beans & rice

i'm looking for good, healthy, meat-free recipes. i want to make beans & rice. i found this recipe online but am not sure what "pulses" are.....

Ingredients (Serves 2):

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
25 g butter
1 red onion, peeled and chopped
4 cups cooked brown rice
225 g can sweetcorn kernels
500 g can mixed pulses (or mix 3 x 225 g cans pulses choosing any combination of red kidney beans, chickpeas, butter beans, black eyed peas or flageolet beans)
½ tsp dried mixed herbs
4 sun dried tomatoes, finely sliced

Heat the olive oil and butter in a saute or frying pan. Add the onion and cook until tender, being careful not to let it burn or go crisp.

Add all the other ingredients and stir thoroughly until heated through. Serve with any kind of salad.

per wiki: Pulses are annual leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Pulses are used for food and animal feed.

magalotti's pasta fagioli soup

ingredients:
1/2 pound of bacon
drizzle of olive oil
1 onion finely diced
1 small head of garlic, finely minced
1/8 to 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
ground pepper
1 14oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 small can (6 oz) tomato sauce
6-8 cans of chicken broth
2 knorr brand chicken bouillon cubes
the rind off a hunk of romano or parmesan cheese
4-5 cans of cannelini beans
handful of freshly chopped parsley
1/2 pound of ditilini pasta

1. partially freeze the bacon (to make it firm to cut.) chop finely.
2. render bacon over medium heat in a large soup pot, stirring frequently, until it is well browned and tender. remove the bacon from the pot and put it on a paper towel to soak up grease.
3. keep a couple tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot, add a drizzle of olive oil. add onion. sweat onion over medium heat until soft & translucent.
4. add garlic, some black pepper, and chili flakes. cook for another 1-2 minutes and stir frequently. (don't let garlic brown, that makes it taste gross.)
5. add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth and chicken bouillon. add the cheese rind. bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes on low heat.

6. while soup cooks, make ditlini pasta. drain and rinse pasta. put it in a covered bowl and srpinkle some olive oil (to keep it from sticking.) add parmesian and parsley if desired.
7. after 30 minutes, check the soup. add a little salt if need. if it seems flat, add a squeeze of lemon. if it tastes good and seems done, fish out the cheese rind.
8. rinse beans and add to soup. add cooked bacon. cook for a few more minutes with lid on.
9. add a handful parsley at the end. it's done!!!
10. keep noodles seperate and add to each bowl you eat. if you put the noodles in the soup they soak up the broth.
11. this is great with crusty italian bead & butter, parmesan and red pepper flakes. YUMMY!

cleaning it all up is a bitch though...

chicken w/ mushroom sauce...

3	whole	chicken breasts, halved
1/4	c.	dry white wine
1	can	cream of mushroom soup
1	can	mushrooms, sliced (4 oz.)
		Salt and pepper

Place chicken pieces in crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Mix wine and soup. Pour over chicken. Add mushrooms. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours (or high for 3 to 4 hours).

Serve over jasmin rice. yum!

spicy wine pot roast

3 to 4 pound beef pot roast
salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
2 pkg. brown gravy mix (3/4 oz)
2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 bag baby carrots
6-8 small red potatoes

wash & chop potatoes (peel if preferred), carrots and onion. place in slow cooker. sprinkle meat with salt and pepper; place in slow cooker. combine remaining ingredients; pour over meat. cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. remove meat and veggies. thicken sauce with flour or wondra) dissolved in a small amount of water, and serve over meat.

makes 6 to 7 servings. it was so good, we ate it before i could get pics, but it looked something like this:


click here for a crap load of crock pot recipes!

breakfast casserole

(you can pretty much substitute/ add anything you have in the fridge when making this. it's sort of idiot-proof. you can make a healthier version with egg whites, or go all out fatty with fried bacon. throw in some green peppers if you go for that sort of thing. use pepper jack cheese. try hash browns instead of bread. you get the idea.)

ingredients:
6 eggs

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/2 of a small loaf of sour dough bread, cubed

2 cups skim milk

salt, pepper, secret seasonings

low sodium ham

directions:
preheat oven to 350°F.   beat the eggs in a large bowl.  mix in the milk and cheese.  add the bread and carefully stir until all pieces of bread are moistened (don't over mix or the bread may disintegrate). add ham (or any breakfast meat you prefer.) add salt and pepper to taste. 

butter a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. pour mix in and bake in oven for 50 minutes to an hour, until the top is browned and the center springs back when touched. remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. it's enough for about 8, and is really good reheated.

variations:
cornbread would make a great change.  you can add bread crumbs on top to make it more crusty.  egg beaters to make it healthy.  if you use any vegetables, cook them down first.

lazy girl recipes and other stuff

this is even funnier when you see this side by side. lisa ann rules!!!


this fall has been beautiful...i'm enjoying every moment. taking thousands of photos of fall leaves and bright blue skies.

last night i came up with this recipe. it's easy & could be tweaked to be healthier.

ciabatta bread, sliced to make a sub
(i tore out some of the bread on one side, making a sort of boat to hold stuff)
slice of cheese (i used asiago since we're out mozzarella)
bake until it gets crispy and cheese melts
mix chicken with spaghetti sauce and heat in microwave
(i used a pepperoni pizza sauce we had left from the weekend which we love. it's got the flavor of pepperoni without the fat.)
fill the "boat" of the bread with the mixture
smoosh the 2 sides together and enjoy.

not that it's rocket science. just a lazy girl's parmesan sub. i'm not always lazy. this weekend i made an elaborate meatloaf recipe from scratch:

i'm also still completely addicted to mojito's "virgin rickey". here's my exact version:

schweppe's club soda is preferred, but you can go cotton club if you must
put 3 ice cubes in a fancy glass
squeeze and entire 1/2 of a lime over the ice
don't even think about using lime juice from a bottle
pour soda on top of ice
watch it bubble and fizz:

and speaking of recipes, congratulations to mark over at eatingcleveland.com!!!!

bulgogi!!!!!

holy mother of pearl! this recipe was pretty easy, and oh my...really good.

bulgogi!!!!!

i made mine with lo mein noodles, and sauted mushrooms with the marinade. oh, i steamed some brocolli too. hell yeah!

ingredients:
2 ½ pounds of thinly sliced beef
3 tbsp white wine
2 ½ tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sesame oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup sprite

mix all ingredients, marinade several hours and grill.

husband seal of approval........

everything's better with cilantro & cumin!!!

ok, i tried out a new recipe and loved it. it's actually a combination of 2 recipes i found on a great website, that i tweaked and combined into one. (check out the simply recipes website for tons of great recipes. it's put together really well and easy to navigate.)

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Breasts
Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Method:
1. Mix the marinade ingredients (yogurt, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper) together in a medium sized bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and thoroughly coat with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator from 6 to 10 hours.
2. Heat your grill on high heat. Grill the chicken breasts a few minutes on each side, until cooked through. Take care not to overcook, as chicken breasts can easily dry out.


Grilled Corn Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn in husks
1 large red bell pepper
1 5-inch long zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 Serrano chili pepper, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup feta
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cider vinegar/ or lime juice/ or champagne vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*some ingrediants are optional, like feta and serrano pepper. i used both. i also used a balsamic vinegar (bought by mistake, thought it was champagne vinegar) and a squeeze of fresh lime. the grilled veggies (red pepper, zuccini, etc..) can be replaced with anything you like. i added some yellow squash.

Method:
1. Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Oil the grill grates. Rub a little olive oil over the bell pepper. Place the corn (in their husks) and red bell pepper directly on the grill grates. Cover the grill. Turn corn occasionally, so that every part of the husk is blackened. Turn the red bell pepper occasionally until the skin has blistered up all around it. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. For the last 5 minutes or so, rub olive oil over the zucchini pieces and place the zucchini pieces directly on the grill grate, cut side down. Turn them over after a few minutes when they have some nice grill marks on them. Let them cook for just a minute or two on the other side.

2. Let the corn cool down for a few minutes and pull back the husks. Use a sharp knife to make long, downward strokes, removing the kernels from the cob, as you work your way around the cob. Once the bell pepper has cooled a bit, remove the outer peel. Cut open the pepper, remove the seeds and stem. Chop the bell pepper into small pieces.
Slice the slightly browned zucchini again lengthwise and chop into small pieces.

3. Place grilled corn kernels, chopped bell pepper, chopped zucchini, red onion, cilantro, and Serrano (if using) into a large bowl. Add the cumin, olive oil, vinegar or lime juice, and crumbly cheese (if using). Mix gently. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold.



this made a great meal, but the leftovers were even better. i cut up the chicken and mixed it into the corn salad, and it tasted even better. combining it all into a cold salad kicked ass and was actually quite healthy. it was a bit of work, but i would make this again.

i didn't get any photos of my own, go i'll grab some from google image search. :)

smoked sausage & bean soup- crockpot style!

(this is different soup then below, but it's the only soup pic i have taken recently, so shut it!)

Ingredients:
1 lb small red potatoes (each cut into about 8 pieces, about 3 cups)
4 medium carrots, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 medium Bermuda onion chopped
1 medium stalk of celery, sliced (about ½ cup)
2 cans (15 oz each) of cannelloni beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cans (14 oz each) of chicken broth
1 large can cream of chicken soup (this is my addition)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
½ teaspoon of lawry’s season salt
1 lb fully cooked kielbasa, cut in half lengthwise, then into ¼ inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely

1. Spray 3 to 4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Add all ingredients except sausage and parsley
3. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 9 hours
4. Stir in sausage and parsley, as well as cream of chicken soup to thicken.
5. Cover and cook on low setting for 30 minutes longer, or until sausage is hot.

the cream of chicken can be added to make it as thick or thin as you want it. i also use more carrots and pototoes then the recipe calls for. it's really easy to make.

now for the usual random dog, house & boyfriend pics.........

the dogs, the house, groundcat looking crabby, these are a few of my favorite things! (although how can someone looks so cranky with starbucks right there!?!?!?!)

perfect stuffed chicken breast recipe and other thoughts on food...

ingredients:
olive oil cooking spray
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10 ounce bag of frozen spinach, thawed
4 ounce log of goat cheese (cut into 8 rounds)
8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

preheat oven to 400 degrees, line baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with cooking spray.

slice chicken breasts in 1/2 horizontally, leaving them attached at the top by about 1/2 an inch.

spritz chicken with olive oil cooking spray and lay on baking sheet (covered in foil and spray oil.)

take thawed spinach and squeeze paper towels into it until spinach is as "dry" as possible.

open the breast in 1/2 (like a clam shell) and add a layer of spinach, then 2 rounds of goat cheese and 2 sun dried tomatoes. flip top 1/2 of chicken over the fillings, spritz again with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

after 20 minutes, increase over to broil and watch carefully. it should become lightly browned in 5 minutes. be extra careful if using a stove from 1950.

i served this with cavatelli pasta and a tomato & basil sauce on the side. YUMMY!

here's a bad meal and why i am a sucker for packaging....


these spiral flank steaks look so pretty in the butcher case at giant eagle, but BLECH!

i am also a sucker for packaging and buy this POM juice even though it's way too expensive. i add it to diet ginger ale and it's pretty good. also, my friend amy tells me lemons are poopy and gross, & i just bought a huge bag! DAMMIT!