Thyme to go shopping

I kind of get Monday-morning-chitchat anxiety. 

“So, did you do anything fun this weekend?” 

It’s an innocent and socially acceptable question, but I just feel SOOOOO lame having to answer it. You know why? “Fun” involved cleaning my oven, dishwasher, and microwave AND LIKING IT. “Fun” involved doing three loads of laundry and getting it all folded and put away AND LIKING IT. “Fun” involved going to bed early AND LIKING IT.

High fives to those of you who actually went out and did things, of course.

Now that I think about it, we DID go out and do a thing- we went to the grocery store on Friday night. There’s a new chain in town- Fresh Thyme Market- and we love food + shopping, so why not.

Fresh Thyme bills itself as "the combined spirit of a weekend farmers market, and the convenience of a neighborhood store, with the nutritious offerings of a natural food marketplace to create a NEW and healthy shopping experience in the Midwest, which will nourish your body while your pocket book prospers.”

 As a review, I’d say it’s a level above a Trader Joe’s (and I do loves me some TJ) in that there’s a great selection of bulk bins, greater variety of produce, an attached liquor store, and an expanded supplement/holistic section. It’s a level below a Whole Foods in that there is not as much of a fresh grab-and-go selection. The prices fall in between the two stores as well. Many of the products are “Fresh Thyme” branded, but there are some recognizable brands of shelf stable items.

Some cool things I noted:

-Self serve oils, from regular olive to fancy herb infused

-Infused waters (Blueberry Rosemary)

-Naturally flavored sparkling waters, similar to LaCroix. We’re digging the Cucumber Melon flavor.

In sum, it’s a nice bright store with some fun offerings. It’s not likely to become our sole destination for groceries, as it really it tough to spend more than what we currently pay at Aldi’s. I do see us going there from time to time to mix it up and try different foods. The attached liquor store doesn’t hurt either.

Can't stop won't stop

I never really thought of myself as a big pasta person, but now that I’ve been using my Veggetti once a week, I’m realizing I really packed away the linguini. And rotini. And penne.

I mean, all whole grain versions, but still. That be a looooooot of carbs.

I’ve been making a weekly batch of homemade marinara with my garden tomatoes, and I think it’s the 14^th Commandment that “Thou shalt eat pasta with your marinara.” Fortunately zoodles do the trick just fine .

I always feel compelled to add a protein to marinara as well, so I made some chicken meatballs. So easy, pretty quick as well. Heeeere’s the breakdown:

Homemade Marinara Sauce

-About 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

-1/2 cup red wine

-5 or so basil leaves, torn

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-Pinch red pepper flakes

-1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-1 teaspoon dried parsley

-1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Here’s the deal- most marinara recipes call for blanching and peeling whole tomatoes. This is great and all, but I don’t have time or patience for that. I use cherry tomatoes because well, that’s what I grow, but also there is less water content. Less water = more flavor.

Combine all ingredients in a pot over low-medium heat. Cover. Once it starts simmering, stir every 15 minutes or so. Once tomatoes really soften, use an immersion blender (or transfer to a food processor) to puree. You don’t need this totally smooth- a few chunks are ok. Return to pot, return to simmer. I like to let it simmer a total of one hour, but this is not a magical number. I find that it ultimately helps reduce the water content for a slightly thicker, richer sauce.

Italian Chicken Meatballs

-1 lb ground chicken

-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-1 teaspoon dried parsley

-1 egg

-1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs

-1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

-1/8 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil spray. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. With making the meatballs, I just somewhat loosely pack a 1.5” or so ball with my hands and put on the pan. You don’t need to roll this into super compact spheres. The bigger they’re made, the longer the time they’ll need to bake, so that’s why I like mine on the inch and a half side. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until internal temp registers 165 degrees. This recipe makes about 22-24 meatballs. These freeze really really well, so don’t let the large amount deter you. This batch would technically yield 6-8 servings.

Basic Zoodles

To make enough zoodles to go with the meatballs and sauce, you’ll need 5-6 small zucchini, or 2-3 large zucchini. Using a spiralizer, make noodles. Saute in a large pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil and optional garlic. Stir until heated and only slightly softened.

Top your zoodles with the marinara, half the meatballs, and a sprinkle of cheese if you’d like.

Perfect summer “pasta”- minus the carb coma.

Per serving (2 cups zoodles, 1/4th of the sauce, 4 meatballs): 300 calories!

"Foodie" is just a hipster term for "I really like to eat."

We had quite the foodie weekend at our house. I swear- even if I was not a dietitian, I would enjoy cooking. I view it as a separate part of my life, as evidenced by some of the, ahem, desserts I made.

Friday night I made crispy tilapia sliders with chipotle lime slaw. I used cornmeal plus seasoned salt and pepper for the outer coating. Dip the tilapia in flour, then egg, then cornmeal mixture, and place in a large frying pan filled with 2 Tbsp vegetable oil + 1 Tbsp butter.

The chipotle lime slaw was SO easy- just run a few canned chipotles through the food processor. I used a ratio of 1 cup olive oil mayo to 2 Tbsp pureed chipotle, and it really packed a punch. If you’re not into heat, use less chipotle. To that mixture I squeezed the juice of 1 lime, and stirred in some chopped cabbage.

I served the sliders on sweet Hawaiian rolls. Absolutely no nutritional value to these at all, but man, the sweet soft bun was amazing with the crispy fish and the spicy dressing.

Saturday afternoon was canning time. I fiiiiiinally went out to the garden and harvested my tomatoes. I had planed three different varieties of cherry tomatoes- yellow, red, and “chocolate.” Because I had so many I decided to whip up a basic pasta sauce, adding fresh basil as well.

I had a bag of plums sitting in the fridge that I figured I’d turn into jam as long as I was going to the trouble of canning. Go figure, the toddler had great interest in helping determine quality control for the plums. I added some frozen blueberries to the mix too, for plum berry jam. I miiiiiight have also added a splash of leftover Pinot Noir as it was bubbling. The jam is still sitting on my counter- I’ll be sure to update when we actually try it.

On Sunday I put my cast iron skillet to good use. I feel like I often see recipes that call for sautéing on the stove, then placing in the oven to finish. I bought the cast iron skillet for such recipes- tamale pie did not disappoint. This recipe is nice because it doesn’t require anything fresh- it’s one of those meals where you can buy the ingredients well in advance.

Tamale Skillet Pie 

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 can creamed corn

1/3 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup red enchilada sauce

1 lb lean ground beef

1 yellow onion, diced

Low sodium taco seasoning packet

½ cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray some nonstick baking spray In an oven-proof skillet with a 2”+ rim. In a separate bowl, combine muffin mix with creamed corn and yogurt. Stir just until combined, then pour in the skillet and bake for ~20 or until edges turn golden brown. Turn oven heat down to 375. While the cornbread bakes, saute the beef and onion together. Add 1/3 cup water and taco seasoning. Stir until combined.

Back to the cornbread- poke holes in it with a fork and pour the enchilada sauce all over, letting it sink through the holes. Top with beef and onion mixture, then sprinkle cheese over the top. Put back in the oven for ~10 minutes.  

I served this with a side salad topped with more garden tomatoes and some diced avocado

For our dessert, which we honestly rarely do, I made a sour cream pound cake with peach Champagne sauce, topped with whipped cream.

Peaches + Champagne + sugar- as Barefoot Contessa says, “How bad could this be?”

Definitely a calorie splurge, even with a small serving. I had leftover peach sauce which I canned as well. I'm sure it'll taste just as good over my whole wheat pancakes : )

Introvert alert

I got a new shirt that (sadly) totally sums up my personality with one Phoebe Buffay quote:

I wish I could...but I don't want to.

Seriously though- I'm a great party guest. If I show up, I'm guaranteed to *not* come early, and I sure as hell won't overstay my welcome.

So yeah, in addition to becoming wrinkled and short-tempered in my old age, I'm also now as fun as...a bag of poo.

Speaking of poo, tried to take some baby photos this weekend. Ya know, so the kid will actually have a few photos in his album someday. I learned that having a 2 year old around pretty much guarantees every shot will be photobombed. 

Points to me for keepin' on with the recipe making and the cooking, though here it is- the peak of summertime heat and humidity, and I'm making spicy chili. I can't *not* do it though, as the crock pot set-it-and-forget-it is my m.o. Another bonus? This recipe is heavy on the canned goods, so it's quick to throw together while still being packed with protein and fiber..

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili

-2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (can sub regular diced tomatoes)

-1 large can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

-1 large yellow onion, diced

-2 cups frozen corn

-1 packet low sodium taco seasoning

-1/2 teaspoon cumin

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed (no need to dice it up- just whole breasts are fine)

In the crock, combine the diced tomatoes and add a can of water. Stir in beans, corn, seasonings, and then top with chicken breasts. This works best if you cook on low for 8 hours.

Shred the chicken breasts and give it a good stir to evenly combine. Serve topped with fresh pico, a blob of nonfat plain Greek yogurt, or diced avocado.

Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 325 calories, 48 g carbs, 29 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 11 g fiber.