Poem Friday

'Twas the night before Friday and all through the kitchen
Things were a mess, and this chef started bitchin'.

The workday was long and we were both feeling stressed
A personal chef would have made us feel blessed.

With quick-rising bread dough causing a fight
The entree had nary a vegetable in sight.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear
but my husband to aid me with an ice cold beer.

Now Kitchen Aid!  Now mixer!  Now boiling and kneading!
On oven!  On broiler!  On dishware then feeding!

With egg wash and sea salt this meal became saved
I truly was proud of the creation I made

We sprang to the table and started to chow
Another great dinner- no wonder, no how.

We wrapped up the leftovers out of our sight
Happy dinner to all, and to all a good night!

Homemade Pretzel Dogs
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 can light beer
1 egg
2/3 cup baking soda
8 turkey hot dogs
Sea salt
3 teaspoons yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar

1. Heat the beer in a small saucepan to 110 degrees.  Pour in a bowl.  Add sugar and yeast.  Let sit for 5 minutes, or until yeast becomes foamy.
2. Meanwhile combine the flour, butter, and 3 teaspoons salt.  Add yeast/beer mix.  Stir until combined, but try not to over-stir.
3. Coat a large bowl with some cooking spray; add dough.  Cover with a towel and set in a warm place (I placed mine under a bright light).  Let rise for 30 minutes.  Knead dough for 30 seconds- punching down the air, folding it in on itself, etc.
4. Let rise for 30 more minutes.  Meanwhile, make sure your hotdogs are pre-cooked.  If not, boil them or microwave them.
5. Heat 10 cups of water + 2/3 cup baking soda in a large stockpot.  Heat your oven to 450 degrees.
6. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle.  Cut dough into 8 strips (I had a little bit leftover so I made 2 pretzels).  Wrap one strip of dough around each hot dog, making sure the ends are poking out a bit.
7. Drop hot dogs, 2-3 at a time, into boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove and place on a baking sheet.  Repeat until you've boiled all the hot dogs.
8. Brush with the egg yolk and sprinkle some sea salt on each.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until deep golden brown.

 Per dog: 270 calories, 27 g carbs, 14 g fat, 10 g protein.

Clement C. Moore wishes he had these to rhyme about.  And yes, I forced it with "saved" and "made."

Thoughts on salt

Nutrition is a broad subject, and I've found that dietitians tend to gather around their favorite component of nutrition.  For me, I'm a huge advocate of naturally high-fiber foods.  You may have noticed that, and if you follow many of my recipes, you may have an increased budget for Charmin Ultra.

I'll admit that I've never focused a whole lot on sodium (salt).  Yes, it is critical to our diets (can't function without it), but too much causes a host of health problems, including high blood pressure, kidney failure, and congestive heart failure. 

What exactly is the link between high blood pressure and salt intake?  Think of it this way- if you have a dish that's too salty, what do you do?  You try and dilute down the saltiness.  Your blood is the same way- if it gets too salty, your body tries to retain water to tone it down a bit.  Your kidneys' job is to filter out salt, but they can only work so hard.  Increased water + salt in your blood makes them work harder to contract and push blood all over your body.  This leads to high blood pressure.  Uncontrolled high blood pressure can then lead to serious heart problems, including heart attack and stroke. 

So that covers the why when it comes to limiting salt intake.  Recommendations are to intake less than 2300 milligrams (mg) of salt per day.  This can be tougher than it sounds.  Take for example Lean Cuisine roasted turkey entree.  It's only 290 calories and has 19 grams of protein.  Aaaaand almost 900 mg of sodium.  Frozen entrees, processed foods, and soups are notorious for being packed with sodium, both for "flavor" and as a preservative. 

The best bet?  Avoid processed foods and choose fresh- instead of canned peas, go for fresh or even frozen.  Limit your intake of pre-packaged meals and packaged deli meats.  Pay mind to sauces and condiments you may use, which can be packed with salt.  Sea salt, while trendy, isn't really any lower in sodium than plain ol' table salt. 

Try tracking your sodium intake for a few days and see where you tend to fall.  It's okay to go over 2300 mg every now and then, but take note of your own pattern.

Fun fact to end this nerd-tacular lesson on salt: when you start to trim back your salt intake, you may notice foods taste more bland.  Give it a few weeks and your taste buds will start to grow and pick up on other flavors. 

Starting the week off right

Okay, so we've all been to the Olive Garden.  What's better than a Tuscan dining room with a tablecloth on which you can play a game of Hangman? Marilyn Hagerty  agrees with me. 

Thing:
_ A L_OR_E  B_MB

With several entrees over 1000 calories per serving, this place is loaded with calorie bombs. Pasta is a great comfort food, so here's a version that's filling, but won't put you into a carb coma.

Shrimp Primavera

-1 lb uncooked shrimp (I chose the medium sized shrimp- 21-30 to a bag), thawed, peeled
-1 box whole wheat linguini
-1 8-oz block 1/3rd fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese)
-3-4 cups broccoli cut into chunky florets
-1 large onion, chopped
-3 carrots, thickly grated (I just take the peeler and go up and down the carrot to "shave" it)
-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil.  Add linguini and cook for 5 minutes.  Add broccoli and cook for another 3 minutes.  Reserve 2 cups of pasta water; drain in a large colander.
2. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt butter and add onion.  Saute for about 5 minutes, or until starting to slightly brown.  Add shrimp and carrot.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Add cream cheese and reserved pasta water; stir until melted.  Add linguini & broccoli and crushed red pepper; stir until sauce has thickened and all the cheese is melted.

 Use this recipe as a reason to clean out your veggie drawer- spinach, peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms would all be good additions. 

Makes 8 servings.  Per serving: 440 calories, 44 g carbs, 12 g fat, 34 g protein, 7 g fiber.

Adjective that describes this dinner:
AW_S_ME
 

Signs of Spring

In less than seven days' time, we went from down parkas to flip flops.  Seriously- landlord, please come enable our air conditioner 'cause it's 79 degrees in our house. 

Another perk of this past weekend, weather aside, is my new iPhone.  Goodbye 2005 Nikon.  Hellooooo, Instagram. 

I haven't made muffins in awhile, and as much as I love pumpkin, carrot, and spice muffins, none of those felt appropriate for a warm spring day.   I had some frozen blueberries and oranges on hand, so I made up this recipe:

Blueberry-Orange Muffins

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups frozen (or fresh) blueberries
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated orange zest + 1 Tbsp juice                     

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl with a whisk.
-In another bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients (minus the berries).
-Add wet ingredients to dry until just barely combined (don't over-stir).  Gently fold in blueberries.  Divide batter among 12 muffin cups (or make 6 jumbo muffins).
-Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Per muffin: 180 calories, 29 g carbs, 7 g fat, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber.                                                                                                                                                   

Lamenting about Lent

I grew up going to a Lutheran school and Lutheran church.  It was never explicitly mandated that you needed to give something up for Lent, but it was encouraged.  I always chose pop, which was relatively easy.  Jesus dying on the cross does not equal 5 Diet Cokes, but at least I did something, right?

My husband, being the good Catholic boy that he is, decided that this Lenten season he will go without beef or pork.  This in turn leads me to go without it as well.  After all, it wouldn't be fair for me to be grilling steaks every night in front of him.

A life without beef or pork hasn't been difficult though.  TGF-turkey, chicken, fish, and chickpeas.  Yes, chickpeas.

Mashed Chickpea Pitas

• 1 tsp chopped garlic-from-a-jar
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons reduced-fat mayo
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 (15-oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 carrot, finely shredded
• 2 whole wheat pita pockets, cut in half
• Lettuce leaves (optional)

1. Combine garlic, all but 2 Tbsp yogurt, mayo, lemon juice, and chickpeas in a bowl.  Mash with a potato masher or fork until almost smooth.  Stir in cucumber and dill.
2. Combine remaining yogurt and carrot in a small bowl; stir well.
3. Line each pita half with lettuce leaf, 1/2 cup chickpea mixture, and 1-2 Tbsp carrot mixture.

No beef.  No pork.  No pop.  No problem. 

Per pita half: 320 calories, 53 g carbs, 7 g fat, 15 g protein, 9 g fiber

Cheap Eats/Things Minnesotans Make Up For Dinner

Last night we met with a financial planner.

Barf.

What's fun about saving money?  Nothing.  I like having stuff.  My attic-turned-walk-in-closet can attest to that.  Did you know that *two* items I own were once featured in "US Weekly" as Items to Have! section?  Oh yes.  My stuff is a very big deal.

By that same token, I am not stupid.  I've had a budget.  It's very skewed towards shopping rather than saving, but still, I have no debt.  And for our future house, cars, kids, pets, etc., we plan on keeping things in check.

Reality.  *Sigh*

I suppose I can help keep us on the right track with savings by preparing cheap, easy, healthy-enough meals like this turkey cheeseburger pie.   

Turkey Cheeseburger Pie

• 1 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup wheat baking mix (I had "wheat blends" Hungry Jack)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded Cheddar
• 1/4 teaspoon Lowry's seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Saute turkey and onions together, and cook until turkey is no longer pink.  Soak up extra fat if necessary.  Season with salt, pepper, and allspice.
2. Coat a casserole dish with nonstick spray and dump in meat mixture.  Sprinkle cheese evenly on top.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and add baking mix, until well combined.  Pour over cheese/meat.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the topping is deep golden brown.

I give myself the usual F- for food presentation.  This recipe is pretty basic- you could certainly make it fancier by adding hot sauce, chopped tomatoes, pickles, olives, salsa, etc.  I kept it plain.  This Minnesotan doesn't get too funky.

Makes six servings.  Per serving: 230 calories, 12 g carbs, 6 g fat, 30 g protein.

This totally means I can go buy a new Coach handbag, right?

Things married people call "fun"

I have a bit of a complex.

Both Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones have well-covered the differences between "singles" and "marrieds."  You know, the whole just-because-you-get-married-doesn't-mean-you-never-see-your-friends-anymore thing.

And in fact I did view marriage as a bit of a social blockade.  Ohhh yes, you Marriage- you won't prevent me from hanging out with my single girlfriends!

But the problem is that "Dateline" on Friday nights is usually pretty good.  And my sweater booties are way more comfy than heels.  So I guess if there was a bar where Lester Holt's investigative journaling was on TV, and elastic-waist pants were the dress code, I'd be all over it.   

My husband and I do have some fun every now and then.  We're not total old farts (though, ahem, speaking of that, we've maybe become a bit too relaxed around each other).  Case in point: this past weekend, we sought to re-create one of our best dinners in Mexico.  I have an earlier post about our deep sea fishing trip where we ate one of the Mahi Mahi I caught.

Coastal Seafoods is a small chain market around here, so we picked up some swordfish (high mercury content, but it's okay to eat every now and then), and then at the Mexican market we bought achiote paste, funky black bean salsa, and fresh lemon juice.

Marcus was in charge of the grilling.  He'd paid close attention to how the cook did it in Mexico- cut slits in the fish, baste it with the achiote paste, and liberally douse it in lemon juice while on the grill.

I made sides of Spanish rice and sweet corn pudding, which is delicious but a total calorie bomb.  Good thing I've got my stretchy pants.

A slushie and muffin of a different variety

Yesterday morning we woke up to five inches of slushy snow.  Sure, it made our backyard look like a winter wonderland, but it also made for an awkward running session.  Have you ever run in thick slush?  No, of course not, because who would choose to do that? 

It was like having snow cones in my shoes.  Blech. 

I should note that I am training for a half marathon this spring, and I really hate running on the treadmill.  Bring in on, soggy socks.  I also knew that should I slog it out outdoors I would reward myself with a great dinner of meatloaf & mashed potato "muffins."

I wish I could take credit for this concept, but I've seen it on a few different websites now.  Easy to prepare, and the leftovers are a snap to pack away for later.

Turkey Meatloaf
1 lb extra lean ground turkey
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1/4 cup dry oats
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp milk
1/3 cup chili sauce
Pinch of salt and pepper

Mashed Potatoes
3 large potatoes (we're talking much  bigger than the palm of your hand- I like Yukon golds), peeled and cut into quarters
4 oz Neufchatel/reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp garlic-from-a-jar

Fill large stockpot filled half-full (not half-empty, har har) with water and bring to a boil.  Add your potatoes. 

Preheat your oven to 350 and spray either a regular 12-cup muffin pan or jumbo 6-cup pan with some nonstick cooking spray.  Using your hands, mash up all the meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.  Divide meat mix into your muffin tin, but be sure to not fill it all the way full.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until internal temp reaches 165 (cook time is longer for bigger "muffins" so be warned). 

Now go check your taters and make sure they're cooked until tender.  Drain and place in a large bowl.  Add block of cream cheese, yogurt, and garlic.  I used a potato masher, but you could certainly use a stand mixer to blend until creamy.  You may want to add the milk, but be careful to not add too much- you want a pipe-able consistency.  Add salt to taste.

When your meatloaf muffins are done you can pipe the potatoes on top pretty much right away.  Once I was done, I returned them to the oven for a few minutes so that the potatoes could heat up again.  I sprinkled some chives on top for added decoration.  Serve with chili sauce. 

These are seriously cute.  Maybe I should've saved them for April Fool's Day and passed them around as carrot muffins with cream cheese frosting.  Shhh- don't let anybody onto this evil plan.  But really- no one would be that disappointed 'cause these are super delicious.

Per muffin: 300 calories, 31 g carbs, 10 g fat, 22 g protein