Tag Archives: date night

Throwback Thursday – Thanksgiving for Two

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On behalf of Tablespoonsandteaspoons we want to wish you and your family a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you to my followers for your continuing support. 

If you’re unable to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family, we came up with a meal that can be done in a hour and more importantly it’s budget friendly, healthy and low carb. 

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Cutlets with Brussels Sprout Casserole and Skinny Mashed Yams

Bacon Wrapped Turkey Cutlets – Recipe was adapted from Domesticated Wildchild and Grace Before Meals

Boneless Skinless Turkey Breast Cutlets $4.99/lb 

Bacon $3.99 

Salt

Pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2) Place aluminum foil on a baking sheet and lay 4 strips of bacon flat on the foiled baking sheet. 

3) Rinse 2-4 slices of turkey breast cutlets depending on size and place cutlets on top of the bacon. 

4) Season cutlets generously in salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Stack cutlets. 

5) Place the tips of the bacon to wrap around the cutlets and roll tightly. 

6) Place bacon wrapped turkey cutlets in the oven for one hour.  Rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees halfway. 

7) Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes. 

Brussels Sprouts Casserole – Recipe was adapted from Grace Before Meals

1 tablespoon of butter (I used the Earth Balance Organic Whipped Butter) $3.50 

16 pieces of Brussels sprouts -$2.99/lb.

Ocean spray craisins  (dried cranberries) at 2 for $3 ($1.50)

1/4 cup of water 

1/4 cup of breadcrumbs $1.50

1) Rinse and cut Brussels sprouts into quarters.

2) Melt butter in a non stick pan

3) Add Brussels sprouts and let it cool for 4 mins. 

4) Add dried cranberries and water and let it cook until water is evaporated. 

5) Add breadcrumbs and mix until toasted. 

Skinny Mashed Yams – Recipe was adapted from Tasty Kitchen

2 yams washed and cubed = $0.59/lb

Cinnamon 

Salt

Butter

1) Wash and cut yams into cubes.

2) Add yams to boiling water and cook until fork tender. 

3) Drain yams. Mash yams and add cinnamon and butter as needed. 

There you have it, a date night/Thanksgiving meal for two that can be done in one hour with each dish requiring no more than five ingredients. 

From our family to yours, once again Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers! 

Throwback Thursday – Budget Date Night – Himalayan Yak

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Happy Thursday!! A few weeks ago decided to finally try Himalayan cuisine.  I went on a date at Himalayan Yak located in Jackson Heights, Queens.  This restaurant is an eclectic mix of Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and Tibetan cuisine.  Side note: this restaurant was on the scene of ABC TV series Ugly Betty.

The first dish we ordered were “Momos”, which are Tibetan dumpling made of a thick dough containing meat and vegetables.  There are also vegetarian momos as well.  We ordered the steamed momos, one set comes with pork and vegetable ($7) and the other only had vegetables ($7.95).  The food is served with julienned pickled carrots, which were spicy along with three different sauces equivalent to condiments from an Indian restaurant.    These momos were good and the consistency of the dough makes it really filling.  It is definitely a great starter and safe dish to try.

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Momos – Tibetan dumplings

In addition to the momos, we decided to go adventurers by entering the world of “Yak”.  Yak meat is one of the healthiest and leanest meat (95%-97% lean), almost as equivalent as grass fed beef.   It is also low in fat and cholesterol than beef, skinless chicken breast and even salmon.  It may help with lower risk of heart disease and cholesterol.  However, my date was not there yet so we compromised with yak cheese ($6.50).   Given the price of the cheese we were anticipating a huge platter, but it did not appear that way.  This serving plate below looks small, but the texture of each piece of cheese was insulating and filling.  On a tasting level, it was equivalent to aged cheese that was overpowering, but the apple slices complimented the strong aftertaste.   Yak cheese has several health benefits since it is derived from grass fed yaks in the mountains of Nepal, the cheese carries more omega-3 fatty acids especially alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which help fight heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and even body fat gain.

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Yak Cheese

Finally, my adventurous Himalayan food journey did not end and talked my date into ordering the Nepalese dish – Sandeko Bandel ($6.95), which is smoked wild boar topped with lemon juices and spices.  The dish looked and tasted like bacon – to die for –

Wild boar is another piece of lean meat, but it is expensive to cook.  However, it has health benefits such as low calories, less fat, less saturated fat, low cholesterol, and higher protein content than beef, lamb, pork and chicken.

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Sandeko Bandel: Sliced smoked wild boar topped with lemon juices, chili powder and Sichuan pepper

Overall service was good, food was very good especially if one is on a budget.  Personally I would return to try their other dishes especially the Thali, Ngopa, and more yak.  If one wants a cheaper meal, go during lunchtime, and if you check in on Yelp.