I find Georgene to be a very level headed person when it comes to the more serious topics.  She will give you the goods without an overabundance of vaguely related yammer (skills of which I’m always trying to personally hone!)  From my perspective, it is more about living “down to Earth” and even about saving some money (another skill I can always improve.)  I’m sure there will be a bit about self-defense thrown into the mix, but it’s definitely not the blog’s primary goal.  Survival.  Simply put.

Anyone just trying to get back to good old fashioned natural healthy eating might be interested in this blog from that perspective.   The most current entry is called [Cranberry-Licious] and starts out like this:

I know that cranberries are far from being an essential food. However, they are tasty and have some great fiber, and are even known for their Vitamin C. Unfortunately, after canning, the Vitamin C is probably destroyed in these beauties, due to the heat involved, but we won’t belabor the details. We will enjoy what we have, be glad we have it, and save it for the future.

Sure sounds interesting to me!  If it sounds like news you could use, head on over and check it out!

DFW Preppers

Pork loin was purchased a few days ago with the lazy intent of throwing it into a crockpot with some low sugar BBQ sauce for an all day simmer. I decided I wanted to roast it tonight instead. First stop, of course, was RecipeZaar where I did a search for pork loin recipes. Organized the results by rating and snagged the top rated recipe. This process is rarely a let down if you’re in need of ideas. http://www.recipezaar.com/Honey-Roasted-Pork-Loin-29493

I tweaked it a little.  Mine looked like this:

Ingredients
2.25 lbs pork loin, boneless
salt and pepper
1/4 cup sugar free breakfast syrup
2 tablespoons Simply Orange w/ Pineapple
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

I was even lazier with the directions…

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Set the pork loin in a roasting pan and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the syrup, juice, oil and thyme. Drizzle over pork.
• Add the broth to the pan.
• Bake 60-75 min. (Recommend internal temp of 150 to be safe.)
• Baste frequently. The more you baste, the better. I basted two or three times, and it was good ’nuff, but I think it could have been better had I been a little less lazy.
• I didn’t bother to reduce the sauce down. A thinner consistency went a longer way at probably less calories. The leftovers are also marinading in it.We didn’t have any fresh produce to speak of (ok maybe an onion, but did I mention I was trying to be lazy lol) so I cheated with some canned goods. I brought 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth to a simmer, quickly stirred in 1 cup of dry Couscous, removed from heat and let that sit for 5 min or so. Then, I stirred in some chopped tomatoes from a can. It was one of those “made for chili” varieties that sported a few green chilies and a little kick.
• I layered the pork over the Couscous mixture, drizzled some pork baste over the whole thing, and served it just like that. If I use the leftover couscous mix for anything other than to serve with the pork leftovers, I’ll probably add a tsp of olive oil to moisten it up a bit.

It has been a wonderful weekend.

My small plate.

My husband's plate.

Tomato Laden Couscous!

Very tasty for not much work!

Plump buttery oysters in a creamy broth.

Ingredients
16 oz oysters shucked with liquor retained
4 cup fat free half & half
4 tablespoons margarine
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
old bay, moroccan rub, or whatever spice you like to kick it up a notch!

Directions

• In a medium to large pot, cook oysters in their liquor until they look plump and firm and the edges start to curl a bit.
• Turn heat to low. Add half & half, margarine, salt and pepper.
• Turn heat back up just a little, bring to just shy of a simmer, and heat the stew through. Do not boil. Stir occasionally.
• Best served immediately but will keep for a day or two in the fridge in a sealed container.

Sure, you can shuck your own fresh oysters. I’m way too lazy to do that, so I found a pint of fresh shucked oysters… liquor and all. Liquor is the liquid inside an oyster’s shell and is a key component of the stew’s flavor.

A pint of fresh shucked oysters.

The oysters just poured into the pan.

Simmer the oysters right in their broth.  At first, it is hard to imagine that these will become plump and juicy… but they do, and you will know it when you see it.  They’ll appear a bit more sturdy, and the edges will start to curl up just a bit.

Plump and yummy!

Once they’re firmed up a bit, turn down the heat and add in the rest of your ingredients.  Kick the stove back up a bit and heat the stew until it is warmed through and uniform.  You shouldn’t boil it, but I did bring it almost to a simmer.

Creamy and warm winter treat!

Add whatever spices you like.  Traditionally, Old Bay is the way to go.  I had a Pampered Chef moroccan spice blend I wanted to try, so in it went.  Wonderfully different!  At the point, the stew is really open to interpretation.  Add herbs and spices… serve it with oyster crackers… make it special!  We had ours just like you see it here.   Plain and simple!

About 1/2  cup makes a serving, and this recipe yielded approximately 5 cups.  To make a more traditional batch, use milk or cream where I used fat free half & half.  Real butter would replace the margarine.

I made this yesterday.  Just took a taste of it cold from the fridge, and it kept just fine.  Can’t wait to heat up some more for lunch tomorrow!

Hello little Wonderland Oysters! Into the pot with you!

My Sweet Prince holds his lunch up for us to see.

Wonder how this would do in a slow cooker?  I’ll have to try it!

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

My man's plate. Yum!

Ingredients
1 large tuna steak, big enough to serve 2 or 3 people
2 tablespoons sesame chili oil
salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons creamy horseradish sauce, wasabi
3 green onions, sliced
1 lemon, juice of

Directions

• Drizzle sesame oil on both sides of the tuna steak. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
• While sauce is heating, heat a heavy frying pan on another burner with high heat. Place tuna in pan and sear until crispy and brown. Turn and sear on the other side. About 2 minutes per side if you like it rare. Up to 5 if you like it well done.

Just a big ole thick tuna steak!

For starters, I bought just enough tuna to feed my husband and I.  I wound up with leftover sauce, but I don’t mind.  It is good!  To sear the tuna, you want the pan pretty darn hot before you put the tuna in.  Notice that you drizzle the tuna with the oil, and then you put the tuna in the pan.  You don’t heat the oil in the pan.  I think this is key to getting the nice crispy brown outside without burning anything.

One incredibly flavorful sauce.

I used real butter here.  I believe regular butter is fine when not consumed alongside a lot of white carbs.  I think your favorite margarine would probably be ok here, if that is what makes you happy.   I doubt it will taste quite as good as real butter would, but I don’t think it would completely ruin the effort.  There are 28 reviews of this recipe over on RecipeZaar.  I bet at least one of them touches on the subject.  You can get LOTS of info and ideas by reading through the recipe reviews.

As always, I used low sodium soy sauce.   Now, for the wasabi, I did not use the more traditional tubed stuff.  I happened to eyeball a Manischewitz Wasabi Style Horseradish sauce on the grocery store shelf.  Who knew?  Looked interesting and was cheaper per ounce.  And guess what?  It worked very well in this recipe.  I would not recommend it for a bonafide sushi sit-down, but to add flavor to sauces or sandwiches… it’s pretty darn neat!

My side-plate-sized lovely salad.

I sliced up the tuna and piled it on top of fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes to form a lovely salad.  I drizzled the sauce, in moderation, over the whole thing for a nice dressing.  Added a little fresh ground pepper over top.  It was a delicious dinner.

My buddy, TJ, gave me a link to an alternate recipe that looks well worth trying.  Maybe next week!

Feel free to question me about the extent of my experience with particular sites, recipes, products, etc.

A note about recipes: I love to take traditional recipes and lighten them up or at least make them sugar free. Do not assume that I make a recipe AS IS nor that it is safe for you to do so. Be wise and wary, as always!

If you see a site that is owned by you or contributed by you and you would like some sort of credit or plug, by all means let me know. If you see unacceptable content I somehow overlooked, please let me know that too!

Enjoy!

Cook’s Illustrated – Lighter Guide
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Joy of Baking
Kraft Foods Cooking School
Land O’Lakes Ingredient Substitutions

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Exercise Playlists – SparkPeople
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Food General Reference

Almond Flour & Meal Info
Low Carb Products & Ingredients
Organics 101 – Allrecipes
Protein in nutrition – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rainier Cherries
Reducing the Fat Content of Regular Ground Beef
Turkey Info
Vanilla – Joyofbaking.com
Wegman’s Lower Carb
Weight Loss Diets

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Brand Stats – DietFacts
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Mom's Artichoke Cheese Balls

Ingredients
16 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and mashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

• Mash 2 cans drained artichoke hearts.
• Put olive oil into frying pan.
• Saute cloves.
• Add mashed artichokes and eggs.
• Saute and stir about 5 minutes.
• Mix bread crumbs and cheese in bowl.
• Remove mix from heat, roll into balls, roll in bread crumb and cheese mixture.

Quartered Artichoke Hearts

I used canned artichoke hearts, though you should be able to use frozen or fresh ones you marinate yourself. (Google recipes for marinated artichoke hearts.)  I believe the canned ones come in marinades using things besides oil as a base.  Get the ones with the best nutritional stats.  I really don’t think it matters.  I did choose quartered hearts, as it made for quicker mashing.

Do the Monster Mash.

Though I used real eggs, I’m willing to bet that egg substitute would work just fine. For the garlic, I used chopped from a jar. I always keep a jar of chopped garlic in the fridge. I love fresh pressed, but these are a real timesaver for me much of the time. As for parmesan cheese, I believe we originally used the grated stuff in the green can. However, I never use anything but fresh shredded from the cheese case. I believe I used Sargento.

The breadcrumbs and cheese look on as the artichoke mash cools down a bit.

Pick whatever breadcrumbs sound good to you. Normally, I use Italian style. I picked a garlic & herb variety this time. Anything works. This is a key way to add unique flavor, though, so be creative. Plain will work, but it will probably bore you.  Add your own seasonings, if you so desire.  Don’t know how panko or ground up Fiber One would work here.  Might try that for a friendlier “throughout the year” recipe.  Wouldn’t dream of it for delighting Thanksgiving feasters.

The Artichoke Cheese Balls await their fate which lies down the gullets of fine Thanksgiving company.

Mom managed to get 24 Artichoke Cheese Balls out of this recipe.  Somehow, I only got 18.  I rolled them just a tad too big.   (Yes, we ate three at home.  Sorry. lol)

The red stuff is Suzy Q’s no sugar added cranberry sauce.  It just happens to be in the picture.  I don’t think I’d recommend it as a dip for the Artichoke Cheese Balls.  It is so yummy, though, that I made a batch to bring along.  I did offer up some healthier items to the cause, and that was one.  :)

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes Recipe Box.
Also find this recipe in my public recipes on RecipeZaar.
It was also included in my Thanksgiving 2009 Brainstorm menu on RecipeZaar.

Scrumptious, in spite of imperfections!

Ingredients
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon lite salt
tons of fresh ground pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
2/3 cups milk
about 2 cups of cooked turkey
about 2 cups of veggies* (see notes)
2 unroll & bake pie crusts

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Line pie plate with one of the crusts.
• Heat butter over low heat until melted.
• Blend in flour, onion, salt and pepper.
• Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth and bubbling.
• Stir in broth and milk.
• Stirring constantly, heat to boiling and boil for one minute.
• Lower heat and stir in turkey and vegetables.
• Pour filling into lined pie plate.
• Top plate with second crust. Cut slits in top crust to allow venting. Press together the edges of top and bottom pie crust to seal.
• Put tin foil around just the edges of the pie so edges don’t burn during cooking.
• Bake in oven for about 35 minutes until crust is brown. Remove tin foil 5 or 10 minutes before pie is done.

How can we healthify this pie?  Well, to be clear, this decadent pie is a starchy comfort food.  I don’t think there is a way to eat it without guilt… other than to call it a holiday treat and don’t make another until next year!  There are some things you can do to make it a little less damaging… I always use Morton Lite Salt in place of regular table salt.  I did cook my vegetables in margarine, and I used low fat milk.  You can also opt for vegetables that are much lower in carbs and starch than the ones I picked.  I used Swanson chicken stock which actually had less sodium than their reduced sodium broth.  I reckon you could forget the bottom crust, put the filling right into the pie pan, then top it… making it a one-crust pie.  You can probably google low fat pot pie, or something similar, to find an all-around better recipe.  I desired to give my husband a full-on decadent real pot pie, for a change.  I’ve been picking from the middle, myself.  Still a lot starchier than what I normally eat, but avoiding the crust is an option to which I’m adhering.

Moving on…

The crust.  Lining a pie plate doesn’t come easy to some people, but don’t worry.  Just rip dough from here and patch it up there, as needed, until you have an evenly covered plate.  No one is going to see or care about the bottom.  Full coverage is all that matters!

Nobody knew the bottom looked silly!

The meat.  Of course, you can use chicken or just about any other meat with this recipe… but for our purposes, we’re using leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  Make sure whatever you use is fully cooked or just shy of done.  The overall 35 minute cooking time of the pie will not sufficiently cook raw meat.

The vegetables.  You have several options for vegetables here. I had some fresh shredded carrots and 3 or 4 baby red potatoes in the veggie drawer. Before I started cooking the pie filling base, I sauteed them in a little margarine… with lots of fresh ground pepper… then set them aside.  (We love fresh ground pepper!)

Red potatoes, carrots, and lots of fresh ground pepper!

If you don’t have fresh ones, you can use cooked leftovers or even a bag of frozen veggies.  Simply toss them in when the recipe calls for the meat and veggies.  Anything will work… peas, corn, peppers…  Whatever sounds good to you, toss them in!

Bubbly base!

In goes the filling. Time to add the top crust!

I tried to cut out a heart-shaped vent, but it wound up looking like someone dug a hole out of my pie with their fist. Bummer. So, I repaired it with a little leftover dough. Not the prettiest thing, but it is the best tasting pot pie we’ve ever had in this house. This just goes to show that even if you don’t have the skills of Martha Stewart when it comes to presentation, WHO GIVES A #$%* ??? Get in there, and cook anyway!

Six little vents and a last minute repair!

I got the base recipe from this Chicken Pot Pie recipe at RecipeZaar.

If you need more ideas for what to do with all those leftovers, check out Turkey Day, Take Two on RecipeZaar.

Thanksgiving 2009 Brainstorm – This is a collection of recipes I put together on RecipeZaar for your viewing pleasure. I believe I have tried every recipe on there at one time or another. I may add more throughout the weekend.  The Cheeseball with Everything is always a crowd pleaser.  Not a bad thing to keep in the fridge for nibbling, either.  This is a photo of one I made for New Year’s Eve a couple years ago.  I submitted it to RZ, and you can find a blurb from me among the reviews.  (Be sure to read through the reviews on the recipes that interest you!  All kinds of ideas and inspiration to be found there!)

Cheeseball with Everything!

I am pleased to make public for the first time two of my mother’s favorite recipes. Thanksgiving was a very special time for us and we loved to cook together. I miss her bunches.  The brownie recipe was a dessert she made throughout the year, and the artichoke cheese balls were made on special occasions. If you are looking for a simple, yet different kind of appetizer… I highly recommend the artichoke cheese balls.

Thanksgiving Recipe Collections

• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving Headquarters
• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving 2009 Menu
• Hungry Girl – These all look good. For those of you who followed my sweet potato souffle saga… the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie seems to have accomplished what I could not. Haven’t tried it, but I sure plan to.
• Two Week Countdown to Thanksgiving – GoodHousekeeping’s Thanksgiving site.
• Flatten Your Belly at Thanksgiving – While I’m not a big fan of any particular commercial diet plan, I do borrow recipes from the Flat Belly Diet now and then.
• Wegmans Everything Thanksgiving
• Bloom’s Thanksgiving
• Food Network’s Thanksgiving Site
• SparkPeople’s 500-Calorie Thanksgiving Feast
• HealthyEats Blog

Tradition, Moderation, Simplicity

• All of my Thanksgiving tagged entries.
• My Recipe Index

Tips for Thanksgiving Moderation

• Hungry Girl’s Turkey Day Cheatsheet
• Hungry Girl’s 7 Ways to Avoid Thanksgiving Weight Gain
• Your Stay-Slim Holiday Survival Plan from Prevention Magazine

Last but not least… some random tidbits. My friend Yoshiko came by for tea and talk today. I whipped up a batch of the No Sugar Added Cranberry Sauce for her using PEACH jello mix. What a great combination this turned out to be. I also added just a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of ginger while it was simmering.

Cranberry sauce stirred into Fage Total Greek yogurt made a wonderful breakfast.

I also threw together a batch of the Yorkshire Pudding for Miss Yoshi.

Miss Yoshi gave me the beautiful Thomas Kinkade plate.

Yoshi's Yorkies!

It was a wonderful day.  I also had lunch with my friend & neighbor, Sharon, this week.  What a pleasant week it has been.  It’s almost like I have a real social life…  ;)

Often overlooked, yet wonderful cranberries!

Ingredients
12 ounces (one standard bag) unsweetened fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup Splenda
1 packet Crystal Light Orange Sunrise powder
1 packet sugar free strawberry jello powder (.3 oz)

• Rinse cranberries.  Place cranberries in 2-quart saucepan with 1 cup water.
• Stir in Splenda, drink mix, and jello powder.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Turn heat to medium-low and simmer, smashing and stirring every few minutes until cranberries have all popped and sauce has thickened.
• Serve warm, or place into covered container and refrigerate.

When I went into the kitchen to clean up for the night, I basically dumped all the ingredients into a pan and monitored them as I filled up the dishwasher and wiped down the counters.  I turned the stove off just shy of the desired thickness and stirred once in awhile as it cooled down right on the burner.   That’s how quick and easy this is to make.  In fact, once I make it for Thanksgiving, I remember just how tasty it is and continue to make it weekly throughout the winter.  It is WONDERFUL stirred into greek yogurt or just eaten by itself as a snack.  You can certainly freeze some bags of cranberries to make this throughout the year.  I like to leave it as a seasonal treat.

Fall scented simmer!

You can play with this recipe a bit.  The original recipe calls for raspberry gelatin, but I already had strawberry on hand.  It turned out great.  I am trying out peach on a friend a bit later.  Can’t wait to see how that comes out!  You can also swap out Crystal Light flavors.  The original recipe calls for orange.  I had Orange Sunrise on hand, so in it went.  Yes, I “went rogue” by swapping out Orange for Orange “Sunrise”.   By the way…  one of the new style long Orange Sunrise packets, intended for a 2 quart pitcher of Crystal Light, comes out to exactly 1 tablespoon.

Suzy’s recipe calls for cinnamon.  A pinch of cinnamon is a fantastic addition.  Be sure you don’t overdo it.  A pinch will do.  Not everyone in my house likes cinnamon, so I leave it out most of the time.  Suzy’s recipe also says you can make this in a crock pot.  How I overlooked that, I have no idea.  What a wonderful recipe to have simmering on the counter all day.  I just love recipes that double as holiday potpourri.  You can bet I will try that soon.  I will probably need to double the ingredients to make it in my slow cooker effectively.

Also, I have never tried, but I am betting this cranberry sauce could make a wonderful top layer for some sort of cheesecake or cream cheese based pie.  It is so easy and has many many uses.  I recommend you try it at least once, even if you don’t care for traditional cranberry sauce.

Ready for Snackin'

There it is in all its saucy glory.  It’s still pretty warm there, but it continued to thicken in the refrigerator overnight.  I just had some, mixed into Fage Total, for my breakfast.

Served some weeks back with Prime Rib.

Wikipedia Article on Yorkshire Pudding
Wikipedia on Popovers

Be sure to google both terms when looking for the perfect recipe.  OR, just use this recipe I found on RecipeZaar! Definitely check out the original, but here it is with my preferred options.

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
4 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
dried herbs or spices
morton lite salt
12 tsp canola oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Grab a 12-muffin baking pan and place a teaspoon of canola oil into the bottom of each tin.
• Place pan into oven for 15 or 20 min until oil is nice and hot. If you look carefully, you will see smoke. However, it takes much longer for canola oil to really start smoking than is needed to get it hot enough for these purposes.
• While pan is in the oven, beat the rest of the ingredients together to a nice creamy consistency.  Add herbs and spices to mixture as desired.
• When oil is hot enough, remove the pan from the oven and pour batter evenly into the 12 tins. DO NOT OVERFILL. These will puff up to at least twice what you place into the tin. They barely need to be half full.
• Place pan back into oven for 20-25 minutes until popovers are puffed up and crisp.
• Serve with gravy or butter or anything you think would be tasty when placed into the holes of the popovers.

The original recipe says to beat the mixture into the consistency of double cream.  I don’t think I get quite that consistency probably due to using skim milk.   Also, the original recipe calls for 1 cup of eggs.  I usually have large eggs on hand, so in my case that works out to 4 eggs.  Google for whatever size eggs you have.  (Did you know you can also google for standard conversions that will come up at the top of the search results??)

Sometimes I don’t add any herbs to the mixture, and other times I add savory herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  (She was once a true love of mine…)  I’ve often thought it would be fun to add cinnamon or something to these… perhaps cheese… but my men won’t have it!  Since I only partake in these once a year or so, I just make em the way they like em and serve with brown gravy.  I do fantasize about some sort of whole flour / eggbeater type combination, but I have yet to try.  (Yes, I have odd fantasies.  What can I say.)

Alas, this is not a recipe I can indulge in on a regular basis.  I will be enjoying one at the upcoming Big Meal.  :)