With our little family back under the same roof, it's time to get serious about a meal plan for the week. No more restaurant food for awhile, please!
Monday - GF pizza loaded with veggies
Tuesday - dinner with friends: a compilation of garden-grown veggies, chicken, and quinoa, with homemade salsas and two kinds of tortilla chips (sweet potato and chocolate, in case you wondered)
Wednesday - GF pesto pasta with chicken and tomato-feta salad
Thursday - breakfast dinner
Friday - TBA
Saturday - leftover beef & wild rice soup
I do have some recipes and pictures to post, I promise. Soon! But probably not between 9 and 10pm tonight, because I will be engrossed in fall TV premiers! One more reason to loooove this season.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Not MIA, just technologically challenged!
I'm still here, with lots of potential blog posts banging around in my head. But I couldn't log in to Blogger for awhile! Frustrating.
This weekend The H and I are hanging out in our city's downtown, playing tourists and celebrating our anniversary. I'm excited to show you some of the treasures we've found (coffee and cupcakes, to name a few), and to get back onto a clean and fresh meal plan on Monday. There are some fantastic restaurants around us, and we have taken full advantage, but it's certainly not what I'm used to three meals a day!
We're going to start the day with a run along the river tomorrow, which should get the week off on a good note. He and I don't often run together, but we did when I first started running, and it's always a nice change in my routine to have him along.
This weekend The H and I are hanging out in our city's downtown, playing tourists and celebrating our anniversary. I'm excited to show you some of the treasures we've found (coffee and cupcakes, to name a few), and to get back onto a clean and fresh meal plan on Monday. There are some fantastic restaurants around us, and we have taken full advantage, but it's certainly not what I'm used to three meals a day!
We're going to start the day with a run along the river tomorrow, which should get the week off on a good note. He and I don't often run together, but we did when I first started running, and it's always a nice change in my routine to have him along.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Mayo-free potato salad
In an inadvertent last hurrah to summer, we ended up with a picnic-themed meal Sunday night. The H grilled up our last package of hamburgers from our half-of-a-half-of-a-cow purchase, and I got to work on side dishes.
When I first started eating clean in May/June 2009, a mayo-free potato salad is one of the things I found myself making often. We had summer birthday parties and the requisite cookouts with friends to attend, and I wanted to bring something that I would feel comfortable eating, but that would still allow me to feel like I was participating in the spirit of the season... goofy? Maybe. But everywhere I took my mayo-less taters, everyone said how refreshing it was. I even made it for the little guy's first birthday party.
This isn't that exact recipe, but it's what I could come up with on a lazy summer Sunday afternoon.
Mayo-free Potato Salad
a Clean Eating Machine original, inspired by my mom's recipe
10 small-medium red potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed into bite-size pieces
1/2 regular cucumber, mostly peeled (I like a little green for color)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped finely
1/4 to 1/2 cup jarred dill pickle juice
1/4 cup diced green onion, green parts only
2-4 hard boiled egg whites
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Kosher (or sea) salt and black pepper to taste
1. Place cubed potatoes into a large pot and fill with water until just covered. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Boil 15-20 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients. Place diced sweet onion in a large bowl.
3. Drain cooked potatoes and add to bowl with sweet onion. Pour pickle juice over the potatoes while warm, and stir to combine. Let stand long enough to stop steaming. There should be a bit of juice in the bottom of the bowl, but you don't want the potatoes to be swimming in it.
4. Add cucumber, green onion, a drizzle of olive oil, some red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in chopped egg whites. Serve cold or at room temperature.
We had a fresh sliced farmers market melon and a not-your-typical green salad to round out the meal. I'll share that one with you another day! Even though summer is coming to an end (how did that happen so fast?!) this makes a great addition to any party/picnic table.
When I first started eating clean in May/June 2009, a mayo-free potato salad is one of the things I found myself making often. We had summer birthday parties and the requisite cookouts with friends to attend, and I wanted to bring something that I would feel comfortable eating, but that would still allow me to feel like I was participating in the spirit of the season... goofy? Maybe. But everywhere I took my mayo-less taters, everyone said how refreshing it was. I even made it for the little guy's first birthday party.
This isn't that exact recipe, but it's what I could come up with on a lazy summer Sunday afternoon.
Mayo-free Potato Salad
a Clean Eating Machine original, inspired by my mom's recipe
10 small-medium red potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed into bite-size pieces
1/2 regular cucumber, mostly peeled (I like a little green for color)
1/2 sweet onion, chopped finely
1/4 to 1/2 cup jarred dill pickle juice
1/4 cup diced green onion, green parts only
2-4 hard boiled egg whites
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Kosher (or sea) salt and black pepper to taste
1. Place cubed potatoes into a large pot and fill with water until just covered. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Boil 15-20 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. Meanwhile, prepare other ingredients. Place diced sweet onion in a large bowl.
3. Drain cooked potatoes and add to bowl with sweet onion. Pour pickle juice over the potatoes while warm, and stir to combine. Let stand long enough to stop steaming. There should be a bit of juice in the bottom of the bowl, but you don't want the potatoes to be swimming in it.
4. Add cucumber, green onion, a drizzle of olive oil, some red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in chopped egg whites. Serve cold or at room temperature.
We had a fresh sliced farmers market melon and a not-your-typical green salad to round out the meal. I'll share that one with you another day! Even though summer is coming to an end (how did that happen so fast?!) this makes a great addition to any party/picnic table.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Several summery salads
At the end of last week, I was feeling the pull of the farmers market. Crisp colorful vegetables, juicy sweet fruits, locally-made foods just waiting for me to take them home... After dropping The H and the little guy off in the morning, I meandered down there. Incidentally, I also needed an idea for dinner. As I wandered around, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of local food, inspiration struck: summer salads!
I was a little worried about offering a selection of salads to The H for dinner; as much as I love to graze on multiple dishes and don't mind not having meat on my plate, he is very much a "meat + veggie + starch = meal" kind of guy. He usually doesn't mind (too much) when I branch out, and he is starting to as well, but for some reason my mental lack of direction at the beginning of my trip made me wonder how this would be received.
The salads I came up with were tomato-mozzarella, quinoa with balsamic grilled vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, onion), and cucumber-sweet onion. At the last minute I remembered an uncooked mushroom-swiss bratwurst from Ken's in the fridge, so that was added to the grill with the balsamic veggies.
When I was growing up, my mom would make a cucumber-onion salad similar to this. I could never get used to eating slices of raw onion... I *wanted* to like it, but I just never quite warmed up to it. Since then I've tried making it myself, playing with the types of onions and the dressings I put on them. This one was probably one of my favorites--half of a cucumber from my mom's garden, half of a local sweet onion, kosher salt and black pepper, a little bit of olive oil from the co-op, and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. I sweetened it up with a sprinkle of evaporated cane juice.
Here is what the table looked like when we sat down:
Know what?
There were no leftovers, aside from a single portion of plain quinoa. Summery salad success!
I was a little worried about offering a selection of salads to The H for dinner; as much as I love to graze on multiple dishes and don't mind not having meat on my plate, he is very much a "meat + veggie + starch = meal" kind of guy. He usually doesn't mind (too much) when I branch out, and he is starting to as well, but for some reason my mental lack of direction at the beginning of my trip made me wonder how this would be received.
The salads I came up with were tomato-mozzarella, quinoa with balsamic grilled vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, onion), and cucumber-sweet onion. At the last minute I remembered an uncooked mushroom-swiss bratwurst from Ken's in the fridge, so that was added to the grill with the balsamic veggies.
When I was growing up, my mom would make a cucumber-onion salad similar to this. I could never get used to eating slices of raw onion... I *wanted* to like it, but I just never quite warmed up to it. Since then I've tried making it myself, playing with the types of onions and the dressings I put on them. This one was probably one of my favorites--half of a cucumber from my mom's garden, half of a local sweet onion, kosher salt and black pepper, a little bit of olive oil from the co-op, and a splash of white balsamic vinegar. I sweetened it up with a sprinkle of evaporated cane juice.
Here is what the table looked like when we sat down:
Know what?
There were no leftovers, aside from a single portion of plain quinoa. Summery salad success!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Samosa addendum
Yesterday I reheated two of the samosas for lunch. In a 400* oven for 10-15 minutes, they crisped up nicely and the filling was piping hot.
I did mix up a quick little dip for them using Greek yogurt, a dash of Sriracha, and some dried cumin. It was a delightful combination of cool and spicy, and it complemented the hot-sweet samosa filling just right.
Enjoy!
I did mix up a quick little dip for them using Greek yogurt, a dash of Sriracha, and some dried cumin. It was a delightful combination of cool and spicy, and it complemented the hot-sweet samosa filling just right.
Enjoy!
Sweet potato samosas
Indian food, or even Indian-inspired food, is probably the number-one thing I cannot get The H on board with. He'll put up with my recurrent attempts to sneak curry powder into things, but that's about it. The fact that I cannot find gluten-free phyllo dough (or fillo, depending on the packaging) releases him from the obligation of even a single bite. You're welcome, honey.
This recipe also gave me an excuse to use my new garam masala, courtesy of a trip to Penzey's when we were in Connecticut.
Sweet Potato Samosas
from Clean Eating Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 7
makes 12 samosas (serving size: 2 samosas)
1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups cauliflower stems and pieces (one small head)
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/8 tsp sea salt, divided
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
12 sheets frozen whole-wheat phyllo dough, thawed (my store did not have whole wheat)
Olive oil cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 400*. Bring a 3-qt pot of water to boil over high heat. Add sweet potatoes and cook for five minutes. Add cauliflower and cook for an additional ten minutes, until vegetables are fork-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small saute pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes or until soft and slightly browned. Set aside.
3. With a potato masher, mash potato-cauliflower mixture until smooth. Mix in onion, peas, cilantro, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, curry powder, garam masala, and cayenne.
4. Assemble samosas... this part took me a while to figure out, but once I got it down (two lumpy victims later) it was effortless to reproduce.
Place 1 phyllo sheet on a cutting board and mist with cooking spray. Fold in half lengthwise and mist with spray again.
Place 1/3 cup potato mixture at top left corner. Fold corner over filling to opposite side, making a triangle.
Fold triangle over to meet straight side, then up to the top again.
Continue folding over until you reach the end of the phyllo sheet.
Repeat steps with remaining filling and phyllo.
5. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray--or use a sheet of parchment paper--and place samosas on sheet. Brush tops with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
My two folding failures made their way to my plate for lunch, along with some cilantro-lime quinoa and kale chips. While I was convinced that two wouldn't be enough, they were plenty filling.
This recipe also gave me an excuse to use my new garam masala, courtesy of a trip to Penzey's when we were in Connecticut.
Sweet Potato Samosas
from Clean Eating Magazine, Volume 4, Issue 7
makes 12 samosas (serving size: 2 samosas)
1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups cauliflower stems and pieces (one small head)
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/8 tsp sea salt, divided
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
12 sheets frozen whole-wheat phyllo dough, thawed (my store did not have whole wheat)
Olive oil cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 400*. Bring a 3-qt pot of water to boil over high heat. Add sweet potatoes and cook for five minutes. Add cauliflower and cook for an additional ten minutes, until vegetables are fork-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. In a small saute pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, 5 minutes or until soft and slightly browned. Set aside.
4. Assemble samosas... this part took me a while to figure out, but once I got it down (two lumpy victims later) it was effortless to reproduce.
Place 1 phyllo sheet on a cutting board and mist with cooking spray. Fold in half lengthwise and mist with spray again.
Place 1/3 cup potato mixture at top left corner. Fold corner over filling to opposite side, making a triangle.
Fold triangle over to meet straight side, then up to the top again.
5. Mist a baking sheet with cooking spray--or use a sheet of parchment paper--and place samosas on sheet. Brush tops with remaining 2 teaspoons oil and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
When I have these for leftovers, I will look for a dipping sauce recipe. The flavors are great together, but I felt they were missing *something* like a tangy yogurt dressing that would really push them to the "fantastic!" category. This recipe is pretty labor-intensive, not one I would consider for a quick weeknight meal unless I was planning to use leftovers.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Weekly meal plan
In no particular order, here's what will be made (or eaten) in my kitchen this week:
Pesto pasta
Gluten-free pizza
Sweet potato samosas
Taco bowl with leftover cilantro-lime quinoa
Chicken-salsa-rice with black beans (slow cooker)
Teriyaki salmon from Clean Eating Magazine, with brown rice
Salt and pepper shrimp from the latest Clean Eating Magazine
Homemade chicken nuggets to freeze for an easy little guy meal
Pesto pasta
Gluten-free pizza
Sweet potato samosas
Taco bowl with leftover cilantro-lime quinoa
Chicken-salsa-rice with black beans (slow cooker)
Teriyaki salmon from Clean Eating Magazine, with brown rice
Salt and pepper shrimp from the latest Clean Eating Magazine
Homemade chicken nuggets to freeze for an easy little guy meal
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