What I Ate Wednesday 9

I hope my weekly What I ate pots inspire you to try something new or just to be okay with what you are eating. For breakfast and lunch I really do eat a lot of the same thing.  Lunch I've learned over the years is easiest for me if I make a large bunch of soup, quiche or fritata during the weekend.  However you may have leftovers from the night before and just like to pack that up.  I just encourage you to eat real food and most importantly enjoy what you are eating.  So here goes Wednesday's eats.

Breakfast:  Well it's one of my favorites!  Avocado toast sunny side up egg, this time I added spinach leaves and tomatoes.  I also tried orange, carrot and pineapple juice in my Vitamix.  I'm not sure about the carrot texture in the Vitamix vs the juicer. Don't forget the coffee.  

Lunch: Creamy quinoa tomato and bean soup. Again one I have a lot; this soup really keeps me full.  I used white beans since I had them in my fridge.  Also I sliced up two kiwis. 

Dinner: I love macaroni and cheese especially in the winter.  This version uses manchego cheese, chorizo sausage, pimentos and peas. My son absolutely loves it.  It also reheats well for leftovers.  I served it with roasted brussel sprouts.  Of course wine to drink. 

Dessert: I love my sweets and like to finish my day with one.  French yogurt cake with peaches I preserved in the summer and whip cream.  I found this recipe in Elizabeth Bard's Lunch in Paris, which is a delightful little read. 

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

What I'm Loving Right Now - February's Edition

Over the past month I've come across some interesting finds and not all about food. 

I really like this post on reducing kitchen waste.  I have some reusable fruit and veggie bags that I great to use.  I should probably buy another set.   I also like the idea of the microfiber clothes.  I could easily put some under the sink: two bins, one for clean and 1 for dirty.

Foods that are Banned in Europe - an interesting read.  This begs the question why do we still have these items in our foods.

This cardigan might be a purchase for the rest of winter. 

Wide Leg Crops -  I might need a pair of these for spring/summer. I could pair them with a sweater or t-shirts when it gets hot.

I love to read and have always wanted a house filled with books in every room.  These pictures are so inspirational.

And a nod to one of my new loves - kraut.  Check out Marisa McClellan's blog Food In Jars to learn how to make your own.  

Happy reading!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

What I ate Wednesday 8

Well another February week has passed.  Not too much exciting here, except for another day off of school due to snow.  In case you are wondering we will be making up some time for all of our days off.  Not fun, but oh well.  On to Wednesday's eatings.

Breakfast: Leftover steel cut oatmeal, roasted veggies sunnyside up egg, hemp seeds and pineapple.  I like to make a large batch of roasted veggies one night for dinner and then use them up over the week. 

Morning Snack: A small portion of mixed nuts (peanuts, cashews and hazelnuts) I usually don't eat one, but we had a crazy school schedule today and I knew I wasn't getting lunch until 1:30.  

Lunch: Kale salad topped with the last of my baked salmon from last week, tomatoes, blueberries and kraut from a local kraut producer.  

I felt like making something when I came home so I made these cherry vanilla energy balls.  I chose cherries because the one's I have don't have any added sugar.  They are super sweet with the dates.

Dinner:  Confetti Spaghetti Casserole, its an old recipe but very comforting, sauteed spinach and green salad with homemade vinaigrette.   I had some red wine from the other night, so a nice departure from my usual white.

Dessert: A small scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, but I forgot to take a picture.  

As always I hope you keep cooking and enjoying good food  with good company.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Tomato Bean Soup or Use Up the Food

No joke this is what the inside of my refrigerator looks like most of the times.  It is a mess. 

I have parts and pieces of many things from past dinners or playing around in the kitchen. I also have items that are going to be used for dinner this week as well.  However, the trick is sometimes what do I do with all of it, because I really can't say I have nothing to eat.  I've made it a goal to use up items in our fridge, freezer and pantry.  And I have to say we've been doing a pretty good job.  

So this Saturday lunch looked like this:

My son - leftover pancakes that I stacked with Nutella in the middle and topped with fluff and broiled in  the oven.  A s'more pancake, yes not nutritious, but it tastes really good. 

My daughter: Baked eggs and bits and pieces of veggies.

My husband: poached eggs at 2 pm when he came home from work

Me: Tomato Bean Soup 

I had white bean puré in the fridge that I served with a roast the other night.  I had made the beans in my new Instant Pot, and they are delicious.  I also have garlic scrape pesto that I made in the late summer in my freezer, and I always have a few cans of tomatoes sitting around.  So I started putting things together.

1 T Olive Oil

2 T chopped onion

2 14oz can tomatoes - any kind

1 can of white beans or bean puré

1/2 cup water

2 T or more to taste of pesto

Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and add the onions. I cook them until they are soft.  Add the tomatoes, beans and water.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or so.  At this point I add the pesto.  If it is frozen I cook the soup until the pesto is dissolved. At this point I take my immersion blender and blend everything.  Taste for salt and pepper.   I also added some chia seeds at the end.  

I served my soup with some Brie and a few crackers.  It made enough for 2; so I had lunch for today.  

Bon Appétit, 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

What I ate Wednesday 7

Another week has passed.  The weather here has stayed the same, cold and snowy.  Actually I've been able to get outside on a few walks.  It is so nice to breath fresh air.  I finished my most recent book: Where the Crawdads Sing. It is an excellent read, and I can't wait to discuss it in book club.  

As for yesterday's eats well here it goes.  I started the day with a short yoga session; I needed to be at work super early.  At least I was able to get on a mile walk with the dog when I got home. 

  

Breakfast: Sorry for the 1/2 eaten food pic, I forgot about it being Wednesday.  2 mini spinach fritattas, homemade cracked wheat bread with peach jelly, 1/2 a grapefruit and coffee of course.  I've used both spinach and kale in the frittatas and they are both equally delicious, also feta cheese is a great swap.

Lunch: I snapped a pic before I went to work.  Sunday night I made baked salmon and served it with a kale salad.  Kale salad keeps really well and I just topped it with leftover salmon, homemade carrot cabbage kraut, oranges, blueberries and artichoke hearts.  As always water to drink. 

Dinner: Pasta Carbonara.  I love the creamy combination of the pasta, eggs, cheese with the bacon pieces.  I served it with roasted trumpet mushrooms and cabbage.  A perfect winter dinner.  We served our normal house Chardonnay and water. 

Dessert: Sunday night I made a quick coconut flan. So I had one leftover and my husband didn't want it.  Lucky me.  I topped it with chocolate covered hazelnuts my daughter made and a few blueberries.  A match made in heaven.  

What have you been eating?  Spend sometime in the kitchen creating memories and delicious meals. And as Jacques Pépin says " Don't forget the wine."

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

A Week of Dinners

Well I finally did it. I remembered to take pictures of a week's worth of dinners. My hope is that these pictures may inspire you to cook everyday.  Now I will say that I do love to cook and I am very willing to put in the time.  In general we don't eat until 7:30 p.m, so I have time to relax and make dinner.  

Monday: "Meatball" stuffed pasta shells  This is so easy, but my middle daughter requested it so I made it.  I like to use either leftover meatballs or meatloaf.  Just roughly stuff the meat in the cooked shells, top with your favorite marinara sauce and cheese.  Bake covered for about 30 minutes and another 5 uncovered.  I served it with a side of braised celery and parsnips.

Tuesday: Sizzling shrimp with basmati rice and steamed broccoli.  A super quick and easy dinner to prepare.  

Wednesday: I like to try something new each week.  Not always for dinner, but last week it just happened to be. As I mentioned in my last post I tried blacked chicken with avocado crema, quinoa and the rest of the broccoli.   My husband knows we like broccoli, so he picked up a lot of it. 

Thursday: I  had some leftover mushroom gravy from another dish in my fridge.  So I made hamburger patties, sautéd them on the stove and simmered them in the gravy.  Mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, mushrooms and parsnips on the side. 

Friday: Our grocery happened to have whitefish.  I always serve it simply: broiled and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika.  At the end I add some melted butter.  We had pan roasted potatoes and a salad of fennel, orange, sliced black olives, parsley topped with a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.   Delicious!

Bon Appétit and don't for get the wine. 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

What I ate Wednesday 6

Well I'm back again with another Wednesday.  My oldest daughter and I are still counting our fruits and veggies in our bullet journals. It really makes you mindful of what you are eating. I like to see at least 6 little dots in my journal per day.  This is actually not too hard to do.  We're not exactly counting serving size, but a small amount doesn't count.   

Breakfast: Green juice, crock pot steel cut oats, sunny side up egg, broccoli with a splash of soy sauce for a touch more flavor.  To drink? Coffee of course. The juice give roughly 1 fruit and 1 veggie and the broccoli is 1 veggie as well.

I had a lunch meeting today; so I snapped this picture before I went to school.  

Lunch: Kale salad with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, carrots, and pepitas. I also had a side of cottage cheese topped with hemp and chia seeds.I figured this was at least 2-3 veggies depending how you count it.  

Dinner: Blackened chicken breast, quinoa, broccoli with and avocado crema. This was a new recipe; I found it just okay.  I feel I can do better, so not a keeper. However it got me another vegetable and my kids love broccoli so a win there.  So that was 6 today. 

Dessert: My son loves 7 layer bars, and so do I.  I had the ingredients sitting around so of course I made them.  They are so easy and so good.  I made them with unsweetened coconut, and you would never know the difference.  There is still a lot of sugar, but they are a treat.  

Bon Appétit!

As always love from the Midwest,

Beth