Spring Break (and beyond) Cook Off

Okay, now, let's talk food.  For the first time since getting married I actually feel like a wife this week.  I mean there have been bits and pieces of feeling "wifey" but this week I've gotten to devote myself a little more to those things which usually get pushed aside so I can do school work. Mostly, I'm getting to make a home made meal each night this week!  This weekend I gathered some recipes and went grocery shopping on Sunday.  I love getting to buy fresh products and ingredients rather than Lean Cuisines and canned soup.  On the line up for the week: 

Monday: Jalapeno Pesto Pasta

Tuesday: Turkey Chili

Wednesday: Bottom Sirloin Roast

Thursday: Crock pot stuffed peppers

Jalapeno Pesto Pasta

I adapted this recipe from a youtube video for a healthier (lower fat/higher protein) pesto recipe.  It can be found here .  The biggest difference between this recipe and typical pesto recipes is this one cuts the amount of olive oil used by more than half and has no parmesan cheese.  Instead, the recipe uses white northern beans. In addition to these ingredients I tossed in two whole jalapenos in the blender.  I also made chicken strips to add to the pasta.  I marinated the chicken in light italian dressing, oregano, and garlic.  After this I dumped the bag into a skillet and cooked the chicken on low heat until done.  After everything was made I added the pesto and the chicken to whole wheat penne pasta. 

Chicken in marinade

Must use fresh basil!

White beans rinsed and drained

Cooking the chicken with a sliced jalapeno

Blended pesto

Sliced tomato 

Chicken done!

Combine the ingredients and enjoy! 

Result:  I really liked this dish and I think Jason also enjoyed it.  It really surprised me how the beans gave the pesto the creaminess you would usually expect from the cheese and extra olive oil.  The dish also worked well as leftovers (I had it for lunch the next day).  Next time I think I'll also add garlic in the blender when I'm making the pesto.  

Turkey Chili

Tuesday I made my first try at making chili.  Jason loves  chili, so I was feeling the pressure to produce.  My family has a recipe that we have labeled "Aunt Kelly's Chili."  It once won first prize in a boy scout chili cook-off.  I had asked my mom for this recipe a few months ago but never got around to giving it a go.  While at Zest Fest we picked up a "chili mix" which came with a little recipe booklet.  I decided to mash up some of these recipes with my family recipe.  Essentially, I used all the spices from Aunt Kelly's Chili and some of the add-ins of the vegetarian chili recipe I got from Zest Fest.  I also decided to switch out ground beef for ground turkey.  

All the ingredients.  Brown ground turkey first. 

Chopped  1 large white onion

Throw all ingredients (except beans) into pot and cover over medium low heat for 35 minutes

Add in the beans and heat for additional 10 minutes.  Serve. 

 Results:  We loved this!  We did end up adding some scorpion sauce to make it a little spicier.  We also had Jalapeno Beer Bread from the Czech Bakery in West, TX on the side.  This was Jason's idea, and it was the perfect addition to the Chili.  Jason will be taking some of the leftovers to work on Wednesday and report back on how it tastes reheated.  

Wednesday: Sirloin Roast 

Okay, I ended up forgetting some important prep parts of this recipe and thus it has been delayed.  I still have a very delicious roast sitting in our freezer that I cannot wait to use!

Thursday: ...

Okay Thursday was supposed to be the stuffed peppers, but then I remembered we were supposed to go to my mom's for dinner.  We ended up having a southwestern dish there as well so it worked out.  

Two weeks later and:

Stuffed Peppers!

I completely forgot to take pictures of making this dish.  Thanks to Jason's foresight he took a picture with his cell phone camera a sent it to me, so I did at least get the above picture.  This was a fairly simple dish.  First, I cut the tops off the bell peppers and pulled out the seeds.  Next in a large mixing bowl I combined ground turkey, brown rice, red onion, oregano, parsley, basil, chili powder, and garlic.  Then I stuffed the peppers!  Next I put them all into the crock pot and poured hot Pace Picante salsa over each of them as well as about 3/4 cup water.  Turn the crock pot on low and let cook until Jason got home.  Sigh.  I love that crock pot  :) 

Result:  Both Jason and I really enjoyed this.  They were probably a little overdone, but still very flavorful.  I think next time I will make one or two vegetarian or seafood stuffed peppers.  The ground turkey was tasty, but I can see myself enjoying something a little lighter.  

Final note,  I started writing my wedding blog post.  It won't be up for a little while as I'm still waiting on pictures, but when it does arrive there will probably be about 10 separate posts for it.  Get excited!  Or nauseated :)  

Until next time

The VrlyFries  

From the Pinboard to the Cutting board

Pinterest is awesome and you know it.  On a sidenote I'm planning on giving up Pinterest for Lent.  I spend unhealthy amounts of time looking through pictures and pictures of things.  But one of the most useful "Pinboards" I've created has been for recipes.  It's the best online cookbook you can imagine.  I've been trying to cook more.  I really do enjoy it, but usually I'm exhausted by the time I get home and making a bowl of cereal sounds easier.  Unfortunately, having work during the day and night classes keeps me from being able to make dinner very often.
I know, I know.  Poor Jason, right?  Ask him and he would say he's happy with his nightly dose of chips and salsa, but I've got to practice before the small fries come along.  And that is precisely what I've been doing at least a little here and there.  I've been trying to take pictures of all of my cooking adventures as well, but I'm not so great at this either.  Most of my pictures are either of the first step or the finished product.  I always forget to take pictures of the whole process.  But I'll give you what I got.  So let's begin!


Pizza rolls
When Superbowl time rolled around Jason and I decided it was our time to step up and bring some goodies to Bryan's annual Superbowl party.  Kimberly and Jason pretty much have desert on lock-down and Bryan is an expert at main course dishes.  We decided to tackle the appetizers.  Now, usually there are lots and lots of appetizers but my goal was to try and put a healthy spin on some of the classics.  So first came the pizza rolls:
Here are the ingredients from Pinterest:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni slices
Marinara sauce for serving
In an attempt to make it healthier I substituted half of the flower with whole wheat flour, chose turkey pepperoni over the usual, and added in some jalapenos because capsaicin is good for you :)  I also used part skim mozzarella rather than the fattier kind 

To save time: on Superbowl Sunday:  Mixed the dry ingredients the night before

In a separate bowl mixed the moist ingredients together the night before

Added in the "toppings" and put the dough into a muffin tin.  Baked on  375 for 30 mintues

Result:  I personally really liked them.  But they had a very distinct "wheaty" taste that took away from the "pizza" taste.  We were also in a rush when we finished making them so I think they may have been a little underdone.  I may or may not make these again.  There's another pizza bite recipe that invloves mushrooms instead of bread for a crust that I'm excited to try first! 


Cauliflower 
Next up I made a spicy cauliflower.  This one was probably the biggest hit of the appetizers I made.  They were simple, had a little kick, and healthy all on their own.  
Recipe from pinterest:

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp olive oil
I also added in some scorpion pepper spices that Jason and I bought from Zest Fest.  This added a little extra heat and I think it was a good move. 

Again for time's sake: mixed all the spices the night before

Baked in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes

Result:  I really liked these.  Definitely a good healthy snack.  Unfortunately, I don't think they keep very well for a long time, so it's probably best to just make as much as you'll eat in one sitting.  

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Yum yum yum!  Who doesn't love a good spinach artichoke dip?  Well, I guess skinny jeans don't.  What with the ridiculous amount of cheese and sour cream most recipes call for.  But I found a delicious modified version on pinterest.  Here are the ingredients:

• 13.75 oz artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
• 4 oz shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• olive oil spray

The biggest substitution here is the greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  Anyone can just choose to pick up the "lighter" sour cream, but this substitution is not only fat free, it's also protein packed, and in my opinion tastier.  Yay non fat greek yogurt!  

Chopped up the ingredients in our AMAZING blender

Add in the spinach

Mix it all together and store in refrigerator over night

Put into one of our lovely pyrex dishes and baked at 375 for 25 minutes in our toaster oven :) 

Result: Deliciousness.  Probably my favorite dish.  I love spinach artichoke dip but always feel guilty for eating it.  Now I have a recipe I can make and enjoy with a little less guilt :)  


Jason's Salsa
The ingredients of this dish are a secret family recipe a la the Garcia's and my wonderful husband.  I also forgot to take a picture.  But believe me, it was a huge hit at the party.  And that wraps up our Superbowl appetizer extravaganza! 


Breaded Shrimp
Originally, these were supposed to be included as an appetizer, but when we got to Bryan's there was so much food we decided to save them for later.
Pinterest Recipe: 

• 16 oz jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeling 12.5 oz)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup egg substitute (egg beaters)
• 6 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp panko
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Cooking spray (I used my Smart Balance)

I made a couple of changes to this recipe.  First, I added in some scorpian spices here too.  I learned very quickly that I can make Jason like anything I cook just by making it spicy.  Pretty nifty :)  Second, instead of using store bought bread crumbs I made my own.  This was a "healthier" move because it cut out the high fructose corn syrup found in most store bought bread crumbs (Jason and I only buy breads without high fructose corn syrup) it also allowed me to make whole wheat bread crumbs.

Jason helped me make the bread crumbs: First step - make toast

Put into (AMAZING) blender

Bread crumbs! 

The line up: Shrimp, Egg beaters, spices, pan

yummm we also had some jumbo shrimp

Ready to bake!  450 for 7 minutes...flip over all the shrimp and bake for 4 more minutes 

Finished product, served on the beautiful serving tray we registered for

Add in some wine and our super fancy table...ok maybe we still need to buy a real table...and dinner is served!

"artsy" shot

Result:  Very tasty!  Definitely one I'll use again

The Others
I also cooked two other meals but forgot to take pictures.  The first was a spicy Greek yogurt chicken and quinoa and the second a spicy curry chicken and brown rice.  Both of these were good.  I don't think the quinoa turned out quite like it's supposed to because I bought it from the bulk bin at our local Kroger.  I'm not totally convinced how fresh it was.  
Both of these were cooked in our crock pot (I love wedding registry gadgets!).  The crock pot is a Master student's best friend.  It is probably the only reason Jason and I get a home cooked meal at least once a week. 


Garden Soup
Every week Jason and I make big pots of soup for us to take for lunch throughout the week.  Jason makes a yummy southwestern inspired chicken soup.  I make a vegetable soup; Jason likes to call it my "If it grows in the ground it's in my soup" soup.  Which might be a little bit true.  But it's so delicious.  Here's the typical list of ingredients:
Vegetable broth
Water
cumin
oregano
parsley
garlic
green onion
Eggplant
cabbage
Red and Orange bell peppers
carrots
zucchini
yellow squash
brown rice (cooked in our saweeet rice cooker) 
sometimes I add in a sweet potato or an additional type of squash (so far I've tried acorn squash and butternut squash) 

Yum!!  This is the soup I credit for helping me lose about 10 pounds before the wedding...hurrah soup diet!

That's all for now!  Hopefully I'll stay on this cooking kick.  This week I have some cod waiting to cook and am going to try Jamaican jerk chicken in the crock pot!  Hopefully I will also remember to take some pictures :) 


Until next time
The Vrly Fries