dinner

Tuna Cheese Casserole

classic american, dinner

ingredients

  • 1 pckg egg noodles
  • 2 cans broccoli-cheese soup
  • 2 cans tuna, drained and shredded
  • 1 cup frozen peas (or mixed frozen vegetables)
  • 1/2 cup panko breadcumbs
  • Pam (or a little butter) and a little cheese (I used Romano)

instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Cook egg noodles to al dente.
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  2. Combine cooked noodles, soup, tuna, and frozen peas in a casserole dish.
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  3. Mix breadcrumbs with a little oil and cheese and spread over the top.
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  4. Bake for 20ish minutes or till warmed through and bubbly.

Chickpea Butt-ritos

dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 1 box mexican rice
  • 1 can refried beans
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • mexican cheese
  • burrito tortillas
  • avocado
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

instructions

  1. Make the rice and warm up the refried beans.
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  2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Dry with paper towels (wet ones won’t roast well) and, for this recipe, de-skin chickpeas using a paper towel to gently pull them off.
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  3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add chickpeas. Cook until starting to brown, then add spices and continue to cook (letting them crumble in the pan a bit) until crispy.
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  4. Assemble the burritos by spreading the beans, rice, chickpeas, cheese, avo, and any veggies across the middle of the taco. Then fold and roll up.
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  5. Heat up a pan with a little oil and cook the burritos on each side.

Danny’s Doubledecker Tacos

dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 6 hard shell tacos
  • 6 flour tortillas
  • 1 can refried beans, warmed up
  • 1 pack mexican rice
  • 1 lb ground beef/meat substitute
  • 1/2 pckg cojita cheese or nacho cheese if ya nasty (as Michael Scott would say)
  • mediterranean salad for serving
  • couldn’t hurt to have a little cilantro and lime

  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

instructions

  1. Heat a pan over medium heat and 1 tsp olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the meat/meat substitute. Cook, stirring often, until it begins to brown.
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  2. Add in the cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Cook until just browned.
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  3. Assemble the tacos!
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    1. Cook the flour tortilla on your gas range.
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    2. Coat one side of the tortilla in refried beans.
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    3. Press the bean side of the tortilla against the outer side of the hard shell taco like a cover.
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    4. Lay in the ground beef, rice, cheese, and salad if desired.

Adapted from www.howsweeteats.com/2019/01/ground-beef-tacos/

BBB Grilled Cheese (aka fancy af grilled cheese)

dinner, new american

ingredients

  • 2 pretzel rolls (or any really good bread)
  • a bunch of mozzarella (or any) cheese
  • 1 bunch basil
  • 1/2 pint blackberries (or any berry)
  • 2-4 tbsp balsamic reduction (make by heating balsamic in a pan with brown sugar until thickened)

instructions

  1. Warm the inside of the rolls to allow for easy melting. Then, put down a layer of cheese, a “layer” of berry mixture, and another layer of cheese (for dan, use slightly less than twice as much cheese).
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  2. Make dat grilled cheese.

Adapted from: https://rachaelray.com/blogs/recipes/grilled-cheese-with-blackberry-balsamic-and-basil-rachael-ray

616 Carne Asada Tacos

dinner, mexican

ingredients

  • 2 lb flank or skirt steak
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 jalepeno minced
  • 2 limes juiced
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • Serve with cojita or queso fresco and pico (or instead of pico: mediterranean salad wink wink)

instructions

  1. Combine marinade ingredients in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, then reserve half of the marinade in a separate container for serving later.
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  2. Add the steak to the bag and squish around to coat. Marinate for at least four hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the steak from the marinade.
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  3. Heat a heavy large skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat. Cook the meat for about 5-7 minutes per side (or until done).
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  4. To serve, cut meat against the grain. Then pour remaining marinade over the top of the steak.
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  5. Serve with whatever other shit you want!

Adapted from: https://thestayathomechef.com/authentic-carne-asada/ and https://damndelicious.net/2019/05/05/carne-asada/ (<– that one has good pics and videos for help!)

Mom’s Sicilian Pasta

dinner, mediterranean, pasta/grains

ingredients

  • 1 lb orecchiette
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • grated rind of one lemon
  • 1/2 cup raisins, soaked and dried
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 12 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 1/2 cup basil, chopped (so good, but it’s fine if you skip this)
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, toasted
  • 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • romano cheese (optional)

instructions

  1. While pasta cooks to al dente, saute garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan. After a minute or two, add red pepper, then lemon rind, basil, and pine nuts to taste.
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  2. Add sliced tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Put pasta in frying pan and mix, adding more water if needed. Stir in breadcrumbs. Top with romano if desired.

Vegan Gyros with Roasted Potatoes

dinner, pasta/grains

ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 grated cucumber
  • 1/4 cup greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 3/4 tsp red wine (or plain) vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 tsp lemon zest

  • pita bread
  • pre-made hummus
  • for serving (optional): tomato, lettuce, feta cheese

  • 1 lb (more or less whateva) red potatoes, chunks
  • 1 large onion (more or less or whateva), chunks
  • Olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano

instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Dry with paper towels (wet ones won’t roast well). Generously grease a sheet pan with cooking spray.
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  2. Potatoes. Spread potato and onion on one half of a large sheet pan. Drizzle with oil, salt, pepper, oregano (optional) to taste. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.
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  3. Chickpeas. While you wait, add chickpeas to a mixing bowl. Drizzle on oil, seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste. Toss until well coated, spread evenly on the other half of the baking sheet when 10 minutes is up. Roast for 18-22 minutes, tossing or shaking the tray at the halfway mark. Roast until crisp, but not hard.
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  4. Tzatziki. Meanwhile, grate cucumber the large holes of cheese grater. Line a small bowl with a few paper towels and place the grated cucumber on top. Squeeze out as much as extra moisture as you can to keep the sauce from being watery. Once it’s drained, add to a medium-sized bowl with the rest of the sauce ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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  5. Char the pita bread. Spray both sides of the pita with olive oil cooking spray and “grill” the bread on the stovetop over an open flame on medium heat until slightly charred about 10-15 seconds per side. Once charred immediately fold in half and cover with a clean towel until ready to serve.
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  6. Assembly. Spread hummus on one side. Press some chickpeas into the hummus to help them stay better. Add desired toppings and serve with potatoes!

Note: Double chickpeas and their seasonings if you want leftovers!

Adapted from https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/vegetarian-gyros/

Tuna Macaroni Salad

classic american, dinner, pasta/grains

ingredients

  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 2 5oz cans tuna, drained
  • 1/2 jar gherkin pickles, diced
  • 3 hard boiled eggs (or skip)
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt, pepper

instructions

  1. Start a large pot of water to boil. As soon as it’s boiling, add noodles and cook. Strain with cold water so noodles are room temp/cold.
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  2. Drain and shred tuna. Dice pickles (and optional eggs). Mix together with mayonnaise, sugar, salt, and pepper.
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  3. Mix noodles into tuna mixture. Done!

Hawaiian Sloppy Joes

dinner, new american

ingredients

  • 1 pack brioche or Hawaiian buns
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 pack bacon (8oz)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 5ish cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (in 100% juice) not drained
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp each chili powder, salt
  • 1/2 tsp each ground ginger, smoked paprika, pepper

instructions

  1. Cook bacon till crispy. (Find a good way to do this).
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  2. Mix together everything from pineapple down.
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  3. Heat oil in a large saucepan, cook for a few min, add beef and cook until cooked through, stirring often.
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  4. Add sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. When done, crumble bacon into mixture and serve with toasted buns (and maybe cornbread too!).

Adapted from: https://carlsbadcravings.com/hawaiian-sloppy-joes