Munching Madness!

Mac n Cheese n Peas

2010-06-08T23:00:00.001-04:00

This recipe was filed under "must-try way to make food I love." I finally tried it and OH MY it was yummy and oh so easy.

First, I put 2 cups of dry rotini in the rice cooker with 2 cups of chicken broth.

While it cooked, I shredded 2 cups of cheese, a mix of cheddar and monterey jack. Food processors make life better.

The macaroni is done when there is no more liquid in the rice cooker. Mine just popped up from "Cook" to "Keep Warm."

At that point, I added some milk and the frozen peas and put the top back on to melt the peas.

The last step was to mix in the cheese. The heat and steam of the "keep warm" function melted it perfectly!

Frolicks in Frozen Dough

2010-06-07T23:00:00.001-04:00

We used to buy frozen dough for pizzas, calzones, garlic knots, and other things. It was around $1.50 for each baggie, and we would make 2 personal pizzas out of it. It was pretty inexpensive, and the ingredient list was short.

That didn't stop me from wanting to make it from scratch. I mean, I have a zillion kitchen gadgets, how hard could it be?!

Answer? Not hard at all.

I gathered the ingredients: 3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup water, a squeeze of honey, a splash of olive oil, 2 t yeast, and some grinds of salt.

The breadmaker was the appliance of choice. It kneads, lets it rise, punches it down, and lets it rise again. So I threw it all in the pan.

It kneaded, rose, was punched, and rose again.

When it was all finished, I put it into a baggie. Mission complete.

Meal Plan Monday!

2010-06-06T23:00:00.003-04:00

This week is the busiest, most stressful, and most FUN week of the year for me at work. In case you didn't know, I am a dance teacher. I also help run the studio of a few hundred students. This week is our dress rehearsal and recital week, and I will be on my feet at the theatre and running errands all day every day from Monday-Sunday. WHEW! To make it through, I pack TONS of snacks. There usually is not time for proper meals, but when the snacks are packed well, I rarely get hungry.

Some of the things to cook/ prep for the week:

Mac n Cheese n Peas

Wilted Kale Leaves Salad (using this recipe, but not baked)

Kale Chips

Apple Chips

Broccoli Supreme

Sliced Pineapple

Blackberries

Pears

Banannas

Grapes

Nut n Fruit Mix

Baba Ghanoush

Hummus

Salad

Plantains

Yellow Squash

Granola

Something with Beets.....

Now, to make sure I have time for all of this, I have to break it down. I will be checking off items as I complete them. You are basically getting to see my list!

So.. what do i have to do?

Slice Pineapple

Clean Grapes

Clean Lettuce

Snip Lettuce

Mix Salad

Clean Kale

Snip Kale

Soak Kale

Bake Kale

Clean Apples

Slice Apples

Flavor Apples

Bake Apples

Soak Chick Peas

Bake Eggplant

Peel Eggplant

Slice Plantains

Saute Plantains

Mix Granola

Bake Granola

Easy Stuff:

Mix Fruit and Nut Mix

Slice Plantains

Saute Plantains

Slice pineapple

Clean Grapes

Mix Granola

Mix Salad

Stuff that Takes Wait Time:

Soaking Kale

Soaking Chick Peas

Eggplant Cooling

Baking Stuff:

Bake Apples

Bake Kale

Bake Granola

I try to multitask as much as possible to save time. John will be assisting by making the Hummus and Baba Ghanoush (and HOPEFULLY some yogurt, too!). Stay tuned!!

This is also posted here!

'Tater Chips

2010-06-05T23:00:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make. I had never made real potato chips. I usually made too-thick baked potato slices. Blech. I slice them too thick, oil them too much, and cook them at too low of a temperature. So I stopped making them.

The other day, I felt like making John some yummy snacks, and I know how much he loves good potato chips. We had potatoes, so I figured, why not?

First, I sliced the potatoes in half so I had a manageable pieces of food to handle with the mandolin.

Then, I sliced them. Really thin. In the past, I have had a problem with the mandolin. I end up hurting my hand because it is not slicing easily. This time, I checked the thickness thing and realized I had it backwards. In other words, I was making it thicker when I wanted it to be thinner. DUHHHH! So this time, it was EASY. The slices were really thin.

The next decision to be made? What to fry them in. I settled on duck fat. We had purchased it a few weeks ago and hadn't used it yet.

When the fat was all liquidey and hot, I placed the potato slices in a few at a time, making sure not to overcrowd them.

When the edges started to buckle, I flipped them carefully. I say carefully because I burned my finger on the first one. Ouch.

Eventually, they all browned up and were ready. I salted them as they were removed from the pan.

John ate them in five minutes flat. I think that would make it a success, don't you?

This recipe was also posted on Two For Tuesday at A Moderate Life

Beef Stock Success!

2010-06-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if I shared by past beef broth failures. I wasn't aware that beef broth was not made the same way that chicken broth was. Oops.

Our apartment smelled like decomposing animals for about a week after that.

Nasty.

This time, however, I was armed with the frozen scraps of my dad's rib roast, a thick marrow bone, and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Well, not in person, but still, she helped... by writing a post....

Anyway. I started by defrosting my dad's frozen bones.

RIB bones....

from a cow... You know what I mean.

I roasted the marrow bone at 400 until it started to smell really good. After discarding the grease and choppping off the extra fatty parts, I added it to the crock pot with a sliced up carrot, some celery, an onion, and some potato bits (from a future post). Then, it was seasoned with roasted garlic, sea salt, oregano, and too much parsley.

I somehow always forget that the parsley jar doesn't have a shaker top. I shake it as if it's going to come out slowly and lose about 1/4 of the jar before I realize that is it POURING out. Good thing I like parsley.

The ingredients were then covered in water and cooked overnight. In the morning I strained it and froze it into 2 cup baggies. The house smells good, like beef stew!!! Whoo hoo!!!

Budget Time

2010-06-03T23:00:00.002-04:00

Food shopping together has been something that John and I have enjoyed since we first moved in together (3 years ago this month!). When we returned from our honeymoon, we knew that diving headfirst into eating Real Food would cause a shift in our food shopping. We planned our first food shopping trip before we even left Hawaii! There were quite a few changes that we needed to consider. For one thing, Real Food IS pricier. For another, our old supermarket is open 24-7, the one we now frequent is only open until 10. That may seem late enough, but considering I don't even get home from work until 7:30 on a good day, 10 is not that late.

Before Real Food (BRF), we were spending about $35/week at the supermarket and about $20 every other weekend at the Farmers' Market. In total, we were spending about $120/month. The first shopping trip After Real Food (ARF), we spent $120. In ONE SHOPPING TRIP! Yikes! The next week we spent about $100 again. Although we could technically afford it, quadrupling our food budget was not in line with our savings goals. To boot, these expenditures DIDN'T INCLUDE our trips to the Farmers' Market. We needed to re-think things.

We decided to get certain staples at the regular store or online every few weeks. Things like nuts and dried fruit we order from A Nuts. The might not have the best selection, but they have really good prices and service. Paper and personal products we buy from Alice. We still frequent the Farmers' Market every 2 weekends, at least we try to. That's where we tend to get the majority of our ingredient veggies, like garlic, onions, and leafy greens. They sometimes have great deals on fruit as well. Frozen produce, canned goods, grains like macaroni and rice, and dry legumes are purchased at our conventional supermarket when we need them. We tend to buy a whole lot on sale occasionally. We have been going there MAYBE once/month.

That leaves the fresh produce, dairy, eggs, and meat products. That we get at our new supermarket, Fairway. We load up on decently priced produce, usually a mix of conventional and organic. Then we swing to the cheese section and grab a few delicious cheeses. We've found that a good cheese can take an average meal and make it sparkle. Then we mosey on over to the meat and seafood. We'll grab one type of seafood, usually what is on sale, and one cut of meat. We only buy enough for the week, and we don't freeze it. It is only the two of us, so when we bought clams, we bought a dozen. We get 2 fillets of fish, not 5 pounds. Our meat and fish are supplemented by veggies, grains, and sauces. Lastly, we pick up eggs, milk, and butter.

Since we make many of our foods at home, we don't require very much from the supermarket. As we starting paring down the amount we would buy, and exercising enough self-control to only buy 1 week's worth of fresh food, we have gotten our weekly food spending down to....

About $50/week.

Yes. Including Fairway, the Farmers' Market, online shopping, and the conventional supermarket, we are spending a mere $50/week. While it is more than what we were spending, it is worth it. The food is much more delicious, we are feeling better, and it is better for us.

What we do might not work for everyone, but is sure works for us!!

This post was added to
Pennywise Platter @ Nourishing Gourmet!
and
Fight Back Fridays @ Food Renegade!

Starting a Plan...

2010-06-02T23:00:00.000-04:00

John and I will hopefully be moving this month. Our apartment is a wreck right now, with boxes everywhere. I am not motivated to cook a single thing. Today I started to pack John's lunch, and realized we did not have a single thing he could eat. I felt like such a failure as a wife! By the way, it is still SO WEIRD to say "wife" and be referring to myself.

In light of the chaos, I am trying to pat myself on the back for what I AM able to do. I also wanted to keep track of the things I make from scratch so in the new house I can develop a schedule. I don't ever want to wind up like we did today.

A List of Home Made Things.

Bread
Yogurt
Granola
Granola Bars
Hummus
Baba Ghanoush
Waffles
Chicken Stock
Crackers
Vegetable Stock
Fish Stock
Beef Stock
Peanut Butter
Almond Butter
Potato Chips
Apple Chips
Baking Mix (Bisquick Type)

Raw Milk

2010-06-01T23:00:00.001-04:00

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in the Poconos. It was a great break from reality (as if 12 days in Hawai'i a month ago wasn't enough of a break). The culinary high point? Our first taste of rawwwww milk.

Here in New Jersey where we live, raw milk is illegal. We have been reading quite a bit about the benefits and were intrigued, but it is not something we can just go to the store and buy. In Pennsylvania, however, it is legal. It is available both at farms and in stores. The store closest to our hotel was sold out, so we pranced to the farm down the hill. I pranced, at least. John didn't. He doesn't prance much.

Anyway, we grabbed a 1/2 gallon and brought it to the hotel room. We also grabbed some chocolate chip brownie cookies that were to-die-for.

Looks good, doesn't it!! It tasted WAY better than regular store milk, the typical kind, but we found the taste to be comparable to that of grass-fed pasteurized whole milk. It was definitely worth it, though, to experience it!

Want to read more about Real Food? Check out "Real Food Wednesday!" over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop!

My Food Philosophy is Growing.....

2010-05-31T23:00:00.002-04:00

Our style of eating as shifted lately, and I have been putting off writing a post about it for a while. Not because I didn't want to share. I did, and I do. I just wasn't sure how to approach it, or explain it. So here I am, taking a deep breath, and jumping in.

John and I have cooked the majority of our food at home for a while, at least most of the time. We liked to cook and we did it often, but we also used convenience items to make life easier. Things like baking mixes and canned paraphernalia gave the IMPRESSION of home-cooked, but without all the time and cost. While this was helpful, I had a nagging feeling like I was cheating. I started to make more foods from scratch, and I loved it. The more I cooked, the more I wanted to cook. I started reading cooking blogs and cookbooks and felt more and more inspired by each recipe. I read, and I cooked, I read, and I cooked. Many of the reading materials I was stumbling across were full of "healthy" recipes, but they didn't sit right with me.

I reached a brick wall. ::Warning-What I'm about to share might be too much info, so feel free to click away now!:: I had been dealing with digestive issues for as long as I can remember. I recall sharing a theory with a friend as a young teen, and I think my theory sums up a part of it, even it if isn't scientifically sound. I told her that when I ate, the food rushed into my intestine. It waited there until the next meal or snack came. When the next food came, it pushed the first meal out. Forcefully. Ouch. In addition, I was lactose intolerant. So, in a nutshell, I would eat, I would bloat, I would... let the food out. You get it. And I would be hungry. All the time. So I stopped eating lots of dairy. I found that preservatives and artificial things in food were making it worse. So I started cutting that out. I never liked using them all that much anyway, but I became more aware of them. That helped, but something was still wrong. I started gaining weight, and I had never struggled with that before. It didn't make sense. The "healthy" recipes and ingredients were not making my digestion better, and I was gaining weight.

So I gave up.

I stopped looking for "healthy" recipes and started just started to follow my instincts. I cooked what I wanted, when I wanted. The food I wanted to make or cook was never really "bad," but they weren't "healthy." They included meat of all kinds. They included carbs. They included dessert. When I wanted ricotta cheese, I didn't get skim. I gravitated towards blogs with the "whole food, whole person" view that my instincts had originally been guiding me towards. This time? I didn't fight it. I started losing weight and feeling better. My food stayed in. I felt full. So I continued. Around this time, I read Nourishing Traditions. It resonated with me, and for the first time, I felt validated. I felt like my crazy way of feeling better wasn't so crazy. I felt like my instincts were right.

I tried to get John on board. He was cool with trying the crazy recipes I was finding, as long as it did not too off the wall. He ate all the things I cooked, and even liked some of them! I wanted him to read about the logic behind it, but I knew Nourishing Traditions would be too much for him at first. I mean, it is a lot of information, not really an introduction. Enter Nina Planck and her books. I knew her first book would be the perfect introduction for him. I may or may not have forced him to read it on our honeymoon.

The result? Well let me just say that the day after we got back from our honeymoon, we went food shopping at Fairway for grass-fed butter, milk, and meat, along with free range eggs and other fun things.

So far, John and I have been both feeling better and looking better. Our lives have changed for the better. So, you may be seeing some new things on the blog, or maybe you have already noticed. Either way, I hope you continue to enjoy and join me on this journey!!

And if you are still reading at this point, you deserve a medal!

This post was listed on Fight Back Friday @ Foodrenegade.com!

Green Bean Supreme!

2010-05-30T23:00:00.001-04:00

Apparently my literary genius has allowed me to progress from alliterative titles to rhyyyyyming! Go Me!

John and I are actually away for the weekend (remind me to thank Blogger for allowing posts to be written in advance and posted later!). Since we are frugal and like to eat well, we packed lots of things to munch on....

Kiwis...

Pears...

Bread...

Granola...

Oranges...

Bananas...

Granola Bars...

Peanut Butter...

Almond Butter...

You get the picture, I'm sure.

In addition to all of that, because that is just not enough for 3 days, 2 nights, I made a green bean dish. This dish is special to me, because it was one of the first "grown-up" dishes I made in my first apartment. I made it for a dinner party in 2006 with chicken, but it is good without it, too.

It is seriously SO EASY to make. It was perfect for this trip because it keeps well and can be served cold.

First, snip the ends off some green beans.

Next, boil them until the are bright green. When they are, plunge them in cold water to stop them from cooking.

While the beans are cooking, mix up the sauce. It is 1/4 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 tsp minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. I don't like to taste pepper, so I exclude it. Feel free to follow suit.

If you juiced your oranges, drink the excess.

Then, mix it all together. It is fun topped with slivered almonds!

This recipe was also posted on Two For Tuesday at A Moderate Life

Super Snack Saturday!

2010-05-29T23:00:00.002-04:00

Most of the posts this week have been of meals, dinners to be exact, so I thought the weekend would be a good time to share some of the OTHER things we have been eating.

Waffles with Peanut Butter/Honey/Banana Topping
Home made peanut butter, sliced bananas, and honey were thrown in a bowl...

Warmed....

And served over a toasted waffle! The waffle was leftover from when we made them last weekend. I just froze the extra, and when I felt like a fancier breakfast, stuck it in the toaster!

The other big snack-o-the-week is a riddle.

What do you get when you mix 2 apples...

a mandolin slicer...

and cinnamon?

Why, apple chips, of course! Especially when the are baked at 250 for an hour or so!

Clams Oreganata and Asparagus Macaroni

2010-05-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

We stuck with our meal plan well this week! On Wednesday night we had Clam Oreganata and a cool asparagus macaroni invention. It was actually pretty boring, but SO GOOD! I just realized I say that about lots of the things we make over here. Hmm. That's a good sign. Anyway, on to the clams!

Step 1: Clean clams. Little neck clams were on sale for 3 dozen/$10. We are only 2 people, so we got a dozen. Only 1 was bad (open before it was cooked) so I scrubbed up 11 clam-o-s.

Step 2: Cook clams. Stick the clams in a pot with a small layer of water and boil the water. The steam will cook the clams. When they open, they are ready. If they don't open, don't eat 'em. We lucked out, they all opened! Don't forget to save a little of the cooking water to add to the stuffing!

Step 3: Chop clam insides. Actually, the real 3rd step is to get the clam bodies out of the little shells. I didn't take a picture of that because my hands were all clammy. I just stuck them in the food processor and pulsed it a few times.

Step 4: Make stuffing. I started with about a 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, and then added lots of garlic powder, parsley, oregano, and sea salt. Then I streamed in maybe a 1/2 cup of olive oil. As it mixed, I added the clam cooking water to get it to the right consistency.

Step 5: Fill shells. This is the fun step! Scoop up the stuffing, make it into a ball, and add it to the (rinsed) clam shells. I put the little balls in the shells, and then smushed them down when it was time to cook them.

Step 6: Serve with awesome macaroni with roasted asparagus in a lemon butter sauce. This was easy. Cook macaroni and roast asparagus. When you pour the macaroni into a colander, use that pot to melt lots of butter. Then add in the juice of a lemon. Chop the asparagus and add that into the pot. When it is mixed in, put the macaroni back in the pot. This is great because it only uses one pot, and because you can reheat it on the stove when you go back for seconds. Because you WILL go back for seconds!!!

Lentil and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

2010-05-27T23:00:00.002-04:00

Do you remember when I attempted to make a beet and lentil salad? And it was awful? I do, and since then, I have been plotting a way to make it again. Except delicious.

Challenge accepted. Enter Bobby Flay. This was the blueprint. Of course, I didn't have sherry vinegar, so I used a mix of red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. I'm not sure why, but it worked. I didn't use bacon, because we didn't have any. I THOUGHT we had dijon mustard, but we didn't. We had mustard seeds, though so....

I smashed it up with some olive oil. Go me.

On to the actual cooking. The day before, I chopped up the beets and roasted them at 375 until they were tender, and mixed the dressing. I did not photograph those steps. Bad Blogger! I also made the lentil broth that night.

Nice broth of chicken stock, celery leftover from our fondue-ing, and some onion mixed with tons of spices.

The morning I was ready to make it, I added in the lentils and cooked them until the liquid was gone.

In a separate pan, I mixed onion and garlic with butter, and then threw in the lentils. I discarded the mushy celery and onion.

At dinnertime, all we had to do was throw the lentil mixture over some arugula and dressing, throw on the goat cheese, and arrange the beets.

It was so much better. It was easy, surprisingly easy, especially with the changes and prepping it in steps. It was cheap, other than the goat cheese, but you could omit that. We probably would have, but I wanted to make it just like the meal at the restaurant. SUCCESS!!

This was also posted at
Kelly the Kitchen Kop for Real Food Wednesday!
and
Wholesome Whole Foods!

Adventures in Granola

2010-05-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

For a self-proclaimed granola freak like myself, store-bought favorites get costly very quickly. Considering the fact that I would eat granola for breakfast and snacks, and can make full meals out of granola bars, I have to reel myself in. When that doesn't work, I need to make my own.

Enter: Katie at Kitchen Stewardship. She posted her granola recipe ages ago, and I have been faithful to it ever since. I love it. It is so simple and delicious. Check it out...

Granola Before:

Granola After:

TaDa!

Now the harder part is the granola bars. I don't like them to be crispy and hard to bite into. I don't like them to be so chewey they hurt my jaw. I don't like them to be cookie-like. I am a bit too picky.

Over the course of my granola bar making, I have made ONE batch that was perfect, to me. Unfortunately, I did not bookmark the link to the recipe and it is now lost forever into cyberspace. I do make them often, however, and I thought I would share my latest attempt.

Based upon this recipe (also from Kitchen Stewardship, although I changed it), I dove into this version.

The biggest changes I made were using the granola above, subbing 1/2 homemade peanut butter for 1/2 of the butter, and omitting the flour.

The liquid ingredients were melted together in the pan,

And then the granola was added in.

After it was all stirred up and mixed together, it was pressed into a pyrex pan lined with parchment paper.

I then assembled the add-ins...

And pressed them into the tops of the bars.

The extra parchment paper got folded over the bars and I pressed it down with ALL MY STRENGTH. Then, since all my strength is still not much, John helped.

The result? Pretty crumbly. I'm not sure why, maybe it was the peanut butter substitution or something. They were delicious, though, so I'll keep trying.

Fun-Do!

2010-05-25T23:00:00.001-04:00

Continuing with our efforts to spice up weeknight dinners, John and I recently had a fondue dinner! Some people knew that our first date was at a fondue restaurant, so we have received a few fondue sets we had not yet put to good use. I guess the assumption is that fondue is just for parties or something. NOT TRUE!

The main course was a cheese fondue LOOSELY based upon this recipe. It was another one of those moments when the stars align and the ingredients happen to be in the house. The ONLY change we made was to use wine as the liquid.

First, let me just say... Shredding the cheese in the food processor was SO EASY!

I am so glad we have it now!

We had been given a large chuck of regular commercial cheese, which we don't usually buy. It was perfect for this because I somehow would have felt guilty for meting down that much good cheese. Weird, I know. I did spice it up with a little bit of an herb rubbed raw cheddar and fresh mozzarella. Now that I know how easy and delicious this was, I feel ready to use GOOD cheeses in it.

Once the cheese was shredded, it was added to the other ingredients:

...and prepared for melting.

The only other prep work was getting the dippers ready. We used carrot sticks, celery sticks, roasted potatoes, roasted asparagus, bread cubes, leftover roasted chicken breasts, and mushrooms.

The cheese was slowly melted and enjoyed!

I must admit that it kind of turned into a ball of cheese instead of a sauce, but we didn't care. It was good.

For dessert, we mixed home made peanut butter, sugar, and a little grass-fed milk together and enjoyed it with bananas, strawberries, pineapples, and rice krispie yummies.

That was probably the best part.

Lesson learned? Don't wait for a party! Fondue is Fun!

This was also posted at the Nourising Gourmet Pennywise Platter

Meal Plan Monday!

2010-05-24T11:00:00.008-04:00

I really need to get back into the swing of menu planning!

Monday: Leftovers

Prep for Tuesday: Cook Lentils, chop beets and onions.

Tuesday: Roasted Beet & Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese (loosely based on this)

Morning: Prep dressing and beets, clean beet greens

Evening: Roast beets, assemble salad

Prep for Wednesday: Soak Clams (this might help!)

Wednesday: Clams Oreganata with Macaroni (loosely based on this)

Morning: Cook Clams (this might help!), make macaroni sauce and clam stuffing

Evening: Cook Macaroni, assemble meal

Thursday: Dinner with Family

Friday: Clean out the fridge!!!

Other things to make this week:

Bread

Date Snacks

Granola
Waffles to Freeze

This was posted on Menu Plan Monday... Check it out!

Buttermilk Waffles...MMM!

2010-05-23T23:00:00.001-04:00

While food shopping last week, I saw some grass-fed buttermilk. Of COURSE I had to buy it and make some breakfast magic!

Of course, now that I am ready to post about it, I can't find the recipe I used. I hope you enjoy the photos anyway.

First I mixed together the dry ingredients...

Then the wet ingredients...

And then the wet AND dry.

The recipe said to whip the egg white separately. I did it, but I think this is the last time I will, since they were not whipped well and it still tasted good. Why should I make extra work!?

Anyway... Then I turned on the waffle iron and sprayed it lightly with olive oil. We use MISTO to spray most of our oils. It uses air pressure rather then chemical propellants.

The waffles were then poured in and cooked up!

They were nearly perfect, if I do say so myself! John had them plain, but I jazzed it up with his homemade yogurt and lots of fruits!

Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto

2010-05-22T23:00:00.001-04:00

John and I value home cooking, but sometimes it is hard to create different meals while working. This usually results in dinners becoming, well... boring. Since the wedding, we have been trying to set good habits for the rest of our marriage. One of these habits is planning and cooking fun, wholesome meals, even though we have to work.

Cut to... Asparagus and Shrimp Risotto!

A long time ago I bought Arborio Rice with the best risotto-making intentions. I stumbled upon this recipe and miraculously had EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT in the house, including things to make a fish-asparagus broth and a little bit of white wine! SCORE!

To make this happen on a weeknight, I did all the prep work and set all of the ingredients in the morning.

I even laid it out in the order it would need to go into the pot!

This bowl had the onions, asparagus, and LOTS of butter, as you can see. It went into the pot first, and cooked until the butter melted and the onions were translucent. I love that word. Transluuuucent.

Once the onions were transluuuucent, the rice was added.

John took about 700 photos as I poured the rice in. Last time I ask HIM to snap an action-cooking shot.

The rice cooked for a while, and then the wine was stirred in.

When the wine evaporated, the broth was added in slowly, a little at a time, until it was all absorbed. At that point, the chopped shrimp and asparagus tips were added to the mix.

When everything looked cooked, some more butter and lots of grated Parmesan Cheese jumped into the pot. I was too lazy to grate all the cheese, so some is chunky.

That's okay, too!

Words cannot even begin to describe this meal. It was beyond restaurant quality. It was all ingredients I had at home. I knew EXACTLY what was in it. It rocked.

Quick Veggie Post!

2010-05-21T10:57:00.000-04:00

I'm cleaning out my photos to make room for some of the cool new recipes that will be showing up shortly....

This gem is a roasted veggie medley. It includes beets, potatoes, onions, garlic, yellow squash, and brussel sprouts with a light balsamic glaze. We included brussel sprouts since neither of us had ever really tried them. John hated them. I wasn't too crazy about them. I ate mine (and John's), but I wouldn't eat it again. If anyone out there has a good recipe for brussel sprouts, I'll try again!

This is a strainer full of random greens (radish greens, carrot greens, and swiss chard) that was then mixed with these

to become my signature greens-with-garlic-onion-oil mix.

Stay tuned.... come cool food excursions will be up in the next few days, including risotto and fondue!!

Ingredient Cookin'

2010-05-14T23:21:00.000-04:00

Today's post will be dedicated to.... making expensive fancy ingredients at home! Featuring...... Infused Olive Oils and Jarred Roasted Peppers!

Meet our first guest, garlic infused olive oil. Created by simply saute-ing some chopped up garlic in a pan of olive oil (The bottle it was destined to live in was filled with the oil to measure the amount, then that oil was poured into the pan.)

When the aroma of garlic filled the air, the mixture was funneled back into the bottle.

The garlic may have clogged said funnel at times.

The process was repeated for our second guest, pepper oil. The garlic was replaced by red pepper flakes.

Our third guest comes to you from a jar. John has been known to love roasted peppers, but the are a bit on the pricey side to buy. Fortunately, raw peppers are a great price!

To make roasted peppers:

Slice bell peppers. We chose yellow and orange, but any color will do.

Brush the peppers lightly with olive oil and arrange them on a baking sheet (it is not necessary to arrange them like this, but it looks pretty!)

Broil the little buggers until the skins are blackened. Then stick them in a plastic bag. I've heard this helps the skins fall off, but I'm not sure.

Peel off the skins and add to a jar. Fill with olive oil. Celebrate.

I hope you've enjoyed today's post!

Broccoli Supreme

2010-05-13T23:00:00.011-04:00

I was in charge of side dishes the other day, and I went right for an old standard: Roasted Broccoli. We had 3 heads of it (without the stems. I used them in a sauce that will be posted another time) so it was a natural choice. I wanted to spice it up a bit, so I searched the internet for ideas. Idea Found.

I mixed a ton of broccoli tops with olive oil and salt. Then it was spread on a baking sheet with sliced garlic.

Baked at 425 until it was browned....

Then a lemon was juiced and zested (is that the past tense of zest?) on top and mixed with shaved Parmesan Cheese.

WOW. This was just as easy to make as regular roasted broccoli, but the taste was out of this world. That might have had something to do with our new obsession with really good cheeses. The Parmesan we shaved on it took it right over the edge.

PS-The main dish was a John concoction of grassfed beef cubes diced even smaller, brown rice, and eggs. It was delicious!

First Day Back and Nut Butters

2010-05-12T23:02:00.000-04:00

Now that the honeymoon is over (honestly!) and John and I are back into the swing of things, I have started to cook again!

I woke up extra early this morning so I would be able to make some nut butters for the week. I had never made them completely from scratch. Now, I know what you are thinking, "Hey! I remember when you first got your food processor you made walnut and almond butters! You even made them as presents for Christmas!!"And you would be right. I did. BUT. I did not roast the nuts. The peanuts were pre-roasted and the others were raw. Today? I did it all!

I roasted peanuts and almonds. There are about 3 cups of shelled peanuts and 2 cups of slivered almonds. They baked at 350 for 15ish minutes. Until they were brown. While they were still piping hot they went into the food processor.

For the peanut butter, I wanted to use the honey as a sweetener, so I drizzled it in as it processed.

The heat from the nuts and the processor helped make it very creamy. I didn't have to add any additional oil!

I just processed the heck out of it!

John wanted the almond butter sweetened with molasses.

So the entire process was repeated, replacing the peanuts with almonds and the honey with molasses.

This one fit into a jar for storage!

I did add some salt to each. While we were in Hawai'i we were able to snag some sea salt, which I pummeled with a mortar and pestle (or Tupperware and heavy smusher) until it was ultra fine.

The nut butters are so good! They don't taste anything like store bought (in a good way!) and they are really really easy to make!

I will leave you with a photo of my yummy lunch... spinach salad with strawberries and Parmesan Cheese.

Long Time No See!

2010-05-05T10:04:00.000-04:00

Hello?

Hello!

Anyone still there?

Well, I'm back! Sorry to disappear like that, but.... I got married!

I know, I know, that doesn't mean I need to neglect Munching Madness for 2 full months, but it happened.

Now that I'm back on track, I must say, John and I have SO MANY COOL THINGS PLANNED. For the blog, of course. Like what, you ask? Well, here's a taste...

Freshly Baked Bread

Yogurt

Waffles

Granola

Snack Bars

Crazy Veggie Concoctions

A NEW BLOG!!!

Yes, you read correctly. We are expanding into a new blog, less food related, more life related. Think budgeting, frugalness, creating a home, green living, sprinkled among our real-life adventures, complete with pictures, of course. If you're interested, stay tuned. It will be launched on 5-10-10, our 1 month anniversary (cue "awwwwwwww"). See you there!

Quickie Pizza Friday

2010-03-05T21:29:00.000-05:00

I'm short on time, so I'm just throwing this out there.

What happens with you spread Whole Wheat Pizza Dough with leftover garlicky black beans and raw broccoli...

and then bake it at 425.

You get amazing pizza. Yeahhhhhhhhh ..........

Amazing, Incredible Soup. And Cornbread.

2010-03-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

As the title suggests, dinner wassssssss AMAZING. INCREDIBLE soup. AND cornbread. WOW!

I started with this cornbread recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, for maybe the first time ever.

I melted down a stick of buttah.

While it melted, I mixed some milk, white vinegar, and eggs together.

In a separate bowl I mixed cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and OH MY GOODNESS I FORGOT THE BAKING SODA!! That's probably why the consistency was off. Oh, silly me.

When the butter was done, it was mixed into the liquid mix (while stirring so the eggs didn't cook!)

and then everything was mixed together.

MMMmmmmmmm.....

Do you have any idea how hard it is too take a picture of yourself with a SLR while licking a whisk? Try it sometime.

Anyway, I spread it all out into the pan (Yes, I used the butter wrapper method to grease it) and John baked it @ 375 for a while.

I didn't manage to snap a photo before it was eaten. Oops.

The soup was based on this recipe, but I had to make some changes.

First I chopped up onions and garlic

and threw them in the pan I had melted the butter in.

Then I chopped up a sweet potato,

and that went in too.

After 5 minutes I added about 10 frozen chicken broth cubes, a can of tomato sauce, 1/2 a can of water, lots of black beans, salt, oregano, aaaaand

Cumin.

Confession: I had never before used cumin.

It was so good! What a great spice! It really deepened the flavor of the dish. I guess venturing away from garlic, oregano, parsley, and basil can be enlightening.

I cooked it all partially uncovered until the liquid was reduced.

Ta-da!!!

Chicken and Beans

2010-03-02T21:41:00.009-05:00

Lunch was awesome yesterday! It was just leftovers, but somehow it was incredibly delicious!

It was some leftover garlicky black beans, some leftover lemony chick peas, some plain black beans, and some leftover tiny chicken pieces, the kind I usually use in soups.

WOWZA!

For dinner, I roasted a chicken. I know I do this a lot, but I just love roasting a chicken in the crock pot. I don't think it gets better than that. I haven't posted a photo of this with my new camera yet, so I thought I would treat you!

That is simply a chicken, adobo, parsley, and about 6 cloves of garlic shoved in the cavity. All that juice is produced while it is cooking! I just can't get over it!

I am, of course, making broth again.

I haven't told you about making broth in the crock pot? Oh my. It is so easy. After you cook the chicken, cut off the breasts (I save them for another meal), legs, thighs, and wings. I add in the bones and skin that we don't eat back into the pot. I also add a splash of apple cider vinegar. I let that sit for a while to help draw the minerals out of the bones. It then gets covered in water and the crock pot goes on low overnight.

The next morning it is strained twice.

The first time, I pick through the leftover meat and save it for making soup at a later date.

The second time I am just trying to get the broth as free from debris as possible. The liquid gets popped into the fridge to get the fat to float to the top.

Now I know, most people who make bone broth just leave the fat in for the health benefits. I am not quite there yet in my whole food journey. Maybe someday, but not right now.

The extra fat gets scooped off and then the broth is frozen in baggies and in ice cubes.

That's it! Easy, right?!

Black Bean Brownies

2010-03-02T20:42:00.003-05:00

I decided to jump up onto the black bean brownie train. I have been seeing it appear on blog after blog and it always looks.... cool. I had a bag of dried brown beans, so I figured why not join in?

The recipe I used was based off of of the Happy Herbivore's version because it was a bit healthier. Some of the others I had seen included multiple sticks of butter and things of that nature. The only problem was the binding agent. You'll see, later.

After soaking the black beans in cold water overnight and boiling them for about an hour and half, I measured out 15 ounces of beans.

The recipe called for cocoa powder, but of course, I didn't have any, so I melted down some baking chocolate to equal the same amount.

The other ingredients were added in (agave, cinnamon, vanilla) and then I had a problem. The binding agent? 2 BANANAS.

John hates bananas.

After hemming and hawing, I settled on using only 1 banana and then supplementing it with 1 egg. I was afraid to get rid of the bananas totally because I there wasn't much else included along the lines of sweeteners.

After this was all mixed up together, and some oats thrown in for good measure, I greased the 8x8 pan.

Could I be more frugal? After I finish a stick of butter, I throw the wrapper in the freezer. When it is time to grease a pan, I just use the wrapper. I can get 2 8x8 pans greased with 1 wrapper. LOVE saving money!

The batter was then smeared into the pan and baked.

The finished result was just okay. John didn't like it, but he didn't know why. He couldn't taste the banana until after I told him it was there. I think it just needs to be a little less healthy.

Fear not. I will try it again.

Meal Planning

2010-03-01T14:41:00.004-05:00

Ahhhh... Happy Monday!

The Meal Plan for this week is pretty darn simple.

Monday- Leftovers/Dinner with Family

Tuesday- Roasted chicken with Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday- Black Bean/Chicken Soup with Cornbread

Thursday- Dinner with Family

Friday- Pizza Friday!

Saturday- Leftovers

Sunday-Dinner with Family

Monday-Rachael Ray Broccoli Mac and Cheese

Ta Da! Check back later this week for the results!

See more menu plans at Organizing Junkie

Pizza Friday and Snack-y Saturday

2010-02-28T19:55:00.003-05:00

Whew! What a crazy week! In between all of the snowstorms I've barely had time to breathe, let alone cook!

In spite of all outdoor inconveniences, I managed to make Leftover Pizza on Friday and a yummy cauliflower snack on Saturday.

Remember last week? I know it was a loooong time ago. Here. I'll refresh your memory. I made roasted veggies on Sunday. Then, I reused them on Wednesday. Well, after all that there was STILL a tiny bit left. So, in brilliant Pizza Friday tradition...

I rolled out the dough...

Slathered it with Ricotta...

Added the rest of the roasted veggies...

And baked it at a ::NEW BAKING TEMPERATURE!:: of 425.

It made the crust amazingly brown and crispy!

Why did we never think of that before?!

On to Snack-y Saturday. When I made allll of that roasted veggie deliciousness, we discovered that there was a BIT too much cauliflower. And broccoli. A huge serving bowl full. I utilized the raw cauliflower in a recipe. Of course, now I can't find the exact recipe. But it was really good, trust me.

I remember that I sauteed 2 pans full (1 layer in each pan) of lightly salted cauliflower with 1 1/2 tbs coconut oil in each. I left it sitting on each side until they were brown.

Then I stirred in the sauce. It had water, garlic powder, honey, diced onions, and a bunch of other things in it. I am going to try to find the recipe asap and post it.

I just kept stirring it all until there was no liquid left.

It was so easy, as long as the cauliflower is cut, cleaned, and dry.

Snow Day Cookies!

2010-02-25T19:24:00.002-05:00

We had yet another snow day today. My 14-year-old cousin came over since her school had an early dismissal and we made cookies.

Actually, she made the cookies and I ate the cookie dough. She is really good in the kitchen. And she washes dishes.

Anyway....Ingredients:

2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cup flour (We used Whole Wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar.
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
We added a few sprinkles of cinnamon

First, we (and by we, I mean she) mixed the oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.

Then we used my new hand mixer (well, Christmas-new, so a few months old now) to combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and regular sugar.

When it was all combined, we added the eggs and vanilla, and then the dry mix.

After it was shaped into balls,

and baked,

it turned into a decadent treat!

And don't worry, I didn't make her do all of the work. I helped out when the computer started acting up.

See? I help!

Gnudis etc.

2010-02-24T23:57:00.002-05:00

A simple breakfast of fruit salad

with mineola oranges, apples, blueberries, and bananas...

was followed by a leftover lunch

of roasted vegetables on whole wheat sandwich thins drizziled with balsamic vinegar.

While all that was wonderful and yummy, the best was dinner.

Ricotta Gnudi in a Parmesan Broth. A Giada recipe that is just divine. It was in her "Everyday Pasta" cookbook, you should definitely try and get your hands on it.

I mixed whole milk ricotta cheese with Parmesan cheese, flour, parsley, basil, salt, and garlic (my idea!)

I was supposed to add an egg in, but SOMEONE ate the last one for breakfast yesterday. That same someone was so proud of herself for using up the last egg and forgot that she had ALREADY PLANNED to use the egg in this recipe. Don't worry, though. She is smart. She made the binding agent by mixing flax seeds and water.

Yeah, baby!

As water simmers in a pot in the stove, form the mix into little balls and dredge them in flour.

Drop them into the simmering water and scoop them out when they float to the top.

They LOOK bland, but they taste amazing. I tried one as soon as it came out, and I was STUNNED by how delicious it was.

Just before serving, I sauteed it in butter. It was my idea, but since I made the gnudi before lunch when I had time, they needed to be warmed.

The sauce was homemade chicken broth that I had frozen a while ago,

reduced at a simmer until it was about 1/2 as much.

I sprinkled Parmsean cheese over it all at the end.

It was a great day to eat.

Tuesday Treats

2010-02-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

Starring... Egg-in-a-Hole, Leftover Lunch, and Stir-Fry Veggies with Brown Rice in Peanut Garlic Sauce!

Breakfast was a treat! I never make a fancy breakfast on a weekday morning, but I thought I deserved it!

The bread kind of fell apart because it was getting stale, but it was still a great use of the bread and last egg.

Lunch was a delicious leftover meal.

Remember these roasted veggies from last week? They have been in the fridge getting more and more delicious. For lunch they were tossed with leftover macaroni from last night and a bit of butter.

Yummy, easy, and frugal. Go me!

Dinner was Stir-Fry Veggies with Brown Rice in Peanut Garlic Sauce. The sauce was a gift, which is super-cool since I never buy stuff like this for myself.

The ingredients weren't creepy, either. BONUS!

To start this, I made John cook rice.

Just kidding.

I asked him nicely.

For my part, I stir-fried a bag of frozen green-bean stir-fry in a teaspoon of coconut oil.

When they were just about finished, I added in the sauce.

I added some soy sauce, actual whole roasted garlic cloves, and an extra spoonful of peanut butter to the sauce. Because I can't leave well enough alone.

Served over rice?

Perfection.

This whole meal (minus the rice) was ready in about 10 minutes. How's THAT for a quick weeknight meal?!

PS. I may have made cookie dough babies for dessert. Maybe.

Chick Pea Macaroni Monday (and how to make greens less bitter.)

2010-02-22T21:53:00.001-05:00

This Macaroni Monday Meal was based on this recipe. I, of course, took my own liberties, but I must say, it came out SO WELL!!

Before I even start, how sweet is this grape seed oil container?

I swirled this in the pan with an onion, and when the onions were soft, I added smushed up garlic.

John smushed it all up for me. Is he the sweetest or what?! He also cooked up a cup of dried chickpeas for me! We use dried chick peas because they lend a better texture, in my humble opinion, to this dish. If you have never made them, don't worry. They are really hard to mess up. You just have to soak them overnight and then boil them, taking care to keep them covered in water. It's totally okay if they, ahem, overcook a little. They just make it a little... smokier.I mixed them up with a few splashes of lemon juice, some grape seed oil, and some salt.

I know I always talk about cooking greens with garlic and oil. I mean, I've mentioned it in at LEAST four different posts. What I DON'T know if have mentioned is the radish green dilemma. John eats radishes all the time, but he finds the greens bitter. I hate wasting the greens and have been determined to make them palatable.

This time? I figured it out.

Boil it first. Yes, I said it. Boil it.

I threw the cleaned radish greens in boiling water for about a minute, just until they turn bright green. Then they were scooped out and added to the onion-garlic mixture.

I added a little kosher salt and bread crumbs for good luck.

Once everything was warm and smelling great, the chickpea mixture from before joins the party.

And trust me. It is a paaaaaaaaaarrrrrr-tay

Oh! That boiling water? That the radish greens were blanched in? Don't waste it! I used it to cook the whole wheat rotini. When they were done, they were thrown into the pan with the chickpea-onion-garlic mixture.

I also had some leftover roasted garlic cloves, so of COURSE they were added in.

Doesn't it look delicious? With Parmesan Cheese on top?

Oatmeal Blender Waffles!

2010-02-22T10:56:00.001-05:00

Experimentation continues with the waffle maker. Experiment #2?

Oatmeal Blender Waffles.

The recipe is from this site. I didn't change a thing (for once!) and they were awesome. Kind of taste like oatmeal, but in a good way. I'm sure you can spice it up all you want, but this time, I kept it simple.

The night before, I blended milk (1/2 soy, 1/2 regular), oats, olive oil, and vanilla into submission. For exact measurements, see recipe.

This soaked all night. In the morning, I added an egg, baking powder, and baking soda and blended away.

Onto the waffle maker it went (oiled, of course. We all know what happened last time.)

The best waffle I have ever made. And a mineola orange.

Meal Planning

2010-02-21T22:14:00.004-05:00

Somehow it is a new week, which means it is time for a new meal plan!

Check out this week!

Monday:

Dinner- Chickpea greens macaroni

Tuesday:

Dinner-Stir-Fry Veggies with Brown Rice in Roasted Garlic Peanut Sauce

Wednesday:

Dinner- Ricotta Gnudi in Parmesan Broth

Thursday:
Dinner with Family

Friday:

Dinner-Pizza Friday (Roasted Veggies for me, ??? for John)

Saturday:

Lunch- Turkey Burgers (hopefully John will make them AND deliver, since I am working alllllll day)

Dinner- Super Bowl Ribs

Sunday:

Lunch-Pasta e Fagioli
Dinner with Family

Check out Menu Plan Monday at the Organizing Junkie!

Have any other ideas? Perhaps for leftover meals? SHARE!!

Roasted Veggies

2010-02-21T19:45:00.002-05:00

This dinner was supposed to be Roasted Veggies with Pirogies, but I got carried away with the veggies.

We cut up pumpkin and butternut squash,

cauliflower and broccoli,

and then zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant.

Each was tossed with Grapeseed Oil, Kosher Salt, and Italian Seasonings.

The hard part was timing each set of veggies.

The orange veggies went in first, with some baby onions.

After about 15 minutes, the broccoli and cauliflower went in, with a head of garlic.

After another 10 minutes, the last sheet went in.

They all cooked together for another, maybe 20 minutes.

Then they were all mixed together in perfect harmony.

Yum.

Oh, and for dessert? A Macintosh Apple sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Pizza Friday!

2010-02-20T14:46:00.004-05:00

This week's Pizza Friday features a Ricotta-Vodka Sauce Pizza with a side salad. Enjoy!

Raw.

Layer of whole wheat dough, layer of Ricotta Cheese, layer of Vodka Sauce, sprinkling of parsley, oregano, basil, and Parmesean Cheese. There is also a grapeseed oil-parmesean-garlic glaze on the crust. FANCY!

Cooked.

Note the crispiness? It is thanks to another one of my bridal shower gifts. A pizza crisper! It is basically a pizza pan with holes in it to allow the air to circulate and crisp it up.

Served....

with a salad on the side.

Sneak Peak at My Week!

2010-02-19T20:05:00.000-05:00

What out-of-the-ordinary things have I been consuming lately? Let's see...

Earlier this week I had no idea what I wanted for breakfast. I peeked into the freezer and found THIS little gem.

During the summer when I am smoothie-ing it up, I tend to freeze the extra into ice pops for a sweet, healthy snack. I guess I forgot this one! I think it is beet-banana, but I'm not sure. It was DELICIOUS. That, I am sure of.

On Wednesday of the Meal Plan I notated that it was a grab-n-go kinda day. I made this Tuesday night so I had it ready to go.

I chopped up a cucumber and a tomato, added parsley,

Some bread I made earlier that was a LITTLE too crusty,

and some lemon-olive oil dressing.

It kept me from over-indulging in food at the Nets game. Oh, did I not mention that John and I had FLOOR SEATS to a NJ Nets game? And that is came with access to a special VIP area with free food and drink? I didn't mention that?! Oops.

On Thursday John wanted me to make the rest of the meatballs. When I make them, I make twice as many meatballs and freeze 1/2 raw. When I am ready to make more, I just have to make the gravy and throw them in. This time, I tried it in the slow cooker!

I know the picture isn't really appetizing, but they tasted just as good as they do when I make it on the stove, but it is MUCH less messy. SCORE!

Home-cooked Breakfast

2010-02-17T10:13:00.001-05:00

John and I were lucky enough to be given SO MANY cool presents at my bridal shower (THANK YOU ALL!!) and we experimented with some of the breakfast gadgets the next morning.

First, I had to make waffles on our new waffle maker

Ooooo... pretty!

Since we were making peanut butter waffles, we needed flour, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, salt, vanilla, baking powder, an egg and PEANUT BUTTER.

I didn't follow the directions well, but the waffles turned out okay.

(Me beating the egg white into peaks)

(Me mixing all the ingredients together)

John took all the pictures while I was mixing and he couldn't resist snapping this shot.

(Notice the focus is not the delicious waffle mix, but on my engagement ring.)

Anyway, the mix was then poured into the waffle maker. Make sure to oil it first. We don't really use those non-stick sprays like Pam anymore, and they are forbidden on non-stick surfaces anyway. We have this cool new Misto Oil Sprayer that I used for this.

Oooooo a finished waffle! You may notice to the right there is a red plate with ruined waffle on it. That is because I didn't oil the waffle maker before making the first one. I figured, hey, it's non-stick, why would I need to oil it?! Because non-stick does NOT equal easy food release. So, take my advice. Oil the waffle maker.

We were ALSO given an electric griddle. As I struggled and succeeded with the waffles, John made bacon and eggs with ease.

Beautiful breakfast, no?

Meal Planning Begins... or continues...

2010-02-16T13:30:00.003-05:00

I have been meal-planning for a while, but I have not been posting it. I discovered that this allowed me to NOT meal plan when I wanted to, which then led to not knowing what was for dinner, eating poorly, and wasting food. So... Now Munching Madness will hold me accountable.

Tuesday:

Dinner-Leftover Chicken Breast Open Face BBQ sandwich

Wednesday: Grab-N-Go

Thursday: Dinner with Family

Friday:

Dinner-Pizza Friday (Ricotta and Vodka Sauce for me, Regular for John)

Saturday:

Breakfast- Egg-in-a-hole with fresh bread

Dinner- Roasted Veggies and Pierogis

Sunday:

Breakfast- Fresh Waffles

Lunch- Bridal Show hors d'oeuvres

Dinner- Dinner with Family

Monday:

Dinner- Chickpea greens macaroni

Leftover Meal Ideas-

Roasted Veggie Panini (Roasted Veggies, Cheese and Bread)

BBQ Chicken Panini (BBQ Chicken and Bread)

BBQ Chicken Salad (BBQ Chicken and Salad)

No-Bake Cookies

2010-02-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

We hadn't baked cookies in a really long time, so I was looking for a really cool oatmeal-peanut butter recipe. I found it! No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. Yeah. They are awesome. Of course, I had to tweak them!

First, I melted the 2 tablespoons of butter.

Then, I mixed in 1/4 cup milk, a tiny but of salt, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar to the mix and let it all boil.

When it was nice and bubbly...

I added in 1 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Stirring it took more than a little elbow grease,

but the next step was easy. I just spooned it out onto some aluminum foil and let it cool in the fridge. I probably didn't need to refrigerate it, but we wanted to eat them right away.

They tasted SO good and really, for cookies, they aren't that bad for you!

Snow Day Soup!

2010-02-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

Here in NJ there is a "Blizzard" going on. Lucky for John and I, we got a.... SNOW DAY! No work for us! Mid-morning we played in the snow, and soup was the perfect lunch to warm up from the inside out.

Before we went outside I sauteed some onions. I left them in the pot (with the heat off, don't worry!) with the top on to soften up even more while we played. When we got back, I added in 2.5 cups of frozen home made chicken broth to melt and then another cup and a half of water to boil.

With a sprinkle of garlic powder, a pinch of parsley, and a cup of brown rice, it was all set to boil.

When it was boiling up a storm I added a cup of lentils in.

Mmmmmm..... About 5 minutes before it was ready, I added the pieces of chicken I saved from making broth.

I happen to love the juicey part of soup, so I served mine over some toast.

Corn Toasties

2010-02-09T17:23:00.001-05:00

When I was little I LOVED Thomas' Corn Toast-r Cakes. We called them Corn Toasties and had them with butter.

They were on sale at Shoprite, so we bought some. For some weird reason, I didn't want to have it with butter. The mere thought is almost sacrilegious, but it's true. I changed it up and had it with.....

BANANA BUTTER!! I used a fresh banana instead of a frozen one. Same result.

Here, chicky chicky chicky!

2010-02-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Have you ever roasted chick peas? I have!

I took about 2 cups of dried chick peas and soaked them in water overnight. Then, I drained them and let them stand for about 8 more hours. I've heard that makes them more digestable, if you know what i mean.

Anyway, then I mixed them with a little olive oil and a lot of salt, and spread them on a sheet. They are SO photogenic!

Whew! Now, that that is out of my system.....

I baked it at 350 for about a half hour. MMmmmMMmm. It was a great snack!

Quick Fix

2010-02-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

Hi!

There are tasty things to come, but until then, here's a quick fix for ya!

John made delicious burgers and I had mine with cheddar cheese, baby mixed greens, oil, and vinegar. DELICIOUS!!

Macaroni Monday!

2010-02-02T20:08:00.001-05:00

I was able to check yet ANOTHER meal off my list. We were all out of frozen gravy and meatballs, so it was time to make another batch! This recipe is based off the one my grandma taught me. I made very few changes.

Mix 1 package of ground beef, pork, and veal with 2 eggs.

Add breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, parmesean cheese, and salt. There are not really any measurements, since my grandma doesn't matter. It was mostly breadcrumbs.

Combine until it is mixed well and the right consistency.

Shape it into cute meatballs.

Admire your work (or the work of your fiance, John. Those were his arms, not mine.)

After this is complete, or while someone else is making them, start the gravy.

Brown some garlic cloves and onion slices in a bit of oil. If you have gravy meat (chunks of beef, pork and veal) with this, brown them, too.

Drain any excess oil and add tomato sauce, water, and tomato paste. The ratio is about 2 parts sauce:2 parts water:1 part paste. I usually use 2 15 oz cans of sauce, then fill those cans with water, and then 2 little cans of tomato paste. I think they are around 6-8 oz each.

Then you have to add seasonings. The amount will depend on whether or not you use sauce/paste with seasonings. I don't. Grandma does. Either way, add garlic powder, parsley, oregano, and salt. Add in the meatballs, and boil.

After it boils, simmer it for at least 2 hours. Then, ENJOY!

"Super Bowl" Ribs

2010-02-01T14:03:00.010-05:00

I know the Super Bowl isn't until next weekend, but I have been dying to make these and John's mom just gave us a package of beef ribs. For the record, my dad's original recipe calls for pork ribs, but we do what we can, right? Right. This is one of the BEST EVER ribs recipes.

First, brown the ribs in a little bit of oil (like peanut oil)

Drain any excess oil. Then, add some onion slices to brown, and a few smushed up garlic cloves.

While that browned up, I painted the bottom of a pyrex dish with BBQ sauce. I just thought it might be a good idea.

When everything in the pan is nice and brown, layer the ribs and onions in the pan and paint it ALLLL up with BBQ sauce.

MMmmmmm.... You can use store-bought or homemade. But you MUST use an adorable little brush like this guy.

Cover it all up with tin foil and bake it. You can bake it at 350 until it bubbles and then at 225 for a few more hours, or at 225 all day (12 hours ish).

When you uncover it, beware. It smells amazing.

And looks just as good!

Smooooothies

2010-01-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

The smoothies are back!

I know it is under 20 degrees out. I know that oatmeal is the correct breakfast for this type of weather. I just don't care.

A banana, an apple, a pear, some ground flax seeds, some soy milk, and this cool vanilla flavored smoothie mix thing my dad gave me for Christmas.

Blend THAT!

Butter-NOT fries

2010-01-30T17:33:00.000-05:00

Step 1- Peel, cut, and scoop some butter nut squash.

Step 2- Slice it into fries. I used a mandolin slicer. It was SO difficult and it really should not have been. Apparently, I didn't push the slicer part far enough in and so it didn't work well. Live and learn.

Step 3- Put it in a baggie with kosher salt and a little oil

Step 4- Bake at 425 forever.

Step 5- Wonder why they are still soggy. Eat them anyway.

Breakfast of Champions!

2010-01-24T20:19:00.000-05:00

This is a two-part breakfast extravaganza! I wanted to treat John to breakfast delight, and I think I did. He reported that is was, "The best breakfast you have ever made!" I'll take that!

I started with cinnamon rolls. It is one of our favorite snacks, but as we attempt to eat more whole foods, the store bought or "Pillsbury" type have gone out the window. How did I make them?

First, I rolled out some whole wheat pizza dough and...

brushed melted butter on it. I am still learning to use this camera, and haven't quite mastered the close-up focus thing yet. That's why the focus is on the brush-person's belly and not the brush part. Oops.

Anyway, then I (heavily) sprinkled brown sugar and cinnamon on top. The brown sugar is the darker brown, the cinnamon is the lighter brown on top.

After it was rolled up...

and sliced, I placed it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.

While that cooked, I made a version of the Pioneer Woman's "Egg-in-a-Hole."

Now, her recipe says to melt a bunch of butter in the pan, then throw the "holey" bread in it. I didn't want to

waste the butter, so I buttered the BREAD before I put a hole in it. I sliced the holes with my new ravioli cutters, aren't the ridges cool?!

One-by-one, they went into the pan

and were filled with egg.

I ALSO cooked up the centers, because, ya know, waste not-want-not.

By this time, the cinnamon buns were done!!!

Mmmmmmm!

The whole plate?

Yeah, that's a cool breakfast.

Brunch!

2010-01-23T10:43:00.001-05:00

Check out this yummy brunch!

It is whole wheat toast covered in peanut butter and raisins with a side of naval orange.

Doesn't using a classy glass just make orange juice better?!

The (Ugly, yet Delicious) Truth

2010-01-22T22:23:00.000-05:00

I have decided to come clean. Based on the way I post, you probably think that I eat pretty well. Here is the truth. I don't. I mean, I try. Really, I do. But I am weak. And I have a sweet tooth.

Therefore, this was my 10 pm dessert.

A warm brownie, chocolate marshmallow ice cream (although I have to say, it is frozen yogurt. John's choice, not mine.), and a sugar cookie.

Crockpot Magic

2010-01-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

Only a Crock-pot could turn

THIS:

(Freezerburned Pork Loin)

into THIS:

I used this recipe, but replaced the onion soup mix with real onions

and a variety of spices. John made the brown rice, but I arranged it into the heart shape. Because I'm cool like that.

Snack Time!

2010-01-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at some of the snacks I have been noshing on:

I've been really into the fruits-n-nuts combos. Oh, and the middle photo is veggie stix and cheddar cheese.

Leftover Cooking

2010-01-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

Today's post will focus on the art of leftover cooking. Regular readers of this blog know about my love for re-cooking leftovers and creating something new from them. While there are many ways to give new life to old meals, I have a few favorites.

One of my favorite ways to re-use leftover is to make it into a pizza. I adore pizza in all of its delicious forms. If you have good leftovers, like this Lubyia (Lebanese Green Beans in Olive Oil with Garlic) John's mom made, just throw it on some dough and bake it like a pizza.

It is really a side dish, but SO good, as long as you don't mind smelling like a garlic factory. Are there such things as garlic factories? ANYWAY. I added lots of Parmesean Cheese on top, because that's how I like my pizza. It works for lots of things, especially things that have a little bit of their own sauce to keep them moist in the oven.

Check it out! I just rolled out the whole wheat dough, spread the leftovers on, added P. Cheese, and baked it until the crust was done. It doesn't get any easier than that (at least to make pizza) and it is soooo good.

Another way I like to revive leftovers is with garlic, onions, and oil. We have discussed my penchant for greens with garlic, onion, and olive oil, but you might not know that it extends to all food. For this leftover meal, I added mushrooms to the mix.

They all sauteed until it was one mix of yummy flavors. Then I added the leftovers, a mix of brown rice, toasted almonds, black beans, and other things that John had made for dinner one day.

See? Leftovers can be fun!

Crockpot Rice

2010-01-06T22:23:00.001-05:00

For the past few days I have just been "cleaning out the fridge" and making new meals out of leftovers. For example, the pumpkin ravioli stuffing has been eaten as lunch and breakfast. Today, I was running super late and I wanted to make a easy crockpot meal with things I just had lying around. I found this recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking. It looked pretty good, so I tried it.

I started out really well with the pictures. Above, rice in a cup.

Then... the battery died. So just imagine me adding beans, tomatoes, and seasonings.

When I got home from work it looked like this. MmmmmMmmm

I shredded some yummy cheddar over it.

Check out that cheesey goodness!!!!

The rice was overcooked and mushy, but I liked it. John didn't. To each his own, I guess.

Thrown Together Meals

2010-01-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

Let me just start off with the end products.

I came home after work today completely exhausted. I hadn't planned dinner AND I was hungry and cranky. I wanted a Macaroni Monday, but didn't want the typical topping. After snooping around in the fridge, I found the mushrooms I bought. ::LIGHTBULB:: MUSHROOM SAUCE. Yeah.

I started with a little bit of butter melted in the pan. (Shhhh....Don't tell John! He doesn't DO butter.)

I added the sliced up Portabellas and let them simmahhhhh.

Once they were set, I added 2 sliced up onions and a bunch of sliced up garlic to the mix.

John smashed the garlic, THANKS JOHN!!

Eventually, the flavors all blend together and are just steamy.

Check out those flavors floating through the air! You know it's ready when you can smell it and you can barely keep yourself from devouring it!

Of course, what meal is finished without dessert? What do you get when you mix:

1 melted banana,

3 spoonfuls of peanut butter, 1 spoonful of cinnamon syrup,

and a just-about-cooked-brownie that is so delicious that I may or may not have been scooping secret bites from?

HEAVEN!!

No Stove Day

2010-01-03T15:57:00.003-05:00

Okay, I totally made this title up as I was writing it. I was trying to come up with a way to tie together the things in this post aaaaaand being cooked on the stove was the ONLY things they all shared. Woot Woot.

BRUNCH.

It doesn't have a name, really, it was just throw-it-in-the-pot-mush. Go with it.

I started by heating up a banana in a little pot to get it all smushy and sweet.

I added some homemade walnut butter to melt in next.

I figured I should throw in some ground flax seeds, shredded coconut, and cinnamon for good measure.

And who doesn't love plump raisins?!

When it was all melty and mixed, it was absolutely divine.

DINNER

Remember when I wanted to make Pumpkin Ravioli? Well. It didn't work. They were gross. BUT I have them anyway and I am not one to waste perfectly (well, maybe not perfectly) good food. I made a sauce for it tonight.

I took the leftover filling from the raviolis and stuck them in the pan. It is pumpkin, onions, and garlic, I think. I forgot, actually. Whatever.

I added LOTS of parmesan cheese and parsley on top once it was warm.

Then a GENEROUS pouring of balsamic vinegar... MMmmMMMmmMMm

Plopped on top of the ravis? Not too bad! I don't know why the ravis have that dark tinge to them. They have probably grown some awful fungus or something.

Or not.

Lentil Soup Remix (with a side of Microwave Musings)

2010-01-02T22:52:00.000-05:00

John is feeling better (YAY!!), but there was still a little bit of Lentil Soup left. I started heating up a small pot of the soup on the stove.

Normally, I would have stuck it in the microwave, but I am trying to use it less. Not so much because of a "fear of radiation," although who really knows. I am using the stove/oven instead of the microwave to keep my kitchen cleaner. Crazy, right? NOT AT ALL! When the food is in the microwave, I spend the 1-2 minutes waiting. Impatiently. On the STOVE, however, I feel like I am cooking. There isn't a set time for it to be finished, so I straighten up the kitchen as I wait. Bonus? I wind up being MUCH more creative! Case in point? Lentil Soup Remix.

As it started to heat up, I added some plumped up raisins... some slivered almonds.... and some cinnamon. WOW!

Not using the microwave is going to be MMm MMm Good!

New Toy #2 and Meatloaf/Potatoes

2010-01-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

Have you been dying to hear about my other new toy? I know, I know, you must have been on the edge of your seat waiting for this post!

I GOT A CAMERA!!!!!

My parent's gave us one for Christmas. They knew we had been wanting one for wedding/honeymoon/future use and were saving up for it. So..... THEY GAVE US ONE!

Of course, until then, I need to practice by photographing food. Of course.

Right......

My mom's meatloaf was always a favorite of mine. As an adult, I find that it's just the recipe on the back of the Lipton Soup Secrets Onion Soup Mix. Since the box came with 2 packets of "spices," I made the potato recipe on the back, too!

POTATOES:

Clean 4 potatoes.

(How great is this picture! Now, if you are a photographer, you will probably not be impressed. HOWEVER, if you have seen ANY of the past pictures I have taken with older cameras, you will notice how much better all the photos in this post are. Be impressed. Please. For me.)

Cut 4 potoates. Try your hand at different photography settings on new camera.

Make sure you cut them into even sized chunks so they cook at the same time.

Mix the potatoes with a little oil (I used grapeseed oil) and the packet of onion mix.

Spread it out on the baking sheet and bake it at 425 for about 30-40 minutes. Make sure to stir it occasionally.

ENJOY!

MEATLOAF:

I like to use a mix of ground beef, pork, and veal. Toss it into a bowl and follow the directions on the back of the box of soup mix.

Shape it into a loaf.

Or a brain. Doesn't it look like a brain?!

Bake it for an hour at 350.

Slice and enjoy with potatoes! Or whatever.

Pepperoni Bread

2009-12-31T13:45:00.000-05:00

My mom always makes pepperoni bread around the holidays. It is a HUGE family favorite. For the past few years I have also been making it, just like she does, only I stuff it much more than she does!

First, you have to let the dough rise. Well, you don't HAVE to, but it makes the next step much easier. I used one bag of whole wheat pizza dough.

After you roll the dough out,

COVER it in pepperoni!!! I have tried others, but only Hormel Slicing Pepperoni (sliced thin) has that perfect taste. I order MUCH more than I need to because I tend to prepare this step like this:

1 slice on bread,

1 slice in mouth.

1 slice on bread,

1 slice... oh no, two are stuck together! 2 slices in mouth!

Add a layer of shredded mozarella on top and...

Roll it up! Right before you bake it (about an hour at 350), you can cover it in egg white to get that golden look on the finished bread.

Now, this bread is so yummy that I could not take a picture before it was gone. This picture is from a loaf I made in 2005 on St. Patricks Day. (Yes. It is green. If you put food coloring in the egg wash that you smear on top, the bread will appear that color. I promise!)

Poor John!

2009-12-30T17:10:00.000-05:00

Poor John has a sore throat! He never really gets sick and he took SUCH good care of me when I was sick, so I wanted to make him some yummy soup. He requested lentil rice soup.

The soup is 3/4 cup dried lentils, 1/2 cup brown rice, 3 sliced cloves of garlic, and lots of kosher salt, oregano, and parsley. I put it all together with maybe 4 cups of homemade chicken broth and 1 cup of water and let it boil and boil. Eventually it looked like this:

John said it was SO good. His eyes actually POPPED when he tasted it, so I was proud. I hope he gets better!

Present #1

2009-12-30T14:16:00.001-05:00

Since I moved out and began really cooking I have been using a little itty bitty food processor. It was one of those one cup deals. I think I actually picked it as my prize when I redeemed a bunch of tickets at Dave and Busters. Tells you a bit about me, don't it!

If you have ever tried to do any processing of food in one of those 1-cuppers, you know how futile it it is. I have been WISHING for a real food processor. I even registered for one on my wedding registry, knowing it would be months until I got it, IF anyone even picked it. I mean, it's not the most glamorous gift unless you really know me (side note to the givers of the hand mixer- YOU KNOW ME!) So, yeah, you get the picture. I really wanted one.

Fast forward months. I was at John's mom's house and we were talking about Fudge Babies. Well, I was talking about them. And drooling. They were listening. Kind of. Anyway, I mentioned that I was only making about 6 at a time because that is all I could fit in my little processor. His mom turned to me and said, "Why didn't you tell me you wanted one? I have 2!" Turns out, she had one that she had NEVER USED!!! I got a brand new food processor!!!!!!!!! A huge wonderful one!!

Isn't it a beauty? Thanks!

Right away I started working with it! We made nut butters...

which are delicious with a side of bananas

that is almond butter, by the way.

and shredded our own cheese for the pepperoni bread!

Long Time No See!

2009-12-29T18:44:00.001-05:00

I have been gone for a long time, but I have been making good things in the meantime, trust me!

Scrambled eggs with grapes and blackberries

Salmon, peas, and onions over spaghetti squash

Veggie stir-fry with pierogies

In the next few posts you will see fun stuff with my two new toys!!!

This Week's Highlights!

2009-12-04T16:30:00.002-05:00

Today I am posting the best Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner from this week.

Best Breakfast:

It kind of looks like a sugary cereal, doesn't it? What is it really, you ask? WELL! It is.....

1 banana
1 small box of blackberries
1 big handful raisins
1 big handful peanuts

YUMM! I didn't add any liquid, even though I ate it with a spoon from my cereal bowl.

Best Lunch:

This lunch is the ultimate in leftover cooking salad making. I literally opened up my fridge, took out 1/2 of the contents, and poured it into a salad. It is...

Romaine lettuce
Leftover white meat turkey
Mushrooms
Raisins
Walnuts
Lentils
Ground flax seeds
Shredded Coconut
Hummus
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar

On the counter it looked like this!

Best Dinner:

This meal was straight out of this blog. The only changes I made were using chicken thighs instead of breasts (it's what I had in the freezer) and serving it over quinoa (it's what John wanted to make). I know it looks burnt, but I promise, it is SUPER yummy!

I Entered A Giveaway!

2009-12-02T12:35:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! I just entered a super-cool giveaway hosted my Chocolate-Covered Katie (Wow, I've been talking about her a lot lately! She is just as super-cool as her giveaway!). I could win all kinds of cool nut-butters. Want to enter? Click here! Want to see a recipe of hers that I have made? Click here!

Macaroni Monday!

2009-11-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the whole oats-in-the-morning thing, today was peanut butter and banana oatmeal. I heated up the banana and made it all mushy and sweet. It was really good.

Now that I am almost totally healthy, Macaroni Monday was back! I wanted something fast, easy, and healthy so I pulled something from here. We had all the ingredients for "Velvety Broccoli and Feta Pasta" except the feta, so that's what I made!

I steamed a bag of frozen broccoli in 1 cube of homemade chicken broth.

While that cooked, I cut up an onion and 4 cloves of garlic.

I mixed it all together with a little olive oil and 1/4 cup of parsley and let it cook up.

While THAT cooked, I squeezed up 2 lemons and added it to the mix.

When it was all cooked I threw it in the blender.

Once mixed in with whole wheat shell macaroni? YUMMY!

Sweets!

2009-11-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Covered Katie has been making babies for a while now. She makes them often. I always read about them and think, "hmmm, they sound good!" but I never make them. I sometimes wonder if they are really as good as she makes them out to be. Last night, I decided to try. Armed with peanuts, dates, and sheer determination, I tried.

I used 3/4 cup dates and 1/4 cup peanuts. They are super easy to make.

The verdict? They were AMAZING. You have to click yourself over here and make them yourself. You will become a believer. I did.

On the subject of sweets, John and I made a gingerbread house today! Not a foodie gingerbread house, a fun, pre-made gingerbread house!

Oats and Oops

2009-11-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

I have been running with this whole oats-for-breakfast thing. I made clean out the fridge oats the other morning.

Oats with peanut butter, leftover apple butter (yes, from a million years ago when we went apple picking. I finished the last bit in this meal.), flax seeds, and raisins.

Life was good.

Dinner was not.

Recently, John and I went to a restaurant and had a beet and lentil salad that was amazing. I tried to re-create it for dinner and failed miserably.

It started out innocently enough. I boiled some beets and cooked some lentils in chicken broth.

(for the record, it is 10:58 AM. I prep dinner before work)

I then cooked the beet greens in oil and vinegar. Mistake #1. They were super bitter.

I combined everything with a bunch of spices. Mistake #2. It was just not yummy.

THEN, I added ricotta cheese. Mistake #3. The salad we had at the restaurant had delicious goat cheese on it and it really made the dish. We didn't have any so I thought to use ricotta. NOT GOOD.

All in all I learned that my creation was gross and some things are better eaten out. Especially when you have no idea what you are doing.

Oh well. At least the leftover lentils were good in hummus.

Wish List

2009-11-27T20:58:00.007-05:00

There are so many recipes that I want to make soon! If you know me well, you know that my memory is not the best, so I am going to keep track of what I want to make here! When I finally make something, I will try to update this page with the link.

Home Made Ricotta Cheese

Home Made Butter

Beef and Broccoli Chinese Food Style

Apple Crisp
Pumpkin Ravioli
Pepperoni Bread
Cheesecake
Rice Milk
Fudgey Babies and Variations
Meatloaf
Gravy and Meatballs

......

Any additional ideas are welcome!

Sick Sick Sick

2009-11-23T20:55:00.001-05:00

Hi!

So, I'm back!

So sorry I was gone for so long. I had pneumonia. For a while. I was sick. Really sick.

BUT NOW! I am back and cooking and eating again!!!

I was lucky enough to be sent some yummy leftovers to tide my over when I was sick. I added the chicken to my salad and had that for dinner last night. MMMmmmMMMm!

Today, I wasn't quite ready for a smoothie for breakfast. I decided to have cinnamon raisin oatmeal instead. UNFORTUNATELY there was no cinnamon left.

So I soaked some raisins,

Cooked some oatmeal,

and added peanut butter to make it yummy!!! It was probably the best oatmeal I have ever made myself.

And I deserve it!

Lunch was a simple spinach salad with mushrooms and balsamic vinegar.

aaaaaaand dinner was a version of this but with spinach. Just rotini, penne, in a garlic clam sauce WITH spinach. GO ME!

Catch-Up

2009-11-10T22:06:00.001-05:00

I promise to be better with posting regularly, really I do! I was away for the weekend and not feeling too well.

So... Recently? I have been working on....

Pancakes.

Cheap Food.

Eggplant Smush Macaroni with leftovers.

Leftover Teriyaki Stir-Fry

LET'S BEGIN!!

Pancakes:

Whole wheat dough + cinnimon + flax seeds+ fake eggs + blackberries = ????

Cheap Food:

Each of these were $1. Can you believe it??!?! $1 for like 15 pears and $1 for a bag FULLLLL of garlic!

Eggplant Smush:

Cut up some eggplants.

Add it to pan with onions, garlic, bread crumbs, olive oil, and parsley.

When it was adequately sauteed, I added some tomato sauce I had made before and frozen, then added it to macaroni and spooned some ricotta on top.

I had some leftover.... Lunch the next day was an eggplant smush sandwich!!!

Leftover Teriyaki Stir-Fry:

I knew I wanted veggies and macaroni. This meal started out as maybe frozen peas with chicken broth or something. I saw that I had frozen asparagus stir fry, so that was in.

I was peeking in the fridge and noticed I had some honey-teriyaki marinade/sauce leftover. It wasn't the type of thing I usually like to cook with, but it was perfect for this and I wanted to finish it. There was also a BBQed chicken breast from John's mom's house that I threw in.

Served over whole wheat shells!

Nothing Interesting

2009-11-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. Don't worry, it's nothing personal. I just haven't really cooked anything interesting. Lots of salads and variations on peanut butter sandwiches.

Salad, Apple, Nutella

Peanut butter and coconut on whole wheat bread

Peanut butter and boysenberry jam sandwich

... and thaaaat's it, in a (pea)nut shell.

Chicken Noodle Soup (with a salad on the side)

2009-10-28T11:06:00.001-04:00

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup with a salad on the side!

That's my version of WebStar/Young B's song.

I didn't plan meals for this week. Shame on me. For Monday, John made some super yummy turkey burgers. Last night? I threw together some CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP. But I'm sure you figured that out by now.

First, I melted some frozen chicken broth I had made. The last 3 times I roasted a chicken I made broth. I used 1 bag of broth from each of the last 2 times because one time the broth was much darker than the other. Also, one was in cubes, the other in a bag. The broth had a very onioney lemoney taste to it that was awesome. The bag one was actually left from this meal, as were the chicken pieces added later!

I cooked about 1/4 box of whole wheat spaghetti until it was ALMOST al dente. I plunked it into the now boiling chicken broth. When it was cooked, I added the extra pieces of chicken I had saved from the roasted chicken.

Served with.....A SALAD ON THE SIDE!

I crack myself up.