Dirtbag casserole dinner

Well, it's 4:59, I have running in two hours and I need to figure out what to make for dinner out of what I have leftover in the fridge and pantry.  It's dirtbag dinner casserole time!

So far I have assembled my ingredients and the onions are browning.  What the hell should go in next?

Well luckily in my well stocked but often forgotten freezer, I found some boneless skinless chicken thighs.  In they go!  There's also some leftover steak, that will probably need to go in there too otherwise the dog gets that, and he ain't that classy.

5:10 and I have the chicken cooking slowly in with the onions and a can of tomatoes.  Apparently I am out of garlic so that's not in there.  Not sure where to go next...

he looks unconvinced that this isn't going to be disgusting.  Have some faith!

Chef's block.  Like writer's block but more tomato-y

Shall I Mexicize (Mexicanize?) this with some leftover pico de gallo and cheddar cheese?  Or go Italian?  Let's let the dog decide!

The steak comes in handy!  Also the cheesy "I'd rather be drinking" post its from my mom.  Classic Mom.

Mexican it is!

5:23:  The dog decides, we're having a fiesta (or I am, he had steak).  So in I throw the leftover pico, some pickled jalapenos and the rest of the steak because, well, why the hell not.  To top it all off in goes half a box of whole wheat pasta and a cup or so of water.  It actually doesn't look too bad!

5:36:  The oven has preheated and with some low fat extra old cheddar on top, the dirtbag casserole is in the oven!  Let's see how this goes!  In the meantime I am going to take the dog out and put my feet up.  Running is in an hour and a half but there is a huge storm coming...I could use a hot meal afterwards to warm up.  Although let's be honest, if it's that gross out, the run can wait.  While that's in the oven, I think I will watch some dirtbag TV to go with my dirtbag dinner.  Toddlers and Tiaras!!!

6:02:  The storm has blown in and it's thundering like crazy.  The dog is curled up on my lap shaking like a leaf, it's adorable and a little pathetic.  Poor little guy!

7:30ish:  Casserole came out of the oven and it actually looks pretty good.  Tastes good too!  The dog especially enjoyed the gigantic piece of chicken that flipped off my fork and landed on the carpet.  I don't think it even bounced.  To be fair though, he's not the best critic - he eats shit so his opinion doesn't mean much.

Well, the storm has come and gone but I've eaten, so the run is going to have to wait until tomorrow.  It's documentaries and an end of the week beer for me instead.

Tender and Crisp Chicken Legs with Sweet Tomatoes

This is one of my favourite meals of all time, which was once cooked for Monsieur and I by some of our friends.  If you have eaten at my house, I have probably made it for you.

Need a meal to impress a new friend?  Make this chicken.  Having a potential suitor over for dinner? How about this chicken?  Parents or inlaws coming over? Hey, I heard this chicken's good. 

Why is it so delicious?  Because it’s a (dreamy sigh altogether now ladies and possibly gents) Jamie Oliver dish.   If you go to London the first thing you need to do after booking your plane tickets is to make yourself reservations at Fifteen.  The hotel can wait!  Or better yet, you can stay at the Hoxton and roll home.  Speaking from experience...

I bought some colourful tomatoes (because it has to look nice or I wouldn’t blog about it) I threw in some basil from my garden (which I’ll have you know is still very much alive thankyouverymuch) and I always throw in little white beans (navy or kidney).  Tonight was especially delicious since it was just the two of us for dinner and I got to have all the roasted garlic cloves to myself.  Great for me.  Not so much for Monsieur.

Also, check out these fancy waters.  Delicious.

Thai Mango Salad

Some of you may know that Alana have a very exclusive (and fancy pants) weekly supper club.  It's exclusive because we are the only people in it.  Cough.  But it can be fancy.

Like a few of our tens of readers (are we up to ten yet?) I enjoy both wasting time and finding new recipes on Pinterest.  Not the ones that will cause your heart to explode though. This one seemed like a winner.  As did the name of the website it cam from, Veggie Wedgie.

Granted, my presentation wasn't quite as nice as the picture on the site - but it really was very good. The combination of the mango, herbs and veggies was light and refreshing.  Perfect after a long day of work and skipping your Wednesday run.  Now, I didn't use agave (bees need to earn a living too) and I didn't (and still don't) know what tamarind juice was, so I just skipped that completely.  Here's the recipe - as taken from the website.

Ingredients for 2 servings

1 yellow Thai mango
1 zucchini
1 cucumber
150 gr snap peas
fresh coriander
fresh mint
2 tbsp tamarind juice
1 lime
1 tsp agave
salt

Slice mango, chop snow peas, coriander and mint. Using a spiralizer, make zucchini noodles and cucumber ribbons. To make the dressing, mix tamarind juice, lime juice, agave and salt. Toss together zucchini noodles, the snow peas and the fresh herbs and mix in the dressing. Top with cucumber and mango slices and serve.

Now, just pour yourself a glass of white wine, turn on some So You Think You Can Dance - followed by the Real Housewives of Vancouver - and you've got yourself a perfect summer evening.