Days 10-15

It was bound to happen eventually, this falling off the wagon thing whenever it comes to me doing anything that is supposed to become a daily habit.

Borne of chaos, I am NOT a creature of habit and am constantly, {more often than not, fruitlessly}, striving towards routine and structure, only to abandon any purposeful or intentional endeavors for a more reactive, in-the-moment existence...that usually bites me hard, too.

Preamble aside, I'm behind in my pictures, so without further ado, here they are:

Foodie Friday - Un-souping the casserole

This Foodie Friday is going to be a wee bit different, i.e. a simple link-up to the recipe/blog-post from which I gleaned the creamed soup replacement method.

This week, I'd signed up to make dinner for our church's Wednesday night "family night."  Family nights only go on in the summer, and we love them!  There is a meal, usually prepared by a team of people, and then later there is a more informal devotional time than we have during the school-year, i.e., we sing some songs of praise and then there is a speaker with a short message.  This summer's theme is 2nd Peter 1:5-9

I'd forgotten to grab a partner when I signed up - and then time got away from me, so I was cooking for 150 people on my own.  It was fun, in a culinary adventure sort of way.

I decided to make King Ranch Chicken, and sought out a good recipe for it.  I found the Homesick Texan's blog with a soup-free version (as most versions employ both cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups), and made that, x15!

It was fabulous, and even my ever-picky Kelsey devoured it, despite the presence of peppers, onions and 'hot', that is cooked, tomatoes.  Sooooooo yummy and well worth the time.
© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday - Healthy Breakfast

It's been a crazy week, this first week of summer with all the kids at home, and I find myself trying to busy them in order to avoid the inevitable, "Maaaaa-maaaaaaa!  I am SO BORED"s but in doing so, I have neglected my normal upkeep of the house duties.  Turns out I do a hell of a lot each day.  Which means, after a week of attempting a summer activities routine, that I have a HUGE amount of catch up to do.

I do, however, recognize that it is Friday.  And I do have recipes (yes, that is plural!) for you today.  Without further adieu, bring on Foodie Friday!

But, a recipe with no story isn't really a Ramblin' Red kinda thing, now is it?

Story first, food later.

So the other day I was asking what I should make for the next day's dinner, and Seth says, "We haven't done breakfast for dinner in a long time."

And we hadn't.  For a reason.  

Namely it is that I have come to the realization that while my activity level is high and I've lost not only weight but several inches upon maintaining my current poundage for some six months (which, by the way, how does one properly answer the question when someone says, "Hey, you look great, you've lost a bunch of weight, huh?" and the truth is that you're the same weight you've been but you have dropped a size in those same 6 months?) and while this is good and great, the fact remains that my diet is unchanged and thus I'm maintaining, and I'd really still like to lose another 25 lbs, and generally just take ownership of the whole shebang, food and exercise, in order to be a fit and healthy mama, like Jen is doing.  And Headless Mom.

(Disclaimer for all you who are about to say, "You're looking GREAT just. the. way. you. are!" : My BMI still registers me as "obese," and while I know that BMI alone places people with no body fat and obscene amounts of muscle mass - can you say body builders -  in this same category thus it is not a perfect measure, the truth is I weigh 25 lbs more than I did a few years back when my doctor told me I could stand to lose another 10 - so, I do not think I'm setting the bar too terribly high, thankyouverymuch :) )  

Aaaaaaaaaaannd our breakfast for dinner usually includes BACON, and eggs FRIED in BACON GREASE, and biscuits/gravy OR pancakes, and occasionally potatoes that are, uhm, FRIED.

So ya see where I was a little hesitant, now, right?

Plus I'm RUNNING a 10K ON MONDAY and I'd really like to detox and get in some optimum nutrition before hand.

After some consideration, I came up with a pretty darned good alternative, and this was affirmed by my children and husband.

I made whole wheat pancakes (mixed with apple sauce instead of oil) served with non-fat vanilla yogurt and frozen blueberries (warmed in the microwave), lean (1 g fat per slice) ham slices, and a 2 egg omelet with spinach, onion, and tomatoes.

I found this lovely recipe for the pancakes.  Only edits - I omitted the cinnamon (was after a "normal pancake taste), halved the "mix" (which was just shy of 2 cups), doubled the eggs/milk/applesauce, and added a hefty pouring of vanilla (2 1/2 tsp-ish?).  They were SCRUMPTIOUS!  I topped with my FAVORITE yogurt in the whole wide world: Cascade Fresh Vanilla, and heated up the remnants of a bag of frozen blueberries, pouring on top with their juices.  Didn't even miss the maple syrup and butter (which is what my fam had theirs with).

For my* omelet, I beat 2 eggs together in a bowl.  Chopped 1/2 C-ish of spinach, diced 1/2 a roma tomato, and made one paper thin slice of sweet onion, then chopped it up.  Spray 10 inch skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium, pour eggs into pan, place veggies on one half of egg circle.  When egg firms up fold empty half over the veggies, making a semi-circle.  Press down on folded omelet with spatula for about a minute, to seal it up.  Flip over and cook until eggs are firm.

* Yes, MY omelet.  I made poached eggs for the rest of the fam since they are picky about eggs being mixed with other stuff.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a cheese and hollandaise sauce kinda gal with my omelets, so I was missing some of the "goo" factor, but I just shook on some tabasco and was pleased as pie.

Now, some people who are die-hards about fat and diets say that my whole egg content of this meal made it too fatty, but I don't think fat is BAD or EVIL and knowing that the fat content of my day had been nil thus far, I had no problem consuming it!

© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday - Super Duper Soft Whole Wheat Bread

Ok, y'all, so I've been making homemade bread in lieu of storebought for several months now, right?

And while the kids and the hubs loved it with dinner, they've proven not to be so fond of it for their lunch sandwiches.

Too dense, too chewy, too whatever.  Every recipe it was something else.

Until this one.  

It is seriously like Orowheat (my favoritest bread from the store) has taken residence in my kitchen!

Today I sent Seth off to work with PB&J on this bread.  He devoured it.  For breakfast....  As we texted, it became clear that he was in love with this bread more than I am.  I told him I could bring him another sandwich, and he was all YES!!!! PLEEEEEEAAAAASE!!!!  

That's success in my book.

Now, because I was leery about the potential, I halved the original recipe (which made for some weird measurements - I subbed a tsp for anything that said 1/4 TBS because that is one spoon I don't have!), and added a couple things for a trial run.

Dear readers, you HAVE to try this.  (Barring any gluten-free-ers, as it actually calls for gluten) It is THAT good.

Without further ado, my edited rendition:

3 1/2 C whole wheat flour (I especially like Hodgson Mill, but more often than not it is just plain Kroger brand)

1/3 C gluten

1 Tbs + 1 tsp yeast (great link about different yeasts here)

2 1/2 C hot water (120 degrees F)

1 Tbs salt

1/3 C oil

1/3 C honey

1 1/2Tbs lemon juice

3 Tbs milk

2 1/2 C additional flour (original recipe calls for more WW, but I used white bread flour)

Preheat oven to 350.  Add first 3 ingredients, mix.  Mix in water (I used my standing mixer with kneading hooks) and mix 1 minute, make sure everything is well incorporated.  Let dough rest 10 minutes.  Meanwhile add salt, oil, honey, lemon juice and milk in small bowl.  Add to dough and beat 1 minute, again incorporating the mixtures well.  Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and mix 6-10 minutes.

Cover, and let rise in warm area for 1 hr.  Rise may not be the typical "til doubled," but that is ok.  Divide dough in half and place into 2 oiled loaf pans.  Cover, let rise until dough reaches tops of pans.  

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes.  (Make sure rack is in the middle, because the bread rises a bunch in the oven!)

Remove, brush tops with melted butter, and remove loaves from the pans (or else you will have soggy loaves).  Let cool on wire racks.

Enjoy!

(I will have pictures up this afternoon/evening as I am baking some more up right now!)

Glistening after their butter bath, these loaves didn't rise in the oven as much as the first batch, but they are still soft and yummy!

© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday - Orange Chicken

Hi all, I have a recipe after a long hiatus!

Melissa d'Arabian of the Food Network may have her fancy schmancy 4-step chicken, but I have my own!

I actually found this coated chicken recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook several years ago, where the chicken was dressed up with cheese, ham and mushrooms, sorta cordon bleu style.  I loved the taste of the base of this chicken dish so well, that it has become my staple recipe for chicken parmesan and several other chicken dishes.

Awhile back I wanted orange chicken, but Asian recipes are not my forte and always leave me with a big fail at the end, so I thought, What if I use my base chicken recipe for the crunch and add an orange glaze to it?  It wouldn't be Asian per se, but would have the crunch and tang I was after.


And so it came to pass that the following recipe was born:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pounded thin and trimmed of fat)
1 egg lightly beaten
1 cub crushed Ritz crackers (Ritz is the key here as Townhouse crackers do not provide the same effect despite being similar products!)
3/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning*
2 tbs oil (EVOO or canola depending on taste preferences)

1/4C orange juice CONCENTRATE
1/4 C honey
2tbs soy sauce
2tbs lemon juice
2tbs brown sugar
ginger, garlic, to taste **

1. Dip chicken in egg
2. Combine lemon pepper and crackers; coat chicken in mixture while oil heats in skillet
3.  Over medium-high heat, fry chicken, 4-5 minutes on each side or until done
4.  Combine all glaze ingredients in saucepan and heat, stirring well, until just boiling, remove from heat.
5.  Serve chicken with glaze spooned on top

* this is the variable for different recipes - the basic seasoning is salt here, but when I do parm chicken, I eliminate salt and add grated parmesan cheese and add italian seasonings, when I do herbed chicken, I use 1 tsp ranch dressing powder, etc.


** I realize this is kind of a cop out, but the ginger and garlic were powdered and I didn't measure them out!

I served it with couscous, broccoli (which tasted great with the glaze too, btw!) and cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges.  YUM!  Yes, there is a stray cheerio, ahem, kids!, on the table.  Pay no attention to it.

Best thing about this recipe?  It disappears just about as quickly as it is prepared!  That's what I'm talking about!

Now, what have YOU been cooking?

© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday: English Muffins

It's that time again!

This time I really do want you all to participate - I'm gettin' nuthin' by way of recipes with this.  Yet.

Awhile back I shared that I have been pinching pennies at every chance I can to cut costs for our home, mainly by way of baking our bread at home and making homemade laundry detergent.

I've been doing it for 3 months, and one of the other treats that I've been making for quite some time now is homemade english muffins.  They are the sourdough variety thanks be to my MIL for sharing her starter with me, but don't let that throw you!  Sourdough is EASY to get going and keep going, AND, my sourdough is really mild, not as pungent as store bought sourdough (and mild is how I like it!).

So here's my English Muffin recipe, courtesy of The Fresh Loaf:

Sourdough English Muffins

Makes about 12

1/2 C starter

1 C milk

2-3/4 C AP flour

1 TBSP sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Semolina or cornmeal, for dusting

Combine starter, 2 C of flour and milk in a large bowl.  Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and leave out for 8 hours or overnight.

After the overnight rest, add remaining flour (Deviation: I don't add any here, but add the remaining 3/4 cup via the kneading process), sugar, salt and baking soda and mix well.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4-5 minutes.  Roll out to 3/4" and cut with a biscuit cutter into rounds.  You can reroll the scraps, but you may need to let the dough rest before cutting more muffins from them.  Place muffins on a piece of parchment dusted with semolina and let rest for 45 minutes.

Spray griddle or skillet lightly with spray oil.  Heat to medium and cook muffins for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until browned on the top and bottom and cooked through.  These have great griddle spring and rise quite a bit during the "baking".

Split with a fork and enjoy with your favorite topping!  I don't even toast them if I want to eat them right off the griddle--they don't have that raw taste that storebought english muffins have.

Enjoy! 

© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Alrighty, this time I REALLY wanna know:  What have you been cooking lately?

I made a pot of my favorite soup this past week and have been enjoying leftovers for lunch!

I love tortilla soup, but only when it resembles the brothy, green chile based tortilla soup I first fell in love with at the Armadillo restaurant in town.

When I set out to make my own some 8 years ago, I found a preponderance of recipes online were nothing more than chicken chili recipes.  So I played with it for awhile and developed my tortilla soup recipe:

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts*	32oz reduced sodium chicken broth*
2 Tbs canola oil	2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced	2 cans diced tomatoes w/chiles
1 Tbs kosher or sea salt	1 Tbs cumin
32 oz frozen mild green chiles, diced**	5-10 soft corn tortillas
4 flour tortillas, optional	monterey jack cheese, shredded
tortilla chips	sour cream

Place chicken breasts in broth and bring to boil. Turn down, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.  *I sometimes use a whole chicken cooked in enough water to cover it in lieu of the breasts and broth.  Meanwhile, sautee garlic and onion in the oil until translucent.  When chicken has been cooked through, remove and shred.  Add garlic, onions, tomatoes (undrained), salt, cumin, and green chiles to broth.  Tear corn tortillas in pieces and add to liquid.  This is your thickener.  If you use the flour tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch x 1 inch rectangles and put in soup.  They will transform into a sort of "noodle".  Cook all ingredients together at a low simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Serve in bowls with tortilla chips and monterey jack cheese.  Add a dollop of sour cream if desired (usually helpful with kids if they aren't likely to enjoy the spice!).

© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved

Foodie Friday

So, I'm something of a foodie, as much as one can be with kids who can be picky and a budget anyway, in that I like to eat really good food and make it all by myself too!

Now that Christopher is a bit easier to entertain, I've ventured back into the more adventurous cooking that I prefer, and I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if I started blogging my recipe trials?  Even greater still if I turned it into a recipe exchange of sorts with a linky tool?"  Not going to convert to a food blog, but just have a recipe each week to share with y'all.

So I present to you:

This past week Kelsey asked me to make Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp - she adores it at all the Asian buffet places.  And I do too, but have a few issues....

First, the whole cooking, and subsequently eating, the shrimp in the shell thing.  Uhm, it's called an exoskeleton and that makes me think I'm eating bugs, tasty bugs at that, but bugs nonetheless and that's just gross!  So, I was in search of a recipe that called for shelled shrimp.

Second, most recipes for Chinese Salt & Pepper Shrimp instruct you to deep fry, sans any breading, the shrimp.  Folks, I'm going to be in a wedding next week and trying in general to eat better, and I just can't afford a calorie binge like that!  So I looked for a healthier version.

And found this recipe at eatingwell.com.

I very often don't make a recipe exactly the way I'm told to, as I like to do things my way - so here were my substitutions:

• I didn't make the asian slaw in the recipe - knew my kids wouldn't go for it!
• Instead of 1 tsp black pepper, I upped it to 2 tsp and used a peppercorn medley (green, black, white and red) because I like a diverse approach to peppers in this dish
• I reduced the Chinese 5 spice to 1/2 tsp because I prefer to let the salt and pepper be the focal point tastes instead of the sometimes overpowering 5 spice.
• Since I had no slaw, I steamed a pack of these veggies in the microwave and simply tossed them with the shrimp after both were cooked!
• I served with rice and homemade lo mein (simply, thin spaghetti with soy sauce and cabbage, mushrooms, onion that have been sauteed)

Et Voila!

IT WAS DEVOURED.

So what have you been cooking lately?  Share your foodie treasures with us on Foodie Fridays!

Anyone is welcome to write a Foodie Friday on their blog; to qualify to link up on the list here on my blog, please make sure you meet these requirements: Simply write your own post on your blog, link back within your post to my blog (either using my Foodie Friday logo or a text link), and sign up with MckLinky below using the URL to your specific Foodie Friday post (and not to your blog at large...this will help people easily read the posts without having to search your blog for them). Links that have not followed these directions will be deleted to be fair to those who have.






© 2006-present Ramblings of a Red-Headed Step-Child. All Rights Reserved