Yum wow yum!

I had Jason pick up a rotisserie chicken from Costco the other day not really sure what I was going to do with it. Well, I found the most amazing thing to do with it and now it has been fully consumed. That's right. I did share a little.
I made the most killer delicious chicken salad ever. I mean, I made it this morning while my oatmeal was cooling and I will tell you this. My oatmeal was dumped down the drain after taste testing this salad. turning into my breakfast. This was so freaky deaky good. So here goes.

1 rotisserie chicken
1 avocado
1 container plain yogurt
1-2 T mayo (to tone the heat down to a level you are comfortable with)
1 chipotle from a can of chipotle in adobo (remove seed to reduce heat)
juice of 1 lime
pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
cilantro
green onions
salt

Puree the avocado, yogurt, 1 T of mayo, juice of 1 lime, a pinch of salt and chipotle. Holy cow this is some good stuff. I added my mayo after the fact because I realized how hot it was without. This puree without the mayo makes a killer killer dip. I was dipping my chips like crazy because you really only want to dump half of this mix into the chicken or it will be way too creamy.

Add your chopped green onion, cilantro, and pepitas to the creamy chicken and enjoy. I am telling you. WOW! I just filled those tostidos baked scoops with this and dined. Wow.

Too long but still cookin

I would love to do a better job of posting to my food blog. It saddens me that it can't be easier to load pictures. I dreamed of a food blog with lots of pictures but it takes so much time to upload pictures and then post them. If only I could do it from my phone. Alas.
I just made some delicious soup the other night. This was the first pureed soup I have ever tried to make and it turned out quite lovely. I have been eating it for a couple days now and even had it for breakfast the other day. Yum.
It comes from an amazing cookbook called Isabel's Cantina. I bought this book probably four year ago and have made many things from it and they have all been delicious. Please try this one and maybe your library has a copy you can check out and make more meals from it. There is also a pumpkin soup I plan on trying. The pumpkin has been sitting on my counter for two weeks now calling to me. It requires me to roast a pumpkin which I have never done before. Seems like a lot of work but I will do it. So...her it is.

Minto Mojo
1/2 c mint leaves
1/2 c cilantro
2 cloves garlic minced
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t sugar

Puree this in a food processor or bullet. Drizzle on top of your soup to serve.

Tomato Ginger Soup with mint mojo

3 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
4 cloves of garlic
3 carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
3/4 c ginger minced
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 c dry white wine
6 cups chicken broth

Sautee the onions and garlic in oil until softened. Add the carrots, celery, ginger and white wine. Cook 10 minutes or so until wine is reduced greatly. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes and cook 45 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and ginger has mellowed. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. I did mine in the blender in about 5 trips. Remember not to cover your blender tightly and don't get it too full. I take the middle out of the lid of my blender and cover it with a towel to prevent and explosions. Same goes for processor. I'd leave the little top out and cover loosely with a towel. When ready to serve drizzle with the mint mojo and enjoy pure bliss.

As a serving idea. I put a big scoop of rice in the middle of mine and some arugula greens. Once I even sprinkled on some pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Experiment with your own yummy ideas.

I apologize for the lack of picture. If you are on facebook you can see it there. Thanks for reading.

Facebook Page

My friend Jennifer talked me into starting a facebook page to post my recipes too so I have been trying to do a little of both here. I find it easier to post entire recipes to this blog, but want to show people the delicious things I am making on facebook. I will start to post my blog address for people to find the recipes.

Today for lunch I made a Quinoa and corn salad with toasted pumpkin seeds from a favorite cookbook of mine called Power Foods. I added black beans to mine and used half of a red onion in place of the green onion because I didn't have them on hand. They were way too strong. I should have minced them smaller and used less. I am thinking of added some lime zest too so I can get more of that lime flavor. It makes a ton of dressing. I don't like to put too much on because quinoa can get really mushy. I can't stand a mushy salad. So I drizzled maybe a 1/4 of the dressing on in the end. Super healthy and the kids actually ate some of it. Yeah!

The actual recipe was not found by me online for the link to it so this link is to another gals site who made it and posted it. I just don't have the time in my day to type out every recipe I make. She made hers a little different down in the bottom where she starts to assemble it. I actually only made one cup of quinoa. I wanted the ratios to be a little even with veggies to grains being equal. I do 1 c rinsed quinoa with a little under two cups of water. I have a rice cooker that I make mine in on the white rice setting. Love it. I use my rice cooker at least twice a week if not more. I've had it for years and it's an amazing machine. Perfect rice/quinoa every time!

Found a great write up on Power Foods if you are at all interested in that book. I love it. It's from the writers of Whole Living which is a division of Martha Stewart. I get the magazine too! I love this book so much. http://www.everydiet.org/diet/power-foods

For dinner last night I made another Everyday Foods recipe. I love these recipes because they don't require a bunch of bottled/packaged foods. Almost everything in them is a whole food. Love that. It's really easy for me to make them gluten free and almost all of them are naturally healthy.

Stir Fry Chicken with Bok Choy

adapted from the magazine Everyday Food

1/4 low sodium soy sauce

1 T rice vinegar

2 t light brown sugar

1 lb chicken breast or thigh meat cut into 1 inch cubes or sliced

4 t corn starch

2 T vegetable oil (I used my new favorite which is grapeseed oil-better for you)

2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

2 t peeled minced fresh ginger

4 c bok choy sliced from one head

1 small red chile or jalapeno seeded and diced

rice for serving (I used noodles)

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and 3T water. (I thought the sauce was a little weak so I wouldn't add the water next time or reduce it) Whisk. In a medium bowl combine chicken with the corn starch and toss to coat. In a large wok or skillet add oil cook garlic and ginger until fragrant about 1 minute. Add chicken and cook about 6-8 minutes. Add the bok choy and cook 1 minute or until wilted. Add the sauce and cook two minutes more. Serve over rice or noodles.

Sloppy is my middle name

I must say I am a sloppy joe connoisseur. I have to have tried a dozen or more recipes. I just love all of the flavors that go into them. All of the ingredients they can include and be so different. They are super healthy and an easy way to get kids to eat a lot of different ingredients without knowing it.

Tonight I am going to be making one of my favorites of all time. It's Rachael Ray of course. You know, now that I think of it, most of the ones I have made are from her. Amazing recipes. This one is called a Buffalo Joe. Follow the link though because for some reason she has a couple Buffalo Joe recipes. I really love this one.

In this recipe I changed a few things with much luck and actually have never made it the way it's called for. If you do and it's awesome let me know. But the day I was going to make it I realized I had no worcestershire in the house. So instead I googled good substitutes and did red wine vinegar (completely leaving out the cider vinegar) and soy sauce. (GF for me). It was amazing. I think I did just a couple splashes of each. It tasted amazing and have been doing it the same ever since!

Great food as of late

I have been making some great recipes lately. My husband gives me a hard time because I will make something the family loves, but may not see it again or for some time. I try so many new recipes, it is rare that I will make something twice. I must quote Marcel when I say, "I like that

about myself."

If you don't know who Marcel is look him up on youtube. Marcel the Shell with shoes on. He's a family favorite!

One recipe lately was a Korean Noodle Bowl from Rachael Ray. I have had the recipe for months and never made it. Then I went and became wheat free, keeping me from pasta until I found the great brown rice pasta at Trader Joes. I have to say, it was amazing. Even Jason ate it. Didn't comment on the pasta. It does get a little sticky on it's own but with the recipe gave it a creaminess that was really delicious. Couldn't even tell. I ate it for breakfast this morning. I used organic chicken thighs. I stopped using breast meat. I don't care if it's less fat. Less fat means less flavor. I am not going to get fat eating a meal with dark meat for crying out loud. I like to enjoy my food and have it taste good, thank you very much. It never turns out dry and disgusting like breast meat does.

Lucy had been asking me about eggplant a lot lately and on a trip to the grocery store wanted to pick some up. I had just the recipe I had been wanting to try. I love it so so much. It was amazing. Everyday Food never disappoints. Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms It was so so yummy.

I just got a cookbook at the library that I am pretty excited about. Simple Food, Big Flavor by Aaron Sanchez. It is an amazing cookbook. I love how it's set up. There will be a recipe for something like a sauce and then the next whole section of recipes is based on that recipe using that sauce. I happened to make something that could be altered. There was a recipe for roasted tomatillo salsa but I opted to purchase my own in a jar. Had I had more time, would have loved to do that.

The recipe goes like this:

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 1/2 lb of tomatillos

5 fresh serrano peppers or 10 jalapenos

3 whole garlic cloves peeled

1 large white onion peeled and sliced 1/2 in thick

1/4 olive oil

kosher salt

1/2 c fresh cilantro

fresh ground black pepper

After husking and washing tomatillos, broil along with garlic, peppers, and onion on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt. After charred and turning a few times (7 minutes) let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender and puree. Store up to a week or freeze for two months.

I must say if you decide to purchase tomatillo salsa, see if you can find mild if you are feeding the kids or if you can't tolerate heat. This was spicy. I mean, my nose was running. It was tolerable to me because I can stand that kind of heat but the salsa I purchased was medium. The heat I tasted was definitely medium level. I loved it. The kids did now. Sad too because it would have been a great dish. I am thinking if you added a can of chicken stock it may even it out though. If you make this salsa from scratch, you could always do like 5 jalapenos and it may be fine. Serranos are a lot hotter than jalapenos. Plus always remove all of the ribs and seeds for sure. Don't just chuck those babies in whole after roasting them.

The recipe I made was sausage chili verde with hominy and pumpkin. These recipes are not available through the web as of yet so I will type it out for you. I kid you not, when I tasted this soup I let out a sigh of extreme flavor pleasure. This is bursting with flavor. I mean, I am totally in love. I was going to freeze a bowl of it, but really, who am I kidding, this stuff aint gonna last through tomorrow. I will dream about it tonight.

2 T evoo

1 large yellow spanish onion diced

1 lb sausage ( I buy an Italian chicken sausage from Super Target)

1 1/2 t dried whole oregano crumbled (preferably Mexican)

3 large cloves of garlic minced

2 c roasted tomatillo salsa

1 15 oz can hominy

1/2 c fresh cilantro

1/2 lb butternut squash peeled and diced into 1/2 in cubes

Heat oil in pan and cook your onions for about 4 minutes until translucent. Add the sausage and break it up until browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in oregano and garlic. Stir 3 more minutes. Stir in the salsa, hominy with all of it's liquid, cilantro and squash. Simmer covered until tender squash 15-20 minutes. Taste and season as necessary.

I did not salt mine at all as it was perfect. I am telling you, this is a winner. I will make it again and again. I love it. Hoping Jason likes it tomorrow as he didn't make it home for the first round. May be dining upon it for breakfast. :) Lately my theory is that you can put a friend egg on anything and call it breakfast. Ha ha ha.

Recipes with pictures!!

Thai Beef with Chili and Basil

I have had this recipe as a staple for a long time now. Good ol Martha. Super flavorful. Really easy. I use jalapeno instead of the hot red chilis. I only use two and cook them together. Recipe calls for three and to add some in the end. I like to cook them all as to make sure it's not too hot for the kids. Doesn't turn out spicy at all. As will all of the recipes I will be posting now, gluten free. I use a Kikomon gluten free soy sauce. If you didn't know already, wheat is a main ingredient in soy sauce which is ironic to me because it is called SOY sauce. Why not call it wheat sauce for crying out loud.

Today for lunch I had a surge of energy and got all these things cooking. I had a pot on the stove going for pasta. I had the oven going roasting some zucchini. A pot on the stove boiling carrots. A pan cooking some Italian sausage. And some asparagus and broccoli steaming in the microwave. I was super leery about trying this brown rice pasta I had bought at Trader Joes. I must say, super super good. Tasted just like the real thing. The kids chowed it. It turned out to be a super tasty lunch with lots and lots of beautiful leftovers. I simply put a little butter on the carrots and broccoli but everything else had so much flavor it didn't need anything. I buy an Italian chicken sausage at Super Target that I love and have buying for a year or two now. Happens to be gluten free, so lucky me. It comes in a tube over by the breakfast sausages.

Easy Chickpea Curry

Me and my good friend Laura started cooking lunch for each other on our play dates. It gives us a great chance to make things our kids and husbands wouldn't typically eat. I love food. Really love food. I have never liked Indian food. It's one food I have never had a desire to eat. The spices smell far to strong. I don't like coconut milk at all, which is typically found in Indian dishes. She really surprised me with this dish and ever since I crave it on almost a daily basis. I had to make it for myself and wound up eating it for six straight meals. That does not upset me. For the tomatoes I used two 14 oz cans of plum tomatoes and smashed them up in the pan. As for the cauliflower; I used almost a small head. You can gauge it as to your liking. We served it over white rice. Wow!!! I love this dish. Super super healthy and super super flavorful. Plus, no coconut milk!

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with peppers and water chestnuts

This was a super delicious stir fry from the Food Network Magazine. Again, really healthy. A little more prep and steps but totally worth the work. Really flavorful. Anytime I see sesame oil in a recipe I instantly put up the flavor flag. I would definitely give this one a try. Your family will love it.

Wheat Belly

I started reading a new book today called Wheat Belly. At first I was a little skeptical because I thought it was going to be another fad diet type book. It's everything but that. This is a doctor who found that on the days he didn't eat wheat he didn't feel tired, miserable, ill. He decided to have his patients, many diabetic suffering obesity, to cut wheat out of their diet. After weeks of following his wishes they had significant health improvements. Not only did many of them become non-diabetics, but they had improved health. Rashes clearing up. Irritable bowel symptoms subside. Arthritis improve if not disappear. Weight loss.

It does get a little boring as he goes into the history of wheat but it does prove his point all the further. The wheat we consume today has been modified so much that our body doesn't know what to do with it. So we become sick, obese individuals who turn to intense workout regimens, diets, and drugs to cure our ailments and weight issues.

I have read three chapters of this book so far. I find it all very interesting. I feel frustrated and confused by the way our FDA handles the foods we eat. The foods that are being produced in these factories. I have concluded that all I can do is change the things that I can change and do the best that I can. If I know that wheat is bad for me, I am going to stop eating it. What isn't bad for us anymore these days? True. This is one thing I can change. A big thing. I have already seen a significant improvement in my health, my mood, my body. I love the food I eat. I do miss wheat at times but it's really easy to get over it. For now, I will continue on this path.

Gluten Free!!!

Wow, it's been forever since my last entry. It's been so hard for me to remember to take pictures of these delicious meals I am making. I always need to see pictures of the food I am making so I hate to not provide that to my readers. I promise I will try and get better about that.

Recently a friend of mine had posted an article about wheat on her facebook page. For a long time I had considered trying to eliminate wheat from my diet. It's so bad for the body. Well, at least now days it is because of all of the things our government is letting happen to our food.

Here is a link to the article. If it doesn't work it's calle The Dark Side of Wheat by the Washington Post Social Reader. Either way you could google it and real hundreds of articles about this very thing.

https://apps.facebook.com/wpsocialreader/me/channels/trending/content/kUzQu?fb_action_ids=2859202633226&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline

It basically talks about all of the chemicals they are using on the wheat we are eating every day. The more the wheat is processed into these food we eat, the worse it is for our bodies. Look at how many people today have Celiac. Look back in time and no one even knew what that was. Was it because it hadn't been diagnosed yet, or is it because over time our food has become more and more processed.

On this journey to becoming gluten free, (it's been a month now), I have come to realize it is also a clean diet. I don't eat food from packages anymore with a few exceptions. I make our meals every night. When I want a snack I eat some fruit, nuts, yogurt, vegetables. I feel amazing. I never feel that gross full feeling after eating too much. I haven't had gas anymore. I feel good. I feel healthy and light.

So am I going to be posting boring, gross recipes. No. I am going to be posting the same foods I was eating before without the pasta recipes. I have always ate this way, with a few slight changes. I use soy sauce in a lot of my cooking as I do love asian. Have a great gluten free soy sauce I use from the grocery store and it isn't anymore expensive than the others and you can't taste a difference at all.

Last night I made an amazing Chile Chicken Posole from The Food Network. It was so flavorful and easy. I have been using chicken thighs in all of my cooking these days instead of breast meat. Yeah, it's a little more fattening but it's a lot more flavorful and it's never dry. I got so sick of making these awesome meals that fell short because chicken breast meat is so dry. You aren't going to get fat from eating a little dark meat. I used one less can of green chilis in fear of it being too spicy for the kids. Better safe than sorry and it was the perfect amount of heat. The one thing I will change next time is to use half the amount of time if not any. I thought it was way to strong. It dominated my palate. We did garnish it with avocado and it's a must. So delicious. I highly recommend this dish. I will be making it again for sure.

The next dish I have made is awesome and I am making it again tonight. Chipotle Turkey Chili from Rachael Ray. Always love her recipes. This dish is super healthy, flavorful, filling. I love it. It has green apples and lots of meat. No beans for those dudes out there. Seems like most women like beans, but not the men. This is a really great recipe and I'm excited to make it again.

It's not hard to find recipes that are gluten free if you are cooking clean, real food. My favorite sources are: Everyday Food Magazine/Books, Rachael Ray, and Food Network Magazine. I have never been disappointed with a recipe from any of these. I haven't missed wheat at all. I can't say how long I will be on this journey but for now, it feels really good.

Been too long

Ok, I have still been cooking, of course. The hardest part for me is taking pictures and uploading them. I don't like posting without pictures because like most people, I want to see the final product. The fruits of my labor. But, alas, I shall post with no pictures because I want to share with you a couple awesome recipes I have made lately that I am really excited about.

Yesterday I made the most amazing salad. I mean, I want to make this weekly and have it be a regular park of my eating schedule. It's that good. I don't remember how I found this but it's from Vegetarian Times. Yummy. I know you will enjoy it and it's super healthy. It's called Sweet Potato and Apple Salad with Avocado. Lucy actually really liked it and I accidentally put a red onion in instead of a white onion. I must say it was really good.

Jason has been really busy with homecoming at his school and also made a trip back to Iowa for some high school visits so it gave me a chance to make some things he usually wouldn't eat. The kids enjoyed it a little I think but really I made them for me :). This one I found sounded really like fall to me so I had to give it a try. Plus, gnocchi, hello, is so good. The kids are a fan of that, especially Lucy. So give this one a try. It's a little more unique. Gnocchi with squash and kale. I must say one of my favorite things about fall is butternut squash. The sage in this one was a little strong for me so I would omit some of that, otherwise it was heaven.

Soon I am going to be making a soup I love. It's a midwinter minestrone from Rachael Ray Look and Cook. I remember making this one soon after Miles was born for me and my friend Susie. The porcini mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes in it lend an earthiness to the soup that is so beautiful. I use bacon instead of pancetta because I can never find that at my market. It works just fine and costs a lot less. I like to buy a package of bacon, portion it out in about three strips per bag and freeze them. I always have it on hand when I need it and I never need more than that amount.

I am also really loving kale. A yummy snack I like to make is to tear up pieces of kale (minus the firm stem running down the center which I remove) drizzle with evoo and a sprinkling of salt and bake at 350 for 12 minutes or so. Kale chips; so yummy and healthy. I am still trying to convince Lucy they are good. Oh well, it is green after all.

I just made another amazing soup last weekend from Rachael Rays Look and Cook. That is one of my favorite books I own. I bought it after making five things from it while checked out from the library. It's amazing. I have made at least a dozen recipes from it and all have been tasty. This is the soup I made which is really yummy. Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Loving Avocados

I could just sit and eat avocados all day long. Here is another recipe using avocados. It was so delicious. So so so good. I have to say though, not good the second day so be ready to eat a lot of it or share. It is so so good. My husband even liked it after commenting on how off putting the appearance of it was. I didn't think it looked bad at all. Yummmmm. Enjoy.

Holy Guacamole Cream Pasta

1 16oz pack of brown rice spaghetti or whole wheat pasta

• 1-2 avocados
• 2 garlic clove
• 4-6 tbsp milk or chicken stock
  
• 2 tbsp almonds
• 4 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp jalapenos
• 1 tbsp canola oil
  
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
  
• 1 plum tomato, chopped
• 4 green onions + more for garnish

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine avocado, garlic, milk, cashews, lime juice, cilantro, oil, and chili pwd. Pulse until smooth.
3. Add tomato and 2 green onions and pulse for 2-5 seconds until just combined.
4. Mix guacamole sauce in with pasta and serve with green onions sprinkled over top
   

New Recipe I am loving and hating

I recently made this recipe for my friends on craft night. It was a big time hit. I had to make another batch already again. It's very inexpensive, simple ingredients, super healthy and most importantly very very yummy. I am excited to try variations on this recipe. I have thought about adding a jalapeno or using lime juice instead of lemon. I have thought about adding some tomatillo salsa or maybe even bacon. Yeah, bacon. The reason I am hating it, too damn good. The raw garlic is something I am not quite sure if I enjoy. I may try roasting some garlic next time. You definitely need it though or you can taste the chick peas. Please make this and enjoy the heck out of it.

Guacamole Hummus-Everyday Food

In a food processor, combine 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained. 3 cups fresh cilantro leaves, 1 garlic clove, chopped, and 1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped. Process until finely chopped. With machine running add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a slow, steady stream and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, then add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is smooth. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper.

I used two avocados. Not sure how it would be otherwise, all I know is the way I make it turns out divine.

If it makes you healthy

A few weeks ago I caught Sheryl Crow on the Rachael Ray show. She has a new cookbook out that she wrote with her personal chef. All healthy recipes and ways to eat for maximum health. This week I am giving some more of the recipes a try. Last week it was the cashew sticky rice. This week I am trying Veggie Caponata Soup, a bulgur wheat salad, a potato salad and a quinoa pasta salad. So far I have tried the quinoa pasta salad. Very very good. I am not a huge fan of the quinoa pasta. Turned out really tough. If you want to try this salad and aren't feeling daring regular pasta would be good too and to be honest with you, no pasta would be really good too still. I love this salad so much. I will post it soon. The Veggie Caponata Soup is what we are having for dinner. I have made it a goal to serve my family at least two meatless meals per week. I myself will be eating more meatless meals for lunch as well. This soup is very tasty and unique. Here it is.

Veggie Caponata Soup
adapted from If It Makes You Healthy by Sheryl Crow and Chuck White

3 T canola oil
1 cup diced celery
1 medium red onion diced
1 T minced garlic
3 T tomato paste
4 c vegetable broth
2 c cremini mushrooms
1 1/2 c diced zucchini
1 1/2 c diced eggplant
2 c tomato juice
2 c diced tomatoes (I didn't read carefully enough so I dumped in to cans of diced tomatoes; after realizing this I only put in half the amount of tomato juice called for to make up for the extra liquid I had added. bone head!)
1/2 c chopped green olives
3 T drained capers
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 t sugar
salt and pepper
2 c packed arugula
1/2 c chopped basil

In a large pot add your oil and heat a minute or two. Then add the diced onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until softened. Add the 3 T of tomato paste for a minute adding a bit of stock so you don't burn the paste. Cook 2 minutes until stock has evaporated. Add the eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining broth, tomatoes, tomato juice, olives, capers, lemon juice, and sugar. Season to taste. Cook until veggies are softened, about 20-25 minutes. Serve topped with arugula and basil. Yummm. Enjoy.

I promise to get the others posted soon when I have some more free time to type them out. They are so new I can't find links to paste in here. Enjoy!

Still cooking

I made something amazing today that I am so excited to dine upon again. Sheryl Crow has a new cookbook out called If It Makes You Healthy which is really a great book. I found this recipe in there and had to try it. Yummmmm.
Sticky Cashew Rice
1 1/4 c brown rice (I used short grain)
2 c water
1 T soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
2 T sugar
1 T salt
1 c cashews
green onions

Cook the rice accordingly. I always use my trusty rice cooker. Works much easier. I actually did 1c rice and 2 c water so I have no idea how it would turn out otherwise.
Whisk all the ingredients after the water together. When the rice in finished cooking spread out on a foil lined pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle the sauce mixture over the top. Add the cashews and green onions as well. Because I used less rice it was a little more liquidy than I desired so I actually cooked up some tofu and mushrooms in a wok for a bit then added the rice. I love this dish so much. I will dream about it.

My good buddy Laura and I decided that from now on every time we have a play date someone will make chocolate chip cookies. We are going to try all different recipes just for fun because we love chocolate chip cookies so much. This is the best one in the world so I am going to find it hard to make many others, alas I will though. Yum. You have to make these.

http://www.lovefromtheoven.com/2011/03/01/levain-bakery-inspired-chocolate-chip-walnut-cookie-recipe/

I promise you that you can not find a better chocolate chip cookie recipe out there. I got 15 out of the batch and cooked them for about 11 minutes and let them cool on the pan for a few. They turned out perfect. I had to eat two in a row they are that good. I can't wait until thursday when I make them again. Yummm. Plus going to New York this summer and will dine upon the real thing then. The ones I dream of.


My sweet husband came home from the library with a Nigella cookbook. This is a really yummy Korean recipe I found and loved it. http://mikaspantry.blogspot.com/2011/03/nigellas-korean-keema.html Super simple and super super yummy. It had just the right amount of spice. It was so funny because serving it to my three year old she cried at first saying it was too spicy but then kept on going back to eating it. It's delicious.

Another recipe from the book was called Chinatown Chicken Salad. Super duper yummy. Very simple and fresh flavors.

dressing:
1 red or green chile seeded and diced
2 t chopped fresh gingeroot
4 t lime juice or rice vinegar
3 T soy sauce
splash of sesame oil
1/2 t sugar
I actually doubled this because it didn't seem like enough. I used 4 t of lime and 4 t of rice vinegar. Turned out great.
salad:
1/2 c salted peanuts chopped
1 iceberg lettuce chopped
1 1/2 c bean sprouts
4 scallions chopped
1 red bell pepper sliced thin
4 c shredded cooled chicken (used rotisserie chicken)
handful of fresh chopped cilantro
Assemble and serve with dressing. Enjoy.

Margarita Soft Fish Tacos
from none other than Rachael Ray. Still rockin the Look and Cook book of hers. Love it so much. This was a good recipe for one reason, the sauce. The fish was super dry to me. Not a fan. I would make these again with shrimp or shredded rotisserie chicken. I ended up eating the sauce for days. You could use it as a salsa with chips or serve it over some rice. I loved this sauce that much. I wasn't going to waste a drop of it and it did make a lot. Way more than you would ever need for this recipe but like I said, I was not sad about that. Super yummy.

I am really excited to get cooking more from the Sheryl Crow book. Very healthy recipes and very interesting flavors going on. It will be fun. Things I will probably have to make for me and Lucy but that's ok. I enjoy having a healthy lunch.

Look and Cook Marathon

I checked out a Rachael Ray book from my library weeks ago, oops, it's overdue. Well worth it because we had some really good meals. My last two weeks of meal planning have come from this book. It is amazing. In fact, I ordered it for my cook book collection. I must have it for I would probably cry dropping it into the return slot at the library. The meals were that good. I unfortunately didn't take pictures of all of the meals but promise to include the ones I did take.


Tonight we had the Chicken Ragu. Phenominal. I am telling you delicious. It was the perfect meal for my little one who detests tomato sauce because it was a light sauce. The combination of Marsala wine and a can of plum tomatoes crushed in the pot were simple enough that she didn't really mind at all. Maybe I can convert her. I could not stop eating this meal. I am really looking forward to the leftovers. Yummy!


One of our favorites was the Shish Kabobs with Spanakopita Orzo. This was a restaurant quality meal. One of those meals where you are in disbelief that you actually made this in your own home. Tasty! I am telling you make this. I actually used beef stew meat from my grocer instead of lamb. The orzo was so awesome tasting. And the beef turned out super tender and flavorful. I was leery using dried herbs like this calls for but it was really tasty. I marinated the beef all day instead of doing it right before I cooked the meal. I wanted those flavors to really develop.

This was our Valentine's meal and I have to say was freaking amazing. How could it not be with arugula. This was another restaurant quality meal. I felt spoiled by the meals we were eating from this book. That is why I have to continue making more. This one is wild mushroom broken spaghetti "risotto" with arugula and hazelnuts.

Chinese orange-barbecue cashew chicken. This was a delicious one too. I have to say my least favorite of the bunch but really tasty. Does taste just like take out.

The rest of the meals I failed to take pictures of unfortunately. Rest assured, they too, were amazing. Midwinter Minestrone. I really loved this one. The chick peas are a nice change from the usual kidney beans you find in typical minestrone. This was very earthy with the porcini mushrooms and the bacon. I can never find pancetta in my market so I always use bacon. Same idea, less money I am sure. I actually just froze the rest of my bacon in portions in zip lock bags so I can pull it out when I need it. I would never go through a whole package of bacon otherwise.

Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup. Freaking amazing. Once again. I loved this meal so so much. I could live on this soup alone. It was delicious and unique. The beer gives it a really great taste. Don't be intimidated by the dried peppers used in this recipe. It's super simple. Just another step is all. Really worth it. Those deep chili flavors can't be substituted. Amazing!

Sausage and Fish one pot. This was so so good and something I wouldn't typically cook. Have only cooked white fish one other time in my life. This was a really tasty and hearty dish. Looking back on it I used a whole pound of sausage. Lucy loved the fish. It was a really well rounded and healthy meal.

There was one more meal I didn't get to yet that I have the ingredients for. Teryaki Noodles. I am looking forward to them. I do have the beef in my freezer. I sometimes get a little carried away with my meal planning. Especially if I find a lot of recipes I am excited about. I can't wait to get my book in the mail and continue on with this journey. I love the things I have been creating in the kitchen and so does my family.

New idea

Since my life is so crazy now with two kids, I have decided to post all of my dishes for the week during the weekend. It's much easier for me since I will only have to download pictures one time. This was a good week. I have to say the first dish was phenomenal. Sausage and Zucchini Rice. This was just super delicious and simple yet full of flavor. I did a couple different things with the recipe. I cooked my 1 1/2 cups of rice in my rice cooker with three cups of the broth. Then after all the rest of my ingredients were cooked I added the rice in at the end. I never added the extra broth. I felt like it would have been really soupy. This was super moist and flavorful. I also used olive oil as a healthy substitute when sauteing the vegetables. I later decided to give it a richer flavor to add a tablespoon of Smart Balance Omega 3 butter. I must say it again, this dish was so yummy. I never wanted the leftovers to go away, alas they did, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.


The second dish was from a new cookbook I got for Christmas. America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. I have only looked through a few sections of the book and have already found a bunch of things I want to make. Thanks Mom! This recipe was Vegetable Lo Mein. I did really enjoy this recipe. Jason liked it a lot too. You don't miss the meat in it at all. Would be good with the addition of tofu. You can't go wrong with shiitake.
That's all I got around to this week. Jason was off for winter break and we were eating out a lot. Went to Chicago over his break and ate at two new places. One was Graham Elliot's new restaurant Grahamwich. When we first got to the city during the lunch hour we passed by and the line was winding all throughout the place and all they had was a communal table for maybe 16 at the most. Very tight in there and not stroller friendly at all. So we decided to do XOCO. Can't go wrong there. What a gong show that was though. Me and the kids went across the street to Starbucks to wait while Jason waited in line. One feeding and one poopy diaper later we finally had lunch. It was delightful. Jason had a special of beef mole torta and I had a carnitas torta. Lucy during a bad parenting moment had only chips and a churro dipped in melted chocolate. Oh yummmm! So we ended up getting lucky that night and headed to Grahamwich around 7:30. There were only a few people in there and no line. Awesome. We could dine in. Our original plan was to take it up to the room. Jason got the grilled cheese which was insane. I swear when I saw them making it that they plopped a couple tablespoons of butter on the melted cheese inside the sammy just for funsies. I had a bahn mi. It was good. That's all I have to say really. I have made bahn mi at home that taste just as good. Not to sound full of myself. There was just nothing unique about it. Me ordering the wrong thing really. The pork belly wasn't that great on it either. We also ordered the special popcorn which made me wanna puke. Just had a pungent taste to it. Had some powdered cheese on it and truffle oil. Jason and Lucy loved it. We ordered the pickled vegetables. Those were good. I would have ate them but wanted to be nice to my breastfed child. It was a fun dining experience and I would go back for sure to order something else.
The second place we went that was just over the top good, great, excellent, amazing, I have dreams about it. Yolk. I had sent my parents there on their stay in Chicago having heard it was good and they couldn't say enough great things about it. Jason tried the same thing my dad had which was called the Tour de France. Banana bread french toast with bananas, orange french toast with strawberry sauce and a poppy seed french toast with an orange sauce. It was also served with peanut butter for the banana bread. It was so so good. My favorite was the orange bread. I had some whole grain pancakes with granola in the actual batter with blueberries then topped with bananas. Everything was quality and so so fresh and tasty. The environment was fun and bright and all the waiters were very friendly. We are thinking of driving down tomorrow just to eat there again. On the kids menu they had smores pancakes and oreo pancakes. The menu is just super unique with lots of healthy choices too.

Crazy Life

Ever since the birth of my little ine Miles things have been a little nuts. I assure you that I am still cooking, although the posting has been tough. Bear with me as I journey back into my real life.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/balsamic-beans-recipe/index.html

This is an awesome recipe I made for me and Lucy one day. It is so simple and so delicious. I actually used bacon instead of pancetta because I had some on hand. It's a great dish I highly recommend.

As for now I am just checking in to make sure I don't get booted off and to let you all know I am still here and still cooking, just trying to get back to my old routine of things, or rather yet, a new routine of things.

Everyday Food, everyday yum!

I have still been cooking from my Everyday Food cookbooks. They are really hooking us up. I have been very very pleased with how every recipe has come out. Full of flavor and healthy. We love the meals so far. I plan on continuing to cook from them from now on. Why not? It hasn't let us down once.
Jason's mom was in town for the weekend and I made Shittake Fried Rice and Lucy helped me make a Nectarine Upside-Down Cake that was delightful. The recipe for the cake can be found below as it has not been posted online yet. That one actually came from my September issue of the magazine Everyday Food. The fried rice was delicious. I used brown rice instead of basmati rice. It turned out really delicious and very healthy.

Nectarine Upside-down Cake
Adapted from Everyday Food 9/10

10 T unsalted butter divided into 6 and 4 T
1/2 c dark brown sugar
4 cups fresh or frozen nectarines chopped into bite size pieces and dabbed dry of juices
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking pwd
1/2 t coarse salt
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 c plain Greek yogurt

Preheat your oven to 325 and place four tablespoons of butter into a 9" pan. Melt the butter in the pan in the warmed oven. Remove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Then add your nectarines spreading evenly over the brown sugar.
In a mixing bowl combine the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and 3/4 c sugar. After creamed add the two eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking pwd. Whisk to combine. In alternate additions add the greek yogurt and dry ingredients. After combined drop into large globs over the nectarines in the pan. Carefully spread over the fruit and bake for one hour and ten minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife along the edges and turn pan over onto a serving plate. Enoy!
This cake was so good. You could easily do it with any other stone fruit. I used fresh nectarines in mine and it turned out lovely.

The next dish that I made was Pasta with Roasted Summer Vegetables and Basil. This was an excellent dish. I have to say I did not have enough basil so that really hurt it, but looking back I could have easily added a little pesto. This was a delicious dish and the veggie to pasta ratio was great because it was about even. Nothing drives me nuts more than pasta with a little something in it. I don't want a plate of noodles for crying out loud. This was loaded with veggies. We loved it.
Last night I made a dish that really just made me scream literally. It was so, so good. Everyone loved it. I will be making it again for sure and Jason made sure to let me know I needed to as well. I try so many new things I forget about the good ones we have had. Moo Shu Pork served on tortillas with a little Hoisin sauce. Heaven, I mean pure heaven. I couldn't find the recipe online but I will add it later. Times it limited in these last few days of my cooking freedom as Miles with soon be joining us and this will all come to a sad stand still. I shall cook again, just not sure when. Enjoy!

More yumminess.

Again, another recipe from Everyday Food. And once again divine. I could eat this dish again and again. It was a bit time consuming but not difficult at all. I would highly recommend this dish. It's healthy and flavorful and fairly inexpensive. Barley Risotto with Corn and Basil. It was creamy and rich. I loved it. I served it with a little side salad and there you have it. A healthy, delicious meal. Give it a try for sure.

Yummy

Tonight I made another recipe from my Everyday Food cookbook. It was delightful. Hit the spot. Just what I needed. It was healthy and flavorful. Bean, Corn and Tortilla Salad. I used Montery Jack cheese instead of Pepperjack just to make sure it wasn't too strong for Lucy. I actually ended up making my own salsa from the same book as well for the salad instead of buying it. It can end up being cheaper and it just tastes that much better. The salsa was Yellow Tomato Salsa Verde. I used red tomatoes because yellow weren't available at my market. It was so good. I ended up drizzling it onto my salad as well to give it some more moisture. This salad was a great salad. I would highly recommend making this salad. It's super easy and inexpensive. I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!

Totally yummy breakfast

I know I post a lot of recipes by Ellie Krieger but hey, she is amazing and has never disappointed. I recently was given her So Easy cookbook by my awesome husband who knows I love her. All of her dishes are super healthy because she is a dietitian. I have never made anything very complicated for breakfast so I decided to go for something really great. Blueberry almond french toast bake. I must say it was super super easy and produced an amazing breakfast and what later became our dinner. This was an excellent dish. When I first made it I thought what am I doing, this will never get eaten, it made so much. But at the end of this glorious day there are two small helpings left that will be eating in the morning. It would be a great dish to make for company and I know we plan on making it again at the end of this month when we bring home our little baby boy. I look forward to that. Well, both things.