"But what do you eat everyday? For dinner? For breakfast and lunch?"
When I was in Seoul last month, my daughter's South Korean boyfriend was curious about American eating habits, I gave him a long tour of my camera roll that held quite a few photos of my second-born's dinners in Ohio. But when it came to showing evidence of my own home cooking, I came up short.
So this post is dedicated to you, JN. Here's a month-long highlight tour of my plate and a solid sample of what the Streichers eat.
^ On my first day back from Asia, my first-born stopped by and mercifully cooked my dinner. She made lasagna, one of her favorites, served with a Caesar salad. Almost always, I eat the previous night's leftovers for breakfast the next day. Sometimes there are leftover veggies; sometimes, like this day, there are not. But that's nothing that a bright piece of fruit can't fix.
Find our tried and true family lasagna recipe here.
^ On my second day back from Asia, my fourth-born cooked the evening meal. I was undoubtedly curled up in the fetal position on the couch as she googled around to find a new recipe for a straightforward beef stir fry. It was delicious for both dinner, accompanied by some roasted asparagus, as well as the next day's breakfast.
^ Here are the dinner and breakfast version of my plate loaded up with one of my new go-to favorites: chicken bacon ranch casserole. I craved it in Asia and whipped up a batch as soon as my jet-lagged brain could make it happen. This dish combines protein, veggies, and lots of delicous dairy into one glorious casserole and therefore needs little in terms of side dish to round it out. There's no better complement to a meal like this than a dish of berries, apple slices, or a cute little satsuma.
A word about portion size. Don't let these bird-size servings fool you. I like to start with a modest first serving because I am all about having seconds.
I've tweaked this recipe considerably: a little less bacon, lots more broccoli, and enough of the homemade ranch dressing to properly meld the ingredients together. Find the original version here.
^ Roasted spaghetti squash makes a nice base for all sorts of roasted veggies, spicy sausages, nuts, cheeses, and wilted greens. This dinner/breakfast/dinner again triple combo features mushrooms, chicken sausage, onion, garlic, arugula, and later almonds and parmesan; the original recipe features bacon and blue cheese which are delicious but we found to be just a bit too heavy.
Many of my favorite dishes lately come from paleo, keto, or Whole 30 roots. I always cook from scratch and try to stay away from refined carbs; unless I'm going hard with a steak, roast, or cheeseburger, I take it easy on the red meat. But I'm not cooking to any specific regime or eating plan - just having fun and serving the flavors that my family and I like best.
Inspired by this recipe.
^ Valentine's Day dinner is a well-established holiday tradition: heart-shaped meatloaf, baked according to my mother's meatloaf specifications, and red baked potatoes. Even though they are starchy blood sugar bombs, I adore baked potatoes and load them up with butter. I especially love to eat the jackets, crispy and warm, and always remember how my grandfather used to tell me that they were his favorite part.
^ Omg salmon, my absolute favorite. Though I've long been a fan of crispy pan-roasted salmon, lately I'm all about baking it with lemon and dill. Served with a Caesar salad, roasted green beans, and a hearty dollop of dill-infused mayonnaise (not shown), this meal sends me directly to heaven.
This recipe takes a slightly different approach than what I've been using but I want to try this soon.
^ Most of my photos in this series focus on the main dish. But I always serve at least one vegetable - lately our favorites are roasted asparagus or steamed broccoli - and a dish of fresh fruit. Apple slices and oranges are reliable standbys but our favorite is a bowl of fresh berries. It's a miracle of the postmodern age that raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries show up in the grocery store all year round, and though they can be a bit pricey, we often indulge in these tasty treasure.
^ Once again, my eldest daughter dropped by to whip up a batch of pasta heaven - in this case, our classic homemade mac and cheese (above.).As a low carb option, I pulled together another new favorite of mine, a cauliflower and cheese casserole (below.).My husband has made it crystal clear that he is not a fan of cauliflower main dishes, so I slip this one onto the table when he's distracted by a heap of golden rotini. It's a win-win.
^ On Sunday mornings, after an early Lutheran worship, I stumble sleepily back into the house and slide into a stool at my kitchen counter. Then, my husband dons his chef hat and for one and only one time each week, he cooks for me. He rifles through the fridge and gives me ingredient options, and then I order up. Usually it's some sort of egg concoction like this one which features a scramble with bacon and green onion.
Then, after I eat, it's nap time.
^ Another beef stir fry taken from a quick Google search. This one featured flank steak, carrots sliced on my new mandolin, and sugar peas. The flavors of the sauce were spot on and I hope that the gods of the internet will somehow help me find this recipe again.
^ For many, many years, we Streichers have been firm practitioners of the Pizza Party Friday Night. The particular form of our pizza pie had evolved considerably over the decades, though we have been on a long roll with a basic yeast crust that came back in the day from my daughters' Klutz cookbook. My husband and fourth-born still enjoy that base with simple toppings but I've lately switched it up to a cauliflower crust. I know. It sounds a little kooky to build a pizza crust out of veggies, and it is a bit of a process, but cauliflower does provide a reasonable non-processed carbs foundation for any and all pizza toppings, and I consider it to be worth the hassle.
After lots of experimenting, I now boil the raw cauliflower florets until they are soft enough to yield to the pressure of my hand potato masher. Once the florets pass my squish test, I drain off all the water, mash them into submission, and wring them out in a tea towel. At this point, I send them back into the empty pan and mix them up with an egg, cheese, and spices,. Parchment paper with oil is a must for baking the crust; once the crust is nicely golden, I pull it only long enough to add sauce, more cheese, and toppings, then bake a few more minutes till the creation is a masterpiece.
Though there are countless ways to improvise a cauliflower crust, this recipe is a good place to start.
^ I try my best to make every dinner a priority, but let's be honest, there are some days when I scramble. However, in keeping with my life philosophy of faking it till I'm making it, I keep a few pantry items on board at all times for emergencies such as this. A couple cans of black beans, simmered for a half hour on the stove with a can each of green chiles and mushrooms, as well as some onion, garlic and spices, goes a long way to look, feel and taste like a proper homemade meal. Which of course, when served up with some salsa, sour cream and rice (or in my case, roasted leftover cauliflower that I seredipitously found in the back of the fridge) it is. No regrets.
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Wanna see all the food that the Streichers eat? Check out these posts
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