Sara's Treats and Travels

Lettuce Wraps

2009-06-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

I love lettuce wraps; veggie, pork, chicken, you name it, I love it. So I saw this recipe in--where else--Cooking Light and decided to give it whirl. It's a little different in that the pork is not ground, but rather sliced tenderloin. I already had two tenderloins in the freezer from when they were on sale last month, so the timing was perfect. The tenderloin was--for lack of a better word--so tender. It sliced like butter. They were amazing, the will be a favorite around here for sure.

I made a lot of changes to the recipe for this one, some based on what I had in the house and some based on wanting more in the slaw/salad poriton. It's an easy recipe and really healthy too. I paired with some brown rice.

Lettuce Wraps:
1/4c. Pineapple juice
2 tbsp. Sake (I used rice wine vinegar and I doubled this)
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce (I used reduced sodium and I doubled this)
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, sliced (I eyeballed it)
1 lb. pork tenderloin
1 green mango, shredded (I cute the sides off and cut them as small as I could, shredded was just too small for my taste)
Shredded carrots (I used some cole slaw mix)
1/4 c. shredded red cabbage (My addition)
Handful of bean sprouts (Omitted)
1 head Bib lettuce (if you're making this for more than 2, get extra lettuce)
Thai peanut sauce for topping (My addition)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large zip lock bag, fork the tenderloin and add to the bag. Refrigerate 1 hour (I did about 2). Grill tenderloin for about 25 minutes. (I saved the marinate and basted the tenderloin when I turned it).

Combine mango, slaw mix, and cabbage and toss. I microwaved the rest of the marinate for 3 minutes--to a boil--then tossed some in the salad mix. I tossed the rest of the marinate on some brown rice.

Maple Salmon

2009-05-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to add more fish servings to our weekly meals. Sometimes I manage two, but at least one a week. I'm not a huge salmon lover. I've tried it several ways and I always have the same reaction... blah. But I found this recipe in my Cooking Light mag a few months ago. I've made it twice so far and it's pretty good. The first time I cooked it perfectly, this time my piece was really small so it got a little dry and overcooked, but still not bad.

Maple Salmon:
2 tbls. lemon juice
1 tbls. cider vinegar
2 tbls. maple syrup
1 tbls. EVOO
Combine in a zip lock bag and add fish. Seal and marinate for 20 minutes. I usually marinate a little longer than that.

Salt & pepper the fish on both sides and then sear one side in a hot skillet for two to three minutes. Meanwhile microwave the rest of the marinate for one minute and then baste the fish with it. Flip and cook another two to three minutes, basting all the while. Then put the whole skillet under the broiler for three minutes. Make sure your skillet is oven safe. Mine is Kitchen Aid and it can withstand up to 400 degrees.

I served it with the most amazing honey mustard potatoes. I only had three, so I added some peppers and frozen peas. I can't remember where the potato recipe came from, but it has evolved so much by now that it doesn't really matter anymore.

5 medium to large gold potatoes
1 tbls. EVOO
1 tbls. Garlic Expressions
5-10 garlic cloves, unpeeled.

Toss sliced potatoes in EVOO and garlic expressions. Spread out on a sprayed baking sheet. Sprinkle unpeeled garlic around the tray. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

In a serving bowl combine:
1 tbls. EVOO
3 tbls. Honey Mustard Dressing
Salt & Pepper

When potatoes come out of the oven, pull the garlic off and squeeze the roasted cloves into the serving bowl. Mash them with a fork, then whisk everything together. Add potatoes and toss.

The Iced Coffee Comparision of 2009

2009-05-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

I got myself a BK Mocha Joe the other day and I was completely addicted to them for several days after that. That lasted until I checked out the nutrition facts. WOW! They are terrible for you. So I was sad, because I was loving them so much. Today, I decided to try making my own and running the nutrition facts for it. Turned out pretty dang tasty and healthy enough to drink one every day.

Here are the facts on the competition:
BK: 22 oz: 380 cal., 10 g fat, 63 g sugar (Yowza)
McD's: 16 oz: 310 cal., 13 g fat, 35 g sugar
Starbucks: 16 oz: 350 cal., 20 g fat (ouch!), 27 g sugar (this one probably has whipped cream on top so that adds their fat content)

These were pretty close comparisons, they are all specifically the mocha iced coffee, and close in size. The Starbucks has the whipped cream on top, so you could remove that to reduce each category a little bit. And I will give props to McD's and Starbucks because you can sub for skim milk, so that will reduce things a bit too. But as you can see, these are not something anyone should be drinking daily.

My recipe: This is the only one I've tasted so far
95 cal., .5 g fat, 10 g sugar
1/2c. skim milk
1 tbls. Hershey's Syrup
1 c. coffee
Ice

Sugar Free Version:
60 cal., .3 g fat, 0 g sugar
1/2c. skim milk
2 tbls. Hershey's Sugar Free Syrup
1 c. coffee
Ice

Creamier Version:
79 cal., 2 g fat, 0 g sugar
1/2c. skim milk
1 tbls. Half and half
2 tbls. Hershey's Sugar Free Syrup
1 c. coffee
Ice

All of the chain nutrition facts came from http://www.thedailyplate.com/ and my calculations were done on http://www.sparkpeople.com/.

White Chocolate Coconut Bars

2009-05-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

After I made those delicious coconut cupcakes for mother's day, I had a lot of left over shredded coconut. I've been looking for a while now for a simple cookie bar. I tried the lunch lady bars that everyone was talking about several months ago. They were good, but just not what I wanted. So I was searching around the other day and found these chocolate chip bar cookies. The recipe was so simple that I decided to try it and sub out ingredients for what I already had--enter white chocolate and coconut--they are pefect. They are really more shortbread-like in their consistency. They are rich, because of all the butter, but you only need one little square to get the perfect taste of sweet. I also added a teaspoon of salt. I personally like a touch of salt in cookies and the original recipe didn't call for any. It was the perfect amount of salt.

My Revised Recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

2 handfuls of shredded coconut

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla, add egg, add flour. Stir in chips and coconut. Spread into a sprayed 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 25 min.

Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

2009-05-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

I like baking, but I don't do it too often. I'm a much better cook than baker. I think it's probably just because I cook all the time, but only bake once and a while. I was looking for something summery to take to the IL's house for Mother's Day and I found these cupcakes--where else--but in my Cooking Light. I love things with lemon and lime in them, so I thought they would be perfect. They were super easy and came out really nice. Really spongy and soft. And the frosting is to.die.for.

I will sprinkle them with lime zest or green sprinkles before serving to people. I'll try to snag a better picture on Sunday.

Cupcakes:
1 cup flour
3 tbsp potato starch (I could not find this at the store, and I had corn start, so I used that. I was worried, but it worked just fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
1 egg white
2/3 cup milk
2 tbsp flaked coconut, sweetened
1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
3 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp half n half
1/2 tsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice (I put in about an extra half tbsp)
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk, then beat butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, add dry mix and milk alternately. Fold in coconut and vanilla. Bake at 350 for 18 min. (Mine needed about 3 extra min for some reason).

Frosting: Beat butter, half n half, lime zest, & juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until frosting is a good consistency.

Goat Cheese & Corn Quesadillas

2009-05-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

I spent the last few evenings going through three months of Cooking Light magazines that I haven't had time for because of school. I've now got a list of about 10--probably more--recipes on my to-do list. So tonight I started with goat cheese and corn quesadillas. They were really good and super easy. I served them with a tex-mex salad on the side.

Quesadillas:
4 tortillas (recipe called for corn, but I used flour)
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (I had an open jar of black bean/corn salsa so I used that)

Saute corn in a small amount of EVOO. Mix heated corn with cheese. Lightly butter the tortillas, place butter side down in a warm skillet, top with corn mix and a spoon full of salsa, top with other tortilla. Cook two min on each side and slice with a pizza cutter.

Salad: (not from the magazine)
Spring mix
Roma tomato, chopped
Corn
Black beans
Bell pepper, chopped
Avocado, sliced
Cilantro
Salsa, on the side

Compost Pail/Hole Update

2009-05-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm updating now that I've recieved my bamboo compost pail. It got here super fast and I love it. It sits on the counter next to my sink and it looks nice, it's convenient for dropping things in, and it doesn't smell at all, even if I leave things in it for a couple days. If you compost, it's worth the money for sure.

Cinco De Mayo

2009-05-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's no secret by now that we love Mexican food and I love trying new recipes, so last night we opted to stay in and avoid the crowds. I have also been dying to re-create a dish I had at the Border Cafe in Boston; Black Bean & Corn Empanadas.

I made them with pre-made cressent roll dough this time for ease, so that I could see how the filling turned out. We had Spanish rice and margaritas with them. They were really fantastic, so I think I'll try them again with puff pastry, then maybe venture to making the dough by hand. I had enough filling left to make a whole additional batch, so I froze it.

Recipe:
1 can black beans
1 bell pepper, I used orange
Cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheese
Red pepper flake
Cumin
Cressent roll dough, 1 can

Saute the beans and pepper for a few min. Then mix with cilantro, cheese, and seasoning. Fill dough and pinch together. Bake at 375 for about 15 min. I made four empanadas, and had enough filling left to make four more. I froze it.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
1 roasted red pepper, from a jar is fine
EVOO
Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Red Pepper Flake, I used a lot to make it spicy

Mix together in a food processor until you like the consistency. For more than two people, double or even triple this.

Just Ordered A Copost Pail

2009-04-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

As you know, I started a compost hole last spring. It was super easy, I dug the hole, put some fencing in to stop burrowing creatures from finding their way to a meal.

The only thing that has been frustrating is not having anywhere to keep my goodies until it's time to go to the compost hole. I finally broke down and bought this:
It's a compost pail, I got it from http://www.baregreen.com/ for $34.99. I saw it in a magazine for a higher price. Bare Green had the best price with the same shipping as everywhere else and it looks like I should have it by Friday, I ordered it Monday, so not too shabby. It's made from bamboo and recycled plastic, so it's pretty eco-friendly. You put your veggies scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc... inside and then the plastic pail pulls out for easy transport to your compost hole. The lid has a carbon filter to eliminate order (aka kitty temptations) so that you don't have to dump every day.

For Jene...

2009-03-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Jene, has been bugging me to post some delish food for her to look at for months. I know I completely suck and haven't posted in forever. I got a new job and between that and a rough semester, I've just been too busy lately.

This was something I just decided one day that I would try out. Ryan freaking loved it, talks about it all the time. Tells people about it the day after I make it. Comes in and dips bread (and his fingers) in the food processor to taste it. There is no source for this recipe, I kind of just found out what was in most pestos and tried some things until it was perfect.

So, without further adieu, I give you Pasta with Pesto Sauce:

Basil, about 1 1/2 cups fresh
Toasted pine nuts, 1/4 cup
Garlic, 4-5 cloves
Salt & Pepper
Process
Add 1/2 cup parm cheese
Process
Add extra virgin olive oil while processing until it reaches a consistency that you like.

Sometimes, if I'm feeling spicy, I'll add some red pepper flake. Pour over a pasta with lots of cracks and folds for the pesto to hide in. I usually serve it with bruschetta.

My first crack at baking bread

2008-08-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

It was a lengthy experience, but not really all that difficult. I was really excited when I realized that the recipe made two loaves because I was intending to give the loaf to my friend as a part of her birthday gift, so bonus, a loaf for us too!

Alix helped me out by taking a few action shots. I don't have the recipe right here with me, so I'll just have to post it later. It was a garlic cheese bread. Hopefully these pictures will suffice for now.

Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi

2008-08-04T18:16:00.001-07:00

This was one of those recipes that you look at and can't quite wrap your head around the flavor combinations. But it totally works. It was so good.

I'm gonna have to look for the recipe, because I can't find it. I think it was from Cooking Light.

Basically you dip the fish in crushed macadamia nuts and sear it on one side, then bake it at 350 for 30 min. I think it was marinated in something too. Then top it with a salsa of pineapple, lime juice, and cilantro. It was amazing.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

2008-07-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

These were so good, I wished I had doubled the amount of shrimp. Again with the phone photos, sorry.
This is a Cooking Light recipe. I can't get the web site to load, so I can't link to it for you. This is from my memory.

Tomatillo Salsa:

1/2 lb. of tomatillos (I used canned)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 jalapeno (I used a whole)
1 clove garlic
Green onions (I used a shallot)
Salt & Pepper
1 banana pepper (not in the recipe, but I had a ripe one on my plant and wanted to use it.)

Toss all of that into a food processor and pulse until the consistency of your liking. You are supposed to grill the tomatillos first, then rough chop them and only process the other ingredients and toss, but b/c mine were canned, that wasn't an option. I just processesed the whole thing and it was great.

Shrimp:
I used 20 shrimp, can't remember what the recipe called for, but next time I will use a lot more.
Put them on skewers and grill for two min on each side.

Hot Sauce:
1 tblsp. hot sauce (I used Franks)
1 tblsp. chili powder
1/2 tblsp. cumin
1/2 tblsp. salt
2 tblsp. EVOO (I added this, it seemed like it needed more liquid and I felt that more hot sauce would become overwhelming. Coat the cooked shrimp in the hot sauce.

Layer the following:
Tortilla (I used 6-inch.)
Shredded slaw (I bought the bag of shredded broccoli/cauliflower/carrots/cabbage)
A little quessadilla cheese
Shrimp
Tomatillo salsa

Three-Garlic Risotto and Caprese Sandwiches

2008-07-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Fantastic. I really enjoyed both of these dishes. Sorry for the crummy camera phone pic, but that's all I had.

Three-Garlic Risotto
I found the original recipe here, it's a great cooking blog.

5 cloves raw garlic, chopped
8 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion or 1 small shallot, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth, warmed
1 cup arborio rice (I used orzo pasta)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
A few pinches of dry or fresh parsley
Optional: 1 tsp white truffle oil (I omitted this)

For the roasted garlic. I wrap the entire head in foil and stick it in the oven at 300 for about 15 min. The cloves will be falling apart and you can just squeeze out the garlic.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium/medium-low heat; add 1/2 of the raw garlic. Toast the garlic being careful not to burn it. Remove it from the oil.

Add the rest of the raw garlic and the onions to the oil. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add the butter and rice; stir for 1 minute.
Add the white wine and stir until it is absorbed.
Add the chicken broth 1 ladle-full at a time, letting it fully absorb before adding more. This takes a while, be sure to continue stirring or it will stick. Ryan tagged in a few times so I could work on the sandwiches.
Before the final ladle of broth, add the roasted garlic.
Add the cheese then parsley.
Top with the toasted garlic.

Caprese Sandwiches
(This is for my friend Jene)
I saw this on an episode of 30-Minute Meals, but I'm recreating it from memory.

4 flour tortillas
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 fresh mozzarella balls, sliced
4 strips of bacon (I only put bacon in two of them)
Fresh basil to your liking
Salt & Pepper
Balsamic

Blister the tortill a frying pan, cover one half with all other ingredients.
Fold over, and flip to golden brown on both sides.

Next time I make these, I won't put the balsamic in the tortilla. It made them too juicy and the two tortillas that sat on the plate while we ate the others got a little soggy in spots. I would probably make a balsamic sauce instead.

Pizza!!

2008-07-22T17:13:00.001-07:00

That's a headline everyone likes, no? Well, it's been quite some time since my last post and I have many photos of fabulous meals that have gone un-blogged. I'm working on it, promise.

For now, enjoy some pizza:

Quick and easy pizza, thrown together with things in your fridge.

Crust: Pillsbury Cressent roll dough.
Unroll and pinch all the seems together.
Bake at 375 until crust is lightly golden.

Jalapeno Sauce:
2 chopped jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic
3 tblsp olive oil
Salt & pepper

Combine in food processor until smooth-ish
Spread the sauce on the pre-cooked crust, top with cheese and veggies of your choice. I would have added feta if I had some.
Bake for another 5-7 min. or until cheese is melted.

And another. Blurry pic, but you get the idea--this one has meat.

Same crust on this one.

Sauce:
2-3 Laughing Cow light goat cheese spreads. I used onion. Spread that all over the crust.

Top with cheese, meat, and veggies of your choice.
Bake for another 5-7 min. or until cheese is melted.

Quick and Easy Dinner

2008-06-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm calling it: Why would you ever NOT make homemade macaroni
Adapted from Cooking Light

8 oz. pasta
1 cup grape tomatoes
2 cups cheese, 1 3/4 cheddar, 1/4 mozzarella (that's what I had)
Salt & Pepper
Red pepper flake to your liking (I used a lot)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Cook the pasta.
Cut the tomatoes in half and bake at 375 for about 10 min.
When pasta is cooked and drained, stir in cheese, egg, salt & pepper, red pepper flake, and milk.
Mix in the tomatoes

Giada's Lentil Salad
1 cup lentils cooked according to package
Sliced cucumber
Sliced grape tomatoes
Sliced grapes (And I'm so mad b/c I forgot these until I started typing this blog!!!)
Chopped bell pepper

Dressing:
Giada'swas lemon juice, EVOO, and white vinegar
Mine was this:
lemon Juice
EVOO
Garlic Expressions

Toss and top with dressing.

Sara's Version of Susie's Version of Sara's Chicken Enchiladas

2008-05-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Did that make any sense? Probably not, it's fine.

Potato, zucchini, and chicken enchiladas--Yum.

1 chicken breast diced and cooked in chipotle seasoning
2 potatoes diced, boiled for 3 min, then sauteed in a little bit of green enchilada sauce
2 small zucchini diced, sauteed in a little bit of green enchilada sauce

In the tortilla:
green sauce
chicken
zucchini
chicken (I made some w/o chicken for me)
quesadilla cheese

Roll them up and top with green sauce and more cheese.

Here are my shoes

2008-05-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently color is not in this season. I really had a hard time finding anything that wasn't brown, black, red, or nuetral. I love red, but I have enough of it.

I got these for the more casual pair. I'm not sure if I love them. I'm wearing them around the house for now.

And I got these for the more dressy pair. I didn't want anything black, but since they have the open toe and they sort of meshy material, I decided they would work for summer. These are so comfy.

This blog has really gone beyond treats and travel, huh? I've now included green issues, ikea shopping, and shoes. I need to think of a new name.

Oh, check out these cool new candle chandelier styles. I love them.

Went to Ikea yesterday...very exciting...

2008-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not being sarcastic. It really was exciting. I know it's probably the furthest thing from buying local, but a girl needs her gadgets and fun, right?

I have two things to show off.

First, the fabric I bought to upholster my sad little wicker chair:

I really like it and it's going to match the living room so well. The greens in the ikea web pic are a little off, the lighter one is almost the color of the walls in the living room.

I don't care for the pillows that came with our couch and loveseat, I'm going to make pillows out of the extra chair fabric.

The second thing, is this awesome pullout trash separating system.

I already installed it, I'll take a picture. Two of the cans fit in the pull tray. One is for recycling and one is for trash. It was super easy to install. I did it in about 20 minutes. The H was happy, b/c he didn't have to do it. I sent him a phone video when I was done.

My first compost hole...

2008-05-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Nice, huh? This is for Jene, b/c I told her I would do this weeks ago. Sorry for my tardiness. Summer classes have been taking up a lot of my free time. It sucks.

Here is my little hole:

I'm quite happy with it. It's about 2 and a half feet deep give or take. I kept the dirt that I dug out and put in the woods next to my hole. The employee at the garden center that i went to for instruction indicated that after I throw in compost a few times, that I should shovel in a little dirt to cover it. Then to stir or turn it every few days. He also showed me this stuff called organic bio-excellerator. He said that if it's not decomposing fast enough for my use or if my hole is getting too full, to put in some of that and it will decompose super fast. I didn't buy it though, I figure I'll go back later if I need it.

Gross, I know. I lined it with the fence to guard against burrowing animals. We have a mole problem around us. We don't get as many in our yard as our neighbor does, but I wanted to be safe.

So far, I've put in: all of our fruit and veggie scraps (if they are large, I cut them up a bit), egg shells, and coffee grounds and filter. It's been about two weeks, and I can already see the difference in our trash.

I'm showing you this picture to prove that I won the disagreement between me and the H on whether or not the hole is in "the middle of the yard" (quoting my H). The property line is two feet to the left of the telephone pole--into the trees and that pile of wood there. My hole is about two feet to the right of the pole. Not exactly the middle of what is nearly an entire acre. Am I right here people? You can barely see the fencing right in front of the pole there. That corner of the yard barely grows grass for some reason. He told me I could dig my hole back where the grass doesn't grow--voila!

And now I just need to add a nice set of bright outdoor light fixtures to the back of the house, so that I can go back there anytime I want to. We have one out there, but it's small and doesn't do the job.

Adventures in Curry

2008-05-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

I wanted a really light meal the other night, so I searched for a vegetable curry recipe. I found one on cooks.com, I can't find the original recipe, but as usual, I made changes based on what I had in the cupboard, so here is my version.

1 bag 90 second Uncle Ben's classic rice.
1 yellow squash
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 an english cucumber
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1/2 can pineapple w/ juice
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp Thai peanut sauce
1 tbsp Curry power

Chop the veggies and stir-fry them in the EVOO and peanut sauce. Set aside. Heat shallot and garlic in pan, add pineapple and juice, boil. Add curry powder and boil, add veggies back in and boil, then simmer for ten min.

Spread rice in a serving dish and top with veggies.

It was really good, but I'd add more curry powder next time or maybe a jalapeno. I might also add some nuts of some sort and I would use a red pepper for color. I used green and yellow b/c that was what I had, so it annoyed me that everything was so green and yellow in it.

Garden update

2008-05-13T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've had my little potted garden out on the deck for what now, about four weeks? That sounds about right. I've already used the cilantro and the basil quite a bit. The cilantro is growin like crazy. I took some update pics.

Look at all that cilantro. It's easily twice the size of when I bought the starter plant. And if that wasn't enough proof that I can keep a plant alive, I clipped (and used--yum) about ten stems from it two days before I took this pic and it's back to the same size.

And my cute little baby strawberries. There are four, I think.

Buds on my jalapenos.

Blog, what blog?

2008-05-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

Oh, right, this one. Yeah, I'm in spring classes right now and they are condensed, so I haven't had much time to post. I'll get on that next week, promise.

For now, I'll just say that my mom's 50th bday party went really well, everyone loved the food. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures before people got after it. Sorry. The cake was made by one of my BFFs, Angi, it was fabulous. You can see it here at How Sweet it is, Angi's cake and candy blog. Check it, she rocks.

No laughing...Fish Tacos

2008-04-21T17:35:00.001-07:00

Mmmm....mmm. These were so good and so easy. No original recipe this time, I saw a picture of tacos on the homepage of Foodtv.com and decided I wanted fish tacos for dinner. I worked with what I had.

Fish:
Whisk together:
EVOO
Fresh lime juice
Chipotle season
Marinate the fish in that for as long as you have. Place the fish on a baking sheet, then mix the marinate with panko breadcrumbs and spread on top of the filets. Oh, I used tilapia. Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes. Then flake the fish apart with a fork to make it bite-sized for the tacos.

Sauce:
2 parts plain fat free yogurt
1 part fat free mayo
Chipotle seasoning

Salsa:
1 can corn, drained
1/2 an onion, diced
Fresh lime juice
Cilantro

Then I topped them off with some chuncks of avocado and served with Mexican rice.

My Potted Garden

2008-04-21T17:28:00.001-07:00

So, not gonna lie, I really don't have much of a green thumb. I really want to grow some veggies this summer though. I've decided that aside from being pretty, flowers don't really give me anything in return, and that's probably why I end up neglecting them and they die. But veggies, I get something! Here goes nothing.

Here is my cute little deck-garden.

Cherry tomatoes
Jalapeno peppers
Basil
Cilantro
Strawberries

My new salad bowl!

2008-04-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

I got a new salad bowl last weekend and I can't wait to use it. It's almost obscenely large, but I love it. It's too large for when it's just me and R, but I'll be whipping it out at my mom's 50-th b-day party and I couldn't be more excited about it.

Here she is, b/c I know you were just dying to see her.

Pasta Primavera

2008-04-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

The inspiration recipe for this came from http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/. Great website, btw. I changed it up a bit based on what veggies/pasta/cheese I had in the kitchen. Below is my adapted recipe, but check out the website I referenced for the original and other great recipes.

Pasta Primavera

Saute the following in EVOO
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Two handfulls of chopped mushrooms
Red, yellow, & green pepper, chopped
Or whatever veggies you have.

Toss those in a big bowl once they are cooked to your liking. Boil pasta, drain and toss in bowl w/ veggies.

Sauce:
1 cup chicken or veggie stock. I made chicken out of water and bouillon cubes.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4/ cup milk
1/2 cup parm cheese
1/2 cup mozzerella cheese
1/4 cup asiago cheese
Salt/pepper

Dump the sauce over the pasta and veggies and mix. I topped it with more parm cheese.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Egglant Sundried Tomato Calzones

2008-04-16T10:15:00.001-07:00

As you know by now, I love eggplant and am always looking for new wasy to prepare it. I was flipping through the Best Vegetarian Cook Book. I think that's what it's called, I'll double check and update this if I'm wrong. These were so good, I will make them again.

I never got a really great picture. I served it with scalloped potatoes and assparagus.

Calzones:
Eggplant, peeled and diced
Sundried tomatoes, chopped
shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped (I used 2)
Puff pastry (I used pie shells, one for each calzone, fill, then fold over into half-moons. Cut in half when done for four servings)

Saute the eggplant, tomatoes, shallot, and garlic together until just tender. Fill puff pastry with mixture and bake at 350 for about 15 min.

Tomatillos are so hard to find in Toledo

2008-04-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

But once in a while, I get lucky and there they are! Anderson's almost always has them. After researching many many recipes, this is what I came up with for tomatillo sauce. It's quick and easy, and we really love it.

Tomatillo Sauce

5-6 tomatillos, boiled for about 5 min.

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

salt and pepper

Toss it all in the food processor until smooth, add about 1/4 cup water to thin it.

We like it over cheese enchiladas. Put a spoonful of sauce in each tortilla, then fill with cheese and roll the enchiladas, cover with tomatillo sauce and bake for about 20 min at 350.

Cheesey Goodness

2008-04-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

I finally made the broccoli rigatoni. It was so good. I have to say, I was surprised at how easy the bechemel sauce was to make. I think my favorite part of the whole meal was scraping up the extra cheese sauce with pita bread. YUM. The original recipe came from http://mecookingcreations.blogspot.com/

Bechamel
3/4 stick of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small shallot, chopped
2 tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup light cream
Cheese (amounts are approximates): 3/4 cup asiago, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/3 cup fontina I used asiago, mozzerella, and shredded parm.
Dash of nutmeg

Pasta
1 pound rigatoni I used some pasta I had in the pantry that was similar
4 slices prosciutto, chopped Didn't use this
1 large head broccoli, chopped into florets
I added chopped sundried tomatoes

Directions
Boil water, cook pasta til still slightly firm, drain
Heat oven to 375; put broccoli in a baking dish and toss with just a touch of olive oil; roast for 6 minutes
In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat olive oil and butter.
Add garlic and shallots, saute for 2-3 minutes
Add flour slowly and whisk until you have a nice roux
Slowly add milk and cream, whisking the entire time
Bring to a simmer and then add cheeses. Whisk until creamy.
Add a dash of nutmeg
Pour the pasta into a baking dish. Add broccoli and sundried tomatoes. Add sauce and mix until all of the pasta is coated. Top with a few pinches of asiago cheese. Bake covered on 375 for 20 minutes; bake uncovered for 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Meal Plans for Week of 4/7

2008-04-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Roasted asparagus, artichoke, tomatoes, and mushrooms w/ tarregon vinaigrette. Probably with grilled fish.
Baked tortellini (I never made this last week)
Cressent roll artchoke cheese braid w/ salad
Curry vegetable stir fry w/ chicken or maybe leftover fish for R.

What else? I don't know. I need to come up with one more thing. Maybe tomato tortellini soup.
I'll credit things when I blog about them.

Meal Plans--a little late.

2008-04-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

Meal plans from week of 3/31:
Pineapple Blackbean enchiladas -- CHECK
Greek bread salad (w/chicken for Ryan) -- CHECK
Broccoli Rigatoni
Tortellini bake w/spinach, tomatoes, and garlic
Tomato soup w/ cheese enchiladas & tomatillo sauce

Eggplant Rolatini and Amazing Scratch Scallops

2008-04-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

I had an eggplant that I needed to use, I didn't feel like baked eggplant, so I attempted eggplant rolatini. It turned out pretty good. But the star of this meal, for sure, was the scratch scalloped potatoes. The eggplant is my own concoction, and the potatoes were from http://www.foodtv.com/

Eggplant Rolatini:
One eggplant, sliced length wise
Ricotta cheese
Mozzerella cheese
1 egg
EVOO

Put the eggplant slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt, let them sit for about 10 min. Drizzel them with EVOO and bake for about 5 min at 350. Lightly scramble the egg, mix with ricotta & mozzerella to your own liking. Then scoop cheese mix onto a slice of eggplant and roll it. Place in baking dish, tightly together so they don't unroll. Cover with tomato sauce and more mozzerella cheese. For sauce, I just blended a can of italian seasoned tomatoes, some basil, and some parm cheese. Bake for about 20 min. at 350.

Scalloped Potatoes:
1 pound of yukon gold potatoes (or Russett)
1/2 cup cream
garlic
nutmeg
salt & pepper
parm cheese
butter

Cut the potatoes into thin slices. I held the potato with my PC onion holder. In a sauce pan cook the cream & spices on low heat. Put a layer of potatoes in the bottom of a baking dish, overlap them, pour in some of the cream mix, sprinkle with parm cheese, another layer of potatoes, cream mix, two pats of butter, parm cheese, then two more layers. Then top with rest of cream mix and parm cheese. (I added some mozz cheese to the top). Bake at 375 for 45 min. Then broil for 5 min. to brown the cheese.

Ryan's Birthday Cake

2008-04-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

For Ryan's birthday, I love to find recipes that incorporate peanut butter and banana's. This year I found the best bundt cake ever. Plus it was nice because it gave me an excuse to use my cake stand that my MIL got me for christmas. I got the original recipe here http://deborahsw.blogspot.com/2007/06/hunk-hunk-elvis-cake.html I followed this one exactly, I didn't see anything worth changing.

For Peanut Butter Fluff frosting:
1 (1.5oz) package Jello sugar free/fat free instant Vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (12oz) container Cool Whip Light

For cake:
1 (18.25oz) box Golden Vanilla flavor cake mix
1 1/3 cups bananas, mashed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Travel: Sonoma & SF

2008-04-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't put anything on here since last week's meal plan. I have Ryan's b-day cake to post and a dinner from last week--eggplant rolatini w/ the most amazing (from scratch) scalloped potatoes. I promise I will get them in here tonight.

Sanoma and San Francisco, California

We loved this trip. It was absolutely amazing. So relaxing. We flew into SFO, picked up a car (we rented a Prius so we could drive it for a week before deciding for sure to buy one), and drove out to Sonoma. While there we stayed at Windhaven Cottage, http://www.windhavencottage.com/ it was really great. The owner's, Bob and Wendy, were great. Very nice people. They have two small cottages, detached from their house, but on their property. The cottage had a living/kitchen with a fireplace, a bedroom, full bath, and a fabulous private patio w/ a hot tub. Here is a pic of the view from the patio.

We visited so many wineries. Some of our favorites were Kunde, Wellington, Nicholson Ranch, Homewood, and many more. We got to go on a tour of the wine caves at Kunde, which was awesome.

We also drove north on Pacific Highway 1 to Redwood City, that was absolutely beautiful.

And of course, we ended our trip in San Francisco. It is a beautiful city with tons of things to do. We only had two days there and I don't think that is quite enough time, but it was nice none-the-less. We stayed at the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf. I do not recommend them. It seemed like a nice hotel, but we are pretty sure we left there with bed bug bites--GROSS. They insist that the room checked out clean, but yet they refunded our full bill of nearly $400. I tend to think we would not have gotten that much money back if the room checked out clean. I even told the guy he could fax me the report, but he declined. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Meal Planning for week of March 24

2008-03-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Pineapple Black Bean Enchiladas
Baked Egg Plant
Tomato Tortellini Soup (either w/ grilled cheese or cheese enchiladas)
Stir fry

Not necessarily in that order. Side dishes TBD.

My favorite dinner

2008-03-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

I love baked eggplant...love it. I make it once a week to once every other week. I serve it with garlic mashed, a veggie, baked feta, and mini pitas. Last time I made it R asked for a sauce for it. I told him that I usually spread the feta or some of the garlic mash on it. His response was that he had already scarfed his garlic mash...too bad for him. So this time I made a sauce. I'll admit, it was a nice addition.

Since I had the sauce this time, I decided to do something different with the potato. I just bought some ramekins the other day and wanted to use them so I made little potato souffles.

Aren't they cute? Here is what I did:

Made garlic mashed as usual.

Spray the ramekins with non-stick spray

In the food processor:

1/2 c. flour

1 egg

1/2 c. milk (maybe less)

Process

Pour mix into ramekin just above covering the bottom, the fill with potato, then pour more mix over top. It made a great little baked crust.

Here is the rest:

Eggplant:

Slice

Dip in egg

Dip in breading mix

Bake at 400 for about 15 min on each side.

My breading:

Panko bread crumbs

Shake and bake or italian bread crumbs

Oregano

Basil

Garlic powder

some parm cheese

The Sauce:

Leftover pan drippings from shrip linguini and a can of italian spiced tomatoes in the food processor. R loved the sauce BTW.

My favorite soup

2008-02-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

Cheesey Potato Chowder

I got this probably six years ago out of a magazine, sorry, I don't remember which one. I've made many changes to it over the years, so here is my version.

Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 chicken broth cubes
2 cups water
3 cups potatos, diced
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
4 cups milk
2 tblsp flour
salt
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice

Cook onion in oil for about 4 min. Add water, broth cubes, potatos, carrots, and corn. Boil then simmer for 15 min.

Whisk milk, flour, and salt. Add to soup and boil. Simmer for 3 min or until slightly thickened. Add cheese and cook on low for about 15 min.

Rigatoni, Woodsman-Style

2008-02-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

Rigatoni, Woodsman-Style
I got this recipe from http://tasteofhomecooking.blogspot.com/ but I made several changes. I'll put my changes in red. I'll add pics the next time I make it. This was fantastic, I will make it often.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced I used 4 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausages, preferably without fennel seeds Didn't use this at all
1 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced thin I just diced them
1/2 cup balsamic vinager
1 cup seeded and diced canned plum tomatoes, drained I used a can of plain diced tomatoes and I didn't drain it.
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese I used parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion (garlic), and cook, stirring until wilted, about 4 minutes. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and stir, breaking up the sausage into small pieces as you do, until the sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. I cooked the garlic for a few min and went right on to the next step.

Stir about half (all) the mushrooms into the sausage mixture. Add the remaining mushrooms as those in the pan wilt. I poured in about a 1/2 cup of balsamic vinager and cooked until the vinager reduced. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. If the mushrooms give off liquid, allow time for the juices to boil off before the mushrooms start to brown.

Pour the tomatoes into the skillet, stir in the peas, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook a minute or two. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is lightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Spoon the ricotta into the sauce and stir gently to mix.

If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, add the pasta to the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring gently to coat the pasta with sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup grated cheese. Check the seasonings, adding salt and pepper if necessary.

2007 Travels - Cruising

2008-02-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Since the title of my blog includeds the word travel, I should catch up on some of the traveling we did in 2007.

Mexico and Belize
We cruised with Norwegian Cruise lines in March 2007. We left out of Houston Texas and stopped in Progresso, Mexico; Cozumel, Mexico; and Belize City, Belize. All-in-all it was a nice trip, but we weren't huge fans of cruising. Maybe it was the time of year, but the upper sun deck was kind of chilly, too cold for sun bathing or swimming. Then the days that were warm enough for sun activities, the deck was packed and it was wall-to-wall people. We didn't really enjoy life on the boat and found it kind of boring, we probably won't cruise again. People say you can't be bored on a cruise ship, but we disagree. We weren't interested in hanging in the bars all day and night, we weren't interested in the casino, and we weren't very interested in most of the shows. We did enjoy the comic that they had two nights, so that was cool.

Progresso, MX:

We visited some Mayan ruins in Progresso. I can't remember the name of the place. It was really cool and we enjoyed this stop. After the ruins the bus took us to Marida City, MX. It is the capitol of the Yucatan Peninsula. We enjoyed some fantastic mexican food at a whole-in-the-wall little place and purchased a $30 casio digital watch. We forgot to bring a watch and figured we should get something, we're pretty sure we got ripped off:)

Cozumel, MX:

Cozumel was nice and warm. After driving all over the island in a cab trying to find a place to snorkel we finally found a beach on the complete other side of the island from where we started. It was very nice and we enjoyed several hours of sun. We then went back to the port area to get some food and then go back to the ship. We again, enjoyed fab food at another alley whole-in-the-wall. It was great and that day I learned that in Mexico you can take a margarita to go in a plastic cup. Fantastic!

Oh, I also met some really friendly boys in Cozumel:

Mission: Do not go to the store before vacation...

2008-02-18T19:53:00.001-08:00

Yup, that's right, I am trying my darndest (is that a word?) to not go to the grocery store for a major shopping trip between now and Sunday. Tonight's dinner is the first of what I imagine will be several kitchen concoction adventures over this week.

Cressent Role Sammies and spruced-up bag alfredo noodles.

I made several different cressent sammies. The one pictured at left is sundried tomato feta/ zucchini/pea pods/red pepper flake. (This one was my fav). I also made mozzerella/red pepper/basil/balsamic, sliced turkey/string beans/blue cheese, and goat cheese/zucchini/asparagus (pictured below to left.)

For the noodles, I took a bag of those Lipton (I think) sides, the Alfredo one. I used 1/2 n 1/2 instead of the milk, threw in a few tablespoons of ricotta cheese, crushed garlic, and some dried basil. It actually made crappy bag noodles taste pretty good.

So, night one is complete and all parties are content. Let's hope Wednesday turns out as good or better. Lucking (can't believe I'm saying that) I have school tomorrow, so R will have enjoy some leftovers.

I was busy tonight

2008-02-13T18:41:00.000-08:00

A really good work-friend of mine is leaving for a new opportunity. Tomorrow is her going away party, so I made some treats.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting:

They are Angie's Famous Strawberry Cupcakes, I got the original recipe from http://www.goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/. I put the changes I made in red.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. cake flour (I used all purpose, b/c I didn't have cake)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. buttermilk (I used heavy cream)
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. chopped strawberries (I used frozen organic strawberries)

My Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, soft
12 Tblsp. butter, soft
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
I added some red food color since it's Valentine's Day.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.
In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time until combined.
Add buttermilk (Heavy cream), oil and vanilla until combined.
Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Fold in berries.
Fill cupcake pans 3/4 way.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Frosting:
Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla.
Add food color.

Original Frosting Recipe from Good Things Catered.
1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. strawberry liquor
1/2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla

I also made Cherry Cheesecake Brownies.

Original recipe is also from http://www.goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/. I love this blog, can you tell? I will again put my changes in red. I didn't make that many changes to this one.

I had to bake them in a pie pan b/c my 8x8 was dirty! This is not the best pic, but it will do for now.
Ingredients for brownies:
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cherry juice

Cheesecake portion:
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg white
1/2 c. maraschino cherries, finely chopped
2 Tbsp juice reserved from marachino cherries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare 8x8 baking pan.
In medium bowl, cream cream cheese and 2 Tbsp sugar until light and creamy.
Add egg white, and cherry juice until incorporated and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat butter until just melted.
Add the cocoa and sugar and heat, stirring throughout, until uniformly combined.
Remove from the heat and set aside briefly until the mixture is slightly cooled. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously to incorporate. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until just incorporated, then beat vigorously for 30 more strokes.
I did this all right in the sauce pan.

Spread a little more than 1/2 of mixture evenly in the pan.
Carefully spread cream cheese mixture over the batter.
Spread remaining brownie mixture, very carefully, over cream cheese.
Use a toothpick or knife to swirl the cream cheese/cherry mix slightly.
As you can see from the pic, mine wasn't really three layers, it was more like a brownie layer on the bottome, then a swirled layer on top.

Bake about 20 to 25 minutes or toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter (not completely dry).

Greece

2008-02-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

We went to Greece in October 2006. We stayed three days in Athens and ten days in Oia, on Santorini Island. This has been my favorite trip so far. Ryan said Fiji is still his favorite.

In Athens we stayed at the Athen's Imperial Hotel. It was really nice, and a great value for the price. The only minor problem was that it was a bit far from the cultural district; where the Acropolis, etc... is. But the subway system in Athens is fabulous, so it wasn't too big of a deal, really. The ministry of culture tour is great. You pay one flat rate of 20 euro, I believe and it gets you into several cultural attractions. Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, and more. Athens is really great, if you enjoy big cities, like we do.

Santorini is amazing for relaxing and taking in the view. We stayed at Lena's House in Oia. The owner was great and even let me bargain for the off season price, since we were so close to then end of high season. The weather was perfect. In the morning we would sit on our patio and have breakfast and wait until all the cruisers were gone, then we would go to lunch and bum around. Sometimes on foot, sometimes on a four-wheeler. We took the bus to the Red Beach, on the other side of the island and stayed there for a day, which was very nice. The island is so small that we traveled nearly the whole thing by four-wheeler one day. There are also a few wineries on the island, so we stopped and enjoyed some tastings. Oh, the island is actually a volcano and part of the island sank after an eruption, so the volcano is still there, called the caldera, surrounded by the remains of the island. So we were able to take a little boat trip to the volcano and walk up it and around it. Ryan really enjoyed this, because of the science nerd in him.

We will go back to Greece for sure one day. There are more cultural places to see on the mainland, like Meteora and Delphi.

Fiji

2008-02-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

I know it was more than two years ago now (can you believe it?), but here are a few photos from our honeymoon to Fiji. We stayed at Matangi Private Island Resort. It was fabulous and the staff was great.

We booked through a travel agent for this trip because deciding on a resort was tough and finding flights was not easy. The agent was great, it was South Seas Adventures. Matangi Island Resort was in the mid-to-high-price range. It was perfect. I totally recommend it to anyone considering Fiji.

Getting Started

2008-02-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

I've recently started cooking a lot more than I used to and have discovered that I love it! I'm always trying new recipes and adapting them to fit our tasts, but then it's several months before I remember to make something again. I decided that by blogging it here, it would funtion as a visual recipe box for myself and maybe help out other people too. I'll also use this to post about our travels. Enjoy!