Back on the road

After a week of visiting family -- parked outside two different homes -- we're back on our way again, and having a supper that was cooked up in the Rattler.

We crossed into the U.S. again earlier today, so to keep the border folks happy, we had to be free of produce. And then, because we're going to go back into Canada in two days, we haven't stopped for new groceries, especially fruits or veg. That means that tonight' meal is one of those 'creative' ones.

We had a chunk of leftover pork from our barbecue at Leo's last night, and that provided the protein base for a noodley conconction.

I started by opening two packs of 'individual servings' of Pad Thai Noodles, giving their ingredients a good sniff, and deciding what I could do to perk them up.

After the usual bits of onion and garlic, I tossed in strips of pork, then spiced up the mix with additions of sesame oil and three different sauces: chili, hoisin and soy.

There wasn't anything for salad, but the addition of frozen peas at least gave us something green to look at. But really, when you get to eat outside by the fire, it's really just a matter of having something warm.

Supper in a bun

Back from a few exciting days in Montreal. Here again near Louisville, in 'my old Kentucky home', The Rattler.

My plane arrived late enough in the afternoon that the quick little barbie the D.M. had planned sounded just right. But then the weather decided not to cooperate, and the heavens opened yet again. Oh sigh.

So out came the cast iron skillet for sausages and onions and peppers cooked on the stove. Swiss cheese melted into the sausages too!

Besides the cut-up vegies, there was a miraculous spicy bean dip (instant -- just add boiling water, voila! Oops the Montreal influence lingers...). You might notice the less-than-elegant measuring cup used to serve up the last of the salsa. Oh well, it's supper, not dinner, so pardonnez-moi.

Hardly the traditional Sunday roast beef

This morning I was hungry for eggs, but we were trying to pack up to make up some miles on the road. But when lunchtime came, and I still had the craving, I pulled out the skillet and fried up the last of the steak, then tossed some eggs and cheese over top of the meat. Piled onto a couple of buns, these sandwiches left us set for the afternoon’s drive.

But because we were driving, and without running water, the skillet had to sulk alone under the sink, with no one for company but a damp paper towel.

By supper time, the eggy goop had come off enough that the pan was just fine for tossing oil into and frying up some garlic and onions, the base of so many of our meals. Double-duty, one wash – this is a good thing.

Because I’m trying so many of the convenience foods I keep finding here, tonight I used a packet of pre-cooked ‘center cut beef with chili sauce’. The serving suggestion pictured on the package shows it on a bun, a la Sloppy Joes, but I decided to use it to make a stir fry instead. Adding the last bits of coleslaw (some had gone into wraps for lunches) and some bits of green pepper gave it just the right crunch. And served with plain old couscous, it was easy and quick.

Instead of a salad, I put out some lettuce leaves and we made ourselves some messy (but yummy) roll-ups.

Sort of a Sunday night dinner

Not serving the family tonight, though we're lucky that so often there's a crowd of happy eaters at our house. But while it's not a from-scratch meal, the menu's really not all that different.

Barbecued ribs in the oven used up the last of the homemade barbecue sauce I'd brought from home. The scalloped potatoes are from a cardboard box mix (where it was only 93 cents, I couldn't say no).

Salad's a fake Caesar -- spinach with tiny bits of chopped up garlic, plenty of olive oil, the juice of a small lemon, and hand-grated Parmesan (still have the teensiest chunk).

The 'garlic bread' is burger buns I spread with butter, then sprinkled with a garlicky pepper shake spice I bought at an RV show.

Now, if only the rest of the crew were here...

Hot stuff for a cold night

Crazy, but it's snowing. Big, lacy, Christmasy-looking flakes.

We'd heard the roads were bad, so decided to settle in for the day and night. That gave us time for walking around the town (Kanab, Utah) and exploring.

Some nice locals urged us to go for lunch at the all-you-can-eat pizza and soup and salad bar place. Five bucks, better than Vegas.

Anyway, the big lunch left us full enough that supper didn't happen until 9 tonight. But as I mentioned, hot it was.

The Dear Man played sous-chef and chopped up an onion, some cloves of garlic, and a chunk of the pork rib meat that had been earmarked for tonight.

I cooked that up, then stirred in the last of some curry paste I'd brought from home. Then I added the final bits of the stir-fry vegie mix we've been using the past few days and tossed in some reconstituted chicken bouillon, to give it some liquid.

Served over a curry-style couscous mix (which I'd added frozen peas to), the hot spicy food was the perfect antidote to the cold and blustery weather. (And yes, that's a little pot of yogourt on the table to go with the curry.)

Pre-made but yummy

Lazy ribs, the kind that are pre-cooked and come in shrink-wrap. How disgusting-sounding, but how delicious! I added extra barbecue sauce (still have some homemade in a container in the fridge) and a bunch of hot sauce.

The side dish, cheesy scalloped potatoes was enhanced by adding tidbits of fresh broccoli before I baked it.

Both elements of the supper cooked in our little oven, though it did take a bit of juggling to fit them both in.

And of course, a green bowl full of green salad...