2 easy and amazing meals!

I have a few healthy and easy recipes to share today as well as my one month results from exercising and attempting to eat clean.

Beef Chuck Blade Kebobs with Roasted Zucchini tossed in Pesto and Lemon, Side Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese

Yesterday was a busy and hectic day.  I usually prepare my meals ahead of time, or at least think about them.  I have to do this or else I resort to "fend for yourself night" which is equivalent to PB&J for the kids.  I dropped by the commissary and grabbed a package of chuck steak that is in some sort of marinade.  From what I could tell, it was primarily garlic and black pepper.  I grabbed a red pepper, because even though in the past I've shied away from bell peppers, I had to give it another chance.  That and I have a friend, Trina, who insists they're amazing (she was right, by the way).  

This meal was a no brainer.  Alternate the steak with purple onion and red bell pepper.  While I was making the skewers, I cut up half a zucchini and roasted it in the oven at 450 degrees.  I have some pesto in a jar that is amazing!  I just added about half a tablespoon to the zucchini once it was done.  Squeeze lemon juice and a bit of zest on top.  The kabobs didn't take long on the grill, about 10-15 minutes.  I was kind of surprised at how good it came out.  I don't typically by the pre-marinated meats at the store.  The spices were perfect and the meat very tender.  And since there are only four pieces of meat per skewer, not unhealthy.  This meal, enough to feed myself and three kids, only cost less than $7.  Healthy.  Cheap.  Win.  

Get your kids to drink their veggies!

Hyland has yet to meet a vegetable he likes.  I use my Jack Lalanne juicer a lot to get him to drink his veggies to get the nutrients.  But there are days where I honestly do not feel like dealing with the machine.  Thank goodness our store started carrying these "Naked" smoothies.  I think they are delicious.  And when you blend a ton of spinach into it, you can trick your picky toddler into getting some greens in.  :)

Crock Pot Asian Pork

I know, brown rice would have been the healthier option.  I ran out, and I have a rice dispenser filled to the brim with white rice.  This is one of my favorite crock meals, since it's quick to throw together, makes a lot, has a medley of flavors and is not a wallet breaker either.  All of these ingredients are found at the Storck Commissary, with the exception of the agave, which I got in Katterbach.

Ingredients:

Some sort of pork roast.  The commissary had pork shoulder marked down.  I got a 2 lb roast for $2.12.

Salt and pepper

Safflower Oil 

1 can reduced sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup of soy sauce

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp of agave

1 tsp of sesame seed oil

1/2 tsp of Chinese five spice

4 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly

1/2 tsp of grated ginger

shiitake mushrooms

fresh spinach

cilantro

green onion

First I browned the pork (add your salt and pepper prior) in the pan with safflower oil (it has a high smoking point and has less saturated fat than olive oil).  While the pork is browning, line your crock pot with a liner to minimize clean up time.  Meanwhile add the stock, soy sauce, vinegar, agave, sesame seed oil, five spice, garlic, and ginger to the crock.  Add the pork, once browned on all sides, and cook on low for 8 hours.  I was able to prep all of this in about 15 minutes, while I was drinking my coffee this morning and fixing the kids breakfast.  Around 16:00, I removed the pork and let it settle for about ten minutes.  Then I shredded the pork and added it back, along with shiitake mushrooms, and let it finish cooking (about 45 more minutes).  I tossed in some baby spinach at the end, and topped with cilantro and green onion.  

Total cost of this meal?  I would estimate it being around $5 or $6.  I gave half of the meal to one of my good friends, Johana.  Even after this, there were still left overs.

Weight Loss is Happening!

 Here are the results of my little more than a month of clean eating and exercise.  My trainer didn't write down my BMI from the current weigh in, but it was 26.5%.  That's a good drop!  I didn't lose a ton of weight, about 4 pounds.  I'm starting to tone up in places and lost 2 inches each in my waist and hips.  I still have a long road ahead of me in regards to getting back into shape, but I'm enjoying the process.

July 10, 2012

xoxo!

Scrappy Sunday

Once upon a time, I was an avid scrapbooker.  I was lucky enough to even teach a few classes in Amsterdam.


Then life happened.


I am attempting to get back into it and this will be my first installment of "Scrappy Sunday."  Every Sunday (hopefully), I intend on sharing what I've been able to craft throughout the week.  I'm pleased to say that I actually have something to share.


First is a layout I did a couple of weeks ago using  an incredible kit I purchased from Websters Pages.  It was actually an amazing Groupon deal which had over a $100 worth of product for $25 I believe.

Kinderdijk, The Netherlands

These photos were taken during a trip to the windmills near the village of Kinderdijk.  We had just finished up our vacation in Amsterdam, in which we visited the Keukenhof.  I knew that Holland is famous for their windmills and this is probably one of the best places to see a large group of them!  My husband thought I was crazy for wanting to make a pit stop on our way to Belgium just to see windmills, but I didn't care.  I got some amazing photos that I will have to do a blog post about later.

Thank You Cards for a friend

A couple of weeks ago a friend asked if I could make her about 15 thank you cards.  Again, I dug out the Websters Pages kit and put these gorgeous postcards to work.

Just Like Mommy

Since I am trying to get back into scrapbooking, I've been visiting challenge blogs when I can to gain some inspiration and get a jump start in to things.  This layout was made for The Studio July challenge.

A Bribe for a Smile

Finally I completed a layout that I had intended to submit to the Scrapbook Trends December magazine call.  They were requesting a layout utilizing non-traditional Christmas colors.  I did not complete this before the due date.  Ah well.  I used Sassafras Lass "Nerdy Bird" for this layout.  I'm trying to go through my old stash before I start buying things again, so you probably won't see some of the newer stuff here.  :)


That is until I cave.


Which might be soon.


:)

A Fusion of Italian and Thai

Today the kids weaseled their way into having dinner at a neighbor's house.  They wanted to have friends over, but apparently the idea of having some sort of shrimp dish was not appealing to them.  That worked out in my favor since I was in the mood to experiment in the kitchen,  but NOT in the mood to find an alternative meal for the kids.

I was in a weird mood.  I wanted Italian seafood rice, but I also wanted something with an Asian flair.  I combined the two and made a Shrimp Tom Yum Risotto.

The Ingredients

Ingredients:
Tablespoon of olive oil
10 shrimp (defrosted, peeled, and deveined)
1/4 cup of diced onion
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cans of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of Tom Yum soup mix
1/2 cup of Arborio Rice
Julienned carrot (I have a julienne peeler by The Pampered Chef that does the trick)
1 green onion, sliced
Fresh Basil

Saute your shrimp in the EVOO just until cooked.  Do not overcook!  They won't be tender.  Obviously there are more than ten shrimp in this pan.  I sauteed some plain shrimp for Hyland's dinner.  Once shrimp are cooked, remove from pan and set aside.  Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a separate pan.

Drizzle a little more EVOO into the pan and gently saute the onions and garlic just until they are soft.  Add your risotto and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add a tablespoon of the Tom Yum mix (it's a concoction of lemon grass, red chili, onion, galangal (a type of ginger root), and soya bean oil) and incorporate into the rice.

Mix Tom Yum into the rice

Start ladling your stock into the rice, about half a cup at a time.  Keep stirring!  It's time to add another ladle of stock once the liquid has been absorbed.  Continue this process until your rice is cooked.  You do not want mushy rice!

Don't stop stirring!

This whole process will take about 20-30 minutes, depending on how much rice you are cooking.  Right before my last ladle of stock, I threw the shrimp back in along with the carrots, green onion, and basil.

The dish is ready once the liquid is absorbed.  Your rice should not be mush, but not "crunchy."  A good risotto will have a bite to it.  Remove the pan from the heat, but let it sit in the pan for a minute or two.  Then you're ready to serve.

Don't forget your toppings!

If I had planned this menu ahead of time, I would have made sure to have some mushroom, cilantro, and lime on hand.  Taste wise, it was exactly what I was looking for.  A good fusion of Italian and Thai.

This weekend I hope to share some of my scrapbooking projects I've been working on as of late!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Independence Day!

This 4th of July, our tiny little post in the middle of nowhere in Germany had a pie baking contest.  Now I'll be the first to admit that I tend to take shortcuts when it comes to pie by buying a premade crust.  But I'm 30 and I do enjoy cooking and baking, so it's past time to learn how to bake a pie.  And what better way to test the waters than by entering into a pie contest?

I am not a genius in the kitchen, but I can follow a recipe and tweak it when needed.  I perused Pinterest (I actually think my search was "award winning pie recipes" and I came across this Apricot Blueberry Pie.  Sounded summery.  Now I needed a pie crust recipe that sounded unique, but still easy.  This one with vodka was chosen primarily because I've had the same bottle of Smirnoff for a number of years and haven't had the heart to toss.

I didn't deviate from the crust recipe, but I did make a few adjustments to the original Apricot Blueberry Pie.

These are the fruits I used: nectarines, apricots, Turkish apricots, and doughnut white fleshed peaches (blueberries are not pictured).  The above photo shows them sans skin, after I blanched them.  

I also separated the natural juice that seeped from the fruit.  I didn't want the pie to be soupy and I didn't want to try to compensate for this by adding additional flour as a thickening agent.  Once the juice was removed, I added a tablespoon of flour and then re-added the juice needed.  

The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of butter to be cut and added to the filling prior to placing the top crust on. I omitted this as well as cutting both the white and brown sugar in half.  I had to justify eating this pie to myself.  Plus the fruit was already very ripe.  I don't own a pie shield, so I placed tin foil around the outer edge to prevent early browning of the crust.  I removed it about halfway through cooking.

The final change I made was adding BOTH lemon and orange zest to the filling and crust.  I brushed egg yolk for a prettier and shinier crust and dusted with vanilla infused sugar.

See?  The filling was perfect.  Not runny or mushy.  The crust held up nicely too.  Not bad for being my second pie made from scratch (the first one being made the night before as a trial run).

So did I win?  Sadly no, but I do feel this pie is a winner and something I will probably make again in the future.

Despite the loss, today was fun.  We enjoyed time with our friends, German steak sandwiches, chocolate covered bananas, a warm (but not hot) day, free entertainment for the kids, and fireworks.  The only thing missing was our own Soldier.

Anberlin QOTD (well said a couple of days ago):

Anberlin:  Mommy, why have you been going to the gym a lot?

Me:  Because I'm trying to get back in shape.

Anberlin:  So you can get skinny again?

Me:  Um...sure?

Anberlin:  How come it's not working?

Me:  (-_-)

Side note, I'm doing a Weight Loss Challenge on our post.  I'm not in it to win it, but it cost me $5 and I get to meet with a personal trainer two times a week for 12 weeks.  I'm really enjoying the process.

Steamed Ginger Chicken

It's been nearly 3 years since I have blogged.  I could have continued on with my old one, but lots has changed since I updated.  So I decided to start fresh.  If you would like to see my old blog, feel free to visit www.mrs-summers.blogspot.com.  :)


My husband, Josh, has been deployed for a full month now.  The kids and I have our routine down, which is probably one of the most vital things any military spouse can do for him or herself.  We are trying to keep a sense of normalcy, which includes me attempting to cook dinner every night.  I'm trying to watch what I eat, so dinners need to be quick, simple, and healthy.


Last night I tried out a recipe from this cute book:

This book is old...like 1968 old.  But I couldn't resist the cute kitsch cover, plus it's Vietnamese food.  How can you go wrong?  I am going to use my modified recipe because it was a Sunday and NOTHING is open over here.


STEAMED GINGER CHICKEN


5 dried shitake mushrooms
8 chicken tenderloins
2 green onions (reserve the green tips for garnish)
3 thin slices of fresh ginger root
2 tomatoes (I had to use can because I ran out of fresh)
1/2 tsp of sugar
1 1/4 tsp of fish sauce
dash of black pepper
1/8 tsp of salt
1 tsp of cooking oil


Small deep heat-proof bowl
Large heavy pot or skillet with cover
Water


Directions:


1.  Soak the mushrooms in warm water for about 15 minutes.  Drain, remove the tough stem, and slice into thin strips.
2.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
3.  Slice the white part of the green onion.  Reserve the green part for garnishing.  Cut the thin slices of ginger into very thin strips.  Slice your tomato, skin included into small pieces.  Combine all ingredients with the chicken into your heat proof bowl.

4.  Add the remaining seasonings and oil and mix thoroughly with your hands.

The next part was a little tricky for me.  The recipe says to put the bowl into a skillet with about an inch of water and then cover.  I did this, but the sound that the bowl was making on the skillet as it increased in temperature freaked me out.  I had visions of the bowl cracking and ruining the meal.  So I moved it into a large pot with a steamer attachment.  

I covered the bowl, but not the whole pot.  I realized this wasn't actually "steaming" my food, so I improvised by taking off the lid, covering the pan with some foil, and then with a kitchen towel:

After 15 minutes, you can tell it's working.

And after 30 minutes, it's time to eat!

I topped my meal with green onions, fresh cilantro, and some lime wedges.

Serve over some steamed Jasmine rice and Sriracha sauce.  Hello goodness.  :)

A Do Over

A brand new start!