Keeping it Simple!

Covid-19… Some folks are into creating fancy dishes they’d never made before, others have gone bonkers over baking.  In our case, while we show a bit of creativity food-wise from time to time and we have baked on occasion, our approach to dining in this self-quarantine environment is generally very simple…

The rule is “Keep it simple!” Factors to consider: First - Laurie is happiest if she doesn’t have to cook too often and even happier if little or no clean-up is required.  Second - If I can grill it, it qualifies as a simple meal.  Third – Frozen or prepared meals are a plus, especially if we’ve previously tried them and they pass the taste/satisfaction tests.  Take-out is included in the prepared meal category.  Finally, “waste not, want not!” 

Not to say that we don’t try ‘new’ food items… It’s been years since we made a quiche for dinner.  But…waste not…want not!  We had a couple of pie crusts in the freezer and Laurie had a craving for quiche.

So she put the ingredients together…eggs, leftover bacon, cheese, spinach and herbs, filled the pie crust and popped the quiche in the oven.  This was the piece that she served herself.  We both agreed that it was very good!

This isn’t meant to be a political statement…one way or the other.  I was just going through the cupboard looking for something to have for breakfast and I came across this unopened box (actually now a collectible) of Aunt Jemima Complete Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix.

Laurie doesn’t care for pancakes, it’s a texture thing for her.  We had a big can of Carbon’s Malted Waffle and Pancake Mix from World Market on hand that Laurie does like…so if the Aunt Jemima mix was ever going to be used, it would have to be used by yours truly.

The result was that nice little pile of pancakes…well buttered and dripping with Kirkland’s pure maple syrup.  Comfort food!  As for the pancake mix, the ‘best if used by’ date was a bit past due...12/6/17.   Hey, it still tasted fine to me!  Waste not!

We both love a good chicken pot pie.  The big pot pies from Costco are just too huge unless we wanted to have the same meal 3 – 4 nights in a row!  However, Fresh Market sells a pretty nice little chicken pot pie, so the last time we visited the store we picked up 2 of them. 

We froze one and baked this one… We like our chicken pot pies moist and we’ve never found a commercial version that was moist enough for us.  In this case, absent any chicken gravy in the pantry, some effort was required.  Laurie opened a small can of Cream of Chicken Soup, added a little half and half and spices and served it up at the dinner table with a gravy ladle.

We did take a photo of her serving of the pot pie but it was totally blurred.  In any case, we just ladled on enough of our ‘gravy/soup’ mix to match our tastes…and of course I splattered Tabasco over my serving.  Another comfort food dinner!

I can’t forget the big hunk of zucchini bread that accompanied our chicken pot pie!  Our neighbor Sherry does bake…and she dropped this tasty accompaniment off at our door in time for dinner.

Time for Take-Out Food!  Off to Thai Bistro in Loudon Tennessee, our nearby source for Thai and Chinese cuisine.  When we dine at or via Thai Bistro, we tend to overdo the appetizers.  I’m sure that the restaurant doesn’t mind as it drives up the total bill!

In reality, Laurie would prefer to make her entire meal from a variety of appetizers.  On this occasion, she did just that.  This was her order of Crab Rangoon…something that always makes her happy.

In total we ordered 5 appetizers.  This photo shows Laurie’s Fresh Rolls, rice paper wrapped around lettuce, carrots, cilantro and basil.  They’re served with homemade ginger sauce, chopped peanuts and fresh ginger.  Laurie loves these too!

We failed to take photos of 2 appetizers.  The first one was Thai Bistro’s take on Fried Calamari.  It is an interesting and tasty interpretation of a classic offering.  The tender calamari and accompanying assorted vegetables are fried in a ‘tempura-like’ batter and the dish is served with a sweet and sour sauce.

I like Thai Bistro’s Spring Rolls!  Deep fried rice paper is stuffed with bean thread mixed with cabbage, celery and Thai herbs, then it’s served with their homemade sweet and sour sauce. 

We also decided to order, and didn’t photograph, Thai Bistro’s Chicken Wings.  They were deep fried and served with the spicy sweet chili sauce.  Laurie liked them (she only had one) better than I did.  I thought that they were just OK.

Laurie was full…and clean up for this meal consisted of just a couple plates and a bit of silverware.  An almost ideal dinner during Covid-19!

However, I wasn’t done yet.  I’d ordered the Bangkok Chicken as my entrée.  This generous serving of stir fried breaded chicken with Thai Bistro’s sweet and sour sauce was served with broccoli and then topped with sesame seeds and cashew nuts. (Steamed white rice accompanied my meal) Even I had leftovers!

The leftover rice, chicken, sesame seeds and cashew nuts (plus some spicy Thai sauce I keep around) made a nice breakfast two days later.  Sorry Big Dude…I didn’t put an egg on this one!

Thai Bistro is located at 222 Lakeside Plaza in Loudon Tennessee.  Phone: 865-657-6440.  Website: https://www.thaibistrotellico.net/.

I thought it appropriate to end this post with a dessert… Best yet, it’s a dessert that we didn’t have to make or even purchase.  Once again, our ‘baking neighbor’ Sherry, delivered a couple slices of this attractive looking berry pie to our door and dinner was made even simpler.  Thanks Sherry!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! 

Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave