Pretty tired of cooking....want healthy recipes to freeze
nancyjane_gardener
6 years ago
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Blue Onblue
6 years agonancyjane_gardener
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February Healthy Check-in
Comments (35)I just wanted to say that it's so inspiring to come here and read about everyone's efforts. We all have our down days but I know it helps me when I have some accountability to someone other than myself. I don't normally share my exercise highs/lows with others IRL (except dh and my exercise partners), and I don't normally "brag" about what I may have accomplished. But having a chance to share it with others here (who don't know me IRL) who are doing the same thing is a way to keep myself encouraged and accountable. And when I'm not feeling especially motivated, it's nice to come read a thread such as this one and see what everyone else is doing and think, gee, just go DO something. Hhireno, thanks for continuing to post these threads - and you are so kind to respond to each and every one with thoughtful words of encouragement and affirmation. Bethpen, I'm sorry that you are feeling so much stress and hope that you can find ways to cope. Baby steps are good, any step is good! If you can't find time to exercise, then do simple things like park as far as possible from where you are going rather than right near the door, take the stairs. And if you can find the time, try to make at least a few make ahead meals that are healthy so you can bring them with you up to NH so that you aren't relying on carb-heavy meals while you are there. I have a couple of good chicken recipes that are fairly easy (one is a Greek marinade that you can quickly make, put the chicken in a ziploc bag and freeze then take with you and then it's already for baking or grilling when it's meal time). If you are interested, I can post it here or email it to you. My friend just emailed me a bunch of recipes from a Bikini boot camp class she took - most are very easy and tasty. (I'm making one for dinner tonight - turkey lasagna with eggplant as the noodles). I'm sure you probably have plenty of healthy recipes...it's just making the time, I know!...See MoreHealthy recipes - WW and more......
Comments (21)AM we don't have Stew Leonard's here so I don't know how this will compare. I have this in my to try file and others have certainly liked it a lot. It was posted on the Mushroom thread. Don't be put off by the length of the post, I included the comments that were on the original post. Lee RE: Cookalong #18----------------MUSHROOMS clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by dishesdone (My Page) on Tue, Dec 29, 09 at 10:32 Renee, this has no cream and it's a fabulous soup. Delicious. It has butter, but I suppose you can use a nice olive oil! Mushroom Soup (posted SusanQ at GB's ~ I found this on Epicurious and posted some of the reader's comments as well. One comment suggests making parmesan croutons which I used and were a wonderful addition) Makes 4 servings. By Anthony Bourdain with Jose de Meirelles and Philippe Lajaunie Bloomsbury 6 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, thinly sliced 12 ounces button mushrooms 4 cups light chicken stock or broth 1 sprig of flat parsley Salt and pepper 2 ounces high-quality sherry (don't use the cheap grocery-store variety; it's salty and unappetizing and will ruin your soup) Equipment Medium saucepan Wooden spoon Blender (I used an immersion blender) In the medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, then add the mushrooms and the remaining butter. Let the mixture sweat for about 8 minutes, taking care that the onion doesn't take on any brown color. Stir in the chicken stock and the parsley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour. After an hour, remove the parsley and discard. Let the soup cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the blender and carefully blend at high speed until smooth. Do I have to remind you to do this in stages, with the blender's lid firmly held down, and with the weight of your body keeping that thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom purée to erupt all over your kitchen? When blended, return the mix to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and bring up to a simmer again. Add the sherry, mix well, and serve immediately. To astound your guests with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cèpes or morels, which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushrooms will have a much stronger taste, and you don't want to overwhelm the soup. Pan sear, on high heat, a single small, pretty, fresh chanterelle or morel for each portion, and then slice into a cute fan and float on top in each bowl. And if you really want to ratchet your soup into pretentious (but delicious), drizzle a few tiny drops of truffle oil over the surface just before serving. Why the hell not? Everybody else is doing it. reviews cookykamp on 12/06/06 This soup was an awesome surprise. Imagine, a mushroom soup with no cream that is absolutely to die for! And so easy too. I topped mine with home-made garlic roasted croutons and fresh grated parmesan. Can't wait to try this with Portobellas and beef broth. YUM-O! akalish from New York, NY on 10/30/06 This recipe is amazing, but a few changes are imperative. I used portobello mushrooms because I had them on hand, and I allowed the onions to brown to deepen the flavor (and because I knew the portobellos would darken the soup anyway). I did not bother with the sherry since I didn't have any on hand, nor the parsley because my chicken broth was already quite flavorful. I used a hand blender to make the process a bit easier, and allow it to cool so I could de-fat it the next day since my guests prefer lighter foods. Most importantly(!!!), I finished the soup with a few drops of black truffle oil, which was pungently delicious. I also took a baguette, sliced it and topped each slice with some freshly grated parmesean. I melted them in the oven, inevitably making frico alongside the croutons, until the bread was nice and crusty. I put a crouton in each soup (serving as a garnish) and served a plate of extra croutons and frico on the table alongside the soup. The black truffle oil and the parmesean-croutons MADE this soup. It was phenomenal. This is at the top of my list for my next dinner party. Delicious! And FYI: when I say crouton, I do mean baguette slices, not cubes--more like crostini but without brushing them with oil and baking them first. A Cook from Palo Alto, CA on 10/27/06 wonderful flavor! I doubled the recipe and added one half ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and added the strained mushroom liquid to the broth. I was very glad I doubled the recipe! malby from NYC on 01/16/06 Made this for my second Christmas in a row--guests actually requested it before RSVPing! We loved it again, and I played with it this year by picking up a dried wild mushroom stir-fry mix. Re-moistened the mushrooms as the package instructed and used the reserved water in addition to the chicken stock. Wow! Adina A from Philadelphia, PA on 11/13/05 A very simple yet elegant and complex soup. One way to make it even easier to make is to put the mushrooms and onions in the cuisinart before you fry them. That way you don't have to whiz them after the sou...See MoreLow stress, healthy dinner for two
Comments (22)Pollo Ezechiele (Ezekiel's Chicken) from "Cucina Ebraica - Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen" by Joyce Goldstein Serves 4 1 small fryer chicken, 2 1/2 to 3 lbs., cut into serving pieces Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 TBLSP olive oil 1/3 cup pitted Mediterranean-style black olives, coarsely chopped 3 cloves garlic 1 TBLSP chopped fresh sage 1 TBLSP chopped fresh rosemary 1 TBLSP chopped fresh basil (extra fresh herbs to garnish, optional) 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped 1/2 cup dry red wine Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and saute until golden on all sides. Add the olives, garlic, herbs, and tomatoes. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook, until the chicken is tender, about 25 minutes. Uncover the pan and add the red wine. Raise the heat to high and cook rapidly to reduce the pan juices. Adjust the seasonings. Transfer to a warmed platter and sprinkle with more fresh herbs, if desired. Serve at once. Can add a sliced onion to the initial saute and sub tomato paste instead of tomatoes. OK, that's Joyce's recipe. Here's how I adapt it for my budget and slow cooker. Do the saute part to brown the chicken, onion and garlic. Then transfer to the crockpot and add a can of whole tomatoes, chopped, and the olives and herbs. I use dried herbs, subbing 1 tsp. dried for 1 TBLSP fresh. Cook in the crockpot on low for 4 hours. When the chicken is done, take it out and transfer it to a serving dish. Dump the juices into a saute pan, add the wine and reduce/thicken the sauce. Can add a cornstarch slurry and some tomato paste to make the sauce even richer, and freshen with additional herbs if necessary. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with fresh or frozen chopped parsley. The key is to brown the chicken before putting it in the crockpot, to use smaller pieces, (some folks only do thighs, which supposedly turn out best in the crockpot, but I think all the parts are OK if you don't overcook and don't use boneless and don't use huge pieces.) For dessert I may just serve my warmed up applesauce with yogurt and toasted almonds in the cut glass cups, I have done that before. Or I may use my homeade strawberry or strawberry rhubarb sauce over angelfood cake, store bought. I have served the applesauce dessert before to good effect. That is one big plus to canning, you can pull out homeade stuff at the last minute. I'd like to do something with those apricots, but this is why the dang things have been sitting in the fridge in brandy for almost a year! I just never get around to messing with them! We'll see how it goes. As Jessy said, I may get tired and want to take the easiest possible route. Back in the day when I had more free time, I always enjoyed making something kind of fancy when I had folks over for dinner, stuff single-me would never bother fussing with by myself. Especially desserts--I'd make pies, cakes or cobblers, or one of my favorites--blackberry shortbread! Oh well, like you all said, the most important thing is the guests/company, fussing over the food should not be the main focus of a get together! But I would still like it to be homey. The best dinner parties I've been to have been the ones where the food was not fussy, but still delicious, not too many dishes and overdone. The hosts could serve it in a relaxed manner. I think I have not yet quite mastered that art. Alexa sure managed that art at our little get-together! My aunt, who is in her mid 80's has always managed to do that, pull incredibly delicious stuff out of her kitchen with mysteriously little fanfare. But I know she has a lifetime of little tricks up her sleeve! Just her little special touches and recipes. A lot of it is her knowledge of quality ingredients, and how she always has a little something going in the kitchen, so that when the final dish comes out we don't notice that the process took two days of manging the various parts bit by bit. I get so tired of restaurant or pre-made stuff from the store. Not that it isn't nice, but there's just something about it. It isn't the same as homeade, even a homeade tuna fish sandwich carries that special something. I'm trying to focus these days on simple, simple yet homeade foods. It makes a huge difference to me not to be eating out. I can't totally describe the effect, it's just something a bit spiritual I think....See MoreNeed ideas for healthy pack-able lunches......
Comments (11)One very very basic simple suggestion is to fill up a portion side container of frozen mixed veggies (you know the ones in the freezer cabinet with lima beans, corn, carrots, green beans.) Top off with a couple pats of butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. This used to be my goto lunch when I barely had a minute to fix something to take to lunch. Easy to get a bag of frozen veggies and bag of frozen parmesan in the freezer for days like this. Also, glad to have a chance to post this recipe for a Lentil Mediterranean salad. Almost wish I wasn't now retired as I would think fixing a bunch on the weekend would work with leftovers for lunches during the weekday. I've included a lot of the comments, some of which had ideas for substitutions that I thought I might want to try. I already LOVE lentils (and so does DH). Not sure if those who don't like lentils would find this good but then this might be a good way to find out if you still don't like Lentils even if it is a recipe that comes highly recommended. There were a whole lot more comments that were all positive - only some included here: from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Mediterranean-Couscous-and-Lentil-Salad-13106 Mediterranean Couscous and Lentil Salad Gourmet : September 1995 Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time. Yield: Serves 6 ingredients 1 cup lentilles du Puy* (French green lentils) or brown lentils 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar 1 1/4 cups water 1 cup couscous 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin) 1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves 1 bunch arugula, stems discarded and leaves washed well, spun dry, and chopped 2 cups vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 pound feta, crumbled (about 1 cup) *available at specialty foods shops and some supermarkets preparation In a small saucepan simmer lentils in water to cover by 2 inches until tender but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes, and drain well. Transfer hot lentils to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cool lentils completely, stirring occasionally. In a saucepan bring water to a boil and add couscous and salt. Remove pan from heat and let couscous stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and cool completely, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl whisk together garlic paste, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir lentils and dressing into couscous. Chill salad, covered, at least 3 hours and up to 24. Just before serving, stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. reviews 11/29/09 jennaren from Alberta, Canada I usually use spinach and basil for this recipe, because my husband has a real aversion to mint. It's great with the variation, really clean flavours. However, last time I made it with mint and arugula exactly as written - even my husband loved it. The pungency of the arugula and the earthiness of the mint really bring the salad together. Great dish every time. 09/26/09 peeblesl from Austin, TX Oh man, how is this so delicious? Even my boyfriend had four helpings, and he hates lentils more than anyone I've ever met! I definitely recommend the French green lentils - they hold their shape so nicely and don't tend to go all mushy on you. Will me making this for lunch this week and maybe next week too. 09/25/09 A Cook from Toronto, ON This is my go to lunch now -- it's absolutely delicious, but after making this a few times, I recommend the following adjustments: 1. I agree with other reviewers: definitely double the dressing. 2. I use quinoa instead of couscous. Much healthier, and the texture works better in this. 2. Omit the cheese; replace the mint with cilantro (I'm not a huge fan of mint and I don't eat much dairy, but cilantro is lovely here). 3. Omit the arugula and tomatoes. Instead, I throw in chopped green onions, chopped cucumber and chopped red pepper. I think it's nicer than with the greens, and the big batch keeps in the fridge better (one batch will last me most of a week). Delish, delish delish. 08/23/09 momesty from San Francisco Bay Area Made this for a picnic at a winery. The combination of flavors was excellent and everyone enjoyed this salad. Used small red lentils because that was all there was at home, but would recommend using regular lentils next time. 08/15/09 lucindah This was excellent, a good combination of flavors. The more mint and arugula the better. And healthy too! 08/10/09 A Cook from Cleveland, Oh Made this for the first time and was very pleased. It's a wonderful dish for a summer evening. I used brown lentils and they took much less than 15- 20 minutes to cook, I checked them after 12 minutes and they were already too mushy. The texture and appearance of the salad is better if the lentils are not mashed. 07/06/09 A Cook from Washington, DC I have made this salad many times over the years - it has so many wonderful flavors and textures and is so healthy. I took a previous reviewer's suggestion of using Trader Joe's "Harvest Grains Mix" in place of the lentils and couscous and really liked that variation. 06/14/09 hungrypeanut Cannot go wrong with this recipe. Used ISRAELI COUSCOUS which made for a much more beautiful presentation with the lentils. 05/19/09 A Cook from Mountain View, CA I've made this salad several times, usually as a side dish to chicken kebobs and Greek yogurt sauce. One substitute I like to make is replacing the lentils and couscous with the "Harvest Grains Mix" sold by Trader Joe's. This nutty mix contains the larger Israeli couscous, quinoa, red and green orzo, and split-dried garbanzo beans - a great combination! 04/23/09 radariii from UK made the recipe exactly as stated except double the garlic and it was a big hit. I got a few suggestions to perhaps add a bit of lemon, some olives, and maybe some cucumber for a little more crunch 02/26/09 kgrim from New York This recipe is just fantastic. Great combination of flavors. I followed the suggestion of several other reviewers and doubled the dressing, which turned out to be just the right amount. This is a wonderful alternative to the traditional side salad and a great choice for a potluck. 02/22/09 avbrown I thought this was great. I made it exactly as written. The only change I will make next time is to leave out the feta all together. I love feta but it didn't enhance this dish in my opinion and would be better left out. I am not a vegetarian and actually served this with grilled steak (gasp, I know). Loved the arugula and mint. Nice and healthy. 02/11/09 A Cook from Charlotte NC Great dish! Alot of flavor and really nice combination of ingredients. I fluff the cous cous after it sits with my hands rubbed with olive oil. It seperates it nicely and keeps it seperated. I used about 4 med. cloves of garlic and it could have taken more but was fine with that amount. The arugula MAKES it and is a great vegan dish if you eliminate the feta and add more tomatoes and cucumbers. I might try olives next time as well. I also added slivered scallions and cilantro as I didn't have mint. I couldn't really taste the cilantro (surprisingly). Makes enough for 8-10 generous servings and them some...but the leftovers will rock tomorrow! Cant' wait! YUM! 01/05/09 marcellene from Beaufort, SC If you need a good vegetarian lunch option, this is an excellent choice. I made it ahead and then followed the other reviewer's advice about adding the tomatoes and arugula right before serving. I also added a little extra olive oil and vinegar before eating. 08/26/08 tttterri from Wauwatosa WI I really love this salad. I made it exactly as directed except I added seeded cucumber and deleted the cheese. Impressed with how well it keeps over several days. I'm taking it to work for lunch and the only thing I've done to accomodate the salad is to slice and add the cherry tomatoes each morning when I package it. I highly recommend this salad. I'm very glad I found this recipe and all the great reviews. 08/25/08 tree1456 from Alameda, CA Wonderful salad! I added a bit more olive oil as it seemed a bit dry when I was ready to serve - try to find fresh, peppery arugula - it really makes the dish! MAde this with lamb kebobs and everyone loved it. 07/22/08 A Cook from Long Island This salad was delicious! People have made some suggestions about adding more dressing or veggies, but I thought the original recipe worked just fine...I could be wrong, but it seems that the dressing was meant to just give flavor to the bland lentils and couscous, and I don't care for food swimming in dressing. Obviously an easy salad to adapt to your liking though. Great for a summer side with anything grilled. 06/17/08 mish_lc I really enjoyed this recipe but would make a few changes next time. As others said, I doubled the dressing which worked out perfectly. I would add cucumbers or more tomatoes as well as using only 3/4 cup couscous or substituting quinoa. Otherwise it was a delicious blend of flavors, healthy and easy to make. 04/29/08 A Cook from Westport, CT This salad is beautiful and delicious. I used the food processor to chop the arugula (I used half a bag of prepped arugula salad.) Couldn't find mint, so I used about six stems of basil leaves; also chopped that in the food processor. It resembles taboule; I will try it with mint next time. Loved the suggestion of using precooked lentils from Trader Joes. I also needed to double the dressing. 04/09/08 taniquaa from San Diego, CA I made this dish on Easter for 24 family members. I added cucumber and increased the tomatoes a bit for more color. This recipe got so many compliments at the table, from the picky kids to my 90-year-old grandmother. Everyone asked to take leftovers home and for the recipe. Healthy, light, and delicious! I absolutely recommend this recipe. 03/19/08 A Cook from San Francisco I used Israeli couscous, which mixed with the lentils, were tasty and satisfying. 03/14/08 chungclan from Cincinnati OH Really delicious, but more labor intensive than I expected, with cooking couscous and lentils separately, and a fair amount of chopping to do. Will definitely make again. 10/16/07 A Cook from NY My family and guests could not stop eating this...really delicious. Used frisee instead of arugula and it was very good. 09/17/07 A Cook from Ventura, CA This is really tasty - addictive. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of using whole wheat couscous. Also delicious leftover. 07/31/07 erflores This was really good. I used quinoa instead of cous cous to add more protein and I also added cucumber to give it more of a crunch. It turned out well but I agree with the other reviews that it needed more dressing so I doubled the dressing myself. My husband loved it and more importantly I loved it too since I'm always looking for easy, healthy, filling meals. It's a keeper! 07/01/07 stravis2 from Tampa, FL My husband loved this so much, he asked me to make it again the next day. I obliged, but made some changes to the recipe based on the outcome as written. I used red, green, and brown lentils (no big difference). I doubled the Israeli couscous and the sauce (it seemed a little dry the first time, but nice and moist the second - big difference). I subbed spinach for arugula as someone else suggested. I used grape tomatoes and a French feta. The French feta I purchased at a Mediterranean market and boy, is it tasty! 03/21/07 hikergirl31 from longwood, FL. WOW! I spent two years in Israel and gained 15 pounds from the food. This dish brought me back to the delicious land. The fresh mint, and arugula really made it super fresh tasting. This dish says it serves 6 but i brought it to a party and it was enough for 20 with leftovers... Everyone loved it. 02/17/07 andynbron I've been making this since the recipe appeared in 1995. It is a great recipe, and it is so refreshing! I usually make this exactly as written, except I substitute spinach for the arugula. However, like others have suggested, you can substitute basil for mint (I prefer the mint and spinach combination). You can also substitute fresh mozzarella for the feta cheese--I used to do that because I didn't like feta, but now I love it so I only use feta cheese in the recipe. But the mozzarella adds a nice, very subtle flavor to the salad for those who would not eat feta cheese. This is definitely one of my favorite recipes, and anytime I make it people finish it quickly and always ask for the recipe! 02/04/07 A Cook from New York, NY This recipe is excellent. Get French lentils if you can; it makes a huge difference. I used a little less feta cheese than the recipe called for. Goes really well with herb roasted pork tenderloin. 01/21/07 A Cook from Los Angeles, CA This recipe is so delicious and easy to make!! If possible, use the French green lentils as brown lentils tend to fall apart. Green lentils keep their firmness and work better in this dish. I cooked the couscous in vegetable broth to give it more flavor and sometimes add diced and seeded persian cucumbers. This salad is great to take to parties or bring to work for lunch because it keeps for a couple days and the arugula doesn't get soggy. 08/29/06 missperkin from Scottsdale Superb. Great on a hot summer day since there is little cooking on the stove involved. The mint is a must, in my opinion. Epicurious.com © Condé Nast Digital, Inc. All rights reserved....See Morenancyjane_gardener
6 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agonancyjane_gardener
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