Me, Myself & My Food!: April 2011

30 April, 2011

I'm the best Grand-daughter ever!

My Grandmother showed me a flyer she got in the mail for one of these. She wanted one so bad but didn't want to pay the shipping. She can't touch her feet to wash them in the shower. She is going to be so excited!!!

28 April, 2011

The Mexican Trifecta Perfecta!!!

Nothing makes me happier than having an idea that comes together even better than I imagined.

I have a freezer full of meat that needs to be used. This morning I found 3 random zip lock bags...one with a steak, one with 3 pork chops and one with a split chicken breast. I knew that Mexican was on the menu because I made homemade salsa yesterday. I decided to use all three of them to try to turn them into a Mexican meat mixture of some sort.

In a crock pot I added:

1 Sirloin Steak

3 Pork Chops w/ bone

1 Split Chicken Breast

All seasoned with Goya Adobo and Cumin
5 dashes of Liquid Smoke

1/2 Onion Chopped

1 Can Red Enchilada Sauce

1/2 Can of Water
Cook on high most of the day, remove meat, remove bones and chop meat, return to crock pot and juice!
Cook for a couple more hours on low until the meat is completely shredded.
I could have honestly eaten this like a bowlful of chili with some cheese. Mmmmmmmm!
I didn't though....I made tacos!

Steamed corn tortillas

Melted cheese

Shredded Meat

Fresh Cilantro

Green Onion

Lettuce

Homemade salsa

And of course I ate too many!

Green Bean Almondine....that rhymes!!!

Early am. - Start a beef broth with Ox tails, 1 diced onion and dried mushrooms and simmer on low for too long!

Defrost and rinse French Cut Green Beans

Add beans to broth and boil until tender

Stain saving all of the broth...of course!

Add butter, salt-n-pepa, fried onions and slivered almonds!

I recommend using the remaining broth for noodles....of course! I added soy sauce, star anise, sriracha, veggies and rice noodles to make the most delicious bowlful of lunch!

26 April, 2011

Spicy Orange Pork and Snow Peas w/ Sesame Soba Noodles

INGREDIENTS

1 Pork Tenderloin sliced thin

Marinate for half an hour in sauce of:

1/2 C Orange Juice

3 T Soy Sauce

1 T Chili Paste

1/2 T Sriracha
1 T Agave Syrup (or honey)

Saute in a non-stick frying pan until just done and set aside leaving as much of the juice in the pan as possible.

Add snow peas and green onion (or any veggie you like) and cook just until tender. Return pork to the pan, season with soy sauce or salt to taste.

Serve over Soba Noodles drizzled with sesame oil and a little bit of salt!

Delish!!!

Soba Noodles

As I've stated before, I'm completely addicted to noodles. I'm always looking for a new noodle to try. Soba noodles got their chance finally. This may be my new favorite noodle. They are so flavorful and silky. Just delicious! THEN....I saw a No Reservations episode that explained the skill required and history behind making soba noodles. I am on a mission to find a restaurant that serves fresh soba noodles.

25 April, 2011

In......desperate......need......to COOK!!!!!

My kitchen and I are missing each other. I haven't cooked a real meal in way too long! I'm cooking tonight and very excited about it (that tells you how lame my life is)! Now.....I just need to figure out what I'm cooking........

23 April, 2011

Lebanese Deliciousness

My friend Cory and I pigged out all night on hummus, taboulli, olives, artichoke hearts and lamb kibbi. It was so good!!!!

21 April, 2011

My first Chicago Dog!

Oh my goodness! I can not wait to go back to Swig for another one of these. Homemade franks with all of the traditional Chicago fixins! AMAZING!!!!

Scotch Egg @ Swig in Perrysburg

Gretchen has been telling me about this egg for a couple months now. Tonight we finally went to this restaurant so that I find out what in the world she was talking about. It is called a Scotch Egg. It's a hard boiled egg, completely crusted with homemade sausage, breaded and then deep fried. It was served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, pickled peppers and spicy mustard. There just are no words to explain how good this is. I know it sounds weird but it is absolutely AWESOME! This restaurant was great! It was small, loud, acoustic guitar soloist playing, and a fun sausage filled menu to choose from. What more could you ask for?!?!?

18 April, 2011

Training her early!

I really wasn't sure if she would do it but I asked Bailey if she wanted to patty the ground round burgers for me. She was a little hesitant at first but then dug right in. She made a small, medium and a large patty. She was so proud of her work and so was I!!!

Homemade chicken noodle soup...for the soul!!!

I've had a very blah last couple days. There's nothing better than my Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup and Indian corn bread when I'm down in the dumps! I love my Mom!!!

17 April, 2011

Bailey's pizza masterpiece!!!!

Her face is made of turkey pepperoni. Her hair is blackened chicken and colby jack cheese. Her whole face is sprinkled with "makeup" (a good layer of shredded mozzarella)! DElicious!!!!

My art show purchase....

Gretchen and I went to an art show in downtown Toledo to support one of her employees at The Gallery. She had an exhibit there. It was great!! The art was very diverse and very cool. I bought this glass bud vase from one of the artists. I LOVE it!!!! :)

16 April, 2011

Easter Crack

It is a really good thing that these are only in stores around Easter. I can not walk out of the grocery store without at least one box every time. It is a bad addiction!!!

I kinda over did it!

I was craving a big salad. It turned out to be as big as my lap. I only ate half of it but it really hit the spot!!!

14 April, 2011

My new chair!

I stripped down, sanded, painted and recovered a chair that my Great-Grandma T bought for my parents many, many years ago. This was my first real upholstering experience. It turned out pretty good, I do have to say. Not sure how it will hold up when people sit in it, but I guess I will find out! It will "go" with my house a little better now!

BEFORE...

AND AFTER!

ON TO MY NEXT PROJECT!!!

13 April, 2011

My new favorite salad dressing!

Marzetti's Low Fat Slaw Dressing

I've used this for years to make macaroni salad and cole slaw. It is super low in calories and fat AND turns out it's awesome on a green salad. It's a little bit sweet and a little tangy. It kind of reminds me of a poppy seed dressing! DELICIOUS!!!!!!

Apples-n-Yogurt

I'm not a huge yogurt fan! However, I did discover today that a tart Granny Smith apple dipped in vanilla yogurt is purdy damn good!!

More than food....

I've decided that I'm going to start using the "Me, myself" part of the blog title more and not just the "my food" part. We do some pretty fun things that I would like to document outside of Facebook somewhere. I failed miserably at scrap booking Bailey's first 5 years of life so I will try to use this a little more to document fun life experiences as well as my hobby of cooking, eating and exploring food! I hope one day this little blog will be around for her to look back at!!!!

MY GIRL!

P.S. We are testing out a new lipgloss. She thought we should take some pictures to see how it looked! We decided we liked it! :)

Gettin' Old!

I guess it's time to admit that I'm gettin' old! Trying to keep it fun though,

I tried to pick a fun pair of glasses that didn't make me look too old.

Whatever....................

12 April, 2011

Grilled Veggie Salad w/ Chicken Sausages

Quick, Simple, Easy, Healthy and GOOOOOOOD!

Slice, spray with olive oil, season with salt n pepper (I used miracle blend!)

Grill all of the veggies, chop and mix together!

Serve with Grilled Chicken Sausage or Brats!

Dinner is served!!!

I mixed left overs with marinara sauce and had it with some pasta for lunch!

As I've stated before, I have a slight addiction to pasta. It is a really good thing that they make super high fiber, healthy pasta that I can eat at least a couple times a week with no bad feelings. It is a wonderful thing!!!

Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs with Sauteed Eggplant and Artichoke Hearts

My sweet Grandmother is ALWAYS stuck at home. She can't stand in the kitchen for much longer than to warm up something from the refrigerator or freezer. She's an old fashion foodie! She just loves to try new things and really appreciates good food. I don't cook for her enough, so I decided to make her a dinner tonight! It was lots of fun and I want to start doing it much more often. I know that we will both enjoy it!

Trying to keep with my healthy, low fat, low calorie diet I picked up 5 artichokes at the store yesterday. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them but after watching Alberrrrto clean an artichoke I decided I was going to clean them down to the heart. It turned out to be a long, painful, tedious job, but had a delicious outcome.

Chicken Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

1 lb. Ground Chicken

1 Egg

1/4 C Parmesan Cheese

1/4 C Bread Crumbs

1/4 of a white onion finely chopped

1/4 tsp. Thyme

1/4 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Salt n Pepper

Spoon mixture into oiled baking dish in meatball sized scoops leaving a little space between each. Cover and bake at 375 for 1/2 hour.

Make Marinara Sauce (or use your favorite jar of sauce) and add the meatballs to the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes or so. Serve over your favorite pasta and top with some fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil!!!

Artichokes, Eggplant and Red Onion Saute

5 Artichoke Hearts cleaned and quarter, boiled in salt water for about 10 minutes until tender

1/2 Eggplant cut into small chunks

1/2 Red Onion sliced

Saute in 2-3 T Olive Oil until everything is tender

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Serve topped with fresh grated Gruyere Cheese!!!

This was hopefully the first of many meals I will make and share with my Grandmother!

How to clean artichokes! -by Alberrrrrrto

I'm cooking dinner for my Grandmother tonight and wanted to make sure that I cleaned the artichokes correctly! I found lots of videos on how to do this but like this the best because of Alberrrrrto's accent! I feel confident in my artichoke cleaning abilities now! Off to decide what to make with all of these artichokes that I bought!!!!!

The best pizza crust EVER!!!

I get it at Meijer in the freezer section. $1.49 for the best, easiest crust ever!!

Take the bag out of the freezer first thing in the morning if you are planning on making it for dinner. Leave it on the counter all day. Don't open it or mess with it...just let it go! It will rise in the bag, open the bag and rise out of the end of the bag, to make the perfect ball of pizza dough.

Coat a cookie sheet or pizza pan with olive oil, roll the dough in the oil on all sides. Stretch the crust to the edges of the pan, season the crust edge with whatever you please and top with your favorite pizza toppings.

I prefer my homemade marinara sauce recipe, fresh sliced mozzarella cheese and lots of fresh basil! I also made a pepperoni pizza a couple weeks ago that was delicious using turkey pepperoni and mozzarella!!!

Bake at 475 on the top rack for 15 min!!

Enjoy!!!!

06 April, 2011

Precisely why I don't bake!

These things look amazing! I found them online. But I will never, ever bake them. I don't want anything even resembling these in my house. That would be very dangerous!!

04 April, 2011

Egg in a basket

It might sound weird but a fried egg, in the middle of a piece of toasted pumpernickel bread and garnished with fresh basil is REALLY, REALLY good! Add a side of crispy hash browns and you've got your self a delicious Saturday morning breakfast!!!!

Black & Blue Pork Pizza

I had a pork tenderloin but not much time to cook it. I decided to dice it up, saute it and whipped up these delicious little personal pizzas. Pork tenderloin is a very lean cut of pork, so with the light blue cheese and the Greek yogurt based sauce, these were very low calorie. If I would have cooked more pork I would have definitely eaten more than one. They were so good!!

INGREDIENTS

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

1 Pork Tenderloin

2 Small Onions- thinly sliced

3 T Greek Yogurt

1 Pkg. Onion Soup Mix

Light Blue Cheese Chunks

A little bit of olive oil

Garlic Powder

Blackened Seasoning

Chopped tenderloin up into bite sized pieces. Mix in a bowl with 1 T Olive Oil, Garlic Powder and Blackened Seasoning. Saute in a non-stick frying pan just until cooked through completely. Set aside.

In another non-stick frying pan saute 2 small, thinly sliced, onions in a little bit of olive oil until light brown and completely caramelized. Let cool and then mix in a bowl with 3 T Greek yogurt, 2 T Onion soup mix.

Make your pizza! Pita, onion sauce, pork and sprinkle with blue cheese. Broil on low until the blue cheese melts.

Enjoy!!!