This recipe is really easy!
the peppers and onions should be sauteed until soft
We tried to add avocado but the one we had just wasn’t ripe enough 😦 I topped this with a salsa ranch dressing we had in the fridge but you can have it with sour cream, guacamole, or any other dressing you like. Simple, but good.
For lunch I decided to make chicken salad. We had a leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge and some leftover thyme that needed to be used. I decided to try to make a healthier version of chicken salad and used nonfat Greek yogurt and light mayonnaise instead of using tons of full fat mayo. Also, I included some pungent spices to supplement that lack of flavor that could have come from the lack of fat in this recipe. I placed the finished salad into a “cup” of cabbage leaves and it was ready for me to grab in the morning to take to work.
The recipe made about three servings and it came out really good. I ran out of curry powder, which is why it’s not super yellow. However, the flavor was still very present. The cabbage leaves provided a nice crunchy base and I used them like I would a tortilla or cracker. I also discovered that the plain Greek yogurt tasted a lot like sour cream and may be a good substitute for that down the road.
For Monday night’s dinner Greg was inspired to do a “lite” version of chicken parm. Typically chicken parmesan is made by breading and frying chicken cutlets, adding tomato sauce and cheese, and serving over pasta. For our “healthy” version, Greg used boneless, skinless turkey breasts from Shadybrook Farms. He “breaded” each one with Italian seasoning and oven-baked them. He also substituted pasta for spinach, which he sauteed in olive oil with onions and garlic. All in all, a great, healthy meal.
"breaded" turkey
After baking for about 8 minutes
sauced up
ready for the broiler!
The base of the dish was sauteed spinach, which provided a lot of flavor.
onions and roasted garlic
plated spinach awaiting turkey
garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!
This dish was good because not only did it taste good, but it was very light. I don’t mind sacrificing some flavor for not feeling heavy after a big meal, but I really did not feel that I had to sacrifice with this one. I would recommend some tomato sauce on the side for dipping because the turkey itself can be rather plain. Make sure to season it well and you should be alright.
On Sunday we had lunch at Urban BBQ and it was awesome! This is a very small chain (only three restaurants) in the Silver Spring/Rockville area. The creators/owners also have another restaurant in the area, urban burger, which is also very good! I was very impressed with the BBQ today! It was also nice to help out a local restaurant that is serving such good food . I have to say that it is one of the best restaurants in this area for some real good American comfort foods. (I took these pictures with my iphone, which is not very adept at close-ups, sorry!)
Front to back: Texas Steakhouse Salad, Beef Brisket Sandwhich, and Chili Cheese Fries
I had the Texas Steakhouse Salad: Fresh iceberg, romaine, chopped brisket, crispy potatoes, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon and diced tomato. I can’t see a way this would not be good but it was even better than I expected. The meat was really tender, juicy, and had a great smokey flavor. Also, it was nicely coated in BBQ sauce which worked well with the sharpness of the bleu cheese. The warm meat and potatoes on top of the cold lettuce and tomatoes also provided a nice contrast. It may look small, but it was more than enough and very filling. All in all, I would definitely recommend this and have it again.
Texas Steakhouse Salad
Greg had the beef brisket sandwich, which was basic but complemented nicely by the the BBQ sauces and hot sauces available from the condiment counter.
Beef Brisket Sandwich
We also got an order of the chili cheese fries: House-cut fries smothered in Redneck Fondue. What is redneck fondue? It’s a three cheese dip blended with their Two Step Chili and it’s so good (to eat, not for you) that you must give it a try and I would recommend doing this over french fries. I mean, how can you go wrong!
Chili Cheese Fries
I wanted to share a typical weekend breakfast for us. This weekend we enjoyed bacon and eggs due to a surplus of both in our fridge.
Cooking eggs...notice all those spices!
bacon aka "meat candy"
Maybe the most fun thing about making such a good breakfast at home is the ample time I have to play with the espresso maker! Here is my version of espresso breve:
check out the "crema"!
For dinner tonight we decided to make pizza at home because trying to find good pizza in suburban Maryland is IMPOSSIBLE. We went to a local Italian market called Marchone’s to get some of our ingredients. We bought enough dough for two pizzas, their homemade red sauce, and two hot sausage links. We decided to make pizza number 1 a barbecue chicken pizza and pizza number 2 a margherita style with sausage. Both came out great and highly recommend Marchone’s for any ingredients you need for an Italian meal. Also, the sandwich line was very long, which is also a good sign that their subs are good too! We must try those soon…
Pizza #1
After several hours of thawing...
both doughs
chicken mixed with Stubb's bbq sauce
the good stuff
before baking...
after baking
there was some extra crust so we folded it over
Recipe for BBQ Chicken PizzaPizza #2fresh hot sausage from marchone's.. i love when food comes in deli paper!
before baking
after baking
Recipe for Margherita Pizza with Sausage
Making pizza is an activity I highly recommend! If you live where we do, you will surely be pleased and you get to add whatever toppings you like, making it even better.
Tonight we made our version of Mediterranean Tilapia and it is a really easy recipe and tastes great. I call it ‘mediterranean’ only because we used feta cheese and pine nuts but really you can put pretty much anything you want into the topping and it should go well with the subtle flavor of the tilapia.
For the topping Greg started off by wilting the spinach and adding some green onions, toasted pine nuts and feta.
For the tilapia he “breaded” it with some parmesan, put the topping on each fillet, and baked for about 10-15 minutes.
We served it with some cauliflower that was roasted with Indian spices.
Posted in Seafood
Tagged dinner ideas, easy, feta, low carb, low fat, Mediterranean, one pan, quick
One of the best parts of being newly married is using the new things we received as gifts! My sister gave us four gratin dishes from Crate and Barrel and we used them tonight for Greg’s famous mac and cheese. To know Greg is to know his mac and cheese. It’s SOOO good. He was making it for a work function on Friday and made a little extra to go with our steaks tonight. The steaks were also a gift and were shipped to us frozen a few weeks ago. Anyway, on with the mac and cheese prep…
Greg started out by making a roux.
lots of black pepper
…and then he put in an entire bottle of Cholula hot sauce hence the vivid orange hue.
…and then he forgot to take pictures of the rest of the process! Essentially, he added the cheese to the roux and once it was thoroughly mixed in and melted he poured it over the cooked pasta. He topped it with more cheese and baked it to perfection!
We enjoyed it with the seared steaks and broccoli (which was cooked with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese).
dinner at the bar
We are still working on the honeymoon planning as well. I think we are getting closer to making a decision and may be heading to Jamaica! Hopefully by the weekend we will have this settled… either way it will be great and I can’t wait!
So as promised I set up the espresso machine for it’s inaugural run this weekend. It was a little daunting at first, but by mid-morning on Saturday I had it up and running. I followed the step-by-step directions in the book, which led me to cleaning the machine by running water through it. I had it all set up but there was no water running through at all. I was worried the machine wasn’t working properly and consulted the internet. On the Cuisinart website they have a demo video of how to use the machine. As I watched though I didn’t really learn much about the cleaning part, but I tried again. I fidgeted with the water tank in the back and voila, it worked! I ran the water through and decided it was time for the real deal.
This leads me to the espresso. I ended up buying Whole Foods organic espresso. At Whole Foods they had several brands of espresso ranging in price from $7.99 to $15.99. I really could not discern one brand as being better than the other so I went with this one, which was in the middle of the pack at $10.99. It comes in a burgundy, round canister. Anyway, I am really pleased with how my drink came out. I microwaved 1/4 Cup of half and half and added two shots of espresso. Simple, but good!
I enjoyed it very much with my bacon and eggs. Also, as two-cup a day coffee drinker I have to say I have not felt the effects of caffeine in quite a while. The espresso was a nice change and really got me going. I am yet to mess around with the milk frother but I am sure that will come soon! This will definitely be a weekend treat as it was a little more time consuming than making regular coffee and much more messy. All in all, I love having this option at home now! Also, I realized I need to buy some espresso mugs!
Posted in Drinks, Uncategorized
Wahoo! A day off! It’s always great to have Monday off. First you get a long weekend and then you face a short work week when you get back on Tuesday. It’s also really nice when on the day you have off it is almost 60 degrees outside! I got in a nice long run, did some pilates, and then hit the supermarket for tonight’s dinner: Red Coconut Curry with Shrimp and Vegetables. I was actually the visionary behind this one, but got some assistance from Greg because he is an excellent shrimp cooker. I also have to give credit to Thai Kitchen for creating and selling this curry paste. This took a lot of the trickery out of creating our own curry, which we lack the skills, knowledge and time for.
I started off by chopping the veggies:
On the cutting board: carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, ginger, and garlic. To the left of the cutting board: water chestnuts and bamboo shoots.
I sauteed the onion, garlic, ginger and mushrooms in a combination of chili oil and sesame oil until they were softened. I then added the coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and brown sugar as the recipe on the jar suggested.
Once that got nice and hot I added the broccoli and carrot and let it simmer for about ten minutes.
I then added the water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and shrimp. The shrimp do not need long to cook before they turn pink. Once they do turn pink, they are done!
This is great served over rice or by itself.
Topped with some fresh green onions and basil
Posted in Seafood
Tagged coconut milk, curry, dinner ideas, low carb, seafood, shrimp, Thai
Starving Kitten 