I'm here and I"m still eating! Life has been hectic lately what with it being spring and bike season! Also I'm in the early stages of training for a half-marathon so dinner has been pretty simple lately...so I thought a good post for today would be "go to" meals. You know, those meals you always have all the ingredients for...the ones you have probably at least once a week when you know you should stay in but you have no idea what to make!
Meal #1: Homemade pizza We almost always have a pizza crust or a pizza crust mix. And there's always mozzarella cheese and some assortment of sausage, artichokes, peppers, onions, basil, parmesan...well, there's always something suitable for a pizza!
Meal #2: Grilled chicken, tuna steaks, or pork, baked potatoes and salad. Come on...you know you always have potatoes at home. Some nights there's nothing better than pure simple baked potatoes. AND potatoes have lots of potassium!
Meal #3: Pasta and anything There are few things that don't go with pasta. It's rare that we don't have spaghetti sauce or at least the stuff to make our own spaghetti sauce, pesto sauce, or something to make a cheese or olive oil sauce. Then it can be as simple as adding toasted bread crumbs and green peas, shrimp, or even just broccoli.
Meal #4: Black bean quesadillas When all else fails, mix some salsa into drained and rinsed black beans, add cheese, place in a tortilla and get it all crispy and brown in a pan. Who needs Qdoba?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
2 for 1!
Double Double Butter Cake
This past week I got the chance to go back to my hometown and see my family. My dad's birthday was Sunday so I helped my Mom bake Dad's cake while my sister was busy prepping for the rest of dinner--making salads! Mom read her recipe and mixed in the shortening and flour, and I cracked the 5 eggs (each one in the bowl, then in the mixing bowl...wouldn't want to have a bad egg!) After the 1 hr and 20 minutes that the cake was supposed to cook it was still soupy...hmmmm..."What did we do wrong?" Neither of us could figure it out, so we set the timer for another 30 minutes and went to the store. When we came back the cake had fallen--instead of being puffy and fluffy, it was sunken and lumpy. So Mom took it out and tried to flip the cake over onto a plate. It fell everywhere! The entire kitchen counter was covered with cake! Here's what you do when that happens:
So, we tasted the cake--it was still really good! We made the brown sugar glaze and poured it over the crumbled cake in the dish. It may not have been pretty but it tastes good. So what did we do wrong? Well, this sort of thing is what happens when you accidentally use TWICE the amount of shortening that you need. Lesson learned (MOM).
Going meatless
I like to have vegetarian days. I don't know if I could ever be a vegetarian 100% of the time, but I like to find other ways to get protein that just eating meat. Some days I do better than others. Yesterday at the airport I managed to find a great little sandwich shop with a fabulous "Colorado Sunshine" sandwich. Avocado, sprouts, cucumber, pickles, tomato, cheese, and lettuce make a great vegetarian sandwich! Today I wanted to continue the theme so for dinner I made mushroom and roasted artichoke pizza. It's not hard and it tastes great! Roasting is a fabulously easy way to cook veggies. All I did was drain about 5 artichoke hearts, cut them in half, drizzle olive oil on them, add salt and pepper and roast them at 450 for about 10 minutes. If you're cooking something tougher, like brussels sprouts, you'd want to use a bit of a lower temp for a longer period of time.
Anyway, we had some new store-bought pizza crusts that weren't fabulous...but they held the toppings :) Pizza is an awesomely easy way to go--you can put almost anything on a pizza crust and it will most likely taste great!
This past week I got the chance to go back to my hometown and see my family. My dad's birthday was Sunday so I helped my Mom bake Dad's cake while my sister was busy prepping for the rest of dinner--making salads! Mom read her recipe and mixed in the shortening and flour, and I cracked the 5 eggs (each one in the bowl, then in the mixing bowl...wouldn't want to have a bad egg!) After the 1 hr and 20 minutes that the cake was supposed to cook it was still soupy...hmmmm..."What did we do wrong?" Neither of us could figure it out, so we set the timer for another 30 minutes and went to the store. When we came back the cake had fallen--instead of being puffy and fluffy, it was sunken and lumpy. So Mom took it out and tried to flip the cake over onto a plate. It fell everywhere! The entire kitchen counter was covered with cake! Here's what you do when that happens:
So, we tasted the cake--it was still really good! We made the brown sugar glaze and poured it over the crumbled cake in the dish. It may not have been pretty but it tastes good. So what did we do wrong? Well, this sort of thing is what happens when you accidentally use TWICE the amount of shortening that you need. Lesson learned (MOM).
Going meatless
I like to have vegetarian days. I don't know if I could ever be a vegetarian 100% of the time, but I like to find other ways to get protein that just eating meat. Some days I do better than others. Yesterday at the airport I managed to find a great little sandwich shop with a fabulous "Colorado Sunshine" sandwich. Avocado, sprouts, cucumber, pickles, tomato, cheese, and lettuce make a great vegetarian sandwich! Today I wanted to continue the theme so for dinner I made mushroom and roasted artichoke pizza. It's not hard and it tastes great! Roasting is a fabulously easy way to cook veggies. All I did was drain about 5 artichoke hearts, cut them in half, drizzle olive oil on them, add salt and pepper and roast them at 450 for about 10 minutes. If you're cooking something tougher, like brussels sprouts, you'd want to use a bit of a lower temp for a longer period of time.
Anyway, we had some new store-bought pizza crusts that weren't fabulous...but they held the toppings :) Pizza is an awesomely easy way to go--you can put almost anything on a pizza crust and it will most likely taste great!
Monday, April 5, 2010
To Dine out, or not to Dine out?
Recently, after a bad experience at a new Chinese restaurant, I struggled again with a theory...food cooked at home (unless you're a really bad cook) is almost always better tasting and better for you than food cooked elsewhere. Now, I'll be the first to admit that's not true 100% of the time (hence the reason for the "almost" in my hypothesis). When it comes to pizza, Pablo's and the Hot Tomato here in Grand Junction and Fruita respectively will beat me every time at pizza. But Dominos? Pizza Hut? No. Mine tastes like I want it to and has probably pretty natural ingredients on it.
Chinese? Well, I haven't found a place that I just love for chinese here...Sushi, yes. Chinese--well, I think the Lemon Chicken I make at home is better! I know I can make crab rangoon, and I"m pretty damn sure I can make spring rolls and egg rolls. I make a tasty sesame noodle dish too--with WHOLE WHEAT noodles!
Still struggling with bbq, but this summer we'll perfect ribs for sure! All I'm saying is that sometimes, when you want some particular type of food-whether it's Italian, Mexican, or Thai, find a recipe online and try to make something yourself!
Here's a simple sort-of Thai recipe:
Cook any type of basic pasta (whole wheat is best): penne, spaghetti noodles, or rigatoni are best. Then chop and saute a chicken breast (free range or organic if you can get it) and veggies like snow peas, broccoli, pepper, onion...until done with some olive oil, a chopped clove of garlic and salt and pepper. Mix it with the pasta when everything is done and the pasta is drained. On the Asian food aisle of most grocery stores you can find Spicy Peanut Sauce. Shake it alllll over the noodles and mix it up! The more you add, the spicier it'll be! Sprinkle a little cilantro on top and you're good to go without the take out!
Chinese? Well, I haven't found a place that I just love for chinese here...Sushi, yes. Chinese--well, I think the Lemon Chicken I make at home is better! I know I can make crab rangoon, and I"m pretty damn sure I can make spring rolls and egg rolls. I make a tasty sesame noodle dish too--with WHOLE WHEAT noodles!
Still struggling with bbq, but this summer we'll perfect ribs for sure! All I'm saying is that sometimes, when you want some particular type of food-whether it's Italian, Mexican, or Thai, find a recipe online and try to make something yourself!
Here's a simple sort-of Thai recipe:
Cook any type of basic pasta (whole wheat is best): penne, spaghetti noodles, or rigatoni are best. Then chop and saute a chicken breast (free range or organic if you can get it) and veggies like snow peas, broccoli, pepper, onion...until done with some olive oil, a chopped clove of garlic and salt and pepper. Mix it with the pasta when everything is done and the pasta is drained. On the Asian food aisle of most grocery stores you can find Spicy Peanut Sauce. Shake it alllll over the noodles and mix it up! The more you add, the spicier it'll be! Sprinkle a little cilantro on top and you're good to go without the take out!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata
Excuse the lack of pictures...sometimes I just plain forget!
Peperonata is roasted red bell peppers with a caper viniagrette...for lack of a better way to describe it. It is so simple and yet so flavorful!
For the Peperonata:
*3 red bell peppers cut into wide strips
*1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tbsp drained capers
1 tsp red-wine vinegar (white wine works too)
1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes
For the Meatballs
*3 slices italian bread, torn into pieces (I used french bread from Albertson's and it worked just fine)
*1/3 cup milk
*3 oz sliced pancetta, finely chopped (splurge and get it--it's worth it)
*1 small onion, finely chopped
*1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 lb ground chicken
3 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I did leave this out but used some extra italian seasoning in the sauce)
1 tbsp tomato paste
Accompaniment: garlic bread made from remainder of Italian loaf.
Make peperonata: Preheat oven to 400 F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Toss bell peppers with 1 tbsp oil, then roast in a 4 sided sheet pan in lower third of oven, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 35 minutes.
Stir together capers, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1/2 tbsp oil in a medium bowl and set aside.
Make meatballs while peppers roast:
Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about 4 minutes.
Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in 1 tbsp oil with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.
Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley. Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan. (Chicken is harder to form into an actual ball than beef. I just kind of molded a handful and didn't try to make them pretty).
Stir together tomato paste and remaining tbsp oil. I added about 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning and 1/8 tsp garlic salt. Brush over meatballs, then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. If you like, top with mozarella cheese and broil for just 30 seconds or so until the cheese is brown.
Toss peppers with caper mixture. Serve meatballs with peperonata.
This recipe was taken from the August 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine. Page 55.
Peperonata is roasted red bell peppers with a caper viniagrette...for lack of a better way to describe it. It is so simple and yet so flavorful!
For the Peperonata:
*3 red bell peppers cut into wide strips
*1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tbsp drained capers
1 tsp red-wine vinegar (white wine works too)
1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes
For the Meatballs
*3 slices italian bread, torn into pieces (I used french bread from Albertson's and it worked just fine)
*1/3 cup milk
*3 oz sliced pancetta, finely chopped (splurge and get it--it's worth it)
*1 small onion, finely chopped
*1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 lb ground chicken
3 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I did leave this out but used some extra italian seasoning in the sauce)
1 tbsp tomato paste
Accompaniment: garlic bread made from remainder of Italian loaf.
Make peperonata: Preheat oven to 400 F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Toss bell peppers with 1 tbsp oil, then roast in a 4 sided sheet pan in lower third of oven, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 35 minutes.
Stir together capers, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1/2 tbsp oil in a medium bowl and set aside.
Make meatballs while peppers roast:
Soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about 4 minutes.
Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in 1 tbsp oil with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.
Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley. Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan. (Chicken is harder to form into an actual ball than beef. I just kind of molded a handful and didn't try to make them pretty).
Stir together tomato paste and remaining tbsp oil. I added about 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning and 1/8 tsp garlic salt. Brush over meatballs, then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. If you like, top with mozarella cheese and broil for just 30 seconds or so until the cheese is brown.
Toss peppers with caper mixture. Serve meatballs with peperonata.
This recipe was taken from the August 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine. Page 55.
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