anniversary dinner = steak & mushroom omelettes for breakfast

Our wedding anniversary is tomorrow and, since that happens to be a Monday, we went out for our anniversary dinner last night. It seems to be that going to a high-end steakhouse is becoming our anniversary tradition since this is also what we did last year. This year, we went to Fleming's (hubby's favorite steakhouse here). I think they have many locations, so if you are interested in a REALLY good dinner with REALLY big portions, check it out: http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/ I promise, if you like steak, you will not be disappointed!

Anyhow, as usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. This combined with the fact that (1) I was unaware that the portions were so large and (2) our very nice waiter, Gabe, comped us the mushrooms - so a 3rd side got added to our already humongous portion of food and left me very, very, very full before I even got halfway done with anything (except my salad - I always finish my salad). Of course, the fact that we couldn't finish dinner also meant that there was a small slice of space in our tummies for dessert - Gabe came early to ask about dessert in case we wanted the chocolate lava cake since it takes 20 mins to prepare. I can't tell you what else is on the dessert menu because we didn't get any further than this. We ordered it. I was glad it took so long to prepare since it gave us time to get over dinner before diving into the supremely divine chocolate lava cake (which, by the way, came with a side of vanilla bean ice cream and chantilly cream to top the cake - a whole bowl of chantilly cream!) The one smart thing we did was to split the salad and the dessert. Even the half portions were a good size. So as I was sitting there wishing they could take me to the car in a wheelbarrow, I was already planning today's breakfast.

I love steak & eggs, so anytime we go out for steak I am happy to have some left. I knew that some combination of steak & eggs would be on the menu for this morning. As I sat there, I looked at the steak (it only came in a 16oz portion - I think I only ate 4 of them) and the mushrooms, I started thinking omlettes. Hubby LOVES his fries and was looking forward to ordering some. The only way you can get fries at Fleming's is thin-cut (kind of like Steak & Shake fries) and as part of a combo with onion rings. So there were a lot of fries left. I pondered on what to do for breakfast and how I could use the fries too. This is what I came up with:

I had already decided to make a steak & mushroom omelette but we were torn on which cheese to use (and, since I think cheese should be its own food group, there is always an assortment in our house). I briefly considered shredded cheddar but quickly decided this wasn't a good enough match for the rest of the ingredients. I then moved on to feta, but hubby didn't think it would be a good match. So we settled on parmigano-reggiano. I think this was definitely the right choice since the sharpness and saltiness of the cheese matched well with the fact that both the steak and the mushrooms had been prepared with garlic butter. Plus, it gave me the chance to play with my cheese grater.

It wasn't until I was slicing the mushrooms that I decided what to do with the fries. I had initially started trying to figure out some way to turn the fries into hashbrowns (or something like hashbrowns). As I sliced the mushrooms, and the pile grew, I knew exactly what to do. I heated all the mushrooms up and the set some aside to go in the omelettes. The rest, I left in the pan and added the fries. I covered the dish, hoping that it would soften the fries a little so they would be more hashbrown-like but this didn't work quite as I had hoped. There were still delicious though.

Since I didn't even eat half my steak, I heated it up and we were able to share it. I just heated it on low in the same pan the potatoes & mushrooms had been heated up in (after I took the potatoes & mushrooms out).

Anyhow, it turned out as spectacularly as I had hoped. The only problem is that we have now finished all the steak, so I am sad...but hubby's birthday is right around the corner, so I know that there is another yummy dinner coming our way very soon! :-)

Chicken in Garlic-Vinegar Sauce

I can't take any credit at all for this dish. I didn't even alter anything in the recipe - other than that I think next time (and there WILL be a next time for this dish), I might make more sauce and mix it in with some rice for a side dish. And I might start checking it at 40 mins instead of going the whole 50 mins so that the chicken has at least a little chance of staying on the bone long enough to plate the dish (this will be especially true if I make it for company). Oh yeah, and I used fat free sour cream instead of reduced fat.

There isn't much to write about this one other than it is supremely, awesomely delicious. It looks and tastes decadent but it really isn't. And it looks like it might be a difficult dish so people you serve it to will (most likely) be impressed. But the most time consuming part is skinning the chicken, peeling the garlic and dicing the shallot. Other than that, this is pretty much a set it and forget it kind of meal (except for the 1st & last steps - but those are fast). Anyhow, all I can say about this one is YUM!

I served it with our favorite couscous salad and steamed asparagus drizzled with EVOO & balsamic vinegar. I love the taste of the vinegar & asparagus. I think I need to get a balsamic reduction to drizzle next time so that it sticks to the asparagus better. I will buy it rather than make it since it is entirely too time consuming to make a balsamic reduction (believe me, I have tried).

Here's the link so that I don't have to retype the whole recipe: http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/chicken-in-garlic-vinegar-sauce-recipe-6754

Pomegranate Margaritas and Black & white pasta

I know that you are never supposed to go grocery shopping hungry, but I never thought about not going other kinds of shopping hungry. I will add to the grocery shopping part, never, ever, ever go anywhere that might possibly sell any kind of gourmet foods hungry. Unfortunately for me, HomeGoods is such a place.

Truth be told, I wasn't really famished; but, thanks to my workouts, I do have the appetite of a 13 year old boy most of the time. Anyhow, I went in for a serving bowl and came out with that AND a whole bunch of other stuff.

The first definitely-not-on-the-list purchase was sugar-free pomegranate syrup. I saw this and immediately thought "I bet this would make an awesome margarita" prompting me to have to go out and buy margarita mix and tequila. But I was right, it did make an awesome margarita. Of course the sugar and calories in the margarita mix kind of negated the whole "sugar-free" of the syrup, but oh well. And now, a friend of mine mentioned using limeade instead of margarita mix, so I might have to try this. I wonder if lemonade would work as well...because I DO have some crystal light mix...and that would return my margarita to being pretty much sugar-free. I don't have any pics of the margaritas, but I am sure that everyone probably knows what a margarita looks like. If not, there is always google...or a menu at TGIFriday's...

The second thing on the list was something that I normally wouldn't buy anyways - white pasta, but this was too cool to pass up. Black & white farfalle. I just couldn't pass it up. So I bought it. Then, of course, I had to figure out what to serve it with and how to top it. Something this pretty really can't just be covered up in a plain old tomato sauce. I thought about a pesto, but I thought that might cover it up too much as well. So I settled on oil and freshly grated parmesano-reggiano. But I thought that might be too boring so I decided that it needed asparagus, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. Looking back, I think this might have been overkill. So I am back to square one on how to top this awesome looking pasta. I am open to suggestions... Anyhow, we had it with out favorite baked pollock with smashed tomato sauce. Mainly because I thought the fish was a lighter option than the shake & bake chicken & pork we had earlier in the week; but also because I got several packages of pollock last week at the grocery (coupons + good price = carol buying a lot of it).

Baked Pollock with Smashed Tomato Sauce

By "smashed" I mean squished with my potato masher, not drunk...although hubby did suggest using white wine in the sauce next time, so maybe then they really will be drunk tomatoes.

This is one of the recipes I am most proud of because I came up with it all on my own. It was inspired by something Rachael Ray did, but by the time I got around to making it, I didn't remember anything except the tomatoes in a pan and smashing them. The rest is all me.

The tomato sauce started with one of those days where I look in the fridge and look to see what I have on hand that might be going bad soon and need to do something with. On that fateful day, there was half a container of grape tomatoes looking lonely. I recollected Rachael Ray doing something with tomatoes, but I didn't quite remember what it was. I threw the tomatoes in a pan with a little olive oil, chicken broth, basil & oregano. I covered the pan and let the tomatoes cook til they burst, then I uncovered the pan, smashed the tomatoes with my handy potato masher and then cooked it down a little longer til it thickened up. This was served over some pollock that was baked in the oven with oregano.

This time around was the 3rd time I made the tomato sauce and the 2nd time I served it with pollock. Both parts of the dish have evolved. This time, when I made the sauce, I added garlic. I heated a little olive oil in the pan then added some garlic I pressed through the garlic smasher and heated it til it started getting a little brown. Then I added all the rest of the ingredients. The other change I made is that I used cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I mixed some cornstach & water and once I smashed the tomatoes, I put this in and let it cook til it thickened. I think I like this way better - less juice to make my fish all soggy.

The other new thing is that I breaded the chicken this time. I mixed some breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Then I seasoned the fish (I prefer Pampered Chef Greek Rub - if you don't have a PC connection, I have a friend I can refer you to), breaded it (no fancy dipping anywhere, just put the fish on a plate, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on, press them into the fish, flip and repeat) and then sprinkled a 2nd layer of the seasoning on the fish. Bake for 10 mins @ 425 and there you go. When it is done, plate it, top with the tomato sauce and dinner is ready. You will have to use your imagination of what breaded fish looks like since it is pretty buried under the tomato sauce.

The salad that night was also pretty good. I stopped at the store on my way home that evening to get tomatoes and I got a nice surprise. Not only were there red tomatoes, but also orange and yellow (there were also heirloom tomatoes, but I figured the 3 colors I got were enough - maybe I will get some heirlooms tomorrow). I just like the colors in my salad. Actually, I pretty much like a colorful plate. And this meal definitely tasted as good as it looked.

Vegetarian Tangerine Beef

Yes, I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but read on and you will see what I mean.

One of my downfalls is chinese take-out food. I love me some orange chicken and crab rangoons. What I don't love about them is the fat and sugar content. If I am feeling particularly industrious, I will make crab rangoons with fat free cream cheese and baked in the oven. But that takes A LOT of work so I don't do it too often. Actually, I think I have only done it once. But there is always a next time...

Perusing my favorite weight watchers cookbook (those of you who read this blog know which one and where to find it but if you don't, check out my post on stuffed french toast), I found a recipe for Tangerine Beef. Well, it was close enough to orange chicken to pique my interest, so I decided to check it out and see what I could do to totally bastardize an otherwise fine recipe.

The first thing I did was get rid of the beef. Not that we don't love beef, we just try to be healthy and not eat red meat so often. I substituted GimmeLean Smart Strips - al the taste of beef with none of the fat or cholesterol. Plus, with all the global warming, a lot of people say that if everyone substitutes just 1 meal with a veggie meal a week, we can greatly reduce the methane that gets into the environment from the smelly, farty cows.

The second change I made was not one of choice. The recipe (obviously) calls for tangerines. I could only find oranges at my local grocery store, so "Tangerine Beef" quickly became "Orange Vegetarian 'Beef"" Oh well, I liked it and that's all that really matters. It was even good cold for lunch at work a couple of days later.

I was still very pleased with the results. It tasted like I ordered from the Chinese place up the street but didn't come with the side of clogged arteries, bigger butt and guilt. The only thing missing was crab rangoons...

Stuffed French Toast

One thing I have learned about myself over the last 3 years is that the only way I can stay on track with my somewhat healthy eating is that I must trick brain into thinking I am having something totally and completely sinful while, in fact, it is something healthy and good for me. In addition to the whole healthy body thing, the guilt-free eating helps the healthy mind thing. No more guilty conscience for eating things such as sausage and cheese omelets or bacon & egg sandwiches (thanks to those loverly folks at Morningstar Farms who have graced us with their "bacon" and "sausage" that, at this point, tastes better than the real stuff to me).

Today's breakfast fits fully into this category of "feels and tastes sinful but is actually fairly guilt-free." Stuffed French Toast with sausage on the side. In all fairness, I cannot take any credit for this recipe - it is simply my adaptation on a weight watchers recipe. If you are interested in the recipe, it can be found in my favorite weight watchers cookbook: Weight Watchers in 20 Minutes" If you are looking for a cookbook that is packed with awesome recipes sure to be winners with those you cook for, this is one to get. If you want to buy it, here is the link for amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Watchers-20-Minutes/dp/0470287454/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274638947&sr=8-1 If you want to check it out first, I got my copy at Borders, so you could drive on over to your local store and take a gander. If you didn't want to buy it at all, I am sure you could maybe find a friend who has it to loan it to you, see if your local library has one you can check out or hope that your photographic memory will serve you well while you read it at Borders (although I wouldn't recommend this move since 1) it is a little unethical and 2) there are so many yummy recipes, it would probably send your brain into overload). The recipe on the cover (the salmon) is a favorite in our house - we actually had it for dinner last night. But I digress. Back to the stuffed french toast...

The basic recipe is a fruit preserves and cream cheese sandwich soaked in an egg-milk-cinnamon-vanilla-nutmeg mixture and toasted. Below are the ingredients I made substitutions for:
Original / Substitution
Whole wheat bread / Tapioca Rice Bread
reduced fat cream cheese / Low fat cream cheese
fruit preserves / sugar free fruit preserves

This both reduces the fat AND the gluten (for those who are trying to have a low-g or g-free diet). It also called for slicing strawberries to top the french toast with, but I just went with a dollop of the preserves - mainly because I was lazy and didn't want to wash and cut strawberries.

I was a little worried since this was my 1st try with the tapioca bread, but it came recommended by my good friend Cindy. And being the good friend that she is, the recommendation came with the warning labels of what not to do (lessons she learned the hard way), so I was fairly confident that the french toast would be a success. And it was. I would definitely do this again. especially if I was cooking for someone I wanted to impress with my cooking skills...like people who knew me way back when I lived on puffy cheetos, frozen pizza and dr. pepper.

Salmon Cakes

A few weeks ago, I picked up a package of Chicken of the Sea Salmon. I love salmon and we eat a lot in this house and I thought, "what could be better than salmon I don't have to cook?" Ha ha! That will teach me to think. I made the mistake of turning the package over and seeing that there was a recipe for salmon cakes on the back...with a picture. Nothing is harder to resist than a yummy sounding recipe that is accompanied with an even yummier looking photo. Ok, not many things...

Anyhow, 2 packages of this salmon have been in my pantry for a few weeks now and I am really trying to be better about using things I have on hand more often, so I decided to make the salmon cakes. The recipe called for some things that I just didn't feel like buying (like green onions) and some things that I find kind of yukky (like red peppers) so I altered the recipe to use just what I had on hand and they turned out surprisingly good. Seriously, they are so yummy that I am thinking about having an appetizer party, just so that I can make them again. If I make them smaller (think bite sized, maybe 2 bites) they would make an awesome appetizer. And if I substitute some lump crabmeat for the salmon, I have a whole other flavor.

The recipe called for a mango salsa, but since I am not so much of a fan of meat and fruit, I opted to not make the salsa and chose a mayo instead. Walking through the grocery store today, I noticed that Kraft has some new, flavored mayos. Once of them is a chipotle mayo. It sounded really really yummy. The only problem is that we use fat-free mayo, or at least the olive oil mayo, in our house and these were definitely NOT either of those. I decided that I could get some chipotle powder and make my own. I was just lucky that 1) chipotle powder exists and 2) they carry it at my local grocery store.

I was a little concerned about the combination of the flavors, and originally thought about making an herbed mayo instead. But when I got home and looked at the recipe, I noticed that it called for garlic powder and cayenne pepper. This meant that chipotle mayo WAS the right choice. Once again, I need to learn to not second guess myself. The recipe for the chipotle mayo is pretty easy: put some mayo in a bowl, sprinkle in chipotle powder and mix. Taste. Repeat step 2 as often as needed until it tastes right. Stop adding the chipotle powder right before it tastes exactly right - it will gain a little more heat as it sits (another lesson learned the hard way). If it does end up being a little on the spicy side for you, just mix in more mayo. Sorry I can't be more specific, this is pretty much how I cook. Actually, usually step 3 is take mixture in to husband, ask him to taste and tell you what he thinks it needs more of.

This has proven to be one of those looks decadent and time consuming but is secretly really really quick and easy recipes...albeit one that is a little messy when it comes to forming the cakes and getting them in the pan.

Salmon Cakes
Ingredients

• 2 pkgs Chicken of the Sea Salmon
• 1/2 c mayo
• 1 egg, beaten
• dried chives (1 palmful or however much you want)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1 cup bread crumbs, divided in half
• Olive oil cooking spray
  

Directions

• Mix 1st 6 ingredients and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs in a bowl
• spread remaining 1/2 c. of bread crumbs on a plate
  
• form patties with mixture (size of patty will be determined by purpose - appetizer, form into 2" patties; dinner size, form into larger patties - approx. 3 or 4" across)
• roll patties in bread crumbs
• heat frying pan over medium heat. once heated, spray with cooking spray
• cook salmon cakes over medium heat until golden brown on both sides
• Serve with chipotle mayo (or sauce/topping of your choice)
  

pasta

As I was sitting down to compose this post, I realized that the majority of my posts are about main dishes. I owe a sincere apology to the side dish, which I seldom mention except in passing. I promise that I will be better about trying to give side dishes their due and some attention of their own. After all, no meal is complete without a quality side dish or two.

It's really funny how, even many years later, if you look at how you put meals together, you can see the influence of your childhood. I grew up in a house where a meal was not complete if it did not include some form of vegetable - most often a green one. Now that I am an adult and in charge of putting meals for my family together, I see this influence - if there is not something green on the plate, the meal just does not feel complete. I guess there could be worse remnants of my childhood than the need to have veggies with dinner :-)

I have also found that just a pile of plain veggies on the plate, however, doesn't really appeal to me. I need interest and variety. Of late, we have been having brown rice with some veggie in it (broccoli, peas, mixed veggies). I owe this to my dear friend Connie, who taught me this trick - Trader Joe's (or whatever store you find it in) precooked brown rice (3 mins in the micro) and a bag of steamfresh veggies (4 or 5 mins) - pour both in the same bowl and mix with a little sea salt and butter and yum! Sometimes, I will stand in front of the fridge or pantry (or both) and look at what I have on hand and say to myself, "What can I do with this?" Often, this happens when I am faced with a bit of several things that I need to use before they go bad. Today turned out to be one of those challenge days. Not because I have things about to go off, but because I had something I am not particularly fond of...

While I was shopping today, I picked up some asparagus for my hubby. He loves asparagus, I could take it or leave it. I was planning to serve it with salt and a little lemon juice - nice and simple (hubby isn't as picky as I am) - and have enough left over for him to take to work for lunch tomorrow. But when I opened my pantry, I was greeted by a package of garlic basil linguine we got from TJ's on Sunday. The wheels of my brain started turning and I decided that this pasta would be delicious with steamed asparagus, mushrooms and a little dusting of parmesano-reggiano. The only problem was the lack of mushrooms. What I DID find in the pantry, however, was a can of peas. I thought that this might make a nice side dish that would definitely make leftover chicken and pork chops more interesting. Once I mixed it all together in the bowl, this hypothesis was proven to be correct - it was delicious! I don't really even like asparagus and I loved it. Proving yet again that pretty much ANYTHING is better with cheese :-)

So here is the end result of garlic-basil linguine, steamed asparagus, a can of peas, grated parmesano-reggiano and some olive oil:

tuna salad

Do you ever find yourself asking, "Whatever will I do with this leftover seared Ahi tuna?" You know that if you reheat it, it will cook a little more, no longer be "seared" and maybe not taste as good. After all, when it comes to Ahi, my opinion is that the closer to raw it is, the better...raw being the best state for serving it. But that's just my opinion.

I was faced with this conundrum this week. On Sunday, hubby marinated some sushi grade Ahi in basil pesto (thank the fine gentlemen at PBS's BBQ University for this idea) and grilled it:
That's the tuna there on the left, grilling away.

Hubby ate 1 piece and left the other for me. I knew that I didn't want to heat it up since that would cook it more, so I tried to think of the best way to serve it cold. Sushi is an option, but for many reasons, I didn't like this choice. 1 - I REALLY don't feel like making the rice; 2 - I would have to go out and get the rolling mat and seaweed and 3 - in sushi, I prefer my tuna raw. Then, I thought about a sandwich, but I thought this tuna was too good to become a measly little sandwich.

When it comes to cold foods, I realized that the most obvious option is salad, especially when it comes to lunch. So that's what I decided on. I always have salad supplies on hand since I do eat a considerably number of salads. I got out the Romaine, sundried tomato crumbled feta, balsamic and olive oil and filled the bowl. Then, I shredded up the tuna and sprinkled it on top. All I can say is Oh. My. God. I can't wait to go back to Trader Joe's (or the 17th St. Market for my friends in Tucson) to get some more of this tuna. Yum, yum, yummy!!!

And, yes, that is a 10-cup mixing bowl that I ate my salad out of. I didn't have enough lettuce to fill the 12 cup one...

Rotisserie!!!

Recently, we have been eating a lot of rotisserie chicken...a lot! $4.99 at the grocery, bring it home and dinner is practically ready, not a bad deal. One day not too long ago, hubby said, "I would like to have a rotisserie." Me, being the good wife that I am, when hubby says he wants something, it usually miraculously appears in our house as a present for the next holiday or, if no holiday is near, simply an "I love you" gift. Conveniently, we had received a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond as a belated wedding gift. So the very next day after hubby made his wish, I trotted down to BBB...ok, i actually drove but, whatevs...and searched high and low to no avail. But, if you ask the right people... A very kind gentleman in the bridal registry area sat me down at his computer and, lo and behold, there was a beautiful matte stainless Cuisinart rotisserie...so I ordered it. It was a little more than I wanted to spend but the gift card took half the cost. I realized that I had a 20% off coupon at home (good place for it when I am at the store buying things) AND then they were charging me for shipping (the free shipping if you order from the store is apparently only applicable if it is something they normally carry in the store but are out of - this is a good thing to know). I had already had a convo with the guy about the coupon and he said I could come back with it and they would price adjust and refund the difference. Then I said "I thought there was no shipping if you order it from the store," to which the gentleman replied with the previously mentioned rule. BUT, he was nice and put a mysterious 20% coupon into the system, so I got the % off anyways. I did have to pay $15 for shipping, but that still meant I got $25 off the rotisserie. And, anyone who knows me knows that I get REALLY excited about saving money. Even after tax, I still saved a little bit. And some is better than none to the girl who doesn't like to pay retail for anything.

Anyhoo, I love love love my rotisserie. And I am getting pretty good at trussing a chicken. I don't know if I am doing it quite right, but the wings and legs do stay in their place and don't flop all over while the chicken is spinning. And it does look oh so pretty when I take it out (before I dissect it). I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves rotisserie chicken like we do. We also made scallops in it. The scallops on skewers was an utter rotisserie FAIL but if you make them in the basket, they are YUMMY! Next up is a leg of lamb.

who says healthy has to be boring?

You all have probably already figured out that one of my passions is finding healthy yet yummy meals that satisfy my cravings for things that are definitely not as healthy and, as I am finding, probably not even as yummy. This is part of the reason that I am so supportive of Jamie Oliver and his whole "Food Revolution" and why I get so angry at the people on the show who are fighting him. Yes, healthy can be more expensive. Yes, healthy can take a little longer to prepare. But these are not necessarily always true and, who cares if they are. The benefits of healthy eating far outweigh the costs of time and/or money.

To hubby and I, it seems like the prettier the food is, the better it tastes. We are all about proper (and sometimes creative) plating. Even though I have been a little delinquent in photographing many of my meals recently, there are still those that make me pause before eating and saying "Wait! We need to take a picture." Maybe one of these days, I will decide to sit down and take a picture of every meal I have for a year. But maybe that will get boring since we do eat a lot of leftovers. I'll think on this. Anyway, here are a couple of recent meals that I found particularly attractive:

Leftovers (rotisserie chicken,broccoli, sweet potato and a tomato)
The sauce on the veggies is a vinaigrette from Rocco DiSpirito's new cookbook "now eat this!" - which is seriously recommend getting. it is a winner! It is a really awesome salad dressing, but hubby got experimental and put it on his veggies - which turned out to be a success.







Hubby's Grilled Chicken Salad (Spring mix lettuce, grape tomatoes, olives and grilled chicken breast, olive oil & balsamic vinegar dressing)










Taco Salad (a bastardized version of Rocco's Roasted Chicken Burritos w/ Corn & Black Beans)
Again from "Now Eat This!" - I'm telling you, you really need this cookbook!
This recipe is supposed to be burritos, but since hubby is low-carbing it right now, I decided to turn it into a taco salad. This was easily better than any taco salad I have ever had at any restaurant. The recipe called for Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I wanted a little bit more of the sour cream feeling, so we added lemon juice to the yogurt. I think it was a success. It really gave a little bit of the tang of sour cream that made me feel like I was eating something sinful.

Until next time, happy eating!

Breakfast!!!!

I love food! That is a fact that is well established. What I don't love is gaining weight (or being overweight). What started me on this journey to discovering my love of cooking was when I started trying to lose an extra 50 lbs I had gained since graduating high school (trust me on this one folks. some of you knew me before Weight Watchers. for those of you who didn't know me then, I will be more than happy to share the pics with you). In Jan 2007, I joined Weight Watchers. For someone who loves to eat, trying to lose weight can be HARD. I quickly learned that the only way this weight loss would happen was if I found a way to replace the food I love with healthier equivalents. I had to satisfy my cravings. So I started experimenting and getting adventurous. I discovered a lot of things that I never knew I liked. One of those things is the vegetarian alternatives to may favorite breakfast foods. You would think veggie sausage wouldn't be any good, but you would be wrong. I have been making a lot of omelettes lately. This past weekend, I decided that we needed to have sausage & cheese omelettes and bacon for breakfast on Sunday. This is why I love the veggie sausage and fakin' bacon.

You can reproduce breakfast at Denny's for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the calories and fat. The omelette is Egg Beaters, veggie sausage (Light Life Gimme Lean sausage), & 2% cheddar cheese. The bacon is Morningstar Farms. I had a little sausage left over, so I decided to top the omelette with it just to make things a little prettier.

20 min gourmet

Yes, I know I have been delinquent in my updates. I have a camera card FULL of food pictures but I have been very negligent about getting them on here. I apologize profusely...and I promise to try to be better about getting the info from my head and camera to this blog.

Anyhow, one of my recent favorite activities for the end of the week (after most of what was bought at the grocery has been cooked and/or eaten) has been to open the fridge, look at what is in there and try to figure out what to make. Kind of like a mini Iron Chef, only without the timer, secret ingredients and people yelling at me. And the fact that my hubby pretty much loves anything I make helps. Last week, I opened the fridge and was greeted by a package of grape tomatoes whose expiration time was quickly approaching. Since I hate wasting good food, I had to do something with them. And since I am not a fan of raw grape tomatoes, it couldn't be something as simple as salad. I had a vague memory of watching a Rachael Ray make a tomato sauce recently where she put the tomatoes in a pan till the burst & then smashed them with a potato masher. I couldn't remember any other parts of the recipe so I figured I would challenge myself to make something palatable all on my own. Sometimes, I surprise myself.

What came out was a very versatile sauce that can be used as a topping for fish (as I did the 1st time,), mixed with shrimp for a main dish (as we had last night) or a pasta sauce (which we haven't had yet since we a low carbing it right now but i surmise that it would be AWESOME on a nice cheese ravioli). If you will be using this as a pasta or fish topping (I tried it with pollock - yummy!), put the fish or pasta in to cook before starting the sauce since this is a fast cooking sauce. If having with shrimp, get the cooked, shelled shrimp, remove the tails and set aside til you are ready to add them to the sauce. If you want to get really adventurous, you can also use this as a topping for an omelette.

Ok, I have yapped long enough, here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 package grape tomatoes
3 cloves (or to taste) of garlic finely chopped or pressed (i like using the garlic press since I am lazy)
splash of chicken broth (you can use more or less depending on how loose you want your sauce)
oregano to taste
basil to taste
1tbsp olive oil

Directions
Find a pan with a tight fitting lid
Coat said pan with olive oil and heat over med heat
Add garlic and saute till it softens (about 1 or 2 min)
Add chicken broth to cover bottom of pan, tomatoes, oregano & basil (add broth BEFORE tomatoes to prevent oil splatter and arm pain...trust me on this one)
Cover and walk away for a couple of minutes. If you have a glass top pan, all the better so that you can keep an eye on the tomatoes without lifting the lid. If you have to lift the lid to check the sauce, it's ok too though.
Once tomatoes have burst (yes, you can tell), gently smash them with a potato masher. Leave some larger pieces (you are making a crushed sauce, after all, not puree)
Alternate endings:
if serving as a fish or pasta topping, remove sauce from heat, you are done.
if mixing with shrimp, reduce heat to med-low, pour in shrimp, mix and heat for 2 min (or til shrimp is warm).

Unfortunately, when I went to add the pictures of this, I found that I had not taken any. Guess that means I will have to make this again... But trust me when I tell you that, especially the fish or omelette topping, this looks like something in a gourmet restaurant.

Still kicking myself for not taking pictures...

twins...

sometimes, when you are cooking, things happen that you couldn't plan or make happen if you wanted to. this is one of those times. as i was making my breakfast this morning (a grilled egg and cheese sandwich for those of you who don't already know that this is my current addiction), i cracked the egg into the pan and was greeted with a neat surprise...TWINS!!! yep, i got a double yolk egg.
it looked cooler before i broke the yolks, but, hey, it's my breakfast and i really couldn't call a timeout on the whole cooking thing while i ran to get the camera so i could take a picture. so i just kind of broke it. but you can tell there are two.

being me, i just HAD to google to see if this was good luck or bad luck. i didn't want to. really, i didn't. what if it told me something i didn't want to know? but like the proverbial train wreck, i just had to. well, the result is that i am just as unsatisfied as i was before i looked. some say it's unlucky, some say it means you will come into money, some say a birth...of twins (and this could be lucky or unlucky, depending on your perspective). so all in all, the only part of me that is satisfied is my belly. that sandwich was good because i do, after all, make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. combined with my excellent egg making skills and, well, it is pretty much breakfast perfection.

Whatever will I do with all these mashed potatoes?

Come on! I can't be the only person who has ever looked in my fridge and thought this. Really? Actually, I think this came from a combination of me looking for something to have with our eggs one morning and something I recalled hearing/seeing on Food Network. I have been making these for so long now that I don't even remember where the idea officially came from.

So what is my great idea, you ask? Potato pancakes! Who doesn't love a good potato pancake? But they are so much work for a lazy weekend morning. What, with all that potato shredding and pancake forming and frying. Just like a proper child of my generation, I love a good shortcut as much as the next girl) and this, my friends, is where the mashed potatoes from last night's dinner come in. I love this quick side dish so much, I have been known to make mashed potatoes for the sole purpose of making potato pancakes. Instant potatoes, of course. I AM a product of the 70s and 80s after all. Just like hash browns but faster :-)

This is one of the easiest and most difficult recipes all rolled into one. It's easy in the fact that you take leftover mashed potatoes, spoon them into a pan and cook them like pancakes. Seriously, it's as easy as that. A small hint: spray the side that is up with Pam spray. You will need to flatten the pancakes down a little once they start to soften and the Pam will help them to not stick to the spatula. If you want to season them up, try sprinkling a little parmesan and oregano on them. This makes them really good for a lunch or dinner side dish.

This is when it gets tricky. If you make the mashed potatoes specifically for this purpose, make them a little tighter than you might normally for eating. If you are using leftovers, keep in mind that when they get hot, they will loosen up. LEAVE THEM ALONE ONCE YOU PUT THEM ON THE PAN!!!!! Remember, I am here to make the mistakes and learn the lessons so you don't have to. I have made this mistake too. If you try too soon, you will not be able to turn them. Let the crust build up on the side that is down since this will help you turn them. You might also want to use a veeeerrrrry flexible spatula. The one I used was not very flexible and I needed to use a butter knife to help me. This is an option, of course, but since I like any excuse to buy more kitchen stuff, I think I need the new super-flexible Rachael Ray spatula. This one:
Also keep in mind that when you first take them out of the pan, the pancakes will be a little loose. Never fear. When they sit on the plate for a little but, they will tighten up and be more manageable. That being said, you might want to cook them early and let them sit for a while before serving them so that you can get them from the serving plate to the eating plate. Unless of course you like torturing your guests or laughing at them while they fight with their food. If that is your thing, feel free to try to serve the pancakes right out of the pan. It's ok, I won't judge. Promise.

And just like vodka, these potato pancakes are not just for breakfast. Yes, I am kidding, we never drink vodka before noon. But I am serious about the potato pancakes. They are a good side dish for any meal.

why you shouldn't let facebook interfere with your cooking

If you read my grilled cheese post, you will see that I said you don't need to leave the sandwich cooking for very long. Well, in case you didn't read it or didn't understand the consequences of leaving the sandwich on for just a shade too long, this is the result of about an extra 30-60 seconds of cooking:

Seriously, this happened in the time it took me to walk to my computer, comment on someone's status (a brief comment even, not one of my standard diatribes) and walk back to the stove - and the stove wasn't even on medium, it was just a little shy of medium (on the lower side). My house isn't that big. I can get from the computer to the stove in about 10 steps - not even big ones, just normal steps. So please heed my warning. Just like drinking & driving or driving and texting, or even drinking and texting for that matter, cooking and Facebooking just don't mix.

Again, I am here to learn all the lessons the hard way so that you don't have to...

delish.com, i love you!!!

I must confess, the majority of the foods I make start out as a recipe I find somewhere and then completely bastardize. I recently bought Light & Delish: 400 Calories or Less! because when I looked through it, there were some good sounding recipes. If you want some good recipes, I recommend picking this magazine up (the label says "display until April 30, 2010, so there is still time to get one if you want). Well worth every penny. But then again, you can also find the recipes on www.delish.com so you could always find them there...for free...

Last night was Chicken Bolognese. I wasn't planning to make it, but I found the perciatelli pasta that hubby wanted and decided to pick up the rest of the ingredients. He was a very happy guy when he got home yesterday and saw what I made. Unlike my usual manner of cooking, I followed the recipe pretty closely (except for the fact that I did cook the sauce a little longer than the recipe calls for since I was waiting for hubby to get home before I put on the finishing touches). SInce I followed the recipe, I will save myself some typing time (also, since I didn't take pictures, there are photos of it here). Here is a link to the recipe: http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/chicken-bolognese-pasta-recipes?click=recipe_sr The only change I made is that I used perciatelli instead of linguine (it looks like really big spaghetti). And I didn't use freshly grated parmesan because I was feeling lazy...and because hubby is strange and likes the stuff in the jar better anyways (yeah, he's weird like that).

Tonight, I made Poblano Corn Chowder with Grilled Shellfish: http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/poblano-corn-chowder-grilled-shellfish-rbk0208?click=recipe_sr but this time, I did make some changes.

If you compare the image on the recipe page with this one, you will notice that my shellfish (shrimp & scallops) are not grilled. This is because 1) I did not want to deal with the grill and 2) I have yet to really figure out how to work the broiler on my stove. Because of this. I changed how I added the seasoning. Instead of brushing it on, I put the shellfish in a pan and poured the mixture over it. I stirred it around to get all the meat covered and then stirred it around every few minutes while I was preparing the chowder. When it came time to cook the shellfish, I cooked it in a cast iron skillet. The recipe says grill for 2 min each side, but it definitely took longer than 4 mins in the pan. The shrimp were already cooked, so they were quick. The scallops were a different story since I am not so good with scallops. I just cooked them till they looked done and then relied on my meat thermometer to tell me that they were plenty hot enough. I took the shellfish out of the marinade when I put it in the pan so I had marinade left over and didn't want it to go to waste. When I was done with the shellfish, there was a little browned marinade in the pan, so I decided to experiment with deglazing the pan to make a roux with the rest of the marinade. I poured it into the pan, scraped up the brown bits (see, I DO learn from watching Rachael Ray) and reduced the sauce. When it was thickened to my liking, I poured in over the shellfish (which, I should have mentioned, were in a bowl at this point) and mixed it up. I think this was a very good addition to the dish.

I made the chowder pretty much according to the recipe, so there is nothing to tell on this.

My only real "addition" to the meal was fat free refried beans and this is only because I love refried beans so I will have them any chance I get.

I completely intended to make something for dessert too, but I didn't get around to it. It's a good thing too, since we were so stuffed after dinner that there was no room for dessert...

I make a mean grilled cheese

and i am modest too...

The grilled cheese sandwich, a favorite of kids and currently maligned by the new Carl's Jr. ad. Apparently, the ad people for Carl's Jr. think that grilled cheese sandwiches are just for kids and adults will be made fun of if they order it, unless they order the new Grilled Cheese Bacon Six Dollar Burger...with 990 calories, 610 of which are fat calories (69 fat, 28 saturated fat!!!). Seriously! If you don't believe me, here is the link: http://www.carlsjr.com/menu, you can check it out for yourself. No thank you Carl's Jr. people. I will stick with my old fashioned grilled cheese. Maybe it's just me, but when I see the ad, I don't start craving the burger, I actually start craving a grilled cheese. Maybe it's just because this is one of my favorite sandwiches (right up there with PB&B - peanut butter and banana). If I want to add something, it will be tomato, ketchup (yes! don't knock it til you try it) or egg (as I did this morning).

And while the grilled cheese seems easy (which, relatively, it is) and something to be made fun of, it really does take some work to get it right. It's not a cold cut sandwich. You can't just slap some cheese on bread and throw it in the pan. It takes some work if you want a really good grilled cheese. One that looks like this one:

Hint #1: Whatever you do, do not, and I mean DO NOT, use fat free cheese. it does NOT melt well - trust me on this. All you will get is a big old mess in the pan and very little cheese on your bread.

Hint #2: Someone taught me one time that the key to a good grilled cheese is to get the butter on every bit of the bread before you put it in the pan. And this is true. I made a whole lot of mediocre grilled cheese sandwiches before I learned this.

Hint #3: Temperature matters too. You don't want it too high so that you burn the outside of the bread while the cheese doesn't even melt. You can't rush good food and a grilled cheese is no different. I cook on a gas stove, which REALLY takes a lot of getting used to. But you want to get the pan heated up before you put the food in it. I cook on medium or just a little lower. And, since I had egg on the sandwich, the pan was nice and warm. Have all your supplies ready before you put the 1st thing in the pan. This will ensure you don't have any delays that cause your sandwich to overcook.

A little spray of Pam spray and you are ready. The rest is pretty easy - layer it in the pan like so: bread, butter side down, cheese, egg or whatever else you are putting on there (cook the egg 1st), more cheese, bread, butter side up. LEAVE THE SANDWICH ALONE TO COOK! let the bread toast for about a minute or so. then very gingerly lift up the corner to see if the color is what you want. if not, let it go a little longer. then flip and repeat the toasty/melty part. i have found that the best guide of when the bread is ready to my liking is when the cheese is just melted. But this is something that is personal preference, so you will have to find your guide. Who knows, maybe you really like a blackened grilled cheese and the sign it is done is smoke and, perhaps, flames coming out of the pan. But since I have probably never made you a grilled cheese, or seen how you like them, I don't know. It's up to you.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Maybe this post should be called "Confessions of a formerly super picky eater (now just a kind of picky eater).

Instead of cooking at home like we originally planned to do, we decided it would be more fun to let someone else do the cooking for once (of course, this doesn't come without a cost, but it was sooooo worth it). I say this like we never eat out, but we do...a lot. I have learned that having a planned out to eat night every 2 weeks or so really helps keep me on my 'A' game when it comes to eating the other 13 days. Of course, my birthday will mess this plan up this week as it means that we eat out again on Saturday, but that's ok, how many birthdays do I have a year? But I digress. Back to Valentine's Day. I only wish I had thought to take some pictures of what we had for our Valentine's dinner .

Many, many praises to Stables Restaurant at Tubac Golf Resort (http://www.tubacgolfresort.com/ ). They offered a 4-course, prix fixe meal that was absolutely spectacular and worth every penny we paid. The appetizer, salad and dessert were more "samples" of flavor but it was done very well as we didn't have anything left over at the end of the meal and were just the right amount of full. I saw a lot of people leaving with to-go boxes, but we prepared for this feast and only had breakfast (egg, cheese & veggie sausage wraps if you really want to know) and played an hour or so of tennis in the afternoon. So we had plenty of room...and nothing went to waste. I darn near licked the plate clean!

The appetizer was the most...um...interesting part of the meal as it really took a lot of guts for a picky eater like me. The crab cake was easy since I love me some crab cakes and, honestly, I could have eaten an entire plate of these. The aioli was superb and added just enough flavor. The oysters, well, they went directly to hubby's plate. I WAS being adventurous, but there are just somethings I don't like no matter what. Oysters on the half shell is one of them. But he like having 2 extras, so everyone was happy. Then we got to the beef tartare. I debated all day about how brave I would be and whether or not I would try it. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but when I saw it on the plate, it wasn't a large amount and then I reminded myself that if you give me a plate of raw fish, I will be all over it, so I really need to be fair to the cows (yes, it was beef - we are in Arizona, not France!) and give the beef tartar a shot. So I tried it, and it wasn't too bad. Would I specifically order it? Probably not. But if I am in a position where it is part of a set meal, I will have it again. I am so proud of myself. And you would be too if you knew just how picky I have been for most of my life. Seriously. I wouldn't even eat raw tomatoes until a couple of years ago. But around the time I turned 30, I realized I needed to be a little bit more adult in my eating and try things just in case my tastes had changed over the years. And guess what? They did. Yes, it took me until I was 30 to be open minded about eating. Give me a break. I am still working on it, but I AM a lot better than I used to be.

But what I am most proud of is that I, the girl who used to have trouble finishing an 8 oz. prime rib, polished off an entire 12 oz. ribeye. And oh boy was this an awesome steak. The only way I can describe the tenderness was that it was like a steak-flavored marshmallow. Yes, it was that tender. And the potatoes au gratin. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I think anything is better with cheese. Ok, almost anything...

Dessert. Well, how can you go wrong with chocolate. 'Nuff said there.

It's a good thing Valentine's Day only comes once a year...

Onion Rings

Occasionally, I get the harebrained idea to make the messiest foods I can possibly make. You other cooks know what I mean - the foods that are not messy to eat but leave your kitchen covered in flour and the floor crunchy. That was me yesterday. When I made the menu for this week, I was trying to keep it interesting and, since we have been eating SOOOO healthy lately, one of the meals I decided to make was Shake & Bake chicken (surprisingly, one of hubby's favorites) and onion rings with remoulade sauce. I should probably blame this event on Rachael Ray , since last week, she had a segment on making restaurant-tasting foods at home and onion rings were included.

Anyhow, as many of you know, I started Weight Watchers in January 2007. Along the journey to lose my weight (50 lbs in all), I decided that, as a foodie, I needed to keep my mouth happy if I was going to be successful and I set out to recreate my favorite foods in a way that they would fit in the program (or at least be a little healthier) AND satisfy my cravings. All I can say is thank God for the internet. There are a lot of recipes out there so I did my research then took that knowledge into my kitchen and experimented and came up with what works for me and my taste buds (not too worried about my husband. you remember the "mikey likes it" kid? yeah, i am pretty much married to that guy - even the name is right!). We love appetizers so occasionally we crave fried zucchini and onion rings. In our house, thanks to our lifestyle, just ground beef actually means veggie crumbles and fried actually means baked in the oven. It works - mouth is happy, weight stays down, pants still fit :-)

I have tried many many different ways to get the bread crumbs to stick to the onion rings - water, egg, milk. Last week, I watched Rachael and her segment had a new trick to try, so I did. I think her recipe called for frying the onion rings since the recipe called for vegetable shortening. But I don't really know since I stopped reading after the part I was looking for - the breading part. Any how, it seems this recipe is pretty much a batter-dipped onion ring - or at least it gets to be that way at the end when the milk turns into a milk-and-flour gloop. OK, enough chatter, you're bored with me, I know. Here is the recipe (Rachael's inspiration and my changes):

ONION RINGS
Ingredients:

• White or sweet onions (# depends on how many people you need to serve)
• Milk
• Flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Pam spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  
• Put milk, flour & breadcrumbs into 3 different bowls (one thing in each bowl people, they will get mixed up enough on their own during the process)
• cover a cookie sheet or baking pan with aluminum foil & spray with Pam spray
  
• Slice onion into 1/2 slices and separate the rings
• dip each ring in the following order: milk, flour, milk, flour, milk, breadcrumbs and then place in a single layer on the baking sheet
• When the baking sheet is full or all your onion rings are breaded and on said sheet, whichever comes first, place sheet in oven and bake until crunchy on the outside & soft inside (you should be able to squeeze them and they will give. be careful if you try my technique of testing by eating - they are HOT!)

I think the key here is the double flouring. At least that's what the guy on the Rachael Ray show who did it says. And I know that they definitely were crunchier than when I only did 1 dip or when I didn't use the flour at all.

REMOULADE SAUCE (for those who like it)
Ingredients:

• Mayo or Miracle Whip
• Mustard (i used horseradish mustard)
• Ketchup
• Horseradish (just a dash - that stuff is strong!! omit if you don't like this or if you use horseradish mustard)

Directions:
Unfortunately, since I don't measure anything, all of the ingredients are "to taste" except the mayo, which is the base of the sauce. Use as much of this as you think you will need sauce. Actually, use a little less since the other stuff will fill it in.

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl until you get the color and flavor you like (since I am trying to recreate Outback's remoulade sauce, this is my guide and I try to make it taste like that).
• Chill for at least 1 hour to let flavors mingle
  

lunch 2/3/10

yeah, i know it's not a really interesting title but if i tell you too much in the title, you might not read the posting. i bet you are really intrigued and dying to find out what i made for lunch today. see, there is a method to my madness.

lunch today was tostadas , or what you can do with leftovers to make them more fun. and the recipe is easy peasy!

Ingredients:

• tortillas (i used corn)
• refried beans
• taco meat (for my non-meat eating friends,veggie crumbles work well. i have used them in the past and they still make an awesome tostada)
  
• cheese
• toppings of your choice

Directions:
Toast the tortillas in the oven @ 400 degrees (give or take) until crispy (i did this on my pampered chef pizza stone for a nice crispy shell). Heat up the beans (BE CAREFUL if you do this in the micro as beans + microwave = explosion when you take it out. trust me, i learned this one the hard way) and the meat. Once the tortillas are done to your liking (keep an eye on them while they are cooking), top them with a layer of beans, a layer of meat and a layer of cheese. Pop them back in the oven for a minute or so to melt the cheese. Remove from oven and top with sour cream and/or any other toppings you might want to use. Enjoy!

Note that this is not a meal that does well when eaten at your computer while trying to update your blog. Trust me, again, this is a lesson I learned for you :-)

Now if I had only thought to buy some pudding while I was at the grocery store, i would be a happy girl...

attempt at baking

Again with the way back machine, just not so way back this time - we are only going to Christmas on this trip. I have a friend, Yvett, who puts on the most awesome theme parties. Seriously, she could make a career of organizing parties and everyone would be jealous at the people who have Yvett-planned parties. Maybe I will talk to her about this... But I digress. This was a Cookies & Cocktails party so, yep, you guessed it, I had to step out of my comfort zone and (the horror!)...bake!! It was an adventure to say the least. Besides the stomach ache I gave myself from eating all the uncooked sugar cookie dough, I learned some things about making cookies.

Like other things, I learned a lot about what not to do before I learned what to do. I decided to make linzer sandwich cookies because they looked pretty easy but still a little fancy. Apparently "easy" is a relative term. I thought it would be really cool to cut the center in nice Christmas shapes rather than boring old circles-in-circles. So I bought some really cute little cookie cutters from Michael's in fun shapes like a bell, holly leaf (not really recommended for use on this type of cookie, but more on that later), tree, angel and gingerbread man. I also decided to take the easy way out and use Pillsbury sugar cookie dough.

The first lesson was that the dough softens while you are working with it. A LOT. And this makes cutting the centers a little difficult and results in some seriously deformed gingerbread men and decapitated angels. Since I am not one for the blasphemous act of decapitating angels, it took some time to get this just right. But I persevered and they finally worked out, or so I thought...

Lesson #2 was that the cookies grow considerably while they are baking and the center cutouts close up almost completely. So then I decided that I could fix that by recutting the center when I took them out of the oven...but if you wait to long, the cookies harden a little and they don't cut very smoothly, leaving a lot of broken bits to snack on (again, not so good for the tummy ache). In some cases, they don't really cut at all and just leave a cookie cutter shaped indention in the cookie, with an oddly shaped remnant of the original cut in the center. This wouldn't normally be a huge problem but I had to take these cookies to a family party...with kids...and people my husband works with...and I initially tried this with the holly leaf. The result was a fairly vulgar cookie that was definitely NOT appropriate for family parties or people my husband works with. I am sure you can use your imagination but if you really really want to see what I am talking about, I will be more than happy to email you the picture privately (no pun intended here).

Anyways, I finally figured out that I needed to recut them and all was well and they got boxed up and taken to the party.

Here are the 2 ingredients:

• Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
• Seedless jam (NOT preserves) in your favorite flavor - I used raspberry, blackberry & strawberry (one flavor per cookie).

Roll out the dough and cut an even number of large circles. Divide those circles into 2 groups and cut the center out of 1 group of them (leave the other group intact - these will be the bottom layer). Bake according to directions on the package (more or less). When you take the ones with the center cutout, you may need to recut them. Do this as soon as you take them out of the oven, while they are still soft. Be careful, they are hot and if you are using metal cookie cutters, they will heat them up. Trust me. I learned this lesson so that you don't have to. Once they have cooled enough to handle, spread the jam on the bottom layer and top with a cutout cookie. Enjoy with your beverage of choice...

getting in the way back machine

Since I have been delinquent in my postings, we will now have to take a trip in the way back machine to Thanksgiving. One of the traditions in our house (mainly because I am such a dork) is taking a picture of our Thanksgiving table once all the food is on it. This started our 2nd Thanksgiving together because it was the 1st time either of us had ever made a turkey. Since we didn't really know what we were doing or what to expect, we were VERY pleasantly surprised that it came out so good (trust me folks, the turkey bag is the way to go!!). I have never liked turkey in the past but I LOVE our turkey. Seriously, it is the only turkey I have ever really gotten excited about. Must be the fact that we make something that is relatively healthy a lot less healthy once we add all the "extras" to season it (you'll see what I mean if you keep reading) Anyhow, here is Thanksgiving 2009:

Here are the details of the menu:

• Turkey seasoned with olive oil, oregano and garlic and stuffed with garlic, lemon, asiago cheese, romano cheese & parmesan cheese
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Caesar salad
• Whole berry cranberry sauce (yes, I use the canned one. maybe one year I will be brave enough to try making it from scratch. maybe this will be the year...)
• Gravy (again, jarred - from Williams-Sonoma. I have made gravy in the past but there is just never enough juice to make enough gravy so I rely on the jar)
• Crescent rolls

It was super yummy and the 18lb turkey barely made it through the weekend (and there were only 3 of us for dinner and 2 of us for the leftovers).

newly motivated

Well, since I still don't have a paying job yet (definitely not for lack of trying though), and since I noticed that 6/1 was the last time I updated this baby even though there have been A LOT of meals created and cooked since then, I decided to put my energy (energy that is otherwise spent on facebook) into keeping up my blog.

So here is my goal: Until I find a job, I will photograph and post all new meals I create.

Whether this proves to be easier said than done is another story, but I will try...