Today reading Facebook I saw a friend's post that said she had eaten a grilled cheese sandwich with avocado for breakfast. It sounded so good, I had it for lunch!
I just melted some butter in my cast iron skillet. I places two slices of Ezekiel Bread in the butter and topped the bread with mild cheddar cheese. Once warm and once they had sopped up some butter, I put together the two slices of bread/cheese together like a sandwich and cooked until the cheese was melted and the bread browned.
After I took it off the heat, I added avocado slices and almond butter, salted, reassembled the sandwich and enjoyed.
A quick, easy lunch!!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Chicken soup!!!
You will find out this winter that chicken soup is one of my favorite things to make. Friday I went to Whole Foods and bought stuff for chicken soup .... just a bunch of things I felt like eating - a whole chicken, carrots, onion, celery, already chopped cabbage, and sweet potatoes. I had a jar of roasted garlic at home.
When I got home, I melted butter in the pot over medium heat and added four, small, roughly chopped onions. I cooked the onions until they were caramelized (very brown). Then I added a lot of garlic, the chopped carrots and celery.
I rinsed the chicken and added it to the pot, then filled it with enough water to cover the chicken. I brought it to a simmer and simmered for about an hour.
After an hour, I removed the chicken, let it cool, then took off all the meat. I put the bones back into a metal strainer (actually the steamer out of my pasta pot), then put the basket into the soup to let the bones simmer longer.
Several hours later, I added back the chicken and added the diced sweet potato and the chopped cabbage. I let it cook about a half hour longer.
The picture is what it looked like when I added the final ingredients. It was sooo good!! And I made enough to last a few meals. I did not put a lot of seasonings into this one. With the sweet potatoes and the caramelized onions, it tasted sweet. If you must have herbs, I would add thyme, but I think all it really needs is just a little salt.
When I got home, I melted butter in the pot over medium heat and added four, small, roughly chopped onions. I cooked the onions until they were caramelized (very brown). Then I added a lot of garlic, the chopped carrots and celery.
I rinsed the chicken and added it to the pot, then filled it with enough water to cover the chicken. I brought it to a simmer and simmered for about an hour.
After an hour, I removed the chicken, let it cool, then took off all the meat. I put the bones back into a metal strainer (actually the steamer out of my pasta pot), then put the basket into the soup to let the bones simmer longer.
Several hours later, I added back the chicken and added the diced sweet potato and the chopped cabbage. I let it cook about a half hour longer.
The picture is what it looked like when I added the final ingredients. It was sooo good!! And I made enough to last a few meals. I did not put a lot of seasonings into this one. With the sweet potatoes and the caramelized onions, it tasted sweet. If you must have herbs, I would add thyme, but I think all it really needs is just a little salt.
Beet salad!!!
Sorry I've gotten behind on posting .... I'm certainly not behind on EATING!!!!!
I have to post a picture of a beet salad I had at Oceanaire, a restaurant in Indianapolis -
On the bottom are roasted red and yellow beets. They are topped with thinly cut apples and gorgonzola cheese. Wow!!!! It was SO good!!!! I am going to try to duplicate this. Yum! I will let you know how it goes ......
I have to post a picture of a beet salad I had at Oceanaire, a restaurant in Indianapolis -
On the bottom are roasted red and yellow beets. They are topped with thinly cut apples and gorgonzola cheese. Wow!!!! It was SO good!!!! I am going to try to duplicate this. Yum! I will let you know how it goes ......
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Buffalo steak!!
I'm eating a lot of buffalo lately because it's much higher in iron than beef. Heme iron from meat is more readily absorbed than iron supplements or iron from veggies, so I include a lot of red meat in my diet. Buffalo is a very healthy red meat.
Yesterday I needed an iron boost, so I bought a bison ribeye. I took my cast-iron skillet, melted some butter, and placed the steak into the melted butter (after rinsing the meat, of course). I topped the steak with organic roasted garlic out of a jar. I cooked for 5-6 min., flipped, then 5-6 min. more.
I cooked mine on the floor of the 450 degree oven to avoid having to clean up splatters on the stove-top, but it can also be cooked on med. heat on a regular stove.
It was perfectly med. rare and tasted GREAT!!!! I had a glass of Layer Cake shiraz with the steak and some dark chocolate for dessert.
I made buffalo chili for the kids (same as last time, so the recipe is already posted), and hubby was out of town. I had the leftover chili for lunch, ti was great, too!!!
Yesterday I needed an iron boost, so I bought a bison ribeye. I took my cast-iron skillet, melted some butter, and placed the steak into the melted butter (after rinsing the meat, of course). I topped the steak with organic roasted garlic out of a jar. I cooked for 5-6 min., flipped, then 5-6 min. more.
I cooked mine on the floor of the 450 degree oven to avoid having to clean up splatters on the stove-top, but it can also be cooked on med. heat on a regular stove.
It was perfectly med. rare and tasted GREAT!!!! I had a glass of Layer Cake shiraz with the steak and some dark chocolate for dessert.
I made buffalo chili for the kids (same as last time, so the recipe is already posted), and hubby was out of town. I had the leftover chili for lunch, ti was great, too!!!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Enchiladas!!!
Tonight we're all eating in shifts because of everyone's activities. Those of us who are at home together, eat together.
I usually use corn tortillas for enchiladas, but I was shopping at Kroger today and they don't carry organic corn tortillas. We won't use non-organic corn because almost all of it is GMO, so I used tortillas I had at home. I needed to use them up anyway .... they were a mix of Ezekiel, spelt, and organic wheat.
I like La Preferida authentic beans. They are made with lard so have a wonderful flavor. I never use non-fat beans ... ewww. :-D I also used organic, grated cheddar cheese and enchilada sauce. Whatever brand of enchilada sauce is fine, just be sure you can pronounce all the ingredients. ;)
This is soooo easy!! Just open the cans of beans, place the beans down the center of the tortillas (be sure to use enough, this is the filling), then roll up the tortilla. Place in a greased baking dish. Use a baking dish that is large enough to hold all your enchiladas, but small enough that the enchiladas fill up the dish.
Top with enchilada sauce. Bake at 350 until warm, about 30 min. Take out of oven and top with grated cheddar. Heat for an additional 5 min, take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 min. Serve.
I made two dishes ..... one for the first shift that has already eaten, and now the second dish is in the oven cooking so it will be ready for the others who are eating later.
I usually use corn tortillas for enchiladas, but I was shopping at Kroger today and they don't carry organic corn tortillas. We won't use non-organic corn because almost all of it is GMO, so I used tortillas I had at home. I needed to use them up anyway .... they were a mix of Ezekiel, spelt, and organic wheat.
I like La Preferida authentic beans. They are made with lard so have a wonderful flavor. I never use non-fat beans ... ewww. :-D I also used organic, grated cheddar cheese and enchilada sauce. Whatever brand of enchilada sauce is fine, just be sure you can pronounce all the ingredients. ;)
This is soooo easy!! Just open the cans of beans, place the beans down the center of the tortillas (be sure to use enough, this is the filling), then roll up the tortilla. Place in a greased baking dish. Use a baking dish that is large enough to hold all your enchiladas, but small enough that the enchiladas fill up the dish.
Top with enchilada sauce. Bake at 350 until warm, about 30 min. Take out of oven and top with grated cheddar. Heat for an additional 5 min, take out of oven and let cool for 5-10 min. Serve.
I made two dishes ..... one for the first shift that has already eaten, and now the second dish is in the oven cooking so it will be ready for the others who are eating later.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Beer can chicken on the grill!!!
It's been such a beautiful week with weather in the 70's that we decided to grill out. Cooler temperatures are not the only reason people don't grill out in the late fall ..... it also gets dark early!! So, yes, we felt like we were cooking out past 10 PM, but it was worth it.
Beer can chicken is GREAT!!! The beer keeps the chicken very moist and the spices make it very flavorful. I bought whole, organic chickens from Whole Foods, two of them because I'm always feeding a crowd.
Now, when you grill, it's "man's work", LOL, so my husband had to rinse the chickens, then he held them while I poured safflower oil over them. He rubbed the oil all over the chicken to coat it. Then I sprinkled Todd's Bayou Dirt over them generously. Next, you open the beer, pour out (or drink) 1/3 of it. Then you stand the chicken up on the beer can.
We took the chickens outside to the already fired-up grill. We use a charcoal grill and use real charcoal, not that chemical-laden regular stuff.
While we were walking out, I asked my husband if he poured out a third of the beer ..... he stopped walking, and said he hadn't even OPENED THE CANS!!!! LOL! So we went back inside, he stabbed the cans with a skewer through the opening in the top of the chicken.
Then we put the chicken on the grill and it took about an hour to cook. Use a meat thermometer to be sure you bring the chicken up to a safe temperate. And as always when grilling, take all the plates/utensils that touched the raw meat inside and wash.
While the chicken was cooking, I cooked about 8 slices of bacon and put on some green beans. I used two bags of the thin kind (not french cut) from the freezer case. I poured both bags into the pot, poured over some beef broth I had in the refrigerator, then filled the pot with enough water to just cover the beans. I threw in a couple slices of raw bacon for flavor. I brought it to a boil, then simmered in the 250 degree oven (or just turn down the heat on a regular stove).
I also cut about 8 potatoes in half, skin on, placed them in another pot, covered them with water, and brought it to a boil. I simmered the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until a fork would easily break them when stabbed. I left the potatoes in the hot water until the chicken was done.
Once the chicken was done and hubby was cutting it up into parts, I poured off the hot water from the potatoes. Added a little less than a stick of butter (it was what was on the butter dish), the previously cooked bacon that I had cut into small pieces, a tub of gorgonzola cheese pieces, about a tsp. of roasted garlic out of a jar, and then mashed the potatoes with a hand masher. I added whipping cream (the kind that comes in a milk carton), as needed. I think it was about 2/3 of the pint container. This is my own version of a recipe I saw on the Food Network.
On the table, there was a sliced loaf of pretzel bread and some butter to go along with dinner. This is a wonderful dinner .... very tasty.
Beer can chicken is GREAT!!! The beer keeps the chicken very moist and the spices make it very flavorful. I bought whole, organic chickens from Whole Foods, two of them because I'm always feeding a crowd.
Now, when you grill, it's "man's work", LOL, so my husband had to rinse the chickens, then he held them while I poured safflower oil over them. He rubbed the oil all over the chicken to coat it. Then I sprinkled Todd's Bayou Dirt over them generously. Next, you open the beer, pour out (or drink) 1/3 of it. Then you stand the chicken up on the beer can.
We took the chickens outside to the already fired-up grill. We use a charcoal grill and use real charcoal, not that chemical-laden regular stuff.
While we were walking out, I asked my husband if he poured out a third of the beer ..... he stopped walking, and said he hadn't even OPENED THE CANS!!!! LOL! So we went back inside, he stabbed the cans with a skewer through the opening in the top of the chicken.
Then we put the chicken on the grill and it took about an hour to cook. Use a meat thermometer to be sure you bring the chicken up to a safe temperate. And as always when grilling, take all the plates/utensils that touched the raw meat inside and wash.
While the chicken was cooking, I cooked about 8 slices of bacon and put on some green beans. I used two bags of the thin kind (not french cut) from the freezer case. I poured both bags into the pot, poured over some beef broth I had in the refrigerator, then filled the pot with enough water to just cover the beans. I threw in a couple slices of raw bacon for flavor. I brought it to a boil, then simmered in the 250 degree oven (or just turn down the heat on a regular stove).
I also cut about 8 potatoes in half, skin on, placed them in another pot, covered them with water, and brought it to a boil. I simmered the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until a fork would easily break them when stabbed. I left the potatoes in the hot water until the chicken was done.
Once the chicken was done and hubby was cutting it up into parts, I poured off the hot water from the potatoes. Added a little less than a stick of butter (it was what was on the butter dish), the previously cooked bacon that I had cut into small pieces, a tub of gorgonzola cheese pieces, about a tsp. of roasted garlic out of a jar, and then mashed the potatoes with a hand masher. I added whipping cream (the kind that comes in a milk carton), as needed. I think it was about 2/3 of the pint container. This is my own version of a recipe I saw on the Food Network.
On the table, there was a sliced loaf of pretzel bread and some butter to go along with dinner. This is a wonderful dinner .... very tasty.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Lunch - polenta and sun-dried tomatoes
Today for lunch, I sliced some pre-made polenta, browned it in melted butter in a skillet, then topped it with sliced sun-dried tomatoes that were packed in olive oil. Be sure to drizzle on some of that tasty olive oil! Mmmmm.
I'll have to tell you about my cast-iron skillets!!! I love them!! They're the best! Next post .....
I'll have to tell you about my cast-iron skillets!!! I love them!! They're the best! Next post .....
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