Missed Meals II

I’m back for another round of Missed Meals – a post where I highlight meals that missed being mentioned on the blog until now.

I have said in the past that dinner inspiration is not my strength, so most weeknight meals are rarely memorable. If a plate of food happens to look good, I will throw down a place mat and take a photo (yes, I only use place mats for photo backgrounds, not for actual dining purposes.)

The plate above wasn’t very attractive, but it was significant because I tried my hand at making orange chicken à la Chinese takeout. I used this recipe for the chicken more or less, I didn’t have rice wine so I substituted more orange juice. It didn’t quite taste like food from a restaurant, but it was a start.

The next meal is more inventive: my take on pasta primavera.

Pasta Primavera

Serves 4 | Prep time: 40 minutes

• 2 chicken breasts, sliced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup diced bell pepper
• 2-3 tbs olive oil
• pinch of salt
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 container cream of mushroom soup
• 1 lemon (1/2 juice, the other 1/2 sliced for garnish)
• handful Parmesan cheese
• ~1lb cooked pasta

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken slices for 5-6 minutes, turning as needed, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and put aside. Add a drizzle more oil into the skillet, then add carrots, artichoke, and bell pepper. Cook vegetables for 10 minutes until carrots are softened.Season with salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Add in garlic and cooked chicken pieces. Stir in cream of mushroom soup and lemon juice. Coat everything in the skillet completely. Cook for an additional 10 minutes at medium-low heat. Serve over pasta with a garnish of lemon and sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

This dinner was good. I owe 90% of this dish’s success to the deliciousness that was provided by the cream of mushroom soup. I used Trader Joe’s portabello mushroom soup – it was very thick and creamy. All it needed was a touch of acid to brighten the flavors.

Less exciting meal plan: pizza.

I am proud of this pizza pie because I made the sauce and dough from scratch. I’m not sure I’ve ever tried to make both from scratch at once – and they were both really good!

But, it was just a regular pizza – whole wheat crust, tons of cheese, bell peppers, onions, and broccoli.

And last but not least, a meal that’s been hiding in my computer for a month: our Valentine’s dinner!

Since we went out for a luxurious hotel stay the weekend before Valentine’s – we didn’t go out to eat on the actual holiday. I tried my best to make a fancy steak dinner to impress him. Well, Justin ate the steak, I had a Cornish hen.

I didn’t know what the heck to do with the bird. Justin grabbed it at Whole Foods when we were feeling adventurous. But I wasn’t feeling very bold when it came time to dress the bird for cooking. I squealed like a little girl as I washed it in the sink. Then, I covered the bird in olive oil and butter, and coated it with a ton of poultry seasoning.

For good measure, I stuck a bunch of lemon slices up the bird’s butt.

Here she is all cooked up. I think it looks pretty gross in these pictures, but the flavors were okay. Next time we go for Cornish hens, I’ll use a recipe.

Oh, and we had steamed asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes to round out the meal.

Other than what you’ve seen in this post, I’ve had a lot of salads, pasta + meatballs, hummus + pita + carrot sticks, and a few orders of takeout on busy work nights. Nothing too original happening in this kitchen!