In a recipe rut

I've been in a bit of a rut lately. I've been working WAY too many 2nd shifts which throws a wrench into it all. So the diet has been suffering to say the least. I haven't gained any weight -- mostly because I'm staying active, but I'm no longer losing -- *insert :( .

After getting my hair done on Tuesday, my future sister in-law gave me the real simple magazine and perusing that was enough to spark some cooking energy! Thursday, the fiance and I went grocery shopping and filled our cart full of good food and things to make the bunch of new recipes I found!

Tonight's meal will be one from the magazine: Roasted Tilapia with potatoes and lemon

Upcoming recipes:

• Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf with cranberries
• Green Beans with Bacon Vinagrette
• Roasted Leg of Lamb with Carrots and Honey Mint sauce
• Not to mention countless ideas for sandwhiches and quick food....

I'm hungry! Hope my tilapia finishes soon!

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What's for Dinner?

Whoa! It's been a while!!! Where have I been?? Have I been cooking?

Well, I've been working a lot of 2nd shifts and watching my pantry food supply dwindle so cooking had definitely fallen by the wayside. But never fear, friends, I have returned. Because of the downgraded diet, I had definitely noticed the effects on my body. I haven't gained or lost much weight, but my energy and how I feel has suffered. So I'm newly returned from the grocery store, have a well stocked pantry and am ready to take on a cooking challenge!

Today's recipe is for Baked Walleye. I'm pairing it with salads and a Knorr Pasta side: Broccoli and Cheddar pasta. Nothing too highly gourmet but I'm cooking it and it's not pizza, so WIN!

I found the recipe by a google search: http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-walleye-69347

my modifications:

I cut down on the lemon juice to 2tsp instead of 1 T and added some dried tarragon to the mix. I omitted the mushrooms and also added some garlic to my piece of fish.

Initial taste is a bit bland actually. I may try seasoning it some more....

Seasoning didn't really do anything for this. It was just way too bland. Will not be making it again. Consider this link deleted from from my bookmarks!

soup!

The weather has turned cooler. This instantly put me into a soup mood. I have big plans for fall and winter to try my hand at various soups. Today, I return to an old/new favorite: Wild Rice and Chicken soup.

I didn't grow up eating soup... well at least not real soup. IMHO, Campbell's Chicken noodle concentrated soup DOES NOT count. If it comes in a can and all you do is add water, Nope. Doesn't count. It's a meal, but real soup involves real work. Things like fall harvest veggies, hand pulled chicken, local wild rice. Is your mouth watering yet? I know mine is.

I first was exposed to a good wild rice soup at a local soup place called Eddingtons. After that, I had amazing soup at my fiance's parent's house and since then it definitely a comfort food. I've tried my hand at a couple other recipes but none really come close to the splendor that is this recipe. Will I share it? Only by request. I'm not sure where his dad got the recipe so it's not really mine to share with the public.

I can share that this fall's soup includes good late summer/fall veggies: carrots, peppers, celery. And of course, wild rice (although mine is from a bag so probably not a recent harvest by any means). There's a reason you crave soups like this during cool weather. I even double checked that these were in fact late summer/early fall produce items. I've been reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver so things like harvest times are of particular interest right now.

I sautee'd those veggies in butter. Pre-cooked the rice in chicken broth. Added some flour to the butter sautee'd veggies but did not create a roux and then added more chicken broth. The final touches were adding the cooked rice, the chicken and the cream. That's as much detail I feel I can go into.

For the diet concious: THIS IS NOT YOUR RECIPE! This is a treat indeed cooking with real butter and real half and half. No reduced fat in this recipe. It's one of those times when I feel you should indulge in the real stuff but enjoy in moderation!

I will, though, share some pictures of my comfort food:

Fiance's dad's recipe has mushrooms and onion in it as well. I omitted today because 1) I strongly dislike mushrooms 2) I forgot to buy an onion. The soup tastes just fine without those!

Ok... now time to feast upon my creation....

What's for Dinner?

After a hiatus due to a very busy August, I cooked tonight.

Tonight's menu:

Homemade garlic mashed red potatoes
Tomato, Basil, Garlic marinaded steak on the grill

The mashed potatoes were way easier than I expected! I simply brought a bunch of water to a boil. Added a bunch of quartered red potatoes, about a tablespoon of diced garlic. Reduced heat and simmered 22 minutes covered. Then I added 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 T of butter. After the potatoes were done I strained them and added them to the milk/cheese/butter combo.

Because I lack a manual masher, I used my hand mixer to mix everything together.

And with that, they were ready to serve!

The verdict:

They were ok. Albeit on the blander side. I think I should have added a few more herbs and a bit more salt. For a first attempt, I'd give them a 6 on a scale of 10. Something to make again, but tweak.

What's for Dinner? 2nd post of the week!

I think I just outdid myself....

Cooking 2 nights in a row! Whoa!

Granted tonight wasn't really all that hard as far as cooking went: Steak marinated in a balsamic garlic & peppercorn marinade and grilled, paired with Rosemary Garlic red potatoes (done from a McCormick Veggie Steamers packet in the microwave).

A great meal for a warm evening, no oven involved.

Prep time: 20 minutes (including marinating time and potato chopping)
Cook time: 15 minutes.

What's for Dinner?

 Sound the alarms.... I cooked.

I ended up having to run to the grocery store at 5pm (worst time EVER to visit Rainbow in EP, unless you love getting banged into by carts in clogged aisles and endless lines....) to accomplish this, but I'm happy I did.

Tonights menu:

• Italian chicken (personal creation)
• Garlic & Basil steamed green beans
• instant mashed potatoes

The italian chicken is a personal little creation of mine. I brown chicken with garlic (sometimes onion too) in oil. Use chicken broth or extra italian dressing to deglaze the pan. Then put all of that and some more italian dressing in a shallow baking dish. I bake that covered for 20 minutes, uncovered for 10-15 (I use a convection oven so time is shorter). 

The garlic and basil steamed green beans was made with a McCormick Veggie Steamers packet in the microwave. The instant potatoes were from Potato Buds instant potatoes. 

Total meal cost was easily under $10 with the chicken taking about 1/2 the budget. 

The garlic and basil green beans were fabulous! I didn't use the full amount of green beans so there was a lot of sauce with each bean but I would defiitely make these again! It was a super easy thing to make and it took me longer to chop the ends off the beans than any of the effort I put into making them. So if you're looking for a vegetable side for dinner this was an extremely flavorful option!

In a rut...

I'm in a cooking rut. I feel like we've only been home enough to eat maybe 2 meals in the last week and a half. Hopefully I'll be able to change that soon. I'm really feeling the need to cook. I just don't know what to make.

Cross your fingers my rut ends soon....