What's For Dinner?

Veggies and Clouds

Have I told you all lately how much I love Trader Joe’s? I’ve discovered that on certain days, the fastest route home from work passes right by the Trader Joe’s, so I stop. I stocked up today on raw almond snack packs (the extra plastic for the wrappers is worth it for the portion control!), crunchy almond butter, some frozen veggies, chicken sausages, and some other various random food items to fill in the holes from yesterday’s shopping trip.

I came home all excited to make a recent favorite recipe even better! Ok, better isn’t the right word because well, the tomato sauce with butter and onions is hard to bead, but I felt the need to doctor it up and make it a bit heartier.

The basic recipe, in case you forgot:

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
Adapted from Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

I added to the pot one bag of TJ’s “Melange a Trois” tri-colored peppers, and let it simmer all together, stirring occasionally until the peppers started to fall apart and the onion was just about mush. In a separate pan, I sauteed 2 links of TJ’s Sweet Pesto Chicken Sausage with a chopped up zucchini and about 6 sliced mushrooms. Then, I served the sauce and sausage mixture atop a twice-roasted spaghetti squash half. I roasted a spaghetti squash yesterday, and only used half, so today, I threw the remaining half back in the oven and let it kind of caramelize while the sauce cooked. It added a depth of flavor that was really delicious… I’ll have to start double-roasting it all the time now!

After dinner, for some strange reason, I had the desire to bake. I’m NOT a great baker, as I’ve said many times before, but sometimes I like doing it. It also gives me an excuse to use my stand mixer! Today I felt like meringues. Well, to be honest, I wanted lemon meringue pie, but since I didn’t have the stuff to make lemon curd, I settled for making some coconut meringue cookies.

I looked up a few recipes, and got the general idea of how it’s done, and then decided to just wing it. I needed sugar free, I wanted coconut, I had eggs… so I went for it.

Coconut Cloud Cookies

Makes about 16

Ingredients

5 egg whites, brought to room temperature

4 packets Splenda (feel free to substitute with 1/4 c. sugar)

1/2 c. unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

Make sure your bowl, beaters, and any surfaces are completely oil free. Pre-heat the oven to 200*. Add the egg whites to a mixer bowl and beat on medium heat until soft peaks form. Add the Splenda (or sugar) slowly, and beat until whites hold firm peaks. Fold in the coconut, and then either pipe or spoon onto a parchment lined (or not) baking pan, and bake until lightly browned, dry and move easily off the pan.

These hit that spot… you know, the “I want something sweet but not that sweet” spot. And they’re crunchy. And not terrible for me!

I got another anonymous question today after tweeting about how yesterday’s post must’ve been boring. It wasn’t so much a question as yet another rude statement about how my blog “used to be great” and now is “boring” and all I do is sell stuff you could get at “bed bath and beyond.” So please, lovely readers, be honest with me… have I gotten boring? Am I stale in my “old age”? What do you want to see more of? Less of?

In a non Bed Bath & Beyond area, there’s an incredibly great deal coming on Wednesday morning from the EnviTote people… they want to hook you up, so if you’ve been wanting an EnviTote but holding off? Wednesday is your day! Trust me… the rest of the info will come tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: Baking, cookies, OpenSky, pasta, simple recipe, twitter, vegetables, vegetarian

17 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, March 8th 2010 | Tags: Baking, cookies, OpenSky, pasta, simple recipe, twitter, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in Baking, chicken/turkey, simple recipe, vegetarian

Chicago Style

What a random food day I had today… I mean, I ate weird stuff at weird times and then topped it off with a somewhat weird dinner. Breakfast was leftover roast chicken, then a couple hours later a lovely green monster with spinach, milk, nut butter, flax, mango, blueberries, and chia seeds. I went and spent my Valentine’s Day gift certificate from Adam today on a glorious manicure and pedicure…the toes are red and the fingers are purple!

Lunch was late (like 3 p.m.) when Adam and I decided to go to a local hot dog stand for some Chicago-style dogs. We had hot dogs from this place as a “midnight snack” at our wedding, and haven’t had them since, so we thought “what the heck” and went for it.

Now, do any of you know what goes on a standard Chicago hot dog? And, more importantly, what doesn’t?

These ingredients are what are traditionally included on a Chicago dog, and can be added or eliminated to the diner’s taste. HOWEVER, there is NEVER ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. Ever. Why are Chicago hot dogs so “doctored up”? Well, back in the depression era, hot dogs were a convenient and inexpensive way for people to have a complete meal in a time where fresh produce was limited. Because of the variety of vegetables on the dog, it’s said to be “dragged through the garden.” There, your Chicago history lesson for the day.

My hot dog this afternoon had onions, relish, mustard, and sport peppers on it, and it was FAN FREAKING TASTIC. I could’ve eaten a few more, but limited myself to one. What it did do though, was leave me wanting more vegetables. We hit up the produce market and stocked up, and a few hours later, I was chopping and roasting and spiralizing! I won a spiralizer from Sophia’s giveaway, and let’s just say, I’m quite obsessed. I forgot to take a picture of my spiralized zucchini, but I got a picture of the carrot I shredded the other day

Tonight, I sauteed together some mushrooms, an orange bell pepper, some garlic, and spinach, roasted a spaghetti squash, spiralized some zucchini and started assembling. I wanted to use some of this sauce from Bertolli and FoodBuzz’s Tastemaker Program

The bottom of my large bowl was filled with spiralized zucchini and spaghetti squash, then topped with my mushroom/pepper/spinach mixture, then the whole thing was topped with some of this creamy sauce. While it wasn’t something I’d normally buy, the flavor was very nostalgically tomato. Adam likened it to a gourmet and creamy version of the sauce on Spaghetti-Os. My bowl, while not pretty, was delicious. Thanks Bertolli and FoodBuzz!

Tonight, Adam and I are two of probably 10 people not watching the Oscars, so we’re enjoying cartoon reruns and dark chocolate. Tomorrow’s a busy day, as its the beginning of a new term, so I get to meet 120 new kids tomorrow throughout the day.

Have a great Monday!

Technorati Tags: Chicago dining, dinner, food, fun, vegetables, vegetarian

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, March 7th 2010 | Tags: Chicago dining, dinner, food, fun, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in vegetarian

I’m No Chicken

I had a first as a blogger today.

I got my first official rude comment. I’ve had some backhanded ones before that I chose not to publish because that wouldn’t have done anyone any good. But today? Today I got a comment telling me that I “shouldn’t” be eating things like dark chocolate and “how is it possible that rice isn’t allowed” on this “newfangled plan” of mine.

I thought about letting it go. I thought about not saying anything, about not giving “Scared Sandy” any sort of recognition at all, and then I thought again. What is it about anonymity and the internet that makes people think they can say whatever they want? I’ve linked to this before, and I’ll do it again:

I’ve seen it on message boards and on other people’s blogs, but I’ve never experienced it firsthand in the comments of my own. The negativity. The rudeness. The inexplicable need to be anonymously terrible to another person. So rather than taking the easy way out and just hitting “delete” on the comment, I took a chance and responded. I defended myself, and explained that I’m not a blogger that reveals each and every thing I eat. And then you all came along. You, my amazing readers, came along with emails and comments too, defending me and my choices, and I’m absolutely blown away and humbled. Thank you all from the bottom of my non-rice-eating heart.

Speaking of chicken, that’s just what I made tonight. It was simply roasted much like I did back in January, and I served it along with some (more) roasted brussels sprouts. Since there’s no recipe, and just a bunch of photos, please enjoy the visual candy. Meat-o-phobes, you might want to stop reading after the pictures of the sprouts!

Thank you again, friends, for confirming why exactly I stay a part of this amazing community. We may all have our differences, but in the end, we have one common bond… and energy vampires and flower cutters be damned! When one dares to try to bring us down, there’s 30 more to pull us back up.

Also, a VERY happy anniversary to my mom and stepdad!! How cute are they??

Technorati Tags: chicken, friends, simple recipe, thank you, vegetables

27 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, March 4th 2010 | Tags: chicken, friends, simple recipe, thank you, vegetables
Posted in friends, simple recipe

Conquering Fears

Ever since I was in high school, I’ve had a fear of Indian food. I wish I could say it was inexplicable, but that’s not the case at all. My reasoning is quite shameful, actually, and I hesitated sharing it with you all on my blog… but heck, I shared my weight stats with you, so why not a shameful thing from my past?

See, where I went to high school (Niles North, GO VIKINGS!) was an extremely diverse place. When I say extremely, I mean EXTREMELY. There were over 45 languages spoken, and opening the pages of our yearbook was like looking at the United Nations. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to have this diversity in my life until I went to college in a very white-bread town.

Anyway, back to why Indian food scared me. There were these groups of Indian boys at my high school… not the put-together, fairly Americanized Indian boys, but recently emigrated and fairly socially awkward Indian boys. These boys, no matter what year they were in school, walked in straight lines across the hallway and frequently reeked of day-old Indian food and lack of deodorant. (I told you this was shameful). I was terrified that if I ate Indian food, I would also smell of this B.O. and old curry… I know, it’s terrible and closed-minded of me, and once I met Adam, he convinced me to “just try it.” Try it I did, and I now LOVE the stuff! I can’t believe I lived my life without chicken tikka, naan, roti, dal… sigh…

More recently, thanks to the lovely Gina and Rose, I’ve been encouraged to try more adventurous dishes like Channa Masala and Baigan Bharta. I’ve recently fallen in love with Gina’s favorite, baigan bharta, and my habit has been getting expensive. I scoured the internet for the most authentic recipe I could find, and found one that fit the bill…and then, in typical Mara form, I mucked with it. What I got was a deliciously spicy, amazingly delicious, decadently creamy dish that will certainly help me save with my eating out bills!

Baigan Bharta from a former Indian Food-o-phobe

(Inspired by this recipe from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

2 plum tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 c. peas

1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

2 tsp. garlic paste

2 tsp. ginger paste

1 jalapeño pepper, diced (de-ribbed and de-seeded if you want less spice)

2 Tbsp. oil (I used olive)

4 oz. plain yogurt

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. garam masala

juice of half a lemon

salt to taste

1/4 c. cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place your eggplant on a cookie sheet, poke with a fork for ventilation, and roast until skin is dark and eggplant is tender, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool until handleable. Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan (I used a 2.5 qt) with the oil. Add the cumin seeds and onion, and cook until onions are translucent. Then, add the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, jalapeño, curry, garam masala, and stir well, allowing to cook a few minutes. Then, halve the eggplant and scrape the flesh into the pot, breaking it up with your stirring spoon. Add the peas and yogurt, cover and cook on HIGH HEAT for about 10 minutes. Stir well, then cook covered another 10 minutes. This allows the veggies to caramelize a bit. Uncover and simmer on LOW heat for 5 minutes, then add the lemon juice. Stir well, and serve, topping with the cilantro.

Please enjoy some obsessive photos I took of this dish:

Enough of that… I just love my camera and new editing software so much! There were 9 other photos I chose not to share.

A few things to note: The yogurt is completely and totally optional. I added it because it was my first time making this dish, but next time, I may halve the amount, or omit it altogether. Also, my curry powder was a bit “off”. I think the main reasons are that a) it’s a bit old and b) it’s from Target. I need a more authentic and less sweet-tasting curry powder for the next time I make this. The whole cumin seeds were found in the Mexican spice section for a whopping $0.99 for a fairly large bag. And, most importantly, I don’t stink!

Luckily, by graduation, those Indian boys had discovered deodorant and cologne, and no longer graced my nostrils with the smell of something I hoped I’d never smell like… and now, years later, I can appreciate the labor of love that went into the food that caused that smell, and I feel terribly guilty for ever thinking the way I did!

I’ll share the chili recipe I promised tomorrow… I just had to share this with you tonight! There’s fun OpenSky stuff too! Get excited!

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZ!!!!!!

Technorati Tags: Indian, vegetables, vegetarian

29 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, March 1st 2010 | Tags: Indian, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in vegetarian

Smoky and Roasty

Happy Wednesday!

I’ve come to really enjoy Wednesday evenings because I know that there are only two more wake-ups until the weekend! I hate that Adam has class so late, but I get to watch garbage TV for a few hours, read quietly, or cook stuff I’m not sure he’ll like. Usually, that ends up being something like the stuffed kabochas from last week, or something with an inordinate amount of vegetables and mushrooms.

Today’s dinner though, I thought might be a risk since it’s pretty tomato-y, but there’s no doubt that the leftovers will be consumed soon.

I had no idea how this would turn out. I had some idea in my head of what I wanted it to be, but I didn’t know if it would work…

Oh did it work!

Smoky Chili Chicken

Serves 3

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

4 strips bacon, cut into small pieces

1 large can whole tomatoes

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. red chili flakes

Directions

Heat a saucepan and add the bacon. Allow it to cook until crispy, then add the chicken and stir well. Then, add the spices, stirring to coat the chicken. Let the spices sear onto the chicken a little, then add the can of tomatoes and stir well. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes, then uncovered for about 15 minutes to allow it to thicken.

HO-LY-GOODNESS this was delicious. I seriously almost typed “Serves 1″ in the recipe because I want to go eat the rest of it. The bacon lent a smokey flavor to the chili powder and tomatoes, which almost tasted like chiles in adobo. I topped my bowl with some aged white cheddar, sour cream, and half an avocado… oh I want more now! I’m really glad I need to type recipes out for you all, because otherwise, I don’t know that I’d remember what I did! Like the recipe? Don’t forget to Spring It!

I also made some roasted asparagus that were apparently alive on their little plate because EVERY picture was blurry. This was the best I got:

See? They were moving, I swear!!

They were delicious though… moving or not.

Make sure you enter the SkinMD Natural Giveaway! It runs until Friday and as of right now, your chances are pretty good!

Also, I just want to give a special shout out to my OpenSky fairy, Lindsay… HI LINDSAY!

Look for more OpenSky posts in the next couple days!!

Have a great rest of your night, and a fabulous Thursday!

Technorati Tags: bacon, chili, Mexican, OpenSky, recipe, simple recipe, soup, spicy, vegetables

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, February 24th 2010 | Tags: bacon, chili, Mexican, OpenSky, recipe, simple recipe, soup, spicy, vegetables
Posted in Mexican/Latin, chicken/turkey, simple recipe

Locavore

It has been quite a long week, and I’m beyond thrilled that tomorrow is Friday! We have a no-students-present institute day, which are always fun. Not that I don’t love my students, but sometimes it’s nice to hang out with adults.

Sometimes, I’ll spend some time up in the main office at work and chat with our assistant principals about various issues with students, or sometimes we chat about nothing. And sometimes, we find out that we have a lot more in common than we originally thought! Yesterday, one assistant principal was in her office eating the most delicious-looking salad out of a recyclable paper box, much like the ones used at Whole Foods. I got very excited and asked her where exactly near school she’d gotten such a fantastic-looking salad. She informed me, quite giddily, that an old restaurant/bar had been bought out and converted from a typical pub into a local/sustainable and mostly organic restaurant! We then talked food and restaurants for quite some time, and she insisted that I try Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen ASAP.

Luckily tonight, I had quite some time to kill! After school and a meeting, I had about 4 hours of free time before I got to be a judge at the regional spelling bee. I went to the DMV to get my name changed on my license, did the same at the bank, and then headed to Duke’s for an early dinner.

I was greeted by a friendly bartender who was more than happy to tell me about their menu, specials, and seemed very knowledgeable about why their menu was different than other places.

I’d perused the menu online, and had made up my mind that I would be getting a tallgrass beef burger, without the bun, for my dinner. To say that it delighted me when Robert (I think that was his name?) the bartender informed me that their cheese choices were: 4-year aged cheddar, blue, gouda, mozzarella, feta, oh…and goat. Yes, goat cheese. Amazing fresh and soft local goat cheese. Oh, and organic broccolini (not local, as its a frozen tundra here right now.) Apparently, up in the county where my school is, there are dozens of small farms… some are more famous (Kinnickinnick and Saluté) but most I’d never heard of.

The bottom of the menu reads “I want my farmer to be paid well, for the same reason I want my airline pilot to be.” I love it! I read that menu while I waited for my food, and loved the pride the place has in supporting local and organic farmers. So many restaurants like this are out of reach for Adam and I, as they’re downtown Chicago and price-prohibitive. This however, is the opposite! It’s relatively inexpensive (my burger was $10.50) and in the lovely suburb where my school is.

My food arrived quickly, and to say it was beautiful is an understatement:

I think you need a closer up shot of this stuff… the beautiful baby broccoli was topped with some flavorful real butter:

And the burger, on its soft pretzel bun with bibb lettuce, roma tomatoes, and soft fresh goat cheese… notice how that patty is uneven and not round. That means a PERSON actually made that patty, and stood there while it cooked:

To say that it pained me to take that burger off that beautiful bun is an understatement as well. I can only imagine how phenomenal it tasted… it sure smelled good. I looked like a freak, sitting by myself at a bar table, sniffing a pretzel roll and tweeting about how excited I was to eat this burger. Oh, and taking pictures of everything while the locals were sitting there wondering why their kids’ Spanish teacher was photographing her food.

You know what this burger tasted like? It tasted like meat. It tasted the way, when you want a good burger, that a good burger should taste. So much of the ground beef that I buy is fairly tasteless on its own and needs loads of seasoning. I’m willing to bet that this burger had a sprinkle of salt and pepper and that’s it. Next time I go, I’m certainly trying the organic steak, as well as making sure that I have someone else to order a dessert so I can have a bite. Something about a “trio of artisanal brownies” and “build your own cupcake” are quite intriguing.

Duke’s Alehouse and Kitchen

110 N. Main St.

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

With a pleasantly full belly, I went to judge the spelling bee, and then headed home. I was greeted with a bubble-pack envelope with a Canadian customs label on it. I immediately knew what it was and tore right in! The amazing Marianne from the blog From French Fries To Flax Seeds had sent me an Olympic care package!! There was a pair of the official red Olympic mittens, and a pin that says “Eh!” from Lululemon! (please excuse the ratty nails and tired face).

I love them!! Thank you SO much Marianne! You’ll be getting your Chicago care package as soon as I get off my butt and remember to send it…

AND an anonymous question:

What are you and Adam doing for V-Day? I think we’re staying in, drinking some wine, and I’m making cheese fondue… with bread. V-day is one holiday that I feel it necessary to splurge no matter what. And you know? That’s ok! ONE day of splurging and eating bread will not make me lose all the progress I’ve made!

Tomorrow evening, we are off to O’Hare to pick up my mom and stepdad from their trip to Mexico. We’ve been watching this adorable face all week… Stella the Goldendoodle!

Have a wonderful Friday, and happy Olympic Day!!! I can’t WAIT to watch the opening ceremonies! What’s your favorite winter Olympic sport? Mine’s gotta be curling…

Technorati Tags: ask me, beef, burger, chavrie, cheese, dinner out, local, restaurant, twitter, vegetables

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, February 11th 2010 | Tags: ask me, beef, burger, chavrie, cheese, dinner out, local, restaurant, twitter, vegetables
Posted in beef, dinner out

Simply Random

I had a big event after school today. I got to do something I haven’t done in a very long time… I went to Trader Joe’s! I got a pretty decent haul for a small amount of money, and proceeded to make a simple and random TJ’s dinner. After, of course, I spent some time packing up my secret bloggie Valentine gift! I just hope it doesn’t snow so much tomorrow that I can’t get to the post office!

Back to the random dinner:

First, on the left, were some simply sauteed mushrooms and green peppers. Then, to the right of that were some TJ’s tomato basil chicken sausages (quite good I might add!) and above that, the star of the plate, some simple creamed spinach. My mom used to make this creamed spinach ALL the time, and it always surprised me because well, we didn’t eat creamed anything. When we went out for dinner on Saturday, she told me how to make it, and I had to try.

The process is simple: steam and drain a bunch of spinach. Stir in 1 Tbsp. cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. sour cream, and I added a sprinkle of garlic powder. You have to try it!!! It works with fat free dairy, or regular… I might have to make a second batch for when Adam gets home, as I might need to finish this batch!

I had a couple of questions over the weekend, some anonymous and some not… so I’ll get to it!

Lauren from Say What You Need To Say asked: IF you could have anyone in the world over to dinner, who would it be and what would you make? That’s a really tough question… it depends on the day, honestly! There are people I’d like to have over just so I could look at them, but somehow I doubt they’d eat much. If we’re talking living or dead, I’d say Julia Child and/or Eddie Izzard. I know, random! Julia Child would get a simple and standard Jewish meal of brisket, kugel, matzoh ball soup, and kishke. Eddie Izzard though, he’s a bit more difficult. I’d be tempted to cook something very “executive” (Eddie fans will get that) or something with Jam.

Annabel from Feed Me, I’m Cranky asked: I would like to know how you met your hubby! Adam and I actually met in college… but the story isn’t that simple! We met probably multiple times at multiple parties, but neither of us particularly remember, for various reasons. Then, in 2004, sick and tired of dating the “wrong” people, I signed up on JDate. I paid for 3 months, went on COUNTLESS bad dates (seriously, go read that guest post from Jessie’s blog, whose blogiversary is today!) and upon getting the “renew now!” email, I decided to cancel. I had 2 weeks left on my subscription when I got this message from this adorable guy saying “Hey, you went to Bradley and look really familiar. Here’s my IM, let’s chat sometime.” Turned out that this adorable guy was Adam, we had DOZENS of people and stories in common, and figured out quite a few times we’d met before.

Do you ever get scared that you’ll never get to where you want to be? I sometimes feel like I am on a hamster wheel and sometimes I feel like my life, my weight, everything is GREAT and then another week I feel like it is horrible. I wish sometimes I could just be….do you ever have those same fears? This is such a loaded question! There is part of me that wants to say “yes, I get terrified that I’m not really that good at my job, that I’ll be overweight forever, and really don’t want to stay ‘here’ for much longer.” Then, there’s another part of me saying that this, right now, is really the most wonderful things have ever been for me… While yes, sometimes things just suck, and sometimes I get scared, when I get that “hamster wheel” feeling, I make a conscious effort to just get off of it. Change something. Do something I’m scared of.

I’ve been on and off of Weight Watchers for years- and it works really well for me, when I’m that point-counting mode- which is hard to do every single day! How’s your new style of eating going? See any results yet? Can you tell us what you typically eat throughout the day? Thanks! UGH POINT COUNTING MODE!! I know that all too well! I get on the whole Point thing fairly easily, and fall off easily too! I just hate having to overanalyze everything that goes in my mouth. My new eating style is going very very well! According to my bathroom scale (which I get on maybe 2-3 times a week, but really only “take” my Saturday morning weight) I lost 4.5 lbs in my first week eating the way I do. A typical day for me on this plan is:

Breakfast: 2 eggs and 1 egg white scrambled with about 1 c. cooked spinach and 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms, 2 pieces bacon, coffee with half-and-half

Lunch: Usually leftovers from dinner, including additional vegetables. Today was about 2 sliced green peppers and some leftover Italian beef

Snack: Today was a handful of raw almonds. Some days its beef jerky (DYING to try those PrimeSnax that MizFit loves!), some days its avocado or vegetables.

Dinner: Most of you know my dinners already!

As a kid, what was your favorite family meal ? Mine was spag with meat sauce That’s easy. My absolute favorite family meal that was a never-fail, smile on my face meal was when my mom roasted chicken, made garlic roasted potatoes, asparagus, and fillets. My grandma made a very similar meal too, and no matter who made it, I always loved it!

WOW I’m long-winded today… thanks for sticking with me, and don’t forget to Ask Me Anything! I’m LOVING answering all this stuff!

Have a fantastic evening! We’re supposed to get about 8 inches of snow… nothing like you East Coasters, but it still might be enough for a snow day. Keep your fingers crossed!

Technorati Tags: ask me, cheese, dinner, friends, fun, simple recipe, vegetables, weight loss

19 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, February 8th 2010 | Tags: ask me, cheese, dinner, friends, fun, simple recipe, vegetables, weight loss
Posted in chicken/turkey, friends, simple recipe, weight loss

Cow and a Garden

Operation eat more veggies is in full effect! I managed to eat 2 cups of spinach in my eggs this morning, the veggies in my chili this afternoon, and tonight’s dinner was a virtual cavalcade of vegetables.

It was another one of those days where I had no idea what was going to be for dinner because, well, my mind kept changing every few minutes. At 10 a.m, I emailed my friend saying “I’m having steak and roasted brussels sprouts!” Then, when I talked to Adam after work, it was going to be a burger and salads. Then it was going to be steak and salad, then, I went rogue.

I went to our local produce market and just started grabbing stuff: Chinese eggplant, spaghetti squash, baby portabella mushrooms, red peppers, spinach, ground beef, coconut milk… and I still had no idea what I was going to make. On the very short ride home, I decided it was a burger night, but I wanted a new and unique veggie dish to go along with it. New and unique it was!

First I made burgers with:

ground beef
garlic powder
1 egg
parsley flakes
salt & pepper

Then, I started chopping. The Chinese eggplant got peeled and cut into chunks. The red pepper got diced, the mushrooms got sliced, and the spaghetti squash went into the oven to roast at 325 for an hour. When the squash was done, it got dumped into a bowl. Then the recipe started:

Coconut Garden

1 Chinese eggplant, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

6 mini portabella mushrooms (or half a big one) cut into small pieces

1 red pepper, diced

1 small spaghetti squash, roasted and scooped

1 lb raw baby spinach

1/4 c. coconut milk

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 Tbsp. oil of your choice

S&P to taste

Directions

Heat a large wok, and once hot, add oil. Add the eggplant first and cook a few minutes. When lightly browned, add in the red peppers, then the mushrooms, and allow them to cook until they’ve released their juices. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in squash strings, stir a few times to combine, then lower the heat. Add the coconut milk and curry powder, and stir well. Serve.

I call this Cow and a Garden because, well, I had a burger and a garden full of veggies in a CaliBowl.

This was fantastic, filling, satisfying, and beautiful. The textures of the vegetables mixed so well together, and that little bit of coconut milk was just the treat I wanted. One of the best things? Adam won’t eat it! There’s mushrooms, peppers, AND eggplant, which he hates… more for me! I can’t wait until lunch tomorrow!

I finally got my first anonymous question from my “Ask Me” page! Did you even know it was there? What do you want to know about me? There has to be something…

My first and only question so far:

I love you and Adam together. How did you know he was the one?

Well, Adam and I met in the winter of 2004, and not long after that he had a minor surgery that ended up with complications that left him on disability for almost three months. What does this have to do with anything? I knew that Adam and I had something great going pretty much from day one. He called the morning after our first date, and the rest is history. He had this minor surgery on a Wednesday afternoon, and stayed overnight in the hospital until Thursday. After work Thursday, I headed straight for his house to visit and take care of him (I’d taken Friday off work), and a few hours into me being there, Adam started developing spinal headaches as a side effect from the spinal anesthetic from his surgery. Next thing I knew, I was calling an ambulance to take him to the hospital, and spent the evening in the ER. When he was waiting for the doctor to come in and see him, I looked at him and realized that the worst thing I could imagine was losing him… and that’s when I knew

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Technorati Tags: beef, burger, food, simple recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

13 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, February 1st 2010 | Tags: beef, burger, food, simple recipe, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in beef, simple recipe, vegetarian

Butternut In An OpenSky

*Have you entered to win a $50 shopping spree from iHerb.com yet? What are you waiting for? The lovely folks at iHerb have offered $5 your first purchase when you use the code SIF006*

When I started cooking a few years ago, there were quite a few things that I never thought I’d be able to make. Among those things are: homemade black molé, tamales, tortillas, pasta, and gnocchi. See, I love all those things, and I’m a complete snob when it comes to those things, they have to be fantastic. I just never thought I’d have the skill necessary to make any of them!

I made tortillas last year at one point, and while they were ok, they were definitely not anything to be proud of. I’ve yet to conquer the other dishes, that is, until tonight. Yesterday at the grocery store, butternut squashes were inexpensive, so I got a nice big one (TWSS?) I had every intent of roasting it and using the flesh for something, but I didn’t know what yet. Then, Adam showed me a new game he got on his Nintendo DSi called Personal Trainer: Cooking. It’s not a new game, but new to us.

Anyway, we looked up squash recipes, and low and behold, since the game is from Japan, all the squash recipes featured kabocha (so I thought of a few of you). Since kabocha is sweeter than a butternut squash, I figured that any of those recipes would work for the big butternut sitting on our counter. One in particular caught my eye: squash gnocchi. I had my mind made up. That’s what I’d make tonight.

Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone and cook the recipe as dictated by the nice little chef guy in the game, I had to muck with it. What I did end up with though were sweet, garlicky, peppery, doughy little dumplings which I tossed with sauteed spinach and mushrooms and topped with some parmesan cheese.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash (about 2.5 lbs)

3 c. whole wheat flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

fresh ground pepper

salt

Heat oven to 375*. Cut the squash vertically, clean out seeds and fibers, and roast on a baking pan for about 45 minutes to an hour. When done, allow to cool slightly and scoop the flesh into a large bowl (I used my KA Mixer with the dough hook to do this). Allow to cool 15 minutes. Mix in garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub the thyme between your fingers to break apart, then add to the mixture, stirring gently. Gradually add in the whole wheat flour until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky. At this point, bring a large pot of water to boil. Take handfuls of the dough in lightly floured hands and roll into a log on a lightly floured surface. Cut into bite sized pieces, then drop them into the boiling water. When they float, remove them with a slotted spoon to a colander.

Now, to be completely honest, I think I overworked the dough. It was a bit chewy for my taste, but the flavor was fantastic! I do realize that it’s not that daunting to make gnocchi! I’m totally trying regular potato ones soon.

Now, for the big news. I alluded to this on Twitter earlier, and being the newlywed that I am, everyone assumed my “big news” was that I’m pregnant. MOST DEFINITELY NOT! I do however have an exciting announcement!

Last week, you may have noticed that I focused on many of the gadgets, appliances, and cool things I have going on in our kitchen…heck, I even called it “gadget week”! There was a reason behind this besides just showing off the cool stuff we have. I have decided that, along with many of my blogger friends, I’m opening an OpenSky shop! See, I was always one of those people who said “I wish I could make that but I’m missing (insert gadget or ingredient here)”. I’m hoping that my shop can be the place where you find the elusive gadgets, ingredients, and fun stuff to make your kitchen complete! Right now, I only have 11 items up, but I’ll be adding as I find new ones. I’m looking forward to working with OpenSky…they seem to be the COOLEST company! You can find my shop under What’s For Dinner on OpenSky. I hope to “see” you all there. Feel free to let me know if there are items you’d like to see, and I’ll do my best to get them on there. Happy shopping!

Technorati Tags: cheese, dinner, giveaway, gourmet, Italian, pasta, recipe, simple recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, January 25th 2010 | Tags: cheese, dinner, giveaway, gourmet, Italian, pasta, recipe, simple recipe, vegetables, vegetarian
Posted in Italian, contest/giveaway, giveaway, simple recipe, vegetarian

Put a Stick In It

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter!

Today’s gadget is not a new one by any means, but it is one that I believe everyone should have! My mom bought this for me over two years ago, and I’ve loved every minute of using it. It’s one of those “I could make this recipe but I don’t have…”

What is it? An immersion blender! I have this one:

Since it sits in a drawer when it’s not being used, the red doesn’t stick out too badly. I’ve used this lovely gadget for soups, smoothies, milkshakes, and tons of other recipes, but my very favorite thing to use it for is whipping eggs into oblivion for a fritatta. A fritatta is made with using many eggs (and in my recipe, half eggs and half egg whites) blended well and then cooked both on the stovetop and in the oven. Whipping by hand, at least for me, got tiring and I never got the froth I like when making fritatta. I like when there are lots of little bubbles to help the egg get in between the pieces of potato and vegetables… but I’ll get to that in a minute. I had a couple people tell me on my mandoline and rice cooker posts that they are afraid of using a stick blender… so a few key things I’ve found in my time using mine (Kristin! PAY ATTENTION!):

Make sure the entire rounded end is completely submerged into whatever liquid you’re blending. Sometimes, when making smoothies, this means putting the blender in the cup before the ingredients!
Pulse the blades first before running it consistently. This gets the ingredients up into the rounded part, which minimizes splatter.
MAKE SURE the blades are COMPLETELY stopped before pulling the blender out. It only takes a little bit of motion to cause your soup, smoothie, or eggs to go flying all over the kitchen!
Keep the blender moving, yet close to the bottom of the cup or bowl as you blend. This allows for even blending.

So, in keeping with gadget week, I made a fritatta recipe with my immersion blender. I followed the procedure found in my fritatta recipe page, but the ingredients were:

spinach
broccoli
chopped bacon
2 garlic cloves
1 and a half baked potatoes, diced
5 eggs
5 egg whites
1.5 c. low fat cheddar cheese

The bacon added a great dimension of flavor we don’t usually get in our fritattas, but the key here was the bubbly eggs. I whipped them up until they were a light lemon color, added half the cheese, and then blended that in as well. I topped the whole pan with the remaining cheese, and came out with this masterpiece:

See how the egg got in between the spinach and potato? With regular egg beating, I find that the eggs sink and don’t fill in the gaps that well. This was absolutely delicious, and of course, I ate my piece with fat free sour cream.

Please check out Dori’s Charity Auction happening today! All proceeds go to a very worthy cause!

I’m cutting this short here, as today is a fairly sad day… 3 years ago today my grandma passed away. She’s one of the reasons that I learned to cook (along with my mom, my main influence), and I miss her every day. I’m going to cook a “tribute” meal tomorrow, full of dishes that she both cooked and taught me to love… so my question today: Who taught you to cook and/or love food?

Technorati Tags: bacon, cheese, dinner, family, food, gadgets, recipe, simple recipe, vegetables

12 Comments

Mara @ What's For Dinner?, January 21st 2010 | Tags: bacon, cheese, dinner, family, food, gadgets, recipe, simple recipe, vegetables
Posted in family, simple recipe

Veggies and Clouds

17 Comments

Chicago Style

9 Comments

I’m No Chicken

27 Comments

Conquering Fears

29 Comments

Smoky and Roasty

22 Comments

Locavore

14 Comments

Simply Random

19 Comments

Cow and a Garden

13 Comments

Butternut In An OpenSky

10 Comments

Put a Stick In It

12 Comments

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