cheesy brown rice (and steak for good measure)

I've been using myfitnesspal to track my calories and exercise. I don't want to lose much weight, but I'd love to lose a few more and tone up. I feel crappy when I'm not exercising and y'all know as well as I do that after two kids, no matter what the scale says, the belly flab and love handles are there. 


SO... anyway. I love myfitnesspal and it's really helped me be aware of what I'm eating. But the last couple days I've fallen off the wagon and haven't eaten like I should. But you know what? Sometimes you just need some rice (and pasta and steak and oatmeal cream pies). Ahem.


I wanted to do rice last night, but thought I would be good and do brown rice. Unfortunately I've never liked the texture of brown rice. So I searched on the internet and found this recipe from Pinch My Salt.

Perfect Brown Rice (adapted from Saveur)

brown rice (whichever type you prefer)
water – use at least four cups of water for every one cup of rice
salt – to taste

Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, swirling the rice around with your hand.  Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a large pot over high heat.  When water boils, add the rice, stir it once.  Turn heat to medium and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  After 30 minutes, pour the rice into a strainer over the sink.  Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return it to the pot, off the heat.  Immediately cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes (if your pot lid isn’t extremely tight, place a piece of aluminum foil over pot then place the lid on top of foil for a tighter seal). After ten minutes, uncover rice, fluff with a fork, and season with salt to taste.

That sounded more like it. I did do it that way and it was definitely fluffier and less gritty than I remembered, but I think I should have used more water. I think when I do it again, I will use at least six cups of water to every one cup of rice. I wanted the rice to have a little more flavor so I looked on All Recipes and did what any desperate southern girl would do. I added cheese. Can I get an Amen?

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• brown rice (prepared)
• 1/2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1 cup shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Prepare brown rice however you see fit. (My edit)
2. Prepare a skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Cook the bell pepper and onion until lightly browned; stir into the cooked rice. Add the Cheddar cheese and continue stirring until the cheese has melted completely.

It was good. I did add seasoning though. I think I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I didn't have any red or yellow peppers, so I used just the onions and zucchini. I also added an extra 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. (Don't look at me like that. It was 2%.)

YUMMY.

Hey do you guys remember that time yesterday morning when I had lost six pounds? Yeah. Those were the days.

patrice, katie, and the case of the monster zucchini

As I mentioned, I picked this from my (teeny) garden early last week.

Katie and her girls came for a visit on Friday, and we decided to tackle that big boy.

The seeds were the size of pumpkin seeds...

So Katie took to them with an ice cream scoop.

We ended up making three types of zucchini bread, saving the rest of the recipes for our zucchini yet to come.

We got 8 CUPS of shredded zucchini out of that one giant monstrosity, and we made all of this.

Katie's comment she just posted on my original post of the photo.

Oh yeah, zucchini?  You were no match for a knife, a veggie peeler, an ice cream scoop and a vitamix.  No, I don't want to hear that it was four against one.  You lost.  And you are in. my. belly.

Good times.

Here are the recipes we used:

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (from Kim aka bakingmommy)

3 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups raw shredded zucchini, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 cups flour, optional is 1/2 cup raisins. Combine wet and then add dry. Bake in greased bundt pan or 2 loaf pans at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Zucchini Bread (from Kim aka bakingmommy)

2 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2/3 cup canola oil, 1 3/4 cup shredded zucchini, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/8 teaspoon cloves, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 cups flour. Combine wet and then add dry. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes in greased loaf pan.

Zucchini Bread (from my friend, Gaye)

3 eggs

2 c. sugar

1 c. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 c. zucchini (peeled and grated)

2 c. flour

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. finely chopped nuts

Beat eggs until light and frothy.  Add sugar, oil, and vanilla, mixing until thick.  Add zucchini and stir thoroughly.

Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, and salt.

Add to egg mixture, stirring until smooth.  

Stir in chopped nuts and lemon rind.

Bake in 2 greased and floured loaf pans about 1 hour at 350 degrees.    

Anyway, if you're like me and want something besides fried, baked, or sauteed zucchini, I hope you like these. I'll share more as I try them.

Matt and I went to our first class today, and it was very good. I'm exhausted though and we're going to try to make it to church, so I'm going to head to bed early. Hope you are having a good weekend. Happy Baking!

Spicy Shrimp and Grits

A couple people have asked for my Shrimp and Grits recipe. It's from Cooking Light, and Matt says it's the best Shrimp and Grits he's ever had and says it's his favorite thing that I make. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 4 slices applewood-smoked bacon
• 1 pound peeled, deveined large shrimp
• 1 cup thinly vertically sliced white onion
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon ground or crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup green onion strips

• 1. Combine milk, water, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer; gradually add grits, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat to medium; cook 4 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cheese.
• 2. While grits cook, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings; crumble bacon. Add shrimp to drippings in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove shrimp from pan. Add white onion to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in bacon, tomatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, pepper sauce, and red pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are heated. Serve over grits; sprinkle with green onions.

Serves 4 (unless one of those four is Matt)

I think preparing it as written makes is super hot. I half the hot sauce and red pepper and it's still plenty hot. I don't typically have peppers in adobo sauce, so I just use Tabasco or Texas Pete.  And I typically use cheddar instead of parmesan. You can get the raw, deveined, peeled shrimp (frozen) at Walmart (I know, I know... I'm so two faced.) And if I don't have green onion, I just leave it out. It's still super tasty. (And I leave the tomatoes out of Matt's part.)

For a printable version, click HERE.

Hope you like it. Let me know if you try it.

squash muffins

I am about to be your new best friend. I thought this was Matt's sister's recipe, but she says she got it from Matt's Aunt Katherine. Katherine, you are my hero.

I don't know about you, but I can only take so much fried squash, baked squash, and sauteed squash... enter Squash Muffins.

Yellow Squash Muffins

2 lbs. yellow squash (about 8 medium or 5 large)
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp and 2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375. Wash squash, trim off ends, cut into slices. Cook in boiling water 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain WELL and mash.

Measure out 2 cups of squash and mix with eggs and butter, set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl, add remaining squash and the squash mixture, stir just until evenly moistened.

Spoon into greased muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on edges (not whole muffin).

This recipe makes 18-24 muffins.

I used Country Crock Lite instead of butter, and they still tasted great. Next time, I think I will try replacing at least some of the sugar with apple sauce and see how that goes. I had to bake them for 25 to 27 minutes, which is a little longer than the recipe says. But it's definitely true about just baking them until the edges are brown, not the whole muffin. They were PERFECT!

I didn't have enough yellow squash from my garden, so I combined yellow squash and zucchini. Matt was a little concerned about how that would taste, but I told him, "If a recipe calls for a cup of butter and a cup of sugar, it's going to taste like butter and sugar."

And he was pleased, as you can see.

It really is a great way to use some of your garden (or Farmer's Market) squash if you are tired of the same old thing. And they freeze well too. Kim says she always makes a double batch, freezes them and then just thaws them and heats them in foil in the oven. Tasty, even the second time around. Let me know if you try them!

this and that

UPDATE: Hummus, got it. :)

We've had a good but uneventful day today. I know my posts have been boring as of late, but we really haven't gotten out that much. Jonah ate LIKE A CHAMP today. He took 33 ounces, all of it without a fight. I just shook my head when I added it up, looked at Matt and said, "That child beats anything I have ever seen." He makes critical decisions EXTREMELY hard to make and/or stand by. I still think we're making the right decision with the g-tube, but geez louise, talk about doubting yourself.

Tomorrow we have our appointments with Jonah's dentist and dermatologist in Chapel Hill. Our dentist appointment is at 11 am and our dermatologist appointment is at 2 pm. I'm nervous about the dentist, only because I have know idea how they plan to give him an exam without messing up his skin unless they plan to sedate him. Maybe they will. I don't know. This dentist is an EB guy though (Weston came from Texas to have him do his surgery), so I'm pretty excited about that. It may just be the first doctor we'll have ever seen that knows more about EB than we do. And I haven't researched the dental side of it at all, so I really am going in blind. Thankfully, Matt has taken off work to go with us.

Tripp came out of surgery fine and last she tweeted, they were home safe and sound. Thanks for praying! :)

I have recently begun subscribing to Cooking Light and Southern Living. I got great deals on a year subscription when they went on sale at Amazon. I LOVE me some Amazon. Anyway, I have been trying new recipes now that Jonah is napping better, and I thought I'd share. I'm not typing them out here because if you click on the links, it'll take you to it, and it will be easier to print out from there.

This first one is called Spicy Chicken Shawarma, from the April 2010 issue. You can find it here.

I thought it was super delicious (similar to a Greek Pita), but Matt just thought it was okay. This recipe called for 1 Tbsp of Tahini, and the only jar I could find was 16 ounces. I have no idea what to do with 16 ounces of Tahini. I didn't even know what Tahini was before this. I'm open to suggestions. :)

This one is Spicy Shrimp and Grits, and Matt said it was the best Shrimp and Grits he'd ever had. You can find it here. It was from the March 2010 issue.

I thought it was only okay because I have texture issues with both grits and non-breaded shrimp, so it wasn't for me so much. But like I said, Matt thought it was awesome!

This last one was what I made tonight. It's Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese. You can see it here. It was also from the March 2010 issue.


Matt and I both really liked this one. I didn't have onion powder so just did extra garlic powder and didn't have the kind of cheese it called for so I just used mostly Cheddar, a little Mozzarella, and Parmesan. It was delicious even with the modifications.


I would really recommend all three of these. Very, very tasty for "light" recipes.



Oh yeah, I'm going to get a blog makeover in a few weeks (I'm on the waiting list) and am also renaming the blog. I just decided on a name yesterday (I've been thinking about it all the time for days), and I want to share it (and the why) so bad I can hardly stand it, but I really want it to go along with the makeover. So you'll just have to wait right along with me, but I'm really excited.


Okay, off to bed. We're going to have to pull Jonah out of bed and start dressing change at 6:30 if we want to get Jonah fed and make it to Chapel Hill by 10:45. Very early morning. Yuck.

fajita mac and cheese

This recipe is from the January 2004 issue of Southern Living. But I think Kim, my sister-in-law, is the one who passed it along to me.

I made it a couple weeks ago, and it was SUPER tasty and REALLY easy.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1/2 cup sliced green onions, divided
1 (1.4 oz) envelope fajita seasoning mix
2 (15.5 oz) jars salsa con queso
1/2 (4.5 oz) package taco shells, crushed



1. Chop green onions. (Look up how to chop green onions because you never have before.)


2. Feel better that you must not be the only person who doesn't know the proper way to chop green onions because there's an actual video on it.

3. Whatever you do, do NOT admit to the whole world, publicly on your blog, that you had to watch a video on how to chop green onions before you could complete such a simple task.

4. Complete simple task successfully. Feel really proud. Take a break and reward yourself with some Hershey's chocolate.



5. Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain.

6. Stir in cooked macaroni, 1/4 cup green onions, seasoning mix, and salsa con queso.

7. Pour into a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

8. Add additional (uncalled for) cheese on top. Because, really, can you ever have too much cheese?

9. Sprinkle with crushed taco shells.

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup green onions.

ENJOY!

Note: I am presenting this recipe in all of its unaltered, full fat, deliciously wonderful glory. I do not claim that it is a healthy recipe. You are free to make any changes you so desire, but I will always present the recipes I've tried in their original state. I'm sure I could have used ground turkey or whole wheat macaroni or low-fat, organic salsa con queso (or something), but I didn't. And I'm okay with it. Feel free to be healthy if you feel so led.

As for me and my house, we'll eat fatty cheese, and we'll like it.

jeannie's lasagna

My mom bought me this nifty book when I was about to leave home for college. It's really neat. It has easy recipes, laundry tips like how to get out stains, and basic first aid information.



One thing I really like about the book is that it has blank pages where you can write in your favorite recipes. And one of my favorite recipes ever is Jeannie's Lasagna.


So here it is folks. THE BEST LASAGNA EVAH. Seriously, this is the best lasagna I've ever tasted. The secret's in the curry. (I've posted this recipe before but never with the photos or clever asides.)

Ingredients:



6 lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce (original or traditional)
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
8 oz cottage cheese
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. Cook lasagna noodles per package directions. Put a little bit of olive oil in the water.
(Barefoot Contessa says this will keep the pasta from sticking. And whatever the BC says, we do.)

3. Chop onion.
- Get out your really big knife so you can do it like they do on The Food Network. Attempt chopping.


- Put your big knife away for fear of accidentally killing yourself.

- Get out your Quick Chop. Ask forgiveness for trying to be all hoity toity by using your big knife. Remember how much you love your Quick Chop.


- Drop Quick Chop on floor, scattering onion bits everywhere, almost giving your dog a heart attack.

4. Brown hamburger and onion.

5. Add jar of spaghetti sauce, curry powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Wish husband was home to open stupid lid of stupid sauce.


6. Simmer until most of liquid is gone.

7. Layer:

3 noodles, ½ meat sauce, ½ cottage cheese, ½ mozzarella cheese, ½ cheddar cheese.

Repeat layers.

Break to take care of an adorable baby who just woke up from his THREE HOUR NAP very happy.

8. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes (the lasagna, not the baby.)

9. Prepare bread:

- Mix crushed red pepper, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, rosemary, basil, and parsley (about 1/2 TBSP of each)

- Brush 4 to 6 pieces of bread with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

- Sprinkle seasoning on bread

- Bake with lasagna the last 10 to 12 minutes.

10. Be thankful you have a dog who will eat all the cheese and such that has fallen on the floor, because, Heaven Forbid, you actually sweep your floors.

ENJOY!

hashbrown casserole

I made breakfast for dinner last night. And out our house, if you are going to take the time to make breakfast, you MAKE BREAKFAST.

We had eggs scrambled with cheddar, bacon, sausage, Grands biscuits, and hashbrown casserole. Go big or go home, people.

Here is Matt's mom's hashbrown casserole recipe:

32 oz package frozen hashbrowns, thawed
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 can of cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar

Mix cornflakes and melted butter and set aside.

Mix all other ingredients, and spread into a 9 X 13 pan. Top with cornflake mixture.

Bake on 350 for 45 minutes to an hour until golden bubbly.

Alterations:
I had to use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken because I was out. It still turned out okay, but I like the cream of chicken better.

I didn't want to big box of name brand corn flakes for one recipe, so I decided to buy one of the assortment packs of the small boxes of cereal. Matt's gotten into eating cereal lately, so I figured that would end up being more economical knowing the corn flakes would probably waste. HOWEVER, I did not realize that one of those boxes of cereal crushed up only makes about 1/2 cup. So... we crushed up one box of corn flakes, one box of Special K, one box of Rice Krispies, and one box of Crispix. Matt and Sarah held me back when I was also trying to mix in some Frosted Flakes. Anyway, it was humorous, but it turned out tasting just the same. Put enough butter on something and all it's going to taste like is butter.

This is, by no means, a healthy recipe, but if it makes you feel better, use the Healthy Request soup and lite sour cream. It will distract you from the fact that you just used one and a half sticks of butter just for the topping. Whatever.

On my last recipe post someone asked how in the world I stay so thin. My answer is this: there's no "staying" about it. The only reason I'm so thin now is from all that pumping I did for five months. I could eat anything I wanted and just pump those calories right off. One of the benefits to pumping over nursing (maybe the only one???), is that you can pump way more than he's actually going to eat. I seriously considered continuing to pump just for the weight loss factor, but just didn't have enough hours in the day. (And also realized that's partially psycho.) So anyhow, I'm starting to gain weight now that I'm not pumping anymore. I'm not excited about it. I have gotten into a bad habit, after being pregnant or pumping for two years, of eating whatever I want in massive quantities. I've always eaten more than Matt. I use to have the metabolism or the Medela to back it up, but alas, no more.

My body is ticked.

A reckoning is coming.

southwestern pasta bake

Despite the fact that Rachael Ray is full of crap, this is still one of my favorite cookbooks. For the most part, it is full of "normal" foods, has few big words, and has ingredients that aren't impossible to find. I also like it because it's fairly easy to make substitutions... like frozen salmon for fresh, for example. Although I'm sure fresh salmon is more tasty, I'm not buying ANYTHING that's "on sale" for $11.99 a pound. Homie don't play that.

(I find her choice of shirt for this cover amusing.)



And hey, if Rachael can do it in thirty minutes, then I can totally get it done in an hour and a half.

Last night, I tried this recipe for the first time:


Ingredients -



1 lb. penne or corkscrew pasta
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lbs. chicken breast cut up in bite size pieces
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp. chili powder
salt
pepper
1 large yellow onion, chopped (I had to use red.)
3 garlic cloves, chopped (notice the big jar of not exactly fresh garlic)
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Preheat the broiler, with rack eight inches from heat.

Bring pot of water to boil. Salt water and boil pasta until slightly undercooked.

While the water is coming to boil, preheat skillet with veggie oil. Season chicken with cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken to skillet and lightly brown for 3-5 minutes.

Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeños, and continue to cook for five minutes. While it's cooking, make the cheddar sauce.

In a medium pot, melt the butter and add the flour to it. Cook for one to two minutes over moderate heat, and then whisk in the milk. When it comes to a boil, stir in the cheese, cilantro, and parsley with a wooden spoon (seriously, Rachael, wooden???). Season with a little salt and pepper, and remove the cheese sauce from the heat.

Drain cooked pasta and add it, the cheese sauce, and the contents of the chicken skillet back to the pot. Stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish, and place under the broiler until lightly browned.

Alterations: I didn't use fresh parsley or garlic. I also ran out of chili powder, so I used the little bit that I had and added a little cayenne pepper (DANG IT. I just looked in my spice drawer to see how you spell "cayenne," and I found a whole other jar of chili powder). I also added extra cheese to the top before putting it under the broiler, because, after all, you can never have enough cheese.

Here is the final product:


I had made fresh pico de gallo over the weekend, so I served the pasta bake with tortilla chips and pico, cheese dip, and/or black bean dip.

Here's my plate. Don't be fooled. I went back for seconds... and also licked the spoon when I transferred it to tupperware... and also had a strawberry short cake for dessert.

I also shared some with these cuties - my niece and nephew - who had come to visit for the afternoon. I also fed their mother, my sister-in-law. She deserved it after I had yelled things to her like, "I need a 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro STAT."

I'd probably give this recipe a 6 out of 10. It was tasty enough, but it wasn't rockin' my world or anything. It seems like one of those things you'd get tired of pretty quickly. But it would be good once in a while and is definitely nice if you are trying to feed several people.

I have to say that trying to make RR recipes about gives me a panic attack. It's not even like I try to get it done in thirty minutes, but you have to do everything at the same time because that's how the recipe is written. So ALL the dishes in my kitchen are dirty, food scraps, cutting boards, and knives are EVERYWHERE, and I may be having a coronary on the floor by the time it's all done.

*****************************************

And afterwards, as my reward for slaving in the kitchen for HOURS (slight exaggeration), we got to sit down and watch...

FOOTBALL!

Sigh.