oh happy day !!!!

http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

What an awesome contest over at Oh Happy Day.....maybe ill be going to paris !! 

polenta re-use

Polenta is one of my favorite pasta, carb, grain alternatives to the traditional white rice, potato carb loaded addition to a meal.  I make it often, but not too much where I will get sick of it.  When I do make it I often make extra and freeze it so that I have some for another meal later on. That is exactly what this post is about.  

Most of the time when I make it I roast a bunch of vegetables that I have extra after the week.  This time I had zuchini, yellow squash, a red pepper, a green pepper, and a red onion.

Chop them up and roast them up at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Then whisk up your polenta.  I usually buy Bob Red Mill's Corn Grits and the way they explain how to do it on the back of the package works perfect for me.  It's basically 3 cups of water to 1 cup of corn grits.  I also add in about a tablespoon of butter, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, and about a cup of Parmesan cheese.

I'm not really sure why people think polenta is so difficult to make.  It is quite simple in fact.  The trick is once the water comes to a boil you must whisk in the corn grits to avoid any clumps.

For this meal I used everything I needed then placed the extra in a baking dish.  I then cut them in rectangles.  

I then wrapped them individually to diminish freezer burn. 

I then placed them in a Ziploc and threw them in the freezer !

Then weeks later I took them out cooked them up and topped with some cheese, marinara sauce, and chicken sausage.  It was so easy !!

Enjoy !!!

bulgar salad

I have written lots in the past about my husbands so called "vampire diet."  To some this may seem strange, but let me explain again.  It is about being half vegetarian.  Meaning that he only eats meat for dinner.  So often I am tasked with coming up with delicious, healthy, and quick lunches for him and I to enjoy.  I love being able to find new recipes and the process of cooking.  It is a true form of creativity.

So on with a delicious Bulgar salad.  If you haven't used Bulgar I strongly recommend it.  It is the one of the most versatile whole grains you can cook with.  The best part of it is you can just pour boiling water over it and cover it and in less that 10 minutes the steam and the boiling water work together beautifully to cook it perfectly.

This is such an easy salad to start with if you haven't used bulgar before. 

You will need the following items

• 2 chopped zuchini 
• 1 red onion chopped
• 1 package of reduced fat feta cheese crumbled up 
• 1 head of parseley chopped up 
• 1 handful of sundreid tomatoes chopped up
• 1 lemon zested 
• 1 lemon juiced
• 3 tbs of olive oil 
• salt and pepper 
• 1 can of rinsed chickpeas 
• 1 small handful of black olives

Add it all to a bowl and mix it together throughly.  Then add in 3 cups of cooked bulgar.

Continue mixing it up throughly until it's all combined.  It will begin to look utterly delicious like it does below.  Give it a try today !!!

Enjoy !!!

autumn latkes

One of the things I love most about cooking and creating healthful meals for my husband and I are finding ways to sneak veggies into everything.   Not only placing veggies in everything, but increasing the numbers of servings of vegetables in a side dish as well.  This side dish is a wonderful example of that.  I got this recipe out of one of my friends favorite cookbooks Veginomicon, which is slowly becoming one of my favorites.  You can also find my friend The Wise Vegan here !!

You start autumn latkes by shredding 2 sweet potatoes, 3 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, and a couple of carrots.  It takes some time, but it is so worth it.  You can use a food processor to do it, but I felt like making my arms hurt for a bit.  

Then add in about 1/4 cup of cornstarch, an 1/8 of cup of flour, and 1/4 cup of water.  Mix that thoroughly and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

Then make patties out of the mixture and fry them up in a little olive oil.  They are so delicious.  They get wonderfully crispy with even just a little olive oil.  They freeze pretty well too!

They are delicious and you wont be able to say no to the extra veggies with this one !!

Enjoy !!! 
 

Caper mustard lemon sauce over baked broccoli

 
If you are looking for a way to spruce up that regular old steamed broccoli for dinner you must try this recipe.  

It is wonderfully simple with a few ingredients.  Those are simply the best recipes when there is less than 5 ingredients and the end result is just a package of flavor that allows you to eat healthy and have all the flavor! 

Start by adding 3 tbs of capers, 3 tbs of Dijon mustard, and the juice of 1 lemon into a bowl.  Mix it thoroughly with a fork so it totally incorporates. 

Add your sliced up broccoli into a baking dish and drizzle the mustard sauce all over it.  Mix it around a little with a spoon and toss it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  You will begin to smell it when its done.  Once its all toasty brown take it out and enjoy with dinner !!!

Curried Chicken Salad

Adapted from: Alisa Burke 

I got this recipe from one of my most favorite craft/life blogs.  I adore Alisa Burke's work.  She is unbelievably talented.  Occasionally, she posts recipes that her and her husband have enjoyed and this has been one of my favorites for sure.  I love making this when it is absolutely frigid because it slowly reminds me that spring is around the corner. 

Start with 3 cups of shredded cooked cooled chicken.  Add in 1/2 cup of light mayo and 3/4 cup of plain low fat Greek yogurt. 

Stir in 2 stalks of celery diced, 1/2 cup of craisins, stir in 3 tsp of curry powder, and 1 tsp of cumin.  I also like adding a squeeze of lime into it.

Serve it up on a whole wheat bun and enjoy!! It is such a healthful alternative to chicken salad and you can't go wrong with it.  I most recently made it for my parents and my husband and they all loved it.

Freezing tomato paste tip

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 I read about this amazing tip to save money.  Yes, a small can of tomato paste is only about 50 cents.  Frequently when you need tomato paste for a recipe sometimes you only need 1 - 2 tablespoons of it and then the rest goes in the trash can.  This is so easy and it works and saves money.  Lay down a small piece of wax paper on a plate.  Then take the remainder of the tomato paste and separate into 1 tablespoon portions.  Then place it in the freezer wait until they are firm.  Then peel them off of the wax paper and place them in a sealed container or a ziploc bag and store for later use. 

Enjoy !!!

vegan chocolate pudding

I adore challenges in cooking.  Which is why I always attempt other genre's of cooking i.e. vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, allergy free, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish you catch my drift. Cooking can really be an adventure if you let it happen naturally.  I hear people all the time chatting at work that they have problems planning meals and ensuring that there families eat healthy and enjoy their time they have together.  Sometimes it saddens me because a lot of people in larger cities especially rush, rush, rush to get to the next big thing.  Often we don't realize how important it is to take stock in the small things in life that we do have.  Because those small things sometimes may not be huge to us Americans, but to others around the world they are out of reach and part of "the American Dream."  Often, as Americans we feel like we only need to be utterly thankful around the holidays, but try to doing it weekly and I assure you that your overall happiness with soar.  It will also allow you to realize that this is the only life we have and we mustn't take it for it granted. 

Part of why I wanted to write about this is that it's incredibly important to not let LIFE stifle your need as a human being to fuel your body properly.  This does happen to us all from time to time, but it is crucial to not let it overpower you. 

Part of how you can start doing this is exploring new ideas and options that are out there for you.  Starting by cooking a lot more from scratch and relishing in the good stuff all the while making it a healthier experience. 

I recently found a recipe for vegan chocolate pudding.  I think when people often hear the word vegan they sometimes don't understand what it truly means.  It is literally nothing be scared of. 

The exact definition of vegan is as follows, 

a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal food or dairy products; also : one who abstains from using animal products.

Often times eating gluten free, vegan, vegetarian is just about proper substitution.  I really wanted something special for a birthday desert so i figured this may be a good idea.  It was so unbelievable simple as well.  

In a saucepan you will want to melt the following ingredients 

• 1/2 cup of coconut oil
• 1 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup honey
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Whisk it all together in the saucepan then add it to serving dishes.  I thought that this made 2 servings, but it really will be 5-6 servings.  Only because it is so rich.  I recommend using an older ice cube tray.  Adding 2-3 tbs of the pudding to each section of the tray.  Placing a couple of raspberries on top and then refrigerating them.  When the mixture gets cold it will harden up and it actually ends up being similar to soft chocolate candy.  We could not eat all of them in time and i ended up freezing the rest of them and they are equally delicious right out of the freezer.  Separating them out into an ice cube tray is also perfect for portion control. 

 

Enjoy !!! 

naan pizza

Happy New Year my dear friends!  Take it easy today.  Take a break maybe get to that one project in your house that you have been putting off.  Begin this year by eating right and feeling great.  Try more and more each day to make things from scratch so you can diminish toxins in your body and keep nothing but proper nutrients flowing through your body.

One of my favorite quick dinners especially during the winter is naan pizzas.  Mainly because in the middle of winter when the days are frigid and short this meal reminds me of long summer days and bright sunshine.  Naan Pizzas are so unbelievably easy to make.  You just need to pick out your toppings and then place a naan bread onto a cooking sheet or pizza pan and get started.  The two below were done with leftovers from the night below.  That is one of the best parts of this dinner is you can make it easily with items you have leftover from other meals or canned goods you have lying around.  Think outside of the box when it comes to pizza and pick up some naan bread tonight !!! 


































Enjoy !!!