Red Pepper Lentil Dip
February 5, 2012 - Written by Diana
Here’s a really fast and I think pretty healthy dip. Unlike sour cream dips, legume dips fill you up faster so you’ll eat a little less of the not so good stuff. My suggestion is to start with the bean dip with veggies to leave a little less room for those fattening things. You can revisit last years dip suggestions to see healthier alternatives for your gatherings.
Lentils – are a type of legume, and are very high in proteins. They cook relatively quickly and when mashed are similar to chickpeas used for hummus. You can substitute lentils for chickpeas in your hummus, or use it instead of refried beans in your bean dip. The red lentils have more of a mild flavor and aren’t as high in protein as the dark green, but I used them because I thought they would go well with the red peppers. Use this dip for crackers, raw veggies, pita or just chips. Serve warm or cold and to keep from drying out you can pour a thin layer of oil over top …
A Tale of Two Soups
January 31, 2012 - Written by DianaCold season is here – and we were bit. Two soups this week. I made Chicken soup for my husband on Sunday and he returned the favor on Tuesday. I returned home from work feeling clogged and gunky. My handsome knight in shining armor, the one who is slowly adding to his cooking repetoire, made some chicken soup for me. We’re big believers in those natural remedies. What about you? What do you do when you are feeling all clogged?
Sunday’s Chicken Soup…
Tuesday’s Chicken Soup…
Albondigas (Mexican Meatball) Soup
January 28, 2012 - Written by DianaWe were supposed to go to our friends house for a potluck dinner last weekend. Then there was an ice storm, and the dog was ill and didn’t eat for days. The dog also injured her spine and had much difficulty sitting and walking. Plus I was had a rumbly tummy on Friday night, and by the time Saturday came around my stomach muscles were too sore and not into food too much. Before you ask – the dog is fine. She is on a little medicine for her spine and an infection, but many vet visits later, she is doing well. I’m fine too. But we were very sad to miss out on a friendly gathering.
Anyway, these really cool friends sent a batch of this incredible Albondigas meatball soup home from work with my husband. So for a few evenings we reheated the soup, plus I took some to work for lunch. What didn’t I do? I didn’t take any photos darn it. My friend was cool enough to share her recipe with us. I think this would make a great superbowl entree. It’s not finger food, but the meatball and the peppers …
The Healthy Way to Get Through That Superbowl Party
January 27, 2012 - Written by DianaSuperbowl and healthy eating don’t seem to go hand in hand. We associate this testosterone infected party with fried finger foods covered in cheese, things you can toss back and swallow with beer – though in my case it would be wine or a cooler. The truth is, though I bring healthier foods, there will be other things there that I should stay away from. I’m going to try and give us some great ideas to help us get through this fat laden party in the next week. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat some of the bad stuff, but if I fill my plate with the good stuff, and just leave a little spot here and there for the other stuff that will be okay.
Tosca Reno the queen of the Clean Eating recipe books has produced a small guide book. It’s small in size, and you can stick it in your laptop case or your briefcase to reference whenever you need a little help. Tosca calls it “JUST THE RULES: TOSCA’S GUIDE TO EATING RIGHT
Genius Choppers – Great Tools When You Have a Lot of Chopping To Do
January 25, 2012 - Written by DianaRecently I came home to baked fries, that my son made and put into the toaster oven. No oil, not deep frying, just baking and they were fantastic tasting. He decided to use the Genius Nicer Dicer to cut the potatoes into uniform size – and I think it did the trick. Since the potatoes were uniform in size, they took the same amount of time to cook and were perfect. Because he used herbs, salt and pepper, they were tasty even without the oil.
We’ve been trying out the Genius Salad Chopper and the Genius Nicer Dicer, two chopping tools that are sold on QVC. They’re mostly self contained because you can store the blades, and slicers inside the container the Chopper sits on top of. It’s both a work and serving station.
The salad chopper bowl is huge, which will come in handy when you have a really big gathering and want to serve a big group though, t’s a bit oversized for a family of four. The Salad Chopper comes with two different sized blade inserts, an insert with two graters and a cleaning tool. The …
Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing
January 20, 2012 - Written by Diana
You knew I was going to do something with that kumquat ginger syrup didn’t you? I made another chicken roast, with a side of winter vegetables and a really cool tasty Apple-Cabbage Slaw with Kumquat Dressing. A little sweet, a little vinegary, but all good. In fact, my daughter ate it and then stopped and said – “Wait, this is slaw, you tricked me.” I asked if she liked it and she said she did, but it was still slaw.
We had a full house – both of the kids were home and the fiancee was at dinner too, so I brought out the leftover kumquats for a tasting. My daughter died laughing over the name and then refused at first to eat it. She wanted to peel the skin which I said was the best part. My son and the fiance popped them in their mouths without a second thought, but my daughter really had to get herself ready. Then she was fine until the tart juice squirted in her mouth making her pucker. Later I thanked …
Introducing Kumquats + Kumquat Ginger Simple Syrup
January 15, 2012 - Written by DianaWe are smack dab in the middle of kumquat growing season which runs from November to March. This is my first new ingredient of 2012, but hopefully there are plenty more to try. Kumquats look like little oranges and have the floral orangey fragrance, but are a little different from the larger juicy oranges.
Kumquats can tolerate a low of -10, and a hot summer between 77 ° to 100 °F. Though it can stand the lower winter temps a little, it does much better with a long summer in the lower states, like Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and California producing larger and sweeter fruit.
This is my first experience with kumquats – the whole fruit is edible, though the seeds can be used to create a pectin for jamming and can be easily removed from the fruit when you are using it. The outer rind of the kumquat is floral and sweet like an orange skin, but sweeter. The inner flesh has a tart juice inside but quite tasty.
Kumquats can be eaten raw, shaved in salads and added to your favorite cocktail. You …
Tonight’s snack – Gingered Applesauce and Red Wine
January 14, 2012 - Written by DianaTonight I’m relaxing – my snack – Gingered Applesauce and Red Wine. What are you snacking on?
We picked up a bunch of apples to sauce this weekend, but I couldn’t wait and made some on the stovetop tonight.
Chicken, Penne and Broccolini – Leftover Remix
January 11, 2012 - Written by Diana
Sometimes I am at odds with my son about dinner. If it takes too long, he won’t bother. If he has to read directions, he won’t bother. If it takes too many pots and pans, he won’t bother. This isn’t to say he’s hopeless or can’t cook. Slowly we are building up his repetoire and the meals he does cook are very delicious. My method with him is to encourage him to try to experiment by adding different vegetables and herbs to a basic recipe.
This time we took some chicken from our roast chicken the other night and added pasta, some broccolini, a few herbs, smash some galic and voila – dinner is served. This is a good college kid meal, you can change up the pasta, the veggies, substitute the oil with broth to make it a little lighter. Swap the lemon with white or red wine vinegar for a little different. We stood side by side at the stove cooking this dish. When we were done, I asked my son if he thought he …
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken
January 8, 2012 - Written by Diana
Tonight’s chicken was lemony goodness and very easy to prepare. I’m a fan of just a few steps to great food, the oven does most of the work here, slowly roasting to perfection. My husband is a big poultry fan. When we go to restaurants, often I will order a steak and my husband some chicken or turkey. It never fails that the server will swap our plates and give my husband the steak and me the chicken. We taste off of each other’s plates though, so in the end it doesn’t matter. He won’t swap this though. I had to let him chew the bones a little before I put them in the freezer so that he could pick off every morsel of chicken left behind.
Today’s chicken we bought fresh from the market yesterday. You tell them what you want and they will bag it and even skin, bone and cut it up for you all in a few minutes. They’re really fast. I bought two whole chickens and a couple of whole breasts split along with some sausage. The …
