The Anti-Holiday Salad

So, Crissy informed me that spinach and clementines are the antidote to holiday over-consumption. And well. I don't like spinach. Or clementines. But I liked the baby arugula I used in my Christmas salad, so I got some more of that. And three clementines. Not the eight pound bag they wanted me to buy. Just three. And not three pounds. Just three. They even opened a bag for me so I could do that. A little smile will get you a long way in the produce section. Right? Of course, right. (You know that phrase comes from Fiddler on the Roof. Right? You have listened to that soundtrack fifty billionty times in your lifetime. Right? Of course, right.)

I peeled and sectioned the clementine and put the slices on top of the arugula, sprinkled some feta cheese on top, splashed it with balsamic vinegar, drizzled it with a bit of olive oil and then cracked some pepper on top. A pinch of sea salt. And? It was luscious! My mouth liked it. Alot. The feta distracted me from the fact that I was eating something so incredibly healthy that I have no chance of getting scurvy today. I will make it again. Yes! AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN! And you will too. Because it's that good.

A Little Somethin' Somethin' for the Cold

It has averaged about 2 degrees Fahrenheit this past weekend. Tiny Apartment has been very, very cold. I've got my tasty wool slippers and homemade wool socks, but today when I was trying to take a nap, I couldn't get warmed up no matter what. So I conspired to cook something hot and spicy to take the edge off.

I keep this three ring binder of recipes I've ripped out of magazines over the years. If - when I finally try a recipe - and it's a winner, I will write it on a recipe card and put it in my wooden recipe box. I know. This whole online thing is great and everything, but I cherish the handwritten recipes from my mother, grandmother and Aunt Kathy. When I see their handwriting, not only do I know it's going to be good, but my heart thinks of them. And I hope that doesn't die with the age of the internet. It might. But so far, I'm not giving in.

So, this recipe - I'm PRETTY sure came from a Clean Eating magazine, but it doesn't really say. I'm assuming so because I think I remember that the recipe on the OTHER side of the page came from a Clean Eating magazine. So, if you don't put your name and date on all your magazine pages, you're shit out of luck in my world. So there you go for credit. The recipe is called Shrimp Fra Diavolo with quinoa. But I despise shrimp, so chicken it is. Fra Diavolo means "Brother Devil" which apparently refers to the crushed red pepper, but I was not particularly impressed with it's devilishness - no matter how good it was. I think if I did it again, I'd add twice the amount of crushed red pepper.

Kate's Chicken Fra Diavolo

Somehow adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

2 cups water

1 1/2 T. olive oil

1 lb. chicken tenders for stir fry

1/4 t. sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 t. crushed red pepper

Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy and tender, 10 -15 minutes.

Heat 1 T. of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken tenders, season with salt and black pepper and cook until done, about 3-5 minutes per side depending on thickness. I cooked mine on my George Foreman grill, which I love. Regardless of how you cook it, when it's done, cut it into bite sized pieces.

Heat remaining oil in skillet and add red bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. I used a combination of onions, yellow, and red peppers because I had leftovers from other recipes. Whatever floats your boat.

Add tomatoes and crushed red pepper and stir well. Add cooked chicken and simmer until heated through. To serve, top quinoa with chicken mixture.

Now, I'm a single gal, so I make sure to look at the number of servings each recipe makes. And I got some awesome new Pyrex storage dishes for Christmas, so I portioned it into 4 serving sizes and refrigerated it. I've got almost a whole week's worth of lunches in my refrigerator tonight. And it's lovely.

When all is said and done, I think this dish needs more pizazz. I would definitely add more black pepper and some italian seasoning, along with a healthy dose of crushed red pepper. But that's just me. I make it the way they tell me the first time and then make my adaptations the second time around.

Comfort Food

Hey! It snowed this weekend! I'm ecstatic to say the least. My four year old heart wants to play. But it also wants yummy comfort food. And I've been experimenting. Fried Egg Sandwiches and Black Beans and Rice? YUM!

I bought these ramekins years and years ago. I thought they were pretty. I had no idea they were specifically for certain cooking dealios. I'd been googling baked eggs for awhile. I don't do so well in the fried egg department. I break the yolks and mess them up every time, so I thought if I could soft-cook eggs in the oven, I'd give it a try. It starts with a buttered ramekin. And please, please, please note the coffee mug Gay Boyfriend bought me last month. It makes me laugh.

Then I put in two eggs and peppered it. Added some garlic salt and put it in a 350 degree oven. Some of the recipes said to put it in a water bath. That seemed way too complicated, so no. I think I'll do differently next time.

Then I cooked up some bacon. Oh, bacon. My lover.

I prepared my plate. I made cheesy garlic biscuits the night before from Bisquick. Followed the recipe, but added shredded Velveeta (cheese of the Gods) and some garlic salt. I made them in a pan and not as biscuits and cut them into wedges. That's how much I love cheesy biscuits. Then I buttered both sides (I love butter) and added yellow mustard on one side and a slice of provolone cheese on the other. That might have been a mistake. I'll explain later.

Oh Bacon. I want to marry you.

Bacon on one side. Eggs on the other. They got too done without the water bath. I wanted them over easy, but the slimy whites were too slimy and I kept cooking them until they weren't slimy and hence the medium cooked eggs. I think the water bath would cook the whites faster without sacrificing the gooey yellowness of the yolks. I'll let you know.

The provolone? When it started to melt, it looked a little too much like slimy egg whites, so even though I was convinced it was melted provolone, I couldn't look at it. I thought it might be uncooked egg and it icked me. Sorry. But this sandwich was AWESOME! I can't wait to make it again with over easy eggs and cheddar cheese.

Then on Sunday night, with the flurries coming down, I decided to make black beans and rice. It's really all I had besides fresh produce and I've been eating squash until it grows out my ears. So. I made some rice. One cup of rice. Two cups of water. Brought it to a boil and then simmered it until it was done. About 20 minutes with the lid on. In the mean time, I sauteed half an onion, a red pepper, some garlic, added some chicken stock and simmered until the vegetables were done, added a generous sprinkle of cumin and black pepper and poured in an undrained can of black beans. I simmered off most of the moisture and then added the cooked rice and cooked it until it was almost dry. Yum and good. And great for a cold or warmed up lunch next week. I gobbled down about a quarter of it for dinner.

I promised one of my friends some baked squash with brown sugar and cinnamon and that's what's going on right now. It smells great, but I like my squash savory and not sweet. When it's done, I'll let it cool and then scoop it out, mash it and put it in a tupperware, then ship it out to my car for tomorrow. I can't wait to give it to him. I want to see the smile on his face. That's what makes it so fun!

Homemade Tomato Soup

Oh! It was so exciting to harvest my tomatoes! But I gave them to cowgirl to make salsa. So I ended up making homemade tomato soup from canned tomatoes. Oh well. It was wonderful anyway! I diced a small onion and browned it with 2 tablespoons of minced garlic in olive oil.













Then I added a 28 oz. can of tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of worchestershire sauce, a sprinkle of sugar and 2 cups of chicken broth. Then I simmered it for 30 mintes and added a tablespoon of dried basil.













Cooled it, blended it and added a can of fat free evaporated milk and warmed it up again. It's so good. It's so very good.

Chicken Quesadillas!~

My homegrown peppers were put to good use tonight! They were green when I picked them. When I pulled them out of the bag tonight, they were red. What happened? So I diced them!

And added a small diced onion.

Warmed up some olive oil.

And blackened them.

Then I mixed half a can of enchilada sauce with a smooshed can of breast of chicken. It looks gross, but if it's in little pieces I can't tell there's chicken in there.

And I added it to the vegetables.

And cooked it until most of the liquid was evaporated.

See? And now it's time to put it all together. Cheese. Glorious cheese.

I washed the skillet, heated up some olive oil, put in the tortilla and added some cheese.

Put a good scoop of the crap on it.

Added some more cheese and another tortilla...

Then flipped it.

I had to take some samples upstairs. The boys gobbled it up. And so did I. I think the best part was the crispy tortillas. And the subtle spice from the enchilada sauce. Not too hot. Not too nothing. Glorious.

Fried Zucchini

We were about 10 miles from Miss M's hometown when we went camping last weekend. Her dad brings the camper for us with his truck every year. This past Saturday, he stopped by for coffee and brought us produce! There were two days worth of cole slaw for my family on vacation and way too many beans. I brought the zucchini and broccoli home, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. I have read about fried green tomatoes, but I wanted to try fried zucchini. And I did it. First, I soaked it, sliced in milk.Then I coated it in crushed cheese nips (What? It's all I had. There is no bread in a single woman's house!) parsley and red pepper flakes.Fried it up in olive oil with some minced garlic.And there you have it. It was awesome! I make stuff up all the time, but this was a good one. I have one more zucchini to deal with. I may just do the same with it. I gobbled it all up!

Ancient Chinese Secret

I'm hosting a luncheon this weekend and whenever I invite people over, they ask, "Are you making that beef sandwich stuff?" And I always say yes, because even though it's horribly simple, everyone loves it and there's never any leftovers. I've taken to buying an extra roast that I cook the next day, just for ME. Because I'm selfish like that. Throw in a side of my sponsor's Chinese Noodle Salad, people bring the rest and we usually have a feast. Enjoy.

Kate's Shredded Beef
This is the easiest thing in the world that I'm almost ashamed to admit it is my signature dish. I usually get Round Bottom Roast, but any sort of beef will do - whatever's on sale and whatever your fat likes and dislikes are. I usually get about a three pounder, because that's what cooks the best in my crock pot. Add a packet of onion soup mix and a packet of dry italian salad dressing mix, throw in a cup of water and cook on low for about six hours. Then you shred it with two forks and return it to the crockpot. Serve on buns and people will marry you for it.

Well, they haven't yet. But I'm waiting.

Marcia's Ancient Chinese Secret
People bring this in various forms to potlucks all the time. But just remember - don't add the ramen noodles or the dressing until you're ready to serve. This salad is no good soggy or leftover.

2 bags of coleslaw or broccoli slaw - I like the broccoli slaw
2 packages of ramen noodles - beef or original asian flavor
1/2 a red onion
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup of cunflower seeds.

Mix broccoli slaw, almonds and sunflower seeds in a bowl. Crush ramen noodles and add, saving seasoning packets. Shake oil, vinegar, sugar and seasoning packets in a tupperware and then toss into the salad. You can alter the amounts of oil, vinegar and sugar to taste, of course. And if you want more dressing - have at it. I somtimes just use one bag of slaw and the regular amount of dressing.