Have A Joyful Kitchen

It appears WordPress has changed things so this will be a long post of photographs depicting what I have been doing in a room that holds so much creative and delicious promise. My kitchen. It’s not very large, but it is packed with the essential items to help me turn out an array of cooked and baked foods. I suppose you can click the photographs to view them better and I promise everything tasted heavenly. Thought of the day … have a joyful kitchen that brings you comfort and peace. Happy New Year! Please forgive the wallpaper.

Thursday Lunch

Have you ever made a sauce and saved a portion to use the next day? Having a basic tomato basil mushroom sauce on-hand, whether in the fridge or freezer, can make for a very fast meal prep. Try using it on poultry, meat and fish prior to baking.  It’s a great way to change the look on your dinner plate. For those loving to eat their morning eggs adding hot sauce, switching to a tomato sauce gives that condiment bottle a break. By cooking a double batch and keeping it properly stored, means you can dice veggies to incorporate and use different pastas, too. A meat loaf adorned with this sauce is delicious (add in a cup of Quaker Oats to the meat) right before baking the dish, it gives it more body and adds to the overall flavor. Pork chops baked with provolone cheese and sauce is another way to enjoy its versatility . So try making a double or triple pot and keep some ready-to-use. This method will surely save you time in the kitchen.

Tomato Basil Mushroom Sauce

2 lg cans tomato sauce

2 med cans tomato paste

3 cans spicy tomatoes & peppers

1/2 cup cold water

3 bay leaves

2 tbsp oregano

1-2 tsp sea salt (to taste)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 medium carrots (minced)

1 green pepper (diced)

1/4 cup deep red wine

1 Tbsp raw sugar

2-4 Tbsp garlic powder

1/2 stick unsalted butter + 3 Tbsp EVOO  (**)

3 whole yellow onions (sliced )

16 oz white mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)

1 cup fresh basil (remove long stalks) **

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1) Use a large pot or crock-pot and add in all of the ingredients with the exception of the onions and mushrooms and ** fresh basil

2) Stir to blend and turn stove to high heat

3) Large saute pan add butter and olive oil

4) Saute onions half-way and add in the mushrooms

5) When vegetables are cooked pour into bowl and set aside

5) Stir the sauce and bring to a boil

6) Reduce heat to medium and stir until it is boiling softly

7) Reduce heat to allow sauce to simmer for an hour or so

8) Using a clean spoon remove some sauce and add in a little veggies for a taste test

9) Add some salt pepper garlic and add in sauteed vegetables

10) Place the fresh basil on top and gently stir it in

11) Turn off the stove

12) Cook your pasta according to directions

13) Serve immediately and enjoy

Remember to divide up the remaining sauce to keep in your freezer and refrigerator. 

Breakfast & Dinner

It is simple to make fresh foods taste delicious. Adding a little enhancement and balancing of flavors is all it takes. We are still packing boxes.

Cooking Healthy 2012

I have found that Jasmine rice is absolutely delicious without any adornment. We have been consuming a lot of this lately, measured out in our delegated portions. Last night I prepared it with basil leaves, orange zest and juice, garlic powder and a tiny bit of salt and EVOO. Mmm delicious. I’ve been sautéing different fresh vegetables and combining them in new ways, in order to keep them appealing to me and my husband. We do get small increments of protein (although he doesn’t eat meat and this is a challenge), but we’ve done well with albacore tuna in water, freshly cooked fish and I also have been eating shaved turkey and baked chicken breast.

The soup in the pot is a recipe I remembered from a program I was on (The Cabbage Soup Diet) before we were married. Naturally, I have been tweaking it to be a vegetable-cabbage soup. Due to the salt restrictions, I have had to come up with ways to flavor our food whilst our taste buds became accustomed to the authentic flavor of each food we use. Surprising how the flavors come out when they are not masked with salt. Fresh salads are also doled out in 1/2 cup and 1 cup portions. So far so good we are reducing and feeling healthier for it.

I have to admit that I have been dreaming of fried chicken wings, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob dripping with onions, green peppers and butter. The biggest challenges have been no pasta, milk, chocolate, sodas, sugars, desserts or butter. We shall prevail and as soon as we get to our goal weights, we’ll be able to add in some of our favorite high-calorie foods, and you know … we’ll be measuring them as well. We can do this! Fillet Mignon is on my list and tonight I shall defrost a 6 ounce serving only to divide it into 2 ounce portions. Better to have it than not. For someone in love with food and eating this has been an eye-opening experience. Wish us Bon Appetit! Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Mistakes … I Still Make Them

 

Although I am very good at math, when I fail to write down transactions and keep them in my head, I find I have to pay for those mistakes. Ouch and many other expletives come to mind. In the meantime, we have been eating healthy foods, in moderation and it’s working. A little artwork thrown in and there you have it. We’re still human and we all have bad surprises. Going to bed. Another miracle please?

See What a Few Minutes In The Kitchen Will Get You

 

It only takes a very few minutes to put something together for a meal or dessert.

October Cooking

Cooking for the past week, a birthday gift for a little girl who lives downstairs and a little doodling, too. Happy Halloween!

On the Menu

What I’ve been up to in the kitchen yesterday and today. I used the end slice of bread and cut it into tiny squares, placed some beneath each chicken breast and baked. Without any added ingredients, the chicken basted the stuffing and the results were scrumptious!

Carrot Linguini

 

Breakfast and Dinner

Scrambled eggs and cheese, ham and tomatoes.

 

Buttery lemon sauce with tomatoes and angel hair pasta.

Southwestern Linguini

Last night I created salad

and southwestern sauce

and added it to my linguini

 

Saturday Night Trio

satnitedinner1, originally uploaded by Theresa111.

Trio of Crabmeat Veggies & Orzo

Meat from King Crab Legs (added last)

1/2 avocado sliced (added last)

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2 small onions (chopped)

1 red bell pepper

3 small carrots (sliced on bias)

1 cup grape tomatoes

Theresa’s Pasta Surprise

(click the photos for enlargement)

Theresa’s Surprise Pasta

1/2 box vermicelli (cook according to package)

10 pitted cherries

1/4 stick unsalted butter

1/2 carton pre-sliced porcini mushrooms

Don’t Forget The Butter

To make your very own party skillet add:

Porotbello mushrooms, tomatoes, butter, toss and turn.

Sprinkle salt and pepper and you’re done.

Gently Scrambled

There is something so sexy about food. If one looks closely it is either raw or transformed into something delicious and warm. Who wouldn’t want to lift a fork and taste these beauties? they are moist and flavored with a hand that knows subtlety. Never overpower that which has given the very essence of it’s life. Appreciate food … that’s what I believe.

Grapefruit Sorbet

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Here is the story and recipe. ** Please note for oranges or grapefruit reduce the sugar and add lemon juice for balance. Read the post and you’ll know. It tastes wonderful!

Cookie Monster

Toll House Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

 

1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

 

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COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15″x10″ jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.

 

 

 

Theresa’s Fettuccine Marinara

Fettuccine Marinara, originally uploaded by Theresa111.

Sometimes the finest things in life are the simplest. This dish is most satisfying and it takes only moments to prepare. Honestly minutes is more the descriptive, but you get my drift. Boil the water and when the bubbles are rising to the top, add in your sea salt. As the rapidly boiling water awaits the noodles, grab your deep saute pan and turn the heat to high. Add in 1/4 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil … named thusly by Rachael Ray, bless her), and then throw the noodles into the water. Stir to separate and look at your clock. Check the cooking time and because these particular noodles are thicker, you must taste them and look at the center of the noodle to insure they are cooked throughout.

Back to your saute pan. Toss in some tomato paste, 1/4 cup water and cook down. Add in a large splash of wine, bay leaf, garlic powder, fresh garlic and onions. Toss in a dash of salt. pepper and raw sugar. Cook and stir, cook and stir. Toss in your favorite dry herbs and cook some more.

Drain most of the water from your pasta and reserve 1/2 cup. Add in 1/2 stick butter and some fresh parsley, if you like. Toss and add some Kosher salt. Toss some more. Dish up and plop some sauce on top. Grate cheese and enjoy.

Great Lunch

My late Father taught me many ways to cook beef. This was one of my favorite dishes that I enjoyed as an afternoon lunch or prelude to a late dinner. After school I was usually hungry, especially after not breakfast and absorbing one of those hot school lunches. Being full of energy and always on the go, I required lost of protein, and this burger combination was fast and easy. It is a balanced and delicious way to fill up on a tasty treat before attacking the homework. Later I would join my friends to play until dinnertime.

Busy Cooking

 

I have been very busy in the kitchen lately and here are more pics.