Category: Meatless Monday

A New Kitchen Toy

pressurecookerIt 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.

quinoaRemove 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.

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

UG! I Cut My Avocado Too Soon

I have a 20 year old, beautiful and quite prolific avocado tree in my backyard.  It has survived being broken in half by a dog tie-out (Courtesy of our beloved Husky Whitney), uprooted when the swimming pool was being dug, and being eaten by the tree boring termites that took out it’s neighboring peach and plum trees.  It easily gives me more than 100 large, meaty, delicious avocados that stay good for me to eat and share with friends and family twice a year.

bacon-wrapped-fries-17-140x140January has come, Christmas “Shoeboxes of Love” have been distributed and I still have about 3 dozen on the tree.  I’ve been patiently watching for them to be ready to pick so I can finally try the recipe I pinned months ago for Bacon Wrapped Avocado Slices.  With Super Bowl just a week and a half away, I thought it was a perfect time to give it a try, so I pulled 6 off the tree.

I sent 2 home with my girlfriend and left the other 4 on the counter to slowly ripen.  The great part about picking them fresh is that I often have a good 2 weeks to let them become perfectly soft and ready to eat, unlike those at the store that have to be used as soon as you get them home.

If you don’t have ready-ripe store bought avocados to satisfy your craving, or the patience to wait that long, the following methods are rumored to be effective for ripening rock-hard avocados:

  • Put it in a brown paper bag overnight with a ripe banana or apple, which releases the ripening gas, ethylene (this is what I do)
  • Put it in a jar of rice
  • Bury it in flour
  • Wrap it in a piece of newspaper

3 remained yesterday and 1 was just reaching it’s perfect degree of softness.  My mouth watered anticipating a trial run of crisp salty bacon wrapped around velvety Haas Avocado dipped in a perfectly spiced fiesta ranch dip.  Then I got a massive migraine!

Off to bed I went so my husband was on his own for dinner.  He offered me a grilled cheese sandwich (one of my favorite things) but I was just not hungry.  I smelled his dinner cooking and was glad that he was self sufficient (at least last night).

I woke up this morning feeling a whole lot better and ventured into the kitchen to clean up the mess I knew would await, only to discover that HE ATE MY RIPE AVOCADO!

avocadoripe_guide

I cautiously felt the other two and, maybe it was my wishful thinking, but I determined that one of them was ready.  Into it I dove with my butcher’s knife only to hit rather firm flesh.  OH NO!  My avocado was ruined.

Instead of doing what I might have done in the past, i.e. throw the avocado out (GASP!), I went to my trusty friend, the internet in search of any way to save the prized green flesh!

A post on Hubpages.com may have just saved my cut too soon avocado after all!

If you have only opened, but not yet sliced the flesh and removed it from the shell, you can try to ripen the whole fruit:

  • Firmly fit the avocado halves back around the pit
  • Wrap the entire fruit with Saran Wrap, Masking Tape, Rubber Bands, Yarn, Twine, or anything that will hold the fruit firmly closed without allowing dust, bugs or moisture to get inside
  • Place fruit back on counter (do not refrigerate) and poke it gently every 12 hours until the flesh starts to give but doesn’t yet hold an indentation

An unripe, already sliced avocado can be prepared in ways that will cut the bitterness and hard texture so that it can still be enjoyed, albeit, not as much as if it were buttery and naturally softened, but nonetheless it can still be eaten.

  1. Make avocado patties by baking the cubed flesh 10-15 minutes at 300 degrees, until soft.  Mash and combine with panko, an egg and Cajun spice.  Spray a hot frying pan with olive or coconut oil spray and fry until brown on both sides.  Would be great with a fiesta ranch type dip.
  2. Make a creamy, cheesy hot avocado dip to serve with crusty bread or crackers.  Dice the avocado and place the cubes in a baking dish. Make a simple white sauce (béchamel), pour it over the avocado and sprinkle some grated cheese on top. Bake until golden and bubbly.
  3. Dip slices of the avocado in tempura batter and fry until crisp.

If you, like me, tend to share the foods you eat with your pets, you might have heard that avocados are poisonous to dogs and cats.  Avocado contains a molecule called persin that can cause illness or even death, but according to the Pet Poison Helpline, it is not poisonous for dogs or cats.  I’m really glad to know that because my dogs (1 Husky and 5 English Labs I’ve owned in the past 25 years) have always knocked the avocados (peaches, plums, citrus, tomatoes, berries and apricots) off the low branches or grabbed them off the ground and eaten them skin and all with no adverse reactions.  Thankfully I didn’t know that they were said to be harmful or I’d be worrying that they somehow harmed them.  Do be aware that the seeds do pose a choking risk and could cause a blockage in the digestive tract if swallowed whole, so it’s probably a good idea to keep the seeds away from them.

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

My Family Demanded Meat For Dinner

I tried to slip my planned Meatless Monday dinner menu past my husband and son as they left for work this morning and was met with a groan.  When your child (whether he’s a grown ass man or not) whines like he’s being starved, Mom caves.

plank-steak1My Ralph’s Fresh Fare (AKA Kroeger’s) is too expensive to shop at for every day groceries, but I can’t pass up their meat department.  It is head and shoulders above my local Albertson’s in quality, selection of available cuts of meat and variety of wild caught fish.  They frequently have meat specials so I stock up and load the freezer when I can.  I headed to the garage, dug through the icy depths and came across a perfectly trimmed, vacuum packaged Flat Iron steak.

I still had a couple of ripe avocados off my tree, a couple of jalapenos that needed to be used up, 3 green onions nearing their toss time, and 1/2 a lemon that was destined for freshening the garbage disposal if I didn’t use it soon.  I had already tossed the wilted cilantro, so no Chimichurri.  The basil in the drawer was well beyond it’s crispy best, so no Pesto.  But, have no fear, with some pepper, olive oil and garlic salt a sauce was beginning to take shape in my head.

Pan Fried Flat Iron Steak with Spicy Avocado Sauce and Asparagus Risotto

flatironsteakAdd about 2 TBLS Olive Oil to a 10″ skillet and heat over medium-high heat until oil is hot but not smoking.  Liberally season a 2 LB Flat Iron Steak (trimmed of all visible fat) with Pepper and Garlic Salt and place in pan.  Sear each side until browned (about 5 minutes per side) lower heat to medium-low and cook another 5 to 8 minutes per side for medium rare; 8 to 10 minutes per side for medium; 10 to 12 minutes per side for Medium-Well to Well.  Time is estimated – adjust based on thickness of your meat.

While the steak is cooking prepare the sauce.  In my Vitamix container I combined 1 and 1/2 ripe avocados, 1 large seeded jalapeno, 3 cleaned green onions, 2 TBLS Olive Oil and juice from 1/2 of a small ripe lemon.  Process until it becomes a smooth, medium-thick sauce.  Add garlic salt and pepper to taste and set sauce aside.

When steak reaches desired degree of doneness, leave in pan and remove from the heat to seal in the juices before slicing.

asparagusrisottolbagI found a bag of Trader Joe’s Asparagus Risotto in the freezer so I stir fried it in a dry non-stick skillet for about 8 minutes, then divided it among the three plates.

After thinly slicing the steak across the grain at an angle and resting it atop the risotto, I spooned a generous amount of the avocado sauce onto the meat and served it to my salivating family.

Dinner took about 30 minutes from stove top to plate and the cavemen in my household were satisfied & stuffed.

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. If so, visit my This Girl Loves To Eat community at:  https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Meatless Monday

IMG_4404[1]I love to shop at Trader Joe’s!

Their produce is always fresh, they have great weekly specials and have a really unique, well priced wine and liquor department without having to fight with a giant grocery store atmosphere.

While browsing the aisles today I was inspired to create something quick and healthy for dinner tonight and didn’t want to ruin the workout I had just suffered through by making something that would make me feel bloated and bad about myself.

There were so many bright orange pumpkins displayed around the store that I thought something based on the same fall flavor would be great.  A few more minutes in the produce department and I came up with an idea that didn’t seem very hard at all.

 No Fuss Spinach Butternut Squash Lasagna

  • 1 – 12 oz package Trader Joe’s Cut Butternut Squash (In the fresh produce department)
  • 3/4 – 12 oz package Trader Joe’s Fresh Leaf Spinach
  • 9 – Sheets Trader Joe’s No Boil Lasagna Noodles
  • 1 – 16 oz container Trader Joe’s Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
  • 1 – 16 oz pkg Trader Joe’s Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/4 – Wedge Trader Joe’s Parmesan Gouda Cheese
  • 1/4 Cup Skim Milk
  • 2 Cloves Garlic finely chopped
  • Fresh Basil (About 6 large leaves)
  • Nutmeg, Oregano, Salt, Pepper and Paprika to taste

Cook the butternut squash, in it’s package with a corner cut off, in the microwave for 6 minutes.

Shred the mozzarella cheese and grate 1/4 to 1/3 of the wedge of the gouda-parmesan wedge into two separate bowls and set aside.

In Food Processor (I used my Vitamix) combine the squash, milk, garlic, nutmeg, salt and 1/2 the container of ricotta cheese.  Process until just smooth.  Do not over process.  If too thick add a little more milk.  Taste and adjust the spices then set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the spinach, the other half container of ricotta cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese, the chopped garlic, and some salt and pepper.  Stir until the spinach is well coated.

In a lasagna pan (or 9 x 12 Pyrex pan) drizzle some olive oil then layer as follows:

  1.  1/3 of the squash mixture, a single layer of the unboiled lasagna noodles (I used 2 whole and 1 split to fill the layer), then a layer of the spinach mixture;
  2. 1/3 of the squash mixture, a single layer of the no boil lasagna noodles, then a layer of the spinach mixture;
  3. Final 1/3 of the squash mixture, a single layer of the no boil lasagna noodles, then the rest of the spinach mixture;
  4. Top the lasagna with the rest of the mozzarella cheese, the grated parmesan-gouda cheese, and then sprinkle with oregano, paprika and the chopped fresh basil.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is just browned.  Remove from the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes so the cheese sets.  Cut into 8 pieces and serve with a green salad for a healthy meal.  My husband also added some Frank’s Red Hot to spice his up.  It was a great change of pace and there was enough left over for a couple of lunches this week!

If you are on Facebook and are 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 have a page on Facebook you can visit too:  https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood

Tomorrow’s post:  Slow Cooked Red Bean Chicken Chipotle Chili