Dinners on the reg

[srsly]

These all sound really fancy! Do you make your own chipotle dressing/brisket/Greek olive or red pepper aioli/potato chip Spanish tortillas?

I love to cook. But I'm also lazy. The bagged salad brand I use for my fish tacos is called Chopped by Salad Express, and it comes with its own chipotle dressing and toppings. It's basically a bagged cole slaw mix of cilantro and some other shredded veggies. I sometimes buy a roti chicken to put on top of the salad for a low carb meal. But lately discovered adding baked frozen fish in a soft tortilla to make the best home made fish tacos I've ever had.

I have a 2 cup recipe for Greek olive aioli that I use. So when I make it, I have some on hand for a while and use it on everything. Have a blender, mayonnaise, garlic and lemon, and you can make aioli anytime you want. I happen to love kalamata aioli. I use it as spread for my sandwiches. It's delicious!

As for the red pepper aioli, I bought like a dozen roasted piquillo peppers for about less than one Euro per can on a trip to Andorra a couple of years ago. So I'm set for making red pepper aioli for a while. I love making aioli because aioli keeps well, and it's so versatile. You can use it as a dip, spread, dressing, or sauce for my spanish omelet.

Speaking of Spanish tortilla, the potato chip makes it much easier to make than when using fresh potatoes. Since I learned to used potato chips I'm able to make tortilla more often than before. Whip up some eggs throw in half a bag of kettle cooked potato chips let it sit for 10 minutes, then add sauteed chopped yellow onions (sometimes I use uncooked chopped green onions if I have some, fry in a pan with heated olive oil, lower the heat and cook until set. Then I finish cooking it in the oven for another 15 mins. I serve it for breakfast but they make a great lunch with a side of bagged salad with a glass of cheap chard.

As for the brisket, I have a lazy person's recipe for it. slice 8 onions thickly, brown the brisket on both sides after sprinkling flour all over it, set aside and cook the onions next until limp. Place the brisket on top, spread some tomato paste, cut 2 cloves of garlic in quarters, place around the brisket and over the onions, add baby carrots, about 8, over the onions, cover and bake for 2.5 hours. Slice in ¼" slices put back in the pot, cover, and bake for another 1.5. We eat the roast with some mashed potatoes one night, and then into slider buns the next day for lunch with some bagged salad. It's actually better after a few days, so the roast gives me a lot of no cooking days during the week, and more play. Plus, I've been making this recipe in the last 20 years. I know it by heart enough that it's become my regular go to dish.

[rocketgirl]

Also, the canned pizza crust.  Then you can just put whatever on it.

Saturday, we put on the last of the pesto in the fridge, plus olive oil to spread it better, a little Italian seasoning, garlic salt, diced leftover chicken, chopped kalamata olives, sliced tomatoes from the garden, diced red pepper, the rest of the blue cheese crumbles, some creamy goat cheese that was starting to separate and had to be used, and a little balsamic glaze.

Pizza crust is a good vehicle for leftovers.  The chicken and goat cheese really needed to be used.  I buy the olives in these individual plastic containers and I always have them.  (I buy a jar when I will use a lot at once, but often, I don't need all that many).

[srsly]

Rib eye steak is a regular meal in our house now that there's just the two of us. I season it with monterey seasoning, rare to medium rare, sliced over a bagged Salad Express salad. Bam! Yummy dinner!

Oh pulled pork or carnitas is also a regular meat dish in the house cause I leave it in the oven for 3 hours, come back to it and I have delicious meat to go with my hasselback potatoes or mexican rice (from a box) that I serve with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes topped with store bought guac.