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​When I was shopping the other morning at Wegmans, I noticed in their seafood case fresh caught shrimp from North Carolina for $14.99/lb. I was looking for weeknight meals and shrimp would be something different. When I returned home, my husband suggested grilled shrimp, however, I found a luscious recipe on The New York Times Cooking website for Shrimp with Sun-Dried Tomatoes by Mark Bittman. With few ingredients required and 20 minutes to prepare, I would have an easy night.
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​This summer, my daughter and I are sharing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box from Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ. We chose a medium size box suitable for a family of 5. For week one the box contained asparagus, golden beets, romaine, shiitake, spinach, Antonio Farms goat cheese and eggs.
 
My daughter is in charge of splitting the offerings each week. I was to get the golden beets, some romaine, spinach, goat cheese, and some eggs. In the past, when she did the box alone, occasionally she would give me the unusual vegetables such as kohlrabi. It became a challenge to find recipes for these vegetables.  
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​Recently my husband and I took a ride out to Gasko Family Farm and Greenhouses in Monroe Township, NJ. He’s been diligently crafting a plan for our side garden and planters. Although we like to shop local, for the number of plants he wanted, going to Gasko would be more economical. What a place! It was like Christmastime, but people were purchasing plants and nursey stock.
 
While we were there, I needed to fill in a few gaps in my herb garden. Gasko has an extensive collection of herbs that surely beats the local nurseries in my immediate area. Although most of my herbs survived the winter in the cold frame, my rosemary and parsley, didn’t fair as well. I also need to purchase basil for pesto and my fresh tomato sauce. 
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​I asked my husband what he would like for supper tonight. His choices in order of preference were grilled shrimp, mussels or scallops. As NJ scallops are running $24.99/lb., they were out.  Therefore, shrimp was selected by default.
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​I pulled a flank steak out of my freezer the other morning and wanted to try a new recipe. After doing a general web search, I came across a recipe by former NFL player, Eddie Jackson. The reviews seemed split, but I decided to give it a go.
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This past Easter, I purchased a delicious Wellshire Farms Spiral Cut Ham from Whole Food.  The meat was moist, tender and smoked perfectly. However, there was quite a bit left, so my husband portioned it off before  freezing.
 
Today, I pulled out a container to prepare a Leek, Ham and Cheese Egg Bake from the website Smitten Kitchen.   Besides, leeks, ham and eggs, I purchased Comte and gruyere cheese as suggested by the recipe's author. Milk is also needed. 
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​The other day I was stumped as to what to prepare for supper. My sweet husband started rattling off several suggestions. As a food blogger, I rarely repeat a recipe, but I did like his suggestion for turkey burgers. I found a new recipe on www.epicurious.com for Sicilian Turkey Burgers.
 
In addition to ground turkey, you’ll need tomato paste, currants, capers, dried basil, crushed fennel seeds, salt, vegetable cooking spray, grated Parmesan cheese, ciabatta rolls, balsamic vinegar and optional sliced tomato. The burgers are cooked either on a grill rack or grill pan on a stove top. 
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​The weather has been fickled lately, warm one day, cool and rainy the next. However, the weather last Friday was delightful. I purchased a skirt steak for supper. Skirt steak is cut from the diaphragm, it’s long and flat with a wonderful beefy flavor. It is not a tender cut of meat and must be sliced against the grain. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this when I was serving. The meat was cooked medium rare, but tender. I found a video afterwards recommending that the skirt steak be cut it into 4” wide sections, then slice against the grain. 
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After completing my last blog, I think I need to step away from one pot|pan|skillet meals and focus on other types of cooking. With that in mind, I found two delicious recipes that are easy to prepare and are family friendly.

The first recipe is Scallion Meatballs with Soy-Ginger Glaze from NYT Cooking, adapted by Julia Moskin. In the recipe’s introduction, Ms. Moskin created this dish as an appetizer, however, it makes for a wonderful supper. 
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When our kids were young, they participated in a variety of sports. As parents, we supported them by attending all their games. This could be difficult on weeknights, especially when everyone comes home ravenous. I wish I had an arsenal of one pot, skillet or pan dishes.

Now it’s just my husband and I and these meals are great when I want something that has minimal prep or cook time. Recently, I made several sheet-pan chicken dishes that offered a variety a flavor; i. e., Orange-Rosmary Roasted Chicken, Sweet and Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots and Sheet-Pan Paprika Chicken with Tomatoes and Parmesan. 


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

​If you have questions or comments, click on the envelope icon above to contact me directly. 

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