Tag Archives: cooking

Banana Bread Oatmeal

Posted on by

0

Quick Post: This breakfast requires a little more time than the average, so it’s perfect for the weekend. Mine took at least 15 minutes for the liquid to absorb. My husband commented: “It looks like you’re killing your oatmeal”, to which I replied “I’m supposed to.” There is no oat texture left in this when it’s done and the bananas get all mushy, so if you have texture issues – fear not! The addition of walnuts helps cut the near slimy-ness of this oatmeal. After I took the pictures, I thought to add raisins which also helped add textural interest and a little sweetness. I can tell you that this is filling, but I’m not full – to me there is nothing worse than feeling full and bloated; especially in the morning when there is things that need to be done.
Banana Bread Oatmeal – adapted from The Edible Perspective
    • 1/3 cup rolled oats (*you can use 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup steel cut for a chewier texture)
    • 1 large egg, whisked
    • 1/2 banana, thinly sliced
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (*or cow’s milk if you’d prefer)
    • 1 TBSP ground flax meal (*I bought flax seeds and ground them up in my blender)
    • 2 TBSP pure maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

In a small pot, over medium heat, whisk the oats, cinnamon, sliced banana, water + almond milk together. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a low boil. Stir a few times while cooking, until almond all the liquid is absorbed – about 6 to 10 minutes. Stir in flax meal and continue cooking for 1 minute. Temper your egg – In a small bowl, whisk your egg quickly and add about 1/3 cup of the hot oatmeal mixture slowly; being careful to avoid scrambling the egg. Slowly add the egg/oatmeal back into the pot and stir until thoroughly combined. Let cook, without stirring, for 2 more minutes then pour into a bowl and top with nuts and maple syrup. Enjoy!

Brown Rice and Black Beans with Pico de Gallo

Posted on by

3

Yum! I love black beans, but sadly my family doesn’t. If you have the time and you’re not starving, but you want a substantial meal plus leftovers, this is perfect 🙂  I got the idea for this here, but I modified the black bean recipe quite a bit to make it even more healthy. I read that draining and rinsing the beans decreases the sodium by about 40% ; and besides, the liquid inside the can kinda grosses me out. I love baking the brown rice and it’s a foolproof method of preparing it – not quick by any means, but entirely worth the wait. Once the rice is in the oven, you can make your pico de gallo and stash it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The beans are the quickest part of this meal and only take about 10 minutes. This is by far my favorite lunch and I ate the leftovers for four days, ( I had to make up another batch of black beans) and thankfully I’m not sick of it yet! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Baked Brown Rice – adapted from Food Network

  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 2 1/2 cups HOT water
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.

Pour rice into the dish, add water, salt and butter; and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

Once it’s finished baking, carefully remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately.

Black Beans –

  • 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained really well
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
  • kosher salt to taste
  • 1 TBSP chopped cilantro, optional
Directions:
1. Rinse and thoroughly drain your black beans. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or skillet over medium heat, drizzle the olive and saute the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, cumin, oregano, salt and about 1/3 cup of water to the pan. Cook for about 5 more minutes or until desired thickness, (you can smash some of the beans for a thicker sauce). Add your cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, serve over brown rice and top with your fresh pico. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Whole Wheat Pita

Posted on by

0

This is one of my sneaky ways of getting the family to eat healthier with me. It’s not that they don’t like this kind of meal, but I know if they had a choice – the first one wouldn’t be salad. I marinated the chicken souvlaki style and set it in the fridge for a couple of hours, and the chicken was moist and flavorful. I used my new favorite dressing – this stuff is so addicting I love it on veggies and sandwiches too. M didn’t like the pita because it was too chewy for him, but the kids and I didn’t mind that at all. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
White Whole Wheat Pita – adapted from King Arthur Flour
  • 1 3/4 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups Bread Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
  • 1 to 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (*I didn’t end up using this, but it probably would have helped keep these moist)
Directions:

1.Combine all of the pita ingredients (except the oil for brushing), and mix and knead to make a soft, smooth dough.

2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it’s just about doubled in bulk. Towards the end of the rising time, start to preheat your oven to 450°F, with a pizza stone on the bottom shelf, if you have one.

3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover them, and let them rest for 10 minutes.

4. Working with two pieces of dough at a time, roll each into a 6″ circle. If you roll the dough about 7″ wide, it’ll shrink back to about 6″.

5. Carefully flop the dough onto the hot pizza stone. If you’re not using a pizza stone, put it on an ungreased baking sheet, and put the baking sheet on your oven’s bottom rack.

6. Bake for 4 minutes. The pitas should rise enthusiastically. If they’re on a stone, they’ll probably puff up like balloons; if they’re on a baking sheet, they’ll still expand; just not as vigorously.

7. Turn the pitas over, and bake for an additional 60 seconds.

8. Remove them from the oven, and brush with your favorite olive oil, plain or flavored. Wrap lightly in a cotton towel, to keep them soft. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake

Posted on by

4

I promised M I would make him this a long time ago, so I decided it was best to make good on that promise. Besides, he’s been giving me many guilt-trips these past few days about wanting something sweet. I hope he appreciates this! 🙂 I love lemon zest and the step where you have to rub the zest and sugar together – it smells amazing! While it’s baking is smells buttery and sweet…swoon!

Verdict: I thought it best to cut this recipe in half so the extra loaf wouldn’t tempt me! The crumb is dense, but when I bit into it; it was like a cloud 😉 It’s so light and airy – totally unexpected. It was sweet, lemony (of course) and the texture is so unique. It’s great – if you love lemon, try this!

Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake – adapted from Joy the Baker 

Cake:

  • 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2-1/3 cups sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 6 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • zest of 2 lemons, finely grated
  • 1 stick, plus 7 tbsp unsalted butter (15 tbsp total), melted and cooled

Syrup:

  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • juice of two lemons
Directions:
  1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9×5-inch loaf pans, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Even if the pans are nonstick, it’s a good idea to butter and flour them.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Put the sugar and the lemon zest in a large bowl, working with your fingers, rub them together until the sugar is moist and thoroughly imbued with the fragrance of lemon.
  4. Add the eggs and whisk them into the sugar, beating until they are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the extract, then whisk in the cream. Continuing with the whisk, or switching to a large rubber spatula, gently stir in the dry ingredients in 3 or 4 additions; the batter will be smooth and thick. Finish by folding in the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions. Pour the batter into the pans, smoothing with a rubber spatula.
  5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. As soon as the cake goes into the oven, make the syrup. After about 30 minutes in the oven, check the cakes for color- if they are browning too quickly, cover them lightly with foil tents.
  6. Stir the water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the sugar melts, then bring to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool.
  7. When the cakes test done, transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before unmolding them and turning them right side up on the rack. Place the rack over a baking sheet lined with wax paper and, using a thin skewer, cake tester or thin-bladed sharp knife, poke holes all over the cakes. Brush the cakes all over with the syrup, working slowly so that the cakes sop it up. Leave the cakes on the rack to cool to room temperature.

French Bread

Posted on by

7

Maybe I enjoy making things more difficult, or it may just be the fact that I love making as much from scratch as possible. I enjoy learning new techniques as well as avoiding buying more over-priced foods from Publix, (the money saving makes it even more rewarding for me). I needed to make these for meatball sandwiches, so hopefully they’ll hold up well to the sauce, cheese and of course – the meatballs. This dough was hard to work with because it was so sticky.
Verdict: These were really good with a nice tight crumb so they held up well to the meatball subs we used these for. They have a nice chewy crust too – overall a great choice for future sandwiches. Before adding the meatballs, I hollowed out the bread to make room for easier handling and eating. All the bread guts went into a freezer bag to be used for bread crumbs – waste not, want not! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
French Bread – adapted from The Sisters’ Cafe
  • 2 ¼ c. warm water
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp yeast
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 5 ½ -6 cups flour-stirred before measured

First dissolve sugar and yeast in the warm water. Let this proof—or sit for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and beat well (At this point I switch to my dough/kneading attachment on my mixer) Add in 2 1/2 -3 more cups of flour. The dough should clean off the sides of the bowl and not be too sticky. Knead for a few minutes. Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes and then stir it down (turn on your mixer for 10 seconds) and then allow to rest another 10 minutes. Repeat for a total of 5 times. Then turn dough onto a floured surface and knead it 2 or 3 times to coat with flour. Divide into 2 equal parts. Roll each part into a 9×13 rectangle. Roll dough up, starting from long edge of loaf to seal. Arrange seam side down on large baking sheet that’s been sprinkled with corn meal, allowing room for both loaves. Repeat with second part of dough. With a sharp knife, cut 3 gashes at an angle on the top of each. Cover lightly; allow to rise 30 minutes. Brush entire surface with egg wash (one egg beaten slightly with 1 Tbsp of water). If desired, sprinkle with sesame seads. Bake for 30 minutes at 375. Cool on racks

Orange Almond Coconut Granola

Posted on by

0

I’ve never made granola before, but I love the stuff. It’s perfect on top of yogurt, an on the go snack or a hearty breakfast. Most store bought brands have lots of sugar, salt, preservatives and fat…no thanks! This one is great because it’s all natural, easy to make and it keeps well in the fridge or up to a week in an airtight container. While this was baking, the most wonderful mix of orange and honey came wafting out the oven!  I can’t wait to try this 🙂

Verdict: So addicting! The orange zest gives this an aroma and bright, fresh flavor that I have never had in granola before. It was the perfect pre-workout breakfast. Bottom line – I will make this again and again! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Orange Almond Coconut Granola – adapted from Two Blue Lemons

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 cups “Old Fashioned” rolled oats (not the quick kind)
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
  • 1/3 cup slivered almonds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Zest of one orange
  • pinch of kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/3 cup dried fruit of your choice – I used raisins because that’s what I had on hand*
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients and set aside. (Oats, coconut, almonds, cinnamon, zest, salt.)
3. In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients. (Honey, molasses, vanilla, oil.)
4. Pour the honey-molasses mixture over the oats and spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 25 minutes, tossing once in the middle. (Don’t let it get too brown, you want it to still be a little chewy.)
6. Out of the oven, toss in your dried fruit. Makes about 5 cups.

Meatball Sandwiches

Posted on by

2

I haven’t made meatball subs since December, and that recipe was really good. I do enjoy trying new recipes, and M mentioned that he’d like the meatballs to be smaller to make the subs easier to eat and less messy. These are baked in a mini muffin tin, so they’ll all be nice and uniform in size. The sauce couldn’t be easier – I basically ignored it for two hours and it just reduced down into a rich marinara. Be sure to keep the heat at low in case you’re anything like me and completely forget it for about 40 minutes! I went next door to share some granola with my neighbor and ended up talking for quite some time 😉

Verdict: The sauce was great but the meatballs were lacking in flavor. The meatballs I made for the subs back in December were much more flavorful. These can be tweaked more to suit our tastes, but what made me want to try these in the first place was that they are baked.

Meatball Subs – adapted from CookEatLove
Basic Tomato Sauce:
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 6-8 leaves fresh basil leaves
  • 3-6 cloves garlic roasted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • drizzle with olive oil, 5 tbs
  • finally, just before serving add 2 tbs of butter to bring layers of flavor to the sauce.
Directions:
1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add crushed tomatoes and raw quarted onions (big chunks). Add  basil, garlic, salt and pepper. When the garlic is done roasting add this as well.  Let the sauce come to a boil, lower heat to low and stir occasionally until desired thickness. Drizzle with olive oil part way through the simmering to taste (I usually simmer for a couple of hours).  Remove the big chunks of onion and just before serving add the butter.
Meatballs: (makes 30)
  • 1.25 pounds ground lean beef (roughly, does not have to be exact, just about those combinations)
  • 1 pound ground pork *see above note
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
  • 1  tablespoons chopped basil
  • 1/2 clove of minced garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs (I used hamburger buns toasted in the oven then grated in the food processor)
  • lukewarm water just to moisten a little more

*bread crumbs for rolling the meatballs in before putting them in the muffin tray is optional – if you decide to, just make extra from the ones you used for the meat mixture

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Combine beef,  pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, basil, garlic and salt and pepper. Using your hands, blend ingredients together. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water, a bit at a time until the mixture is quite moist. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds  and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

To Assemble:

*6-8 hoagie buns

*fresh mozzarella cheese

Finally, when you are assembling the meatball subs, use a nice crispier hoagie to absorb some of the tomato sauce.  I dig out a small well in the lower part of the bun to let the saucy meatballs sit. I placed mozzarella cheese in the bottom of the hollowed out rolls, place the meatballs on top and then add sauce and cheese . Sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese and then broil the sub so that the cheese is bubbly.  Finally eat.

Basic Baked Eggs

Posted on by

2

I knew I would need a heartier breakfast for gym mornings, and I figure the extra calories and fat are ok as long as I’m working hard. Lately I’ve been getting headaches, probably from not having any caffeine or refined sugar these past few days. Thankfully they’re minor headaches and I expect my body to come to terms with the new eating habits soon.

Protein and complex carbs are always good choices pre workout – so I’ve read anyway. I’m no dietician, but it makes sense to me 😉 I’m using some of the leftover roasted veggies that I made the other day to make this even more balanced and substantial. This recipe is for one serving, but it’s easily doubled, tripled, ect.

Verdict: I worked out for two hours after having this breakfast, and it made a huge difference in my stamina, reaction time and my overall “good” feeling. I wasn’t sluggish or tired and I felt great. After my workouts I eat an apple  and 1/4 cup of raw walnuts to refuel so I’m not starving until lunch time. During the day I have more energy, I’m never starving and my body just works better – I’m loving it! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Baked Eggs –

  • 1 egg
  • butter for greasing the ramekin
  • small amounts of roasted veggies, grape tomatoes, spinach, ham, herbs, cheese – whatever you would like
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease your ramekin.
2. Place a few TBSP of your preferred add ins, crack and egg and drop it on top. Bake in the oven 10 – 15 minutes or until just set – if it looks fully cooked in the oven, it will be over cooked later.
3. Serve with fresh fruit and whole grain toast, enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables over Bulgur

Posted on by

0

Lunch…I’m not always great at lunch. It’s usually leftovers, sandwiches or salads. This is more work, but I get at least 3 meals out of it. I chopped up some zucchini, summer squash, cremini mushrooms, tossed a handful of baby carrots and grape tomatoes on a baking sheet.  Use whatever veggies you love to roast, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper over all. Bulgur cooks really quickly and by the time all the vegetables were finished roasting I had a really healthy lunch ready to be enjoyed. This was surprisingly good! I knew I would love the roasted vegetables, but the bulgur was cooked in plain ‘ol water with a pinch of kosher salt added. It has a nutty flavor and a meaty texture and keeps you feeling full longer because of all the fiber and protein. I felt full for hours but didn’t feel bloated. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables Over Bulgur –

  • 1 small zucchini
  • 1 small summer squash
  • 5-6 cremini mushrooms
  • handful of grape tomatoes
  • handful of baby carrots
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup of bulgur wheat, cooked to package directions
  • handful of baby spinach
  • zest of one lemon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Clean and prepare your vegetables – slice zucchini and summer squash into coins, slice cremini mushrooms in half and discard stems. Toss baby carrots with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes. Take the pan out, toss the carrots and add seasoned squash and mushrooms to the baking sheet, roast for another 10-15 minutes. Toss in the grape tomatoes during the last 5 minutes. Serve 1 cup of roasted veggies over one cooked up of bulgur tossed with baby spinach leaves for good measure, and sprinkle lemon zest over top of all. Enjoy!

Chipotle Lime Shrimp

Posted on by

2

When it comes to flavors like these, I don’t have to modify anything. The creator of this recipe was spot on with all the amounts, but I cooked mine differently. The flavor was nice on these, but next time I might add a little more spice and a little less brown sugar. Other than that the shrimp were really flavorful. We enjoyed these in a tortilaa with our favorite fillings. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chipotle Lime Shrimp – adapted from Gimme Some Oven
  • 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
  • 1 lime, juice and zest

Method:

1. Mix the chipotle powder, cumin, brown sugar, lime zest, lime juice and cilantro in a bowl and and let marinate for 20 minutes.

2. In a heavy-bottomed skillet, saute the shrimp until completely cooked through – about 2-3 minutes. Once the shrimp are cooked, add the marinade into the pan and reduce slightly. Drizzle over top the shrimp and serve.