From Hot Tea and Honey to Homemade Comfort Food

So...I guess I was destined to get hit with an end of the summer cold, but I did not expect it to kick my ass quite this badly.  On Saturday, I felt GREAT.  On Sunday, I felt good, but had the twinges of a sore throat.  Hubby and I still went on a 90 minute walk so I was obviously feeling okay...but as the day wore on, I felt punier and punier.  And woke up on Monday morning feeling like absolute crippy crap.  Let's just say thank goodness for hot tea with honey, naps and Nyquil.  I was so thankful to have Labor Day off so that I could completely relax and attempt recuperation.

Today was more of the same, though it was a workday so naps were not part of the plan.  But I was lucky to have an easier workload than usual and by mid-day, I was starting to feel like I might be on the upswing.  Hubby brought home Campbell's soup for lunch (who doesn't love some Chicken Noodle??!!) and by 4 I decided that I needed to cook up the steak in the outside fridge so that it doesn't go bad.  Was gonna fry up the chicken, but it has a later expiration date and also needed to soak in buttermilk overnight, so I made a detour and went with a steak and potatoes comfort food menu.  I included some kale chips and SteamFresh green beans and had dinner on the table in about 30-45 minutes.  Do you like how big the servings of greens are?

I know you're tired of hearing it, but both the steak and mashed potato recipes came from Melissa D'Arabian.  Again, I seem to identify with her ingredients and style, but do have to giggle that even though I am copying from a FAMOUS chef who is PAID for what they do, I still end up making slight tweaks.  Please go to the links above (and below) for the original recipes, and my small revisions are shown below. 

French Cut Steak

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (1 pound) skirt steak, cut in half (I used flat iron steak cut into four pieces)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (I used olive oil)
• 1/4 cup butter, divided
• 2 medium sweet onions, sliced (I only used 1)
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup beef stock or broth

Directions

In a small bowl, combine spices and salt and pepper. Liberally season the steak with the rub and let rest 15 minutes on the counter.  Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over low heat. Add onions, season and cook until soft and caramelized, about 20 minutes.

In a large saute pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil with 1 tablespoon butter over high heat. Place steaks in the pan and sear until nicely browned, about 3 minute per side for medium-rare.  I do like mine medium rare, so I pulled mine off to rest about this time.  I put the other ones into the oven in the skillet to continue cooking so it could be more of a medium/medium well doneness. 

Once to your desired temperature, let the meat rest for 10 minutes.  Place the saute pan (that you did the steak in) over high heat and deglaze with white wine and vinegar until reduced by 1/2. Add onions to the pan with beef broth and reduce by half. Salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. (I did not add the extra 2 tbsp of butter).  Slice steak and fan to serve. Top with sauce.  You can see that the medium/medium well is on the left with medium rare on the right.  VERY flavorful.  I put the steak over the onions in the serving dish, but when I plated it above, I put the onions and sauce over the steak. 

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 large russet potatoes, peeled, halved, and cut into chunks (I used smaller potatoes - about 10.  I did not peel them, but for "prettiness", I would peel them next time)
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for cooking water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, warmed
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Bacon bits (my optional add in)

Directions

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil, then cook until the potatoes fall off a fork when pierced, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving about a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Place the potatoes in a bowl and mix in the butter, salt, buttermilk, and green onions and stir to blend. Add a tablespoon or 2 of cooking liquid if necessary to obtain desired consistency.  Add in bacon bits if you'd like.  Salt and pepper liberally and serve.

As I said above, I made some kale chips and simple Steam Fresh green beans to round out the menu, and it was a delicious and "comforting" meal.

Tomorrow night is Trivia night, and then Thursday will be my first attempt at frying chicken...yet another recipe from Melissa :)  Gonna get a good night's sleep tonight, so g'nite and perhaps I will say hello to everyone tomorrow!

Tasty Tilapia with Lentil Quinoa Salad!

Again, Melissa D'Arabian has provided a delicious recipe for an awesome grainy side dish!  I was a bit apprehensive as I have not had lentils in a LONG time, but it was delicious!  The tilapia was not *as* healthy as I usually cook, but still a lot better than fried food for sure!

Melissa's Lentil Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 lime, zested (I only used half of this)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a large microwave-proof bowl with a cover, add the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover and microwave on high for 9 minutes. Let it sit for 2 minutes then stir. Quinoa should be tender enough to eat, but with a little "pop" upon biting.

Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a saucepan, simmer the lentils in 2 cups water until the lentils are tender, but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.
In a small bowl, whisk the mustard and vinegar together, and drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Add the garlic powder, lime zest, and salt, and pepper, to taste.  I also added in a tsp of sugar b/c the dressing tasted a bit better for me.

To assemble the salad: In a medium salad bowl, mix the quinoa, lentils, green onions, and chopped cilantro. Top the salad with the dressing, toss to coat and serve.

Tilapia was super easy.  I simply used some pre-made scampi sauce and sauteed the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Again, I know there are healthier ways to make it, but I was just craving that buttery, garlicy richness and it definitely delivered!

Rounded out the meal with SteamFresh broccoli - as close to fresh as you can get :)  I have learned to only microwave it for 4 and 1/2 minutes so that it keeps its crunchiness; cooking it more seems to make it mushy.

Even though we were both a little under the weather today, hubby and I still ventured out on a walk - one that took about 90 minutes and was extremely hot and humid.  We were both feeling quite ready for the walk to end by the time we got home!  This was AFTER picking up my race packet, which included an AWESOME shirt and a number I know I will not be wearing.  Though part of me was sad, I also know for sure it is the right decision.  I already found a 5K in early October that is also super nearby so I would have a month to train and train well.  And then look for a 10K and move towards that!

Really glad tomorrow is another day to sleep in!  Just kinda feeling icky, so it will be an early night!  Glad my daughter comes back tomorrow!  Missing her bigtime but know she is having fun...

Melissa D'Arabians Shrimp Recipe and Tofu Shirataki Fettucine Alfredo!

Wow.  Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like you completely hit the nail on the head with a meal, and it is also healthy?  That was tonight - DELICIOUS!  Thank you Melissa D'Arabian for an AMAZING shrimp recipe tonight!  I paired it with a brand new endeavour using Tofu Shirataki Fettucine noodles...and when you can eat Fettucine Alfredo with no guilt, it makes it just better and better!  A simple side salad, and here was my delicious and healthy plate for the evening!

I am still learning how to take these pictures so that they look more inviting, but let's just say that Melissa's shrimp over this HEALTHY fettucine alfredo with a side salad was just DELISH.

Let me post her shrimp recipe first.  The ONLY thing I would have changed would have been to use 2 tbsp instead of one of the pesto mixture when stirring in the shrimp b/c it would give it more of a crispy sear with the delicious elements it included.  But it was super delicious as is!  Here are the ingredients, minus the pecans because I accidentally left them off my grocery list so sweet hubby was at the store buying them.

I did want to share a "trick" when you are peeling and deveining the shrimp to save on extra plates etc.  I kept the peeled shrimp in the middle of the white paper it came on.  I then did the peeling and put those parts to the right of the shrimp, and put the peeled shrimp to the left.  Once complete, I could take the peeled shrimp off and do any deveining needed.  And just simply roll up the white paper with the shells and put in the plastic bag it came in so that it won't stink up your garbage can!  Just a tip :)

Ingredients

Pesto:

• 1 lime
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro leaves (I used about a cup to make sure it wasn't too overpowering)
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted chopped pecans
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp:

• 3/4 pound raw medium-size shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt

Directions

Pesto: Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the lime and juice the entire lime for about 2 tablespoons of juice. (P.S.  go ahead and zest the whole lime so that you will have 1-2 tsp of zest for future!  Just set it aside in a separate container.)  Combine the zest and juice with the cilantro, green onions, chopped pecans, chopped garlic, sugar, vegetable oil, and extra-virgin olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the mixture until well-combined, but still slightly chunky. Season the pesto with salt, and pepper, to taste.

Shrimp: In a bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of the pesto. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the shrimp until just opaque and pink, about 3 minutes. Put a generous spoonful of pesto into a serving bowl. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Serve the remaining pesto on the side or freeze for another use.

I have decided that Melissa must be my long lost sister.  Her choice of ingredients is SO similar to mine and I feel lucky to use her as a base and make teeny tiny adjustments.

Fettucine Alfredo Using Tofu Shirataki Fettucine Noodles

My sister and niece had told me about these during their recent visit.  Okay - who doesn't LOVE pasta?  But who hates the carbs and calories that come with them?  For an 8 oz package of these beauties, there are 40 calories total with .5 grams of fat and 3 carbs, although there are 2 grams of fiber, so basically that's 1 net carb.  NO sugar and 1 gram of protein with a few trace vitamins.  I was doubtful until I made the recipe on the bag which is from Hungry Girl - I have to go check out her site b/c this was seriously rock star!

HG's Tofu Shirataki Fettucine Alfredo

1 package of the noodles
2 tbsp fat free cream cheese (okay - ours was low fat)
2 tsp reduced fat Parmesan grated topping
1 tsp fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the Tofu noodles thoroughly.  Parboil for 2-3 minutes, then dry very well.  Add cream cheese, parmesan and sour cream.   Mix well.  Microwave for 1 additional minute and then mix again.  Add salt and pepper. 

This recipe is approximately 95 calories with 2 grams of fat for the whole thing!  Hubby and I split it so b/c my Parmesan was not reduced fat and cream cheese was low fat (not fat free) I would guesstimate that total was maybe 180 calories - so that is 90 calories a piece!!! 

I definitely had my doubts - but no longer!  It is much more expensive than regular pasta, but if you like your carbs like we do, it is SO worth it so enjoy it without the guilt!

Paired it all with a side salad

and the meal was filling, healthy and if I had to guesstimate calorie wise, less than 500 calories!

For those who are following my fitness journey, I had an AWESOME walk on the treadmill at 4 mph with incline between 4 and 6.  At times, my calves and shin splints were a little mega sore, so I went back and forth.  Burned 540 calories and felt GREAT! 

Tomorrow we get to SLEEP in as late as we want!!!  We plan on taking a nice long walk in our hilly neighborhood and get some much needed Vitamin D.

Thanks again Sue and Sarah for the turn on to the noodles!  Will definitely be playing around with those quite a bit in the near future!!!  Not gonna even tell Julia of the substitution!!!

A Fancy Schmancy Meal...and a TOUGH Run!

Back in late July, I was proud enough of making a yummy Melissa D'Arabian recipe, then posting to her wall about it and she commented (so I thought I was the coolest cat ever)...but I guess I never posted it or took any pics.  Let's just say that it was good enough to make the cut again and was just as wonderful as it was last time!  Just by serving the rib(s) over polenta and with a side salad, it was a restaurant quality meal and on the cheap!

Here is the full episode recipe from Food Network TV, and below are my "common folk" notes because I actually watched the episode and took notes instead of following her recipe online.

Country Style Pork Ribs

1 pound or so of country style pork ribs, bone in
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Vegetable Oil
Garlic
Tomato Paste (I used tomato soup b/c I was out)
1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
Chicken Stock
Red Pepper Flakes (I omitted)
Bay Leaves

Start by salting and peppering the ribs and sear them in a hot pan with olive oil.  You will want a nice crust on them, so get the pan.  Once they are browned, take them out and start to build a braising liquid by adding in some chopped celery, carrots and onions.  You may need a touch more oil, and also add some chopped garlic and tomato paste (or tomato soup worked in a pinch tonight).  Add in 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to deglaze the pan.  Use some red pepper flakes if you want some heat; or a few bay leaves.  Add the ribs back in and add chicken stock - just enough to cover halfway up the meat.  Bring that to a simmer and then put the covered pan in the oven at 350 degrees.  Cook for an hour with the lid on and 1/2 hour with the lid off.

Creamy Polenta

1 cup of milk
1 cup of half and half (I used almond milk tonight b/c we were out)
1/3 cup of coarse corn grits (polenta)
butter
parmesan cheese

Melissa says the ratio of cornmeal to liquid is 1 to 7 - but you start with 1 to 6 in a saucepan using 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of half and half and 1/3 cup of coarse corn grits.  Add in some butter and salt.  Whisk them and then spray a slow cooker with cooking spray.  After 20 minutes or so, I then poured the polenta mixture in there and cooked it for a few hours on high.  I cooked it about an hour and a half tonight and it was a good consistency.  This way you don't have to "nurse" it but can stir it once every 30 minutes or so.  Right before serving, add in some grated parmesan cheese, and if you want (and if your calorie content allows, you can add in a bit more half and half (to get to the 1-7 ratio) and butter).  But with just the cheese, it's still tasty.  Mine looks so messy - remember - I'm still learning!

So the meal was the good part of the day.  The tough part was my run - my 10 K is this coming Monday and I know for a fact I am undertrained.  But I was bound and determined to do 5 miles today so that at least I know I'm close.  And I did - but it was not pretty.  My knee was aching, my hips started hurting and just as I was nearing the finish line I started to get nauseous - a combination of speeding it up too much in the last 5 minutes along with not eating nearly enough throughout the day to fuel my body with energy. 

So literally, I finished, hopped off the treadmill, and let's just say I had a quick "puke-a-rooskie" but then felt fine.   I know gross - TMI.  But hey...I'm hoping some runners out there might have some pointers for me so that is not how I cross the finish line on Monday!  Definitely learned my lesson fueling up during the day.  Timewise it was okay...not my goal, but close to it, and I really need to be sure I am setting realistic expectations for myself so that I am not disappointed.  I did stretch out a lot, then took a nice hot bath with mineral spirits or whatever they are called - to help with aches and pains. 

I'm trying to figure out my game plan for the next few days...don't want to over do it for sure, but also I want to keep on running.  I'm thinking maybe 4 tomorrow, walking on Thursday, 6 on Friday and then walking on Saturday and Sunday so that I have fresh legs on Monday.  Does anyone have any thoughts other than "you should have started training sooner than just two weeks ago!!!"  It's just that the race is so close by and I drove the course today...relatively flat and it's one where you turn around at the halfway point and I like those better for some reason.

Thank goodness my awesome supportive husband has all the faith in the world in me that I CAN DO THIS!  Now it just has to rub off on me :)

Alrighty - a few more chapters of my book "Pope Joan" and then off to bed.  I planned on an earlier bedtime but I am just way too entrenched in my night owl ways!

Oops...Chicken Again...But Yummy and Different

So...as I've stated before, I'm a huge fan of Melissa D'Arabian.  I just love that she won Next Food Network TV Star as an "at home cook" - someone who didn't really have culinary experience besides being a mom who cooks.  Also, her recipes are budget friendly, using common ingredients.  This way when you are encountering something like a STILL BROKEN fridge, you can thaw out a protein and make a meal with what is on hand in the fridge.

Let me start out by saying, for those of you in the Johns Creek/Cumming area, Super H Mart is an awesome place to shop for chicken, steak, fish, seafood, fruits and vegetables.  The prices are ridiculously low and I have never encountered any issues.  I will say that if you are buying fish or seafood, I would recommend that you cook right away b/c the fridge shelf life is short.  I had some chicken thighs from there that I had frozen (6 thighs for $4.80!!) so I defrosted them and did some research on the internet looking for a recipe.  I knew along the lines of what I wanted - sort of a braised French type dish, and her "Roasted Garlic Clove Chicken" recipe was perfect, with some slight modifications.

Here is the link to Melissa's recipe, and then I have shown the changes below.

My Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
5 tsp of minced garlic
olive oil
butter
2 tsp herbs de provence (I did not have this; I looked up the ingredients for it, and I had 5 out of the 7 spices needed.  So I mixed together 1 tsp each of basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme and rosemary.  I was missing fennel and savory, but it didn't seem to matter tastewise)
1 tsp flour
chicken stock
lemon juice
white wine
balsamic vinegar
bread (to dip in the yummy sauce)
spinach

Rinse and pat the chicken dry.  Liberally season with salt and pepper and allow to temper on a cutting board while you prepare the garlic.  In a large ovenproof saute pan, cook the garlic in olive oil and butter (I used about 1 tsp of each).  Let it get nice and golden brown, appx 10 minutes.  

Remove the garlic from the pan.  Increase the heat to medium high and brown the thighs skin side down until the skin is golden and crispy - 5 - 10 minutes.  Turn the chicken over and sprinkle with the herbs.

Add the garlic back to the pan and place the hot pan in the oven.  Bake the chicken until cooked through, 25 minutes or so.  After that, I returned the pan to the stove, and took the chicken out.  I added in some chicken stock, lemon juice, white wine, balsamic vinegar, and flour.  I let that simmer for a bit, then added the chicken back in, making sure that the skin was above the liquid so that it did not lose its crispiness. 

When I was ready to serve, I put the chicken onto a platter, spooned some sauce over it, and put the rest of the sauce in a small bowl.  I also used the pan that still had some of the remnants of the sauce and cooked a bunch of spinach in that.

My sides were multigrain angel hair pasta and cut green beans, with the bread warmed and sliced for dipping.

This would be a great meal for company b/c everything could be done in advance and warming while you are serving appetizers to your guests.  It will definitely be on my rotation list for tried and true recipes!

Team Trivia, Melissa D'Arabian and My Thoughts!

First of all, there are no food pics for tonight, just the above.  It is our Wednesday tradition to play Team Trivia at Buckhead Pizza and we were LUCKY enough to have the Andrews family join us.  Yep - we loved every second of it with my dear friend Jenn, her daughters Kate and Sarah, Kate's friend Kylie, Jenn's son Wyatt and his friend Jake.  Fun night, great food, and SECOND PLACE!!!

And now...on to my top topic of conversation tonight.  I'm sorry but WHO has their food network star IDOL comment on a post on their wall? Well, Melissa D'Arabian did on my post that I put on her wall - the one where I recreated her DELICIOUS meal!  And I was like a kid in the candy store.  Julia decided I was "stalking" her, but NO, I was not!  I just enjoy her show and I like her FB page!  Just so excited to have her actually answer a question on a live chat AND comment on a post on her wall!

So....now to the big stuff.  FB vs blog.  Some of y'all were SO sweet to make a note on my FB wall that you liked the blog...or you liked the pics...or you liked both.  WELL.  I am going to keep BOTH.  I was such a goofball about the blog, thinking it was about everyone else when actually, it is all about ME!  I am going to continue to do the blog and I don't care who reads it or if anyone even does.  That is for me!  It may not always be about food (this one ventured a little bit off track and was fun)!  I will keep it up and will just share my link from each post to whet (wet?) your whistle :)

Thanks all!!!

Mari