Friday, October 17, 2014

Weekly recap....we survived!

Hey All,

Greetings from the backside of Decompression travels.  Its been a wild ride.  I made it to one of the planned decompressions and given the events surrounding missing one, and ill health on the part of Husbear, we may be done for the year.  I also dropped a ladder on my right foot on Tuesday, and it bruised like a sonufagun.  Needless to say, we're both a bit gimpy right now, but that hasn't stopped us from good food!

So I'll start with the recap of the past week.  I haven't done shopping yet this week, instead, I went out for beers with my beloved crew from work.

The prep didn't get done on Friday, as planned, but we managed to pull it out and eat well with minimal fuss this week.

Monday was the return from the travels, so we just ordered in a pizza.  Meats on thin crust was very nice.

Tuesday:  Flatbread Margherita

I found a package of sandwich thins in the freezer, so rather than go through the pain of making the flatbread, we used those instead.

The hardest part of this prep was the chicken.  We thawed out some chicken thighs, sliced thin, fried it up with onions, oregano, thyme, and salt.

After that, it was literally layering the basil, tomatoes, chicken, and halved mozzarella balls onto them.  I gave them each a squirt of balsamic vinegar on top, bringing a bit more of a buschetta type flavor to them.

I broiled that on lo broil, to get a good crisp on the bread until the cheese was bubbly and the exposed edges of the bread.

Here's what it turned out like.  It ended up making quite a few, and they have been a great lunch treat this week.

 While those were cooking we prepared the meat and tatzeki for the BeefTeki on Wednesday.  Unfortunately my camera ate the picture.  I did something different with the tatzeki and added the salted and sugared onions (about 50/50, let it set til the onions wilt) to it.  It made for a great sauce that has also been a delicious dip on corn chips.

I also cheated on the BeefTeki (see This Entry), I found a package of pita bread in the freezer, so we did that instead of the flatbread.  I should note, I don't feel too guilty about either, I typically get the bread on sale for $0.89/package and keep it in the freezer for weeks like these.

Thursday was a rough one.  I was informed about 30 minutes before quitting time that two of our biggest performance measures for 2014 have been modified for the 4th quarter.  I'm proud as hell of what myself and our team have been able to accomplish this year.  We came into the year struggling to meet acceptance and turn-around rates.  It took a ton of hard work and way-outside-the-box thinking by every single member of the team, but by March we were kicking the snot out of what we thought was an unattainable goal.  In a nutshell, acceptance rates have been increased an additional 33%, and turn around times have been decreased 37.5%.  Fair to say, my unethical douchebaggery radar was going crazy and I really wanted to cry.  I'm proud of myself for challenging it politely during the staff meeting and having a very angry conversation with my boss without losing my mind.  Admittedly, he was unimpressed when I told him, "You want to know where my motivation is right now?  FUCK YOU! That's where!" and flipped him the bird.  So yes, yesterday was a late dinner after much processing.  Dinner was worth the wait, though.  Yes, this is also a favorite dish that I save for special occasions....or when I'm stressed out.

Walnut Shrimp

Shredded Cabbage
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup Walnuts
A pot of rice (I like Jasmine for this, as it soaks up the sauce and makes it milky)
1 lb. Raw Shrimp, peeled, deviened
1/2 cup flour
3 Tblsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tblsp. Honey

I start a pot of rice at this point, unless you have some ready made in the fridge, then just reheat it.

Heat the oven to 180°F, or the lowest setting if your's won't go that low.

Heat a deep fryer to the chicken setting (typically 375°F).

I didn't have walnuts handy, so we didn't do this and had a honey glazed shrimp, but it was still delicious.  If you have the walnuts, bring the sugar and water to a boil, add the walnuts and boil together for 3-5 minutes.  Drain and set the walnuts aside.

Place the bed of cabbage on a baking sheet.  Place it in the oven while you prepare the rest.

Mix the flour and cornstarch in a large bowl with a lid.  Pat the shrimp dry with a kitchen or paper towel.  Add the shrimp to the bowl, shake to coat.  You will have leftover flour mixture, this is normal.  Toss the shrimp in the deep fryer and fry until done.....5-8 minutes.

While the shrimp are frying, mix together the mayo and honey.  If you have it, juice of half a lemon adds a nice kick.

Pull the shrimp from the fryer and let drain.  Remove the cabbage from the oven and pour the shrimp over.  The cabbage will have wilted perfectly to that earthy sweet that makes this dish stellar!

Pour the mayo/honey mixture over the top.

Here's what last nights looked like.  Oh and don't worry that there isn't much salt.  The natural salt in the shrimp is perfect.





I usually have a couple of minutes left while the rice finishes, so I just pop it back in the oven so the cabbage gets sweeter and the mayo/honey glaze runs all over and coats everything.

Serve with rice for a delightful meal!


I skip the trouble of whipping egg whites for the batter.  Its a pain and I prefer the crispier shrimp that don't require hand dipping.  If you like the big puffy battered shrimp, whip two egg whites to stiff peaks, fold in the flour and cornstarch and hand dip the shrimp.  Personally, I find it a time suck and painful process.

Tonight we're supposed to do steak and corn on the cob, and tomorrow will be the chorizo and peppers.

Some thoughts on the week ahead:

The days are cooling down and I found some recipes for Salisbury Steak.....one loaded with mushrooms, which Husbear loves, so I'm pretty sure it will happen.

Cauliflower is on sale.  I think I'll make cauliflower salad.  Creamy cauliflower soup was also recommended.  I'll give the weather forecast a look and see if it will be a good idea.

Also, lettuce is on sale, so I may look into the curry chicken salad.

I'll likely write more as plans develop.

Lotsa Love,

3Day

No comments:

Post a Comment