feta quesadilla and guacamole

this evening was the first time that husband and i actually sat down to a home cooked meal together in a long time. at the table, no less. between the two of us and work and everything else, it has been a challenge to cook, let alone have the same eating schedule. so this evening was a real treat. i felt almost human.

sticking to my eating skinny regime, my goal for dinner was to make something satisfying and tasty, but leaving out the side of guilt. so, on todays menu, was a feta quesadilla and fresh guacamole.

feta quesadilla

8 corn tortillas

1/2 large onion

1 large poblano

a couple of pinches of salt

spritz of cooking oil

2oz low fat feta

 

 

 guacamole

1 large avocado

1/2 tomato, seeded and diced

juice of 1/2 lime

handful fresh cilantro

pinch of salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

quesadilla – roast, skin, slice poblano pepper. while pepper is roasting, slice onion and begin to sautee in a large skillet. after skinning and slicing pepper, add to onion along with a pinch of salt. cook until onion is clear and begins to caramelize. remove onion pepper mix from skillet, set aside. in a separate large skillet on medium low heat, begin building quesadilla. center one tortilla in skillet and add a thin layer of crumbled feta to bottom, top the cheese with the onion and pepper with an additional thin layer of feta, top with second tortilla. cook each side for about 2 min (or until browned spots appear on tortilla and cheese is melted).

 

guacamole – cut and mash avocado, add a sprinkle of salt, lime juice, diced tomato and cilantro, stir to incorporate. ta. da.

 

the best part of the meal, other than the slight heat from the pepper, the sweet from the almost caramelized onions, the salty tang of the feta, the chewy, satisfying corn tortilla, or the freshness of the guacamole??

……..

only 270 calories per quesadilla….

you’re welcome.

 

 

 

 

guilt-free,

faith

 

 

 

 

 

penne pasta; an “office picnic” meal

today i had the real pleasure of cooking an office picnic lunch for my bubba. bubba and i have known one another now for over fourteen years. she and i both played clarinet in the high school band, somehow always had the same classes, got drunk for the first time together and have shared many tear inducing laughing fits.

i had planned on taking “sack” lunches up to her, like i have done before, but then realized that i could make our lunch. it would be healthier and much cheaper than the $5 sandwiches. so, on today’s picnic menu was a penne pasta and a hearty spinach salad.

the recipe for the penne was adapted from my copy of Cook Yourself Thin:

ingredients: (serves 4)
2 tsp olive oil

3cloves of garlic, minced

1/2cup chopped red onion

couple of pinches of salt

1 14oz can whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a food processor

pinch of red pepper flakes

8oz penne

1/4cup, plus a splash creamer

1/3 cup shredded parmesan

1/4 cup of fresh, chopped basil

 

in a large saucepan, heat 2 tsp of oil and cook the onion plus a pinch of salt until soft (about 3-4min). add the tomato puree, a pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes. bring to simmer, reduce heat and simmer gently 10min. stir in the minced garlic, add the creamer and let simmer an additional min. (if you don’t like a super strong garlic flavor, you can add the garlic when you add the tomato puree).

 

meanwhile, add the penne to boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente. drain pasta, reserving 1/2cup of pasta water. add the drained penne to the saucepan and simmer until the penne is al dente, adding the paster water if the mix is too dry. stir in 1/4 cup of the parmesan and the basil.

 

serve the pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and a quick sprinkle of parmesan.

 

the penne was, like the burgers last night, extremely easy and very tasty. only costing bubba and i a total of about 350 calories. and with the exception of a couple of phone call interruptions, our picnic meal at her desk was really, quite romantic.

 

southwestern turkey burgers

i have a confession. i didn’t go on a run today… i could not bring myself to get out of bed. so, no 4.5miles for me. there is always tomorrow, right? i was, however, able to cook and now blog, so yay me!

on the menu tonight was, as promised yesterday, southwestern turkey burgers (at least one promise was upheld!). i followed the recipe relatively closely and it was really very easy. something that was very much appreciated after a day like today.

for the burger (my version):

1 1/3lbs of lean ground turkey

1 fresh poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced

pinch of salt

drizzle of olive oil

whole wheat bun (i used mrs. baird’s 100% whole wheat gillin’ thins)

spinach

tomato, sliced

red onion, sliced

avocado, sliced

 

in a large bowl, combine ground turkey, diced pepper, salt, mix well. divide meat mixture (meat mixture doesn’t sound all that too appealing, does it? it was though. i promise) in 4, shape into patties. hear a large pan on medium heat and drizzle the olive oil into the pan. add the patties and cook until browned on one side, flip and reduce the heat to low. cook until the juices run clear. assemble burgers with handful of spinach, tomato slices, onion and avocado slices. enjoy!

 

the burgers were easy, quick and tasty and i will definitely be making them again. i think next time though, i will use a spicier pepper to pack in a little bit more punch.

and one last note… it felt so good cooking a meal. i can’t wait for tomorrow.

your turkey-dude-ette,

faith 

 

 

a day late? right on time? or a bleak apology for my “sins?”

when i wrote last night’s post i had some how forgotten that husband and i had made dinner plans with my grandparents… tex-mex, no less. so no skinny meal there. but that is ok. tomorrow brings another day of skinny potential!

in the meantime, i will leave you with some facts about weight loss:

• if you want to lose a pound a week (the amount most experts say is the healthiest way to approach weight loss), you need to cut your calorie intake by 500.
• a quick and easy equation to use to find out how many calories you need in order to reach your goal weight is to multiply your goal weight by 10. this will give you the number of calories you need to consume each day.
• a calorie is a unit that measures how much energy it takes your body to convert the “fuel” you give it into energy.
• there are only 3 calories in a stalk of celery… and your body spends more calories breaking it down and converting it into energy.
• there are only 52 calories in 1oz of whiskey. (yay!)
• there is a difference of almost 300 calories in a piece of fried fish vs a grilled piece of fish.

so, to make up for my tex-mex sins of this evening, i will be waking up early to go on a 4.5 mile run, and on tomorrow’s dinner plate, a southwestern turkey burger… only 342 calories. so stay tuned!

adios,

faith 

i’m baaack!

and finally… an update.the past three months have kept me busy, to say the least. i have taken on a new job and, unfortunately, cooking and then taking the time to write about the cooking had to take back burner. finally, things are begining to slow down and i am ready to be back and ready to challenge myself.

i have decided to attempt a new challange. i am going to eat to be thin. (i have a cook yourself thin cookbook that i am planning on employing to execute this project… at least to start off the challenge).

starting tomorrow (who starts a new project in the middle of the week??) i will begin to document my trials and tribulations of the extra weight that was the result of my hectic new job schedules. the gloves are off and the excuses kicked to the curb. so cheers to me and my new cooking/writing/weight loss regime!

ready, set, go!

faith 

homemade whole wheat pasta

my mother is, in one word, amazing. last thursday she sent me a text that showed a picture of a pasta maker with the magic words “surprise gift was delivered today. ready for pick up.” needless to say, i hightailed it to my parent’s house to pick up my “surprise gift.” she had found them online for sale, so she got one for my sister-in-law, one for herself and one for me.

before today, i have never made pasta from scratch making my new toy perfect for sunday funday.

to make the pasta, i used 10oz whole wheat flour, 3  farm fresh eggs and a scant amount of water; mixing it all together until completely combined. i then kneaded the dough on a lightly floured surface. following my mom’s advice, i let the dough rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it into small dough portions to feed into shiny new pasta maker toy.

i really wanted to highlight the fresh pasta taste, so the ingredients for the pasta dish were kept really simple. using only turkey bacon (real bacon would have been better, but for the sake of husband and my blood pressure, i used turkey), sliced mushrooms, kalamata olives, fresh basil, a thin drizzle of olive oil and topped with chicken cooked by husband.

the flavors were fresh and so delicious. husband put it simply “this is really, really, really, really, really good.”

making the the pasta was easy and delicious and i will never buy store bought pasta again.

noodled,

faith

forbidden rice pudding

and finally an update… in my defense i have been, much to my dismay, too busy to cook and to write. buy all apologies aside, here i am with a new post.

today included a trip to whole foods to meet a friend for lunch. after good conversation over sushi, we took a stroll through the grocery store. i swear, ever time i go into that store, there is a force that pulls me and makes me look at and touch everything. today the force took me almost directly to the “forbidden rice” in the bulk section. black rice… how can i resist? i couldn’t.

i was so happy with my purchase, it got stored in my purse for the rest of the day. you carry a wallet and chapstick? well… i carry rice.

as soon as i got home, the rice came out and a rice pudding was made. it was very simple and the cook times were long enough that i could put it on to cook and walk away to take care of the other things that have been pushed aside while i’ve been so busy. like checking the mail. and cleaning off the dining room table.

ingredients

2 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups uncooked forbidden black rice
1 (14-ounce) can regular or light coconut milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup chopped peeled and pitted mango
3/4 cup peeled and chopped kiwi (i omitted this)

Method

put water and rice into a medium pot, cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat to low and simmer until all of the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes. uncover and stir in coconut milk and sugar.bBring back to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes more.

to serve, divide rice pudding among bowls, top with mango and serve.

the result was a delicious, nutty, not too sweet rice pudding that i am having to make deals and promises of new shoes to save myself from eating the whole thing.

the sweet nutty was cut so nicely with the tangy sweet of the mango. the resisting is futile.

cut & nutty,

faith