Sunday Suppers #4

Before I get started on Sunday suppers, here's me showing off the pound cake I made yesterday. We brought it to a Fourth of July party and it all got eaten but one little slice -- just enough for an after church snack for Clayton and I today! I always use the same recipe when making pound cake, because I have never tasted a pound cake better than my Grandma Odom made. I have a tendency to undercook it, making it slightly doughy in the middle, but this time, it was PERFECT! The decorations were not that great, but I was using leftover icing from Clayton's cake (I just died the orange to a reddish, more patriotic color) and I had a half hour to make it work. So, not my best, but still delicious!

Oops...looks like I didn't quite get one of the strawberry slices stuck down.

I was thinking to myself today, well, what happens if I make something that I've already made and put on my blog??? And then I realized, well, life will go on. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even spend less time blogging because I won't have to describe a dish twice in a row! After all, I am not trying to do one of those crazy blogs where they make something different every single week. So, here's my warning: I may in the near future make something that I've already made and recorded on this blog. And when that happens, well we can all smile and think to ourselves, "Well, maybe she is human after all..." :-)

This week I got a produce basket from a co-op called bountiful baskets. I really enjoy it because I get a variety of produce for pretty cheap. So, I thought today I'd start off with the before picture -- all the stuff on my counter that would soon be made into delicious dinners.

We're going to make fresh lemonade tomorrow! And most of the fruit we just eat plain. I just wash it and put it in the dish rack to dry.

However, sometimes I get items in my produce basket that are more of a challenge for me. Exhibit A:

Swiss chard. To me, it's a close relative of lettuce and spinach, both of which I am not a big fan of, except on sandwiches. What to do, what to do...???

Exhibit B:

Iceberg lettuce. Now how is that hard? All you do is throw on some tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese, and you've got a salad. Right? Wrong. I really don't like green salads much. It feels like such a waste of chewing. :-) And Clayton is not a big lettuce eater either.

Well, I tackled the chard first. This is a cooked chard dish that is supposed to go over couscous or brown rice. I just liked it plain. It tastes WAY better than spinach.

Chard with Beans and Roasted Tomatoes

Olive oil

One Tomato, sliced

One small bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed and leaves torn

1/4 c. raisins

1/4 c. craisins

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp water

salt and pepper to taste

1 15-ounce can kidney beans

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until browned -- about 3-5 minutes. Turn and cook for one more minute and remove from the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add the chard, raisins, craisins, garlic, water, salt and pepper to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the chard wilts. Return the tomatoes to the skillet and add the beans and lemon juice. Cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes.

Next, to tackle the lettuce. I decided to try some lettuce wraps. Asian foods is one of the kinds of foods that I often use shortcuts for. It's just expensive to buy hoisin sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger, and teriyaki sauce, and then store them in your cabinet for several months before you pull them out again. So, I buy a "seasoning mix" packet at the store for $.75. I made General Tso's Chicken just as the packet instructed, but added diced onions, asparagus, celery, and edamame. Once it is cooked through, just place in lettuce leaves and roll. It's not really a great picture, but there are several wraps on that plate (it was our dinner), and I wanted you to see the inside of one.

And last but certainly not least, Moroccan Tangine. This is one of Clayton and my absolute FAVORITES! And it is very different from almost anything else we eat. For this one, I actually follow a recipe -- surprise! So, below is a link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moroccan-tagine/detail.aspx

The only change I make is that I always cook chicken in batches. I bought five pounds of chicken yesterday. I used some for the lettuce wraps and marinated the rest in a greek dressing and grilled it all. I diced it and put a third of it in the pan for the tangine and put the rest in two bags and froze it. Cooked chicken for two more meals!

Above is some tri-colored couscous. I just put it in my rice cooker and it takes about five minutes!

And there's my Sunday Suppers for this week!