peeled – Page 9 – 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. 💰

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.

13-12: Eggplant-Rice Casserole

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 24, 2016October 28, 2020almonds, bay leaves, blanched, boiled, butter, canola oil, casserole, chopped, cinnamon, creamy, curry powder, diced, dinner, easy, egg-free, eggplant, garlic, ginger, gluten-free, herbs and spices, inexpensive, long-grain, lunch, melted, peeled, raisins, red bell peppers, rice, salt, sautéed, side dish, sour cream, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

🍆 13-12: Eggplant-Rice Casserole is a heavier preparation of eggplant than my other eggplant recipe, 13-16: Arabian Moussaka, this rice and eggplant dish is two, two, two dishes in one. I’ll show myself out for that dumb, old reference… 👋

There were lots of colors in this dish: purple 🍆, orange, green, yellow, white, and a few shades of beige.

3-15: Quick Mexican Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 5, 2016March 14, 2020appetizers, avocados, boiled, carrots, celery, Cheddar, cheese, chili powder, creamy, crema, crushed tomatoes, cumin, dinner, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, guacamole, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lunch, meatballs, Mexican, mirepoix, Monterey Jack, peeled, salsa, salt, simmered, sliced, soups, sour cream, Tex-Mex, tomatoes, tortilla chips, untested, vegetables, white onions, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has a lot of different kinds of recipes–intricate & laborious French-inspired cuisine as well as simple, weeknight-friendly fare. 3-15: Quick Mexican Soup is obviously (given the name) one of the latter types. Of course, I’ve yet to find a recipe that I don’t make some sort of tweak/edit to, and this recipe will be no different. 🌶

Most Simply Delicious recipes that claim to be Mexican tend to be more “Tex-Mex” than authentically Mexican. I grew up in Los Angeles–real Mexican food is a BIG part of life there. I’m not saying I’m anywhere close to an expert on the subject, but I feel like I’ve got some sense of the cuisine. Simply Delicious has an idea of where they were going with this soup–I’m just going to help it along a bit. 🇲🇽

13-16: Arabian Moussaka

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 3, 2016October 28, 2020appetizers, black pepper, blanched, boiled, casserole, chickpeas, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, egg-free, eggplant, fairly hard, garbanzo beans, gluten-free, inexpensive, Italian parsley, Lebanese, lemons, lunch, Middle Eastern, moussaka, olive oil, peeled, pita bread, salt, sautéed, side dish, snacks, soaked, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

The first of a few eggplant dishes, 13-16: Arabian Moussaka is the lightest preparation of eggplant that Simply Delicious presents. 🍆

As the card suggests, this recipe is perfect for lunch or supper.

9-14: Chili Con Carne

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 27, 2016October 20, 2020American, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, canola oil, chili peppers, chili powder, cloves, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, minced, oregano, paprika, pared, peeled, pinto beans, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, simmered, Tex-Mex, untested, vegetables, white beans, yellow onions

This recipe card gave me an excuse to cook up a big ol’ batch of 9-14: Chili Con Carne, not that I needed an excuse. I’ve made a few pots of chili in my day, but not one quite like this. My favorite episode of the Simpsons, entitled El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer), features a chili cook-off as a vital plot point. The infamous space coyote scene still cracks me up to this day. 😹

With the peppers featured prominently on the front of the recipe card, Simply Delicious has pointed out the one major issue I had with this dish. WHO PUTS BELL PEPPER IN CHILI? 🌶 Jamie and I enjoy a little spice in our chili. I’ve always wanted to try adding a pepper akin to the “Merciless Pepper of Quetzalacatenango … grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.” 🌶

2-13: Waldorf Salad

Adam Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 22, 2016November 16, 2020American, appetizers, apples, celery, celery root, chilled, creamy, diced, dinner, easy, gluten-free, grapes, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, mayonnaise, New York, peeled, salad cream, salads, side dish, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, Waldorf, walnuts, whipping cream

2-13: Waldorf Salad is a short and easy recipe to make. This recipe is still popular despite its age–the maître d’hôtel (not the chef) of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel created this namesake salad in 1896. Jamie suggested that I watch the episode of Fawlty Towers called “Waldorf Salad” which originally aired in 1979. This episode features many jokes about the titular salad.

“Well I think we ran out of Waldorfs.” Most kitchens would have these ingredients on hand, so this joke got the biggest laugh of the episode. 🍏🍇🌱🌰

2-17: Spicy Potato Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters November 23, 2015March 10, 2020apple cider vinegar, blender, chili powder, chilled, chopped, curry powder, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dressing, dried spices, easy, egg-free, emulsion, food processor, German, gluten-free, herb salt, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, marinated, paprika, party food, peeled, picnic, potato salad, potatoes, red onions, salads, salt, side dish, spice blends, spicy, sunflower oil, sweet mustard, tossed, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

This was an accompaniment to 12-11: Italian Macaroni & Cheese when I went to a get-together recently. 2-17: Spicy Potato Salad is similar to a German potato salad in style–it uses vinegar & spices as the dressing instead of mayonnaise.

The main difference between this version and most traditional German potato salads is that this one lacks bacon. But if you miss the bacon that much, feel free to go crazy and add it on back in there.