Evening snack: Hummus Brussel Sprout Wrap

I promised myself I'd eat clean today. I worked hard at the store, did a mild work out and ended up with 800 calories left if I intended to break even. Because I can't lose any more weight.

Yesterday I didn't reach my protein goal so I started today with a spirulina protein shake. Then at 9 a.m. I had breakfast/lunch: a small piece of zaatar bread heaped with very generous amounts of romaine and spring mix, some hummus, a touch of Bulgarian feta, and a little baba ghanouj. 

I punched out of work at 3 pm and got a nonfat unsweetened green tea latte (matcha in skim milk) for a snack/afternoon pick me up. I received a venti, so that means my calcium is in good shape today and the milk adds to my protein count.

Dinner was one serving ham, about a 1/4 cup tropical fruit (see previous blog entry) and about 3/4 cup boxed mac and cheese.

So for my snack I made Brussel sprouts. Put 12 of them in a six inch wrap with 1 ounce spicy gouda, less than 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan and-- get this-- 2 tablespoons hummus. 

It was so good. And I washed it down with a green apple Angry Orchard hard cider.

Buffalo Brussel Sprouts

I just ate a bag of Brussel sprouts. 4 servings. But they were so good. 

I cooked them, brushed them with extra virgin olive oil and Frank's buffalo sauce, sprinkled them with garlic powder and grated romano-percino. 

Roasted them at 475 degrees for ten minutes and flipped them then cooked them for another five minutes.

Tuna boats on garlic bread

I made (with the wee one's assisance) open faced tuna sandwiches on garlic bread slathered in cheese. With cheesy peas.

My Crazy Chicken Spinach Potato Chip Casserole

I hope this works.

I made a chicken rice potato chip casserole. But not the standard kind with cream of chicken soup.

I cooked three chicken breasts (but only ended up using two). Meanwhile my daughter made a sauce of the following:

- one cup homemade chicken stock

- 1/3 cup mayo

- 1/2 cup soy milk

We added spices:

- parsley

- Himalayan pink salt 

- black pepper

- garlic

- mustard

- ras el hanout

- nutmeg

- cheddar cheese dip mix (about 2-3 tablespoons)

We mixed into the sauce:

- 2 cups raw spinach

- 1 cup northern beans

We placed one cup cooked rice on the bottom of the casserole dish. We layered sauce/mix onto the rice, put in the chicken chucks, and then sprinkled a touch of Parmesan and mozzerella cheese on it. We put the rest of the sauce/mix on top, added more cheese and topped the whole mess with crushed potato chips. 

I put it in the oven, uncovered, at 325 for 30 minutes...

It's a tad bland. I need to jazz up the spice blend more.

Crazy mexi steaks

I created this crazy Mexican inspired steak sandwich to use up some leftover steak sandwich meat from my mother in law. The meat came with some fried peppers and hot peppers.

There wasn't enough left for three full sandwiches so I fried some corn tortillas in butter and put some sliced smoked Gouda inside each pair.

I piled some various lettuce on top of that, then the reheated steak meat, then Parmesan and then salsa.

Good stuff.

Pinwheel FAIL

I had this idea to make pinwheel style items for dinner. Turns out we totally didn't have the right kind of ingredients.

So I rolled up some cheddar cheese, corn salsa, regular salsa, black olives and ranch dressing in a tortilla shell. These were my daughter's favorite.

I cooked fresh broccoli and added it to ranch dressing and tomato in a second one and that became too thick to roll so it became a quesadilla. This was my favorite.

The final one was broccoli, cheddar and American cheese. Again, too thick too roll. Became a quesadilla. This was husband's favorite.

Baked at 350 for ten minutes.

The broccoli tomato blend is in the foreground. 

Yummy but not pinwheels. If only I had a soft cheese...

Thanksgiving requests

My mother-in-law requested that I make either roasted cauliflower or my special mini vegetable pot pies for thanksgiving. I made both.

This year for the pot pies, I put about 16 ounces of fresh cauliflower, carrots and broccoli in the food processor.

I bought Pilsbury pie crust because I got it on sale at Target. I greased muffin tins with butter and cut the pie crusts into weird shapes to stuff into the muffin tin.

The filling started as a cheese sauce. Some butter melted in a saucepan, mixed with a teaspoon or so of flour and then slowly mix in, over medium-low heat, about a cup of milk. I used soy milk this year but coconut milk would have been awesome.

I think I added about a teaspoon of ground four color peppercorns. 

Mixed in Colby jack and extra sharp cheddar until I liked the consistency. Then I mixed in the vegetables.

Poured the mix into the muffin cups. Topped with generous amounts of shredded Parmesan and then pinched closed.

Bake at about 375 until golden brown.

Chicken-spinach casserole Mexican style

We don't have much food left in the house. We made a family pack of chicken breasts last night. We froze some and my husband made some into stir fry for dinner.

Today I made some into a casserole.

My husband made some penne while I made a cheese sauce. I started with two tablespoons of butter on low heat with a tablespoon of flour. I mixed them with a rubber spatula and then added about two teaspoons chili powder and one teaspoon cumin.

When that incorporated nicely, I measured out 1 cup of soy milk, which I doled out a bit at a time mixing everything together. I gradually added about 3 ounces of extra sharp cheddar and the rest of a can of jalapeño-cheddar dip (about 2 1/2 tablespoons). 

Next I added about 1/4 cup diced black olives and 1/2 cup mild salsa.

Then I added a block of frozen spinach I'd thawed.

We mixed the noodles and the sauce, added the chicken, stirred, covered and baked at 350 for 45 minutes.

Before serving I sprinkled with the crumbs from the bottom of a bag of Simply Balanced organic blue corn/flax chips.

This was very delightful. I could eat all of it. Wind chill is 4 degrees. It was a casserole kind of day.

Eggplant/Sausage Parm

I think I am possibly the least talented person alive when it comes to cooking eggplant. 

I started with an eggplant from my sister-in-law's garden. I peeled, sliced, layered in between dish towels and pressed under a big Le Creuset pot.

About four hours later, I breaded the cutlets sans egg with my own mix of homemade breadcrumbs. Fried in a mix of canola and coconut oil because I'm almost out of coconut oil.

We layered the eggplant with tomato sauce, chunks of tomato from my own garden, cheddar, Parmesan and chunks of bratwurst. (It was on clearance at Target). Seasonings included garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Covered with foil and baking at 350 for 40 minutes. While I'm in the shower, husband will prep some sort of pasta with the leftover sausage.

The end product was fabulous on a bed of spaghetti, sprinkled with some more Parmesan. 

I haven't cooked a real meal in ages and this might make up for it.

Cheesy flatbreads

We have a lack of bread products: no snack crackers, no bread, no buns, no biscuits, or no tortilla shells.

What we have are Wasa crackerbreads.

So I used those to make a hot flatbread. 

I used six total crackerbreads so each person had two like in the photo. I spread cream cheese on each one and sprinkled the cream cheese with garlic powder, fresh ground four color pepper, and Italian herb seasoning.

I prepared two Morningstar burgers. One spicy black bean and one Mediterranean chick pea. I crumbled them and spread them evenly among the crackers. 

Then I heated them about 5 minutes at 350. I switched the heat to broil when I got them out. I topped each one with half a slice of American cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan.

Return to the oven until melty.

Lasagne soup

The title is a joke.

I made lasagne in a bread loaf pan because I only had 8 no boil lasagne noodles.

So I layered plain sauce, noodles, ricotta from Klein Farm, heaps of spinach, some garlic powder and some Italian seasoning.

I didn't do the egg and multiple cheese thing. Wanted to keep the dairy to a minimum and keep the recipe quick.

It was tasty even if it was soupy.

Puff pastry wheels

My husband has a Christmas party in his office tomorrow. He wanted to make little broccoli pot pies, but I didn't have store bought pie crust and Target didn't have any. So I bought Pepperidge Farm puff pastry.

The first sheet was a cup of berries and some strawberry syrup ground in the food processor.

I used the leftovers and added sliced banana for the second batch.

The third batch was Green Giant broccoli and cheese sauce, Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce, and crushed red pepper. (In the food processor)

The final batch was another pack of the broccoli, shredded Parmesan and a sprinkle of Romano.

Friday night decadence

Last night after a successful round of holiday shopping while the child was in dance, we put her to bed and I prepared this "flight" of Bulgarian feta, Klein Farm cheddar and mozzarella, baguette from Wegmans and goodies.

The goodies included hummus, extra virgin olive oil from Beirut with zaatar spices, black olives, almonds, roasted red pepper dip from Forks Mediterranean Deli, dried mango, and Harissa.

We opened a bottle of côte de Rhônes French red wine and celebrated our Friday evening.

Multicultural cheese pocket

This turned out super yummy:
- 1 tortilla
- roasted red pepper dip from Forks Mediterranean Deli (red peppers, garlic, pine nuts or something)
- mozzarella from Klein farm
- cheddar from Klein farm
- Bulgarian feta

Spread tortilla with red pepper spread. Add cheddar and mozzarella to taste.

Heat until cheese is melty.

Add Bulgarian feta crumbles.

Fold. Eat.

Chicken spinach Alfredo

My husband requested "some sort of Alfredo sauce" over linguine.

So I whipped this up:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
(Melted and blended in the cast iron skillet until bubbly)
Add:
- parsley
- Italian seasoning
- dry mustard
- generous amounts of garlic pepper
Add about 3/4 cups each:
- milk
- half and half
- soy milk
- fresh spinach
- frozen peas
Cook until bubbly.
Add chicken if desired.
Once chicken is hot, add:
- about 1/2 cup grated Romano
Then put over pasta and top each serving with shredded Parmesan

Crôque monsieur Américain

My daughter has been hungry for "French grilled cheese" as she calls crôque monsieur, but since I don't have cream, or fancy ham, or an extra $15 to buy good gruyere... I whipped up an Americanized version that satisfied about 90% as much as the original.

Now, if you need measurements, I'm sorry because I don't have a clue.

I started with two tablespoons butter in my small Le Creuset saucepan. I mixed in about two tablespoons flour and melded them together over medium high heat with a rubber spatula.

I splashed in soy milk and half and half, and then cheddar, provolone, Romano and Parmesan until smooth.i added a large pinch of nutmeg and some fresh ground black pepper.

I ended up with about 2 cups cheese sauce.

In a cake pan, i toasted 6 slices of bakery bread, placed 1/3 slice gouda on each, topped with two teaspoons tuna, and then topped each with two teaspoons sauce. I added a slice of cheddar to each. Another two teaspoons cheese sauce. Put lid on.

Then I sprinkled fresh cauliflower and garden peppers into the bottom of the pan. I covered each sandwich with sauce then doused the vegetables lightly.

Baked 10 minutes at 475, then broiled until bubbly.

Zucchini Kale Cakes

A variation of the Imus Ranch crabiless zucchini cakes, which the original recipe is a huge hit in this house.

Now, this variation I have not tasted yet, but it's the what-have-we-got mix.

In a large bowl, mix and form into patties:
- 1 cup shredded wilted kale
- 3 cups shredded zucchini, frozen last summer, thawed, drained, squeezed dry in a towel and now about 1.5 cups
- 1 egg
- 3 stalks chives from the garden
- 1.5 cups cornflake crumbs
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- about 4 tablespoons ranch dressing
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tzayiki (sp) dressing
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1.5 cups assorted shredded cheese: havarti, extra sharp cheddar, parmesan
- 1 teaspoon country herb seasoning

Fry.

Evening wine

I snapped. Had to have wine. Sent Husband to the liquor store and he came home with a cheap bottle of La Vieille Ferme 2010.

Served with Snack Factory Everything pretzel chips, and cheese-- the cheese was a birthday present, aged cheddar and Monterey jack. And sweet Lebanon bologna. And the last of the dates. (Another birthday present)

And for "dessert," 61% cacao chocolate with almonds. My PMS impulse buy.

Life is good.

By the way, the wine was $9.99

Sausage Spinach Lasagna

I had a coupon for ricotta so I thought I'd make lasagne. I bought several cans of sauce for this lasagne only to find that by the time I got around to making it, my husband had used all but one can for pasta.

Ingredients
- one pound mild Italian sausage, ground
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- Italian seasoning, about a tablespoon
- 2 brown eggs
- 15 ounces ricotta
- 2 cups spinach
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan/reggiano
- 12 no boil lasagne noodles

Brown the sausage and add tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Let simmer.

In large bowl, mix both cheeses, eggs and spinach.

Layer into 9 x 13 Pyrex dish-- sauce, four noodles, sauce, think layer of cheese; noodles, sauce, cheese; noodles, remaining sauce.

I would have preferred double the amount of sauce. I didn't think to add garlic.

Cover with foil and bake for 60-70 minutes at 375. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes to let crisp.

Let stand before serving.

Reluctant Eggplant

Tonight's dinner is eggplant parm, except I don't want eggplant parm.

Frozen eggplant cutlets, Market Pantry basil tomato sauce, mozzarella and shredded Italian six cheese blend.

I haven't made bread lately so they'll be mo garlic bread.

I need a side to make this exciting. I got nothing.