we are now in spring so i am getting excited about fresh, crispy foods coming up. i am dying for a fantastic salad.
at the moment my favorite food is oranges - they are fantastic right now. last night i made blood orange marinated pork chops and afterwards i made an orange cake/loaf. no idea on the calorie value for the cake as yet but i am going to sort it out tonight. i made it as an after school treat for the kids. if it is reasonable i will post it up here for you gals - it looked ok.
over the past few months i have started to cook according to seasonality. it is working really well as the foods are at their prime and don't need much messing with.
Lyria - kangaroo steak! i haven't had one in ages. have you seen in woolys they now have cuts of kangaroo to roast? should be interesting.
Britomart - I usually just put them in a loaf pan so that the sides hold them up. If the bottoms are thick enough you could slice a little bit off so they stand up, but you don't want to cut all the way through, or the couscous comes out. And they most definitely are yummy... in fact, I think I might have some tomrrow!
okay, here's my list of easy stuff...I too am a lover of the crockpot.....
Mexican Soup...
1 pkg of Turkey (7% works best) browned already
1 Jar of Salsa
1 bag of frozen corn
1 can black beans
2 cans chicken broth
So good that I actually make a double recipe so I can eat it for lunch during the week!
Southwestern Chicken
3 or 4 chicken breasts
Frozen corn mixture with peppers, onions, tomatoes & black beans
enough salsa to cover the tops of chicken
Put in crockpot until chicken is done
Serve with Rice
We love to BBQ too, so we do alot of pork tenderloin & chicken. And our favorite thing with it in lieu of potatoes is zuchini! We cut it up, sprinkle with Garlic salt & pepper and a spray of pam, wrap in foil and put it on the grill!
Britomart - I loved the idea of that lime and ginger chicken - but last night I got my groceries delivered and decided to have some salmon, sooooo
I sprayed my little frying pan with fry-light (about 5-10 sprays cos it's olive oil and still less than pouring!), then I squeezed half a lime juice into it. Placed the salmon on top and slowly cooked on "number 3" which is a low setting (my hob goes up to 9) until it was pale pink/cooked colour almost 3/4 of the thickness up the steak from the bottom. Then I turned it over and turned the heat up to fry the top and get it nice and crispy!
It was AMAZING! AND I made 2 fillets, so I've got one for lunch today too! I had it with baby carrots, baby corn, mange-tout and string beans
I had it with baby carrots, baby corn, mange-tout and string beans
What's mange-tout?
Last night, I threw a package of fresh baby corn, a package of fresh snow peas, a bag of broccoli slaw mix, a can of bamboo chutes, a small can of water chestnuts, and a can of bean sprouts into my wok with some chopped onion, garlic powder, soy sauce (reduced sodium), pineapple juice, and ginger. I also used some macadamia nut oil in an effort to add some good fat to my diet (it is 85% monounsaturated--supposed to be better for you than olive oil). I tried a bit of it last night, and it was quite tasty. I have a big container of it to bring to work for lunch today
mange-tout I suppose are edible-podded peas. At least that's what I can find in fitday! Just peas still in the pod...
oooookay, thanks! I just Googled it, and yup, snow peas, snap peas, sugar snap peas...all considered mange-tout!
I thought it would be something really good since in French, "mange-tout" translates to "eat all." I guess it doesn't mean to eat a lot, though, just to eat the WHOLE pea instead of just the inside part
Daisy - Yup! I have seen those kangaroo roasts...haven't tried it yet though, it could be interesting as kangaroo is much the best cooked very quickly. I've been getting the sausages a lot lately and chucking then in ratatoullie and/or grilling them...they're just so lean and have so much flavour. My mum actually can't eat it because its too rich for her lol.
Oh, man these things are yummy! I made them tonight but with different veggies... Here's what I did:
hollowed out 2 orange bell peppers
sauteed ground turkey, red onion, zucchini, spinach (frozen, e.coli-less) while peppers pre-roast and couscous cooks
put the turkey, veggies, couscous in a bowl with chopped tomato
add cumin seed, garlic powder, pepper, and tumeric
stuff the peppers, pop in oven to heat through (as veggies are already cooked -- lessens oven time).
Didn't have any cheese, might try that next time.
YUM.
SERIOUSLY.
Thanks for the idea, sierra. I have leftover filling so that's going to be lunch tomorrow! It's sooooo good.
Lyria - kangaroo steak! i haven't had one in ages. have you seen in woolys they now have cuts of kangaroo to roast? should be interesting.
You'd think that after a year in Australia I'd have gotten used to the idea...
Hmm... what food can I write about...
I like steamed broccoli with dashes of mayonnaise. And baked potato or sweet potato with a bit of melted butter and lots and lots of oregano! I usually bake the potato by itself, and then melt a bit of butter on the side.
My Super Easy, Super Fast, Super Quick, Super Good Chicken Salad aka Sandwich Filling
ingredients: chicken, mayo, capsicum/red or green pepper (canned corn works great too), salt & pepper to taste
1. bake chicken (I find that chicken breast is best and I use next to no grease or anything - just spray a tiny bit of olive oil on the bottom of the pan and a little bit over the chicken)
2. cube the chicken, or just cut it into slices and then break into chunks
3. cube the capsicum/pepper (red and green give different taste, which is cool)
4. mix the cubes in a container (and/or add the corn to the chicken and mix that)
5. spoon out mayo (not too much but not too little), and mix with the rest
6. season with salt and/or pepper (or don't)
Very good with a bit of lettuce, and even better for sandwiches, especially for wraps and pita.
By the way, does anyone know whether couscous works for tabouleh...? I love tabouleh, but hate to buy it because you never know what they put into it... there is a great Lebanese place down the street, but their tabouleh is just drowned in something oily...
I spent ages in the supermarket today, looking for buglar/bulgur/burghul or however it's called. The manager got involved (after several employees went to him to ask what that was), but the stuff wasn't found. It's a huge supermarket, so if they don't carry it there, then when...? There aren't any Middle Eastern stores in the area.
I guess I always thought couscous was in tabouleh. Are there health food stores around? They might carry bulgar, as health food stores seem to be keen on different kinds of grainy things.
i roast vegetables almost every day. im addicted to it. basically i get the bag of mixed cauliflower/broccoli/carrots and add bell pepper, onions, eggplant, whatever flips my fancy that day. toss with olive oil, some whole or chopped garlic, salt and pepper and roast at 500 degrees for 25 mins. that is my favorite way to eat veggies.
also i made chicken soup this weekend. i used a container of chopped onions
a bag of sliced carrots and a whole stalk of celery (that i chopped myself) along with a 32oz container of fat free chicken stock (10 cals per serving) a 32oz container of vegetable stock (5 cals per serving) i added sage and mrs dash and salt and pepper and let it boil then added no yolks egg noodles. and precooked grilled chicken pieces. yum
also, i love my meatless sloopy joes. use a bag of morning star farms meatless filler crumbles, a can or 2 of tomatoes garlic and onion and a half a can of tomatoe paste. you can eat it as a sloppy joe on a wheat bun, or as chili on a baked potato, or right out of the pan.
I had it with baby carrots, baby corn, mange-tout and string beans 
