I am not sure why this wasn't just called a stew, but maybe because a stew simmers and this is boiled. Nonetheless, it made a tasty dish. I checked out a cookbook called the 8-Week Cholesterol Cure because we are trying to pay more attention to what we are eating and the effects it has on our health. This is a French boiled dinner, and I just liked saying I was finally making something French (other than toast or fries). This recipe is what I did based on one in that book.
Pot au feu (6 servings)
1 bag baby carrots, cut in half (1" long)
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1" chunks (rutabaga would work, too, if you can't find turnips)
2 C. shredded cabbage (I used slaw mix)
2 onion, cut into 8 wedges each
1 leek, washed and cut into 1" lengths
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or more to taste)
1 14-oz can stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb. smoked ham (96% fat-free) , cut into 1/2" chucks
1/2 lb. lean stew beef, cut into 1/2" chunks
2 C. cooked navy beans (or drained canned beans)
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
pepper
1/2 C. chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 qts. chicken broth
In a large pot, put everything except the beans, chicken, pepper and fresh parsley. Cover with broth. Slowly bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, adding water to keep level constant. Add beans and chicken and simmer until shicken is done (around 10 minutes). Season with pepper and stir in parsley.
This recipe had enough prep work that we doubled it, but then I had to use two pots to cook it. If you are used to a regular beef stew, this isn't that much different since the turnips or rutabagas have the consistency and taste similar to a potato but not as starchy. It was a nice change for us, and it was easy to feed the babies by just giving them the veggies and meat without the "soupy" parts.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Lazy Day
I had plenty that should've been done today, but I chose to play instead. I am excited to figure out how to make my digital pages look inked. Leave a comment if you want to see credits for the elements I used.
Sometimes fewer words can say more. Here is my first installment of Happiness Is. . . I have many more to finish, but it can be challenging to pick the one word and three photos to define Happiness.
I know I'm behind on recipes. Not because they weren't good, but because we had a left-over meal last night. I'll catch up this weekend.
Have a great weekend
Sometimes fewer words can say more. Here is my first installment of Happiness Is. . . I have many more to finish, but it can be challenging to pick the one word and three photos to define Happiness.I know I'm behind on recipes. Not because they weren't good, but because we had a left-over meal last night. I'll catch up this weekend.
Have a great weekend
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Official Report: Prisoner Escapes
It was naptime and I was updating the blog. . . .
Giggle, giggle, heehee, heehee, giggle
WAHHHH! WAHHHH! WAHHHH! WAHHHH!
Guess who climbed out of the crib??
Tell me who is reading and leave your guess in the comment section.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Cute Little Strippers --- LIVE!!
Today after naps, I went in to get the babies and was surprised by the sight that greeted me. Ben was completely naked, swinging his blanket over his head, jumping on his bed, and showing me his, um, . . . beep-beep (that's what he calls it.) I have gotten to where I put pants on both Jon and Ben at nighttime and nap time and snap their onesies on top of them so they can't get to the diapers (like with tights on little girls). However, Ben figured out how to unsnap the four snaps, take off the shirt and pants, and undo the diaper. All of the clothes were on a heap on the floor as he danced giddily on the wet sheets. It was cute in a not-so-cute kind of way. I got the other two changed before I dressed him and stripped the sheets.
Jon has discovered a neat trick that really makes us wonder what he will be when he grows up. When he has shorts on, be can reach into the leg of the shorts, do a little jig, and proudly yank out the diaper with one hand. He is thrilled to perform this antic, but it reminds me of those male dancers who yank their shorts off just as fast. I've never watched a real performance, just the mocked dances on television, so I might be wrong.
Maybe I should rename those two Chip & Dale and get them matching bow ties.
Jon has discovered a neat trick that really makes us wonder what he will be when he grows up. When he has shorts on, be can reach into the leg of the shorts, do a little jig, and proudly yank out the diaper with one hand. He is thrilled to perform this antic, but it reminds me of those male dancers who yank their shorts off just as fast. I've never watched a real performance, just the mocked dances on television, so I might be wrong.
Maybe I should rename those two Chip & Dale and get them matching bow ties.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Digital scrapbooking
Although I did get another 8 meals packed up today, I like to make time to dawdle. I have been blog hopping and was inspired by a technique on the Digitreats site. It didn't take too long, and I love the way the words are part of the picture. This was one of my favorite photos from Memorial Day.
Here is another page I did last week with more favorite pictures. I am really enjoying the simplicity of digital scrapping since I don't have to clean off my desk to do it.
Here is another page I did last week with more favorite pictures. I am really enjoying the simplicity of digital scrapping since I don't have to clean off my desk to do it.
Blackened Chicken Salad
Last night we had another great dinner that we preassembled this weekend. Like yesterday's recipe, this is from Top Secret Recipes Lite. According to the book this is how Applebee's restaurant makes their Low-fat Blackened Chicken Salad, but I made a few changes so I won't call it that anymore.
The hardest thing about cooking this meal was that all three babies were screaming their lungs out -- VERY frustrating, especially when combined with a hot and smoky kitchen (due to the blackening.) Allen was a sweetie and took care of the chicken while I assembled salads. When I premade the meal, I put the chicken and marinade in a 1-gallon ziplock bag. In another little bag, put the dry spice rub. Put both of those bags in another 1-gallon bag and freeze it for when you are ready to have the meal. Rather than putting all the ingredients in the recipe for the salad part, we just grabbed what we had in our fridge, but I'll list below what I used. For the dressing, I made a double batch and store it in the refrigerator.
The babies are not into salads yet, but they still had a healthy meal, too. On their trays were little piles of cabbage, tomato, cheese, meat, and I cooked some edemame for them to eat, too.
Low-Fat Blackened Chicken Salad (2 VERY large servings, was enough for all 6 of us)
Dressing - combine these in order
1/4 C. low-free mayo
1/4 C. dijon mustard
1 TBSP. prepared mustard (we used French's)
1/4 C. honey
1 TBSP. white vinegar
1/8 tsp. paprika
Chicken marinade - combine and marinade chicken overnight.
1 C. chicken broth
3 TBSP. lime juice
2 TBSP. soy sauce
1/2 TBSP. Worcestershire
2 large chicken breast fillets
Spice Blend - combine in bowl or zip bag
1/2 TBSP salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
Preheat iron skillet over med/high heat and preheat grill. Sprinkle spice blen on chicken covering the entire surface. Melt 1/2 tsp. butter in hot pan and saute chicken 2-3 minutes per side. Sover with more of the spice blend. (Go silence on the smoke alarms.) Grill chicken 2-3 minutes per side until done. Slice chicken to 1/2" strips and serve over salad with dressing.
Salad (divide among plates)
1 bag of salad greens with veggies
1/2 C. shredded cabbage
1/2 C. shredded carrots
1/2 C. shredded low-fat mozzerella cheese
1/2 C. shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 large tomato diced
We all really enjoyed this recipe, and I can't wait to have it again. It was a fresh salad and great for a summer day, but the chicken made it meaty enough I wasn't starving later. The spice blends well with the honey-dijon dressing for explosive taste. Enjoy!
The hardest thing about cooking this meal was that all three babies were screaming their lungs out -- VERY frustrating, especially when combined with a hot and smoky kitchen (due to the blackening.) Allen was a sweetie and took care of the chicken while I assembled salads. When I premade the meal, I put the chicken and marinade in a 1-gallon ziplock bag. In another little bag, put the dry spice rub. Put both of those bags in another 1-gallon bag and freeze it for when you are ready to have the meal. Rather than putting all the ingredients in the recipe for the salad part, we just grabbed what we had in our fridge, but I'll list below what I used. For the dressing, I made a double batch and store it in the refrigerator.
The babies are not into salads yet, but they still had a healthy meal, too. On their trays were little piles of cabbage, tomato, cheese, meat, and I cooked some edemame for them to eat, too.
Low-Fat Blackened Chicken Salad (2 VERY large servings, was enough for all 6 of us)
Dressing - combine these in order
1/4 C. low-free mayo
1/4 C. dijon mustard
1 TBSP. prepared mustard (we used French's)
1/4 C. honey
1 TBSP. white vinegar
1/8 tsp. paprika
Chicken marinade - combine and marinade chicken overnight.
1 C. chicken broth
3 TBSP. lime juice
2 TBSP. soy sauce
1/2 TBSP. Worcestershire
2 large chicken breast fillets
Spice Blend - combine in bowl or zip bag
1/2 TBSP salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
Preheat iron skillet over med/high heat and preheat grill. Sprinkle spice blen on chicken covering the entire surface. Melt 1/2 tsp. butter in hot pan and saute chicken 2-3 minutes per side. Sover with more of the spice blend. (Go silence on the smoke alarms.) Grill chicken 2-3 minutes per side until done. Slice chicken to 1/2" strips and serve over salad with dressing.
Salad (divide among plates)
1 bag of salad greens with veggies
1/2 C. shredded cabbage
1/2 C. shredded carrots
1/2 C. shredded low-fat mozzerella cheese
1/2 C. shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 large tomato diced
We all really enjoyed this recipe, and I can't wait to have it again. It was a fresh salad and great for a summer day, but the chicken made it meaty enough I wasn't starving later. The spice blends well with the honey-dijon dressing for explosive taste. Enjoy!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Gardenburger Recipe
I checked out a few cookbooks at the library last week and several of the recipes we tried this weekend were from those books. So far we have had two winners for the Top Secret Recipes Lite. with several others in that book left to taste. I think this is the same type sold in the frozen food section at the grocery store, so we may go that route next time just to compare.
The Gardenburger recipe was a lot of work for us since we have a itsy bitsy food processor. However, they were tasty, so I would take back some of those bad words I was saying when I had the pasty goop all over my hands and had to fill and empty the bowl a dozen times. We made a double recipe and everything worked out okay in the end. I recommend you have margarita ingredients on hand if you only have a little food processor -- you might get as grumpy as I need and need the "break."
Garden Burger Veggie Patties (makes 6 patties)
2 TBSP Bulger wheat (we found it near the flour at the store)
1 LB. mushrooms, quartered
1 C. diced onion
1/2 C. rolled oats
2/3 C. cooked brown rice
1/2 C. shredded low-fat mozzerella cheese
2 TBSP shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
2 TBSP low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of pepper
2 TBSP corn starch
olive oil cooking spray
1. Add 1/4 C. boiling water to wheat in small bowl and let set about an hour.
3. Steam mushrooms about 10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Steam onions about 15 minutes until translucent. Keep separate from mushrooms, but set aside.
5. Drain excess water from wheat and oats, then combine wheat, oats, rice, mushrooms, cheeses and spices in a food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times until ingredients are chopped fine but not pureed. You want it to be coarse with some chunks.
6. Pour mixture in bowl with onion and corn starch and mix well.
7. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, and set large skillet over medium/low heat.
8. Spray skillet with olive oil spray. Make patties (1/2 cup flattened to 1/2" thick). Cook patties 2-4 minutes per side until light brown on surface.
9. After skillet cooking all patties, arrange them on lightly sprayed baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes in oven turning over half way through cook time.
Serve immediately on bun with burger condiments, tomato, onion, lettuce & pickle. After cooking, they can be frozen, too. To reheat, thaw completely, spray skillet, and cook each patty 3-4 minutes per side or grill until hot.
These were very tasty and healthy, too. 135 cal per patty, 3 g. fat.
The Gardenburger recipe was a lot of work for us since we have a itsy bitsy food processor. However, they were tasty, so I would take back some of those bad words I was saying when I had the pasty goop all over my hands and had to fill and empty the bowl a dozen times. We made a double recipe and everything worked out okay in the end. I recommend you have margarita ingredients on hand if you only have a little food processor -- you might get as grumpy as I need and need the "break."
Garden Burger Veggie Patties (makes 6 patties)
2 TBSP Bulger wheat (we found it near the flour at the store)
1 LB. mushrooms, quartered
1 C. diced onion
1/2 C. rolled oats
2/3 C. cooked brown rice
1/2 C. shredded low-fat mozzerella cheese
2 TBSP shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
2 TBSP low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of pepper
2 TBSP corn starch
olive oil cooking spray
1. Add 1/4 C. boiling water to wheat in small bowl and let set about an hour.
2. Add 1/2 C. water to oats and let them soak until soft (about 10 minutes.)
3. Steam mushrooms about 10 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Steam onions about 15 minutes until translucent. Keep separate from mushrooms, but set aside.
5. Drain excess water from wheat and oats, then combine wheat, oats, rice, mushrooms, cheeses and spices in a food processor. Pulse 4 or 5 times until ingredients are chopped fine but not pureed. You want it to be coarse with some chunks.
6. Pour mixture in bowl with onion and corn starch and mix well.
7. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, and set large skillet over medium/low heat.
8. Spray skillet with olive oil spray. Make patties (1/2 cup flattened to 1/2" thick). Cook patties 2-4 minutes per side until light brown on surface.
9. After skillet cooking all patties, arrange them on lightly sprayed baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes in oven turning over half way through cook time.
Serve immediately on bun with burger condiments, tomato, onion, lettuce & pickle. After cooking, they can be frozen, too. To reheat, thaw completely, spray skillet, and cook each patty 3-4 minutes per side or grill until hot.
These were very tasty and healthy, too. 135 cal per patty, 3 g. fat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)