oregano – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

1-23: Pita Pockets

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 25, 2022February 19, 2024blue cheese, boiled, Boston lettuce, canola oil, cheese, cooked potatoes, cucumbers, diced, Dijon mustard, dressing, dried herbs, easy, eggs, filling, fish, garlic, Greek yogurt, green beans, green onions, hard-boiled, herb salt, herbs and spices, hot dogs, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, julienned, lettuce, lunch, minced, olive oil, oregano, party food, picnic, pita bread, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, salt, sandwiches, sausage, scallions, seafood, sliced, smoked ham, sunflower oil, tomatoes, tuna, untested, vegetable oil, vegetarian, vinegar, yellow mustard, yogurt

Today, I have the last unmade Group 01 recipe in my possession to share with you today, 1-23: Pita Pockets. They’re essentially sandwiches with two sorts of filling, both very 1980s/”light”.

One of my favorite restaurants is called Pita Pockets–I’ve been going there since I was in high school (over 20 years…eeek) and it’s one of the places I try to stop at when I find myself back in Southern California. Their pita sandwiches are very different from what we’ve got here today (and theirs are WAY better).

I remember pitas being a big deal in the 1980s-1990s, so it’s not surprising that they were included in this recipe collection. They’re still super popular today, but they’re not as “new” of a concept. Speaking of new, this one came from the NEW book, hence why I wasn’t aware until relatively recently that Simply Delicious even had a pita sandwich recipe.

19-6: Fresh Herbs

Jamie Martin Group 19: Basic Ingredients, Section 4: Cooking School August 3, 2022August 17, 2022basil, bouquet garni, chives, cooking school, fines herbes, garnish, herb salt, herb-roasted, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, lavender, lemon balm, mint, new book, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, summer, tarragon, Thai basil, thyme, watercress

Since it’s summer, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share my summer garden with you, courtesy of 19-6: Fresh Herbs. This one came from the new book, and is the prequel (of sorts) to 19-7: Fresh and Dried Herbs. I had lamented not being able to easily find fresh tarragon back when I wrote that one–well, now I grow it myself in my own backyard.

Growing my own herbs in my own garden for use in cooking was one of the top reasons I wanted to buy my own place, and the garden situation outside was one of my main factors when selecting a house (back when you could have preferences about things like that and didn’t just have to overpay for whatever was available).

I use my homegrown herbs for cooking all year round, and it’s quite the pleasure to be able to use just the amount needed fresh from my own backyard rather than buy overpriced herbs at the grocery store and then watch them wilt and die in my fridge.

11-13: Flounder with Sautéed Vegetables

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses March 22, 2021March 22, 2021black pepper, bread crumbs, breaded, butter, chopped, coated, dinner, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, fish, flounder, halibut, mushrooms, oregano, pan-fried, peeled, salt, sautéed, seafood, sole, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

I’m still on my quest to finish off the Fish/Seafood chapter, so expect some more fish entries in the near (maybe-not-so-near) future. 11-13: Flounder with Sautéed Vegetables sounds pretty…plain, but maybe that’s not a bad thing when it comes to whipping up an easy-ish dinner these days.

This card looks like it got slightly impacted during the “Great Roach Massacre of ’09“, but the important part (the recipe) is still plenty legible. All you’re missing here is Simply Delicious acting as 1980s hype man for including fish as part of your diet.

2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 27, 2020December 16, 2020basil, breasts, canola oil, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chicken, dinner, dressing, dried herbs, dry mustard, easy, fairly inexpensive, granulated sugar, herbs and spices, lunch, Mozzarella, oregano, parsley, Provolone, rolls, salads, salt, sandwiches, sliced, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, spinach, sunflower oil, thyme, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Given the header picture, I suppose it’s not much of a secret that I’ve made some adaptations to 2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad. Namely, that I’ve changed it from a salad to a sandwich. Here’s the thing–it’s a sad salad as written, but can be made into a pretty decent sandwich that doesn’t require anything different than what’s already required/recommended.

See those rolls in the back of the picture (the ones suggested in the blurb above)? Here’s the quick and dirty: cut one open, take the (very few) salad ingredients, stack inside, eat. Not much more to it than that, but if you’d like to see how that went for me in greater detail, please continue reading.

2-11: Santiago Chicken Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 6, 2019February 25, 2020avocados, black pepper, broiled, chicken, chicken salad, chili powder, corn, cucumbers, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, gluten-free, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, Mexican, mushrooms, olive oil, oregano, party food, red bell peppers, salads, salt, spicy, untested, white onions, white wine vinegar

Hey there. Haven’t fallen off the face of the planet–just spent the last few months buying a house and moving into said house. Needless to say, things have been busier than normal.

However, I’ve been trying to do a few recipes here and there throughout the process, so there’s content coming at some point. So before you get to see the new (and hopefully VERY permanent) kitchen background, you’ll still get a few from the old apartment. Here’s one of those, 2-11: Santiago Chicken Salad.

In preparation for moving, we were looking for easy recipes that didn’t involve a lot of cooking or prep work. A lot of Simply Delicious recipes tend to be very heavy and calorie-dense–this one was a light option that involved very minimal work.

12-15: Pasta with Salami

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses June 13, 2018October 27, 2020beef, beef bouillon, black pepper, boiled, carrots, celery, cheese, chicken bouillon, chili sauce, chopped, conchiglie, cubed, diced, Dutch oven, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, grated, Italian, lunch, minced, mirepoix, olive oil, oregano, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, peeled, penne, pork, rotini, salami, salt, sausage, sautéed, side dish, sliced, tender-crisp, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

Pasta with a thin sauce didn’t seem super appropriate for dinner, so I made 12-15: Pasta with Salami and dished it out for lunch as part of a meal prep. While there are a few differences between the recipe card photo and my final product photo, my creation was similar in spirit to the beautifully shot photo below. The place settings are so retro–such a great scene they set.

The exquisite setup showcases the raw ingredients along with the wonderful cutlery and plating of the dish. How magnificent!

12-33: Individual Beef Lasagna

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses April 23, 2018October 27, 2020beef, boiled, broccoli, canola oil, celery, cheese, cream of mushroom, creamy, dinner, dried herbs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, individual, lasagna, layers, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, mushrooms, olive oil, oregano, parsnips, pasta/noodles, peeled, roast beef, sautéed, sliced, untested, vegetables

Have you ever thought to make individual servings of lasagna? I’ve never thought to make lasagna in single servings and after attempting 12-33: Individual Beef Lasagna, I would not try it again. Join me, won’t you? Watch as I do my best to follow this recipe from deep within the minds of the wacky editors of Simply Delicious.

The example photo looks so elegant. The blue rimmed wine glass is excellent, I wish I had a set of those. The description is not hyperbolic when it says this is a completely new version of lasagna. It’s barely lasagna.

9-16: Individual Salami Pizzas

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses February 24, 2018July 5, 2020Alfredo sauce, all-purpose flour, barbecue sauce, canola oil, Cheddar, cheese, Colby Jack, cornmeal, crushed tomatoes, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, green onions, herbs and spices, individual, Italian, kneaded, leeks, lunch, melted, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, olive oil, oregano, Parmesan, party food, pepperoni, pesto sauce, pizza, salami, salt, shredded, Silpat, sliced, snacks, tangy, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, yeast

Simply Delicious has several takes on pizza–we’ve covered quite a few already including 13-11: Vegetarian Pizza, 1-9: Four Seasons Pizza, and 5-31: Oven Pizza Pancake. There’s even 11-4: Calzone with Seafood if you like your pizza folded in half with toppings on the inside. 9-16: Individual Salami Pizzas is probably one of the more “traditional” pizza recipes so far.

It’s recommended to make this for something like a kid’s party, since it’s pretty tough to find a kid who will say no to pizza. I was a teacher for several years, ran a meal program for a school for a year or two, and I’m here to tell you that pizza (in whatever shape/form/capacity) was always a crowd pleaser for young and old.

5-31: Oven Pizza Pancake

Adam Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 1, 2016October 13, 2020anchovies, appetizers, black olives, black pepper, breakfast, butter, celery, cheese, cooking class, dinner, dried herbs, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, grated, ham, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, milk, Mozzarella, mushrooms, omelette, oregano, pancakes, Parmesan, party food, pepperoni, pizza, red onions, revisited, rosemary, salami, salt, seafood, shellfish, shredded, shrimp, sliced, tomatoes, toppings, twice-baked

Cooking a pizza on a pancake dough creates a very kooky, weird pizza experience. 5-31: Oven Pizza Pancake is not your usual pizza–this soft-crusted abomination is another dish created when the Simply Delicious editors decided to have one too many beers at the office.

The beer in the background of this image should have been my first clue that this was a strange dish.

Editor’s note: I used this recipe for when I taught cooking in an after-school program for K-8 kids a few years ago–I didn’t have the time or resources to make a traditional rising dough using yeast on that particular site, so this method provided me a somewhat valid shortcut.

17-19: Parmesan Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods September 19, 2016August 31, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, breads, brushed, butter, cheese, dough, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, grated, herbs and spices, kneaded, loaf pan, melted, milk, oregano, Parmesan, proofed, revisited, rolls, salt, slit, snacks, vegetarian, yeast

After staring at the screen for much too long (not the whole two weeks since the last time I posted, but at least some portion of it), I’ve determined that I just can’t think of anything all that notable to say about 17-19: Parmesan Bread. I’ve even made it once before, despite the lack of notations or photographic evidence. It’s just not what I hoped it could be.

The first time I made this bread, it turned out (somewhat) like the one shown in the Simply Delicious picture. This time, it turned out more like savory, vaguely cheesy monkey bread.

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