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Fruit Cravings

I was drawn to the berries.

I’ve been dreaming of strawberries, kiwis, pineapple, and grapes. I’d say there is something wrong with me, but honestly, that’s just stating the obvious. Don’t you think? Those daydreamings of a rainbow’d plates of herbivorous goodness are something I’ve decided I need to give into, and fast.

It’s caused me to head straight for the grocery store and scour through the winter produce and see what’s what. Luckily with modern farm technology strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries still line the shelves. And a sale doesn’t hurt at all. Caused me to buy a pound of strawberries and a bag of kiwis, which resulted in the following dinner:

What a wonderful dinner.

Yes, when you look at that plate, there are no carbs. Surprise! The carb-loving queen has been able to make more meals without bread and grains. And it was colorful at that. The strawberries and kiwis are self-explanatory, just washed and cut them up. For that surprise portion on the plate I’m pretty sure you can’t figure out, that’s a beef-veggie … ummm.. not quite a scramble… ummm … tortilla-less tacos?

I took a half a quarter cup of diced onion and a quarter cup of diced green peppers, sauteed them in olive oil. Add a teaspoon of each ground black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne powder. Continue to saute on medium-high until the onions are caramelized Then I added a little less than a quarter pound of diced beef in the pan. When it was cooked almost through, increase the heat to high and add a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan. Cook off the alcohol and serve.

I have to say, it would taste mighty good in a tortilla with some shredded cheddar. Maybe next time.

February 6, 2013 by Roni

Food

Afternoon Egg Scramble

A quarter cup of fresh salsa, chicken sausage link, and one egg.

I have to admit, sometimes I just like having breakfast for dinner. I dream of waffles, omelettes, and bacon. Okay, bacon is okay all hours of the day, but I still like to cook some up in the morning. The fresh smell of bacon and maple syrup filling the house is a glorious, glorious thing. I think most of you will agree.

So pairing up my love for breakfast with my new diet helped me whip up this plate. I’m not cutting out carbs, just trying to monitor the amount I’m eating and replacing my usual bread and crackers with veggies and protein. Protein fills me up and keeps me full.

So I sauteed a quarter cup of fresh salsa. That’s just diced sweet onions, Roma tomatoes, and green peppers with a dash of ground black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne. I then added in some diced chicken sausage. The kind I bought was the new Johnsonville chicken sausage with apple flavor. It’s sweet, but not too bad.

Once that’s browned up, you can either deglaze the pan with a little less than a quarter cup of pink moscato wine, or put the egg in now. If you deglaze, make sure you cook off the alcohol before adding the egg in. Cook it through and you’re done. Just enough sweet and savory to satisfy a breakfast for dinner craving.

Threw in the kiwi for some color and vitamins.

February 1, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Vegetarian Pizza

Sometimes you just have to make something that’s meat-free, whether it’s because you have a vegetarian friend visiting or you just want to change things up. That’s exactly where this pizza comes in. I know I’ve made a similar pizza before, but I have some updated tips. I really like the way this vegetarian pizza comes out.

Vegetarian Pizza

Gather
1 ball of premade pizza dough
Cornmeal
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
1 small sweet onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup of button mushrooms, chopped
Jalapenos (optional)
Olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle cornmeal on a clean cookie sheet. Roll out pizza dough to about 1/2 inch thick and then place on cookie sheet over cornmeal. Bake that for 10 to 12 minutes so it’s very barely cooked.

Pull that out dough and place some thinly sliced Roma tomatoes on top of it. Put back in the oven. Bake that for another 8 minutes or so.

In a saucepan, cook diced onions, green peppers, jalapenos, and button mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add ground pepper, garlic powder, and saute down until the onions are translucent. When the pan has a bit of brown “burned bits” on the bottom of the pan, add a quarter cup of white wine and deglaze the pan.

Put on top of pizza with a quarter cup to a half cup of mixed shredded cheddar cheese and pop back into the oven until the cheese is melted, about another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy.

January 28, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Crockpot Mac N Cheese

CrockpotMacAndCheese

There is something inadvertently sexy about a crockpot made meal. Perhaps it’s the slow cooking, maybe it’s how it just makes meats fall apart with the poke of a fork, or even maybe… it’s how easy it makes life. Like this recipe, which I made this recipe for the company Christmas party. It was such a big hit that there weren’t any seconds for anyone. And it took little to no effort. Don’t tell them that, they might make me cook all the time.

Next time I better make double the amount, though. I put it down on the table, turned around, and it was almost gone. Crazy delicious, but I think I also want to experiment with some various other ingredients, like bacon, veggies, or even different cheeses. Let’s get crazy!

Crockpot Mac N Cheese

Gather:
2 cups of cooked shell pasta
4 tablespoons of butter
2 1/2 cups of grated Pepper Jack cheese
3 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 can of condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

In a medium sauce pan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until melted.

In the slow cooker (a.k.a. crockpot), mix the cheese mixture, eggs, soup, sour cream, salt, milk, pepper, and garlic powder. Add the pasta and stir again.

Cook on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

January 14, 2013 by Roni

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