Healthy Home Cooking

So the last blog was pretty unhealthy with all the junk food. Fear not we still have a bunch of that still in our pantry - minus the crullers which were devoured within a couple of days. Definitely a dangerous item that was in the fight to stay healthy. But its gone now so no worries here.  Still we did manage to return to some home cooked healthier options as well.

Not sure when Spaghetti squash because the instant sensation. I kind of want to say we started using it a year ago or more. If I remember right I was on Instagram and saw a recipe for a lasagna spaghetti squash. It's a good alternative for pasta in my opinion. As previously noted I was not a big pasta fan growing up. All that being said was at the grocery store and picked up a giant one. Opted to go Mexican with it.

Cooking up that giant spaghetti squash

Pretty much went ad-lib but yet stereotypical in my choices- corn, black beans, red peppers, jalapeno, onions, refried bean, and Sazon. For the cheese I went multiple blend of cheddar cheese we had in the fridge. I'm sure there's recipes out there for you folks who need direction/more specifics.

Inside layers: Corn, Black Beans, red peppers, Jalapeno peppers, Onions

The layering before going back into the oven

 Following the standard cooking show format I have to say this came out great. Ended up adding salsa to the top of it. I think originally I wanted to put the salsa in the mixture and just forgot about it. I had the jar sitting on the counter. Didn't notice it until after I had put it in the oven to bake.  Pretty much was the cheese away from being a full vegan meal I believe. Being a giant spaghetti squash this made a whole lot. Decided to try and freeze the leftovers and see how that turns out. Fingers crossed.

Finished product with a generous amount of salsa

Pretty much was the cheese away from being a full vegan meal I believe. Being a giant spaghetti squash this made a whole lot. Decided to try and freeze the leftovers and see how that turns out. Fingers crossed.

Karen decided to go healthy burgers for "Meatless Monday" one week. We happened to be at the dentist that weekend and they had a Cooking Light magazine. A part of me wonders if the dentist has all these subscriptions or has all these hook ups. I would think a magazine distributor would make a killing that way. Anyway she found this recipe in the magazine: Lentil-Tahini Burger.

Beautiful plating

Funny enough we had everything except the Lentil. Pretty much like making my own hummus so have a giant jar of tahini at all times. I know some folks aren't big fans of hummus outside of say a spoonful of it on the side. I can eat that every day much like tacos. Based on the ingredients and a use of a blender, this was definitely a recipe I would have tried so kudos to her for finding it while I was busy being chastised for not flossing enough by the dental hygienist. But I digress and let's get back to the deliciousness that Karen created. 

I think Karen followed the recipe outside of a couple things. 1) She doesn't like cilantro so that was left out. 2) No black pepper as I converted her to use Adobo instead of salt & pepper. 3) Sweet onion instead of the yellow onion cause we're bigger fans of that. 4) Low calorie buns cause we try to limit the whole carbs/calories. Fairly certain I said to put some Sazon in it but that fell on deaf ears.

Inside the meatless burger (should be an album title)

 These came out really good. I will say the pickled cabbage is good but actually gets better the next day as it has more time to absorb the flavor/juice. So maybe my suggestion would be to make the pickled cabbage a day before or maybe a couple hours earlier so it has time to "pickle"...(insert SMH here).  Definitely will have to get Karen to make this again in the near future. Also pretty sure this fell on Meatless Monday.

#HealthyEating,
REEF

Random Junk Food Finds

Had a bunch of finds over the last month or so that for some reason or another I've not put in a blog. If I had to guess probably keeping themes together and just timing. But we'll go with option C: Laziness. Either way its time to give these items some justice in no particular order.

First up was some sushi from Jewel. I was wanting to get into sushi for awhile. Pretty much think I'm the only one in this house hold that likes it as well as not prone to digestive issues. #CastIronStomach. Or would that be #CastIronColon? Either way happened to be at Jewel and saw some sushi on sale so figured why not give it a shot. I understand it not like legit freshly made sushi but hey I'll take what I can.

Okami Super Sriracha Sushi Roll

So Jewel on occasion will have some sushi for sale- I saw on occasion as I have only seen them a couple of times. I'm doubting this area is a big market for sushi rolls but I could be wrong. I ended up going with the Super Sriracha rolls as i'm a big fan of Sriracha. I think its due to the garlic that adds spiciness.  This turned out to not be too shabby and would get them again. I think the drawback outside of it not being fresh is that they're actually pretty pricey at $6 but maybe I'm a cheapskate.  Honestly though it makes me think I should go out and get some real deal sushi in the near future.

Also at Jewel I came across an item that hit a couple of Shariff interest points. Krispy Kreme Banana Crullers. If you notice by the packaging the first point: Limited Time. Second point is Krispy Kreme as it had been a while. The last point was new item. Not sure I've encountered banana mini crullers before so it went directly into the shopping cart.

Banana Crullers.

The final assessment was there was pretty fantastic. I think I've previously reviewed a strawberry version of this and had the same surprise. The banana flavor was throughout the cruller. Typically you see something flavored and its just the glaze or topping. Not these. Banana flavored from start to finish. If you're a fan of banana...PAUSE...then I'd give these a try.

The next item once again got my attention based on the marketing brilliance that is putting the word "NEW" on something. Happened to be going down the freezer aisle and low and behold this bad boy/girl (depending on your sass level) was calling out to me.

Cake & Cookie Fantasy

Cake & Cookie Fantasty? Edy's you're going all rated R on us. Its a combination of red velvet cake
 flavored yogurt with bits of sugar cookie in it. As unhealthy as that sounds- its not terrible bad at only 150 calories a serving. You would think that would be some crazy candy bar level of over 250 calories but it wasn't. Definitely would recommend picking some of this up and giving it a shot.

Oreos seems to be going crazy over the recent years with all types of flavors.  This year would be no different with the two flavors I found.

Firework Oreo and Waffle & Syrup Oreo

Firework oreo might be one of the craziest ideas - or at least something I would never have thought of. Somebody was like hey- why don't we take a regular oreo and add some pop rocks into the filling? Boss was like hell yeah let's do it. I mean granted same boss probably was the person behind the stupid Swedish fish version bit their track record has to be pretty good outside of that. I would say the draw back to this one is you kind of have to savor/eat them very slowly to experience the pop rocks.  Then again if you get them stuck in your teeth you'll have the same effect. Pretty crazy taking a drink of water with some stuck in my teeth. It just more for novelty and no doubt if you have kids they'll love it.

The other flavor Waffle & Syrup should just be named Maple Syrup Oreos. Not really sure how they captured the "waffle" part of it as its just a golden oreo cookie. Maybe I missed it? I mean it wasn't bad but really its like a spot of syrup in the middle of the cookie. If you look at the package you can how they laid it out. I mean it was good but I wouldn't go out of my way to try them or buy them again.

Definitely an unhealthy blog this go around but fear not the next blog should be healthier as it's a couple of home made items from yours truly and Karen.

#FoodieLife,

Reef

Luck of the Irish

Been quite the eventful couple of weeks with one cousin getting married and another getting his PhD in Bioengineering. Congrats to both of them. That being said my achievements all fall into the food discovery realm. Sorry to take your shine cousins but it had to be done. The monumental first step was avenging our previous Irish experience.

A Couple of blogs ago we had hit up an Irish place and the food was at best "just alright". Don't recall but I'm going say this was Karen's idea to try for Irish food again. We went to a place we hadn't been to in a couple of years: Ballydoyle. The weather was pretty terrible I recall as it was pouring rain but on the positive meant the place would be pretty empty. Ballydoyle did not disappoint as it hit the Irish food spot on.

Started off with a new appetizer I've never seen or heard of before: Corned Beef Bites. It's a deep fried breaded corned beef and cream cheese with Parmesan sprinkled on top. I know it said it came with cocktail sauce but I don't recall it tasting like cocktail sauce. Either way these was pretty scrumptious. Yes I went for a word that I don't use to be all hipster about it. I think it worked.

Corned Beef Bites

Karen looked to redeem the previous restaurant's failure at a Boxty. Ballydoyle's Boxty, both in looks and taste, appeared to be freshly made at the restaurant. The rest per their description: "our famous corned beef, Swiss, cabbage, sauerkraut, brown mustard, 1000 island" was also great. Karen is not a fan of mustard but she really like this Boxty. I would say her only "complaint" was there should have been more Swiss cheese.  Having tried it I think I would have asked for more 1000 island dressing but I'm a sucker for more sauce...PAUSE.

Corned Beef Boxty

 Lily went off the kid's menu with chicken tenders and fries. She scarfed those down so I'd have to imagine they were mighty tasty. I would probably have called them Chicken Nuggets or if you want to be like the golden arches- "McNuggets". That sure if that's a racist joke or not upon retrospection. Don't blame me blame going up in the McDonald's heyday.

Chicken Tenders with Fries

 I played it safe with my choice and went with the standard Shepard's Pie. Now I didn't play it safe for my own sake but given the win-loss record with the Boxty someone who doesn't like to be shamed has- I figured worst case if the Boxty failed I could switch meals as I eat anything. Disclaimer- eating anything vs. liking everything are two separate things. Like I hate blue cheese and bacon wrapped dates but I could still eat them if I had to.  Anyway I am a sucker for a good Shepard's pie so this was a "sacrifice" I was willing to make. This Shepard's pie was pretty scrumptious. So much so that ended up going halfsies with She Who Shall Not Be Named.

Shepard's Pie

I think until proven otherwise Ballydoyle's might be the best Irish restaurant in the Aurora area. Will have to research but if you have an suggestions in terms of Irish food in this immediate area I'm willing to give it a shot. Also wouldn't mind scouring the surrounding areas and Chicago for more Irish food.

Got a bunch of items/finds to catch up with yet again but will get them out there. Also got a couple of folks interested in going out on foodie adventures. Hit me up with dates and times and let's make it happen.

#CantStopWontStop
-Reef-

Omg BREAD

First let me say, HELLO I AM BACK! Reef has been holding down the fort while I have been moving into my house and figuring out my kitchen and actually getting back into the nitty gritty of cooking again. 

So YAY REEF!!! Thank you!!! (And thanks for the push I needed to get back into this.)

So. Awhile ago I ran across this no-knead artisanal bread recipe ...my favorite blog Lainey Gossip was talking about how Lainey's husband Jacek was on a tear with baking bread. However, they were using a Dutch oven, which I did not own. After agonizing over buying one for literally like 5 months, I broke down and got myself one for Mother's Day. From Amazon, super basic, like $22. And then I decided I MUST BAKE THIS BREAD IMMEDIATELY. 

 

It's a very easy recipe. You mix in your flour, salt, yeast and water and cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12-24 hours. Mine was closer to 24 hours I think. 

 

I didn't take a picture of it after it rose but suffice it to say, it rose. Then you put a towel down with flour and make a rectangle, cover it and leave it for about 15 min. Then you sort of fold it into thirds and then again until it's kind of a cube/square (also flour and corn meal it a bit) and then cover it again and let it rise for about two hours. 

 

  

So the last thirty minutes of rising you put your entire Dutch oven into the oven (450 for 30 min, lid on). Then take it out and put your dough into the pot and put the lid back on and then bake it for 30 min. It should be noted that I STARTED baking my bread at like, 9 pm on the hottest day of the year so far. Oops. This is my bread halfway through. 

 

Then you take the lid off and bake another 30. Isn't this bread GORGEOUS? 

 

I had to eat two pieces immediately with butter. Omg. And the crust is very crunchy and crackley (in a good way) and I want to eat it all NOW. Omg. Mmmmmmmm

 

Overall. I will COMPLETELY make this again. Not sure if I would do weekly but it's definitely in the rotation of random breads I enjoy baking and eating WAY TOO MUCH. Now it's sleepy time. If I can sleep after eating all of those carbs. 

Also: my friend Melly got me that plate and isn't it so pretty?! I love it!