Pita Pockets

 

It was one of those days where I couldn't think of what exactly to put together. I had bits of everything but not enough of one thing to make a main dish out of it. And then I was inspired by the  pita pockets I saw in my fridge....filling the pockets only require a little of everything to fill. And it's yummy. So I just cooked each thing separately and we filled our own pockets the way we liked.

Paprika sautéed mushrooms

Sautéed zucchini
Sautéed kale & onions
Pan seared chicken
Pita pockets
Chipotle mayo
Mayo

Tip: Warm or slightly steam the pita pockets first if they're coming straight out of the fridge. They tear easily otherwise.

Christmas Steak

And just like that, Christmas is upon us! This isn't Christmas dinner, but it's close.

Boneless rib steak:
Montreal Steak Spice
Chopped cilantro
Olive Oil

Mushrooms:
Garlic
Paprika
Cumin
S&P

Salad:
Baby Kale
Chick Peas
Pomegranate
Avocado

Dressing:
Tahini
Grainy Mustard
Maple Syrup
Lime juice

Everything was delicious. The steak was eaten with a wedge of lime for a nice citrus note. And, the vitamin C from the lime helps your body absorb the iron better from the red meat. Just FYI.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. 

The Love, Joy and Peace of Christ be upon your household. 

And may every good and perfect gift find its way to you in the New Year!

My hubby made these!

I just want to showcase my Husband's handiwork. He made meatballs from scratch! They were super tasty. I forgot to ask him what ingredients he used. Sorry guys. We had the vodka pasta sauce from Trader Joe's but he added extra onion and mushrooms to it which enhanced the flavor and texture. Next time he endeavors to make the whole thing from scratch: meatballs, sauce, pasta

I look forward to it. =)

Baked Portobello Caps

The picture doens't look like much...but those are baked portobello mushroom caps. I've always wanted to try cooking portobello...this was my first time! I didn't know it's actually a tedious process to scrap the brown gills looking stuff from the underside of the caps first. It ended up taking way longer than I expected so the stuffing for the caps overcooked on the stove (and then I had to bake everything afterwards.) Oh well...live and learn.

Stuffing:
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Onion
Diced mushroom stalks (cut from the portobello)
Panko
S&P
Dried herbs
Cumin

Sides were couscous and Shanghai bok choi.
It tasted good...but yeah, stuffing was over cooked. Next time!

Crustless Quiche

I was too lazy to make a crust...so I made one of my regular quiches in a cast iron pan, then put the whole thing in the oven to bake. Lovely.

Kale
Mushrooms
Onion
Cheese
Eggs
Almond Milk (remember it's 3 eggs to 1 cup milk)
Cumin
Paprika
Salt/Pepper



One of the best parts was that I did the whole thing in the same pan from start to finish. A couple less dishes to wash. =)

Saucy Veggie Omlette...not really

I don't know what this is called....when you crack eggs into sautéed veggies. It's not a fritata, it's not a Spanish omlette, it's not really an omlette either....meh. It was tasty! And an easy way to use up various veggies in the fridge. I served it with some garlic naan to soak up some of the sauce.



I sautéed everything until it was nearly done, made four "wells" that I cracked the eggs into. Covered it for a few minutes then served it.

Button mushrooms
Yellow Pepper
Broccoli
Onion
Eggs
Cumin
Paprika
Sugar
Basil flakes
Garlic
S&P
 

Broccoli Mushroom Quinoa Salad

Another Meatless Monday and I was toying with the idea of a warm salad. The broccoli, yellow heirloom tomatoes and mushrooms in my fridge was asking to be used but it wasn't quite enough to make three meal-size servings. (I like to have enough to pack my Husband lunch the next day.) I was tired of pasta so the next carb-type substance I thought of was quinoa. It cooks quickly, has great protein, is low in gluten and has a low glycemic index. I love the stuff.

I cooked the broccoli, 'shrooms and quinoa separately then tossed it together with the tomato and dallops of ricotta in a casserole dish before putting it in the oven for 15 min to meld the flavors together. I guess you could call this a casserole too...but I'm sticking with the warm salad description.

Broccoli - tossed in grapeseed oil, S&P and roasted
King oyster mushroom - sautéed with onion in cumin, paprika, salt, garlic salt in butter
Ricotta
Yellow Tomato
Quinoa

Super yummy...it will be going into rotation...when I next have these ingredients in my fridge at the same time. =)

Pesto Chicken Pizza

The pizza dough recipe I used can either make one thick crust pizza or two thin crusts...so here's what I did with the second crust:



Pesto paste
Sauteed chicken slices
Sliced mushrooms
Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Basil after baking



To no surprise the crust was still harder than I'd like...but this was a yummy pizza! Loved the fresh basil on it!

I also didn't have very good pizza baking trays. I'd love a pizza stone one day. In this case, I used the BACK of a rectangle baking sheet. The crust actually turned out better than the one baked on the round pizza sheet. A rolling pizza slicer would also be really handy...but I'm trying to avoid adding anymore utensils or apparatuses into our packed condo kitchen. One day...when we have a house and more cupboards.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I was venturing into making my own pizzas from scratch. It seemed so easy whenever I watch it on TV. Or even when I watch people make it from scratch at restaurants. Restaurants charge some $17 for a simple thin crust pizza and I'm SURE the raw supplies cost $4 tops. Anyways...so this is my first attempt:



I mixed BBQ sauce, ketchup and sriracha for my base sauce. Topped it with sauteed chicken slices, mushrooms, peppers, sauteed onions and some smokey gouda. (I would've used mozzarella but I didn't plan ahead and again, didn't have any.)



End result was really tasty actually! THOUGH....you know how I don't like baking? Well the dough for the crust (I don't remember which site I got the recipe from...I just ran a search for "thin crust pizza dough") didn't turn out as well as I'd like. I think I killed the yeast mixture or maybe I didn't pour it into the flour right. It's just not my thing. The dough didn't bubble and was pretty hard. Almost like a soft cracker. BUT, it still tasted really good!

Sautéed Mushrooms

I love mushrooms. I think my two favorite ways to eat mushrooms is in a chunky creamy soup or sautéed...which is what this post covers.

This one is sautéed in butter, seasoned with:
Chopped garlic
Cumin
Paprika
Salt
Chili flakes

Once everything is nicely coated with butter and spices, I cover the pan for a few minutes so that the moisture from the mushrooms come out. Then I uncover and let the water evaporate. I'll leave a minute or two between each time I stir so that the mushrooms almost char. Super yummy.

Veal Flank Stew and Spring Salad

I bought some veal flank meat and thought a stew would be nice....but as Spring is here, pairing it with a fresh salad would be even nicer.

Stew:
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Veal flank
Onion
Garlic
Cumin
Paprika
Sugar
Sriracha
BBQ Sauce
Ketchup
Tomato Paste
Various herbs that seemed to smell good together

Salad:
Spring Greens
Naval Orange cut to bite sizes
Chopped Almonds

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Grainy mustard
Honey
Lemon Juice

Leftover Makeover: Beef Stew

Remember the sirloin tip with very little meat fat, and wasn't slow cooked/braised so it came out rather chewy? Well it wasn't a big sell unfortunately. This meant I had a fair bit of leftovers and I needed to turn it into something yummy.

What better to hide it in than a stew! Stews hide everything. And because you're slow cooking it for a while, everything also gets quite tender. So that's where the roast went.

Sirloin tip roast leftovers
Carrots
King oyster mushrooms
Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Lentil stew leftovers
Paprika
Cumin
Rosemary
Red Wine

And it was good! Over rice and over pasta.

Mushroom Swiss Chard penne

And then it was Vegetarian Vednesday and I thought I'd try a pasta. I still had mushrooms and some extra swiss chard in the fridge so I decided that was going to be the "sauce" for the pasta. The result was actually quite delicious and this will definitely make it into the vegetarian rotation.

Onion
Mushrooms
Swiss Chard
Paprika
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Butter
Penne pasta



My husband recently commented that though he hasn't gotten back into working out, he's noticing more muscle definition and finding himself using a tighter belt notch. I'd like to suggest it's because we've cut our fatty meat intake. =) Hurray!

Mushroom Onion Quiche

Meatless Monday was upon me and I decided a quiche was in order...it's been a while. Well there wasn't a whole lot in the fridge to work with so a simple quiche it is.

Mushrooms
Onion
Paprika
Basil
Oregano
Eggs
Almond milk

Remember, it's three eggs to one cup of milk for the filling. And the easiest pie crust recipe is this: 1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 cup ice cold water, 1/4 cup olive oil. The trick is to beat the cold water and olive oil together until it thickens, then mix it into the flour/salt.

My only regret, I didn't have any cheese in the house. But the quiche was delicious anyways. =)

Cream of Mushroom

Okay making your own cream of mushroom is so amazing I will likely never buy it again!

Onion
Cremini mushrooms
Thyme
Veggie broth
Whipping cream (this is probably a killer but Almond Milk can be used as a healthy, low-fat substitute)

Mushroom Onion Kale Omelet

It was Meatless Monday and I was thinking about making a quiche again, but my only pie dish held a very yummy bake-less cheesecake in the fridge. So I opted to make a crustless quiche, but in the frying pan. So I guess I'll call this an omelet.

Kale - thinly chopped
Onion
Mushrooms
Eggs
Almond Milk
Salt & Pepper
Paprika
Cumin
Frulani cheese

I think I mentioned it previously, but the magic egg/milk ratio is three eggs to one cup of milk. It's a light, fluffy and fragrant mix every time! Enjoy!