October 10, 2011

• Home cooked meals

  When you work long hours, it’s hard to find any enjoyment in cooking.  There are times when I just have bread or cereal for dinner.  But I’ve been trying to claw back a bit of time to make some decent meals.  I usually cook a big batch on Sunday, take some to my dad and leave some for myself.

  Beef in black bean sauce with baby bak choy in rice noodles.  Ok – I used the sauce from a jar.  But I was in a rush.  I did add a bit of ginger, garlic and oyster sauce.  I eased up on the oyster sauce because I don’t want dad to have too much sodium in his diet.  I want him to have some veggies so I used the baby bak choy which is a bit more tender. 

  

  I can’t remember if the soup is chicken stock or pork stock.  But either one works.  I simply used ground pork, added some preserved salted vegetables that have been finely diced.  I also chopped the ground pork a bit more to make it smoother.  Another trick is to simply grab the pork and slam it back into the bowl several times.  I use a big metal bowl for that.  Don’t over do it though otherwise you will have bits and pieces of meat all over.  The veggies were a bit of the baby bak choy and Chinese cabbage. 

  

  I roasted a pair of chicken legs (with thighs) in the oven.  I added some potatoes and carrots (the carrots were too dry though).  I sliced some garlic very thinly and stuffed them under the skin.  I then coated the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and olive oil.  I did the same for the veggies.  While they are cooking, you can clean up the kitchen.  I used the second chicken leg for dinner the next day thus saving me more cooking time.  I used organic chicken although you don’t have to.

  

  I had some skinless chicken breast coated with olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano.  I sliced some potatoes thinly, coated them as well with salt, pepper and olive oil. It didn’t take long for them to cook and they didn’t dry out.  I found some red rice I had in the cupboard and used that. 

  

  I can’t remember if I posted this one before.  It’s quinoa, I added some peas and carrots.  The shrimp was simply sauteed in olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper. If you take the shrimp out the night before and defrost it in the fridge, it’ll be a lot faster to prepare.

  

  I can’t remember if I posted this one before too.  This takes a bit of time to make.  I used the cook ham and some Chinese sausage.  I usually use BBQ pork instead. It took a bit of time to dice the ham.  I don’t use the skin (rind?).  But I save that to make soups.  I usually cook a large batch to last a couple of meals.

  

  J came by one night and I ordered pizza (not spicy).  This was chicken, roasted red peppers, tomato sauce, cheese, onions, garlic, olive oil and oregano.  I had a nice cold beer to go with it.  I tripped over the garbage can to get my camera to take a picture.  J just rolled his eyes. 

  

  But trust me, cooking during a weekday can still be a chore.  I just have to plan and organize things a bit better.  If I have time the night before, I’ll wash the veggies after doing the dishes (if I do the dishes at all).  

  Enjoy your Monday.  

   

  • 12:09 PM
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