Miso...

I'm attempting to be productive today... semi-productive, at least.  

As part of my attempt, I made some Miso Soup for lunch today.  I've been feeling it lately and since today isn't quite as hot as it has been over the past week, I turned on my oven.  During the day.  I know, crazy, right?  

So, I found these "miso soup" packets at the grocery store the other day and immediately stepped away from the because of the sodium content.  WOW.  Craziness!  It was funny because that same day, a friend of mine was talking about how she had just made miso soup using a miso paste that she found at Wegmans in a refrigerated aisle.  

So here's what you do... if you're me, you follow the directions on the tub.  

Saute onions in a T. of EVOO.

Add some sort of veggie... I added celery because I'm trying to get rid of it.
Celery is NOT my friend. 

Add 2 cups of water or broth.
I used veggie broth, again, because I had it.  Water is easier.
Simmer...

Miso Paste!  Weird!  It comes in a tub like sour cream.

Simmer it up some more after adding miso paste to taste.

Enjoy!

I think my first attempt was okay.  The next time I make it, I think I'll add less onion than it suggested and probably not put in celery.  I also added in some tofu because it made me think of sushi restaurants I've been to where the miso soup is amazing.  I see lots of potential here.

I also made some little English muffin pizzas for my little one... okay, okay, and maybe for me, too.

They were a hit!  ;-)

Have you ever made your own miso soup?  What do you like to put in it?

Oatmeal Fail.

I woke up this morning in a grumpy mood, because I have a cold and didn't sleep well.  Little one was excited to see me, but still.  Grump grump grump.

So, we got out to the kitchen and I got her all settled in with breakfast and then realized that I was out of the instant oatmeal I've been eating.  Doh!  I'd been meaning to try to make some oatmeal with oats that I've had in my pantry, so I figured 'Hey, why not?'.

Not.

It may not look half bad, but trust me, it was all bad.  They were old-fashioned oats (which I heard makes a difference because they are thicker than steel cut?) with some honey, sliced almonds, and raspberries.  I took a bite, almost vomited, and then added some blackberries and blueberries as well.  Bleck.  How do people eat this?

Gross.

So, I put it out there on good ole' FB this morning and some lovelies suggested adding brown sugar, cinnamon, apples, pumpkin, raisins, craisins, agave, baby food, sliced bananas, maple syrup, etc.  Apparently steel cut oats are amazing?

You know what I did tonight?  I bought more instant oatmeal.  Rest easy, Alissa, good oatmeal is coming in the morning.  :-)

How do YOU make oatmeal?  What did I do wrong?  Is it really just supposed to be that disgusting?

Anyway...

Dinner tonight!  It was yummy!  Here are some pictures!  :-D

Summer Tomato Soup

I got this recipe out of a book called 1 Stock, 100 Soups by Linda Doeser.  I haven't actually used this book much, but thought I'd venture out into soups again.  There are so many different ways to make your own tomato soup!

Red Onions, Scallions, Celery, and Garlic simmering...

Add Tomatoes...

Cook for a while...

Blend.  Oh!  This might be tough if you don't have an immersion blender...
(Got one for Christmas!)  

Season it! 

Sorry, I don't think I can be much more specific than that without violating copyright laws... and I did tweak a few things to make the soup lower calorie when I made it.  You can make your own vegetable stock or buy it, add any kind of veggies (which might make it less of just a tomato soup, but who cares?), and of course season it the way you like.  Experimenting is fun.  :-)

To go with the soup, I may have made some tuna melts... not really Alissa-style because they had celery in them.  I NEVER add celery to my salads.  Why did I this time?  Eh, I figured it was a good way to get some good veggies into dinner... *sigh*  Who am I becoming?  Hehe.

White Albacore Tuna in Water (60 cal per sandwich)
Then I added a teaspoon of light mayo, a stalk of celery,
and I would have seasoned it with Old Bay, but I forgot.

Lay them on a tray and add cheese if you desire it!

Alissa's Tuna Melt

As you can see, I often desire cheese.  I'm working on that.  In the meantime, it was pretty darn delicious and the whole dinner was about 557 calories.  Works for me, but if you need to lighten things up, as I said, there are lots of ways you can do it!

How do you like to eat tuna?  I used to only eat it with pretzels.  Little salty ones.  Oooooh, with dill relish mixed into it.  Mmm... tuna.  ;-)

Four Months Later...

Methinks you'll have to get used to once-in-a-while appearances from me from now on... I just can't keep up like I did before!  It might be a mix between having a toddler and not trying as many new recipes now that I have some cooking skill.

Since Thanksgiving, the hubs and I have been calorie counting and really trying to whittle down our weights.  I've been looking for lots of low-cal, delicious recipes and have tried a few things recently I thought I'd share with you.  So far I've lost about 16 lbs and am officially back down to pre-preggo weight (it sure took me long enough!).

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Alissa's Alfredo Lasagna

Okay, so this might sound like it's not-so-healthy.  It really depends on what you put in it.  I made it with RF ricotta cheese, a TON of spinach, lean ground beef, mushrooms, light alfredo sauce, and no-bake noodles.  If you portion it out, it's delicious and you don't have to feel guilty about it!  :-)

Pretty picture, right?

I have discovered the secret to yummy, light scrambled eggs... and I'm going to share it with you right now.  Are you ready?  Laughing cow cheese.  I've had this lunch almost every day for the past two months and it's filling, full of protein, and worth every calorie.

I use 1/2 c. of egg beaters, 2 wedges of any kind of laughing cow cheese, Old Bay, and pepper.  Sometimes I add mushrooms, spinach, a touch of lean ground beef... really, anything your heart desires in scrambled eggs is okay.  I like to put it on an English muffin (high fiber) with a Mushroom Lover's Morningstar veggie burger on the side.  I'm addicted.

Top with fresh salsa and a little guac or fresh avocado.  Heavenly.

Seriously.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

These were good, but I would recommend using pepperoni slices as suggested in the recipe.  They were good without, but needed something!  I also didn't have a tiny muffin pan, so I just baked them like cookies.

Alissa's Split Pea Soup

I made this with a bag of split peas... which I didn't realize would actually split or explode all over the pot as they started cooking.  I didn't take an after picture, but I should have!  I added potato, corn, chicken/veggie broth, mushrooms, and some spices.  It ended up thick and pretty tasty.

Next up...

Green Smoothies!  I've started having these more often lately.  Usually I add whatever we have in our house... banana, apple, strawberry, blueberry, etc.  Then you load it up with spinach or kale and add ice to get it the thickness you want.  I've been making them with soy yogurt and vanilla soy milk so that Liv can drink some, too.  Always yum.

Tilapia with Salsa and Black Beans

This is exactly what it says.  I made brown rice and mixed salsa into it, added black beans, and topped with tilapia (seasoned however you like).

Homemade Mexican Pizza

We are huge fans of Cheeseburger Pizza and just switched the toppings a bit to make it Mexican.  On this pizza, I used taco seasoned lean ground beef, fresh avocado, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, and shredded cheese.

Broccoli, Cheese, & Potato Soup

Tomato Soup

I couldn't find the exact Taste of Home recipe that I used for the tomato soup, but there are so many there!  I might have to try some others.  :-)

For Christmas, I got an immersion blender... and it's AWESOME!  Here I am using it!  :-)

Smooth soup!

Sorry that this post was so random.  I'll try to post new recipes as I make them so I don't have to have crazy posts like this one!

Hopefully you see something you'd like to try... enjoy!  :-)

A Day of Cooking

Ugh.  I came home from work on Friday super frustrated with life.  Don't get me wrong... I have a very full life.  I love my family.  I like my job (most of the time).  Not too many people can say that!  It's just that life is a little too full at the moment.  I am counting down the days until summer vacation.  It can't come fast enough!

So, in order to try to give myself more time each night this week, I did a whole lot of cooking today.  My lovely husband, who does not get nearly enough credit for all that he does, went grocery shopping for me while I watched the baby.  Did I say that I love my family? 

Here's what I made:

Rosemary Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

Except that I used beef instead.  Lamb is crazy expensive and we are trying to stick to some sort of a budget here, people.  Plus, who wants to eat lamb?  Lambs are baby sheep!!!  :-(  If you eat them, they won't grow to their full potential and give anybody any wool.  Sheesh. 

Smokey Shrimp and Corn Soup

This is not for those allergic to shellfish *cough* Jimmy *cough cough*.  I'm eating some right now for dinner though and enjoying every bit.  Both of the above recipes were from the infamous WW recipe book that I can never find links to online.  I'll see what I can do. 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Absolutely no lactose in those... well, at least right now.  I may add some cheese directly to the top once I scoop some out.  They smelled really good while they were cooking and I'm excited to try some this week.  I love all things pasta.  There's also no meat, by the way.  Completely vegetarian. 

MORE Barley with Spinach and Asparagus

Yeah, I made this last week and it was so amazing that I made it again.  I didn't even take a new picture.  It looks exactly the same except that I accidentally added more onion than last time and I did add some leeks (on purpose) because I had one to use.  I like leeks. 

Anyway, if I have to cook this week, then there's something wrong.  Our refrigerator currently has a lot of yummy, healthy choices in it!  Go me!  :-)

Ugh, just ate a spoonful of onion.  I think I chopped/sliced/diced too many onions today. 

Veggies

As I've been cooking lots of baby food lately, I've been learning more about different vegetables.  Squash, sweet potatoes, peas... all good things for baby!  Good for us, too. 

A new goal of mine is to try to use the veggies I've been using to make baby food in other recipes. 

Grilled Zucchini with Mint Gremolata

I know, I didn't say that I'd used zucchini to make baby food yet... that's next on the list.  I actually did make this with yellow squash today, but forgot to take a picture!  We chowed down on it before I remembered... doh.  Oh, and I used my new grill pan to cook it.  :-)  Pretty exciting. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic

So, there it is.  A sweet potato recipe to which I am totally addicted!  I've made two batches in less than a week... I think I like it.  Just chop, add seasoning, and bake!  Mmm.

I have yet to make something with peas yet... I'll keep you posted.  However, I did make this soup yesterday:

Lentil Soup with Eggplant and Zucchini

...and onion and bell pepper and carrot and tomato and garlic and... well, I think that was everything I had to chop up.  My arm was pretty exhausted after all of that!  This is a WW recipe and made a GIANT pot of soup.  It's a good thing it was a hit with the hubby.  ;-)  We'll be eating all week!!!

Happy cooking, people.  I'll come back with more recipes/updates soon...

Markets, Soups, and Spring

So what does everyone think about farmer's markets (Farmer's Markets -do you capitalize that?)? 

I like the idea of them, but haven't really utilized any in my area because it seems like a lot of work.  I'm not all about extra work.  I think if I could cook without ever shopping for food in the first place, I'd be okay.  It seems like food shopping PLUS shopping at another market just doubles the time spent out and about.  Ugh.

I enjoy the actual cooking process way more than shopping.  The chopping, mixing, and bubbling, not to mention the aromatic kitchen that comes along with it.  Oh, and eating the food isn't half bad.  ;-)

...but... there are apparently farmer's markets who have programs where you can pay a lump sum and then pick up fresh produce every week, every other week, whatever you want.  The one I visited today provides a bag of whatever produce is in season beginning in July and ended in October (if you join the program).  That might not be bad for me.  All I'd have to do is pick up the bag and then cook whatever happens to be inside.  It would be a mystery every week and hey, I might learn some new things about whatever is in there. 

I'm very tempted. 

Oh, you can also pick items up directly from the farm... where you can go and cut your own herbs and sunflowers!  Doesn't that sound fantastic?  Since I've failed twice now at growing herbs on my own, that sweetens the deal even more. 

Okay okay, enough about that.  Here's some yummy soup I just made:

Asparagus Leek Chowder

It started out as a giant pile of veggies in a pan... and turned into an awesome pot of soup!  Jimmy and I both liked it a lot.  It didn't even need a lot of seasoning! 

Now that it's springtime, I think it's time for some light and delicious soups.  What kind of soup do you like to make this time of year?

Barley?

Hey people... this is just a WW soup recipe I wanted to try since I had barley in the house.  I never have barley in the house.  Have you eaten barley before?  It's got an interesting texture to it.  It's quite different from rice and makes for a good change if you're looking for something healthy and tasty to try.  Here it is cooking:

Garlic, carrots, and mushrooms sautee-ing...

...in the giant soup pot.

Wild Rice, Barley, Corn, and Mushroom Soup 

Mmm... soup. 

Meat!

Happy New Year!  :-) 

I hope you're having a good 2012 and working on whatever your resolutions may be.  I made a few resolutions and I'm doing my best...

1. Read at least 20 books this year. 
2. Learn how to cook meat.
3. Paint my kitchen yellow.

So far I've read one book: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson.  It's the second book in the Milennium series and I thought it was better than the first.  I technically finished the first book in 2012, but I'm not counting it because I started it last year.  :-p  Any book recommendations for me?  I've got a new Kindle that's itching for books! 

Meat, in general, intimidates me when it's in a large chunk.  I'm not afraid of ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken because it's all ground up already!  I am now equipped with a nice meat thermometer and so my mission begins. 

Today I made two things... first, Meatball Mushroom Soup, which turned out more like a thick stew.  Meatballs don't scare me because they are little... so I started off kind of small.  Mmm...  

 

Carrots are bleeding!  (They didn't stand a chance.)

Meatball Mushroom Soup

So, I'm pretty sure that this was super thick because I didn't follow the recipe.  I added more rice, barley, and noodles than it called for because I thought, 'How can that be enough?!'  Well, it was enough.  Don't get me wrong... the thickness was delicious.  Just not what I was expecting.  I think this was also the first time I've ever knowingly eaten barley.  What an odd consistency! 

The second thing I made today was Dijon Beef and Mushrooms... which was supposed to be more of a stew-like substance and turned into soup!  For this recipe, I cut up my first hunk of steak meat ever.  *That link is not the exact recipe (which I can't find), but it gives you a general idea. 

Hunk of meat!

Mess of stuff in the crockpot...

Four hours later... it's like soup!

Dijon Beef and Mushrooms

It was so saucy, I decided to serve it over brown rice.  The recipe I used came out of a Skinny Slow Cooker magazine that I got at the grocery store the other day.  I'm excited to start using my crockpots more... I love crockpot cooking!  <3

Oh!  As far as painting my kitchen yellow goes, it will happen.  Just not yet.  Life's been a little busy lately.  In a good way!  :-)