I'm such a stalker!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Guess who I met!
Yep - that's right, I met the one and only Chef Michael Symon! He was doing a book signing at Williams-Sonoma in Natick MA - he's just as awesome in real life as on TV.
I'm such a stalker!
I'm such a stalker!
Steak, Spaghetti Squash Fritters and Roasted Potatoes - oh my!
I was really looking forward to dinner tonight - all day I plotted and planned knowing the one thing I was making was the Spaghetti Squash Fritters, Michael Symon's recipe naturally. From there, I decided on adding roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled flank steak. I bought the potatoes and squash at the local Farmer's Market and the steak at Whole Foods so everything was fresh and all natural.
The fritters I've made and blogged before but I'm doing it again because they are so yummy AND this time, they came out much better!
Chef Symon's recipe can be found on the Chew's website (http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Michael-Symon-Spaghetti-Squash-Fritters) which I tried to follow thinking I had all the ingredients...I didn't so I mixed it up just a bit. I started by roasting the squash on a 400 oven for about 45 minutes. In the past, I have cut the squash in half, giant pain in the butt, scooped the seeds and then roasted. This time, on the advice of a co-worker, I put the squash on a pan and roasted it as is - no cutting, no seeding. Once it cooled, I cut it in half (a LOT easier), scooped out the seeds and shredded the squash. It's very important to get all the moister out of the squash so I scooped that meat into a dish towel and gave it to the hubs to wring it out. Then added 4 ounces (or about that) of blue cheese, some garlic, chives (since I didn't have green onions), the zest of an orange and salt and pepper. Also added three tablespoons (maybe a bit more) of flour and one egg. Mixed it well and fried in canola oil then sprinkled with sea salt and more orange zest. In hind site, I could have skipped the chives because I couldn't taste it over the orange and blue cheese.
I bought red, white and purple fingerling potatoes at the Farmer's Market last week and wasn't too sure how I wanted to prep them. Ultimately, we decided roast them in olive oil, garlic, onions and salt and pepper. Mixed it so that the oil covered the potatoes and roasted in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes; truth be told, I didn't really watch the clock, we don't mind the potatoes being over cooked. One thing about purple potatoes...they look funny but taste the same as a red or white potato. Plus, kids think they're fun!
I am still working on adding beef, good quality beef, into my diet. This is not easy for me by any means and I know the Hubs and L are very tired of chicken! I splurged on a flank steak at Whole Foods and attempted to grill it - still working on mastering the grill, too. I put some olive oil on it, salt, pepper, onion and garlic on both sides. Then I put it on a medium heat grill, roughly 6-7 minutes per side and got a nice medium steak for dinner.
The hubs and I were REALLY happy. This was the first meal I've worked on in quite a while.
All that was missing was a glass of wine for me and an Amstel Light for the hubs!
I hope you'll give the fritters a try, they are a good amount of work but worth it!
Enjoy - be well!
The fritters I've made and blogged before but I'm doing it again because they are so yummy AND this time, they came out much better!
Chef Symon's recipe can be found on the Chew's website (http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Michael-Symon-Spaghetti-Squash-Fritters) which I tried to follow thinking I had all the ingredients...I didn't so I mixed it up just a bit. I started by roasting the squash on a 400 oven for about 45 minutes. In the past, I have cut the squash in half, giant pain in the butt, scooped the seeds and then roasted. This time, on the advice of a co-worker, I put the squash on a pan and roasted it as is - no cutting, no seeding. Once it cooled, I cut it in half (a LOT easier), scooped out the seeds and shredded the squash. It's very important to get all the moister out of the squash so I scooped that meat into a dish towel and gave it to the hubs to wring it out. Then added 4 ounces (or about that) of blue cheese, some garlic, chives (since I didn't have green onions), the zest of an orange and salt and pepper. Also added three tablespoons (maybe a bit more) of flour and one egg. Mixed it well and fried in canola oil then sprinkled with sea salt and more orange zest. In hind site, I could have skipped the chives because I couldn't taste it over the orange and blue cheese.
I bought red, white and purple fingerling potatoes at the Farmer's Market last week and wasn't too sure how I wanted to prep them. Ultimately, we decided roast them in olive oil, garlic, onions and salt and pepper. Mixed it so that the oil covered the potatoes and roasted in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes; truth be told, I didn't really watch the clock, we don't mind the potatoes being over cooked. One thing about purple potatoes...they look funny but taste the same as a red or white potato. Plus, kids think they're fun!
I am still working on adding beef, good quality beef, into my diet. This is not easy for me by any means and I know the Hubs and L are very tired of chicken! I splurged on a flank steak at Whole Foods and attempted to grill it - still working on mastering the grill, too. I put some olive oil on it, salt, pepper, onion and garlic on both sides. Then I put it on a medium heat grill, roughly 6-7 minutes per side and got a nice medium steak for dinner.
The hubs and I were REALLY happy. This was the first meal I've worked on in quite a while.
I hope you'll give the fritters a try, they are a good amount of work but worth it!
Enjoy - be well!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Baked stuffed chicken
As promised, here is the first of three videos - baked stuffed chicken. Ok - so I go the recipe from a Hunger Games cookbook and it's suppose to be stuffed groosling...whatever that is supposed to be. Actually, it's turkey.
Hope you enjoy!
Thank you to my cousin Leeann McKeon from Keon Films for making the video.
Thank you to my cousin Leeann McKeon from Keon Films for making the video.
Oh boy - so many changes!
I owe you an apology for being off the blog for a while, we have been busy!
We moved, C turned one, L turned 11, the hubs turned.... And naturally, it was summer! Never the less, I'm back and will be posting my three videos shortly. I am looking to make more and see how things will progress. I can hope you will continue to follow me and tell your friends!
Thanks for your patience!
M~
We moved, C turned one, L turned 11, the hubs turned.... And naturally, it was summer! Never the less, I'm back and will be posting my three videos shortly. I am looking to make more and see how things will progress. I can hope you will continue to follow me and tell your friends!
Thanks for your patience!
M~
Monday, May 7, 2012
upcoming posts - need your help!
Thank you to all of you who read my posts and my apologies for not posting in quite a while. I am working on some videos to post in the next few weeks...well the videos will be made and posted after over a period of time.
I am most definitely making my whoopie pies but want to know what you'd like to see me make. I have a recipe I've created based on a Giada recipe but this is all me. I think I'll make that one as a side dish, it's a potato and couscous salad.
Please either message me or post here what you'd like to see for an appetizer, salad and main dish. From there, I'll see what I can do!
Thank you and thanks again for reading!!!
Be well!
I am most definitely making my whoopie pies but want to know what you'd like to see me make. I have a recipe I've created based on a Giada recipe but this is all me. I think I'll make that one as a side dish, it's a potato and couscous salad.
Please either message me or post here what you'd like to see for an appetizer, salad and main dish. From there, I'll see what I can do!
Thank you and thanks again for reading!!!
Be well!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sleep...
Lately, there seem to be a lot of studies about how much sleep a person needs to be healthy, aid in weight loss or what ever. I don't seem to fall into any where near enough sleep to be rested, healthy or my weight loss. I work at 5 AM, my alarm goes off at 3:25 and I hit snooze a few times then I get up a little before 4. Here's the kicker, to make sure I get eight hours of sleep I would need to go to bed at....7:30. As if that could EVER happen!
Like most women, when I say I'm going to bed it will still take some time to get into bed - I have a lot to do first. I have to get my clothes ready for the next day (so not to wake up the Hubs or baby), then I get my food ready (if I haven't already), get the things together for my shower, get changed, then go to bed where I will spend several seconds - if not a full minute - putting on my Burt's chap stick. Let me side bar for just a second - Burt's holy Burt's! I'm so addicted to putting on chap stick at night that I cannot sleep until I have a good coating on - but it's not just putting on a good coating, I look like a crazy lady just lying in bed rubbing the golden yellow tube of minty bees wax chap stick on my mouth in slow motion for 20-30 - up to 60 seconds. You know how to you see the crazy lady smearing their lipstick all over their mouth, missing her lips and getting her face but she thinks she looks good - yeah, that's me with my Burt's!
Anyway... back to a 7:30 bed time.... L goes to bed at 8, the baby goes to be around 7:30. If I want to have a conversation with the Hubs, wait for it - WITH OUT INTERRUPTION - I have to wait until after 8. So, lets say I go at 8:30, well, that would be do-able, but then I'm too tired to get off the couch to go to bed. Besides, I might as well wait up to watch the weather, right? Ha! At this point, I'm also too engrossed in whatever we're watching on TV...
I guess I have no other choice but to live with too little sleep and live with the consequences of lack of sleep... I'd rather be tired then miss my family! Who cares if I look crazy - the hubs loves me anyway! ;-) LOL!
Be well!
Like most women, when I say I'm going to bed it will still take some time to get into bed - I have a lot to do first. I have to get my clothes ready for the next day (so not to wake up the Hubs or baby), then I get my food ready (if I haven't already), get the things together for my shower, get changed, then go to bed where I will spend several seconds - if not a full minute - putting on my Burt's chap stick. Let me side bar for just a second - Burt's holy Burt's! I'm so addicted to putting on chap stick at night that I cannot sleep until I have a good coating on - but it's not just putting on a good coating, I look like a crazy lady just lying in bed rubbing the golden yellow tube of minty bees wax chap stick on my mouth in slow motion for 20-30 - up to 60 seconds. You know how to you see the crazy lady smearing their lipstick all over their mouth, missing her lips and getting her face but she thinks she looks good - yeah, that's me with my Burt's!
Anyway... back to a 7:30 bed time.... L goes to bed at 8, the baby goes to be around 7:30. If I want to have a conversation with the Hubs, wait for it - WITH OUT INTERRUPTION - I have to wait until after 8. So, lets say I go at 8:30, well, that would be do-able, but then I'm too tired to get off the couch to go to bed. Besides, I might as well wait up to watch the weather, right? Ha! At this point, I'm also too engrossed in whatever we're watching on TV...
I guess I have no other choice but to live with too little sleep and live with the consequences of lack of sleep... I'd rather be tired then miss my family! Who cares if I look crazy - the hubs loves me anyway! ;-) LOL!
Be well!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Cinnamon rolls
Having gone through the weight loss process I did, I NEVER thought I could eat a cinnamon roll again. I say that like it was high on my prioiety list when in fact, it was FAR from. I have these moments of wanting to feel "normal" which means eating the way I did before I lost weight. Of course, that would be foolish to do because I'd just gain the weight back. All of that leads to this blog where I make the the foods I miss or want to try in a healthier way.
OK - my point...I made cinnamon rolls! YAY! This is something I put togehter from watching Daphne Oz, on the Chew, and Giada, on the food network. I sort of combined the two and then made it my own. All of this was originally inspired by my sis-in-law - she made homemade (dough from scratch) cinnamon rolls but I couldn't try them because of the sugar.
Daphne used puff pastry, so did I, Giada used a can of crescent roll dough. I guess I'll tell you what I did and you can check out their sites for their recipes. I softened one stick of butter in the microwave, added cinnamon - maybe a tbsp? - then a tsp of vanilla. Then I added some brown sugar. I kept one roll/sheet of the puff pastry folded in thirds and rolled it out so it was long and narrow. From there, I spread half the butter mixture and rolled the dough so I had around a 12" log and repeated with the second piece of pastry dough. I cut the dough into pieces roughly 1 1/2" - 2". Now here's the tricky part. I went all Giada and put brown sugar and chopped pecans into the bottom of a baking dish, put the rolls down and baked them at 375. The first mistake was using a baking dish, the second was the brown sugar. As I watched the rolls fall over and turn messy, I decided to follow the advice of someone who gave feedback on Daphne's recipe and moved them to muffin pans. Let them finish cooking and it was so much better!
Did I add that I FROSTED THEM!!!! Oh yes I did! Frosting was easy, slowly melt 1/2 a stick of butter on a really low heat, add 4 oz of cream cheese cinnamon, sugar and vanilla to make the frosting. Smear the frosting on the roll while the roll is still warm and oh, enjoy!
By the way, the heart shape is merely by chance.
Enjoy - Be well!
OK - my point...I made cinnamon rolls! YAY! This is something I put togehter from watching Daphne Oz, on the Chew, and Giada, on the food network. I sort of combined the two and then made it my own. All of this was originally inspired by my sis-in-law - she made homemade (dough from scratch) cinnamon rolls but I couldn't try them because of the sugar.
Daphne used puff pastry, so did I, Giada used a can of crescent roll dough. I guess I'll tell you what I did and you can check out their sites for their recipes. I softened one stick of butter in the microwave, added cinnamon - maybe a tbsp? - then a tsp of vanilla. Then I added some brown sugar. I kept one roll/sheet of the puff pastry folded in thirds and rolled it out so it was long and narrow. From there, I spread half the butter mixture and rolled the dough so I had around a 12" log and repeated with the second piece of pastry dough. I cut the dough into pieces roughly 1 1/2" - 2". Now here's the tricky part. I went all Giada and put brown sugar and chopped pecans into the bottom of a baking dish, put the rolls down and baked them at 375. The first mistake was using a baking dish, the second was the brown sugar. As I watched the rolls fall over and turn messy, I decided to follow the advice of someone who gave feedback on Daphne's recipe and moved them to muffin pans. Let them finish cooking and it was so much better!
Enjoy - Be well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)