Leftover Makeover : Prime Rib Roast Bone Soup

Sorry no image for this one as it was really tasty and we ate it up before I remembered to take a photo.

Beef ribs from the prime rib roast

Cabbage 

Carrots
Tomatoes
Celery
Potatoes
Tomato paste

Extra seasoning : cayenne pepper, Bay leaves, thyme, oregano, paprika 

Boil until meat is falling off bone. Enjoy!

Baked Miso Tofu on Salad and Burnt Tomato Soup

I can't remember where I saw a recipe for baked miso tofu, but it sounded interesting. I had both medium firm regular and soft egg tofu. I've been buying organic since I hear soy is a major GMO product now.

Miso sauce:
Miso paste
Soy sauce
Sugar
Grapeseed Oil

Mix this all together and then spoon over the cut tofu in a baking sheet. Bake at 350-385 F until the liquids dry and it starts to brown. Serve over salad with a garlic balsamic vinegar dressing that you can also easily throw together.

Tomato Soup....sadly was a bit of a fail. I was browning the onions and had added cut tomatos to simmer with it, except I didn't include enough liquids in the pot...or maybe the stove was on too high. Anyways....the bottom burnt. I picked out what I could, added veggie stock and then put the immersion blender in until I got the desired consistency. My husband said it tasted good...so I'll go with that. But I'm not aiming for a repeat performance for sure. =)

Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Vegetable Stock

Meatless Rotini Casserole

It was another Meatless Monday and this time I was going to experiment with tofu. I had grown up eating it Asian style...but was told that it really takes on whatever flavors you cook it in...so I was going to use it in a "meat" sauce for a pasta casserole....that didn't have meat in it.

Tofu
Tomatoes
Onion
Tomatoe paste
BBQ Sauce (for smoke)
Basil
Oregano
Parmesan
Goat's milk gouda
Tri-colored rotini

End result....it was really really good! I could still tell tofu was tofu...but it wasn't as if I was trying to hide the tofu in the first place. Now I know that I can experiment more with cooking tofu like meat. However, as most of the soy products in North America are GMO....I also have to be wary about where the tofu comes from. It's unfortunate because tofu can be so good for you otherwise.

Tri-Colour Linguine

It was Vegetarian Vednesday and I just had scrapings in the fridge....but I managed to pull this colourful number together and you know, it was actually pretty tasty! The "tri-color" refers to the squash, corn and peas....not the linguine itself.

Onion
Leftover squash pieces
Frozen Corn niblets
Frozen Peas
Basil
Oregano
Cumin

I just used pasta water to make the "sauce"...it's really just seasoned with the herbs and some S&P. Glad to find out that a vegetarian meal can be pretty easy to put together. =)

Skillet bread

I don't bake...unless it's meat or a casserole. Not sure what it is, but something about breads, cakes and etc scare me. I think it's because the correct amounts of ingredients added is actually kind of important and I can't "wing" it. Then I came across this easy skillet bread recipe...and it's not baked!

I added Basil and Oregano....as well as some parmesan cheese.

It's quite a hearty bread to go with a soup. I imagine I can also slice it in half through the middle and make a grilled cheese or something. Enjoy!

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. =)

9 Bean Squash & Spinach Soup

 

We're trying to reduce the amount of meat we consume...because it really is way too much for our physical systems that really are built more for herbaboires than carnivores. This is coming from someone who LOVES her meat. Especially red meat, medium rare. Sigh.

So...taking Meatless Mondays more seriously...I'm venturing into vegetarian cooking territory and making a hearty, high protein, high fibre soup.

9 bean mix (from Costco)

Butternut squash

Spinach

Oregano

Basil

Celery seed

Paprika

Garlic

Turkey bones (for the broth, I know, it's not vegetarian but I didn't have vegetable stock handy. Baby steps)

And you know, it's pretty tasty! And filling! I do burn it off faster than a heavy meat dinner, but then I reach for some almonds or fruit to take the edge off and just go to sleep. And my GI is happier for it.

Hearty Turkey soup

It's getting colder and colder out there. Time for all the soup and stew recipes to come out! Here's an experiment that turned out pretty yummy: Turkey soup

Turkey carcas from whatever festive dinner you had
Turkey meat (I prefer the leftover dark meat)
Butternut squash (leftovers as well)
Tomatoes
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Quinoa
Garlic
Dried herbs (Thyme, Basil, Oregano in my case)

Threw everything into a big pot in the afternoon....3 hrs of simmering later....yummy goodness that feels like a warm blankie. Enjoy!

Sautéed Yellow Zucchini

(Apologies for the bad picture lighting on this one...I forgot to turn off my cell phone flash.)

This is an easy vegetable side to any dinner...hard to mess up.

Zucchini
Dried Basil and Oregano flakes
Salt and Pepper
Dash of Cumin

When you see the zucchini slices starting to turn transparent, then it's time to flip. Enjoy!

Zucchini Tomato Soup

It was Meatless Monday...and it was cold. I had a flat of tomatoes where some were starting to show spots, as well as two green zucchini's at the bottom of the veggie drawer that needed eating. So I decided to do a zucchini tomato soup.

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Onion

Garlic

Couscous

Tomato paste

Cumin

Basil flakes

Chili flakes

Oregano flakes

Carrot juice

Sugar

Water

Dash of white wine

While grating the zucchinis, I found I had way too much, so as a last minute idea, I made some zucchini patties to eat with the soup:

Zucchini

Spelt flour

Frulani cheese

Egg

S&P

It was perfect for a cold day. The chili flakes added extra heat and kick to the soup. The zucchini patties were flavorful with the cheese and absorbed some of the heat from the soup when eaten together. The couscous in the soup added heartiness without it getting too heavy. Will be made again I'm sure.

Pork Rib Stew & Braised Purple Cabbage

It's getting cold out...and as such, my mind is starting to think of hearty soups and stews. And cooked veggies. This recent experiment turned out decently though I think the pork rib stew flavors could be stronger.

Pork stew:
Pork riblets
Onion
Lime juice
Oregano
Sugar
Chili powder
Soy sauce
Ketchup

Braised Purple Cabbage:
Purple cabbage
Apple
Raisins
Honey
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste

And the cooked cabbage turned out pretty decently too. My husband had gotten tired of the slaw over the summer so to change the texture I tried this. The apples add a nice sweet/tartness to the mix.

All the above was served with brown basmati rice mixed with red quinoa.

Barley & Lentil Salad

It was Meatless Monday in the house and I realized I forgot to buy some heartier vegetarian produce. So what could I make? Rummaging through my cupboard I came across some pot barley and lentils. It was a bit hot outside to be eating stew, but I could turn it into a salad! So here it is:

Pot barley
Lentils
Tomato
Egg (this is allowed for vegetarian meals right?)
Shallot
Dried figs
Dried Basil and Oregano
Cumin
S&P to taste

It was scopped onto a bed of baby romaine and dressed with the lime vinegrette I've been making a lot of. Turned out....not bad. The figs added bursts of sweetness that went with the citrusy dressing really well. The barley really soaked up the dressing so I'll need to add more to get some taste into it. But it was filling...with lots of good fibre. Until next Monday!