SHRIMP, KIELBASA & ZUCCHINI SHELLS
I first made this dish several years ago — at about three in the morning — just experimenting with what I had on hand. I wanted a pasta that wasn’t heavy and tomato-saucy, but still felt complete and satisfying. What I ended up with surprised me: every bite had a different character — a piece of shrimp, a bit of smoky kielbasa, a juicy zucchini slice — and the onion and tomato melted into the background, supporting everything without overpowering it. I’ve made it many times since then, always happy with how balanced and colorful it is.
I finally thought to try making this in my Instant Pot Mini today for lunch. Oh, goodness. It was so delicious and everything came together so well. Before I made this again, I was seriously thinking of not buying Polska Kielbasa again because I’ve been eating a lot of Andouille Sausage in my Frogmore Stews. But this oh, YES!
Intant Pot Mini Process:
- Cook pasta on stove top.
- Saute Kielbasa & onion in oil (7 min.)
- Add 1 1/3 Cup of water
- All other ingredients on High Pressure for only 3 minutes and then Immediate Quick Release.
- Combine pasta and other ingredients
- Serve
The difference with my IPM version and my stovetop skillet version is that the IPM version is much more soupy, but that in no way diminished the flavors and how they worked together. This kicks my original 3am Original up a notch or two.
RANCH DILL PICKLES
There is not much to making Ranch Dill Pickles. Buy a descent dill pickle, which is the Walmart GV Dill Pickle Spears. They only cost about $2.65. I may not be a connoisseur of Ranch Dressing, but I have been perfectly happy with the cheap packets from Food Lion (about $.50) or Walmart GV Ranch Dressing (for about $.65). Open the dill pickle jar and depending upon how full the jar is with brine, pour some out in a container. Then add the whole packet of dressing mix to the brine in the container. If you need to add back some brine so that all the dill spears are completely covered, do so. Put the lid on tight and give it a good shake to mix the dry dressing into the brine. Put the mix into your fridge and wait a day before trying your new batch of Ranch Dill Pickles.
I will say that I’ve noted that the skins of Ranch Dill Pickles become tougher as they age, but the flavor is worth the little extra toughness. After you’ve eaten the last pickle spear, save the brine. It could be perfectly usable for 4 or 5 more times. Just open a new jar. Pour out the fresh brine and add the old Ranch Dressing brine. Top off the new batch with some of the new brine in necessary. Back in the fridge for a day, and repeat the process.
Higher salt levels in the ranch mix pull moisture out of the cucumber’s outer cells, which firms and slightly toughens the skin. Calcium and other minerals in the mix can also bind with pectin in the skin, strengthening the cell walls and making the surface feel tougher.
I like a spear or two as a snack, but also like to eat one with my Pastrami Reuben and Sauerkraut & Thousand Island Side.
BLACK EYED PEAS IN THE INSTANT POT MINI
Making a “mess of” black eyed peas in your Instant Pot isn’t rocket science. You need some good seasoning meat. Add fatback or ham hock and you may have to pressure cook it before adding the dry black eyed peas.
This was the first thing I cooked in my Instant Pot Mini (3 Qt.) and they came out very well. But, just like when you cook black eyed peas on the stove top, you need to put them in a container and let them sit overnight in the fridge. This allows the flavors to meld together and the next day, even a poor cook becomes a great cook.
WAKAMI SEAWEED SALAD
This spiffed up Wakami Seaweed Salad is as close as I remember it being when I had it at the Circa 1800 Restaurant in downtown Fayetteville, about 10 years ago.
I first found a canned seaweed salad at the “Golden Hex” European Market in Cary, North Carolina. This salad comes in a glass jar and is healthier than the one I found at Walmart, but the Walmart version tastes better and is refrigerated. The Walmart nearest me is treating this salad as seasonal and does not currently have it, but the Walmart way across town has it year round.
This salad is high calorie so you have to pay attention to the serving size. Start with 1/3 Cup of Wakami Seaweed. Add vinegar (red wine or rice wine), soy sauce (low sodium preferred) and toasted sesame oil. To this mixture you will add some sweetener, like equal or Agave Nectar, red pepper flakes and white sesame seeds. Finally, adding some dried almonds and dried cranberries tops this salad off.
HOMEMADE PIZZA MADE WITH KETO BAGEL THINS
I found the Basic Pizza Sauce recipe online and when I tried it, it reminded me of the pizza sauce at either Pizza Hut or Pizza Inn many years ago. Basic and a very good flavor.
These Thomas KETO Bagel Thins don’t spike my blood sugar. I have found these at both Walmart and Harris Teeter, but lately only Walmart has them. They are thin so I use 1.5 bagels to make 3 small round pizzas. I slather on the homemade pizza sauce first and then fill the bagel hole and cover the rest of the bagel in a layer of pepperoni. Then I add some diced red bell pepper and sweet onion (although yellow onion will do). Finally I top it off with a generous helping of shredded mozzarella (of 5 Italian Cheeses).
I put the three mini pizzas on a wire rack and put it in the oven under Bake at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes or until I see the cheese start to melt. I then turn the Broil on to HI and watch it for about 2 minutes until the cheese has begun to brown on top. The melted cheese holds the diced bell pepper and onion on top of the layer of pepperoni.
GERMAN POTATO SALAD
NOTE [04/08/26]: I’ve made this twice in about 3 days, and it is easy to prepare and quick to cook and delicious. I only used 1 small red potato this time, and about half of a large sweet onion sliced up. One trick that I use is slice the potatoes up and put them in my Microwave Onion Cooker and nuke them for about 2 minutes, with a little water in the bottom of the cooker to steam them and soften them. I cook my bacon for 3 minutes total. 2 minutes first and then 1 more minute. I break up the bacon in the pan. I sautee the onion in the skillet with some olive oil. After the potatoes are soften I add them to the skillet with the onions and mix. Then I add some red wine vinegar, some Splenda, and/or Agave Nectar, and then some S&P and celery seeds and brown whole seed mustard. You may have to add a little more liquid if it gets too dry on the skillet. [end NOTE]
CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS -and- ZUCCHINI & ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE
I guess this meal combination came out of me buying a small package of boneless chicken thighs the other day. I managed to get 4 good helpings (two thighs per meal) for a little over $5, so somewhere around $1.40 per meal. I consider that very reasonable for the protein for a meal. Another factor is that recently I’ve bought some delicious button mushrooms at Pate’s Farm Market across town and have made a least two good batches of spaghetti sauce. *Ironically, even though I know that the colored bell peppers, not the green ones (the least ripe) have more Vitamin C and are sweeter & more tender, the green bell pepper hits the flavor profile that is most satisfying. And the ground beef, green bell pepper, mushrooms & onion are spot on. I add half a jar of Rao’s Marinara Sauce and one can of Hunt’s Roasted Garlic Diced Tomatoes.
So, for some reason, I wanted to buy some more of the white button mushrooms and add them to the boneless chicken thighs. I also had some green onions so that went into the mix also. I cooked the chicken, green onions & sliced white button mushrooms on the stove top while I cooked the zucchini in tomato sauce in my Instant Pot Mini. And as the AI told me, only 1 minute under pressure because the zucchini cooks really quickly. I might have wanted it to go for two minutes, but it was “al dente.” A little crunchy, but done.
I added oregano, thyme, garlic & onion powder, the green onions, sliced mushrooms and a little chicken stock in the pan on the stove. In the IPM I added sliced zucchini (thick cut) with a few Campari tomatoes, about half a medium onion sliced and about half a bottle of Italiamo Cherry Tomato Pasta Sauce (LIDL), Red Wine Vinegar, and some Agave Nectar for added sweetness.
I have enjoyed the DelMonte Zucchini in Italian Styled Tomato Sauce for more than 30 years. I have noted that in the last year some of the zucchini has thick skins and they are gigantic. They would be better & more tender if they were younger and smaller. So I included the image of the can above, not because I actually used a can of it, but because I was attempting to create a flavor similar to it… and it came close enough.
Currently I like “cartooning” food images because they seem to express the feelings I have toward food. The colors are brighter, simpler and the elements more recognizable. The reality my be more bland, but the flavor should match the cartooned image. This simple meal had no dominant flavors but everything worked together in a nuanced effort.
BORLOTTI BEANS & SWISS CHARD
[October 2022]: I was watching Jamie Oliver a few days ago and he made a bean dish, using Borlotti beans, which he said were popular in Italy. I googled and found that another name for Borlotti beans was Cranberry beans. [end]
I saw, on TV, Jamie Oliver fixing some dish with Borlotti Beans, which I found later were also called Cranberry Beans. I was going to order a small amount of the beans through Amazon, but went out shopping first. I hadn’t seen this recipe yet, and was looking for Dandelion Greens, but since they didn’t have any, I settled for Chard (which I’m not sure I have ever cooked with). But the Chard looked wonderful (all green and red stems). I went to a different grocer, not thinking at all about Borlotti/Cranberry Beans, but happened to spy a bag of Cranberry Beans on the shelf. Glad I didn’t purchase from Amazon because they were about half the cost in the local grocer. *I have never tried Cranberry Beans before.
Once home, I found your recipe online for Borlotti & Chard. I thought it was “meant to be” because I normally would not have bought Chard, and I didn’t expect to find the beans locally. I normally use some kind of ‘seasoning’ meat with my beans, but didn’t here, and followed your recipe pretty closely. Had dried, ground Sage though. They turned out fantastic, although maybe a little ‘wetter’ than yours. I’m not sure if the distinct flavor was due to the beans or the Chard, or maybe both in combo.
I am going to try to pull together the various writings I’ve written regarding Borlotti/Cranberry/October/Roman Beans and the Chard dish that I originally saw in a Jaime Oliver Video.
HUMMUS &
I haven’t made hummus in quite a while, but it is very easy to make and I enjoy eating various veggies with it, but also like Smoked Oysters with it. Chickpeas are also known as Garbanzo beans and blending them up with some olive oil, some cumin, turmeric, maybe ground garlic powder and tahanni makes a classic hummus. But, I have used various beans to make hummus.