Curry in a Hurry

I love cooking half homemade meals. One of my favorite weeknight go-to is curry! I simply buy a premix, vegetarian bag and add fresh ingredients then serve over rice. Here's the brand I prefer:

 

 

 

You should start by sautéing vegetables on low heat, like eggplant, onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, etc. in olive oil and spices like garlic salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, essence, parsley, etc. While that is cooking, boil water for your rice. Once they are all complete, mix it all together and enjoy!

 

 

 

Seriously, in less than ten minutes you can have all of this cooked! t was delicious and nutritious. 

Cheat Meals are the BEST Meals

I like to eat healthy as much as the next person, but I love a good cheat meal. If you're hung over, it is just that much more enjoyable. My go-to-favorite bad meal is alfredo. Here's how I make it:

1. Boil a bag of cheese stuffed tortellini  (typically 6-8 minutes). I add garlic salt and olive oil to my water.
2. While tortellini is cooking, I chop very finely (in this order), half an onion, two bell peppers and 1 tomato.
3. I sauté my onions and bell pepper in one heaping spoonful of butter for 3 minutes on low.
4. Then I add my tomato and one tablespoon of minced garlic and continue to cook on low for one more minute.
5. Lastly, I add 1/2 a small container of cream cheese and 1/2 a small container of sour cream. I cook on low/medium low till everything is melted and liquidated; roughly 2 minutes.
6. I strain my noodles and add them to the sauce and top with 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, crushed black pepper and blackening seasoning.

All in all, this meal probably takes 30 minutes and $20. It is DELICIOUS. It pairs great with chicken, shrimp, bread and wine. It is also very yummy reheated. I've made this with multiple types of noodles and have even frozen/reheated it before.

Be bad and be good at it:)  

Remake of the Starbucks Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Panini

When I'm in a rush and need a sandwich, I love Starbucks Roasted Tomato and Mozzarella Panini. But, I've often thought this could be SO much better. So, I remade it into an Eggplant, Tomato, Spinach, Mozzarella, Pesto Panini. Here's what mine looked like:

It was delicious! Here is the materials you need to make it:

• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Spatula
• Frying Pan
• Plate
• Napkins

Here's the ingredients that you will need:

• Spinach
• Eggplant
• Tomato
• Mozzarella
• Pesto Sauce
• Panini Bread
• Non-stick Cooking Spray
• Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Let's get cooking! (Takes roughly 15 minutes):

1. Thinly slice your eggplant into 1/4 or smaller pieces. You will use roughly 4-6 pieces per sandwich.
2. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium.
3. Add your 4-6 pieces of eggplant (or how many will fit). I sprinkle Cayenne Pepper on mine to make it a little spicy. Just add a few sprinkles to each piece, because Cayenne is really spicy.
4. After a few minutes, check the underneath to see if it is browning. Once browning, flip and cook the other side.
   
5. While your eggplant is cooking, go ahead and slice your Panini in half to prep for layering.
6. Smear Pesto Sauce on both sides of your Panini bread.
7. Your eggplant should be cooked by now, I dry some of the oil out by letting it dry on a plate covered with paper napkins.
8. In the same skillet, add 1/4 inch cuts of your tomato. You will want roughly 3-4 slices per sandwich. This takes a lot less time to grill. Grill for roughly 60-90 seconds on each side.
   
9. While your tomato is cooking, go ahead and slice your Mozzarella cheese (if you bought a block).
10. Now that everything is cooked and cut, let's layer your sandwich. You've already added the Pesto Sauce, so now add fresh spinach to one side and your tomato on the other.
    
11. Next, add your mozzarella cheese to one side and eggplant slices to the other. Make it as cheesy as you want:)
    
12. Last, fold the sandwich together and toss it back in the skillet to melt the cheese. I cook mine on Medium-Low. Be sure to watch it so that it doesn't burn, but allows the cheese to melt. Roughly 90 seconds on each side.

Enjoy!!!

Shaking Things Up

I've always been told that in order to blog properly you need to have a focus. This blog has been like me: all over the place. I've decided to dedicate this blog completely to recipes and food. 

I've had a tough time finding recipes that fit my pescatarian diet so I decided to create a blog for others like me. In this blog, I plan to write ways to add meat to these meals, because my boyfriend is definitely not a pescatarian. And, I'm sure you're friends aren't all pescatariants either.

For those of  you that don't know what a pescatarian is:  Pescatarian = Vegetarian + Seafood. Not to be confused with the religion, "Presbyterian".

I became a pescatarian in April 2008. The reason I chose to be pescatarian vs. vegetarian is because I grew up on the sea and absolutely love seafood. There is no way that I could give it up or cheese. Plus, my dad is a boat captain. I could NEVER give up free seafood caught by my old man.

I became a pescatarian after reading the book "Skinny Bitch" in college. This book changed my views on food, health and animal rights; which immediately changed my palate.

Even if you're not into the pescatarian diet, I hope you enjoy this blog and find some yummy, new recipes.

My other blog is dedicated to inspiring myself and others. To follow it, please visit: http://marissadeslatte.wordpress.com/

I plan to post at least once a week to both. Enjoy!

VegOut! Challenge

For this challenge, I have 30 days to eat 30 different vegetables, but I don't think it will take me that long! Today is day 5 of the VegOut! Challenge and I've already had 12 different vegetables. Here's what I've had so far:

I started on Saturday, March 1st with a  healthy breakfast. One fried egg over easy topped with salsa and served with avocado (Veggie #1) and grilled Tomatoes (Veggie #2) and White Onions (Veggie #3).

I went to Mardi Gras the rest of the weekend so didn't worry about the VegOut! Challenge. On Monday, I was back at it:

For lunch on March 3, I made Okra Stew served over rice. In it I pan cooked Okra (Veggie #4), Chives (Veggie #5), Celery (Veggie #6), Green Bell Peppers (Veggie #7), Garlic (Veggie # 8), Eggplant (Veggie #9) and a few other vegetables that I've already counted like White Onion and canned Tomatoes.

For a snack that afternoon, I had more vegetables!

I love eating vegetables with either ranch, peanut butter or hummus. On Monday, I added Cucumbers (Veggie #10) to my veggie log.

For dinner on Tuesday, March 4, I made one of our favorite meals:

This is wasabi and soy marinated tuna steaks, cooked with tomatoes and onions and topped with avocado. For sides, we had wasabi and soy mashed Russet Potatoes (Veggie #11) and fish sauce Brussels Sprouts (Veggie #12).

All in all, this VegOut! Challenge has been fairly easy. It has challenged me to be more creative and more complex. I'm a very simple cook, meaning I can make a meal with anything I find in my kitchen. This has caused me to add more ingredients to normal meals and grocery shop more frequently.

So far, I've been sticking with the veggies that I know and love. But, I can't wait to add a few new vegetables that I don't cook or eat very often like: Bean Sprouts, Cabbage, Edamame, Daikon, Mustard Greens, Kale, Turnips and more!

Making a Brunch of Mistakes

If I'm going to eat bad, I usually like to do it early in the morning. Think breakfast tacos, migas, mimosas, etc. This weekend, my family got together to celebrate my deceased aunt's birthday. I told the family I wanted to make everyone brunch. It turned out amazing! Here's what we had:

First, I preheated the oven to 350. I sliced two whole tomatoes and put them in the oven to roast. Next, I halfed all of the English muffins and placed them in the oven too. Keep an eye on the bread so that it does not burn.

While those cooked, I made the home made crab cakes (with fresh crab meat from Louisiana!). All I did was mix the following:

• 1 lb of Crab (Claw Meat)
• 1 bunch of chives/green onions
• 1/2 White Onion
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
• 2 Eggs
• A few dabs Tobasco Sauce
• 2 dabs Worcestshire Sauce
• Tony's
• Black Pepper

I mixed it all together then formed patties and rolled them in Italian bread crumbs. I heated a skillet to medium high with canola oil layering it. Then I cooked the patties on medium-low till they were golden brown (approx. 4-6 minutes on each side).

After the patties were all down in the skillet, I removed the English muffins and began plating. I put two halves, face up on each plate. I diced 1.5 avocados and added avocado slices to all 6 plates on the smaller half of the English muffin.

I then took the tomatoes out of the oven and added them to the other half of the English muffin (the larger half).

While my crab cakes were finishing up, I started frying eggs. (If your crab cakes are already done, just turn the skillet off so that they stay warm, but don't over cook.)

I sprayed pam on another, large skillet and heated it to medium high. I cooked three eggs at once. Once they turned white, I turned off the skillet and flipped them to let them finish cooking. Be careful not to bust the yolk.

Plate the crab cake on top of the tomatoes and then add your fried egg. It's best served with a knife, fork and mimosa! I served these three and quickly fried up three more eggs for the remaining plates. This recipe made enough for six and had two crab cakes left over that did not last long!

Everyone loved it and I hope that you do too!:)

Post Holiday Diet

I'm Southern aka my family cooks great and I like to eat. I ALWAYS gain weight during the holidays and I'm okay with that, but I'm ready to be 'normal-sized' again. Exactly one week ago today my boyfriend and I started dieting. We're focusing on low-calories, smarter choices and working out. Proud to announce it's working! I've lost 5lbs in one week. I realize this is a lot, but this is pretty normal for my post-holiday self. I'm excited to keep going and hopefully continue to lose 1lb a week. Here's some menu samples of what I've been eating the past week:

BREAKFAST

• Bakery Bread Piece of Toast with Almond Butter and Bananas
• Plain, Non-fat Greek Yogurt with Strawberries
• 1 Tortilla with 1 Cup of Chopped Bell Peppers and 6 Tbsps of Egg Whites, Topped with 1/4 Cup of Cheese and Tobasco
• Strawberries
• Banana

LUNCH

• Grilled Tilapia Salad with Corn/Beans
• Stuffed Poblano Peppers
• Avocado, Tomato, Mustard and Salmon Sandwich

DINNER

• Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp, Broccolli and Rotel
• Grilled Tilapia Salad
• Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce

SNACKS

• Bananas
• Bananas with Almond Butter
• Strawberries
• Celery and Almond Butter
• Celery and Hummus
• Cucumbers and Hummus
• Almonds

Leave a comment if you're interested in any of the recipes. Everything has been home-made. We cooked on Sunday for all week. It made dieting super easy, because you didn't have to put any thought into your meals all week. We've been tracking our calories with the application MyFitnessPal It has a barcode scanner and remembers recent meals, which makes updating super simple.

Hope your New Year's Resolutions are going great, as well!

Spaghetti Squash

If you're like me, you've heard of spaghetti squash, but have no real clue as to what it is, how to cook it or what it taste like. Well, since I'm not eating pasta for dinners (or really lunch either), I decided to give it a try. First, I researched what is spaghetti squash. Foolishly, I thought it was regular, yellow-squash that people somehow carved with a fork to make noodle-looking shapes. Wrong.

Spaghetti squash it's a type of squash, much larger than normal squash. Think the size of a cantaloupe or small watermelon. It is yellow and oblong. I purchased mine at HEB. There are several ways to cook it, but I cooked it by cutting it in half, length wise. (Okay, okay, my boyfriend cut it for me because this is a BIG boy!) Next, I scrapped all the goop out of there. Originally, I thought you were supposed to eat this goop, but after some trial and error and more reading, I found out it's not even the good stuff! Which, I was very thankful to read since it barely had anything in it and I thought I paid money for 1/5 cup of fake noodles!

Anyway, after you remove the strings and seeds. Place the two halves, open side up in the oven and bake at 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove it, let it cool and then begin using your fork to scrape the edges width wide. (You can do it length wise, but your noodles will be pieces vs. longer 4 inch-ish strands.). Here's what mine looked like when I started scraping it:

 

 

 After I scraped out approximately 4cups, I baked them for about 15-20 minute longer with olive oil on it. They were delicious in my shrimp spaghetti (rotel, shrimp, onion and broccoli mixture). Here's my final dinner:

 

 

 

1 cup of spaghetti squash + 1 cup of my shrimp spaghetti made a delicious and filling meal for only 292 calories! You cannot beat that. Enjoy:) 



DIY Holiday Hit

I just returned to Texas from Vermont last night. We visited my boyfriend's family for Christmas and was able to stay a full week with them. Since I was on vacation, I spent little time on the computer aka no blogging. Now that I'm home and slowly getting back in to my routine I wanted to share this awesome holiday party hit!  I'm a big fan of DIY, but don't always think the projects are worth the time. If they don't seem time consuming, then often I think they look cheap; or, my favorite, they're a total flop! You know, the Martha Stewart expert project that looks like a 1st grader did it. Well, here's a quick (under 30 minutes) project that my boyfriend's parents did and EVERYONE loved:

 

These cute little penguins were made with only three ingedients:

• Black Olives (One Can or Small Jar)
• Cream Cheese (One Small Container or Package)
• Carrots (One Carrot)

You will also need toothpicks (less than 30). All they did was split two black olives and stuff one with the cream cheese and the other with the carrot nose. Here's step by step instructions with more pointers:

1. They assembled the carrot feet on the toothpick first by cutting circles then removing one pie slice. (Read step three prior to discarding removed pie slice).
2. Next, they added the cream cheese stuffed black olive.
3. Last, they added the carrot stuffed black olive. This carrot nose was the pie piece they removed from the circle in the first step.

Thought I'd share this fun and easy DIY holiday hit that is both easy to make and quite tasty. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!