Better pasta at home than restaurant – 8/30/17

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Beebamom

Here is a pretty poor pasta primavera I had in Banff at a fairly fancy restaurant.

Restaurant pasta primavera

Obviously no care was taken in the plating, just slopped on the plate and not tidied up. Also vegetables were overcooked and the sauce too heavy for primavera.

Here’s a penne dish I made for us. Looks much more appealing, doesn’t it? This is not primavera but the remnants of the meat sauce I made a few days ago. I extended by adding more tomatoes and their juice. Remember the saying, “You eat with your eyes first!”

Penne with meat sauce

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Pork loin chop with leftovers – 8/29/17

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Beebamom

As I mentioned we are freezer foraging currently. There are just too many old things in the freezer. We bought a couple of these in a package a few months ago. The first one we made did not turn out well. This one we decide to brine, sous vide, and grill. It came out better but not well enough for me to want to buy pork loin chops again. I serve it with the Texas caviar I made last night and the couscous from a couple of nights ago with the addition of green beans. It is an okay dinner but not great.

Pork loin with Texas caviar and couscous with green beans

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Turkey sausage with Texas caviar – 8/28/17

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Beebamom

I have been craving a hot dog type meal since we went to the baseball game in Great Falls, MT. The hot dogs there were a real disappointment.

Great Falls Voyagers vs. Ogden Raptors

I expect a steamed hot dog at a ball game. This one seems grilled and then held until it is shriveled. So it is high time for some sort of hot dog.

What is wrong with me lately? I get so excited about a favorite food that I keep forgetting to take a picture. Trust me, it looks like a turkey sausage sliced longitudinally sitting on a hot dog roll with mustard, relish, and onions. I made Texas caviar to go with it. Here’s a picture of the Texas caviar with some grilled portobello mushrooms I made awhile ago.

Portobello mushroom burgers with goat cheese, roasted red pepper and grilled onion, served open-faced with arugula and accompanied by Texas caviar and cole slaw

Just a tip while you are trying to pare down what you have been eating. If you have a craving for something, do not deny yourself. Try to find a way to eat it but eat it in a more controlled way. Instead of a fatty hot dog I choose to have a turkey sausage. Instead of pork and beans from a can I choose to make a salad full of healthy fresh vegetables and complex carbohydrates. There is no reason to totally deprive yourself. That will only lend to binging.

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Make a lighter version of a restaurant dish you liked – 8/27/17

Posted on August 28, 2017 by Beebamom

DRUNKEN SHRIMP
Black tiger shrimp (6) sautéed in butter and shallots, flamed with Sambuca. Served with two grilled baguette spears.

Here is something I liked from the Tonic Kitchen+Bar at the Applause Hotel by CLIQUE at the Calgary, Alberta airport. Since we were staying out of Calgary near the airport, we did not have a lot of choices on where to eat. And, we were there for three days. I think during those days we tried most of the menu and we found these shrimp on the last day on the appetizer menu. They were delicious but I wanted more sauce and I wanted it to be less fatty.

When we made our home recipe,  John deshelled the shrimp and added some shells we had in the freezer to make a shrimp stock. (It’s quick only takes 1/2 hour! But you could also use clam juice or even chicken stock.)  He sauteed onion and garlic with some herbs in a mixture of butter and oil (not too much.) He adds Pernod to the mixture and cooks it off. Now this enhanced stock is the poaching liquid for the shrimp.

In the meantime I make some couscous because it will be good for sopping up the stock and broccoli because, duh, vegetables. We still need a few tweaks, maybe more butter. Nonetheless this was a very good dish.

Our version of drunken shrimp with couscous and broccoli

 

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Spaghetti with meat sauce – 8/26/17

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Beebamom

OMG, I made such a delicious red sauce with ground beef! Nothing fancy but so good! As frequently happens when I make something this delicous I just dive in and forget to take a picture. Trust me, this was a great dinner. I ate too much of it and paid by waking up during the night with indigestion.  Will I ever learn?

BTW, one secret to my great sauce is browning the meat with too much dried oregano. I thought it was a shake top but it wasn’t and a lot of oregano fell on the meat. Turns out it made the sauce delicious.

Here’s a picture from April, 2016. It looks pretty similar.

Spaghetti with meat sauce

As a bonus here’s a picture of a super salad I ate on vacation from Artisan Fire in Great Falls, MT. The condiments on the lettuce greens are mostly preserved in some way. That’s a really smart way to make a salad using ingredients which are not going to go bad.

Delicious salad from Artisan Fire, Great Falls, MT

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Freezer foraging plus vacation fare – 8/25/17

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Beebamom

Fresh spring rolls from Krung Thep, Idaho Falls

Here’s another good choice from the appetizer portion of the menu. These are fresh vegetarian spring rolls with a peanut sauce from Krung Thep, a Thai restaurant in Idaho Falls, ID. They were delicious and beautiful too.

My food might not be restaurant quality but I do try to use some restaurant methods, like  cutting all my stuff up first so I am ready when I start cooking. Along with the freezer foraging which I will discuss in a minute, I am still trying to use the bits and pieces I have left over.

Ready, set, cook!

So here we have a couple of spears of asparagus that I did not use in the stir fry or the pasta this week, leftover rice from the fried rice night, corn that I stripped off a cob when I bought three instead of two ears of corn for dinner on Wednesday, a half of a roasted golden beet from recent salads and the usual staples of onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.

I make kind of succotash out of the asparagus and corn for one side dish and extended rice with a bunch of the rest of the vegetables.

In the meantime, meat man, is grilling up lamb chops. I am tired of looking at all this meat getting freezer burn and I want to clean out the freezer. In addition to the lamb chops in the freezer, we have a piece of pork, some chicken breasts, a steak, and two large containers of what John has labeled “carnitas goo.” These things will be featured in the next few weeks of Dining Lite. While I am still trending toward a more vegetable based meal plan, I do have to take into consideration what I have in the freezer and the fact that John really likes to eat meat.

Grilled lamb chops with asparagus/corn succotash and rice with vegetables

 

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Creative leftovers plus another vacation dish – 8/24/17

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Beebamom

After three long days on the road home, we were in no mood to cook so we bought one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store.  Today we have a leftover breast and some asparagus from yesterday’s pasta.  With these and some refrigerator and pantry staples we make Chicken Fried Rice.

Note: substitute marinated tofu for a vegetarian version

Vegetables and rice ready to go

I prepare my “leftover” rice by cooking it in the morning and then refrigeratoring it or you could cook a bunch up on the weekend or use leftovers from Chinese take-out.

John dices the chicken breast and marinates it in soy, ginger, and a few drops of sesame oil. He also makes an omelet. Cook the vegetables in a little vegetables oil and then add the rice and chicken. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil and heat through. Top with toasted sesame seeds and green onion.

Chicken Fried Rice

Vacation tip!

When trying to find smaller portions and more interesting food, look no further than the appetizer or first course on the menu. These scallops were an appetizer in Idaho Falls, ID.

Scallops, greens, and a balsamic reduction

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Home from vacation -8/23/17

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Beebamom

Wow, did we have a good time on vacation. We saw a total eclipse!! We ate a lot of stuff! It is time to get back to normal eating and exercising. My two sisters and I all have a tendency to be overweight. My younger sister is currently on Weight Watchers and has lost about 50 lbs! My older sister has been on a do-it-yourself diet she calls ” Do more, eat less.”  And I have been on my vacation diet of eat everything but try to make good choices.

Here’s something I ate in Pocatello, Idaho while trying to make a good choice. It is a tuna sandwich and I ate with a knife and fork and I only ate the bottom roll.

IMG_6002

However, there were a lot of other things that I ate which have led me to a plan for healthier eating. Here is what I made for dinner tonight. I will discuss my process tomorrow when I am less tired.

My mise en place, so happy to be chopping in my kitchen again!

A delicious salad with salad greens, tomatoes, roasted golden beet, onion, and feta cheese

Penne and asparagus with onion and mushroom plus a sauce made of olive oil and pasta water

For a vegan dinner omit the feta cheese on the salad and Parmesan cheese on the pasta.

I realize that asparagus is expensive but I could buy some fast food sandwich or two meals worth of asparagus for the same $5. Or I could much more economicly substitute broccoli or even zucchini!

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Light menu – 8/3/17

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Beebamom

Tonight we had dinner at a family-oriented Italian chain restaurant. Utah is not known for its great culinary scene and sometimes it is better to just go with something familiar.

We start with a lightly dressed salad and I have half a breadstick.

Salad

For my main course I choose something from the “light” menu, under 600 calories. The shrimp scampi with vegetables and angel hair pasta looks like a lot for 600 calories. My solution to this is to eat the shrimp and vegetables and just eat a little of the pasta. And it is really no problem since the pasta is overcooked.

Shrimps scampi with asparagus, tomatoes, and angel hair pasta

By not eating much of the pasta I have avoided most of the sauce as well. As a reward I eat the other half of the breadstick. I am full but not stuffed, perfect!

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Good choice! Sea bass – 8/2/17

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Beebamom

We have decided to move our departure day to Thursday instead of Friday so we eat at the club. No dirty dishes this way! For dinner I choose grilled sea bass with horseradish mashed potatoes and asparagus.  I ask for the sauce to be on the side. Nothing is overly greasy and the potatoes are not too creamy. This was a good choice. Yay, me!

Grilled sea bass with horseradish, pmashed potato and asparagus.

 

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