A Tale of Two Dinners

Ok, corny title I know. but tonight I made two dinners. One, for me and the kids. And the other, for Bob to make in the slow cooker tomorrow while I'm at work.


The first one is simple: Black beans with orzo. You may say, "what?! black beans again?". This is true. However, it is cheap, super-easy, and the kids eat it. and Bob hates orzo for some odd reason and he is at a Yankee game tonight. This is a dish which i used to make pre-kids, when we'd come home from work at 8 and need something quick to fix. I got Bob to eat it then for some reason.

Basically, you cook 1/2 box orzo according to package directions and drain.
saute 1 small chopped onion and 1 chopped garlic clove in some olive oil until soft. add one can of drained rinsed black beans. add a sprinkle of Italian herbs, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. simmer until heated and then either mix in the orzo or serve on top of orzo.


Dinner #2: Hungarian Goulash

This is not your typical Summer weather dish. It does make a lot, though, so i have a few meals to freeze. I will make this the night before, and then I can trust Bob (usually) to turn the crockpot on so this cooks while he's home with the kids and I'm at work. He just makes some buttered egg noodles and some frozen veggies and we're set. This recipe is a conglomerate of 2-3 recipes I found online.


3 lb. Chuck Roast, trimmed of fat and cut into small cubes
1 beef buillion packet
1 can tomato paste
4-6 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
Hungarian sweet paprika, about 2 tablespoons
one slice bacon (optional)
olive oil
1/2 cup water
thyme
white wine vinegar

First, sear your meat in a hot pan with some fat until browned on all sides;
One recipe i saw says to saute a slice of bacon until cooked and then remove bacon from pan. Use that to saute your meat. I've done this, but most of the time I use a tablespoon of olive oil.
Place meat in crockpot. Saute onions and garlic in a little more olive oil in same pan, until softened and starting to brown. Place them in crockpot. add buillion, paprika, tomato paste, some salt, black pepper if you want. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook on low in crockpot 8 hours low, 5-6 hours on high (depends on the age of your crockpot). When meat is done, add a sprinkle of thyme, and also a sprinkle of white wine vinegar and stir. serve over buttered egg noodles. A dollop of sour cream on top and even some caraway seeds sprinkled over the meat are a good finish.