Day 16 of my 30 day blog series journaling my experiment with a Capsule Kitchen. The plan? Use 33 ingredients to create all our meals for three months. If you just joined me you can either start at Day 1 or view all Capsule Kitchen posts.
My pantry and refrigerator are almost cleaned out of the non-list foods. Except the new non-list items I talked about on Day 15.
Kima
One of the remaining non-list items is a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Harrison used half of the bag last night to make an “old” recipe, Kima.
We were introduced to Kima a couple of years ago when we were in Pasadena for business training. One of our adult students lived a block from campus and invited our family for dinner. He and his family prepared a delicious meal that included Kima. I asked for the recipe before we left that evening.
Last night was Harrison’s first time making this recipe.
Kima
Ingredients:
- 1 lg onion, finely diced
- 1 lb ground beef (or turkey,lamb)
- 1 (15oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained OR 2 med fresh tomatoes
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 Tbsp curry powder or more to taste
- 3 to 4 med sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into small pieces (or regular potatoes)
- 1 lb fresh or frozen green beans (or frozed mixed veggies)
- 1 tsp each salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and garlic powder
Directions:
- Melt butter in large skillet and add diced onion. Cook 3 min or until starting to become translucent.
- Add ground meat. While cooking, add spices.
- Once meat is browned, add diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans (or mixed veggies), and additional spices if needed.
- Cover pan and simmer 20+ minutes until sweet potatoes are soft.
- Check after 10 minutes and add a couple Tbsp water or chicken broth if needed.
I forgot to tell Harrison I use a little less curry powder than the recipe calls for. Another “warm” meal for our taste buds.
Casseroles
I love the idea of casseroles. Quick, simple meals.
Dinner on Day 8 used diced sweet potatoes and frozen mixed veggies. The week before I started the Capsule Kitchen I made Shepherds Pie using frozen mixed veggies and sweet potato mash on top. Last night’s meal used frozen mixed veggies and diced sweet potatoes.
Are you sensing a pattern here?
We were last night. Different flavors. But,
- Similar ingredients.
- Similar appearance.
- Similar texture (mush).
- Similar response (2nds? No, I’m good).
Per my family’s request, I won’t be making casseroles for dinner for a while. Unless it’s Bob.
Tonight’s Meal
I’m going to make a “new” recipe: Chicken Chili Soup.
No frozen mixed veggies. No diced sweet potatoes. Different appearance. Different texture.
Hoping for a different response.
How Do You ‘Role…
Do you make a lot of casseroles? Does your family like them?
Follow Ditching Suburbia’s board Capsule Kitchen on Pinterest.
We are trying keema for the first time tonight. Its a dish my husband enjoys at Indian restaurants. I love casseroles and crockpot cooking, but I do find that the texture develops days of “sameness” and we have to mix things up.
Another dish we discovered last summer that we like is called sukuma, a ground beef and collard greens stir fry that is very versatile. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/03/kenyan-braised-collard-greens-and.html
Lonna,
Collard greens. You do remember I’m from Michigan and not the south, right. ;)
Who knows. Maybe I’ll feel adventurous one of these days and give it a try.