Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I mentioned previously, I've been trying to be "virtuous" lately when it comes to what I've been eating.  But I have to be honest - sometimes all I really want is a cookie.  A hint of salt to balance out the sweet, not too many chips - oatmeal in the batter is good.  Nuts are even better.

In the interest of virtue ... these cookies are OK.  They get the job done in satisfying my sweet tooth and I also appreciate the fact that they are "low fat" but don't contain any funky unpronounceable ingredients.  Would I make them again?  Maybe ... In the meantime, you can find the recipe here.

A quick lunch

I have been on vacation this week and am readying myself to start my new job at home.  This involves setting up a home office, getting rid of excess STUFF (how does one accumulate so much stuff?), watching "The Tudors" on Netflix while doing "important" things like going through my email and writing blog posts and getting my house cleaned up before next week's start date.  Because as much as I am a messy marvin, I know that having a messy house will drive me mad if I'm here to witness it.

In interest of trying to eat healthy and because it's just really damn tasty, the above-pictured dish has become a "go-to" in my house.  I was introduced to soba noodles when a friend of ours had my husband and I over for dinner.  Ever since then I have been slightly obsessed with them.  I feel slightly virtuous when I eat them because they allow me my noodle fix, but are buckwheat = healthy. 

There really is no recipe to this, but this is what I've been making and eating lately ...

Soba noodles (cook according to directions on package)

Pan-fried green beans with garlic - trim and cut green beans into bite-sized pieces.  In a large skillet, heat some olive oil and add a clove of garlic, roughly chopped.  Add green beans and saute. 

To this, I add a package of tuna - but you can also add any leftover meat you see fit - or omit altogether. 

When the noodles are done, drain and add to the skillet.  Toss with a little bit of dark sesame oil.

Absence and apologies ...

Here's where I've been ... life is good.

We finally got to meet our niece ... here she is with her uncle learning the intricacies of the Internet and LOL Cats.

And during our trip to Dubuque to meet Sweet Pea, we also got to see this enormous sculpture of "American Gothic."

I recently got a new job.  One of the perks of this is that I get to work from home ... hence I've been working on emptying a spare bedroom to make a home office.  Here the cat is perched on what will eventually be my desk.  He is really, really helpful.  Really.

This past weekend found my friend Anne and I at the Willie Nelson concert in Rochester.  It was awesome.

Sunday Morning Kitchen Sink Frittata!

First thought:  I hate snow.  (After about a week of 40 degree weather, we're getting about six inches of snow.  ARGH.)

Second thought:  I really like cheese.  And eggs.  And sauteed vegetables.

So what if ... you combine those things?  Including the odds and ends in your fridge that aren't enough to make a proper recipe.  And the spinach that's about to become a science experiment in your refrigerator?  And those artisan cheese curds that you bought at the Farmers Market that were cool in theory but lack flavor otherwise?

That's how you come up with a Sunday Morning Kitchen Sink Frittata!  The exclamation point is extremely necessary.

This was instinctual, so there are no exact measurements ... just a sense of what would taste good.

Preheat oven to 400.
Grease pie tin, muffin tins or in my case - the scone pan my mama gave me for Christmas.  (I have not actually made scones yet, but I wanted individual servings that I could wrap up and freeze for meals throughout the week.)

Broccoli florets, rough chop (probably about one cup)
Cauliflower florets, rough chop (also about one cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
Button mushrooms, sliced (1/2 package)
Spinach
Salt and pepper

Saute these together in a skillet with olive oil, until the mushrooms are lightly browned.  Wilt in handfuls of spinach (I had about 3/4 package of bagged spinach that I needed to use.)

6 eggs
splash of milk
1 T. dijon mustard (**totally optional)
more salt and pepper

While the veg cooks, whisk together six eggs with a splash of milk, mustard and salt and pepper.  When the vegetables are finished, fold them into the egg mixture.  This is where I added about a handful of the crappy artisan cheese curds I acquired recently. 

Spoon evenly into prepared dish.  Top with cheese - in my case, it was a handful of parmesan and some leftover Swiss cheese I had (about 1/4 c.).  Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until top is set and lightly browned. 

Currently, the leftover wedges are cooling on a rack upstairs.  I want to make sure they are totally cool and that the bottoms are not soggy so I can wrap them up individually and freeze them.  I'll let you know how they reheat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Nothing says "love" like conversation hearts.  The sugar cookies are my grandma's recipe and the frosting is Alton Brown's Royal Icing.  The rest is pure snark.

And this one was suggested by my husband:

Inspired by this clip ...

Cornmeal Pancakes

All I can really say about these are that they are quite tasty, but really not spectacular enough to make a repeat appearance in my kitchen.  Because Ryan loves Bisquick.  And pancakes aren't my favorite breakfast food in the world.

Having said all of this - this is a great, gluten-free alternative to a breakfast classic. 

Cornmeal Pancakes
adapted from The New York Times

1 1/2 cups fine or medium cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk, or more as needed
1 T. vegetable or olive oil, plus more for frying (**It will not surprise anyone that I used ... you guessed it - bacon grease.  I really need to break this habit.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blueberries - optional (for me!)
Maple syrup and butter, for serving.

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Combine the cornmeal, salt and 1 1/2 cups boiling water in a bowl and let it sit until the cornmeal absorbs the water and softens, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the milk, a little at a time, until the batter is spreadable but still thick. Stir in oil and the vanilla.
3. Put a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. When a few drops of water dance on its surface, add a thin film of oil and let it become hot. Spoon out the batter, making any size pancakes you like. Cook until bubbles form on the top and burst and the underside is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes; turn and cook on the other side until golden.  (If you're going to add blueberries, do it after you've put the batter on the griddle.) Serve.

Yield: 4 servings (or two hungry Mahannahs.)

Bacon Swiss Meatloaf

Let's have a moment, shall we?  This is where I tell you how much I absolutely, unequivocally ADORE bacon.  I think that I've always liked bacon, but it's only in my adulthood that I realize what a guilty pleasure bacon is.  I mean ... under standard definition - bacon is not good for you.  But oh, it tastes good.  And oh, does it make an ordinary dish feel spectacular.

Last year for my birthday, my friends the Swensons gave me a copy of Taste of Home's "Bacon."  You can only find it on newsstands and its chock full of recipes that feature ... you guessed it, bacon.  On a recent evening, mindful that a little bit of bacon goes a long way - I adapted their Bacon Swiss Meatloaf recipe to be decadent, but a little lighter on my waistline.

Is there anything more beautiful than an end piece of meatloaf?  Why yes - a piece of meatloaf that features bacon.

Bacon Swiss Meatloaf
Adapted from Taste of Home

1 egg
1/4 c. fat-free evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese, divided
1/2 c. crumbled cooked bacon, divided (I ended up using about 4 slices.)
1/2 c. Progresso Italian-style breadcrumbs (it's what I had on hand ... use whatever you have in your pantry)
1 tsp. garlic powder (to keep the vampires away)
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Take a half sheet pan and spray with baking spray.  (Hint: Next time I'm going to put a baking rack on my cookie sheet to get the meatloaf up off of the pan and out of the grease this recipe produces.)

In a large bowl, combine egg, milk, 1 cup of Swiss cheese, half of the bacon, bread crumbs and garlic powder.  Mix together.  Add ground turkey over the mixture.  While thinking of a recent Ina Garten episode, I ended up using my fork to incorporate all these ingredients together.  (She was saying something about using a fork instead of your hands.  Point A - it keeps your hands cleaner, and point B - it keeps the meat from compacting and making a tougher meatloaf ... or in her case, she was making burgers.  But I digress.)  Dump onto your baking sheet and form it into a loaf-like shape.

Bake, uncovered, for one hour or until the meat is done.  Sprinkle remaining cheese and bacon.  Bake for 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Usually, I eat meatloaf with mashed potatoes.  But as I made this, I had an "oh sh*t" moment when I realized that I only had one potato in the house and not enough green beans to make a proper side dish.  So, I punted and came up with this.  

Shel's Kitchen Sink Rice Pilaf

1/2 c. basmati rice, cooked
1/2 c. wild rice, cooked
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1/4 c. sliced baby carrots
1/4 c. green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. water or chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. cooking oil/bacon grease ... whatever

I took my skillet and heated up a teaspoon of bacon grease.  I'd like to tell you that I used bacon grease so I could match the flavors of the meatloaf, but no ... I just keep a jar handy of bacon drippings and use that to cook most of my foods that come from a skillet.  (Decadent!)  Saute garlic in the bacon grease for about a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the vegetables, a little bit of salt and saute for about five to seven minutes.  Add rice and water/broth.  Cover skillet and cook on low until the vegetables are tender.  Salt and pepper to taste.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A few random notes ...

* My friend Cathy has enlightened me on the joys of baking bacon.  Seriously ... I don't know that I'll ever bother using a skillet to make my bacon again.  The slices turn out perfectly crisp and don't curl up like they do in the skillet.  Plus, there's enough drippings left over to satisfy my yen to saute everything in bacon grease and you still get the "cooked bacon" scent in your kitchen.

* Pre-cooking rice.  Wild rice takes forever to cook and I'm not usually patient enough to wait for it to cook, so I don't use it as often as I should.  I've learned though, that you can pre-cook grains like rice and store them in your freezer until you want to use them.  It's very, very handy - I do it with brown rice and wild rice to pare off cooking time during the week.  Basmati rice is one of my favorite, go-to every day rices because it doesn't take a fortune of time to cook.