 I do not know about you, but I tend to enjoy breakfast food for lunch or dinner. The only time I crave it in the morning is during road trips where breakfast is a must to get the day off to the right start. We were staying home due to service visits so Big Guy decided to make us egg and ham breakfast sandwiches for lunch. He toasted the bagels, cooked up the ham, eggs, and cheese for a satisfying meal to keep us going all day long as we completed our work around the house. 
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 Big Guy has known me for over forty years, most of them married, and he always shakes his head when we head out for a road trip and ask for meat sticks or jerky. I guess it has become a superstitious tradition now since I am convinced our trip will not be successful unless I have my usual snack. We just bought a new car so, this time around, I stocked up to make sure our day trips are safe and perfect. The rest is on the world and its karma!   I had leftover chicken, so I decided to make Pasta Al Limone. While the recipe does not call for a protein, I thought it would be a perfect addition to our meal. We were first introduced to this recipe by our friends @seanminorwines. It is a quick and easy recipe that is refreshing and easy to prepare. While you boil your pasta, you put together the sauce of one egg yolk, juice and zest of one lemon, parmesan, and heavy cream. In our case, oops, I forgot to buy heavy cream, so I used half and half which worked great. Once the pasta was cooked, I added everything to my pan, including the chicken, and continued to heat the ingredients together. I added a fresh salad from @carondeletgarden and dinner was ready! Yum!  Big Guy seldom asks for a special meal, but he never fails to ask for roasted chicken breast and vegetables. It is easy to prep and only takes about an hour.
I cut up the vegetables, usually what is going south in the vegetable drawer, and toss them in olive oil with salt and pepper. This time we were at the store when the request was made so I splurged on asparagus and snap peas. The chicken is prepared also in olive oil with salt and pepper. The best part is everything can go into the oven at the same time and be ready in about forty-five minutes. It is a delicious meal, and I always get a thumbs up from my honey!  Spring and Fall brings our lovely serviceman to our house to check our furnace. I realize this sounds unremarkable, but as always there is a story to be told here. Big Guy and I finally got tired of dealing with our antiquated furnace and no air conditioning except for the LOUD window units, so we saved up our dollars and went all in for a new system. It was during the installation stage that I started baking cookies for the guys working in the basement. They politely declined initially, but the aroma got the best of them, and they broke down when I arrived with a plate of fresh cookies. It was over fifteen years ago, but every time we have a service call, there is a sweet expectation that I may have made some cookies. I try not to disappoint them, so this is the reason I had to make oatmeal butterscotch cookies! Happy men abound in my little cottage on the Southside.  Do you ever look in your freezer and decide it is time to start cooking? We had two pounds of ground sirloin and two pounds of bacon, so it was a no brainer to make meatloaf. I mentioned I had a baking pan which would allow us to make mini loafs and we were off to the races. How do you say no to productive meal prep as we were able to freeze four of them for future use! Big Guy took on the cooking chores while I offered to clean up. He started by sautéing the onions and peppers with one pound of the bacon. Of course, he cooked the other pound of the bacon for a future meal! He mixed the cooled ingredients with the meat, panko, eggs, salt, and pepper to create the mini loafs before doing the final cooking. It was the perfect size to make sliders enjoyed with a side of @oldviennallc chips!   I have never been able to figure out how to make a meal for two people, so I tend to have leftovers. In this case, I made a focaccia which was too big to eat in one sitting. It became the perfect snack with Charmane’s Bread Dip from @salt_sisters. As described, the mix is “robust and deliciously flavorful with hints of garlic and sun-dried tomato with a blend of herbs.” They noted the mix was “addictive,” so I may have to ask for an antidote since I agree it is a flavor I want to be a constant in @carondeletkitchen!   I baked up chicken for a previous salad recipe but had enough to make another meal. Our Doodle would have been happy to eat it all herself, but too bad!
I found a jar of Parmesan Pesto in my pantry and knew pasta was in my future. I sauteed onions, peppers, and tomatoes to include with the chicken. Big Guy loves his bread, so I also baked up focaccia from my mixes from @kingarthurbaking. It was the perfect quick meal to make during a busy day of gardening and doing Spring cleaning. |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
May 2026
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