Private Cooking Lesson with Linda Johnson

I go to Linda's house once a month to teach, however she is already a great cook so I don't know that I'm teaching her all that much anymore, but I love seeing her.  She is working on a cookbook for the quilt guild and is always involved in community service projects.  She is a really neat woman. Saturday's Menu:  Albondigas Locas Soup (Crazy Meatballs), Pecan Crusted Oven Fried Chicken, Blueberry Muffins We had a great time making these dishes.  There were so many vegetables in the meatball soup I wasn't sure if Linda's husband would like it, but he thought it was great and so did Linda.  The recipes for the soup...

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Open Face Mexican Omelet

If you wake up hungry for a big omelet filled with lots of flavor you'll enjoy this recipe.  It looks like a huge amount of food but only has 310 calories.  Since I've been more active, exercising daily, weight lifting, dog walking, etc. I work up a big appetite and there are times when I want a large portion of food. I have a book called, The Volumetrics Eating Plan, which shows pictures of food side by side where one is a typical 300 calorie meal, say a small regular omelet filled with meat and cheese next to a huge omelet filled with some meat and lots of vegetables.  There's something to be said for getting that big plate of...

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Top 5 Lunches

A typical lunch salad, "taco style" with beans, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, tortillas chips, low fat cheese On February 5th I wrote about my top 5 breakfasts, so I thought I should also write about my top 5 lunches.  I take my lunch to work nearly every day.  I work in a federal prison so going out to lunch is not very convenient.  Part of my job requires me to stand in the inmate dining hall at lunch time to be available to the inmates for their questions and requests so "standing mainline" as it is called, takes up around 45 minutes from 11:15-12:00, roughly.  I have lunch at a table in my office or sometimes in my...

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Spicy Tuna Chirashi-zushi or Deconstructed Spicy Tuna Roll

I love spicy tuna rolls but I didn't feel like making them for a pot luck at the Fort Worth Japanese Society.  I had a thought about making them in the form of tossed sushi and calling it "Spicy Tuna Chirashi-zushi".  When I goggled it, sure enough it was already done by someone else.  There are, after all, very few original ideas left.  No problem, I had my own version in mind and that is what I made.  This makes a very large amount, enough for 10-12 servings, so reduce it in half or even make a smaller amount and make 2 bowls, 1 portion each. I picked up a pound piece of big eye tuna, sushi grade, at Central Market. ...

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What's for lunch?

Spinach salad is a nice change from my usual red leaf lettuce and mesclun or field green salads. I always have washed baby spinach or a bag of spinach from Oak Hills Farm, which is triple washed and ready to eat.  Now and then I make a half dozen hard boiled eggs and keep them on hand for snacks, breakfast, or a salad.  I got the idea for this spinach salad from a blog called "Lynn's Weigh".  She once weighed over 300 pounds and lost 168 pounds.  Better yet, she's kept if off since 2007!  She eats a lot of salads for meals and I tried some of her toppings with this salad.  I also used my light balasamic vinaigrette...

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250 Calorie Breakfast Taco

I love breakfast burritos and tacos but they can be a caloric nightmare with sausage, cheese, eggs, and a big tortilla.  I quickly put together a lighter option by using Southwestern Egg Beaters, low calorie cheese, and chicken sausage on a whole wheat tortilla.  It was very filling and tasted great. There are so many heallthier sausages now, some made from chicken, others vegetarian, but all with low or no cholesterol.  The chicken sausage I used was nitrate free as well.  Egg whites can be substituted for egg beaters. Recipe 1/2 cup Southwestern Egg Beaters (or egg whites) 1/2 Applegate Farms chicken apple sausage,...

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Pot Roast

I know pot roast doesn't sound too exciting but once you try this one you will change your mind.I had a big crowd at my house on Sunday and just wanted a simple meal to braise in my Dutch oven while I relaxed.  Chuck roast is my favorite cut for pot roast and this reicpe, adapted from one I saw Anne Burrell make on Food Network.  Any other pot roast I've made seem bland and uninteresting after this one.  It was so sad that there were no leftovers!Pot Roast1 T grapeseed oil4 pound chuck roast, cut into 4 large pieces3 ribs celery, sliced2 onions, sliced1 pinch crushed red pepper3 cloves garlic, chopped1/2 cup tomato paste1/2...

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Chocolate Truffle Cake with Ganache and Chantilly Cream

For Valentine's Day I wanted to make my family a chocolate "gift" instead of buying boxes of storebought chocolate.  Everyone was coming for dinner tonight so I made a chocolate truffle cake.  This is a very rich cake so a little piece is all you need.  If you're going to eat chocolate you might as well eat some really good chocolate and enjoy every bite. The very small sliver of cake I had was rich and velvety and I savored it.  My husband, on the other hand, ate 2 large pieces and said it was better than chocolate desserts he's had in fancy restaurants.  I take that as a great compliment since we've eaten in some...

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Unbelievably Good Blueberry muffins

No exaggeration, I thought these blueberry muffins were unbelievably good!  The recipe is a bit different from the usual muffin recipe but the end result tastes just as good to me and the muffins were huge and have under 200 calories.  You can easily double that with a bakery muffin the same size.  They also freeze well and can be heated briefly in the microwave for breakfast. Blueberry Muffins 3/4 cup Organic Turbinado raw cane sugar 1/2 cup Organic Brown Rice Syrup (or substitute with the cane sugar if you can't get this ingredient) 3 T Smart Balance or Earth Balance butter 3 egg whites 3 T Fage 2% or 0% Greek yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 1...

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Brown Rice and Vegetable Saute

I really like brown rice but if you don't make it right it is really awful.  I usually make a whole bag of it, measure out 1/2 cup portions and freeze it.  My favorite method for cooking brown rice is kind of strange but produces perfect rice every time.  I use an 8 quart pot, fill it 2/3 of the way with water and bring the water to a boil.  I rinse the brown rice, usually Lundberg's short grain organic brown rice or brown rice from the bulk section at Central Market, anywhere from 2 cups to a whole bag (1 pound).  I simmer the rice uncovered, just like you would cook pasta, for about 30 minutes.  Check...

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Checking in on 365 Days of Healthy Eating

 Artisan Baking Company Muligrain Bread, toasted with organic chunky peanut butter, sliced banana and a light spread of honey It's been a month and a few days since I pledged to take charge of my eating and use my culinary talent to cook and eat healthier to get my weight off once and for all.  I am down 6 pounds and counting! I have managed to post nearly every day, although I took the last couple days off to work on taxes and to help my son move, but I was still cooking and taking photos of food I prepared.  Today I wanted to share my top 5 breakfasts.  With the exception of the first two, where I explain how...

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Fish Tacos

I picked up some really nice red snapper on Monday at Central Market and planned to make fish tacos. I rushed in the door from my weight training with Sandra Kidd and put the snapper on a piece of foil, sprayed with olive oil, made a quick spice rub and sprinkled it on the fish.  While the fish was baking I made a "Baja sauce" in my small food processor I keep on the counter, ready to go.  I had a bowl of lettuce in the crisper already washed and dried so I shredded it and washed a cut a few grape tomatoes. When the fish was ready I heated a skillet and sprayed it with olive oil spray, warmed a few corn tortillas,...

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