Veggie Outback Meal

With Joe being a vegetarian, I've had to be really creative when cooking. Although I could easily make pasta every night, I've really tried to branch out and experiment with all the veggie meat options out there...and at this point I would even dare to say I'm a little bit of an expert.

I've tried almost all of them and can honestly MOST of them are pretty damn good! Especially if you're creative in how you prepare them. Case in point:





The other night I experimented with some seasoned "chicken breasts" and "bacon" and remade an Outback classic - Alice Springs Chicken. Add a side of baked sweet potato fries and steamed broccoli and you've got a great meal!

Making Baby Food

I know I said I would post on this a million years ago, but this is the first really free moment I've had all week. Being back at work really slims down my free time, especially because I spend a good portion of the night before preparing for the next day so I don't forget anything or run late.

Anyway, here it is.

I decided to whip up some baby food for Nash's 2nd go at solid food. If you recall, we introduced him to some solid food at about 4 months, but quit soon after because he wasn't sleeping well and thought it might have been a digestive thing (it wasn't). Either way, we decided to wait to try again. I wanted to wait until his 5-month mark, but he seemed so interested in food, it was almost sad to deprive him. So I spent a few hours making him some yums (would have taken less time, but I dilly-dallied). I wanted to start him off with peas, since everyone said he should have green vegetables first.

I made all of the recipes using my favorite baby food book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.

I got some frozen peas from Target.

I put them, along with a small amount of water, into the microwave for a few minutes.

While the peas cooked and cooled, I started on the apples.  I used fuji apples,

since they are supposed to be pretty sweet.

 (Note:  this is for the microwave version...I usually do the stovetop 

version and will explain why later).

I cut the apples into quarters and then laid them cut side down 

to be microwaved (not shown).

Once the peas were cooled, I put them in the food processor 

along with some of the cooking water and pureed until smooth.

For the apples, I waited for them to cool, then peeled them and pureed along 

with some formula.  This is where I prefer the stovetop method.  It was 

difficult and very sticky to peel the apples once they were cooked and soft.  

The other method involves cutting and peeling first, then cooking with a 

small amount of water on the stove (checking levels often) until soft.  

Much less messy.

And this is the final product!  I also made sweet potatoes (just clean, 

prick with a fork, microwave, and puree with formula - easy!) and 

bananas (saute sliced bananas with a lil unsalted butter, then puree), 

but didn't snap photos of those.

By the way, he loved the peas!

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

Yum!! I just made this (with some minor alterations), and it was delicious!!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/cinnamon-baked-french-toast/


So much to post about...later!

Chili-Lime Corn on the Cobs

This one is super simple, but I wanted a post to test out my new navigation bar, so here it is!

First, start with ears of corn (you can use frozen, fresh, small, large, whatever).  I used these:

Image via

Cook according to directions (I made two). 

In a bowl big enough to fit your ears (mine were small, so  regular salad/cereal bowl worked for me), mix together the following:

1/4 cup lime juice

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp chili powder

Mix thoroughly, then add corn one at a time to bowl.  Be sure you roll each ear around several times to ensure it gets all nice and covered in the mixture.

Plate and enjoy!

Catching Up

I realize I have not posted anything in a long time!  I think we have been so busy trying to get out and do things that I am neglecting my more inactive activities, like blogging.

Today, the DiPinto grandparents came over to sprinkle some fertilizer on our lawn, but little man had just fallen asleep.  So sad when this happens because I know they only have so much time here with him before they head back up north.  So we made plans to get together tonight. 

Warhol and Photobooth attacked the sleeping baby!

So little man and I are hanging out alone today while Daddy works.  I spent the morning playing with his new toys and whipping up some new baby food.  Although he is too little to eat said food, I want to play around a bit before the actual time comes, so I know all the little tricks and roadblocks I might run into.  So far I have made the following:

• Brown rice cereal.   I tried this a few weeks ago by simply grinding the rice in the blender before cooking it up with some water.  I thought this came out a little too grainy though, and I even cooked it with waaay more water and for way longer than the recipe said.  I think this is due to my blender not getting the rice quite fine enough.  So, I bought a coffee/spice grinder the other day.  I still feel like there are some harder bits in there (compared to the super mushy rice cereal you buy at the store), but it's looking pretty good.
• Oatmeal.  I used the spice grinder to grind some of this up, but I did not cook it up.
• Apples.  This is pretty straight forward.  Steam apples on the stove for a bit, then puree.  Easy peasy.
• Nectarines.  I bought a bunch at Wal-mart yesterday because they were on sale and thought they would make great baby food.  So I peeled it, removed the core, and microwaved for about a minute.  Then I pureed.  It was delicious!!
• Bananas.  This was an interesting recipe in my book The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.  It said to saute a banana with a tablespoon on unsalted butter for two minutes, then mash or puree.  The smell, OMG...the taste, OMG.  I wish I was a baby so I could justify eating buttery bananas all day.

Photo from Amazon

 Can't wait to scout the farmer's market to find even more things for him (and me) to try!

Menu Planning Monday

Since I don't have much time before the baby wakes up (again), here is a quick rundown of what we ate last week:

Monday:  Chicken, rice, green beans
Tuesday:  Shrimp pasta with basil pesto
Wednesday:  Homemade Pizza
Thursday:  Chicken tacos
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  Chili's Take out
Sunday:  Breakfast for dinner (pancakes)

Here is my plan for this week:

Monday:  Pesto-crusted tilapia, risotto, corn on the cob
Tuesday:  Shrimp stirfry with brown rice
Wednesday:  Chicken, black bean, and corn enchiladas
Thursday:  Salmon, couscous, and broccoli
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  I have drill so think I will pick us up some takeout sushi on the way home
Sunday:  Drill again, so leftovers it is!

Menu Planning Monday

Like I mentioned in last week's post, we didn't really do much cooking.  Not sure why, but it was kind of a hectic week.  So without further ado, here is a breakdown of what we actually ate:

Monday:  Leftovers
Tuesday:  Leftovers
Wednesday:  Maple/brown sugar salmon, 4 cheese couscous, and yellow squash
Thursday:  Spaghetti squash with meatballs (him veggie, me turkey with spinach)
Friday:  Leftovers
Saturday:  Cream of chicken and orzo soup (veggie chicken)
Sunday:  Leftovers

This week is already turning out better...perhaps because we have begun our nightly routine with the little man, so everything is a little more organized.  Here's a breakdown of the plan:

Monday:  Grilled salmon and mahi (we split both), grilled eggplant and portabello mushrooms, and green beans
Tuesday:  Shrimp pasta with homemade basil pesto & tomatoes, asparagus, and an arugula and spinach salad with gorgonzola, pecans, and apples
Wednesday:  Homemade wheat crust pizza (four cheese with a tomato sauce)
Thursday:  Tacos
Friday: Free
Saturday: Unsure (have a wedding that night but only attending the ceremony, so....)

Just wanted to explain what "free" means on Fridays, in case any of you are wondering.  See, Joe always works on Friday nights and has to be in around 630 or so.  Combined with the fact that he has to get a delivery in the early afternoon and rarely eats lunch until he gets home around 330 or 4, means that he is never hungry for a regular dinner before work.  So I often just make myself something.  So, that's what "free" means...I'm free to make whatever!!

Menu Planning Monday

I'm a little behind in the blogging (life with a new baby), but I wanted to make sure I did all the entries for this week.   I also failed to write down exactly what we ate for dinner last week, but I know it strayed quite a bit from my plan as noted here.  But here is what I did write down:

Monday:  ?
Tuesday:  Joe's parents
Wednesday:  Mahi, sauteed spinach, ?
Thursday:  Veggie sloppy joes, corn on the cob
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  Cookout with family (chicken, steak, mahi) with rosemary potatoes, salad, and sauteed green beans
Sunday:  Italy Italy (he had linguine with red clam sauce and I had baked ravioli)

This week we aren't doing much better.  We've had some long, rough days with the baby, so we've had some thrown together dinners.  Here is a rundown:

Monday:  Leftovers
Tuesday:  Leftovers
Wednesday:  Maple-brown sugar salmon, four cheese & herb couscous, and yellow squash
Thursday:  Spaghetti squash and meatball (he had veggie, I had turkey and chicken)
Friday:  Free
Saturday:  Chicken and orzo soup and spinach salad
Sunday:  Leftovers

Next week I start working out again (got the green light from the doctor today!), so I am hoping to start eating better.  More on this in another post.

Menu Planning Monday

The last week was kind of disheveled when it came to meals, since we had a couple rough night AND Joe's parents are in town, so we tend to just head up to their house to eat yummy Italian food.  So I only ended up cooking three times.  Here is a rundown of our meals for last week:

Sunday:  Rigatoni with veggie chicken strips and broccoli in a basil cream sauce.  Not the healthiest, but tasty and quick.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday:  Pan-seared crusted Tilapia, asparagus risotto, and corn on the cob. 
Wednesday:  We had Salmon and Mahi with vegetables at Joe's parents' house.
Thursday:  I made orzo with shrimp and tomatoes, green beans.   This was delicious!
Friday:  Leftovers
Saturday:  Leftovers
Sunday:  Pizza.  We watched the football game with his parents.

This week I am going to try to do better, but his parents are still in town so some of my planned meals may fall to the wayside if we get together with them.  The upside of his mom cooking is that she always makes really healthy, delicious meals.  But here is my plan anyways:

Today:  We are doing our own thing.  Joe is eating leftover pasta and I cooked up a bunch of chicken breasts and added a microwaved sweet potato with cinnamon.
Tuesday: Mahi, couscous, and sauteed spinach.
Wednesday:  Veggie meat sloppy Joes with corn on the cob.
Thursday:  Veggie chicken and orzo "chicken noodle" soup and spinach salad.
Friday:  Joe works, so this is usually a free day.  I will likely eat some mini turkey meatballs I made with some brown rice and veggies.
Saturday:  Pasta with shrimp, corn, and avocado.
Sunday:  Spaghetti squash and meatballs.

Thanksgiving Fit for a Vegetarian

Thanksgiving is always a tricky one for use for two reasons:  (1) Joe always works as Thanksgiving is one of their busiest nights of the year and (2) Joe doesn't eat turkey, hates cranberry sauce, and doesn't like anything pumpkin.  So....what to do.  I obviously still want to celebrate it since it is one holiday that always reminds me of family and food, cooking and celebrating.  So I set out to create a Thanksgiving meal for us non-meat eaters.

I began with a salmon with puff pastry and pesto recipe I got from Giada's book that Sandra got me (she always gets me these signed cookbooks!).  I figured it sounded fancy enough to make the meal special.  Then I knew we had to have stuffing, so I made one with apples, sauteed mushrooms, and rosemary mixed in.  Finally, I didn't want to add another carb and no vegetables, so I decided on making my cauliflower mashed "potatoes."  I had made these before and Joe liked them, so I knew we were set. 

Yum-o!!  After we stuffed ourselves, Joe headed off to work and I settled onto the couch with my mac and a steamy mug of homemade peppermint hot chocolate.  It was just delightful.  In case you want to know how I made that, here's the recipe I used:

1 c skim milk (I know they say full-fat is better, but I don't drink the stuff so this is what I had)
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 oz each of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. 

Bring everything to a simmer over low heat and stir until the chocolate melts.  Serve with whipped cream and crushed peppermints.  De-lish!  And because I used some sweeter chocolates and not plain cocoa, I didn't add any sugar or sweetener to it, but you could do it that way too (works well if you want to use splenda or stevia for a sugar-free option).

Midweek Breakfast Baking

Lately I've really embraced my role as wife (housewife, currently) and have been making a ton of creative new recipes for Joe to try (mostly for dinner, as that's his only consistent meal of the day).  So I thought I would share these recipes with you as I make them, complete with my own personal review, in case you want to try them yourself.

My biggest challenge is always how to make meat dishes vegetarian-friendly, since my husband only eats fish and seafood.  Thanks to the plethora of fake meat products out there now, I have been really successful in recreating some of my favorite foods using soy- or wheat-based veggie products.  Keep in mind you can always make the recipes using regular old meat too.

Yesterday I started out making these pumpkin cinnamon rolls I found (think it was on Make It and Love it, but I can't find the link anymore).  The recipe comes from another site too.  I started them yesterday and finished them this morning (they take a while to rise), and just polished off one for breakfast (may need to make that two soon).

Here is a shot of my finished product:

Now here's my review:
Pretty tasty!  Does take quite some time (as I am guilty of using older yeast, so it took way more than the hour listed on the recipe for my dough to double in size).  Also, I liked the idea of including some wheat flour in there to boost the health content, but I found I actually tasted it (which may slightly deter my not-so-healthy husband).  And yes, the pumpkin is rather subtle (again, so as to hopefully trick my husband, who does not like anything pumpkin).  Also, I did not add cardamom or cloves to the filling (because I just didn't have them), but I think it turned out great anyways.  Overall rating though: 8 out of 10.