Category: Chef Ben Cooks!

This week we came up with a Mexican version of chicken pot pie, and we may never go back to our standard chicken pot pie! Not only was it delicious, the meal came together in a snap, thanks to items from the freezer and a prepared rotisserie chicken. Aside from the seasoning, the twist in…

If you could be anywhere right now, other than on your couch in your stretchy pants, like us, where would you be? Well, Paris, right? Since you probably can’t actually get there now (pandemic) we offer you the next best thing: charcuterie salad and French onion soup. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll…

If you are from Rocky Ford, Colorado, you will know exactly what R2 Chili Chip is. If not, you’ll need to read on. When I say we’re going old school, I literally mean we are revisiting my favorite school lunch. If it was Thursday in the R2 district, R2 Chili Chip was likely on the…

Hoochy Mama! This week we made a very spicy noodle dish from Christopher Kimball that nearly blew our lids off! The 1/4 cup of chili garlic sauce was the culprit, but the flavors were great! We (or at least I) intend to make it again, but with the spice toned down. Ben hasn’t quite forgiven…

This week Ben and I made not one lasagna, not even two, but three lasagnas. Why? Who makes three lasagnas when the Christmas noose is beginning to tighten and time is at a premium? Well, I was really craving lasagna (the naughty meaty version we all know and love), but I wanted to see if…

Recently, Ben picked up the phrase, “No Sweat!” But his version is, “No Sweating!” I’m not sure what makes it so amusing to take it from an affirmation that everything’s cool to the imperative, but it makes me giggle. We made Thai Shrimp Swoodles (Sweet Potato “Noodles”) this week. The recipe was super easy (No…

Though it is probably hard to tell from the giant slabs of beef we sometimes post, we have been trying very hard to healthify our menus. This approach is met with a certain amount of skepticism from Ben, but he loves spicy greens ravioli, so this week’s plan was an easy sell. We have made…

This week, Ben and I sought to use up our leftover turkey, so we chose smothered turkey burritos. We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family, but let’s be honest. The holidays are exhausting! We needed something easy. Ben’s role in our meal was limited to lettuce prep, draining and rinsing a can…

Ben’s request this week was for waffles. Where that came from, I don’t know, but Phil upped the ante with chipped beef. There was some breakfast-for-dinner escalation, and plans threatened to spiral out of control, so I locked in waffles with creamed chipped beef. Done. Phil’s mom makes delicious overnight yeast waffles, and I vaguely…

Every week we give Ben $20, and he decides how he is going to use it. Left to his own devices, he would eat out for every single lunch for the rest of his life, but we limit that to once a week. We are trying to encourage budgeting, and his caregivers have been excellent…