Food Glorious Food

I've been enjoying trying some recipes.  Right now I'm really dedicated to trying some of the video and recipes circulating on Face book.  So tomorrow's dinner will be Honey Siracha Lime Chicken.  I think it will fabulous with a salad or on a pizza.  So this is the recipe that caught my attention this week.  Honey Siracha Lime Chicken from 12 tomatoes.  I will marinate my chicken overnight.  I will be grilling mine on my griddler for tomorrows dinner. So stay tuned for the critique.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I love being home alone.  It's a nice treat from time to time.  The hubby had to go to NY and his trip was extended so I had time to myself for the many activities that I enjoy.  I can eat the way I like and when I want. So dinner one night was a Hot Spinach & Artichoke dip.

I used Alton Brown's recipe from the Food Network.  I did tweak it a bit.

Alton Brown' Spinach & Artichoke Dip

My tweaks:
1. I couldn't find frozen artichoke hearts as the recipe called for.  I used canned  that were already Quartered.  I rinsed them very well to remove any odd flavors, drained them well, and then chopped them even more.

2. I used the Whole package of cream cheese (8 oz)

3. I used extra spinach (because I like it that way)

4. I cooked the spinach and artichoke together as instructed & drained them well.

5. I used the canned Kraft Grated Parmesan & Romano Cheese blend in the mix.

6. I did not heat everything in the microwave.  I mixed at room temperature and then put it into a small oven safe bowl to bake it.

7. I topped the dip with fresh grated parmesan cheese before baking.

8. I baked at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  Long enough for the cheese to melt and a bit of golden coloring to start.

9. I served with Bagel chips.

This was absolutely delicious, and left overs were great as a spread for sandwiches.

Better than McDonald's Breakfast Burritos

Well, I should have captured some pictures for this, but they were so good we couldn't help but eat them.

I only made enough for two people.  Hubs will eat 3-4 burritos and I eat two.  They are small.  This will make about 5 -6 tortillas.

note - this is not a picture of my burrito, just an image grabbed from the internet

Ingredients:

1/2 Jimmy Dean Original Recipe Sausage
1/4-1/3 can of green Chilies
1/4 of red onion diced
5 Eggs
1/4 cup or less of skim milk
5-6 flour tortillas medium sized (not the small taco size but the size up)
grated cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

First -start the sausage- in a skillet brown the sausage, and add the Chilies and the diced onion and cook until sausage is completely browned and the onions are translucent.

Second- while the sausage is browning- in a small bowl combine eggs, and milk and whisk together.  Salt and pepper to taste

Third - add egg mixture to a heated skillet and cook the scrambled eggs stirring occasionally so they are light and fluffy.

Take paper towels or regular towel and dampen and wrap tortillas in it and microwave for 30 seconds.  You can do this right before the eggs and the sausage are finished.  They can stand in the microwave and steam a bit if needed.

Once everything is cooked - lay your warm tortilla and put a nice spoonful of eggs, then a spoonful of sausage in the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.  To roll tuck the sides of the tortilla in at the same time you begin to fold over the tortilla creating a pocket.  using your fingers tuck the filling down into the pocket and roll over and leave seam side down.  Repeat until all burritos are made.  Serve with a chunky salsa.  You can use store bought or make your own.

Enjoy.  We sure did.

Notes:
1.  If you need to feed more people then I would double everything above and work from there.
2.  If you want larger burritos then use the large tortillas, but you will only get 2-3 burritos.
3.  You could sprinkle some fresh cilantro on it as well if desired.

Not much cooking

Not much cooking going on over the past week.  We are moving, so making plans, and getting things done.  It begins...

The Paleo Project

Now that I'm home, I cook more. Recently the hubs complained that he's gained 3lbs in a month. ( I wonder if my job loss has effected his weight?)  In an effort to eat healthier and for neither of us to gain anymore weight (maybe shed a few lbs in the process) we have decided to make a few changes and try eating healthier.  Easier said then done.  He likes to eat and, well I like my desserts. We are cutting back on fried and processed foods.  Ok that's easy to do...NOT.  He came home from the grocery store with this...

Back in November or December I purchased a 6 month meal planning package through e-meals.  You can find them here: E-Meals  You pick a meal plan and each week you are sent a meal plan for 7 days with a shopping list.  GREAT idea.  I love this, so I purchased a Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner meal plan.  With menu's from Gourmet to Paleo to Diabetic there is something for everyone.  (I opted against the dessert plan.  I was trying to be good).  I'd been saving up menus and swapping meal plans for some fresh ideas.  I'd slip in a meal here and there.  Recently however, Hubs had read that Jeb Bush had lost a lot of weight following the Paleo diet.  Now was the time to strike. He said he wanted to start eating better, I told him that I had some meal plans that we could pick from.  He informed me he was interested in Paleo, but not totally sold.  I said let's try it for a week.  He agreed. 

I printed a few menus and let him pick the meals he was interested in.  He did the grocery shopping, but he was clear to tell me that this was a trial and we would modify as he needed to have a pizza and cheese in his life.  Ok, we can do that, but the pizza has to be made at home and not purchased from the freezer aisle or from a national chain.  The deal was struck and so began THE PALEO PROJECT.

Sunday Dinner: Paleo meal - Rosemary Mutard Roasted Chicken served with Broccoli-Olive Salad

He loved the salad  and the chicken.

Monday Breakfast:  Paleo meal - Breakfast BLT wrap with egg - so basically this was scrambled eggs,bacon & tomato wrapped in an iceberg lettuce leaf.  Can you say FREAKING DELICIOUS! He again was sold.

Monday Lunch: Healthy meal - Homemade garlic & olive hummus served with carrots, Snow pea pods, grape tomatoes.  We also had  a slice of cheddar cheese and some deli turkey sliced meat.  (I had 1 of each, he had more).

Monday Snack: Fresh fruit - watermelon - now in season and absolutely fantastic

Monday Dinner: Paleo meal - Yellow Cauli-Rice & Kale Meatballs in tomato sauce.  This was a great dinner, but felt the recipe needs more seasoning in the meat, and we both wanted parmesan cheese.  First time I really missed some bread too.  Sometimes you just want to sop up the tomato-y goodness off the plate with a nice piece of crusty bread.

Monday dessert- decidedly NOT paleo or healthy - 1 magnum ice cream bar.

Overall the first day - I feel good we ate healthier and made better choices.

I had an appointment with my Wax-pert so I can now say I'm beach ready!  As a result, breakfast was a little delayed so we are calling it BRUNCH.

Tuesday Brunch -Paleo meal - Banana crepe-cakes with fresh fruit and bacon.  This was both beautiful to look at with the fresh strawberries and blueberries on the banana pancakes and the bacon.  These were delicious.  Who knew you could make pancakes without any type of flour at all.  These were a hit with Hubs.  We will definitely have these again.  My type of breakfast.

Tuesday Snack - more hummus and carrots or fresh watermelon 

Tuesday Dinner planned?  Another Paleo meal - Dijon Pork chops and asparagus. 

Stay tuned for more on the Paleo Project as the week progresses.  We'll see how long he lasts.

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Apple Rosettes

I've recently found myself in a new life situation, and now have time to devote to blogging, podcasting, baking and anything else that crosses my path.  (Don't go look for the podcast yet, it's still in production)

Today, my sister-in-law Rene posted a video on her Facebook page about Apple Rosettes.  These were beautiful and intriguing to me.  Since I had to do the grocery shopping today anyway, I just added a few items to my list in the process.

2 Large Apples (Red)
1 Package of Frozen puff Pastry
Cinnamon to taste
Apricot Jam

You will also need a muffin tin, a rolling pin, flour, and water

Here is the video Apple Rosettes by Manuela M.

I made these and this is what I learned:

1. It's difficult to make all the apple slices exactly the same width.  I recommend using a mandolin.
2. It takes more than 3 minutes to make the apples pliable.  If they are a little crisp they will not roll without breaking.
3.   I used red delicious apples, but I think any other apple type that holds up to heat will work well.
4.  keep the puff pastry cool it helps with the process, as it warms it begins to get stretchy.
5.  When the puff pastry gets wet, like when you dab it with the watered down apricot jam, its harder to work with.  Be careful here.  The dough gets wet with the damp apple slices as well.
6. I forgot to sprinkle with cinnamon - oh well
7.  I baked for 43 minutes and turned the pan 1/2 way through the cooking cycle.  I know my oven is hotter on one side then the other.  You will need to watch yours.
8.  I sprayed my muffin tin with PAM to  be sure they popped out.
9. The apricot jam will seep out a bit when baking and make it stick to the pan a bit.  Mine popped out with a knife.
10.  These are EASY PEASY and a great way to impress your friends or would be a great Mother's Day Brunch item.
11. These were a ton of fun to make.  I will be serving mine with some whipped cream, I think these will be lovely with some vanilla ice cream as well.

As you can see, my picture above isn't great, but the rosettes, are exactly what they should be - beautiful.

Thank you to the Manuela M who made the video, and thanks to my sister-in-law Rene for sharing the video this morning.