Turkey tenderloin with mushroom gravy, butternut squash and broccoli

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Beebamom

Sounds like Chicken Monday, doesn’t it? Unfortunately Turkey Wednesday did not turn out so well. We bought these turkey tenderloins in a lemon and herb marinade at Costco. John seared one out on the grill and then finished it in the oven. It had no turkey taste. It tasted like spongy marinade. To go along with this, I roasted butternut squash that I put too much nutmeg into. It was just weird. Finally, although we can drive to St. George from California in one day, vegetables that make the trip apparently take some long detour first. The broccoli was just sad. Old and tasting strong, it was the perfect accompaniment to the rest of the below par dinner. My advice? Don’t buy pre-marinated turkey tenderloin.

Turkey tenderloin with mushroom gravy, butternut squash and broccoli

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Lunch at Mongolian BBQ, St. George, Utah

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Beebamom

Long ago on a family vacation we had a horrid meal in Utah. Actually we had several horrid meals over many years when eating out in Utah. Nonetheless we went ahead and bought a vacation place here in Utah and we must occasionally find a way to dine out. John came up with a solution. One must always order the item on the menu that has the least steps performed on it by a human. The classic example is “kill cow, cook cow, eat cow.” It has served us well.

On Tuesday we ate lunch at the Mongolian BBQ in the Zion Outlet Mall in St. George. First you get a bowl. Then you walk down a counter with an array of fresh vegetables, par-cooked noodles and frozen slivers of meat choosing what you would like to eat. You add various sauces. You hand it to one of the cooks and he cooks it on a large, very hot flat top grill. A couple of times around the grill and it is done. I always get a vegetarian bowl. In my case it is pick veg, cook veg, eat veg. Safe and delicious.

The Mongolian BBQ is our son, Jonathan’s, favorite restaurant in St. George. I am betting that when he is here next week we eat there a minimum of three times.

Sorry the picture is so small. I took it with my phone.

Vegetarian bowl at the Mongolian BBQ, St. George, Utah

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Red bell peppers stuffed with farro and black beans, salad with creamy salsa dressing

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Beebamom

A new recipe! We found some farro at Dixie Nutrition here in St. George. First thing Tuesday morning, I parboiled the pepper halves and cooked the farro according to my brown rice recipe from Cook’s Illustrated – preheat the oven to 375, put 1 1/2 cups of farro in an 8 X 8 glass baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray, add 1 tsp. of salt, and add 2 1/3 cups of boiling water. Cover this tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil. Bake one hour and then stir it around to fluff it up. Allow it to sit another 5 minutes loosely covered. I mixed the farro with black beans, mushrooms, onions, tomato paste, and chili type spices and moistened it with some plain canned tomato sauce that I had added chipotle powder and cumin to. Later in the day I stuffed the peppers and added additional sauce on top. These were then baked in a 350 oven for 45 minutes.

I really like the combination of ranch dressing and salsa for a salad dressing but I do not like all the calories. My dressing consisted of yogurt, a tablespoon of light mayo, lime juice, salsa, cumin and cilantro. Tasted good to me.

Bell pepper stuffed with farro and black beans and salad with creamy salsa dressing

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Chicken parmesan, penne and zucchini

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Beebamom

This week’s Chicken Monday had an Italian flavor. John browned two small chicken breasts and then finished them in the oven with some spaghetti sauce and a little parmesan cheese. In the meantime, I boiled up some whole wheat penne and sauteed zucchini with onions, celery and fresh tomatoes. Of course, the sauce was low fat and the vegetables were sauteed in olive oil cooking spray. It was a nice change on a Monday from chicken with either butternut squash or rutabagas and broccoli.

Chicken parmesan with penne whole wheat pasta and sauteed zucchini

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Portobello mushroom burger, grilled potato and arugula salad

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Beebamom

I have been a little concerned that John is getting too skinny so I am encouraging him to eat more. Although eating a bunch of red meat isn’t a good idea, a hamburger every few months I think is okay. So he grills himself a hamburger and grills me a mushroom and everybody’s happy.

On today’s mushroom burger I also used a half an ounce of goat cheese, arugula, and some red bell pepper that we had charred on the grill and peeled. John’s burger and mine were served on sandwich rounds. I also microwaved a couple of baking potatoes, cut them in half and seasoned them with olive oil spray, salt, pepper and garlic powder. John grilled these as well. Our dinner was rounded out with an arugula and tomato salad with non-fat Italian dressing. The addition of the goat cheese and bell pepper made my burger especially tasty.

Portobello burger garnished with goat cheese, arugula and roasted red pepper served with grilled baked potato and salad

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Slow-cooker turkey chili

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Beebamom

What could be better than dinnertime with no cooking! I love it when the house smells great all day and dinner is just waiting for me to be hungry. (I am always hungry!) Another plus is that I have a great deal of energy in the morning. I am one of those annoying people who wake up perky and energetic. So it is the perfect time for me to cook. It’s all downhill from there, though.

Anyway, first thing this morning we browned the ground turkey then added mushrooms, onions, spices and tomato paste to the skillet. After a brief sauteeing, we dumped everything into the slow-cooker along with a bunch of other stuff I cut up.

Filling up the slow-cooker

We cooked the chili on high for about 4 hours and then turned it down to low. During this time we played tennis, lifted weights, took a swim, and tidied up. The chili was ready when we were ready to eat it. I wish I could figure out more to make in the slow-cooker!

Clark and Lewis are ready for dinner

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Fish tacos and black beans

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Beebamom

Truly I have been cooking and eating over the past several days. I guess I have been struck with blog laziness. So now I will post three in a row!

We bought some frozen ono at Costco and made fish tacos. Of our various experiments with types of fish, ono has come out on top. It is a firm white fish with a mild sweet flavor. The fish was served in corn tortillas with cabbage, crema (with yogurt as a base), salsa (Jack’s from Costco is our favorite), and cilantro. I doctored up some black beans to go along with the tacos. This is a dinner that totally does not feel like “diet” fare.

Fish tacos and black beans

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Whole wheat pasta with shrimp, asparagus, mushrooms, carrots and onions

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Beebamom

I love this dinner. Pasta is such comfort food to me. I’ve grown used to whole wheat pasta and, if cooked correctly, it has more flavor than regular pasta. This is a snap to make. Fill a pot of water, turn it on, when it boils put the pasta in. Cook the pasta until it is not quite done. In the meantime, cut up the vegetables and saute them in a little cooking spray. Put the shrimp in last and cook it briefly. Dump the pasta in the vegetable pan. Add some chicken stock for a little sauce. Correct the seasoning. Curl up on the couch with a big bowl of pasta. YUM!

Comfort food

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Scallops, new potatoes and asparagus

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Beebamom

I always love it when asparagus season rolls around. The season is lengthened here by the ability to purchase asparagus from Mexico and then southern California before our own local supplies. Asparagus is such a weird plant. The edible part jumps out of the ground as a fully formed stalk in the early spring. I remember hearing Jacques Pepin say that there was no real difference between the fat stalks and the thin ones. It apparently is just that some stalks come out of the ground larger and some smaller. It’s not a case of younger or more tender.

Tonight’s dinner incorporated some of my favorite things – seared scallops, steamed new potatoes and asparagus. I wish I could make every Tuesday, shellfish Tuesday.

Seared scallops, steamed new potatoes and steamed asparagus with butter spray

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Chicken, couscous and broccoli

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Beebamom

Last week we attended the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. This is a Masters 1000 tennis event and the third year we’ve gone. The difference this year was that instead of having food delivered to the suite that was part of our package, we had a menu to choose from and to pay for. Last year’s choices included fresh vegetables and fruits, salads and low fat snacks. This year’s choices were high fat, pre-packaged dreck. So, needless to say, our time in Indian Wells was difficult from a dietary point of view.

On Monday we spent the day driving through the desert to St. George, UT. First thing we did was go to the grocery store to buy some “sane” food. Since it was already going on 8 PM by the time we were done shopping, we decided to buy a store-roasted chicken because it would be quickly made into a dinner. Fastest starch? Couscous. I steamed some broccoli, sprayed it with some butter spray and, voila, dinner!

It was so good to get back to the safe confines of Chicken Monday. We’ve decided not to attend this particular tennis event next year.

Store-bought rotisserie chicken, whole wheat couscous and broccoli

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