beef kabobs (baked!)

i have been meaning to get an indoor grill for about two months now. but something always comes up-- moving, buying plane tickets, etc.-- so i'm trying to still find ways to enjoy fun summer foods. usually this involves turning the oven on. which heats the house up to 84 degrees. which is still better than the 101 it is outside. but still. a grill would be so much better.



so i still made kabobs, that turned out wonderfully! simple-- beef, green pepper, and onion.



served with rice pilaf and a delicious salad.

(speaking of not heating the house up, i haven't mentioned that my mom bought me a pressure cooker **squeal** and they don't heat up the house-- because they cook things in a tiny, enclosed area, and it cooks fast! yay!)

also, seeing these photos, i wish we ate dinner earlier so that i had some natural light to take the pictures with. this indoor lighting sucks.

vegan chocolate cake

so i was searching for a chocolate cake recipe that used applesauce instead of oil. i've heard about doing this but never tried it myself, so i was looking forward to it. it's actually harder than you'd think to search for this! i accidentally ran across a vegan recipe, which ended up being a lifesaver because i didn't realize we were out of eggs. you can find the recipe for it here, i won't reinvent the wheel. you can check out the details there, and trust me-- you'll want to. it's the best chocolate cake i've ever had. it's dense, but not heavy. it's sweet but not overbearing. and so moist (even two days later!) that it doesn't need icing.

not that i didn't add something. i made a chocolate glaze for it (found here), topped with some strawberries that had soaked in some sugar (for strawberry shortcake from a family dinner), and added a little bit of redi whip. yum yum.

what's that label? healthy? that's right. under 250 calories for this here amazing dessert. and worth double that in taste. for reals.

stuffed poblano peppers

i'm here, i'm alive, and i'm doing well!

i've been so busy lately, i haven't had a chance to upload and edit photos that were on my camera. but it's too hot out to do anything else, so i thought i'd go for it today! i have been cooking, i promise.

i was lucky enough to get a lot of garden veggies from my uncle when he visited-- things like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions. he's got a great garden. so i chose to make stuffed poblanos since i love to have fresh foods! here's what you'll need for this meal:

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves diced garlic

1 bell pepper

1zucchini

1 can of black beans

1 cup of corn

4+ peppers

preheat the oven to 400 degrees. cook the diced onion and garlic just until the garlic starts to turn a little brown.

add the green pepper and zucchini.

add the beans and (not pictured) corn.

stuff the peppers as best as you can. if you use young peppers, it's hard to do this so that they look beautiful. it's okay. keep them together as best as you can, and stuff them as full as you can.

cook for 20 minutes, then add feta and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes.

if you only have four peppers, like i did, and they're tiny, like mine were, then you'll have leftovers. us them in burritos!

this whole thing was vegetarian and amazing. the beans make it so filling, and husband didn't even realize that it was vegetarian because it was rich and filling. it's great. make it!

meal plan, week of june 27

i have been so busy cooking and baking lately, but i bet none of you believe me, because i haven't posted ANY of it! well, it's coming. honest. i can't wait to get some of these ready to post. and there's a few that i can't wait to make again (already!)

here's the meal plan for this week*:

monday: beef kabobs
tuesday: ham pasta primavera
wednesday: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie side
thursday: erica's chicken paprikash
friday: steak salad
saturday: dinner out with friends!
sunday: figure something out. maybe homemade pizzas?

*all menu items are subject to change without warning, based on acquisition of money, lack of time, longer-than-expected work hours, or differing tastes.

tilapia foil packets

wow, did i make a great dinner tonight!



know what i love? when meals are healthy and easy and delicious. this one was all three! so, all you do is spray a piece of tin foil with non-stick spray and put a piece of tilapia (or your whitefish of choice) on it. season as you wish- i used basil and italian seasoning. then top with your vegetables of choice.

did i mention it's a flexible menu? cause it is.



i topped it with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, tomato, and green beans. then i topped with additional seasonings, along with salt, pepper, and garlic.


cook in a 425 oven for about 20 or 25 minutes. delicious! we served it with brown rice, but i bet couscous would be great also. yum!

peanut chicken and pasta

i made a really really delicious pseudo-thai meal recently. and it's easy. and like all my meals recently, not too bad for you.

cook some chicken up. it's usually faster if you cut it into bite-sized pieced ahead of time. for the last minute or two, add large-chopped red (and/or green) peppers.

meanwhile, cook an entire box of spaghetti noodles. linguini would probably be good also, but I wouldn't use something thin like angel hair pasta. reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce.

in the same pan that you cooked the chicken, put about 1/2 cup of peanut butter (i used creamy, but chunky would be awesome) and 5 tablespoons or so of soy sauce. i also sprinkled some dried onion, garlic powder (NOT garlic salt, the soy sauce is salty enough!), and ginger.



don't trust this picture. It's after everything above is added, and before this next step. add at least a cup of the pasta water to the sauce mixture, more if it needs to be thinned. as with most of my recipes, i didn't actually measure any of those things. i just wrote down approximately what i used.

after the sauce is warmed, mix the pasta, chicken and peppers, and sauce together and you have a delicious meal!



tip: it's even better the next day. i really think that when I make this again, i'll make it the day before and just heat up the "leftovers" for dinner!

healthy pizzas

i made two AWESOME pizzas last night.

and they're pretty healthy, too!

pizza #1:



whole wheat crust (boboli, not homemade)
light alfredo sauce
sliced zucchini
fresh mushrooms
roasted chicken
small amounts of mozzarella, romano cheeses
sprinkle bacon crumbles

pizza #2:



crust brushed with garlic olive oil
medium-rare steak
red and green peppers
fresh tomatoes
feta cheese


the hardest part of the night? picking a favorite! i thought the steak would be my fave, but they were both so amazing.

Skirt steak salad

how's this for a recipe:

1) make a salad
2) add steak strips, cooked to your liking
3) eat and enjoy

but really. i made an awesome salad tonight, with romaine, cucumbers, green and red peppers, tomatoes, carrots, medium-rare steak, and feta cheese. topped it with balsamic vinaigrette, and it was a great dinner!




healthy, delicious, and filling.

menu plan, week of june 6

i planned my whole month's menu again. but to avoid seeming as prepared as i am, i'm just going to post one week at a time. if it's a novel recipe, i'll post about it this week also.

all of my meals are SUPER easy, and i'll be making the "healthy" versions if the actual meal itself isn't really healthy. for example, for the weekday enchiladas, i'll be using fat-free sour cream, and less than the recipe calls for. for the pizza? we'll use lots of leftover veggies from the enchiladas and the salad, and less cheese in both the enchiladas and on the pizzas.

sounds good!

monday: weekday enchiladas
tuesday: skirt steak salad
wednesday: homemade pizza with leftover veggies from monday and tuesday
thursday: leftovers
friday: peanut chicken with pasta and green peppers
saturday: posole
sunday: leftovers

using what you have

have you been to the kraft recipes site? it's super convenient when you're sitting on your lunch break wondering what you're going to do with the chicken that is thawing, and hoping you can use at least one of the five cans of black beans you have in your pantry. but really, who has five cans of black beans? it's one of those items i buy all the time (like canned tomatoes) but don't use often (unlike canned tomatoes). all you do is input what ingredients you have, and it brings up some recipe options.

so, i went to the site and it gave me this great idea for a mexican chicken dish over rice.

i cooked two chicken breasts that i'd cut into bite-size pieces, and added about half of a diced onion. when it's all done, i added a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of salsa (or, if you're low on salsa, some salsa mixed with the leftover rotel that's in your fridge), and about a cup of frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained. i didn't have a can).

serve over rice (which was cooking in your rice cooker the whole time you were cooking the chicken), and be prepared to enjoy a delicious supper! i like mine a little spicier, so i added some red pepper flakes. but really, other than that, i didn't add any seasonings at all. the rotel/salsa mix had just what it needed. oh, and the chicken was marinated, but i don't think that made much of a difference.

stuffed chicken with bacon

well, talk about a hint!
i was cleaning the house with my husband, and he set out a new cookbook on the stand, open to the dish he hoped i'd make next. it just happened to be this delicious meal, which is extremely unhealthy, and also one of our new favorites. quite the dilemma.



here's the quick how-to:
cut a slit in the chicken breast and fill with goat cheese (per the recipe) or brie (what i did). sprinkle the outside with italian seasoning, then wrap with two or three slices of bacon, depending on the size of the chicken, and tuck the ends under. using the dutch oven with a little oil in it, cook the chicken just until the bacon is browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

for one of them, i turned it before the bacon was cooked, and it started to fall off. no big deal, just serve it all together once it's done with the oven cooking. 

add thick slices of tomato (grape tomatoes would be good, too), garlic, and a sprinkle of olive oil, then move the dish to the oven (350 degrees) for 30-ish minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. serve with a side salad.



see, easy! and, well, it's BACON so your house smells amazing while it's cooking. i'd recommend serving it with some crusty bread, cause there's an amazing sauce in the pan that you'll surely want to soak up!

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Hi! I'm Scarlett, I'm new to the blog, so I guess I should tell you a little about myself, huh? I'm a vegan, (meaning I don't consume anything that is either an animal product or a by-product - dairy, honey, meat...not a part of my diet). I also LOVE LOVE LOVE food and figuring out how to take traditional recipes and making them vegan. I'm always up for being experimental and trying something creative and new in the kitchen - sometimes the flavours you should NEVER put together wind up being the absolute best!

The first recipe I want to share is my creamy mushroom gravy. This stuff is absolutely amazing; it's perfect for topping vegetables, meatloaf (or wheatloaf, in my world)...anything. It's rich and flavourful, and you won't even be able to tell that it's vegan!

My favorite way to serve this up, however, is turning it into a stroganoff. Add your favorite cut of beef, pour over noodles, and top it with a little bit of sour cream, and you've got the makings of a delicious meal! (I prefer meatless meatballs, mini rotini, and Tofutti's Better-Than-Sour-Cream.)

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

Yes, I'm a setter-outer when it comes to my ingredients.

3T olive oil
1/2c minced onion (I use red, but whatever floats your boat)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I found a fabulous roasted garlic in a glass jar; works great!)
1 1/2c chopped white mushrooms 
2T soy sauce (low sodium is an awesome substitute for the regular)
1t dried thume
1/4t salt
1/4t black pepper
1 1/2 c vegetable stock (I have fallen in love with Better than Bouillon!)
1/4 c plain soy milk (Westsoy is a good brand to start with, if you're not a soy person)
2T nutritional yeast (found in the bulk foods section of most supermarkets)
2T corn starch 

• Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion and stir, cooking until it's soft and just beginning to get translucent (about 3-5 minutes). 

• Add garlic and mushrooms, and heat until softened, stirring often. I usually wind up adding a little more oil at this time, just to keep things nice and juicy. When soft, stir in the soy sauce, thyme, salt and pepper.

• Pour your veggie/spice mixture to a blender, add vegetable stock, soy milk, nutritional yeast, and cornstarch. Blend on high until your gravy is smooth and creamy. It will be pretty thin at this point, but don't worry! The gravy-consistency is brought on in the next step.

•  Pour the gravy back into the saucepan, bring to a boil. Stir constantly, making sure it doesn't stick! After it just barely starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer the gravy. It will thicken up in a few minutes.

• Add meat and noodles for a delicious stroganoff, or simply pour over your favorite vegetables!

Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by Vegan on the Cheap, by Robin Robbertson

[menu plan] week of feb 07

i have a new favorite website. have you been to $5 Dinners? it's great. cheap, easy meals. and if you don't use their recipes, at least you'll get some ideas for what you want to make.

i've been really slacking in the meal planning department lately. and i'm sick of going to the store every day, not knowing what i'm going to make for dinner that night, and then buying something easy, not so healthy, and not so cheap. so i've made a weekly meal plan today, and will stop by the store on the way home today to get food for the whole week. i'm so excited.

here's the meals. i still have no idea what order i'm going to make them in, but i imagine things like the pilaf will wait til the end of the week, because it's not so much fresh produce in it. the ingredients can sit around for a little bit.


mushroom quinoa pilaf
sloppy joes with mac-n-cheese
croissant hot dogs with pasta salad
cashew chicken
tacos with mexican rice

homemade oatmeal packets

maybe it's a winter thing, maybe it's because of the convenience, but i'm really in love with instant oatmeal packets lately. well, good thing my wonderful mother-in-law brought us a few boxes of quaker... but we're almost out! well, my mom sent me some recipes for homemade oatmeal packets, and i figured it was finally time to make those. super convenient, nice to keep in my desk drawer for days when i forget breakfast, and healthy, this is the perfect breakfast.



here's the basic "recipe" for the bags:
using a 1/4 cup scoop, put 1.5 scoops of oatmeal into snack-size baggies.
add 1T ground up oatmeal (finely ground in the food processor)
add a pinch of salt, and about 1/2 T sugar

then, pick your flavor! the possibilities are endless. i made the following:

blueberries and cream:
about 2 dozen dried blueberries and 1T of non-dairy creamer

apples and cinnamon;
about 2T of chopped, dried apples, and some sprinkles of cinnamon

AND dessert oatmeal:
1T non-dairy creamer, 1.5T chocolate chips, and a touch of cinnamon

i can't wait to try these! you cook them just like you'll cook those store-bought oatmeal packets. add enough water to get it the thickness you want, and microwave for a few minutes. i'll let you know how they are, but you should try them also.

**EDIT**
i tried one today for the first time. in the words of tony the tiger, they're great! i added about a half cup of water (more of less depending on how you like the texture of your oatmeal), and it did need more sweetener. add a full tablespoon when you make them, or plan on seasoning it with sugar after you make it. i was surprised that it only needed to microwave it for about 2 minutes, seeing as i didn't use the quick-cook oats. what a convenient breakfast!

dinner roulette

you know what's convenient?

freezing leftovers. or freezer cooking days.

because then you have a freezer full of dinners ready when you are.

you know what else is convenient?

labeling the tops, so you know when and what.

(i used dry erase markers. it cleans right off!)

you know what is NOT convenient?

getting into the labeling habit only in the past month.

which means anything before that....

isn't labeled.

so, husband and i decided to play dinner roulette. and lemme tell you, if it turns out like this every time, i'd love to do this for every dinner! so, looking through the tupperware, any guesses? chili? pasta sauce? soup?



it's taco soup! one of our favorites!

we have a button now

share us with your readers! snag the button and add it to your page.

check the sidebar.

>>>>>>>

yep, over there.

lady locks

ahhh. a family favorite. mom used to make the pastry part by hand, but, well, i don't want to have to buy the clothespins to make them, and you can't buy pennsylvania pastries in dallas... so mom sent some cookie shells to me with christmas gifts!

if you don't have a wonderful mom like i do, you can make your own shells by following steps 1-3 found here.

but for the filling, oh, the filling. don't listen to anything online. listen to me. because i got my recipe from my mom, and it's a family favorite. in the chances that it's one of those "family secret" recipes, i don't think she reads this blog. and if it is, i promise she won't mind me sharing this amazingness with you.


Lady Lock Filling

• 2 cups milk
• 4 heaping teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Dash salt

Combine the milk and flour. Cook over low heat until thick making sure to stir with a whisk.  Cool completely (refrigerate until cool).

it ends up being pudding consistency.

Beat the flour mixture, using an electric mixer. Add the margarine, vegetable shortening, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at high speed until light and fluffy.

sugar, salt, crisco.

this is the "before"-- the after is so fluffy!

if you don't have a pastry bag, put the mixture in a large baggie.  Only fill baggie about 1/2 full.  Twist so it is all in one end.  Cut off small tip.  Fill lady locks.  Dust with powdered sugar.  Refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat. or eat fresh after they're filled. i think they taste a lot better after the filling has chilled and set a little. mom likes them best fresh.

 

enjoy!!

can't wait to use this!

for my birthday, husband got me this awesome cookbook.

i can't wait to use it. it shows pictures of every step of every recipe. so, there's no more wondering what the difference is between chop and dice. or trying to figure out whether they meant blended or pureed. it's all right there.

go get one for yourself.

root vegetable soup

here's how to make an awesome winter soup.

root vegetable soup.

something good about my cooking lately?

i've been trying all sorts of ingredients that i would never have tried before.

today's ingredients?

parsnips and rutabega.

here's what you do:

cut up into bite-sized pieces:

3 big carrots

2 parsnips
some celery

as much of a rutabega as you can chop. those suckers are dense. i think i ended up with half of one.

in a dutch oven, brown some beef that's been chopped into similar size pieces as the veggies. add all the veggies (and onion, if you remember. i forgot. it might have made the dish thatmuch better), along with 4 cups of low sodium chicken broth and 2 cups of low sodium beef broth. add salt, pepper, and whatever spices you feel like. partially cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the veggies are fork-tender. before serving, wilt some fresh spinach in there. it only took about 2 minutes for the spinach to cook.

awesome: soup. lame: homework.

have you had a parsnip? it's like a white carrot, but sweeter. have you had a rutabega? it's like a dense potato, but spicier.

together, these ingredients all add up to the perfect winter soup. i'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch again tomorrow!

eggplant stir fry

a great thing about this week? i've been cooking with tons of ingredients i'd have not tried if it wasn't for the little "challenge" going on over here.

today, it was eggplant.

all you do is cut up beef, heat it on a higher heat just until it's cooked through to your liking.



then, cut up vegetables-- i chose eggplant, red pepper, and broccoli. lots of color!-- and added them to the pan for a few minutes to cook.

no soy sauce, since this week we're staying away from soy-things. so i used a splash of low-sodium beef broth, and lots of ginger. it was perfect! toss together, and serve over brown rice.



yumm-o!

a throw-together

what do you get when you mix together mushrooms, bok choy, and tilapia?
well, i imagine if you actually mixed them, it wouldn't be THAT great.

however, if you cook them like i did, you get a winning dish!
and it's good for you!! seeing a trend? yes. it's the new year.




mushrooms:
baby bella, sliced, drizzled with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and rosemary, then roast at 450 for about 20 minutes.



bok choy:
(wash it first, of course)
tear the leaves off, and cut into large chunks. chop the stems at an angle, about 1/2" thick. get a pot REALLY hot with just a touch of oil, and stir fry the stems. add ginger and salt. after 3 minutes, add the leaves, and stir fry for another 2 minutes, just until the leaves get bright green and wilted.



fish:
i'm lazy. it was frozen tilapia. not fresh.
i didn't even thaw it.
put two lemon coins on each piece (or one, if that's what you prefer), and top each with the smallest sliver of butter. sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. bake in the 450 oven with the mushrooms, 20-25 minutes.

two bean vegetarian chili

i hesitate to actually call this dish "chili", except for the spices that i used. i don't generally use cumin in soups and stews, or else this could be considered a soup. of course, the amount of beans in it definitely earns it the designation of chili, right?
best part about this meal? besides the fact that i could eat it every day for the rest of my life?
there's a measly 400 calories in one generous serving!
add 1 tablespoon of light sour cream, and you've reached a whopping 420 calories.
yumm-o.

i'll do this one the old fashioned way...

1 onion, chopped
most of a butternut squash, chopped into 1/2" squares
red pepper, chopped
garlic cloves, or garlic paste
red pepper flakes
1 cup water, separated
two cans of beans. whichever you like. i used red and pinto.
a can of stewed tomatoes
spices-- cumin, italian seasonings, cilantro-- whatever you like.



in a dutch oven, or large pot, heat some oil. add the onion and saute about 5 minutes.



add the butternut squash, red pepper, and 1/2 cup of water. also red pepper flakes, garlic, and any spices you choose to add. simmer for about 7 minutes.



add the beans and the stewed tomatoes, using the spoon to break apart the tomatoes a little bit. add the other 1/2 cup of water, then simmer, partially covered, for 15-20 minutes, until it thickens a little bit.



serve as is, or garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge. or, a small dollop of light sour cream.