DO I COOK DURING RETIREMENT IN MEXICO? 🥗 I Get Asked This Question Often...

 Probably Because I Show

So Many Restaurant Meals😄

Jon and I Shared This Large Cowboy Steak

From Noroc And Took Home Leftovers

With over 1000 restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, dining out for dinner is so tempting. Jon and I go to a restaurant every other day, some weeks more often.

But, yes, I do cook, or at least I prepare meals. Here are my shortcuts:

Leftovers Are the Basis of Most of the Meals I Prepare

I’ve become creative at using leftovers to cook tasty meals! That Cowboy Steak was delicious, diced, and layered on Noroc’s nutritious blue corn tortillas. 

Steak Quesadillas on Blue Corn Tortillas

I added refried beans, grated Manchego cheese, and leftover Spanish rice from El Pechugon, where we buy our rotisserie chicken meals. Warmed in a frypan with a bit of corn oil, the tortillas were slightly crunchy, and the cheese melted. With a dab of light sour cream and salsa on top, we had a yummy, healthy taco lunch.

And Sophie Got the Cowboy Steak Rib Bone

Chicken Soup with rotisserie chicken from El Pechugon is one of my favorite meals to prepare. I throw in whatever sounds good and takes little work, including frozen broccoli, corn, spinach, and Spanish rice. I made enough this week to enjoy it for two days for lunch.

Ingredients Ready to Add to the Soup

After Deboning Chicken

Two of My Other Shortcuts

Mildly Spicy Chicken, Noodle, Rice, Vegetable Soup

Last evening, I made Chicken and Mushroom Fettucine Alfredo. I used half the jar of Bertolli Alfredo sauce for this meal, thinned with milk to decrease calories. The jar with the remaining sauce went into the freezer for another day—broccoli baked in the cheesy Alfredo sauce is always a winner with Jon.

Deboning the Cooked Chicken was the Hardest Step

I sauteed the fresh tomato with canned, sliced mushrooms and minced garlic. Then I added the deboned chicken and Alfredo sauce and warmed it. Previously cooked fettuccine noodles I store in the freezer are easy to thaw and mix in shortly before serving. I serve this with grated Wisconsin Parmesan cheese. Yum!

What would I do without leftover cooked chicken? Once a month, we buy a large rotisserie chicken with baked potatoes from El Pechugon. I divide the chicken into four Ziplocs and store them in the freezer for future food prep. Half the potatoes will be a side dish one night. Another night we'll have the other half of the baked potatoes with a green salad.

Crockpot Cooking for Simplicity and Extra Meals for the Freezer

Jon's Favorite--Crockpot Pot Roast

I like to cook using the crockpot because I can prepare enough extra to freeze two or three meals. That way, when I'm lazy, I can heat the meal in the convection oven while we are drinking a glass of wine and throwing the ball for Sophie.

Jon loves my Crockpot Pot Roast. Another of his favorites is Spaghetti made with Italian Sausage from Gringo Kitchen in Bucerias (they deliver to us), a jar of Prego sauce, and diced fresh tomatoes. I brown the sausage and diced tomatoes in the crockpot set on high heat, then add the other ingredients and heat for four to six hours. Easy!

Italian Sausage From Gringo Kitchen in Bucerias

Crockpot Meatloaf and Baked Potatoes

A Favorite Memory from Years Ago

Crockpot Cooking in Sayulita

Where shall we go for dinner tonight? I’ll have to check my Puerto Vallarta Favorites Lists. Here are the links for Parts 1 Through 4 of Our 12 Favorite Puerto Vallarta Restaurants:

Part 1: https://retirementbeforetheageof59.blogspot.com/2021/10/our-12-favorite-puerto-vallarta.html

Part 2: https://retirementbeforetheageof59.blogspot.com/2021/11/our-12-favorite-puerto-vallarta.html

Part 3: https://retirementbeforetheageof59.blogspot.com/2021/12/our-12-favorite-puerto-vallarta.html

Part 4: https://retirementbeforetheageof59.blogspot.com/2022/01/our-12-favorite-puerto-vallarta.html

Enjoy!

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Cheers,

Terry

Terry L Turrell, Author

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