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!