Weekend Cooking 11/4

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  I started to participate two weeks ago, since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!

My meal planning was a bit different this week because our CSA season is over which means I am no longer planning meals around whatever fresh veggies I pick up at the farm on Monday.  So, I went with some old favorites and easy stuff.

Once the roads re-opened after Hurricane Sandy, my son's friend was finally able to go home, and we were back to just the four of us (my college son was home for an extended time since there were no classes for 3 days).  I made an old favorite we all love, Chipotle Tamale Pie, another Cooking Light recipe that I turn to again and again.  I just subbed coconut milk for 1% milk and gluten-free flour for regular flour.  Yum!

The next night was Halloween, and I wasn't sure if we'd have 3 people for dinner or 6 (my son had invited friends over but wasn't sure who could make it), so I made a big batch of Pork Fried Rice, using my own recipe.  It's really easy and very flexible:

You just stir fry thin strips of pork (or chicken), then remove them from the pan.  Stir fry a bunch of veggies - I usually use bok choy (I had some baby bok choy left from the farm), scallions, mushrooms, and frozen peas.  Make a space in the center of the stir fry pan and scramble 2-3 eggs (I mix in a teaspoon or so of sesame oil).  When the eggs are cooked, add the meat back in, stir it all together, add in cooked, cooled rice (we use brown rice), and season to taste with soy sauce and ground pepper.  Very tasty and great for left-overs.

By then, we were getting down to the bottom of the veggie bin (still hadn't been shopping since before the storm), but I managed to scrape together enough ingredients for a basic Chicken Stew.  I thought I'd add in some dumplings as a special treat for my husband and son, but they turned out like little concrete balls!  ha ha  I have been baking gluten-free for several months now, and I guess the whole wheat baking mix in the cupboard might have been a bit old.  The stew was still good, though!

Friday night, my son talked me into putting the pork chops back in the freezer and ordering Chinese take-out - it didn't take much convincing!

And I made a double batch of Traditional Chili yesterday to take to a friend's house for a potluck.  I got the recipe from my college roommate's mom - it's been scribbled in the back of a notebook since 1985!  It's a very basic, traditional chili, but it's still my family's favorite.  I am looking forward to having some left-overs for lunch today!

And tonight, I am making Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo, another of our favorite recipes that I created based on our years in Louisiana.  That one hasn't been published, though, so I don't have a link.  Hmmm....maybe I should start reprinting some of my recipes here each weekend.  And I definitely need to start taking some photos when I cook.  This is fun!

Hope you have had a great week and a weekend filled with good food!