One of our most favorite veggies is asparagus. So yummy and so good for you. All veggies are good in some way. One huge reason why asparagus is even more appealing to us, well, ME specifically, is that it's a natural water-weight-shedder. I'm sure there's a much more scientifically correct term for it, but you all know what I mean. So, in addition to being extremely tasty, this green spear is incredibly good for you, in more ways than one! And mushrooms, well, they're just so stinkin' good! We love to use portabella mushrooms. They are thicker and seem to have a more distinct taste to them. There's nothing wrong with a good old button mushroom, though!
So, last night Matt grilled some flank steak (SO GOOD) and I roasted the asparagus and bellas with some fresh shaved Parmesan and topped it with fresh basil. I decided on the basil last-minute. I bought some yesterday (and hopefully I'll be growing it soon!) Basil is my favorite herb. So fresh. So tasty. I think I'd put it on everything if I could. Not too sure how Matt would feel about that. Maybe I'll try one day!
You know, I say this is a dinner blog, but I feel like I ramble on and on (and on and on) a lot. I guess it's all still about food, though. Who cares?
Here's what you'll need:
1 lb. Fresh green asparagus spears
1/4 lb. Sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 Tsp. black pepper
1/2 Tsp. sea salt
1/2 Oz. shaved Parmesan cheese
4 Leaves basil, chopped
Here's how it's done:
Place all ingredients, except for the cheese and basil, on a baking sheet. Make sure all veggies are in one layer.
Bake @ 375* for 15 minutes
Remove from oven and top with Parmesan, then broil @ 500* for 5 minutes
Remove from oven and top with fresh basil
Eat it up!
Matt's take: This is so awesome. Wasn't sure how it would turn out. Let's make it again, soon! Is there any left?
My take: Don't doubt the chef! :0) I knew it would be good!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
chop and drop salad
The "chop" comes from the way the salad is prepared...chopped veggies. YUM.
The "drop" comes from the apple cider vinegar dressing which drops the glycemic index of the salad. Yep, you read that right...adding apple cider vinegar to anything (potatoes, salad, you-name-it)it instantly lowers the glycemic index of that food. Don't ask me how. I'm not really sure. But it does! I think we all know (and if you didn't before, you do now) that salad dressing, most anyways, are chock-full of unnecessary calories from fat and sugar. Bleh!!! Believe it or not, you CAN have a great-tasting salad dressing that works for you...instead of you having to work it off in the gym. I'm sure the last thing we want to think about is working off a friggin' salad at the gym. C'mon people, we go to the gym to work off other stuff, like, oh, I don't know, ice cream? Anybody? Please tell me I'm not alone on this.
Enough already. It's time to chop and drop!!! (It's pretty tasty, if I do say so myself)
What you'll need:
1 small haas avocado, chopped
1 large tomato, quartered and chopped
1/2 cucumber, quartered and chopped
2 green onions, sliced/chopped
1/4 large red onion, sliced and chopped
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Mix it up:
Chunk everything into a salad bowl and mix away!
It's so, so, so good. Honestly. The apple cider vinegar is sweet/tangy and oh-so yummy in the salad.
Matt's take: "This is ridiculous. Why haven't we made this dressing before? This makes me want to eat salad all the time...seriously, when can be have it again? Tomorrow?"
My take: CHOP AND DROP, BABY!
The "drop" comes from the apple cider vinegar dressing which drops the glycemic index of the salad. Yep, you read that right...adding apple cider vinegar to anything (potatoes, salad, you-name-it)it instantly lowers the glycemic index of that food. Don't ask me how. I'm not really sure. But it does! I think we all know (and if you didn't before, you do now) that salad dressing, most anyways, are chock-full of unnecessary calories from fat and sugar. Bleh!!! Believe it or not, you CAN have a great-tasting salad dressing that works for you...instead of you having to work it off in the gym. I'm sure the last thing we want to think about is working off a friggin' salad at the gym. C'mon people, we go to the gym to work off other stuff, like, oh, I don't know, ice cream? Anybody? Please tell me I'm not alone on this.
Enough already. It's time to chop and drop!!! (It's pretty tasty, if I do say so myself)
What you'll need:
1 small haas avocado, chopped
1 large tomato, quartered and chopped
1/2 cucumber, quartered and chopped
2 green onions, sliced/chopped
1/4 large red onion, sliced and chopped
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Mix it up:
Chunk everything into a salad bowl and mix away!
It's so, so, so good. Honestly. The apple cider vinegar is sweet/tangy and oh-so yummy in the salad.
Matt's take: "This is ridiculous. Why haven't we made this dressing before? This makes me want to eat salad all the time...seriously, when can be have it again? Tomorrow?"
My take: CHOP AND DROP, BABY!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
fried, but not fried rice.
Ambiguous, I know. But it's true. I successfully made my own fried rice without it being completely terrible for you! However, I'm not saying that eating fried rice from a restaurant every once in a while is terrible. Not saying that at all!
So, yesterday, Matt texts me and says "I'm craving Chinese food!".
Yum. Can't go wrong with Chinese food. For real. It's SOOOOOO tasty. My thoughts went a little something like this: "Chinese food! OOOOOOh, P.F. Changs!!! Ooooooh..." and then I realized two things. First, we're trying not to eat out during the week, or really even the weekends. Second, whenever we eat out for Chinese we eat way too much. WAY. TOO. MUCH. How can you not? So, with these two things in mind I figured we'd dine in which would mean spending less money, actually knowing what goes into the food, and fixing just enough for two people. A "serving" at most places like P.F. Changs could really feed at least two, maybe three people. Yeah, I know. It's crazy.
According to Matt, you cannot eat Chinese food without fried rice. It's a staple for the cuisine. I was not about to let him down!
Here's what we had: Kroger "Meals in Minutes" Beef Stir-Fry, Chung's Chicken Egg Rolls and Meg's Healthy Fried Rice
Note: The Beef Stir-Fry is only $5 and 180 cals/serving(2-3 servings per bag) with only 4 grams of fat! YESSSSSS
Want to make Meg's Healthy Fried Rice? I thought so!
INGREDIENTS:
1 C. natural Brown rice, cooked according to directions (takes about 40 minutes)
1/4 fresh jalapeno, seeded & chopped
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. black pepper
1 egg, "fried" in cooking spray/small amount cooking oil, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a small frying pan over medium-high hear, fry the egg and chop with spatula
Add jalapeno and sautee until edges begin to brown
Add cooked rice and remaining ingredients and stir until mixed well
By using the low-sodium soy sauce and a tiny amount of butter, you cut the calories from fat and the sodium by about, oh, I don't know...a bazillion percent. Yes, that's an actual number.
Try it. Love it. Eat it all the time. So good.
Matt's take? "This is off the chain"
SUCCESS.
So, yesterday, Matt texts me and says "I'm craving Chinese food!".
Yum. Can't go wrong with Chinese food. For real. It's SOOOOOO tasty. My thoughts went a little something like this: "Chinese food! OOOOOOh, P.F. Changs!!! Ooooooh..." and then I realized two things. First, we're trying not to eat out during the week, or really even the weekends. Second, whenever we eat out for Chinese we eat way too much. WAY. TOO. MUCH. How can you not? So, with these two things in mind I figured we'd dine in which would mean spending less money, actually knowing what goes into the food, and fixing just enough for two people. A "serving" at most places like P.F. Changs could really feed at least two, maybe three people. Yeah, I know. It's crazy.
According to Matt, you cannot eat Chinese food without fried rice. It's a staple for the cuisine. I was not about to let him down!
Here's what we had: Kroger "Meals in Minutes" Beef Stir-Fry, Chung's Chicken Egg Rolls and Meg's Healthy Fried Rice
Note: The Beef Stir-Fry is only $5 and 180 cals/serving(2-3 servings per bag) with only 4 grams of fat! YESSSSSS
Want to make Meg's Healthy Fried Rice? I thought so!
INGREDIENTS:
1 C. natural Brown rice, cooked according to directions (takes about 40 minutes)
1/4 fresh jalapeno, seeded & chopped
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. black pepper
1 egg, "fried" in cooking spray/small amount cooking oil, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
In a small frying pan over medium-high hear, fry the egg and chop with spatula
Add jalapeno and sautee until edges begin to brown
Add cooked rice and remaining ingredients and stir until mixed well
By using the low-sodium soy sauce and a tiny amount of butter, you cut the calories from fat and the sodium by about, oh, I don't know...a bazillion percent. Yes, that's an actual number.
Try it. Love it. Eat it all the time. So good.
Matt's take? "This is off the chain"
SUCCESS.
Monday, May 17, 2010
one
Believe it or not, I actually had to put my thinking cap on to figure out that in order for this post to be titled "one" without being "three", since it's the first post, I had to titel all three backwards. Just a tidbit of information before I continue on with my third and final post of the day. Just the day, not the week. It's only Monday people and I'm back and cooking up a healthy storm.
(And, that could not have sounded more nerdy)
Anyway...
So, Saturday we slept in and completely skipped the breakfast time-slot. I'm proud to say that lunch was our first meal of the day!
Let me just say that Matt has been a grilling machine lately. Almost every meal he says "do you want me to grill that?" No joke. He's THAT into grilling. FINE BY ME! It tastes so good and it's less clean-up! No complaints here. Just a thankful wife to her husband for helping clean and cook, and doing it very well, might I say!
Saturday was one of those "hey, I'll grill that if you want" days. SCORE.
What did we have?
Grilled Chicken & Cheesy Three Pepper and Onion Flatbread Roll-Ups with Garlic Hummus and Tortilla Wedges
I kid you not, it tasted like a million bucks, but only cost about $8 to make!
You be the judge.
INGREDIENTS:
~6 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, grilled with Kroger Chicken Grill Seasoning
~1 Package whole weat flatbread/naan
~1 Tbs. olive oil
~1/4 Tbs. salt
~1/4 Tbs. pepper
~Water, to sprinkle on flatbread
~1 Package frozen Kroger Meal Ready 3 Pepper & Onion Blend, sauteed
~1/4 Cup shredded mozzerella
DIRECTIONS:
~Place flatbread onto baking sheet and drizzle a few drops of water. Brush olive oil, salt & pepper onto bread. Bake @ 400* for 3-4 minutes
~Place grilled chicken, veggie mix & cheese onto one side of the flatbread, fold over & enjoy!
*Please refer to the Valentine's Day post for the hummus & tortilla wedges recipes.
I like to think of this little meal as "Medditeranean in Minutes"
(And that's the second nerdy comment for this post)
Matt said "This is ridiculous...this needs to be a regular thing"
I am in 100% agreement.
(And, that could not have sounded more nerdy)
Anyway...
So, Saturday we slept in and completely skipped the breakfast time-slot. I'm proud to say that lunch was our first meal of the day!
Let me just say that Matt has been a grilling machine lately. Almost every meal he says "do you want me to grill that?" No joke. He's THAT into grilling. FINE BY ME! It tastes so good and it's less clean-up! No complaints here. Just a thankful wife to her husband for helping clean and cook, and doing it very well, might I say!
Saturday was one of those "hey, I'll grill that if you want" days. SCORE.
What did we have?
Grilled Chicken & Cheesy Three Pepper and Onion Flatbread Roll-Ups with Garlic Hummus and Tortilla Wedges
I kid you not, it tasted like a million bucks, but only cost about $8 to make!
You be the judge.
INGREDIENTS:
~6 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, grilled with Kroger Chicken Grill Seasoning
~1 Package whole weat flatbread/naan
~1 Tbs. olive oil
~1/4 Tbs. salt
~1/4 Tbs. pepper
~Water, to sprinkle on flatbread
~1 Package frozen Kroger Meal Ready 3 Pepper & Onion Blend, sauteed
~1/4 Cup shredded mozzerella
DIRECTIONS:
~Place flatbread onto baking sheet and drizzle a few drops of water. Brush olive oil, salt & pepper onto bread. Bake @ 400* for 3-4 minutes
~Place grilled chicken, veggie mix & cheese onto one side of the flatbread, fold over & enjoy!
*Please refer to the Valentine's Day post for the hummus & tortilla wedges recipes.
I like to think of this little meal as "Medditeranean in Minutes"
(And that's the second nerdy comment for this post)
Matt said "This is ridiculous...this needs to be a regular thing"
I am in 100% agreement.
two
Indeed, this is my second time to post today!
I love cooking. Have I said that before?
So, I make lunch for Matt everday (well, almost, but you get the point)! It's usually turkey sandwich with an apple...yada yada. Well, needless to say, he's sick of it, and so am I. So, yesterday, after church, we headed to the store.
Mission: to get something for Matt to have all this week that didn't involve 1 lb. of peppered turkey breast & provolone cheese.
Solution: Chicken salad. Yes, Matt is a huge fan of chicken salad. Namely his grandmothers recipe, which always reminds me of the lakehouse, so of course I was game to make it. Since I didn't have the recipe on-hand or memorized, and my sources reached me after we had bought groceries, I improvised. That's something that's usually a no-no in recreating a classic. No-no, no-schmo!
I did it. And thankfully it wasn't too far off from the original, thanks to Michele who reached me after the groceries, but before the assembly!
Here's how to make Low-fat Chicken Salad
INGREDIENTS:
~6 Large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled
~3 Stalks celery, chopped
~3 Green onions, chopped
~2 Tsp. black pepper
~Salt to taste
~1 Small can sliced green olives
~1 Tsp. dill weed
~1 1/4 Cup Lite Mayo Dressing (it's different than lite mayo. It has the consistency of yogurt and only 15 calories per serving!!!!)
DIRECTIONS:
~In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients until creamy
~Refrigerate and enjoy!
LUNCH CRISIS AVOIDED & MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
"Oh my gosh, this is so good" Matt said. "like really, really good..." as he's eating out of the bowl. "Matt, stop it! You wanted this for lunch during the week, right?"
Yeah. It's THAT good.
Eat up.
I love cooking. Have I said that before?
So, I make lunch for Matt everday (well, almost, but you get the point)! It's usually turkey sandwich with an apple...yada yada. Well, needless to say, he's sick of it, and so am I. So, yesterday, after church, we headed to the store.
Mission: to get something for Matt to have all this week that didn't involve 1 lb. of peppered turkey breast & provolone cheese.
Solution: Chicken salad. Yes, Matt is a huge fan of chicken salad. Namely his grandmothers recipe, which always reminds me of the lakehouse, so of course I was game to make it. Since I didn't have the recipe on-hand or memorized, and my sources reached me after we had bought groceries, I improvised. That's something that's usually a no-no in recreating a classic. No-no, no-schmo!
I did it. And thankfully it wasn't too far off from the original, thanks to Michele who reached me after the groceries, but before the assembly!
Here's how to make Low-fat Chicken Salad
INGREDIENTS:
~6 Large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled
~3 Stalks celery, chopped
~3 Green onions, chopped
~2 Tsp. black pepper
~Salt to taste
~1 Small can sliced green olives
~1 Tsp. dill weed
~1 1/4 Cup Lite Mayo Dressing (it's different than lite mayo. It has the consistency of yogurt and only 15 calories per serving!!!!)
DIRECTIONS:
~In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients until creamy
~Refrigerate and enjoy!
LUNCH CRISIS AVOIDED & MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
"Oh my gosh, this is so good" Matt said. "like really, really good..." as he's eating out of the bowl. "Matt, stop it! You wanted this for lunch during the week, right?"
Yeah. It's THAT good.
Eat up.
three
Meaning I will post three times today...that's about three times as much as I've posted in the last week.
The number three, for this post at least, also signifies the prep-time for this meal. No lie. It basically takes three minutes, which is crazy.
What did we have?
Well, since you asked, we had Roasted Leg of Chicken with Baby Carrots, Kalamatta Olives.
Yummmmm. It's from the magazine Real Simple. And it's just that. REAL SIMPLE. Just the way we like it. Real simple and really stinking good.
Here's how:
INGREDIENTS:
~1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces OR 4 chicken legs, cut into 8 pieces (that's what we did)
~Tsp. paprika
~Tsp. salt
~Tsp black pepper
~3/4 Cup pitted kalamatta olives
~16 oz. Bag baby carrots
~4 Bay leaves
~2 Tbs. olive oil
~1 lemon, wedged into fourths
DIRECTIONS:
~In a large mixing bowl, place all ingredients and toss to coat chicken
~Place on large, rimmed baking sheet and arrange veggies in a single layer
~Bake @ 425* for 1 hour.
TADA! It's so yummy. Delicious, in fact.
Matt said "Meg, this is 'legit'..." and I said "Yeah, I know. We've had it before!"
Never a dull moment in the Hargrove casa.
Until next time!
The number three, for this post at least, also signifies the prep-time for this meal. No lie. It basically takes three minutes, which is crazy.
What did we have?
Well, since you asked, we had Roasted Leg of Chicken with Baby Carrots, Kalamatta Olives.
Yummmmm. It's from the magazine Real Simple. And it's just that. REAL SIMPLE. Just the way we like it. Real simple and really stinking good.
Here's how:
INGREDIENTS:
~1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces OR 4 chicken legs, cut into 8 pieces (that's what we did)
~Tsp. paprika
~Tsp. salt
~Tsp black pepper
~3/4 Cup pitted kalamatta olives
~16 oz. Bag baby carrots
~4 Bay leaves
~2 Tbs. olive oil
~1 lemon, wedged into fourths
DIRECTIONS:
~In a large mixing bowl, place all ingredients and toss to coat chicken
~Place on large, rimmed baking sheet and arrange veggies in a single layer
~Bake @ 425* for 1 hour.
TADA! It's so yummy. Delicious, in fact.
Matt said "Meg, this is 'legit'..." and I said "Yeah, I know. We've had it before!"
Never a dull moment in the Hargrove casa.
Until next time!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
pizza, pizza...finally
GOSH!!!!!! It took forever to make this post. Busy bees we have been!
Here's the "master" pizza doigh recipe. It's not one we've used before until tonight. And oh man did it live up to its name. If "master" means THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH YOU'LL EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH, then it's correct. Holy cow. SO GOOD.
Here it is:
In a large bowl, combing 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 Tsp. salt, 1 pkg. Fliechman's RapidRise yeast. Mix together. Slowly add 1 cup warm-to-hot water and 2 Tbs. olive oil. (I added dried oregano, too..makes it more "Italian-y" feeling, er, uh, tasting)Mix together until a soft dough is formed. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed. Cover and let rise for 10-15 mins. Meanwhile, preheat that old oven of yours to 400*. Grease a baking sheet or pizza stone and then sprinkle with a little bit of corn meal. Roll out the dough to fit the pan. Place desired toppings on and bake for 20 mins, or until done.
Our toppings? Well, we made three seperate pizzas (hey, we had 5 people eating!!!)
pepperoni, mozzerella cheese, black olive, green bell pepper, mushrooms, red onion, jalapenos. YUMMMMMM
Don't have pizza sauce on hand? (who does? And if you do, well, you're awesome)
Mix one 8 oz. can no-salt-added tomatoe sauce & 1/3 small can Italian style tomato paste.
Yeah, it's THAT easy.
Get to making that pizza...it's a piece of, you guessed it, PIZZA.
Here's the "master" pizza doigh recipe. It's not one we've used before until tonight. And oh man did it live up to its name. If "master" means THE BEST PIZZA DOUGH YOU'LL EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH, then it's correct. Holy cow. SO GOOD.
Here it is:
In a large bowl, combing 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 Tsp. salt, 1 pkg. Fliechman's RapidRise yeast. Mix together. Slowly add 1 cup warm-to-hot water and 2 Tbs. olive oil. (I added dried oregano, too..makes it more "Italian-y" feeling, er, uh, tasting)Mix together until a soft dough is formed. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed. Cover and let rise for 10-15 mins. Meanwhile, preheat that old oven of yours to 400*. Grease a baking sheet or pizza stone and then sprinkle with a little bit of corn meal. Roll out the dough to fit the pan. Place desired toppings on and bake for 20 mins, or until done.
Our toppings? Well, we made three seperate pizzas (hey, we had 5 people eating!!!)
pepperoni, mozzerella cheese, black olive, green bell pepper, mushrooms, red onion, jalapenos. YUMMMMMM
Don't have pizza sauce on hand? (who does? And if you do, well, you're awesome)
Mix one 8 oz. can no-salt-added tomatoe sauce & 1/3 small can Italian style tomato paste.
Yeah, it's THAT easy.
Get to making that pizza...it's a piece of, you guessed it, PIZZA.
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