I have an underlying reason for beginning this blog. It will come out soon enough.
Just sayin'.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Chinese
My World Geography professor is from southern China. When we covered China in class we got to ask him all the questions that most of us wanted to, like, "Do you have cars?" and "What are the different kinds of religion?" "Why did you move to America?" and I had two questions. The first one was, "When you were kids did you dig a hole to America, because we used to dig holes to China in our back yard." His answer was yes, they did dig holes to America which made us all laugh. The second question, of course, was about food. "Do we actually have anything CLOSE to Chinese food here?" and HE laughed. Hard. And then went on to explain that there is nothing in the resturants here anywhere near what he had growing up and went into some detail on how they did not deep fry anything, they ate sticky rice and vegetables and sometimes if they had the money and had bought a chicken, they would eat it with some meat, and they used EVERY part of the chicken. And since the part they were from had a large Hindu population, no cows were ever consumed. He didn't have a hamburger until he went to Tokyo when he was 25, on his way to America with his wife and their 3 girls (the reason they moved to America).
Anyway. Last night I made "Chinese" food. The reason I made this particular thing is because I got a REALLY good deal on it with my rookie couponing ninja skills. I would NEVER pay full price for this because it was not that good and I had to add mushrooms to it to stretch it enough for it to be a meal. So here we go.
This puppy is 9 dollars full price. And honestly, since it serves two people $4.50 is not bad compared to take out, but still. Well it was on special for $5.99 and I had a coupon on my Kroger card for $.50 and then another coupon for $1.50 so I got it for $3.99. It's a complete meal so it came with rice and everything. It was the only one of the ones on sale that didn't have deep fried chicken in it. So I pull out all the packets on the inside and dump the contents that were supposed to go in the skillet, in the skillet.
It is not a lot of food.
This was my reaction:
It would have been worse if I actually paid 9 bucks for it.
So while I was doing that I put the steam pack of rice in the microwave, which was about the size of my palm by the way, about 1/2 a cup of rice total. So when I added the sauce to the vegetables I added
Yes I have a checkered tile floor in the kitchen. No I don't like it. But it costs money to replace so I deal :)
So I put it in the pan and mixed it in with the sauce
There was a packet of roasted peanuts too.
Put it all on the plate together:
Overall good flavor. Shawn took off the snap peas and water chestnuts, and I gave him more chicken since there might have been a total of 2oz of processed chicken.
Unless I have a super awesome coupon again and it's on sale, I won't be buying it again. Not worth it. I'm fairly certain I can make it for cheaper than that and use far less in the way of corn products. But it was a cheap and easy meal, which was nice since I had ladies Bible class last night. I might try and duplicate here next week after the crazy that is this Fundraiser is done.
Anyway. Last night I made "Chinese" food. The reason I made this particular thing is because I got a REALLY good deal on it with my rookie couponing ninja skills. I would NEVER pay full price for this because it was not that good and I had to add mushrooms to it to stretch it enough for it to be a meal. So here we go.
This puppy is 9 dollars full price. And honestly, since it serves two people $4.50 is not bad compared to take out, but still. Well it was on special for $5.99 and I had a coupon on my Kroger card for $.50 and then another coupon for $1.50 so I got it for $3.99. It's a complete meal so it came with rice and everything. It was the only one of the ones on sale that didn't have deep fried chicken in it. So I pull out all the packets on the inside and dump the contents that were supposed to go in the skillet, in the skillet.
This was my reaction:
So while I was doing that I put the steam pack of rice in the microwave, which was about the size of my palm by the way, about 1/2 a cup of rice total. So when I added the sauce to the vegetables I added
So I put it in the pan and mixed it in with the sauce
There was a packet of roasted peanuts too.
Put it all on the plate together:
Overall good flavor. Shawn took off the snap peas and water chestnuts, and I gave him more chicken since there might have been a total of 2oz of processed chicken.
Unless I have a super awesome coupon again and it's on sale, I won't be buying it again. Not worth it. I'm fairly certain I can make it for cheaper than that and use far less in the way of corn products. But it was a cheap and easy meal, which was nice since I had ladies Bible class last night. I might try and duplicate here next week after the crazy that is this Fundraiser is done.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Think about what you CAN eat.
Going through the major I'm in (nutrition), I'm told to tell those who have to go on restricted diets that they don't need to think about what they cannot eat but what they CAN eat. A little over a year ago I became one of those people that needed to be told that. It's different when it's yourself. I think later it will make it more personal when I tell someone that, to relate to them how hard it is. I'm very lactose intolerant. VERY. Milk HATES me. And believe it or not, most people will become somewhat lactose intolerant at some point in their life. People did not start high intake of milk and milk products until the invent of cereals. When milk became more readily available, ice cream became more available, as did cheese, and then whey began being added into things as well as other dry milk bi products. It's hard to not find cow milk in lots of things. Even things like processed chicken breasts, certain tomato sauces, and many other things you wouldn't expect.
The total of what is "wrong" with me includes me going on a medication that dehydrates me. My favorite warning on it is to not sweat or do anything that would cause me to sweat, but other than that I should be able to lead a normal life but to be monitored for kidney damage. HA! Right. So the natural way to treat what I have is to cut out dairy, added sugars, and yeast. When I stay on top of my diet I don't feel bad, I don't feel lethargic, I don't feel sick. This summer has been a lot of not sticking with it. Between going to see family, vacations, potlucks, and bake sales... I am just tired all the time and my stomach HATES me.
Brings me to supper tonight. I've not taken any pictures of it because it was waffles. But I'll show you what I used :)
Before you freak out and write me off. I hate coconut. Coconut milk is a whole other bird. This particular kind is for every day use, I use the unsweetened kind. It's 80 calories per 8oz cup, which is 10 calories less than skim milk. There is some fat in it, but it's also a very thick texture, and most importantly, it only has a subtle coconut flavor and if you use salt it pretty much cancels any of that out. Just gives it a deeper flavor.
And as a side note, when I want ice cream or a milk shake...
It's sweetened with Agave nectar.
I CAN eat ice cream again!
Agave is a low glycemic NATURAL sweetener that doesnt numb your tongue like Stevia. It can be used in baking, but you have to be careful because it only comes in liquid form since it is a nectar. It's kinda nifty that you can find it in the actual baking isle now, I still prefer to get it in the "natural" food section because the prices are generally better. It's the new trendy thing, but it's been around for a while, so the chances of you finding it cheaper in what you would normally think to be the more expensive section, is pretty good. Also Trader Joes has their brand for $1.99 just about every day. It's certified organic, and I just trust TJs. Anyway, this is what I have in my cabinet now, I got a coupon for a free bottle since I registered my email with their website a few months back:
It pays to sign up for email lists. I should also mention that I get free goat cheese that way too. I presently have a coupon screaming my name on the fridge that needs to be used.
Anywho. I made the recipe out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I substituted coconut milk for regular milk, reduced it by 1 TBS to add agave. I used the oil and eggs, but a lot of times I substitute unsweetened apple sauce, but that tends to make it stick to my waffle iron no matter how much non stick spray I use. After the waffles came out I used my non dairy spread. Yes. Margerine. Sue me. Ok don't sue me. But I use it because it's what makes my stomach happy. Yes it's one molecule away from plastic.
Turkey sausage... and a vegan banana chocolate chip muffin. Holla. Good day :)
Tomorrow is free range venison, root vegetables, and a diabetic dessert :) It's good to know where my meat comes from :)
The total of what is "wrong" with me includes me going on a medication that dehydrates me. My favorite warning on it is to not sweat or do anything that would cause me to sweat, but other than that I should be able to lead a normal life but to be monitored for kidney damage. HA! Right. So the natural way to treat what I have is to cut out dairy, added sugars, and yeast. When I stay on top of my diet I don't feel bad, I don't feel lethargic, I don't feel sick. This summer has been a lot of not sticking with it. Between going to see family, vacations, potlucks, and bake sales... I am just tired all the time and my stomach HATES me.
Brings me to supper tonight. I've not taken any pictures of it because it was waffles. But I'll show you what I used :)
Before you freak out and write me off. I hate coconut. Coconut milk is a whole other bird. This particular kind is for every day use, I use the unsweetened kind. It's 80 calories per 8oz cup, which is 10 calories less than skim milk. There is some fat in it, but it's also a very thick texture, and most importantly, it only has a subtle coconut flavor and if you use salt it pretty much cancels any of that out. Just gives it a deeper flavor.
And as a side note, when I want ice cream or a milk shake...
I CAN eat ice cream again!
Agave is a low glycemic NATURAL sweetener that doesnt numb your tongue like Stevia. It can be used in baking, but you have to be careful because it only comes in liquid form since it is a nectar. It's kinda nifty that you can find it in the actual baking isle now, I still prefer to get it in the "natural" food section because the prices are generally better. It's the new trendy thing, but it's been around for a while, so the chances of you finding it cheaper in what you would normally think to be the more expensive section, is pretty good. Also Trader Joes has their brand for $1.99 just about every day. It's certified organic, and I just trust TJs. Anyway, this is what I have in my cabinet now, I got a coupon for a free bottle since I registered my email with their website a few months back:
Anywho. I made the recipe out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I substituted coconut milk for regular milk, reduced it by 1 TBS to add agave. I used the oil and eggs, but a lot of times I substitute unsweetened apple sauce, but that tends to make it stick to my waffle iron no matter how much non stick spray I use. After the waffles came out I used my non dairy spread. Yes. Margerine. Sue me. Ok don't sue me. But I use it because it's what makes my stomach happy. Yes it's one molecule away from plastic.
Turkey sausage... and a vegan banana chocolate chip muffin. Holla. Good day :)
Tomorrow is free range venison, root vegetables, and a diabetic dessert :) It's good to know where my meat comes from :)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Burn Notice and no I'm not talking about the food :)
I love Burn Notice as well. Though I gotta say the burn does refer to how bad the heat has been this summer. My tomatoes are cooking on the vine while they are still green. I've pretty much given up on everything in my garden except my okra. You can't kill okra. Well you probably can but it's hard.
The last two nights have been either leftovers (curry chicken and rice for dinner last night), or frozen food in the freezer. We are prepping for a yard sale on Saturday morning, we are also having a bake sale to go with it. Gotta get some baggies to put cookies and brownies in, still deciding on whether or not I want to wrap up muffins or just sell them as is. I'm buying some water to sell too because it's gonna be HOT on Saturday. I have a feeling our yard sale is going to wrap up well before noon :)
No pictures this go round. Hoping to be able to get back to it tomorrow night but for now I need to slap stickers on things and get them ready to go. Going through the garage, cleaning stuff up. It's gonna be so much fun trying to get rid of an analog TV. No one is going to want it. If it doesn't go we need to get it taken away because it doesn't need to be in our garage. I hate clutter.
So if you're in the area and want to come to our house for a yard sale, the bake sale portion will go to Sacred Selections (http://www.sacredselections.org/) and the yard sale portion will go for our ever growing adoption fund :) Please take a look at this organization, they help SO many people.
Lovely oranges in my belly always sooth pretty much any craving I have for sweets. Almost. When its this hot outside it's hard not to want ice cream :)
The last two nights have been either leftovers (curry chicken and rice for dinner last night), or frozen food in the freezer. We are prepping for a yard sale on Saturday morning, we are also having a bake sale to go with it. Gotta get some baggies to put cookies and brownies in, still deciding on whether or not I want to wrap up muffins or just sell them as is. I'm buying some water to sell too because it's gonna be HOT on Saturday. I have a feeling our yard sale is going to wrap up well before noon :)
No pictures this go round. Hoping to be able to get back to it tomorrow night but for now I need to slap stickers on things and get them ready to go. Going through the garage, cleaning stuff up. It's gonna be so much fun trying to get rid of an analog TV. No one is going to want it. If it doesn't go we need to get it taken away because it doesn't need to be in our garage. I hate clutter.
So if you're in the area and want to come to our house for a yard sale, the bake sale portion will go to Sacred Selections (http://www.sacredselections.org/) and the yard sale portion will go for our ever growing adoption fund :) Please take a look at this organization, they help SO many people.
Lovely oranges in my belly always sooth pretty much any craving I have for sweets. Almost. When its this hot outside it's hard not to want ice cream :)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Indian food and White Collar
I love White Collar. I don't know who does all the writing for USA's shows but I'm a big fan of several of their shows, tonight is White Collar night. I watch Covert Affairs after but it's still growing on me, I'm a huge Alias fan and it just seems like a rip off in some ways, but it is getting interesting. But White Collar got me from the beginning.
Anyway. Dinner from tonight :) I made Curried chicken. My first attempt at making my own curry spice. News flash, curry isn't actually an herb or spice, its a blend of spices :) Do not read further if you are a vegetarian or vegan :)
I used a whole chicken cut into pieces. I cut the pieces myself because it is cheaper to do that, they charge more per pound to have it cut, plus I use the bones I don't cut up. I took the breasts out boneless so I could leave most of the carcass intact to make broth.
A little trick. When you are going to be using a meat product with its own outer fat source, you don't really need an outside source if you are just going to brown it. It renders the fat off and you can use that instead of adding extra fat. I'm not saying its low fat but adding four different kinds of fat (Pam included, the serving size is 1/3 of a second for non fat, everything above that you are adding fat) is not necessary when you have chicken skin, sausage, or bacon or something else with copious amounts of outside fat. Now when I oven roast a chicken I make a paste of some butter, minced garlic, and herbs to put UNDER the skin... but that is another post for another day. And it works better to sear a steak if you have a LITTLE bit of olive oil or canola (1TBS tops spread evenly over your searing surface). Avoid vegetable oil, use canola... just do it. Trust me.
Anyway, I browned the skin on the chicken thighs, legs, and breasts and then removed the pieces and put them on a plate while I added thinly sliced onion (aboout 1/2 a cup), 2 cloves of garlic, and a TBS of grated fresh ginger (you can use about 1/2 a TBS of dried grated ginger but it's not the same). Just enough until they were opaque and I put the chicken back in and promptly moved the plate the chicken was on to the sink to later be rinsed in blazing hot water before it was put in the dish washer.
Then I mixed up my curry. Top to bottom, left to right, 1/2 tsp of each, Cardamom, Tumeric, dash of ground cloves, 1/2 tsp of red pepper, 1/2 tsp of coriander and cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp of chili powder.
Add the spices to the pot and 1/2 a cup of chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. While it simmers make rice per package directions. The chicken feeds six so I made enough rice for two and had enough chicken left for leftovers for tomorrow night since I take Shawn his supper.
This one is husband approved :) The rice needed more salt but other than that he liked it. I didn't cream it since the only dairy I can have is fresh cheese (mozzarella) or really aged cheese like parm. I did remember later that I have coconut milk which is traditional in indian cuisine instead of milk. So thats what I used for leftovers for tomorrow night :)
I guess I'll get back to my Covert Affairs and then bed :)
Anyway. Dinner from tonight :) I made Curried chicken. My first attempt at making my own curry spice. News flash, curry isn't actually an herb or spice, its a blend of spices :) Do not read further if you are a vegetarian or vegan :)
I used a whole chicken cut into pieces. I cut the pieces myself because it is cheaper to do that, they charge more per pound to have it cut, plus I use the bones I don't cut up. I took the breasts out boneless so I could leave most of the carcass intact to make broth.
A little trick. When you are going to be using a meat product with its own outer fat source, you don't really need an outside source if you are just going to brown it. It renders the fat off and you can use that instead of adding extra fat. I'm not saying its low fat but adding four different kinds of fat (Pam included, the serving size is 1/3 of a second for non fat, everything above that you are adding fat) is not necessary when you have chicken skin, sausage, or bacon or something else with copious amounts of outside fat. Now when I oven roast a chicken I make a paste of some butter, minced garlic, and herbs to put UNDER the skin... but that is another post for another day. And it works better to sear a steak if you have a LITTLE bit of olive oil or canola (1TBS tops spread evenly over your searing surface). Avoid vegetable oil, use canola... just do it. Trust me.
Anyway, I browned the skin on the chicken thighs, legs, and breasts and then removed the pieces and put them on a plate while I added thinly sliced onion (aboout 1/2 a cup), 2 cloves of garlic, and a TBS of grated fresh ginger (you can use about 1/2 a TBS of dried grated ginger but it's not the same). Just enough until they were opaque and I put the chicken back in and promptly moved the plate the chicken was on to the sink to later be rinsed in blazing hot water before it was put in the dish washer.
Add the spices to the pot and 1/2 a cup of chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. While it simmers make rice per package directions. The chicken feeds six so I made enough rice for two and had enough chicken left for leftovers for tomorrow night since I take Shawn his supper.
This one is husband approved :) The rice needed more salt but other than that he liked it. I didn't cream it since the only dairy I can have is fresh cheese (mozzarella) or really aged cheese like parm. I did remember later that I have coconut milk which is traditional in indian cuisine instead of milk. So thats what I used for leftovers for tomorrow night :)
I guess I'll get back to my Covert Affairs and then bed :)
Monday, August 2, 2010
Primo giorno
Oh Italy. You and your food. Not sure I could live happily without you ;)
Tomatoes, basil, pasta and cheese... seriously, could you want any more than that? Maybe YOU could... but not this girl :) So tonights dinner was kind of like what I was going to say it was going to be except I remembered my husband doesn't like gnocci with anything other than a cream sauce. And I'm sorry for the high quantity of things, I shop at Sams Club and buy things in bulk... so I didn't use all of this :)
After this picture I minced some onions (1/4 cup) and garlic (2 cloves) and sweated them in a large pan. There are two things that bug me about some cooking, entirely too much oil and too much onion is used, no one wants nasty garlic onion breath and a mouth coated in oil. I used a tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, vegetables have their own juices, I just needed to use a teeny bit of fat to get them out :)
Sweating the onions and garlic just basically means you cook the onions and garlic over medium low heat and cook them until they are opaque using some salt and fat to draw the juices out. I then sliced 5 button mushrooms and halved about 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, all the while the water is boiling in a sauce pan getting ready for the pasta.
I added the mushrooms and tomatoes, as well as a tsp each of Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil.
I put the angel hair in the rapidly boiling water. Since it's angel hair, it doesn't need to boil for more than about five minutes to get to al dente (still a little bit of chew to it).
I cooked all of this until the tomatoes were getting soft and turned the heat down and added the drained pasta to it. I cubed some fresh mozzarella and turned off the heat and tossed it all together. I then added salt and pepper to taste because I didn't want to make this too salty. This is the end result:
Start to finish (not including pictures) it took about 20 minutes to make.
My husband says he would have liked it better if it wasn't made with the cherry tomatoes, because he doesn't like the skin on the tomatoes. I don't mind it, but thats just a difference between our tastes :)
Today went well, I had rice for breakfast and lunch because my stomach was a little funky from eating a freezer burned cookie at Kroger. Don't ask.
I made muffins for the bake sale for this weekend, and I just mostly avoided going outside. It felt like 105 and I'm not kidding! The heat is insane this summer, no wonder my tomatoes are cooking on the vine! No wonder I have to buy them!!! It's frustrating, but it has to happen, it's just too hot! But another reminder that I am not in control, the Lord is!
Tomorrow, I believe curry in some form is in play. I haven't decided how, but I think it needs to be!
Day one is done. Until tomorrow!
Tomatoes, basil, pasta and cheese... seriously, could you want any more than that? Maybe YOU could... but not this girl :) So tonights dinner was kind of like what I was going to say it was going to be except I remembered my husband doesn't like gnocci with anything other than a cream sauce. And I'm sorry for the high quantity of things, I shop at Sams Club and buy things in bulk... so I didn't use all of this :)
 |
| Ingredients make a meal. The pasta is a low carb, high fiber, pasta. Amazing flavor and texture and it's Angel Hair. |
After this picture I minced some onions (1/4 cup) and garlic (2 cloves) and sweated them in a large pan. There are two things that bug me about some cooking, entirely too much oil and too much onion is used, no one wants nasty garlic onion breath and a mouth coated in oil. I used a tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, vegetables have their own juices, I just needed to use a teeny bit of fat to get them out :)
Sweating the onions and garlic just basically means you cook the onions and garlic over medium low heat and cook them until they are opaque using some salt and fat to draw the juices out. I then sliced 5 button mushrooms and halved about 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, all the while the water is boiling in a sauce pan getting ready for the pasta.
I added the mushrooms and tomatoes, as well as a tsp each of Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, and Basil.
I put the angel hair in the rapidly boiling water. Since it's angel hair, it doesn't need to boil for more than about five minutes to get to al dente (still a little bit of chew to it).
I cooked all of this until the tomatoes were getting soft and turned the heat down and added the drained pasta to it. I cubed some fresh mozzarella and turned off the heat and tossed it all together. I then added salt and pepper to taste because I didn't want to make this too salty. This is the end result:
Start to finish (not including pictures) it took about 20 minutes to make.
My husband says he would have liked it better if it wasn't made with the cherry tomatoes, because he doesn't like the skin on the tomatoes. I don't mind it, but thats just a difference between our tastes :)
Today went well, I had rice for breakfast and lunch because my stomach was a little funky from eating a freezer burned cookie at Kroger. Don't ask.
I made muffins for the bake sale for this weekend, and I just mostly avoided going outside. It felt like 105 and I'm not kidding! The heat is insane this summer, no wonder my tomatoes are cooking on the vine! No wonder I have to buy them!!! It's frustrating, but it has to happen, it's just too hot! But another reminder that I am not in control, the Lord is!
Tomorrow, I believe curry in some form is in play. I haven't decided how, but I think it needs to be!
Day one is done. Until tomorrow!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
August is the new January
I'm going to do this.
I am GOING TO DO THIS.
Beginning today, we are not eating out, except for August 14th when we are doing the fundraiser breakfast for Sacred Selections. Brown bagging it to school and work, having friends over for lunch on Sundays, that kind of thing.
Beginning tomorrow (August 2nd) I will be posting the recipes I use and some pictures to boot :)
On the menu tomorrow, for breakfast will just be breakfast things like oatmeal, nothin' special. Except I got some peaches from a local orchard I may cut up to eat with or in it. Lunch will be chicken salad wraps, and for dinner will be a homemade rustic tomato sauce and gnocci from Trader Joes.
The challenge I am making to myself is to do this, to do this simply, to do this healthy and to make this public so I DO this for myself and my husband.
Follow this if you want, I should have pictures uploaded by 9pm tomorrow night :)
I am GOING TO DO THIS.
Beginning today, we are not eating out, except for August 14th when we are doing the fundraiser breakfast for Sacred Selections. Brown bagging it to school and work, having friends over for lunch on Sundays, that kind of thing.
Beginning tomorrow (August 2nd) I will be posting the recipes I use and some pictures to boot :)
On the menu tomorrow, for breakfast will just be breakfast things like oatmeal, nothin' special. Except I got some peaches from a local orchard I may cut up to eat with or in it. Lunch will be chicken salad wraps, and for dinner will be a homemade rustic tomato sauce and gnocci from Trader Joes.
The challenge I am making to myself is to do this, to do this simply, to do this healthy and to make this public so I DO this for myself and my husband.
Follow this if you want, I should have pictures uploaded by 9pm tomorrow night :)
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