Yet ANOTHER Vegetarian Recipe!

In my quest to make *something* we will all eat, I tried something new tonight. It really ended up like a vegetarian chili. My son, to my surprise, said it wasn't that bad. He's not a huge fan of beans (yes, he's a vegetarian who doesn't like beans, but we are trying to change that) so I knew there was a huge chance he wouldn't touch the lentils. He shocked me and told me it wasn't that bad. He still didn't eat much, but he at some and that's progress.

Anyway, here's the recipe I used. It's from Recipezaar again. I pretty much stuck to it, with the exception of adding a wee bit of Tobasco to my personal portion. I love Tobasco. Super awesome stuff.

Sorry. No pictures, but I am not sure it would help. It was good, but not that appetizing looking.

2 Pounds of Cheesy Goodness

Hola - I'm Heather, Barbara's accomplice-in-cooking. She's given me the opportunity to contribute to her blog cuz she's a good friend (and maybe because she wants to relieve some of the pressure from the gads of readers/followers that expect regular, tongue-drooling entries). She and I share a love of many things, including peanut sauce (I recently discovered this similarity), mushrooms, soba noodles, wine, snowshoeing, Wisconsin, knitting, and lots and lots of cheese.

Since it's Saturday, which means I have more time to cook, I decided to make something that requires a lengthy stay in the kitchen. I've made lasagna before and each time was a special occasion - special in that it took lots of time to make. Tonight's Spinach and Black Bean Lasagna was a different story. Open a can, a jar, a tub, and 30 minutes later it's in the oven with 2 bowls to clean. yowsah.

Cheese. Yes, two whopping pounds of it. This is a Southern Living recipe, so I used whole milk ricotta (a 15 oz tub), and 16 oz of Monterey Jack. I realize this may be blasphemy, but I could have escaped using less monterey jack for the topping. I think.

Rob claimed it was the best lasagna he ever tasted. The best part is that it was very affordable - and no hard-to-find ingredients. After the two of us ate it for dinner, we still have 3/4 of a pan as leftovers.

I love Peanut Sauce

But unfortunately, not everyone in my family loves it. Seriously, cover just about anything in peanut sauce and I will eat it. I love it.

I am making an effort to cook vegetarian meals this weekend so we all can eat the same thing. I thought this would be perfect. My son loves peanut butter. He should love peanut sauce right? No. This didn't pass the test with him. Oh well, we'll try something else.

I liked it. It could have been a little better. I improvised a lot. I used a recipe I found using my Dinner Spinner App on my iPod Touch. It's a great App. I haven't used it tons, but I did find this gem. It also works better if you have a phone, so when you are at the grocery store that doesn't have Wi Fi, you can find your ingredients. Not that this has happened to me or anything...

So this is the recipe I based my meal on - Peanut Noodles at Allrecipes.com . I improvised by using Ketjep Manis instead of soy sauce. I also used Sambel Oelek instead of red pepper flakes. Both are Indonesian seasonings that I use when I make Indonesian food - which has a dutch influence (see my previous post about Gouda for why I cook dutch food). I also used a little more peanut butter. This might be why it wasn't as good. It was a thick sauce. I should have used more water or ketjep to help make it thinner. Also... I added more veggies - broccoli, onions, snow peas. For the pasta, I used an organic whole wheat pasta that I bought at Costco. I have 7 packages of this pasta now, so you can expect to see it often.

It wasn't incredible, but it was decent. My son had expressed doubts in my creations, so I reserved some pasta and some veggies without sauce for just such an occasion - which was needed.

Catch Up

It's been a busy week and while I have been still cooking at home, I haven't posted about it. Some of my cooking has bee via a short cut. I went to Trader Joe's on Monday and picked up some Tokyo Style Soba Noodles. They were good -- different -- but good. It was funny that earlier last week my friend and I were e-mailing back and fourth about soba and how yummy they are. Then when I bought them, the cashier started up similar conversation about soba. I think what makes them so good is how light they are. Not nearly as dense as semolina pasta. I am not sure I would get the Trader Joe's soba again, but I am definitely getting more soba soon.

I also made my herb roasted carrots again. This time, I used local carrots. We belonged to a a CSA a few years ago that is out of Evansville, WI. It was called Tipi Farms and their signature product was carrots - and for good reason. They were great. When I was at Sentry I saw their carrots and immediately bought them. I cut them up and drizzled olive oil over along with some thyme and some kosher salt. The first one I had was good, but it didn't scream "YUM" to me. but then a minute later, I wanted another, and another and another. They were really good. Different that most carrots. They had a lot of flavor. Here's a picture of them roasting!

I have some good recipe ideas for the weekend. I am really looking forward to dinner tonight!!!

Southern Cookin'

I have to admit, I am a sucker for good country cookin'. While it's a southern cliche, Cracker Barrel does have good southern cooking. I usually get a vegetable plate there, but because people in the south know how to season their veggies. Dumplins' are usually an option on the vegetable plate, and I almost always get them. Last nights dinner was inspired by the Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplings.

I used this recipe from Recipezaar.com . A customer at work actually introduced me to this site long long ago. It came out pretty good, and I have to admit something seems to be missing. I feel like that something might be butter or cream or something rich, which I am better off without anyway.

Yes, this was not something my son would like. So, he got a bowl of tomato soup - which he loves - which was easy to make. Not from scratch, mind you, but easy.

No, it's *not* GOOOOODA...

...it's "How-da". This is what snapped at the kids today at Trader Joe's. I am pretty sure some random guy in there thought I was insane. Either that or just plain stupid.

See, my mother in law is from Holland, the motherland of such cheeses like Edam and Gouda. Now, I must tell you everyone says "Gouda" wrong. It's not Goo-da. It's How-da. After 15 years of hearing How-da (and you have to say it real throaty, almost like there's crud in your throat) it's not 'goo-da', it's 'how-da'.

I made a trek to Trader Joes today for some good eats. I knew they had cheese - cheap, so I headed there with a recipe in mind. I was going to make Gouda Macaroni & Cheese. (did you say goo-da when you read that?). They had what I needed - spinach, gouda, & more parm (I always have a block of parm, who knows when you might need it, right?). They didn't however have elbow macaroni!!! I did have to go to another store. They had lots of other pastas which I could have of course used, but I wanted tradition.

I got this recipe recommended from my friend Heather. I think she used smoked Gouda. I went with a non smoked variety. I am actually not a huge fan of smoked gouda. I think it takes away from the flavor (sorry, I am in Wisconsin. Cheese is everywhere. Where else do you find stores that specialize ONLY in cheese? I over analyze my cheese).

The only thing I can say about this is that it was fantastic. I loved it. I didn't chop my spinach because it was baby spinach and I know how the leaves wilt to be very tiny when cooked. I also didn't measure the cheese. I don't measure unless I have to. So please, make this. And please don't say 'goo-da'.

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 5 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach
• 4 cups hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 2 minutes). Add cheeses; stir until melted.

Add spinach and macaroni to cheese sauce, stirring until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until bubbly.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

399 (25% from fat)

Fat:

10.9g (sat 6.2g,mono 3g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

20.1g

Carbohydrate:

54.9g

Fiber:

3.7g

Cholesterol:

33mg

Iron:

3.6mg

Sodium:

725mg

Calcium:

421mg

Cooking Light, MARCH 2003

Visual Aid

Quiche.

Quiche!

Quiche is something I probably don't make often enough. It's so yummy & customizable and actually really easy.

Tonight I used half of a pie crust I had made about 2 weeks ago. I rarely made pie crust before making it for a chicken pot pie earlier in the month. I was amazed at how easy and GREAT it came out. I will probably never buy pie crust again. My pie crust of choice --- The Pioneer Woman's. You will see her recipes frequently on here. They are so homey and easy. Granted, some of them will give you a heart attack with the amount of cream or butter she uses, but.... all in moderation, right?

So... one pie crust.

Then, for the quiche I took a recipe from the Betty Crocker cook book. You know... the classic red and white book. I made the "Create your own" or something like that. Tonight I used carmelized red onions (I LOVE carmelized onions), green & red peppers and garlic as well as some Sargento Fiesta Blend cheese.

I mixed 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cups milk (I have to tell you the name of the creamery I got it from -- a local creamery -- Sassy Cow Creamery. I love the name. I also love the Sentry has tons of local foods to choose from.) Anyway, after beating the eggs and mixing in the milk I added the filling to the mix. After baking the super awesome pie crust I put the filling in and baked for 30-40 mins. It was so good. I will share some pictures tomorrow.

The bonus of quiche is that I have leftovers. It can be breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's versatile.

Life always throws a curve ball

So, we all agreed to be very good and not eat out or buy extra things. We actually started to feel "ahead" and that things were ok. Well, for some reason when ever that happens, something goes wrong. This time, it was my kitty not feeling good. She's getting old and we know it. She started acting a little lethargic and so we took her in. Unfortunately, veterinary care is not inexpensive. After a long, long expensive, physically & mentally exhausting day yesterday we came home with our kitty. She's ok for now, but not great. Yes, I will admit, we took the easy route. We ordered pizza - mainly for the kids. I really hadn't eaten most of the day. I actually spent most of the day crying. I was done, and threw in the towel.

Today was a new and better day, and we are back on track. Of course, now more than ever, we need to save. We have follow up visits and extended care AND we are still hoping to make that trip (this is, if we can leave our dear kitty for that long if she happens to still be with us).

So, I haven't given up just under some stress.

Tonight I made an easy dinner. Just some whole grain pasta, some canned sauce. I added some oregano and sauteed onions to add a little zip to it. It's a little comfort food when I need some comfort.

Cheating

Not REALLY cheating. We didn't go out to eat, but I am using a shortcut tonight. A month or 2 ago I bought a mix for Potato Leek Soup from alice.com. Alice is a company here in Middleton, WI that I started using a few months ago. They are like Amazon, but specialize in household and dry goods. Their motto is something along the lines of ordering toilet paper. I have found the site to be handy. Typically, when I go to Target I spend about $50 no matter what. I go there planning on buying 3 or 4 things, but then I see the stuff I "need" and spend more. With Alice, I decide at home, compare prices, use coupons etc, and then it comes to my door. Typically in about 2 or 3 days. While this sounds incredibly lazy, the best thing to me is no more impulse buys. I am totally an impulse shopper. Even with a list, I buy more.

The packaging is eco friendly. They are efficient in packaging. The box I recycle every week (no plastic bags...) and the air pouches can go into recycling as well. I am not sure this is the best way to shop considering the carbon footprint, but I like to think that the fact that I am not buying more junk counteracts that.

Ok, back to the point. Potato Leek Soup. So, I have this package sitting in my pantry. So I decided to make it. Soup is always so good and hearty on a cold day. It's overcast and cold and freezing rain is in the forecast. Unfortunately, this is not a soup the kids will eat. So, the grown ups will eat this and for them it's a canned tomato soup with cheese. Not sure if it will be topped with cheddar or parm at this point.

So this soup does give me the opportunity to add my own touches. For example, I have to add 6 cups of chicken broth. I had 4 that were just plain from Swanson AND I happened to have 2 cups left over from when I made the Chicken & Dumplins' a few weeks ago. Let me tell you. Those 2 cups of homemade smell incredible. I am also adding my own Yukon Gold Potatoes. I love Yukons and I am sure I will go through the spice drawer and add something else.

Since it's not from scratch, it IS cheating a bit. I will let you know how it tastes.

Garlic Parmesean Risotto, Herb Roasted Carrots & Kebobs!

Sounds expensive right? Nope. Hard? Nope. Risotto is one of my most favorite dishes and it's very easy. Many people seem to think it's hard - because you to have to stir it a lot - or some excuse like that. Typically, I am in the kitchen doing something else - whether cooking doing the dishes or cleaning, so I am there and it's not that hard to stir every once in a while. The risotto recipe is heavily modified from the recipe on the back of the bag.

Herb Roasted Carrots :

About 6-7 carrots, sliced
Olive Oil
Dried Thyme
Kosher Salt

Preheat the oven to about 400 degrees. Slice up the carrots. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with dried thyme. Sprinkle salt over carrots too. Roast for about 35-45 mins. Done! Cost ~$1. I already had the olive oil and thyme, but if I broke down the cost for it -- maybe 25 cents.


Garlic Parmesan Risotto

chopped onion
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup Arborio rice (rice for risotto)
5 cups of vegetable stock
4-5 cloves of garlic
grated parm

Melt the butter over low heat, add the olive oil and onion. Brown until the onions are golden brown. Add the risotto. Stir for a min or 2. Add just enough vegetable stock until it covers the rice. As the rice absorbs the stock, continue stirring and adding stock little by little, just covering the rice. This will take about 20 mins or so. Add the garlic as you add the vegetable stock - little by little. Add the cheese towards the end of cooking and stir in. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, the risotto should be done and ready to serve!

This cost a little more. I had the risotto already. The bag originally cost about $3 and each bag is good for 3 batches - so about $1. The stock did cost about $3.50. All of the other little thing would probably be about 50 cents - so $5 for the risotto. It does make a TON. Plenty for dinner and enough for left overs. My son loves this.

Now, a note about the ingredients. Most recipes include chicken stock. Since my son is a vegetarian, I have been making it with vegetable stock. I will admit it's much richer with chicken stock, but he really likes risotto!

The last thing we had were kebobs from a store here in Madison called My Menu. I went there around the holidays to pick up some appetizers for the visiting family ($5.99 chicken wings, if you must know!) and I was given a total of 8 kebobs - for free! So, even though they were free with a purchase, I do consider them free because it was like 40 chicken wings, so $6 was a great deal even without the free kebobs. My son had a veggie burger (~$1) as his "protein" instead of kebobs.

So.... the meal was about $7.25 total for all 4 of us. Provided lots of leftovers and was DELICIOUS!

Pizza Night!

Saturday I made Pizza. I made 2 pizzas - basically because I had made enough pizza dough for 2. It also made it easier for everyone to have what they wanted. The recipe I was working from was from The Pioneer Woman Cooks cook book. If you haven't checked out her blog, do it. The pictures she takes make you want to make the recipe right then and there. I got the cook book for Christmas and have made at least 3 or 4 of the recipes so far (maybe more).

The recipe for the pizza crust was as follows.

1 tsp or 1/2 packet active yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more for drizzling

Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. On low speed, drizzle the olive oil until mixed in.

Stir the water and yeast mixture and then drizzle into the flour and oil mixture. Mix until the dough forms a ball.

In a new bowl, coat liberally with olive oil and put the dough in. Flip over until it is completely coated in oil. Cover and let set for an hour or 2 or in the fridge for up to 2 days.

To make the pizza preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Divide the dough in half and drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza pan (or stone!). Roll the dough out on the sheet. Layer on the desired toppings and bake for 8-10 mins!

Now, the pizza I made was the Potato Leek Pizza. I made a few modifications to her recipe, namely, no bacon ( I wanted to leave the door open for my son to try it, which he didn't) and no goat cheese (I AM trying to save money) and I added garlic.

Here's how I made it.
1 Large Yukon Gold Potato
2 Leeks
1lb fresh mozzarella
3 cloves minced garlic
Grated Parm
Pepper
Salt

I used my new Mandolin slicer to slice my potatoes very thin - like I was making potato chips. I also washed well the leeks (leeks are notorious for being dirty because of how they grow) and sauteed them for a few minutes with olive oil - until softened. I then placed the potatoes on the dough like shingles. Then added the mozzarella - big round white pieces of cheese all over the pizza. After the cheese I added the leeks and garlic. Topped it with salt, pepper and grated parm and cooked it up! It was better than I expected. Without the bacon, it needed the garlic. My kids chose not to eat this pizza so since I had the double recipe of dough, they got their own - half pepperoni and half onions & green pepper made "conventionally" with cheese and sauce. (their pizza is the 1st picture)

Turkey Chili

One of my other reasons for this blog is also to have an online digital record of my recipes that I like. After only one day, I have already managed to lose a recipe! See, I ripped out a page out of the "Real Simple" magazine to take to the grocery store to get my ingredients. What did I lose already? The page I tore out. I will find it, but this simply illustrates another reason for this. I am the queen of disorganization. Normally, it doesn't impede me much, but it can. Many times when I try to organize I put things away and can't find them (isn't that the excuse of every disorganized person?). But I digress. So, now I am going to tell you this recipe from memory - which luckily is one of my strong points. It was taken from the same Feb 2010 Real Simple magazine the 1st meal came from. Again, 'A Month of Meals under 400 calories'.

Turkey Chili

1 or 2 onions, chopped
1 large green pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1lbs of lean ground turkey
cumin
vegetable broth
fresh ground pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cans of kidney beans
chili powder
Tabasco
light sour cream
cilantro


Chop the onions and green peppers and cook for about 5 mins, or until tender. Add the garlic. I used a garlic press, but the recipe did say chopped. Cook for another minute or 2. Add the turkey and brown for about 5 mins. Add the cumin. The recipe was a teaspoon or so, but again, put in how much you need. Chili is very subjective so once it's done, you'll need to modify it for your own tastes. Once the veggies and turkey are cooked add the tomatoes, chili powder, beans & water. The recipe called for water, but I learned a few years back, sometimes adding broth gives it a little kick. I used vegetable because that's what I had - you can use chicken or just water. Because I used broth, I didn't add any extra salt. If you add water, make sure to add a little kosher salt.

Mix everything up and simmer for about 15 mins. Once it's all warm and bubbly, start seasoning it. I added a few dashes of Tabasco as well as some more Hot Chili Powder from Penzey's. It still isn't that hot, but good enough.

Once it's simmered for awhile, serve with the low fat sour cream and cilantro. I like to add lots of cilantro and just a little sour cream.

Enjoy!

Meal One - Honey Soy Glazed Salmon with Spinach & Peppers

Not a "cheap" meal, but good AND healthy. One of my secondary goals of this whole thing is to eat better - eat healthier. So, here's the 1st recipe. I made this last night. The Fish cost $12 for 4 servings so -- about $3/piece, plus the spinach & peppers were cheap. Each plate was probably $3.50/person including the stuff I had to buy, but can use for other recipes.
This recipe is from the current month of "Real Simple". It's part of their month of meals under 400 calories.

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon with Spinach & Peppers
Hands on time - 20 mins
total time - 20 mins
Serves 4

1 tbsp honey (I used a bit more)
3 tsp low sodium soy sauce (again, I used more)
1 salmon filet. ( I got 1 1/2 lb, they recommended a 1 1/4 lb)
Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
1 red bell pepper
1 tbsp chopped ginger (I didn't measure, just used a good amount)
3 bunches spinach with stems removed
Toasted Sesame Seeds

Heat the broiler. While it heats, combine the honey & 1 tsp of the soy sauce ( or like I do, mix some honey & soy sauce - what ever amount you'd like).

Place the salmon on the broiler tray and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Broil for 5 mins. Spoon the mixture over the salmon and broil until cooked completely. About 2-5 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in large skillet over medium high heat. At the bell pepper and cook until just tender - about 3-4 mins. Add the ginger. Then add the spinach and 1/2 tsp salt (more or less) until just wilted. Add the remaining 2 tsp of soy sauce.

Serve the spinach/pepper mix with the salmon. Add sesame seeds on top of spinach and salmon before serving.

Yum!!

Should be around 350 cal. 15 g fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 725 mg sodium, 36 g protein, 10 g carbs, 6 g sugar , 3 g fiber, 4 mg iron and 119 mg cal. Of course, if you don't meaure - like me, this is all approximate!

A Revelation

Why did I start this Blog? ANOTHER blog? Because a few days ago we decided to take a trip. Trips cost money. Dining out costs money. We are definitely guilty of being "lazy" and ordering pizza or running out to a restaurant because we just didn't want to cook. Sometimes it's easier for our family, too, because there are such wide varieties of tastes and preferences in our house. My husband and I like comfort food. Spicy food. My son is a vegetarian and is picky. If it doesn't "look" right, he won't touch it. My daughter is a carnivore, but a picky one too. Going to a restaurant often solves those problems - we can get what we want. But $30 here, $40 there, $20 here, goes fast. That's 3 'dining out' meals, but that could easily be 1 weeks worth of grocery money. So, I have 2 1/2 months to save my pennies.
The problem is money is tight and we want to take this trip. The bright side is that I LOVE to cook. So, I am going to try and post - daily - what I am making - whether it's something just my husband and I eat, or something that we all can appreciate. My goal is to make food that tastes GOOD, use different recipes, try new things and try to eat more vegetarian so that we can all sit down to one meal - not customized for just one or 2 people. It won't happen everyday, but it's what I am hoping to do. I won't tell you when or where we are going. It's a secret. But, rest assured it will be worth it.