Oh dear, too long without cooking

So, summer vacation has been fun, but we have not been eating very well at all! I am pretty sure the lack of home cooked, mostly organic food has adversely effected our waistlines. After we get back from visiting the in-laws, I think I will be diving into cooking and visiting the Farmers Markets again. I am really excited to plan a trip to Austin soon to check out their new store In.gredients- it's a grocery store with local, organic, sustainable foods but none of it is prepackaged. Customers have to bring their own containers to take home their wares, but they do offer disposable containers, if people need them.

Anyway, tonight I cooked some white fish on the stove with coriander, basil, salt and pepper. For the side, I found out how Macaroni Grill makes their spinach orzo. So, I combined 8 oz of organic whole wheat orzo I pre-cooked in chicken broth, a red bell pepper, olive oil, garlic, baby spinach and salt and pepper. It was the perfect light dinner after feeling like we had eaten very heavy unhealthy food all week.

How to make green onions last longer than 1 week (and other weekend bumblings)

You know when you buy green onions and then a few days later find a slimy mess in the fridge? Well, I tried this technique awhile back and it worked! The onions lasted about 3 weeks without being slimy. They did get a little limp, but they still tasted like green onions!

So, here's what you do:
1) After tearing off any kind of slimy parts, separate them out on a paper towel (the roots can hang out, but try to cover the greens as much as possible)

2) Roll them up so that each one has some paper towel between the next- don't let them touch!

3) Dampen with water, but not too much, you don't want them soaked.
4) Place in plastic grocery bad- NOT the flimsy produce bags, but the regular plastic ones with handles. Place in fridge.

As you use them, rip off excess paper towel & re-wet as needed.

In other news, I will not be wasting time or money on raw artichokes anymore. Can you believe how little of those things are actually edible? What a waste! I was certain that I was over-peeling them at first, but after I boiled one whole, I still came out with very little edible portions. This might have to be the one thing I break my "nothing canned" rule with, because I love artichokes!

  The Farmer's Market had carrots yesterday! Exciting to see color come back after a winter of potatoes and turnips (bland!)

 And, I baked some organic whole wheat flax seed walnut bread! I thought I had let it rise too long, but apparently this is not a big deal. By the way, first time in the 4 years I've been married that I've made bread... I have no bread maker, that is my excuse! Oddly enough, homemade bread apparently has about 3x more calories than store-bought whole wheat bread. Uh, what? Yeah, 330cals per slice. I will be sure to eat one sandwich a day (and nothing else). I used this recipe, but left out the applesauce & cracked wheat, replaced the molasses with honey, and replaced the sunflower seeds with walnuts pieces.
By the way, sorry there have not been many recipe posts- we had family in town and the house is a mess, so we opted to eat out all week (believe me, my waistline is paying for THAT!) But this week, there will be fish!

Happy Easter! Cake Pops Easter chickies.

Well, it took almost all day, but I finally finished my Cake Pops! They were definitely difficult, but I think in the end they turned out very cute, for a first time!
Problems I need to address next time:
- How to get the correct consistency. I practiced yesterday with 12 and most fell off the stick into the frosting. I was sure this was because they weren't firm enough, so I popped them in the freezer and it worked. Today, however, I think I left them in the freezer too long because they were then, essentially, sweating through their candy coating! Poor little guys.
- How the heck do food markers work without getting gunked up? I had to eventually just dab them over and over until the eyes were the correct size, because writing with them caused them to stop working.
- How to get the candy coating to go on in an even fashion. I think some of my problems were because the candy coating was super hot when I was dipping frozen cake balls in, but when I waited for it to cool a little, I started to get lumpy chicks.

Well, regardless of appearance, I can assure you they are all DELICIOUS (there were at least 8 mistakes over the course of the past 2 days, so Hubby and I have been dining on carrot cake all this time.) I highly recommend checking out Bakerella's website, and definitely picking up her Cake Pops cookbook if you like baking, because these are awesome!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my army of chicks and attempt to take over the world! (Insert sinister laugh here.)

#16 Nom-nom Paleo's "Super Porktastic Bacon-Topped Spinach & Mushroom Meatloaf" with Carrot-Turnip Puree

 Oh... my... gawd! This was, without a doubt, the BEST thing I've made all year! Last week I told you about Nom Nom Paleo's food blog and her amazing meatloaf recipe I couldn't wait to try. Well, it was worth the wait! Not to mention that after fretting over all the added fat from the bacon, and then using MyFitnessPal to figure out the calories and fat, I was more than thrilled that a 9x5 loaf cut into 8 pieces yields only 317 calories and 20g of fat! Not to mention the turnip/carrot puree was mighty tasty, if not a little baby-foodish.

So, do you wanna know how I made it? Huh, do ya? Well, the link above has the original recipe (with absolutely amazing photography to assist with your step-by-step... believe me, I'm aware that my Canon PowerShot SD630 was not made for food pornography.)
I did make a few tweaks to the original recipe: my favorite farmer did not have ground pork last weekend (insert overly dramatic sad violin here), but he has the best grass fed ground beef I've ever tasted, so I went with that. Also, I had forgotten the bacon and celery on my after-farmer's-market-grocery-store-run last weekend, and was disappointed when I made a quick run on my way home from work to find that the nearby HEB did not have organic celery, the number 1 culprit on the Dirty Dozen list. So, I instead opted for some Pacific Natural Foods condensed cream of celery soup in place of the 1/4c of cream/milk. Delicious. Yum!

Edited Recipe
1 lb fresh chopped, cooked down, and drained spinach
1 1/4 lb ground beef
1/4 c flour (or a bit more, if you're like me and too impatient to let spinach cool before wringing it out & burning yourself)
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt + more to taste
1 1/2 tsp black pepper + more to taste
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup condensed cream of celery
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 lb finely chopped portabella mushrooms
2 large eggs
5 slices of bacon

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat butter and saute onions and mushrooms with salt and pepper.
• Blend cream of celery and parsley until pureed.
• Add all of this to a medium bowl (except for bacon) & mix by hand.
• Transfer to 9x5 loaf pan.
• Bake for 70-75min (I had to leave it a bit longer, some of the meat was still pink.)
• Set oven to broil and broil for 3 min or until bacon is crispy.
• Pour off grease and let sit for 10-20min.
• Serve with marinara or tomato sauce on top.

1st time with Lamb (#14) and "Jerk" chicken with banana fried rice (#15)

This week included my first time making lamb chops. I just bought a small amount, as I was unsure of how they would cook or taste. I'm thinking next time I'll marinate them. To me they tasted like a lighter version of beef. I slow cooked it in the oven with some sweet potatoes and mushrooms. I had to broil the sweet potatoes for a few minutes to finish them off.

Then I had a risqué recipe I had been wanting to try: jerk chicken with banana fried rice. Now, to be fair, this recipe came from a magazine that I think more northerners than southerners read. I'm mostly placing this assumption on the little inset that said "wear gloves when you cut the jalapeño, I learned the hard way!" To be fair, a few of my non-Texan relatives cannot handle the heat. But here in Texas, a jalapeño is like a freaking cucumber. That should have been my first warning flag. I wish I had added 4 jalapeños and maybe a few seeds for fun, instead of the requested 1. Still, it came out a little better than I expected (since cinnamon was in the recipe and I have an aversion to cinnamon or pineapple in my non-dessert foods.) The banana fried rice won over my hubby, but I'm wondering if that had more to do with the fact that his poor Chinese stomach had not had jasmine rice in at least a month, and not the fact that it was a good recipe. Still, it was good. (Speaking of bananas, has anyone ever really been this bored before?)

I'm excited about this week's menu. I've been obsessed with this crazy girl's blog. She and her family are on the Paleo diet (no legumes or bread products- also called the "Caveman diet"). So Nom Nom Paleo has been posting about this awesome Super Porktastic Bacon-Topped Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf and Carrot Parsnip Puree. I must make both. Now. I'm salivating as I type this, and I was well-fed today! I don't want to post the photos she took of her food because I guarantee my photos won't look as great (she does, after all, own a REAL camera for taking food pics.)

Now, as an avid reader of her blog, I must say that I'm still not convinced of going hardcore and becoming Paleo. If anything, I think as Americans we eat too much meat. I think there are alternative protein sources available that we ignore. (RE: why my students are excited/dreading Monday- can you say chocolate covered grasshoppers?) I also think that as someone who once struggled physically and now and then still struggles mentally with an eating disorder, removing any food group from one's diet can put already susceptible parties in danger of sliding down that slippery slope to adding everything to the "bad food" list. However, this blog has really helped expand my thoughts on how to incorporate more veggies into dinnertime meals, and given me some insight into how I may someday have to appease a young picky eater.

I suppose I shouldn't be waiting so long to post, or you end up reading a book when all you wanted was a quick peak at what we cooked/ate this week. One last snigglet, though. If you love baking and you have no idea who Bakerella or what Cake Pops are, you have got to educate yourself. (Hint: start by clicking those links.) So I was absolutely THRILLED when my day's long shopping adventure with a girlfriend turned up her book at a Michael's. I will die if I do not make those cute little chicks in the upper left hand corner for Easter next weekend. Family: prepare to melt from cuteness.

Recipe 13 and some bacon maple cupcakes

 Made the usual trip to the Leon Springs Farmers Market yesterday. Happy to see some signs of spring: strawberries that were all sold out (boo) and squash! I have to say, the coolest part about my "everything from scratch" resolution is seeing directly where our food comes from. Totally blows my mind every time I shake the hand of the man that slaughtered our chicken. Hah.
An added bonus with these resolutions is that I am now more fitness-conscious. And I'm not sure it's even a direct correlation. I think it's more of a "holy crap, I was in the kitchen for 3 hours Saturday maybe I should go run outside." Either way, the fact that my lazy butt is able to run for 5 minutes straight is an amazing achievement and all couch potatoes should bow before my un-laziness.

 Okay, so this week I had some repeats: spinach mushroom pizza and fish. The sides were good, though. Cooked down some fresh FM spinach with some shallots, olive oil, mushrooms and red bell peppers. Yum! The fish was more of a Lent-y Friday thing, but we had a special surprise Friday when we discovered that it was a rare occasion where Catholics were encouraged to eat meat. So, we made like carnivores and had some awesome burgers from a local favorite, San Antonio Burger Company and had the fish this evening.

Today was a long, lazy day of running, grading papers and... lazing around. So, It only makes sense that I finally decided to try the Maple Bacon Cupcakes I have heard so much about.
Two mistakes: next time, I will use REAL bacon and not turkey bacon (tasted absolutely NO crispy pig in there). And the second mistake: I had about 1/4 a cup of REAL DELICIOUS Vermont maple syrup (which actually comes from trees on my grandparents' property, how cool is that?!). But instead of saving it for the frosting, where you could taste it the most, I used it all in the batter for the actual cupcakes and had to use that crappy artificial stuff for the frosting.

Final score: meh. They were good because it was a carb covered in sugar and we were hungry after pumping iron at the gym, but it was hard to taste bacon or maple. There was a distinct fake maple scent, but no dice. Hope the Breakfast Club at school enjoys them tomorrow...

Hubby's fave: tacos in pasta shells

I really dislike that my husband's favorite dish is something that does not include any veggies whatsoever. Not to mention it's loaded with fat (but it's GOOD).

Hubby's Tacos in Pasta Shells (courtesy of my Momma) got a revamp. The original recipe calls for 3oz of full-fat chive cream cheese, 1 cup of cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, and regular jumbo pasta shells... not cool.

Here's the edited recipe (sans cheese, not for the fat content, but for the forgetfulness thing):
1 lb beef
8oz whole grain pasta
6oz cream cheese (1/3 fat)
3 chopped green onions
1-2 Tbsp chili powder (or more, if you have a Hubby that loves the spiciness!)
pinch of salt

-Cook the pasta as per the package directions.
-Cook the beef, drain, season with chili powder, salt and add the cream cheese & green onions.
-Stir until combined.
-Combine with cooked pasta, top with about 1 cup salsa (we use Texas-Texas Roasted Salsa- yum!) and serve.
If you choose to go ahead and add the cheese, it does make it super tasty! You'll need to bake it covered at 350F for about 10-15min and then uncover it, add the cheese and wait for bubbly deliciousness. You can also crumble tortilla chips on top, but again forgetfulness/healthiness.

Breakfast mini fritattas

Okay, calorie counters, you won't believe me after I tell you the ingredients that went into these babies and then how little they take up of a dieter's daily allowance. You can really have any kind of "filler," so long as you have eggs and cheese! I just listed below what I used this morning.

You will need:
6 slices turkey bacon
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 portabella mushrooms, finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
8oz baby swiss (shredded or finely cut into squares)

- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Beat together eggs, milk, pepper, and nutmeg. (Those not sensitive to salt can choose to add a small pinch- but I mistakenly added some, forgetting about the loads of salt in turkey bacon. Needless to say, Hubby loved it, I not so much.)
- Cook bacon and finely chop or crumble (crumbling was not possible for me with Butterball's thick turkey bacon)
- Saute spinach, mushrooms and shallot together with a smidgen of olive oil. Drain on paper towels to keep eggs from being runny later.
- In a greased mini muffin tin, pour about 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp egg mixture, followed by spinach/mushroom mix, topping with bacon and then cheese. If it looks too dry on top, add another 1/2 Tbsp egg mixture.
- Bake until brown and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy! According to my favorite calorie tracker (which allows you to enter recipes!!), if you go easy on the toppings and make 48, each one is only 31 calories! Awesome sauce!

Thai Chicken Pizza- sharing the recipe!

 Many of my FB friends have been asking about the Thai Chicken Pizza recipe from last week- so here it is! (Credit has to be given to Rachel Ray- but I have made a few edits that I think make it awesome.)

Now, for the pizza dough, you can get the Pillsbury, but we made 2 pizzas with some FM pre-made whole grain pizza crusts. They were awesome! But the buttery taste from the Pillsbury was definitely something I missed :(

Ingredients:
- 1 pizza dough
- 1/2 cup Hoisen sauce
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 10 oz Monterey Jack cheese (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 BIG Tbsp peanut butter
- 2 tsp hot sauce (I recommend Sriracha sauce- the red sauce with a rooster on the bottle & a green cap)
- 2 tsp McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
- 2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips (or 1/2 pound cutlets)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 scallions (I always go overboard, with green onions and garlic, we used 6 scallions for this)
- about a 1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
- (Optional- 1 cup bean sprouts)

Preheat oven to 425. Form the pizza dough on a pan. Top with hoisen sauce (this is your pizza sauce), sprinkly with red peppers and top with cheese and red bell peppers. Bake about 15min until cheese is bubbly.

While baking, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, hot sauce and grill seasoning in small bowl. (Zap for about 10sec in the microwave if it doesn't mix well. Another hint- use the same Tbsp from the oil for the peanut butter, it will come off easier!) Coat chicken with mixture and cook over medium-high heat until cooked through.

While chicken cooks, mix honey and vinegar in medium bowl, coating cucumbers with the mix.

When pizza is done baking, top with chicken, scallions, cilantro, cucumbers, and peanuts. Add bean sprouts if desired. Cut and serve!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Chicken Soup

Besides the fact that I am probably the WORST vegetable chopper ever (notice the not quite chopped strips of onions)- I love making this soup. It is chunky, and it makes about 6 servings, with each serving only being about 200 calories. Awesome!
All you need is chicken stock, an onion, a sweet potato, 2 carrots, about 3 chicken breasts, some cilantro and green onions, and chipotle chili powder. Chardonnay gives it a better taste (especially for lunch the next day!) but I've made it without the wine before and it still tasted great.
We are enjoying 70 degree weather here right now, but to me, soup is always good, even if it's the middle of the summer (because, let's face it, you're probably already sweating by the time you finish cooking anyway).

Now, if I can remember to put the FM chicken in the crockpot, Thursday should be Walnut-crusted chicken with quinoa. Nervous about making quinoa, but I'm sure it will be delicious!