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!

Beef stew

 

Another stew...cuz it's still cold out. =)

I used veal brisket as stewing meat...and these ingredients:

 

Tomatoes
Onions
Caraway seeds
Paprika
Cumin
Ketchup
Srirracha   

Rice wine

S&P to taste

Onions were softened first with the herbs. Then the brisket pieces were browned with the onions. Then a dash of rice wine (I didn't have red wine in the house.) The tomatoes went in after that along with ketchup (I didn't have tomato paste in the house) and srirracha. Heat was turned low for a nice simmer. And the consistency turned out just fine with the tomatoes releasing the water it had. I didn't have to add any more liquid surprisingly.

The only down side was that I only had about 40 minutes to stew the meat before it was served. While it was cooked through, it remained on the chewy side. It tasted great though.

My husband made a variation of this recently but it got to sit in a thermal cooker overnight. OMG. The brisket was melt in your mouth. I just need to plan a little further in advance....like I would need to for the ox tail stew. =)

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.

Sweet Potato Pork Pasta

Alliteration! I'm referring to the "potato pork pasta" bit. Anyways....I had bits of everything in the pantry and fridge and none of it was enough by itself to make a meal for two. So I mixed it all together into a pasta dish. Kinda like how you mix in bits of everything into fried rice.

Butter
Yam
Sweet potatoes
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic salt
S&P
Pork
Pasta
Chipotle mayo


The yam and sweet potato was cubed and pan fried in a bit of butter and seasoning to start things off while the pasta was cooking. I sliced up the leftover chipotle mayo port chop and warmed it with the yam/potatoes, then added the pasta at the end. I added more chipotle mayo as seasoning (because I love chipotle mayo with yam fries) and the end result was tasty and filling.

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!

Pot Braised Ribs

I love eating ribs...the meat is especially tasty and tender. Probably because of all the fat...but whatevs. If you're going to eat ribs, it better be fatty and good. Just don't eat it often. I cut up the ribs into two's and then boiled it in water for ten minutes to get rid of some of the fat and scuz. Then I drained the ribs and in another pot, started the marinade in which I'll eventually braise the ribs in:

Onion - sauteed until almost carmelized
Tomatoes
Paprika
Bbq sauce
Ketchup
Sirracha
Honey
Chicken stock
Apple cider vinegar

The ribs simmered in that sauce for...I dunno....40 minutes? Until the meat was soft and everything smelled heavenly. Then it was served and paired with the Beet and Brussel Sprouts salad.

I liked the sauce with onions and tomatoes more than I liked the ribs...but I think that's account my pregnancy tastebuds still throwing off the taste of meat. One day...in five months or so...this will taste as good as it smelled.

Grilled Zucchini

I know...I've totally fallen off the routine....but I promise it's for a good reason. So stay tuned! Meanwhile, I did manage to get a few more items on camera to share.

It's nearing the end of BBQ season...sadly...but this was one of my favorites through summer: Grilled whole zucchini. (Under the pile of grilled cauliflour...which is also good.) What I love about the grilled zucchini is 1) it tastes really good and 2) I don't have to cut up all the little pieces and turn them each on the grill.

Zucchini - cut lengthwise
Coconut oil spray
S&P
Whatever dried herbs you feel like
Served with some tahini dressing is really nice...but on its own is good too

Cauliflour
Grapeseed oil
S&P
Cumin
Paprika

(Both coconut oil and grapeseed oil can handle being in high heat without burning, unlike olive oil. So it's healthier to use these oils on the grill.)

Grill. Enjoy!
And in another month or so when it's too cold/wet to be outside to grill, just put it in the oven. =)

Yam Latkes and Egg with Tomato Salad

Sorry the lighting wasn't very good on this one. I saw something about sweet potato latkes in a magazine somewhere so I thought I'd give it a try. SUPER DELICIOUS...especially with a fried egg on top and when the yolk oozes over the crispy yam latke!!

Latke:
Shredded yellow yam
Eggs
Flour
Cumin
Paprika
Curry powder

Tomato Salad:
Regular tomatoes on the vine
Some kind of darker heirloom tomatoes
Yellow bell pepper
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Dried herbs
S&P to taste

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. =)

Roasted Cauliflower

This is a new favorite!
I'm not a cauliflour fan usually...but I heard all this talk about roasted cauliflour being delicious so I had to try.



I tossed the cut cauliflour in grapeseed oil (which doesn't burn or get rancid under high temperatures), salt, paprika and cumin. Then just baked them at 400 F until it started to brown. Turned/stirred once.

It was SO GOOD. I'm converted! I was going to save the leftovers for lunch but my husband and I just ate the rest with our fingers like it was popcorn. Enjoy!!

(Apparently, if you do the same with cheese instead, kids will even love it.)

Warm Sweet Potato Broccoli Salad

What do you do when you have a little bit of a couple different veggies but not enough of any for a good meal size serving? You throw it all together and call it stew or soup or in my case, salad. The yams take longer than broccoli to cook so I started with them in a pot with some butter. Added a tiny bit of water to get the steam going. Then I cut up the broccoli and added it. BUT, I didn't watch the timing so I ended up with overcooked broccoli. Ah well...still tasty. With the added water and moisture from the broccoli, there ended up being enough "sauce" to coat the salad so I didn't need to make a dressing. The contrast of soft warm veggies with the crisper cooler leaves was quite nice. The heaviness of the yam made it possible to be full as well.

Yam/sweet potato
Broccoli
Box mixed greens salad
Paprika
Cumin
Sugar

 

Sautéed Kale with Onions

I found this Italian kale at the grocery and thought I'd give it a try. The leaves are softer than the regular kale I'd find at Superstore so I wanted to see how it'd taste. Usually we're asked to cut away the stalks of the regular kale and it feels like such a waste but these ones, I could throw everything in to cook. Super simple side for anything.

Kale
Onion
Cumin
Paprika (this Cumin paprika mix is totally one of my favorites as you can probably tell)
S&P

Covered it for a bit and then sautéed until the moisture was gone.

Bean Patties

Yup still going strong on the vegetarian kick. I still really love a good marbled piece of rib eye steak, med rare with a nice sear...but a much smaller piece now. Less is more! Anyways, as summer is swinging in, visions of bbq's and grills and burgers and wings start to float in. I realize the picture is of patties in a frying pan, but that's really only because we hadn't filled up our propane tank for the bbq yet.

So, patties...I've tried veggie burgers and I really don't like the ones that imitate beef patties. If I wanted beef patties, I'll eat beef patties. In this case, I wanted to try making bean patties....see if it can taste good. And also because that huge tub of nine-bean mix I bought at Costco isn't being used up fast enough.



I kinda followed this recipe for a Black Bean Veggie burger. I used a nine bean mix instead of just black beans. Sriracha instead of chili powder. Added paprika to the mix. And used flour instead of bread crumbs...because I didn't have any and didn't want to waste my bread to make some.

Everything was mashed/mixed by hand because we don't have a food processor. And maybe it could'e used more flour (or bread crumbs) because it wasn't holding together very well. The cooked result was quite crumbly too so it's a good thing I didn't put it on the grill. BUT, it was very tasty indeed. Yay!

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. =)

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.

Pot roast

I've never made pot roast....so thought I'd give it a try. Bought a sirloin tip roast, put a delicious smelling rub on it. Seared all sides (and set off the smoke detector multiple times). Then into the oven it went. The color looked perfect when it came out...nice range of medium to medium rare for the various preferences in my family. BUT, as a sirloin tip, there's very little marbling of fat in it, so you guessed it, the poor roast was SUPER chewy. Tasted great, but hard to chew. It was a fail.

My uncle suggested next time I bake it at 250F for six to eight hours. I could try that. Or I could just buy prime rib roast next time. Maybe sirloin tip roasts are meant for braising only....anyone know?? Ah well.

My tasty rub:
Chili flakes
Paprika
Cumin
Rosemary
Garlic
Lime juice
Olive Oil


Sorry about the picture....I loaded it vertical from my phone onto the blogpost app, but then it comes out like this when I use my desktop.

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!