Back in the Kitchen with Peggy

Sounds like I am not the only one who finds it difficult to plan meals/cook for one.  Besides the comments on the blog, I have gotten several emails and calls so thought I would expand on what I have been doing.
Several people have asked for recipes, too.

Its easier for me to have a "cooking day" and fix several things at once.  Yesterday was a cooking day and I added several items to my freezer stock.    First up was Vegetarian Stuffed Poblano Peppers.  This was my first experience using vegetarian crumbles!  All four of these were frozen for later - I left off the cheese and will add it before baking.  Pork tenderloin is one of my favorites and was on sale at my local Kroger this weekend.  My fresh rosemary is doing great so I found a recipe for  Orange Marinated Pork Tenderloin It has been marinating overnight and will get baked this morning.   This will be sliced and frozen in one person portions.  As a tip, when I need something like orange juice for a recipe I buy one of the "single serve" bottles since it is something I don't usually drink.  The last thing I fixed yesterday was a Vegetable Curry dish.  I had bought the ingredients at a local Indian grocery.  This turned out great but it is not something that can be frozen.  It'll get eaten over the next few days.

Rosemary and Basil

Several people asked how I did the roasted vegetables.  This is a recipe from the South Beach Diet and is one of my favorites.  I usually do a big pan and eat the leftovers during the week - either hot or cold.  Super simple:  Slice all the vegetables (experiment!!)  you want to use and toss or drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper.  You can use other spices of your choosing.   Roast at 450 for about 20 minutes.  Really good with some freshly grated parmesan cheese (the real stuff!!!).

Green beans, sweet potato, asparagus,
red onion, green pepper, tomatoes & yellow
squash 

My freezer is pretty well stocked!  Besides the things I have blogged about, I also have several "stand-bys" to choose from.  I buy salmon (wild-caught), chicken breasts, and tilapia frozen in single serve portions from Sam's Club.  These are easy to cook and I'll usually have them with a salad.

My two favorite easy salads of the moment:

1.  Sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzerella cheese and fresh basil topped with some balsamic vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper.

2.  Spring mix, diced chicken, strawberries, almonds - topped with Honey Dijon Dressing (see post on April 14, 2010)  This is a great light meal.

FYI:  The Indian recipes I make come from the cookbook "Easy Indian Cooking" by Suneeta Vaswani. I have taken lessons from her in Houston.

If its underlined - its a link!  Just click on it.

PS:  Repost of dressing recipe

Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Dijon Mustard (Grey Poupon)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Mix all ingredients well in a food processor or blender, cover and use on a variety of salads.