March 2010

We have a lot of things going on right now, but of course I still found time to go buy Twilight Saga: New Moon on DVD this weekend.

We were going to watch Twilight (again) and then New Moon, but it was getting on in the day, so we just watched New Moon. Not like I haven’t read all 4 of the books and watched Twilight 20+ times already and saw New Moon in the theatre LOL. Team Edward <3 (Dustin’s giving me the evil eye, hehe)

On Saturday I tried a new recipe: Quinoa eggplant lasagna

Small Caesar salad on the side made with: Romaine lettuce, 4 Texas Toast Caesar croutons (35 cal) and dressing: 1/2 TBSP Hellmann’s olive oil mayo (50 cal), 1 tsp EVOO (40 cal), 1 TBSP grated parmesan cheese (20 cal), drop of Worcestershire sauce and a few drops of lemon juice.

Quinoa Eggplant Lasagna

• 1 jar tomato sauce (or whatever tomato sauce you want to use–I used Franceso Rinaldi no salt added sauce)
• 2 small eggplants with skin on (I used Chinese eggplant) cut into large cubes (about 1.5 inches)
• 7 or 8 cloves garlic, whole
• 2 small onions, sliced
• 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• Few tablespoons water
• 4 cups cooked quinoa (Save time by cooking it ahead of time. I made mine in my crock pot.)
• 8 slices (~4oz) Sargento reduced fat provolone or mozzarella cheese shredded in food processor
• 1.5 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• Tomato slices for topping
• Fresh and/or dried Italian herbs, such as parsley and basil
• Salt, optional (I didn’t add any)

1. In a deep nonstick skillet or saucepan, add in EVOO, sliced onions and garlic cloves; saute for a few minutes, then add in eggplant cubes and toss together.
2. Add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, cover and let simmer on medium-low heat for about 7 or 8 minutes; add in your tomato sauce and let simmer on low uncovered for 20-30 minutes; stir often
3. Preheat oven to 375F
4. In a lasagna pan or something equal in size, start with a thin layer of sauce on the entire bottom of pan (it’s ok if it’s chunky from the eggplant and other veggies)
5. Then a layer of quinoa (I did 2 cups per layer, 2 layers total); more sauce, half of the ricotta either in drops or spread across, which is a little harder with quinoa than noodles; half of the shredded cheese. Repeat for another layer or however many layers you are making. Basically the same way you would make regular lasagna
6. Top with tomato slices and dried Italian seasonings (I used dried oregano and parsley)
7. Cover with foil and place tray on a baking sheet. Bake on 375F for 40 minutes with foil on to avoid burning the cheese, then 10-15 minutes with the foil off.

Yields 8-9 servings

This was awesome! It tasted more like eggplant parmesan than lasagna, but I REALLY liked it! I had planned to use ground turkey breast instead of eggplant, but we didn’t have any in the freezer, so I improvised and it turned out tastearrific. The texture is almost like very seedy, but light eggplant parmesan with a nutty flavor. Did you know that quinoa technically isn’t a grain? It’s a seed that’s a relative of spinach and other leafy greens in that family of vegetables. Pretty cool, and tasty. It’s also gluten-free, so this is a great alternative to wheat lasagna.

On Sunday Dustin implored me to use some of the food in the chest freezer. When I gave him my usual “in one ear, out the other” nod of agreement, he warned that I won’t be able to buy anymore until I do because there’s absolutely no room left in it. *sigh* I’m a bit of a food hoarder. Thankfully I’m not like that with everything! Have you seen that new show? So I brought some things upstairs that I planned to use this week…

Cavatelli and peas jumped out at me, so I went with it. Cavatelli are thick, short pasta made with ricotta and sometimes eggs. They are found in the freezer aisles of most grocery stores, especially in the northeast. They’re so chewy and delicious, plus a good source of protein and the same calories are regular pasta.

On the stove I heated a jar of Franceso Rinaldi no salt added sauce with a bag of frozen peas and boiled a bag of cavatelli. When the cavatelli was done, I mixed it with the sauce and peas. A yummy vegetarian meal that took just a few minutes to throw together.

I was curious about these new Betty Crocker gluten-free cookie mixes:

So I picked up a box in Hannaford the other day. I was actually quite impressed by the wholesome list of ingredients:

The directions call for an entire stick of butter Can do!

OMG, these are incredible!! Other than a slight texture difference, you cannot tell–or care–that these are gluten-free! They’re SO GOOD! Toooooooo good in fact lol. Definitely worth buying, YUM.

From gluten-free, to gluten-heavy. Now that I have my fabulous new shiny red dutch oven, I couldn’t resist trying Biz’s Best Bread Ever!

My mom made the dough, then I baked it when I woke up. It turned out beautifully! We used 3oz of Guinness as our beer of choice. I had a piece fresh out of the (dutch) oven with some unsalted whipped butta. Mmmmm… bread.

So good! Crusty on the outside, soft inside. Perfect. Just the way I like it. Total winner, I’m definitely making this again. Though I’m thinking next time I might try honey instead of beer and perhaps making rolls instead of a loaf. We’ll see!

Yesterday, I made one of the greatest meals ever: Baked sesame ginger mahi mahi fillets with pineapple salsa, skin-on roasted garlic whipped potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts

Sesame Ginger Mahi mahi fillets

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. On a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil or oiled to prevent sticking, drizzle Ken’s no sodium Sesame Ginger marinade over each fillet, then rub it all over to coat it evenly.
3. Bake on 425F for 15-20 minutes

Skin-on roasted garlic whipped potatoes

1. Boil 3-4 red or white potatoes; when done drain water out.
2. Take one head of garlic, cut off top to expose garlic cloves, then rub whole thing with extra virgin olive oil; wrap in foil and roast on 425F for 30-40 minutes.
3. Roughly chop the cooked potatoes, then add them to food mixer or in a large bowl. Add in the cloves of roasted garlic, 1 TBSP butter and 1/4 cup milk. Salt and pepper optional, I added a little garlic salt.
4. Mix or beat until everything is combined and creamy.

Pineapple salsa

1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into small, salsa-size pieces.
1 TBSP fresh jalapeno pepper, diced finely– no seeds!
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp sugar (optional)
2 TBSP chopped red onion

Mix everything together, let chill or serve room temperature. You can use canned pineapple, but I bought a fresh pineapple last week and peeled and cored it myself, which I highly recommend. It’s so delicious, I had MANY bites while coring it lol.

Roasted Brussels sprouts

1. Wash brussels and cut them in half
2. Toss in EVOO, put on a baking sheet and roast on 425F for about 25-35 minutes depending on desired texture

O-MAHI-G!!!! This was amazzzzzzzzzzzzzing! Mahi mahi tastes just like chicken. It’s the real chicken of the sea! Dustin loves shellfish but doesn’t care for other fish very much, but even he was blown away by this. It doesn’t have a fishy taste whatsoever and the texture is so much like chicken that even I could have been deceived if I didn’t know what it was. WOW! Would it be bad to eat this 5 or 6 times a week? lol! As I was eating it, I was coming up with so many recipes in my head. I might have found a fish that I love more than salmon. Seriously, it’s THAT good. If you’ve never had it, try some, SOON! It’s very inexpensive, too. I bought 3 very long, wild-caught, frozen fillets in Shop Rite for just $17 and it made nine 3-4 oz fillets. I cooked all 9 fillets last night but left half of them plain, so I’m going to be eating them as leftovers all week. YAY!!

Oh, and the whipped potatoes and pineapple salsa were out-of-this-world yummy, too. LOVE pineapple salsa! I could eat this exact meal everyday and never get sick of it. I’d eat it for breakfast, I’d eat it for lunch… I’d grow gills eventually. lol

My face feels sooo warm. My cheeks are all red for 2 days now, it’s driving me crazy. I feel hot, then cold. Ugh. I’ve been diligent about keeping my sodium intake low and my calories in range (1800-2500/day), but I still feel very puffy. So I have been honoring my commitment to stay low on sodium, but nothing significant has happened yet. Knowing my body, it takes some time and consistency for a shift to happen. All at once I’m going to “deflate” and feel so much lighter. I’m doing everything right at this point, so I just have to be patient and stay consistent. My focus right now is to regulate my blood pressure, then everything else that makes for a healthier Jenn.

We’re going to Ohio next week to visit the in-laws. We might stop in Pittsburgh to pay a visit to some friends, but we’re not sure yet. We’re known to be spontaneous at times. Our Cadillac is at the dealer right now getting a new timing belt. It’s only a year old, what the heck? Sigh. The “check engine” light came on the other day, so we made an appointment right away. It’s under warranty, so that’s good, but it’s still a little unnerving. They gave us a crappy loaner car, so we’re just going to drive the Jeep. It should be ready in another day or 2, I hope. We have an appointment to have it detailed next Monday, we better have it back by then, and definitely by next Thursday when we’re leaving. I have a lot of work, shopping and packing to do for our trip, so my stress levels are quite high this week. Great for lowering my blood pressure, right? lol I think I should do what Karla does and bake something for Easter. Maybe it will calm me down. hehe

Are you baking anything special for Easter?

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Tagged as: Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, cavatelli, dutch oven bread, mahi mahi, New Moon DVD, pineapple salsa, quinoa lasagna, roasted brussels sprouts

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