A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

 

A little something I took to work last week as a vegetarian (not vegan) recipe.  The protein comes from the dairy and I loaded it with a mix of mushrooms.  Like any casserole, it was creamy, but this was also deeply mushroomy with a little crunch from the buttered bread crumbs on top. Of course it would normally be a side dish but it's exaclty the kind of thing that lays gently on my stomach for the middle of the night lunches and makes a wonderful entree on its own.

Colleen, I thought of you when I made this:  no rind to peel or not peel!

Leftovers: Vodka-Marinated Pork Roast Enchiladas

Had some of the vodka-marinated pork roast leftover from the other day and wondered "What to do? What to do?"  We'd already eaten sandwiches and still there were yummy chunks sitting in the fridge.  I hated to waste it but we were getting a little tired of it in it's current incantation. 

I remembered a trick my beautiful friend, Sher of What Did You Eat?,told me she used as a waste not/want not trick. Any time she had leftover meat or roasted chicken that she didn't want to waste, she'd grab a few tortillas and whatever else she had in the fridge for filling, make up enchiladas and then freeze them individually without sauce and keep them in marked gallon freezer bags.  Then, on nights she didn't feel like making dinner into a big a production she'd grab a couple each for her and Bob,  sauce them with whatever salsa she had in the pantry for just that purpose, layer some nice melty monterrey jack on top, and voila, dinner is served.

I followed in her footsteps except I did go ahead and sauce mine.  The batch of two became my work "lunch" one night last week and the second batch went into a foil pan into the freezer so that all that has to be done is for it to be thawed and thrown in the oven.  I ran out of tortillas at the end so the rest of the pork ended up being spooned around the sides, just more porky goodness.

There is no specific recipe for this.  But here's how I did it:  I chopped up the remaining pork roast, added the half jar of red salsa I happened to have in the fridge, and a handful of shredded cheese.  Sher used to also add any beans she had leftover, corn, potatoes, whatever sounded good to her mixed together.  I put a couple of large spoonfuls of the mixture into the center of the tortillas, rolled them up, and placed them seam side down in a sprayed baking dish.  Then I poured over a jar of salsa verde (gre) I had in the pantry and topped it with another handful of shredded colby/monterrey jack mix.  From there or once thawed if frozen, it's just a matter of baking them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered and then another 10-20 minutes uncovered until cheese is slightly browned and the everything is hot and bubbly.

Originally the second pan (freezer ones) were made for Auntie Miranda but since she wasn't able to drop by the day she thought she would, I just stuck them in the freezer...we'll see who ends up feasting on them, her or us, depending on who gets out of the mood to cook first.

One Roast/Two Meals: Roast with Veggies & Shortcut Beef Stroganoff

 

As much as we all love to cook and as much as we all like to make everything from scratch, let's face it, sometimes life intervenes and we have to settle for using a shortcut or two.

Last week, when I worked several days in a row, I happily chose crockpot and some low maintenance cooking over fast food and/or ordering out.

Take this combo, for example.  One roast equalled two great meals, and great leftovers for my lunchbox.

For years, we've all raved about my cousin Ann's pot roast, so rich and flavorful.  One day she told Aunti Miranda and I her secret weapon:  Heinz Beef Gravy.  A jar. Not kidding.  It's wonderful and so quick.  It's this simple:  throw the roast in an oven safe covered roasting pan with salt and pepper and whatever veggies you want: onions, potatoes, carrots, garlic, green peppers, etc.  And top with the jar of Heinz gravy (mushroom works well too).  Bake @ 300 degrees, low and slow, for 45 minutes per lb.  (Most directions say for 25 minutes/lb but we like ours falling apart.)

That's dinner #1.

The next night I took the leftover meat and cut it into bite-sized chunks (about 3 cups) and then whizzed the leftover gravy and vegetables together in the blender.  Placing the meat and gravy/veggie mix into a pot on the stovetop,  I stirred in a 6 oz. container of plain Greek-style yogurt, and reseasoned to taste with a little salt and pepper.  This I served over cooked egg noodles.

Perfect for dinner #2 with plenty of leftovers to take with me to work.

Sometimes it's all about real life.

Good AND Good for you: Creamy Cucumber Dip

 

So simple and yet so rewarding, this is a summer constant in my work lunchbox and snack around the house. Only three ingredients that pack an all-out taste power punch:  creamy for the tongue, crunch for the teeth, and salty herby for the psyche pleasure zone.

We eat this primarily as a dip on good fibrous tough stuff crackers or I love it as a sandwich on wheat or rye bread. Middle-of-the-night Afternoon Tea, anyone?

An added pleasure is anytime the cukes come from your own garden. Sigh.  The best part of summer is the garden!

Doctor's Kitchen Monday: Edamame Succotash with Brown Rice

 

Look at all that great food for work one night last week...and then it was so horribly busy I never got a chance to eat a bite of it all night long. Oh well. I ate the succotash for breakfast the next day so at least I got to enjoy it!

 

I make this dish fairly often because it's great for you and super quick to put together, works perfectly for lunch, dinner, or work lunch, and is a great "getting closer to vegetarian" dish for us meat eaters.  Gene says he really likes it but he'd like it better with a bunch of chicken in it.  I tell him that defeats the purpose of eating a vegetarian dinner once a week for our health. He thinks chicken is vegetarian. :-)

Click below for the recipe.

A Weekend's Worth of LunchBox Ideas that Equal Good Eatin'

I don't know about you, but one of my biggest problem areas for eating healthily is WORK.  It's just to easy to let the stress and middle-of-the-night caffeine jonesing take over and suddenly I've racked up 500 calories of nothing good.  Not to mention that the hospital crapeteria sucks.  Maybe during the day it's great but all nights gets is the leftovers warmed up, half a salad bar, and sandwiches.

I've recommitted myself to taking lunch and making sure I have plenty of healthy snacks available. Another of my weaknesses is my tummy. I have a really touchy stomach, especially after going eight or nine hours without food between leaving the house for work and lunch time at 2am.  Around 11pm or midnight is when the siren song of the vending machines usually stomp all my good intentions to the ground.

Below is the food from the last of the three nights worked and it is a winning combination.  I had the pasta with broccoli, vegetable juice, and fruit for lunch, but the other three I doled out to myself before and after lunch and , for once, avoided the middle of the night nausea and/or vomitting.  Yeah, I know. Vomitting isn't a pleasant subject on a food blog but it's a problem for me and I have more than a couple of times thrown up from acid stomach in the middle of the night and then gone back to whatever I was doing.  I'd like to stop that little game and this worked for me the other night so I'm going to continue with the good snacks.

 

Caprese Salad with Pickled Green Tomatoes

 

Auntie Miranda went with friends to The Keeter Center in Branson for dinner the night before last night.  The Keeter Center is the small hotel and dining room run by the Hospitality Dept of School of the Ozarks.  And run very well.  We have a respiratory conference down there that's dynamite as a conference and The Keeter Center as a venue is superb.

In the dining room, Auntie chose this Caprese salad with fresh red and pickled green tomatoes.  She said she took one bite, rolled her eyes in delight, and said to the waiter "Can I get one of these to go?"  I went to bed early that night but it was waiting for me in the fridge when i got up the next day. 

Wow. I don't know how much better it could have been fresh because it was still incredibly fresh, crispy, and wonderful the next day.  This is definitely a do at home thing too. I know you can buy green tomato pickles, or even better would be to can them from the garden.  I'm thinking even fresh green tomatoes mixed with red tomatoes and fresh mozzarella would be wonderful fresh out of the garden....maybe drizzle a little honey across the top with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar to add that sweetness from the pickling syrup.

Thanks Aunti Miranda! What a lovely and healthy lunch. We'll definitely be working on a home recipe for this one!

Mama Always Said "Eat Your Vegetables!"

 

This is now my favorite secret weapon for getting all my veggies in each day which is harder than it looks, as we all know.  Four is no problem but when you try to up it to six or eight servings it's more of a struggle unless you're really on your toes.  This is one of those quick, easy, flexible soups that is making its way into my home lunches and work lunches with ease.

On this particular day I used bagged frozen vegetables of green beans, carrots, peas, and corn, but I've also used a mix of broccoli and cauliflower, lima and green beans, and whatever I happen to have in the freezer.

I like this soup because it's super quick, only 3 ingredients really and they're right there in the pantry all the time, very filling, and it tastes good on top of sneaking in an extra 2 servings of vegetables. 

Quick Veggie Pasta Soup lunch for ONE:

Recipe by Glenna Anderson Muse

In a medium sauce pan, bring to boil:

1 15 oz can no fat, low sodium chicken or vegetarian broth plus 1/2 cup water

Add in 1 cup frozen vegetables of choice

Season to taste with salt & pepper, and Cavender's if you have it.

Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add in 1/4 cup alphabet or other tiny pasta

Simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes.

Top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese if desired.

Serving:  1

Calories per serving:  225    Carbs:   29      Fat:  1    Protein: 9  Fiber:  5.5

Weight watchers points:  4

 

Congratulations to Ruth on reaching her 100th Presto Pasta Nights!  This week's historical round up will be posted tomorrow on Ruth's blog Once Upon a Feast at www.onceuponafeast.blogspot.com.  Go say "Hi!" to Ruth and see all the great pasta dishes from week.

Lunchbox Favorites: Leftovers Done Right

Leftover from dinner the night before, I took fresh corn over whole wheat cous cous to work last night along with fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with a balsamic dipping sauce.

Yeah, too bad I forgot I had it in the fridge and bought a chili dog from the crapateria.

But you know what? It worked out in the end. I got too busy to eat so at least I didn't have the heartburn or have to write that one up on my food diary!

New Daily Tiffin LunchBox Article

I have a new lunchbox article with recipes up at The Daily Tiffin called "Meat? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Meat!".

Also, I'm compiling the Tackiest Gift Stories now...