Melissa's Cooking!

Ok…I’M SO SORRY it’s been forever for a post. I have no good excuse, except for laziness I’ve cooked an okay amount, but really haven’t felt that creative in the cooking of new things lately. We have the typical how we steam particular veggies, or sauté other veggies…or roast potatoes. So it really wouldn’t have been anything new new to post here. (Although, I’ve made a REALLY good chicken breast recipe a couple times within the past couple of months…we have more chicken breast from ‘the farm’ (read below), that I’ll have to post about when we make it again soon…YES, I’ve eaten chicken a couple of times, but only because it was a happy chicken and was fed well

Over the summer, we belonged to a C.S.A. (community supported agriculture). The positives were that every week, we got a loaf of bread, dozen eggs (protein and 8 fruits and veggies. Never lacked in the fruits and veggie department in our household. However, we should have found something closer to where we live, because every Thursday…from the time we would drive from work in town, clear out to the farm and back home, it was about 1-1/2 hours in the car   So that kind of made us dread going there as the summer went on. Who wants to drive that much after working an 8-hour day?  Sometimes the veggies or fruits, we just weren’t in the mood for, so we may not have eaten everything. A couple times we were out of town, and lost out on that prepaid food. But all in all…I felt great about supporting a local farm. Probably won’t do next year, although I highly recommend anyone trying it at least. It’s a good thing. We’ll just continue to support our local grocery store ‘Roots‘ as we always do.

Lentil and Quinoa Stew

OKAY….so I did make this REALLY GOOD stew yesterday. Very hearty (yet light and nutritious!) and perfect for the chilly Fall weather. It originally started out as a recipe for a “Pinto Bean and Barley Stew,” but I realized that the barley I had in a storage container was probably a little too dated too use, so I used quinoa. And I felt like using lentils instead of pinto beans (more protein!)  So…it became my own (But you can totally use pinto beans and/or barley instead of lentils or quinoa

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 1 TBS of EV olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup quinoa (I used Traditional, but you could totally use Red Quinoa)
• 7 cups vegetable low-sodium broth
• 1 can of lentil beans (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups)
• 1 cup salsa (I used mild Muir Glen, but you can use whatever you want, however spiciness you prefer)

Spices:

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

Method:

Sauté the onion in EV olive oil for a few minutes until the onion is a little translucent. Add the carrots and garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. Add the vegetable broth and quinoa, stirring in the bay leaf and the rest of the spices as well. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover for 15 minutes. Stir in the salsa and lentils. Cover and keep on simmering for as long as you would like. (The longer it stews, the longer the flavors can work into each other. So it’s especially good the next day.)

Once you’re ready to eat, serve with a dollop of sour cream, some Parmesan cheese and some yummy gourmet bread on the side.

There probably are about 8 servings. Perhaps less if you love this as much as we did ENJOY!!!!

Creamy Mac & Cheese

I had a hankering for Mac & Cheese the other day. But how many times have we all resorted to the stuff in the box??! Um, not anymore!!! I looked for recipes online, but most of what I found had too many ingredients. Too much to it. All I wanted was simple. I wanted to use pasta, some butter and gourmet cheese…so I decided to just wing it and do it how I think I know how to and it turned out exactly what I had in mind!

Mac & Cheese Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
(I cooked enough for 2-3 servings, but make enough for what you need and wing the amount of ingredients like I did…)
• pasta
• 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 TBS of butter
• 2 TBS of milk
• Sea salt and pepper

Prepare pasta as directed. Once pasta is drained, return to pot on warm burner. Add butter, milk, cheese, salt and pepper and stir until all is melted…and perfect and creamy!

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots

So in addition to Mac & Cheese, I needed a couple other parts to this meal. Dave suggested Salmon, so he prepared the Salmon (which how to make is described here: http://www.melissascooking.com/2009/09/01/broiledsalmondish/)

Veggies were also needed to round out this meal, so I healthy steamed fresh green beans and carrots. I’ve described how to healthy steam before, but I’ll describe again…

Steamed Green Beans & Carrots Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• Fresh Green Beans (about 20-25 beans)
• Fresh carrots (about 4-5)

(Mediterranean dressing which includes…)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Healthy steam your veggies! (This is a gentle way to prepare your veggies to enhance their flavor, bring out their color, make them tender and preserves most of its ingredients.) Chop off the ends to your fresh picked green beans. Peel and chop your carrots up to about .5-1 inch chunks. Bring steaming water to a boil in your steamer pot. Add your beans and carrots. Cover and steam for 5 minutes…adding the garlic to veggies for the last 2 minutes of steaming. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the remaining Mediterranean dressing ingredients while veggies are still hot. They give you the amounts for the dressing, but I wing it….do what you want to what you like!

Enjoy!

First of all, I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday season and best wishes for the coming New Year. I apologize I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks. I’ve made this risotto a couple times, and also have taken it easy by making recipes that I’ve already posted…so except for my delay in posting this, I haven’t had anything else to really post in awhile.

So, I made this risotto a few weeks ago, and my husband said this was the best thing I’ve ever made. And I can’t lie: this dish is VERY delicious.

It’s risotto, so that means that it does take a good bit of time to make, and with this particular recipe, it takes extra time for roasting tomatoes beforehand. So save this for a weekend to make and enjoy. If it’s the 2 of your, you’ll have plenty of leftovers. If there’s a family, there will be plenty for the meal.

There are 3 parts to this: Baked tomatoes, a tomato topping and the risotto. The timing of preparing each part is tricky. You want to start with roasting the tomatoes (which takes an hour, not including prep time), stove-top cook the tomato topping (which takes about 40 minutes), as well as making the risotto…which requires the baked tomatoes (which, again, takes an hour in itself to bake). So, again, start with baking the tomatoes, then get the tomato topping going, then by that time the roasted tomatoes should be about done and you should be ready to prep and start the risotto portion.

For the BAKED TOMATOS – Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 pound tomatoes (about 8 small beefsteak)
• 1/4 tsp each sea salt and coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 clove garlic, sliced Goodfellas thin

For the TOMATO TOPPING – Ingredients include:
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• pinch of salt

For the RICE- Ingredients include:
• 6-8 cups  reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. SO, to start, you want to BAKE THE TOMATOES for an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the beefsteak tomatoes in half and lay them face-up on a sheet pan. Sprinkle them with the sea salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. Lay a slice or 2 of garlic on top of each tomato half. Bake the tomatoes on the middle rack of the oven, uncovered until they’re a bit grilled-looking and soft and yummy (about 1 hour). Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cook a bit. Chop the tomatoes roughly and reserve them in a bowl, along with as much liquid as you can retain.

2. After you get the roasted tomatoes in the oven, move on to the TOMATO TOPPING. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in a pan, then add the olive oil and salt. Cook this over low heat until the oil is bubbly, the tomatoes are soft and the mixture looks like a chunky sauce. I preferred cooking this for about 40 minutes (while the risotto cooks).

3. Now for the RICE/RISOTTO portion of the dish. Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes to the onion-butter mixture and stir to combine.

Add the Arborio rice to the onion-butter mixture and mix well, so all the rice grains are coated, about 1 minute. Add the white wine to the rice mixture and continue stirring constantly to ensure that none of the rice sticks, until the wine has been completely absorbed and the rice is soft but not sticky, about 1 minute.

Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Add the chopped BAKED TOMATOES with their liquid. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter and 1/3 cup Parmesan. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan. Add some rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well, so the risotto becomes rich and well combined. If the risotto is too thick for your taste, add a little leftover stock or water.

Serve in individual bowls, topped with the TOMATO MIXTURE and a little more Parmesan cheese and rosemary for garnish on top.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

This soup is very tasty and light. It’s pretty quick to make and has lots of nutrients in it.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 (32-ounce) box reduced-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups packed chopped kale***
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian-Style Diced Tomatoes
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• two large carrots, peeled and sliced

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add broth, kale and tomatoes and fresh carrots and cover. Cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Add beans and heat thoroughly. Serve hot.

Add fresh Parmesan cheese and extra salt if wanted. Enjoy!

***I’d like to add a note after having the leftover soup sit overnight in the fridge. You might want to add only enough Kale that you will be eating the evening that you cook up the soup. If you have leftover Kale, it will turn brown on you and then it’s just gross to look at, not to mention, I’m sure all the nutrients are probably gone.

My suggestion: Add only the amount of Kale that you will need for your first batch, and then if you have leftovers for the next night, cook up new Kale for that next batch.

With the sweet potatoes and apple cider stewed together with the juicy diced tomatoes and veggie broth, and with the addition of Italian sausage, it seriously tastes what Fall should taste like. A bit on the sweeter side, but again, very seasonal and delicious. I found this recipe online, made my own adjustments and it turned out to be super yummy. Needs a tad of tweaking, but what I made is quite good!

Again, like the Burger Soup, feel free to use animal sausage…but I used the Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages…which added a nice flavor to the overall soup.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 box of Veggie Broth (4 cups)
• 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1.5 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
•1 large (or 2 small) sweet potatoes chopped in small cubes)
• 2 cups apple cider

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes…Enjoy!

Note: This is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day

This is a favorite of ours…I found the recipe at Whole Foods’ web site and have made it several times. Takes a little prep time, then time in the oven (to bake the pie crust). It’s very filling and nutritious with all the veggies used!

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you buy organic!!!)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup canned soybeans
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup sweet corn (from about 1 large ear)
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (which I didn’t use because they didn’t have an organic one at the store…)
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 2 frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed (I used an organic whole wheat crust.)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used shredded mild chedder cheese for this pie.)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soybeans, carrots, onions, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, and spinach and cook until tender-crisp. Add garlic, nutmeg, salt, pepper and pecans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the flavors blend. Set vegetable mixture aside.

Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with one of the prepared crusts. Layer the vegetables with the cheese in the pan, beginning with the cheese and ending with the vegetables. Top with remaining crust, seal edges with a fork and trim off excess pie dough. With a sharp knife, poke vent holes in the top of the crust. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown. Set aside for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

This lasts us each for 2 dinner nights and lunch the next day.

ALSO…although there were plenty of vegetables served within this dish, I still had a hankering for a side of…

Steamed Kale

I used (for 2 servings):
• 2 stems of kale (chopped)
• Mediterranean dressing
— Extra virgin olive oil
— lemon juice
— 1 clove of garlic minced
— salt and pepper

Prepare your steamer pot. Steam the kale for no more than 5 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Toss with the Mediterranean dressing and enjoy!

This is a recipe that I came up with and it’s a one that we love. I’ll make this often cause it’s easy and good and nutritious! Quinoa, if you’ve never had it, is really good by itself, but adds a good texture to soups, stews and chili. Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source, with it’s protein content being very high (12%–18%)…good for the vegetarians!

Ingredients I use:
• 1 cup of quinoa (I use Ancient Harvest Inca Red Quinoa)
• 2 cups of reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 1 jar of organic salsa (I use the black bean and corn salsa from Roots)
• 15oz (can) organic black beans
• 15oz (can) organic corn
• 32oz (can) organic diced tomatoes
• seasonings to include: cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• organic blue chips
• organic low-fat sour cream (optional)
• guacamole (I like to buy from whole foods, or you could make fresh) (optional)
• organic mix of mexican shredded cheese (optional)

First I get the quinoa cooking. I bring to a boil the veggie broth with the quinoa. Once boiling, simmer for 15 minutes, covered. (You know when the quinoa is done when the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it like al dente pasta.)

As the quinoa is cooking, start heating up in a larger pot, the salsa, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes. I sprinkle in the cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper…adding not too much, but just as much as I see fit. Stir together and let that heat up on medium-low heat.

Once the quinoa is done, (drain the little bit of liquid that may be leftover, and) add that to the pot of everything else. Stir together.

I serve it in a bowl with cheese on top to melt and with the blue chips on the side. Scooping the chili/cheese with the chips and dipping that all in with sour cream and/or guacamole…..YUMMMMMMMMY!!!!! I’ve made this for a family gathering before, and it was a complete hit….so easy to make and SO DELICIOUS!

If you are making this for just yourself and your significant other, you will have leftovers for the next day’s lunch and dinner…but I’m sure is plenty for a family of 4 or more

Sunday, September 20, I made Barley Soup with Seasonal Vegetables. I made this several times now and when I do this, you know it’s gotta be a good dish to make . I got this recipe out of a book, my favorite 2nd cousin got me last year, called How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman. You can use pretty much whatever vegetables that you are in the mood for, but thinking environmentally friendly-wise, use the vegetables that are in season/local.

Ingredients I used:
• 2 TBS of neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn (I didn’t have this, so I just used extra virgin olive oil…)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• basil, dried or fresh chopped
• about 2 lbs of root vegetables. For my vegetables, I used
— 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ dice
— 4 stocks of celery, sliced
— 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
— can of corn drained
— 1 zucchini, cut into cubes
— 4 carrots, diced

I used my big cooking pot. Put the oil in the pot and let it heat up over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, sirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Add the barley and cook, stirring constantly, until the barley starts to toast and stick, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so the liquid simmers, cover, and cook until the barley begins to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high  and add the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer again, cover and cook until the vegetables and barley are very tender, another 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in some basil. Serve in some bowls, grab some yummy bread to dip in your soup and taste this yummy goodness!

Oh, this makes about 10 servings, so if you’re just a household of 2 like us, then be ready to eat for the next 2 days for both your lunches and dinners!

I apologize for skipping last week (week of Sept. 13).

On Sunday, I made a soup that just wasn’t that great – Bread Soup. It was ok, but I have made better. I’m sure there are better recipes out there for Bread Soup, so until I find it and make it, I think I will leave that recipe out for now.

HOWEVER, for the bread soup, I did make croutons from scratch, which was cool.
Croutons ingredients:
• yummy gourmet bread, sliced
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

Basically, you heat up your oil, with the garlic, in a pan large enough for a couple/few of your slices of bread…and similar to making grilled cheese (only without the 2nd slice of bread and cheese), you leave the bread on its first side for about 5 minutes until it browns. Flip it over and wait for the other side to brown. Take it out of the pan, let it cool. (I placed on paper towels to soak some of the grease off.) And you have croutons! (Something to keep in mind though, if you’re browning a lot of bread, be sure to keep the bottom of your pan moist with more olive so you don’t burn your pan or the bread.)

Another day last week, I also made a Mexican Burrito with Eggs.
Ingredients:
• Wraps (Organic/whole wheat are what I prefer to use)
• Organic eggs
• Salsa of your choice
• Organic black beans
• Organic Cheese – Mexican mix of shredded cheese

I heated up the salsa and black beans together. (Keep in mind, when you used canned beans of any sort, ALWAYS get rid of that extra liquid in there and rinse them off well, it will help decrease the farting later )
As that was heating up, I scrambled some eggs, flavoring with salt, pepper and basil. Grabbing from another recipe, here is how I made my scrambled eggs once again.

Heat up some butter or extra virgin olive oil in your stainless steel skillet. Crack open your eggs into your skillet (watch out for broken shells!), add your seasonings and mix. As they begin cooking, stir as needed to get them good and scrambled. I prefer my eggs really cooked, but you can keep them cooking as long as needed to get them to your liking.

Once your eggs are done, layer the salsa/bean mix, cheese and eggs in your wrap and wah-lah!  You can serve with organic blue chips on the side, with extra salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream also on the side. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!

I made other stuff too (such as the Kale Salad again), but these couple were the things worth mentioning that may be of interest to you readers.

Wednesday, September 9, for dinner, I prepared a breakfast-for-dinner meal and it turned out quite delicious. It was a little different tasting than what we are used to, but definitely a good different taste. Typically I prefer my potatoes roasted and I think the ingredients that I prepared totally could have been roasted, but I followed the cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook where you pretty much sauté everything.

Zucchini and Potato Hash ingredients included:
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, cut into half moons
• 2 or 3 medium (or 5 small) red or yellow potatoes, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 large zucchini, sliced also into thin rounds
• 1/2 bunch green kale, chopped small (although, if I were to make again, I’d chop it larger than I did)
• 1 to 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 garlic clove minced
• sea salt to taste
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

Scrambled Eggs ingredients:
• 3 organic, cage-free eggs (or as many as you want)
• I used Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to season my eggs, but definitely use the seasonings that you prefer

First, I prepared all the vegetables to be used. For the potatoes and zucchini, I used my mandolin slicer (DEFINITELY using the hand guard at all times…), but if you don’t have one, thinly slice the vegetables using your veggie knife. Once I had all the veggies ready to go, in a large stainless steel skillet (11-inch works well), I heated the olive oil over medium heat.

Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and stir into the onions. Put a cover on the skillet and let cook for about 6 minutes. I noticed that my potatoes wanted to stick to the bottom of my skillet, so keep stirring them as much as you need to so that they don’t. They say to add any necessary water to prevent burning, which I did, and I think that helped a little.

(See below to get your eggs cooking.)

Then add the zucchini slices, kale, thyme, garlic and salt and gently mix. Put the cover back on and cook a few minutes more until the zucchini and kale are tender, stirring occasionally. Add salt as you like.

As for the eggs, you may want to start them going after you have the potatoes in the skillet. Heat up some butter or extra virgin olive oil in your stainless steel skillet. Crack open your eggs into your skillet (watch out for broken shells!), add your seasonings and mix. As they begin cooking, stir as needed to get them good and scrambled. I prefer my eggs really cooked, but you can keep them cooking as long as needed to get them to your liking.

I also toasted up some rosemary bread because I LOVE eggs and buttered toast. So after everything was done cooking, I dished out everything onto the plate and enjoyed! Again, very very yummy. Definitely worth cooking again. (Oh, and we had plenty of leftovers, enough for lunch the next day )