What's For Dinner?

A Dang Quesa-Dilla

Remember how yesterday, I made 5 pounds of roasted chicken with the intent of using the leftovers in another recipe? I think that every other time I’ve said that I’m going to “use the leftovers” I have given up and made something new.

NOT TODAY!

We had a different schedule at work today, and I ended up eating lunch nearly a full hour earlier than I normally do. That meant, that by the time I got home, I was beyond ready for dinner. We had an “early bird special” dinner using the leftover chicken (not to be confused with Leftover Salmon) some tortillas, SoySations soy cheese, grilled onions, salsa, sour cream avocado, and a hot frying pan.

These quesadillas were delicious! I made a condiment plate to go with them, and am thrilled with how delicious that SoySations cheese is!

Since you all seemed to LOVE the Spanish Lesson from Tuesday, I thought I’d give you a brief history of the quesadilla, and why its named as such.

*Spanish Lesson #2 from your Friendly Neighborhood Blogging Spanish Teacher*

Quesadillas are some of the most traditional and OLDEST Mexican snack. Like the burrito, people on the road, or in the fields needed food that they could eat while working or riding a horse, and came up with the quesadilla. In northern Mexico, the quesadillas are simple: fresh tortilla, white cheese, and maybe some epazote. As one moves farther south, the quesadillas become more and more involved, featuring meats, cheeses, vegetables such as nopales, peppers, and onions, but there is one constant. That constant? Tortilla and cheese.

Spanish is full of words that are made up of two words stuck together:

Paraguas (umbrella) made up from the word para meaning “for”, and agua meaning “water”
Quehaceres (chores) mad up from the word que meaning “that” and hacer meaning “to do”
Sacapuntas (pencil sharpener) made up from sacar meaning “to draw out” and puntas meaning “points”
Quesadilla (um…quesadilla?) made up from queso meaning cheese and tortilla meaning, well, tortilla

So as you can see, many words are made up of other words, but none is as obvious as the quesadilla. Tortillas and cheese are always present, as is the “folded over” form of a traditional quesadilla.

*Class Dismissed ¡Adiós!*

I’m heading out to Utica, NY tomorrow night, so who knows where my next post will come from! Could it be from the airport with my pumpkin spice latte? Could it be from the air? We’ll have to wait and see! I do have to say though, I’m bringing workout clothes, and fully intend on using them at least twice. I have GOT to get my booty moving!

Have a great Friday everyone, and a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

Technorati Tags: cheese, chicken, food, leftovers, Mexican, simple, simple recipe, Spanish

15 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, September 3rd 2009 | Tags: cheese, chicken, food, leftovers, Mexican, simple, simple recipe, Spanish
Posted in chicken/turkey, simple recipe

Sweet As Honey (Giveaway Post)

Wahoo! First full day of school went fantastically! The students were well-behaved, I stayed away from the junk food in the lounge, and came home and was beyond thrilled to warm up leftover broccoli pesto from last night.

Usually, leftovers make for a very boring blog post…but not tonight!

About 2 weeks ago, Tropical Traditions was so kind as to send me some of their Organic Canadian raw honey to try.

I was intrigued by its creamy consistency, but I held off trying it until I knew what I wanted to eat it on. Adam on the other hand broke right into it and started using it in tea, on bread…and said it was fantastic. Of course then, I had to try it. It has a very mellow flavor, though distinctly honey. I like the texture much more than regular honey! It actually is spreadable and comes off a spoon or knife onto whatever I’m eating. My favorite was on cottage cheese. (What, you’ve never had honey on cottage cheese?? You’re missing out!)

Here’s what Tropical Traditions has to say about their Organic Canadian Raw Honey:

Our Raw honey is certified organic and has not been subjected to heat processing. The color of the honey is affected by two things primarily, floral source and processing methods. Our Canadian certified organic honey has a floral source that causes it to be light in color, and our minimal processing during packaging keeps it light. Heavy processing and heat tend to darken honey.

Tropical Traditionscertified organic raw honey is produced under extremely strict scrutiny and regulation all the way from the hive to the table, assuring that the original unadulterated natural healthiness of honey is preserved for your benefit. The flavor is variant with color also and is purely a matter of personal taste.

There is no royal jelly in the honey. In the natural bees keep this separate for the Queen bee and very, very little is produced in the wild. If any is in the honey it is separated out.

Raw honey may be slightly warmed in a bowl of hot or warm water to make it more fluid. The natural properties characteristic of

Tropical Traditionstotally pure, unheated, unprocessed, raw honey make it smooth and creamy, with the consistency of soft butter when stored at room temperature. Properly crystallized honey has a fine, smooth texture. Crystallized honey preserves natural goodness and doesn’t drip. The more rapidly honey crystallizes the finer the texture will be.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because as usual, Tropical Traditions has offered YOU, one lucky What’s For Dinner reader, a chance to win a jar of this amazing honey, delivered right to your door direct from the company!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post about your favorite way to use honey
Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions newsletter for a BONUS entry, and leave a comment to let me know you’ve done so.
Tweet about the contest for a THIRD entry then leave a comment to tell me you’ve done so.
Link back to this post for a FOURTH entry, and (you guessed it) comment to tell me.

You may leave as many as 4 comments on this post and each will count as an entry!

*winners will be announced at Monday’s dinner post*

Happy commenting and GOOD LUCK!!!

Technorati Tags: giveaway, leftovers, Tropical Traditions

94 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, August 27th 2009 | Tags: giveaway, leftovers, Tropical Traditions
Posted in giveaway

Back By Popular Demand…

Wednesday in Numbers!

The first Wednesday in Numbers was so popular, I thought I’d bring it back!

Campers on the bus: 57

Campers that behaved themselves: 30

Campers in attendance today: 228

Photos taken in the climber/ball pit: 15

GOOD photos taken in the climber/ball pit: 4

Hissy fits thrown over a broken headband: 1

Game tokens played: 260

Tickets won: 1644

Prizes won per camper, on average: 3

USEFUL prizes won per camper, on average: -36

Tweets sent during the day to plan meetup lunch/dinner: ~15

Slices of pizza eaten for lunch: ~3 (officially 2 and some leftover crust)

Campers wearing mismatched socks: 1 (one polka dotted, one striped)

Times I heard “Hokey Pokey” being sung in prep. for our Friday performance: 7

Times our camp was commended on campers’ good behavior: 3, that I heard

Tiny t-shirts purchased: 10

Tubes of puffy paint purchased: 6

Tubes really needed: 10

Adult sized t-shirts purchased: 3

Total shirts painted: 11

McDonalds ice cream sundaes eaten: 1

Containers of leftover PF Changs food eaten: 2 (one rice, one ground chicken/eggplant)

Fun days had: ONE!

Time for bed!!! G’nite!

Technorati Tags: camp, leftovers, vegetables

3 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, July 22nd 2009 | Tags: camp, leftovers, vegetables
Posted in dinner out, friends

Would You Care for a Hot Pocket?

An Eggo?

Sorry… Austin Powers moment…

Sunday was a day full of just what I needed: relaxation, shopping, sun, swimming, and baking!

The relaxation came after the other 4, and I gotta say, after the insane amount of cleaning we did Friday, then the unbelievable amount of cooking I did on Saturday, relaxation was what I needed. BUT, first things first! I met my friend Kristin for coffee and some minor shopping, and then we headed out to our townhome complex’s pool. It was so nice to just lay in the sun and float in the pool without 4-year-olds screaming and splashing me! Apparently, my sunscreen didn’t quite do its job and I’m now somewhere in the color range of a red radish… hopefully it’ll fade.

The baking was quite fun. I rarely bake, as I have a hard time controlling myself around fresh baked goods, but after reading the amazing nutritionals on the coconut flour I got from Tropical Traditions, I decided to break out the mixing bowl and whisk and bake up some cookies. I searched the net for various recipes, combined them, tweaked them, and came up with these…

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 c. Virgin Coconut Oil, melted

4 eggs

1 c. coconut flour

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. shredded coconut

Instructions

Mix together coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and salt together. Blend thoroughly. Add flour, coconut, chocolate chips, mix thoroughly. Form into small cookies on a parchment lined pan. Bake at 375* about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

These small cookies were a) delicious and b) super satisfying! Coconut flour has, in a mere 3.5 ounces, over 38 g. of dietary fiber in it, thus increasing satisfaction. They’ll be a nice treat, while they last!

Dinner was simple. I chopped up some of our leftover BBQ chicken from the 4th, mixed it with a bit of BBQ sauce and made myself a “hot pocket”.

Wonder what else was inside?

I know, that looks super boring. BUT, I assure you it is not! Inside, in addition to the chicken was some smushed avocado, a little bit of cheddar cheese, and a whole lotta careful rolling. After lightly toasting the wrap and cutting it to make it look pretty, I ended up with this:

See? Not boring!

It was quite delicious, and the fiber-rich flat out wrap made it very satisfying as well!

*Serious question here* I’ve noticed a major down turn in my readership lately. I’m not just talking the usual “I’m busy over the weekend/holiday so I’m not reading blogs” down turn, but a loss of 200+ subscribers. So, for those of you that are still reading (thank you!) what can I do to improve this site? I’m trying to not take it personally, but I’m starting to wonder really, WHY?!

So, for those of you still reading… what do you like? What do you miss? Should I change anything?

Thanks for your feedback, and for still reading this little blog of mine.

Technorati Tags: Baking, friends, leftovers, simple recipe

32 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, July 6th 2009 | Tags: Baking, friends, leftovers, simple recipe
Posted in chicken/turkey, friends, simple recipe

Creamy Polenta Bolognese (leftovers!)

Today was another great day… I’m really on a roll here! It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this great. I think a huge part of it is that I’ve really switched up how I’m eating. Lots more whole grains (instead of breads), less sugar, more fruits and veggies… all components of a healthy lifestyle. I’m on my way!

I went to Jazzercise again today! I was excited to see my friend Mindy again, and even more excited to burn tons of calories! My calorie burn wasn’t quite as great as Tuesday but it was still nothing to turn my nose up at (except for the fact that I now STINK):

Duration: 1:03

713 Calories

Max HR: 187/97%

Avg. HR: 159/83%

Yep… still good! When I got home, I was thrilled to heat up some of my Bolognese sauce from Tuesday, except today, instead of pasta, the sauce was on top of some creamy parmesan polenta. I’m such a HUGE fan of polenta, and I found a single-serve microwave method on making homemade that its easier than dealing with the rolls!

I swear that's polenta, not cheddar cheese

Simple How-To: Microwave Creamy Polenta

In a microwave safe, fairly large bowl, mix 1/4 c. polenta cornmeal with 1 c. water or milk. Microwave on full power 1 minute. Stir. Microwave another 2 minutes, stir. Mix in 1 Tbsp. grated or shredded parmesan cheese, and stir well. Eat alone, or top with your favorite sauce.

Sometimes, I’ll make the polenta but instead of cheese, I’ll add cinnamon and vanilla for a sort of rice pudding taste.

In any case, creamy polenta made my leftovers exciting!

I’m going to leave you with a random Question of the Day:

What’s your favorite kitchen gadget/appliance/utensil? Mine has to be either my new cast iron skillet, my Keurig coffee maker, or maybe my Wüsthof knives… it’s so hard to decide! I do have one thing that I just like looking at… my mom got this for me for Hanukkah a couple years ago, and it never ceases to crack me up! It’s called “The Ex”:

I don't know what he did to deserve this punishment!

Don’t forget to enter my chocolate giveaway, and in more chocolate news, the lovely Katie is giving away a WHOLE box of Jocolat bars on her blog and you can enter here!

Have a wonderful night!

xoxo,

Technorati Tags: giveaway, Italian, leftovers, workout

30 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, February 26th 2009 | Tags: giveaway, Italian, leftovers, workout
Posted in Italian

Just Leftovers!

Adam and I decided to have the leftover spinach lasagna from the other day… so I have nothing special, dinner-wise to report.

BUT on WEDNESDAY, please make sure you visit Love of Oats to read my guest post!! Don’t worry, I’ll remind you again!

Technorati Tags: guest post, leftovers

5 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, January 18th 2009 | Tags: guest post, leftovers
Posted in Uncategorized

Peanut Noodles: Take 2

After yet another long and hectic day at work today (got there early, a pregnant teacher passed out and an ambulance was called, I covered an extra class during lunch, then supervised after school study hall… the teacher is fine, by the way! It was scary!), I got home and wanted noodles. I didn’t care what kind, but I wanted NOODLES DARN IT!

I asked Adam what kind of noodles he’d like, and he said that if I didn’t mind, could I make peanut noodles again? Um, lets see, long hard day, noodles, peanut butter… yes! I decided to take the opportunity to perfect the peanut noodle recipe, and I think I’ve got it! These were creamy and spicy and sweet, and I added peas this time!

I only had one piece of chicken... I wanted more noodles!

PERFECT Peanut Noodles

Ingredients

1 lb. whole wheat or high-fiber pasta, cooked and kept hot

1/3 c. creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. dark sesame oil

1 tbsp. red wine or rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Sriracha (Rooster sauce) to taste

cooked vegetable of choice (peas, broccoli, red peppers, etc)

Directions

Mix all ingredients from peanut butter through Sririacha in a small bowl. Stir until well-combined. Mix pasta with the vegetables, then add the peanut mixture. The heat from the noodles will melt the peanut butter. Stir to evenly coat the noodles. Add more sriracha if desired.

OH MY GOODNESS were these good noodles! I could eat them every day…which is why this is probably the last time I’ll make them for a while! Once this batch is gone, no more! I think I have a peanut butter problem…While I was eating these noodles, I had a flash. This recipe is remarkably similar to a recipe my grandma used to make with tiny tube pasta, baby peas, and a slightly spicy peanut sauce. I remember trying to shove as many peas as possible into each tube noodle, and then eating the stuffed noodles.

QOTD: Are you going to watch the new season of Biggest Loser? I think I am, though I think it creates unrealistic expectations for many overweight people. I find myself to be truly motivated by the contestants’ success, even though I’m usually eating dinner during the show!

Technorati Tags: Asian, family recipe, leftovers, pasta

10 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, January 7th 2009 | Tags: Asian, family recipe, leftovers, pasta
Posted in Asian, family recipe

Boring Leftovers

Wow, 2 boring posts in a day… I’m sorry!!
Today was leftover night. I ate leftover bean burrito casserole and Adam had leftover Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli.
It’s supposed to snow 7″-11″ tonight, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day!!

What was your favorite thing to do on a snow day? Mine was to first, go outside and sculpt a snow cat with my dad (we were far too cool for snowmen!) and then go inside, drink vanilla-cinnamon milk and watch whatever terrible movies were on TV.

Technorati Tags: leftovers, snow

8 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, December 18th 2008 | Tags: leftovers, snow
Posted in Uncategorized

The Gnu Fairy Came!!

When I got home today, there was a package waiting for me on the kitchen counter. I didn’t remember ordering anything, so I was a little surprised, but when I opened it, I found that the Gnu Bar fairy (ok, really it was the lovely Robyn from Gnu Foods) had come and left me a very generous present! Inside was this beautiful box full of 5 different kinds of bars:

SUCH a generous sample!

I of course, immediately tore into a Peanut Butter bar. While it didn’t exactly taste like peanut butter, it was pleasantly sweet and had a fantastic chewy texture. It was also SUPER satisfying! I was ravenous on my way home from work, and this bar kept me completely satisfied for nearly 3 hours, a major feat. Using the nutrition facts, I was also able to calculate that each of these bars has a mere Points® Value of 2, which is a bargain! When Adam got home, he wanted a cinnamon raisin bar. He said:

“I would highly recommend this bar! It tastes like an oatmeal raisin cookie with a good amount of cinnamon. I like that its soft, and for only 2 Points®, it’s definitely the best bar out there!”

I would say there’s a rave review so far! I’ll be having a cranberry orange one for breakfast tomorrow to help keep me away from the “Pig Out” foods in the lounge. Once a month, a team of teachers brings in a plethora of foods for everyone to share… usually not too healthy, and I’m DETERMINED to absolutely NOT pig out!

Dinner was über boring. We had leftovers from last night’s dinner, the Zesty Italian pot roast. It was, if possible, even better today! In case you forgot what it looked like, here’s the pot roast:

Delicious again!

I also had a (non-photographed) carrot with peanut butter since I was low on veggies for the day. I’ll probably have a Dark Ferraro Rocher for dessert during Grey’s Anatomy.

OH! I also want to give a big thank you to my friend Julie over at Flip This Body for the shout out today! I’m so glad you liked the recipe site Also, a huge thank you for all the well-wishes. So far this antibiotic seems to be working well, and I’m finally feeling like myself again!

QOTD: How do you avoid overeating at free food events? I almost always try the “eat before I get there” thing, but then I just end up eating twice. Any hints for me?

Technorati Tags: free stuff, leftovers, vegetables

12 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, December 11th 2008 | Tags: free stuff, leftovers, vegetables
Posted in contest/giveaway

Green Goddess and Leftovers

***Warning***

This is not the most exciting post in the world, and its by far the most boring one I’ve done as of yet!

I was on my own for dinner tonight, so I decided to cut into the fresh romaine lettuce I got, and make myself a beautiful salad. The most delicious part was the Green Goddess dressing! Usually, this is not your “dietetic” item. BUT because of the wonderful people at Penzey’s, I could make a completely fat free version with little effort!

This amazing mix is simple to make and absolutely delicious! Here’s the first part of my dinner:

Dressing on the left, salad on the right

The salad was fresh romaine, organic baby tomatoes, and a sprinkle of a dried fruit/nut mix. It was a delicious start to dinner! Then, I had leftovers of “Not-Sagna” which, if possible, was better than the day I made it!

mmm... leftovers...

I topped off the meal with a key lime pie Weight Watchers dessert, which was just what my sweet tooth needed!

Technorati Tags: Italian, leftovers, pasta, vegetables

5 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, November 13th 2008 | Tags: Italian, leftovers, pasta, vegetables
Posted in Italian

A Dang Quesa-Dilla

15 Comments

Sweet As Honey (Giveaway Post)

94 Comments

Back By Popular Demand…

3 Comments

Would You Care for a Hot Pocket?

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

32 Comments

Creamy Polenta Bolognese (leftovers!)

30 Comments

Just Leftovers!

5 Comments

Peanut Noodles: Take 2

10 Comments

Boring Leftovers

8 Comments

The Gnu Fairy Came!!

12 Comments

Green Goddess and Leftovers

5 Comments

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