It's me again, Margret. The last time I wrote in this thingamablog (see what I did there?) I was in Texas with 2 very large basset hounds and an infant. Now I'm back home with 1 largely obnoxious cat and a toddler. It amazes me how fast kids grow. And you never fully understand just how fast until you have one of your own. Or until you have one at close proximity to you on a daily basis. Whichever.
I'm not going to make any promises I can't keep. So there will be no talk of a series of posts (because that always works out so well!) or a vow to write so many times a month. There is simply my hope of writing more to improve my writing, share my thoughts with those who care to hear/see them, and maybe bring myself a little closer to figure out just exactly where I fit in to the culinary world.
I've been reading more and more blogs and am honestly incredibly intimidated. Have I mentioned this before? I'm having an acute Deja Vu attack right about now. I'll go back and check later. Anyway I really feel the need to improve. There are so many people out there that blog for a cause or blog for a living. People make money for writing whatever they want on the Internet. Seriously. And can I just say that, while I'm only 26, I remember a time less than 20 years ago when the Internet was strange and foreign and most people were still trying to figure out what exactly it's purpose was. Hell, computers were still confusing to me until high school. The only thing I ever used them for was Mario Teaches Typing (I will forever be grateful to my Daddy for that one) and Claris Works word processing. I was taught DOS in middle school, okay. We still used floppy disks. And now that I've made many of you, including myself, feel incredibly old, how 'bout a little chat about food?
__________________________
I've been working on staying out of a food rut when it comes to cooking at home. I know a lot of people complain about it and it happens quite often around here. A few weeks back it seemed like all I ever cooked in this house was bacon and eggs or cheeseburgers. We are also trying to trying to seriously get into healthier habits in my household. Not in the New Year's resolution kind of way where you keep at it for a month or so and then go back to your old, self-destructive ways. More of the subtle lifestyle changes that will become routine kind of way. In order to accomplish this my husband and I sat down and came up with 30 meal ideas that we'd like to have over the next few weeks. I've been adding to that list every time I come up with something new and now I think we're up to 56 individual meals? Something like that. They must all include a veggie and most of them have left-overs potential. For instance the pot roast left over from dinner on Thursday was turned into a component for my umm...knock-off version of poutine is about the only way I can describe it. I used the cooking liquid to make a yummy gravy, chopped the roast into smaller pieces, and added it back to the gravy. Then I made some twice baked potatoes, topped them with some aged, raw milk cheddar, and stuck them under the broiler. I put the potato(es) on a plate, topped with the "new" roast creation, and ate. I was pretty proud of myself. Serve some steamed or sauteed veggies on the side and it's complete, healthful meal. The roast was extremely lean (eye of round), I used a tablespoon of butter to make about 3 servings of gravy. I used another tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, and about a quarter of a cup of cheese to make 6 twice baked potatoes (3 medium potatoes cut in half). So per serving, these really aren't that bad at all.
I think we're off to a good start. Staying out of a food rut and cooking/eating in a more healthy way is just the beginning, though. Next is portion control, exercise, and paying attention to the numbers.Lucky for y'all I'm more about posting recipes and talking about food than I am talking about numbers and calorie counting and math!
And with that, I have to go dig myself out of another rut- the "I don't ever want to do laundry again" rut. Here's hoping I post again soon!
Elle
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Thursday, August 25, 2011
To those of you still making Hamburger Helper...
...just stop it! Stop it right now! You'll get cancer and die. Well, maybe not. But there are unpronounceable words in that stuff! Why would you want to eat that?
I know a topic like this isn't very "gourmet", but I had this epiphany when I was flying around like a mad woman trying to come up with something to make my fiance for dinner. I was running late (as usual) and had about 30 minutes to cook something, put it in a container, and send him on his way to work (3rd shift). I thought about burgers or some kind of pasta dish, because he enjoys both. And then the little light bulb in my head came on and I combined the ideas. It turned out to be my version of Hamburger Helper, which tastes way better and could possibly be slightly healthier. Healthier in the sense that you won't get cancer from the preservatives and weird chemicals. By eating my version, you may just have a heart attack. That's easier to come back from than cancer, obviously.*
Anyway, this is a quick meal that I was able to put together in just under 20 minutes. Add a salad or some sauteed veggies for a side dish to lessen the guilt factor.
Elle's [non-cancer causing] Hamburger Helper
1 bag of egg noodles (extra-wide)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pint cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Boil the egg noodles in salty water until al dente; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef on medium heat until just cooked through (do not over cook). Strain off any excess fat if necessary. With the skillet set to medium-high, add the cream to the ground beef. When the cream starts to bubble add the spices and stir thoroughly. Then, add the cheese. Continuously stir the mixture until the cheese has melted to make a creamy sauce. Turn the heat off and add in the parsley last.
Ta-da! Dinner :)
I added some frozen peas before I added the cream. You can add any kind of frozen vegetable if you so desire. Charlie just happened to ask for peas. You can also adjust the seasonings and spices as you see fit. Adding some chili powder and ground cumin along with the garlic powder will yield a more "taco" flavored version. Using ground turkey or chicken would be a good alternative to the ground beef, too. As always, I encourage you to play around with the spices and ingredients to suit your tastes.
Now, put down the box of sodium and preservatives and eat something really yummy instead!
*Just as an aside, I know that cancer and heart attacks aren't funny. Luckily, sarcasm can be hilarious. And in my own little world, I'm a hilarious, sarcastic person who happens to be a fabulous chef.
I know a topic like this isn't very "gourmet", but I had this epiphany when I was flying around like a mad woman trying to come up with something to make my fiance for dinner. I was running late (as usual) and had about 30 minutes to cook something, put it in a container, and send him on his way to work (3rd shift). I thought about burgers or some kind of pasta dish, because he enjoys both. And then the little light bulb in my head came on and I combined the ideas. It turned out to be my version of Hamburger Helper, which tastes way better and could possibly be slightly healthier. Healthier in the sense that you won't get cancer from the preservatives and weird chemicals. By eating my version, you may just have a heart attack. That's easier to come back from than cancer, obviously.*
Anyway, this is a quick meal that I was able to put together in just under 20 minutes. Add a salad or some sauteed veggies for a side dish to lessen the guilt factor.
Elle's [non-cancer causing] Hamburger Helper
1 bag of egg noodles (extra-wide)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pint cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Boil the egg noodles in salty water until al dente; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef on medium heat until just cooked through (do not over cook). Strain off any excess fat if necessary. With the skillet set to medium-high, add the cream to the ground beef. When the cream starts to bubble add the spices and stir thoroughly. Then, add the cheese. Continuously stir the mixture until the cheese has melted to make a creamy sauce. Turn the heat off and add in the parsley last.
Ta-da! Dinner :)
I added some frozen peas before I added the cream. You can add any kind of frozen vegetable if you so desire. Charlie just happened to ask for peas. You can also adjust the seasonings and spices as you see fit. Adding some chili powder and ground cumin along with the garlic powder will yield a more "taco" flavored version. Using ground turkey or chicken would be a good alternative to the ground beef, too. As always, I encourage you to play around with the spices and ingredients to suit your tastes.
Now, put down the box of sodium and preservatives and eat something really yummy instead!
*Just as an aside, I know that cancer and heart attacks aren't funny. Luckily, sarcasm can be hilarious. And in my own little world, I'm a hilarious, sarcastic person who happens to be a fabulous chef.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)