Tag: recipes

Sunday Sup: It’s finally Spring Pasta

~ tahenryauthoress ~ Leave a comment

It’s officially Spring according to the calendar. We topped fifty degrees. I shaved my legs and broke out my spring skirts. Ahhh, spring. Just two weeks ago I was complaining I was soooo cold, this winter had been so harsh, why did I go to Europe in the dead of winter instead of somewhere warm? But now all is forgotten, because the sun shown on my pale as snow legs yesterday. smiles

I don’t know where I got the original recipe for this. It’s scribbled on a half sheet of note paper in my binder of recipes scribbled on bits of this and that.

Spring Pasta

This is a very forgiving recipe. Double it, half it. Change the amount of each veg, that’s all good. It will change the taste a bit but still be tasty.

Start oven preheating to 400. Get out a large glass baking dish, I use a 9X18. I suppose it doesn’t have to be glass as long as it is non reactive and large enough to hold everything without letting the sauce run everywhere.

Chop the woody ends off one pound asparagus. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Toss into the dish.

Cut the bright white and dark green portions off 2 medium leeks. Slice into half moons. Rinse well. Allow to drain.

Cut three handfuls of grape tomatoes in half. I like mixed heirloom ones. Add to the dish.

Toss in 2 handfuls of golden raisins.

Add those drained leeks. IMG_20170329_161659

Crumble up 1 pound of chicken Italian sausage, sweet or hot, your call. You can also use pork sausage if that floats your boat.

Mix 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c good balsamic, a tsp of minced garlic in a bowl until all incorporated. Pour over the veg. Stir everything around. Pop it in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Stir when the timer goes off, put it back in, and start your water for your pasta. You can use whatever pasta you like. I used edamame pasta on this one. And a low amount as I try to minimize carbs. Zoodles would also work but this dish will be a bit soupy as zoodles don’t absorb IMG_20170329_183254sauce.

By the time your pasta is done, 15-20 minutes later, your veg are done as well. Drain the pasta and add to the veg pan. Mix all together. Serve with parm.

Sunday Sup: Glorious Carbie Pancakes

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I almost never indulge in this sort of carb fest for breakfast. It just sets the wrong tone for the whole day. Start off with pancakes and end up with french fries for dinner and five pounds on the scale. But we were flipping my son’s room and the guest room and deep cleaning both for the third time in the 3.5 years we have lived here. That much furniture moving requires a little carbo loading. LOL

So my favorite pancakes. Originally from The Pioneer Woman, I’ve made a few adjustments.

Put 1 1/2 c gluten free flour blend into a large bowl. I use Trader Joe’s flour but your preference is fine, I am sure.

Add one tablespoon Baking Power and 3 tablespoons coconut sugar. Stir.

In a medium bowl, 1 1/2 c milk. Your pick. I usually use 3/4 a cup half/half and 3/4 a cup almond milk because that’s what I always have on hand. Add the juice of 1 1/2 medium lemons. Add the zest of those juiced lemons. Stir to combine and let it sit five minutes.

Put 2 tbsp good butter into the micro to melt.

Turn on your griddle to preheat. I like 325 degrees.

Go back to your milk/lemon bowl. Add one egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and the melted
butter. Stir. Add to dry ingredients. Stir. Should be soupy.

Add 1 c blueberries. Fresh or frozen, does not mattIMG_20170325_103913er. But if you use frozen be aware it will make your butter solidify a bit in the batter. This is fine. Still tastes good and the butter melts back into the batter on the griddle. It will also take a smidge more cooking time if using frozen blueberries. Cook each side until brown. I am sure you all know not to flip that pancake until all the air bubbles pop and the brown edge becomes visible.

 

I like to keep mine warm on the stove, covered by a clean towel. It helps if you are broiling sausage or bacon at the same time as the stove top will be slightly warmed.

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Sunday Sup: Chicken Cream Pasta

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 1 Comment

I am not usually one for dishes this fussy but I have to admit the final taste was worth every minute. The basis for this dish comes from Jess over at HowSweetEats. You can check her version out here.

For this one, you need to prep ahead of time. The sauce is fussy. So chop 1 lb of asparagus into 1 inch pieces, no woody ends. Chop 1 lb of cooked chick breast into bites sized pieces. I used the pre cooked, pre sliced chicken that comes in handy one pound packages at the the store.

Start your water for your pasta.

Start a second small pot of water to boil. Add 2 egg yolks, 2 packages of creme fraiche (1.5 cups total), and 1 c parm cheese shredded, to a metal bowl. Place the bowl over the small pot of water and stir. You need to keep an eagle eye on this sauce, stir frequently, and NEVER let it bubble.

When the pasta water boils, toss yours in. I used a Quinoa and Brown Rice spiral noddle. You could use zoodles if so inclined or edamame pasta. I had neither on hand and so subbed this. I would pick a pasta that can actually absorb sauce though. Zoodles aren’t so good at that.

Keep stirring that sauce.

Put a skillet over medium heat. Add a good helping of butter, let it melt, throw in asparagus and chicken. Stir occasionally.

Keep stirring that sauce. As thing get warm and start to melt, stir constantly, whisk like mad. It is totally worth it. Pull the bowl from the under pot when it is all combined and a thick cheese sauce.

Drain your pasta. Add the asparagus, chicken, and cheese sauce to the pasta. Toss. Top with shredded parm. I have no pics of this. It got decimated in one night at my house. LOL.

Sunday Sup: Spanish Rice Redux

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 2 Comments
The original for today’s Sunday Sup comes from a cookbook entitled Eat Smart, Lose Weight. It was a gift. From my mother. Cough, cough, did you just say I was dumb and fat? Cough, cough.
It’s one of those awful books from the days where fat was the devil and eating as many carbs as possible created a nation of diabetics…yeah. I’ve made a few changes to this one.
Spanish Rice Redux
Chop a pound of pork chops, pork sirloin, pork loin, etc (your choice, what do you have on hand) into small cubes. Brown over medium high heat in olive oil in a largish pot.
While that browns, chop 2 small red onions, 2 red bell peppers, and one green zucchini. (I know they only come in green but I like balance.)
Remove the pork from the pot, add a bit more olive oil if needed. Put all the chopped veg in the pot with a teaspoon of minced garlic. Or use a couple of cloves if you’re old fashioned.
Give it 3-5 minutes. Stir a bit too. Let all the veg get softer and a bit of a tan.
Add the meat back.
Add 2 cans diced fire roasted tomatoes, the 15oz cans, or 1 1/2 cans and a fresh tomato if you forgot to buy more canned ones the last time you were at Costco.
Add 2 cups chicken stock and one 16 oz bag of riced cauliflower.
Bring to a simmer, then cover and lower the temp to low.
Simmer 30 minutes. Go take a nap or wash yesterday’s dishes now that your kiddo has finally unloaded the dishwasher.
Give it a good stir. Take the lid off and simmer until it is the dryness you desire. With no additional simmer it will be a bit soupy. I like to give it another 15.
Serve with sliced avocado on top.
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Sunday Sup: Fruit Salad

~ tahenryauthoress ~ Leave a comment

You’ll pardon my lazy easy recipe but I’m in Berlin right now and I got better things to do. There are gluten free donuts calling my name … on my way to the Allied Museum.

Fruit salad. I know this is easy. But follow this little secret and people will go mad over it.

So throw in your chopped up fruit. I many different colors so it looks visually appetizing. Blackberries, Blueberries, apples, cuties, grapes, strawberries if you know no one is allergic….

Juice a large orange, blood orange maybe. Add maple syrup while stirring. You want to stop pouring when the fluid looks just a tinge brown. If you’re a measurer, 2/3 juice to 1/3 maple. Pour over your salad and toss.

That’s it. Simple, easy. But you will come home with an empty bowl every time.

Sunday Sup: Vegetarian and Others

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I’m not sure quite where I got the idea for this meal. It’s super easy but has the advantage of meeting a lot of complicated situations. You’re going to a potluck and the host informs you half the guests are vegetarian. As a paleo consumer, now what do you do? Chicken kabobs in faux peanut sauce aren’t going to cut it.

Chop a variety of veg. I like onion, mushroom, zucchini, eggplant, and bell pepper. If you are feeling snazzy, you can marinate the onion, mushroom, and bell pepper ahead of time. Use a good balsamic, olive oil, and garlic. An hour is sufficient.

Preheat oven to 425, line a rimmed sheet with parchment. Put the zucchini and eggplant on first so when you pour the marinating veg out of the container and onto the pan the sauce gets on all the veg. Stir.

Roast 20 minutes. Stir. Roast 15-20 more depending on how done you like your veg.

Serve with a good garlic hummus. Or plain hummus. Or I suppose a yogurt tzatziki would work but I always feel like the pre-made isn’t all that tasty and I don’t want to chop all the herbs to make my own. LOL

If you have meat eaters, you can always put out some left over chicken or grill some sausage to accompany your veg meal.

Sunday Sup: Go to Brekkie

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 2 Comments

I got an Instant Pot last November on Cyber Monday. But I didn’t get around to reading the instruction and breaking it out until after the Holidays. Way too busy, way too tired. But I managed not to blow up the house when I finally used it. Yay, me!
So what did I make? A pulled pork to use in this awesome enchilada recipe from Jessica over at How Sweet Eats.
Except her recipe calls for 2 cups of pulled pork and I had half a small roast left over.

Hrm….

RePurposed Pulled Pork Brekkie

Take left over pork roast and shred that too. Add one 4 oz can green chiles, diced. Add all the jalapeño jack cheese you like. Store in Tupperware in the fridge until morning. img_20170121_125746

Put a portion of pork mix in a bowl, microwave 45 seconds. In the mean time fry two eggs over easy or medium but you want some runny yolk to mix in with the cheese and pork. Add the eggs to the top and mange!img_20170121_125906

 

 

Warm and gooey. Perfect for those days when I may not get to eat again until dinner, which sadly seems like every day lately. LOL

Sunday Sup: Quinoa Salad

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 2 Comments

I’m going to set the scene for you. The hubs is in another state working. I am in a small apartment with the kiddo, a very much younger kiddo, trying to wrap up our three lives so we can all move to the other state the hubs is working in. I finally get the kiddo to bed and because I don’t eat dinosaur chicken nuggets even if they are organic, I am searching the fridge to finally make myself some dinner. I’m not shopping because hello moving to another state. Gotta use up what’s there before it ends up in land fill. I see some left over roast asparagus and some goat cheese. I google. I find a recipe somewhere, I don’t remember where now, and I discover with some hearty substitutions I can kind of sort of make this recipe. I do, it’s delicious, so I keep making it with my substitutions. LOL

Quinoa Salad

Right off the bat you have to decide how much you want to make and how much quinoa you want versus the other ingredients. I usually put 4 cups of water on to boil and then add 2 c quinoa when it’s ready. 12-15 minutes simmering covered should do it. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on for five more minutes.
In the mean time, put some asparagus on a parchment lined cookie sheet, spray with olive oil, broil on high for 5-7 minutes. Just smell for it.
While that’s cooking, chop up some kalamata olives.
Whisk up the sauce. This is again a bit about you. I like red wine vinegar in this recipe, a good 1/2 c worth, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp honey, 1/4 olive oil. Whisk until emulsified. You can also use balsamic if that tickles your fancy. You can mix white balsamic and standard in equal measure.
Dump the fluffed quinoa into a large bowl. Pour the sauce on, stir well. The asparagus should be cool enough to cut now. Grab by the woody ends and snip off one inch pieces until the kitchen shears no longer go through the asparagus easily. Toss the woody part.
Now while everything is warm, add the goat cheese. A good 4-6 ounces. Mix it round until the goat cheese melts into the quinoa.
Serve warm.

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FYI this pic is of a half batch because the hubs said he was cutting back on the carbs but when I got home and was ready to eat dinner, there was no salad to be found. Apparently he meant he was cutting back on my carbs. LOL

Sunday Sup: Nacho Glop

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 3 Comments

I think this recipe has been around the block more times than well … it’s been around a lot. My friend Missy makes something similar. My friend Christine makes something similar. But my recipe is so easy you can do it half asleep, hung over, and drunk all at the same time.

Nacho Glop

Brown one pound of ground beef with taco seasoning.

Add one can refried beans, one can fire roasted tomatoes, one can green chilies. Stir.

Simmer a few minutes until everything is warm and gooey.

Put glop in a bowl, top with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, etc.

Scoop it up with tortilla chips.img_20161114_182753

Munch, Munch, Munch.