Stuff your Sorrow Carbs

Most women I know like to eat ice cream and watch sappy movies when their hearts are broken. I don't like ice cream all that much, but I do love carbs. They seem to hit the heartbreak pretty well for me. Last night, after lots and lots of headache inducing crying, I figured I needed to eat something before bed. And since I've been in the throes of really starting to fall for this guy, I had no groceries. That's such a bad thing for when they break it off with you. There's no food.

Rice. That's about it. Oh, and some beef broth in the back of the cupboard. That's a good start. I always make my rice with broth instead of water - it gives it a depth of flavor and gives you something to base other flavors on. I sauteed some garlic and onion in olive oil, un-froze a few peas and threw all that in when the rice was done.

Then I ate it.

All of it.

Because I was sad.

Low Carb Pizza

8 oz. cream cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/2 c. pizza sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings of choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat together cream cheese and eggs until smooth. Add Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Spray 8 x 13 pan with cooking spray or oil. Place 2 cups mozzarella cheese in bottom of pan. Pour egg mixture over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread sauce over baked mixture. Add toppings of choice. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake until bubbly and brown. Let Stand for five minutes.

I used sauteed garlic and onions on it for toppings since I like plain cheese pizza and I knew I was sleeping alone... If I were to make this recipe again, I would probably use a harder cheese for the bottom of the pan. Something like asiago or an Italian cheese blend instead of the mozzarella. Where as the "crust" was tasty (albeit somewhat "eggy"), it didn't have that crunchy feel that I like on my pizza and I'm pretty sure the harder cheese would make it more that way. In fact, I might reduce the number of eggs in the crust as well to make it thinner. But I had some for breakfast this morning, and let me tell you! It tastes just like leftover pizza from anywhere. It was awesome.

Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Cauliflower

Low-Carb Turkey Meatloaf
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 T. sugar
2 t. white vinegar (or water)
2 lbs. ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1/4 c. onion, diced
1/4 c. yellow pepper, diced
2 T. parsley flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1 t. kosher (sea) salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 lb. provolone cheese, sliced.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Tomato Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, paste, sugar and vingear. Set aside. Add water if it's too thick for your taste.

Meatloaf: In a large bowl, Mix together the turkey, eggs, parmesan, vegetables, herbs and seasoning.

Make it: Spray a 5 X 7 inch loaf pan with pam spray or something like it. Take half of the meat mixture and spread in the bottom, cover with a layer of provolone cheese, top with the remaining meat mixture and then pour the tomato sauce over the top. I wanted the tomato sauce to go down the sides as well, so I formed more of a "loaf" in the pan after I put the second layer of meat on. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or more if desired. Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Roasted Cauliflower
Take one head of cauliflower and remove the leaves, but leave a portion of the stem to be able to cut it into large wedges. Brush both sides of the wedges with olive oil and place in a baking pan, sprinkle a generous amount of red pepper flakes over the pieces and top with minced (or powdered) garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the edges of the cauliflower are browned.

I took both of these to work today and ate them both cold. I think the cauliflower would have been a little tastier if it had been reheated, but I think heating things in the microwave makes them rubbery. If I were to reheat it at home, I'd throw it on a cookie sheet and give it a few minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.

Sunday Cooking

For those of you who read my other blog, New Life In South Dakota, you know that not only do I love to cook and try new recipes, I also live in Tiny Apartment, which happens to be in a basement. I don't have a fancy kitchen; my pots and pans are banged up and burned, I don't "do" gadgets, my oven is circa 1972 or something like that and my refrigerator is of the seventies efficiency type. I like to take pictures of what I cook, but I'm not a very good photographer and a new camera is not even a consideration for the budget. What you see is what you get.

I cook on Sunday nights for the whole week. As a single woman with a limited income, I find that cooking one large meal and refrigerating it in portion sizes to slip in my bag every morning is as good as it gets. I've lived with myself long enough to know that once something hits the freezer, it's not coming back out except to go in the trash and I can't and don't like to waste food. So, there's not much variety in my diet and woe is the day I make something horribly yucky that I have to eat all week long, but I try new things and sometimes they're awesome and sometimes they're not. I can try to convince Gay Boyfriend to eat the yucky leftovers, but if I don't like it, I'm pretty sure he won't either.

So, come along for the ride. And maybe some good eating along the way!