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

Posted in Beef, Dining out, Pasta, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

 

Posted in Dining out, Grilling, Healthy tips, Lamb, leftovers, rice, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in Dining out, Eggs, Healthy tips, leftovers, Poultry, rice, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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!

Posted in Healthy tips, Legumes, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Leave a comment

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!

Posted in Dining out, Healthy tips, Pasta, pescatarian, Shellfish, Vegetables | Tagged | Leave a comment

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.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What to eat on vacation – 7/31/17

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Beebamom

I know, hard to believe I am on vacation again. For the next three weeks I will try to highlight what might be a good choice and what is going on behind a bad decision. Plus, when what you thought was a good choice ends up sabatoging you.

First up, lunch at the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining, CA. then dinner at the Tonopah Brewing Co., Tonopah, NV.

Whoa Nellie Deli

There are some good choices here. Ahi sashimi and some salads. The fish tacos are a trap because they are fried. I just don’t think I want to eat sashimi in the middle of the mountains and salads do not fill me up. So I go with vegetarian chili. To their credit, they ask if I want shredded cheese in case I am a vegan. But I get cornbread and that is made with eggs I am sure. Anyhow, it is a bit gloppy and thick. Uh oh, it tastes best when I crumble the corn bread into it. Grade? I tried

Vegetarian chili with cornbread

Tonopah Brewing Co.

I ordered a Pulled BBQ chicken sandwich. Basically it was some pieces of chicken breast on a roll. I took out the chicken and dipped it in some vinegar based BBQ sauce. I took a bite of the roll but it wasn’t worth eating. I ate the coleslaw and the chicken. Grade? Wish it tasted better

Pulled chicken sandwich and coleslaw

 

 

 

Posted in Dining out, Healthy tips | Leave a comment

Leftover fresh tomato sauce – 7/29/17

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Beebamom

The fresh tomato sauce from a couple of night’s ago is sitting in the refrigerator and we have been out all day and I do not feel like making the planned dinner. So I decide to boil up some pasta, add another tomato to the sauce, and microwave some frozen meatballs. I add the meatballs to the sauce and in the time that it takes to heat up the water and cook the pasta, dinner is ready.

Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and beef meatballs

Posted in Beef, leftovers, Pasta, Vegetables | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Firing up the grill – 7/27/17

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Beebamom

It is grilling night! John selects one of the rib eye cap steaks that I bought at Costco last week. He grills it on low until it reads 115F and then finishes it on high. In the meantime I make an Italian salad and warm potato salad. I included a carrot, 1/2 onion, and a clove of garlic as I steamed the potatoes for a little more color and nutritional value. The potato salad is dressed with some olive oil and a capful of cider vinegar, celery seed, salt and pepper.

Grilled steak with a green salad and warm potato salad

Posted in Beef, Grilling, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Salad, peppers and onions, polenta, sausage – 7/27/17

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Beebamom

Leftovers night! The sausages and polenta are from the night we had friends over for dinner, the peppers and onions are newly made but originally for the friends dinner, and the salad is the same as the golden beet, tomato, arugula, and watermelon from the salad on the 24th. So there is hardly anything new here except that I prepared fresh components because I bought too much in the first place. Not sure that these are technically leftovers but we are leaving for the “Great Road Trip, 2017” on Monday and I need to get this stuff eaten up!!

Sausage, onions and peppers, polenta, and summer salad

Posted in Pork, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment