Pureed Sweet Peas

Last week's World's Healthiest Food was peas. I was in luck because I like peas and so does Jordan. He wasn't real excited about pureed peas though. He said, "Mom, that's baby food." I was a little sceptical myself, but I was willing to try the recipe. Boy, am I glad I did!! Yummy!!

Chop 1 medium onion and 2 medium cloves of garlic. Let sit for 5 minutes to help bring out their health-promoting properties. Heat 1 TBS of chicken (or vegetable) broth in a 10-inch skillet. Healthy Saute onion in broth over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute.

Add another 2 TBS of broth, 8 oz of frozen peas and 1 TBS of herbs and cook until tender. I used fresh basil. Recipe recommended minced fresh herbs such as mint, basil, chervil, or parsley. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes.

Puree in blender with 2 TBS of sunflower seeds. Season with salt and pepper. They had the texture of mashed potatoes and oh so yummy!!! I served them with Salmon patties from a HomeMade Gourmet recipe. I didn't realize the recipe only made 2 servings!! Next time I will double it because we really liked it and would have liked to had left-overs.

Want to know more about the health benefits of peas, check out this website!!
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=55

Food of the Week - Asparagus

Week of March 22 – 28
THE WORLD’S HEALTHIEST FOODS
Food of the Week - Asparagus


5-Minute Healthy Sautéed Asparagus

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus
3 TBS low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 clove of garlic







Directions:
Chop or press garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.

Heat 3 TBS broth over medium heat in a stainless steel skillet.
While broth is heating, snap off the woody bottom of asparagus stems, then cut the spears into 2-inch lengths. Cutting them into short pieces of equal length ensures quick, even cooking.
When broth begins to steam, add asparagus. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. The outside will be tender and the inside will be crisp. Thinner spears will take about 3 minutes. "Healthy Sauté" will concentrate both the flavor and nutrition of asparagus.

I added some salt and pepper and also some sliced almonds. It was so yummy!!! And healthy too!!

Louisiana Gumbo

Tonight I made Louisiana Gumbo from the Homemade Gourmet mix. First and foremost....Yummy!!!!!! (Sorry no pictures. I forgot to insert the little blue thinga-majiggy. I am sure it has an official name!!)
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First cook your rice!! I almost forgot to make the rice!! My rice take about 30 minutes, so I like to start it before I start anything else.
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Get the ingredients ready.
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound smoked link sausage, cut into 1/2-inch slices (I used the whole package of smoked sausage. The folks in the Palmer household like their meat!!)
1 Homemade Gourmet Louisiana Gumbo Mix
4 cups of water
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, un-drained (I used Rotel)
8 ounces of frozen cut okra
(I also added about 2 cups of chopped collard greens. Collard greens are the food of the week on my Healthiest Food website. They are a great source of calcium. They are full of Vitamins K,A&C. Plus they are low in calories!! I added them to my soup last week and loved them!!!)
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Add the oil to a 4-quart pot. Add chicken and sausage. Cook on medium heat for 7 minutes. The aroma from the cooking chicken and sausage was mouth-watering!!
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Add Homemade Gourmet mix and water. I added another 1/2 Cup of water since I was adding extra collard greens. I added the Collard greens at this point so they would be nice and tender. Bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Add Rotel and okra. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. (Don't overcook the okra or it will become gummy)
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Then serve over rice. I topped it with homemade croutons. It was delicious!!!!!

Cooking Again!

Well.... if you read my last post, then it said I was going to take J out to dinner tonight. But I decided to cook. Now here's a crazy story!! I get that way sometimes!!
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I have been following a website called the World's Healthiest Foods. The food of the week is Kale. I have never had kale, so I thought I would try it. So then I googled Kale recipes. I found this recipe called Peasant-Style Potato and Kale Soup. It sounded easy and good, so I printed it off. After work today, I stopped by the store and picked up the ingredients. Everything was pretty standard except for the chorizo and kale. I found chorizo. I have never cooked chorizo so I really didn't know what I was buying. It was the only package I could find, so I bought it. Then I went to the produce department and started searching for kale. No where to be found!! The recipe mentioned you could use collard greens, so that's what I bought.
*****
I will probably never make this recipe again because prep time was too long. Peeling, cutting, chopping!!! The recipe said to cut the chorizo in half lengthwise and slice. When I cut the chorizo lengthwise, it started gushing out of the package. There was no slicing it!! I also cut the collard greens to big. It was too hard to eat with a spoon. Overall it was good and tasty, just not the best soup I have ever eaten!! But it had healthy collard greens in it!!!! That should count for something!!

Menu Planning Monday

Menu Planning Monday??

Well..... today is Monday.....I should attempt to plan something.
But, I think this will be the week I will just go with the flow.
P took me out to dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, I will probably take J out to dinner.
Wednesday night, I will eat at church.
Thursday, I have dinner-out plans again.
Friday, I am headed to my Scrapbooking Retreat!!!

So..........it doesn't look like much cookin' going on in the Palmer household this week.
You know....some weeks are like that. And it is OK!! I have enough in my life to stress me out; I don't need to stress out about cooking.

So... folks.... see ya next week for hopefully a Home-cooked meal!!

Week 4 - Recipe

Week 4
Chili Pasta with Beans (Chili Mac)

This weeks recipe is SUPER easy!! It is a one-skillet meal. It is much more flavorful than one of those box meals.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. (I used olive oil, because that's what I have and that's what I like!! I also added a clove of garlic minced, because I like garlic!!)
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Add 3/4 cup of chopped onion (I used one small onion and chopped it with my Pampered Chep chopper)
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Add 3/4 pound of ground sirloin. (I used a whole pound. Jordan and I like our meat)
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Cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender and beef is browned, stirring to crumble.
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Stir in 4 teaspoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Cook 1 minute
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Stir in 2 cups of water and 6 ounces of uncooked wagon wheel-shaped pasta.
1 (15 oz) can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained (I couldn't find this in the grocery store, so I used a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and then a seperate small can of green chilis)
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
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Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until pasta is done.




















Then I decided to try Bok Choy with the Chili Mac. I have been reading a website about Heathly Foods. The food of the week this week is Bok choy. I stirfried/ steamed it in a skillet.

I heated some olive oil, soy sauce and a clove of garlic in the pan. Add the chopped up Bok Choy and then added a cup of water. I just let it cook until the bok choy was tender. Yummy!!

I had planned on making corn bread muffins, but we had some french bread left over and I served that.

It was a quick and easy meal.

And Jordan called it a KEEPER!!!!

Next Week - Shrimp and Broccoli Fried Rice with Toasted Almonds!!! Wow that sounds fancy!!!! I hope I can make it!!!!

Menu Planning Monday

Last year I tried Menu Planning Monday. I really liked it and it saved us money from eating out. I would come home from work and knew what I was cooking for dinner that night. But then I discovered Facebook and stopped blogging all together. The new year has opened up my blogging juices. My menu planning will look a bit different this year because my scheduled is completely different this year.On Sunday evening, I like to look at the week ahead and know what to expect. This year; who knows what to expect?!?!? So my menu planning has been simplified. I pick about 3 meals I would like to make for the week. I make them whenever it is convenient!



Week of January 18, 2010

• Chili Mac, steamed Bok choy, corn bread muffins (Chili Mac will be my blogged recipe from my new cookbook. Stay tuned for that recipe!! I have also been checking out a new website called The World's Healthiest Foods. http://www.whfoods.org/ Bok choy is this week's FOOD OF THE WEEK. I am trying to incorporate new and healthy foods into my diet each week. Last week was Winter Squash.)
• Homemade pepperoni pizza, tossed salad
• Grilled chicken breast, corn, tossed salad

Week 3 Recipe

This week I made

Double-Mushroom Pizza.

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Shopping for this recipe was quite the experience. I found the pizza crust fairly easy. The button mushrooms and portobello mushrooms were effortless, except I have never bought portobello mushrooms before. I had seen them before, but this was a first to buy them. I bought fresh thyme and fresh garlic. After the Pampered Chef party, I was motivated to use fresh garlic and use my PC garlic press! ;) Then my search took me to the tomatoes. The recipe called for plum tomatoes. But I found no plum tomatoes. I settled on Roma tomatoes. When I got home, my BFF Google help explain that Roma tomatoes is a variety of plum tomatoes. So I did good! Next I explored the store for Asiago cheese. I examined every cheese section of Albertson's. First of all, I really had no idea what I was looking for! So I came to the conclusion that I was going to have to ask for help. The nice lady in the deli department at least knew what I was looking for. She knew they carried it. But she wasn't for sure where it was housed. After a few minutes of searching, she found exactly was I was needing!! YAY!!!

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

*Place 1 (10 oz) thin pizza crust (such as Boboli) on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove crust from oven (do not turn oven off); set crust aside.

*Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add 1 (8 oz) package of pre-sliced button mushrooms and 1 (6 0z) package of pre-sliced portobello mushrooms, chopped (Used that trusty Pampered Chef chopper) to pan. Saute 8 minutes or until moisture evaporates. (It took about 15 minutes for the moisture to evaporate, and that was because I was rushing it!!)

*Stir in 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme. Spoon mushroom mixture into a bowl.

* Add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to pan and reduce heat to medium. Add 3 garlic cloves, minced to pan. Cook for 45 seconds.

*Combine 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of flour in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add milk mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.

*Add 3 tablespoons of Asiago cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to pan. Stir until cheese melts.

*Spread sauce over crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Top evenly with mushroom mixture, 1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced (Pampered Chef Slicer!!), and 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.

*Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

*Cut pizza into 8 wedges. Serving size is 2 wedges.

Next Week - Chili Pasta with Beans (otherwise known as Chili Mac!)

Papaya

Jordan and I are becoming more adventurous lately. So yesterday while we were shopping at Sam’s, we decided we wanted to try a papaya. The papaya is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya. It is native to the tropics of the Americas, and was cultivated in Mexico. It is often called a "paw paw" or a "big melon". Well, that was all and good, but we had no idea how to choose a ripe one!! So we asked my Dad, who happens to know everything! He said, “Yellow the better!” So we selected a yellow papaya!! The lady at the checkout counter confirmed our selection. She said, “This is a good one.”

Now the daunting task of cutting the papaya!! How do I do that?

Google to the rescue!!
· Place the papaya on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, cut the papaya in half lengthwise. If your papaya is ripe, this should be easy to do.
· Open up the papaya and separate it into two sections.

· Using a large spoon, scrape out the seeds. The easiest way to do this is to hold the papaya over the garbage can (or a bowl, if you plan to use the seeds), and scrape downward. Try not to cut too deeply with your spoon, or you may lose quite a bit of the fruit. Note: papaya seeds have a peppery flavor to them, and can be used for salad dressings and other purposes, if desired (I chose not to use the seeds. I am NOT that adventurous yet!!)
· Peel the Papaya. Cut into chunks.
· Squeeze a little lime juice over the papaya (about 1 Tbsp) - this brings out the tropical flavor of the fruit. Or combine your fresh papaya with other fruit in a fresh fruit salad.

I tried it w/o the lime juice. Wasn't impressed. Tried it with the lime juice. YUM!!! YUM!!!

Week 2 Recipe

I got a new cookbook for Christmas. It is called COOKING LIGHT - ANNUAL RECIPES 2010.Last week, I made the first recipe. It was Smothered Steak Burgers. They were very good and EASY!!!!! So recently watching Julie and Julia, I thought I might try blogging these new recipes! I am not quite so energetic as Julie, so I will try a new recipe a week! I thought that was an attainable goal!!************************************************************************************

Week 2
Red Beans and Rice

Salad

Garlic Bread Sticks

Before you start anything cook the rice. My rice takes about 30 minutes so I wanted it done by the time I finished the Red Beans and Rice.

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add 6 oz of chicken andouille sausage, chopped. (I doubled the meat for this recipe, because Jordan and I are carnivores. We like our meat!!)
• Add 8 oz of pre-chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery mix to pan. (I found this in the frozen section. It is my new BFF. It was so EASY!)
• Saute 4 minutes.
  

• Add 1 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning.
• Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano.
• Add 2 garlic cloves, minced. ( I used dried garlic.)
• Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Partially mash 1 (15-oz) can of red beans, rinsed and drained. Add to pan.
• Add 1/4 cup of water.
• Add 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, un-drained. (I bought the diced tomatoes with jalapenos. Jordan and I like our food SPICY!!!)
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until thickened.

• Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper.
• Serve over rice
• Serving size is about 3/4 cup of rice and 3/4 cup of bean mixture.
• Serve with a tossed salad and garlic breadsticks.

Jordan said it was a keeper!! That's what he says when he really likes it and wants me to make it again sometime!!
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Next week: DOUBLE - MUSHROOM PIZZA!

Menu Planning Monday

I'm Baaaack!!!!

I hope so anyway. Life is beginning to return to normal, so I am planning a menu for this week, and we'll see how it goes!!

• Monday, Feb.9 - Frenche's Crunchy Onion Chicken (Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine, Feb.2009, p. 67), cauliflower and mandarin oranges

• Tuesday, Feb.10 - Dinner Out

• Wednesday, Feb. 11 - Dinner at Church

• Thursday, Feb. 12 - Crispy Baked Talapia, Rice and peaches

• Friday, Feb. 13 - Pepperoni-Tomato Bagel Melts (One of Jordan's favorites), carrot sticks and pineapple

• Saturday, Feb. 14 - Fried Chicken Roll ups (Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine, Feb.2009, Menu Planner Monday), orange slices

Emerging

I am emerging from this infection. Life seemed to have just stopped for a couple of weeks. I am on the mend, but won't be completely healed for another 6 weeks. I am slowly returning to life as I knew it. I have started up my Wii again, but no Yoga poses that require standing on one leg. I don't want to fall off my Wii board and break anything. Because of the ear infection, my equilibrium is still off! I also cooked a meal!! (Something I don't do when I don't feel good!) I made Pulled Pork in the Crockpot. Extremely easy and yummy!

Ingredients:

• 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle of coke
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
• 8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the coke over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours.(I told you it was easy!) Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns. (I personally don't like my buns toasted!)

It cooked all day while I was at work. It took a minute to shred the pork. Oh!!! So Good!!!

Menu Planning Monday

Well, last week's menu worked pretty well. We flip flopped Monday and Tuesday! The curry on Thursday was fabulous! We ordered pizza on Friday instead of making it! And Chicken Enchiladas are getting bumped to another week since it is in the freezer and can be saved for later! So here is the menu for January 26, 2009!

Monday, Jan. 26 - Chicken Pockets (a recipe from my friend Sarah), broccoli, Mandarin oranges
Tuesday, Jan. 27 - Order Dinner Out
Wednesday, Jan. 28 - Dinner at Church (Chicken Sandwiches and Mac & Cheese)
Thursday, Jan. 29 - Pulled Pork Sandwiches in Crockpot, peaches
Friday, Jan. 30 - Grilled Chicken, salad, pineapple
Saturday, Jan. 31 - Leftovers
Sunday, Feb. 1 - Super Bowl Party at the Kielczewski's

I can't believe it is already February!! Sunday will be an eat till you pop day! The church is having a Chili Cook-off after services and Super Bowl party later at friends. I guess I will have to fit in an extra work-out on my Wii Fit! Yes, you heard me right, I have a Wii Fit now!!! It took me a month to get it, but I got it!! Have a great week!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday, January 19 - Spaghetti with Meat sauce (Mom had leftovers from her Sunday School Party), salad, garlic toast, applesauce

Tuesday, January 20 - Order out for Dinner

Wednesday, January 21 - Dinner at Church (Beef Stew and Sandwiches) Wonderful dinner for $3 and fabulous fellowship with friends!

Thursday, January 22 - Kashmiri Dum Aloo (curried potatoes) and Chicken, porotta, sliced bananas

Friday, January 23 - Home-made Pizza, orange slices (Family Game Night - Dominoes, UNO, or Phase 10?)

Saturday, January 24 - Dinner at Church: Tribute to Black & White TV ( I think they are serving Meatloaf)

Sunday, January 25 - Chicken Enchiladas, salad with avocado

Incredible Indian Food

Tonight I headed to my favorite Indian Food restaurant in Irving. It is a little hole in the wall, but great food. When I got there, they were gone! I went into the little market next door and inquired. A sweet young girl said they moved 3 lights down the road. So I hoped in my car and drove 3 lights down the road. There it was in a nice, new building attached to an India Import Market! I enjoyed a samosa (fried pastry with potatoes and peas and spices of course!) and Chicken Biryani (extremely spicy chicken and rice!). Oh, it was so yummy. Then I explored the market. I came home with piratas (a sort of flat bread) and four different curries. I also picked up some Tea Masala. It is a spice made of ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, green cardamom, nutmeg, and clove, and you add it to your tea for a spicier flavor! I am enjoying a cup right now! Mmmmmm!

Delicious Dinner!

Wow! Jordan and I had a great time making dinner together, and dinner was De-li-cious!! We tried a new recipe called Bacon-Tomato Bagel Melts.

• 2 bagels, split and toasted (We bought Jalepeno Bagels - Yum Yum!)
• 8 tomato slices
• 8 cooked bacon strips
• 4 ounces of mozzarella cheese

Place bagel halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Top each half with two tomato slices and two bacon strips. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Serve with ranch dressing.

Jordan was already planning the next time we make these! "We could use ham, or sausage, or pepperoni!", he said. "We could add some veggie, you know, whatever we have in the fridge. Then top the cheese with olives!!" I love it when we cook together, and he is so much more creative in the kitchen than I am.

Menu Planning Monday

Some friends of mine have been posting their menus for the week, and I think I will join the bandwagon!

• Monday (Jan. 12) - Bacon-Tomato Bagel Melts, salad, and Mandarin oranges


• Tuesday (Jan. 13) - Dinner out at an Indian Restaurant


• Wednesday (Jan. 14) - Dinner at Church - Lasagna, Garlic Bread, and salad


• Thursday (Jan. 15) - Tacos with all the fixings and peaches


• Friday (Jan. 16) - Taco Salad with leftover Taco meat


• Saturday (Jan. 17) - Tilapia with salad


• Sunday (Jan. 18) - Black Bean Soup, cornbread, and pineapple