Modern Gal

Quick and Easy Entertaining

Elizabeth — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:02:33 +0000

I had a few friends over for lunch last week in a low key fashion. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously and I often reflect after hosting something that I should do it more often. Many years ago, I would plan elaborate dinners or parties that would take days to plan, require the purchase of a lot [...]

Easy Creamed Spinach

Elizabeth — Tue, 22 May 2012 05:45:04 +0000

I have written before about the benefits of keeping some items in the freezer for quick freezer or pantry meals. I tend to keep frozen peas, frozen spinach and sometimes frozen artichoke hearts around for vegetables that are added in to other dishes. Frozen spinach is a versatile ingredient that retains the bright green of [...]

Menu Plan for Week of May 20, 2012

Elizabeth — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:33:26 +0000

Last week was incredibly busy with some travel for a couple of days, so hopefully things will settle down a bit this week. I’m relying on some dependable regulars for most of the menus. I’m also preparing a batch of apple ginger coleslaw to take to a potluck. Breakfasts: Peanut butter baked oatmeal, scrambled eggs [...]

Menu Plan for Week of May 13, 2012

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:09:34 +0000

The speedy red beans and rice was last week’s favorite meal, so I have it on this week’s menu as well. Some traveling this week, so most of the meals are really quick and easy (and still made with whole foods). Breakfasts: Breakfast rice, boiled eggs Lunches: Leftovers Dinners: Sunday: Poached salmon, rice salad, steamed [...]

Chicken and Egg Salad

Elizabeth — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:32:09 +0000

I often run out of idea for packed lunches. Although I have a number of standby dishes and things that travel reasonably well, I also find that I often am out of one or two ingredients for preparing the exact dish that I wanted. The following is a combination of chicken salad and egg salad [...]

Menu Plan for Week of May 6, 2012

Elizabeth — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:21:45 +0000

Indonesian spicy rice was the favorite dish of last week. I also like the fact that it’s very easy and uses up leftovers, yet tastes different than the previous meal. For this week, I’m roasting a chicken and making some standby’s including the speedy red beans and rice, a great one pot meal. Breakfasts: Healthy [...]

Modern Frugal Kitchen Tips

Elizabeth — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:38:09 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I cooked meals while we were staying with friends for a few days. They seemed astonished that a) I often cooked without having a recipe in front of me or specifically measuring ingredients; b) I planned the meal based on what was available in the fridge; and c) I tried [...]

Menu Plan for Week of April 29, 2012

Elizabeth — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:09:24 +0000

This week, I will be baking a ham which will make for nice leftovers as well. Also, I’m serving the quick salmon teriyaki and whipping up a batch of individual chocolate custards. What’s on your menu? Breakfasts: Peanut butter baked oatmeal, boiled eggs Lunches: Tuna and white bean salad, leftovers Treats: Chocolate coconut custard Dinners: [...]

Simplifying Birthday Celebrations

Elizabeth — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:17:34 +0000

This is an edited repost of a previous article. If you’ve read my posts on simplifying Christmas and Easter, you might think that I’m a curmudgeon with respect to celebrations and holidays. On the contrary, I like special days a lot. What I find problematic is the arms-race style of competition to outdo things bigger [...]

Simple Salmon Teriyaki

Elizabeth — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 07:58:22 +0000

One of my favorite dishes at a Japanese restaurant is a well-made salmon teriyaki. I don’t like the sickly sweet kind that tastes like they dipped the salmon in candy, but rather the one made with a lighter teriyaki sauce that enhances, rather than masks the salmon. A restaurant that I went to recently steams [...]