Monday, January 31, 2011
Tonight's Dinner...Pollock Fish Soup
This was something I kind of threw together, using coconut milk, some butter, some chicken stock, a package of frozen pureed squash, and various seasonings. Plus the pollock, of course! It turned out alright, which was pleasant surprise.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Successful Experiment: Cauliflower Rice
While it wasn't perfect, it sure was tasty! It went well with the slow-cooked ribs I made in the crock pot with beef broth and pork soup broth from last week. NOM.
Once again, Mom was impressed. :)
Once again, Mom was impressed. :)
Successful Experiment: First Time Frying in the Cast Iron Pan
For my birthday this past September I had asked my parents to buy me a cast iron frying pan, and my hopes were to become a cooking expert with this "pro" tool. (laughs) After reading many different instructions on the 'net for seasoning this thing properly, we finally decided to DO it...IN DECEMBER!
We put it through only one 'round' of seasoning and time ran out and we just haven't gotten around to continuing for 5 more rounds. I've been reading that some people also say to just start using it (provided there's no rust in the cooking area), so today that's what I decided to do.
Today is Sunday, which is bacon 'n eggs day. I got the pan out, heated it up (I also read that there are two keys to preventing food from sticking; the pan has to be hot enough, and there has to be enough fat in there), and tossed the bacon in.
Once the bacon was done (and the fat was drained once part-way through), the eggs went in. Now I was pretty nervous about the eggs, because they would be much more likely to stick, so I kept a close eye on the grease and the heat. Luckily, they didn't stick all that much and I was able to lift off what did stick. Yay!
Then when the eggs came out, I added a couple more tablespoons of bacon fat and a bunch of sliced cremini mushrooms, and tossed those around for a few minutes. YUM.
In the end, the pan is free of stuck food and the oil just needs to be dumped. Then I'll wipe it down with paper towel and it'll be ready for next time.
W00t!
We put it through only one 'round' of seasoning and time ran out and we just haven't gotten around to continuing for 5 more rounds. I've been reading that some people also say to just start using it (provided there's no rust in the cooking area), so today that's what I decided to do.
Today is Sunday, which is bacon 'n eggs day. I got the pan out, heated it up (I also read that there are two keys to preventing food from sticking; the pan has to be hot enough, and there has to be enough fat in there), and tossed the bacon in.
Once the bacon was done (and the fat was drained once part-way through), the eggs went in. Now I was pretty nervous about the eggs, because they would be much more likely to stick, so I kept a close eye on the grease and the heat. Luckily, they didn't stick all that much and I was able to lift off what did stick. Yay!
Then when the eggs came out, I added a couple more tablespoons of bacon fat and a bunch of sliced cremini mushrooms, and tossed those around for a few minutes. YUM.
In the end, the pan is free of stuck food and the oil just needs to be dumped. Then I'll wipe it down with paper towel and it'll be ready for next time.
W00t!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Coconut Oil Used For Frying...Ok to Re-Use?
We attempted coconut shrimp for the first time last night. They didn't quite come out the way we hoped, but they were edible anyway. Here's what the oil looked like in the pan after it cooled overnight. Is this normal? Would it be okay to reuse again?
Edit: The advice received was to never re-use coconut oil after frying and the odd shapes might have been caused by the shrimp...
Edit: The advice received was to never re-use coconut oil after frying and the odd shapes might have been caused by the shrimp...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Almond Butter!
Decided to make this last night on a whim...wish we had some bananas to smear it on!
After scooping most of it out of the food processor I added some small pieces of Lindt 85% Ecuador chocolate and whipped that up. Mmm.
After scooping most of it out of the food processor I added some small pieces of Lindt 85% Ecuador chocolate and whipped that up. Mmm.
Last Night's Dinner: Slow-Cooker Pork Roast with Onions 'n Stuff
Mmmm, so juicy and the FAT...OMG *drool*
After slicing, back into the pot it went...at least until hubby was home and ready to eat!
After slicing, back into the pot it went...at least until hubby was home and ready to eat!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
*Happy Dance*
This morning when I got on the scale (twice, to be sure) it read:
147.7!!!!!!!!!!
That bring my total weight loss to just over 18 pounds! YES!!!!!!!!! Last October I had reached 148.2 but then with xmas and all that I had gone up just a couple pounds, always hovering between 149-151. This is the lowest I've weighed in YEARS. Seeing as I'm not really working out a whole lot at this point, I'm not building muscle weight so the weigh scale does matter to me. Just for now.
147.7!!!!!!!!!!
That bring my total weight loss to just over 18 pounds! YES!!!!!!!!! Last October I had reached 148.2 but then with xmas and all that I had gone up just a couple pounds, always hovering between 149-151. This is the lowest I've weighed in YEARS. Seeing as I'm not really working out a whole lot at this point, I'm not building muscle weight so the weigh scale does matter to me. Just for now.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tonight's Dinner...Leftover Chicken on Cabbage and Bell Pepper
We bought a new pan!! So far so good (though I can't stand Rachel Ray her pan is nice lol). We glopped a few blobs of bacon fat in there, tossed in the chopped peppers and cabbage for awhile...
Then we added some seasoning and the leftover chicken that was in the fridge to warm it up. Et voila! Tasty!
Then we added some seasoning and the leftover chicken that was in the fridge to warm it up. Et voila! Tasty!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Roast...messed another one up. :(
I try. And I'll keep on trying. Next time I'll watch it closer and take its temperature more. Or maybe I'll put the meat thermometer right in there and leave it in there. I don't know. I just hate ending up with a dry, over-cooked roast. It sucks.
Anyway, here's what it looked like. I cooked it in the oven at 250F with some water and seasonings in the bottom of the pan. The good news is that the gravy (which I reduced in a pot after it was done cooking) turned out AMAZING.
We had a big salad to go with the roast, but ended up with quite a bit left over, so this morning I cooked up some bacon and we had bacon salad for breakfast!
Anyway, here's what it looked like. I cooked it in the oven at 250F with some water and seasonings in the bottom of the pan. The good news is that the gravy (which I reduced in a pot after it was done cooking) turned out AMAZING.
We had a big salad to go with the roast, but ended up with quite a bit left over, so this morning I cooked up some bacon and we had bacon salad for breakfast!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Foooooooood.
I've got two pork tenderloins in the crock pot, one in the oven, and a belly full of sardines (canned in olive oil).
Pics of the tenderloins to come later!
Edit: It's now later:
First, here is the oven-roasted pork tenderloin (at 250F for 2 hours) that was juicy and tasty as all hell:
This was a piece from the two tenderloins I cooked in the slow cooker (which for some reason turned out dry - overcooked, I guess?):
Served with cabbage, onion, carrot and leek.
Pics of the tenderloins to come later!
Edit: It's now later:
First, here is the oven-roasted pork tenderloin (at 250F for 2 hours) that was juicy and tasty as all hell:
This was a piece from the two tenderloins I cooked in the slow cooker (which for some reason turned out dry - overcooked, I guess?):
Served with cabbage, onion, carrot and leek.
The "Mother In-Law"
My "MIL" (in quotes because Rabbit and I are just common-law) came over yesterday (Sunday) to make dinner for us here, so she arrived with most of the fixings and got started. The main dish was going to be a hunk of roasted beef (no complaints there!), but the one side dish she brought was something she called dumplings, but it consisted of tiny little balls that resembled pasta. There were three ingredients, one of which was flour, so I wasn't too keen on eating this stuff, but I had told my honey that I was going to shut up and eat whatever she made, because it was her who previously droned on about how there's nothing wrong with eating (whole) grains, etc. I'm not interested in hearing it anymore and I'm tired of explaining myself. Anyway, she had asked what we might have on hand for sides and she chose cauliflower to go into the oven with the roast.
When the beef was done she wanted to use the drippings to make a gravy. I said we had some corn starch (I'm not sure whether this is any better than white flour, but offered it anyway), but noooo she only wanted flour. She knows darn well that I do not wish to consume flour/grains, but like I said, I shut up and ate what she made anyway. I honestly think she's trying to provide her son with these CW foods because she feels I'm depriving him. She even mentioned she'd bring ingredients to make bread next time, since my stand-up mixer came with a dough hook. *facepalm*
This must be why people don't usually get along with their in-laws, right??
When she comes over she usually brings the supplies to make her apple crumble dessert as well, and this time was no different. I had some and shut up about it.
Tomorrow I'll eat what *I* want to eat.
When the beef was done she wanted to use the drippings to make a gravy. I said we had some corn starch (I'm not sure whether this is any better than white flour, but offered it anyway), but noooo she only wanted flour. She knows darn well that I do not wish to consume flour/grains, but like I said, I shut up and ate what she made anyway. I honestly think she's trying to provide her son with these CW foods because she feels I'm depriving him. She even mentioned she'd bring ingredients to make bread next time, since my stand-up mixer came with a dough hook. *facepalm*
This must be why people don't usually get along with their in-laws, right??
When she comes over she usually brings the supplies to make her apple crumble dessert as well, and this time was no different. I had some and shut up about it.
Tomorrow I'll eat what *I* want to eat.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2011 Wish List
- Lose another 10+ lbs.
- Land a position in the Health & Safety field so I can start getting some real experience.
- Spend less time staring at a computer screen and/or sitting in chairs.
- Land a position in the Health & Safety field so I can start getting some real experience.
- Spend less time staring at a computer screen and/or sitting in chairs.
2010 was the year...
- I decided to (for the most part) go poo-less and soap-less. And made my own deodorant.
- I enrolled myself in a one-day course on being a crematorium operator (boy, was THAT ever interesting!).
- We went on our first real vacation (my first since I was 10 yrs old).
- We decided to (for the most part) eliminate sugar, grains and processed food from our diet.
- I really learned to cook, mostly by using a lot of great recipes I found on the Internet.
- I lost 16 lbs from the above diet changes, going from 166 to 150 (and holding, +/- a couple lbs).
- My mother, with the aid of a hospital stay and medication, FINALLY got her mental illness under control and is FINALLY behaving normally (she had been in a bad state for a number of years, last year being the worst in memory) which was really hard on all of us.
- We made an unprecedented move and canceled our cable (thus rendering our living room virtually abandoned).
- I hated my current job the most (especially the rude, condescending asshole clients) and really, really wanted out.
- I FINALLY chose a career path I wanted to pursue (Occupational Health & Safety) and began taking distance learning courses.
- I enrolled myself in a one-day course on being a crematorium operator (boy, was THAT ever interesting!).
- We went on our first real vacation (my first since I was 10 yrs old).
- We decided to (for the most part) eliminate sugar, grains and processed food from our diet.
- I really learned to cook, mostly by using a lot of great recipes I found on the Internet.
- I lost 16 lbs from the above diet changes, going from 166 to 150 (and holding, +/- a couple lbs).
- My mother, with the aid of a hospital stay and medication, FINALLY got her mental illness under control and is FINALLY behaving normally (she had been in a bad state for a number of years, last year being the worst in memory) which was really hard on all of us.
- We made an unprecedented move and canceled our cable (thus rendering our living room virtually abandoned).
- I hated my current job the most (especially the rude, condescending asshole clients) and really, really wanted out.
- I FINALLY chose a career path I wanted to pursue (Occupational Health & Safety) and began taking distance learning courses.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)