Recipes!

As promised, here are yesterday's recipes!

The toasted coconut chocolate chip recipe was basically this recipe, I just excluded the coconut extract (because I didn't have any). We are devouring these cookies. So yummy!

The chicken fried steak recipe I winged. Here it is:

(Serves 2)

3/4 pound cube or round steak (or something similar)

2+ cups flour - divided

(Spice amount based on your preference, or use different spices)

1 tbsp cayenne 

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp hungarian paprika

1 1/2 cup milk - divided

1 egg

Canola oil

Salt & pepper

Pound out steaks until thin and tenderized.

Mix 1 egg and 1/2 cup milk in shallow container.

Mix 1 cup flour and spices in second shallow container.

Coat large heavy skillet with canola oil, heat over medium high heat until oil pops when you throw a dash of flour in it.

Dredge each piece of steak in milk mixture, then coat in flour mixture.

Place in frying pan, and fry each side for five minutes - you will be tempted to check it, don't! 

Remove from pan and place on paper towel.

To make gravy, whisk 1 cup of flour with pan drippings until it is thick and brown. 

Whisk in milk until desired consistency, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Done!

Smoothies!

It has been awhile since I have posted, but I am going to try to get back into the habit. Obviously I claimed that back in January. Of this year. It is now November. I guess I should try harder.

That said, it seemed only appropriate that my first post back be about one of my new favorite things. Smoothies! This one doesn't have the best picture, mainly because I make my smoothies in the morning for my breakfast. Which, 99% of the time means I am running around like a crazy-person, cursing myself for not packing my lunch the night before, getting my gym bag ready the night before - basically doing anything that would make my morning go more smoothly. While simultaneously throwing things in my blender and hitting "liquify." Despite my constant promises to myself, I have obviously yet to become a morning person. Or actually wake up the first time my alarm goes off without snoozing five times....

But that is why the smoothie is so great! I often add greens (spinach, kale, etc), although I didn't with this one, and it is a great way to get in a healthy breakfast on the go!

Today I made a PB&J Smoothie. The recipe was a combination of about 12 different recipes I found online, and my own experience making smoothies for the past month or so. And the result was pretty good - I didn't even manage to snap a quick phone picture until it was already half gone!

I am crossing my fingers that Santa might bring me a Vitamix for Christmas, because then I could really get experimental with my recipes....my current blender, although pretty good, just really doesn't do the job very well on certain things, especially veggies.

I have also found that mason jars are a GREAT way to transport my smoothies from my house to my office - the pint size perfectly holds two cups, and it is guaranteed not to spill!

Ok - enough rambling,  here are all the ingredients - just blend together and drink!

PB&J Smoothie

• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1/2 frozen banana (if you are using fresh fruit you may want to add a few ice cubes to chill the smoothie)
• 2 tbsp PB2
• 1 scoop protein powder of your choice (this is my favorite)
• 1 cup almond milk (or your preferred milk -- add more if it is too thick)
• 1/2 - 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• A couple dashes of honey (for sweetness, if you want...)

Blend & enjoy!!!!

Lemon-Splashed Shrimp Salad

This is a perfect summer dish. Cool and refreshing, which is important when it is 105 degrees outside. (Literally). I picked up the cherry tomatoes and poblano pepper from the Farmer's Market. The peppers add a nice spice, while the avocado and tomatoes offer the perfect balance. It would be easy to tailor this recipe to whatever is in your fridge. I have done similar dishes with sugar snap peas, corn, red bell peppers -- just whatever I have lying around.

I boiled the pasta until tender and threw in the shrimp the last few minutes, then ran both under cold water. While the pasta and shrimp cooked I chopped up the other veggies.

I used the tri-colored rotini, simply because I thought it would look prettier in pictures.

I tossed the shrimp and pasta with the remaining ingredients (cherry tomatoes, celery, avocado, poblano pepper, cilantro, lemon juice and olive oil).

And that is all there is to it! The pasta salad is such a great, easy dish for a busy summer night.



Personally I don't think you can beat the combination of tomato, avocado, cilantro and some sort of pepper...

Sautéed Striped Bass with Lemon-Caper sauce

It has been awhile since I have last posted. The hubby and I took a wonderful trip to Napa/Sonoma valley and San Francisco. We enjoyed cooler weather, a lot of wonderful wines and some amazing food. It has taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things...but I am finally getting around to some posts.

When the hubby and I were in Sonoma we went to a wonderful restaurant on the Sonoma square: The Girl & the Fig. Along with some delicious wine and cheese, hubby had a particularly amazing fishdish. The fish was cooked spectacularly, but even better was the yummy lemon-caper sauce that was on top of the fish!

When we came back home, what better to cook than a dish that reminded us of our wonderful trip! I found a recipe for sautéed striped bass with lemon-caper sauce. The dish was fairly easy to prepare and definitely took us back to the cool weather and beautiful views of Sonoma.

I started out sprinkling the striped bass with salt and pepper. I threw it on the skillet with some basic olive oil for about four minutes a side. It could have browned slightly more, but it cooked nicely.

I placed the fillets in the oven to keep them warm, and started in on the sauce. (Sometime during this I also blanched some asparagus, leaving it in ice water).

I threw the capers in the pan, added the clam and lemon juice and boiled until reduced. I then whisked in the butter.

Serve the sauce over the fish and that is it! That simple! I served ours with a very basic side of asparagus (that at some point I had warmed back up in a pan with some olive oil).

The Girl & the Fig served the fish and sauce over a bed of steamed spinach. This was smart. The sauce was delicious and wasn't soaked up well by the asparagus. In the future I would serve this over rice or noodles (or spinach if I could get the hubby to eat it - I am not sure I have the power that the nice restaurant in Sonoma seemed to have -- he did eat some of the spinach that night). I am definitely going to experiment more with capers. The little round yummy bits add a delicious sharpness to the dish, and I can imagine it working well with many other sauces. I have always had capers with smoked salmon and cream cheese on bagels...but never tried it in a fish sauce. I am glad I have now!

And....we're back...

I had all but given up on my blog -- considering that I tell no one about it and therefore no one reads it -- but my hubbie (who I also had not told about my blog) discovered my blog and made me feel guilty for giving up so quickly.

This story came about in three parts. The original conversation went like this:
Me: I think I might start a blog, it will give me a chance to write about something that is not work...what do you think?
Hubbie: As long as I don't have to read it.

Now, in hubbie's defense he immediately, when this conversation was repeated to him after he discovered that I did in fact start a blog, stated that he was joking. That of course he wanted to read my blog! The second part of the story went something like this.

Friend: Almost everyone has a blog these days -- there is a blog about everything!
Me: (somewhat sheepishly) even I have a blog...
Hubbie: Wait, what?!?! You have a blog? Why didn't you tell me?
Me: I did! And you said you never wanted to read it!
Hubbie: Wow. I was joking!!!
Friend: What is it about?
Me: Healthy living and such.
Hubbie: Who reads it?
Me: Well....no one really, I have one follower, it is my best friend KP...but I haven't really told any one else it exists...
Hubbie: Yeah...not even me!

So, just over the weekend the fact that I had a blog came up once again. And I, at that point, admitted that I hadn't written anything in awhile, so I didn't really blog. The final conversation that brought me back:
Hubbie: Well how long has it been?
Me: I don't know...like two weeks?
Hubbie: Oh yeah, that is so long...so you are just going to give up?

Cue guilt. And here I am.

So after that obnoxious story, let me tell you what I made for dinner last night! Fingerling Potato-Leek Hash with Swiss Chard and Eggs. It was delicious! We received swiss chard and leek in our Farmhouse box, and this recipe appeared in my life simultaneously via Cooking Light. Despite the fact that it claims to take over an hour to make, it only took me about 45 minutes. I halved the recipe because Hubbie was out last night and it was only me, and I brought the leftovers for lunch today. Mmm...mmm...

Cooking Light. Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr, Leigh Ann Ross

I have also been keeping up (somewhat) regularly with the morning Boot Camp, I really like the trainer I work with and overall have been impressed with Boot Camp U.  It is less than an individual personal trainer, but the class is so small I still feel like I get tons of individual attention.

And now for my moment of bragging...I ran a 10K this past Sunday! The Statesman Cap10K here in Austin:

Hubbie ran too, he did the timed division - I did the "fun" run portion. I have never ran more than a 5K before. My goal was 1:30 (sounds horrible!!!) considering I did no training, and again, have never run that much. I did the race in 1:23 and some seconds...I am extremely proud of myself. It was difficult. The last two miles were really hard -- and by the last mile there was more walking than jogging -- but I finished. And I proved to myself that I can do it. My goal now is to train for next year, and get a better time!

Really it is just the pride of completely something that seemed that daunting to me. It really makes me realize if I set my mind to it -- I can do anything.

Yum!

I made two new recipes that turned out great this week (and one so-so). I also successfully attended day number two of bootcamp. But more on bootcamp tomorrow (once I can say I have survived one week), for now - recipes!

On Monday I finally used the fennel we received from our Farmhouse Delivery box to make Chicken with Italian Sweet-Sour Fennel.

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross From Cooking Light

Mine did not look that pretty...I stole that picture from Cooking Light. (I am not sure the legality of stealing pictures for one's blog...but since probably about 5 people read my blog, I think I am safe). This was delicious. Absolutely yummy. I had some fresh rosemary that I used, and the pinenuts added the perfect touch to the flavor. I served it with steamed green beans that I flavored with some Penzey's spices. I also attempted to serve this with some Parmesan-garlic polenta. That did not turn out so well. The polenta hardened a bit too much...and the taste was bland. But the rest of the meal made up for it!

Tuesday I finally used the beets from our box, and made Red Flannel Hash.

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine From: Cooking Light

Now, as a preface, I will say that hubby was otherwise engaged Tuesday night and I knew he would not be there for dinner...this recipe was a fairly bold choice. The main components are red cabbage, beets, onion, garlic and only a touch of ground meat. I actually found it very yummy...even ate the leftovers for lunch the next day - hubby tried a bite I had saved for him and declared it "not a favorite."  If I were to make this again, I would leave off the dill (I actually do not think I care for dill as a spice, although I do love me some dill pickles) and I didn't feel the greek yogurt added much, if anything, to the dish. But overall I thought it was a great light weeknight dinner. AND I was able to play with my new food processor - I used it to shred the beets and cabbage, which just gives this recipe bonus fun points!

Last night I made some fish tacos, because after the hash I had a lot of shredded cabbage left and the first thing that popped into my mind was fish tacos! I grilled some rockfish and mixed up some cilantro-lime-vinaigrette type sauce from scratch...and from my head. It was actually a pretty decent attempt for an off-book cooking experiment. The flavor of the fish was a little bland, but I think that was the fish I chose - not my seasoning or grilling technique. Next time I will splurge for the mahi-mahi. The sauce needed to be thicker - it was fairly tasty, with hints of garlic, just much too liquidy. Lesson learned. The base is there for an excellent dish, just needs some more experimenting and it will be better next time!

Today we get our next Farmhouse Delivery box!!! I am very excited for two more weeks of healthy, creative, new meals!

Delicious AND healthy!

Monday night I made Steelhead Trout - it is delicious, healthy and tasty! And easy! I simply place it in foil, sprinkle with white pepper and garlic and place slices of lemons on top. Then wrap it all up tight and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes or so on 450. And...yum! All done. I served it with green beans for a light, quick, healthy dinner.

Monday night we had a severe cold front - so I set up the crock pot to cook some chili for us Tuesday! Three-bean turkey chili. Delicious. Simply brown some ground turkey, chop up some onion, various peppers (this time I used red and green bell peppers and some jalapeno), throw in red, black and garbanzo beans (rinsed), a can of diced tomatoes and some tomato paste (and a little water, remember, you don't need much liquid when cooking in a crock pot). Spice to taste (I use lots of red pepper, chili powder, paprika and cumin) and set it on low for 8 hours. Come home to a warming bowl of chili! We top ours with LOTS of cilantro and cheese. Mmmmm.....

Tentative excitment

I think my spell may finally be coming to an end. Although, I thought that Monday; Tuesday it was back. With a vengeance. Tuesday I thought I was feeling better. Sure, I had to take a couple Motrin...but just two during the day. But Tuesday night - WHAM. It was the worst night of all. The pain was excruciating - ok, now I feel like I am exaggerating, but it was bad. I took three Motrin, but I wasn't quick enough and the pain took it's sweet time subsiding. I believe Tuesday night was one of the worst nights this run. But yesterday I did ok. I started feeling a little puny after some house work, I did not make the mistake of Tuesday - I downed three Motrin as quick as possible. Now today seems to be ok. So I am tentatively excited that I am coming through the other side of this spell.

It is beautiful outside today. I am hoping I can make it home and go for a walk after work outside. This sounds more pleasant than an easy elliptical machine work out. But if it needs to be an elliptical work out so be it. I am still taking it slow - being cautious with my body. I certainly don't want to slip back into the spell. I maintain my tentative excitement that I may be getting back on track...to what will soon be an 8-week challenge...

On a side note, I thought Quinoa-stuffed bell pepper I made last night was delicious. I had a leftover for lunch today. Here is the recipe, I modified the one I stole it from:

Heat one TBSP olive oil over medium high heat in a saucepan. Add 1 cup quinoa. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add 1 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup (or so) water. Bring to a boil. Cook until liquid is absorbed.

In the meantime, chop 1/4 - 1/2 red onion and 4-5 cloves of garlic (depending on your love for the garlic). Cut two red bell peppers in half. Place the pepper halves in a oven safe dish (I used a square glass pyrex dish). Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the quinoa with the red onion and garlic in a bowl. Add in some grated mozzarella cheese. Drizzle olive oil and red wine vinegar in the mixture. Add salt, pepper and other spices to your liking (I used ground red pepper, because I like things spicy!).

Spoon the mixture into the red bell peppers and top with more mozzarella cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese has browned a bit.

Eat! Yum! Maybe I will start taking pictures of my food. Then I can be one of THOSE blogs! Actually, I am serious. I like those blogs.