One of my favorites

Today, I had artichoke for dinner; my husband had bean and cheese burritos. Neither one scored a perfect 5 on the temperature scale. Both had to be heated up and both were hot meals. I love artichoke, my husband not so much; therefore, when I typically have artichoke I make it on a night that he isn't around. Since that won't be for another week, I decided tonight was as good as any. Let's look at each meal individually:



First, the artichoke:

I had one large artichoke head. After cutting off the stem, just to the base, and the top of the leaves, about an inch, I placed it stem-down in a pot with an inch of water. I covered and turned the heat to low for 20 minutes. After this time, I checked to make sure the leaves came off easily and were ready to eat. I took it out and placed into a bowl.

While it was cooling a bit, I was getting my husbands dinner ready and the dipping sauce. For dipping sauce I used: oil (I prefer olive oil), rice vinegar, and deli mustard and whisked it all together until smooth. I then added garlic powder and Italian seasoning to taste. Very good! Now that is done, let's score it before moving on to the burritos:

Appropriate for temperature 3.5 out of 5 I had to use the stove when the apartment temperature was 89 degrees; plus the boiling water seems to add to the humidity. It is also a warm meal on a hot day; unfortunately I have to take off for that for one of my favorite meals.
Filling 5 out of 5 I won't be hungry at all for the rest of the night.
Healthy 3 out of 5 It's a vegetable, so of course it's good for you; but not a well balanced meal

Now on to the burritos. I did it simple. Opened a can of refried beans, put it into a bowl, and put it into the microwave. I have this really cool function on my microwave "sensory reheat". It automatically determines when food is done and it's always perfect! As I had that going, I made my sauce, got out the cheese, tortillas, sour cream, and ketchup. Yes, ketchup. That's what he puts on it. Don't ask me, I have only just learned to live with it.

Once the beans are done, I pop the tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds while everything goes out on the table. Then we sit down to pray and eat.

So, how does burritos score?

Appropriate for temperature 4 out of 5 I have to knock down points for it being a hot meal. However, it fairs better than artichoke because it only uses the microwave; which still heats up the apartment, but not as much

Filling 5 out of 5 Even one of these and I am done for the night. Very filling!

Healthy 4 out of 5 it has a lot of what you need, but not everything. Protein, bread, if you want to count the ketchup as a vegetable, you can, but still, not an unhealthy meal.