Homemade Pizza and Salad

When I went shopping last weekend, I stocked up on pizza dough from Whole Foods (my favorite of all I have tried and tried making) and wine from Trader Joe's.  They have great prices on wines and carry Two Buck Chuck.
I don't think we will ever get sick of salad and pizza for dinner at our house.  I usually take one dough and divide it into three.  I use one bigger portion to make a pizza for Chris and I and then two smaller pizzas for the kids.  Maura doesn't like sauce on her pizza and yesterday opted for cheese only.  Nolan likes a variety of things and chose sauce, cheese, pepperoni and ham on his.  He made his own.  And I used the giant slices of pepperoni from Whole Foods deli on mine and Chris'.  Maura ended up eating a slice of this later.
I love salad with pizza.  It takes the edge off of your hunger before you dig in and it is such a refreshing thing.  I tend to throw in a mix of what I have around.  This week I chopped up the last boiled Easter egg and sprinkled it on top.

Beef Filets with Red Wine Sauce and Roasted Veggie Fries

This is from the Cooking Light May 2012 issue, page 104.
Veggies:
2 TBSP yellow cornmeal
2 TBSP. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
1 pound Yukon Gold potato, cut into wedges  (I used 1 1/2 pounds potatoes)
1 1/2 pounds baby carrots with tops, peeled and trimmed  (I used 1 pound pre-washed bag)
2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Steaks:
1/2 cup earthy red wine (such as pinot noir)  (I got Blue Fin Pinot Noir at Trader Joes $3.99)
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium shallot, sliced
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 1/2 cups fat-free, lower- sodium beef broth
1 TBSP olive oil
4 (4 oz. ) beef tenderloin steaks
3/8 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 TBSP cold butter, cut into pieces
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, optional

Directions
1. Place a large baking sheet in oven.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. To prepare veggies, combine the cornmeal and cheese in a small bowl, stirring well.   Place potato and carrots in a large bowl.  Drizzle vegetables with 2 TBSP oil.  Sprinkle vegetables with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; toss. Sprinkle the cornmeal mixture over the veggies; toss. Arrange veggies in a single layer on preheated baking sheet; bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Turn veggies over and bake an additional 8 minutes or until golden and tender.
3. To prepare steaks, heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add wine and next 4 ingredients (through rosemary) to pan. and bring to a boil.  Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 8 minutes).  Add broth; bring to a boil.  Cook until reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 13 minutes).  Remove from heat; strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl.  Discard solids.
4. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 TBSP oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Sprinkle both sides of the steak evenly with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Add steaks to pan; saute' for 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Let steaks stand 5 minutes.
5. Heat pan to high heat.  Add reduced broth mixture to pan; stir in mustard and remaining 1/8 tsp salt.  Remove from heat.  Add butter to pan, 1 piece at a time, stirring with a whisk until each addition is incorporated.  Place 1 steak on each of 4 plates; drizzle each serving with about 1 TBSP sauce.  Sprinkle each steak with 1/2 tsp thyme leaves, if desired.  Divide the veggie fries evenly among 4 servings.
Serves 4
calories 521, fat 24g, protein 31.1g, carbs 41.6, fiber 6.3g.

This was a lot of work for a steak.  I will make them on the grill instead.  If you try this though, make sure you start the steak first.  It takes a while and the veggies are really easy to prepare.  I LOVED the veggies.  I will make them again and again as a side dish for dinner.  The steaks were tasty.  Everyone enjoyed them and the sauce was soooo good.  If I was stuck inside and couldn't grill, I would make these again.

Turkey Bacon Sandwiches with Broccoli Leek Soup

So, I had a little help from my friends on this one.  I had a little get-together over the weekend and Trader Joe's turkey bacon came up.  I was intrigued so we made a trip there and to Whole Foods for this week's grocery haul.  The bacon was $2.99, not bad and nitrate free (except where it occurs naturally through celery).  I was told it was like pieces of ham.  I was not disappointed.
Chris likes to mess around with cooking sometimes and it usually involves some method that strays from the norm.  One day he looked up baking bacon.  We line a pan with tin foil, put it in a cold oven set to 250 degrees and it takes between 10-20 minutes, depending on size and type.  No splattering and with the tin foil tossed in the trash, there is minimal mess.  Anyway, thanks Michelle for the bacon recommendation and Chris for the cooking method.
Bacon Sandwiches
whatever bread is on hand
turkey bacon (baked in the oven) in this case
lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo (whatever you like)
Broccoli Leek Soup
http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/5671
Here is the recipe.  This was recommended by my neighbor and friend Nicole, thank you.  She said it is her almost five-year old son Jack's favorite soup.  I can see why.  We all liked it here. 
I did make a few changes as usual.  I mashed the stuff with a potato masher.   Maybe one day, I will buy an immersion blender.  Also, left out the chives, cayenne, lemon juice, lemon zest and half and half.  I did have half and half but Nicole said she never used it and I wanted to try it without (less calories).  The lemon aspect didn't sound appealing and I thought the chives and cayenne might scare the kids off.  Chris did add cayenne to his.  I also noticed that we added quite a bit more salt and pepper to our individual bowls.  And I had to use chicken broth since I am out of vegetable broth. 
All that being said.  This was a great soup.  We all liked it and it could be tweaked to your current groceries and taste buds.

Garlicky Spaghetti and Meatballs

Here is the recipe from Cooking Light magazine (issue April 2012)  I will put my alterations in blue parenthesis.
9 oz. refrigerated fettuccine  (I used whole grain angel hair pasta)
12 oz. ground sirloin  (I used 1 lb. ground beef. from the 1/4 cow we bought)
1/2 cup panko  (I only had 1/4 cup panko so used that + 1/4 breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil  (I used 3 tsp dried basil leaves)
3/8 tsp kosher salt (eyeballed it)
1/4 tsp black pepper (eyeballed it)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp olive oil
1 3/4 cups lower sodium marinara sauce  (I used 2 cups of my homemade sauce)
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated  (I used Trader Joes Parmigiano Reggiano)
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta per directions.  Drain over a bowl and reserve 1/3 cup pasta water.
2.  While pasta cooks, combine beef and next 6 ingredients (through egg); shape mixture into 16 meatballs.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add meatballs; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add marinara and 1/3 cup reserved pasta water.  Cover and cook 11 minutes or until meatballs are done.  Divide the pasta evenly among 4 plates; top evenly with sauce, meatballs and cheese.
Serves 4
calories: 489, fat:16.6, protein:29.1, carbs:71.6 and fiber: 2.6

This was excellent.  BUT  I think that I will stick to the good old Rachael Ray chicken meatballs that we bake in the oven.  The basil in these gave them amazing flavor and I can only imagine how much better it would have been with fresh basil. 

Something else I did was drain the grease from the meatballs by putting them on a paper towel lined plate.  While the meatballs were draining, I sauteed some fresh mushrooms and added those to the sauce.

Cooking Light Reuben Sandwiches

I think that these Reuben sandwiches were delicious but I did make a little switch-up.  I will give the original recipe and then tell where I adjusted.  I also have a great tip for leftovers.

Dressing:  1/4 cup canola mayo  (I used Hellman's light mayo)
1 TBSP chili sauce
2 tsp finely minced dill pickle  (I used dill relish)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp grated onion
Sandwiches:
8 (3/4-ounce) slices rye bread
3 ounces Swiss cheese, shaved (about 3/4 cup)  (I bought a 6 oz. block at Whole Foods and cut it in half and then that half into quarters to make 3 oz. chunks.  Then I grated each chunk individually and added it as I went).
4 ounces lower-sodium corned beef  (I got this at the Whole Foods deli.  They are used to picky people or those asking for 4 oz. of meat and didn't look at me sideways.  They didn't have low sodium though.)
1 cup organic sauerkraut, drained well

1. Preheat broiler to high.
2. To prepare dressing, combine first five ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.
3. To prepare sandwiches, place bread in slices in a single layer on a heavy baking sheet.  Broil bread 1 1/2 minutes or until toasted.  Turn bread over; broil for 1 minute or until lightly toasted.  Remove 4 slices.  Divide cheese evenly among 4 slices, sprinkling it over lightly toasted sides.  Broil 1 minute or until cheese melts.  Spread about 1 1/2 TBSP dressing over the cheese-coated side of each bread slice; top each serving with 1 oz. corned beef. 1/4 cup sauerkraut, and remaining bread slices.  Serve immediately.
Serves 4
calories 336, fat 19.9, protein 14.7, carbs 24.2, fiber 3.4.

For lower calories or vegetarians, used tomato slices in place of corned beef.  That's what I did for lunch today with the leftovers!

I served this with a altered version of the Kale and White Bean soup from a previous post.

I used pinto beans and one can each of vegetable broth and chicken broth since I only had one can of the vegetable broth.

Juicing right along

So...  It's been forever but I am back.  I have been eating healthier again for about two weeks and trying to get outside for bike riding or walking at least once per day.

I was lucky enough to have a friend willing to lend us her juicer.  I wanted to try the juice, see how we all liked it and how often we would use it before purchasing one for our household.

So far, we have used it twice but in one day.  I was having a party the next day so wanted the counter space.  I am planning to get it out at least once this week.

Here is a picture of our orange, banana, carrot juice!  We all liked it and the kids couldn't guess that there was carrot in there.  Yum!

Trying Something New

One of our house favorites is macaroni and cheese.  My son will order it no-fail EVERY time we go out to dinner.  He is not a huge meat eater anyway, either am I for that matter but I wanted to re-vamp my traditional recipe.  Here I used some Irish Cheddar instead of Sharp and then I sprinkled some fresh crisply cooked bacon on about half.  Yummy!!  This was delicious.  I think next time, I will do it without the bacon unless it acts as a main dish but the Irish Cheddar is a new must for me.  And cavatappi noodles are the best  for homemade mac and cheese.   I like the twisty look and it seems to catch lots of yummy bits of cheese in just the right way.