BFMH: Scotch Eggs

I had been wanting to make these for a LONG time. I made them "Healthy" by baking them and not frying them.




Ingredients
6 eggs
500g pork mince
2 tsp herb or spice of choice such as sage, curry powder, rosemary, parsley, mustard
½ tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Boil the eggs for 4 minutes. Drain the saucepan of hot water, then immediately cover the eggs in cold water so they will be cool enough to be peeled.
Peel the eggs and pat dry with kitchen paper. This will let the pork mince mixture to stick to the egg easier.
Mix the pork mince with whichever herbs and spices you like.
Get a small handful of the pork mince and flatten it in your hand, almost like making a very thin hamburger pattie. Place the egg onto the mince and slowly work the mince around the egg, massaging the mince to completely cover the egg.
Place all the Paleo Scotch Eggs in a oiled baking tray, and cook for 15 minutes at 180C.

They were well liked, and I think I will make them in the future for special events only. They are a bit too much work in my opinion for the amount of presentation and yumminess factor. I would rather just have a fried egg and a couple sausage links, if the eggs aren't coated in bread crumbs as well.

Nom well y'all...

A change of plans for now...

Yeah, so after being here for a couple weeks, there is no chance that I will be able to cook enough to post Monday through Friday. With working 10 - 7 through this month, I don't have a chance to cook dinner or breakfasts (Husband is normally at work by 8) except for weekends. I will be putting the M-F schedule on Hiatus until I have a different 9-5 job and my own kitchen. The best way to keep the In Laws happy is to not take over their kitchen every day. :D

So for now, I will try a MWF routine until I am proven that is not an option or that it is too little.

Thanks for understanding everyone!


Until the next post, y'all...

A few quotes from my Hero, Julia Child

After some careful thought and meditation, I decided that my "perfect kitchen" would be one that embodies everything for which Julia Child stood. Not only as a chef, but also as the first cooking show host, an entrepreneur, a wife, a Service woman, and a woman of an extreme height difference to most of her peers.

Here are some wonderful insights and quotes from "Our Lady of the Ladle", Julia Child:

Fat gives things flavor.

If you're afraid of butter, use cream.

The only time to eat diet food is while you are waiting for the steak to cook.

Learn how to cook -- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun.

I think every woman should have a blowtorch.

Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed -- eh bien, tant pis! Usually one's cooking is better than one thinks it is. And is the food is truly vile, as my ersatz eggs Florentine surely were, the the cook must simply git her teeth and bear it with a smile --and learn from her mistakes.

I think one of the terrible things today is that people have this deathly fear of food: fear of eggs, say, or fear of butter. Most doctors feel that you can have a little bit of everything.

I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the chicken likes it---and, more important, I like to give it.

I just hate health food.

No one it born a great cook, one learns by doing.

If it tastes good, there's butter in it.

Always remember: If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. Who's going to know.

You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces--just good food from fresh ingredients.

I think careful cooking is love, don't you? the loveliest think you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice as a Valentine as you can give.

People who love to eat are always the best people.

It is hard to imagine a civilization without onions.

How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?

Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy.

Everything in moderation...including moderation.

With enough butter, anything is good.

A party without cake is really just a meeting.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what the hell attitude.

Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interest in it.

Cooking is like love: it should be entered into with abandon or not at all.

No one's more important than people. In other words, friendship is the most important thing. not career or house work, or one's fatigue - and it need to be tended and nurtured.

Always start out with a larger pot than what you think you'll need.

I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then I just ate.

It's fun to get together and have something good to eat at least once a day. Thant's what human like is all about - enjoying things.

Life itself is a proper binge.

A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe.

We has a happy marriage because we were together all the time. We were friends as well as husband and wife. We just had a good time.

You are the butter to my bread and the breath to my life.

I enjoy cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food I'm cooking.

The thing about food is you're a much happier person if you eat well and treasure your meals.

It's so beautiful arranged on the plate - you know someone's finger have been all over it.

Bon appetit.

The best was to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken.

I wouldn't keep him around long if I didn't feed him well.

Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul satisfying and eternal.

Drama is very important in life: you have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it's done right. Even a pancake.

Moderation. Small Helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health.

Just speak very loudly and quickly, and state your position with utter conviction as the French do, and you'll have a marvelous time!

And one last one not by Julia Child:
A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe. - Thomas Keller

Healthy Fettuccinie Alfredo

I made this before we moved as I had a grip of pasta left. It turned out to be a a lovely choice.
I also added Parmesan as we had a good chunk of that left in the fridge.

HEALTHY FETTUCCINE ALFREDO
Ingredients
1 lb. uncooked fettuccine noodles
3 small heads cauliflower
6 cups vegetable broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup starchy boiling water from pasta pot
Instructions
Chop the cauliflower. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over medium high heat and add cauliflower. Cook until cauliflower is soft, about 15 minutes. In my experience, the longer you cook it, the smoother the sauce will be. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
As the garlic and cauliflower are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine according to directions on package, reserving some of the starchy water to add to the sauce later.
Transfer cauliflower to a blender with about 2 cups of the broth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper and puree until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture is moving, stream the olive oil into the blender. Add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick to move through the blender. You want it to turn through the blender easily. When puree is very smooth, transfer back to the butter/garlic skillet.
Add the cream and cook over low heat. Add the starchy pasta water (or regular water if you're not making pasta) and keep warm until ready to serve. Combine noodles and sauce in a large pot or skillet and serve immediately.
Notes
The sauce will "dry out" a little bit as it cools on the pasta. Adding a little water to the leftovers will help make it creamy again. Serving size is ⅛ of the noodles with about 1 cup of sauce.

Stock Photo Fun!

Of course, I failed to get a photo of this. Or maybe I did and I lost it between the the move and now. I loved this dish and I will for sure make something like this again. The Parm was a nice addition and I actually added some Kielbasa as we had some of that left over as well.

A good alternative to cream sauce.


Until next time...Cook it up!

Everything tastes better as a pie

So I don't know why this keeps popping up with I look up things that are low carb on Pinterest, but it does. The pie crust makes it obviously not low carb, but I decided to make it for my family any way.

Tomato Pie Recipe

Ingredients

1 pre-made or homemade pie crust
1 large sweet onion, sliced
5 - 6 very fresh, preferably farmer's market or garden tomatoes, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise (I halved it with Greek Yogurt)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
1 cup sliced fresh mozzarella
salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in pie plate. Prick piecrust with a fork and pre-bake pie crust for 10 minutes. Arrange onions in the bottom of the pie in a circular formation. Then arrange sliced tomatoes, around in a circle, and some in the middle. Add salt and pepper. Combine mayonnaise, cheddar cheese and dried Italian seasonings in a small bowl. Mix well and spoon over tomatoes, leaving about 1 inch gap in between mayo and the edge of the pie so you can still see the tomatoes. Place sliced cheese on top of mayonnaise layer.

2. Bake for about 30 minutes, at 350 degrees, or until cheese is golden.

Notes: I totally didn't use that many tomatoes, nor a whole onion. I use about half an onion and only 5 Roma Tomatoes. I suppose that it depends on your pie dish size.

Until the next challenge...Cook it up!

BFMH: Banana Split Sundaes

A quick and easy way to Jazz up your breakfast banana:

Breakfast Banana Split

INGREDIENTS

1 medium firm banana

1 cup Fat Free greek yogurt

1/2 cup Homemade Granola with dried tart cherries

Honey
INSTRUCTIONS

Slice banana in half lengthwise; Top with yogurt, honey, and granola.

so decadent..

much yum

This was perfect. I foresee a future where we feed our children this way on the weekends.

Running...

I decided that this year, my goal would be to attempt to run/walk more miles than I did the year prior in each month.

January 2014 - 0 miles tracked (decided to start on Jan 28th)  < January 2015 - a total of +19.43 miles

February 2014- a total of 9 miles < February 2015 - a total of 25.28 miles = +16.28 miles
March 2014- a total of 2 miles < March 2015 - a total of 25.3 miles = +23.3 miles
April 2014 - a total of 6 miles < April 2015- a total of 30.2 miles =  +24.2 miles

This is obviously an improvement from a year ago as I had JUST decided to start walking and running with regularity that year.

The next few months will be tricky as I will need to be really good about getting out everyday with how much mileage I made last year. Hopefully, I will be able to do a run of some kind with my step sister and niece. Here is to a great start of a new year.