Day 41: Not-So Lazy Rigatoni (Meatless Monday Meals)

So far, Meatless Mondays have been a huge hit around here. And I think I've discovered the secret (especially if your SO is a carnivore): Pasta. And cheese. And veggies. 

But mostly pasta & cheese.

Baked Spinach Rigatoni

This one was more labor intensive than initially supposed, but I knew it would be. And it is so, SO worth it.

Ingredient Roundup:
*Spinach
*Rigatoni pasta
*Ricotta cheese
*Mushrooms
*Italian blend cheese (Mozz and Parm)

You're gonna need a food processor for this. Just a heads up. Thankfully, I've had one for a while that is apparently going to get more use after this.

First, you're going to want to get a pot of water on to boil the pasta. Whole grain pasta, if you're lucky enough to find it will make you feel less guilty overall about the dish.

Meanwhile, you're going to want to thaw and squeeze your spinach (if you're using frozen, as I did). Trust me. It's easier than using fresh.

Those little squeezed balls of spinachy goodness go into as-yet-unnamed the food processor. Perhaps I shall call it Patrick.

And you will add TO that spinach, the ricotta cheese and about half of the Italian blend cheese. Also? Salt & Pepper, although I tend to season after something like this has been whirred around.

Pulse it (with the lid on!) until it's all mixed and creamy looking.

Seriously. This stuff would be amazing as a simple ravioli filling.

Dump it out into a bowl.

I decided there was a distinct need for moar veggies in the dish, so I went with the standby staple 'round these parts: Mushrooms. Our fave gourmet blend.

As I didn't want to spend forever chopping these down into tiny bits, I just put them into Patrick and let him do all the work.

Voila! Insta-chopped 'shrooms, no effort required. Seriously a time saver. -->

It was about then that I fell in love with my FP all over again.

It all goes together in a bowl, to which you add the fresh cooked hot pasta when it is done.

Mix the whole shebang up and pour into a casserole dish.

Top it with the remaining IB cheese you've got sitting there and let it cook for about 15 minutes or so, at 450 degrees in the oven.

Really, that's all there is to it. It's a deceptively easy looking recipe. The hard work is in all the prep.

When it's done, the cheese should be all golden brown and crispy; the pasta, bubbly.

Scoop it into a bowl and devour. Because really, it's divine!

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 39: Crispy, Crunchy Chickpeas!

Whether you call them Chickpeas or Garbonzo beans, these little morsels of legumy goodness are just chock full of protein and other good stuff. And as a person who has less of a sweet tooth and more of a salty, crunchy kinda toothage, when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to give them a try. 

Crispy Oven Chickpeas

This is quite possibly one of the easiest recipes I've ever done. And yet...

Ingredient Roundup: 

*Can o' Garbanzo Beans 

*Salt & Pepper

*Garlic & Onion Powders

*Olive oil

Drain/rinse beans. Put it all in a bowl and toss to coat.

Really. That's it.

Well, I mean as prep work anyway. 

Then you pull out your baking pan and parchment paper (this is why I keep P-Paper on hand, btw, because you never know when you're going to need it). 

And then you spread 'em. The beans. Out on the pan. Atop the paper.

Into the pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 40-50 minutes or so. Keep an eye on them and stir occasionally so they get muy crispy on all sides. 

And when they're done, pull 'em out and let them cool before devouring. 

These things were so tasty, I didn't get any "after" shots because we were too busy gnoshing on them. 

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 32: A Healthier Hootnanny!

I have to admit...while I'd heard of a Dutch Baby pancake, I was completely thrown off by the term "Hootnanny". See, I'd grown up thinking a hootnanny was a hell of a rowdy party happening somewhere out in the Ozarks. 

Silly me!

A Healthier Hootnanny

So, possibly, this isn't "healthier" per se, but it is more gluten friendly! After using it as a replacement for regular white AP flour in the stroganoff, I thought to myself, Self...what else might this be good in? And a'scrolling through my FB, I came across a recipe for Hootnanny that perfectly fit the bill.

Ingredient roundup: 

*Butter

*Eggs

*Milk

*Salt

*Flour

*Cinnamon, Vanilla, & Nutmeg

First things first, you preheat that oven to a lovely, toasty 425. And, to save time, while that oven is preheating, you put the butter in your casserole dish and pop it in to melt.

Side note: This same technique is the one I use when I'm making my candied pecans at Christmas time. You're killing two birds with one stone, here. 

Also? Seriously. This green casserole dish is one of my favorite pieces of cookware. You'll be seeing it a lot. 

Now, as the butter melts, you get started up top with beating the crap out of the eggs and milk, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 'nilla.

Well, perhaps not beating the crap out of them. No need to be violent. Just until they're all frothy.

<--

Then you add in the flour and whisk it some more until you have a nice, mostly lump free batter. And that oat flour? It makes the whole kitchen smell delish.

And then you pour all of that right into the already preheated, pre-melted butter and let it bake.

No more mixing. Don't mess with it.

Just pour it over the butter, slide it back into the oven and let that magic happen.

And it *is* magic, because let me tell you, I watched this bake from across the room and was amazed. I completely understand why they're called Volcano pancakes.

When it's done (about 25 minutes or so later), you're going to have something that looks like this: 

<--

Don't let the weirdness of it fool you. This stuff is insanely delicious. And your house will smell amazeballs.

Tempted though we were, we didn't go hog wild and eat the whole pan. Only half of it. 

There are many ways to serve it, but the two most common are with maple syrup or with powdered sugar.

As we didn't have any powdered sugar, but have plenty of maple on hand, that's what we went with.

What does it taste like? Well, it's a delightfully strange mashup of pancakes and french toast. And by "strange", I mean "delicious". The oat flour really gives it that extra depth, that oomph of something that makes it exceedingly more tasty. 

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 27: Mushroom Madness! (Meatless Monday Meal)

Another Meatless Monday is upon us! And this time, I'm taking full advantage of it and making something I've been *dying* to make for dinner. Main feature? Mushrooms!

Mushroom Stroganoff

Ingredient Roundup: 

* Mushrooms! (I used both baby bellas and Portobello here)

* Whole wheat egg noodles

* Soy Sauce

* Veggie stock

* 1/2 an onion

* Sour cream

And then there's my new ingredient, because I didn't want to go with just plain white flour. -->

I've had this oat flour for a bit and didn't know what to do with it. Thought I'd give it a spin in this recipe and damn, am I glad I did.

The other new ingredient is that package of portobello 'shrooms up there. They sell this thing at Ghetto-F-C and it's basically just a huge 'shroom, with minced garlic and thyme. I figured that since the recipe called for both garlic and fresh parsley, I'd use this and sub the thyme in. So. Glad. I did.

First things first, Marvin gets down to business.

I've actually had this onion since last Monday, sealed up all nice n' tight in the fridge. I'm glad I kept it because it lent a really great flavor to the dish.

Thin slices with Marvin. Because for whatever reason, they just seem to cook better.

Into the pan they went, along with just a touch of olive oil to get them going. Cooked them until they were translucent and golden.

The garlic and thyme joined the onions and I let them get all warmed up and fragrant.

And then I added the mushrooms. I swear, I slaughtered an entire village of 'shrooms for this dish. I kept the chop on these relatively chunky, as you can see, because I wanted there to be some substance to the sauce.

In the absence of meat, you have to have *something* in there for mouth feel, right? (Dragon does, at least.)

Meanwhile...get your water boiling for the noodles and pop those bad boys in there to cook while you saute down the 'shroomage.

Now's where things get interesting.

Once all the veggies are cooked, you add the veggie stock and let it come to a light simmer. Then? The oat flour and the sour cream.

It doesn't take a lot of either to thicken up and make that sauce creamy. And man... was it freakin' tasty.

It had to be. Dragon despises mushrooms. *cheeky grin* But he ate it because he knows I like them, and found himself MORE than pleasantly surprised at how good this was.

At the end of it all, sauce is spooned over noodles and a light dusting of Dill, just for color and a bright element to the meal.

It was seriously good eats. Even for Mr. Mushroom hater. He hoovered the hell out of his portion while I savored mine a bit longer, but with no less enjoyment.

And just to keep him on the happier side of things, to make him feel better about "suffering" through a meatless mushroom dish, I grabbed a bottle of something we'd had in our fridge for a while, just begging to be consumed...

... and it TOO was delicious.

Pretty sure the name of the ale sums up our verdict about this Meatless Monday dish.

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 26: Krazy Kale!

Kale chips are taking supermarkets by storm, it seems, but I'm loathe to pay as much as they're asking for. So when I saw this recipe pop up on my Pinterest, I had to try it. 

Krispy, Krazy Kale

I wasn't planning to photograph this one, so the pictures are few, but it's such a simple recipe it's not like there NEEDS to be a ton of pictures.

Ingredient Roundup:

* Kale (I just used one head)

* Olive oil

* Sea salt and/or optional seasonings (like... cajun)

Preheat the oven to 350 and get your baking sheets out.

As you can see above, you're going to just tear the kale into bite sized pieces, getting rid of any stems or hard bits.

Pop the pieces into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use your hands and get those leafies coated, then spread them out on your baking sheets in a single layer and lightly dust with salt and/or any other seasonings you might want to put on there.

Into the oven for 10-12 minutes or so, just until they get crispy, then bag 'em and nosh.

They are seriously as addictive as chips or popcorn. But SO much healthier (provided you watch that salt) for you.

Yummeh!

~Snarkstress

Day 25: Kalua Pork

If you're short on time, you do *not* want to attempt making Kalua pork. This dish only has four ingredients, but it takes hours in the crockpot. But it is SO WORTH IT. You have been warned. Because this can be really damned addictive.

Kalua Pork

Yup. This is it. Ingredient roundup:

* Pork butt roast, about 2 - 3 pounds depending on how much you want left over.

* Black Hawaiian Salt

* Red Alea Salt

* Liquid smoke

That's seriously all you need. Well, that, and a crock pot.

And a knife. Because you're going to stab the hell out of your roast. It's definitely a great way to get rid of stress, lemme tell you.

Now, granted, you don't want to stab it into oblivion, just only slightly murderize it.

Why? Because those little pockets get the salt and liquid smoke all down in there and it just suffuses through the rest of the meat.

It is delicious murder.

Put the roast, fat side up, into the crock pot and slather it with both salt and smoke. Now, the measurements don't really matter to me (I've made this so often it's almost second nature), but here's what I've learned: You can always add more salt. You can't take it away.

So, use your best judgment.

Generally, I started with about 1 Tablespoon of each salt and 2 Tablespoons of the liquid smoke. Don't be afraid to rub it in, either, get it into those stabbity pockets.

Ah, the humble crock pot. This is our little one. We have a much bigger one that I reserve for things like, oh, giant potluck foodstuffs.

Since there's only two of us here, this size works just fine. You put everything in, pop on the lid, set that sucker to low...and walk away.

No really. You're not going to even want to look at it for another, oh, 13-16 hours. You might flip it about halfway through, just to get all the juices distributed, but that's just personal preference.

When it's tender, pull it out and start to shred it. I generally use the time to discard any big pieces of fat that haven't melted off. Using two forks is my preferred method of shredding... well, not my preferred, but I haven't found anything easier yet. (Not unless I feel like attempting the mixer shortcut that I've seen...)

Back into the crock pot it goes. Usually for another hour or two, letting it absorb all the juices throughout, stirring occasionally.

And finally...

We make up some brown rice to layer it on, and if I'm feeling really ambitious, I make Hawaiian Mac salad.

This makes enough to seriously use in leftovers for a good long while. Pork enchiladas, tacos, stir fry, bbq sandwiches, salad toppings... Yeah.

Damn. Good. Eats.

~Snarkstress

Day 23: Sea Bug Stir-Fry!

When you get right down to it, shrimp are, essentially, sea bugs. Delicious, nutritious sea bugs, to be sure, but insects all the same. I wanted to start getting more sea fare in our life, so I was absolutely giddy when I found these amazing fresh wild shrimp and a mix of fresh scallops at the grocery. I've never seen orange scallops before...so I thought I'd give them a try. And what better way to do that, than with a simple stir-fry?

Shrimp & Scallops Stir-Fry

I decided to keep the ingredients pretty simple:

* Fresh shrimp (tailed and de-veined)

* Fresh scallops

* Zucchini, sliced

* Yellow Squash, sliced

* Mushrooms (I use a fresh gourmet blend)

* Your favorite stir-fry sauce

Yes, the package says Lettuce Wrap sauce, but it was the lowest in sodium of the bunch and has a really nice savory with a hint of sweetness to it.

After de-veining the shrimp, rinse all of the seafood and then pat it dry with paper towels before plunking it into a pan with a little olive oil or melted butter. I say "a little" because the seafood is going to give off its own water, so you won't need much.  Cook through and then drain and set aside.

Be really careful not to over cook. Tough shrimps and scallops are enough to ruin anyone's day.

Once the pan is vacated by the bugs, you just toss in the 'shrooms and other veggies and let them cook down.

I discovered a new setting on Marvin the Mandoline. It made me deliriously happy for some reason.

I was using what I had on hand for this, so you can switch out whatever veggies you like best in your stir-fry. The options are pretty endless. I *wanted* to put some baby bok choy in there too, but, alas, the grocery store didn't have any. Woe.

When it's all cooked through, and the veggies are soft and fragrant, then you add the shrimp and scallops back into the pan.

Cover it all with the sauce of your choosing and let it simmer for a few minutes. You clearly don't want it to go for too long because again, you don't want to over cook your sea bugs.

Alternately, you could just put the sauce on the veggies, get it warmed up and then add the shrimp and scallops back in there. You do you.

Pair it up with some yummy rice medley and dinner is, as they say, served.

Surprisingly delicious, and pretty good for you too.

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 22: Gahlicky Chicken!

We haven't had any chicken around here in a while, and though it may be easier to go down and get some pre-roasted chicken, I figured, let's get some bird in the pan. 

Gahlicky Chicken

So, the ingredient roundup is pretty simplistic because I was also trying to clear out some of the pantry/fridge: 

*Chicken tenders

*Progresso Recipe Starter, Garlic sauce

*Baby spinach

*Touch o' butter

*(Not seen) TJ Rice Medley

Butter and chicken go in the pan to get all sauteed. I used just enough to get some golden color on that fowl, because, as Gordon Ramsay says, color = flavor. 

Once it was all cooked through, I tossed in the baby spinach, let it cook down a bit, and then in went the sauce. 

No, the sauce isn't the healthiest thing on the planet, but it's tasty and, in a pinch, works wonders to get you in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure you could get the same effect using, say, cream of garlic soup with a little milk. 

No. Really.

And that's seriously all there is to it. You let it cook through until it's hot, spoon it over some rice (or mashed potatoes or polenta... whatever's your thing) and you've got a meal. 

Not too shabby at all. Tasty stuff!

~Snarkstress

Day 20: Meatless Monday Begins!

A while back, I was reading an article on how just small tweaks to your regular meal routine, like Meatless Monday, for example, could go a long way toward improving your health. Dragon and I both love veggies, don't get me wrong, but Dragon himself, well, he's more carnivore than herbivore, so finding a recipe that worked for him too was... difficult.

And then I found this one.

Meatless Monday 30-Minute Meal

This recipe isn't very complicated, but I did have to make some adjustments. I was determined to get Dragon to eat this, so I wrangled up the following:

*White Fiber mini shells pasta
*Organic 'Bonzo beans
*Roma Tomatoes
*Sweet Onion
*Gourmet Mushroom blend
*Zucchini
*Yellow Squash
*Basil, Oregano, S&P
And, the most controversial ingredient of the night: Anchovy Paste. Sure, I could've left it out. But I was determined. We already had most of the stuff on hand, so we only had to get the produce and the paste. Not too expensive, at all.

So, first thing, you want to peel the tomatoes. The easiest way? Put that pot of water on for the pasta, bring it to a boil, then *carefully* plop those tomatoes in that boiling water.

When the skins split (trust me, this doesn't take long), take them out and run them under cold water. Peel away the skins and voila... naked tomatoes.

We actually had an amusing conversation about the "tomato is a fruit" and its resemblance to oversized peeled grapes.

Chop up half your onion (unless you *really* love them, and then you may as well put the rest in there) and set them off to the side.

Now is also a good time to chop up the zucchini, squash, and mushrooms too, by the by. And take the stemmy part off the tomatoes if you're so inclined.

For me, it's just easier to do everything in one bulk grouping before I actually start cooking. I *do* have the pan and oil heating though.

Into said pan goes a little Olive Oil, the onions, the garlic, and the anchovy paste. That little...poo-snake over there. -->

Yeah, it isn't the most appetizing looking thing in the world, but I'm seriously converted. It adds a depth of flavor to the dish that you just canNOT replicate without putting a ton more stuff in there.

Incidentally, I also bought a can of anchovies and attempted to eat them the next day. No. No thank you. Way too salty. I'll stick with the paste because even the Feline Mafa refused to eat more than half a single fillet.

Cook that through until the onions are translucent and soft. Careful not to burn the garlic, and stir in that paste.

It melts together. No, really. And the anchovy paste completely loses the fishiness.

Like... well, it's like sauerkraut. The longer you cook it the less bitter it is. The flavor intensifies into this utterly unique but lip-smackingly good extra oomph that a meatless dish like this really needs.

Add in your veggies and let cook until soft. Then the fun part:

Put in those peeled tomatoes and mash the heck out of it all with a potato masher. It crushes down into this chunky fabulous sauce. -->

Then, it's time to let it simmer down. Let those flavors meld. Add in the basil, oregano, S&P, too.

Now's a good time to have that pasta cooking and/or straining while the sauce finishes bubbling.

And then all you have to do is add the pasta and the 'bonzo beans to the sauce and there you go.

This ended up being super tasty, even Dragon raved about it. And it made enough for extras for a few days worth of lunch.

Hard to believe, but this is one of those leftover dishes that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. Just pop some on a plate, eat cold or heat up for about 2 minutes in the microwave.

Delicious!
~Snarkstress

Days 14 Through 19: Same Old Things and Revelations

I realized after starting this blog, that challenging myself to cook once a day was a great idea. And it is. I'm enjoying it. Even if I don't update every day, I'm still spending at least one meal in the kitchen.

However.

When you are short of funds, you start to realize that you eat a lot of the same old things, because they are a) cheap, b) easy to throw together, and c) come from a box.

Case in point: Mac n' Cheese. (With tuna and frozen peas n' carrots, of course.)

Or TexMex salad in a bag. Or Hamburger-freakin' Helper.

And I seriously don't think you need updates from that sort of eating.

Then I had a revelation. I realized that by making these meals, I was, essentially, being a lazy cook. A good chunk of the population can boil water, brown ground beef, and toss powdered flavoring on it. It's harder to find meals that are relatively healthy, with good quality ingredients that don't cost a small fortune.  I can find and incorporate specialty items, as they come along, things that I haven't tried... tips and tricks I've picked up over the years (like how to perfectly hardboil an egg. No, really.)...things I find culinarily inspiring (Pinterest will be my downfall).

Now, I'm not a health nut. Neither is Dragon. I'm not trying to sell you some diet, or change your eating habits or whatever. But I do want to romance my stove a bit more because it's just... a gorgeous, inspiring kitchen setting. So what I propose is this: I'm going to update this every time I make something new. Something that *hasn't* been on this blog before. I'm going to try tweaking it to be better for us, but I'm not going to shy away from the stuff that is, perhaps, a bunch more decadent either.

Should be fun, right?

~Snarkstress

Day 13: Meat n' Taters!

Several years ago, I stood in the kitchen wondering what the hell to make for dinner since I had only sausage and potatoes to work with. The result became a Once A Month (or more, depending) staple meal in our house.

Meat n' Taters

This meal is about the easiest thing to make. It's hearty, stick-to-your-ribs food that goes from pantry to skillet to dish in about 30 minutes.

Ingredient Roundup:
* Sausage (I use the Beef Polska Kielbasa, but you can use any sausage you like. I've done chicken sausages, elk sausages, pork sausage... really.)
* 2-3 Medium Yukon Gold potatoes (I've tried using Russet for this and it didn't quite taste the same. The potato needs to be waxy; even red potatoes work.)

The can o' corn is there as the side dish. You can add it TO the skillet if you prefer, but we usually just zap it with some butter to make things easy.

Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces. This, again, is all personal preference as to how thin you want to go. Sometimes we go chunky, sometimes less-so. I happen to really like when the sausage gets all fried and crispy around the edges... so... your mileage may vary.

In a non-stick skillet, toss all the sausage and turn the range on to, oh, medium high or so.

A note: I don't add any oil to my pan for this dish, or butter, or anything. The sausage has enough fat in it that it renders down beautifully, you just have to make sure you keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

While that's heating up, wash and chop the potatoes. Again, personal preference prevails here as to chunk size, but I normally do somewhere around 1/2" or so.

You can leave the skin on for this if you scrub it (and really, you ought, because that's where all the nutrients are, right?) before you chop and then just toss 'em right in the pan on top of those sausage slices.

Right here, once it's all stirred up in the pan, I normally hit it with some dried dill. There's something about it that just brightens the whole dish and gives it a really luscious flavor. But, alas, I was out of dill, so I added some cajun spices to the mix, just for a little kick of seasoning. Due to the salt content of the sausage, I generally avoid adding more, but hey, whatever you like, right? Tailor the recipe.

Pop on the cover and let it cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring every once in a while to keep the sausage from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

When it's done, just add your favorite veggie (or whatever you have on hand) and you're good to go! You can tell it's ready when the potatoes are fork tender and the sausage has that lovely caramelized crust thing going on around the edges.

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress