Menu and Red Wine Risotto Recipe

Monday - sweet potato-carrot-apple-red lentil soup with dutch oven loaf (both from the freezer)

Tuesday - cabbage soup with turkey sausage, more dutch oven loaf (for our Bible study group)

Wednesday - chicken chimichangas

Thursday - crockpot balsamic beef

Friday - white wine sausage risotto

Sunday - dumpling party! Our friends are teaching us how to make Chinese dumplings!

There will probably be peas and Brussels sprouts joining some of these plates, but other than that I'm not really sure.

I planned to post a picture of the red wine risotto that I made last week (I tasted it and immediately went for my camera because I knew I needed to post the recipe on here!). But somehow in the picture it looked bad. And I don't just mean it was a low-quality picture. It looked unappetizing. However, it was SO good! I highly recommend making this!

Red Wine Risotto 

Serves: 2 large portions as a main dish

1/2 lb. ground sausage (less would be fine, ours had quite a bit for the amount of rice)
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup red wine (I had a pinot noir, but anything would probably be fine)
1/2 - 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
warm chicken broth (approximately 2 cups)
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1-2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

-Cook sausage in a medium sized pot until browned, while breaking it up into bite size pieces. Remove sausage onto a plate with a paper towel, but leave excess fat in the pot. Meanwhile, have your chicken broth heating up on medium heat (it just needs to be warm, not boiling). Add onion and a pinch of salt to the pot you cooked the sausage in and cook 3 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the rice and wine, stirring constantly until the wine is almost gone. Add Italian seasoning, sausage, and 1 - 2 ladlefuls of chicken broth, stirring constantly until the chicken broth is almost gone. Continue cooking in this way (adding broth, stirring until almost gone, adding more) until the rice is tender. This will take approximately 25 minutes and approximately 2 cups of chicken broth. Don't let the time and broth estimates leave you with a mushy or crunchy risotto. Play it by ear and continue the process until you have the texture you want. It should be tender but still have some texture to it. When it is finished add the Parmesan and 1 - 2 Tablespoons of butter and stir to combine. Serve hot.

We ate this with bread and roasted Brussels sprouts. YUM!

I'm making another version of this on Friday with a white wine. I'll let you know which one is better : )

Weekend Cooking

Biscuits and gravy topped with Marshall's beautifully poached eggs

After talking about how I would never give up biscuits and gravy, I just had to make it this weekend. We experimented with the sauce a bit this time and it turned out great! I normally use milk, but this time I used homemade creme fraiche, cream, and some water. Heavy it was, but delicious it also was. A bit of parsley and a touch more paprika than usual made this white-on-white-on-white dish a little bit more colorful. As you may have guessed, that was Marshall's plate : ) 

First rye bread in the books!

I made this homemade rye bread on Sunday that we used for our Reubens on Monday. 

And....

It was ever so conveniently ready before....

 Dinner on Sunday ; )

Marshall made the pasta and I prepared the vegetables. The pasta was made with two-thirds buckwheat flour (which is why it looks kind of purple) and one-third all-purpose flour.The kale, tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts worked wonderfully together and made for a quick, yummy, healthy pasta dish. I used the same roasted tomatoes that I used in THIS recipe. These freeze well, so I've been keeping them around to throw in pasta dishes, heat up and eat on some toast, in place of diced tomatoes for beans n' rice, etc.  

Dear buckwheat,

Thank you for being nutritious, delicious, AND beautiful!

 Cappuccino flats

I made these for Marshall to bring to the office on Monday. And I kept a couple for myself, of course!

Menu

Sunday - homemade buckwheat pasta tossed with roasted tomatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, kale, and topped with Parmesan and olive oil

Monday - crock pot Reubens - This was my other plan for St. Patrick's Day, and the rye flour to make homemade rye bread is the ingredient I was missing. Homemade rye, corned beef, homemade sauerkraut (we'll be trying this for the first time!), provolone cheese, and thousand island dressing - yum!

Wednesday - cheesy chickPEA, rice, and broccoli crock pot casserole - I was going to link this one for you but the blog told me I was lost....meaning, the link is no longer available. If I manage to make this by memory (even though I've never made it before) and it turns out good, than I will share the recipe.

Thursday - red wine risotto (another link that I discovered a few days ago is missing, but since it's only 5 ingredients I think I can handle it : )

Friday - We are probably going out for some delicious Chinese food with friends, though the day is not officially decided yet.

Sunday - chicken Parmesan

5 Unhealthy Foods I Love And Will Never Give Up Or Modify

Before I offend anybody with my opinions about not harming these deliciously unhealthy foods with something healthy, just know that I would love to hear if you have tried something successful (or unsuccessful) with any of these dishes. You can certainly make your own decisions about what to eat : )

Now to the food!

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• As I say in my little bio "...nothing is better than a warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie". I would consider it nearly a crime to use whole wheat flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, or flax seed "eggs" in a chocolate chip cookie. Make them right or don't make them.

• Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
• I don't think I have ever seen a "healthified" version of biscuits and gravy. Probably because it would be impossible to make it any good. Give me that delicious ole' pile of carbs and fat and I'm happy! 

• THIS Strawberry Jam
• I have never considered jam to be anything but sugar anyway. Yes, there is fruit, but it's drowning in sugar. I don't mind. How much jam do you really put on a piece of toast anyway? Won't be finding any sugar-free or chia seed jam in my fridge. Plus, Marshall really likes this jam!

• Cheesy Sausage Dip
• This dip is made of Velveeta, salsa, and sausage. I don't need to explain why this isn't healthy. However, making this dip is not a common occurrence. So when I do make it, I eat it and I enjoy it. No questions asked, no guilt. 

• Cheesecake
• No reduced sugar, low-fat cheesecake for me! I would much prefer to eat it rarely and eat it right.

Any favorites you would never dare change?

Menu and Cleansing Thoughts

Sunday - beef Bourguignon with dutch oven loaf

Monday - corned beef and cabbage - surprised? : ) I actually am because I was not planning to make this on St. Patrick's Day. I had another plan for how we were going to eat our corned beef this year but, due to missing one ingredient that I need to get from the Dekalb Farmer's Market, we'll do the "traditional" on Monday and I'll just buy another corned beef to follow through with my other plan next week. Marshall surely won't mind eating corned beef twice.

  

Wednesday - sweet potato-carrot-apple-red lentil soup - love this soup with some good bread!

Thursday - chicken chimichangas (minus the mushrooms)

Friday - double date with Sam and Caitlin! Tabla (Indian food restaurant), followed by jazz music at the High Museum (the art museum)

A few quick thoughts on my cleanse

1. I loved all of the food I ate
2. I did not feel deprived
3. I did not miss sugar
4. I felt great every day
5. I will try my best to eat close to my cleansing "diet" every day while still enjoying some unhealthy things that I love in moderation 

Post to come about some unhealthy things that I love : )

My Next Fermented Food Adventure

1/2 a cabbage + 1 tablespoon of salt + 1 tablespoon of caraway seeds + 1/4 cup of whey = picture seen below

+ 10 aggressive minutes with my meat mallet = picture seen below

+ a mason jar = picture seen below

+ 3 days on the counter = sauerkraut!

We'll see how the first batch turns out and if I need to change anything. Can't wait! = )

Healthier Fig and Chocolate Bread

I said a few months ago now that I was going to share a healthier version of THIS recipe. I decided today that rather than making it a bunch of times to get it exactly perfect AND THEN sharing it, that I would share it now and allow you to be part of the experimentation! Plus, we all have different opinions about how we like our food anyway. So I could have made it over and over and over again when YOUR favorite would have been the second one I tried. All that to say, here it is! I'll give some other ideas of how you could make this to get your creative mind going.

Fresh Fig and Chocolate Bread

·        6 medium fresh figs, diced

·        1 tablespoon of honey

·        ¼ cup melted butter

·        ½ cup brown sugar, packed

·        1 egg

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        2 cups white whole wheat flour

·        2 teaspoons baking powder

·        ½ cup milk

·        2 overripe bananas, mashed

·        ¼ - ½ chocolate chips (not optional....especially if you like dark chocolate : )

·        ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 inch loaf pan.

2. Combine diced figs and honey in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, add the melted butter, sugar, egg, milk, bananas, and the vanilla extract and mix until combined. 

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder and then mix into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the figs, walnuts, and the chocolate.

5. Pour into the loaf pan and bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly cover the bread with foil. 

6. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Other Suggestions

• Use 1/2 a cup of dates or raisins in place of the figs when they are not in season
• Use any kind of nuts that you like best OR don't use nuts at all
• Add some oats or oat flour OR a nut flour
• Replace the bananas with unsweetened applesauce OR do half and half bananas and applesauce
• Leave out the milk and use applesauce OR add an egg
• Leave out the bananas and use double the butter plus an egg 
• Make them into muffins instead (reduce bake time to 15 - 20 minutes...or close to that)
• OR forget all of these healthier ideas and make the original I linked at the top : )

What I ate Saturday - Cleansing Day #2

Lemon water (half finished....oops, I almost forgot a picture!)

Breakfast - Oats that were soaked overnight with sliced banana and cinnamon, and a green tea

Lunch - An orange banana smoothie (with 1 1/2 - 2 cups spinach, 1/2 cup water, 1 carrot, 1/2 cup kefir, 1 banana, and 1 orange - amounts are approximate!) and two hard-boiled eggs

Snacks - A pear and the last two inches of the banana that I decided would be too much for my oatmeal : ) -- And an un-pictured coffee. Just black, I didn't cheat.

Dinner - Herbed lentils, sauteed mushrooms, and a piece of bread with butter

The smoothie I had for lunch is my new favorite. I had it the day before and it came out so good that I had to make it again!

And let me tell you, those mushrooms I had for dinner were SO good! All I did was saute them with butter and salt. I would eat them again, again, and again. And maybe I actually will : )

Feeling great after two full days!

My 5 Day Cleanse Plan

Here is a summary of what I mean by a cleanse:

No sugar (except naturally occurring in fruits/veggies), no white flour, nothing processed like packaged meals, crackers, cereals, pasta, granola bars, etc. I'll be avoiding preservatives (that can be hidden in meat, dairy, etc). I won't be eating anything too heavy like cheese or excessively fatty things like pork.

So in a small nutshell: Whole, unprocessed foods in their original state.

So what will I be eating?

Here is a snapshot at some of my choices.

My focus will be on vegetables, fruits, fermented foods (which are fabulous for many things, including beneficial bacteria for ease of digestion), and whole grains such as oats, quinoa, and wheat. These grains will be soaked (for most nutritional benefit and ease of digestion). I'll have a glass of lemon water (1/2 a lemon squeezed into a tall glass of room temperature/warm water) or a kefir green smoothie each morning for (or with) my breakfast. Legumes, eggs and quinoa will help supply me with protein. I'm also going to make myself a small loaf of a sourdough dutch-oven bread made with white whole wheat flour.

Basically, I'm going to eat light, healthy meals that are packed with nutrients, that are easy to digest, and will help "clean out" my system for better functioning.

I chose to make meatless meals for this cleanse. If you want to do the cleanse, but don't want to go meatless, just stick to organic and grass-fed.

Here are my meal plans for dinner:

Friday -  broccoli salad -- a variation of THIS recipe
Saturday - herbed lentils with a side of sauteed mushrooms
Sunday - beans n' rice -- for real this time....no package so I'm not skeptical. I follow THIS recipe except I use brown jasmine rice.
Monday - Mexican quinoa -- soaked quinoa with chili powder, cumin, onion, green pepper, blacks beans, and corn.
Tuesday - herby and spicy baked sweet potatoes tossed with sauteed white beans

My hope is that doing this cleanse is easy and feels normal. My goal is to eat very close to this on a daily basis anyway. However, I know that sugar and other processed things sneak their way into my diet. This cleanse should help me to see how often that really happens and then I can decide if I need to make any big changes.

Has anybody else done a cleanse before? What type of cleanse? Ever considered a cleanse like this? Any questions? : )

Soaking Oats

This process is incredibly simple! Why do it? Soaking grains basically allows for the most nutritional benefit and the easiest digestion.

Here is what you need:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp. whey, kefir, yogurt, kombucha*

Directions

Place all ingredients into a small pot. Let them soak overnight or up to 24 hours. That's it! : ) 

*I used whey that I had left from making kefir cheese. Yogurt will be fine if you don't have any of these fermented things on hand. It could also be done simply with water.

I like to cook my oatmeal with half water/half milk. So then in the morning I put 1/2 a cup of milk into the pot and let it simmer, covered, until it is done. This makes two servings for me. The second serving goes into the fridge and I reheat it gently with a splash of milk or water the next morning. Sliced banana and either pecans or walnuts have been my usual mix-ins. And yes, sneaking some flax seed meal or chia seeds in this for the soaking process is definitely a good idea. If you prefer to cook your oatmeal in just water you can put all the water in the night before and then you just need to turn it on in the morning. 

Other mix-in ideas:

• Berries and coconut flakes
• Berries and nut butter
• Bananas and nut butter
• Maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar
• chocolate chips and anything : )

This method can be applied to other grains as well. As of right now the only other grain I have done this with is quinoa. And since I was using it for dinner and not breakfast I didn't use the cinnamon. Otherwise it is the same.

Simple, cheap, healthy, and the hands-on time is very short!