Traveling Tuesdays...Middle East! And Moving...

Cooking environment :)

I'm typing amid boxes this week because we are moving! :) And yet I've managed to get healthy dinners on the table counter every night! It started with a lot of planning and a lot of lists, but I managed to set aside anything and everything needed to cook with--the very minimal of course since it still has to be loaded into a car. One pot, one pan, etc. That sort of stuff. It's been a crazy week, but it's actually been relaxing for the most part and I haven't really been stressed out...which is unusual for me! The packers who came were super nice and super quick finishing before 3:00/4:00pm Tuesday and Wednesday; and today our movers have been super fast and efficient. They even have been serenading us with songs from various artists such as Eminem, Nicki Manaj, and Flo Rida. :) It's been a huge change from the move from San Antonio to here. I'm pleasantly surprised and very happy! :)

So the deal with dinners this week was "how much stuff can I use up from the refrigerator??" And actually I'm rather proud of myself because I'm going to end up throwing out very little. Last year I felt like I threw out hundreds of dollars (not really...) so I was determined not to let that happen this year. For our traveling dinner this week, we went to the Middle East. I made some pretty tasty shish kebabs and here's the recipe!

SHISH KEBABS WITH TAHINI SAUCE
Serves 4

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound or so sirloin steak trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces*
1 1/2 onions, cut into chunks
Tahini Sauce (recipe below)

Added:
~1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (for heat)
2 small bell peppers, cut into chunks

Notes: the original recipe serves 8, so it calls for 2 pounds of sirloin and personally if you are making it for 8, I would double the marinade. 

TAHINI SAUCE

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup tahini*
7 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons water

Notes: You can find tahini in the Middle Eastern section of stores. It's a thick paste made from sesame seeds and smells a little like peanut butter. I accidentally dropped it on the floor and it definitely oozes a bit :) so...don't drop it! My wisdom for you for the day!

The first thing I did was make the marinade, so you combine the garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of canola oil, salt, all spice, cinnamon, and pepper (and of course I added the chili garlic sauce in at this time as well). Whisk it together. I used a fork because I temporarily forgot I had a whisk set aside. It smells really good! I'm beginning to really enjoy cinnamon in recipes.

I then cut up the onions and bell peppers into chunks. I added the bell peppers because I really enjoy their flavor when grilled. I put them into my 8x8 Pyrex dish and set it aside.

Then I started on the meat. I trimmed off the fat (there actually wasn't that much!) and then cut it into 1-inch cubed pieces. I then added it into the Pyrex dish with the onions and bell peppers and poured the marinade all over them. Now in the recipe it says use a gallon sealable bag so that you can easily squish the marinade around with the meat and onions/bell peppers. I didn't do this (because I didn't have them), but it probably wouldn't have hurt as it was kind of tedious to turn everything over with tongs to make sure everything was coated nicely. I covered the dish and set it in the refrigerator for about 2 1/2 hours. I would marinate for 2 hours minimum.

Now it's time to cook! :) Take the meat out and put it equally onto skewers (if your grilling outside, let them soak in water for about 30 minutes so they don't burn!). I used about 5 skewers for the meat. And then I alternated two bell peppers and two onions into 4 other skewers.

I preheated my grill pan and sprayed some Pam on it and once heated got those puppies grillin'! Looks kind of funky, but they were all sizzlin' away! And boy did it smell DELICIOUS!!! Meanwhile, I made the tahini sauce!

To make it, you mash the garlic and salt into a paste in a medium sized bowl using the back of a spoon. You then whisk in the tahini, lemon juice, and water. It surprised me because it turned out pretty pasty. I guess for some reason I thought it'd be more saucy. I added some black pepper for flavor. 

I turned the meat and veggies every once in a while until they were cooked to our liking and then pulled them off the grill pan. Looks tasty, doesn't it?? :)

I made a salad and jasmine rice to go with it (the jasmine rice is by Success and is super easy/quick). I really enjoyed the flavors. It was really great with the tahini sauce too. The calorie count was 314 for the meat with the tahini sauce. A little higher than usual, but worth it!!




I was really happy that I was able to do one last Traveling Tuesdays dinner here in our Kansas house. I can't wait to get to Colorado and start it back up again. It's been so much fun discovering new flavors and new foods that I don't want to stop!! :) I can't wait to share with you updates on our new house and Colorado! Should be more interesting than food...maybe! :) Anyway, this is good bye for now...next stop...COLORADO! Yay! Please pray for us on our travels...we appreciate it!

Here are the recipes:
SHISH KEBABS http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/shish_kebab_with_tahini_sauce.html
TAHINI SAUCE http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tahini_sauce.html

Summer Yumminess!!!!

Alright, so I said previously that I was going to post a really tasty summer recipe. I love recipes that use fruit. In fact, this past fall I made a crazy good dish using apples and pork. Mmmm! For this recipe, however, you use tender peaches and thinly sliced shallots to create a really amazing summery taste sensation! How does that sound?!? Pretty good right? It is. :) And what's the best part about this dish, besides the taste? THE TIME! It's super quick.

SKILLET PORK CHOP SAUTE WITH PEACHES
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 boneless pork loin chops
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme*
2 peaches, sliced into about 8 wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons butter

*Note: I used fresh rosemary and it tasted fantastic! I didn't have thyme on hand. Haha...that kind of sounds funny. I'm a nerd. Moving on!

The first thing I did was prep my ingredients. This always make things go a lot quicker and more smooth if you have everything together. So I took my pork chops out, washed them, patted them dry and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.


 

Sexy shallot

Next, I sliced up my shallots. I used a whole shallot because I love their onion flavor. I sliced up the peaches. I used white peaches only because that's what was available at the small (sometimes understocked) commissary on base. I bought three...ate one...used two for this recipe. It was really tasty and super juicy! Then after slicing my peaches, I chopped up my rosemary; mincing it ever so slightly. I put all of the shallots, peaches, and rosemary into a bowl because they would be added at the same time.

Next, I put the olive oil in the skillet and heated it up on a medium-high heat. I added the pork into the skillet and left it there to brown and form a super yummy crust. It took about 4 minutes on each side or so. Depending on the thickness. It's your call. I always check mine too once they are done with a meat thermometer. You can ask Matt...I will not eat anything if it looks undercooked. One night, the light was hitting the chicken just right to made it look like it was slightly pink (it wasn't I later found out)...but I ate around it. Pushed it around on my plate. Made a few "ewwww" comments. :) The things he puts up with! :) :) :) Anyway!!!

While the pork was cooking, I chopped up veggies for the salad and made some brown rice. I removed the pork once it was done and set it aside in a bowl to accumulate those juices! Then I threw in the rosemary, shallots, and peaches into the skillet and let them cook about 2 minutes or so. You then add the 1/2 cup white wine into the mix. It doesn't have to be fancy wine! This chick used a flavorful boxed wine...of the Vella region. :) Hey, it's what I had. When you stir the wine in though, make sure to scrape up all those yummy brown bits on the bottom! They are flavor fairies!

I love the colors here

Bring the wine to a boil and cook it for about two minutes to reduce the liquid down a bit. Stir in your broth and honey (I whisked the two together beforehand) and bring that to a boil; cooking for about 2 minutes so it's reduced a bit. Then you remove it from the heat and stir in your butter to get the sauce thickened just a little bit and super velvety! I added the pork back into it along with stirring in those juices!!!, just to keep them warm.

Yummmm!!!!

I served it over brown rice and of course...say it with me...a salad! :) The flavors were amazing. It wasn't too sweet at all...I was a little fearful of that. The pork was cooked perfectly. Matt really enjoyed it and even has been enjoying some for lunch since there were left overs. The calorie count, you ask? 235! Not shabby at all. This recipe is definitely going into the "make again" folder in this house! And I hope if you try it out, you'll feel the same!! Here's the link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/skillet-pork-chop-saute-50400000112979/ Until next time!! :)

Traveling Tuesdays...Jamaica!

So this post is random in the fact that we were in England last week and then Jamaica this week...however, there is a method to my madness. It's called cleaning out your cabinets before you move. This recipe literally helped me do that because there was a lot of yummy stuff that went into the marinade!

JAMAICAN SPICED CHICKEN THIGHS (I used breasts!)
Serves 4

Ingredients

1/4 cup red onion*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped, seeded jalapeno*
2 teaspoons cider vinegar*
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs*
Cooking spray

Added:
~1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce
3-4 cloves of garlic

What I did differently:
1. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs, just because I had them.
2. I used a whole big momma of a shallot. It was left over from another recipe (the summer one I will tell you about soon). It's got the same great oniony flavor.
3. I used about 2 fairly large jalapenos. Seeded them and made sure the ribs were out.
4. I used red wine vinegar. Didn't notice any change in flavor and actually saw that you could leave it out.
5. I doubled everything listed above for the most part. The marinade before doubling would not have covered the chicken!!

Let's cook!! First thing I did was get my good 'ol chicken breasts into their little cozy Pyrex. I then whipped up the marinade, combining all ingredients except the chicken (since I'd pour it over the chicken) and the cooking spray. Also including the "added" things listed above.

The marinade in the picture kind of looks gross. But the all spice...mmmmm sooooo good!!! It's a very prominent flavor! Don't skimp on it! It won't hurt you.

Sexy jalapenos

After combining all ingredients, I poured the luscious deliciousness all over the chicken, leaving about 1/4 cup to the side for marinade later. Remember the cross contamination! I took tongs and wiggled the chicken around in the Pyrex. Gotta have it coated! I put the lid on it and stuck it into the frig for about ohhh 3 hours. Not required. I just was bored and decided what the heck! I'll marinate it. Some people on the comments were marinating it for a full 24 hours! In any case, it looked lovely when I peeked at it once it was time to cook. Doesn't it look yummy!!

mmmm!!!

Okay, grillin' time!!! Yay! So all I did was coat my grill pan with cooking spray, set the heat to about medium high and then grilled the chicken for about 4-5 minutes on each side. I tented each side as well with foil to keep the chicken moist and tender. It worked very nice!



While the chicken was cooking I made a salad and also made some couscous! I wanted to try something different than regular rice as usual. So I found some Wild Mushroom and Herb couscous to experiment with. I actually really loved it! It's light and fluffy and has great flavors. I chopped up about 1/4 cup of onion and popped it into the couscous once it was cooked to just let the onions steam and cook without dirtying another pan.



Once the chicken was done, I pulled it off the grill pan and let it sit, covered in a bowl. And that was about it! I served it, like I said, with salad and couscous, as well as the reserved marinade. It was super yummy and at about 187-200 calories per serving...totally worth it! Here's the link and I hope you try it out: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/jamaican-spiced-chicken-thighs-10000001734339/

Finished product on my plate!

Endings.

CGSC Graduation 2012

This past Friday was an ending of this year for Matt in his CGSC schooling. It was pretty bittersweet...mainly because this has really been a great year for both of us. We've been able to hang out, relax, and have a lot of fun just meeting new people and experiencing new things. I knew it'd get here eventually. I mean time doesn't stand still after all; but I didn't know how quick it would actually be here. It feels like we just were getting ready to move to Leavenworth. In fact, it actually has almost been a year since we moved. So much was uncertain. It was the first time I'd be without a job in quite some time. I didn't know what I was going to do with myself. I didn't know anyone here. So it was uncertain if I'd make friends...which I knew I would eventually, but you never know! We had been assigned a house, but it was uncertain if we'd live there or if we could get into something else on post (we got into that something else...which was a blessing!). A military move was something I'd never done before so it was kind of a scary yet interesting experience for me.

MAJ Matthew Albert Broderick

But yet, here we are. Made TONS of new friends, had a great house, and we are getting to move to a beautiful state--COLORADO! :) We are really excited about the next chapter in our lives. And this time...we'll be there for a good 2-3 years so that's nice. But I think of all the things we've gained as a couple, as well as what Matt's gained and I have gained individually, while we've been here. The goals we've accomplished. It's been a great year. It's still REALLY sad to me though to leave. I guess I'm not only sad to leave such a beautiful place, but sad to leave such a wonderful community with great friends. I'm not used to moving yet...I don't know if I ever will be. I know it's always a "see you later" kind of thing, but it's still hard. Of course, now that we know people, we have places to visit :) And believe me...we will visit!!!

Sea of Majors :)

Anyway, not supposed to be a Debbie Downer I guess. In any case, we pull out next Friday (21st ish) leaving the lovely little town of Leavenworth behind us...with a doggie and two kitties, my Kia hooked up to Matt's truck. At least this time we can drive straight through! Hello 9 hours...as opposed to a 14 hour drive from San Antonio (I add the hour on for potty breaks...and since we were pulling my car). Only down fall is we will have good 'ol Kansas saying bye to us in the form of West Kansas. Look to your right....plains....look to your left....plains....Oh look a gigantic windmill. How exciting. The monotony might just be broken up with some Harry Potter...what car ride wouldn't be awesome without it! I'm sure Matt is rolling his eyes. I've watched the movies a million times. Love me some Harry Potter! :) We are excited though. It should be a fun time there. Lots of really neat outdoorsy stuff to do. We found a pretty chill pool hall up there that we are totally going to frequent. So the blogs should get more interesting! Maybe with actual pictures of things other than food! :) GASP...maybe pictures of Matt and I! haha...Why is it so hard for me to remember to take pics of us! Gah! Wait...here's one of Matt :)

Handsome Man!

Don't be jealous. I know I'm lucky. Gotta love a man in uniform!!!!! Well I guess I will leave y'all with that handsome man pic. :) I'm way behind on posts, but I'll get there. I have a yummy summer recipe coming up as well as Tuesday's travels with a Jamaican spiced chicken mmmmmm! Until then!

This...is our new house...

Traveling Tuesdays..England!

I initially had a really hard time trying to decide what to make on this Tuesday because of the fact that we have already done the whole British thing with baked fish and chips (which were amazing and I will post the recipe someday soon!). But I decided because it was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee that I needed to do something British. So I chose a shepherds pie! What?! How can that be low calorie??? Oh, it was my friends...it was. I had been WAITING to make this version and I'm so glad that I did...and that I get to share it with you!

UPDATED SHEPHERD'S PIE
Serves 6

Ingredients

1-1 1/4 lbs red potatoes cut into chunks
3 large cloves of garlic (yummm)
1 lb extra lean ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups mixed frozen vegetables thawed (carrots, corn, green beans, and peas--I used Pictsweet)
3/4 cup fat free reduced sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons ketchup
3/4 cup light sour cream (I used Daisy)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used the Mexican blend I had on hand..haha!)

So here's how I did it! :) The first thing I did was preheat the oven to 375 then I washed the potatoes, cut them into chunks, and got them boiling to cook until tender! The best part of this was that you mince the garlic and add it into the water with the potatoes and it cooks such a wonderful flavor into the potatoes it's crazy! In fact I've done this again just because!


While they cooked I went ahead and poured the 4 cups of veggies into a pot and followed the directions on the bag on how to cook them. I used two bags of the veggies (minus about 1/4 cup of them...which I cooked up the next day for lunch).




 Then I went ahead a browned the meat. I sprayed the pan with Pam (say that a couple times!) so that there wasn't any added oil. Meanwhile I whisked together the ketchup and beef broth and set it aside.

Once the meat was browned, you add the flour and cook out that flour-y taste for about a minute and then add your ketchup/beef broth mix along with your thawed/cooked veggies. The sauce will thicken up with that flour added in there.

After you have everything in the pan, it needs to cook and thicken for about 5 minutes. This gives you the perfect opportunity to drain your potatoes and whip them up. I transferred them to a different bowl only because you can't use metal on my pots and pans and I used a handheld mixer to get them perfectly mashed and whipped. While you are doing this, add your sour cream and once they are the perfect texture, add about 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix it in well with a spoon.

 So now everything is ready to assemble! The first thing is to spoon the meat and veggie mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish. I made sure to pat everything down with the spoon. You then spoon and smooth the mashed potatoes on top of the mix.

Stick it into an 375 degree oven and bake for about 18 minutes. It looks really bubbly and golden when you pull it out!

Bubbly bubbly!

Add the rest of your cheese (1/4 cup) on top and bake a little more for about 2 minutes or until its melted and gooey ooey (that's a technical term!).





It was absolutely yummy and it was only 310 calories per serving, which is pretty darn good considering the potatoes and stuff! :)  Matt really enjoyed it, which I was worried that maybe it'd be too dry...but he really liked it a lot! I served it with a nice salad. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did if you try it out!! And of course, congrats to the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee! :) You know how I love England! ;-)

Recipe!!! http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/updated-shepherds-pie-69212.aspx

Traveling Tuesdays...Hawaii!

Ok, I lied. I tried to stay up with the blog on schedule...but this past week was just too much fun with Mark in town. We played a lot of disc golf, showed him the local culture at High Noon Saloon, and even took him down to the Power and Light District on a last minute whim to Shark Bar on Friday night. Overall, we had some pretty epic times as usual and my sides were in constant stitches from laughing so much. Matt and Mark are pretty hilarious when they are together. Unfortunately though the time went by too fast as always and he left today to go back to work and will be leaving on a deployment soon. It was a lot of fun though and I'm glad we all were able to make some memories.

The dinner I made for this week's traveling day was extra awesome for having another person to enjoy it with because it definitely served a lot! And it was pretty darn versatile! It's supposed to mimic the Hawaiian pig roast. Except I'm not killing a pig...and I'm not cooking it in a hole in the ground!!! :) So here it is...

OVEN KALUA PORK
Serves 16 (I know right)

Ingredients

4 1/4 lbs pork butt roast, trimmed of fat
2 tablespoons or so of Hickory Liquid Smoke
3/4 teaspoon salt

Okay, so I seriously did not buy 4 1/2 pounds of pork. I believe it was about 3 pounds. And I forgot to trim it of fat. You definitely need to do this. I was able to get most out after the fact, but trimming it before would have been easier obviously. I also did not make this in the oven! The directions say to cook it in the oven for 5 hours at 275. Which I'm sure would have been fine, but talk about heating up the house. So in one of the comments on the recipe, the nice lady said to use a crock pot! Genius. So I followed her advice.

I cut off the net that was around the meat. Should have trimmed it at this stage. Didn't. Oops. Then I used a knife and poked a lot of holes in it...using a little ninja noise. Hiyah! I then salted it and put it in the Crock Pot and poured on the liquid smoke rubbing it in so that it got down into the meat. I washed my hands...which smelled of the liquid smoke the rest of the day...and then set the crock pot on LOW for 7 hours.

I love crock pots. Seriously. It does all the work for you! During the cooking time, I did move the meat around a bit so it wasn't in the same place for too long. When it was done...one word. Awesome. It was fall apart good. I took a lot of the fat that I could get off at this point and shredded the meat with a fork.

Now I said it was versatile because all I could think of after making this was shredded pork tacos or even a sandwich. It just looked so good. And tasted spectacular as well!! I made some rice and of course some salad. The calorie count of the meat was 234. Sweet! Right?

Had to get a picture in of the salad. I love salads. I love bunches of crunchy veggies. Anyway, the dinner was really good. And I think I'll be making it again, but maybe I'll make those tacos! :) Here's the link: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/oven-kalua-pork-10000001031669/

And you know what...I apologize. I lied yet again and I even pinkie swore. I didn't take any pictures this week of all the fun we had. I know. I'm really sorry. Maybe one day I'll get on the ball with that. :) This week coming up should be fun though. Matt is now officially done with all his classes. He graduates this Friday from CGSC which means it'll soon be time for the packers to be here and we'll be moving. We are planning on having fun until then though. Doing all the stuff we said we'd do, but we haven't yet. I think this week we may go chill by the pool a bit during the afternoons. We've been having a lot warmer weather! So it should be nice. Oh! And this week for our world travel day we're going back to England! Why? Because of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee of course!!!! :) Stay tuned! Until then take care and goodnight!