My friend Jack retired from Yucaipa-Calimesa JUSD after 40 years of teaching. (40!) He still joins our little "breakfast club" every Friday morning and comes to every school board meeting. He recently gave me this plant, and says it reminded him of me. He says I get "stuck" and "poked" and "needled" as president of YCEA. I've never seen a plant like this. It's botanical name is Nertera granadensis. The little "pins" are berries. I have a "black thumb," so DH has taken over its care and feeding, and so far it seems to be doing quite well.
Visit Kaylin’s Kitchen for information about Weekend Herb Blogging.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Jerk! Grilling and Roasting with My Spice Cabinet, A to T
I don't know what I enjoyed more tonight-the roasted potatoes, because I hardly ever get to eat potatoes, or the pork chops. I felt like cooking something quick tonight, but I also was craving roasted potatoes. Just before I left the office I called home and asked DH to help. He put got the pork out of the freezer and put it in a bowl of water to start thawing, and boiled the red potatoes. When I got home, all I had to do was slice the potatoes and toss with with the olive oil mixture, mix up the rub, slice the pork, and put it on the George Foreman grill. I love that little grill! It's not a very bog one, but it heats better than any of the rest that I've had. This little grill is the first one I bought, about 4 years ago, and I've had four different ones since then. Three of them I've given away, and the fourth is another one just like the first. I actually get grill marks! (See picture)
I'm not sure how many different herbs, spices, and seasonings I used tonight, but I know there were many. Let's count them: garlic, rosemary, parsley, salt, allspice, thyme, curry, paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. That's 14, right? I'm glad I have wall space for my two spice racks.
I buy my pork chops at Costco, and they come in slices off the pork loin that are two-three inches thick. I freeze each one individually, and then all we have to do is take one out and thaw it in a bowl of water. I slice it into three or four slices, and cook 'em up. Serves two, perfect for DH and me.
Grilled Jerk Pork Chops
The Rub:
1 1/2 t ground allspice
1 1/2 t dried thyme
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 t curry powder
1 1/2 t paprika
2 t Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 t salt
3/4 t black pepper
1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
The Chops:
Mazola Pure cooking spray*
2 t lime juice
3-4 boneless pork chops
2 T jerk seasoning rub (above)
Spray electric grill surfaces with cooking spray; preheat. Sprinkle both sides of chops with lime juice and jerk seasoning. Spread evenly with your fingers. Cook on grill about 5 minutes.
* Don't use Pam or similar nonstick cooking sprays on electric grills. The silicone in them builds up over time, creating a sticky surface.
Potatoes have got to be my all-time favorite food. I definitely have eaten way too many potatoes in my lifetime, especially the fried ones. After Dr. J told me in July to do something about my blood sugar, I eliminated potatoes from my diet for 6 weeks. Since then, I have potatoes maybe once a week. (I've lowered the other bad carbs in my diet successfully, so I can occasionally have potatoes. Right, Kalyn?) This is one of the ways that I literally swoon over. The combination of the crinkly crusty outside and the tender inside, plus the garlic and rosemary flavors is just heavenly.
Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
4-5 small red potatoes
2 T olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 t rosemary, crumbled (I use a mortar and pestle)
2 T dried parsley
1 t salt
Cover potatoes with water in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Drain. Preheat oven to 400?. Cut each potato in half; cut each half in three wedges. In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, parsley and salt. Add potatoes, and toss gently to coat all exposed surfaces. Turn out onto a metal cookie sheet (don't use stoneware for this for two reasons: metal browns the vegetables better, and stoneware can get ruined from the absorption of the garlic and rosemary). Using tongs, turn each one skin side down. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
CYNDI'S TIPS: After you've used one or two chipotle chilies from a can, blend or finely chop the remainder and store in a ziploc bag or freezer container. When you need some more for a recipe, scoop out what you need with a spoon (1 tablespoon = 1 chipotle chili). (credit for this tip goes to Anne Sweetman)
Since I have quite a few breakfast egg recipes that require overnight setting, I was going through my cookbook (all my recipes are on my computer) to see if there was something I could fix up tonight for tomorrow morning. I decided on Benedict Strata. I really love Eggs Benedict, and this recipe has those flavors in it, without the whole stick of butter that the real ones call for. In a little while I'll go fix it up, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and pop it in the oven in the morning.
Benedict Strata
3 English muffins
6 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
6 eggs
1 1/2 c low-fat milk
2 T reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 t grated lemon peel
2 T lemon juice
Split muffins and cut into cubes. Alternate even layers of muffin cubes and ham in lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, lemon peel and lemon juice until well blended. Pour evenly over muffin-ham mixture. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Uncover. Bake in preheated 350? oven until golden brown and knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
My daughter's packing has begun in earnest. We'll soon be empty nesters again. I'm soooooo looking forward to it. I'm so happy for her, but even happier for us! Five more nights.
Later!
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
I'm not sure how many different herbs, spices, and seasonings I used tonight, but I know there were many. Let's count them: garlic, rosemary, parsley, salt, allspice, thyme, curry, paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. That's 14, right? I'm glad I have wall space for my two spice racks.
I buy my pork chops at Costco, and they come in slices off the pork loin that are two-three inches thick. I freeze each one individually, and then all we have to do is take one out and thaw it in a bowl of water. I slice it into three or four slices, and cook 'em up. Serves two, perfect for DH and me.
Grilled Jerk Pork Chops
The Rub:
1 1/2 t ground allspice
1 1/2 t dried thyme
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 t curry powder
1 1/2 t paprika
2 t Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 t salt
3/4 t black pepper
1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
The Chops:
Mazola Pure cooking spray*
2 t lime juice
3-4 boneless pork chops
2 T jerk seasoning rub (above)
Spray electric grill surfaces with cooking spray; preheat. Sprinkle both sides of chops with lime juice and jerk seasoning. Spread evenly with your fingers. Cook on grill about 5 minutes.
* Don't use Pam or similar nonstick cooking sprays on electric grills. The silicone in them builds up over time, creating a sticky surface.
Potatoes have got to be my all-time favorite food. I definitely have eaten way too many potatoes in my lifetime, especially the fried ones. After Dr. J told me in July to do something about my blood sugar, I eliminated potatoes from my diet for 6 weeks. Since then, I have potatoes maybe once a week. (I've lowered the other bad carbs in my diet successfully, so I can occasionally have potatoes. Right, Kalyn?) This is one of the ways that I literally swoon over. The combination of the crinkly crusty outside and the tender inside, plus the garlic and rosemary flavors is just heavenly.
Garlic-Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
4-5 small red potatoes
2 T olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 t rosemary, crumbled (I use a mortar and pestle)
2 T dried parsley
1 t salt
Cover potatoes with water in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Drain. Preheat oven to 400?. Cut each potato in half; cut each half in three wedges. In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, parsley and salt. Add potatoes, and toss gently to coat all exposed surfaces. Turn out onto a metal cookie sheet (don't use stoneware for this for two reasons: metal browns the vegetables better, and stoneware can get ruined from the absorption of the garlic and rosemary). Using tongs, turn each one skin side down. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
CYNDI'S TIPS: After you've used one or two chipotle chilies from a can, blend or finely chop the remainder and store in a ziploc bag or freezer container. When you need some more for a recipe, scoop out what you need with a spoon (1 tablespoon = 1 chipotle chili). (credit for this tip goes to Anne Sweetman)
Since I have quite a few breakfast egg recipes that require overnight setting, I was going through my cookbook (all my recipes are on my computer) to see if there was something I could fix up tonight for tomorrow morning. I decided on Benedict Strata. I really love Eggs Benedict, and this recipe has those flavors in it, without the whole stick of butter that the real ones call for. In a little while I'll go fix it up, let it sit in the fridge overnight, and pop it in the oven in the morning.
Benedict Strata
3 English muffins
6 slices Canadian bacon, chopped
6 eggs
1 1/2 c low-fat milk
2 T reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 t grated lemon peel
2 T lemon juice
Split muffins and cut into cubes. Alternate even layers of muffin cubes and ham in lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish. In medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, mayonnaise, lemon peel and lemon juice until well blended. Pour evenly over muffin-ham mixture. Cover. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Uncover. Bake in preheated 350? oven until golden brown and knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
My daughter's packing has begun in earnest. We'll soon be empty nesters again. I'm soooooo looking forward to it. I'm so happy for her, but even happier for us! Five more nights.
Later!
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
Thursday, January 05, 2006
At least the bread was a hit
Today was another long day of negotiations with the District. We haven’t come to an agreement yet; it looks pretty far off. But everyone likes the bread. Their lawyer is a guy who likes to eat healthy, and he’s been enjoying my bread, as have Pam and Jenny. I’ll keep looking for cranberries so I can make the Double Cranberry Bread for the next time.
Since Theresa’s with some friends at the Kings hockey game, I took the opportunity to fix DH and me a dish she doesn’t like. Back in Germany about 20 years ago, Vince and Marilyn Alotta were friends of ours. Vince played football on the Rhein-Main Rockets with DH, and they had us over for dinner a few times. Marilyn is Cuban, and made Picadillo for us. She said that normally, picadillo had cinnamon and other spices in it, but she preferred hers without them. We do, too. It’s a simple, quick recipe, and we eat the whole thing.
Picadillo
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 of a medium onion (about 1/4 cup), diced
1/2 of a bell pepper (about 1/4 cup), diced
1/3 cup raisins
2 med. tomatoes, diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup sliced green olives (I use the stuffed ones, but it doesn’t matter)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat along with the onion and bell pepper. Add the raisins and tomatoes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add almonds and olives; stir. Serve over hot rice. Makes 3 servings (4 if you serve smaller servings.)
I found a German food blogger! The writer of Küchenlatein emailed me to let me know that he/she had a blog that had German and other recipes on it. I visited it this evening, and saw that the most recent post is for rotkohl, the same dish I posted a few days ago. Our recipes are similar; mine is simpler and more like the Danish. His/her (I don’t really know yet!) recipe has bacon and pears added. I knew that a lot of red cabbage dishes had apples in them, but I didn’t know about pears. But they’re similar to apples, so it make sense to me. The blog is in German, but with my DH’s assistance, plus a German-English online translator, I’ll be able to check out all the recipes. I showed DH the recipe for Schwarzbrot mit Griebenschmalz, which is dark bread spread with griebenschmalz (a spread made of pig or goose fat similar to shortening, and topped with roasted onions. He used to LOVE schmalz. Of course we don’t have it here, but showing him the photo on Küchenlatein brought back memories for him. I hope to spend a lot of time at this site working on my German and getting to know the blogger.
Since Theresa’s with some friends at the Kings hockey game, I took the opportunity to fix DH and me a dish she doesn’t like. Back in Germany about 20 years ago, Vince and Marilyn Alotta were friends of ours. Vince played football on the Rhein-Main Rockets with DH, and they had us over for dinner a few times. Marilyn is Cuban, and made Picadillo for us. She said that normally, picadillo had cinnamon and other spices in it, but she preferred hers without them. We do, too. It’s a simple, quick recipe, and we eat the whole thing.
Picadillo
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 of a medium onion (about 1/4 cup), diced
1/2 of a bell pepper (about 1/4 cup), diced
1/3 cup raisins
2 med. tomatoes, diced (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup sliced green olives (I use the stuffed ones, but it doesn’t matter)
salt and pepper to taste
Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat along with the onion and bell pepper. Add the raisins and tomatoes. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add almonds and olives; stir. Serve over hot rice. Makes 3 servings (4 if you serve smaller servings.)
I found a German food blogger! The writer of Küchenlatein emailed me to let me know that he/she had a blog that had German and other recipes on it. I visited it this evening, and saw that the most recent post is for rotkohl, the same dish I posted a few days ago. Our recipes are similar; mine is simpler and more like the Danish. His/her (I don’t really know yet!) recipe has bacon and pears added. I knew that a lot of red cabbage dishes had apples in them, but I didn’t know about pears. But they’re similar to apples, so it make sense to me. The blog is in German, but with my DH’s assistance, plus a German-English online translator, I’ll be able to check out all the recipes. I showed DH the recipe for Schwarzbrot mit Griebenschmalz, which is dark bread spread with griebenschmalz (a spread made of pig or goose fat similar to shortening, and topped with roasted onions. He used to LOVE schmalz. Of course we don’t have it here, but showing him the photo on Küchenlatein brought back memories for him. I hope to spend a lot of time at this site working on my German and getting to know the blogger.
| You Are Mud Pie |
 You're the perfect combo of flavor and depth Those who like you give into their impulses |
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Ah, the Aroma of Baking Bread! And Another German Recipe
Since tomorrow is another negotiations day, I’m baking bread again. I had wanted to give them all some Double Cranberry Orange Bread, but the grocery store is out of cranberries. So I went through my recipes for something they hadn’t had yet, and came up with Nut and Raisin Bran Bread. The only sweeteners in it are the molasses and raisins, so I’m not sure how sweet it will be.
Raisin Bran Bread
1 2/3 c whole wheat flour
1 c wheat bran
1/4 c nine-grain cereal
2 T ground flaxseed
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 c lowfat milk
1/2 c molasses
2 T walnut or vegetable oil
1 T lemon juice
1/2 - 3/4 c raisins
1/2 - 3/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts
Place the flour, wheat bran, cereal, flaxseed and baking soda in a large bowl, and stir to mix well. Place the milk, molasses, oil, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl, and stir to mix well. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the raisins. Coat an 8x8x4" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the batter evenly in the pan, and bake at 325˚ for about 50 minutes, or just until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Remove the loaf from the oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Invert the loaf onto a wire rack, turn right side up, and cool to room temperature. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or foil, and allow to sit for several hours before slicing and serving. (This will give the loaf a softer, moister crust.)
Today was our Rep Council Meeting, so I was later coming home than usual. Since I hadn’t planned ahead for dinner, like something in the crockpot, or meat out to thaw, I settled on grilled cheese and soup for dinner. I let DH choose: Split Pea or Bean with Bacon? He chose the BwB. He sprinkles dried chipotle chili flakes on his; I put bits of cheddar cheese in mine. That was it. Simple, quick dinner.
Great news! Our 24-year-old daughter just signed a lease on an apartment, and is moving out in one week! She’s so happy; so are we. Three years ago she was laid off from a very good job, and was forced to move in with us. During the 6 months on unemployment, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis , and has fought long and hard to learn how to live with it. In September, two good things happened. First, the FDA approved a new treatment for ulcerative and Crohn’s disease, infusions of Remicade, an arthritis drug. She goes every 8 weeks for the infusions. Second, she was hired at Morongo Casino to be a key person (if you win a jackpot, she’s the one who comes and gives you your money). The job pays well, enough for her to afford an apartment. Full health benefits kicked in on January 1st, and she also gets life insurance, disability insurance, and a 401(k). Her health has improved enough for her to hold down this wonderful job, and now she gets to move back out. How wonderful for her!
I told her I was writing about her, and asked her for her favorite German recipe. (She’s my “German” daughter–born in Frankfurt when we were stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base.) She selected Zigeuner Schnitzel. Most recipes I’ve seen for Zigeuner sauce include only bell peppers and onions. I like to think that mine’s more authentic, since I copied the sauce served at the Zigeuner-Eiche, a restaurant we frequented in Mörfelden-Walldorf about two miles from our house. One of the critical ingredients is the German pickle mixture. It’s called Krüegermann Mixed Pickled-Salad (Kruegermann Products), and has the right flavor for this sauce. It can be bought at military commissaries, which is where I bought mine, or at German food stores (such as George’s Market in Calimesa, near my office).
Zigeuner (Gypsy) Schnitzel
The Schnitzel:
4-6 thin boneless pork chops or pork sirloins
1 c flour
3 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup milk
2 c bread crumbs
1/3 c vegetable oil
The Sauce:
2 T vegetable oil
2 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 sm. onion, sliced vertically
1/2 bell pepper, cut in strips about 1” long
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c beef broth
1/3 c Kruegermann’s Pickle-Salad Mix
(note: if you can’t get this ingredient, use dill pickles, cut into strips about 1” long)
1 t Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce
salt to taste
To Make the Schnitzel: Tenderize the chops or sirloins with a meat mallet. Set out three shallow bowls. In the first, put the flour, which you’ll use to dredge the pork. Next is the eggs and milk, beaten together. Dip the floured pork into this mixture. Put the bread crumbs into the third bowl, and use it to coat the floured and battered pork. Let the pork sit about 15 minutes before frying. Heat the oil in a skillet, and brown the chops on both sides. Serve with the sauce.
To Make the Sauce: Heat oil in saucepan; sauté mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper until tender. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to blend. Cook, stirring, another minute or so. Add beef broth, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add Kitchen Bouquet (it adds good color and a bit more flavor to the sauce) and pickle-salad mix. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve over schnitzel.
DH loves this sauce served over rice, and I love it served over rösti (hash brown potatoes). It’s also commonly served over spätzle, a German noodle-dish. That’s a recipe for another day, one given to me by my mother-in-law, Erika, who taught me some of her German recipes.
GREAT FIND: Utah’s Own Honey Butter Spread. When DH and I were camped at Overton Beach (north arm of Lake Mead) last week, we were treated to a catfish fry. Patty made biscuits, and handed me a bottle of this spread: Honey Butter Spread . It tastes great on biscuits and toast, and has only 5 carbs per serving! It’s not available in California, so I bought 3 bottles at Lin’s Market in Overton.
The bread’s out of the oven, and it looks great. I’ll report tomorrow how it tasted, but it sure does smell wonderful. I hope negotiations go well, too. I’ll settle for lousy bread if we can have good negotiations.
Later!
german cooking
Raisin Bran Bread
1 2/3 c whole wheat flour
1 c wheat bran
1/4 c nine-grain cereal
2 T ground flaxseed
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 c lowfat milk
1/2 c molasses
2 T walnut or vegetable oil
1 T lemon juice
1/2 - 3/4 c raisins
1/2 - 3/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts
Place the flour, wheat bran, cereal, flaxseed and baking soda in a large bowl, and stir to mix well. Place the milk, molasses, oil, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl, and stir to mix well. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the raisins. Coat an 8x8x4" loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the batter evenly in the pan, and bake at 325˚ for about 50 minutes, or just until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Remove the loaf from the oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Invert the loaf onto a wire rack, turn right side up, and cool to room temperature. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or foil, and allow to sit for several hours before slicing and serving. (This will give the loaf a softer, moister crust.)
Today was our Rep Council Meeting, so I was later coming home than usual. Since I hadn’t planned ahead for dinner, like something in the crockpot, or meat out to thaw, I settled on grilled cheese and soup for dinner. I let DH choose: Split Pea or Bean with Bacon? He chose the BwB. He sprinkles dried chipotle chili flakes on his; I put bits of cheddar cheese in mine. That was it. Simple, quick dinner.
Great news! Our 24-year-old daughter just signed a lease on an apartment, and is moving out in one week! She’s so happy; so are we. Three years ago she was laid off from a very good job, and was forced to move in with us. During the 6 months on unemployment, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis , and has fought long and hard to learn how to live with it. In September, two good things happened. First, the FDA approved a new treatment for ulcerative and Crohn’s disease, infusions of Remicade, an arthritis drug. She goes every 8 weeks for the infusions. Second, she was hired at Morongo Casino to be a key person (if you win a jackpot, she’s the one who comes and gives you your money). The job pays well, enough for her to afford an apartment. Full health benefits kicked in on January 1st, and she also gets life insurance, disability insurance, and a 401(k). Her health has improved enough for her to hold down this wonderful job, and now she gets to move back out. How wonderful for her!
I told her I was writing about her, and asked her for her favorite German recipe. (She’s my “German” daughter–born in Frankfurt when we were stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base.) She selected Zigeuner Schnitzel. Most recipes I’ve seen for Zigeuner sauce include only bell peppers and onions. I like to think that mine’s more authentic, since I copied the sauce served at the Zigeuner-Eiche, a restaurant we frequented in Mörfelden-Walldorf about two miles from our house. One of the critical ingredients is the German pickle mixture. It’s called Krüegermann Mixed Pickled-Salad (Kruegermann Products), and has the right flavor for this sauce. It can be bought at military commissaries, which is where I bought mine, or at German food stores (such as George’s Market in Calimesa, near my office).
Zigeuner (Gypsy) Schnitzel
The Schnitzel:
4-6 thin boneless pork chops or pork sirloins
1 c flour
3 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup milk
2 c bread crumbs
1/3 c vegetable oil
The Sauce:
2 T vegetable oil
2 c sliced mushrooms
1/2 sm. onion, sliced vertically
1/2 bell pepper, cut in strips about 1” long
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c beef broth
1/3 c Kruegermann’s Pickle-Salad Mix
(note: if you can’t get this ingredient, use dill pickles, cut into strips about 1” long)
1 t Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce
salt to taste
To Make the Schnitzel: Tenderize the chops or sirloins with a meat mallet. Set out three shallow bowls. In the first, put the flour, which you’ll use to dredge the pork. Next is the eggs and milk, beaten together. Dip the floured pork into this mixture. Put the bread crumbs into the third bowl, and use it to coat the floured and battered pork. Let the pork sit about 15 minutes before frying. Heat the oil in a skillet, and brown the chops on both sides. Serve with the sauce.
To Make the Sauce: Heat oil in saucepan; sauté mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper until tender. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to blend. Cook, stirring, another minute or so. Add beef broth, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add Kitchen Bouquet (it adds good color and a bit more flavor to the sauce) and pickle-salad mix. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve over schnitzel.
DH loves this sauce served over rice, and I love it served over rösti (hash brown potatoes). It’s also commonly served over spätzle, a German noodle-dish. That’s a recipe for another day, one given to me by my mother-in-law, Erika, who taught me some of her German recipes.
GREAT FIND: Utah’s Own Honey Butter Spread. When DH and I were camped at Overton Beach (north arm of Lake Mead) last week, we were treated to a catfish fry. Patty made biscuits, and handed me a bottle of this spread: Honey Butter Spread . It tastes great on biscuits and toast, and has only 5 carbs per serving! It’s not available in California, so I bought 3 bottles at Lin’s Market in Overton.
The bread’s out of the oven, and it looks great. I’ll report tomorrow how it tasted, but it sure does smell wonderful. I hope negotiations go well, too. I’ll settle for lousy bread if we can have good negotiations.
Later!
german cooking
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
In Honor of ARF Tuesdays
I forgot that 6:30 in New Jersey was 3:30 here. Well, I was at work then. Sad excuse, but true. Over on Sweetnicks, she encourages ARF Tuesdays to encourage the eating of antioxidant-rich foods. I chose today to have blueberries and pecans in my low-carb yogurt. A pitiful effort, but I promise to do better. Sure wish I could have the potatoes, but I’ve done a pretty good job of eliminating them from my diet.
Alanna on A Veggie Venture tried to find out what vegetables were high in antioxidants, and her story ends with "The best list of antioxidant-rich vegetables is the list of vegetables you'll actually eat."
So, in honor of ARF Tuesdays , Here’s a recipe my friend Diane gave me that has 6 different veggies in it. It’s for dipping tortilla chips. When I had it at her house, I couldn’t stop eating it! My son loved it when he was home on leave. If you try it with something else, let me know.
Diane’s Bean “Dip”
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can corn, drained
4-6 green onions, sliced, including green part
1/2 small onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño, chopped finely
1 8-oz. bottle Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (Diane says DO NOT substitute!)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.
Dinner tonight was quick and simple, since I knew I’d be home around 5:30, and DH would be hungry. We made Pita Pizzas. Pretty simple. We used whole wheat pita bread, spread it with some Boboli Pizza Sauce, and then put pepperoni, mushrooms, cashews (it’s a California thing), and mozzarella cheese on them. Baked in the oven for about 12 minutes at 400˚. We used up the rest of the bag of spring greens from last night, and made Mario’s Salad again. With the leftover pizza fixings, DH can feed himself lunch tomorrow.
Funny thing happened at the office today. I had sent the link to my new blog to my office manager. Now, I love this woman dearly, and I already know she doesn’t cook much, but I told her in the e-mail that maybe I could inspire her a little. She said today, “Cyndi, the problem with your recipes is that they all have more than two ingredients. You see, I cook two-ingredient recipes. Like pork chops and Shake and Bake. Potatoes and butter.” We had a good laugh together. I’ll see what I can come up with for her. Any ideas?
Alanna on A Veggie Venture tried to find out what vegetables were high in antioxidants, and her story ends with "The best list of antioxidant-rich vegetables is the list of vegetables you'll actually eat."
So, in honor of ARF Tuesdays , Here’s a recipe my friend Diane gave me that has 6 different veggies in it. It’s for dipping tortilla chips. When I had it at her house, I couldn’t stop eating it! My son loved it when he was home on leave. If you try it with something else, let me know.
Diane’s Bean “Dip”
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz. can corn, drained
4-6 green onions, sliced, including green part
1/2 small onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
3-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño, chopped finely
1 8-oz. bottle Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (Diane says DO NOT substitute!)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.
Dinner tonight was quick and simple, since I knew I’d be home around 5:30, and DH would be hungry. We made Pita Pizzas. Pretty simple. We used whole wheat pita bread, spread it with some Boboli Pizza Sauce, and then put pepperoni, mushrooms, cashews (it’s a California thing), and mozzarella cheese on them. Baked in the oven for about 12 minutes at 400˚. We used up the rest of the bag of spring greens from last night, and made Mario’s Salad again. With the leftover pizza fixings, DH can feed himself lunch tomorrow.
Funny thing happened at the office today. I had sent the link to my new blog to my office manager. Now, I love this woman dearly, and I already know she doesn’t cook much, but I told her in the e-mail that maybe I could inspire her a little. She said today, “Cyndi, the problem with your recipes is that they all have more than two ingredients. You see, I cook two-ingredient recipes. Like pork chops and Shake and Bake. Potatoes and butter.” We had a good laugh together. I’ll see what I can come up with for her. Any ideas?
Monday, January 02, 2006
Have We Had Enough Football Yet?
I'm done for now. Until Wednesday (GO USC!!!!) I watched my alma mater, Texas Tech, lose to Alabama this morning. Tech should have scored more, and Alabama should not have made that sorry field goal at the end. Bummer.
Knowing that I had to go back to work tomorrow, I decided to make some of Kaylin’s “muffins” for some breakfasts for the next week or so (when I’m not at Kiwanis or Breakfast Club). I had a large bag of real bacon bits that I bought at Costco, plus a bar of Kraft sharp cheddar from when we went camping last week. I thought I’d get clever and use foil baking cups. MISTAKE! You see, Kaylin had suggested using two paper cups so the egg didn’t leak through. I thought, “Why not use the foil ones? They won’t leak.” Okay. They don’t leak. But I can’t microwave them. So I had to take them all out of the cups before I stuck ‘em in the freezer bags.
I did have one for lunch. Yum!!!. [Wait. Spellcheck says “yum” isn’t a word. And since I’m an English teacher.....forget it. It’s a word to me. ] Now I want to try sausage and cheddar. And asparagus and swiss. Do tomatoes freeze well once they’re cooked? I’d like to add tomatoes to this. Like Kaylin said, the variations are endless.
Dinner was a treat - comfort food for a snowy, blustery day. I wanted a salad like the one I had a Mario’s Place in Riverside called the Leona. It’s named after Mario’s wife, I believe. Except for the roasted peppers, which I could do without anyway, I think I did a pretty good job. It was a basic baby greens salad with cherry tomatoes, piñon nuts and feta cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette. Then the main course was pasta with a swiss cheese sauce and diced ham and peas. I could have eaten seconds and thirds, but was good and just had the one serving. DH liked it. I had thought there would be leftovers, but he was hungry and said, “You outdid yourself, bub.” (To me, that’s the ultimate compliment.)
Now–what to call my salad, since it’s not really Leona’s, but mine. I think I’ll still call it Leona’s, since that’s what I think when I make it. Wait, maybe I’ll call it Mario’s. That’s a pretty generic name and sounds good. Okay. Mario’s it is.
Mario’s Salad
1/2 bag baby or spring greens
14 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c piñon nuts, toasted
1/4 c feta cheese
Divide greens, tomatoes, nuts and cheese equally between two plates. Drizzle with a couple spoonfuls of balsamic vinaigrette.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 t Splenda brown sugar blend
2 t Dijon mustard
dash salt
dash ground pepper
Whisk together all ingredients; store leftovers in refrigerator for up to a week.
Linguine with Swiss Cheese, Ham and Peas
8 oz. linguine (I use Dreamfields)
2 T butter or margarine
2 T flour
1 c milk
dash salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg
1 c grated Swiss cheese
1 c diced cooked ham
1 c frozen peas, thawed
Cook linguine according to package directions; drain. In a large pot, melt the butter. Add flour and whisk till smooth. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Continue to cook, stirring, until thickened. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Add ham and peas. Add hot cooked pasta and toss. If the pasta has just come from the pan, serve immediately. If not, then heat over very low heat until hot throughout. Makes 4 servings.
I can’t believe the flooding up north. Here we had some minor flooding and mudslides, but I’ve been seeing on the news how horrific it is up in northern California. San Anselmo is a disaster area. How sad.
I was looking at the blackeyed pea soup here(I’m Mad and I Eat), and began to wonder: Have I jinxed my year? We didn’t have blackeyed peas for New Year’s. We have had them every year but this one. Maybe it’s not too late. I’ll pick some up just in case! I like to fix Black-eyed Peas with Rice. DH eats it up. I’ll put that on the menu for sometime next week.
Black-eyed Peas with Rice
3 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black-eyed peas, drained
1 14-1/2-oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 1/2 c cooked rice
1/4 t hot sauce
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t pepper
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside. Saute onion in drippings until tender. Drain onion and discard drippings; return onion to skillet. Add peas and remaining ingredients; cover and cook over low heat 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon into a serving dish; sprinkle crumbled bacon over top. 6 Servings.
Weather update: We have about two inches of snow on the ground. It rained all day, and later this afternoon it got colder and turned to snow. It's gonna be icy traveling in the morning.
Knowing that I had to go back to work tomorrow, I decided to make some of Kaylin’s “muffins” for some breakfasts for the next week or so (when I’m not at Kiwanis or Breakfast Club). I had a large bag of real bacon bits that I bought at Costco, plus a bar of Kraft sharp cheddar from when we went camping last week. I thought I’d get clever and use foil baking cups. MISTAKE! You see, Kaylin had suggested using two paper cups so the egg didn’t leak through. I thought, “Why not use the foil ones? They won’t leak.” Okay. They don’t leak. But I can’t microwave them. So I had to take them all out of the cups before I stuck ‘em in the freezer bags.
I did have one for lunch. Yum!!!. [Wait. Spellcheck says “yum” isn’t a word. And since I’m an English teacher.....forget it. It’s a word to me. ] Now I want to try sausage and cheddar. And asparagus and swiss. Do tomatoes freeze well once they’re cooked? I’d like to add tomatoes to this. Like Kaylin said, the variations are endless.
Dinner was a treat - comfort food for a snowy, blustery day. I wanted a salad like the one I had a Mario’s Place in Riverside called the Leona. It’s named after Mario’s wife, I believe. Except for the roasted peppers, which I could do without anyway, I think I did a pretty good job. It was a basic baby greens salad with cherry tomatoes, piñon nuts and feta cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette. Then the main course was pasta with a swiss cheese sauce and diced ham and peas. I could have eaten seconds and thirds, but was good and just had the one serving. DH liked it. I had thought there would be leftovers, but he was hungry and said, “You outdid yourself, bub.” (To me, that’s the ultimate compliment.)
Now–what to call my salad, since it’s not really Leona’s, but mine. I think I’ll still call it Leona’s, since that’s what I think when I make it. Wait, maybe I’ll call it Mario’s. That’s a pretty generic name and sounds good. Okay. Mario’s it is.
Mario’s Salad
1/2 bag baby or spring greens
14 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 c piñon nuts, toasted
1/4 c feta cheese
Divide greens, tomatoes, nuts and cheese equally between two plates. Drizzle with a couple spoonfuls of balsamic vinaigrette.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
1 t Splenda brown sugar blend
2 t Dijon mustard
dash salt
dash ground pepper
Whisk together all ingredients; store leftovers in refrigerator for up to a week.
Linguine with Swiss Cheese, Ham and Peas
8 oz. linguine (I use Dreamfields)
2 T butter or margarine
2 T flour
1 c milk
dash salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg
1 c grated Swiss cheese
1 c diced cooked ham
1 c frozen peas, thawed
Cook linguine according to package directions; drain. In a large pot, melt the butter. Add flour and whisk till smooth. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Continue to cook, stirring, until thickened. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Add ham and peas. Add hot cooked pasta and toss. If the pasta has just come from the pan, serve immediately. If not, then heat over very low heat until hot throughout. Makes 4 servings.
I can’t believe the flooding up north. Here we had some minor flooding and mudslides, but I’ve been seeing on the news how horrific it is up in northern California. San Anselmo is a disaster area. How sad.
I was looking at the blackeyed pea soup here(I’m Mad and I Eat), and began to wonder: Have I jinxed my year? We didn’t have blackeyed peas for New Year’s. We have had them every year but this one. Maybe it’s not too late. I’ll pick some up just in case! I like to fix Black-eyed Peas with Rice. DH eats it up. I’ll put that on the menu for sometime next week.
Black-eyed Peas with Rice
3 slices bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black-eyed peas, drained
1 14-1/2-oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 1/2 c cooked rice
1/4 t hot sauce
1/8 t garlic powder
1/8 t pepper
Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside. Saute onion in drippings until tender. Drain onion and discard drippings; return onion to skillet. Add peas and remaining ingredients; cover and cook over low heat 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon into a serving dish; sprinkle crumbled bacon over top. 6 Servings.
Weather update: We have about two inches of snow on the ground. It rained all day, and later this afternoon it got colder and turned to snow. It's gonna be icy traveling in the morning.
In Praise of German Food
I was doing a search the other day for blogs about German food. Couldn’t find any. I’m sure they’re out there; I just couldn’t find any. So I’ll write about German food and post a bunch of recipes. Why German food? It’s a long story, but I’ll try to make it short. When I was a teenager, Dad was stationed at Ramstein Air Base. I remember the pommes frites. (Wait, that’s French! But that’s what they called them.) My sister learned to eat hers with mayonnaise, like the Belgians. Then when I was in the Air Force, my one and only assignment was Rhein-Main Air Base, up near Frankfurt. I lived “on the economy,” and made a point of shopping in the local stores. My favorite was the Globus in Darmstadt. I then met, fell in love with, and married a man (DH) who was born in Augsburg. His father was U.S. Army, and his mother was German. He lived in Augsburg and Garmisch as a kid, and was stationed at Ramstein when I was in junior high (no, he’s not that much older than me, just 8 years). After we were married, we lived in a town called Walldorf, and our landlord’s wife, Frau Zwillig, taught me to make Kartoffelsalat. DH said it was very much like his mother’s. It’s not at all like what you get in recipe books–that one’s sweet and has bacon in it. The one Frau Zwillig taught me has only potatoes, onion, vinegar, oil, egg, salt, and white pepper. That’s it. We began to try some of the local restaurants, though I only remember the one on the top of the tower in downtown Frankfurt.
After we were married about 5 years, and were living here in southern California, DH got orders for Zweibrücken Air Base. It’s south of Ramstein, close to the French border. It didn’t take much to decide to accept those orders and go back to Germany. This is when we started going to the local restaurants as often as we could. We must have tried 20 or 30 different ones, and loved them all.
Once we returned to the States, we started missing German food. I began experimenting and researching, and have accumulated what I feel is a pretty decent repertoire of German recipes. I’m blessed that only two blocks from my office is George’s Market, a German market with almost everything I need. He has canned and boxed foods, noodles, wines, beer, dessert mixes, seasonings, fresh meats, luncheon meats (like blütwurst, or blood sausage, souse, which is chunks of meat in a gelatin, and leberkäse), salad dressings, candies, breads and pastries. I try to be a authentic as I can, especially since I can get German ingredients.
I’ll start with an easy one. Some German red cabbage recipes have apples in them, or onions, or even bacon. They’re pretty good, but this one is easy, and DH and my son eat it up. I always serve it with schnitzel or bratwurst.
Rotkohl (Red Cabbage)
1 med. head red cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (to begin with)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (to begin with)
1/2 cup water (to begin with)
salt and pepper
Put all ingredients together in large pot. Cook at least two hours over very low heat. Cabbage will wilt and darken. If it begins to get dry, add more vinegar and water. You don’t want it soupy, though. Taste periodically, and add more sugar or vinegar as needed. Makes about 12 servings.
food, cooking, recipes
After we were married about 5 years, and were living here in southern California, DH got orders for Zweibrücken Air Base. It’s south of Ramstein, close to the French border. It didn’t take much to decide to accept those orders and go back to Germany. This is when we started going to the local restaurants as often as we could. We must have tried 20 or 30 different ones, and loved them all.
Once we returned to the States, we started missing German food. I began experimenting and researching, and have accumulated what I feel is a pretty decent repertoire of German recipes. I’m blessed that only two blocks from my office is George’s Market, a German market with almost everything I need. He has canned and boxed foods, noodles, wines, beer, dessert mixes, seasonings, fresh meats, luncheon meats (like blütwurst, or blood sausage, souse, which is chunks of meat in a gelatin, and leberkäse), salad dressings, candies, breads and pastries. I try to be a authentic as I can, especially since I can get German ingredients.
I’ll start with an easy one. Some German red cabbage recipes have apples in them, or onions, or even bacon. They’re pretty good, but this one is easy, and DH and my son eat it up. I always serve it with schnitzel or bratwurst.
Rotkohl (Red Cabbage)
1 med. head red cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (to begin with)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (to begin with)
1/2 cup water (to begin with)
salt and pepper
Put all ingredients together in large pot. Cook at least two hours over very low heat. Cabbage will wilt and darken. If it begins to get dry, add more vinegar and water. You don’t want it soupy, though. Taste periodically, and add more sugar or vinegar as needed. Makes about 12 servings.
food, cooking, recipes
Last Day of Winter Vacation, and It's Snowing! Maybe I'll Get Stuck up Here
One of the first things I did after breakfast today was check out some other blogs. Kaylin of Kaylin’s Kitchen just posted a recipe for “muffins” that have eggs, cheese, and green chilies. Yum. She suggested variations, and I’m looking forward to ham and swiss, sausage and cheddar, asparagus and swiss, mushroom and cheddar--wow!
Kaylin’s Green Chile and Cheese Egg “Muffins”
12 eggs
half of a 4 oz can diced green chiles, with juice
(be sure to use Anaheim chiles, not jalapeños)
about 2 cups Four Cheese Mexican Blend
(sharp cheddar is good too)
2 T cream, half and half, or milk
1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional)
salt/pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Put 2 muffin liners in each muffin cup (12 muffin size pan) and spray with nonstick spray. In each muffin liner put a very generous pinch of the grated cheese. The muffin cup should be about 2/3 full before you put the egg in. Break eggs into bowl, add milk or cream and beat until egg whites and yolks are well combined. Add spices and green chiles with juice and mix into eggs. Pour egg mixture over cheese so each muffin cup liner is full to the brim. (This usually takes two pourings as the egg mixture settles over the cheese. Be sure they are as full as you can get them, but not running over the side or you will have a cooked-on egg mess.) I like to take a fork and gently "stir" in each muffin cup to get the cheese evenly distributed in the egg. Bake 375 for 35 minutes, or until all muffins are puffed up and the top is starting to brown.
Breakfast for us, though had a few carbs from the whole wheat tortillas. I made Sausage and Egg Quesadillas, a recipe first given to us in Pirmasens, Germany. We were camping at a local U.S. Army-supported campground, and met Lola and Jesse from Vogelweh (the Army housing area in Kaiserslautern). They invited us over for breakfast one morning, and made these, though Lola made them in burritos. Through the years I simplified the recipe, making quesadillas–same ingredients, less work. Here are two different versions, the original, and the healthy.
Sausage-Egg Quesadillas
1/2 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean is by far the best; no grease to drain)
1/4 c chopped onion
1-2 T chili powder (if you’re using chipotle chili powder, use just the 1 tablespoon–it’s really hot)
4 eggs
grated cheddar
flour tortillas (soft taco size(
Brown sausage together with the onion, breaking the sausage up into smaller crumbles. When browned, sprinkle with chili powder. Add eggs, and stir all together until eggs are cooked. Assemble the quesadillas: put a tortilla on a hot skillet. Spread about 1/3 cup of sausage-egg mixture on one half of the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over to form a half-circle. Brown lightly on both sides. Makes about 8.
Sausage-Egg Quesadillas–healthy version
1/2 lb. bulk lowfat sausage (Jimmy Dean makes a good one)
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 T chili powder (if you’re using chipotle chili powder, use just the 1 tablespoon–it’s really hot)
1 cup Eggbeaters (try the southwestern flavor, too!)
grated nonfat cheddar
whole wheat or low-carb flour tortillas
Brown sausage together with the onion, breaking the sausage up into smaller crumbles. When browned, sprinkle with chili powder. Add Eggbeaters, and stir all together until eggs are cooked. Assemble the quesadillas: put a tortilla on a hot skillet. Spread about 1/3 cup of sausage-egg mixture on one half of the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over to form a half-circle. Brown lightly on both sides. Makes about 8.
CYNDI’S TIPS: Keep chopped onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, and celery in separate zip bags in the freezer. Then you always have those ingredients handy when a recipe calls for them. This tip will not work when you need fresh ingredients, as for a salad, because they’re a bit wilted. But they’re suitable for all cooking. I use the jalapeños for pineapple salsa and chili con queso, and they’re just fine straight from the freezer.
GREAT FIND: While I was enjoying the political thoughts (which I strongly share) of I’m Mad and I Cook, I came across a post about a ceramic ginger grater. Hers looked like a little soap dish. I joined the other “mumblers” in wanting one, and found a cool-looking one on amazon. It looks like a fish!
Blowfish Grater
We’re getting snow now from this storm. It rained all night, and when DH went to check out the roads, he saw that water, mud, and rocks are flowing across the road in the normal two places: the double hump and below the fire station. Every time we get a good rain, this happens, and when it rains a lot, the mudslides start and we’re stranded. It’s supposed to happen this time, too. We keep seeing the flash flood warnings pop up on tv. But now that it’s snowing up here (we’re at 6,000’) the flooding will slow down. But we weren’t supposed to get snow! Snow level was supposed to be 7500 or 8000 feet!
I’ll be back later with more, including a weather update!
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
Kaylin’s Green Chile and Cheese Egg “Muffins”
12 eggs
half of a 4 oz can diced green chiles, with juice
(be sure to use Anaheim chiles, not jalapeños)
about 2 cups Four Cheese Mexican Blend
(sharp cheddar is good too)
2 T cream, half and half, or milk
1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional)
salt/pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. Put 2 muffin liners in each muffin cup (12 muffin size pan) and spray with nonstick spray. In each muffin liner put a very generous pinch of the grated cheese. The muffin cup should be about 2/3 full before you put the egg in. Break eggs into bowl, add milk or cream and beat until egg whites and yolks are well combined. Add spices and green chiles with juice and mix into eggs. Pour egg mixture over cheese so each muffin cup liner is full to the brim. (This usually takes two pourings as the egg mixture settles over the cheese. Be sure they are as full as you can get them, but not running over the side or you will have a cooked-on egg mess.) I like to take a fork and gently "stir" in each muffin cup to get the cheese evenly distributed in the egg. Bake 375 for 35 minutes, or until all muffins are puffed up and the top is starting to brown.
Breakfast for us, though had a few carbs from the whole wheat tortillas. I made Sausage and Egg Quesadillas, a recipe first given to us in Pirmasens, Germany. We were camping at a local U.S. Army-supported campground, and met Lola and Jesse from Vogelweh (the Army housing area in Kaiserslautern). They invited us over for breakfast one morning, and made these, though Lola made them in burritos. Through the years I simplified the recipe, making quesadillas–same ingredients, less work. Here are two different versions, the original, and the healthy.
Sausage-Egg Quesadillas
1/2 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean is by far the best; no grease to drain)
1/4 c chopped onion
1-2 T chili powder (if you’re using chipotle chili powder, use just the 1 tablespoon–it’s really hot)
4 eggs
grated cheddar
flour tortillas (soft taco size(
Brown sausage together with the onion, breaking the sausage up into smaller crumbles. When browned, sprinkle with chili powder. Add eggs, and stir all together until eggs are cooked. Assemble the quesadillas: put a tortilla on a hot skillet. Spread about 1/3 cup of sausage-egg mixture on one half of the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over to form a half-circle. Brown lightly on both sides. Makes about 8.
Sausage-Egg Quesadillas–healthy version
1/2 lb. bulk lowfat sausage (Jimmy Dean makes a good one)
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 T chili powder (if you’re using chipotle chili powder, use just the 1 tablespoon–it’s really hot)
1 cup Eggbeaters (try the southwestern flavor, too!)
grated nonfat cheddar
whole wheat or low-carb flour tortillas
Brown sausage together with the onion, breaking the sausage up into smaller crumbles. When browned, sprinkle with chili powder. Add Eggbeaters, and stir all together until eggs are cooked. Assemble the quesadillas: put a tortilla on a hot skillet. Spread about 1/3 cup of sausage-egg mixture on one half of the tortilla, then add a couple tablespoons shredded cheese. Fold tortilla over to form a half-circle. Brown lightly on both sides. Makes about 8.
CYNDI’S TIPS: Keep chopped onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, and celery in separate zip bags in the freezer. Then you always have those ingredients handy when a recipe calls for them. This tip will not work when you need fresh ingredients, as for a salad, because they’re a bit wilted. But they’re suitable for all cooking. I use the jalapeños for pineapple salsa and chili con queso, and they’re just fine straight from the freezer.
GREAT FIND: While I was enjoying the political thoughts (which I strongly share) of I’m Mad and I Cook, I came across a post about a ceramic ginger grater. Hers looked like a little soap dish. I joined the other “mumblers” in wanting one, and found a cool-looking one on amazon. It looks like a fish!
Blowfish Grater
We’re getting snow now from this storm. It rained all night, and when DH went to check out the roads, he saw that water, mud, and rocks are flowing across the road in the normal two places: the double hump and below the fire station. Every time we get a good rain, this happens, and when it rains a lot, the mudslides start and we’re stranded. It’s supposed to happen this time, too. We keep seeing the flash flood warnings pop up on tv. But now that it’s snowing up here (we’re at 6,000’) the flooding will slow down. But we weren’t supposed to get snow! Snow level was supposed to be 7500 or 8000 feet!
I’ll be back later with more, including a weather update!
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
Sunday, January 01, 2006
A Lazy, TV-Watching Sunday (Waiting for the Big Storm)
I think I’m stuck to my recliner. Except for visits to the kitchen and bathroom, I’ve spent all day right here in my chair. (That’s the joy of having a laptop!) We started with the NFL: Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans , then moved on to Washington vs. Philadelphia, and are now watching Dallas vs. St. Louis, and some NBA: the Lakers vs. the Jazz and the Clippers vs. the Trail Blazers. This whole time I’ve been working on the computer, doing some planning for the 2006 assembly, senate and congressional interviews, as well as searching the net for how to make drop-down menus. I give up. I’ve asked Sweetnicks to help, since she volunteered. If anyone else wants to give advice, all I want to do is make drop-down menus that will have my recipes on them. See http://sweetnicks.blogspot.com for what I’m talking about. What I'll do for now is put my recipes over with the other links. THAT I know how to do.
Happy New Year! Another one bites the dust. With the new one, I’ve done just a little bit of thinking about resolutions, or intentions, as I’d rather call them. The first one comes to me from Cooking Light magazine.
1. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
2. Be kind.
3. Take more photographs; preserve more memories.
4. Exercise more. Quit making excuses!
I think that’s enough. They sure encompass a lot of areas of my life.
GREAT FIND: Dannon’s Carb Control Yogurt. I looked at all the other yogurts and saw that none of them are low sugar. The low-fat and nonfat yogurts still have lots of sugar in them. The carb control yogurt has only 3 carbs, and it tastes just as good as the yogurts with sugar. Dannon’s Light and Fit, while it’s only 80 calories, still has 15 carbs, and Yoplait’s Light yogurts have 19 carbs.
What’s for dinner? I’m cooking a dish that I first had at my sister Marilyn’s house in Cary, North Carolina. She calls it “Unforgettable Casserole.” I was there for a visit in June, and offered to help prep. When she asked me to chop two cups of celery, I told her I didn’t care too much for celery, and asked if we needed the whole two cups. She nicely let me know that yes, we did, and I wouldn’t taste them. I loved this casserole! I had seconds! And now I fix it almost every month. When I work out the nutritional information, 1/8 of the casserole has 430 calories, 14.6 grams of carbs, 33.6 grams of fat, 1.3 grams of fiber, and 17.4 grams of protein. I’ll subsitute fat-free cheddar for half of the cheese, and fat-free cream of chicken soup–that should cut the fat even more. But all in all it’s a pretty low-carb healthy dinner.
Marilyn’s Unforgettable Chicken Casserole
3 c chopped cooked chicken (3-4 breasts)
2 c finely chopped celery
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/2 c light mayonnaise
1/2 c light sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 4-oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 large can French’s fried onion rings
Mix first 8 ingredients. Spoon into lightly greased 11 x 7” baking dish. Bake 40 min. at 350˚. Sprinkle onions evenly over top. Bake 5 more minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
To go with it, we’ll have chopped salad again. Vons had cherry tomatoes on sale today, and I need to use the other half of cucumber I have from Friday. Plus, DH says he likes this salad. Good. I do, too. Vons was out of cranberries, though, and I needed another bag to make some more Whole Wheat Double Cranberry Bread. We’re negotiating with the District Thursday, and I bake bread for everyone. Sue always brings candy, and we need healthy stuff. Now I’ll be searching for a new/different recipe for Thursday. In November I took Garden Bounty Muffins and Zucchini Gingerbread, and then in December I took Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread.
Garden Bounty Muffins
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c Splenda
1 c shredded carrots
1 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c applesauce
1 egg
1/2 c Eggbeaters
2 T canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c oat or wheat bran
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t orange zest
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t baking powder
Preheat oven to 375˚. Spray 18 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine sugar, Splenda, carrots, zucchini, raisins, applesauce, egg, Eggbeaters, oil, extract, and flaxseed until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine flour, bran, soda, salt, zest, nutmeg, and baking powder. Stir flour mixture into vegetable mixture until moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan. Cool 10 minutes. Makes 18
Big Zucchini Gingerbread
2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c wheat or oat bran
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
3 c grated zucchini
3 eggs
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c oil
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c molasses
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying with non-stick spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients including zucchini iingredientser bowl. Add the wet ingrients to the dry and stir until just combined. Pour mixture into loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
2/3 c oil
1 c molasses
1/3 c Splenda granular
1 15-oz can pureed, cooked pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t salt
2 t fresh ginger, grated
4 T soy flour
1/2 c milk powder
1/2 c 9-grain cereal (can substitute wheat or oat bran)
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 T baking powder
Preheat oven to 325˚. Blend the oil, molasses, pumpkin, eggs, and all of the spices in a large bowl. Stir remaining ingredients togther and add to the first mixture. Bake in two well-oiled 5x9" loaf pans for about 1 hour. If the loaf gets too brown before the end of the baking time, lower the heat to 300?.
CYNDI'S TIPS: If you need buttermilk for baking, but don’t have any, make soured milk. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, stir and let stand for about 5 minutes. When your recipe calls for buttermilk, it’s because it needs the acidity of the buttermilk to interact with the baking powder to make the bread or cake rise. The vinegar or lemon juice will serve that purpose.
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
Happy New Year! Another one bites the dust. With the new one, I’ve done just a little bit of thinking about resolutions, or intentions, as I’d rather call them. The first one comes to me from Cooking Light magazine.
1. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
2. Be kind.
3. Take more photographs; preserve more memories.
4. Exercise more. Quit making excuses!
I think that’s enough. They sure encompass a lot of areas of my life.
GREAT FIND: Dannon’s Carb Control Yogurt. I looked at all the other yogurts and saw that none of them are low sugar. The low-fat and nonfat yogurts still have lots of sugar in them. The carb control yogurt has only 3 carbs, and it tastes just as good as the yogurts with sugar. Dannon’s Light and Fit, while it’s only 80 calories, still has 15 carbs, and Yoplait’s Light yogurts have 19 carbs.
What’s for dinner? I’m cooking a dish that I first had at my sister Marilyn’s house in Cary, North Carolina. She calls it “Unforgettable Casserole.” I was there for a visit in June, and offered to help prep. When she asked me to chop two cups of celery, I told her I didn’t care too much for celery, and asked if we needed the whole two cups. She nicely let me know that yes, we did, and I wouldn’t taste them. I loved this casserole! I had seconds! And now I fix it almost every month. When I work out the nutritional information, 1/8 of the casserole has 430 calories, 14.6 grams of carbs, 33.6 grams of fat, 1.3 grams of fiber, and 17.4 grams of protein. I’ll subsitute fat-free cheddar for half of the cheese, and fat-free cream of chicken soup–that should cut the fat even more. But all in all it’s a pretty low-carb healthy dinner.
Marilyn’s Unforgettable Chicken Casserole
3 c chopped cooked chicken (3-4 breasts)
2 c finely chopped celery
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/2 c light mayonnaise
1/2 c light sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 4-oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 large can French’s fried onion rings
Mix first 8 ingredients. Spoon into lightly greased 11 x 7” baking dish. Bake 40 min. at 350˚. Sprinkle onions evenly over top. Bake 5 more minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
To go with it, we’ll have chopped salad again. Vons had cherry tomatoes on sale today, and I need to use the other half of cucumber I have from Friday. Plus, DH says he likes this salad. Good. I do, too. Vons was out of cranberries, though, and I needed another bag to make some more Whole Wheat Double Cranberry Bread. We’re negotiating with the District Thursday, and I bake bread for everyone. Sue always brings candy, and we need healthy stuff. Now I’ll be searching for a new/different recipe for Thursday. In November I took Garden Bounty Muffins and Zucchini Gingerbread, and then in December I took Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread.
Garden Bounty Muffins
1/4 c sugar
3/4 c Splenda
1 c shredded carrots
1 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c applesauce
1 egg
1/2 c Eggbeaters
2 T canola oil
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c oat or wheat bran
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t orange zest
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t baking powder
Preheat oven to 375˚. Spray 18 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine sugar, Splenda, carrots, zucchini, raisins, applesauce, egg, Eggbeaters, oil, extract, and flaxseed until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine flour, bran, soda, salt, zest, nutmeg, and baking powder. Stir flour mixture into vegetable mixture until moistened. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan. Cool 10 minutes. Makes 18
Big Zucchini Gingerbread
2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c wheat or oat bran
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
3 c grated zucchini
3 eggs
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c oil
3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c molasses
Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying with non-stick spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients including zucchini iingredientser bowl. Add the wet ingrients to the dry and stir until just combined. Pour mixture into loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread
2/3 c oil
1 c molasses
1/3 c Splenda granular
1 15-oz can pureed, cooked pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t salt
2 t fresh ginger, grated
4 T soy flour
1/2 c milk powder
1/2 c 9-grain cereal (can substitute wheat or oat bran)
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 T baking powder
Preheat oven to 325˚. Blend the oil, molasses, pumpkin, eggs, and all of the spices in a large bowl. Stir remaining ingredients togther and add to the first mixture. Bake in two well-oiled 5x9" loaf pans for about 1 hour. If the loaf gets too brown before the end of the baking time, lower the heat to 300?.
CYNDI'S TIPS: If you need buttermilk for baking, but don’t have any, make soured milk. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, stir and let stand for about 5 minutes. When your recipe calls for buttermilk, it’s because it needs the acidity of the buttermilk to interact with the baking powder to make the bread or cake rise. The vinegar or lemon juice will serve that purpose.
food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes
Saturday, December 31, 2005
It’s Raining! But There’s a Fire in the Fireplace and Dinner in the Crockpot
I awoke this morning to the heater running - it was pretty cold outside (38˚), so my DH turned on the heat. It felt soooo good to get out of bed for once. Over coffee I suggested a coffee cake - and decided to try a recipe that sounded interesting. I’ve been having a craving for Sara Lee’s Pecan Coffee Cake - but realize now that I should NEVER have that again! I can eat half of one at one time! When I made this, I changed the ingredients a little - it originally called for 2/3 cup of honey, but I changed it to 1/3 cup honey and 1/3 cup Splenda. I was a little leery of the amount of spices called for, but it still came out great. My problem now is portion control. That “one serving” thing always gets me. Dr. J says whole grains still have carbs, and I also know there are carbs in the honey, so I really have to stick to one serving. It made 8 squares - I ate 1, DH ate two, and then I froze the rest for another time. I have one square I can pull out and zap for a quick breakfast, and then 4 squares that DH and I can have for another breakfast.
Kenny called from Korea right after 7 am to tell us Happy New Year - it was just after midnight there where he was (Kunsan).
Whole Wheat Pecan Coffee Cake
2 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
2 T milk powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t allspice
2 eggs, beaten
1 c buttermilk or plain yogurt
1/3 c honey
1/3 c Splenda granular
3 T melted butter or oil
Topping:
2/3 c chopped toasted pecans
1 T butter
2 T honey
Preheat oven to 350˚. Stir all the dry ingredients together using only one-half of all the spices. Set aside the remaining 1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoons of cloves and allspice for the topping. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, honey, Splenda, and melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry with as few strokes as possible, then turn the mixture into an oiled 7x11" baking pan. Prepare the topping as follows: melt the butter in a small frying pan; add the chopped pecans and heat until they are toasty brown and fragrant with butter. Remove from heat; stir in the honey and remaining spices. Spread the topping carefully over the batter in the baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cake tests done.
GREAT FIND: Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup. I’m a Starbuck’s snob. While DH enjoys any coffee, usually Folger’s, I really enjoy the bold flavors of Starbuck’s. For a long time I got a caramel macchiato - until I realized how many calories and carbs it had (Grande = 566 calories, 36 carbs, 42 grams of fat (WOW!). I discovered DaVinci sugar-free caramel syrup at Clark’s Nutrition Center in Loma Linda. Now I order a coffee, add Splenda and the syrup, plus half and half, and I end up with 39 calories, 1 carb, and 5 grams of fat. Much better, yes? And the flavor is still fantastic.
There’s one problem with having a small breakfast–you’re really hungry later in the day. This is when the “small meals” concept is useful. Some ideas for those mini-meals include yogurt with granola, toasted pecans, and dried blueberries (use the Dannon Carb Control yogurt–it’s only 3 carbs!), an apple or orange, a couple melba toasts spread with a cheese spread, a whole wheat tortilla spread with a little peanut butter, a handful of mixed nuts, beef jerkey, applesauce…the list goes on and on.
I cooked dinner in the crockpot today- Ground Beef and Lentils, from Fix It and Forget It. We smelled it all day; especially the molasses and cloves. The recipe says to top this with sour cream or salsa. Molasses? Cloves? Salsa? Since when do those go together?
Beef and Lentils
1 med. onion
3 whole cloves
5 c water
1 lb. lentils
1 t salt
1 bay leaf
1 lb. (or less) ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c molasses
2 T brown sugar
1 t dry mustard
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
Stick the cloves into the whole, peeled onion. In a large saucepan, combine water, lentils, salt, bay leaf, and whole onion with cloves. Simmer 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients in crockpot. Stir in simmered ingredients from saucepan. Add additional water if mixture seems dry.
Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add water as necessary to keep from drying.
Serve topped with salsa and/or sour cream.
You know, I really didn’t care too much for this. DH did. He ate two large bowls full, topped with Chachie’s salsa. He said it was too bad I didn’t like it, but he did, and is looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow. To each his own.
CYNDI’S TIPS: You know how you get those little puddles of clear liquid in your sour cream or yogurt after you’ve used some of it? Here’s how to prevent them: Just before you put it away, take a spoon and press the remaining sour cream or yogurt all down so the top is flat - no holes or dents. The liquid won’t form!
Kenny called from Korea right after 7 am to tell us Happy New Year - it was just after midnight there where he was (Kunsan).
Whole Wheat Pecan Coffee Cake
2 c whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
2 T milk powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t allspice
2 eggs, beaten
1 c buttermilk or plain yogurt
1/3 c honey
1/3 c Splenda granular
3 T melted butter or oil
Topping:
2/3 c chopped toasted pecans
1 T butter
2 T honey
Preheat oven to 350˚. Stir all the dry ingredients together using only one-half of all the spices. Set aside the remaining 1/4 teaspoons of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and 1/8 teaspoons of cloves and allspice for the topping. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, honey, Splenda, and melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry with as few strokes as possible, then turn the mixture into an oiled 7x11" baking pan. Prepare the topping as follows: melt the butter in a small frying pan; add the chopped pecans and heat until they are toasty brown and fragrant with butter. Remove from heat; stir in the honey and remaining spices. Spread the topping carefully over the batter in the baking pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cake tests done.
GREAT FIND: Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup. I’m a Starbuck’s snob. While DH enjoys any coffee, usually Folger’s, I really enjoy the bold flavors of Starbuck’s. For a long time I got a caramel macchiato - until I realized how many calories and carbs it had (Grande = 566 calories, 36 carbs, 42 grams of fat (WOW!). I discovered DaVinci sugar-free caramel syrup at Clark’s Nutrition Center in Loma Linda. Now I order a coffee, add Splenda and the syrup, plus half and half, and I end up with 39 calories, 1 carb, and 5 grams of fat. Much better, yes? And the flavor is still fantastic.
There’s one problem with having a small breakfast–you’re really hungry later in the day. This is when the “small meals” concept is useful. Some ideas for those mini-meals include yogurt with granola, toasted pecans, and dried blueberries (use the Dannon Carb Control yogurt–it’s only 3 carbs!), an apple or orange, a couple melba toasts spread with a cheese spread, a whole wheat tortilla spread with a little peanut butter, a handful of mixed nuts, beef jerkey, applesauce…the list goes on and on.
I cooked dinner in the crockpot today- Ground Beef and Lentils, from Fix It and Forget It. We smelled it all day; especially the molasses and cloves. The recipe says to top this with sour cream or salsa. Molasses? Cloves? Salsa? Since when do those go together?
Beef and Lentils
1 med. onion
3 whole cloves
5 c water
1 lb. lentils
1 t salt
1 bay leaf
1 lb. (or less) ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c molasses
2 T brown sugar
1 t dry mustard
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
Stick the cloves into the whole, peeled onion. In a large saucepan, combine water, lentils, salt, bay leaf, and whole onion with cloves. Simmer 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients in crockpot. Stir in simmered ingredients from saucepan. Add additional water if mixture seems dry.
Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add water as necessary to keep from drying.
Serve topped with salsa and/or sour cream.
You know, I really didn’t care too much for this. DH did. He ate two large bowls full, topped with Chachie’s salsa. He said it was too bad I didn’t like it, but he did, and is looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow. To each his own.
CYNDI’S TIPS: You know how you get those little puddles of clear liquid in your sour cream or yogurt after you’ve used some of it? Here’s how to prevent them: Just before you put it away, take a spoon and press the remaining sour cream or yogurt all down so the top is flat - no holes or dents. The liquid won’t form!
Friday, December 30, 2005
Very First Post - With Trepidation and Anticipation
I guess it's time to join the wonderful community of cooks and bloggers. I'm inspired by Sweetnicks, whose cooking-related blog is my favorite place to visit. I plan to focus my blog on my endless fascination with food, with food that tastes great, food that is USUALLY healthy, and recipes that have been given to me by family and friends. I was just diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a couple months ago, so I'll also be talking about my search for good diabetic recipes. I'm a camper, meaning my husband (DH) and I go out a lot in our pop-up tent trailer, so I'll also have great recipes here for camping - both with and without electricity. Most importantly, I suppose, will be the family heritage recipes - the ones that are tried and true, passed down from both my family and from my husband's.
So - what's for dinner tonight? I'll start with a favorite: Lemon-Garlic Schwenks. What's a schwenk? When we were stationed in Germany (Zweibrucken Air Base), a popular food in that part of Germany was the schwenkbraten. It's a boneless pork sirloin marinated in curry powder, garlic powder, parsley, paprika, sliced onion, and oil, then grilled and slapped on a crusty roll. No cookout or carnival at ZAB was complete without the POL troops manning a booth that had schwenkbraten. DH loved to cook them; keeping them warm in a pan of German beer was crucial. While I still make the German kind of schwenks, I discovered a new marinade for boneless pork sirloin that my family likes just as much.
Marinade for Lemon-Garlic Swenks
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1-2 tsp chopped garlic
1 t dried oregano
2 T dried parsley
Marinate the pork sirloin in it for a few hours or overnight, then grill. Serve on a crusty sandwich roll.
Now, since I'm watching carbs, I'll be eating mine without the bread. As side dishes, we're having Jamie's Choppped Salad and my 4-bean salad. I throw the bean salad together every once in a while to get some beans into our diet. I switched from sugar to splenda a few months ago and don't even notice the difference in taste.
Cyndi"s Four-Bean Salad
2 T finely diced onion
1/2 c white or cider vinegar
2 T Splenda granular
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 14-15-oz. can cut green beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can cut wax (yellow) beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
In medium bowl, whisk together the onion, vinegar, Splenda, salt, and pepper. Add beans. Stir to mix.
Jamie's Chopped Salad is an adaptation of one I got from "the naked chef," Jamie Oliver. I've made it fit two people (since
DH eats two bowls). I added crumbled blue cheese to mine, which reminds me of my first tip for this blog:
CYNDI'S TIPS: Store dry cheeses in the freezer - they'll last for months. By dry cheeses, I'm talking about grated cheddar, swiss, mozarella, and parmesan, as well as block or crumbled feta and blue cheese. I keep the cheeses in plastic zip bags, and can take out just what I need.
Anyway, on to the recipe:
Jamie's Chopped Salad
1 head romaine (the heart - from a bag of three), sliced and then chopped
about 3" of a cucumber, peeled, diced
2 small roma tomatoes (or other ripe tomato), diced
thinly sliced purple onion to taste
Vinaigrette:
3-4 T red wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/8 t (one twist of the grinder) black pepper
3 t Splenda granular
1/8 t paprika
Whisk together the vinaigrette, toss with the salad. Add blue or feta cheese crumbles, if you like.
Okay, now it's on to dessert. I crave sweet stuff in the evenings, and sometimes I just don't want another sugar-free jello or pudding cup. Tonight we'll have some of my cranberry-orange bread that I made yesterday. I started cooking with whole grains, and really don't use white flour any more except for thickening gravy or coating meats before sauteeing. This bread is dense but the cranberries make it moist. The dried cranberries, which are sweetened, offset the tartness of the fresh ones, and using Splenda helped cut back on some of the "bad" carbs. This bread is high in protein, too, so two slices make an excellent breakfast.
Whole Wheat Double Cranberry-Orange Bread
1/2 c butter, softened
2/3 c honey
1 1/2 c Splenda granular
3 eggs
2 c orange juice
3 2/3 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c nine-grain cereal (can substitute oat or wheat bran)
1/2 c powdered milk (I use Milkman brand)
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 T dried grated orange peel
2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 bag (about 2 cups) fresh cranberries
1 6-oz. package (about 1 1/3 cups) dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 325˚. Grease two 9-inch loaf pans. Cream the butter and honey; beat in Splenda, eggs, and orange juice. In a separate bowl, stir together all dry ingredients (except nuts and berries); add them gradually to the liquid mixture. Fold in nuts and cranberries. Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pans. Bake 1 1/4 hours. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to finish cooling.
GREAT FIND: Crystal Light's "on the go" packets. They are perfect for diabetics - and anyone trying to lose weight. One little packet sweetens a 16-oz. bottle of water, and they come in several different flavors. The orange flavor tastes like Tang, which I like, and there's also raspberry (which tastes like kool-aid), tea, and lemonade. I've also seen a green tea flavor made by Lipton. I keep a bottle mixed up all the time, and it's a great drink when I don't want a carbonated soda or sugary fruit juice.
So - what's for dinner tonight? I'll start with a favorite: Lemon-Garlic Schwenks. What's a schwenk? When we were stationed in Germany (Zweibrucken Air Base), a popular food in that part of Germany was the schwenkbraten. It's a boneless pork sirloin marinated in curry powder, garlic powder, parsley, paprika, sliced onion, and oil, then grilled and slapped on a crusty roll. No cookout or carnival at ZAB was complete without the POL troops manning a booth that had schwenkbraten. DH loved to cook them; keeping them warm in a pan of German beer was crucial. While I still make the German kind of schwenks, I discovered a new marinade for boneless pork sirloin that my family likes just as much.
Marinade for Lemon-Garlic Swenks
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1-2 tsp chopped garlic
1 t dried oregano
2 T dried parsley
Marinate the pork sirloin in it for a few hours or overnight, then grill. Serve on a crusty sandwich roll.
Now, since I'm watching carbs, I'll be eating mine without the bread. As side dishes, we're having Jamie's Choppped Salad and my 4-bean salad. I throw the bean salad together every once in a while to get some beans into our diet. I switched from sugar to splenda a few months ago and don't even notice the difference in taste.
Cyndi"s Four-Bean Salad
2 T finely diced onion
1/2 c white or cider vinegar
2 T Splenda granular
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 14-15-oz. can cut green beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can cut wax (yellow) beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained
1 14-15-oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
In medium bowl, whisk together the onion, vinegar, Splenda, salt, and pepper. Add beans. Stir to mix.
Jamie's Chopped Salad is an adaptation of one I got from "the naked chef," Jamie Oliver. I've made it fit two people (since
DH eats two bowls). I added crumbled blue cheese to mine, which reminds me of my first tip for this blog:
CYNDI'S TIPS: Store dry cheeses in the freezer - they'll last for months. By dry cheeses, I'm talking about grated cheddar, swiss, mozarella, and parmesan, as well as block or crumbled feta and blue cheese. I keep the cheeses in plastic zip bags, and can take out just what I need.
Anyway, on to the recipe:
Jamie's Chopped Salad
1 head romaine (the heart - from a bag of three), sliced and then chopped
about 3" of a cucumber, peeled, diced
2 small roma tomatoes (or other ripe tomato), diced
thinly sliced purple onion to taste
Vinaigrette:
3-4 T red wine vinegar
3 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/8 t (one twist of the grinder) black pepper
3 t Splenda granular
1/8 t paprika
Whisk together the vinaigrette, toss with the salad. Add blue or feta cheese crumbles, if you like.
Okay, now it's on to dessert. I crave sweet stuff in the evenings, and sometimes I just don't want another sugar-free jello or pudding cup. Tonight we'll have some of my cranberry-orange bread that I made yesterday. I started cooking with whole grains, and really don't use white flour any more except for thickening gravy or coating meats before sauteeing. This bread is dense but the cranberries make it moist. The dried cranberries, which are sweetened, offset the tartness of the fresh ones, and using Splenda helped cut back on some of the "bad" carbs. This bread is high in protein, too, so two slices make an excellent breakfast.
Whole Wheat Double Cranberry-Orange Bread
1/2 c butter, softened
2/3 c honey
1 1/2 c Splenda granular
3 eggs
2 c orange juice
3 2/3 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c nine-grain cereal (can substitute oat or wheat bran)
1/2 c powdered milk (I use Milkman brand)
1/4 c ground flaxseed
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 T dried grated orange peel
2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 bag (about 2 cups) fresh cranberries
1 6-oz. package (about 1 1/3 cups) dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 325˚. Grease two 9-inch loaf pans. Cream the butter and honey; beat in Splenda, eggs, and orange juice. In a separate bowl, stir together all dry ingredients (except nuts and berries); add them gradually to the liquid mixture. Fold in nuts and cranberries. Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pans. Bake 1 1/4 hours. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to finish cooling.
GREAT FIND: Crystal Light's "on the go" packets. They are perfect for diabetics - and anyone trying to lose weight. One little packet sweetens a 16-oz. bottle of water, and they come in several different flavors. The orange flavor tastes like Tang, which I like, and there's also raspberry (which tastes like kool-aid), tea, and lemonade. I've also seen a green tea flavor made by Lipton. I keep a bottle mixed up all the time, and it's a great drink when I don't want a carbonated soda or sugary fruit juice.
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