Day #57

Tried a new recipe tonight!  I was looking for a way to use up the open jar of artichoke hearts that were in my fridge, so I found a recipe for Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese.    The recipe was from an episode of Rachael Ray's daytime talk show. 

I made a few modifications to the recipe.  First, I cut it in half, because I didn't want a TON of leftovers.   Second, I left out the white wine, only because I didn't want yet another open bottle of wine, when I already have a couple open (reds & blushes).   Third, instead of Fontina & Parmesean cheeses, I used a shredded combination of Parmesean, Romano, and Asiago cheeses.   Fourth, the recipe calls for transferring the pasta & sauce to a casserole dish, adding more cheese, then baking until golden brown...I skipped that step.   

Despite my tweaking the recipe, it was delicious!  It tasted like Spinach & Artichoke dip, was nice and cheesy, and had yummy whole grain pasta. 

Delish!!

Day #56

I lost track of time this afternoon, and next thing I knew my stomach was growling, it was 5:00pm, and I had nothing cooking for dinner.   So I rifled through my pantry and found a bag of Knorr Sides Plus Veggies pasta - the Roasted Garlic, Olive Oil, & Broccoli Rotini flavor.   I wanted to amp up the veggies, so while the pasta was cooking in it's pot, I heated up a small skillet with a little olive oil.  To the skillet I sauteed some diced onion, bell pepper (red & green), frozen peas, chopped artichoke hearts, and some diced deli-thin hard salami.  Seasoned it all with salt & pepper, tossed the veggie mix into the cooked pasta, and served.   I'm a little bummed that I didn't have any cheese to add to the pasta, but it was still good.   Much better than the original plain pasta bag mix :)

My dessert was inspired by tonight's Academy Awards Red Carpet - vanilla bean ice cream with frozen peach slices, raspberries, whipped cream, gold sugar flakes, and pearl nonpareils:

Day #55

Tonight's dinner started with a craving for sweet potato fries.   I didn't want to have another chicken patty sandwich this soon to my last one, so I went digging through my freezer and found these 2 lonely tilapia fillets.

While the tilapia was thawing slightly and the oven was preheating, I took 2 end pieces of whole grain bread, and toasted them twice until crunchy.  I then crushed them into crumbs.  To the breadcrumbs I added 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning.   I then set up a breading station with the breadcrumb mix in one shallow plate, and some almond milk in a 2nd plate.  I patted the tilapia fillets with a paper towel to remove some of the extra moisture, dipped them in the almond milk, then added a light coating of the breadcrumb mixture.

I took a sided sheet pan and spread a little olive oil on half of the sheet pan, placed the tilapia on that side, and drizzed a tiny more olive oil on the fish.   On the other half of the sheet pan I added the frozen sweet potato fries.   They baked in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, turning everything over halfway through the cooking time.    When everything was cooked and crispy, I sprinkled a little salt on the fries, and drizzled a little lemon juice over the fish.   Served with a little store-bought tartar sauce.

Day #54

I seem to have caught some kind of cold, which always puts me in the mood for chicken soup.  Tonight I decided on a can of fun Campbell's Chicken & Stars soup, with some Italian Herb pita chips on the side. 

Nothing fancy.   But it's dinner :)

Day #53

Tonight - steak and risotto.

The steak was a loin strip steak that I picked up at the grocery store. Last night I rubbed it with salt, pepper, and a Chipotle seasoning rub, then marinated it in a plastic food bag with a combination of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a couple dashes of soy sauce. I let that hang out in my fridge for 24 hours. When I opened the bag this evening, it had a spicy-sweet odor from the combination of seasonings. I patted the steak down with a paper towel to remove extra moisture before putting it in my pre-heated skillet with a little butter and olive oil. (I read that tidbit in my Williams-Sonoma cookbook...the combination of oil & butter will give you the buttery taste with the higher temperatures allowed by the oil. I figured I'd test it out.) Also to the skillet I added a couple sprigs of green onion that I tore into pieces. Figured it would add a little flavor.  It smelled delicious the whole time it was cooking, and was juicy & flavorful!

While the steak was cooking, I cooked up the butternut squash risotto. No, I didn't make it from scratch. It was a boxed mix that I bought from Target. I've never eaten risotto before, and I wasn't daring enough to try cooking it from scratch. Learning to cook risotto is on my "culinary bucket list" for 2011. Someday. This boxed risotto was easy enough to make, and tasted pretty good!

 The photo is my failed attempt at a fancy presentation....

Day #52

 

As you have probably noticed, my eating habits and level of cooking are slowly deteriorating.   And it's only day #52 out of the year.....we have a long way to go!

Tonight I was in the mood for some "fast food," but instead of going to McDonalds or Wendys or any place like that, I made it myself at home.   Breaded chicken breast filet, on a whole wheat sandwich round, with BBQ sauce and provolone cheese.  Served with sweet potato fries.   Not even fresh homemade sweet potato fries....store bought out of a bag.  But they are still slightly nutritious, right??

The good news is I have a steak marinating for tomorrow night, so you can expect something decently cooked :)

Day #51

It seems like I've been hungry all day long, and nothing I ate filled me up for more than an hour or two.   When it came time for dinner, I knew I needed something nutritious & filling.   So I made a salad.  This salad was loaded with veggies (romaine, bell pepper, onion, and artichoke hearts), dairy (mozzarella cheese), and protein (ham, salami, and peanuts)....plus balsamic vinaigrette.