Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Memorial Weekend

I remember once reading how Jessica Simpson only washes her hair like once a week.  At the time I thought that seemed super nasty.  But looking back on this past weekend...I have to reconsider.

Dry shampoo and stretchy pants have turned me into a total lazy blob.  Like I cannot even be bothered to take a shower or change my pants- "no one will know that these are the same black stretch pants as yesterday and the day before."

My lucky husband.  Don't worry- I don't stank- TGF Bath and Body Works spray.  BBW stank > human stank.  AMIRIGHT? 

Why the lack of showers?  Why the lack of posting? 

For whatever ill-timed reason, I have decided to go all-out with home redecorating.  That is, the decorating I did 10 months ago is soooo 2012 and I need to update.  Mostly that involves painting and stenciling.  And who cares about showering when there's another coat of primer to be slapped on?

I won't show pictures yet because I'm not done. 

So yeah.  That's what I've been doing. 

But I suppose for old time's sake I should post a recipe, lest you think I've been surviving on a ramen noodle diet*. 

Steak Sandwiches with Parsley Pesto
1 baguette (or other rustic bread), sliced lengthwise
3/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (not the curly kind!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
16 oz steak (I bought really thinly sliced fillets, figuring they'd be easiest to grill)
Pepper to taste
Fresh spinach or arugula, about 1-1 1/2 cups
Tomato, sliced

Combine parsley, oil, garlic, and cheese in a food processor.  Blend until it's spreadable.



Set aside.  Heat up a grill pan over medium-high heat.  Place steaks in the pan and cook until both sides are seared and no longer pink.  Sprinkle on some pepper to taste.

To assemble sandwiches: spread pesto mix, top with some spinach or arugula, a tomato, and steak.

Makes 4 sandwiches. 

*I totally have been surviving on ramen noodles. 

Hints at a future career

You know how some people insist that as far back as they remember, they were meant to be a _______.

Like the pilot who started building model planes at age 6.

Or the veterinarian who as a child took in stray kittens.

And the dietitian who used to dream up chocolate, peanut butter, and sugar.

Wait, what?

A few weeks ago while visiting my grandparents in Detroit, my grandma pulled out this recipe that I made for her.

I know- hard to read.  But the gist of it is to take peanut butter, chocolate chips, and sugar- press it in saran wrap (is that brand even around anymore?), microwave it, refrigerate it, and "Eat them!"

Yeah I'm pretty sure that would be nothing but a fail of a recipe. 

I've clearly graduated to more sophisticated recipes (see post for peanut butter cookie dough cupcakes). 

Oh, irony.  You win. 


Friday, May 17, 2013

Fiber & Flashbacks



Do you ever eat chickpeas?

They're also called garbanzo beans, but that doesn't sound nearly as cute as chickpeas.

If I ever start an all-girl band, I'm definitely calling it Lindsey & The Chickpeas.

Like Jesse & The Rippers, or Jem & The Holograms, only with more fiber.















Anyway, back to the pea-that's-sort-of-a-bean.  They're sort of awesome.  I love chickpeas (in order of importance) because they're cheap, versatile, high fiber, decent on protein, and cheap.

Seriously, one can is just a buck.  Go try this recipe.

Fried Chickpea Pitas with Lime Tzatziki  adapted from Cooking Light May 2013
-1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
-1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
-2 teaspoons lime juice
-Pinch of salt
-1/4 teaspoon chopped jar garlic
-1/2 a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
-6 whole wheat pita pockets (12 halves)
-2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed and laid out on a paper towel to dry
-3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-3 cups loosely packed spinach or arugula

1. Combine yogurt, mint, lime juice, pinch of salt, garlic, and cucumber in a bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 
2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add chickpeas and saute 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and kind of crispy, stirring frequently.
3. Remove chickpeas and place on a dry paper towel.  Once they've slightly cooled, dump in a bowl and add cumin, paprika, and red pepper.  Toss well until evenly coated.
4. Whisk together lemon juice with remaining tablespoon of oil and pepper.  Add spinach/arugula and toss to coat.
5. Fill each pita half with chickpeas, spinach/arugula, and tzatziki sauce.




Per serving (2 half pockets): 370 calories, 57 g carbs, 10 g fat (mostly heart healthy kind), 16 g protein, and 10 g fiber. 







Monday, May 13, 2013

The wind beneath my wings

This past weekend my husband and I completed our annual half marathon. 

13.1 miles of...fun?  No, not so much. 

Here's a picture from the race:
Er, maybe that's a scene from "Twister," but it's about how I felt on the race course.  Only I was running against the tornado's wind. 
Hence me dying on the stairs at home later. 

But at least I promised myself a sweet reward:
Kevin McCallister-style one-cheese-pizza-JUST-for-me, and a slice of turtle cheesecake on the side.  SHUT UP I EARNED IT.

Ok.  Now that that is out of my system, I realize that I've been holding out.  I haven't posted a recipe that I make a few times each week.  It is the easiest recipe everrrrr.  Perfect for the morning after a race when you're feeling sore and don't really want to spend much time or effort making breakfast.  Or just any morning when you don't really want to spend much time or effort making breakfast.

Behold: microwave scrambled eggs.

All you need are eggs, milk, and a microwaveable container.  I like to use my Pyrex measuring cup, but any bowl would work. 

Whisk your eggs and milk together.  For each egg you use, add 1 tablespoon milk.  I made two eggs, hence I used 2 tablespoons. 
 
Microwave for one minute.  Fluff and stir.  Microwave for 30 more seconds, or until eggs are no longer runny.  Stir in some salt, pepper, cheese, or whatever.  Eat. 
Tip: Right after you make your eggs, let your bowl soak in some hot water.  Once the egg remnants dry up, it's really hard to scrub clean.

I suppose now I can go back to running for fun, and cheesecake-eating for guilt. 

Friday, May 3, 2013

Seasonally appropriate

You saw my pictures from last weekend. 

Bare feet.

Green grass.

Happiness.

Here's the view from my window at work this morning:
My dollar store window clings clearly indicate what season we ought to be in.  Woof.  I suppose that just means more quality time indoors cooking up recipes like this:

Sweet Potato Enchiladas
-2 pounds cut up sweet potatoes, boiled/roasted/microwaved/whatever (I actually just bought canned)
-1 1/2 cups chopped baby peppers
-1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)
-1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
-1 Tbsp vegetable/canola oil
-12-16 flour tortillas
-1 packet enchilada seasoning mix
-1 can tomato sauce (10 oz, or whatever the packet calls for)
-2 cups 2% shredded cheddar cheese
-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
-1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat oil in a shallow pan over medium-high heat.  Add peppers and onions.  Stir occasionally until nicely browned and softened.  Remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mash up your sweet potatoes with chili powder and pepper.  Stir in beans and pepper/onion mixture.
4. Make enchilada sauce according to packet instructions.  Most likely it involves heating up your tomato sauce with some water and the packet contents.  Once sauce is made, spread a few spoonfuls into the bottom of a 9x12 baking dish.  
4. Depending upon how fresh your tortillas are, you might want to warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.  Warm = more bendy.  Spoon some filling into one tortilla, fold it up, and gently place seam-side down into the baking pan.  Repeat until you've used up all your mixture. I didn't have enough tortillas on hand, so I ended up making only six. 
5. Cover with remaining sauce and top with cheese.  Bake until sauce is bubbly around the edges and cheese is fully melted. 




Makes 7-8 servings (2 per serving): 520 kcal, 86 g carbs, 18 g fat, 24 g protein, 9 g fiber

Super easy, especially if you're lazy like me and you buy pre-cut pre-cooked sweet potatoes.  Now maybe I'll go dig up my winter snowflake window clings...