Just another Meatless Monday: Week Two

I and our friends John & Christy who joined us considered this week's Meatless Monday to be a success, Tim on the other hand was not so impressed. I went with a recipe from The Nest Magazine called Baked Portobello Parmigiana (image from here).

First I scraped the gills from the bottom of the mushroom just because Tim does not like mushrooms and I thought it would help to remove a little of the strong taste. I then mixed up about 2c of Panko bread crumbs with about 1/2c of grated parmesan. I also scrambled 2 eggs in a different bowl and put some flour in a 3rd. I dipped the caps into the eggs, then the flour and finally the panko and parmesan mixture.

I placed the breaded caps into a casserole dish and topped them with 2 large spoonfuls of marinara sauce and about 1/2c of shredded mozzarella. I baked them for about 20 min at 375 and served them with spaghetti. Everyone (with the exception of Tim) really seemed to enjoy their meal and I was excited to have a successful Meatless Monday!

Update: This also works with chicken.

All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go

I've got my plans drawn-up, know what I will be displaying but need to get an estimate and some cash to get my built-in for the back entry created. You may have wondered what the gaping crevice in Behind Door Number... was for, if you didn't read that entry anyways. Well, surprise!, its for a built-in for both storage, display and for being able to drop stuff as we walk in the door.

I want the countertop to be crema marfil marble. It sounds a little absurd but this is such a small space that it should be pretty easy and inexpensive to get a remnant piece. I think it would hold up to a lot more use than just a wooden top. I also want the top shelf doors to be glass but not just any glass, I want chickenwire glass. I've seen it listed many times on the internet I just have to figure out how to get it at a reasonable price. I think it would give a lot of character to the piece though. Otherwise this is pretty straightforward!

Drat

I came up with a brilliant idea, well actually I didn't come up with it, I saw it on Knock-Off Wood and thought it could be perfect for the pantry once I adjusted a few things.

I measured, planned and even taped it all out on the back of the door then my dad said the casters wouldn't work on the wood floor and would just damage it. Then I was reminded multiple times by no less than 7 people and an equal number of "are you nuts" looks that this project was not going to work for multiple reasons.

1. The door is hollow
2. Hollow doors can't hold a lot of weight even with special back-up support systems
3. The door is hollow

So the plan was killed but maybe someone without a hollow door and wooden floors would benefit so I thought I'd post my idea anyways. Here you go!

Garlic Vinaigrette

Ok, so one thing about me & cooking is that I don't like to measure and will just eyeball everything and go by taste so all measurements are subject to be edited to your own particular tastes!

I love garlic and so does Tim (we were Italians in another life) so this dressing sounded awesome. I got the idea from a Rachel Ray show and I was too lazy to look up the recipe so I came up with my own (that according to my guess is probably pretty close).

I peeled all of the cloves from a bulb of garlic and put them into a pan on low heat with about 3 tbsp of olive oil and let them cook until they were throughly browned on all sides. I then transferred them to the blender and pulverized them before adding in about 1/4c olive oil and about 1/8c red wine vinegar. I thought it needed something else so I added in about 5-6 tbsp apple cider vinegar as well. To be honest I have no idea really what the difference is but figured there had to be one.

It was excellent and we ate all of it. I was even tempted to lick my bowl...I didn't but I really wanted to.

Brainstorming...Kitchen Book Trough

I saw a book trough similar to this one at my friend's parent's house and determined that I HAD to have one of my own.

So I've written up the plans for what I want and am just waiting for my dad to have some availability to help me build one of my own. If I could get this project completed it would free up a cabinet in my kitchen and believe me, that is some prime real estate!

Meatless Mondays: Week One

For week one I decided to use a recipe from Rachel Ray for Calzone Rolls. It seemed it would be quick and easy so why not.

I decided to bring out my own inner chef (um, right) and make a few tweaks. One of them being removing the salami as it is a Meatless Monday, duh. The next genius move I made was to trade out Kaiser rolls for French Hamburger Buns. Apparently those have nice little holes in the bottom when then are cut in half. I picked out some bread from the top and covered the hole so everything wouldn't spill out.

I then sautéed a chopped onion and half a bag of spinach and mixed them with about 5 leaves of chopped basil, a quarter cup of shredded mozzarella and about 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan with a small container of ricotta cheese. I spooned all of that mixture into the bottom of 4 rolls and placed a slice of tomato and some additional shredded mozzarella on top. Never did I think about putting salt and pepper into the mixture but I def should have, apparently ricotta does not have a very strong flavor as I thought it would.

I put the rolls into a casserole dish and baked them for about 20 minutes until the cheese on top was melted and served them with some spaghetti sauce.

Not my best showing and I'm not really sure I will every be attempting these again. Here is a picture from Rachel's site, I forgot to take a picture of mine (another fail) although mine were much more colorful and looked as though they would have an amazing taste to them. Never judge a book by its cover right!

Meatless Mondays

So in order to save some money and to get a little healthier I suggested to Tim that we start doing "Meatless Mondays." He begrudgingly has acquiesced to my request and I started planning.

We've been working on changing our eating habits ever since Tim was diagnosed with colon cancer. Our diets that once consisted of frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, Spaghetti Os (ok, that was me) and Easy Mac have been deleted. We rarely (if ever) get processed food anymore, Tim's oncologist told us to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store in order to avoid processed foods. We still have to get into the center aisles for some juices, sauces and even sometimes (ok, frequently) cookies & ice cream but for the most part have incorporated fresh fruits, vegetables and meats that we used to rarely ever use.

We also learned that there is a possibility of a link between red meat and colon cancer. That was quite the wake up call, between tacos, meatloaf and burgers plus roast beef sandwiches and the like we were eating red meat for an average of 4-5 meals a week. That is way more than the recommended 18oz per week. As with everything balance is key so we have already cut way back on that and are currently working on cutting back our consumption of meat in general.

I also figured out that we could save $30-$40 a month just buy avoiding buying meat for one day a week. Sold! I think we are going to start next Monday so I'll fill you in on how it goes.