The beginnings of the great soup diet!!!  We decided to start out the new year with a cleansing diet of just broth based, veggie heavy soups to see if we could kick start a weight loss trend.  The only item other than any veggie you can imagine that I will be using is tofu.  We really like tofu so that will not be a problem.  The first soup for the endeavor is the following...happy eating!!!

Spicy Tofu Soup

10 oz extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 T veggie oil (or peanut or olive, whatever you like to use)
1/2 cup chopped onion
8 cloves garlic minced
2 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
6 cups veggie broth (or chicken stock if you prefer)
1/4 cup light soy
2 T lime juice
1 T hot sauce (sriracha is our preference)
1/2 T szechuan paste
1 T lemon pepper
1 t powdered ginger
5 white mushroom, sliced thin
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (or 3 fresh plum tomatoes seeded and chopped)
prepared seaweed (about 1/3 package) (or how much you want) (or not at all)

heat oil in pot (large enough for the broth and can of tomatoes) on medium high and cook tofu at least 10 min
I like mine crispy so I usually do a few more minutes than that but it is to your taste.  Add the onion and garlic and peppers and sweat for 5 minutes.  Add all the other ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes.  If you like you can add some ramen noodles but we are noodleless at this point.  This is a really tasty soup!  And hot!!!  You may want to add the hot sauce in small increments, tasting as you go, so as not to overpower your heat level.

Happy souping!!!  I will try to post every time I have a new offering.  If I make enough to last a few days then no post.  I will have to make something else for tomorrow so see you then!!

Frittata...

This is actually the second time for making a frittata.  It turned out so well that I just had to make another one.  I think this is my new favorite breakfast.  We are trying to cut down on carbs in this house and this just seemed the way to go.  Full of smoked turkey sausage and bacon (no carbs) and fresh veggies (no to low carbs) and eggs (so low I consider them no carbs).  I did add a few carbs with some grated Parm but hey, you can't cut them out completely!  And who knew how simple making this fancy sounding dish actually would be...not me...

So here is the recipe for my take on the frittata.

You will need:

12 eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup of milk
four or five strips of bacon, cut into small strips
1/2 of a smoked turkey sausage link, diced pretty small
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet pepper, I used a fourth of a yellow, red, orange and green pepper for the color, chopped
1 cup of fresh mushrooms chopped up (about the same size as you cut the peppers, I go small)
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary and thyme minced (if you have it) (one of each)
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get a nonstick ovenproof pan and put the bacon and turkey sausage on medium heat.  Cook until crispy (I like mine well done but since you are the cook you do it as you like it) then take it out of the pan and set aside.  Leaving about a tablespoon of the fat from cooking the bacon and sausage put the onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms in the pan.  Salt and pepper the mixture, add the rosemary and thyme and allow to cook for about three to five minutes.  You want it to be a little softened but not cooked to death.  While this mixture is cooking start beating your eggs with the milk.  At this point I added half  of the grated Parmesean  to the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and let it cook on the stove top for about 4 minutes to get it set.  Then put the pan in the oven (which should be preheated by now) and set you timer for 12 minutes.  When the timer goes off, pull out the pan a bit and add the remaining cheese on top and put the pan back in but change your oven from bake to broil.  Put the timer on 4 minutes and watch the frittata.  You want it to not jiggle when you shake the pain and you want the cheese slightly browned.  If the cheese gets brown before the jiggle stops just take it out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes.  It will "carry over" cook a bit.

I hope you try this...it may seem a bit complicated but once the chopping is done it's a breeze!

Full, satisfied and have half a frittata to add to my left over big salad for lunch!  Yummm

Meatballs...

 I've been wanting to make meatballs for a while now.  For some reason I have only done this once before, many many many years ago, and it was not very successful.  I thought that maybe now I have more experience with cooking and flavors that they just might turn out...and they did...

It started with the usual google search on recipes for the best meatballs and then some tweaking on my part. My darling husband/best friend says they are the best meatballs he has ever had and is just hopeful that, on the second occasion I make them, they turn out just as good.  I made my usual sauce with just the addition of some fresh basil and flat leaf parsley since I had them on hand.  And I used Dreamfield Spaghetti because I just can't have meatballs on any other form of pasta.

Meatballs
1 pound of ground sirloin
1 package of Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage (it's a little over a pound)
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the milk and breadcrumbs and set aside while you get everything else ready.  The chopping time will probably be long enough for the crumbs to absorb the milk.

Take the sausages out of their casings and put in a mixing bowl with the ground beef.  Add the cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.  I did four grinds of salt and 6 grinds of pepper.  Probably 1 teaspoon of salt and two of pepper.  We don't eat a lot of salt but if you do, please add more.  Mix this well.

Add the chopped parsley, sage, onion, garlic and grated cheese.  Mix well.  Then add the eggs and breadcrumbs.  Remember while you are mixing this that you want to thoroughly combine everything so there are no clumps of any one ingredient when you bite down into the meatball.  But at the same time, be gentle.  If you press the meat together too roughly your meatballs will be tough.  It's a fine line to walk...
Just take your time and it will all come together beautifully!!

I used my cookie scoop so that they would all be approximately the same size and rounded them as I placed them on the cookie sheet.  This recipe makes 30 meatballs.  Count them...it's 30.

before baking...

You don't need to grease your pan.  There is enough moisture in the mix they don't stick.  They cooked in 20 minutes.  I used my thermometer and they were perfectly at temp!  I did, however, broil them for one minute for just a little more color.  Place them on top of a pile of spaghetti, add some sauce and grated parm and enjoy!!!  Yummmmmm

Because the recipe makes 30 meatballs (did you count them?) there are leftovers.  Yay!!!  It occurred to me that the perfect use for them would be a meatball sub.  I adore subs.  Bread stuffed with goodness...what's not to love.  I found the perfect rolls at Wal-Mart.  They are called bolillio rolls.  They look like little footballs, don't they?  Hey...they would be perfect for a tailgate party.  I'll have to remember that.  Anyway, I took a can of fire roasted tomatoes and added 2 cloves of garlic and half an onion chopped up and about a tablespoon of chopped fresh basil and cooked that down with the meatballs in it so they could get warm.  This took about 15 minutes.  I split the top of the bun, shoved three meatballs and some sauce in it and then topped it with a mix of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  About a minute under the broiler and you have the best meatball sub I have EVER eaten.  I think I like them better in the sub than I did on the pasta.  If not better, equally.

Two meals in one cooking.  That's is a winner.  And to have two wonderful meals.  That is priceless.

Very satisfied!!  And can't wait to have them again...and again...and again....

Drunken Noodles

We went to Blacksburg over the weekend to eat at a fish taco place after shopping at our favorite store, World Oasis.  However, we did not know that the whole town was going to be blocked off for a street fair and there would be no easy way to get to the fish taco place.  Fortunately for us, World Oasis has opened their own Thai/Vietnamese restaurant right next door to their store.  We went in and ordered the Pad Thai and the Drunken Noodles.  We liked the drunken noodles so much I asked the fellow at the check out if we could get the ingredients at the store and he said sure, just tell the clerk you want what was in the drunken noodle dish.  We did, they showed us and we purchased!!

They really have nothing to do with alcohol.  At least, not in the dish itself. I looked up the history of the name and there are two prevailing thoughts.  One, eating it helps a hangover.  The second, a man who was quite often drunk told his wife that the food she cooked was too bland.  In response (or revenge?) she came up with this recipe.  NOT BLAND!!!  Very hot but you can control that heat a bit by making it yourself.  The joys of cooking...

Drunken Noodles
1/3 cup sodium free rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium soy
1/3 cup fish sauce
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 lime juiced
3 tablespoons sriracha
  combine and set aside
5 cloves garlic
2 shallots
10 thai chilis
  mince and then grind into a paste.  If you have a mortar and pestle this is the time to use it.  If not you can put it in a food processor.
meat of your choice (I used a pound of flank steak cut into small pieces)
1 can baby corn rinsed and drained
2 eggs beaten
2 tomatoes sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly
small bunch of thai basil (or regular if that is all you can find, that is what I used)
8 ounces rice noodles

Get your wok hot with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the paste of garlic, shallots and chilis.  Cook for about a minute and throw the meat into the pot.  Cook that for about two minutes stirring it around.  You want it to still be pink at this point because it is staying in the wok.  Add the onion and cook for a minute.  Make some room in the middle of the wok and add a teaspoon of oil and then put the eggs in.  Stir so they are like scrambled eggs.  Add noodles, sauce, tomatoes and corn to the mix and stir gently so as not to tear up the noodles.  Tear up the basil and add it in and you are done.  Dish it up!!

We bought fresh rice noodles in a sheet from the store so I cup them about 1/4 inch wide.  I don't know where to find fresh except at World Oasis so I will try a noodle I can find locally next time.  I don't think the noodle is going to make a huge difference to the flavor of the dish.  This dish is not for the wimpy at heart.  I only had seven chilis and that was enough heat for me.  If you are brave use all 10 and if you are a chicken cut it down to 5.  That is why you cook it yourself, right?  I really liked this dish.  It was not exactly what we had at the restaurant but it was good enough to be a do-over until I can get the original.

Satisfied yet again!!

Cold Soba Noodle Salad

YUMMMMM












It's been a while since I have tried something new and tonight was the night.  As if you couldn't tell, we really like Asian flavors and we are trying to eat lighter.  This recipe managed to take care of both!

This is a take on a Guy Fieri recipe.  It is tweaked a little of course.  I can't seem to resist tweaking...


Soba Noodle Salad
1 9.5 ounce pack of Soba noodles (found at Kroger...who knew?)
   Cook according to package, drain and put in an ice bath to cool quickly, then drain again, set aside
dressing
1 teaspoon spicy sesame oil (found at The World Oasis store) you can use regular
2 tablespoons no sodium rice wine vinegar (Kroger)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy (Kroger)
1 teaspoon sriracha (Kroger)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (Kroger)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste (Kroger)
   Combine all these ingredients for the dressing
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
6 green onions
1 cup cabbage (I like Nappa)
1/2 red bell pepper
   Cut the veggies thinly or to whatever size you like.

Combine the veggies and cold noodles and pour the dressing over them.  Dish up and garnish with whatever you like.  We like unsalted peanuts so that is what we use.  If you like toasted sesame seeds or some other nut go for it!!

I really liked the heat on this dish.  My mouth was on fire while eating it but I did not break out into a sweat.  And within twenty minutes of finishing there was no heat evident.  And it wasn't just heat, the flavors were top notch.  Absolutely a do-over!!!  Next time I might add some flank steak to the mix but other than that, I won't change a thing.

Satisfied!!!

Biscuits and Gravy and more...

What a weekend!!!  Lots of good food and fun.  Food is my shtick, so I love it when it comes out successful and I was not disappointed.  Friday night was cheese burger and fries, Saturday morning brought sausage gravy and biscuits and fried potatoes and Sunday a new preparation for orange roughy.  Yummmmm!!!

Friday night's cheeseburger!

The spicy cheeseburger is just ground round with minced garlic and red pepper flakes mixed in.  I salt and pepper it before I put it in the skillet and when it is almost done I pop the colby cheese on top and lid it so the steam makes the cheese become a gooey mess.  This time I sauteed some onions in olive oil with some salt and pepper and put them on top of the burger right under the cheese.  A little smear of some light mayo on some toasted sourdough bread and Yummm.  The fries are simply potatoes peeled and wedged.  Rinse and dry them off and then toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped fresh rosemary and sprinkle on the dried ancho chili powder. Cook them for about 45 minutes in a 450 degree oven. All of the spice amounts should be to your taste.  We like it spicy so I went heavy on the pepper and ancho chili powder.

Biscuits and gravy...need I say more?

Breakfast...I really like breakfast.  We had the guys this weekend and my budding young chef, Nick, wanted to venture away from the normal french toast.  I assumed it was because we had finally got the biscuits down and he wanted to include them.  We decided we needed two batches worth so I mixed up one and he did the other.  He is becoming quite the biscuit maker.  I am jealous.  It took me 51 years to get them down and he is only 14.  No fair!!!  But, I digress.  So, what goes better with biscuits than sausage gravy?  Not much!!  I won't bore you with the biscuit recipe since I put it in a previous post and the egg is merely egg, salt and pepper in a nonstick pan and you let it cook flat and flip it and fold it onto the plate.  I will share the sausage gravy and potato recipe though, since they were the stars of the show.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound sausage (your favorite)

6 tablespoons bacon grease (come on, you know you have some in the fridge)

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper.

Over medium high heat break up and fry your sausage.  When it is done take it out of the pan to give yourself some room.  Leave the sausage grease and add the bacon grease to the pan.  If your sausage was really greasy you need to cut down on the bacon grease.  My pan was almost dry when my sausage was done so  I used all the bacon grease.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the flour.  Whisk that into the grease and cook for about four minutes.  You want all the raw flour taste gone.  And by the way, you are making a roux at this point.  Another one of those fancy words.  After the flour is cooked down add the milk and heavy cream and whisk like crazy. When I added the milk it instantly began to boil and  you want this to boil but then turn it down to a simmer so it thickens up.  Now is the time to taste for pepper and salt content.  We like ours really peppery so I always do about 10 grinds and go from there.  Don't forget, you used bacon grease so the salt might not be needed.  Add the sausage back in and just keep stirring off and on for about 10 minutes.  If it does not seem thick enough you could always add a little corn starch slurry.

Fried Potatoes

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed 

1/2 onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 tablespoon bacon grease

salt and pepper

Rinse your potatoes and then pat them as dry as you can.  Put the bacon grease in a skillet on medium heat and add the onion and garlic.  Salt and pepper, you want to season each step.  Let these cook for about three minutes while you dry your potatoes.  Add the potatoes to the skillet, salt and pepper than put a lid on the skillet.  This will cause the potatoes to steam and cook through.  Leave them, stirring a couple of times, for 10 minutes.  Take the lid off, taste a tater to see if they are cooked through.  If they are, leave the lid off and they will start to brown up.  I usually cook them for about 10 more minutes at this point to get some color and crunch but they are pretty flexible and will sit for a while until you are ready.  We needed and extra minute for the double batch of biscuits and the potatoes were fine.

Orange Roughy...my new fav

Dinner on Sunday was a new preparation for orange roughy.  Nick had wanted to make a previous fish recipe from the blog but we were still full from breakfast and never got to dinner.  I checked a couple of websites and they recommended not holding fish in the fridge for more than two days so we had to have the fish for dinner.  I looked on line and kind of made up my own take on a couple of recipes I found.  I paired it with a bag of Uncle Ben's basmati rice and Pepperidge Farm garlic bread and of course our favorite side dish.  I just mixed the green beans and asparagus because I didn't have enough of just one for the dish.  It turned out great!

Parmesaan Crusted Orange Roughy

4 fish fillets
1/2 lemon juiced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
3 tablespoons I Can't Believe it Not Butter softened (microwave about 10 sec)
3 tablespoons light mayo
2 tablespoon garlic whole grain mustard


Place the fish on a baking sheet and cover with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Broil for eight minutes.  Mix the other ingredients to top the fish.  After the eight minutes pull the fish out and cover with the topping.  Broil for an additional three minutes.  It's really that easy!

Very tasty.  Every meal.  And totally satisfying.  I really love cooking.  It's like offering yourself up on a plate to the ones you love.  It's my way of saying I love you.  My Dad always greeted everyone, whether on the phone or in person, with the question "Whatcha got to eat?".  If you were on the phone, he proceeded to tell you, in length, about what he had for dinner.  If you should walk in the door, he would take you to the kitchen and start pulling food out of the refrigerator.  That was just his way, and I guess I inherited that gene. Food is in my blood.  And on my thighs...and hips....sigh

I don't care!  Bring on the good food!!!

Glazed Salmon and Cheddar Biscuits....

It has been some time since I posted a recipe.  My sister came in from New York with her husband.  One of her daughters, her husband and their two boys also came in.  A great time was had, lots of laughing and playing and getting skunked at Sorry by a six year old.  Humbling.....

Anyway, I took some time off.  I actually did make some pasta salad but I forgot to take a pic.  It is one of our favorite salads (my Mom calls it perfect, thanks Mom) so I am sure I will be making it again and I will share the recipe then.

Tonight's dinner was Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze, Spicy Brown Rice, Sauteed Green Beans and Cheddar Biscuits.  I was so happy when everything turned out good.  I have already shared the green bean and spicy brown rice recipes.  So here goes with the other recipes.

The biscuits were a slight alteration of the buttermilk biscuit recipe I have posted before but I will post it as I made it tonight.

Cheddar Biscuits
2 cups Virginia's Best Biscuit flour (the only flour for me)
1 stick of unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used colby-jack) be generous with the measurement, heaping is what I call it

I cut the butter into the flour just like making regular biscuits.  Then add the cheese and mix it up, I used my hands.  Add the buttermilk, I did half cup, mixed and then the other half and then started adding the additional as needed.  I didn't start out with the other 1/4 cup buttermilk but the cheese seemed to make the dough call for more moisture.  I wanted to kind of do a drop biscuit with this so it needed to be moister, stickier, than a normal biscuit.  Usually when you turn out the dough you want to be able to cut into it with your biscuit cutter but with these I actually just pulled a hunk of dough out of the bowl and loosely formed it into a biscuit onto the parchment paper covered pan.  A little lump of dough.  I then cooked them at 450 degrees for eighteen minutes.  When they start browning on top pull them out.  I was trying for a cheddar bay Red Lobster kind of biscuit and someone told me they use Old Bay Seasoning on the biscuit but I didn't have any Old Bay.  I did know roughly what was in it so I took the following and brushed it on top of the biscuits right after I took them out of the oven so it would melt down into the biscuit.

Topping for Biscuit
1/2 stick of butter melted
2 shakes celery salt
2 shakes paprika
2 shakes garlic powder
1 shake red pepper flake
2 grinds black pepper
2 grinds sea salt

Sorry I did not measure out the spices.  This was the first time making these and I was playing it by ear.  And when I took a bite my first thought was, oh, what a shame.  It is just really a bad thing for the figure that these taste so good.  This biscuit is actually one of the best things I have ever eaten that I have made myself.

Now onto the salmon.  We have been trying to eat more fish and normally have orange roughy.  This week Kroger had fresh salmon on sale.  Who can resist a sale?  and who can resist salmon?  Not I!!!!  I wanted to do something different so I did my favorite thing.  Googled on salmon and started researching.  Giada De Laurentiis was the winner this time.

Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze
2 garlic cloves finely minced
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chicken broth (she said dry white wine but I don't have wine)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (she said two, but I thought that would be too much)
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (again, she said two)
  Mix all these together and set aside.
Nonstick cooking spray
2 salmon fillets (6 to 8 ounces)
salt and pepper

Put foil on a baking sheet and spray with the cooking oil.  Place your salmon on the sheet and salt and pepper.  Put under the broiler for two minutes.  Take fish out of the oven and spoon on the mustard glaze.  Cook the salmon for five more minutes until browned on top and fish flakes.  It really did take that exact amount of time.  You can garnish with lemon if you like but I did not feel it needed any more flavor than it already had.  The glaze added to the flavor of the salmon but did not overpower it.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  This was a very simple yet very tasty way to cook salmon.  Absolutely a do-over!!!

This whole meal just made me happy.  Everything turned out well and the new items were the star of the show.  And the look on the darling husband/best friends face was payment enough for me.  We were having a discussion on chefs and cooks and I told him that the difference to me was a chef was upset and offended when you didn't like his dish...a cook just wanted to cry.  I consider myself a cook and that's why I like it when he is happy with the offerings I make for dinner every night.  The appreciation he expresses is what it's all about.

Satisfied!!  and very full!!!  and looking forward to making those biscuits again.  Hello thunder thighs!