I try to make a meal plan every week that will guide my grocery shopping. Most weeks I do okay, which is fine with me. Cooking after work seems like a good idea when it's Sunday morning, I have a giant mug of tea and all the time in the world to flip through cookbooks and food blogs for inspiration. I'm going to start posting my meal plans in hopes that I will be further motivated to cook. Let's see how it goes?
Dinner Plan 2/17-2/22
Monday: One Pan Coconut Shrimp bowls
Tuesday: takeout (class on Tuesday night = no cooking)
Wednesday: Roasted chicken breast with couscous and spinach/arugula salad
Thursday: Baked potatoes with broccoli cheese soup
Friday: Dinner and a movie?
Saturday: Beef stroganoff
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Shrimp and Cucumber Brunch Salad
Brunch is my JAM! A decadent brunch buffet is one of the best treats I can think of. I happen to be in love with many of the dishes on the Paulo and Bill's brunch buffet, but one of my favorites is a shrimp and cucumber salad that they don't even list on the website. Apparently they don't think as highly of it as I do. This is my spruced up version.
Ingredients:
Shrimp (boiled until just pink and cooked through, then ice bath 'em)
Cucumber, peeled and seeded
Tomato, seeded
Avocado
Yellow bell pepper, roasted and cooled
Baby greens
Dressing:
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
2-3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 tsp Honey
1 clove Roasted minced garlic
1/4 tsp Onion salt
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Parsley
1/4 tsp Black pepper
Pinch Red pepper flakes
For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container, and shake it like crazy. Then chop/cube all of the salad ingredients into about 1/2 inch - 1 inch pieces. I like to chop the greens too so that it mixes in well. Combine everything in a large bowl and coat it in the dressing. Cover and put it in the fridge for about 2 hours (enough time to get really cold and marinate), and then serve cold (in a beautiful hand-painted bowl from Algeria that you got as a Christmas gift).
And I tell you... GOOD GERTY, THIS IS AMAZING. I want to eat this every day. It is crisp and tangy and fresh and freaking awesome. The avocados limit the amount of time that leftovers will stay good, but that just means you have to eat it all faster.
Ingredients:
Shrimp (boiled until just pink and cooked through, then ice bath 'em)
Cucumber, peeled and seeded
Tomato, seeded
Avocado
Yellow bell pepper, roasted and cooled
Baby greens
Dressing:
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
2-3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
1 tsp Honey
1 clove Roasted minced garlic
1/4 tsp Onion salt
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Parsley
1/4 tsp Black pepper
Pinch Red pepper flakes
For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container, and shake it like crazy. Then chop/cube all of the salad ingredients into about 1/2 inch - 1 inch pieces. I like to chop the greens too so that it mixes in well. Combine everything in a large bowl and coat it in the dressing. Cover and put it in the fridge for about 2 hours (enough time to get really cold and marinate), and then serve cold (in a beautiful hand-painted bowl from Algeria that you got as a Christmas gift).
And I tell you... GOOD GERTY, THIS IS AMAZING. I want to eat this every day. It is crisp and tangy and fresh and freaking awesome. The avocados limit the amount of time that leftovers will stay good, but that just means you have to eat it all faster.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wilted Spinach
Wilted spinach can be totally delicious... as long as you don't buy it frozen... and as long as you mix some interesting stuff into it. My current favorite is a combination of dried fruit and nuts. If you want to get real crazy you can toss in some cheese too. Basically, choose something from column A, B and C.
Column A Column B Column C
Currants Pecans Parmesan
Golden raisins Slivered almonds Feta
Cranberries Walnuts Blue
Dates Pine nuts
Apricots Sunflower seeds
What I like to do is saute a giant wad of spinach in a pan with a liiiiiiiittle bit of olive oil and wilt the shit out of it. Like to 1/5 its original volume. You might like it crunchier, tis your preference.
This...
Turns into this...
I actually would have liked to cook it down even a bit more, it was a little watery for my taste.
Then I make a little hole in the middle and toast the nuts in the pan for a few minutes. You can do this in different pans or do one, remove it and do the other, but my way is the nice and lazy way.
Then toss in the fruit and or cheese, toss it all around, and have yourself a flavorful little side dish!
I went cheeseless because I served it with another cheesy side dish along with my pork chop. Side note, I used this method to cook the chops and GAAADDAYAM they were delicious.
This...
Turns into this...
I actually would have liked to cook it down even a bit more, it was a little watery for my taste.
Then I make a little hole in the middle and toast the nuts in the pan for a few minutes. You can do this in different pans or do one, remove it and do the other, but my way is the nice and lazy way.
Then toss in the fruit and or cheese, toss it all around, and have yourself a flavorful little side dish!
I went cheeseless because I served it with another cheesy side dish along with my pork chop. Side note, I used this method to cook the chops and GAAADDAYAM they were delicious.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Chocolate Chip Currant Low-carb Cookie Cake Thing
I decided to try to make a low-carb baked good that didn't taste like shit, or more specifically, weird spongy eggy shit. I tried a couple recipes that used just almond flour or coconut flour and they required so many eggs that eggs were all I could taste (and I hate eggs). I was searching the fancy-pants aisles at the grocery store and came across something called Low-Carb (or crab as I just type... hahahahaha low-crab baking!... heh) Baking Mix which had a bunch of different expensive ingredients mixed together.
I adapted a traditional choco-chip cookie recipe to incorporate the baking mix and xylitol, which is a sugar substitute that I actually think tastes good. It is made from birch trees (if you get the right brand, some are made from corn) and has a very low glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.
I decided to include a little molasses since most cookie recipes call for brown sugar too, and I wanted to stick with the xylitol. I am not sure if it was necessary, but it made the batter look the right color.
I also went high on the salt to try to balance out the extra-sweet taste of the xylitol. I was a bit worried when I tasted the batter that it would be too sweet, but the finished product was definitely not overly sweet.
They didn't come out like cookies exactly, so much as like a dense cookie flavored cake, which all in all, I think is a win. The baking mix is very "whole grain" in flavor and texture, so it is kind of muffin-y in that sense. Still, I like it, and it is worth eating. Although the baking mix is expensive and so is the xylitol, so at some point it may be worth just making regular baked goods and eating smaller portions of them.
Post script... these are really growing on me. Two days later I am loving them! They are so different than anything else I have made, and the combo of chocolate and currants is just delightful.
Ingredients:
2 c Red Mill Low-Carb Baking Mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 c butter
1 c xylitol
1 tsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
chocolate chips to taste
currants to taste
Preheat over to 375 degrees. Grease a large pan. Beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla in a large bowl, then beat in each egg. Gradually mix in baking mix, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and currants. Spread into pan, bake 20 minutes.
I adapted a traditional choco-chip cookie recipe to incorporate the baking mix and xylitol, which is a sugar substitute that I actually think tastes good. It is made from birch trees (if you get the right brand, some are made from corn) and has a very low glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.
I decided to include a little molasses since most cookie recipes call for brown sugar too, and I wanted to stick with the xylitol. I am not sure if it was necessary, but it made the batter look the right color.
I also went high on the salt to try to balance out the extra-sweet taste of the xylitol. I was a bit worried when I tasted the batter that it would be too sweet, but the finished product was definitely not overly sweet.
They didn't come out like cookies exactly, so much as like a dense cookie flavored cake, which all in all, I think is a win. The baking mix is very "whole grain" in flavor and texture, so it is kind of muffin-y in that sense. Still, I like it, and it is worth eating. Although the baking mix is expensive and so is the xylitol, so at some point it may be worth just making regular baked goods and eating smaller portions of them.
Post script... these are really growing on me. Two days later I am loving them! They are so different than anything else I have made, and the combo of chocolate and currants is just delightful.
Ingredients:
2 c Red Mill Low-Carb Baking Mix
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
1 c butter
1 c xylitol
1 tsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
chocolate chips to taste
currants to taste
Preheat over to 375 degrees. Grease a large pan. Beat butter, sugar, molasses and vanilla in a large bowl, then beat in each egg. Gradually mix in baking mix, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and currants. Spread into pan, bake 20 minutes.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Dave came back from our Thanksgiving trip home with a cold and when asked what kind of soup he wanted, he told me "chicken tortilla soup but no tomatoes". I did some Googling and voila! Pioneer Woman had a chicken tortilla soup that sounded delicious though I had to do some tweaking because Dave later informed me he didn't want beans in it either. Which I later found out was good because we'd eaten all the canned beans we usually keep stocked. You'll notice I added tomato paste to the soup. First of all, I asked Dave if it would hurt his feelings if I added the paste and he allowed it. It doesn't add a tomato-y flavor but it adds a depth that worked well with the spices.
This tasty soup was warm and filling and I wanted to make it again because we ate it rather quickly. I haven't made it again yet but we still have some corn tortillas left so I'll probably make it again soon.
Ingredients:
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion, diced
6 sweet mini peppers, diced (could use 1 bell pepper instead)
3 cloves garlic
4oz can diced green chiles
4 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 corn tortillas cut into strips
avocado
sour cream
cilantro
shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Mix together cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt in a small ramekin. Drizzle chicken breasts with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and enough seasoning mix to coat both sides. Place seasoned breasts in a glass dish and roast about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
While the chicken is roasting, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute onion and bell peppers a couple of minutes, until they start to soften. Sprinkle with remaining spice mix and stir until veggies are well coated. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the green chiles and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer while your chicken cooks.
Let chicken rest about 5 minutes after removing from oven. Cut into pieces and add to soup. Simmer about 5 minutes. Add corn and tomato paste. While flavors are melding, slice up your tortillas and cut up avocado. Place a small handful of tortilla strips to your serving bowl, ladle soup over it and garnish with avocado, sour cream, cilantro and shredded cheese. Then eat up!
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
This tasty soup was warm and filling and I wanted to make it again because we ate it rather quickly. I haven't made it again yet but we still have some corn tortillas left so I'll probably make it again soon.
Ingredients:
2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 onion, diced
6 sweet mini peppers, diced (could use 1 bell pepper instead)
3 cloves garlic
4oz can diced green chiles
4 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 corn tortillas cut into strips
avocado
sour cream
cilantro
shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Mix together cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt in a small ramekin. Drizzle chicken breasts with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and enough seasoning mix to coat both sides. Place seasoned breasts in a glass dish and roast about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
While the chicken is roasting, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute onion and bell peppers a couple of minutes, until they start to soften. Sprinkle with remaining spice mix and stir until veggies are well coated. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the green chiles and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer while your chicken cooks.
Let chicken rest about 5 minutes after removing from oven. Cut into pieces and add to soup. Simmer about 5 minutes. Add corn and tomato paste. While flavors are melding, slice up your tortillas and cut up avocado. Place a small handful of tortilla strips to your serving bowl, ladle soup over it and garnish with avocado, sour cream, cilantro and shredded cheese. Then eat up!
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Leeks and Mushrooms
Martha really knows her stuff. I do not have near enough free time to be Martha Stewart, but whenever I use one of her recipes or techniques or whatever, it is always pretty damn awesome.
I bought some leeks at Trader Joe's when I was in there the other day because they looked good even though I didn't have a plan for them. They were nice big ones and were pre-cleaned without the giant extra green part that you can't eat. When I had a free night to cook them I looked around for a recipe and Martha had a nice simple one here. It looks really simple, and you think, eh, how special could it be, but I am telling you, this was awesome. Easy to make, and I didn't even include the parmesan because it was so delicious without it (and I was so hungry I forgot it)!
Ingredients (sweetened with some Taye Diggs in the background):
Leeks
Mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
That is it! And guess what, toss it all together and saute it until carmelized. That is also it!
Martha said to put in the mushrooms first and do some fancy stuff, but I just threw it all in together and it was fabulous. That way the mushrooms still had a little firmness to them when they leeks were good and browned. I think I deglazed the pan with some water, maybe a 1/3 cup; if you like white wine, that would be good too, but I hate white wine.
Plate it and gobble it! I truly looked forward to eating the leftovers. That is how good this was. I love finding a new (to me) vegetable side dish that is easy to recreate.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Spinach and Artichoke Wonderpot
I've been seeing the wonderpot pop up on Pinterest and Facebook. To digress a bit, is anyone else a bit annoyed by people sharing recipes on Facebook? I don't know why it bothers me but it does. Anyhoodle, the wonderpot seems like a genius idea. Throw pasta and sauce fixin's in a large pot and let it do its thang. Easy peasy, right? I made this for dinner and it was solidly okay. I asked Dave to rate it and he gave it a B+. Which is to say that we both ate it but weren't terribly impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. It just didn't earn rave reviews. I may still play with it and tweak it because it has potential though.
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups chicken broth
12 oz box of fettucine
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
salt
pepper
5 oz frozen spinach (about half a bag)
cooked bacon, for garnish
parmesan
Put sliced onion, artichoke hearts, garlic, olive oil and chicken broth in a large pot. Break the fettucine in half (I did this in batches because my puny arms couldn't break the entire boxful in one stack) and add it, your dried spices and salt and pepper to the pot and stir well. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is cooked through. Stir every couple of minutes to make sure pasta doesn't stick. Once the liquid has mostly absorbed, dish up and top with crumbled bacon and grated parm.
Adapted from Budget Bytes
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups chicken broth
12 oz box of fettucine
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
salt
pepper
5 oz frozen spinach (about half a bag)
cooked bacon, for garnish
parmesan
Put sliced onion, artichoke hearts, garlic, olive oil and chicken broth in a large pot. Break the fettucine in half (I did this in batches because my puny arms couldn't break the entire boxful in one stack) and add it, your dried spices and salt and pepper to the pot and stir well. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is cooked through. Stir every couple of minutes to make sure pasta doesn't stick. Once the liquid has mostly absorbed, dish up and top with crumbled bacon and grated parm.
Adapted from Budget Bytes
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Banana pecan muffins
I believe there are fewer issues more divisive than whether you like nuts in your food. Allergies aside, people have very strong feelings about nuts versus no nuts. I'm firmly in favor of nuts in everything and I don't care who knows it! Dave, on the other hand, is less fond of them. He didn't seem to mind the pecans in these muffins so I call that a win.
I bought a bunch of bananas intending to make smoothies but then I got lazy during the week and the bananas were turning that lovely shade that signifies they should be baked with rather than eaten plain. I like my bananas slightly underripe so the thought of an overly ripe banana as a snack is slightly upsetting.
These muffins were tasty and only slightly adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe. I made half a batch and they fit perfectly in my mini muffin pan.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 overripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 sticks butter melted and cooled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat your oven to 375 and spray the ish out of your muffin pan with cooking spray.
Mash your bananas and combine with sugar. Beat vigorously until well combined. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and beat again. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in the nuts with a spatula. Scoop your batter into muffin cups and bake for 12ish minutes, until golden brown.
Adapted from Tyler Florence's Banana Nut Muffins
I bought a bunch of bananas intending to make smoothies but then I got lazy during the week and the bananas were turning that lovely shade that signifies they should be baked with rather than eaten plain. I like my bananas slightly underripe so the thought of an overly ripe banana as a snack is slightly upsetting.
These muffins were tasty and only slightly adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe. I made half a batch and they fit perfectly in my mini muffin pan.
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 overripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 sticks butter melted and cooled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat your oven to 375 and spray the ish out of your muffin pan with cooking spray.
Mash your bananas and combine with sugar. Beat vigorously until well combined. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and beat again. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Fold in the nuts with a spatula. Scoop your batter into muffin cups and bake for 12ish minutes, until golden brown.
Adapted from Tyler Florence's Banana Nut Muffins
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Lemon Brownies
Ew... Lemon brownies? There is no cocoa in them, and therefore they are not brown, but they are the consistency of brownies so I don't really have a better name.
Does anybody know where those random recipes that pop up on facebook come from? That is where I found this recipe and it was like a little bit of magic fell from the facebook abyss. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors of almost everything. It goes on my list of things that you add to a dish that needs a little something extra (lemon, garlic, onion or avocado).
Ingredients
1/2 c butter
3/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 pan.
Beat first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl, and whisk the next 3 ingredients together in a small bowl, and then add the small bowl to the large and beat until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 23-25 minutes, edges should be golden brown and center solid but moist.
Whisk the glaze ingredients together (definitely use a whisk, a fork didn't do the job). When the brownies are done and completely cool, pour the glaze over the top. It should set up if left uncovered, and I love that. I love hardened icing.
These have a super-strong lemon flavor, it is not subtle at all. For me, they are absolutely delicious! I used the zest of two whole lemons between the brownie and the glaze, and I think it was about the right amount. I juiced the two lemons, intending the use it in the recipe and then proceeded to spill that fresh squeezed juice all over myself. I was pissed. So instead I used bottled lemon juice and it was just fine.
I really want to try these in both lime and orange and see if they are just as good. I think they might be. Then I could have rainbow brownies! Oooh... I am giving myself even more ideas!
Does anybody know where those random recipes that pop up on facebook come from? That is where I found this recipe and it was like a little bit of magic fell from the facebook abyss. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors of almost everything. It goes on my list of things that you add to a dish that needs a little something extra (lemon, garlic, onion or avocado).
Ingredients
1/2 c butter
3/4 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
Glaze
1 c powdered sugar
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp lemon zest
Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 pan.
Beat first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl, and whisk the next 3 ingredients together in a small bowl, and then add the small bowl to the large and beat until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 23-25 minutes, edges should be golden brown and center solid but moist.
Whisk the glaze ingredients together (definitely use a whisk, a fork didn't do the job). When the brownies are done and completely cool, pour the glaze over the top. It should set up if left uncovered, and I love that. I love hardened icing.
These have a super-strong lemon flavor, it is not subtle at all. For me, they are absolutely delicious! I used the zest of two whole lemons between the brownie and the glaze, and I think it was about the right amount. I juiced the two lemons, intending the use it in the recipe and then proceeded to spill that fresh squeezed juice all over myself. I was pissed. So instead I used bottled lemon juice and it was just fine.
I really want to try these in both lime and orange and see if they are just as good. I think they might be. Then I could have rainbow brownies! Oooh... I am giving myself even more ideas!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Sauteed Chicken Pasta
This was a recipe born out of things I had around the house one weekend when I needed to make a meal, and it turned out to be easy and delicious. Growing up, we never ate pasta (and only ever spaghetti) without massive amounts of Prego on it. I do still have a nostalgic love for cheap pasta sauce with hamburger in it. Trying to get away from that, I like finding new stuff to put on pasta. Also, it feels kind of hamburger-helper-y, and I am, you know, fancier than that, ya'll.
Basics are:
Butter
Olive oil
Chopped garlic
Chopped tomato
Sliced mushrooms
Cubed/sliced chicken breast
Lemon juice
Salt/Pepper/Basil
Pasta
First, saute the garlic in butter and then add the chopped tomatoes. A few minutes later, add the mushrooms. Dredge the chicken in flour and add it to the pan after a little olive oil.
I love garlic and lemon together on pasta. I usually think pasta is pretty boring, but lemon and garlic make everything bright and tasty. It's not really anything revolutionary, but it is basic, has ingredients that are usually in the house, and tastes really good.
Also, this makes great leftovers. It seems like a lot of stuff I make isn't good on the second day. It gets mushy, or discolored or otherwise weird and unappetizing, but this is almost just as awesome reheated!
Basics are:
Butter
Olive oil
Chopped garlic
Chopped tomato
Sliced mushrooms
Cubed/sliced chicken breast
Lemon juice
Salt/Pepper/Basil
Pasta
First, saute the garlic in butter and then add the chopped tomatoes. A few minutes later, add the mushrooms. Dredge the chicken in flour and add it to the pan after a little olive oil.
Start water boiling for your pasta, and get it cooking at the same time. I like angel hair, but in this instance, pretty much anything you like will work.
Cook the chicken through, then add some more olive oil, lemon juice, and the salt, pepper and basil to taste. I try to make sure there is enough liquid to make it a tad saucy, and then throw in your cooked pasta and toss together!
Also, this makes great leftovers. It seems like a lot of stuff I make isn't good on the second day. It gets mushy, or discolored or otherwise weird and unappetizing, but this is almost just as awesome reheated!
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