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Category: savory

14 Oct

Tuna salad sans mayo!

We’ve been living off of food from family & neighbors for the past week or so. It’s awesome!

Today I was craving a salad though…so I decided to make us something healthy & special.

This little salad is FANTASTIC on crusty toasty french bread…and it’s great in another salad.

tuna salad!

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Tuna Salad sans mayo:

2 cans tuna (water packed)
1 can drained & rinsed navy beans (I normally use cannellini beans- but we were out!)
1 handful chopped Italian parsley
1/2 red onion (chopped)
4 vine ripened tomatoes chopped
juice of 1 lemon
splash of red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil (it could have been more- but I seasoned to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

Gather all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix it all up!!

Today I added it to mixed greens, with cucumbers, avocado and walnuts with a red wine vinaigrette.

TASTY.

26 Aug

Indian Carrot Salad

the last bit of food on my plate

Loved this one! So crispy, smokey and refreshing!

Peeling the Carrots:

Dressing Assembly:

Up close & personal with the dressing:

Last night’s dinner!

Serving it up!

serving it up

My plate:

Indian Carrot Salad

(Jamie At Home)

-1lb. carrots peeled (use multi-colored for extra prettiness)
-1 teaspoon cumin seeds
-3 shallots or 1 small red onion, peeled (I used a red onion)
-1 lemon, zested and juiced
-1 heaped teaspoon freshly grated ginger
-Extra-virgin olive oil
-A small bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked
-A small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
-salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat a small frying pan over a moderate heat and toast the cumin seeds for 30 seconds – they will start to smell nutty and gorgeous. You’re not trying to cook the seeds here, you’re just waking their flavors up a bit. Put them into a pestle and mortar and grind them up.

2. Slice your peeled shallots or onion wafer thin. As with all salads that contain onion, you don’t want to be coming across great big chunks! If you don’t feel confident about your knife skills, use the coarse side of a box grater instead. This will almost mush your onions to a puree, but at least you won’t come across any big bits.

3. To make your dressing, put the lemon zest and juice into a bowl and add the shallots or onion, grated ginger, ground cumin and a pinch of salt. Whisk everything together with about 5 tablespoons of extra- virgin olive oil. Pour the dressing over the carrots, add the cilantro and mint leaves, and mix it all together using your fingers. It’s important that you have a little taste to check whether the dressing needs more lemon juice, oil or seasoning.

***Yesterday morning I woke up super early and was watching Jamie Oliver’s cooking show–Jamie At Home– on the Food Network. While drinking my coffee and eating my yogurt I got a hankering to make this for dinner for Monday night. After my doctors appointment, I rushed to the store and bought all the ingredients I needed.

It wasn’t until I went to brown the ground lamb that I realized it was GROUND BEEF. Apparently my pregnant brain mistook the work LEAN for LAMB. This is something I realized 30 minutes before we were sitting down to eat. I rushed out to the store (two stores actually) and there was no ground lamb to be found. I improvised and used lamb blades (i think it said blades- don’t count on my memory these days!) and grilled them up and squeezed lemon on top. They were OK- I will definitely set out to find ground lamb to RE-DO the recipe.

I really loved the Indian carrot salad! It’s nice and crisp. Refreshing and light! The perfect amount of bite & spice. It went really well with garlic naan and a splash of cumin yogurt. I will definitely make it again.***

27 Jul

Zucchini Pancakes

I woke up Saturday morning at 7am!!!!!!!!

Preparation for the bebe? Hmmm….perhaps. It could be the fact that I woke up with heartburn and a nagging pain in my back. I think I had a dream about bacon….which is what inspired me to get my butt out of bed and make us some breakfast.

I also really wanted mushrooms as you could see….

Waking up that early is as annoying as it is nice. I started grocery shopping at 8am and felt like there was soo much potential food wise this weekend.

While Casey was still sleeping, I was able to put the final touches on our new guest room. The old guest room is going to be converted into the new baby room. I love this new color blue. The really nice part is that you can lay in bed and look at the trees outside. A perfect place to read a book/magazine in the afternoon.

I also made those deceptively delicious brownies (seen in the previous post).

For lunch, I used leftover bacon and made us some BLATS (Bacon Lettuce Avocado Tomato Sandwiches)

We went to see a matinee showing of The Dark Knight today (really good btw).

I decided to treat us to a nice afternoon early dinner on the back deck.

Zucchini pancakes with a dill/cucumber yogurt dip, a mixed green salad (with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions & feta) Hot Genoa salami, Sopressata & some slices of a sour batard.

I also made a yummy *mocktail*

Cucumber & Pineapple Juice with Ginger ale and Seltzer water. MMMMMMMM Refreshing.

Nothing like putting some zucchini to good use!

Zucchini Pancakes

(made about
-3 large zucchini, shredded (drain in a bowl lined with paper towels for an hour before making)
-1/4 cup flour
-1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
-2 large eggs
-3 tablespoons chopped Italian Parsley
-2 teaspoons garlic powder
-1 dash of cayenne pepper
-salt & pepper
-cooking spray

1. Preheat oven 200 degrees. Put a cookie sheet in the oven- line with a few pieces of paper towel.
1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the egg & zucchini. Mix well.
2. Heat up a non-stick skillet on medium heat with cooking spray. (It’s much healthier than frying). Spoon zucchini batter on the skillet and flatten each pancake.
4. Cook each pancake for about 3 minutes per side before flipping. Put cooked pancakes in the oven while you are making the rest!
5. DEVOUR. Immediately.

Top it with a yogurt/dill/cucumber dip and you have yourself a little slice of heaven.

Now I leave you…off to start the laundry and relax. There’s a nice breeze here today and I’m thoroughly enjoying the calm before the storm.

Happy Sunday Everyone.

19 Jul

Eggplant Ricotta Bake

Been cooking in the kitchen again (feels great!)
I thought that I would share last night’s meal that I adapted from an old Everyday Food recipe.
It was very delish. I am sure my low-carb dad would love it too!

Think Eggplant Parmesan meets Lasagna.

Eggplant Ricotta Bake

(recipe from Everyday Food Magazine)

-2 large eggplants (about 1- 1 1/2lbs each)
-1 16oz jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I love Classico Tomato & Basil)
-1 15oz container ricotta cheese
-1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-2 heaping teaspoons of oregano
-3 eggs
-salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut eggplant into rounds about 3/4 inch thick. Coat front and back with olive oil. Put eggplant on two baking sheets. Add salt & pepper. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes–flipping them half way. Eggplant should be nice and golden brown.

2. While eggplant bakes, mix the ricotta, eggs, spices & 1/2 cup of Parmesan together in a small bowl. Add some salt & pepper.

3. In an oven safe casserole dish, layer the bottom with a bit of the marinara sauce. Add 1 layer of your eggplant on top. Then add more sauce, and a layer of ricotta. Repeat until you run out of eggplant. Make sure the top layer is all ricotta filling. Add Parmesan and then put in the oven for 20 minutes. The top should be brown & the marinara should be bubbly. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. There’s nothing worse than burning your mouth on marinara sauce.

Pair it with some crusty garlic bread and a nice salad….and you’ve got yourself a wonderful meal!

14 May

Hamburger Tomato Pizza

I thought that I would bust this out, while I’m on a roll with Everday Food recipes. I stared at the picture in the current issue for like 10 minutes straight. I kid you not.

If that doesn’t get you to try it… Perhaps mine will?

(yes that pan is WELL-LOVED)

Now check up close!

I like a crust that’s a little over cooked and crispy!

eating it outside was the best!

Hamburger Grape Tomato Pizza (Everyday Food-May 2008 issue)

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
All-purpose flour, for work surface
1 pound frozen pizza dough, thawed
3/4 cup store-bought marinara sauce
1 cup grated provolone cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1/4 pound ground beef chuck
Coarse salt and ground pepper
A handful of fresh basil! (I added this and it was PERFECT!)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub a large rimless baking sheet (or a rimmed one, upside down) with oil.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin and your hands to roll and stretch dough into a 15-by-11-inch rectangle (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Transfer to prepared sheet.

3. Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with provolone, tomatoes, and if desired, onion; scatter beef over top. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Bake until crust is golden, beef is cooked, and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately. (it’s not as good the second day for some reason!)

ENJOY!!!! I KNOW WE DID!

13 May

Tex Mex Enchiladas!

I’d like to admit right here and now that there was once a time when I was scared to make enchiladas. I’ve overcome that fear and can now look back and think how silly I was.

So I started telling you about my little Everyday Food binge huh? Well… I recently watched an episode of EVERYDAY FOOD on PBS and was immediately inspired to make some for myself. I thought that if they can do it so fast- I CERTAINLY CAN. I know you can too!

Not yet inspired? Perhaps I can tempt you with a little close up?

I just followed this recipe from Everyday Food:

Tex Mex Enchiladas (makes 8 total)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 small canned chipotle chili in adobo, minced-plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
Coarse salt & ground pepper
8 tortillas (6 inch)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 6 oz.)
1/4 cup cilantro

1. Make Sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, chipotle and adobo sauce, and ¾ cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

2. Make Filling: In a 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining ½ tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onion, garlic, and beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 8 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350°. Spoon ¼ cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Set aside. Make enchiladas: Stack tortillas; wrap in foil, and warm in oven, 10 minutes. Fill each with a heaping ¼ cup beef mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese; tightly roll up.

4. Raise oven heat to 450°. Arrange enchiladas, seam side down, in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve garnished with cilantro and perhaps some sour cream like I did!

If you follow the link above, you will find their instructions for freezing your batch!

***Note: After assembling the enchiladas, I was concerned that there might not be enough sauce covering all the tortillas. I decided to drizzle the leftover adobo sauce on top of the assembled enchiladas. I think this added a LOT of flavor!!! ***

This will definitely be in our regular rotation. I can’t wait to experiment on different types of filling!

27 Apr

Creamy Mac & Cheese and Better than Brownie Cookies!

This weeks girls night (plus 1 boy) was all about comfort food.

I made a New York Times recipe for Creamy Macaroni & Cheese (found via Smitten Kitchen).

Thank you Deb!

Did I ever tell you how much I love the crunchy bits of Mac & Cheese?? I used to fight with my two older brothers over the crunchy parts when we were growing up.

Aren’t you jealous- Ryan?

Here’s a close up of the creaminess….the cottage cheese was a nice touch!

I paired the mac & cheese with a salad (cucumber, tomato, red onion & feta with a mustard dressing) and some steamed broccoli.

I HAD to balance out that fat/veggie ratio….

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

New York Times 01/04/06

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk cottage cheese
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 handful of breadcrumbs (not in the original recipe-I added this)
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

2. In a blender, puree cottage cheese. When consistency is extremely smooth, add milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve 1/4 cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and breadcrumbs. Dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

***The only thing that I regret…is not making a double batch!***

And for dessert…..

Earlier that day I decided to make these brownie cookies I found from one of my flickr buddies. I totally screwed up the batch when I made it a couple of weeks ago. I ended up with 1 big cookie the shape of my cookie sheet! I got it right this time…Not sure what happened.

Better-than-Brownie-Cookies

makes about 18

The recipe came from Welcome to My Pantry (thank you!)

Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate chips
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/8 cup unsalted butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

-Set oven to 350 degrees

1. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips with 2 oz. of unsweetened chocolate. Add butter, stir til melted.

2. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Mix flour & baking powder together in a small bowl.

4. Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add your dry ingredients. When stirred, add remaining cup of chocolate chips- stir!

5. Scoop cookies onto a cookie sheet. Bake & try not to scarf them down the second they get out of the oven!

FINAL RESULT:

My makeshift Neapolitan dessert!

I put two cookies in each of bowl, topped it with vanilla bean ice cream and added some strawberry sauce on top!

For the strawberry sauce, I pureed strawberries with a little bit of sugar & water. Taste as you go and check the consistency and it’s pretty darn easy.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

09 Apr

prettie/vegan weekend!

I spent this past weekend with my prettie/vegan best friend, Erin. Every year we try to see each other at *least* twice. She came down to visit this past weekend and we had loads of fun trying some vegan treats in the Bay Area! Of course we’re both really into food- so we did some damage at a few places…..

I started off by making Penne with Pesto, Asparagus & Roasted Pine-nuts (all vegan) for dinner on Thursday:

07 Apr

Girls Night! Taco Party & Strawberry Shortcakes!

It dawned on me that I forgot to post pictures of last week’s girl night!

Let’s start with dessert first!!

I sliced up some fresh strawberries…

I put them in a bowl with a tablespoon of sugar and a heaping tablespoon or two of thick aged balsamic vinegar…

(let that sit for at least 30 minutes)

I made us some whipped cream…baked a vanilla bean cake from Trader Joe’s and assembled the strawberry shortcakes…

and then we brought them to my living room and watched movies…..

I brought the extra whipped cream in because YOU KNOW I’m not letting that go to waste!

Prior to all this….I made us tacos for dinner!

Here’s the spread:

I like to fry up flour & corn tortillas instead of buying store bought ones. My mom taught me this long long ago!

here’s one of the many tacos I devoured…..

I want a taco soooooooo bad right now!

18 Jan

Ina Garten’s Turkey Meatloaf

This Week’s Project Runway Dinner:

Turkey meatloaf, smashed fingerling potatoes & a green salad with balsamic dressing

Turkey Meatloaf (adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe)

The recipe was for 8-10 people so I halved it accordingly for a 4 person dinner (with leftovers).

2 1/2 lbs. ground turkey meat
1 large yellow onion chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock
2 tsp. tomato paste
3/4 cup of dry bread crumbs
2 large eggs (beaten)
3/4 cup ketchup

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme until mixture is translucent (but not browned). This should take about 10-15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well with hands and shape the meat mixture into a rectangle on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top of the loaf. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F & the meatloaf is cooked through.

Ina recommends a pan of hot water to be under the loaf in the oven to prevent cracking. I took a walk on the wild side…and did not obey! There were no cracks in my loaf.

***We each had a thick slice…husband had two. There were about 5 pieces leftover. So this is an excellent dish to make on a Sunday/Monday night and eat for a few days as leftovers. ***

And for dessert…

Lemon Vanilla Cake with Blueberry Topping

-buy some of the Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix. Follow the instructions on the bag and when you are mixing it all up add a heaping teaspoon of Lemon Extract in the mix. If you don’t have lemon extract but have a few lemons hanging around your house, finely grate some lemon peel in the batter.

After the cake has finished baking, pour a few cups of frozen blueberries in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes. The juices will start releasing from the blueberries. I added a tablespoon of Trader Joe’s ginger jelly spread and dumped that into the mix. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes and you will see that the berries have released most of their juice. I stirred for a bit and then added a few teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce. The longer you keep it on the heat, the thicker your sauce becomes.
Let the cake cool for a bit and then load the blueberries on top.

I think it looks nice when there’s blueberry sauce dripping down the sides. Enticing? YES!

I topped them with Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from TJs. It was delish!

And then when you have leftovers….pour yourself some coffee or tea the next morning and have yourself a slice. It will start your day off right!

And then weep…because Kit is no longer on Project Runway…..sigh.