flailing in my kitchen v3

How can I be sad when I have breakfast, lunch, and dinner?

Leftovers and Broccoli

We have way too much food right now. I cook dinner around every other night, and my sister bakes stuff, and all of a sudden our fridge is filled with food. I decided we needed a leftover night, but I also decided we didn't have enough leftover vegetables. So I cooked broccoli.

Broccoli in a pan

I sorta kinda used the Quick Garlic Parmesan Broccoli recipe from Budget Bytes. Somehow I made my broccoli really yellow though ): I don't think I'll be making this again, because that was way too much work for broccoli.

Pulled pork, broccoli, and pierogies
The pulled pork was leftover from a work event.

I also used two whole pans for the recipe. And I wanted to heat up the rest of my pierogies, so I used another pan for that! This is way too many pans for leftover night.

Lots of things stacked on a dish rack
Eh, I've stacked more on my dish rack before.


Citrus Salmon

I spent waaay too long trying to pick out another theme for this site since I didn't like the fact that the old layout was infinitely scrolling. And you know what happened? This theme also does the same thing! Whatever, I like the way it looks. One day I'll make my own theme.

Citrus salmon

Anyway, check out this salmon I cooked! I was browsing How Sweet Eats and I came across Winter Citrus Butter Salmon. It seemed like the perfect thing to make since I love salmon and I had oranges I needed to use up.

Sliced oranges
There is a fancy word for how my sister cut these oranges, but I don't remember it.

We followed the recipe exactly, and I seriously have no idea how Jessica managed to cook the salmon by broiling it for 8 minutes. I mean, I like my salmon undercooked, but even this was a bit much for me. A couple of adjustments I'll be making for next time:

  • Bake the salmon for 10 minutes, then broil it for 5.It's two whole pounds of salmon. I don't think cooking it for 15 minutes is too long.
  • Double the brown sugar rub. Like I said, two whole pounds of salmon. Needs more flavor.
  • Cut the orange slices really thinly! Okay, the recipe already said to do this, but it's important. They taste like candy after they're cooked.
Bowl of citrus salsa
My sister is skillfully holding the bowl and taking the picture at the same time.

We paired the salmon with leftover veggies from a work event. And rice because we eat lots of rice.

Citrus salmon and some fruits, veggies, and rice on the side
She wasn't happy with her plating, but I still think it's beautiful.

Close up of the citrus salmon

I give the recipe 5/5 stars, would make again. In fact I want to try all of Jessica Merchant's salmon recipes.

Filed under: salmon

Dumpling Party

I know they call them "pot stickers" but you really don't want them to stick to the pot. Because then you can't take them out of the pot, and you end up with dumplings that are missing bottoms.

A messy plate of dumplings
Still delicious.

We switched to a non-stick pan for the second batch. I guess you can't really tell from the picture though, since the bottoms are hidden.

A nice plate of dumplings
Note to self: include the dipping sauce in the picture next time.

One of my friends made a pretty salad to go with the dumplings. Apparently he was supposed to use green onions, but Aldi was out of them so he used red ones instead. Red onion is not a good substitute for green onion.

Salad with onions, bell peppers, cabbage, and shredded carrots
Also still delicious.


Odds 'n Ends

Because not every meal has a story. At least not one I can remember.

Sheet Pan Greek Chicken and Vegetables from Budget Bytes

Greek chicken and vegetables
This is most certainly not a sheet pan.

Can't remember all the things I changed in this recipe, but I know I used cilantro instead of parsley.

Greek chicken and vegetables on a plate


Shrimp Scampi Florentine from All Recipes

Shrimp scampi florentine
My sister's plating was on point.

The shrimp in the pan wasn't as aesthetically pleasing, so we only took one type of photo. This is probably my favorite recipe from All Recipes, so I might make a full post about it in the future.


Spanish Chickpeas and Rice from Budget Bytes

Spanish chickpeas and rice
Holding up these pans for the pictures is like a workout.

We made this the other day since my sister mentioned really wanting some Spanish rice. As you can see in the photos, I replaced the artichokes with green bell peppers because that's what I had on hand. And I used chicken broth instead of vegetable.

Spanish chickpeas and rice on a plate
We make a lot of rice dishes.

And yes, everything in this post is garnished with cilantro.


Breakfast Hash

So I don't work at google, but my company has its fair share of free food opportunities. Once a month, there's leftover breakfast, and it's always the same thing: a hash of potatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese, and onions. It's delicious, and almost certainly bad for you, so it's probably a good thing I only have it once a month.

But I always think...I can totally make this myself.

Breakfast hash
This is missing something...

But when I don't follow a recipe, my food ends up being questionable, so I was really excited when I saw a Cheesy Bacon And Egg Hash recipe from Cafe Delites.

Breakfast hash close up with scallions
Garnish!

As far as adjustments are concerned, if cooking on the stove, I absolutely recommend cooking the bacon first and then using the bacon fat to cook the potatoes. I think I'll bake it next time though. It was a little too crispy for my tastes.

Breakfast hash with coffee

Filed under: breakfast

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