Sloppy Joes!

I can't even begin to make enough excuses for not having posted for three weeks. I mean I am trying to finish a dissertation, sell a house, plan to move and start a new job, etc.....
But that is no excuse! I apologize.
So the house is flickering black and white here tonight. I bleached, washed, and dried a load of my husband's white socks today. And dinner could be taken straight out of a 50's household: Sloppy Joes, Macaroni Salad, and Baked Beans.
In fact, this is basically the recipe for Sloppy Joes in the Joy of Cooking. I sauteed about 1/2C each chopped onions, green peppers, and mushrooms in butter.
I sauteed about 1 1/4 lb. ground beef in 3 batches. I lightly salted, peppered, and chili powdered the beef as it sauteed. These spices are not in the Joy of Cooking recipe.
After all the beef was cooked I mixed the beef and veggies with about 6 ounces of Heinz 57 chili sauce. The Joy of Cooking only calls for 2-4T.
Eat this on a hamburger bun and watch the black and white flickering in your house too!

Fresh Fish, Grilled

I couldn't find my camera until the end of this meal preparation process, so I apologize for the fact that you only get 1 picture!
A friend of ours caught two beautiful fish the other day. We already had the grill going for other purposes but we happily shifted gears. 1 Rainbow trout and 1 Brown trout, each about 20 inches long, arrived at our house. My husband and his friend cleaned them by removing the head and the guts, but left them whole and with the skin.

In the cavity, my husband put generous amounts of olive oil, kosher salt, thick slices of lemon, and sprigs of parsley. He wrapped each fish individually in foil and placed them on the grill. He rotated them often to get each side and each end exposed to the heat. We didn't time it but they were only the grill at least 25 minutes.
When they were unwrapped the skin pulled easily away from the meat and the meat off the bones. They were delicious! I prefer the Rainbow trout as the flavor and texture are more delicate than the Brown. But I didn't turn away a serving of each!

Tuna Salad

I had a craving for tuna salad this afternoon. A late lunch, a little afternoon snack, something to munch on while I contemplate what's for dinner!
I used a can of Trader Joe's tuna in olive oil. Delish! Much higher in fat than tuna packed in water, but tasty! Per Cooks Illustrated, I always drain my tuna in a sieve and press it and fluff it with a fork to get it a dry as I can. This is especially important with water packed but also serves to remove some of the oil in the oil packed.
I then squeezed on about 1/2t of lemon juice and let it sit as I prepared the other ingredients.
I chopped about 1T of parsley and stirred it in. I added 4 slices of pickled jalapenos, chopped and 4 green olives, chopped. I chopped and added 1 stalk of celery.
And then I added about 1T of mayo and mixed it up. I ate it on a few slices of fresh bread with sprouts.
Yum!

Greek Salad

I love Greek salads. Maybe it is just the feta cheese. But I think it is the dressing too.

I usually use Romaine lettuce though red leaf or baby green mixes would work. Tossing some baby spinach in would be tasty too. I like the sturdiness of the Romaine with the cheese. It seems to hold on to the cheese and dressing better than something like red leaf. I also like to either tear or chop the lettuce into pretty small pieces so the end result is kind of like a chopped salad. (I didn't quite accomplish that in these pictures.)
In this version, I added hard boiled eggs, garbanzo beans, and kalamata olives so it was a protein-filled salad. It could easily be a meal in and of itself.
I also added chopped cucumber and sliced radishes. I didn't have other veggies at the time but I love celery and tomatoes in a Greek salad.
I added crumbled feta cheese to the salad rather than the dressing but it is easy to do it either or both ways. I have also made Greek salads in bowls with tops so you can seal up the whole salad, dressing and all, and toss it vigorously!
I also didn't have any pepperoncinis but they are nice on the side with a Greek salad.
But the dressing! I make a basic vinaigrette dressing but I use kalamata olive oil and red wine vinegar. I also add plenty of lemon juice and a touch of sugar. I also add fresh ground pepper and crumbled dried mint. I love dried mint. Yum. Enjoy!

Classic American Dinner

Hello! Sorry it's been so long. Something about trying to finish a doctoral program, conducting a job search, and having an injured puppy has distracted me from this project.
So today's post is about a classic American dinner that my husband and I had recently. And it's a chance to vote as to whose plate looks better. We won't tell which is which! Just pick the ketchup or the mustard plate.
The dinner....was hot dogs, which are Hoffman's natural casing tasty dogs that we love. And we always steam our hot dogs and then toss the buns on top at the end to steam a bit too. We topped these with canned Hormel chili (no beans), shredded cheddar cheese, and mustard.

And they are served with tater tots and baked beans! And one of us needs extra mustard and one needs ketchup for the tater tots! Let us know who plates a better Classic American Dinner!