You Can’t Hate On This

I’ve spent the past 5 days traveling cross country and back for a college graduation. I loved the trip, but hated the flight schedule and one of the airlines in particular (I’m talking about you Allegiant Air). How in the world does an airline have a plane that departs a 24 hour city (Las Vegas) at 6 AM filled with seats that don’t recline?? MAJOR FAIL! The cost of a one way flight from Las Vegas to Oklahoma City was great ($103 each with the stupid $15 carry on bag fee, $6.59 credit card processing fee, and the various taxes and fees) but the lack of reclining seats for a 3 hour flight is a deal breaker!

Having finally gotten back late Monday afternoon, with a cough, sore throat and ears that ached, all I wanted was a fuss free meal, some cough medicine, and to sleep in my own bed.

Thinking back to when you were a kid, what meal resulted in no complaints ever?

If you were me, that complaint free plate featured a perfectly crisped grilled cheese sandwich. If my Mom wanted to make me really happy she’d serve it alongside a bowl of Campbell’s Tomato Soup she’d doctored up with milk, butter and freshly popped popcorn floating in it.

That’s my idea of heaven!

Knowing the schedule of the flights I’d booked, the likelihood of tornado delays (big thanks to Jim Cantore at The Weather Channel), and that I would be eating huge meals & drinking a lot of wine over the weekend, I had prepped my kitchen ahead of our trip with the essentials.

My perfect grilled cheese

Thick Cut Sourdough Bread – My first choice is Francisco Sourdough
Butter – ONLY real butter, no margarine or anything else
Cheese – If I am in a hurry it can only be Kraft American Singles, but if I have the luxury of time, I like to slice thick chunks off of a block of Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat a skillet over medium heat on your stove
Butter one side each, of two pieces of sourdough bread
Place first piece, butter side down, into the pan
Layer either the American or Sharp Cheddar cheese (don’t skimp) on the piece in the pan
Place the second piece of bread, butter side up, on top of the cheese
Cook until you no longer see bubbles around the edges of the bread and a quick peek verifies that you have a crispy, well browned, bottom piece
Using a spatula, flip the sandwich over onto the uncooked side and cook as directed in step 6
Once cooking is complete slide the sandwich out of the pan and onto a plate.
Slice down the middle and enjoy the gooey goodness.

Yeah, that (and a glass of ice cold milk) makes this girl happy!

Are you on Facebook? You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Steak & No Bake Baked Potatoes

It’s a hot, lazy Wednesday evening and I’m not in the mood to cook.

I’m looking for something to make for dinner that:

Won’t take a lot of time;
Will satisfy post-basketball practice hunger;
Won’t heat up the house more than the 89° day did already;
Won’t make a huge mess in the kitchen; and
Won’t interrupt my Girls Drinking Wine time

A quick review of items on hand resulted in a hearty dinner that satisfied my family and, bonus, took minimal effort on my part so I could enjoy a rare mid-week treat of girl time!

I pulled out my handy (practically hands off) go-to kitchen saviors, my T-Fal Electric Pressure Cooker & cast iron skillet and dinner was well on it’s way to being made.

Baked Potatoes & Boneless Rib-Eye Steaks with Garlic Mushrooms

First, get the potatoes started:

Wash 2 Large Baking Potatoes
Put rack and 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker pan
Place potatoes on rack
Brush Potatoes with a touch of olive oil & sprinkle with sea salt
Close and lock pressure cooker, set to cook on high
Once pressure cooker reaches temperature, cook potatoes for 20 minute
When cooking time is done, unplug machine and leave closed until your steaks are done

While the potatoes are cooking:

Heat the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat;
Place 6 slices of bacon in the pan and cook for about 4 minutes per side (give or take) until crispy but not over browned;
Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
Salt and pepper 2 Boneless Ribeye Steaks on both sides & put in hot skillet;
Add about 1 cup of sliced mushrooms, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic salt & pepper to the pan;
Cook the steaks to desired degree of doneness while also stirring the mushrooms while they cook. My husband likes his medium rare, so I cook them roughly 4 minutes per side at medium-high heat.

When the steaks are ready:

Turn off heat and immediately remove steaks from the pan;
Place steaks on a serving plate and mound 1/2 of the mushrooms on each;
Release the remaining pressure in the pressure cooker;
Place potatoes beside the steaks on plates;
Cut the potatoes open, butter generously, crumble 1/2 the bacon inside each potato and top with sour cream, salt & pepper.

Lightened Without Losing Taste!

finishedcasserole I woke up this morning to raindrops and remembered that my Mom used to make us Tuna Noodle Casserole on rainy days. That started a mad craving but I wasn’t sure I had everything to make it. UG!

After surveying the cupboards and refrigerator, and preparing the emergency replacement for one of my main sauce ingredients from yesterday’s blog post, I was good to go and well on my way to satisfying my craving with the unintended bonus of lightening the recipe and making the soup gluten free, so I didn’t feel quite so guilty having seconds. Yes!

Mom’s Lightened T.N.C.

1 – 12 to 16 oz package Extra Wide Egg Noodles (Gluten Free if desired)
Scratch Condensed Cream of Celery Soup (follow link)
3/4 Cup Milk
4 – 2.6 oz Single Serve Pouches Starkist Low-Sodium Chunk Light Tuna in Water
1 Cup Mayonnaise

Prepare the noodles per package instructions
Drain most of the water off in a colander
Return noodles to the pan
Warm the soup (if not already warm) over low heat
Add the milk, contents of the tuna pouches, and mayonnaise and stir until combined
Bring to a boil then remove from heat
Using a heat proof rubber spatula, pour contents of soup pan over the noodles and gently fold it into the noodles.

Can be eaten hot or, as I prefer it, cold from the refrigerator!

Simple Salmon Croquettes

I have a standby recipe I use for salmon patties that stand up to being cooked on the grill, but I got really behind this Easter and couldn’t find that recipe when it came time to prep. Never one to be timid in the kitchen, and knowing that my husband would tell me if they sucked, I gathered my ingredients and started throwing them into my Vitamix.

Sriracha Cream Sauce

2/3 Cup Sour Cream
2 TBLS Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
2-3 TBLS Fresh Dill Chopped
2-4 TBLS Sriracha Hot Sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)

Combine and refrigerate until you are ready to serve dinner

Simple Salmon Croquettes

Combine these ingredients in your Vitamix (or food processor/blender) in the following order:

1 Medium Zucchini (or Yellow Squash) cut into chunks
2 Shallots (peeled & halved)
Juice of 1 Medium Lemon
3 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Shredded Parmesan/Romano/Asiago Blend Cheese
2 tsp Ground Pepper
4-5 Stems Fresh Dill (remove leaves from stems)

When the ingredients are well combined, add:

2 Pounds Fresh Salmon Fillet (skin removed)
2 Cups Panko Crumbs

Heat 2 TBLS olive oil in a large skillet (I used cast iron, but it doesn’t really matter).

When pan is well heated, scoop golf ball sized (or so) amounts of the mixture into your hands and flatten into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. The thinner they are the faster they will cook. I use about 1/2 inch as my guide. Fill the pan with patties and fry over medium heat for 3-5 minutes per side. Because the ingredients are minced, they cook fairly quickly. Once each side is browned, remove patties to a paper towel lined plate and continue in batches until all of the mixture is cooked.

Serve immediately on a mound of yesterday’s Simple Sweet Potatoes and beside a crisp green salad for a light, yet hearty, mid week meal.

Simple Sweet Potatoes

whippedsweetpotatoes Usually when I make my mashed or whipped sweet potatoes, I go through the whole peel, chop, boil routine that takes a lot of time and effort.

Yesterday I got my Easter dinner stated a few hours later than I usually do and the pressure (no pun intended) was nowhere near what it would have been because I knew I had my time saving secret weapon in the bullpen! Another reason to LOVE my new T-Fal electric pressure cooker!

Steaming, instead of dry pressure cooking on the rack, while I prepared our main dish saved me more than an hour in prep time. That alone was worth it, but the resulting creaminess of the potatoes allowed me to remove some of the higher fat ingredients I normally would have used to whip them in to submission using my stand mixer.

Super Fast & Easy Whipped Sweet Potatoes

2 Large Sweet Potatoes (or Yams)
2 Cups Water
1/4 Cup (1/2 Stick) Butter
3 TBLS Brown Sugar (Light or Dark)

Pour water into bottom of pressure cooker pan and place open steamer basket inside
Wash your sweet potatoes and prick the skin a couple of times with a fork
Place sweet potatoes into the steamer basket and close/lock the pressure cooker
Set pressure cooker to high and, once it reaches temperature, cook for 30 minutes
When timer sounds unplug the pressure cooker and set it aside to come back to normal pressure naturally while preparing the rest of your dinner.
When you are 10 minutes from serving your dinner, open the pressure cooker and remove the potatoes to a medium sized bowl.
The potatoes should be so soft that you can easily slide the peels off without need of any tool/utensils.
Place the butter and peeled potatoes back in the bowl and, using a fork (you won’t need anything more – trust me!) whip the two together until the butter melts.
Stir in the brown sugar and cover until you are ready to serve.
If you want to kick them up a bit, add a pinch of nutmeg and/or cinnamon.

These are so creamy that they could easily be cooled and serve to a baby just starting table foods, but can be hearty enough to accompany turkey, ham, beef, pork or the salmon patties I rested on top.

Meatless Monday Treat

It was a rough weekend.

First we had a two day basketball tournament that started early both days, meaning no sleeping in for me, and then we had a party we needed to go to Saturday night that turned into the proverbial shit show:

lamborghini_aventador_lp_720_yellow-800x600 While standing around watching the rest of the party goers drinking themselves into oblivion and admiring the host’s new bright yellow half million dollar Lamborghini Aventador, the host, who’s a very tall, very large man, lost his tenuous hold on his balance and began sliding down the rear fender with only me (I’m not a big girl) between him and the hard concrete floor & wall. I did my best to break his fall without breaking myself but he ended up landing on me in a very awkward position and, in the fiasco of the fall, I threw my red wine all over the back end of his gorgeous car. In my defense, I kept him from hitting his head on the floor or the wall so there was that…LOL

Suffice it to say that I was in some pain and thus, in no mood to make dinner Sunday night. I was very glad to remember that we had a leftover pizza in the refrigerator to reheat. Tonight, due to the second day of pain being even worse, from my neck all the way down my right side, I wasn’t anxious to roll out a gourmet dinner either. Thank God my husband is pretty easy to feed.

shishito1 I can usually dress up a grilled cheese sandwich in a way to satisfy him and tonight was no different. Real butter, a loaf of sourdough, some bacon that was already cooked & chilling in the meat drawer combined with some pepper jack cheese and we had a winner. I didn’t want to just let him eat the Cheetos he favors with it, and he didn’t want any of the leftover coleslaw from the other night, so I threw together another quick side he loves:

Blistered Shishito Peppers

Heat 1 TBLS olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add 1 pkg of fresh Shishito peppers to the hot oil and cook, tossing them every minute or so, for 5 minutes or until the skins are blackened and blistered.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.

shishito2 Trader Joe’s sells Shishito peppers pre-bagged, you can get them at your local Asian grocery store (they are beloved in Japan), or your grocery store may have them in your produce section.

Shishito peppers are generally mild, but it seems like one in every batch will light you up! 😉

Are you on Facebook? You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

What Goes With Quinoa?

So my first foray into pressure cooking went off without me getting maimed or burned, so I guess I’ll be using my new toy again soon! I made a huge batch of quinoa that turned out light, fluffy and quite tasty. Just one problem: we aren’t big eaters of any grain at dinner time outside of rice, so I was left at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my big bowl of quinoa.

lemonchickenquinoa The cupboards, refrigerator and freezer were rather bare due to the two week vacation we had just returned from, so I was left with very few options. A lemon, Roma tomato, small avocado, a bag of frozen edamame, and 1/2 lb of frozen diced chicken breast were all I could salvage to throw together some kind of dinner hearty enough to satisfy my husband.

Lemon Chicken with Avocado & Tomato Quinoa

1 1/2 Cups Cooked Quinoa (See yesterday’s post)
1 Small Roma Tomato (diced)
1 Small Ripe Avocado (diced)
1 Cup Frozen Shelled Edamame (Soybeans) Cooked
Juice of 1 Large Lemon
2 Tbls Olive Oil
1/2 Lb Fresh Diced Chicken Breast
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1/8 tsp Dried Dill
1/8 tsp +/- Arrowroot (to thicken the sauce)
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Freshly Ground Salt & Pepper

Juice the lemon, stir in the arrowroot and set aside. In a medium frying pan, heat 2 TBLS olive oil and the minced garlic over medium-high heat. Add the diced chicken, season with freshly ground sea salt and pepper, and brown for about 2 minutes per side. Add the edamame, dill, cayenne pepper and lemon juice mixture to the pan and continue cooking about 3 minutes until edamame and chicken are done and sauce is well incorporated.

Spoon about 1/2 Cup of the cooked quinoa and about 1/3 of the chicken mixture into a bowl. Top with the diced avocado and tomatoes and add more ground pepper to taste.

Light enough for my post-vacation diet yet hearty enough that 2 bowls satisfied my husband’s appetite. Win-Win!

A New Kitchen Toy

pressurecooker It seems I am always getting some kind of new kitchen gadget. Something as small as a new pair of nesting measuring cups can make my day. So imagine the glee I felt today when I opened the box from Amazon containing my new T-Fal 6 Quart Pressure Cooker!

To be honest, traditional pressure cookers have always scared me a bit. I watched my grandma and mother-in-law fearlessly use them with ease and skill, but the unpredictable nature of the steam behind the pressure made me steer away from any recipes that even mentioned the need for pressure cooking.

After seeing more and more positive media about the joys of cooking in “no time” using the new electric pressure cookers with pre-programmed settings for as many as 25 different foods, the ability to steam, cook, simmer, an even slow cook in one compact unit, I took the plunge and ordered one for myself.

I also bought the two top rated pressure cooker cook books I could find on Amazon.com so I’d be ready to prepare a gourmet meal upon my return from vacation this week. So what was my pressure cooker’s virginity breaking first meal? I chickened out of doing anything that I might result in me wasting a lot of ingredients and made a big batch of Quinoa!

Combine:

1 3/4 Cups Quinoa
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth (If I don’t have any canned broth on hand, I make my broth using 3 cups water boiled with 3 Wyler’s Herbed Chicken Bouillon Cubes)
Pinch of Freshly Ground Sea Salt
1 TBLS Butter

Put pressure cooking pan/bowl back into the machine and secure the lid as per your instructions. Turn your pressure cooker on and, if you have a setting for rice, select the rice setting and hit start. If you do not have a rice setting, you can manually set your machine to cook for 9 minutes on medium then hit start and let the machine get warmed up to do its job.

When cooking has finished, follow your machine’s instructions for releasing steam/ returning to normal pressure before opening the lid. My machine tells me to press the steam release button on the handle and wait until no more steam is escaping before turning the handle and opening the lid.

quinoa Remove the quinoa to a bowl and fluff to separate the grains. If you aren’t eating all of the quinoa prepared, store in a sealed container and refrigerate to eat throughout the week. Quinoa is fun because you can eat it as a side dish plain/with cheese/ or with vegetables, add some veggies to it as a salad, or add meat/chicken/fish/shellfish as a light main dish.

Spicy Shrimp Risotto

grillrender What’s the best part about the day after a barbecue? Leftovers of course!

Chicken went home with my girlfriend, the spicy Italian sausage and bacon wrapped jalapenos were devoured by everyone, but there were still some grilled vegetables and a dozen of the large freshwater shrimp left for me to toss into tonight’s dinner!

Spicy Shrimp Risotto

8 – 12 Grilled Large Freshwater Shrimp (Tails and Shells removed)
1 TBLS Olive Oil
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
1 Large Portobello Mushroom Chopped
1 -2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Cup (dry) White Arborio Rice
1 TBLS Butter
2 1/2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

In a 2 qt saucepan combine the rice with the butter and 2 1/2 cups of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steam another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another 2 qt saucepan, over medium heat saute the olive oil, mushrooms and bell pepper for about 8 minutes. Chop the shrimp into chunks then add it and the red pepper flakes to the vegetables. Simmer on low for about 5 to 7 minutes then cover and remove from the heat.

When the rice has finished steaming add it to the pan with the shrimp and vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and more crushed red pepper flakes if desired. Serve with chopped avocado and your favorite hot sauce.

Fit Fat Tuesday Feast

I love the comfort foods of winter but, because California gets a very short spell of cool weather, that means that I can’t just eat what I want and hide under sweatshirts and big sweaters…UG! Case in point: last week we had some of our lowest temperatures for late January/early February and this week it’s been in the high 80’s and low 90’s. I am going to be back in spring clothes before too long, so I have to stick to my diet plan.

Just because I’m watching what I eat doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy Fat Tuesday, right? By re-working one of my favorite Mardi Gras delights, I can (and did!) Laissez les bon temps roulez.

Let the Good Times Roll “California Style” Jambalaya

1 – 12 oz Chub Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat Premium Pork Sausage
2/3 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Diced
12 oz – Raw (Peeled, Deveined & Tails Removed) Shrimp
6 oz – Aidell’s Cajun Style Andouille Sausage
1 – 14.5 oz Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 Pkgs – Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Natural Whole Grain Brown Rice (90 Second Microwave Packages)
1 Red Bell Pepper – Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper – Chopped
1 Bunch Green Onions
2 TBLS Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (Peeled & Minced)
2 TBLS Zatarain’s Cajun Spice Blend
Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper To Taste

In a heavy duty skillet, preheated over medium-high heat, add 1 TBLS olive oil, the garlic, chopped onions, and chopped bell peppers. Cook while stirring about 5 minutes.

Preheat a large heavy duty stock pot or stew pan over medium high heat. Add 1 TBLS olive oil and the pork sausage to the pan. Break up with a wooden spoon and cook until nearly done, Add the diced chicken, sprinkle with the Cajun Spice, and continue cooking until chicken is nearly cooked through (4-5 minutes). Slice the sausage into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and add to the pan. Cut each peeled, deveined, tailed shrimp in half and add to the other meats in the pan. Cook about 2 minutes.

Tear the packages to vent and microwave the Uncle Ben’s rice packets for 90 seconds each on high.

Add the sautéed vegetables to the cooked meat. Stir in the canned tomatoes and bring all to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the two packages of rice to the pan.

Stir to combine. Add 1 TBLS ground black pepper and about 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.

Serve with hot sauce of your choice, and, if you’re like me and love it California Style, add 1/4 of an avocado to the top of your bowl of steaming jambalaya.

Are you on Facebook? You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

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