Breakfast for Dinner part 2

Tonight was hash night, and I must say that this new recipe is a close second to the hash I enjoyed in Seattle. As usual I made alterations, but nothing that is far from the basic recipe. I switched out a green pepper for the red, and rather than used packaged taco seasoning I used cumin, chili powder and turmeric. My fried eggs are not as pretty and I added half a avocado but I think I came pretty close to what they intended.

  

When I eat hash, it is a bit unconventional, but I like to smoush up my eggs and mix them with the hash, so this time I smoushed my eggs with the avocado and the sour creme and mixed it all around.The rich yolks and avocado made a silkiness throughout the hash, which was wonderful. So get creative and get you hash on.

http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/10/21/beef-and-sweet-potato-hash-livewell-2013-in-chicago/

Breakfast for dinner

Well today is a true confession day. I must say I spent the bulk of my weekend on a starch and bread binge. Burgers with buns, french bread, french toast, french fries, you name it, I ate it. But now that has past and I must focus on the week ahead. so I'm starting the week with leftover Moussaka, and my second cooking night will be breakfast for dinner. 

I came across a restaurant in Seattle last March that was serving corned beef has made with sweet potatoes, and I determined I was in love at that moment. Sadly enough I have not taken the time to duplicate the meal, but this morning as I poured over the blogs I follow, I came across the attached recipe for a beef and sweet potato hash that looks pretty close. So in an attempt to cleanse myself from wheat and starch, I will be giving this recipe a go, and I will let you know how close it comes to my memory of that wonderful hash I enjoyed in Seattle.

http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/10/21/beef-and-sweet-potato-hash-livewell-2013-in-chicago/

Moussaka my way

Moussaka is traditionally a Mediterranean dish that is healthy, rich and hearty. It is similar to what you would think of lasagna, but my version is a bit easier to pull off.

Moussaka My Way

1 lb ground beef or lamb
Greek seasoning and salt & pepper
1 lg egg plant, peeled and cubed in 1/2" cubes
1 med Onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced (I use garlic press)
2 Zucchini, quarter lengthwise and slice into 1/4" slices
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 1/2 c. frozen chopped spinach - thawed
8 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt diced eggplant and leave in colander for 30 min to 1 hour to sweet. 
Brown ground meat with seasoning, onion and garlic, in a dutch oven or oven proof stockpot. 
Rinse eggplant and pat dry, add to meat mixture with zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste and spinach. 
Allow to simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Mix the three cheeses together and spread over meat and vegetable mix, place under low broiler until the cheese starts to brown. Then dig in! It's also great reheated the second day, so it's a great make ahead meal that you can throw in the oven and warm until it is bubbly and hot.

Who needs take out

This week I've dug though my old recipe box that has recipes from my childhood, collected from my mom, grandmothers and aunts.  As I flip through the yellowed and stained cards I remembered many wonderful times gathering in the kitchen, making a wonderful meals that would be shared together. A regular was sweet and sour meatballs, so with that in mind I found the recipe for the meatballs and as I started thinking about the sauce I remember that mom would use a canned sweet and sour sauce she found in the Asian section of the grocery store.  So I did some hunting around in my other cookbooks and found an orange sauce that would fit the bill, so here it goes.

Turkey Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. dried bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Combine thoroughly all ingredients. Using a teaspoon (I used a small scoop), roll into small balls. Either brown in a fry pan or place them on a baking tray and place in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes, check for done-ness. Yield is 36 to 40 balls, freeze or use right away.
These meatballs are a staple that can be cooked off in batches and used as needed. You can add to anything from spaghetti sauce, or in my case, orange sauce and served over rice.

Orange Sauce
2 c. Orange juice
1 Tbsp Corn starch
1 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Orange zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook orange juice uncovered until reduced to 1 cup.
Mix cornstarch and water in small bowl until dissolved, and pour entire mixture in to pan. Add sugar and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and stir in zest, lemon juice and butter.

As usual I twisted things to work with what I had on hand, so I added a can of crushed pineapple to fill out the needed liquid, and added the supremes from the orange I grated the zest from, and omitted the sugar with the sweetness of the pineapple.

So with my meatballs cooked, I sauteed a chopped bell pepper and onion, and once it was softened I added meatballs to the pan and ladled the sauce over the top and served over rice.

  

Using what you've got

I've ended the week with 3.5 hours of overtime and I will be back at my office tomorrow to go at it some more. Three out of five nights I had places to be, and by tonight the last thing I wanted to do was spend allot of time in the kitchen.

So tonight I grabbed a couple of russet potatoes wrapped them in foil and tossed them in the oven. Curled up on the couch for thirty minutes with a my current novel, and then wandered back into the kitchen to cook off the pound of hamburger (the one thawed out for lasagna) with a chopped onion, Greek seasoning and a couple of tablespoons of the roasted tomatoes tomatoes I had in the frig. At that point I returned to the couch until the taters were done. So with a the  potato split and fluffed, we piled on the meat mixture, some butter, the leftover southwest salad dressing from couple of weeks ago mixed with some sour cream and topped with grated white cheddar cheese.

With a random selection of items we ended up with loaded baked potatoes that didn't take much to fix, and I've been able to relax the bulk of the evening, and now its time to get to bed so I can hopefully finish my current project at work in the morning. Good night everyone.

Weekly Recipes for week of Oct 7th - 13th

Good afternoon everyone. I'm sitting here on my couch looking out on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon with the doors hanging open relaxing and enjoying the waning smells and sounds of early fall. 

I spent Friday night and all day Saturday at a women's conference at the local sports arena, and sad to say the food choices were far from optimal, so this week I'm focusing on foods that are soothing to the system.


Menu #1
Tizza Soup
This soup recipe comes from a show I feel in love with some time again called French Food at Home, and she brings the history and lifestyle behind the food in the recipes. This recipe came from an episode she did on French dieting, which they don't actually believe in dieting. They believe in increasing movement in your life, and eating foods that are quality foods that are good for your body and everything in moderation. But when you over do it, and you need to drop a few pounds, or get your eating back in balance enjoy this simple soup for a day or two until your system returns to normal. They make little adjustments as needed to maintain the healthy lifestyle they embrace. So after a week of poor eating and indulgences, I'm having my Tizza Soup to start me week and set me up for a good week.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/tizza-soup.html


Menu #2
Eggplant Lasagna
This is one that I have done for myself and family many times and is a bit time intensive to assemble, but is can be easily done the night before and reheated when you are ready to serve.
Grab a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, ground beef (or an assortment of ground meats of your choice) mozzarella cheese (grated), ricotta cheese, a large eggplant (two if you are feeding a larger family), and carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bell pepper (pulsed in a food processor to get a fine chop) . 
Peel and thin slice eggplant, spread out on cookie sheets, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, and bake in oven for about 10 minutes to dry out some of the moisture but don't let them get too soft. While the eggplant cooks, start sauteing finely chopped carrot, onion, pepper and celery, and set aside once veg has softened. Brown ground beef, add softened veg and sauce in with the meat and heat through.  Mix grated mozzarella into ricotta and set aside.
To assemble, lightly grease baking dish (I'm using a loaf pan since I'm feeding only two and we will still have leftovers). Spoon a layer of sauce on bottom, add a layer of the eggplant, a layer of sauce, then a layer of the the cheese mixture (small glops, yes that is the technical term, spread across the sauce layer, and repeat, eggplant, sauce and cheese until your baking dish is full, ending with a cheese layer. Bake for about an hour in a 325 degree oven until cheese browns and the sauce is bubbling along the sides. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving to allow it to set.
Serve with a fresh green salad and rich garlic bread.

If the need arises for an additional meal, I have a ham hock in the frig and a quart of split peas that can be tossed in the crockpot in the morning that allows me to come home to a ready made pot of soup. But I'm expecting to have enough leftovers this week, so I might get the split peas next weekend.

Flops and Failures

It would be great to say that everything I make was wonderful, and disappeared quickly by those who ate it, but that is truly not the case. This week I was faced with another leftover rotisserie chicken and a curry soup was what came to mind. So I purchased some veg and used some stock I had mad over the weekend, and well, much to my disappointment I ended up with a rather large pot of soup that that was just okay. So the next day I made a pot of rice to pour the soup over and spiced the pot up a bit more, which helped a little, but I'm thinking the last of that pot is bound for the garbage disposal. I keep looking at it in the frig and can't bring myself to mess around with it anymore. So in spite of the fact that I've been cooking for over 30 years, there is always another flop out there waiting to happen, a flavor profile that just won't come together (my soup), or a cake that won't rise, a texture that is just not right, it could be any issue, they all happen from time to time to the best of us.

This past weekend was dark and stormy and I found myself in much of a funk. Both my husband and myself slept allot of Saturday away and I had to deal with some chores on Sunday, but the desire to curl back up and the couch with a blanket and nap some more was there in the back of my mind. In turn I failed to get my menus under control, I looked at cookbooks, I watched some food shows, and just couldn't find my inspiration for the week. In turn, this has produced random eating when it comes to my primary meals, we even broke down and had a hot dog at Costco as we ran errands tonight, as I stated in my original post, Failing to plan is planning to fail. Yup, that was my week, but I'm not discouraged, I am already focusing on what to do this next week, so look out world, I'm back in the kitchen!

I have managed to crawl out of my funk mid week and I dove into doing a bit of baking which is something I haven't done much of in the last few years. I found a little something that I can eat for breakfast and not worry that its going to set my system off, as well as fill the need for something that is bready and sweet, and figured I would share it with you. Happy Baking

Zucchini Muffins

3 cups blanched almond flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp backing soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 med eggs, beaten

1/3 cup coconut oil or melted butter

1/4 honey

1/2 tsp lemon zest

3 cups grated zucchini

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper liners

2. Mix almond, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl.

3. Add beaten eggs, honey, lemon zest, and grated zucchini. Stir to blend.

4. Divide batter into muffin tins, but do not overfill. Works betting with smaller cups.

5. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and let cool slightly on wire racks.

Serves 12

On top of these yummy gems, I managed to make gingerbread cupcakes with a lemon glaze, which were not gluten or sugar free. There are yummy, but I'm paying for indulging. 

Time to focus on eating the right things again and having my plan in place this next week. Hope you are finding fun things to cook and enjoy!