Beef Tenderloin with a Mushroom Wine Reduction
February 22, 2013 - Written by Diana
Beef Tenderloin Over Creamed Kale
My husband picked up a Dry Aged Beef Tenderloin from Bluescreek Farm Meats this week and I knew it was the beef we could use for a special dinner. I was looking forward to trying out the tenderloin – which I’ve never cooked before. I love an opportunity to try out something new, but it can be a little scary trying out something new when you know if you mess up. That’s it, we’re eating it anyway because we spent the money already. This one though, this was a big winner.
I researched the best cooking methods, and there was a consensus that high heat quickly was the way to go. I couldn’t use salt, because my husband is on a low sodium diet and meat carries its own sodium, so I wanted a way to keep it moist and flavorful but without added sodium. I decided to try out my dehydrated mushroom powder on the tenderloin. Last year I took mushrooms, dehydrated them, and then pulverized them to make it into a powder. I think mushrooms in gravy compliment steak. I …
Zesty Cabbage, Macaroni and Cheese
December 5, 2012 - Written by Diana
This is my way of dealing with my husband’s new low sodium diet – by coming up with new ways to eat without using salt or high sodium ingredients. Macaroni and cheese was out, because cheese has too much sodium unless it’s something a little on the bland side like lower sodium Swiss. So, I kicked it up with a Hot Sweet Pepper Relish and Kapow it was tasty without much sodium. This casserole had plenty of veggies, the creaminess of a good mac n cheese, and a nice kick to it. My husband had trouble backing away from the bowl even after eating two plates of it.
This is a much lower calorie version since we can’t use a lot of cheese, and it’s not as thick as a lot of other macaroni and cheese recipes. I like to add a veggie to my mac and cheese too, so this one had sauteed cabbage and leeks. I found a low sodium brown rice bread. The bread was too dry and bland for a sandwich, but toasted, ground up and sauteed in a little butter …
Chicken, Potatoes and Leeks
March 23, 2010 - Written by Diana
When I walk in the door, my track star son hits me up right away and asks what’s for dinner. I once told him he had to give me 15 minutes before he asked, but when track season starts, he’s full on hungry. I’m not great at planning, I’m more of a fridge decider. Hmm, I have chicken, oh and those leeks will go bad if I don’t use them soon. I’ve got potatoes too, or should I do noodles. No, did noodles yesterday, go with the taters. That is how I decide a lot of my meals. It’s a lets see what I can do with what I’ve got type thing. So tonight was Chicken, Potatoes and Leeks, because I had it ready to use. It was also delicious. I cut the chicken on a bias, kind of in the same shape as the potato slices. I sliced the leeks …
Chicken, Broccoli and Rice
September 22, 2009 - Written by DianaMy husband snarfed the leftover broccoli from the band competition and asked if we should take it. I said sure, I can freeze some and use some to make dinner. He did a little happy wiggle (he does that) and asked if we could have the chicken and broccoli casserole that we love to eat. I told him sure, especially since it’s an easy meal to prepare and really delicious. There are never leftovers of this.
I have a small kitchen, so when I pull out my rice cooker I make extra rice and put it in the freezer. If you have frozen broccoli, and rice, you can defrost them in the fridge during the day to make this a quick and easy dinner to pull together. This casserole is very customizable, use your favorite ingredients to make it taste the way you like it best.
Ingredients:
1 full size chicken breast
1/2 onion
1 cup …
Lamb & Garden Veggies
August 28, 2009 - Written by DianaRight now we are noshing on the bounty of our garden. It’s difficult at times to hold back and only put in some of what we have, and not overload the pot. This has been our best year in the garden since we moved in 18 years ago. I’m also trying to cut back on the amount of food I cook up for a meal. There are only 3 of us her, but we do have a tendency to keep eating until the pot is empty. Maybe by cutting down on what I cook, and adding more vegetables to eat, we’ll be eating a little healthier. My Lamb & Veggie dinner was delicious with lots of tasty morsels and no leftovers. The potatoes were baby potatoes – not new potatoes, real live baby potatoes, so cute.
Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 lb of ground lamb
Handful of baby potatoes, or a couple of potatoes cut up to bite size
1 handful …
Sausage & Chard Crustless Quiche
August 24, 2009 - Written by Diana
I like quiches a lot, but more without the pie shell. I’m that way with pies too, I like the insides the most. This was our breakfast this morning. I used some herb garden chevre in it that we got from the cheese guy at the farmer’s market and some gouda (because it’s good-er that way). Quiches are fun because you can change it up a little – put in a different meat, or a different cheese, use some other veggies and it changes the taste for a whole new type of quiche.
Ingredients:
- turkey sausage – 6 breakfast links, cooked and crumbled
- handful of chard, stems removed
- shallot – diced
- 6 eggs
- 2 tbs evaporated milk
- 2 tbs herb garden chevre (you can substitute another herby chevre)
- 1 tbs gouda
- salt, pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Instead …
Shredded Vegetable Bake
July 28, 2009 - Written by DianaI tried out this recipe from the Vegan Cook’s Bible by Pat Crocker. We’re not Vegans, but we do enjoy all different types of dishes. While my kids and husband are good about trying all different types of meals unlike their friends, they are really great about eating meatless meals. The Shredded Vegetable Bake was delicious and used vegetables from my garden. We served it with a tomato, cucumber salad on the side.
Ingredients:
- 3 potatoes shredded
- 1 onion shredded
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1/2 rutabaga shredded (I used two turnips)
- 1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
- 2 tbs nuts
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbs olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly oil 2 9X13 in baking pans.
In large bowl …
Ground Lamb & Cabbage Casserole
July 18, 2009 - Written by DianaPlenty of cabbage growing in the garden this year, so I’m trying it out in lots of different ways. Ground Lamb from the Farmer’s Market, cabbage from the garden, wild rice from the freezer, and this dinner makes itself in very little time. Top it off with a little sour cream for a little extra flavor, and the family loved it.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground Lamb
- 1 Medium Onion – diced
- 2 cups Cooked Rice
- 1/2 head of cabbage – outer leaves removed
- Caraway seeds
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- Sour Cream
Directions:
Sauté the onions and the ground lamb – drain the grease away. There was a little grease in my ground lamb, but not a …
Barbecue Chicken & Salsa Lettuce Wraps
June 25, 2009 - Written by DianaMy friend Linette had a Black Bean n’ Corn Chicken Salad Sandwich that she posted the other day. I loved the idea, but wanted something a little lighter instead of a sandwich. She used Dei Fratelli’s Black Bean and Corn Salsa, which I happened to love and have on hand, and I also added some rice to absorb some of the liquid in the salsa. The chicken was leftover from our Father’s Day cookout. The barbecue rub added a nice extra bit of flavor to the mix. I freeze my rice when I have extras, so this meal can be a very quick throw together dinner using mostly leftovers. I need to use different lettuce next time though, because this one fell apart easily. You can have this as a free form salad also – instead of wrapping the lettuce just layer it on the plate.
Ingredients:
- Precooked chicken (like leftover barbecue)
- Dei Fratelli’s …
Tuna Pasta Salad
May 23, 2009 - Written by DianaI had Tuna Pasta Salad for the first time at my cousin’s wedding. It’s a great cold salad/dinner. It has been a dish I’ve brought to summer family cookouts, and is something I make regularly over the summer. Along with the salad (topped with salad finishers), we had Tuna Pasta Salad for dinner last night. It was so warm in the house, that we ate out on the cooler back deck as the sun went down. Then my son had another plateful at the dinner table after we came inside. That made me happy, I worry about him eating enough during track season. We ate the whole salad for dinner and later on snacking, the four of us. Some days this salad will last two meals, other days only one depending on how hungry we are. This is one of the recipes I trusted my kids(when they were early teens) to make without supervision so that we’d have a meal ready when I arrived home from work.
Ingredients:- …
