With the weather being so cold out (below 50 degrees is cold for me!) I am not motivated to work on any projects or furniture redos. Food is on my mind! While I don't cook, I will admit I've been thinking about stepping up my game. Let's be clear, I haven't acted on that thought yet but I did think it... at least once.
Anyway, I am more than happy to pick out new dishes for us to try via my Health and Cooking Light Magazines I get once a month. I enjoy getting excited about food. I honestly think it helps keep me on track health wise. When I have a meal to go home to that I'm excited about, I find myself not snacking or yearning for anything other than the meal we've planned. And once we've eaten, I am completely satisfied.
For this week I thought we'd concentrate on one subject, food. I am titling it A Week In Peaches Pantry. This is a real live version of food we are going to be having this week. There are going to be photos, recipes, and of course opinions. Hopefully through us sharing these with you you'll be inspired to try something new. One thing you should know about us, we will try any food at least once.
In having this kind of attitude I find we expand our tastes and knowledge and usually end up being very surprised at how much we like such odd combinations (oranges and nutella spread with sea salt for example... stay tuned, that's coming up later this week).
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Peaches Pantry - Breakfast Smoothie
To kick things off I'll start by telling you about the breakfast smoothie I get up and drink EVERY MORNING! This is the best smoothie I've ever had. I never get tired of it and actually find myself craving it. I have it at 7am each morning. It holds me over until 10:15-10:30 at which point I have mid morning snack (usually fruit: apples or oranges).
I found the original recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it to my liking. What caught my eye was the fact you can make it the night before. Overnight the smoothie actually thickens vs. getting melty and watered down. I've made it both ways (AM & PM). I personally prefer it after it's had time to sit and thicken.
Recipe
1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Oats (75 calories)
Fiber Supplement
1 Single Serving Greek Yogurt (I prefer strawberry) (130 calories, Note there is a "light" version available for 90 calories)
1 Cup Orange Juice (110 calories)
Total calories: 315 - 275 depending on which yogurt you prefer
Instructions
Combine oats and fiber supplement into blender. Blend well to break down the oats into more of a powder.
Add yogurt then orange juice (add the yogurt before the orange juice, otherwise when you dump the yogurt in the organce juice will splash everywhere... yes, I learned that the hard way).
Blend well until all ingredients are combined.
Pour into glass and enjoy immediately or put in the fridge to grab on your way out in the morning.
Even after sitting all night the smoothie does not need to be mixed in the morning. Literally grab and go!
I found the original recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it to my liking. What caught my eye was the fact you can make it the night before. Overnight the smoothie actually thickens vs. getting melty and watered down. I've made it both ways (AM & PM). I personally prefer it after it's had time to sit and thicken.
Recipe
1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Whole Wheat Oats (75 calories)
Fiber Supplement
1 Single Serving Greek Yogurt (I prefer strawberry) (130 calories, Note there is a "light" version available for 90 calories)
1 Cup Orange Juice (110 calories)
Total calories: 315 - 275 depending on which yogurt you prefer
Instructions
Combine oats and fiber supplement into blender. Blend well to break down the oats into more of a powder.
Add yogurt then orange juice (add the yogurt before the orange juice, otherwise when you dump the yogurt in the organce juice will splash everywhere... yes, I learned that the hard way).
Blend well until all ingredients are combined.
Pour into glass and enjoy immediately or put in the fridge to grab on your way out in the morning.
Even after sitting all night the smoothie does not need to be mixed in the morning. Literally grab and go!
Quick Pasta
Today's recipe is a quick pasta, because some nights you don't have much time to cook. By using a prepared pasta sauce (I do prefer homemade, but rarely feel like preparing any sauce before hand) it cuts down on tons of time. Think of this as a blank canvas that you can change up to suit your tastes!
Ingredients:
2-3 sausage links (we use the chicken sausage, but you can use whatever you like)
1/2 box wheat pasta
1/2 Jar of prepared pasta sauce (we prefer the private selection line from Kroger)
Cheese of choice (we left the parmesan at work, so we improvised and use sharp white cheddar this evening)
Directions:
1. Cook sausage according to directions and set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to box directions.
3. Slice sausage.
4. Combine all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Top with your favorite cheese.
Tips:
1. Use a half cup of the pasta water to mix with the sauce. This helps the pasta sauce stick to the noodles.
2. Salt the water liberally before it begins to boil.
3. Cook the pasta, sauce, water, and sausage in the pan together for 2-3 minutes at a low simmer to help all ingredients combine better.
Ingredients:
2-3 sausage links (we use the chicken sausage, but you can use whatever you like)
1/2 box wheat pasta
1/2 Jar of prepared pasta sauce (we prefer the private selection line from Kroger)
Cheese of choice (we left the parmesan at work, so we improvised and use sharp white cheddar this evening)
Directions:
1. Cook sausage according to directions and set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to box directions.
3. Slice sausage.
4. Combine all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Top with your favorite cheese.
Tips:
1. Use a half cup of the pasta water to mix with the sauce. This helps the pasta sauce stick to the noodles.
2. Salt the water liberally before it begins to boil.
3. Cook the pasta, sauce, water, and sausage in the pan together for 2-3 minutes at a low simmer to help all ingredients combine better.
Marinara without the Pasta
I admit that whenever we have marinara sauce, it usually accompanies pasta. Tonight we tried a simple and quick recipe (we have church on Wednesday, so we have less time) with marinara and poached eggs. It seemed odd to combine the two, but the result was fantastic. To cut down on time we used a jar of prepared pasta instead of starting from scratch.
Directions:
1. In a shallow pan, simmer marinara sauce.
2. Add spices to your liking (I prefer a premade italian seasoning mix).
3. Create a well or divot in the marinara big enough for the egg.
4. Simmer, covered, for approximately 6 minutes or desired doneness.
Be careful when cooking! I overcooked the first egg (thankfully it was mine) but hit the second one just right for Lindsey.
Directions:
1. In a shallow pan, simmer marinara sauce.
2. Add spices to your liking (I prefer a premade italian seasoning mix).
3. Create a well or divot in the marinara big enough for the egg.
4. Simmer, covered, for approximately 6 minutes or desired doneness.
Be careful when cooking! I overcooked the first egg (thankfully it was mine) but hit the second one just right for Lindsey.
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