The Sunday Cook

Tex-Mex Superbowl Sunday

2012-02-05T09:57:00.005-06:00

I planned to just snack today, until I thought about what I had picked up and what Mom and Dad might actually like. On Friday, Schnucks market had a facebook drive-time special that I picked up. Queso Dip Special, $6.50: 1 10-oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes, 1 2-lb Kraft Velveeta, 1 super Pretzel soft pretzels package, 1 13-oz Mission Tortilla chips, AND 1 Coke 2-liter product. Not exactly diet friendly, but hey it's "Superbowl Sunday"! These drive-time specials are good only on the day they are offered and only from 4:00-8:00 p.m. They have really great deals!

Anyway, in thinking about this, I thought well maybe we could have nachos. So, Michael went to the grocery for me this morning to pick up what I needed to make Shredded Tex-Mex Crock-Pot Chicken. I needed chicken, garlic, lettuce, grape tomatoes, and some condiments. This sounds absolutely yummy to me, and it's something I've not made before. I'll also open a can of black beans and have them with the nachos too. I bet, though, that it's a little shocking that I'm making chicken. Well, while that's a real departure for Sunday dinner, I think we'll all like it.

I'll let you know how it turns out. Happy Superbowl Sunday - have a good time!

It's Been Awhile

2012-01-28T14:43:00.004-06:00

My last post was some time ago. I've been cooking, just not blogging. Well, I already know what I'm cooking for dinner tomorrow and I have a few minutes, so I figure I'll share.

Tomorrow I'm making an adaptation of a recipe I picked up at Schnucks back in December. I did make the recipe as written and it was yummy. Tomorrow I'm using scallops instead of shrimp. We're having Lemon Garlic Shrimp & Grits and fresh green beans. I also picked up some already cooked red crab claws and arms that I just need to defrost. It's going to be a mini seafood feast!

Lemon Garlic Shrimp & Grits
Serves 4

1 can (14.5 oz) less-sodium chicken broth (1.75 cups)
1.25 cups milk
.75 cup instant grits
.5 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional to taste
.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
.25 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1.25 pounds raw peeled and deveined 36-40 count shrimp, thawed if necessary
(I'm using 1 pound bay scallops)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 lemons (1 cut in half and 1 cup in wedges)
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves

1- In covered 2- to 3-quart saucepan, heat broth and milk to boiling over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in grits, salt, and .25 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook about 5 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring occasionally. Stir in Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon butter. remove saucepan from the heat, cover to keep warm.

2- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Ass shrimp, garlic and remaining .25 teaspoon pepper and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque throughout and internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove skillet from heat; squeeze juice of lemon halves over shrimp; sprinkle with parsley and toss to combine. If desired, add additional salt to taste.

3- Divide grits among 4 shallow bowls; top with shrimp and its sauce. Serve with lemon edges to squeeze over shrimp.

Each serving: about 420 calories, 15g fat, 36g carb, 2g fiber, 34g protein

I'll be sure to take a picture and to let you know how it all turns out.

Here's the picture:
Dinner was quite yummy. While the dish might be prettier with the shrimp, I think it tastes better with the scallops (maybe because I like scallops better than shrimp). I highly recommend this dish. It's really easy to make and everyone who has tasted it, even those who don't like grits, have liked it.

Pumpkin Lasagna

2011-10-16T20:23:00.006-05:00

I was a bit skeptical about pumpkin lasagna, but I must say it is really good. I came across the idea when looking at a cooking magazine my friend Liz had. So, I went online to find the recipe. It really was yummy. The only problem I had was the center noodle "buckled" and was therefore a little brittle. I don't really know what I could do to keep this from happening. I followed the recipe as written except I chopped the mushrooms rather than just slicing them. I recommend this recipe. It's especially good this time of year.

As you can see I paired the lasagna with peas and a slice of warm multi grain bread. I also made brownies for dessert. It was quite a comforting dinner.

Pasta & Chickpeas

2011-10-02T19:59:00.005-05:00

Tonight we had a recipe I found in the book Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. On page 67 you can find the recipe, which I copy for you below. It was quite tasty! And, it couldn't be easier. So, I'll count this as another winner and add it to the list of repeats. We had stewed tomatoes and 5-cheese Texas toast. Michael made a cherry cake with cherry icing, so that was dessert. All in all a fulfilling dinner.

Pasta and Chickpeas
with plenty of parsley and garlic

1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra to finish
1/2 large onion, diced
a few pinches of hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15-ounce can, liquid reserved
1 big bunch of flat-leaf parsley, the leaves stripped from the stems (I used freeze-dried parsley, about 1/4 cup)
3 plump garlic cloves
small handful of sage leaves (I used about 1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound whole wheat pasta shells (I used a box of tri-colored rotini)
freshly grated Parmesan

1- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2- Heat the oil in a wide skillet and add the onion and pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes, then add the chickpeas. While they're warming, chop the parsley, garlic, and sage together, then toss a third of it into the pan. Season well with salt and pepper, add a little water or chickpea broth to the pan, and cook slowly, adding more liquid as it cooks away.
3- Salt the pasta water and cook the pasta. When done, drain and toss it with the chickpeas, the rest of the parsley mixture, and extra olive oil to taste. Taste for salt and season with freshly ground pepper. Grate some cheese over the top and serve with additional pepper flakes.

Potatoes, Mushrooms, & Eggs

2011-09-25T20:00:00.006-05:00

Tonight's dinner was terrific! The inspiration recipe came from the book Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. On page 120 is a recipe for eggs baked on a bed of sauteed mushrooms and croutons. I changed it up a bit. I wanted to use a couple of baked potatoes we had in the refrigerator instead of croutons. Here is the recipe as adapted by me:

2 tablespoons butter
2 baked potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 container sliced "steak" mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 generous teaspoons tomato paste
3/4 cup burgundy wine
4 eggs

1- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set it on a sheet pan.
2- Melt half the butter in a medium skillet, add the cubed potato, and toss it about the pan. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until it's golden and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes, but not hard. Put the potatoes in the baking dish.
3- Heat the oil and remaining butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic. Raise the heat, then add the mushrooms, most of the herbs, and a few pinches of salt. Saute until the mushrooms have started to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the wine and immediately scrape the pan to release the juicy bits. Lower the heat and simmer until a few tablespoons of juice remain. Season with salt and pepper and add the mushrooms to the baking dish.
4- Break the eggs over the mushrooms and add a pinch of salt and some pepper. Bake until the whites are set, about 15 minutes, and the yolks are as firm as you like. Remove, sprinkle the rest of the herbs over the top, and serve.

We had sides of asparagus and komato tomatoes, along with a nice sourdough bread. Yummy!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-09-11T19:53:00.004-05:00

Hmmm...another good meal. Mom and Dad really enjoyed the new dish. I thought it was fine, Michael hasn't had it yet - he's out watching football. I don't know if I'll make this again, though. It is fairly labor intensive; there are quire a few steps and it takes more than an hour of constant cooking (not counting prep time). Having made this I just might try to tackle real risotto some time.

Have a good week and I'll let you know what's for dinner the next time I cook!

Reverse Risotto

2011-09-11T09:59:00.008-05:00

For some reason I've always been intimidated by the thought of risotto. I like risotto, have had it once or twice in a restaurant and enjoyed it, but have felt it will take more patience than I have. That is until I came across this recipe. Also, my friend and hairdresser, Karen tells me she is confident I could handle risotto. So, I'll start down the risotto path with this recipe that is in the October 2011 Vegetarian Times magazine.

The recipe comes from Chef Keith Pooler of Bergamot restaurant in Somerville, Mass. It incorporates garlic, green beans, mushrooms, fresh thyme, shallots, sweet potato, parsnips, and (of course) rice. It sounds lovely.

Tomorrow is Mom and Dad's 52nd wedding anniversary. Wednesday is Michael and my 20th wedding anniversary. Sunday dinner will be our celebration together. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-08-28T19:08:00.003-05:00

Mmmm, that was different. Good, but different. I should have added salt to the water when I cooked the lentils (I didn't use canned lentils). Michael felt something was missing. Also, we ate the Eggplant Lentils by themselves: no pasta, rice or other grain. It really didn't need anything more. And, it was quite filling. I may make this again with a few minor adjustments.

As you can see, we also had corn on the cob and a tomato salad. For the salad I cut up three farm fresh tomatoes and a cucumber, added salt and pepper, sprinkled about 2 ounces of feta cheese on top after putting a little bit of fat-free Caesar Italian salad dressing. Such an easy and truly delicious dish!

So, while not a complete hit, dinner was pretty good. And, as stated above with a few minor tweaks this could make another appearance on our dinner table.

Skillet Eggplant and Lentils

2011-08-28T09:27:00.004-05:00

I came across this recipe recently and thought it sounded good, so today I'm trying it. Skillet Eggplant and Lentils - sounds intriguing. I think I'll also make some type of tomato salad.

Yesterday my sister and brother-in-law hosted a "last pool party of the summer." We had a terrific time! Our friends Liz and Darren, Andrea and Aleah, Cassy and Timmy and our Aunt Linda and Uncle Richard all stopped by; of course, Mom and Dad were poolside too. Liz made a fabulous tomato, cucumber and feta salad that I'm going to try to replicate today. All the food was really god - that salad just stood out for me and I'd like some more.

I hope the folks on the East Coast are fairing well. The weather in Midwest has been beautiful this weekend! In a few weeks Liz, Darren, Michael and I are taking a trip to the Grand Canyon. We will be celebrating my 50th birthday (earlier this year) and our 20th wedding anniversary (we've actually been together for thirty-two years, we just waited awhile to get married). We're staying one night at Bright Angel Lodge on the South Rim of the Canyon, then several nights at The Orchards Inn of Sedona. We're all very excited for this trip!

Anyway, as ever, I'll be sure to let you know how dinner turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-08-21T18:13:00.005-05:00

My that was tasty! It's too bad, though, that mom didn't feel up to coming over for dinner. There is plenty leftover; I may have to take some to them tomorrow.

This was a wonderfully easy dish to make with ingredients I already had on hand (oh, okay, so I might not normally have fresh grilled tuna steaks on hand, but canned tuna might do in a pinch). Michael and I both enjoyed tonight's dinner.

I don't know what will be up for dinner next week, but when I figure that out I'll let you know. Have a great week!

Making It Up - Mediterranean Tuna Pasta

2011-08-21T15:23:00.004-05:00

I didn't make Sunday dinner last weekend; instead we went over to Cindy's & Dave's house and enjoyed a really nice summer Sunday. While the weather is nice again today, I am making Sunday dinner and bringing Mom and Dad over to enjoy it. I'm needing a fairly low-key Sunday.

So, I've made it up myself today. Michael grilled some tuna steaks the other day; they are in today's dinner. I'm calling dinner Mediterranean Tuna Pasta. Here are today's ingredients:

Cheese tortellini
Marinated artichoke hearts, chopped with marinade
Sundried tomatoes in olive oil, chopped
Medium-size black olives, halved
Tuna - chopped

The artichoke marinade is the sauce (with a little of the sun dried tomatoes marinade - just however much looks right). Everything, except the tortellini, goes in a large bowl. Add the tortellini right after cooking and draining so that it warms all the ingredients. Serve.

I could easily also add:
Red onion, chopped finely
Fresh spinach, chopped
Parmesan, mozzarella, feta or goat cheese
Pine nuts
Basil
Cannelloni beans

Green beans with sliced almonds is our side today. Sounds yummy! I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-08-07T18:26:00.003-05:00

OMG! The fresh tomato pasta is wonderful! It is lovely; if you like tomatoes try this recipe. The locally grown tomatoes gave the pasta a slightly sweet taste. I used fresh spinach for my greens. It truly is a mouth-watering recipe.

We also had a sliced cucumber brother-in-law David gave us. Oh, and bread - I picked up a loaf of Artisan "take, bake, & share" Italian peasant bread. The bread was nice and crispy on the outside and deliciously warm on the inside.

To top things off I made brownies from a Ghiradelli mix - yum.

Have a great week.

Summer Tomato Pasta

2011-08-07T10:25:00.003-05:00

My friend Laura posted on facebook the link to this Perfect Five-Minute Raw Tomato Pasta Recipe that just makes my mouth water! So, yesterday, I stopped at a roadside stand and a farmer's market to pick up some homegrown tomatoes. I can hardly believe we didn't get a garden in this year, but that's how it goes sometimes. I think all the early rain and then the plunge into heat and humidity kept me from doing any gardening.

I didn't post my after dinner thoughts last week, and for that I apologize. Let me just say the slaw was wonderful. Marinating the mushrooms in Adria's steak sauce was a real winner! I highly recommend trying it - it compliments the mushrooms quite nicely.

I'll be sure to let you know how this weeks dinner turns out.

Chinese Slaw Salad and Grilled Portobellos

2011-07-30T17:05:00.007-05:00

My brother-in-law, David is being inducted into the Knights of Columbus this evening, so Cindy, Chris, and David are attending a special induction dinner tonight. Congratulations David!

I'm making dinner today instead of tomorrow for Mom and Dad. We're having Chinese Slaw Salad, grilled portobello mushrooms, and Quick Tiramisu Trifle.

I've made Chinese Slaw Salad before and it is yummy! I use a recipe I got from one of those local church or school cookbooks that folks put together for fundraisers. I don't know which book it was from because I cut the recipe out to put in my keeper file. Here's the recipe:

Evelyn Glaze's Chinese Slaw Salad
1 large head cabbage or 1 lb bag slaw mix
5 green onions, chopped
1 stick butter or margarine
2 (3 oz) pkg. dry Ramen noodles (use only the noodles, not the flavor pack)
1/2 Cup slivered almonds
1/2 Cup sunflower seed kernels
1/2 Cup sesame seed
1 Cup oil
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup cider vinegar

1- Mix chopped cabbage/slaw mix and onions; set aside.
2- Melt butter in a skillet; add the crushed noodles. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Watch carefully as the noodles burn easily. Add almonds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seed. Toss until lightly toasted. Let set to cool.
3- Combine oil, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate.
4- When noodle mixture is completely cooled, toss with the slaw and pour soy sauce dressing over the salad just before serving.
Serves 6-8

Note: I purchase already toasted sesame seed that can be found in the Chinese section of the grocery; it is a lot less expensive than the sesame seed found in the spice aisle. Because the sesame seeds are already toasted, I add them after the noodles and nuts have toasted.

The portobellos are marinating in Adria's steak sauce and I'll just grill them. Sam Andria, the creator of the sauce, is a friend of my Dad. Sam used to operate Sam's tavern in Granite City when I was a little girl and he used to tease my sister and me when we went there with Dad. When he opened his Steak House restaurant we would go there from time to time and enjoy a truly terrific meal. The sauce is available in our local grocery; I think it may work quite well with the mushrooms.

The Tiramisu recipe is from the most recent Vegetarian Times magazine. It includes mascarpone, sweet Marsala wine, sugar, espresso, whipping cream, pound cake, and bittersweet chocolate. Mmmm...should be good. You can find it on page 42 of the September 2011 issue.

It all sounds good to me. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

Back from the Girls' Float Trip!

2011-07-24T11:16:00.009-05:00

Every year a group of really wonderful women get together and go on a trip together - a relaxing time of friends, cocktails, and lots of laughs. Two years ago we went on a float trip down the Meramec River in Missouri. Last year we went to Cancun, Mexico. This year we went on another float trip on the Meramec. We stayed at a pretty nice place called Bird's Nest Lodge just outside of Cuba, Missouri. They have a great package deal: two nights, a six mile float, two breakfasts, and one dinner. There were ten of us this year and we truly had a terrific time! We made dinner the first night - Cindy made Italian Chicken, Debbie L. made mostaccioli, and Liz made a green salad like Pasta House; I brought pretzel buns. We also make our individual lunches to take on the river. This year I made a Mediterranean Pressed Picnic Sandwich that I shared with Debbie L., Rhonda, and Liz. It was yummy! We got back from our trip yesterday, tired and relaxed. I didn't do anything the rest of the day.

Today I got up early and made a Mediterranean Orzo Salad that I've made a few times in the past and a Tomato Bread Salad that I've also made a few times in the past. I'm taking them over to my sister's and we're going to continue relaxing in her pool. I'm sure the salads are going to be just as great as they've been in the past. Oh, I added something new to the Orzo salad today: I toasted a few pine nuts and tossed them in.

Here's how I made the Tomato Bread Salad today:
The photo is without the croutons
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved or sliced in thirds (if the tomatoes are large)
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped (fresh from Dave's garden)
2 cans sliced black olives, drained
1 small red onion, slivered
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil mixed with
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 package Cheese & Garlic Croutons

Toss all ingredients except the croutons together. Let sit in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When serving, add croutons to individual servings (this way leftovers don't get soggy bread mixed in).

I've included photos of the dishes already, and unless something goes amiss I'm just going to count on these being just as delicious as they've been in the past and so won't be posting after dinner thoughts today. Instead, I'll let you know what's on next Sunday's menu as soon as I figure that out. Have a great Sunday and a great week!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-07-17T18:02:00.008-05:00

Mmmm...it all was yummy tasty! I was quite pleased with the Pierogies Caprese; that turned out even better than I expected. Mom and I really ate it up. Dad ate a little, but not much. We're going to have to figure out what to do about Dad's eating. He's not eating enough these days and that has us quite worried. I think he liked what he tasted, but something is keeping him from eating well at all. Michael didn't eat - he said he wasn't interested in what I prepared tonight. Oh well, you can't make everyone happy all the time. I'd like to reiterate: Mom and I really, really liked tonight's meal.

The Three Bean Salad was as terrific as I remembered. I also sliced a cucumber from my brother-in-law's (David's) garden. I added a small cup of Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper and had an extra side dish. The creamy cucumbers were good too.

And, then there was the giant cupcake. Everyone liked it! Michael ate a slice, Dad ate a couple of bites, Mom ate hers and finished Dad's, and I had a small serving too. Yummy!

I don't know what's going to happen for Sunday dinner next weekend. I'm joining ten of my best girlfriends for a float trip on the Meramec River in Steelville, Missouri at the end of the week (Thursday through Saturday). We're staying at the Bird's Nest Lodge and are really looking forward to it. We arrive Thursday, float on Friday, and return home on Saturday. So, I don't know if I'm really going to feel like cooking. Also, we've been spending most Sundays at Cindy and David's house - enjoying the pool, grilling, just kicking back. A few Sundays ago I made a grilled asparagus, crab, and avocado salad; it was mouth watering! So, if I don't cook a full Sunday dinner, I might be making at least one dish - or not. We'll see. If I cook I'll be sure to share a review about the results. Have a great week!

Pierogies Caprese & Three Bean Salad

2011-07-17T11:04:00.013-05:00

Today's menu began with the Three Bean Salad I made a few weeks ago. It is so yummy that I just wanted to make it again. I follow the original recipe except I don't put the rosemary in it - I just don't seem to be a big fan of rosemary. Then, I tried to figure out what to make along with the salad. That was a much harder task than I expected.

After thinking about it Saturday night and most of Sunday morning, I decided to go with Mrs. T's pierogies because I happen to have them on hand. After looking through the recipes on Mrs. T's Web site, and not being exactly thrilled with any for today's meal (there are some recipes I might try another time, though), I decided to go with a caprese. It's a riff on Insalata Caprese, which basically is comprised of sliced fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese with salt and olive oil (this is one of my very favorite dishes). I intend to prepare the pierogies according to the package directions, slice a nice big tomato, add some fresh mozzarella pearls I have on hand, and sprinkle a bit of basil, salt, pepper, and olive oil over it all. I'll put some balsamic vinegar on the table for those who like it to use it also (Michael does not like most vinegars). It won't be exactly the same as the caprese salad, but instead a dish inspired by it.

I'm hoping this all works out and that everyone enjoys Sunday dinner. My dad was recently in the hospital. The hospital staff made some unfortunate mistakes while dad was there and he is not eating much since he got out. I am hopeful that he might eat and enjoy some of today's dinner. I'm pretty sure he'll enjoy dessert - I was at River City Casino yesterday and unfortunately I didn't win. But, I had a good time and I used a food voucher they sent me for my birthday month to pick up a strawberry chocolate cake that looks like a giant cupcake! It certainly looks appetizing.

I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out.

BBQ Kidney Patties, Zucchini-Tomato Gratin and Grilled Caesar Salad Tartines

2011-06-23T13:37:00.008-05:00

It's one of those rare occasions when I know what I'm going to make for Sunday dinner long before the weekend. This Sunday's menu revolves around the Grilled Caesar Salad Tartines recipe found in the July/August 2011 Vegetarian Times magazine. When I saw this recipe I knew I wanted to make it. Having been grilling veggies for recent dinners it is only reasonable that I'd be up for grilling salad. I'll be doubling the recipe since the original serves four and there are usually eight of us for dinner.

With that decided, I started thinking about what might complement the grilled salad. I also had been wanting the Kidney Bean burgers that I've made a few times in the past; I think the last time I made these was on June 12, 2010. But, because there is bread involved with the salad, I don't really want burgers. Also, I want to change the taste up a bit. So, I'm going to use a Classic BBQ Rub recipe in with the kidney beans mixture and just make patties for our protein.

And, I felt we needed just a little something more. When I came across a Zucchini-Tomato Gratin recipe from the July/August 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine, I thought "perfect." I'm also going to make the Blue Ribbon Stuffed Crust Blueberry Pie which I've made a few times - yummy.

I guess that all in all I'm cooking a lot for dinner this Sunday. But, it really shouldn't be too big of a deal. I'll prep the kidney bean patties, make the gratin, and have everything but grilling the romaine done for the salad before going to my sister's house. I'll also have the pie already made. When I get to my sister's all I'll need to do is grill the patties and romaine and dinner will be served. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

Grilled Caesar Salad Tartines
Serves 4

Vegetable Oil, for brushing grill
3 1/2 Tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 Tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1 oz for shaving into curls
1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 romaine hearts, each halved
4 large slices crusty Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)
1 clove garlic, halved

1- Brush grill grates with oil, and preheat grill to medium.
2- Whisk together yogurt, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Stir in 3 Tablespoons Parmesan; season with pepper.
3- Whisk together olive oil, remaining 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and remaining 2 teaspoons mustard in separate bowl. Brush oil mixture over romaine halves. Grill 6 minutes, turning once, or until brown around edges. Transfer to a platter.
4- Grill bread 1 minute on each side. Rub garlic halves over toast slices. Spread yogurt mixture on toast slices, and top with grilled romaine halves. Shave Parmesan curls over top.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-06-19T12:44:00.010-05:00

Today I made Cheesy Italian Tortellini again. I last made this dish on December 27, 2009, for my Dad's birthday. On that blog I commented on the original recipe and the adjustments I made that day. Below is how I adapted the recipe today.

Cheesy Italian Tortellini

2 jars of Tony's in Saint Louis Pasta Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
10 oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms
10 oz sliced white button mushrooms
10 oz sliced steakhouse mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced into coins
3 stalks celery, diced
About 1/2 red onion diced
About 2 Tablespoons Garlic Pepper
2 16 oz packages frozen tri-colored cheese-filled tortellini
4 cups shredded Mozerella/Provolone blend cheese

1- In large skillet, saute carrots, celery, and onion in approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add mushrooms, brown, stirring occasionally, until juice cooks off.
2- Spray 4 to 5 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Combine mushrooms, marinara sauce, garlic pepper, and tomatoes in sprayed slow cooker; mix well.
3- Cover; cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours.
4- About 15 minutes before serving, add tortellini to slow cooker; stir gently to mix. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; cook on low setting for an additional 15 minutes or until tortellini are tender.

This dish always turns out to be quite delicious and incredibly easy to make! Cindy, my sister, made a lovely salad. And, we had the nutella crescents and the raspberry filled crescents. Everyone enjoyed everything.

Have a great week!

Father's Day

2011-06-18T11:46:00.018-05:00

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I'll be going over to my sister's house. I'm either taking the meal already prepared or cooking the meal at her house; I haven't decided that yet. Today I'm deciding what to make and visiting the grocery to pick up any ingredients I don't already have on hand.

Last things first - I know what we're having for dessert. The original recipe is from Pillsbury and is called Chocolate-Filled Crescents. My friend Becky made these for Bunco with a slight adjustment. I'm following Becky's twist: instead of chocolate chips, she used a layer of Nutella topped with a thin layer of almond paste for the filling. YUMMY! Becky baked them for 13 minutes at 350. I'm also thinking of making a few Raspberry Crescent Twists.

While figuring out dessert has been a snap, the main dish is harder for me to come up with. I have been cooking these past two Sundays, I just haven't blogged about it.

Last week I made grilled cauliflower and a simply delicious Three Bean Salad. Each dish was really good. The three bean salad is going to be my go-to recipe for potlucks this summer; I may even make it for the girls float trip I'm going on in July. Grilled cauliflower was a real hit too. I sliced 2 cauliflower heads, thinly coated the slices with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then grilled them to a nice carmelization; I also grilled some large baby protobello mushrooms alongside the cauliflower. Everything was a hit.

Two weeks ago I made a cheese tortellini with grilled vegetables dish that I was very happy with and that I made up myself!
Cheese Tortellini with Grilled Vegetables
2 1 lb packages frozen cheese tortellini, cooked to package directions, rinsed with cold water
1/4 cup Greek Feta salad dressing
1 medium eggplant, sliced in rounds
1 medium yellow squash, sliced in rounds
1 medium zucchini, sliced in rounds
8 oz package medium baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and halved
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1.5 inch squares
1 lb fresh green beans, washed and ends trimmed
Olive oil

1- Toss the prepared tortellini with the salad dressing and refrigerate until ready to serve with vegetables.
2- Toss cut vegetables with olive oil. Heat grill to medium.
3- Grill like-sized vegetables together, leaving beans for last. Grill to desired consistency.
4- Toss vegetables with tortellini. Serve warm or cold.

This recipe makes a lot, so if you don't have many people to feed or if you don't want a lot of leftovers, adjust your ingredients appropriately.

So, back to Father's Day. Hmmm...I'm still not sure beyond dessert, but I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Carpe Diem!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-05-30T10:08:00.007-05:00

Another yummy dinner! I used tofu that I had frozen and thawed then drained and pressed to really get the water out. Then I sliced it, brushed the barbecue sauce on both sides and grilled it on the stove top. I grilled the slices for 4 minutes on each side for the first batch. The second batch was grilled three minutes on the first side, then two and a half minutes on the second side. I think I had my heat up just a little too high. The tofu didn't exactly burn, but the first batch was a just a bit crispier than I would have preferred, especially on the second side. But, I also must say the crispiness truly added to the dish - giving a nice texture. For the corn I used a can of Kumar's Gold and White corn that I rinsed before using. I like this corn, it's got a nice crunch to it, so I decided to use it instead of frozen. Everything came together quite nicely. It was really an easy dish to prepare - the hardest thing was washing, drying, and tearing the lettuce.

For dessert we had cupcakes that were left from Emily's graduation party on Saturday. Our friend Dawn made the cake and cupcakes - they were delicious! Dawn makes the best cakes. When she decorated the cupcakes she spelled out LOVE and PEACE and had peace signs on them. They were very cute.

I don't know what will be for dinner next week yet. When I do know, I'll be sure to share the news! Have a great week. Remember with gratitude those who sacrificed and gave their lives in service to our country on this Memorial Day.

Barbecued Tofu and Grilled Corn Salad

2011-05-25T10:17:00.006-05:00

I'm off for the next three days and, of course, for Memorial Day Monday - making for just about a week off work. I had planned to put in a raised bed garden this week, but the weather doesn't seem to want to cooperate. I will have a short window of time mid-day today, between thunder storms. Tomorrow may be stormy too. So, we'll see. I'll get done what I can.

With the rain this morning I decided to see what might be on the menu for Sunday dinner this week and I'm thinking BARBECUE! I'm ready - are you? I've probably written before that I subscribe to Vegetarian Times magazine. I signed up for the 28 day Veg boot camp, mostly for the 400 calorie menus and for new recipes. Menus are the hardest thing for me to put together for some reason - I guess because I really don't want to give up the time to sit down and think about it. So, when someone promises to give me menus I'm there!

However, the recipe I'm planning for Sunday dinner did not come from the boot camp menus. Instead, one link led to another and Vegetarian Times has a whole lotta Easy Entertaining Menus (with recipes) that are a goldmine if you ask me!

In perusing these entertaining menus, I picked How to Pack the Perfect Picnic, which honestly makes my mouth water. And, then I'm back to barbecue with the Barbecued Tofu and Grilled Corn Salad recipe. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. I can hardly wait! And, it's only 351 calories per serving - what more could you ask for? Well, accompaniments for one (chuckle). Yeah, I don't know what we'll have with it yet, but when I do I'll tell you all about it in the After Dinner post.

Stay safe - those storms have been much too dangerous this year. My heart and thoughts go out to the people in Joplin, Missouri; if you are inclined to help out, the American Red Cross is asking people to stop sending items to Joplin and instead to continue making monetary donations.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-05-22T19:50:00.010-05:00

MMMMMmmmmm...another winner! This was really easy to make and it tastes quite fresh. I used a bit of fresh basil in the salad. I made cornbread muffins to go along with dinner and they were a nice complement. The only problem with dinner is that there is a LOT left over. Since the black-eyed pea dish doesn't seem like one that would freeze very well, I think we'll be eating it several times this week. Luckily it really is yummy. This would be a great dish to take to a pot luck or summer picnic; there's nothing in it to worry about should it stay out for any length of time. It also would be good with either grated cheese or crumbled feta or goat cheese (although those would certainly up the calorie count). I also made a lovely fresh fruit salad: pineapple, cherries, a plum, green grapes, and blueberries. Loved it!

Have a great week and I'll let you know what's for Sunday dinner once I figure that out.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

2011-05-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

I spent the morning at an outdoor high school graduation today. It was a lovely day with a nice breeze. So, of course, I got a little sunburn. I hadn't thought to put sunscreen on this morning so now I'm suffering. I've been putting aloe on ever since, hopefully the sting will soon go away. The ceremony was quite nice and I got to see my friend Emily graduate! I've known Emily since she was born - she's my best friend's daughter. That doesn't have anything to do with Sunday dinner, but everything to do with a terrific Saturday and I just felt like sharing.

I don't know about you, but I really, really like black-eyed peas! I came across this recipe for Summer Black-Eyed Pea Salad and just knew that's what I need to make for Sunday dinner.

I receive Alanna Kellogg's A Veggie Venture in my email, this recipe was sent back in April, but I'm just now getting around to making it. She often has intriguing recipes and this one just made my mouth water. I'll let you know how it turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-05-15T19:12:00.012-05:00

"You definitely have to make that again, soon," said Mom about tonight's dinner. It was easy, quick, and yummy!

For the frittata I used one bunch of asparagus that I peeled and cut into bite size. Mom had read somewhere that peeling asparagus helps to keep it tender; you don't peel all of it, just the lower stalk. I used a small jar of marinated quartered artichoke hearts that I chopped a bit more. I also chopped one yellow pepper. I sprayed a non-stick skillet with Pam and sauted the vegetables for about 5 minutes. I beat 7 eggs and poured them over the vegetables and cooked on the stove top for approximately 3 minutes. Then put it all in the oven (400) for just over 10 minutes. I shook the skillet back and forth to loosen the frittata and "poured" it onto a plate to serve it. When served, I grated some sea salt cheddar cheese on top. OMG - this was delectable!

I also made Green Bean Medley, which we have had many times before. This time, however, I omitted the mushrooms. I cut the ends from some fresh green beans and cut them into bite sizes. Then I cut 2 carrots into matchsticks and cut a couple of slices of onion that I then cut in half. I steamed these vegetables for about 12 minutes over a low boil. I then took the steamer out of the pot, drained the water, put the vegetables back in the pot and added 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt and about 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. YUM!

And, finally, I had cut up a pineapple and some strawberries earlier in the day. I added some fresh blackberries and dinner was complete! Truly delicious! I know I've discussed the pineapple wedger from Pampered Chef before on this blog and I must repeat that this tool is one of the best kitchen tool investments I've ever made. I would very rarely purchase fresh pineapple in the past because of the difficulty cutting it. Well, those days are over - with the pineapple wedger, cutting up fresh pineapple is a snap. And, honestly, I don't think there is anything more flavorful than fresh pineapple.

And, then there was dessert. I had made a punchbowl cake Thursday evening for my bunco group Friday night. There was a bit still leftover. So, while it wasn't pretty it was still tasty. The recipe I have for punchbowl cake is basically assembly - there's no cooking involved, just putting several ingredients together and letting it meld overnight. I got this recipe from one of the church ladies that was serving lunch after a funeral I attended a few weeks ago. I went up to the ladies and asked who made the cake and when she identified herself, I asked for the recipe; she said people ask for that recipe all the time. So, here it is...

Punchbowl Cake
1 angel food cake, torn into bite size pieces
1 can crushed pineapple
2 pints frozen strawberries, thawed
2 medium bananas, sliced
2 cans Thank You vanilla pudding
1 small container cool whip
1/2 cup pecan chips

Assemble in a big bowl in the following order:
half of the cake pieces
half of the crushed pineapple
half of the thawed strawberries
slices from one banana
1 can of pudding
other half of the cake pieces
other half of the crushed pineapple
other half of the thawed strawberries
slices from other banana
other can of pudding

Put cool whip on top over all, sprinkle pecan pieces over all. Let sit in refrigerator overnight. This would also be good with some chocolate syrup on top - kind of like a banana split.

That's it - that's what we had for dinner tonight and every one of us really enjoyed it. No telling what's for dinner next week. When I figure it out, I let you know.

Frittata

2011-05-14T23:18:00.002-05:00

When having my hair cut the other day, Karen, my hairdresser, showed me the following recipe from one of the magazines in the shop. It sounds just perfect for dinner tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Dinner Frittata
In an oven-safe skillet, toss asparagus, drained artichoke hearts, and chopped yellow pepper. Cook and stir until heated through. Pour 6 beaten eggs over the veggies and cook for 3 minutes. Pop in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Serve topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Sounds like a terrific recipe for a rainy Sunday.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-04-24T18:50:00.004-05:00

YUM!!! I really have nothing more to say. Dinner was terrific and everything was truly tasty. I am thankful to be able to share refreshment and most especially time with Mom, Dad, and Michael.

Salmon, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, and...

2011-04-24T17:13:00.004-05:00

Today's dinner is being prepared as I type this. We are having Simple Salmon, one of our favorite Weber Grill recipes, Perfect Baked Potatoes, roasted asparagus, and deviled eggs. Mom made the eggs for us as well as a lemon cake. I also picked up some Kumato and Sunburst tomatoes that we will slice for a fresh taste; I tasted these in the grocery and they were so yummy I thought they would work perfectly with today's dinner.

To roast the asparagus, I put the spears into a casserole, drizzled extra virgin olive oil over them and then sprinkled fresh ground black pepper and coarse kosher salt on top. I baked them for about the last half hour with the potatoes. Before I put them in the casserole I washed them and peeled the bottom third before cutting any woody ends off. I never peeled asparagus before, but Mom has told me about doing this for some time now. I figured I would try it today since the asparagus spears are fairly fat.

It smells really good. I'll let you know how it all turns out after dinner.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-04-17T19:16:00.005-05:00

MMMMmmmmm...that was a taste sensation! I ended up not going to the grocery, so I prepared items I found in my pantry. We had the Chickpea Picatta, Couscous with tomato and Parmesean, and green beans with almonds; I also made a Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie from a mix.

The Chickpea Piccata was a little tart, but once we ate it over and mixed with the couscous it was just perfect. I didn't have shallots, so I used a little yellow onion sliced very thin in the piccata. I also didn't have arugula.

For the couscous I followed a recipe on the box - kind of - the recipe called for asparagus and I didn't have any in the house so I just left that ingredient out. Here's the couscous recipe:

Tomato Parmesan Couscous
Serves 3 1/2

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups fat free & reduced sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
1 package Near East couscous toasted pine nut
10 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes that I drained a little)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook garlic for 2 minutes. Add broth and contents of spice sack. Bring just to a boil. Stir in asparagus. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 minute.
2- Stir in Near East couscous; cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.
3- Stir in tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.

It was all very good. And, very easy.

Chickpea Piccata

2011-04-17T12:46:00.005-05:00

Today we're going to have "Chickpea Piccata" from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I was looking for a recipe with ingredients I already have at home and this looks like it will work. I'm still going to stop at the grocery, though. I want to make mashed roasted garlic and cauliflower as a side and I don't have any cauliflower. I'll just roast a head of cauliflower and garlic, then mash them as I would if I were making mashed potatoes. I don't yet know what will be for dessert.

Here's the Chickpea Piccata recipe:
Serves 4, 190 calories per serving

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 scant cup thinly slicked shallots
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
a generous pinch of dried thyme
1 (16-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup capers with a little brine
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 cups aruglua

1- Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Saute the shallots and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes, until golden. Add the bread crumbs and toast them by stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. They should turn a few shades darker.
2- Add the vegetable broth, wine, salt, pepper, and thyme. Turn up the heat, bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and let the sauce reduce by half; it should take about 7 minutes.
3- Add the chickpeas and capers and let heat through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and turn off the heat.
4- If you're serving the piccata with mashed potatoes, place the arugula in a wide bowl. Place the mashed potatoes on top of the arugula and ladle the piccata over the potatoes. The arugula will wilt and it will be lovely. If you are serving the piccata solo, just pour it right over the arugula.
Tip: Bulk it up by adding a thinly sliced portobello to the finished dish.

I don't plan to have arugula with dinner tonight. I'm thinking the piccata, the cauliflower mash, and maybe green beans; that will depend on what looks good at the grocery. Whatever it ends up being, I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-04-10T19:40:00.005-05:00

Well, that was FABULOUS! We really like this recipe. Today we had lettuce, avocado, celery, red pepper, carrot, cucumber, grape tomatoes, cannellini beans, fresh pineapple, and tuna. I made the fresh lime juice, fresh minced garlic, black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil dressing; it was quite refreshing.

And, then we had pie! The meringue on the pie was just about mile high! Very, very yummy. Glad we only have this special pie once a year. And, it's a good thing we had salad with that rich pie.

Have a great week. I'll let you know what's for Sunday dinner next week when I figure that out.

Chopped Salad with Tuna

2011-04-10T14:38:00.004-05:00

The last time we had this salad was August 29, 2010. It really is one of my favorite salads. Today, Michael is grilling some tuna for us. I have cucumber, avocado, grape tomatoes, celery, and lettuce, as called for in the original South Beach Diet recipe. I don't have radishes because we really aren't that fond of them. I may add carrots, hard-boiled eggs, and cannellini beans and I'm cutting a fresh pineapple that we might add to the salad (or not). Actually what happens is I prepare a whole bunch of ingredients and each person selects what he or she wants on his or her own plate.

Last night was the annual Knight's Brigade Race for the Cure chicken dinner and dance. This event has a huge silent auction and a good size oral auction too. Each year I try to pick up a pie and this year I "won" a lemon meringue pie. That's what we're having for dessert; so it's a good thing we're having salad for dinner!

I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-04-10T14:21:00.004-05:00

So, it was a bit labor intensive what with all the prep work. I personally don't think the artichokes were worth the trouble. Don't get me wrong, they were tasty, but there wasn't much to get from them and it was more difficult to eat than it was worth.

The beets were yummy. This was the first time I ever cooked beets, I always used the beets from a jar in the past. The potatoes and green beans were delicious, as well as fresh tomatoes, the kalamata olives, eggs, etc. I don't think I'll make this exact recipe again, but I will try a Niciose platter again.

The Chocolate-Blueberry cake was pretty tasty, and very pretty!

Nicoise Platter

2011-04-02T07:44:00.010-05:00

Last Saturday, Cindy (my sister) wanted us to take Mom for pedicures. Of course I said sure! They needed to stop by the veterinarian and a pet store first, so I told them I'd meet them at Borders bookstore; I had a 40% off coupon plus I needed to pick up items for a drawing we are having at the library for National Library Week (April 10 - 16). With my coupon I purchased a couple of cookbooks - imagine that! I picked up 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes and Isa Chandra Moskowwitz's Appetite for Reduction. I really like cookbooks that include complete nutritional information for the recipes, both of these books do that. They both also look like they'll keep me busy for a long time.

For Sunday dinner this week I plan to make Nicoise Platter from the 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes cookbook. Here's the recipe:

Nicoise Platter - serves 4 (424 calories per serving)

12 small red potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), unpeeled, cooked
2 large beets, cooked
12 ounces green beans, ends trimmed, cooked
4 Braised Whole Artichokes (recipe follows)
2-4 hard cooked eggs, halved
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
3 cups mixed salad greens, torn into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup halved ripe olives
4 teaspoons drained capers
1/2 cup salt-free, fat-free Italian dressing with herbs
1 small shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Tofu Aioli (recipe follows)

1- cut potatoes into fourths; peel and slice beets. Arrange with Braised Whole Artichokes, eggs, and tomatoes on greens-lined plates; sprinkle with olives and capers. Drizzle with combined Italian dressing, shallot, and garlic and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Serve with Tofu Aioli.

Braised Whole Artichokes

4 medium artichokes, stems removed
Salt
2-4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1- Cut 1 inch from tops of artichokes and discard. Place artichokes in medium saucepan and sprinkle lightly with salt; add 1 inch water to pan. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until artichokes are tender, about 30 minutes (bottom leaves will pull out easily). Drain. Holding artichokes with a towel, brush bottoms with olive oil; return to saucepan. Cook, uncovered, over medium to medium-low heat until bottoms of artichokes are deeply browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Tofu Aioli

1/2 package (10 1/2 ounce size) light firm tofu
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon each: tarragon vinegar, lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and white pepper, to taste

1- Process all ingredients, except salt and pepper, in a food processor or blender; season to taste with salt and white pepper. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

This recipe actually has quite a few steps if you consider all the ingredients that are already prepared in the ingredients list. Someone has to prep them too (that will be me). But this just sounds yummy to me. Ms. Moskowitz also has a similar salad in the Appetitie for Reduction cookbook. Hers is called Goddess Nicoise and uses chickpeas in the salad; it is also listed as 250 calories per serving. It looks really good too. I probably should go for the recipe with fewer calories, but I'll try it another time and let you know which I prefer.

So, for tomorrow it's the recipe listed above. I also plan to make the FatFree Vegan Kitchen's Chocolate-Blueberry Cake. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Oh, and FYI, our pedicures were great - even if we had to walk out in flip flops into a snowstorm! Boy, was that a surprise.

Enchiladas

2011-03-27T15:55:00.010-05:00

Today we had veggie enchiladas. I, of course, surfed the Internet looking for recipes and came up with a few. However, after looking at the various recipes I found, I ended up making up my own.

Veggie Enchiladas
1 10 box frozen spinach, thawed an drained with excess liquid squeezed out
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4 oz can diced mild green chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
pinch crushed red pepper
10 corn tortillas
2 oz low-fat cream cheese, divided into 10 small pieces
1 cup (more or less) shredded cheddar cheese

1- In a large bowl mix spinach, corn, beans, and chilies. Set aside.
2- In a medium size sauce pan, heat olive oil. Saute onion until just beginning to turn golden; add minced garlic and saute for about 1 more minute. Add tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, cocoa powder, red pepper. Cook to blend, but do not boil. Set aside.
3- Wrap tortillas in moist paper towels and microwave for 1 minute. Prepare a large casserole by spraying it with non-stick spray.
4- Take one tortilla at a time, put spinach mixture in middle of tortilla and add 1 piece of cream cheese. Roll tortilla unto itself, place onto prepared casserole seam side down. Repeat with all tortillas.
5- Place any spinach mixture left over all tortillas. Spread tomato mixture over all then shredded cheese.
6- Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Makes 10 servings, more or less.

It was pretty good. But the tortillas got a little tough on the seam side. Next time I will make more sauce and put some down in the casserole before putting the enchiladas in. They were tasty though.

We also had corn fritters from Whole Foods - these were yummy - and some edamame succotash. I was not fond of the succotash myself. Mom liked it and gets to take it home with her.

I also made a Ricotta Cheese cake from the Eating Well Dessert Cookbook. It was good too.

Portobello Thoughts

2011-03-20T19:52:00.007-05:00

I still didn't know what exactly was for dinner until just before I made it. I figured something with Portobello mushrooms would probably work out. So, I asked Michael to make a salad and to pick up some portobellos and mozzarella cheese at the grocery while I went with my friends Debbie and Suzi to the River City Casino this morning. We didn't come home winners, but the dinner I made was a winner!

My recipe was kind of a portobello parmesan/pasta bake.

Ingredients:
6 portobello mushroom caps, cleaned with stems and gills removed
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup parsley
1 Tablespoon Italian seasonings
fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
2 cups shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese, divided
freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 bag no yolk egg noodles
1 jar pasta sauce

Prepare the mushrooms. Mix the walnuts, garlic, parsley, seasonings, 1 cup mozzarella, and about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.

Wrap a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick spray. Brush olive oil on mushrooms. Place mushrooms on cookie sheet. Put 2 Tablespoons mixture on each mushroom. Broil in oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to label instructions.

Prepare a large baking dish by spreading about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce over the bottom of the dish. When noodles are cooked drain them and place them on top of the pasta sauce. Place broiled mushrooms on top of noodles. Spread the remaining pasta sauce over all. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and about 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over all. Place in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

We ate the mushrooms dish with a fresh salad and warm bread. It was terrific! And, really easy to prepare. I will definitely make this again.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-03-06T21:17:00.006-06:00

I think I've only had quinoa one other time; so, of course, this was my first time cooking it. The verdict: I'll cook it again, and I'll make this dish again. I thought it was pretty yummy, and not too hard to pull together. Mom and Dad both liked dinner tonight. Michael - not so much; he said he wasn't fond of the texture. He also said, "it's not terrible." I liked the flavors with the sesame oil and the soy sauce - not too heavy.

The cucumber was good. I used an English cucumber for the first time. It might have a little less taste than the common cucumbers I am used to eating. Not that cucumbers have a big flavor to begin with. Overall, a good dinner.

So, after my tantrum about desserts a few weeks ago, I gave in and decided to make a pie. I made Lucky Leaf's Lemon Sponge Pie recipe. It's a winner! I will definitely make this again. Because the recipe calls for the egg whites to basically be whipped into a light meringue then folded into the lemon mixture, it made a delightfully light pie. I also picked up some Meyer lemons at the grocery yesterday and I cut the peel and pith from two lemons and sliced them; then I added a tablespoon of sugar to the lemons and let it all mingle together in the refrigerator for awhile this afternoon. Mom and I used a little of the Meyer lemons/sugar mixture on top of our slices of pie - yum!

I don't think I'll be making dinner next Sunday. We have a home party to go to and I have a gift certificate for dinner for four at a local restaurant. That's what I expect we'll be doing next Sunday. When I make Sunday dinner again, I'll be sure to share with you!

A 500 Calorie Meal

2011-03-05T09:35:00.006-06:00

In January I joined Club Fitness with several of my girlfriends (Andrea, Cindy, Liz, Rhonda, Cassy, and Dawn). I have been going faithfully several times a week to Zumba and Pilates classes, and to meet with a trainer twice a week. So far I've lost 5 pounds; this makes me happy but it's much too slow. I know my biggest hurdle at this point is what I eat (and how much). While we really do eat quite healthy for the most part, I do have my downfalls. Interestingly, I had to work quite a bit extra this week and only got to the gym once - and still lost weight! I figure that's because I was so busy working I didn't have time to graze.

Nancy, a co-worker of mine, gave me a recipe for a Broccoli & Goat Cheese Souffle, which looks pretty good; she actually gave me the Eat Healthy magazine to look at (a magazine put out by The Commissary). In the magazine the recipe is part of an article on "Healthy Week: the un-diet diet: 500-calorie menus." I'll try the souffle sometime, but not this week.

Well, that got me surfing a bit to see what other 500-calorie meals are out there. Apparently this is a big push from Eating Well magazine. The souffle is on Eating Well's Web site too (I don't know which came first - the chicken or the egg, but I have my suspicions the recipe is originally from Eating Well). Anyway, I also came across this menu for Toasted Quinoa Salad with Scallops & Snow Peas served with Japanese Cucumber Salad and a glass of White Wine - that just sounds absolutely divine to me! So, that's what I plan to make. I needed to know before I go to Zumba this morning so I can stop by the grocery on my way home. When I get time, I'm going to browse through all five weeks of 500-calorie menus to see what other treats we might try.

Well, it's off to Zumba! I'll be sure to tell you all about Sunday dinner.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-02-20T13:33:00.008-06:00

I finally came across the tofu Parmesan recipe I used in the past, it's from Eating Well and is called Tofu Parmigiana. While I was searching online, I came across two more recipes that sounded good: Emeril's Tofu Parmesan and Tofu Parmesan from I Found Happy. So, what did I do? A mash-up of course! Here's what I did:

I followed Emeril's recipe with the exception of cooking and adding the onions and mushrooms like in the recipe from Eating Well. I did bake the dish like Emeril's called for as well. It was good, but Michael and I like the Eating Well recipe and method better; it keeps the tofu crisp. In Emeril's recipe the tofu doesn't stay crisp during the baking process.

The potatoes and portabellas were good. I would maybe try that company's frozen mixtures again, however it's probably just as easy to cook the same mixture with fresh vegetables. The fresh asparagus was very yummy!

I'm happy to share tofu parmigiana with you. It is a recipe we like and I'm just surprised I haven't shared it before. Have a great week and I'll share our next Sunday dinner plans with you, once I figure them out.

Tofu Parmesan!

2011-02-20T08:57:00.005-06:00

I have been looking everywhere for a tofu Parmesan recipe I made some time ago. Mom requested it for dinner today, so that's what we're having. I thought I had made it and blogged about it; I must have made it before I started blogging because I can't find it on this blog anywhere. I've also looked through the printouts I have for a variety of recipes, some I've made and some I'm planning to make someday. I still can't find it. I'm going to go workout for awhile, then I'll come back and look around some more. If I can't find the recipe I made in the past I guess I'll just find a new recipe.

We're also going to have fresh asparagus I picked up at the grocery yesterday. I'm going to roast the asparagus in the oven. And, I picked up a package of Alexia roasted red potatoes & baby portabella mushrooms with green beans, onions, and a thyme-infused oil blend; I found it in the frozen vegetables section and it just sounded good. So why not?

Who knows what will be for dessert. I'll be sure to tell you all about it, though.

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-02-20T08:43:00.005-06:00

Mexican vegetarian was pretty tasty! We actually make the taco salad quite often at our house, just not usually on Sunday. Also, we don't usually put tofu in it. Adding the tofu was okay, I don't think it enhanced the taco mix at all, but it also wasn't detrimental to the taste. The triple decker tortillas were really easy to make and yummy. They will be an easy bite to make when time is short - maybe good for lunch on their own.

So, now it's time for me to confess - I am not a baker. I can try all I want, but I will never be known for cakes, cupcakes, pies, or anything that requires mixing and baking. You might be able to guess that the cupcakes didn't work out. It's up to others to come up with dessert if it needs to be baked.

So, two good, and one not so good. Oh well, I never said I was perfect. I do like to cook, though, so I'll keep making Sunday dinner and telling you all about it.

Mexican Vegetarian

2011-02-12T10:27:00.006-06:00

I love Mexican food! Or, I should say I love American-Mexican food. We make a pretty good taco salad at our house based on a recipe we got from an Arkansas cousin probably close to 35 years ago. It uses tomato soup as a main ingredient. I'm going to make the taco salad like we usually do, with a little twist, I'm adding tofu (the original recipe calls for ground beef, we usually use Boca crumbles). I'm also going to make Triple Decker Tortillas.

Here's the Taco Salad recipe as I am making it tomorrow:

1 package Boca crumbles
1 can ranch-style black beans
1 block frozen extra firm tofu, thawed and drained, cut into small cubes
1 can tomato soup
1 package taco seasoning
1 cup water
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small chopped onion
1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

Saute vegetables in oil, add crumbles, beans, and tofu. Stir in soup, taco seasoning and water. Allow to simmer well to meld flavors.

Lettuce, torn
Corn chips, broken
Tomatoes, chopped
Shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
Salsa
Light sour cream
Chopped green onion
Black olives

Use any or all of the above ingredients to make a salad bed; add cooked taco mixture.

I'm also going to make the Strawberry and Mascarpone Filled Cupcakes I didn't make for my last blog post. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-02-01T16:52:00.010-06:00

Well, things changed. We had Sunday dinner on Saturday. Cindy, Dave, and Chris went to a Special Olympics dinner and dance Saturday night, so Mom and Dad came over that night. Then, they all went to Dave's sister Suzi's & family's house for Superbowl on Sunday. It all worked out (I went shopping). And, since I did go shopping I didn't feel like going so extravagant on the cupcakes - I made a yellow cake box mix and used already prepared frosting. I'll think about making the filled cupcakes in the coming weeks.

I decided to adjust my mom's Beef Stroganoff recipe.

[Original Recipe] *My adjustments

[2 lbs round steak (cut into 1” to 2” cubes)]
1 package Boca crumbles*
1 lb baby Portobello mushrooms, quartered*
2 cloves garlic, minced*
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
[1 to 1 ½ cups sour cream]
1 to 1 ½ cups light sour cream*
Reames Frozen Egg Noodles, cooked according to package directions

[Brown round steak in oil] Sauté onion in oil, add garlic* and mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are browned. [Return meat to pan] Add crumbles* to pan along with all other ingredients EXCEPT sour cream. [Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours over medium heat.] Simmer about 1/2 hour over medium heat to allow flavors to blend.* Add sour cream and heat over very low heat until heated through (do not boil or sour cream will curdle).

Serve over egg noodles or rice.

I hope the brackets and asterisks aren't too confusing. I just thought it might be easier to follow my changes if I wrote it this way.

The stroganoff turned out to be really good. It wasn't exactly the same as Mom's, but it was close enough.

Thinking About Cupcakes

2011-02-01T14:36:00.000-06:00

I belong to the local Rotary. Rotary = Service Above Self; there is a four-way test regarding the things we think, say, or do:
1- Is it the TRUTH?
2- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Rotary strives to end polio worldwide and to provide opportunities to our communities. As a Rotarian, I participate in fund raisers. On Tuesday, February 8, we are hosting an all-you-can-eat Chili Day. The proceeds from this event will support our local youth fund: a 3rd grade dictionary program, the High School After Prom Party, students of the month, and foreign exchange students. I'm making 2 dozen cupcakes to take to the event and have been trying to decide what to make. I'm going to have to make the cupcakes on Sunday and I'll make enough for dessert with Sunday dinner.

I'm not a big cupcake maker (to say the least). I have some canned pie fillings at home and would like to make some cupcakes that might incorporate pie filling. So far I've found two recipes I'm considering: American Pie Cupcakes and Peaches and Cream Cake that I would bake as cupcakes. I also was looking at two more recipes: Boston Creme Cupcakes and Strawberry and Mascarpone Filled Cupcakes. I think I may make one of the peach cupcakes, the Boston creme and the Strawberry/Mascarpone cupcakes and then take whichever turn out the best.

So, what should I make for dinner if I'm also going to be making cupcakes? Hmmm...my friend Laura recommends something warm and hearty. I'm thinking stroganoff. My mom makes a fabulous beef stroganoff. Now we all know I won't be making a beef stronganoff, but I might make a portobello mushroom or a vegetarian crumbles stronganoff. Or maybe I'll just take my mom's recipe and tweek it to be vegetarian. We'll have a lettuce salad as well as some good bread. Easy, warm, and hearty! A stroganoff should fit the bill.

Whatever I end up making, I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-01-24T21:18:00.008-06:00

High raves for the Chili-Glazed Tofu over Asparagus and Rice! Mom said, "This is a real success. Put it in the regular rotation." Here's how I prepared it...

I first drained the tofu then placed it on top of paper towels on a cookie sheet with paper towels on top, then a cutting board, then a cookbook (for weight). After the tofu drained for over an hour, I cubed the tofu into small - maybe 1/2-inch - cubes. I cooked it in the peanut oil until it was lightly browned all around.

I cut the asparagus and carrots into bite size pieces (I didn't used shredded carrots, instead I used fresh that I sliced to be about the size of the asparagus). Then I roasted the vegetables in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes.

I doubled the sauce and when I cooked it I let it reduce quite a bit. I didn't have hot chili sauce with garlic, so I used sweet chili sauce and added a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. Additionally, because I doubled the sauce, instead of using 2 teaspoons of minced ginger I used 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon minced garlic.

I didn't mix the rice and vegetables together. Instead I kept the rice separate so I added the sesame oil to the vegetables. I made more rice than the recipe called for and I wanted to be able to use the rice for another recipe later this week.

This was a fairly easy recipe to prepare and truly tasty. Yes, I will make this again.

Hmmm...something with Tofu

2011-01-23T11:50:00.004-06:00

I stopped by the Grocery last week and picked up some extra firm tofu since I haven't had any for awhile. So, I knew I wanted to make some kind of tofu dish, but wasn't quite sure what. Yesterday I stopped by Whole Foods and picked up some fresh asparagus (from Chile), some yummy fresh carrots (I can't seem to pass carrots up whenever I visit Whole Foods), and some baby bok choy. But, I still didn't know what I wanted to make.

This morning I searched the Internet for "tofu asparagus rice" and found a Chili-Glazed Tofu Over Asparagus and Rice recipe that is highly rated. I think this is what I'll make. As an extra bonus, I actually have all the ingredients on hand!

I'll let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2011-01-08T09:43:00.007-06:00

Mmmm...I like black eye peas! This Hoppin' John recipe is terrific and I believe I will make it again sometime. Also, everyone truly enjoyed the bok choy. I don't think mom or dad had ever had bok choy as a separate dish before; I know I've used it as an ingredient in other recipes, but not as its own dish. They both really enjoyed it! I'm glad.

For dessert I ended up making a trifle. I used two of my Weight Watchers cookbooks to make a mash-up. Below is the recipe I made. I must say it was mighty tasty. Very easy too. I will definitely make it again!

1 package vanilla-flavored instant pudding mix (the size that serves 4)
2 cups skim milk
1 cup frozen light whipped topping (thawed)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (I used the zest of 2 oranges)
1 angel food cake, cut into cubes (I used a store-bought cake that looked like it was prepared in a bundt cake pan)
1 cup orange juice
1 20 oz can unsweetened pineapple tidbits, drained
4 small navel oranges, peeled, sectioned, and cut into chunks
3 ruby red grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and cut into chunks
1 pint fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
1/4 cup sliced unblanched almonds

1- Prepare the pudding mix with the milk according to package directions. Stir the orange zest and whipped topping into pudding mixture.

2- Place 1/2 of the cake cubes into a large bowl. Pour 1/2 cup orange juice over cake cubes. Spoon 1/2 of pudding mixture over cake cubes. Add the fruit from 2 oranges and 1 1/2 grapefruit, 1/2 of the pineapple tidbits, and 1/2 of the blueberries on top of pudding mixture.

3- Follow step 2 with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4- Shortly before serving, toast the almonds and coconut in a large non-stick skillet. Toast the almonds first for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coconut and stir for about 2 more minutes until both are lightly browned. Transfer to a heatproof dish to serve from.

5- Just before serving, add a bit more whipped topping to individual servings and sprinkle with toasted almonds and coconut.

FYI...when I section citrus I use a knife to cut the peel away and then cut the sections out to only have fruit and to leave any membrane or pith behind. It's a bit messy to do it this way, but totally worth it!

We got at least 8 servings from this dish. Very good!

Welcome 2011 with Black Eye Peas

2010-12-29T17:16:00.007-06:00

I like black eye peas. Since they are supposed to be good luck for a new year, this gives me a terrific excuse to make a dish of Hoppin' John! I found this recipe for Hoppin' John in a recent Parade magazine. It sounds wonderful to me.

I also want to make something green to accompany the black eye peas. While at the grocery today I looked at collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, but didn't want such heavy greens. So, I picked up some bok choy, otherwise known as Chinese cabbage. I really like bok choy too, I'm just hoping these two ingredients compliment each other. I will probably make the bok choy into a simple stir fry, maybe as bok choy with cashews.

I don't yet know what will be for dessert, but you can bet it'll be something "light." If you have a suggestion, please leave me a comment.

I'll be sure to let you know how everything turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-12-27T11:47:00.011-06:00

Mmmm mmmm good! That's what Baked Potato Soup is!!! When I got up I put the potatoes in the oven to bake at 475° for an hour. Boy, those potatoes smelled yummy. Then, I left them to cool down for awhile (while my sister and I went shopping).

When Cindy and I were done shopping, we decided I would make the soup over at her house. So, we stopped by my house to pick up all the ingredients and transported them to her house. This soup really couldn't be any easier to make. And it truly was delicious! I'm adding this to the regular recipes list. This is a good "go to" kind of recipe - as long as you take the time to bake the potatoes in advance.

We also had leftover salad as well as leftover pie. Better get that pie eating in, because it's time to return to more healthy eating with the new year. Mom made her as ever yummy pecan pie. I made those two stuffed crust pies: blueberry and cherry. Both were good, but we like the blueberry better (especially when the two are alongside each other). The blueberry just is bit sweeter.

My brother-in-law, David, used the potato skins to make twice-baked potatoes, we had a bit of that along with the soup. Our family is obviously one that likes the potato!

It'll be 2011 before I cook another Sunday dinner, so here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to you and yours.

Potato Soup!

2010-12-25T10:01:00.011-06:00

In this week's St. Louis Post Dispatch Let's Eat section was an article on How to Make Perfect Baked Potatoes and Potato Soup. We love potatoes at our house, so I'll be making Baked Potato Soup for Sunday dinner this week.

We'll most likely have salad with that soup since I made a huge salad to take to my sister's for Christmas. For the salad I tore red leaf romaine and a curly green lettuce. I chopped celery and carrots (plus I also shredded some carrot too). I also sectioned a few ruby red grapefruits I purchased recently through the annual Rotary citrus sale; these grapefruits are fabulous! I also picked up a wedge of Wenslydale cheese with cranberries at Whole Foods the other day; I think some of this cheese crumbled into the salad might be good. While at Whole foods I also picked up some new (to me at least) crackers: lesley stowe raincost crisps. They had tasting stations in the cheese and wine area and boy were they tasty! I hope everyone likes them. I think we'll try these crackers alongside our salad this week instead of bread.

I also made two pies Friday night: a blueberry cheesecake pie to take to my Aunt Carolyn's and Uncle Bill's house for Christmas Eve, and a cherry cheesecake pie to take to my sister's. Both the pies are based on the Blue Ribbon Stuffed Crust Blueberry Pie I made a few weeks ago. It was so good I just had to make it again! However, we didn't make it to the Christmas Eve get-together because of the weather. So, I figure we'll have leftover pie for Sunday dinner.

While I haven't been writing much lately, I have still been cooking. Here are a couple of photos from some recent recipes...

Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Feta Vinaigrette, only with cheese tortellini instead of orzo

Melting Moments Christmas cookies

This cookie recipe is one of my very favorite and also one of the easiest to make. My dear friend Paula Moore gave me this recipe many years ago. Every time I make these cookies I think of Paula and Mickie Beckman, the gracious friend who first invited me to a cookie exchange. Both of these wonderful women have added so much to my life. Here's the recipe:

Melting Moments
1/2 lb. butter, softened (2 sticks)
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup flour

Mix dry ingredients together. Add to the creamed butter. Mix well. Roll into small balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly (they don't spread). Bake at 300° for 30 minutes.

Frost with powdered sugar frosting tinted pink or green. Frosting:
3 tablespoons softened butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk (or more - add a little at a time until right consistency)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Makes 50 little cookies.

As you can see, I didn't color my frosting. I frosted the cookies then dipped them into the Christmas sprinkles. They sure were yummy!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-12-05T22:56:00.004-06:00

We loved the Pounded Walnut Strozzapreti! It was incredibly easy to make; I made the pesto in my small food processor. I couldn't find any farro pasta so I used campanelle instead. I used a little bit of the pasta water (approximately 1/4 cup) and maybe should have used more in the finished dish just to add a little bit more moisture to the dish.

The creamed spinach, on the other hand, was okay. Mom and Dad both liked it, but I really didn't - it was too sweet for my taste. I'll try creamed spinach again sometime however with a different recipe.

Pounded Walnut Strozzapreti

2010-12-05T10:18:00.008-06:00

Friday evening I looked through a pile of recipes I have printed over the years and came across this recipe for Pounded Walnut Strozzapreti that I've been interested in trying for about a year. It sounds wonderful to me!

I'm also going to add a side dish of creamed spinach. The recipe I'm using is from my copy of Joy of Cooking. However, I'm using thawed frozen spinach, squeezed dry, instead of fresh spinach. Additionally, I'm either using plain soy milk or vegetable broth instead of cream or chicken broth. Oh - and I won't be using bacon. Otherwise, I think the recipe should turn out fine. When cooking with soy milk, I know it's important to take care, but it's also important to take care when cooking with cow's milk.

When I was going through my recipe pile, I also came across a Tuna with White Beans and Onions recipe that I had copied from a Weight Watchers book (which book, I'm unsure). The recipe sounded so good that I went ahead and made it on Friday. Mmmm...and it is good! It's a great lunch dish. Here's the recipe:

Tuna with White Beans and Onions

Canned tuna is available in three grades: solid, chunk, and flaked. Solid, sometimes called fancy, is considered the best.

Makes 4 servings

1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 (6 ounce) cans olive-oil-packed light tuna, drained
1 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Refrigerate, covered, until the flavors are blended, at least 2 hours.

Per serving (about 1 1/2 cups): 301 calories, 17 g fat, 3 g sat. fat, 0 g trans. fat, 38 mg cholesterol, 552 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 20 g protein, 42 mg calcium
Points value: 7

When I made this, I used burgundy as that was all I had and I unintentionally forgot to put the garlic in. The dish still tasted yummy! Cannellini beans are also sometimes called white kidney beans. I decreased the amount of sage in the recipe. While I do like sage, I only had rubbed sage and I feared two teaspoons would be too much. So, I used only 1 teaspoon; I probably will use 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sage the next time I make this recipe.

Anyway, it's time to get busy. I'll let you know how dinner turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-11-21T21:22:00.009-06:00

The soup was quite yummy. We had it as out main course, but I also think it would make a good first course for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The hardest part of the soup was cutting up all the vegetables. I didn't have any Madiera, so I added the last of some very dry Sherry I had.

I also served some bread I picked up at the grocery yesterday. It's seasonal pumpkin seed & cranberry bread from Companion Bread. This company makes some of the best bread around.

And, then there was pie. Double stuffed blueberry pie is worth making! The cream cheese mixture with sugar, lime zest & juice, and almond extract is just out of this world. The flavor combination really works. I'll make this again sometime.

Barley Mushroom Soup & Stuffed Crust Blueberry Pie

2010-11-20T14:08:00.004-06:00

When Mom and I were at our hair dresser the other day, Karen showed us a recipe in the recent Better Homes & Gardens magazine. It was an advertisement for Lucky Leaf pie filling and the recipe is Blue Ribbon Stuffed Crust Blueberry Pie. The stuffed comes from a cream cheese, lime zest & juice, sugar, and almond extract mixture between 2 pie crusts. The blueberry pie filling is put on top of the second pie crust and dollops of cream cheese mixture is spooned on it. Sounds pretty yummy to us.

Then, when I was looking for my green beans almondine recipe (to make for Thanksgiving) I came across a Classic Barley Mushroom Soup recipe I've been wanting to make for awhile. It came from a book titled Vegetarian Classics. Below is the recipe.

Classic Barley Mushroom Soup
Serves 4 as a main course

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, coarsely chopped into small pieces
10 cups vegetable stock
1 celery rib, very thinly sliced
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 cup barley, rinsed in a strainer
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous seasoning freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1- Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring often, until they release their juices and begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

2- Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the parsley and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat to a lively simmer, and cook 45-60 minutes, or until the barley is very tender. Stir in the parsley just before serving.

Tips:
--Got some Madeira on hand? A splash adds depth and richness to this soup.
--You can use all common mushrooms or 8 ounces common mushrooms and 8 ounces mixed exotic mushrooms.
--This soup can be made up to 2 days in advance.

Sounds delicious. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-10-31T22:59:00.009-05:00

Well now, that was tasty. I was happy to finally have dinner ready; I felt like I was two hours behind all day. Part of that was because I got up two hours later than usual. I guess all the traveling I did this past week caught up with me. I was at ILEAD U in Springfield Monday through Thursday. Then, Friday I drove up to the Chicago suburbs for a celebration dinner that evening. I got up and drove back to the St Louis area Saturday morning. When I got home, I had just enough time to get ready for the Mayor's Halloween Ball; had a lot of fun at that party but got home later than normal. So, like I said, I think it all caught up with me this morning when I didn't get out of bed until late morning.

Even with that I was able to get dinner made and on the table. Mom was a huge help to me by putting the cake together while I prepared for the trick or treaters. Both the chili and the cake were very good. I decided to make the Black Forest Cake and that was a wise decision.

We had a very happy Halloween. I hope you did too!

A Halloween Theme: Sweet Potato & Black Beans Chili

2010-10-28T13:39:00.005-05:00

It's been quite a while since I've made Sweet Potato & Black Beans Chili. My friend Amanda first turned me on to this recipe a few years ago. I thought of it because I want a crock pot dish on Halloween, and because it's orange and black (plus it is truly delicious). It's really good with corn chips (I recommend Tostito Scoops).

For dessert I think we need something red and black - vampire colors. So, I might make either a Black Forest Cake or a Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake. I'll be sure to let you know which dessert we have and how it all turns out.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-10-10T22:11:00.008-05:00

WOW! That was one delicious dinner! And, even better, each of the recipes was incredibly easy to prepare. I will definitely make all three again. While the garbanzo salad and spinach pie were truly delectable, the cake was absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend it!

I made the salad Saturday afternoon, which allowed the flavors to meld nicely. Sunday morning I made the cake before we went out for breakfast. Then, after breakfast I came home and mixed the ingredients for the spinach pie and put them in the refrigerator. After the regular cleaning out the basement at our parents house, I put the pie ingredients into the pie pan and baked it. That worked great. I also warmed some pasta sauce for the spinach pie.

My week's going to be pretty busy; I don't know when I'll be able to post next Sunday's recipes. Enjoy the photos and have a great week.

Sicilian Spinach Pie

2010-10-05T18:58:00.010-05:00

I'm back! Skipped Sunday dinners in September; instead we spent Sundays cleaning out mom & dad's basement. We're not quite done, but I think I can start cooking on Sundays again.

Michael found the recipe for Sicilian Spinach Pie in the St Louis Post Dispatch and cut it out. It doesn't take much for me to realize when he wants something. So, I'll make the pie this weekend. I'm thinking about putting it all together, refrigerating it, then just popping it in the oven on Sunday (we'll be back in that basement this Sunday). I'll let you know if that's what I decide to do.

For a side I'm going to make a Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) salad. I've been trying to find a fresh sounding recipe, but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. So, I'm going to go with a mash up - a cross between this Garbanzo Bean Salad recipe and this 5-minute Greek Garbanzo Bean Salad recipe. I want to use the garbanzo beans, apple, walnuts, onion, and celery from the first recipe and the parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper from the second recipe.

Now I have to figure out something for dessert because we certainly can't skip dessert! I think I might try this Lemon Ginger Peach cake I found online.

I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-08-29T19:05:00.006-05:00

A hit! Tonights dinner was quite refreshing. We'll have it again sometime. Everyone ate everything up tonight!

The hardest thing wasn't really hard, just time consuming; that was pitting the cherries. Well worth the effort though.

Chopped Salad with Tuna

2010-08-28T18:03:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning thinking about this salad I used to make occasionally. It's from the South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston, M.D. I'm going to change it up just a bit.

Here's the original recipe:

South Beach Chopped Salad with Tuna

Salad:
1 can (6 oz) water-packed tuna
1/3 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped tomato
1/3 cup chopped avocado
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped radishes
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce

Dressing:
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To make the salad: Layer the tuna, cucumber, tomato, avocado, celery, radishes, and lettuce in a decorative bowl.

To make the dressing: Mix the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and pepper. Drizzle over the salad.

Serves 1

Yes- that's the real recipe. Seems somewhat obvious, but I guess it helps to have step-by-step directions.

Anyway, here's how I'm changing it up:
I picked up about 1.5 pounds fresh yellowfin tuna steaks that I had baked at the store (there are 4 of us eating this for dinner). I'm using ruby red grapefruit in place of the lime and will add some of the fruit to the salad too. I also won't be using radishes because I don't like them.

For dessert we're having Cherry Jell-o Surprise. Here's the original recipe:

Strawberry Jell-o Surprise

2 cups pretzels, broken and crushed
1 1/2 sticks margarine, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz cool whip
1 cup sugar
1 large or 2 small packages strawberry Jell-o
2 cups boiling water
2 containers frozen strawberries

1- Mix pretzels, margarine and 3 tablespoons sugar together. Pat into a 13 x 9-inch pan. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes.
2- Mix the cream cheese, cool whip, and 1 cup sugar together. Spread on top of cooled pretzel crust.
3- Boil 2 cups of water. Add the strawberry Jell-o and mix in the frozen strawberries. Let the Jell-o set up a little. Pour over the cheese mixture. Regrigerate.
Note: some of the cool whip can be reserved to cover the top of the Jell-o mixture.

Since I called this Cherry Jell-o Surprise, it's safe to assume I'm using cherry in place of strawberry. I also picked up some fresh cherries that I'll use in place of the frozen strawberries. Additionally, I'm using 1/3 less fat cream cheese. In place of cool whip I'm using 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. I may try to use either Splenda or Stevia instead of sugar, but won't decide for sure until I'm actually making the dessert.

As always, I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-08-22T10:32:00.003-05:00

Everything turned out as expected. The baked sweet potatoes were terrific, as always. The salad was divine - we love salad at our house. The tofu was pretty good. Dad and Michael were not fond of the tofu. Michael said he didn't like the texture while the flavor was okay. Dad just plain didn't like it. Mom, Chris, and I did like it. Chris liked it so much he ate what Dad didn't/wouldn't eat.

It is possible that I will make this again. It was easy to put together and to cook. In the future, however, I need to learn more about tofu textures. I understand that if you freeze tofu before using it the texture changes. I think I'll do some research and then try it out.

Anyway, the dinner was not a complete bust. No-one left the table hungry and everyone at least tried something new. Live and learn!

Have a great week!

Lemon Pepper Tofu

2010-08-21T10:39:00.005-05:00

My sister and brother-in-law are going to a Cardinals baseball game today at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. So, I'm having Sunday dinner on Saturday this week. Mom, Dad, and my nephew Chris are all coming over for dinner. Here's what is on the menu:

Lemon Pepper Tofu
Baked Sweet Potatoes
Baked regular potatoes (for those who don't like sweet potatoes)
Salad
Cherry Confetti Cake with Cream Cheese frosting

You might remember I picked up the sweet potatoes last weekend because they looked so good. Michael is not fond of sweet potatoes, so I'll make a regular baked potato for him and possibly Chris.

The cake is a box mix and Michael will bake it.

We picked up some yummy looking carrots, red lettuce and butter lettuce at Whole Foods the other day. They'll go into the salad along with celery; spinach; red, yellow, or orange pepper; and maybe a little red onion. I might also hard boil some eggs and I'll have some nuts or sunflower seeds out. Oh - and I picked up some sun-dried tomatoes that I'll chop and have for those who want to add that to their salad. We tend to put some basic ingredients in every salad and then have add-ons on the side.

I'm again going for a mash-up as far as the recipe is concerned. I found a recipe for Pan Seared Lemon Pepper Tofu on Vegan Represent Forum and a recipe for Lemon Pepper Tofu Bake on Savvy Vegetarian.

Lemon Pepper Tofu Mash-Up

1 lb extra firm tofu

Marinade:
5 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon Tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
parsley

a few thin slices of fresh lemon for garnish (optional)

1- Put all the marinade ingredients in a jar, screw the lid on tight, and shake until well mixed.

2- Press the block of tofu between an old dishtowel or paper towels to remove any excess water.

3- Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch slices, and lay side by side in a flat baking pan or other dish.

4- Spread the marinade over and under the tofu slices; marinate 30 minutes, turning over once or twice.

5- Put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and put it over medium/high heat.

6- Cook the tofu fillets in the pan until the herbs blacken and the tofu is medium brown. Just before serving, squeeze additional lemon juice over the fillets.

No telling how this is really going to turn out, but I'll be sure to let you know. I have high hopes!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-08-15T18:43:00.012-05:00

All I can say is YUMMY!

The picture of the bread salad is before I added the croutons (bread). Using the fresh heirloom tomatoes gave it an extra special taste. As you can see, I also used fresh kalamata olives.

For the fruit salad I combined blueberries, cherries, a mango, a nectarine, about half of a pineapple, a plum, a pluot, and some strawberries. I didn't add anything to the salad; it was terrific just as it was.

Here's how I made the Eggplant/Portobello Mushroom Parmesan:

2 Italian Eggplants
1 purple Eggplant
4 large Portobello Mushrooms
2 eggs, slightly beaten in a small bowl
3/4 cup Progresso Garlic & Herb Bread Crumbs (more or less)
Olive Oil
Nonstick spray
1 jar pasta sauce (I used Tony's - interesting what you can find on Amazon)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (about 1 cup, more or less)
Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (about 1 cup, more or less)
Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese (about 1 cup, more or less)

1- The first thing I did was slice the eggplants and sprinkle them on both sides with coarse salt. I put them in a colander for about an hour. After that I rinsed the salt off the eggplant slices and set the slices in between paper towels to dry a bit.

2- Line up the bowl with the eggs next to a shallow container with bread crumbs next to a pan with olive oil on the stove. Have the oil heated to about medium, you may have to adjust the heat source to keep the bread crumbs from burning, yet allowing them to crisp to a golden brown. Dip the eggplant slices one at a time in the egg, then the bread crumbs; place them in the pan of olive oil. Cook until golden brown and a bit crisp. Don't crowd the eggplant slices - do several batches instead (and wipe the bread crumbs out in between batches, which will require adding oil for each batch too).

3- Spray a lasagna dish with nonstick spray. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce in the dish. As the eggplant slices are ready layer them in the lasagna dish on top of the pasta sauce. Sprinkle a bit of the cheeses over the eggplant. Lay the mushrooms on top of the cheeses. Put more pasta sauce on top of the mushrooms, more eggplant slices, then pasta sauce and cheeses until all are in the dish, ending with cheese.

4- Put in a 350° oven for 30 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is well melted.

Serves at least 8.

Everyone loved the Parmesan dish!

Fresh, fresh, fresh

2010-08-14T15:34:00.005-05:00

Not knowing what to make for Sunday dinner this week, I visited the grocery this morning. Probably a bad idea; I hadn't had breakfast yet and EVERYTHING looked great. Also, I had no plan. That said, I think we can be happy tomorrow.

I picked up some scrumptious looking local grown produce: purple eggplant, Italian eggplant, and heirloom tomatoes. I also picked up some sweet potatoes and portabello mushroom caps. After the grocery I stopped by my sister's house and picked up some cucumbers from her garden. And, then I wondered what am I going to make with these? Well, I'm going to make that yummy tomato bread salad I've been talking about (and making at the drop of a hat) this summer. I'm going to put together some kind of an eggplant Parmesan with portabello mushrooms dish. The sweet potatoes will be reserved for another day.

But that's not all I bought at the grocery. I also picked up a seedless watermelon, a fresh pineapple, a couple of mangoes, some pluots, strawberries, and cherries. I'm going to put together a fresh fruit salad too! We have blueberries, nectarines, and plums at our house already. I'm not sure yet what exactly will make it into the fruit salad. I also picked up an angel food loaf to go along with the fruit salad.

I made a similar fresh fruit salad to take to my friend Liz's house a few weeks ago and it was delicious!!! It had watermelon, pineapple, cherries, nectarine, blueberries, and strawberries. What originally really spurred me to make the fruit salad is a new tool from Pampered Chef: the pineapple wedger. This totally cool tool has truly transformed my willingness to use fresh pineapple. I used to really dislike cleaning, cutting, and slicing fresh pineapple because of how slippery it is. Well, the pineapple wedger takes care of it all in one smooth motion (ok, so not the slicing, but it's much easier once the wedger has been used first). I cannot profess my happiness with this tool enough. If you like fresh pineapple, you too might want one of these for your kitchen.

Oh - and one more tool that makes preparing fresh cherries a breeze is the cherry pitter. Pampered Chef used to have one, I don't see it on their website today. Mine is not from Pampered Chef, but I also don't know where I bought it. If you find one, I highly recommend this tool too.

Summer Squash Pie

2010-08-06T22:58:00.002-05:00

I didn't make it and I don't have a picture of it, but believe me Summer Squash Pie is yum, yum, yummy! This is a recipe my mom makes almost every summer. It's from the book Mastering Microwave Cookery by Marcia Cone and Thelma Snyder; request it through your local library if you'd like to see more recipes to cook in a microwave.

Summer Squash Pie
Makes 6-8 side dish servings, or 4 main course servings

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds small to medium summer squash, washed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 Cup fresh bread crumbs (whole-wheat preferred)
1 Cup grated Cheddar, Gruyere or Swiss cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried (optional)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried (optional)
2 tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices (optional)
1 Cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1- In a 10-inch pie plate combine the butter, garlic, and onion. Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the squash. Cover with wax paper and cook on HIGH for 8 to 12 minutes, or until tender, stirring twice.

2- Stir in the remaining ingredients except the tomatoes and yogurt. Spread evenly in the dish. Arrange the tomato slices decoratively around the outer rim of the dish, leaving the center open. Cook on MEDIUM for 10 to 15 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from the center comes out clean and the center is almost set. Let stand for 5 minutes; the center will set during standing time.

3- Serve with a spoonful of yogurt or sour cream if desired.

Variation: Mexicali Zucchini Pie
Substitute zucchini for squash and Monterey Jack cheese for cheddar cheese; add 2 Tablespoons diced canned green chilies with the cheese.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-07-26T20:56:00.007-05:00

Well...the mushrooms with angel hair pasta needed something more. I'm not sure what exactly, but it was fairly bland. As you can see from the photo, I added some yellow squash to the recipe. I also used 1 tablespoon sage and 1 tablespoon parsley. I used dry vermouth too. It was okay, just not spectacular or as good as I would have hoped.

The tomato bread salad, on the other hand, was just as yummy as it always is. I recommend it anytime! It really couldn't be any easier to make and oh so refreshing.

I won't be cooking next Sunday. Mom, Cindy, and I plan to do a little shopping and we'll pick something up for dinner. Have a great week! I can hardly believe this is the last week of July - whew, this summer is flying by!

Mushrooms!

2010-07-24T07:50:00.003-05:00

I picked up some sliced baby portabella (crimini) mushrooms at the grocery the other day, they looked so nice and were on sale, even though I didn't know what I would do with them. Well, now I know. We're going to have a mushroom, garlic, and olive oil angel hair pasta dish. For a salad I'll make a tomato bread salad we've had in the past. I just LOVE the flavors of fresh summer produce. And, for dessert, Michael is making a peach pie.

I'm going to base the mushrooms on Mark Bittman's Pan Mushrooms recipe, although I'm thinking of using sage instead of parsley and I might add some capers to the mix. I also have fresh Parmesan on hand that we can grate over the pasta when ready to eat.

Here's the tomato bread salad recipe that I've used for several years now...

Tomato Bread Salad
2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
5 oz fat free croutons (I like the whole grain croutons, even if they aren't fat free)
1 small red onion
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 small cans sliced black olives
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
4 oz crumbled feta or goat cheese

1- Place tomatoes, croutons, cucumber, onion, and olives in a large bowl, refrigerate.
2- Whisk the oil and vinegar together in a small bowl.
3- Just before serving, drizzle the oil and vinegar over the salad. Add cheese. Toss the salad well and let sit a few minutes.

Serves 6.

It's important to wait until just before serving to add the oil and vinegar, otherwise your "bread" will be too soggy. This is really a snap to prepare and umm umm good. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-07-24T07:34:00.007-05:00

OMG - that was mighty tasty! The Greek Pasta Salad is one of my very favorite recipes ever. So simple, so refreshing, and soooo delicious! The only change I made was I used a can of (drained) small whole black olives instead of sliced; I think I'll use these in the future - it really added a more robust flavor to any bite with an olive. Below is a picture of the pasta and a nice picture of Mom and Dad.

Greek Pasta Salad

2010-07-15T20:19:00.004-05:00

Whew! July is a REALLY busy month for us. It seems like there is something to do every single night - and actually there is! This Sunday we will be celebrating my mom's 70th birthday at my sister Cindy's house. I'm really glad for this. Cindy and Dave have a very nice pool and we'll get to spend the day keeping cool in the pool.

One of my very favorite summer salads is Greek Pasta Salad. It's quite easy to make and so very refreshing! I tend to make this recipe over and over and over again. It's also a great salad to take to a pot luck.

Greek Pasta Salad:
8 oz tri-colored rotini pasta, cooked to package instructions, then rinsed in cold water and drained
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 red onion, sliced into bite size slivers
3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup or a bit more)
1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons oregano or Italian or Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 oz crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse under cold water and drain. Place in a large salad bowl or container. Gently toss in vegetables and olives. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and seasonings; drizzle over pasta. Gently toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle cheese over salad. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Makes at least 12 servings.

Mmmmm...it makes my mouth water just to think of it. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-07-04T17:21:00.006-05:00

The pasta dish is going to be one of my very favorites, I can tell. It was delicious. If I were to change anything, I would add fresh mushrooms and maybe a splash of fresh lemon juice just to brighten it up a bit. Otherwise, this dish was perfect.

Dessert was okay. I'm not a fan of tapioca, I really don't like the texture. Everyone else, who does like tapioca pudding, liked it just fine. I made sure I got the serving with the least amount of tapioca in it. I must say, though, the strawberries and blueberries couldn't have been any better.

All in all, a very nice and light dinner. Mom, Dad, and I really liked it. Michael, on the other hand, didn't even try it because he thinks he doesn't like asparagus. Although, I don't know if he's ever tried that. But, I'll give him credit, he usually does try a variety of foods, and he did do the dishes.

Happy Independence Day to you all!

Next week is my birthday and I'm not cooking. I haven't decided where I'd like to go out to eat yet, but it will be somewhere new to me that is vegetarian friendly. If anyone in the St Louis area has a favorite restaurant recommendation that fits my needs, please leave a comment.

Independence Day

2010-07-03T20:28:00.006-05:00

I started planning our Fourth of July Sunday dinner by thinking about dessert first. I came across a red, white, and blue patriotic dessert that sounds like it will fit the bill: Strawberry-Blueberry Tapioca Parfaits.

I want to use a package of frozen cheese tortellini I have on hand, but I don't want to make a pasta sauce. So, while browsing the Internet for tortellini recipes I found Spring Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Peas, and Asparagus. These are my planned changes: cheese tortellini for farfalle pasta; vegetable broth for chicken broth.

I'll have Michael pick up a loaf of dinner bread and we'll be all set. I'll be sure to let you know how it all comes out.

Oh - and speaking of letting you know how it comes out, I neglected to post after dinner thoughts on the bean burgers. They were quite yummy, just as before. If you make them, though, be sure to drain the beans before making the mixture. Otherwise you'll have to add more "fillers" like bread crumbs or oats or whatever you normally use because they will be too runny to hold their form as a burger. I'm going back into the original post to add the word drained to the ingredients list. Also, the roasted corn and cabbage salad was pretty tasty.

Happy Fourth of July!

Burgers!

2010-06-12T20:41:00.004-05:00

I have a hankering for some burgers. We haven't had any for awhile. And, I think the kidney bean burgers will do the trick. Here's the recipe:

2 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 cup rolled oats, or oat bran
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup coarsely ground almonds
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Gently combine everything except the almonds in a food processor and pulse unitl it is well combined and comes together easily. Add the almonds.

Form into patties and saute in an oiled pan over medium heat for 8-10 minutes on one side. Then flip and cook for 6-8 minutes on the second side. You can also grill these if you oil them well before placing them on the grill.

Place one patty on a bun and dress as you like with ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cheese, or whatever you like on your burger.

We're also going to have french fries (the frozen kind) and a Roasted Corn and Cabbage Salad. I saw such a salad on some cooking show recently, only I can't remember which show. So, I'm not sure this is the same recipe, but it sounds pretty good anyway.

I think I'll also cut up some cherub, cherry, or grape tomatoes and serve them with salt and pepper. Mmmm.... I'll let you know how it all turns out!

After Memorial Day Sunday dinner thoughts

2010-05-31T18:48:00.005-05:00

Well, we had a marvelous time hanging with some of the girlfriends and their families at my sister's & brother-in-law's house and pool. The day was just beautiful! Others brought:
A Mediterranean salad with a Greek-style dressing, feta, and black olives on top of greens.
Another green salad included kidney beans, Fritos, and a green goddess dressing.
A third salad had black beans, roasted corn, and a crunchy topping.
There was also a grape salad with red and green grapes, walnuts, and a dressing.
Mom made a pineapple upside down cake; another friend brought a chocolate chocolate chip cake.
There were a couple of chili cheese dips.
Oh - and a couple brought pork ribs over.

The main attraction wasn't the food, however. It was getting together with a few friends, having a good time, and enjoying the day and the pool. Oh - and Angel, Cindy and Dave's chocolate lab, absolutely loves the pool along with everyone else!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-29T10:33:00.005-05:00

There something I need to tell you before sharing what I'm making this Sunday. In a few short weeks eleven of my girlfriends and I will be heading to Cancun for 5 days and 4 nights of frivolous fun! We are celebrating 2 40s, 3 50s, and 1 60; that is this year 2 people are turning 40, 3 will be 50, and 1 will become 60 years young! We can hardly wait for the fun to begin.

So, in order to be ready for the sun a little closer to the equator (at least a lot closer than the St Louis area), we feel the need to get a little pre-sunning in. Now, I'm not one to lay in the sun - I personally don't like my life to pass me by in that way. However, Cindy and Dave (my sister and brother-in-law) have opened their pool. Yep - you guessed it, we're heading over to Cindy's & Dave's house this Sunday for a little r&r and fun in the sun.

Cindy is preparing a taco bar: she'll have chicken and beef and all the fixin's for make your own tacos. I don't know what other folks are bringing. Michael and I are bringing a couple of dishes we made last week for bunco - Michael's fresh guacamole and my Mexican Orzo Salad. I feel I can call it mine now because of the adaptations I've made to the original recipe. It's one of the easiest dishes to prepare.

Here's how I made the Mexican Orzo Salad this week:
3/4 cup Orzo, cooked according to package directions, then rinsed with cold water and drained
1 can gold & white corn, opened, rinsed, and drained
1 can garbanzo beans, opened, rinsed, and drained
1 can black beans, opened, rinsed, and drained
1 can light red kidney beans, opened, rinsed, and drained
1 small jar pimentos
About 8 slices pickled jalapeños, chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
About 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, zested & juiced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon Penzeys medium hot chili powder
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) sea salt
1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) fresh ground black pepper

Toss all of the ingredients through the spinach in a serving bowl. Whisk remaining ingredients together until emulsified. Top the pasta, beans, and corn mix with the dressing; carefully toss to coat. Allow flavors to meld by keeping the dish in the refrigerator for at least one hour and preferably overnight.

You'll notice I use a LOT less orzo than in the original recipe. And, because I didn't have any fresh red bell pepper or fresh jalapeño on hand I used jarred. I added the lime zest, the chili powder, and the minced garlic. Oh - and the original recipe called for cilantro; I really don't like cilantro so I used spinach instead.

The Mexican Orzo Salad is ready to go. Michael will make the guacamole just before we leave to go over there. When we get there we'll slather on the sunscreen and enjoy what is supposed to be a beautiful day at the pool with some friends. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Bunco Thoughts

2010-05-23T19:58:00.014-05:00

Bunco,as always, was a lot of fun. All the food turned out great. It was all fairly easy to prepare too - such a nice thing! Michael made the guacamole and it tasted fabulous. The Mexican Orzo Salad was yummy but made way more than was needed. The Hearts of Palm, Olive, and Corn Spread was mmm - mmm good! The Nacho Cheese Pinwheels, while quite tasty, were also messy to make; I'm really not very good with roll-up things. I did find, though, that it was important to only put the cheese about halfway on the tortilla, then roll from the cheese half first (and then the cheese spread to the other side as it was rolled up). The absolutely best item, however, was the Easy Brownie Shortcake Dessert. That said, the Strawberry Charlotte Verrines were quite elegant and had a great flavor; I made a few with blackberries instead of strawberries because I knew at least one guest doesn't eat strawberries.

And, let me tell you - Beer Margaritas are terrific! Here's how you make them...
1 6oz can frozen lime aide
Beer
Tequila
Blender
Limes
Salt

Put 6 oz lime aide in blender. Fill empty 6 oz container with beer, add to blender. Fill empty 6 oz container with Tequila, add to blender. Blend. Run a slice of lime around rim of glass; coat rim with salt. Add blended mix to glass with slice of lime. Enjoy!

Sunday Dinner Update
Since I made so much on Friday I really wasn't inclined to make a home-made dinner for Sunday. We had an enjoyable dinner of frozen cheese ravioli, jarred sauce, frozen garlic toast, and bagged spinach. I "doctored" the sauce by chopping some red onion, celery, and carrots; mincing some fresh garlic; sauteing that in a tiny bit of olive oil; adding canned mushrooms, a can of diced tomatoes, and a teaspoon of sugar to it. After boiling the ravioli I added it to the sauce. For the spinach I cut up a few strawberries, and opened a package of sunflower kernels. We all truly enjoyed the dinner. It was pretty fast and very easy!

Next week is Memorial Day Weekend. When I took Mom and Dad home we talked with my sister, Cindy, about maybe having Sunday dinner at their house next weekend and enjoying the first poolside weekend. I'll let you know what we decide. Have a great week!

Bunco!

2010-05-17T20:08:00.008-05:00

May is my month to host Bunco. If you're not familiar with Bunco, you should know it's really a lot of fun and it's harder to explain than it is to actually play. I'm feeling like Mexican food is in order. Here's my menu:

Hearts of Palm, Corn, & Olive Spread
Nacho Cheese Pinwheels
Mexican Orzo Salad
Salsa (I actually like a store-bought brand the best, however I don't remember the name of the brand - I just know where it is at the grocery store!)
Guacamole
Tostitos Dipping Strips
Strawberry Charlotte Verrines from the May/June 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 49
Easy Brownie Shortcake Dessert

So - the Strawberry Charlotte Verrines are not Mexican; they still look good. I might use some blueberries in place of the strawberries because I plan to use strawberries with the brownie shortcake. Or, I'll use the strawberries in the verrines and cherries with the brownie shortcake. A verrine is a small individual morsel served in a glass; verrines are usually appetizers or desserts that are layered in the glass.

My friend Liz Geisler is bringing beer margaritas over. I may also make some margaritas or at least have some Tequila on hand.

Sounds like a fun Bunco night to me. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-05-09T19:22:00.009-05:00

What a beautiful day for Mother's Day, even if it's a little bit chilly. All the same, a truly beautiful day!

Today's dinner was one of the easier dinners to make. Everything turned out well. The salad, however, was outstanding! And, incredibly easy - spinach, sliced strawberries, sliced almonds and the hardest part - the dressing (which honestly wasn't hard). I made the dressing according to the recipe except I traded balsamic vinegar for the distilled white vinegar. Yummy! I'm having this for lunch tomorrow too.

The pasta was good too. I left the sage out - I actually had the fresh sage and chopped it up but wasn't keen on the smell and so left it out - it would have just been too much. I used whole wheat penne for the pasta; it was a bit too al dente for my taste. Michael says he has this problem with the whole wheat pasta all the time - that it doesn't seem to cook to the softness we prefer. Other than that, this was tasty. I also added mushrooms to the mix. I don't know if I'll make it again, but maybe. It was pretty easy to make as well.

The Chocolate Wonder was a real hit with the parents. It is a bit too sweet for my tastes, plus with real milk and cool whip in it I'm really flirting with disaster (I 'm lactose intolerant and this can play havoc on my digestive system). It was tasty, just not something I'd want to eat much. It made a huge amount so Mom and Dad are taking some home with them.

All in all, we had a nice dinner. It's mostly about being together and in that respect it was a real hit!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-05T17:50:00.013-05:00

Trying to decide what to make for Mother's Day Sunday Dinner has been, well, trying. I think I've figured it out, though.

We're going to have pasta and salad. For dessert I'm making something called Chocolate Wonder. The recipe was delivered to my email from the Chef's Shoppe Tid Bits, an electronic newsletter I receive. I'm including the recipe below.

So, It's going to be:
Pasta with Crab, Artichokes, Lemon, & Sage
Strawberry Spinach Salad

Chocolate Wonder

1st Layer

1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
1 stick butter
1 cup flour

Blend together and pat into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Bake 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool well.

2nd Layer
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip
Whip together and spread on cooled crust gently.

3rd layer
2 small packages instant chocolate pudding
3 cups cold milk
Mix together until thick and spread on cream cheese mixture.

4th Layer
1 cup Cool Whip spread over top.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Can add either chopped nuts or shaved chocolate to the top to fancy it up a bit.

I'll let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-05-02T21:19:00.010-05:00

Well, tonight's dinner was definitely an adventure!

Pressing the tofu was a first for me. I found an article on About.com describing what to do. I used a baking sheet, folded two paper towels per tofu brick, put the tofu on top of the folded paper towels on the baking sheet. Then folded another paper towel, put a cutting sheet on top and used the Joy of Cooking and Passionate Vegetarian (books) as weights. Left it for 15 minutes, replaced the paper towels, and left it for another 15 minutes. The rest of the tofu prep was pretty easy.

Then, I prepared the barbecue sauce! It was good, however there were a lot of ingredients. I don't know if it's worth making your own barbecue sauce when there are so many commercially available. Maybe if it's your own secret recipe.

I also made steamed green beans with carrots. They were fine. This was kind of a dressed down version of green bean and mushroom medley - a family favorite. I didn't have any mushrooms and only used a tiny bit of onion. I talked about this recipe on December 18, 2009.

Everything to this point was fairly straight forward and easy. Then I got to the Hotel Cordon Corn Bread. The recipe itself is not too bad. The trouble came when I didn't have a 10 inch diameter pan that was 3 inches deep. This turned out to be a problem. Instead I used an 11 1/2 inch diameter pan that was only 1 1/2 inches deep. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of baking powder along with the flour and corn meal. You may have guessed it - I had an overflow in the oven. YUCK! I became aware of this when the dish had been in the oven for 15 minutes, I opened the oven to add the tofu in sauce into the oven to bake alongside the corn bread for a final 15 minutes. The overflow of course started burning. We turned the hood fan on which helped; I was worried the fire detectors would go off, we lucked out there. So, if I ever make this again I will make sure I make it in a deep dish. It was really tasty though and everyone enjoyed it.

I also made a lemon pudding pie. Used a store-bought pie crust; baked it and let it cool. The filling was made with 2 small boxes of vanilla pudding, 1 3/4 cups 1% milk, 6 oz frozen lemonade (thawed), and 8 oz cool whip (thawed). The pie was scrumptious!

Overall dinner was a success even if it was a little messy. I've started thinking about what to have next week since it's Mother's Day. I asked Mom what she'd like and she said it's too far in the future and she was too full to know right now. I'll come up with some ideas and run them past her this week. I'll let you know what we decide.

Barbecue

2010-04-28T21:37:00.004-05:00

Barbecue sounds good to me. I found this recipe for Memphis-Style Barbecue Tofu that sounds terrific!

When reading the "Let's Eat" section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch this week I found a recipe for Hotel Condon Corn Bread. I'm making that too.

I'm not exactly sure about other sides. Here are some ideas I'm kicking around:
Kidney Bean Salad
Mexican Bean Salad that my friend Amanda McKay told me about
Sauteed Greens with White Beans and Garlic
Tomato Bread Salad (I make this with cherry or grape tomatoes, fat-free croutons, cucumber, red onion, sliced black olives, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and goat cheese)
Mixed Vegetables
Fresh Green Salad
or something else

What do you think? Any other suggestions?

Whatever I end up making, I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out!

After Dinner Thoughts - Quiche

2010-04-25T11:13:00.010-05:00

Sunday's menu was:
Mushrooms & Spinach Quiche
Lemon-garlic Shrimp
Samosa
Chocolate Diet Soda Cake

Michael made the cake the other day. It follows the diet soda recipe where you use a box cake mix, a can of diet soda and one egg white lightly beaten. Mix it all up and follow the box directions to bake. It turned out to be a bit crumbly, but mighty tasty.

We had some frozen shrimp on hand and at first I thought I would put them in the quiche. Then I decided to cook them separately in olive oil with garlic and lemon. They were quite good.

The Samosa was also frozen. I had picked it up a while ago at the international market in Edwardsville. Mom, Dad, and I really liked these. Michael - not so much. They definitely had a middle eastern flavoring.

For the quiche, I followed a crustless recipe using the fresh mushrooms; a 10 oz box of frozen spinach thawed, drained, and squeezed dry; some gouda cheese; black olives; and some chopped onions. Mmmm mmm good! Unfortunately I smashed the quiche before taking the photo - to let some heat out, so you don't get to see how nicely it turned out. Oh well, live and learn!

IDK

2010-04-25T07:46:00.005-05:00

I don't know what will be for Sunday dinner today. I have a couple of containers of fresh mushrooms, so they will be in whatever I end up cooking. I'll have to look throughout the pantry to see what I have on hand. And, if I need something from the grocery I'll have to decide that pretty soon so that Michael can pick anything up for me.

Today is the first Sunday that Mom and Dad will be coming to my house. Cindy will drop them off around 2:30 and I'll take them back to her house later. Mom's knee replacement has been great. Sure, she still has some pain and swelling, but nothing like before the surgery. Her doctor says she's doing terrific and that it will start to feel much better in a couple more months. Monday is the five week mark since her surgery. She really is much better than before and has started getting out more. YAY!

Yesterday Michael and I went to Penzey's Spices in Maplewood. WOW! Is that a fantastic place?! Nothing but spices, spices, and more spices - fresh, fresh, fresh. My friend Carol Stookey told me about this place. I picked up some cream of tartar, vanilla beans, Vietnamese cinnamon, rosemary, toasted minced onion, and medium hot chili powder. Mmmm...

I don't think any of those spices will end up in today's dinner, but you never know. Anyway - I better go figure it out. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Tri-Cities Area Association for Handicapped Bowling Fundraiser

2010-04-18T10:22:00.014-05:00

Instead of cooking, we participated in the Tri-Cities Association for Handicapped Bowling Fundraiser. For a good cause and so much Fun! Enjoy the photos.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-04-11T19:51:00.006-05:00

Mmmm - that really hit the spot! I didn't get around to picking up any mushrooms, so there were none. Instead I added some fairly finely chopped red onion and it really enhanced the flavor. Also, I added a little bit of Italian seasonings. Mmm mmm, it sure was good.

Last night I attended a Relay for Life fundraiser. I've gone to this for the past three years and always have a good time. I also always bid in the oral auction on these pies some lady makes entirely from scratch. The first year I was the high bidder for a chocolate meringue pie at $45.00. Last year I didn't get a pie, but the person I was bidding against had to pay $120.00. This year I was the high bidder on a lemon meringue pie - at $60.00. It goes for a really good cause, so I'm happy to play. Anyway, we had the pie for dessert this evening. Heaven!

Simple Chickpea Vegetable Bake

2010-04-10T16:56:00.002-05:00

I have a real hankering for some garbanzo beans (A.K.A. chickpeas). So, in searching the Web, I came across a recipe for Simple Chickpea Vegetable Bake. Sounds yummy. Here is how I plan to make it:

I have a 24 oz bag of baby red creamers (potatoes); I'm going to chop them into small chunks, toss them with olive oil and bake them for about 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

I'll have already defrosted a 16 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, and peas). I'll mince 3-4 cloves of garlic (yeah, we like garlic at our house). And, I'll chunk a small container of fresh baby portabello mushrooms. I might slice some onion too (or I might not, we'll have to wait and see).

I'll add the vegetables to the potatoes along with 1 can of drained chickpeas. I'll put them all into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. I think I might add seasoned salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste after that. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Check out the inspiration recipe for more specific detail. I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-04-04T13:53:00.005-05:00

Here's what dinner looked like. It was pretty good. I absolutely loved the spinach salad. And, while the pasta was good, it wasn't great. I think I should have just stuck with one recipe rather than trying to mash the two up. I think the Portobello Mushrooms with Asparagus using the tortellini would have been just fine. Don't get me wrong; the pasta really was good; I just think it could have been better.

The carrot cake tasted terrific! However, it deflated in the middle. I can't figure out what went wrong. When I used my cake tester in the middle it came out clean, and when someone ate that part of the cake it was done, just squished down a bit.

I was in a real cooking mood this weekend. I also made Egg Salad. As you might imagine, I don't eat bacon. But I will eat Bacon Bits (they're made from soy) since the recipe is really for Egg Salad BLTs, using the bacon bits works for me. The egg salad turned out quite yummy.

As I already wrote, we're having grilled salmon and roasted vegetables for dinner tonight. While there won't be any leftovers from today's meal, there are plenty of leftovers from yesterday. Looks like I know what I'll be having for lunch this week!

2010-04-02T12:24:00.012-05:00

My sister and her family are celebrating Easter with her in-laws Saturday afternoon/evening, so I'll make Sunday dinner on Saturday this week. I'll prepare everything at my house and take it to my sister's house to share with our Mom and Dad. You might remember that Mom is rehabilitating at their house. Her new knee is getting stronger and better all the time. Here's the menu:

Mediterranean Pasta Salad with Portobello Mushrooms and Asparagus
Spinach salad with hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and sunflower kernels
Carrot Cake with Toasted Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

The Mediterranean Pasta Salad is a mash up of the Mediterranean Orzo Salad we like so much and a Portobello and Asparagus Pasta Recipe I came across. I'm using three cheese tortellini in place of the orzo pasta. I'm using the portobello mushrooms and asparagus place of the spinach. I'll also add pine nuts and a spritz of fresh lemon juice.

Then, on Sunday, Michael and I will have:
grilled salmon or Weber's Simple Salmon,
roasted new red potatoes,
and glazed julienne carrots.

Sounds yummy! I'll let you know how it all turns out.

2010-03-28T13:37:00.011-05:00

Back in October I made one of our favorite soups - Minestrone! Well, I made it again today, using the same recipe from my Cooking Light Annual Recipes 1998. It's a great soup day in the Midwest - rainy, overcast, just on the verge of spring. I also made a Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread. I think they both look pretty good.

It will just be Michael and myself for dinner tonight - and by the looks of how much soup I made, we'll be having this for a few days. I think I'll freeze some too. I don't know when I might be making Sunday dinner for Mom and Dad again.

Mom and Dad are staying at my sister and her family's house. Mom had a knee replacement last Monday. Whew - what a week! I took Mom to the hospital at 4:30 Monday morning and then "home" Friday afternoon around 3:00. In between time, I spent most of my time at the hospital taking care of her; and a couple of nights staying at their house with my Dad. The surgeon was very happy with the results, and I anticipate Mom will be very happy someday too! Right now she is involved with physical therapy and making sure her knee moves freely. It'll take awhile but hopefully she'll be ready to spend Christmas in Florida again this year. We'll see.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-03-15T18:38:00.002-05:00

Dinner was yummy! This recipe just makes 4 servings; so if you want leftovers or more than one serving you need to make more. Everyone enjoyed it, though. What a relief! Especially since this was the very first time I have ever cooked scallops. They were easier than I expected. I encourage you to try making some too.

Jazzi is doing well. After her blood draw we now know she does NOT have diabetes! Whew!!! That said, the vet wants a urine sample. Well good luck with that. Actually Michael will take her to the vet on Wednesday so they can capture that sample. He just needs to time it right so that she has a sample to get!

Jimi then gets to go to the vet on Friday. We somehow arrange our vet visits all together during a short time span. Jimi seems to be doing well, but since he's been on the prednisone for some time now they just want to check him out.

I don't know if I'm going to make anything for Sunday dinner this upcoming weekend. I'm taking Mom and Dad to a 50th wedding anniversary for some very good friends of theirs Saturday night. Mom's knee replacement surgery is scheduled for Monday morning; so Sunday will be spent getting ready. I'm sure I'll end up making something, but I may not do much as far as planning is concerned and it may just be something spur of the moment. Oh well, I'll let you know what we end up doing anyway.

Have a great week - spring has to be right around the corner!

Nursing Sick Cats

2010-03-09T20:17:00.014-06:00

Journey, Jimi, and Jazzi
It seems as though our trips to the vet come all at once. We took Jazzi to see Dr. Sims maybe close to two weeks ago. Jazzi is just over 15 years old. She has arthritis pretty bad in her elbows and knees and receives pain meds twice a day for it. Luckily we have a local pharmacist willing to prepare her pain medication in a cream that we smear on her ears. A few years ago she had a bad bout of pancreatitis and she had to have a feeding tube for awhile and had been diabetic until we got things under control. Her pancreatitis still flairs up but we haven't had to give her insulin since she first had trouble. Well, recently she has been exceedingly interested in sitting at the water bowl drinking, drinking, drinking - a sign that the diabetes might be back. Michael and I spent some time this evening trying to test her blood (yes, we actually have an Accu-Chek diabetic blood tester for our cat). Poor baby. I pricked her ears probably four times on each ear and can't get enough blood for the test. She's not very happy with me right now. Michael is calling the vet tomorrow to take her in and have them draw some blood. We just need to know if we need to start the insulin shots again, and if so how much to give her.

And, as if that wasn't enough, Journey got to visit the vet last Friday. Seems like his intestinal lymphoma might be progressing. Funny thing is both Jimi and Journey have this cancer. Jimi was diagnosed in December 2005; Journey in 2008. Both boys have gone through chemotherapy and both are on prednisone. It amazing, though, how well they have done so far. Jimi is approximately 14 years old, and Journey is about 13 years old. News about the cats really doesn't have anything to do with Sunday dinner, it's just what we've had to deal with lately. I'm just grateful that they all are doing fairly well overall - they all will still play, eat, run around, and do their thing; they're just a bit slower these days (and maybe a bit crankier too).

When I was searching around last week, I came across this recipe that sounds absolutely fabulous to me. Mmm...I hope it's as good as it looks. Seared scallops with warm Tuscan Beans. According to the nutritional information on the recipe, this should be 6 weight watchers points per serving. One serving is 4 ounces scallops plus 3/4 cup bean mixture. I think my only change will be to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

A gal that I work with, Julia, sent me a recipe for Weight Watchers Cobbler:
2 (16 oz.) bags any frozen fruit
1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix
1 (12 oz.) can diet white soda

Place both bags of frozen fruit into a 13x9 inch baking dish (do not thaw). Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top of frozen fruit. Pour entire can of diet soda over mixture. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes.
12 servings
3 points each

I might try the cobbler for dessert. Come back after Sunday and I'll let you know how it all turns out. Keep your fingers crossed for our cats, if you can. They really are our babies and while we know they're really old and probably approaching the end of their lives, we are trying to make their remaining time comfortable.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-03-07T22:27:00.007-06:00

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. The perfect protein comprised of brown rice and black beans. The Korean-Style black beans were dreamy! I soaked them overnight and then cooked them in the slow cooker for about 6 hours - they were perfect! I browned the vegetable dumplings in peanut oil for about 3 minutes, then added some water and steamed them for about 6 minutes. Tasty! Try them if you get a chance. I know there are recipes out there to make your own, but the frozen ones worked well for us.

Oh - and the devil's food cake muffins worked well too. I only have a six muffin pan, so I divied out the muffins six at a time. That meant the first six were way big and the next six were a bit puny. But they were easy to make and everyone enjoyed them. Mom and Dad have the bigger four that were left over and we kept the smaller four.

We have a few dumplings left over, some rice and a good amount of black beans. Guess what I'll be having for lunch this week?

Gyoza (Vegetable Dumplings)

2010-03-06T10:50:00.009-06:00

So, at my Weight Watchers meeting this week, a couple told the group about a new international market in Edwardsville. They had picked up frozen vegetable dumplings, vegetable samosa, and other items. Well, the market is right on my path home from the meeting and I stopped and picked up those items too.

We're going to have the Vegetable Dumplings for Sunday dinner. I'll probably pan sear them with a tiny bit of vegetable oil. Five dumplings, by themselves, equal 2 weight watchers points; I'll need to add a point for the oil, but that's still a low point value! I think I'll also make a recipe that was in this week's food section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Korean-Style Black Beans (one serving = 5 ww points). I'll make a side of rice and some type of dipping sauce and dinner will be complete!

I think I might make the weight watchers devil's food cake muffins. You take 1 box devil's food cake mix and 1 (15oz) can packed pumpkin. Mix those two ingredients together and evenly place the mixture into muffin tins (you might want to spray the cups or use liners). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and you've got yourself 3 points per muffin.

Whatever dinner ends up being, I sure will let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-02-28T20:33:00.006-06:00

So, everyone decided this really wasn't breakfast for dinner. Michael especially wanted to know when we ever eat salad for breakfast. Well...we don't, so I guess they're right. But thinking of breakfast for dinner is what prompted me to put this menu together.

The roasted tomato pasta frittata was pretty yummy. I did use a large can of peeled whole tomatoes in place of the fresh tomatoes. I just sliced them and then followed the recipe directions for roasting. This adaptation worked out just fine. The Parmesan toast was good too. One quarter of the fritatta and one slice of Parmesan toast is supposed to be 8 weight watchers points. I had one piece of toast and one-eighth of the fritatta; I'm figuring 5 points.

The banana pecan pancake bake was tasty too. I changed it up by using fat free half and half and a sugar free maple flavored syrup. Also, because I didn't have a big enough pan, I only used 18 pancakes instead of 24. I had 1/2 serving, which with full fat and sugar ingredients is 4.5 weight watchers points. Mom said this reminded her of bread pudding.

So, even though we had an egg dish and a pancake dessert, I guess I can't count this as breakfast for dinner. Oh, well, maybe another time. All said, tonight's dinner worked for me.

Breakfast for Dinner

2010-02-27T11:20:00.007-06:00

I know we aren't the only family that sometimes likes to have breakfast foods for dinner. Sometimes, though, I am surprised by the people who don't consider breakfast a good alternative to dinner. After doing some searching for a particular recipe, I've come up with the following menu:

Roasted Tomato-Pasta Fritatta with Parmesan Toast from Weight Watchers Down to Earth vegetarian recipes cookbook

Simple spinach salad (okay, so we probably wouldn't normally have spinach salad for breakfast, but it sounds good anyway) with grapefruit again (see my Superbowl Sunday dinner post)

Banana Pecan Pancake Bake from the 2006 Pillsbury Bake-Off contest

So, if you are wondering which was the recipe I was searching for, it is the pancake bake, which is truly decadent and not at all weight watcher friendly. However, it makes 12 servings; 1 serving is 9 points, so if I have half of a serving, I have 4.5 points to count. I can do that. I made this recipe for a work holiday breakfast one year and it is tasty. It's pretty easy too since it uses frozen pancakes.

Here's the frittata recipe:

1 garlic clove, halved
4 (1.5 oz) slices Italian bread
2.5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
5 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, about 2.5 pounds
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
7 large egg whites, lightly beaten
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked spaghetti (about 5 oz uncooked pasta), cooked without salt or fat
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon olive oil

1- Rub garlic on one side of each bread slice, and place slices on a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly browned; set Parmesan toast aside.
2- Preheat oven to 450.
3- Arrange tomato slices in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes. Peel and discard skins.
4- Combine remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, salt, hot sauce, egg whites, and egg yolks in a large bowl; stir well. Add tomato slices, pasta, and basil; stir gently. Set aside.
5- Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over low heat. Add egg mixture, and cook 15 minutes or until set (do not stir). Wrap handle of skillet with foil; broil 3 minutes or until top is set. Cut into wedges. Serve immediately with Parmesan toast.
Yield: 4 servings (1 serving = 1 wedge and 1 slice toast) for 8 points each

Some adaptations I am thinking of making include using canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained instead of fresh tomatoes since this is not tomato season and lately they've been a bit mushy. I'm also thinking of adding artichokes to the mix.

Originally, I had thought I would make spaghetti pancakes from Crescent Dragonwagon's Passionate Vegetarian cookbook, but I decided to make that another day. I also considered artichoke quiche from the WW Down to Earth cookbook or Christmas morning fritatta from Taste of Home's Treasury of Christmas Recipes. But, in the end I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the menu I listed above. We'll see. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Michael's Request

2010-02-20T12:41:00.006-06:00

My husband, Michael, had rotator cuff surgery on his right arm this week. The doctor says it went well and he's recovering better than I expected. His surgery was on Wednesday and he started physical therapy on Thursday. He is able to lift his arm over his head and swing it back and forth. In about 6-8 weeks he should be fully recovered and (fingers crossed) pain free! Then he'll look into having the other arm done. Since he's left-handed this surgery hasn't been too much of a hardship for him, but I have to wonder about the next one...

Anyway, Michael has a request for Sunday dinner that I'm a bit hesitant about, and I honestly don't want to share but I will. He wants meatloaf. I've made a great mushroom loaf in the past - he's not interested in that. I offered to use Match - he's not interested in that. We compromised somewhat in that I will use ground turkey breast. We'll have the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. Old-style comfort food for the patient. Mom and dad will be surprised as well. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-02-17T13:47:00.008-06:00

Mmmm...instant potato gnocchi is fairly easy to prepare and mighty tasty too! We all enjoyed this dish enough to put it on the repeat list. It was a perfect Valentine's Day dish.

I'm off work today. Michael had rotator cuff surgery this morning. It was an outpatient procedure, so he's already at home. He's sleeping right now with Jazzi, our oldest cat, curled up by his side. The doctor said it all went well and in about 6-8 weeks he should be fully recovered. Tomorrow he starts physical therapy. I just hope after all this he is pain free, at least in that shoulder.

I really must share a book recommendation with you. A friend of mine suggested I read The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. This story is a real gift from the author! It's an easy read with a simple yet touching tale to tell. Each chapter focuses on a different student in a Monday night cooking class. Many thanks to Katie for suggesting this book. I recommend you check it out from your local library; and if your library doesn't have it, request it through interlibrary loan and the library will get it for you!

Jazzi Belle Goldenspur

Valentine's Sunday Dinner

2010-02-12T07:03:00.009-06:00

Before we get into what's for dinner, how do you like the new look? I was a bit bored with the old blog template and felt like expanding my horizons a bit. I don't change the furniture around in my house, but really felt the blog needed a little spiffing up. The photo is one I took from just off our back porch last summer. It was lovely to watch the baby robins grow and flourish in our own backyard! As their parents nourished the babies, our souls were nourished with this part of the cycle of life.

Well it just so happens that Valentine's Day and Sunday dinner coincide this year. Now I'm not a religious gal - I would classify myself as a ethical humanist, if anything. However, having grown up with Christian "holidays" as part of my traditional experience I continue to acknowledge and celebrate these days. Plus most of my friends and family are either Catholic or Methodist and I love them all!

So - what's for dinner? My sister left her February/March 2010 Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine for me to read. On page 12 is a recipe for Instant Potato Gnocchi that sounds fabulous! It calls for 1 cup of mashed potato flakes, 1 cup boiling water, 1 beaten egg, 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper. The directions call for stirring the potato flakes in the boiling water before adding the egg; then stirring in the flour and seasonings. After that I'm supposed to knead the mix on a lightly floured surface to end up with a soft dough that is then divided into four portions so that each portion can be rolled on a floured surface into thick ropes that are then cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Then each piece is pressed and rolled with a lightly floured fork to make indentations that will hold the pasta sauce. Finally, the gnocchi is cooked in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or until they float.

So I'll also make my semi-homemade pasta sauce. I saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in a bit of olive oil and then add a jar of pasta sauce. My personal favorite sauce is Bertolli Vineyard Marinara with Burgundy Wine. We'll have some warm garlic bread and a green salad. Mom is planning to make a chocolate cake. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

I'd like to take a moment to give a shout out to Anita in LA: I truly hope you are finally on the mend; you've had to deal with too much pain for far too long. AND, I hope that Anita's mom mends quickly too - she recently suffered a fall and a fractured leg. Anita's mom had surgery this past Wednesday. Finally, as if that isn't enough for one family, I'm sending positive vibes for Anita's sister Sharon who is going through chemotherapy. I send you all my best and most positive energy and thoughts for recovery and hope that the blog readers will send their positive thoughts and prayers your way too!

After Dinner Thoughts

2010-02-11T20:57:00.008-06:00

Dinner was fine. Mom's exact quote was, "The soup was good, but the salad was fabulous!" I have to agree, the ingredients were fresh and refreshing. Loved the grapefruit with the avocado. The toasted pecans played nicely with the goat cheese too. Mom liked the olives in the salad, I personally thought they were overkill. Dad liked the salad so much he had seconds!

The bean dip was pretty yummy, although with an entire jalapeno pepper it had a real kick! I used a bit of leftover dip to make a wrap the next day: warm a whole wheat tortilla with a sprinkle of cheese in the microwave on a paper towel for about 20 seconds, add a line of bean dip and return to microwave for about 10 more seconds. Roll the tortilla on itself and enjoy.

Michael thought the soup was okay; he seemed to enjoy the dip (since he ate most of it himself). He's not a fan of "exotic" ingredients in his salad and he really doesn't like goat cheese much at all, so his salad was pretty mainstream.

My biggest disappointment was the corn chips. Somehow I didn't get them to crisp and so they were tough to bite. I might try these again since there were rave reviews about them. If I do try them again I probably need to leave them in the oven just a little longer than four minutes per side. Oh well, live and learn.

Superbowl Sunday 2010

2010-01-31T10:17:00.018-06:00

Who's playing the game? Who cares? Ok, ok - I know plenty of people care. I'm just not a big football fan, although there is a good chance I'll watch some of the game. Oh - and Michael tells me the Colts and the Saints are playing. I'm sure the game will be on the television in my parents living room. Here is what I plan to have on the menu...

I'm leaning towards a semi Tex-Mex menu. I'll make a Healthy and Hearty Smokey Black Bean Dip and Spiced Chili-Lime Corn Chips. I found both recipes on Chowhound. Tex-Mex Corn Chowder sounds yummy too.

I think a salad with fresh grapefruit will be refreshing. Because so many of the recipes that popped up when I searched for "grapefruit" salad have avocado in them, but none are just what I am looking for, I think I'll make this one up. I'm going to use grapefruit, avocado, fresh greens, toasted pecans (I have quite a few pecans still on hand), goat cheese (just because I love goat cheese), maybe some red onion, fresh lime for the zest and juice, maybe a few chopped kalamata olives, maybe a fresh jalapeno pepper, a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. I might try to make a dressing with olive oil, grapefruit juice, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and brown rice syrup or I'll use Maple Grove Farms Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.

So, we're basically having soup and salad with chips and dip. I haven't come up with dessert yet.

Grapefruit reminds me of the absolutely best ever Cosmopolitan I ever had - it was a grapefruit Cosmo. This was a few years ago in Seattle at a restaurant kind of close to the main library. Yummy mussels, scallops, and fresh fish dish (yeah, I know, what else would you expect in Seattle?). The Cosmo though, mmmmmmm...makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Do you think I could remember the name of the restaurant? Of course not.

Anyway, it's Tex-Mex for Superbowl Sunday dinner. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

Not This Week

2010-01-30T15:18:00.005-06:00

This Sunday my sister and brother-in-law are hosting a party for my terrific nephew Chris who turns 21 on Monday! Gee - it's amazing that 21 years have passed since Chris was born. We'll look forward to visiting Fast Eddie's Bon Air in Alton, Illinois with him something (no-one under 21 allowed in the place).

Anyway, since we'll be celebrating Chris I won't be preparing Sunday dinner. Stay tuned for next week - I believe that's Superbowl Sunday. Wonder what we'll have? Hmmmm...