This is something new I’m trying out. It’s part food diary, part cookbook – a list of meals and snacks I ate this week and how to make them.

Sunday brunch: Biscuits and gravy

8 oz. ground sausage

2 c. and a pinch of Bisquick (I’m not a prolific baker so I keep this on hand for quickness’ sake)

2 c. milk

Combine the 2 cups of Bisquick and 3/4 c. milk in a bowl and beat until dough forms. Place 8 dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and cook at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. While those are baking, fry the sausage until it’s thoroughly browned. Add the rest of the milk to the greasy sausage and add pinches of flour until gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remember it will thicken as it cools, too.

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Monday dinner: Spicy spaghetti

2 oz. spaghetti

1 can of diced tomatoes

1/4 c. tomato paste

3 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tbsp. grape seed oil

1 sliced banana or other mild pepper, chopped

1 minced onion, sliced

2 tbsp. garlic

Red pepper to taste

Sauté the garlic in the grape seed oil until it’s a little brown, then add the onions and peppers to the garlic. Let that mixture cook covered for about a minute. Drain most of the liquid from the canned tomatoes and dump them and the tomato paste in the skillet. Add the oregano, rosemary and red pepper. Let it simmer until the flavors have mingled, then add the spaghetti noodles along with a little bit of the starchy water to add texture to the sauce. Simmer that for a few minutes, then eat.

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Tuesday snack: Southwest-style popcorn

1/3 c. un-popped popcorn

Spray butter

1 tbsp. canola oil

Red pepper, chili powder and cheese powder to taste

Add the canola oil and popcorn kernels to a 2 quart saucepan. Heat them on high until all the kernels are popped (about 3-4 seconds between pops). Put the popcorn in a large bowl, spray evenly with butter then sprinkle the flavorings on top, making sure to move the popcorn in the bowl for even coating.

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Wednesday lunch: Garlic noodles with kielbasa

2 oz. spaghetti

2 tbsp. garlic

1 tbsp butter

1 cayenne pepper

1 medium onion, sliced

5 inches of kielbasa sausage, chopped

Ground black pepper to garnish

Dash of salt

Sauté the garlic and cayenne peppers in the butter until the garlic is a little brown. Add the onion and cook until its tender, then add the chopped sausage. Sautee a little longer until the sausage is browned at the edges, then mix the pasta in for a few minutes. Top with ground pepper.

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Thursday dinner: Curried peppers with rice

1/2 c. rice

1 c. water

1 tbsp. garlic

1 tbsp. butter

1 medium onion, sliced

1 banana or other mild pepper, chopped

Ground black pepper to taste

Dash of salt

1 tbsp. curry powder

Boil the water and add the rice and salt, simmering until rice is soft. Meanwhile, sauté the garlic in the butter (pretty much all my recipes start out this way), then add the onions and let them soften. Throw in the chopped pepper, curry powder and the ground pepper and let the mixture simmer covered until the pepper has cooked. Throw the curried peppers on top of a bed of rice or mix the rice in the skillet with the peppers.