I have been cooking all day.

 I also cleaned and organized the kitchen.  

For some reason the boy cats want to go out in the garage so I have the door cracked.  

The nice thing about no comments I don't have to listen to the pest bitching about my dirty stove.  I'm not cleaning it up just to get it dirty again.  I will clean it before I go to bed tonight.  

Anyway, the food (I actually took photos).  

First I will do the recipe: 

Heather's Spaghetti with macaroni noodles: 

2 cans spaghetti sauce

1 pound macaroni noodles 

1 pound Italian sausage 

1 pound ground beef (73/27 is fine) I had to use half a pound but ideally would have used the whole pound

Jar Italian seasoning 

3 cloves garlic (peel and chop right before using) 

Bag frozen onions (I don't generally use a set recipe just what looks good)

Boil a large pot of water, add 1 t Italian Seasoning.  Cook the noodles, drain.  I did my noodles for about 9 minutes.  I put them in small reusable containers.  

Cook Italian Sausage on low in a skillet, drain, and slice into coins (if link style), drain and save.  Cook ground beef with one-two cloves chopped garlic, a couple handfuls of chopped frozen onions, and 1 t Italian seasoning.  Cook until well browned, drain.  Put both cans spaghetti sauce in a large pot, add the sausage and beef, also a few cloves chopped garlic, a handful or two of the frozen chopped onions, and another t Italian seasoning.  Simmer at least half an hour, refrigerate, scoop any fat that's risen, portion in cups with grated Parmesan/Romano cheese.  

Some photos of the process: 

Then onto Taco Casserole.  This is also one I change frequently.  I had a can of Chili Beans that I found in the pantry, going to expire in a few months, so I used that.  

Taco Casserole: 

1 pound ground beef (again the cheaper stuff or even ground turkey is fine)

Taco seasoning of your choice (I have a big jar I use, but the packet is fine as well)

Red pepper flakes if desired

Shredded Mexican cheese blend if you can get it (I used about a pound if that helps) or sharp cheddar.  

Salsa - can, jar, whatever you like.  If you like it

I used 1 can chili beans, drained, and one can seasoned refried beans - both store brand

The chopped frozen onions again (you should still have about half your bag)

I also got a bag of "Santa Fe Blend" frozen steamable veggies that had black beans, peppers, corn, onions.  I cooked that in the microwave and let cool to warmish.  

Cook ground beef with taco seasoning, a handful of chopped onions, and a sprinkle or two of red pepper if so inclined.  Drain.  Later beans, cheese, meat, veggies however looks good (I generally get about 4 portions the way I do it).  If you're not freezing it some salsa and a dab of sour cream on top would be perfection.  

If you are freezing leave the sour cream and the salsa off and put that on right before serving or taking to work.  I use lots of cheese.  

I suppose you could also add a little chopped cilantro if you like it (I don't).  I like to stir it up before eating it but it doesn't look pretty when you do it.  

Next up I'm making a stir fry.  

Sesame/Garlic/Ginger stir fry 

Meat of your choice (I am using cubed pork chops as they didn't have the boneless skinless chicken thighs I really wanted)

Fresh ginger, chopped 

Fresh Garlic, peeled and chopped (I don't worry about peeling the ginger)

Sesame oil - you can find that in pretty much any Houston grocery as we have a lot of Asians here.  

Veggies of your choice - I like to use "Stir fry blend" which has water chestnuts, broccoli, etc.  I also like to add sliced celery.  Tonight I'm adding some mixed vegetables as well.  There are some purity issues with leafy greens right now so I did not get them.  

I have a wok as well which makes things easier.  I got it at an Asian grocery although I'm sure you could get one off Amazon.  

What I do is prep the meat, seasonings, veggies; basically cut it up into the sizes I want.  I don't cut the greens though.  I keep the Sesame oil handy as well.  

I throw some coconut oil in the wok and get that hot, then add the garlic and ginger.  Add a splash of sesame oil and the meat, cook well, move it around a lot.  Take it out.  Add the heftier veggies like the celery and the frozen blend - basically the bigger, denser, veggies.  Then I will add the mixed veggies and keep it moving, add a little more ginger/garlic/sesame as I progress.  Lastly I would add the leafy greens, just stir them around a minute and pull it all out, mix with the meat, sprinkle with some sesame and a squirt of lemon.  

That's it for now.  More photos when I plate it.  

I have been thinking about "How do I like to eat vegetables?"  I grew up eating them out of a can so that's always an option.  I like frozen mixed veggies heated up in the microwave.  And I love them in a stir fry I will eat pretty much any vegetable in a stir fry.  

When I finished them I put a lemon wedge in each dish of stir fry.  

That's it for now.