What I Ate Wednesday Week 3

Breakfast
Low Sodium Waffle with butter and Apple Cinnamon Syrup from Knaebe's and Jennie-O Turkey Sausage.

The Waffle recipe is from the book 500 Low Sodium Recipes that we got for Christmas. We made them for the first time on Saturday. We may do some tweaking to the recipe, but they were pretty good.

Lunch
Homemade Lasagna and Garlic Parmesan Toast with ciabatta bread from our local grocery store.

The Lasagna recipe was from the 500 Low Sodium Recipes cookbook. I used our Marinara sauce.


Snack
I needed an afternoon snack. I found leftover Peaches and Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce from a dessert we had a couple nights ago. 

Dinner 
Italian Wedding Soup. There will be a post coming later on this recipe. It was a hit at church.

Dessert
Cheesecake Pudding and Michigan Blueberries that were in the freezer.

This edition was way more exciting than previous editions. Doing this week by week has encouraged me to become more creative.


~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday Week 2

Breakfast
I had to grab a quick breakfast, because I had physical therapist appointment for my shoulder. So, I had my old standby...cereal. I chose Blueberry Crunch. As far as I know it is exclusively sold at Target. I have to stock up when I can.

Lunch
A salmon patty and a salad with Parmesan dressing, salami, and cheddar cheese.

Dinner
We had so many leftovers in the fridge, so leftover fest it was. Even though I didn't eat any leftovers. I had another salad and a grilled cheese sandwich.  

Dessert 
A mug of hot chocolate from a mix that a member made us for Christmas. It was rich and delicious.

I am hoping to eat some more exciting food next week. Blogging about eating has inspired me to get more creative. 

On a complete different note: It is my best friend's birthday! Happy Birthday, Carolyn! You are an amazing friend. Panera will always be our place. (See, I connected it to food.)

~Stefani =)

Turkey Tetrazzini

This is a great post-Thanksgiving meal. We froze one of the turkey's breasts from our Thanksgiving turkey and used it for this meal this past week. Making a roux with homemade chicken broth reduces the sodium greatly. This is another dish where I do not miss the salt. 
This recipe was adapted from the one that can be found here.


12 oz egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine or other pasta
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup cream
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (divided into 1/3 and 1/3 cups
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup bread crumbs (panko are best for low sodium cooking)
 
Preheat oven to 375°F. 
Start heating 2 to 3 quarts of water for the pasta. Follow the package directions and cook until al dente.
In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Into the saucepan with the butter and flour, slowly whisk in the milk, cream, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 to 8 minutes.
When the pasta is ready, drain it. In a large bowl combine the pasta, the sauce, and the turkey. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Parmesan. 
Transfer the mixture to a buttered 3-quart casserole.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs evenly over the tetrazzini, and dot the top with the remaining butter, cut into bits.
Bake the Tetrazzini in the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the top is golden.

The Ingredients.

Cubed turkey breast.

The unsalted butter melting.

The flour added to the melted butter.

The broth added to the butter and flour mixture.

The milk and the cream.

The turkey and the sauce.

The pasta and cheese added to the sauce and turkey.

The mixture put into a 3 quart glass casserole dish and topped with panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and dotted with butter. 

The final product baked to golden brown perfection.


You can add mushrooms and peas if you so desire. I do not like mushrooms and Joshua doesn't care for peas. Hence, why we leave it plain.


~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday

This is a popular thing to do with people who have food blogs. I thought I would give it a try. The premise is to post what you ate on Tuesday on Wednesdays. I can't guarantee that it will always be healthy.

Breakfast

I am addicted to Chocolate Chex. It is so wrong, but feels so right!

Lunch

I made grilled cheese with Tom's Market (the local grocery store) cibatta bread with cheese that is terrible for you. You know, the creamy fake stuff. No, I did not feed this to my husband.

Dinner

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Marinara and Salad with Parmesan Dressing. For the meatballs I used ground beef and ground pork. My husband enjoyed the combo. I am not a huge pork fan.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this first "What I Ate Wednesday".

~Stefani =)

Thanksgiving 2011

We celebrated Thanksgiving about a week early with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. This year I made the entire Thanksgiving feast. I also roasted my very first turkey. Everything turned out quite delicious. If I do say so myself. Although, all the yums I heard around the table also verified the deliciousness. 

The Menu
Turkey
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes (real of course)
Stove Top Stuffing (It is just plain yummy)
Green Bean Casserole
Corn Casserole
Whole Berry Cranberry sauce
Grands Biscuits
Knaebe's Apple Pie

Corn Casserole is my husband's grandmother's recipe. I'm not a huge fan, but I understand there are just some foods that just "make" it a holiday. My "makes it a holiday" food is oyster stuffing. I opted not to make it this year. I haven't quite mastered it yet, so I decided not to mess with it. I think it was the first Thanksgiving I haven't had it. 

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving spread. The cooking went smoothly. I was actually ahead of schedule. 

Here's some pictures of the food. (I didn't get a good one of the whole turkey.)

This is the apple pie from Knaebe's Apple Farm. It was as delicious as it looks. I have another in the freezer for a future time. Next year, I am buying them out of pie.

 The amazing gravy. I think the fat separator gadget I bought really helped. 

The only whole bird shot. I was so busy making the above gravy. 

The spread.

The bird all carved up.


On actual Thanksgiving Josh and I had a beef roast. Yeah, I know, weird. But it was just the two of us. 

The Menu 
Eye of Round Roast
Mary Kay's Mac n Cheese (She graciously brought some by)
Green Bean Casserole (made with no sodium cream of chicken)
Brownies

The feast.

My plate. Yum!


We hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.

~Stefani =)

Slow Cooker Chili

We found this recipe on Low Sodium Cooking. This chili is extremely hearty. It uses stew meat instead of ground beef. You will not miss the salt in this recipe. 

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Onions, Chopped

2 teaspoons of Garlic, Minced

2 tablespoons of Chili Powder
*
1 tablespoon of Ground Cumin

1/8 teaspoon of Black Pepper

1 1/2 lb of Beef Stew Meat, Cubed

2 cans of No Salt Added Tomatoes

1 can of No Salt Added Black Beans
 (optional)
8 ounces of Frozen or No Salt Added Canned Corn (optional)

*If you can get some ground Chipotle from a spice shop, then I recommend cutting the Chili Powder amount in half and adding 1 tablespoon of Chipotle.
 
Heat oil in a large skillet. 
Add onions and garlic and cook 4-5 minutes, until onions are softened. 
Add spices and beef. 
Cook and stir 6-8 minutes, until beef is browned on all sides. 
Place beef mixture in slow cooker. 
Stir in tomatoes and beans if desired. 
Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

The ingredients.

I am lazy and chop my onion and garlic in the food processor.

Cube the stew meat.

The oil, onion, and garlic.

Adding the beef to the pan.

Adding the ground Cumin.

Adding the Chili Powder.

Adding the Black Pepper.

This, my friends, is essential for slow cooking. It is a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. It makes clean up so easy. I believe my friend, Amy, introduced me to this amazing product.

Put this delicousness into.....

 this.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Stir it all together and wait 8 to 10 hours.

Pour on top of egg noodles (or rice or elbow macaroni). Top with cheddar cheese. 

This recipe is crazy simple and can be personalized in so many ways. Like green peppers? Add them. Want it more spice? Add more chili powder.

~Stefani =)

Vindaloo

We came across this recipe when we were trying to figure out what to do with some leftover pork. We recently tried it with chicken. It worked well. This is a great recipe for a quick dinner. Just put the meat in to marinate in the morning or night before and the meal will take about 15 minutes to prepare in the evening. 

Curry Paste Ingredients
2 teaspoons of Ground Coriander
2 teaspoons of Ground Cumin
2 teaspoons for Ground Mustard
2 teaspoons of Ground Cloves
1 teaspoon of Turmeric
2 inch piece of Ginger Peeled and Grated
3/4 cup of White Vinegar OR 1 cup of Vegetable Oil

Main Dish Ingredients
Curry Paste
1 tablespoon of Minced Garlic (or Grated Garlic)
1 1/2 cup of Chopped Onion
1 pound of the Meat of Your Choice Cut into 1/2 inch Cubes (Pork or Chicken)
4 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
1 can of Diced Tomatoes, Drained
4 cups of white or brown rice
Salt and Pepper to taste


In a non-reactive bowl or glass dish combine the Curry Paste, garlic, and half of the onion.
Add the cubed meat (pork or chicken).
Coat the meat thoroughly with the Curry Paste and leave to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Once the meat is finished marinating, heat the oil in a large skillet over low heat.
Add the remaining onion and saute.
Saute for 5 minutes
Drain the pork, reserving the marinade.
Turn up the heat and add the meat a few cubes at a time.
Toss until the meat is brown on all sides.

Saute for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and reserve marinade  

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. 

Serve over hot rice.

The ingredients, minus the meat of your choice.

 Saute the onions in the vegetable oil.

 Taking the meat out of the marinade.

Adding the meat a few cubes at a time. 

 Add the tomatoes.

 Mixing the onion, meat, and tomatoes.

The finished product. Feel free to top with cheese.



~Stefani =)