Tilapia in a Mustard Sauce with Roasted Broccoli - from Ina Garten!!!

Thanks to a great friend of mine Sharon, I now know a little about the "Barefoot Contessa", otherwise known as Ina Garten.  On a walk one day in the neighborhood during the visit with my family who lives in Florida, my sister, niece and I stopped by her house to visit, and a cookbook caught my eye.  I didn't know much about Ina, and Sharon was sweet enough to let me borrow it.  Finally 2 months later, I tried two of the recipes in there and both were quite tasty!

Mustard-Roasted Fish

Believe it or not, I followed the recipe exactly, so you can just go to the link to get all the information.  The only difference was that I *thought* I bought whole grain mustard, but it was actually whole grain garlic mustard.  But I love garlic, and it actually added a tasty flavor to the overall dish.  It was totally fine in an ovenproof baking dish (that I did coat with cooking spray) and I used tilapia which is such a light, easy to work with fish.  It picks up whatever flavors you give it and my family and I thought it was a huge success.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

I followed this one to a tee as well - it was a recipe to make 6 servings, so I did cut it back quite a bit to serve our family of 3.  Her tip to toast the pine nuts is to sautee them in a dry sautee pan on low heat, and it worked.  You definitely want to serve it while it's piping hot and soaks in all the flavors from the other ingredients!  Another tasty, interesting dish!

Since I was making two dishes basically from scratch, I made the other side dishes a little easier on myself.  I used organic rotini and after it was cooked and drained, I simply mixed it with pesto sauce and topped with parmesan cheese.  And my faves...those No Sugar Ruby Red Grapefruit slices.  They are a bit pricey, but they ensure that I'm getting my Vitamin C without a lot of added stuff.

And here's my plated meal that was delicious and nutritious!  Topping a small amount of pasta with the broccoli made for a veggie heavy meal!

It's always fun to find new chefs and recipes, so if you have any favorites, let me know!  I still owe a post from a Chicken Chili that I made Saturday night from the Hungry Girl Cookbook.  But no one is going to know what to do with the TWO posts I put up tonight!!!  Things have just been kind of crazy, and sometimes I'm playing Pandora on my phone and forget to take pictures - and can't imagine a food blog without pics.  So...tomorrow night is a Roasted Shrimp Cocktail from Ina's cookbook that looks quite tasty!  See you soon :)

Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Chicken (Another Hungry Girl Hit!)

I promise you - Lisa Lillien, aka Hungry Girl, does NOT pay me to advertise her recipes.  She might not even like me since I sometimes post things that can't be found online - BUT - hopefully you will be looking further for her delicious recipes and buying a cookbook or two yourself.  She was even on Good Morning America today featuring her breakfast options which are amazing!

Now here is an EASY and DELICIOUS filling recipe that your family will love!  You'd think bacon would be off the table - and turkey bacon can be used - but the center cut bacon is a lot less in fat as well and makes you feel like you're not giving anything up b/c it is truly bacon, just a lot leaner and crispy.

Nutritional Information

This is per serving for (1) 5 oz Chicken Breast Serving (I made 4 since I have a family of 3, and just adapted the ingredients accordingly)

One 5-ounce raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet
2 tbsp BBQ sauce with appx 45 calories per 2 tablespoon serving
2 slices center cut bacon or turkey bacon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray.  Season chicken with a dash each of salt and pepper and coat with bbq sauce.  Wrap bacon around chicken and place in the pan.  **For this part, I was a little confused as to how to roll it - but I just played around with it and figured it out.  Then realized there was a picture on another web page!  Ooops**  You can see Lisa's picture here.

Bake in the oven until chicken is fully cooked, about 20 minutes.  Set oven to broil and broil chicken until bacon is crispy, about 4 minutes.

Serve and ENJOY!!!

I served it up with a risotto, but didn't really do a step by step on how I made that.  Basic steps are to sautee some chopped peppers, onions and celery in olive oil.  Once soft, add in 1 cup of arborio rice and sautee for a few minutes, then gradually add in chicken stock.  Along the way, continue to add stock to keep the risotto from drying out.  Also add in a touch of parmesan cheese, lemon juice, and a smidgen of half and half.  It's one of my husband's favorites, so although I know it's not "Hungry Girl" worthy, I will continue to indulge him and simply practice portion control for myself.

Simple side dishes - sauteed spinach with some garlic and mixed with parmesan cheese...and some No Sugar Added ruby red grapefruit - love that stuff!

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!

A Vegetarian Meal!

I needed a dish tonight that didn't call for too many ingredients, and this was because our kitchen fridge went on the fritz today.  Instead of the 37 degree temp it was supposed to be, it was 52...and kept on rising throughout the day.  Luckily, we have a refrigerator in the garage, and I quickly stocked that and also filled a cooler with other items (mainly tightly sealed sauces etc).  Once the fridge was completely cleaned out, I realized that it also needed some major CLEANING which I did - scrubbing and wiping until I was satisfied.  Ewwww...this will definitely inspire me to do a deep clean on the fridge more often! 

So...as I was putting the perishables in either the garage fridge or the cooler, I thought about what recipes called for a small amount of ingredients.  The first one that came to mind was a Pasta that featured a Creamy Butternut Squash Sauce.  I bought the squash the other day knowing this was going to be a new "try" and I checked the other ingredients and score - I had them all.

I think I mentioned that one of my goal is to work with new ingredients at least once a week with a goal of trying out new foods 3-4 times a week.  I want to learn how to peel them, cut them, make them.  I am interested in the textures and tastes and intrigued by how many items are out there that I have never once tasted, let alone cooked.

Butternut squash was one of those.  Growing up, my mom made yellow squash, and I have to say, I HATED it.  She baked it and I hated it.  She put it in a cheese squash casserole and I hated it.  It's cousin the rutebaga I hated even more...so let's just say that I have never really set out incorporating root vegetables into any of my creations.

Reading this recipe made me want to try it.  My first lesson was in cutting the butternut squash.  I just can't tell you how thankful I am for the internet; I watched a video and read some different articles.  The most interesting discussion seems to be whether or not to peel the skin, so in my adventurous quest for perfection, I did both.  One of the squash I cut in half, removed the seeds, peeled and diced.  The other one I did the same but kept the skin on.  I roasted both in cubes on two separate pans for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and I have to say that the taste really didn't matter at all.  I did realize that I had an awful lot of diced squash, so decided to use the one with the skin for the pasta sauce and the one that was peeled as simply a roasted vegetable.

Penne with Butternut Squash Cream Sauce
She adapted from Tart Reform and I adapted a bit from hers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta (I used a mixture of rigatoni and rotini)
• 2 lb butternut squash  (I used one squash for the sauce and the other for a side dish)
• 1 cup half and half  - yogurt might be a viable substitute but I went with the real thing
• 1/2 cup parmesan plus more to top - you bet I used a little more on top
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional - I did not use any)

1. Dice squash and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, until fork tender
2. When squash is done, transfer to a pot on the stove, add half and half, and puree with an immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in nutmeg.  (Ruh roh.  I don't have an immersion blender and wasn't even sure of what one was!)  I used an old fashioned potato masher and just got it as smooth as I could which was still creamy.
3. While the puree heats to a boil, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until al dente. I went ahead and stirred the parmesan cheese directly into the squash mixture and added a touch of the pasta cooking water.  I only used a little bit of the pasta cooking water b/c I knew I wasn't mixing directly with the pasta.  If you were mixing the sauce with the pasta, you would probably want to use the full 1/4 cup.  But I knew my 15 year old would want her pasta without any sauce and didn't want it to get too watery)

That's it - it's all done and was delicious.  I served the roasted diced squash (sprinkling with salt and pepper and roasting for a few extra minutes to make them crispy.  They tasted a lot like baked sweet potato fries.  Added a green salad and that made a meal!  Unfortunately, for some reason my photos did not come through on my phone.  NO IDEA of what happened, but imagine a plate of rigatoni and rotini topped with a delicious sauce made of pureed butternut squash and half and half, with a side of roasted diced butternut squash and a side salad.  Tasty, healthy and very filling.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin - A Treat After an Awesome Weekend at the Lake

It is really hard to believe that August is already here, though summer is not over for sure!  We were lucky enough to spend not one, but two days at the lake, and it was a perfect hoorah before school starts back on Thursday.

We grilled up the steaks on Saturday - I must say that the marinade is a true winner!  That was the recipe I posted the other day, and if/when I learn how to do links I will go back through one day so I can click on that word marinade and it will take you directly to the post where the recipe is!  We also grilled peaches again, and with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of brown sugar, they were just delicious!

Saturday's weather was iffy, but Sunday was GORGEOUS!  We got a pretty good head start and went up to our friend's boat that they had very graciously allowed us to use for the day.  This time, we also decided to rent a speed boat and do a little tubing and exploring and though it was quite expensive, it was incredibly fun!

It was hubby, me, my daughter and 2 of her friends, and we spent the first 4 hours speeding around Lanier.  With my recent tailbone injury of some sort (still not sure of how it is bruised; could be too much working sitting down!), there were some times of grimacing when we would hit a big wave.  When we found a relatively quiet cove, we let the tubing again.  The first few runs were the girls - 2 at a time and the squeals of laughter and looks of horror on their faces when the boat took a sharp turn was priceless. 

When we were down to less than a half hour of rental on the boat, I decided to be brave and took a turn.  Obviously, hubby knew to drive a little slower, though the first 10 seconds or so of the video we took, I am screaming "faster!"  My goal was simple - tube for about 5 minutes, then use the stop signal that I was done.  No way was I going to be thrown off!  I achieved my goal and got back on the boat proud and smiling. 

We got back to the docked boat and enjoyed lounging on the upper deck, floating in the water, doing flips and tricks off the tube (yep, even me) and just enjoying the gorgeous day.  Finally, it was time to head home and I knew the pork tenderloin had been marinading since Friday so it was ready for some grilling!  I showed the marinaded pic the other day; here is the final delicious tenderloin after grilling.  The secret is definitely lower heat, longer cooking, and making sure to give each of the 4 sides a turn.

The other sides were easy - roasted red potatoes and my "cheat" Steamfresh broccoli and cauliflower.  For the roasted potatoes, all I did was put them on a lightly sprayed pan skin side down.  I did a light sprinkling of olive oil over them all, and then sprinkled herbs/spices.  I think I used rosemary, salt and pepper.  I do love fresh veggies, but in a pinch, frozen ones are very close in nutrition and taste.  Recipe for the pork marinade below and picture of the full meal as well!  Enjoy!

Marinade:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine
4 small green onions
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (Yes - I really did use fresh!  And the easiest way to peel is with a spoon!)

Add the green onions and garlic to the soy sauce and wine.  Add the pepper and ginger and mix well.  Remove any excess fat from the pork tenderloin.  I used a fork to pierce the pork, and then covered it with the marinade, storing it overnight and flipping it every once in awhile. 

Allow the pork to warm to room temperature about 45 minutes before grilling.  Use medium heat and grill it evenly, flipping on each side to ensure this.  The internal temperature needs to be 145 to 150 degrees fahrenheit, so you will want a meat thermometer.  You do NOT want pink pork!  Cut it into slices and voila.  When the weather cools, I will share a delicious pork tenderloin recipe that is stuffed with diced apples, white bread, etc.

Pre-Olympics Fiesta

So...I've basically been off of the internet for most of the day because I wanted to make sure I did NOT  see any spoilers about the Women's All Around Gymnastics event.  We are 4 minutes away until it starts, and let me just say that I literally stayed off of most of the internet all day because I wanted to be SURE I did not see any spoilers like I did on the night of the Ladies Team competition.  As a former gymnast, this night excites me like no others, even missing out on seeing some of my nearest and dearest friends.  It's just that important to me.

Thank goodness both the Food Network site and blogs were safe and I ventured out looking for new stuff and man did I ever LUCK OUT!  My friend who lives in Cali (shout out to John P whom I have "known" since high school) has been sharing a blog called Gilded something.  I will share the FULL name and link after gymnastics is over, but I am scared to go out to FB to get the whole link for fear of spoilers.  Let me just say that this gal can BAKE and the dinner recipes I found were very much my style.  She seems to like elegant food, but not in an overcomplicated way.  She *may* even inspire me to try some baking.

Anyways, I found a Creamy Chicken Flautas recipes from her blog, and a Mexican Rice recipe from Paula Deen on Food Network.  For the flautas, I actually MEANT to follow it to the letter; I did accidentally leave one ingredient out, and I have to say that I really liked the freshness without the cheese, though I am sure that it would be good with it as well.  And believe it or not, I MEANT to alter Paula's recipe.  I liked the concept, but had my own vision.  So here we have it - Thursday night Mexican Pre-Olympic Fiesta.

Here is the link to her blog!   Will try to figure out how to do "tags" and "links" and stuff...sorry...still learning!

Creamy Chicken Flautas - from Emily's blog

Ingredients:

3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup salsa
4 oz diced green chiles
freshly squeezed lime juice from 1/2 a lime
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
3 cloves garlic, minced or garlic pressed
3 tbsp chopped cilantro - ironically, our grocery store was out of fresh, so I finally tried the organic paste and let me just say I am in love with it.  It lasts for 3 months and gives a huge burst of flavor!
2-3 green onions, chopped
2 cups shredded chicken (I used a rotissirie chicken from Kroger and took off the skin and shredded it as suggested by Emily)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (oops! - left it out!)

Tortillas - I used the small size - corn - but I will say that corn tortillas have a tendency to tear.  I love the flavor of the corn tortillas, but if anyone  has advice on how to keep them from tearing, please tell me.  I used 10 tortillas for the above filling with some leftover filling
Cooking Spray
Kosher Salt (oops - I had sea salt and used that.  Will google it later and see what the difference is.  I love learning all this new stuff!)

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  I realized I was out of pp, so I used tin foil.  I think with the corn tortillas, I could have used a lower oven temp as I overcooked them a bit - but I did love the crispiness that they had!
2.  In a large bowl, mix all ingredients in the first block (up to the tortillas) and stir until they are thoroughly combined.
3.  Heat the stack of tortillas you are going to use for 30 seconds in the microwave so that they are soft and pliable.   As per Emily, if you find that you're one short and need to heat an extra one, don't do it by itself for 30 seconds - maybe only 10 seconds.
4.  Lay the tortilla flat and spoon 2-3 tbsp of filling in a straight line on the tortilla.  Most people say to do it down the center, but again - as per Emily, do it a bit closer to the edge you are rolling up so you can make it tighter.

5.  Once it's rolled up, place the filled tortilla on the prepared baking sheet with the edge of the tortilla hidden on the bottom so that it doesn't roll around on the baking sheet.  You can arrange these pretty close together, but of course you also want enough room for air to circulate around them.
6.  Once all  tortillas are rolled up and placed on the baking sheet, lightly spray with cooking spray and sprinkle kosher salt (or sea salt in my case) over the tops of them.
7.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on the edges.  I only baked for 10 minutes or so and again, probably b/c of the corn,  and they were a bit crispier than I would have liked which is why I would lower the temp for next time.  Let me just say that Emily's picture is much prettier but hey - this is my first time making this.  I wonder if flour would crisp up as well. 

8.  As per the blog, these are GREAT for freezing!  Emily got this from Annie's Eats which was originally from Our Best Bites (I'm still learning all this blog stuff) and the note says:  "To freeze before baking, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill the assembled taquitos 30-60 minutes.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag.  To bake from the freezer, simply add a few additional minutes to the original baking time, until the filling is warmed through. 
9.  Serve hot from the oven with extra salsa, hot sauce and sour cream.

Now onto the Mexican Rice.  Like I said, it was originally Paula Deen's recipe, but this one I INTENTIONALLY changed.

Mexican Rice - See the original ingredients in the link, and below is what I used

Edit note - next time I will half this recipe for our family of 3 - it made a LOT and we are not the best at eating rice leftovers.  But man was it good.  I'm trying to figure out a way to repurpose it :)

2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups yellow rice with saffron flavoring
1 and 1/2 cups fresh pico de gallo
3 ounces of diced green chilies)
2 cups water
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 can Black beans (drained)
1 can canned Corn with Peppers (drained)
2 tbsp Crema

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the rice, onion, peppers (or in my case pico de gallo) and garlic (nix that).  The recipe said to cook until the rice is browned and the veggies are tender, but in my case, after about 5 minutes, I opted to add in the other ingredients for fear the rice would not soften.  I then stirred in the water, chili powder and salt and also added in some black beans and corn with peppers (would've added tomatoes but it was already in the pico de gallo) and brought to a boil.  Oh...I also added about 2 tbsp of my new discovery Crema.  :)  I reduced the heat and simmered, covered, until the rice was tender, about 15 minutes.

What I loved about the meal was that it was Mexican, but tasted much lighter than your average Mexican meal.  DEFINITELY lighter than eating Mexican out, but I really didn't miss the cheese!  The flavors in both dishes were bold and flavorful, adding spice without being spicy.  I did add in a small side salad so we could get our greens with the leftover black beans and corn and my favorite new dressing!

Here is my plate with a smidge of sour cream & a touch of the YUMMY cilantro paste on the flauta. 

 Love it that the hubby went back for a nice portion of seconds!  Ole!  Me gusta la comida Mexican!!!

Got Back on that Grill!

After the scary fire the other night, I have been a little hesitant to grill.  I definitely did the salmon in the oven because I was very scared that the teriyaki sauce would increase my chances of another fire.  But I had to look fear in the face and do my thing, and I'm glad I did!  Tonight's menu was Grilled Chicken Drummettes, Roasted Broccoli, Leftover Cauliflower "Potatoes" and a Summer Salad based on something called "Fire and Ice."

Of course the first thing to do is start to marinate the meat, so again, having this blog is helping me remember what I put into the marinade because I took a quick pic.  I used some light salad dressings, basil, garlic, red onion, and two different spice blends - one that was called "Citrus and Tangy" and one that was "Asian".  Also added in a touch of rice wine vinegar and some of my favorite Soy Vey teriyaki sauce.

From there, marinated the drummettes, making sure they were all coated for the best flavors.

I just love broccoli, but get bored with the usual steaming of it, so I googled a recipe and played around with it.  After chopping the broccoli into large florets, I put together a mixture of olive oil and garlic and tossed the broccoli in that.  I roasted it for 10 minutes at 400 - the recipe called for 20 minutes at 425, but that just seemed like overkill.  While it was cooking, I put together a mixture of lemon zest, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, basil, and the last bit of the herbed goat cheese I used for the figs Thursday night.  It also called for roasted pine nuts; I didn't have any so went to roast some sliced almonds but missed out on the timer so the nuts didn't make it!  Topped with bread crumbs and cooked it for the 10 minutes or so and final result on right.  Tasted great and I will keep on playing around with it.

Somehow no one in our family except for me likes tomatoes, so this one was just for me!  My next door neighbor had given me some delicious FRESH tomatoes - the kind you can just inhale the smell.  I chopped them into quarters, added in some cucumber pieces (peeled first) and the balsamic onions from the other night.  That's all this needed, along with 1/2 hour or so for the flavors to blend.  SUMMERY and FRESH!

Then it was time to grill.  I made sure the grill stayed on medium heat, and kept my eyes on it for signs of smoking.  These drummettes are small, so just 6 minutes per side cooked them perfectly with a bit of a crunch, but not a burn!

In an effort to cut back on carbs, we served up the cauliflower mashed "potatoes" again, topping with new chives, and here was our tasty dinner.  Quick and easy too!