Mother Daughter Eat Well

Student Artwork 2

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Ahh he strikes again. This one is my personal favorite.

I'll call him.... The Fastest Dog.

Student Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I don't have a lot of time to write, most of you guys know that. So I thought I might share some things about myself besides cooking. Sometimes my students leave me artwork on the white board in my room. One student in particular draws the most amazing cartoon animals. Keep in mind he's only five.

Today's animal is.... The angry bunny.

Huevos Rancheros

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:16:00 +0000

Daughter here! The other night my husband made dinner. Something he's been doing far more often since I'm teaching so late at night. Here's the dinner he made for us, it was absolutely delicious. I'm even getting more and more used to runny egg yolk. I know, I know. You don't have to say anything.

Huevos Rancheros

Eggs

Olive Oil or Butter

Cheese

Salsa

Salt and Pepper

Start with eggs. However many you want (I had two, he had four). Oil a non-stick skillet and put it on medium high heat. Then crack your eggs into it making sure you don't mess with them too much, you want them to have the yolk intact. After the white has set you are going to flip the eggs. My husband is a pro at this but I'm terrified to do it. You can use a spatula if you really want to. Add some salt and pepper (always add salt and pepper). Then sprinkle some cheese over the eggs, serve on a plate and cover with your favorite salsa. We like Newman's Own Black Bean and Corn.

There you have a very high protein low carb dinner (or breakfast... or lunch!). The goal is to have the yolk still runny by the time you cut into it with your fork. Mix that around with the cheese and salsa and you have yourselves a delicious dish :)

Coupons are paying off!

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0000

As you know I, The Daughter, have been doing the coupon thing for about a month now. This past week I spent the most I've spent on groceries since I've been using coupons and look how much it's paid off!

Tonight is Halloween and I got off work a little early, what a treat! I hope your night went as well as mine. The Mother is working on a blog entry about cooking in Japan and I can't wait for her to finish it and post it here. Hopefully the next coupon post I have will be me talking about how I saved more than I spent. :)

Guest Post - Easy Healthy Meals

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Here's a guest post from a fellow blogger, Sean. He has some really great ideas for quick easy yet healthy meals that you can cook up in just 30 minutes. I know that since I've been so busy this article is one that I'm really interested in! Enjoy!

Easy healthy meals in under 30 minutes

If your reasons for eating fast food are the following – (1) It costs too much to eat right; and (2) It takes
too much preparation- you may be surprised. You will be amazed at how many easy healthy meals can
be made in the comfort of your own home in less than 30 minutes. Here are three ideas that you may
even find taste better than some of the greasy meals that you once enjoyed.

1. Spicy chicken pasta salad – Boil one quart of water for your two cups of pasta and cook for no

more than seven minutes. Now, you can cut corners by getting a whole rotisserie chicken from

your local supermarket. Cut away the breasts and chop into bite-size pieces. While your pasta is

draining and cooling, you can dice a half onion, bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Or

if you like carrots, get a mirepoix mix from the store. Mix together dry ingredients and add two

tablespoons of spicy mustard and one tablespoon of plain nonfat yogurt. If you want to up the

spice, you can add jalapenos or other hot pepper to your dry mix. Tabasco or hot sauce may be

added to your wet ingredients.

2. Veggie quesadillas – Many think that if they just eliminate meat from the quesadilla that will
make it less fattening. This is partially true but if you want for it to be healthy then you will
need to take it a step further. By using a tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil to pre-cook your
chopped vegetables or mirepoix– which can be onions, any variety of peppers, baby spinach,
mushrooms, carrots or broccoli – this will eliminate a lot of the fat and calories. While your
vegetables are cooking, select and shred your cheese. Hard cheeses like cheddar are high in
fat and calories so you may want to try a reduced-fat version or go with a softer cheese such as
Monterey jack or skim mozzarella. You can cut another corner by getting a low-fat or mozzarella
cheese that has already been shredded. Remove vegetables and let drain but wipe remaining
oil from cooled pan. Place whole wheat or reduced fat tortillas in pan and immediately add
cheese, followed by your vegetables. If you like, add these ingredients to one side of tortilla
and flip bare side over to cover while cooking for five minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 2
minutes and serve with salsa.

3. Yogurt parfaits – Fast foods are promoting this as a nutritious breakfast or snack but be careful
as some are high in sugar and calories. Control sugar intake by using a plain non-fat yogurt. If
you do not have the time to chop or slice fruit, then get canned fruit that is packed in juice or
water. Frozen fruit is a good choice also. Some places use granola as a topper but granola can
be high in fat and sugar as well so if you don’t feel up to doing a comparison or making your
own, then top with a cold cereal that is low in sugar and calories.

Prepare quickly, enjoy slowly! You don’t have to break the bank or absorb your whole evening cooking!

Grocery Shopping in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Susan) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:51:00 +0000

Grocery shopping in Japan

is not for the faint of heart!

Don't be deluded by the lemons and avocados in the foreground here.

It's true that Japanese produce is wonderfully tasty and fresh.

The tomatoes I've bought here are AMAZING!

Apparently they get that creating tasteless hybrids and shipping them thousands of miles is probably a bad thing.

(Ok, ok, they don't have to ship anything thousands of miles - minor point.)

But, your enthusiasm might be dampened when I tell you that those grapes above (and they are huge!) cost about $6.50. Ouch.

And the golf ball sized tomato? At 158 yen, over $2.00.

To be fair, the current dollar/yen exchange rate is at least partly to blame here.

Prices aside, there are some unusual things (for we Americans) in the produce aisle. Take these radishes for instance. Radishes are big (pun intended) in Japan.

And eggs? Yes, they have the usual chicken eggs,

but then there are these?

Beautiful! But what are they?

And then there are the inside aisles.

Anyone see anything recognizable here?

Looking for soy sauce? There's almost an entire aisle of sauces.

Fish sauces, soy sauces, ponzu sauces, yakiniku sauces,

but which is which?

Which one is low sodium, which one is spicy, which one is hot?

Not a clue!

Then we come to the fresh fish compartments.

Fish, fish, and more fish!

These lil buggers are on sale,

but for a gal from the Midwest, they're mystifying!

And that's before we even get to the octopus!

At last, we're at the check out!

Don't forget to ask for a bag.

The Japanese are very waste conscious, so they don't send you home with 3 pounds of plastic to dispose of. Good thinking (though more than once, I've loaded things into my backpack because I forgot to purchase the bag - old habits die hard).

Truly, I'm loving the new foods and learning to prepare some.

Still, I can't begin to show you how odd if feels to recognize maybe 10% of what you see at the grocery!

Lots to learn!

Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Basil Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I know you're not going to believe it, but I actually created a somewhat classy dish with my husband this weekend. I know I rant and rave about how I have no more time left in my life for cooking blah blah blah, but this weekend I found a little bit of time to cook this. I'm not going to lie, I like it better with a red sauce. I'm just not the biggest pumpkin fan. But if you like pumpkin then eat your heart out.

Also, this is like... one of the easiest-to-make dinners of all time.

Pumpkin Sauce:
4 cups whole wheat gnocchi
1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

Basil Cream:
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

1. To make the basil cream, drain the soaked cashews. In a blender or food processor, blend cashews with 1/4 cup water, basil and pepper until the mixture has the consistency of a thick cream, meaning it should slowly drip off a spoon.
2. Boil the gnocchi until they float, then drain in a colander. Shock them with a quick spritz of cold water from your faucet.
3. To prepare the sauce, mix the pureed pumpkin with the almond milk, nutmeg and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the gnocchi. Simmer for another minute.
4. Assemble the dish by placing the gnocchi and sauce on the plates. Add dots or swirls of basil cream.

This post is not about cookies. I'm not lying!

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:10:00 +0000

Cookies are in the oven ya'll. But you know me. I may not have as much time to cook as I used to but I will find ways to bake something sweet. I will always find time for cookies.

This morning I woke up early and worked on a hobby of mine. Since starting my new job I've struggled with finding enough time for "me". I've been staying up later but I'm not very proactive in the evenings. So this morning I got up and was surprised when my internal clock said "time to go to work" but when I checked my phone I still had plenty of time to have fun. I wonder if this is the beginning of me getting my grove back? You know what's really surprising? Working so much has actually made me feel more like myself. It's amazing how you can still discover yourself as you grow older. You'd think I knew who I was by now ;)

So, what goes along well with a delinquent blogger who now only cooks one day a week? COUPONS! Haha... no seriously. coupons. I'm not going to lie, not all the things I buy are "real food". However after eating real foods for the better part of a year I feel like my mind is in the right place and I'm finally able to make a very good balance between processed and real foods (especially on nights like tonight where it's 9:30 before I'm eating my diner and oh yeah... I forgot to pack a lunch). Yeah...

Don't worry, I'm not going to turn into one of those crazy coupon ladies but if I can save a few bucks while creating homemade meals then um.. yes, I'm going to do that. On my first trip to the grocery store while couponing I got $30 of food for $18. That means I saved $12 :) Not too shabby for my first run right?

Also, enchiladas have become a weekly staple our home. Check out all this Mexican goodness! Hope you guys have a great weekend. Someone's favorite football team has their homecoming game this Saturday. Roll Tide!

A Shout Out From Japan!

noreply@blogger.com (Susan) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:07:00 +0000

It feels like forever since I've posted for you all!

And have I had some interesting eating experiences in the meantime!

I'll share just one here:

Yakiniku

or Japanese B.B.Q!

Our first Friday of teaching was a national holiday, and we were invited by our colleague and wonderful host, Gavin, to travel up the mountain and enjoy Japanese B.B.Q with his family and some of his friends.

Of course we said yes!
(The little guy's Yuto, Gavin's adorable 5 year old.)

The setting was beautiful!

We sat outside under this bamboo shade at specially made tables

that have large cut-aways in the center.

The restaurant brings rectangular holders full of hot charcoal

and fits them into the openings.

Then they bring an assortment of meats, vegetables and noodles to cook over them.

Here's our new Aussie friend with the meat: beef, pork, and intestines.

(Yep, intestines.)

Everyone pitches in and cooks small pieces of meat and some of the vegetables and eats while other pieces cook - kind of like we eat fondue.
There's a solid surface for the noodles.
The Japanese just about always have noodles!

It's a great way to enjoy the scenery and get to know folks!

(I will say that using chop sticks slows my already slow eating down to a snail's pace. I could lose some serious weight this way.)

(Maybe Nice Guy's not so sure about the intestines, hmmmmm . . . .)

Actually, this was delicious. All that great grilled flavor we love in the States but with some new ingredients. The noodles were AMAZING!

This was a really fun and memorable day!

We're super happy Gavin included us!

Shepherd's Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:05:00 +0000

This week my husband made a wonderful freezable dish - Shepherd's Pie. He also made it two weeks ago but I'm blogging about it now (because after having seconds I realized how seriously delicious it is). I know there are probably lots of ways to make Shepherd's Pie but this is how we made ours. The trick is to make really amazing mashed potatoes to go on top. If your mashed potatoes are not flavorful... this meal isn't going to be nearly as good as it could be.

Lucky for me my husband makes amazing mashed potatoes. We talked about it and came to the conclusion that my Uncle Chuck is the only person who makes better mashed potatoes. Shout out to Mom's side of the family!!!

Also, today is the official beginning of fall and yesterday one of my adorable tiny ity bity baby piano students brought me this pumpkin full of candy corn. I know it's still September but I'm just as excited as she is about Halloween. This time of year is probably my favorite, I have my birthday, my husband's birthday, my dad's birthday, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas... it's like bam! bam! bam! One thing after another. Lots of celebrating.

Shepherd's Pie

(courtesy of once a month mom!)

1 pound ground beef, browned
1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of chicken or mushroom soup
12 ounces frozen corn (or other veggie of your choice)
1 teaspoon salt
0.5 teaspoon pepper
0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
0.5 teaspoon onion powder
2 cups mashed potatoes
0.5-1 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Directions:

Mix browned meat with soup; season with salt, pepper, garlic power and onion powder–or other seasonings to taste. Layer meat mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish. Top with veggies. Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions (if using instant). Spoon potatoes on top of veggies. Sprinkle potatoes with cheese (if using). Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or until heated through and top of potatoes are slightly golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

Freezing Directions:

After preparing Shepherd’s Pie, do not bake, instead, seal, label, and freeze. To serve: Thaw in fridge, then bake as indicated above.

Mexican Baked Penne

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

So this week we are having lots of Mexican. Like, lots of Mexican. (You see all those dishes on the counter top?!) I'm not complaining though, I love me some Mexican. You know what else I love more than Mexican? PASTA! Anything containing pasta - almost everything.

The consensus between my husband and me went something like this:

Me - This is delicious and everything I hoped it would be! I'm SO comforted and filled by this food that I'm practically ready to climb into bed and sleep for days!!!

The Scientist - Why isn't it more homogenous?

Mexican Baked Penne

(Thanks to Once a Month Mom and Recipes to Run On)

1/2 pound penne (I used whatever I had on hand)
1 pound lean ground beef
1 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 jars salsa (about 30 oz.)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper
2 cups shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

Preheat oven to 350*. Boil pasta according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, saute garlic, onions, and peppers in the olive oil over medium~high heat in a large non~stick skillet. Season ground beef with salt and pepper and add to pan. Add spices and additional salt and pepper to taste. Cook ground beef until browned. Drain and add to a large bowl. Add the beans, salsa and pasta. Stir to combine.

Spray a 9x13" baking dish with non~stick cooking spray. Pour half the pasta mixture into the pan. Top with 1 cup cheese. Cover with remaining pasta. Then top with remaining 1 cup cheese. You can stop here and freeze it like I did. All you have to do is defrost it and then bake for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is golden. I made little ramekins too and I popped them in the microwave for leftovers.

Crazy Cooking Day

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Sunday afternoon my husband and I cooked for a good 3 hours. This is our Crazy Cooking Day.

A few weeks ago we tried cooking a weeks worth of meals in one day and freezing or refrigerating them until the day we needed them. We were skeptical but ended up loving it.

My new hours with my new job go a little something like this M-F 10am-8pm with a little bit of work on the weekends. At 8pm you don't really want to make a homemade meal you know? And now all my free time is flopped upside down. I have to wake up early to go shopping or workout or clean the house. It's taking some getting used to that's for sure.

Having all these meals in our fridge ready to go made our lives so much easier. Tonight we're having a sort of mexican pasta bake (I'll post about it later this week!) and all I had to do was put it in the oven when I got home. Amazing.

Later this week we have enough food for 2 nights of enchiladas (The Scientist LOVES them so we made extra for him to take to work for lunch), unstuffed bell peppers, shepherds pie, and tonight's mexican casserole thingy.

My fridge and freezer is FULL of food. Like... full of food.

What is even more impressive is how we went through all this costco ground beef, a pound and a half of shredded cheese, an entire package of tortillas. Three cans of enchilada sauce, two cans of refried beans. I mean... I felt like I was cooking for an army when really I was only cooking for two :) but for a week!

Also, this week really turned out to be a mexican week. We love mexican food so we're not complaining. I hope you don't mind either :) Tune in tomorrow for more on what we made!

Great Outdoors

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

This weekend we went hiking. It was wonderful. There is a large state park close by and we spent 4 wonderful hours hiking around on and off the trails with friends. Partly sunny with the temperature never getting above 80 degrees.

The schnauzers also came, those puppies sure do love running around in the wilderness.

My husband isn't the most willing person to go on a hike but this Saturday he amused me and agreed to come along. That's what I call filling my love bucket. Spending the day with him and doing something active is something I love to do!

I don't know what it is about hiking that I love so much but I do. I think it's the idea that I don't have to go fast or slow. It's not a race; I just have to go until I'm ready to stop. I like the idea that our bodies are capable of moving us from one place to another. Now that I'm working in the real world I'm in my car every time I have to go somewhere. I really miss that about college. Being able to walk to dinner, walk to home, walk to practice, walk to class. I walked everywhere and I loved it. Now I only walk the dogs :)

Spending a Saturday morning out in clean open air with a pack on my back and the dogs running ahead is my idea of a perfect morning. What a way to de-stress after such a long week of work.

Tomorrow I'll post what we're doing for meals this week :) You won't believe it but we somehow used 4lbs of ground beef, 1lb shredded cheese, an entire packet of tortillas and more. This week's meals is definitely Mexican based!

Pizza Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

This weekend was my birthday weekend and all weekend long I baked up a cold which turned into a severe sinus infection which came to fruition this morning in my doctor's office. Talk about a stressful week and a half. New job, more work hours, and now a sinus infection to boot. It's a good thing I made freezable meals last week isn't it?! I mean who wants to bake when they have a fever and tissues stuck up their noses?

Right.

So one of the neatest little meals I made (which can also double as a really great snack) are these pizza rolls. The past few days while I've been sick my husband has been making his dinner this way and has loved it. The only thing we changed about these pizza rolls is that we used sweet italian sausage instead of pepperoni since my husband isn't a pepperoni fan. You could nix meat altogether if you wanted, you could stuff these puppies full of whatever you wanted. Also, one more note, don't put too much filling when you're making these. It takes a lot less than you think it would.

Pizza Rolls

1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Pizza Sauce (or Tomato Sauce)
20 Turkey Pepperoni’s (or not!)
24 Wonton Wrappers
1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Basil/Oregano mix OR Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
pinch of sugar
black pepper and salt
*Optional: 1/3 cup Chicken Breast, Diced OR 1/3 cup Italian Sausage

Preheat the oven to 450 and line a baking pan with parchment paper.

Mix together all your ingredients minus the wonton wrappers in a medium sized bowls. Remember if you're using pepperoni to chop it up into smaller pieces. Also, if you're using chicken or sausage, cook it ahead of time.

Take the wonton wrappers one by one and place a nickle sized amount of stuffing into the center. Wet two edges, then fold in half making sure that the dry edges meet the wet edges. You can press the seam closed with a fork or just wet it again. Wetting the wonton wrappers acts like a glue and holds it in place while you cook them.

Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on the top! Simply cool and freeze in freezer bags and reheat for later :)

Adapted from this great recipe.

NOT real food

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Today I'm making this short. You know that new job I talked about last time? Well, it's working with infants... lots of stuffy nosed, red eyed infants. Long story short? I'm sick. I called in this morning and let them know, I had it all, the mucous, the aches, the fever. My supervisor said "Get well soon! But this happens, you caught our crud. At least after this your antibodies will be strengthened!". :) I guess anyone who works in a daycare knows that when you're around that many kids you're bound to get sick.

So I'm home today! And I'm not hungry but I know I need to eat, I barely ate yesterday. So what do you do when you're sick? You go to the grocery store and buy whatever looks good. Today it was root beer and totally not real mac and cheese.

It's one of those days isn't it? I hope I get better soon, we have Alabama football tomorrow :)

Diet - Beef Stroganoff

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:48:00 +0000

I'm calling this one Diet first because it's a lower calorie version of the original. Hopefully, if I get my act together, I'll be posting more recipes that I can call 'diet'. Sometimes I'm in the mood for lots of comfort food... oh who am I kidding? I'm ALWAYS in the mood for comfort food. But, it's not that good for you calorie-wise. This version of beef stroganoff uses greek yogurt in the sauce to cut back on the calories but not in taste.

This week has already been a whirlwind. Mom and Dad left for Japan (I just got an email saying they arrived safely!), I started a new job yesterday taking care of infants at a local daycare, and on Labor Day a hurricane blew through the south and knocked out our power for 24 hours. Imagine me trying to get ready for my first day at my new job with no power, no lights (except flashlights), and trying to hurriedly pack all our food on ice in coolers. Quite the start to a new turn in my life isn't it?!

Thankfully the power came back on last night and after a busy 10 hour day I was ready to sit back with a HOT meal and watch some girl tv, you know, HGTV or Food Network. I love those. My husband hates it when I watch house television shows because he says it makes him nervous about owning a house so I try not to watch them when he's around!

This week The Scientist and I are trying a new take on dinners. Since I'm working more now (about 54 hours a week) I just don't have the energy or patience to cook delicious dinners when I get home from work. Two nights out of the week my wonderful husband has band practice late so he doesn't cook on those days. It might sound like we have a complicated schedule but we don't, it's just FULL. So I did some research on the internet and found this lovely website: Once a Month Mom. These women only cook one day out of the month and freeze all their dishes until they need them. What a great idea! My husband was skeptical so we decided to pick and choose what looked good to fill up a week of meals and just try it for a few days. This Beef Stroganoff was one of my picks. He doesn't like it much and I knew that he would be home late on Tuesdays.

It was the perfect comfort food dish. Seriously delicious (if you like stroganoff) and I had seconds without feeling guilty at all. This recipe makes 4 servings and each serving is only about 250 calories... how could you go wrong with that?! Oh and I forgot to add one more thing to my stress :) because we decided to cook all these meals ahead of time, which took about 6 hours on Sunday afternoon, they were all on deaths door when our power went out. There I was yesterday morning trying to save literally a weeks worth of premade foods! What a day :)

Light Beef Stroganoff

1 pound boneless beef top sirloin steak (I used ground beef because I had lots in my freezer)

1 large onion, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt (I used greek, love that thick flavor!)

1/2 cup fat free sour cream (you could get away with the real stuff here, it doesn't add that much fat)

3 tablespoons chopped chives, divided

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon olive oil

6 ounces portobello (or button, cremini, or baby bella) mushrooms, sliced

3-1/2 cups wide whole wheat noodles (or egg noodle, if you prefer)

If you're going to freeze this for a later date cook the noodles while you're reheating it instead of cooking the noodles and then freezing them. If you're going to eat it right away then go ahead and get those noodles cooking.

While the pasta is cooking you can go ahead and cut your beef the way you like it best, in strips or chunks (or just use ground beef like me!). Add a little olive oil to a non stick skillet and sweat the onions for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove the onion from the pan and set to the side.

In a small bowl combine the yogurt, sour cream, 2 tablespoons of chives, flour, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the beef and mushrooms to the still hot skillet and cook until the beef is cooked through. I actually ended up cooking them separately for some reason (probably because I don't follow directions very well!). When they are cooked through add your sauce and the onions back in and heat through. Serve piping hot with noodles a side of veggies!

If you're planning on freezing this then let it cool down and put into a freezer bag, tupperware, or any kind of freezer safe container and freeze until you need it. Simply reheat it in the microwave or on the stove top.

Serves 4

Calories 246, Fat 6 grams, Fiber 3 grams, Protein 22 grams.

Date Night

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

The other day The Scientist and I had an indoor date night. We wanted to have a special dinner but didn't really feel like leaving the house so we both worked on dinner and dessert together. I love cooking with my husband. Love love love it! Plus I should tell you that next week when my new job starts he'll be cooking a whole lot more. We'll have Scientist posts :)

First we took beef cutlets and pounded them nice and flat.

My husband made a red sauce using who knows what. I asked him what was in it and he said he can't remember. The base was tomato paste and obviously (hence the picture) salt and pepper, drippings from the meat, garlic and something else for sure :) Chicken stock I think.

I worked on cheesy orzo for the side (sorry no colorful vegetables here). Mom and I are real cooks and sometimes you just don't feel like cooking up vegetables with every meal, even if it does make for better blog photos :)

Dessert was amazing. My husband made caramelized apples by melting butter and brown sugar in a pan and cooking the apples in the mix. We then poured this concoction over vanilla bean ice cream. What a treat!! I love indoor date night :)

Easy Honey Glaze for Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

This weekend I spent 6 hours at choir camp for my church choir. Since there are a few new members we all had to take turns saying something interesting about ourselves. I think I said something about how I have schnauzers, I teach piano, and I Roll Tide. What I should have said was, I love to cook, and I love weight lifting.

When those two things combine you get protein protein protein. When I'm trying to keep my protein levels high (which feels like all the time now) I often eat lots of chicken. Sometimes it's just plain boring chicken seasoned with just a little bit of salt and pepper. Sometimes I get a little bit more creative. This time I whipped up this glaze for my chicken and was surprised that it actually worked. See, that's the best part about being totally honest with you guys... I don't view myself as a cook, I don't even think I'm a good cook, so when my chicken came out of my toaster oven tasting like honey I was elated to say the least.

I used these fine ingredients :) Honey (local honey at that!), mustard, and soy sauce.

So lately I've changed up my workout routine and I'm really really loving it. I might have told you guys about it before, I can't remember. Let's talk about it again :) I went from New Rules which was a full body workout every other day with cardio at the end of the workout to muscle group splits with cardio on the days in between. Today I did shoulders and legs. I have to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of legs. I know how sore I'm going to be tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it!

Besides being sore, which is going to happen no matter what type of lifting I'm doing, I am loving the results so far. I love being able to focus on just two body parts each workout. I also feel less stressed out about working out. Probably because I don't have to worry about doing a full body workout every single time I go to the gym. I'm also seeing my triceps more clearly and that makes this girl pretty darn happy :)

YUM chicken!

I love to eat chicken (especially on workout days) because it's such an easy way to get high amounts of protein in versus calories in. Another apparent pro is that it's a low fat food, but ya'll know me... I'm not afraid of eating fat.

Oh! Oh! I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys this. So you know that I've been eating more protein, more eggs and more animal fats than I was last year (or ever in my life really...). If you don't know that then you do now. We changed from reduced fat milk to whole milk, started eating lots more red meat and cheese. I have eggs at least 2-3 times a week and sometimes more.

All of this is to say that in August 2010 I had blood work drawn and my cholesterol came back as high. It was 244. High cholesterol kinda runs in my family. So I did what anyone would do, I started to eat more grains and less fats. I ate way less eggs and milk. Then The Scientist and I watched a documentary and blah blah blah you know what happened. We figured that maybe high cholesterol could be caused by a lack of fats and natural cholesterol in the diet (think eggs). This documentary also stated that eating low fat isn't a way to lose fat... actually if you eat more carbs you'll probably gain weight... you should eat more protein. But more about that later.

So after changing my diet I got my blood work done again, a year later. Guess what. My cholesterol is down 40 points to 204. Not only that but my LDL is WAY lower. My doctor was shocked. When I told him what I changed he said "Well, when people went on the Atkin's diet (which is similar to the way we eat) their cholesterol dropped too". Yessss :)

Do eggs make your cholesterol go up? Probably not. Plus they're also a great way to get in lots of protein.

This honey glaze is so easy and so good. Simply pour over your chicken and bake or cook however you want. After the chicken has finished cooking serve and pour the rest of the glaze over the meat. Tastes pretty good reheated too :) Oh and do you see that brown rice? Healthy carbs.

Shrimp Po'boy Salad with Remoulade Dressing

noreply@blogger.com (Susan) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

It's true.

Nice Guy and I leave for Japan in just over a week.

And am I ready?

No.

But while I take a break from packing,

here's one great recipe for your last summer hurrah!

This refreshing salad uses grilled shrimp and a knock-out dressing.

Here's a link to the recipe from Southern Living.

Served with the grilled toast, it's a meal in itself - real and delicious!

Oishii desu kara, shimasu!

(It's yummy, so you should make it!)

Next post? Squid, Daughter!!!

Goodbye Summer, Goodbye Mom and Dad!

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:21:00 +0000

This weekend The Scientist and I spent some time in South Carolina with my parents. My brother and his wife also came from North Carolina. We were trying to get in a little bit of time with Mom and Dad before they leave for Japan (which is in a week and a half!). They'll be gone 6 months, have I told you that yet? Can you tell that I'm going to miss them? I will!

So, Mom and I did one last post together for this blog and it's featuring a huge splurge. Grass fed ground beef! These packets were $6.99 each and we had to have 3 to feed six people hamburgers. It's a lot of money, but according to Nina Planck it's well worth the investment. The balance of Omega acids and what not. Plus the cows are happier before we eat them :)

So, how's your life? Mine's getting kinda busy and I know that my mom's life is even more busy. Posting might be sporadic for a few weeks but I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long! Of course you already know that Mom is going to a foreign country so she'll be busy learning the lay of the land and probably not too busy cooking all natural recipes. Although, I am looking forward to her posts about Japanese food. Seriously. I hope there's some squid.

My life is about to go from a 15 hour work week to a 50 hour week. Pity me, dear readers, have patience with me. I'm also switching from a job I've had for over 3 years to a brand new one in a week and a half (the same day Mom flies out to Japan... coincidence?). So to say that both the Mother and I are busy is just small talk, of course we're busy!! But we love what we do, we really do. I have more students than I've ever had before and while that can feel overwhelming I am very excited to see each one learn something new. The Mother and I are such teachers! Actually... so is my Dad, Nice Guy, and my husband, The Scientist... I guess it runs in the family :)

Mom made this really delicious salad with raw zucchini (raw? seriously?), tomatoes, and lettuce. She used a special kind of salt that my Aunt Liz gave her, it has spices and all sorts of magical things in it. You could use salt and pepper and maybe some oregano or whatever spice you're in the mood for. Mom mixed it with some olive oil in a spoon and then drizzled it on top of the salad. Very refreshing!

Here we all are sitting around the dining table at my parents little cottage of a house back in my home town. This past visit was one of the best I've ever had, it was so nice to just hang out at home and simply spend time with my parents instead of the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

A wonderful send off to Mom and Dad! We'll miss you guys but I can't wait to hear more about your great big adventure. And I'm serious about the squid. I want to see some exotic things!

For you wonderful readers out there, please enjoy the rest of your summer while it lasts. School is back in session which means everyone is moving on to bigger and better things (unless you aren't involved in school at all, in which case you could just pretend). It's the start to a brand new year and it's almost fall. What a wonderful time of year!

Gourmet Twice Baked Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:26:00 +0000

It's time to make some comfort food!

Lately I've kinda hit a wall with my workouts and my healthy eating. I've made a few changes and realized that what I was doing just wasn't working. BUT. Before I came to that conclusion I freaked out and ate a lot of comfort food :) Don't you do that too? I look back and think... oh I ate all these potatoes before I actually twice baked them... maybe something's wrong. And yes, I did eat all the potatoes. All of them. Obviously I wasn't feeling very good about myself!

I picked up a bag of "gourmet potatoes" at costco and thought it might be fun to mess around with them. I mean... purple potatoes. Who wouldn't want to mess around?!

I remember when we first got our costco membership (a gift from my wonderful friend Lauren, the Nutritionist!) I thought it was a lot of fun and my husband thought it was a waste of time. Now, however, we're both really appreciating all the things we can buy there and are starting to save money. Even though it's just the two of us. We buy many things in bulk and freeze or store in the pantry. Like these potatoes! If it weren't for costco I wouldn't have eaten my weight in them! Thanks costco.

See these colors! So great!! I've got yellow, red (which I'm used to seeing), and purple... where did that come from?

Check out the sideways picture. I'm in South Carolina saying a last goodbye to Mom and Dad before they leave for Japan (can you believe they're going to be in Japan for 6 months?!) and I think this area just glitches with computers. My pictures almost always load straight up and down but Mom has had problems with this before and now I am. I can only blame the state of South Carolina.

I included this picture because I wanted you to see just how purple those potatoes are when they are cut open. How come the red potatoes aren't that red when they're cut open? Do brown cows make chocolate milk?

Another sideways picture :/

So, obviously, if you're going to make twice baked potatoes you bake them first. After that you mash them up with any ingredients you want, here you see one of my favorite ingredients :) BUTTER. A whole stick. Why not?

Mash mash mash. I have to be honest, at first I thought that maybe mashing up the potatoes with the mix of colors might make it look really gross (split pea soup anyone?). I actually ended up really enjoying the colors, they turned purple with darker purple potato parts. The scientist was really freaked out by it, I'm not going to lie. He took a bite, then saw what he was eating, and said "no more". He also made the comment that these 'gourmet potatoes' were a little bit more bitter than russet potatoes and he's right. The flavor is more intense and a little sharper but still delicious.

So delicious I ate it all.

The wonderful thing about this dish is that measurements don't matter. What matters is tasting while you mix to make sure it tastes good to YOU.

1. Boil your potatoes until a fork comes in and out cleanly and easily.

2. Cut up the potatoes and place in a large bowl.

3. Begin mixing in the ingredients you want and mash with a potato masher. Here are the ingredients I used:

butter

sour cream

salt and pepper

garlic and onion

chives

4. The original idea was to wrap the potatoes up in phyllo dough (little bites, think... appetizer) and bake again in a mini muffin tin. How delicious is that? However, like cookie dough, every time I opened the fridge and saw that bowl sitting there I had to have a bite. One bite turned into two bites, which turned into me taking some of it to work with me... a few days out of the week. You see what happened don't you?

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Chicken Chili Verde

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

It's time for Mexican again!! I'm excited. Aren't you?

I love love love eating Mexican food. Did you know that I didn't know that I liked it this much for the majority of my life? It wasn't until 3 or 4 years ago that I started to really enjoy it and then start to eat spicier foods. I used jalapeno peppers in this recipe so there was a bit of a kick (leave some seeds in and you'll really feel it!).

When I thought of queso I imagined a smooth creamy white substance with absolutely nothing else in it. No peppers, no spice. Nothing. Now I'm finally experimenting with many more flavors. You'll all be proud.

When my husband proposed to me we went to get a bite to eat (it's a long story) and the only place near us was Moes and at the time I hated that restaurant. I know it's not like "real" Mexican, but at the time I thought everything there was so spicy. Now it's nothing. I wish I could go back to my engaged self and say "eat the food, it's delicious!".

I'm slowing down the blog posts. Not terribly slow, but I'm doing only 3 or 4 a week right now because we're getting ready to go back to work. Teaching is going to be busier than ever this year and The Mother is leaving for Japan soon. I kinda feel like I'm hunkering down and getting ready for a tidal wave to come at me! Do you guys ever feel like that? I'm learning lately that it's ok to just slow down and not over commit. I think I keep learning the same lesson every year... :)

In the mean time, let's eat some Mexican. Also, this dish is DELICIOUS when reheated. The flavor or the chicken is absolutely wonderful.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds chicken parts

4 cups chicken stock or broth (water won't make this taste very good)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup drained chopped canned tomatillos or 4 large or 6 medium fresh tomatillos husked, rinsed and diced

1 large bunch cilantro

3 anaheim or poblano peppers, or 2 jalapeno peppers seeded and finely chopped (which is what I did!)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

salt to taste

1. Boil the chicken in the broth or stock until cooked through (about 15-20 minutes). Keep the left over liquid in the pot, you'll use it later on.

2. Saute the onions, garlic and celery in the vegetable oil until tender.

3. Pour in 3/4 cup of the left over broth and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and add the chicken for another 3-4 minute or until heated through.

There you have it! I paired mine with some chips and beans. But you could use yours in tacos, enchiladas or anything your heart desires!

Spinach and Feta Rollups

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I found this recipe in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. My Grandmother gave that to me as a wedding gift and it's probably my most used cookbook in my inventory. I am always surprised by the things I find in there. For instance, these roll-ups. What they are really supposed to be is a spanakopita type dish, you know, the little triangles. However... Carrie bought the wrong type of phyllo dough. I'm really a genius. I swear.

So, after putting all of this together I figured I could use the same ingredients and just roll the phyllo up instead of using individual sheets to fold into triangles. They were still delicious, my husband ate twice as many as I did. And when I came home from work the next day I realized he had also taken all the leftovers to work with him. Talk about making a girl feel loved!

Ok, so I changed a few things besides the phyllo dough (and that was an accident). I also thought that this dish might need a little bit of southern charm and I don't mean whiskey. I mean BACON!! Sarah Campbell I'm talking you my friend. Bacon basically belongs in every and all dishes, right? Right.

One of the most delicious things about bacon is that you can use the grease for extra flavor. This dish already called for butter so instead of simply melting the butter in the pan by it's self I used a little bit less butter and melted it in the bacon grease. omg... are you drooling? What smells better than melting butter (if you don't think melting butter smells good then just go find another food blog) but melting butter in bacon fat. YES!

Clearly... you need to saute your onions in this magical mixture. Now... if you thought that bacon and butter getting to know each other in your pan smelled good... just add onions. I know there are people out there who don't like onions (The Scientist) but they're just plain old crazy. I know you're not one of those people :)

Next you add the spinach. I actually used more spinach than what the recipe calls for but I love spinach. Obviously... green monster anyone? Never ever be afraid to change up recipes. Don't tell my husband I said that, or that I do that. Ever.

Words cannot describe how frustrated I was when I realized that this phyllo wasn't the sheet version. How could I be so stupid!? Have you ever done that? Been in the grocery store and bought something you swear was what you needed and you get home and you're like... I didn't want this at all! Boo.

Check out the pile I put on this roll up! I have to tell you, it was such a mess to roll this baby up. Pieces of feta and spinach were falling out all over the place. Sheesh.

Make sure when you've rolled it up you pinch the ends closed and cook it with the seam down. I'm going to trust that all of you just understood everything that I've just told you.

Oh, a very yellow picture. I'm still working on photo editing - and also a savings account for a better camera! This part wasn't in the original recipe but egg wash is always a good idea with phyllo dough. Simply whisk up an egg with a little bit of water mixed in and brush over the top of the rolls. This will give it a nice golden brown crust.

Golden brown like these babies!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup mixed onions

1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach thawed and well drained (about 1 cup)

1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen.

My additions were bacon (and bacon grease!), extra spinach, salt, and the wrong phyllo dough :)

Preheat oven to 375

1. Melt butter (and bacon) in a skillet over medium heat. Add and cook onions for about 5 minutes

2. Add the bacon (if you want) and spinach and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients. I actually mixed it all together and popped it in the fridge for a few minutes to let it cool down before I put it on the phyllo.

4. I obviously made rolls out of mine but if you wanted to you could fold it into triangles (just make sure you get PHYLLO SHEETS!). Roll it up and seal the ends. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place on a baking sheet. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes.

I also sprinkled mine with parm. cheese :) nomnom!

National Smores Day

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:23:00 +0000

You missed it! It was yesterday dummies!

I know, sad, but if you're like me and didn't have smores on the menu for yesterday then you might want to try some of these delicious desserts this weekend. With the help of one of my good friends, Rennai, I've compiled a list of some of the most decadent and awe inspiring smores desserts. Enjoy! And keep the camp fire alive (even if it's in your imagination!).

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake - www.howdoesshe.com

Smore Pie - www.retrodinnerdiva.wordpress.com


Smore Cupcakes - www.tablespoon.com


S'more Dessert, Please! - www.thehomematters.blogspot.com

Easy Mexican

noreply@blogger.com (Carrie) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

This is a dish that lots of people probably make but you won't really find in a cook book. I'll call it Mexican Pileup. Everyone else probably calls it Mexican Pileup too...

I was in the process of finding low carb Mexican dishes that we could have for dinner since my husband, The Scientist, is so fixated on eating low carb. I figured the easiest way to do that would be to remove the chips and tortillas. I mean, duh! So we cooked everything like we would as if we were having tacos but piled them on top of a bed of lettuce in a bowl. This dinner was a 10 out of 10 from my husband. Plus it was so easy! We're going to be putting this on our regular dinner list for sure.

We recently celebrated our anniversary (hooray for marriage!!). Here we are touring Andy Jackson's home The Hermitage outside of Nashville, TN. I'm also showing you this picture so you can imagine our faces look like on Mexican night. That's right... smiles all around!

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

taco seasoning

head of lettuce

your choice of shredded cheese

refried beans

1. Brown the beef in a skillet and add the taco seasoning. While you're doing this heat up the refried beans.

2. Layer all of this in a bowl. Feel free to add things like guacamole which is delicious, queso, which is equally delicious, or any other Mexican (or non-Mexican) ingredient or side dish. Pile it up!!

There you have it. The easiest Mexican dinner ever.