Happy Mardi Gras

This year I was really feeling Fat Tuesday. I am totally missing Nola, and our darling Purrl was spayed Tuesday so it was the perfect excuse to stay in and make a meal. First things first, I cranked the cajun pandora station took care of the costume:




All the cooking made me thirsty, luckily I was prepared:




Dinner took a some time to prep since I was making a vegetarian friendly jambalaya:



I found a recipe for Jambalaya with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage on Cookinglight.com. Below is the original recipe with my modifications noted.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 ounces andouille sausage, sliced I used Soy Chorizo Sausage
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice I used brown rice and increased the cooking time about 20-25 minutes since brown takes longer than white
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth I used low sodium veggie broth
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce I used cayanne red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley I left this out since I didn't have any

Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, and sausage; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add rice and the next 7 ingredients (through bay leaf); cook 2 minutes. Add broth, water, tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes(longer for brown rice. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley.

The final product was so delicious and tasted pretty authentic!! Will be making this again soon, bad picture though:



Finally, I picked up a special dessert. I thought the colors where pretty fitting for Mardi Gras, I do wish they would have had purple too. These fantastic cake balls came from Bleeding Heart, my favorite vegan bakery. The red was red velvet and the green was cookies and cream. These were so amazing, a splurge I will be adding to my go to list when I need a sweet treat:

Fake chicken soup for the sick soul

There has been a lot of this around the house this week:




I am so lucky to have my loyal, little, white babies to keep my comfy during this cold. I came down with this beast on Sunday and to be honest, it is not that bad. I can still function, work and breathe for the most part. It is just incredibly annoying and has left me house ridden all week. Tonight I took matters into my own hands and decided to make some fake chicken soup for my sick soul. It turned out to be quite delicious! Much better than anything I could have gotten out of a can, ick! The recipe is:

Ingredients:

•1/4 cup + 1 tbsp olive oil
•4 carrots, chopped
•4 stalks of celery, chopped
•1 large onion, chopped
•2 garlic cloves, minced
•1 large mushroom, chopped
•2 vegetarian (or vegan) chicken patties or equivalent, defrosted
•1 tsp herbs de provence (rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, anise seed and savory) or a combo of above herbs.
•6 cups vegetable broth
•1/3 lb pasta (the recipe called for cute little o's or alphabets or broken spaghetti, I used whole grain rotini)
Directions:

1.Cook pasta in a separate pot.
2.Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in soup pot over medium heat and add onions, celery and carrots. Cook until softened (about 10 minutes).
3.Add the garlic, mushrooms, herbs de provence and cook another 5 minutes.
4.Add the broth.
5.Add the cooked and drained noodles.
6.Reduce heat to low, cover. Cook about 20 minutes on a simmer.
7.Cut fake chicken into thin strips.
8.In nonstick skillet, add 1 tbsp oil and heat on medium.
9.Add the strips and brown on both sides.
10.Cut browned fake chicken into bite-sized cubes and add to simmered soup.
11.Stir and serve.

I didn't have all the seasonings the recipe called for, so I winged it with some rosemary, a little celery salt and fennel. I also used 4 quorn chicken cutlets cubed. It REALLY hit the spot, and Mike enjoyed it too. Even better it made a huge pot so I can have some for lunch tomorrow too!

I Wish I Was In Nola Cajun Shrimp Orzo

I didn't intend on changing my blog this evening but I got to playing around and, well, this is what happened! I kind of like the new look. Better colors, cleaner layout. Maybe I'll even get a new slide show up here eventually

I recently took a brief hiatus because I was blogging so much about food. I think I am going to cave and start archiving new recipes on here again. This has been the summer of my "test kitchen" and I have really come up with some great new dishes. Including one I made tonight:

I'll call this "I Wish I Was In Nola Cajun Shrimp with Orzo"

Ingredients
1 cup of orzo
1 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic in water
1 can of diced tomatoes, any variety really
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp or precooked shrimp
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat free half-and-half

Preparation
1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt. Drain. Place pasta in a large bowl; keep warm.



2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and tomatoes; sauté 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle shrimp with Cajun seasoning, red pepper, and salt. Add shrimp mixture to pan; sauté 3 minutes if using raw, 1-2 minutes if already cooked; remove from heat. Stir in half-and-half. Pour shrimp mixture over pasta; toss.






This was so good served with salad and bread! Also quick and easy, what I like! I have some other recent success's I will post on here soon, they are just too good for me to forget!

Also, stayed tuned tomorrow for a special 2 year anniversary post! That's right, my sweetie and I have been married a whopping 2 years! It's scary how fast time is going! We've also been dating/married now for a grand total of...drumroll....3 years and 1 month! That is a record for me! Most of you who know me, know that I could never make it past the 2 1/2 year mark. I just got bored or decided enough was enough, or in one case, got dumped(after I initiated it of course), lol. My sweetie sure is a keeper, whether he likes it or not!

Gardein

A few weeks ago I was walking the meat aisle aka the freezer section since I am a vegetarian, and was so excited to see a NEW product! Don't get me wrong, I love my staples but it's always a treat to try a new meatfree product! Even better when it tastes GREAT! The product I am speaking of are by Gardein. Initially I picked up the beefless tips. I made these on the stovetop and cooked them plain. In my opinion they do not even need a sauce! I served these with homemade curry rice and zucchini. This combo was so good, I made it again this week! Mike was on board too!

Tonight we tried the buffalo wings. Mike made a sandwich out of his. I ate my alone, with brown rice and a salad. These were super tasty as well. I really hope my Jewel adds more Gardein products to their offering. These are some of the best meatfree products I have had in a long time! Give em a try!

2 outta 3 aint bad!

This week I make a real effort to bring some new dinners to our table. Maybe it's the change of seasons but I've been a little burnt out on dinners lately. Sunday afternoon, before heading to the grocery store, I decided to peruse cookinglight.com. Just my luck they had a link highlighting 20 meat free entrees. I quickly opened an account, saved a few in my recipes and the best part, printed my grocery list right there based on the recipes I selected!

I have to admit, I started to hand write the typed list I printed out because I felt a little nerdy going to the grocery store with it, god forbid I look THAT organized, but then Mike told me I was silly so I took the list as is.

The first night I made and entree and a side I found on the website. First was the
Grilled Portobello Goat Cheese Pitas





The side dish I chose to go with was Yellow Squash Ribbons with Red Onion and Parmeson.Both were delicious! I love goat cheese, and topped with the fresh basil made for a nice. light, summery dish!

The side dish was very tasty! I really try not to have carb based entrees or sides which eliminates a lot of easy options. Since I had used the pita, I wanted to make sure the side was super low carb. This is a great option if you are looking t omix things up a bit!

Next up wasn't a complete failure but it was just boring and bland. I made a Tofu Curry I actually make Tofu Curry quite often, but it is my own rendition combined with Trader Joes red or yellow curry sauce. I learned here not to mess with a good thing, I should have known by the way the recipe instructed to cook the tofu, that way never works for me! I always press out the water in my tofu by wrapping it is paper towels, cube it, then cook it in the oven for about 20 minutes on 400 before adding it to a stir fry or dish. The pics look pretty so I'll still post them, but it was overall just bland.






Last but not least, actually the best, was a pasta dish I made tonight, Pasta with Sundried Tomato Pesto and Feta Cheese. Now, I made this on Friday because, even though it is fairly healthy, I consider it a splurge. For me, anything with pasta is a treat and a splurge especially when I'm not using whole grain pasta. This dish was fun to make, easy and I even got to use my food processer! You could not make this successfully without one.





This was my favorite out of the three and goes great with a hearty red wine! And, little Dixie loved it too!

Back on track

This week I really tried to be creative with our dinners and get us back on track after our monster muffin extravaganza. After traveling I always feel bloated and sick so my goal for the week was to keep things fairly low carb without cutting us off cold turkey. I thought I'd post a few of the highlights from the week:

My breakfast of choice this week was an egg with a whole grain piece of toast, rotating with a bowl of special k cinnamon pecan crunch.


Next up, I finally made a great stir fry! I have tried for years and failed but this time it worked! I cut and cubed my tofu baked and flipped on 400 for about 20 minutes. Then I sprayed a skillet with a nonstick spray and threw in a bag of fresh veggies I picked up at Jewel. Next I added three serving of a delicious sauce I also picked up at Jewel. I let the veggies and sauce steam, covered on low heat for about 15 minutes, stirred in the tofu and magic! Served ontop of brown rice made for a great meal!



Another great new favorite. Tilapia has been a weekly staple in my diet for years but just recently I started cooking it differently. Mike loves it and thinks it is the best he's ever had. Start with a mix of flour and sea food seasoning, I use Chef Paul Prudhommes blackened seafood seasoning. I used about 1/8 of a cup of flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of the seasoning and lightly coat the fish. Next up I spray the pan and throw on the fish. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Serve along side some asparagus cooked at 400 for 15 minutes coated with a little salt and pepper and nonstick spray and some parmesan cous cous... YUM!


I also have to give props to the organic Jewel herb green blend salad, honestly the best blend I have ever had!


After some healthy eating and logging in 14 miles in 4 days at the gym I am ready for the weekend and splurging a little!

Hangin with my QC peeps

First, let me start off by saying I am a bad bad blogger lately. I started a new job in September and my blogging just kind of dropped off. I have been working my a$$ off, not literally unfortunetely and finding a work life balance has been really challenging. I work harder and longer hours than I EVER have in my entire life! Needless to say I am working on the balance thing for sanity.

Anyways after a long week of working in Houston, I enjoyed some good food and good company with my sister and her hubs. It started on Friday evening, they got in around 8, Mike and I decided to cook at home. I need something fast, healthy and good. I was able to flip through the most recent better homes and gardens on the plane and decided to try out a recipe called Beef, mushroom and onion tart:

12 oz lean ground beef, I used a bag of morningstar farm crumbles to make this a vegetarian friendly meal for yours truely
1 8oz package of sliced mushrooms
1/2 a medium red onion cut in thin wedges
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 13.8 oz pkg refridgerated pizza dough (I used the pillsbury thick because it had the least fat)
oregano and or italian seasoning to taste
3 oz of blue cheese crumbles (I used reduced fat)

Heat oven to 375, In 12" skillet brown beef or fake beef, with onions mushrooms salt and pepper for about 8 minutes, drain if you use beef

Grease or spray large baking sheet,roll dough to fill 15x12 inch pan.

Top dough with beeef mixture, keep filling within 1 1/2" of all edges, fold efges over the filling pleating as needed.

Bake tart for 15 minutes. Top with oregano and italian seasoning.

I cut this into 4 pieces and we each sprinkled on our blue cheese.

Each serving was roughly 14 grams of fat and 450 calories, served along side a salad for a healthy, quick meal!



We talked had a few drinks then hit the sack!

The next morning I wanted to start off with a healthy breakfast because I knew we'd be induldging later with a late lunch/early dinner or dunch as I like to call it.

I made an egg white scramble with spinach and a little 2% light cheese along with a fruit salad. No, I did not cut pineapple into stars as Mel thought, I simply cut up a tasty starfruit.




After an episode of Real Housewives and showering we headed out to Kuma's, which I previously blogged about. I knew Mel and Jeff had to experience it.

We arrived at Kuma's around 4 and there was already a 2 and 1/2 hour wait. Wow, this place never stops! We got smart this time and headed over the Square Bar across the street to wait it out where we enjoyed some tasty beverages, a delicious hummus platter and took some artsy photos.








The hummus deserves honorable mentioned because it was so good!

Around 7 we were FINALLY seated for dunch and served around 745. Yowza!

Mel and I ended up ordering the same thing, the Iron Maiden, we were good and ordered veggie burgers instead of beef or chicken and salads instead of fries!




My favorite to drink with this delicious feast is a dry cider they serve, light and refreshing with a lil alcohol for kicks.



Mike opted to not go healthy and did the Kuma Burger and fries, look at that!



We all enjoyed our dinners, took a few more pics and headed out.




The next morning we had brunch at John's Place, a cute restaurant around the corner from us, got our bloody mary on and headed off to Ikea before saying a tearful goodbye.



a little disclaimer, spell check is not working this evening! apologies for typos

I'm feeling quorny

I was a vegetarian for about 10 years, took a year off to dabble with meat, reconfirmed that it is not for me and have been eating vegetarian for the past several months again.

I have been a little burnt out lately when it comes to meal ideas so this week when I went to the g store I made a real effort to buy some new things.

I tried Quorn products a few years ago when they first came out(in the Chicago area) but they quickly fell off my radar. I noticed them again in the freezer aisle this week and decided to give them another try. I remember the products being good but just being leery of what the products were derived from.

Tonight I made Quorn Chicken along with some seasoned veggies and brown rice.


Dinner was great! So I decided to do a little research and figure out just exactly what Quorn is. Believe it or not Quorn comes from a fungi, you know like mushrooms. The website states that "The principal ingredient in all Quorn products is mycoprotein (“myco” is Greek for “fungi”). The mycoprotein comes from Fusarium venenatum, which was originally discovered growing in a field in Buckinghamshire, England. In the late 1960s, initial product development began, soon recognizing mycoprotein’s potential as an efficient and nutritious protein source."

I checked out the back of the box and sure enough, these are packed with protien! I will definetly be adding this product into my diet. It opens a lot of options up for me since meat is just not for me. Give it a try and let me know what you think!





O and P.S for all of you with access to Trader Joes. Their organic brown rice saves my life! I eat a lot of veggies, but everyone needs a little bit of carbs to stick to the ribs, these come in microwavable packets and take just 3 minutes. LOVE IT!