with fresh veggies, lemon juice, olive oil, makes an excellent cold salad.

DH likes lentil soup with Kielbasa or smoked sausage. I've made a few lentil salads but never found one that I liked. I prefer grain salads like farro or wheatberry.
 
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We had roast turkey breast last night. We had forgotten that the turkey breast was in the freezer for a couple of months :oops: We were disappointed to learn that the turkey breast was "injected", but it was actually very good. I made a light sauce with butter, chicken stock, a little wine, and fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme and basted the turkey occasionally as it was roasting. I quartered Yukon Golds and added them to the roasting pan when the turkey was about half done. The potatoes soaked up the sauce and were delicious. There is a lot of leftover turkey, so DH is going to cut it up for turkey soup today and another turkey meal later in the week - maybe Turkey Divan.
 
DH and I had our third post-vaccination dinner out last night with three vaccinated friends at an Italian restaurant we like. We hadn't dined there in maybe a year and a half. We got a table inside well away from other diners. The outdoor dining just consists of some tables out on the sidewalk and it was breezy, so we were glad to eat inside.

I actually had a cocktail... it's been a long time. We shared bruschetta and Brussels sprouts appetizers. I had pasta with seafood and shared a creme brûlée dessert with DH. Very enjoyable evening.

ETA: I don't think we would be doing this if we were in a hot spot, despite being vaccinated...
 
DH and I had our third post-vaccination dinner out last night with three vaccinated friends at an Italian restaurant we like. We hadn't dined there in maybe a year and a half. We got a table inside well away from other diners. The outdoor dining just consists of some tables out on the sidewalk and it was breezy, so we were glad to eat inside.

I actually had a cocktail... it's been a long time. We shared bruschetta and Brussels sprouts appetizers. I had pasta with seafood and shared a creme brûlée dessert with DH. Very enjoyable evening.

Happy to hear that you enjoyed a night out for dinner with friends :) We love Italian food! Best cuisine on earth. MOO
 
DH and I had our third post-vaccination dinner out last night with three vaccinated friends at an Italian restaurant we like. We hadn't dined there in maybe a year and a half. We got a table inside well away from other diners. The outdoor dining just consists of some tables out on the sidewalk and it was breezy, so we were glad to eat inside.

I actually had a cocktail... it's been a long time. We shared bruschetta and Brussels sprouts appetizers. I had pasta with seafood and shared a creme brûlée dessert with DH. Very enjoyable evening.

ETA: I don't think we would be doing this if we were in a hot spot, despite being vaccinated...

It is fun. We didn't go out for a year because my husband was so high risk, and cases here were literally quadrupled every day for awhile. He really didn't go anywhere last year.

We really celebrated. And we are thinking about taking a trip this summer. We didn't travel at all last year.
 
We had weekly meatloaf with mashed potatoes in my home in the '50s and '60s, but it is still one of my favorite "comfort foods". Mom always put ketchup on top - not a condiment that I favor. One of my favorite dorm dinners was meatloaf with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. They served Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy sometimes, too, and it basically tasted like the meatloaf in patty form. DH requests traditional meatloaf (beef, pork, veal) occasionally, but we mostly make turkey meatloaf, our favorite version with sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh spinach. Lots of folks like cold pizza, but I love a cold meatloaf sandwich :D
I loved meatloaf as a child. My mom’s was really good but my grandmother’s was amazingly delicious.

Although it was popular at that time to top meatloaf with ketchup before baking, mom made a glaze from tomato paste, vinegar and other ingredients that I don’t remember. She would divide the glaze, half to top the meatloaf before baking and then make gravy out of the rest of the glaze along with some drippings and brown bits from the meatloaf pan. So delicious served on mashed potatoes.

I had watched my grandmother make meatloaf when I was very young but the only thing I can remember was that she used crackers instead of bread crumbs. She would use a rolling pin to crush the crackers into very fine crumbs for the meatloaf.
 
I ended up making a turkey/vegetable/noodle casserole with Parm/panko topping. I prepped and sweated onion, celery, carrots and made a light gravy with butter, flour, a splash of Cognac, fresh rosemary/sage/thyme, and turkey stock. DH cooked the egg noodles and put everything together in a large casserole dish. The noodles soaked up the gravy pretty quickly, so he added more turkey stock before putting on the topping and baking for 50 minutes. Lots of leftovers for lunches this week. Tonight we are having Naan pizzas with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves.
 
It’s zucchini day here. I made 4 zucchini boats with spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, black olives, gluten free cooked penne pasta, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. I sprinkled them with pepper, garlic and onion powders. Now that my youngest is able to reintroduce dairy we have been expanding her menu.

I took the last zucchini scooped out the seeds and cut it in big chunks. In a glass baking dish I did basically the same thing except I used cooked whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Mine is more a pasta bake.

The house smells like lasagna!
 

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