Food Heaven

[Ayingel 24]

Mmmm...authentic gyros....(and completely on my diet!!)...but my onions were a little bitter...

[Bad furday 57]

Opa!

[Pandora 77]

Call it whatever you want, I threw this together saturday night at my parents' house. It's chicken and noodles with pesto, basically...

In a large skillet, heat up enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Chop up an onion (depending on how many people you're feeding) and toss it on the oil (which should be hot enough to sizzle immediately). Add as much garlic as you like (I like a lot).

Start the pesto since it needs to simmer:

-in a sauce pan pour in enough olive oil for however big a pot of noodles you'll make (I put in about 1.5-2 cups).

-A heaping spoonful of garlic

-add a BIG handful of parsley and basil (enough that it makes the oil opaque. You know, so it looks like pesto)

-add coarse-ground black pepper (again, I like a lot)

-toss in some rosemary (the dried stuff in a can is fine, just no stems)

-Add a liberal amount of white wine (either the cooking kind or some cheapo bottle you have laying around)

-stir well and let it simmer on med-low heat. if it bubbles much turn it way down to low.

Give your onions and garlic a good stir. Drop in a little white wine and let it burn off. When the onions are not quite carmelized remove from the heat and put in a bowl. You'll come back to them later.

Make sure the bottom of your skillet has enough oil left in it. Add your chicken (I used cutlets).

Pepper one side only to taste (I used quite a bit to give it a yummy texture).

Start your noodles: bowl the water (don't add salt until it starts boiling or it'll take forever).

I used bowtie noodles.

Flip the chick when it's ready.

Keep an eye on that pesto, don't let it burn! If the garlic turns brown it's burnt and will be bitter.

Remember those onions? When your chicken is cooked thoroughly, toss them back in the skillet. Add some white wine to the pan. Let the onions finish carmelizing (turning brownish).

Strain the pasta (duh, you can make pasta).

I served it all stacked on top of itself: pasta on the bottom, chicken (with a little run-off from the pan), and pesto on top with shredded parmesean.

As a side I sauteed some bell peppers (thickly sliced) with a little butter (which tastes better than olive oil) and a gentle mixture of the herbs I put in the pesto.

[Princess 35]

Making pulled pork today. Mocha was walking around drooling

[Pandora 77]

I just threw this together and I have no idea what to call it...

Ingredients:

• Package of Spanish rice
  
• 1 large egg
  
• about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of frozen spinach
  
• Some sort of bean (I used edemame because I had it, black beans would work too)
  
• salsa
  
• low fat sour cream
  
• hot sauce
  
• cooking spray or EVOO
  

1. Prepare the rice according to package instructions (if it's regular rice and taco seasoning, just put that sith in a bowl with water (ratio is about 1:2 water:rice) and microwave it for 8 minutes, stir, microwave for another 4 minutes, stir. If not tender yet, keep going in 2 minute increments).
   
2. Heat up (med-hi) your skillet or griddle (I did this all on an electric griddle) and coat with oil. Toss in your frozen veggies. If you're using some fresh/canned/thawed veggies, let the frozen ones defrost in the pan first, then toss them in.
   
3. When your rice is on it's last five minutes or so and your veggies are getting hot, fry your egg (or two if you're hungry). I just used the other side of the griddle. Flip as if you were going to cook it over-easy, but once it's flipped, gently pierce the yoke. Finish it over-medium or to your preference (you won't want your yoke runny). Flip it a few times to make sure it's cooked but that your yoke isn't burnt.
   
4. Meanwhile, add hot sauce to your veggies if you want some extra kick.
   
5. To serve: layer rice, then veggies, then egg, top with salsa to taste (a serving is usually 2 tbsp and it's low-cal so go crazy) and a serving of lite sour cream. Mix it all together so you get a little bit of everything in each bite and devour.
   

If you make it this way, it's about 500 calories or so. You can make it healthier by switching from white rice to brown rice or quinoa and omitting the sour cream (or using creme fresh or plain Greek yogurt instead). I suppose you can also wrap this in a tortilla.

[Princess 35]

I had the best burger of my life last night. It was called the 50/50 burger and totally negated my workout yesterday. The burger was made up of half ground beef, half ground bacon, topped with a fried egg, and crispy onions. I got it on a wheat bun :p

[Pandora 77]

That sounds really good! But I'm not sure the wheat bun made much of a difference there, babe.

Maybe this should go in the Fit Club but whatever....

Healthy fried rice:

Ingredients

• whole grain brown rice (or quinoa)
  
• 1 egg per serving
  
• half a bell pepper
  
• half a cup of shelled edemame
  
• lite soy sauce
  
• EVOO
  

1. Prepare rice or quinoa (I "splurged" and got the 90 second bags. Way more expensive, but soooo much easier when you don't have a stove)
   
2. Give your griddle (or skillet or wok) a good dousing of EVOO
   
3. Fry your egg(s), piercing the yokes and generally make a mess of it (you could also beat them in a bowl first and do it like scrambled eggs, but I went with the path of fewest dirty dishes)
   
4. If your veggies are frozen (as shelled edemame usually is), go ahead and toss them on the griddle. When they're defrosted, add the bell pepper. Let them get hot
   
5. If you're limited on space (i.e., all you are using is one griddle like I did or you don't want to dirty another pan) put the veggies in a container until you're ready for them again.
   
6. Make sure there's still plenty of EVOO on the griddle, and toss in your rice (about 1/2-3/4 of a cup is a good-sized serving), adding soy sauce to taste.
   
7. Slide your cooked egg mess into the rice and toss it around real good to break up the egg into smaller pieces
   
8. Add your veggies back in and keep mixing until you've got that yummy soy sauce all over everything.
   
9. DEVOUR
   

You're looking at about 500 calories or so, but the bulk of that is the brown rice (which is a whole grain and really good for you) and the egg which is like protein madness.

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

I have found what really makes the fried rice taste just like take out is a swirl or two of sesame oil. You don't need much and it tastes great.

[Princess 35]

I know the wheat bun didn't make much of a difference, but it made me feel slightly better about it :p

[Pandora 77]

I have found what really makes the fried rice taste just like take out is a swirl or two of sesame oil. You don't need much and it tastes great.

Ooh good idea!

I know the wheat bun didn't make much of a difference, but it made me feel slightly better about it

That's really all that matters. ;)