lunch – Page 14 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

4-18: French Vegetable Casserole

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 27, 2016October 13, 2020basil, black pepper, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, eggplant, fairly inexpensive, French, garlic, Glendale apt, gluten-free, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, lunch, minced, olive oil, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, revisited, salt, sautéed, side dish, simmered, sliced, squash, summer, thyme, tomatoes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, zucchini

Everything I needed to learn about making 4-18: French Vegetable Casserole was told to me by Remy the animated rat, star of Ratatouille. I know…the editors of Simply Delicious call this dish “French Vegetable Casserole” to make the name more palatable for Middle America. 🇫🇷

The card mentions that the dish is referred to as “ratatouille” in its area of origin.

Editor’s note: I did the underlining you see above when I realized this recipe was “ratatouille”. I’ve made this recipe before, a year or two prior to embarking on this project. I even watched Ratatouille on my laptop while I made it. 🐀

3-4: New Orleans Bean Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 26, 2016March 14, 2020American, apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, black pepper, boiled, brown sugar, butter, Cajun, carrots, celery, chopped, Creole, cubed, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, garlic, ham, herbs and spices, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, melted, minced, molasses, New Orleans, pan-fried, parsley, peeled, pinto beans, red kidney beans, salt, sautéed, smoked ham, soups, thyme, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetables, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has a few New Orleans/Southern recipes–3-4: New Orleans Bean Soup is one of them. There are a lot of different takes on a “New Orleans Red Bean Soup” that exist out there–most of them have more exciting ingredients than this version. 🎺

I made another “New Orleans” recipe at the same time as this one–you can go back and read 12-29: New Orleans Beans and Pasta for what is essentially a pasta version of this dish. Either one is a hearty and relatively inexpensive meal. Since the two share a lot of ingredients, consider making both–they store and reheat well. 💰

1-11: Ham Rolls with Italian Salad

Adam Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 26, 2016October 2, 2020appetizers, apples, black pepper, boiled, breakfast, carrots, chilled, cornichons, creamy, diced, easy, eggs, fairly expensive, frozen, ham, hard-boiled, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, Italian, lemon juice, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, party food, pickles, potatoes, salt, smoked ham, snacks, sour cream, sweet peas, tomatoes, untested, vegetables

Artistic appetizers are amazing!🖕 I can’t get enough of them and Simply Delicious has interesting appetizer recipes that are easy to prepare like this one, 1-11: Ham Rolls with Italian Salad. 🇮🇹

Easy to prepare ahead of time, these rolls are light and delicious appetizers to serve for any occasion. ✅

11-3: Indian Scampi

Adam Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses October 17, 2016October 27, 2020black pepper, brandy, butter, cayenne pepper, chili sauce, cognac, creamy, curry powder, dinner, easy, egg-free, expensive, flambé, gluten-free, Grand Marnier, green onions, herbs and spices, Indian, leeks, lunch, melted, paprika, red bell peppers, rice, sautéed, scampi, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, spicy, steamed, stir-fry, Tabasco sauce, untested, vegetables, whipping cream

Jamie made me a dish when we first started dating that she called “Shrimp Something“. This recipe, 11-3: Indian Scampi is a dish that is pretty similar to “Shrimp Something” so I really enjoyed it. 👍

Shrimp has to be one of my favorite crustaceans to eat. 🍤

12-3: Pasta Bolognese

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses October 16, 2016October 27, 2020black pepper, boiled, carrots, celery, celery root, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, fairly inexpensive, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, Italian, lunch, meat sauce, minced, mirepoix, olive oil, party food, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, smoked ham, spaghetti, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, white wine, yellow onions

This recipe, 12-3: Pasta Bolognese calls for spaghetti on the back of the card, but the dish on the front clearly shows the meat sauce on Rotini. 🍝

The blurb on the front of the card is definitely true. “Quick to prepare and not too expensive,” is exactly how I felt about this dish.

3-18: Shrimp Bisque

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 14, 2016March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, bisque, boiled, brandy, butter, cooked shrimp, creamy, dill, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly expensive, fish bouillon, fish stock, frozen, half-and-half, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, paprika, party food, roux, seafood, shellfish, sherry, shrimp, snow peas, soups, sweet peas, tomato paste, untested, whipping cream, yellow onions

I’ve always been a fan of a nice seafood bisque–lobster and/or shrimp bisque on a menu always gets at least a consideration from me, if not an order. 3-18: Shrimp Bisque was a solo affair for me (cream-based things usually are), but I enjoyed every bit of it. 🍤

I’ll admit it right now: I left the peas out of my version (except for the final picture plate–sorry to break the illusion), but you go right ahead and include them if you dig peas.

13-14: Wok-Fried Veggies with Pasta

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses October 13, 2016October 28, 2020al dente, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, boiled, canola oil, carrots, chili powder, dairy-free, dinner, dressing, easy, egg-free, ginger, green beans, green onions, herbs and spices, honey, inexpensive, julienned, leeks, lunch, olive oil, pan-fried, pared, party food, pasta/noodles, peeled, red bell peppers, rice vinegar, salt, sautéed, sesame oil, side dish, sliced, stir-fry, tender-crisp, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, vinegar, wok, yellow bell peppers, zucchini

13-14: Wok-Fried Veggies with Pasta is yet another dish where the preparation requires too much chopping. One of my specialties happens to be stir-fry. I can make stir-fry with the best of them.

I’ve made wok fried dishes similar to this on my own, but with chicken or beef. Usually, I think vegetarian food is best left to the rabbits. 🐰

9-27: West Indian Meat Casserole

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses October 11, 2016October 20, 2020almonds, apples, bananas, beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, blanched, boiled, canola oil, Caribbean, casserole, chili powder, chopped, cloves, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried herbs, Dutch oven, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, Indian, lemons, lunch, paprika, peeled, plantains, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, thyme, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, West Indian, yellow onions

If you had told me as a kid that I would eat meat and bananas together in a dish, I would have called you, “crazy”! Some cuckoo chef over at Simply Delicious is playing a weird joke on people with 9-27: West Indian Meat Casserole, but this dish is rated mostly edible. Jamie wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole. 🍌

I don’t really see how this dish is festive. It also isn’t very attractive, at least, not in the way I prepared it.

5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 10, 2016October 14, 2020Asian, breakfast, candied, canola oil, chutney, cooked rice, cooked shrimp, dairy-free, dinner, dips, eggs, fairly easy, garlic, ginger, granulated sugar, green onions, ham, inexpensive, julienned, layers, leeks, lunch, minced, omelette, Oriental, rice, salt, Saturday, sautéed, seafood, sesame oil, shellfish, shrimp, smoked ham, soy sauce, stacked, steamed, tamari, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Hey there. October’s been a crazy busy month IRL so far, but I’ve got some entries banked that I’ll start posting, so expect some more entries coming soon. This one, 5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice, was a Saturday morning breakfast a few weeks ago that was born out of an abundance of eggs and leftover cooked rice. 🍚

Simply Delicious suggests serving it as a main course (presumably for lunch or dinner as opposed to breakfast, to which they seem to be drawing a contrast), but you eat it whenever you like. 🌇

7-23: Pork Chops with Tarragon

Adam Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses September 30, 2016October 7, 2020black pepper, boiled, boneless, butter, cornichons, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, gluten-free, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, pickles, pork, pork chops, salt, sautéed, shallots, sour cream, tarragon, untested, white wine

Pan frying pork chops is not the easiest method for cooking pork chops. It is really easy to over cook pork chops that way, but 7-23: Pork Chops with Tarragon came out “just right”.

These pork chops are pan fried and the sauce is added to the pan, drippings and all at the end. Cooking the sauce and meat together creates a flavorful sauce.