Pasta Caprese

I combined the yumminess of the Caprese salad and made a warm pasta dish which could be served cold.

2 big Tablespoons of Weight Watchers Pesto Sauce recipe
2 oz of whole milk mozzarella, chopped
8 oz of grape or cherry tomoatoes sliced in 1/2
2 tsp olive oil

Make Basil pesto recipe
Boil whole grain or pasta of choice until done.

Top pasta with pesto, chopped mozzarella and tomatoes.
Drizzle the olive oil on top and toss everything to coat the pasta.

Easy, simple and good for you!

The BLT Salad

If you like BLT sandwiches, here's a fun way to enjoy the same flavors in a salad.

Iceburg lettuce
1 large tomato, cut in wedges
2 slices diet lacy swiss cheese cut in small squares
2T of bacon bits
handful of croutons

Put everything in a bowl and toss.  Top with your favorite vinegarette dressing.  If you like ranch that is probably the best choice to make this taste like a yummy sandwich! 

Smoked salmon

We have been having smoked salmon more often. 

Untreated cedar boards are easy and great to smoke salmon.  You can buy and untreated fence board and cut into pieces or buy neatly cut boards in packages and various local stores.

Soak the board in water a good 2-4 hours so it doesn't burn on the grill.
Place salmon fillets on the board.
Wrap the board in foil like a tent and cover salmon.
Place on medium heat grill for as long as necessary about 20 minutes for medium.
Remove foil and check that fish is done (light and flaky).

The fish will be slightly crispy on the ends and have a great smoked flavor.

Enjoy with a salad or your favorite vegetable and a nice Pinot Noir.

Steak and Mushroom Salad

Yummy!  I found this recipe in the weekend coupon section of the newspaper.

4T  EVOO
4T white wine vinegar
6 tsp dijon mustard
4 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp worcestshire sauce
12 oz boneless sirlonin steak, trimmed
2T steak seasoning rub
8 oz fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh parsely, minced
1 cup cherry tomoatoes, sliced
16 oz salad greens

Whisk first 5 ingredient together in bowl. Set aside.

Put rub on steak and cook on preheated grill until medium rare or preferred doneness.  When finished cut in 1/4 inch slices.

Place mushrooms, green onions, and fresh parsley in a bowl.

Add steak, mushroom mixture and toss with dressing. 

Serve over fresh greens.

This was delicious.  The rub nicely tenderizes the steak and the dressing is a wonderful compliment to all the flavors in this salad.

Menu Planning

I try to plan menus by week of what we will have for dinner each night.  It helps so we don't waste too much food and if we are too busy we can plan to eat out.

This week's menu:

Monday - we are on our own, I have a meeting to attend.
Tuesday - spaghetti and meatballs - a comfort food I was craving
                I am going to use jarred sauce and some frozen meatballs for ease of preparation.
Wednesday - Tilapia packets, recipe from Woman's Day magazine
Thursday - Asian Baked Chicken, recipe from All You magazine
Friday - not sure yet, maybe homemade pizza, maybe eat out....

I often peruse magazines for new recipes.  My favortie magazine is All You.  It has recipes, menu planners, coupons, and lots of good tips and tricks articles.

I also tend to peruse in the grocery store Woman's Day and Women's World.

Brands....

Recently we have been eating some quick and easy meals.  Here are a few of the new items I have found to make meals interesting, healthy, and delicious!

Golden Temple Simmer Sauces

A Canadian company that is owned by The J.M. Smucker Company of Orrville Ohio.  We found these at the Smucker store and really like them.  We tried a new flavor the other night, Butter chicken Sauce.  The easy part... brown chicken pieces and add sauce, stir and let simmer.  You can buy the online from Smucker's Online store.  We served over white or brown rice. Tada!  A meal.

Mama Mary's whole wheat pizza crusts

I found these at Marc's for $2.98 a package of 2 crusts!  They even include a bag to wrap up the second one to use later.  They are 12 inch crusts and bake well in the oven on the rack.  1/6 piece of a 12 inch crust at 170 calories, 5g of fat and 2g of fiber compared to a Boboli regular 12 inch crust which has 180 calories 2g of fat and 1g of fiber. 

Nash Brothers Trading Company Homestyle Organic Waffles

I found these waffles the other day in the grocery store bargain bin for 99 cents, No they were not expired!  Serving is 2 waffles for 190 calories 6g of fat and 2g of Fiber.  Our big sell was 2 waffles was a serving compared to Eggo Homestyle waffles a serving of 2 waffles had 190 calories, 7g of fat and 0g fiber.

Out to Dinner again!

Too much work, too tired to cook!  So we went out to our favorite local (around the corner) Mexican Restaurant.

Brian tried their new fish tacos and I had a Hawaiian Burrito.

So.... the recipe of the day is from our Easter dinner.

Cheese Ravioli with Artichoke Aioli

1 large bag of frozen cheese ravioli
2 10oz packages of frozen artichoke hearts, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
1/4-1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper

Saute artichoke hearts and green onions in olive oil until soft.  Salt and Pepper to taste.
Cook ravioli as directed and drain. 
Pour sauce into bowl and gently toss with artichoke sauce to coat.

Sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese to taste.

Simple Meal

This was a quick, simple, and healthy meal.  The only trick is to defrost the fish if it's frozen! 

2 Norwegian salmon filets, grilled

4 cups of white converted rice
1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (or you favorite flavor)

Cook rice as directed.  Add 1 can of tomatoes and stir.  Mix with seasonings as you like, I added salt free garlic and herb seasoning.


2 cups of frozen peas
3 T of margarine
fresh ground pepper

Put frozen peas in a microwave safe bowl and dollop margarine on top and sprinkle with pepper to taste.  Microwave 2-3 minutes until warm to your taste.

Your favorite Pinot Noir

Home Late/Dining Out

Our original plan was to have chicken and some couscous and a salad.  I did not leave work until 5:45pm which meant I get home about 7pm so my husband nicely decided we should eat out.

Here is the best deal on the dining out market!

Dinner for two at the Gyro Delight!

2 fresh pitas
A ton of gyro meat, not really but not really...
fixins - tomatoes, onions, olives and Tzatziki sauce
2 Spanikopita
2 Tyropitakia
2 Dolmas
Garden salad
Seasoned rice or fries (we got the rice)

All this for $8.55

Rack of Lamb

If you usually serve leg of lamb, this cut of lamb was quite different and refreshing.  Although be advised a frenched rack of lamb can be very expensive.  We were able to get it from a local butcher.

6 racks of lamb, frenched and white fat scraped off
6T of EVOO
3/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tsp sea salt
3 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
3 tsp fresh sage chopped
3T fresh flat parsley, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups beef stock
1T unsalted butter

Mix fresh herbs and salt and pepper and garlic in food processor and mix until chopped and well blended. 
Brush mustard on the meatier side of the lamb.  Coat with herb mixture. 
Coat bottom of pan with 1/2 of olive oil and heat.  Put lamb in seasoned side down and sear.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Remove lamb from pan and place, seasoned side down, into roasting pan.  When all lamb has been seared and are in roasting pan(s), place in oven and bake until thermometer reaches 130 degrees.  Remove at 130 degrees and cover with foil to rest.
 
In the meantime, scrape the bits off the bottom of the searing pan and put in sauce pan and mix with dry white wine, beef stock, garlic and butter.  Stir together and season with salt and pepper.  
Cook until reduced by 1/2. 
 
©Loretta Paganini

Easter Dinner

The next few days I will post some of the recipes we made for Easter this year.  My mother and I attended an Italian Easter Dinner cooking class and got some great ideas.  All of it came out delicious.

Our menu:

Rack of Lamb
Yukon Gold mashed potatoes
Steamed asparagus
Cheese ravioli with asparagus and onion aioli sauce
Spring Salad
Ham
Angel food cake w/ fresh strawberries

Happy Easter!

Holy Saturday meal

On our last day of Lent eating no meat we had fish.

We had an appetizer of a fresh spring Artichoke with Curried mayonnaise.

1 medium sized fresh artichoke, stem shortened
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
About 1/2 T of curry powder
Blend the curry powder and mayo to make the dip.
Place the articoke in a bowl with a little water at the bottom, cover with plastic wrap.
Microwave on high about 2 minutes.

To serve, peel the leaves off the artichoke and dip the ends in the mayo and eat, scraping off the tender inside of  the leaf.


Mahi Mahi
2 Wild Mahi Mahi filets
  (note the dark meat portion is a little different taste than the white meat portion)
Tastefully Simple Sangria Salsa topped the fish
Grill on foil on medium heat for about 20-25 minutes until fish is tender

Grilled Asparagus - see recipe on March 27th

Salad -- this one was quick and easy
1 bag of Garden Salad
8 grape tomatoes, halved
6 mozzarella fresca balls and some oil drizzled on salad
1 oz. of Stilton cheese with apricots
2 roasted red peppers, chopped

Toss all ingredietnts together.  Serve with your favorite salad dressing.

April Fools!

and lazy fools!  Tonight we had Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean burgers on the grill.  It was 80 degrees and a great day for grilling. 

I made Alexia's Sweet potato fries in the oven.  I spray non-stick cooking spray on the baking pan and on the fries and they cook with a nice light crispness.

The burgers are good for those who like a big burger with the works.  They are spicy, but not too spicy, and thick and full of flavor.  Top with ketchup, mustard, light mayo, tomato, onion ... the works and you gotta a burger with less fat than a regular restaurant burger.

Eating Out

Last night was a late night getting home from work for my husband and a lazy night for cooking for me.  We drove around town and finally decided where to eat.  We had a dilemma since we were not eating meat as to where the best choice of menu would be.

We ended up at Reunions Pub on West Tusc in Canton.  It was quiet, and had reasonable prices.

I had their fish specialty which was potato crusted scrod -- a nice piece of fish topped with a thin layer of crispy hash brown potatoes with a lemon butter sauce drizzled on top.  It was really good, I'd recommend it for something a bit out of the ordinary for fish.  The butter sauce was minimal, maybe a Tablespoon or less on it.

My husabnd had their homemade crab cakes, 3 nice sized crab cakes with the traiditional thousand island type sauce to dip them in. 

Our side dishes were good, I had a baked sweet potato which comes with cinnamon butter if you want to use it.  My husband had rice pilaf and a nice garden salad which had some homemade croutons on it, which were very tasty.

I'd recommend trying this place out.  Reunion's Pub 5153 Tuscarawas St W Canton OH, 44708.  It's in a shopping plaza with 2 grocery stores.

Pizza and Nachos

Another easy meal!  We made an Organics spinach and feta frozen pizza.

I also had a hankerin' for some loaded nachos.

Blue corn chips
1/2 can black beans, drained
~1/3 cup queso dip
~1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
2 1/2 slices of cheddar cheese (if you have it use about 3/4-1 cup of shredded cheese of your choice)
Jalapeno slices

Spread blue corn chips on a platter.  Sprinkle beans onto chips and drizzle queso dip on top.  Put salsa on next layer.  Crumble cheddar cheese on top.
Microwave mixture for about 2 minutes, until cheese is melted and it's hot.
Sprinkle Jalapeno slices on top and eat!

Other options are to add sour cream and fresh chopped tomatoes after heating too.

The Husband Cooks

My husband doesn't make much on his own. He is an excellent griller and makes a mean "canned" tuna casserole.  However, he does make a good stir fry in a real wok.  Tonight he made a shrimp stir fry.

1T vegetable or canola oil
1 head of broccoli, florets cut off
2 cans of water chestnuts, drained
2 oz of fresh snow peas
1 cup of grated carrots
1 can of bean sprouts, drained
1 pound of cooked shrimp
3 cups of brown rice, cooked
Soy sauce
Garlic powder
Corn starch, as needed

Coat wok with oil and heat.  Add broccoli and soy sauce.  Stir until broccoli is bright green.
Add water chestnuts and snow peas and toss with garlic powder.  Stir ingredients until well coated and cook with lid on until tender.  Add carrots, bean sprouts and shrimp and toss to heat through.  Use corn starch if too much liquid in in the center of wok to thicken sauce. 

Serve over brown rice.


For dessert we had sliced strawberries and blueberries drizzled with Kahlua and topped with Lite whipped cream.

Grilling Season is near!

Tonight's menu was:

Crab Stuffed Tilapia
Grilled Asparagus
3 cheese artisan bread

I bought the stuffed fish at our local grocery store.  We grilled the fish on a foil pan on medium heat until cooked through.

Blanch the asparagus in salted water.  Then grill directly on the grate, turning frequently until slightly charred.  Remove from the grill and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

I also created a bread dipping sauce with extra virgin olive oil and some fresh ground pepper.

Pizza!

I have been remiss in regular posting as of late because I have not been cooking much! Work schedules, social events and all have been taking up a lot of my time.  I did attend another cooking class, so look for that post soon.

The last dinner I made was a homemade pizza. 

I purchased whole wheat already made pizza crust.  I found a brand at Marc's that was whole wheat and gave me 2 pizzas for under $3.00.

I topped my pizza with

1/2 jar of Mid's brand pizza sauce
1 bag (2 cups) of Miceli's shredded pizza cheese

Then I added toppings, as much as you like
sundried tomatoes
sliced garlic cloves
black olives
canned mushrooms

Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes on cookie sheet or for a crispier crust bake right on the oven rack.

It was a pretty big pizza, about 8 slices and very cost effective for a family pizza night.  I served it with a small homemade Caesar salad (see earlier blog post for recipe).

St. Patty's Day Favorite!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, tonight's menu consisted of:

Corned beef
Cabbage
Mashed potatoes
Guiness

1 corned beef, about 3-5 pounds
1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced into shred pieces

Place corned beef in slow cooker, and cover with cabbage.  Fill about 1/2 -3/4 of pot with water and add seasoning packet.  If there is no seasoning packet add 2 Tablespoons of pickling spices.  Cook on low for 8 hours, until beef shreds and cabbage is soft but still hold shape, not mushy. 

Boil potatoes until soft, we boiled with the skin on.  Drain and mashed with fork or masher.  Add fat free milk and butter to moisten.  Keep mashing with spoon or fork.

Serve piece of corned beef, topped with cabbage, and drizzle broth on mashed potatotes.

The Guiness was tasty with the new CO2 cartridges that help keep the foam and flavor.

Top O' the Mornin' to ya!

A new Sammy!

Today for lunch I tried a new sandwich recipe I found on Weight Watchers website.  I added my own twist since I did not have the exact ingredients.

1 Arnold sandwich round whole wheat
2 slices of grilled eggplant
1 roasted red pepper, sliced in half
1 piece of Caesar salad lettuce with dressing on it (leftover from Sunday dinner)
Balsamic vinegar
Dried basil

Drizzle vinegar on both sides of bread, try not to saturate.
Layer eggplant on one piece of bread.  Next red pepper and lettuce.
Sprinkle top with basil.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to let flavors blend.

This was delicious!  I have another eggplant which I may grill up to make more sandwiches.  The vinegear and the olive oil from the grilled eggplant and the tartness of the red pepper makes this a delightful lunchtime treat. 

Quick comfort food

A lazy rainy Sunday afternoon... what to have for dinner?  Something simple

Eggplant rolls
Angel hair pasta
Caesar salad

I found these great eggplant rolls in the Market Day order.  Eggplant that is lightly breaded and rolled and filled with ricotta cheese.  They are frozen and quick to pop in the oven for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove and eat or serve with your favorite sauce.

I served them with some angel hair pasta and Mid's Garlic and Mushroom spaghetti sauce.  Along with a small homemade Caesar Salad (click link to see recipe from previous post) it was the perfect comfort meal on a Sunday afternoon.

Potpourri Vegetable Soup

I made this soup today with what I had in the fridge, I only had to buy the spinach and the fresh loaf of artisan bread we had with it.  These are estimated measurements.  When I cook something that is a potpourri mixture I don't measure but season to taste as I go.

3-4 cans of vegetable stock
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 zucchini, cubed
1/2 eggplant, cubed
1 package of white mushrooms, sliced
2-3 carrots sliced, or a handful of mini carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
4 oz of fresh green beans, ends snapped and halved
3-4 T of minced garlic
2 small onions, chopped
1 regular bag of fresh spinach
dried basil
dried parsley
italian seasoning
salt and pepper

In a large pot, pour in vegetable stock.  Add all ingredients except spinach and stir.  Season to taste.  Add water as needed to cover and stir.  Cook on medium heat, stirring periodically, about 2-3 hours or until vegetables are tender.  Add spinach and stir.  Cook another 30 minutes until spinach is cooked and wilted. 

Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese on top. 

Easy Pizza

Since my husband and I drive so far to work and sometimes have after work events, I have stocked my freezer and cupboards with quick and easy meal ideas and foods.

One of those items we have grown to like are frozen pizzas.  We buy them on sale or at the wholesale club and they are less expensive than take out and it's less tempting to get all those high calorie toppings or added sides.  Tonight we had a Spinach and Feta pizza by Earth's Pride Organics.  The pizza is moderately sized, about 4 pieces.  Thin crust and a good amount of spinach and feta cheese with a nicely spiced sauce, not too spicy but you know there is a red sauce.

Heat oven to 425 degrees, place pizza (after unwrapping) on oven rack.  Cook for 10-14 minutes.
Cut with pizza cutter. 

This is great on it's own or add a salad to make a meal and have some leftovers.

What else can I use?

Today's post is about substitutions.  What if you don't have a can of evaporated milk or some fresh parsley?  What do you do? Do you scrap the whole recipe?

No, I found a handy book that gives substitutions and equivalents Food FAQs : Substitutions, Yields and Equivalents by Linda Resnick and Dee Brock.

I referred to it for our dinner tonight, which was slow cooker mac and cheese.  I did not have any evaporated milk, but you could use heavy cream or half and half instead. 

The equivalents are helpful, you can find out how much dried herb if the recipe calls for fresh.  In addition, you can use it to determine baking changes and lots of other items.

My book is dog earred and well used.

Simple and Filling

A quick and nutritious meal on a work night.  Tonight we had my parents for dinner since my Dad was helping my husband with a home chore.  At the last minute this was quick and easy.  I got home at 5:45pm, changed by clothes and started dinner and we sat down and ate at 6:30pm.

Serves 4
4 Norwegian salmon fillets
2 boxes of Near East brand Roasted Pine Nut couscous
   [this was too much, we have leftovers]
Homemade salad

Open sheet of foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place fish on foil.
Grill on medium heat until medium rare or to taste.  Turn frequently to prevent burning or charring.

Make couscous according to package directions.

Salad
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, torn in pieces
10 grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2T of reduced fat feta cheese

Put lettuce into bowl and add other ingredients and toss.
Serve with your favorite dressing.

A Night Off!

My husband went to dinner with some work colleagues tonight which left me on my own for dinner.

I went to the Wholesale club on my way home and one of the items I bought was a new hummus, spinach and artichoke hummus by Sabra.

My dinner was an old favorite from my single days.

Single Gal Salad

Tear up Iceberg lettuce in a bowl. 
Add red wine vinegar and olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. 
Top with Parmesan cheese. 
Toss and eat!

A Little of This and a Little of That

My husband and I ate leftovers tonight. 

We had salmon and had some leftover.  So I made a salmon salad for sandwiches.

Quick and Easy Salmon Salad

Flake salmon from skin (if it had skin) into a bowl.
Mix with mayonnaise (I used the reduced fat).
Add a spoonfull, to taste, of  dill relish
Add a spoonfull, to taste, of Chili Sauce
Mix everything together and add some salt and pepper


Egg Salad -- another easy

4 hardboiled eggs
Mayonnaise
salt and pepper

Our leftover smorgasboard consisted of: cheese ravioli, pierogies, vegetarian hoppin john, and pasta and sauce.

French and Middle Eastern??

Today I made a Vegetable Ratatouille we learned how to make in our French wine and food class a few week's ago.  In addition, my sister brought over some uncooked beef kibbee her father in law made -- yum!

Vegetable Ratatouille

1/3 cup olive oil
2 small eggplants, cut in one inch cubes
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. zucchini, chopped in cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. fresh tomatoes
salt and pepper
Parsley

Put olive oil in bottom of pan and heat on medium  heat.  Add onion and eggplant.  Stir until eggplant it tender, about 10 minutes.
Add zucchini, garlic and tomatoes and stir.  Cook another 20 minutes or more until soft and stew like.
Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with parsley to serve.
@Loretta Paganini

We served it with some brown rice for additional texture and fiber.
We also had a nice Woodbridge Sauvignon Blanc wine.


What is Raw Kibbe?
A raw beef (only the leanest best cut ground) patty or ball seasoned with allspice and wheat and pine nuts.  It is often served with pita bread, fresh sliced onions, and olive oil.  My sister's father in law makes it and he is of Syrian descent.   We enjoy it immensely!

Dinner with a Four year old

Tonight we had our nephew overnight.  So we have "kid approved" food!

Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Grilled Cheese sandwiches

2 slices of multigrain bread
butter spray
1-2 slices of your favorite cheese, I like to cover the bread and make it cheesy

Spray one side of a slice of bread with butter spray.  Place buttered side down in non-stick pan.
Place cheese on slice of bread.  Place second slice of bread on top of cheese, and spray with butter spray to coat.
Cook on medium heat slowly until toasted and then flip.


Campbells tomato soup

2 cans of Campbells condensed tomato soup
1 can full of water
1 can full of fat-free milk

Mix all together in a pan, heat and stir until warm and blended.


We had hot pepper cheese for my husband, swiss cheese for our nephew and I had a provolone cheese sandwich.

Sorta Seafood Pasta

I threw this together tonight for a quick dinner. 

1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3 T minced garlic
1 can minced clams
1 can crab
1 pound cooked shrimp, medium size, if frozen, thawed
sundried tomatoes (optional and to your taste)
6 oz linguini
Parmesan cheese

Fill pot for pasta with water and turn on to bring to a boil.  When boiling add pasta. 

While waiting, pour 1/4 cup of olive oil into skillet on medium heat.  Add minced garlic and stir until garlic and oil are well mixed.  Add clams and crab and stir.  If fish absorbs oil, add another 1/4 cup of olive oil and stir.  Add fresh ground pepper and stir to saute'.  If shrimp have tails, remove them and add to the mixture.  If oil is absorbed, add more as needed.  Stir well and add sundried tomatoes.  Keep stirring to coat and mix well. 

When linguini is done, drain.  Add linguini in spoonfulls to mixture and toss each time to coat. Toss and coat well and cover for 5 minutes and turn down heat.  To serve, spoon into pasta bowls, add sauce too, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.


A leftover salad

8 oz fresh spinach
1/2 medium head of iceberg lettuce, torn in bite size pieces
4 oz white button mushrooms, cut in fourths
4 oz blue cheese crumbled with cranberries
6 mozzarella fresca balls and oil
fresh ground pepper
red wine vinegar

Combine spinach, iceberg lettuce, mushrooms and cheese.  Toss to mix.  Add mozzarella balls and drizzle seasoned oil from them onto salad.  Add fresh ground pepper and vinegar to taste.  Toss and serve.

Back Home Dinner is Served!

I made something simple yet full of flavor tonight.

12 Mrs. T's Potato and Cheddar Pierogi's
1/4 cup + 2 T Olive oil
2T minced garlic
2 small onions, sliced thin, separated
5 button mushrooms, sliced
5 sundried tomatoes
3 oz fresh spinach

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in skillet on medium heat.  Then add garlic and onions and mushrooms.  Cook until onions are soft and mushrooms are tender.    Add fresh spinach and the 2T more olive oil and cook until starting to wilt. Add pierogi's.  Stir everything together, coating pierogi's.  Add more olive oil as needed to keep mixture from sticking.  Let simmer until pierogi's are tender.  Serve in pasta bowl and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

What did the hubby survive on?

My husband managed to eat out 2 nights with members of my family while I was gone.  The few night's he was in he feasted on popcorn and frozen dinners!  So funny, lots of easy to prepare food in the house, and he never eats that light when I cook!

Also, I found a cool item that I could purchase to have food on the plane on the way home.  They were called To Go picnic lunches.  I purchased one at my hotel to have for lunch on the plane since I would not have a lot of time on my travels home and the airline only serves pretzels. 

I chose one that had dried apricots, cheese sticks, crackers and cheese, and a shortbread cookie.  The cheese was a cream asiago and the crackers were flat crackers, they were really hard.  That was all I ate from the packet.. I'll take the rest for lunch sometime next week.

Rio Rio Cantina and Zuni Lounge on the Riverwalk

Tuesday I spent the evening with some old friends at the Rio Rio restaurant.  We ate outside with blazing heaters and we could watch everyone cruising on the river walk and the boats as they went by.

We started with Margaritas!  They were served in brandy snifter type glasses and were delicious!  Most of us got the Horni Margarita as described -- Voted one of the top 5 margaritas in San Antonio with Sauza Hornitos Tequila, GranGala and our own sweet & sour.  It was tasty I had 2 large ones! If I wasn't presenting the next day I would have had another :-)

I tried the Baja Fish Tacos which were very spicy but delicious. As decribed, fresh beer-battered fish served on a soft corn tortilla with chipotle aioli sauce. Served with veggie beans, rice à la Mexicana.  The rice was good and the beans were good however, I didn't eat much of them, the 3 tacos were filling as it was.

I would go back here again for margarita's and fare!

Achiote - Pan Latino Cuisine

Monday night we ate at a Latino restaurant called Achiote in the Grand Hyatt hotel, it was so windy and cold we decided not to go out.

Here is the restaurant as described: Showcasing the rich culinary heritage of Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean, as well as San Antonio’s unique fusion cuisine, our menu provides a tantalizing diversion from typical fare.

A diversion from typical fare is right!  It was right up my alley since I will try most anything.  Their wine list was very nice as well.

We split an appetizer called Tostones con Yucca frita y salsa criolla which was Fried Green Plantains, Crispy Yucca, Sweet Onions in a Garlic Cilantro Sauce.  I had never had Yucca which I thought tasted similar to and had the texture of a potato.  The Plaintains I had not had either and they were crispy, a bit cold and not as flavorful as I would have hoped.  The shrimp and the onions were delicious!

I had their Paella A Achiote with mussels, shrimp, calamari and roasted vegetables. It was very good, I wonder if the rice should not have been cooked a bit more, but not knowing the cuisine, maybe that is how it should be prepared.  I enjoyed the flavors in the food and the seafood was delicious!  Thanks to my phone camera here is a picture before I dug in!

No room for dessert but to finish the Michael and David Viogneir that I had.

Day 2 Cafe Ole'

Yesterday I mentioned we went to Cafe' Ole' and had good fajitas and margaritas!  Well, we went to dinner so late that the recommended place for margarita's was closed at 8pm!  We ended up going to Cafe Ole'.  We ordered pitchers of margaritas and food.

I had a cheese quesodilla that was served with beans and sour cream.  We also had the complimentary chips and salsas.. .the salsas all had a different level of kick... none were mild as we know it!

I had a great time with my old friends from Utah and many drinks!

San Antonio, Texas

I am at a Conference in San Antonio until Wednesday.  So I will be posting some restaurant and menu reviews as well as maybe some humor about what my husband is surviving on without me!

Tonight I ate at a mexican restaurant along the RiverWalk.  It was warm enough to eat outside!!!

We ate at Cafe Ole' which specializes in Margaritas and Fajitas.  I had a delicious, could drink through a straw, frozen strawberry margarita.  They served spicy salsa with their chips.  I had a shrimp fajita, it was so good I ate it without the tortilla.  The rice and beans were good but the tomatoe salad mixture was HOT and I mean so Hot I ate a forkful of sour cream with it to cool it down!  I also had a traditional margarita, yeah they put liquor in them!

The RiverWalk is nice, lots of restaurants and a few shops... ran into a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, haven't seen one of those since Park City, Utah.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's meal reviews.

Hoppin' John Friday

Tonight we had the crockpot meal I mentioned Thursday.  It is called Hoppin' John from the cookbook Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson.

I adapted the recipe based on what I had and how I like to slow cook (meaning I don't prep anything I just dump it all in and stir!).

2 T olive oil
1 medium sized onion chopped
1celery rib chopped (I omitted because I didn't have)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 T dried thyme (I sprinkled free hand so I probably used a little more)
2 -15.5 oz cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
   (I used 1 can of regular black eyed peas, and 1 can of Sylvia's seasoned black eyed peas)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 4 oz can green chilies
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (we recommend the Kitchen Basics brand)
8 oz vegetarian sausage, crumbled (I used Boca breakfast sausages and cut them up)
1 cup converted white or brown rice
1 cup water if needed

Mix all items into crockpot except rice and water.  Add rice an hour before ready to eat and add water as needed if stew is thick.

Cook 4-6 hours on low.

Review:  This is good!  Not very spicy.  So, next time I will add a can of Rotel tomatoes to spice it up a bit.

Last Minute Menu

I was late last night so I didn't get the crockpot meal ready for tonight.  Here is what we put together from our pantry.

Cheese ravioli
Mid's meatless spaghetti sauce with the addition of sliced portabello mushrooms
Texas Toast garlic bread
Caesar Salad

-- Now I know you are wondering about that caesar salad.  Well, the last time I made it I put 1/2 of the dressing in a container in the refrigerator to see how it tasted used later.   It will semi-solidify due to the oil and cheese.  So take it out of the fridge and "thaw", then pour into the bottom of the wooden bowl and toss with Romaine leaves.  Note, due to the raw egg ingredient I do not keep more than 7 days in the refrigerator (my guideline).

The Review -- tastes just like we just made it fresh!

Make a quick meal in minutes!

The Hubby is Cooking

My husband spent many years as a bachelor before we got married. During that time he developed some of his own recipes and shortcuts. One of them is tuna noodle casserole.

Brian's Tuna Casserole

1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can or packet of tuna in water
6 oz of your favorite noodles (we used No Yolks)

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles.
Put noodles back into the pan.
Add tuna and soup. Mix well.
Serve!
Add your favorite sauce, such as ketchup (in my case) or hot sauce (in his case).

Enjoy!

Cookin' on a Tuesday

Tonight we went to a wine and cooking class at a local grocery store chain. The theme was French Bistro. We saw a cooking demonstration and tried french wine paired with french food.

The menu was delicious! The menu was demonstrated and prepared courtesy of the Loretta Paganini from the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking.

Roasted Onion soup au gratin -- Celery Root & Carrot Salad -- Chicken Coq au vin with Mashed potatoes -- Ratatouille vegetable stew --Lemon Tart with whipped cream

In addition, because Loretta can't not serve pasta, she made 2 pastas with sauces. She also makde a Speltz salad, and Socca. she expanded the dessert menu to include creme fraiche cheesecakes (plain with a sour cream topping, and chocolate turtle), as well as some biscotti.

The wine pairings were done by Jeff Fisher, President of Fishers Foods. My husband and I both liked all the wines

- Jules Bertier Blanc de Blancs NV

- Chartron La Fleur Blanc 2008

- Pierre Ponnelle Pinot Noir 2008

- Fouquet Vouvray 2008

As a bonus we tasted at the end an Argentinian Malbec called Conquista.

Loretta's goal was to make us stuffed and by golly she did and we drank some good wine too!

Meatless Monday

My husband I commute over 45 minutes each way for work. I try to use slow cooker, or fondly called crockpot, recipes as often as I can to speed up dinner preparations. We use a light timer to set the crockpot to turn on at the correct time. For example, this recipe says cook on low 3 1/2 hours so I would set it at 2:30pm to be ready at 6pm.

Today I used a recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Roberston.

Slow Cooker Ziti Casserole
I have made a few adaptations based on the ingredients I had on hand and how I like to cook.

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced OR 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic from a jar
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 garden vegetable burgers, crumbled
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 T dried basil, I used a bit more I like lots of seasoning
salt and pepper
10 oz of uncooked penne pasta, or whatever you like

Start with the onion, and put all ingredients in the slow cooker, except the pasta. Drizzle the olive oil in and mix well.

Add the uncooked pasta - you can cook the pasta and add it to the mixture the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Note: If preparing the night before, add the pasta the next morning so it does not soak up all the liquid and become mushy. (I prefer to add it into the slow cooker, it makes my dinner prep faster when I get home)

Cook on low 3 1/2 hours.

Serve with cheese of choice and sprinkle with parsley.
Add garlic and a salad and you've got a meal!

Husband's Review: "It was tasty!"
My Review: Adding some mushrooms would be a good enhancement.

Sunday Dinner

Crab stuffed tilapia prepared by the local grocery store.
Baked in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Roasted potatoes
medley of small potatoes
parsley flakes

Layout a piece of foil and spray with non-stick spray.
Put potatoes on the foil.
Spray potatoes with non-stick spray and sprinkle with parsley.
Wrap potatoes in foil.
Grill foil packet on medium heat about 3o minutes, until tender

Caesar Salad - as taught to me by our neice Tanya
Serves 8-10

3-4 heads of Romaine lettuce
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic
1 can of flat anchovies with olive oil (no added capers or salt)
1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1T yellow mustard
~2 T or 15 shakes of Heinz red wine vinegar
1/2 average lemon
1 raw egg
~2/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
seasoned wooden bowl

Peel garlic and place in bottom of bowl. Mash with a fork until small pieces.
Empty can of anchovies, liquid and all into garlic.
Mash anchovies into garlic until paste-like.
Add 1/4 cup of EVOO
Add 1 T of yellow mustard
Add about 15 shakes of red wine vinegar
Squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon
Mix all ingredients well.
Add more olive oil as needed, about 1/4 cup or less.
Stir together.
Add raw egg.
Stir together.
Add 1/3 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese.
Stir all ingredients together until well blended.
Add another 1/2-1/3 cup of cheese to taste.
Sprinkle additional red wine vinegar to taste.
Blend all ingredients well.

Clean romaine lettuce. Remove bottom core and outer leaves. Separate all leaves and put in bowl, if you can keep leaves whole.
Wear latex or kitchen gloves and toss leaves in dressing to coat well.

When ready to serve sprinkle cheese on top to garnish.

A few notes about making this salad:
-- Taste as you go the first few times you make it. The recipe uses estimated amounts, you might like more cheese, or oil or a saltier or more garlic flavor.
-- Buy a large bag of pecorino romano cheese at a wholesale club and keep in the freezer to always have on hand.
-- She recommended using only the Heinz red wine vinegar, we have used an Alessi brand and it tasted good.
-- Keep a special wooden bowl for making this salad, once you make it a few times the bowl will be nicely seasoned.

Meatless Saturday

Spaghetti Squash

Pierce squash with fork, about 2-3 times
Microwave on high for 5 minutes
Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out meat, it will be stringy.

Heat your favorite non-meat spaghetti sauce and serve over squash.


Garlic bread

Salad

1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped
6 mozzarella fresca balls and oil
1/2 cucumber, cubed
roasted salted sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
1T olive oil
red wine vinegar to taste

Toss all ingredients together in bowl.

Day 2 - meatless

This was a little easier as I had worked at home and it was a Friday night. We decided to try having wild cod fillets from our local grocery store. Normally we don't eat cod (unless it's fried) but what the heck we'll give it a try!

I use a Tastefully Simple Sassy Sangria grilling sauce to cover the fish. We put them on a foil pan on the grill.

To accompany the small fillets I made a crock pot macaroni and cheese and salad

Macaroni and Cheese
(my favorite comfort food, made easy)

2 cups uncooked macaroni
12 oz can of evaporated milk
1/3 cup of egg substitute like Egg Beaters
2 cups of fat free milk
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
8 oz of cubed Velveeta cheese (light or regular)
16 oz of your choice of shredded cheese (we used 8 oz of fat free cheddar and 8 oz of Italian 3 cheese)

Cook the macaroni al dente, drain, and mix with all of the above ingredients in the crock pot.
Cook on Low 2 1/2 -3 hours stirring at least one time.


Fruit and Nut Salad

~2 cups of fresh spinach leaves
sprinkle the following ingredients to taste
- salted sunflower seeds
- plain pumpkin seeds
- dried cranberries
- almond slices or slivers
- candied walnuts

1/2 large cucumber, cubed
1 large tomato, wedged
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese

Toss all together.
Serve with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette.

Day 1 - meatless

Tonight was a challenge, as we had to get home from work, eat and run!

Morningstar Farms brand garden burger
Morningstar Farms brand spicy black bean burger
Hamburger buns
Grill burgers as directed or microwave or pan cook.

Serve as burgers with all the fixin's -- tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard, avocado, lettuce and mayo

Fries -- Alexia brand All Natural Oven Reds Olive Oil, Parmesan and Roasted Garlic
Bake in the oven as directed.

We had our favorite beers -- Leinenkugel Berry Weiss and Samuel Adams Noble Pils

The Season of Lent

The Lenten season is often a time where many people change their diets by excluding items like sweets or other foods. It is also a time in the Roman Catholic and other faiths that meat is not consumed during Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during the Lenten season.

My husband and I decided to eliminate meat on all days during the Lenten season.

During these 40 days I will be posting lots of ideas for vegetarian/no meat meals.

Ash Wednesday Menu

Grilled cheese sandwiches -- these are made the traditional way in a pan with a few changes.

2 slices of multi-grain bread
2 slices of cheese of choice (not American)
we used swiss and cheddar
butter spray

Spray one piece of bread with butter spray and place spray side down in a medium heat skillet. Place cheese on bread (mix and match too!).
Spray the other piece of bread and place on top with non-spray side down.
Grill sandwich until light brown and cheese is melted.


Homemade vegetable soup -- we had frozen vegetable soup in the freezer that we thawed in a pan on the stove on low.

This soup was made in the slow cooker last year and frozen.

10 oz baby spinach leaves
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 medium celery, chopped
1 lg onion, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1T dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

@Weight Watchers Inc. recipe

Dinner at the Sister's house

My youngest sister is venturing out into the cooking realm as her family gets older and one of the big helps to her is using her slow cooker to make meals. Last night I went over for dinner and she had a delicious meal.

Slow Cooker/Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

1 pound of stew meat
2 cans 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1-16oz container reduced fat sour cream
1 package onion soup mix (dry)
3 -4.5oz jars of whole mushrooms (more or less as desired)

Put everything in the pot and stir to mix.
Cook on low about 6-8 hours or until mixture is creamy and meat is tender.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Add a simple salad and you got a great meal!

Indian Food

I have been very remiss in posting anything so I hope that 2010 will bring some new ideas and recipes.

Last night we tried what is called a Simmer Sauce. They are called The Golden Temple and are a Canadian product. You may ask how we found such a thing in the US. Well this product is owned by The Smuckers Company which is headquartered in Orville, Ohio. They have a store which showcases all of their brands.

The simmer sauce we had was Tandoori. We browned chicken, added the sauce and let it simmer and then served the mixture over rice. Ta Da!

Check them out online at http://onlinestore.smucker.com/