dinner

atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout and Sunday Dinner

I wanted to get my cardio session out of the way early because I have a TON of review comics and writing to do. I wasn’t doing any ARC reading during Camp NaNoWriMo so I need to get to them before they expire.

But I did cook something cool.

Butcher Box (not sponsored) has fun cuts of meat sometimes and I’ve never cooked a lamb leg before. I marinated it in crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, dill, oregano, rosemary, and the juice of that same lemon. When the meat was almost done, I poured the rice in to cook in the juices. It turned out amazing! The lemon flavor is so nice, not bitter at all. I was worried about the marinating time with the lemon but I didn’t want the lemon to go bad and go to waste. I took a portion in with me for lunch and it reheated just fine in the microwave.

Now, I won’t be cooking this often since everything is so expensive now but I would totally make this for a holiday. Unless I suddenly sell bajillions of books or I can get some lamb on sale. One thing I learned from this is I need a mortar and pestle for food. I have one for witchy things but it would have come in handy making this marinade. It was a pain to smash the garlic and herbs together without it.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Weights Time! And a cool thing I made.

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I not only dusted off the ole kettlebell, I did 50 squats, some arm lifts, and leg lifts. I’m going to try to aim for doing weights 5-6 days a week even if it’s only 10 minutes while making sure to take a rest day for my muscles to recover or if I’m too sore. I wanna get stronger not hurt myself.

Tomorrow is my late night and I’m stressed the hell out so I’m probably going to use that as my rest day. It’s been a LONG week and I’m so looking forward to Sunday when I can finally have a break. And by “break” I mean do laundry and clean while I watch YouTube.

I also got creative with some of the pulled pork I made last weekend so I don’t get bored with the leftovers.

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I made some black garlic ramen and put some of the pork on top. It was so good. A little salty with the combined seasonings of the pork and the ramen flavor packet but so satisfying. And don’t judge my liberal amount of scallions. I love me some scallions and the crunch they add to the dish. Helped out with the salty flavor, too. I would absolutely make this again but maybe with plain ramen noodles and just a dash of sesame oil.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout and Cooking Day.

Since I had the time (and I forgot to do it yesterday) I took the bones from the turkey and set up a pot to make broth. The lemon and lime flavor made it so good I was tempted to drink that for dinner but I’d rather save it to make some soup.

“But Lenni, why are you making soup when June is just around the corner?”

Honestly, they keep the air conditioning so high at work that a warm lunch is perfect to take with me. Mixing in some noodles and turkey meat (I froze what I didn’t eat so far) sounds like something worth trying out. I have made chicken noodle soup with chicken broth I made and it worked out well. 

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Since I invested so much time in cardio, I decided the kettle bell was best for today. I did this, 50 squats, and some stretching. I figure going up and down the stairs tending to the broth for several hours while cleaning was enough cardio for me.

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Since I’m obviously not going to have just broth for dinner, I baked some chicken thighs marinated in lime and lemon juice. There’s black garlic and the citrus seasoning from Trader Joe’s. There’s lemon and Tajin on the cabbage and onion. I threw on the cherry tomatoes because… I forgot they were in the fridge and were gonna go bad.

I think we all know that feeling of buying healthy ingredients with the best of intentions only for them to wither away uneaten. I’m the worst with that when it comes to fruit. I get it thinking I’ll be all virtuous and such only to end up throwing them out. That’s why I didn’t make bacon mac and cheese like I wanted to. I’ve been wanting to make that again.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: I Earned the Sausage

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I figured I needed to do a full 40 minutes today since not only did I have that turkey and potatoes for lunch but I needed to use the Italian sausage I bought and now have 4 packs of…

Don’t ask…

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I browned the sausage and saved some of the pasta water (I keep forgetting to do this) to mix with a splash of olive oil and two pats of butter. The result was a delightful creamy texture without feeling oily. Honestly, this didn’t need to sprinkle mozzarella on top. It was fine as is. And of course I threw some sliced garlic in there. I’m gonna have to keep this dish in my rotation in the future if the sausage is on sale again.

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atthequillsmercy

So, I made a turkey…

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I know that Mother’s Day is classically the day a mom is supposed to rest and not do a bunch of work, but would you trust a 14 year old to cook a turkey? Maybe you would, but I don’t trust mine to do this…

I try brined this for three days with lemon pepper, sage, thyme, and garlic powder then stuffed it with tiny limes, a sliced up lemon, onion, and garlic. Towards the end of the cooking, I threw in more onions, whole garlic cloves, and those tiny potatoes. It turned out amazing; juicy and citrusy (which is a real word, I checked). I’m relieved it worked out because I’ll obviously be eating turkey in some form for awhile. Next Sunday, I’ll make some broth from the bones and freeze it to use later.

I think making broth from the bones is my favorite part of cooking a while bird. I haven’t tried duck broth (and I probably won’t anytime soon unless another happy accident happens like with the turkey and I randomly end up with a whole duck) but I have made some delicious chicken broth that I used in chili or straight up drank as a meal because it was that good. It also comes in handy when the teenager gets sick. I don’t need to go to the store to buy broth or soup. I can make it at home.

I have a feeling I may have to make turkey soup just to change things up because the straight up plate of turkey and potatoes will get boring after awhile. I bet I could make a good soup out of it, though…

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: And an affordable dinner.

 

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Since I am taking care of a teenager who did not see a bag of chips and a jar of salsa as a snack but as a meal (I am still dumbfounded they finished the whole thing) I used my lunchtime to walk over to the store to see if I can find some on sale. It was a beautiful day, I didn’t even need a sweater so, I had a nice quick walk. And, I was able to replenish my supplies.

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I made chicken thighs over the weekend so I chopped one up and put in a tortilla with some cheese. I got the tortillas for 2 for $5, I got the salsa 2 for $4, the cheese for 2 for $4, and the chips for 2 for $5. I don’t math so it’s just a filling cheap meal, okay? And to spice things up, I sprinkled Tajin in the salsa.

Is a plate of carbs and cheese healthy? Not really… But hey, it was quick, tasty, enjoyable, and I didn’t break the bank at the grocery store. And heck, I likely burned off half the cheese walking to the store.

If I can keep the kid from eating the chips and salsa in one sitting, it will last awhile, too.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Lunch Walk

I had a random craving for some carbs and cheese so I went to the store on my lunch break to get some crushed tomatoes and mozzarella for dinner. Luckily for me, both items were on sale. A shame I didn’t have any cabernet to add to the sauce but this wasn’t a simmer for an hour type of evening. This was a get that food cooked in 30 minutes so I can go up to my office and write kind of day.

It was enough to satisfy my craving but it reminded me that I should batch cook some sauce at some point. And balanced out with a salad for lunch, I had a good caloric day! Even with nibbling on those homemade chips I made.

Those are addicting for me, now.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: Cardio Day 1 and Sunday Dinner

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I did some biking while I went through the books on my desk. I have these random piles of things and it was about time I made sure I even need them there. Most of them are withdrawn books I want to read before either selling or disposing of them.

Meanwhile, I had a TON of leftover rice floating around so I used it to make some beef fried rice.

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Yeah, it looks messy but I’m not out here trying to be a food blogger. I’m just trying to get my money’s worth out of my food and getting creative with eating more vegetables. Also, I used a small bowl and it was more than enough to fill me up. My only issue was with adding the scrambled egg. Instead of adding chunks of egg, it just got absorbed by everything else and created an interesting creamy sensation. And I made sure everything was cooked through so there’s no salmonella in my future. I had fun making it and it was satisfying. I’d totally make this a regular meal.

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atthequillsmercy

Happy New Year!

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So, I decided to bake some chicken instead of pork or beans (because I don’t like beans or black eyed peas) as my new years dinner.

 I put some garlic and herbs in the bottom of my little dutch oven, stuffed the chicken (after a long brine) with onions and more garlic, then basted it with butter and yet more garlic and herbs. As the chicken rested, I cooked the veggies and added the tomatoes when it was all ready to eat. I love it when I just make shit up and it turns out delicious.

Here’s hoping this year is better than the last one!

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atthequillsmercy

Food Stuffs!

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This picture has been circulating around my Instagram and I had a bunch of people ask me how I made it.

Yes, that is a Hello Kitty plate… It’s my daughter’s… She likes broccoli. :p

Anyway, I had some panko breadcrumbs taking up space in my kitchen and I was thinking of ways to use them up. I happened upon this recipe and changed it up a little. Here’s what I did:

  1. Pre heat oven to 425
  2. Put thin layer of panko on a baking sheet
  3. Brown panko in the oven for 3-5 minutes
  4. While the panko is cooking, put broccoli florets in a bowl with olive oil, chopped garlic, and some dried red pepper (to taste)
  5. Toss baked panko into the bowl too.
  6. Put the whole lot on a baking sheet and cook for 8-10 minutes (or until the broccoli is all cooked)

My kiddo liked it with some Parmesan cheese on it but me? It was good with the tiniest bit of kosher salt. ^_^ I used frozen broccoli (cause that’s what I had on hand) but I can’t see this going wrong with fresh as long as you play with the cooking time.

Also, try flavor infused olive oil. I can see myself eating this all the time and it’s not too bad in the health department.

Also? My kid will eat plain broccoli with nothing but lemon juice on it. I can’t attest to the “my kid won’t eat veggies but they will if it’s like this” factor. You other parents out there will have to try that out for yourselves. ;D