teacher by day - chef by night
I tasted these a day later and they were good enough to eat, but resisted temptation and let them sit another week or so and they were worth the wait! These are nice and crunchy still with all the taste you would expect from something pickled. So get your harvest of peas (or go ahead and make this with the green beans that are currently in abundance) and make up a jar of these to enjoy in a few days – YUM!
This week I was craving some soup – so whipped up this Cream of Asparagus Soup. Putting some toasted garlic bread with fresh butter & parmesan on the side, we had a fresh, light, healthy, filling, quick, tasty dinner.
“If I ordered these in a restaurant and they tasted like these, I would be happy.” and “I really hope you are going to make these again” … when those are the phrases I heard from Rich when he was enjoying these, I knew that I had a winner!
I personally love Onion Rings (seriously, who doesn’t) but hate the fat that I know they are soaked with. The fact that I knew (and added) every single ingredient that went into these made me enjoy their awesome flavor even more!! For this whole thing (serves 2, in our house) there was probably 500 calories (whatever comes from the breadcrumbs & the one egg) – so you get all the flavor without all the sacrifice!
Problem: this is one of those recipes I had sitting around for a while (and bought the onions a few weeks ago too) but life just gets in the way. Why is that a problem you ask? That is a problem because we had a few months that these could have been in our lives that they weren’t. As you can tell – these are a great healthy treat and so much better than the alternative, SO don’t wait to make these like I did and enjoy today, or whenever you want a healthy classic side dish like Onion Rings (think burgers and grilling [we plan to try these on the grill actually: right on the grill OR on foil, t.b.d.] and sandwiches and so on)!!
AND REMEMBER: eating healthy doesn’t mean giving stuff up – it just means all things in moderation and finding ways to enjoy what you like!
Who doesn’t love ranch dressing!? When we were little kids, ok, well always, we love dipping our veggies (or chips or breadsticks, or whatever) it in! The only bad thing is all the preservatives and who really knows what goes into it. Here is your solution …
I don’t even like Pot Pie… I have told Rich that since we first started dating (and too bad for him, because he loves pot pie)! As much as he loves Pot Pie, I guess I might love him (eww barf – I know!) because …
A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to make something really “fresh” for dinner. So when I went to the market & saw both portabella mushrooms & eggplant on sale – I decided Paninis is was! I found some great inspiration from Panini Happy and got started.
I marinated the eggplant & mushrooms in some Olive Oil & Basalmic Vinegar then threw them on the George Foreman. I put some fresh hummus (more on that another day – I love making my own hummus) on the Olive Oil/Rosemary bread I had picked up at ShopRite, then layered on my grilled eggplant, mushroom, garden fresh tomato, & mozzarella. After about 5 (10?) minutes on the greased George Foreman – dinner was ready!
Earlier in the day I had thrown together a nice fresh salad – one I have been creating & playing with different variations all summer. This one was a can of (rinsed) black beans, a can of corn, can of Rotell tomato with green chilis, chopped stalk of celery, chives (onions – whatever) a few dashes of hot sauce, some (1/4 cup?) lime juce, some (1/4 cup?) olive oil, salt, pepper & you are good to go. I have been playing with other beans, cilantro, tuna, whatever in this – makes a great quick snack or lunch or side dish… think I will try to keep playing around with variations of this salad during the school year, it will be perfect for days that dinner was so good & there are no leftovers for lunch, or we are too tired to cook something, or get home from school and need a snack before diving into cooking – whatever… it is healthy, cheap & easy!
I hope to also keep using the George Foreman more as well, I seem to often forget that I have it and don’t use it!
Hope you enjoyed another “back-blog” of mine – taking things I cooked over the summer and blogging about them, soon I’ll have finished some of the highlights of the summer & will move onto “new” things 🙂