Today I told some stories and did a little reminiscing about my late husband ♥️ So I thought I would cook and have one of his favorites for dinner. He enjoyed any kind of beans mixed with any kind of greens with a little onion, garlic and hot pepper thrown in for good measure. And, of course, some crusty Italian bread goes without saying! This is what I had in my kitchen to make it today……

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 bunch of rainbow Swiss chard
• 1/2 large onion, large chop
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed
• Large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a large sauté pan

Chop the stalks of the Swiss chard and set the leafy part aside

Sauté onion, Swiss chard stalks and garlic til softened

Take the leafy part of the Swiss chard, cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise in large pieces and add to pan

Add in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes

Add the beans and heat thru

Drizzle with a little more oil when serving, if you like

Submitted by G ♥️

I have been making lentils the same way for many years, which is delicious, but I decided to try a different way. I like trying different preparations, and one this turned out to be delicious along with quick to prepare.

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 cups onion, cut in large dice
• 2 cups carrots, cut in bite sized slices
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup lentils
• 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot

Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for 8-10 minutes

Add garlic and sauté another minute

Add the tomatoes, lentils, chicken stock, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot

Stir til boiling, then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes til lentils are tender

Submitted by G ♥️

The final remnant of food in the freezer was a package of frozen Grouper filets. Using the pan-frying method I’ve outlined in earlier posts, I thawed, then, breaded the fish, sprinkled with some salt, pepper, and “Island Spice”-absolutely optional. (-or use lemon & pepper, any herb combination, or none at all.)

After heating a couple of drizzles of oil in a skillet, the filets were browned, on medium heat, for about two minutes on each side. I covered the skillet and let it sit for 10 minutes, heat OFF. You can actually see that the thickest of the three pieces still has a bit of pink, which finished cooking under cover.

I am proud to say that no food was wasted in this cleanout operation! We had some eclectic meals, made great use of herbs and other spices, vegetables, pastas, and grains. Best of all, I had fun being creative in the kitchen.

My next post will be sometime in the near future, as our trek to the great state of New York will begin very early in the morning, and fill some twenty-five hours on the highways and byways spanning about eight states. Whoo-boy! 🚘

Ciao, Florida! 🌞

Thanks for following the posts, and for accepting this challenge to make a meal or two from the unlikely combinations in your own kitchen.

Submitted by L: 😎

With only two nights left here in Florida, my refrigerator and cupboards are pretty bare, but it’s fun to make meals with the few items available. It’s kind of like my own version of Chopped. What can I make with one can of kidney beans and a bag of rice?

I used ⅓ cup of the rice in the cupboard for Rice Pudding – see previous post – and cooked 2 cups in the standard way. Half will be used to make this quick Beans & Rice. The remainder will be used for dinner tomorrow night as a side dish for the last of the frozen fish and one lonely frozen veggie burger. I am aware that the standard bean of choice for Beans & Rice, a.k.a. Arroz con Frijoles Negros, is the mighty Black bean – but, when you’re on a cleanout mission, you use what you’ve got!

The bonus for me is that the combination of the beans and rice creates a tasty phytoprotein. Meatless!!!

Mince about ¼ cup of onion and 1 clove of garlic; sauté them in a small amount of oil; add desired amount of chili powder and cumin, salt and pepper, to taste; add drained can of beans; cook gently for about 10 minutes. Use atop a bowl of hot cooked rice. That’s about it.

!Buen Provecho!

Submitted by L: 😎

Cottage  gardens in France contain a variety of crops that are grown together, which are called potage gardens.  The harvest from these potage gardens are often used to make puréed vegetable soup.

Our WinnDixie shopper found what had to be the largest onion I’ve ever seen! I’ve been chopping, mincing, dicing away at that thing for over a week, yet, there was still enough left today to make about a half-cup of minced onion – just the right amount for Vegetable Potage, and enough for one last clean-out-the-place meal of Beans and Rice. (Recipe in a separate post)

Making potage is very easy and is a great way to use up the last of the vegetables in the crisper. The starter is usually minced onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. This fragrant and flavorful combination is called “mirepoix” in French. The Italian version, called “soffritto”, frequently contains parsley.

Any other vegetables you wish to add merely enhance the soup, so, feel free to use your favorites or whatever is in the fridge. You may note that this recipe is suspiciously similar to the Creamy Celery Soup from May 5th, the Vegetarian Potato Soup from May 15th, and the Cream of Asparagus from November 10th, 2019. Once you get the technique under control, there’s no limit to the kinds of potage you can create.

Vegetable Potage

• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• ½ cup carrots, sliced
• ½ large tomato, diced
• ¼ cup butter/olive oil mix
• 2½-3 cups water
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

In the butter/oil mixture, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent; add celery, carrots, tomato, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add 2½ cups of the water and the bouillon cube; cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the flour into the milk until smooth; add about 2 tablespoons of the soup liquid to the flour mixture; slowly whisk into the pot.

Cover and simmer on low for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Stir frequently, adding more water if necessary to adjust thickness and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Let cool slightly and ladle desired amount of the potage into a blender to purée to create preferred consistency.  Return to pot, adjust seasoning; at this point, I added a slice of extra-sharp cheddar; stirring to melt. You can also use an immersion blender, or skip the step altogether for a chunky-style soup.

You can see the picture, second from left, of the cooked potage before blending, which is not as thick, but is also very tasty. The soup is great plain, or can be enhanced with cooked rice.

Bon Appétit!

Submitted by L: 👩🏻‍🍳 Stay safe, stay well. 🧡

For those of you that follow this blog, (and you better!) you may recall a previous post of a Millard Fillmore Casserole. If not, feel free to scroll through to find it! Or you can use this recipe for inspiration! Well, as it turns out, I needed to use up some produce from my last delivery before it’s too late as I and my Sista always do. (I hate to waste food and you should too). Here’s what I did this time…….

• 5 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 onion, sliced into rounds or half moons
• 2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 or 2 tomatoes, sliced (I only had 1 left)
• 3 tbsp oil, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup flavored bread crumbs
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place carrots and potatoes into an 11 x 7 inch casserole dish And toss with 1 tbsp oil and salt & pepper

Scatter onion slices over the top

Arrange the zucchini slices over the onions and drizzle with 1 tbsp oil and salt & pepper

Cover the top evenly with the tomato slices

Stir the Parmesan Cheese and bread crumbs together in a small bowl, then sprinkle over the top of the tomatoes

Drizzle the last tbsp of oil over the casserole

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes until vegetables are tender and top is golden brown.

Note: of course you can use whatever vegetables you like or have on hand. As always, have fun in your kitchen and make your own concoctions!

Submitted by G ♥️

Rice Pudding 

• 2½ cups milk
• ⅓ cup uncooked white rice (short grain is best – I only had long grain 🤷🏻‍♀️)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (or more, to taste)
• ⅓ cup raisins

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the milk, rice, and salt to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered until the rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together egg and brown sugar until well mixed. Add a half cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, a tablespoon at a time, vigorously whisking to incorporate.

Add egg mixture back into the saucepan, stir on low heat, for 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened. Be careful not to allow the mixture come to a boil or it will curdle. Remove from heat; stir in the raisins, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Delicious, warm or cold.

Submitted by L: 👩🏻‍🍳

With only four days left here at our vacation rental, the question is, will I be able to make edible use of the odds and ends left in the refrigerator, freezer, and cupboard? Remember, as the child of a Depression-Era mom, I’d be sleepless if anything got wasted that might have been served for dinner. (My Sista G would have harsh words, too!)

As foreshadowed in yesterday’s post, this is how I had planned to use the leftover marinara sauce. There were also two large bagels, about a half-cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and a bowl of cooked vegetables – asparagus, broccoli, and carrots. Here we go!

Place the open bagels on a baking tray, and spoon a light layer of sauce on each. Bake @350° for about 10 minutes to crisp the bagels. Top each half with an equal portion of the cheese; return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

While the pizza bagels are in the oven, gently warm the vegetable medley, check the seasoning, and serve as a side dish.

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Submitted by L: 👩🏻‍🍳

My cleanout continues. With one can of crushed tomatoes and a half-box of penne, let’s make Penne Rigate Alla Marinara. A dollop of Ricotta, a side of steamed asparagus, and garlic toast on the side… now, that’s dinner.

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Submitted by L: 🍅👩🏻‍🍳

My mission continues to use up the groceries in our vacation rental before packing up and heading for home. In the interest of full disclosure, this started out as Gnocchi, but evolved into dumplings. The batter was too sticky to form gnocchi, and being too impatient to let it sit and settle, I improvised. When I’m in the kitchen, things like that happen. However, no harm, no foul – the results were mouthwatertingly delightful! A side of asparagus, and some sliced and sautéed Portabella mushrooms atop the sauce rounded out the meal.

Ricotta Dumplings

• 2½ cups Ricotta cheese
•  3 eggs
• ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup flour, may need more

Mix everything except the flour in a large bowl. Add the flour, a little at a time until a soft dough forms. I ended up using about 1½ cups of flour altogether. Drop by spoonfuls into rapidly boiling salted water, cook until they float to the top. Remove with slotted spoon, place in large bowl; set aside.

Quick Alfredo Sauce

• 1 stick butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste
• 1-1½ cups milk
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Melt the butter; whisk in the cream cheese and garlic, mixing until smooth. Add the milk gradually and whisk out any remaining lumps. Stir in parmesan cheese and pepper. Serve immediately over cooked Ricotta Dumplings.

The Ricotta Dumplings were light and tender and the Quick Alfredo topped with sautéed mushrooms was the perfect complement.

Submitted by L 😋