S&P easy as 1,2,3!

So my theme for meals these days has been ' the easier the better' and sausage and pepper is as easy as it gets. No dishes, no heating up the house and all fresh ingredients!

You can eat this deliciousness as a sandwich or freestyle or even over some penne with a little evoo... The sky is the limit!!

Start by slicing up a variety of bell peppers, whatever mix you like but definitely a mix. I use 5 peppers. Then slice one medium onion ( I like to do red and yellow to keep the flavors interesting) a couple cloves of minced garlic and you're set!




Into the grill basket! Now, I generally sprinkle this with some red pepper flakes because I use sweet Italian sausage. If you choose spicy, I'd skip that step. The goal is to have a sweet and spicy combo.

A little drizzle of evoo, salt and pepper and a good shake! Throw your grill basket and one packet of sweet Italian sausage on the grill. Veggies over med-high. Sausage over medium.




Meanwhile, throw a loaf of bread in the oven if you'd like.

Once cooked; layer sausage, peppers, a slice of mozzarella on the split loaf and broil till cheese is melty

Bon appetite!!

KISS Kabobs with Cheesy Garden Orzo

Keep it Simple Sweetheart.  That's what my junior high band director used to say... although I think he had a different word for the sweetheart.  Either way, summer veggies are here and what better way to celebrate nature's bounty then by letting it be the showcase piece! These Kabobs are easy, quick and allow for any variation you please!

 Start out with a bucket of veggies. These are just peppers and onions but tomatoes, squash, eggplant... the possibilities really are endless.  Toss them with a little evoo, s&p and I like to do a little sprinkle of sugar to help them caramelize on the grill.  you can also throw a woody herb in there like rosemary or oregano to add a little kick! 

Then its the meat.  I chose a top sirloin and did my normal marinade of evoo, balsamic, dijon mustard and garlic.  Let that sit for an hour or so to really get yummy!

Skewer away and dont leave a single piece of anything behind! I always wind up with extra veggies but who doesn't love roasted vegetables as a snack! 

In the meantime, boil some water ( I trust you to do this by now!) and cook up a pound of orzo. This little pasta goes fast so don't wander too far! Drain it and throw it back in your hot pan with 2 generous tablespoons of butter, a big handful of parm and whatever other cheeses you have on hand.  I also put goat cheese in mind but Gruyere, mozz, jarslberg, they'd all be delish. I mean its cheese, right?

Next, mix in some chopped fresh spinach and tomatoes. Again, anything can go in here, even those extra roasted veggies you have leftover from your KISS Kabobs!

Grill your Kabobs turning frequently until cooked through.  160 degrees for safe and savory with your beef but you can tell if it only has a little give to it.

BON APPETITE!

Ranch Style Spaghetti and Meatballs

Hello again! I'm busy trying to stock my fridge up with good, easy and nutritious meals for when the baby gets here that I know Hoag will love and want to make.  So, here's my quick ranch version of spaghetti and meatballs! 

* now obviously, this isn't THE recipe for meatballs because I think a few people would have my head for using block mozzarella, canned breadcrumbs and just one meat but hey.. you do with what you have, and we always have beef!*

So, we'll start with 2 lbs of ground beef.  This made about 6 servings of meatballs so cut down as you see fit!  Add 6 cloves chopped garlic, a large handful chopped parsley and basil, 2 Tbsps of Fennel, 1 Tbsps of red pepper flake and mush together.

I add one egg for each 1lb of meat and 1/2 cup breadcrumb per egg... you do the math :)

Mush Mush mush... salt and pepper and voila!

ok, so here's another short cut, blocked mozzarella, albeit lacking in taste and texture, can stay frozen in your freezer until just the right time.  I'm just sayin.. these things are important when it takes 20 minutes round trip just to drive to your grocery!
 

Cut up your Mozz and make meatballs about the size of a golf ball. Usually I just do half, stick the cheese in there, take the other half and round it out.  It's like a little, delicious, ooey gooey surprise in your meatball that you'll thank me for.

The size is up to you :)

As a cook, one of my biggest shortcomings is patience... also why I call myself a cook and not a baker!! For perfect, round meatballs you have to stand and shake your pan to prevent too much browning or flattening on one side.  But, I think it all tastes the same so just don't forget about them.

While these are browning, ( you'll have to do it in batches) you'll want to be working on your Sunday Gravy  so you can plop the browned meatballs in the sauce.  

Another important thing to note here is you do not need your meatballs cooked all the way before they hit the sauce...  That is, if you started this in the afternoon.  A good sauce with meatballs will cook together for about three hours at least.  If you didn't get started ( honestly who has that kind of time)  you'll want to make sure they're cooked almost completely but still allow at least 1 hour for melding! 

Dish it up over your favorite cut of pasta with a little fresh grated parm and you're good to go! A fresh sprinkle of basil would be nice too but mine is struggling a bit with this heat.  Bon Appetite !

2012 Resolutions

Want to hear something crazy? I didn't make a New Years Resolution this year.  Somewhere between finding out I was pregnant, realizing we were heading into the dead of winter and wondering how I was going to feed my husband when all I can stand to make these days is soup and mac and cheese ( not because I'm sick mind you... I can't seem to figure out my new pregnant taster. All I know is it's way off and not in an "ohh, this is a new spin on an old classic" type of way) I manage to escape the guilty self to self talk about what I was going to change about myself. 

I've given myself a By this year I guess. Knowing that everything is going to change in one way or another I'm just going to roll with the punches.  But! I was super excited when I saw a link to this awesome little blog on Web MD! Here's to a year of chocolate, coffee ( decaf for me thanks) and BEEF!!! All healthy, nutritious and great options for your diet!

 

Five Foods You Don’t Have to Give Up This Year

By David Grotto, RD, LDN

Do you have a bunch of “don’t eats” in your resolution package this year? I sure hope not — how depressing! Nothing sets you on the course to Failuresville like stating “I won’t ever eat that”. Forget about it. And why would you forgo anything unless there was a good sound reason to do so? Besides, “adding in” healthy food is so much more enjoyable and beneficial to your health than “giving up” supposed bad foods, and it’s more likely to be a sustainable behavior that you can live with.
However, are the bad really bad? I picked five “picked on” foods that I thought were worthy of keeping in your diet just in case you were thinking of excluding them this year. I thought I’d set the record straight on what the latest science has to say about them.
1.      Beef. Heart disease continues to be the number one killer of both men and women in this country and controlling cholesterol levels is thought to be the most effective way of reducing the risk of heart disease. Meat is usually the first diet element to get the old “heave-ho” when it comes to cholesterol management. However, a study that appeared this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that including lean beef, such as sirloin, in a heart-healthy diet was as effective for lowering cholesterol as traditional heart-healthy diets.
In this study, two heart-healthy diets, such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, that contained up to 1 ounce of beef per day and a modified DASH diet containing upwards of 5.4 ounces of beef per day (renamed BOLD for Beef in a Optimal lean Diet) were randomly assigned to participants. All diets were equally effective in reducing LDL cholesterol (about a 10% reduction). “What’s so unique about this study is that though all of the diets provided less than 7% saturated fat, this was the first time that lean beef was included and found to be as effective for lowering LDL cholesterol,” says distinguished professor Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD from Penn State University. “The take home message is that lean beef can be included in a heart healthy diet and, best yet, there are twenty-nine cuts of beef that fall into the ‘lean’ category.” You can find those lean cuts listed at www.beefnutrition.org.

2.      Roasted nuts. I’ve always heard that roasting nuts kills off many of their nutrients and health benefits. Many of my raw foodie buds think you have to soak nuts too in order to make them more digestible and to release their inner nutrients. But a recent study conducted by Joseph Vinson, PhD from the University of Scranton found little nutritional difference between raw and roasted nuts. He found that the polyphenol (plant antioxidant) content were virtually the same. Myth busted! But don’t forget, most roasted nuts are salted. If you must eat them salted, try to stay within the recommended amount of 1 ounce a day, which typically provides less than 200 mg of sodium.

3.      Chocolate. Something that tastes so good can’t possibly be good for you, so it’s easy to assign blame to chocolate for a whole host of health woes. However, a review of several short-term studies (meta-analysis) conducted by researchers from Harvard revealed that those participants who regularly consumed flavanol (plant antioxidant) -rich cocoa had significantly improved blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood flow and also reduced insulin resistance. Most health experts suggest about an ounce a day for good health. Remember — it’s the cocoa in chocolate that’s the healthy ingredient NOT the added calories and saturated fat found in confections made with cocoa. Bottom line? Enjoy in chocolate confections in moderation.

4.      Whole Eggs. Like beef, eggs have been relegated to the hall of shame for foods associated with heart disease. However, research spanning some 40 years has not made the connection between egg consumption and heart disease. Though eggs are high in cholesterol, what’s different about them compared to other cholesterol-containing foods is that egg yolks contain powerful antioxidants that may help protect LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized and turning into a more harmful form associated with heart disease. Regardless if whether the theory holds water or not, most agree that one whole egg a day, which supplies about 185mg of cholesterol, fits well within the heart-healthy guidelines of 300mg of cholesterol a day. Let me be the first to egg you on!

5.      Coffee. Next to alcohol, no other beverage has been blamed more for causing health problems ranging from cancer and heart disease to reflux disease (chronic heartburn) and dehydration. And to be clear, I’m referring to straight up coffee without all of the fixin’s here. Lots of added cream and sugar can change this healthy beverage into liquid candy. Yes, that’s right, I said healthy.
Back in 2005, coffee was found to be the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet, finally establishing that coffee wasn’t just caffeinated fluid anymore. In fact, several studies have correlated coffee drinking with health benefits such as reduced or no increased risk of colon, prostate, breast and endometrial cancers. The research on diabetes has been mixed depending on whether your cup of Joe has caffeine or not. Some research has suggested that coffee drinkers may be at lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia when compared to those who don’t drink coffee. A recent Australian study was unable to find any correlation between coffee consumption and gastroesophageal reflux disease even though coffee always appears on the top of the list of “no-nos” for chronic heartburn sufferers. Regarding dehydration, up to two cups (16 ounces) of coffee a day was found to be as hydrating as water. After that the diuretic effects of caffeine may kick in for some and increase your need for additional fluids.
Worry not citizen. Including these supposed “bad boys” in your healthy New Years diet seems to fit just fine. Now you’re only problem is to come up with something else to give up in their place. How about giving up “giving up”?

Need to know the low down on the health worthiness of a food? Hit me up in the comment section. I’m ready to take on your dietary demons. Happy New Year!

Posted by: David Grotto, RD, LDN at 1:15 pm

Good Ol Fashioned Meat Loaf.. with a twist!

HELLO!!!!! I know, I know, its been a really long time! There's been a whole lot of doing the exact same thing every day here on the ranch and on top of that, the Holidays! But, I'm back. And I promise I'll do my best to never leave you that long again... Pinkie Swear.

So, are we friends again? Good, because I really want to tell you about my Meatloaf!

Meatloaf can be tricky. We all remember the hard as a rock, flavorless, cardboardy meatloaf our friend's moms make ( not my mom of course, she is a master meatloaf maker!) so I made it my personal goal to find a traditional meatloaf that is tasty and nutritious.

Here's all the usual suspects.  Half a red pepper, half a red onion, 2 garlic cloves minced, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 egg and 1 cup mushrooms and 1 cup of breadcrumbs. (Usual for me, maybe not for you, my usual is everyone else's weird.)

To 2 lbs of ground beef add a little S&P, the egg and the breadcrumbs. I like to get this rockin and rollin first before the veggies go in.  Once its pretty melded add the rest of your ingredients and keep folding. 

  Its tempting to work this meatloaf to death but that's where the brick like texture comes in to play so get it just mixed.  Add a big ol squirt of Ketchup and a couple little dollops of Dijon mustard, mix one more time. 

Place in a loaf man, top with a little more Ketchup and a little more cheese
Bake covered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

Of course you serve this with mac and cheese... what else do you eat with meatloaf?

Tortellini with smoked beef and mushrooms

I know, I know, this all sounds very weird but I broke down and let Hoag get a smoker and well.. there are only so many times this girl will eat Brisket sandwiches.... So, much to my mother's disapproval I tried this recipe and it turned out pretty ding dong darn good!

Now I know that not everyone has half a smoked brisket laying around their house so just any roast cut up and browned with a little seasoning will probably be ok with this too although dont take my word on it. I'm winging this people!

I bought these cheese tortellini on a pre lunch grocery store run, ( never a good idea) and so they'll be the base for our meal tonight. Cook as directed. No tricks there. Well, ok one trick. Put a wooden spoon on top of your pots of boiling pasta to keep it from boiling over.

For the sauce.  Start with a base of EVOO, a little chopped garlic and a 1/4 chopped onion.  You're also going to need some red wine for this so do us all a favor and open it now, you know you want a glass :)

Sautee those for a minute or so and then add your mushrooms. I am using baby bellas that I chopped up. A mix of mushrooms would probably be pretty amazing but this is what I have.  Cook the mushrooms until they're nice and soft then add a big ol glug of wine. Dont be stingey like me, at least a cup. 

Let this cook out a little, add a can of crushed tomatoes and your shredded or cubed meat here.  You could totally go all vegetarian with this meal if you'd like and it would still be great but that's not what I do.  My meat just needs to be warmed through so it wont need too long.  A little S&P, a little oregano, a little red pepper flake and you're good.  Let this cook for a while longer, add a dash of cream. ( Why?? Why not?!?!)

Serve over pasta ( also would be pretty great over rigatoni or penne) with a little salad and voila! No more brisket sandwhiches!

Heavy Veggie Chili

Don't worry!! There's beef in here! Fwew, ok, I thought I'd get that on the table because I wouldn't want you to think I was going all soft on you with two vegetarian meals in a row.  Now that we're all friends again, I'm still working on finding ways to utilize/hide eggplant in all my meals so this was a no brainer.

Peel, chop, S, P, EVOO and roast 1 eggplant and 1 yellow squash ( also over running my garden) in a 350 oven for 40 minutes Brown 1 lb of ground beef. Add your favorite chili seasonings ( mine are cumin, chili powder and paprika)

From here its basically a clean out your fridge recipe.  I added a chopped pepper, 1 small onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, garlic and your roasted veggies.  So good, so good, soooo gooooood.  Saute until everything is nice and soft and happy to be as one.  Toss in your beans. I did 1/2 can drained and 1 can with all the starchy gooey stuff that's in there to help thicken the chili.  1 bottle of dark good beer, 1 can of rotel, Pepper and a pinch of salt.

 That's all folks! Let that cook for a bit uncovered, adjusting the seasonings as needed. Serve topped with cheese, sour cream and a few onions and your good to go!

Roasted Eggplant Soup

If nothing else, my eggplant crop has been booming and even this Italian girl ran out of recipes.  So, I turned a cookbook I borrowed from a friend and fell in love. This Intercourses book seems like it'd be a little weird but the recipe's are undeniably delicious and surprisingly healthy.   Don't be intimidate by the name and go out and buy this book.  You'll thank me later.

Anyhoo, I took one of my larger eggplants, peeled, diced S, P, and EVOO and roasted in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 -50 minutes until it was nice and brown.  A trick with eggplant, *if you're going to saute, pan fry or do anything with it on the stove top you HAVE to drain it by salting it and letting it sweat for 10-20 minutes.  If you're going to grill or roast it you can skip this step*

While you're waiting for the eggy-p to roast up, saute a chopped onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves until nice and soft ( don't be too particular about your chop, were going to throw all this in the food processor) Add your roasted melanzana (when you have as many eggplant as I do you learn all sorts of things about them... like their Italian translation) and a can of whole plum tomatoes that you chopped. * I don't seed them because I think a lot of flavor lives in those little guts*  Toss in some fresh woody herbs, oregano or rosemary is yummy and about 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock and a pinch of cayenne to keep it interesting.  Simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes.

The best part about this soup is the mixture of goat cheese and basil that goes on top. Use your blender and mix half a small log and a whole cup of packed basil leaves until it looks oober delish.  Put into a small bowl and set aside.

Take your simmered aubergine soup ( Viva la France) and CAREFULLY pour it into your blender.  Mix until all the large pieces are nice and small. Add more stock if you'd like your soup thinner. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  And of course a little dab of butter never hurt anyone!!

Serve with a big dollop of your basil goat cheese and enjoy!!