updates

First a big SHOUT OUT TO JAMAL. (Hey, cute bankers need props, and this one has a killer smile.)

Second, I've been *away*. Someone I love has had health issues. We are all fried but still kicking.

Third, I haven't forgotten to write - just haven't had time. So I'm behind on a couple of things.

This morning started off with having a bit of evil fun with the dear daughter-in-law. Last night she made cookies while watching The Real Housewives of Wherever the Hell...or maybe it was that new thing, Russian Dolls. At any rate, she left the chocolate chips 48 minutes past their time to come out of the oven. Entire house smells like someone torched the Hershey's Factory, but...the house didn't burn down. I texted friends of hers from out of town and had them giving her grief for a couple of hours. She wound up blaming her poor husband, who was in a meeting at work and had no clue what I'd done.

Oh, and I attended a two-day writers' retreat once I got back home last Friday (turned around and left 2 hours later, so was on the road 9 hours that day, but it was well worth it). TALENTED group of ladies in the Midwest Romance Writers. We drank margaritas and mojitos, critiqued one another's work, chatted until the wee hours of the morning, and discussed things I haven't talked about since college days. Thanks, ladies - I had a blast!

Back to writing for me. I'm a tad behind.

Take care...see you in a bit...
~ Sunny Bob

 

Rutabaga Substituting For Mashed Potatoes

I'd never cooked rutabaga, didn't realize it was so similar to potatoes (which I LOVE), but with only a fraction of the carbs. For 3 people (and mind you, we have cut our portions in this house), I used 2 large rutabaga, peeled them as I would a potato (only more closely - lol - because they're a tad more expensive), cubed them, then boiled them.

Next step was to put them into a food processessor (a good blender with a metal blade works just fine), puree them, and add 1/2 cup of milk and 3 or 4 tablespoons of margarine (both of which I heated in a small pan on the stove). Combine, salt and pepper to taste.

Something I highly recommend is using seasonings instead of so much butter or margarine. Penzys Spices has one called Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle that is delicious over popcorn, potatoes, garlic bread, and salads. That combined with a light salt and their Tellicherry Indian Black Pepper makes this dish even better.

The result is approximately 275 calories for the entire dish, 11.5 fat grams, and 20 carbohydrate grams, or a ratio of 92-7-7 if you're cooking for 3 people, as I am. I always round up to the nearest number rather than down/

This is a good side dish alongside fresh green beans, steamed with a dash of Herbs de Province and a bit of margarine. Add some iced tea sweetened with Splenda and whatever your meat dish (ours is roasted chicken with a corn salsa with the rutabaga), and you've got yourself a heart-healthy meal.

Fat Burrito For Diabetics

Of course, you don't have to use ALL of the ingredients - you can even mix and match. But here's what 1 burrito (that is quite filling) will net you...


*********************calories***** fats***** carbs

hamburger 4 oz *******245 *********17 *******0
Large flour tortilla *****190 **********3 ******32 (3 grams = dietary fiber)
Refried beans ½ c *****130 **********4*******16 (7 is dietary fiber)
Pace salsa 2 T **********10********** 0******* 2
Lettuce***************** 0**********0******* 0
Tomatoes ¼ c ***********9**********0******** 2
Cheddar 1 oz **********115********** 9********* .5
Sour cream 1T **********25********** 2.5****** 1
**********************602 calories
*********************************35.5 fat grams
*********************************************53.5 carbohydrates

Creamed Tuna Recipes

I'd never made this dish until neighbor Donna told me how to make it. She suggested serving this with Chinese noodles. I do urge you to do so with FRESH & CRISP noodles, though - lol.

She told me to heat a tablespoon of butter, mix in a tablespoon of flour, pour in a cup of milk to the mixture until it thickens (stirring almost continually so all the lumps will dissolve and the substance won't stick to the pan). Then add your tuna, salt and pepper to taste, and serve over Chinese noodles.

I was surprised that I liked it, but...it was good!

* * *

Found this version on About.com's recipe site:

Creamed Tuna

Serve creamed tuna as a lunch dish or for dinner over toast, biscuits, or rice.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
1 can (about 7 ounces) tuna, drained
1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen peas, cooked


PREPARATION:

Melt butter over medium-low heat; blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes, or until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk while stirring constantly. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

Add drained tuna and cooked peas.

Continue heating and stirring until hot. Serve creamed tuna over toast, biscuits, or rice.Creamed Tuna recipe makes approximately 3 cups.

* * *

This one came from http://www.recipezaar.com/693

Creamed Tuna

RECIPE BY: Opal Fitzgerald

This is a quick way of fixing it and one that I have used for years as a quick lunch or supper. Add a salad and drink and it equals a good meal.

Ingredients

1 (10 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (6 1/2 ounce) can of tuna, drained
1/2 cup milk
1 (2 ounce) jar of pimientos (optional)

Directions

1Mix soup and milk until well blended, heat until very hot (do not boil) add tuna and pimientos.
2Heat until hot and serve over toast or biscuits.
3Garnish with a couple of small sweet pickles (goes great with this).

Chicken adobo soup with bok choy

SERVES 4

Ingredients

* 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
* 1/3 cup rice vinegar (I’d recommend less)
* 2 garlic cloves, sliced (or 2 heaping tablespoons of minced garlic)
* 1 bay leaf (or a tablespoon of the flakes)
* 1 teaspoon olive oil* 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
* 4 cups chicken stock or broth* 1 1/2 cups skinned and shredded roasted or boiled chicken breast meat
* 1/2 cup uncooked whole-wheat (whole meal) couscous or 1 cup cooked brown rice (I didn’t even use this)
* 1/2 pound baby bok choy, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/2-inch wide
* 2 green (spring) onions, including tender green tops, thinly sliced (I used a stalk of celery this time instead)

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and bay leaf over medium-high heat. Heat the mixture until it just comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the yellow onion and saute until soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the soy sauce mixture, chicken and couscous. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and simmer until the bok choy is tender, about 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls and garnish with the green onions. Serve immediately.

Leftovers & Learning Experiences

Winter brings out the experimenter in me. I rarely post recipes, but I thought I'd do more of them this year...well, at least have a good start - lol. Enjoy.

First the leftover beef - this is what's happening to it today:

Beef Tapa

1 kilogram of sirloin beef (okay, so I don't have quite that much left over)
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
2 tbsps of salt

Slice beef thinly across the grain into serving size. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and then spread the mixture across the meat. Marinate for 24 hour min in fridge, then fry in a hot pan, and serve.

Italian Style Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (halves)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup fine dry Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup butter

PREPARATION:

Wash chicken and pat dry. Dip chicken into eggs. Combine cheese and bread crumbs. Coat chicken thoroughly with crumb mixture. Place on greased baking sheet. Drizzle with salad dressing and place pats of butter on each piece of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.


Italian Bread Crumbs
(haven't made this yet, so today is a first)

1 cup bread crumbs1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes1/4 teaspoon garlic powder1/4 teaspoon onion powder1/4 teaspoon sugar1 dash oregano

Scalloped Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, about 6 to 8 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

PREPARATION:

In a buttered 2-quart baking dish, place a layer of about 1/3 of the potatoes. In a cup or small bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about half of the flour mixture over the potatoes; repeat with another layer of potatoes and the flour mixture and top with remaining potato slices.

Dot with butter then pour hot milk over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes, or until scalloped potatoes are tender and cheese has melted. Scalloped potatoes serves 6 to 8.

Crunchy Salad Topping
(looking forward to a good salad prior to the meal)

½ cup of Carrots.½ cup of Onions.½ cup of Peppers.½ cup of Tomatoes.½ cup of Shreded Bacon.¼ cup of Soy nuts.¼ cup of Roasted sunflower seeds.

Fry the bacon until crunchy, then shred.Blanche the vegetables (carrots, onions, peppers, tomatoes) an strain. Mix these with the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle onto prepared salad. Keep unused portions of the mixture in and aritight container in the refrigerator to preserve the crunchiness.

Spinach Potato Frittata

This meatless main dish is made with vegetables, potatoes and eggs.

INGREDIENTS:

-
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 small red potatoes, sliced
1 cup torn fresh spinach
2 tablespoons sliced green onions
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste

-
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

-
PREPARATION:

-
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Place potatoes in the skillet, cover, and cook about 10 min, until tender but firm. Mix in spinach, green onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Continue cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted.
-
In a medium bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Pour into the skillet over the vegetables. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until eggs are firm.