HASTY TASTY MEALS BLOG

April 5, 2020 · 2:37 pm

Quarantine Cuisine Day #4 – Chef Salad

Previously, I mentioned we have our main meal at lunchtime and prefer a light dinner. For the next several days, dinner is a variation of the chef salad. Light, yes. Quick? Well … not so much.

Unless you buy bagged salad mix, you must first wash and chopped your produce. (Quarantine tip: save the chopped ends of lettuce in water and grow another serving) I prefer chopping lettuce and slicing tomatoes with a knife, but a food processor or Kitchen Kutter makes quick work of shredding carrots, slicing celery and onions, and whatever else you want to add.

I usually add chopped boiled egg, a bit of Parmesan cheese,and a meat to finish the salad. The meat can be a shredded cooked chicken breast, thawed frozen cooked shrimp, chopped lunch meat, or tonight’s selection, canned tuna.

A salad is a good way to get a couple of servings of vegetables, and it doesn’t have to be boring. Add grated zucchini, sliced fresh mushrooms, or even fruit. We plan to enjoy salads until we run out of fresh produce. That’s when my 30-Day challenge will get, uh, challenging.

Quarantine Cuisine Day #3 – Grits

Breakfast. I’m a firm advocate of eating breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day because you are “breaking” the “fast” of sleep.

I’m also no fan of fasting. Those diets that involve fasting are not for me! Just as with any meal, I will need to be creative with breakfast if I stick with my vow to stay home 30 days.

We still have eggs and egg substitutes, so today I combined the two to make a lightened version of scrambled eggs. We have plenty of Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties in the freezer, so I added those to the menu. But the star of today’s breakfast was grits.

I blogged previously about making grits in my pressure cooker.(No Grits , No Glory)

Today I needed only a cup of grits so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

INSTANT POT GRITS FOR TWO

1 cup water in the pot of the cooker (the grits are cooked in a bowl on the rack within the pot of the cooker)
1/4 cup old fashion grits
1 cup water
1/2 Tbsp (1 pat) unsalted butter
Salt to taste

Cook grits under pressure 5 minutes.
Turn off cooker. Allow pressure to drop completely on its own.
Carefully open cooker and remove bowl using silicone mitts or potholders.
Stir grits vigorously.
Serve immediately

This recipe produces one cup, or two half-cup servings. If you need more or larger servings, simply double the recipe.

In conclusion, I strive to vary our menus while meeting this thirty-day challenge. I don’t want my quarantine routine to turn into a rut.

Quarantine Cuisine Day #2 – Fiesta Salad

Day #1 wasn’t challenging as I had stocked up Tuesday with a pickup order from Walmart. Today I found myself with aging produce and a pound of ground turkey nearing its sell-by date.

Lunch is typically our main meal, so today I used these items to make two large servings of fiesta salad. It may contain Fritos chips, but it’s surprisingly healthful.

Basically a salad of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and (optional) cilantro, the only cooking was browning the ground turkey. The cheese sauce was cheddar cheese soup heated in the microwave oven, thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

According to my recipe builder, we each ate 556 calories, including 57 g. protein and 18 g. fat. and 6.2 g fiber. It’s a fun dish as well as a good use-up of produce.

It’s early in the month, so we’ll see how the thirty-day challenge progresses. So how’s your quarantine going?

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Filed under Healthful Eating

Tagged as Fiesta Salad, healthful diet, quick meals, turkey, vegetables

March 31, 2020 · 7:12 am

Quarantine Cuisine Challenge

We have thirty more days ahead of operation #StayHome to stop the spread of Coronavirus. So for the month of April, I’ve challenged myself to creating as many meals as I can from my freezer and pantry, without a visit to the supermarket.

It’s particularly challenging because I prefer fresh foods over canned or frozen. I haven’t a garden, thanks to the deer who thought we planted vegetables just for them. But we fall into the vulnerable demographic and I’m determined to make this work.

I won’t post every meal, but as often as possible I will share the interesting (?) menus and dishes I develop. So who’s with me? It’ll be fun.