Summer veggies in soup and stir fry

cabbage soup
- add diced tomatoes and beef broth
to cabbage, onion, and spices

zucchini time!

stirring up some squash, onion, and garlic
with a little olive oil
Awesome!

Summer zucchini bake

Tonight for dinner we had a casserole type dish. I layered zucchini, ground turkey, ricotta cheese, and noodles. It has light citrus flavors- great for summer.

Pork chops with fries

Pork Chops with onions, baked apples, spinach, baked fries, baked eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash

Pork Chops
dust the chops with garbonzo bean flour, kosher salt, ground pepper
in dutch oven, brown the chops in olive oil on both sides- @ 5 min. each side
add onions to pan
add a little apple cider vinegar and beef stock to braise

Baked fries
Slice sweet potatoes and regular potatoes into sticks
arrange on a cookie sheet
sprinkle on olive oil and salt and pepper
bake in oven at 375 until tender

Baked Apples
Quarter some green apples
place in baking dish in a little water- skin side up
sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia
bake in oven at 375 until tender

Surf and Turf



Gathering ingredients.  Salad for starters...I had a coupon for a free bag of salad today at Krogers. I love their coupons there. Of course, I way over paid for something else- maybe it evened out... I can't believe how much groceries cost. When we were first married we could eat for 2 weeks on $25. We couldn't afford meat. We ate a lot of rice and eggs! Eating out was a huge luxury, but on Fridays we had a coupon to Noble Romans Pizza! Is that place even open any more? It's was in Terre Haute, IN.

Strip steak- kosher salt, ground pepper- rub it into each side of the steak then grill 'em up

@ 5 min each side, then let it sit a bit before serving

I almost always set off the smoke alarm when I do this! I forget to leave the fan on after it's done cooking...


This rice is so easy, and so good! I love it with salsa too!




Peppered Rice
3 c water
1 1/2 c basamati rice
1 bag frozen mixed peppers and onions
bring to boil
simmer for @ 30 minutes until water is absorbed-keep an eye on it



For this vegetable dish, make sure to carmelize the onions- it's so good that way!

stir up some onions, zucchini, summer squash in olive oil

add kosher salt, ground pepper, dashes of apple cider vinegar

simmer while steak and fish are cooking

This is an easy way to make so many fish dishes. I love it with the Tony's Creole spice- I learned about that from Sara W. <3 After coating the fish, grill it, or broil it, or pan fry. I grilled it this time. It's very short timing on each side- maybe 2 minutes. Don't overcook! Squeeze lemon on top and serve with  homemade Mayo. Delicious!

add brown rice flour, flax meal,
a little kosher salt and ground pepper ,
then shake it up in a baggie

dust the fish with the flour mixture

beat the egg

coat with egg then recoat with flour mixture

Surf and Turf

I topped the steaks with a bit of butter- just to make sure I had enough calories :)

Dinner!

It's really classy to serve right out of the pan isn't it? What can I say? Why dirty yet another dish?

my plate

your plate

dessert!

strawberry smoothies with whip cream

Zucchini Bread

1/2 cup margarine or butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 dropper fulls of stevia

1 1/2 cups flour (3/4 cup oat flour, 3/4 c brown rice flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1t baking powder

2 heaping t of flax meal

1/2 t xanthan powder

1t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup chopped  pecans 

Takes 60 minutes at 350F in my oven. 

Our favorite bread so far!

gathering the ingredients

adding in the butter

careful not to over mix mix

sprinkle pecans, cinnamon, and stevia on top

The results! It turned out great!

Valentine's Food

Valentine's day without sugar is pretty different. No chocolates, no little candy hearts, no gooey cupcakes... no red wine or chocolate martinis! We substituted a little fruit and cinnamon. Not a good substitute, but we don't want to start over! So this was our pity party food:

Breakfast- Hot rice cereal, with blueberries and cinnamon. A "fake biscuit" and lemon ginger tea.

zucchini with sauce from last night's chicken drummies- onions, tomatoes, simmered with chicken.

Rice noodles with tomatoe sauce.

Salad with guacomole, cucumber, tomatoe dip. Turkey meatballs. Baked beans. Zucchini mixture. Pasta with tomatoe sauce.

Turkey Meatballs
@ 1 lb. of ground turkey, season with kosher salt, pepper, pizza spices
mix with 3 eggs, @ 2T av (apple cider vinegar), 1/4 c rice flour, 2 T flax meal
brown in oven @ 375 for 20 min.

Vanilla pudding with triple berry sauce and whipped cream.

Triple Berry Sauce comes from simmering frozen berries in water until it reduces down.

I adapted this sugar free version of the pudding from the following recipe:

Instead of sugar I used 3 packets of stevia, and 1 tsp xanthan instead of cornstarch. 1/2 Rice milk, and 1/2 whipping cream replace the milk.
I am having trouble keeping this smooth. When I put in the xanthan I get gelled bits. I tried beating it into the egg yolks first before adding to warm milk, but I used a full T. which was too much. maybe it should go in the warm milk first and use 1/2 T. 

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar (can substitute half with Splenda)
• 3 cups milk
• 3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 scarce pinch salt

Directions

This antique recipe has been modernized by use of the microwave, yet it retains its classic flavor and variability.

1. Scald the milk in the microwave while doing the next step. (Watch so it doesn't boil.)
2. Separate 4 eggs and beat the yolks, adding the sugar and cornstarch. (Do not use whites. If it is too thick to mix, add 1/4 cup of the milk to make it work.)
3. Add egg mixture to hot milk, mixing well -- electric mixer works just fine.
4. Cook till desired thickness, taking out every 2 or 3 minutes to mix for a moment.
5. Add butter, salt, and vanilla. Stir well.
6. Serve hot (eat slowly), warm, or later when cold.

Serves 6.

Read more at Suite101: Basic Homemade Pudding Recipe: How to Make Pudding For Everyday or Festive Occasions http://www.suite101.com/content/basic-homemade-pudding-a73898#ixzz1DzpFmN4S