Meatless Monday... Spicy Tofu Noodles!!

Meatless Monday.... spicy tofu noodles with cabbage, carrots and edemame! Full of lean protein and tons of flavor! Start with tofu... I LOVE tofu's lean protein, but I don't like mushy food... so I always do this to my tofu... park it on paper towels for 10 minutes... And then I weight it down with a big book, to get all the moisture out! Then, I bake it (350 degrees for at least 30 minutes)... but first I gotta give it some flavor! Tonight's flavor... courtesy of these guys! One of my favorite flavor profiles! Start with 1/4 cup of soy, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes, and copious amounts of fresh chopped garlic and ginger (about 2 tablespoons of each)! After chopping my garlic and ginger, I reserved half, and added the other half to the sauce I just made! After mixing my soy sauce mixture, I added about half to the cubed tofu, and let it marinate on the counter for 10 minutes (or up to 30). Next, I added 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the leftover soy sauce mixture and saved it to flavor and thicken the noodles! Next I cooked my pasta (thin spaghetti tonight) according to the directions, and then IT HIT ME!! Edamame would totally be AWESOME in this, so I added it to the pasta to cook for 5 minutes... and I'm glad I did! For some crispy, crunchy nutrition, I added about 1 cup of carrots, half a shredded cabbage, and 6 scallions! Wok time!!! I got my wok-ish pan good and hot and added a tablespoon of canola oil, and then, I added my veggies with the reserved garlic and ginger. Cook for a couple of minutes while the pasta and edamame finish! Don't forget about the tofu! It's been baking in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes! Now it's firm, meaty, and full of flavor!! After the veggies get started, add the cooked noodles, and the reserved sauce with the corn starch. I also kept some of that pasta liquid (about a cup... just in case)... and added a little to the noodles to help combine all the flavors of the veggies, noodles, and garlic and ginger! Delicious, nutritious spicy tofu noodles with cabbage, carrots, and scallions! If there's not enough heat in those noodles for you, add a bit of sriracha... like I did. Great on their own! Nothing better for meatless Monday... UNLESS... Your beautiful wonderful neighbor pops in for a visit, and shares some delicious noodles with you! Meatless Monday just got better... with Penelly and edamame... and that's just the way we like it!!

Saturday Night!! Boys and Meat and Potatoes!

Super simple and super delicious! Plain ol' meat and potatoes! The boys and I decided to treat ourselves to some steak on the grill! And, since all these athletes are card-members in the "no carbs" club... I decided to go super simple with mashed sweet potatoes (though I'm not sure sweet potatoes are free from carbs... but we're going with it)! First things first... channeling my inner Fred Flinstone, I seasoned up these skirt steaks (that were on sale today, woohoo!)... with some olive oil and Montreal Steak Seasoning (my fav!). Then, I let them sit for about 30 minutes (or more) to come to room temp while I got my potatoes ready! Then, I peeled and quartered 5 sweet potatoes and cooked in boiling salted water until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Then I drained the water, added 2 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper, and enough milk to make smooth and creamy! Sweet potatoes are so flipping good, you don't need to mess with them... let them be the super food that they ARE!! SO GOOD... thank you sweet potatoes! Then, I added those steaks to the grill on high heat. For medium rare, I cook about 4 minutes on each side. I liked mine rare, so I pulled it off after 3-ish minutes on each side. Now, the hard part... you have to let that meat rest! In ten minutes you will have juicy, tender, delicious steak... but if you slice it now, it will be dry... WAIT! You can DO IT! Dinner Stevie's way... medium rare grilled strip steak and creamy mashed sweet potatoes! So simple and sooooo amazing! Dinner Joe's way... same delicious grilled medium rare steak (manly portions), and those amazing sweet potatoes! So simple, tasty, and will totally satisfy your carnivore cravings!

Meatless Tuesday!!! (Sorry... Monday...)

So, after a "not so meatless Monday" we enjoyed a red sauce infused meatless Tuesday with one of our favorite meal starters... simple tomato sauce!!! You might change the way you think about tomato sauce if you try this super simple tasty red sauce. Start with 2 medium-small, or 1 large onion chopped. Drop that onion into a big pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and saute on medium heat for about 7 minutes (or until soft). Next, add about 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper and 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped to the onion. Saute for another minute. Next, I added 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and 1 super small can of tomato paste. Mix in the tomato paste first to combine with the onion mixture, then add crushed tomatoes. Last, I added a teaspoon of salt, some fresh pepper, and 1 scant teaspoon of sugar (to off set the acid in the tomato). Mix, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes... though the longer the better... Cook your favorite pasta according to the directions... and add that delicious sauce... and a little fresh grated parmesean cheese too! Meatless Tuesday, making up for "not so meatless" Monday! I'll take it!!

Meatless Monday... Do Clams Count?

So, tonight, on meatless Monday, we are having some warm creamy delicious clam chowder! And then it occurs to us... clams... do they count? As meat? Do they have a "face"? A heartbeat? DANG! I guess it's "NOT SO MEATLESS" MONDAY... and we'll take it! So, for delicious clam chowder, we start by prepping our veggies... peel and chop 6 carrots, 6 stalks of celery, chop 2 onions and wash and dice 6 potatoes (I used yukon gold). Now, I'm not usually a "butter" girl... so much fat, no nutrition... but tonight, I was like Paula Deene at a butter convention! YIKES! I added half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) to a pan and added the chopped veggies (onion, carrots and celery) and sauteed for about 10 minutes. After the veggies saute, add the chopped potatoes, salt and pepper, and half a teaspoon of thyme and mix together on medium heat. Let the potatoes cook for about 10 minutes with the veggies. Next, I added the clam juice from 4 cans of clams (but not the clams.... yet). There wasn't enough liquid to cover the veggies, so I added about 2 cups of chicken stock to the liquid so it would cover the veggies. Let that simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes until the potatoes and veggies are tender! Now to thicken up this chowder, I added ANOTHER HALF STICK OF BUTTER and 1/4 cup of flour to a small pan to cook for a bit. I'm officially disgusted with myself (my bad butter-self), but my longing for tasty chowder is clearly prevailing.... cook the butter and flour for about 2 minutes. Then... After the flour and butter gets bubbly... add about a cup of the liquid (stock) from the soup TO the flour mixture and whisk together.... then, add the flour mixture to the soup! You've basically made a roux with flour and butter, and it will make your chowder thick and rich and super delicious! (Thank you butter) Next I added the 4 cans of clams and mixed in with the chowder! And this is what I got! NOW THAT IS MONEY CHOWDER! I could stop there... but my alter ego, butter loving chowder loving sista went OVER THE TOP!!! That's right... after all that butter, I added... One cup of light cream. That's right, cream... and I'm not apologizing! Now, the way I look at it, I have a lot of butter and cream in that soup, but I also have a lot of veggies and clams in that pot too! Not to mention liquid (stock)... so... I'm eating clam chowder tonight, and I'm OK WITH THAT!!! If you make this chowder, you will understand!! And you might thank me, the clams, the butter, and the cream... just sayin'! Now, how to garnish this delicious creamy piping hot chowder? Fresh baked bread???? Or the ever popular chowder crackers... so crispy, salty, crunchy... and killer good... hmmm... And the winner is.... crackers! YES!!! Have some warm creamy chowder and crispy crunchy crackers too! That's Stevie's way! Maybe not "meatless" Monday... but delicious Monday, for sure!!!

Patriots and Pork Tenderloin!!

Talk about comfort food... I've done this meal a million times... because it's THAT GOOD! Affordable, delicious, comforting, and easy! And it has that Sunday-dinner feel, that everyone craves when it's chilly out and you're watching your favorite football team! So, this is a familiar tale... pork, carrots, and potatoes... but so worthy of all the attention it gets! First, we peeled carrots, chopped, drizzled with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and thyme, and popped in a hot (400 tonight) oven for 40 minutes! And this is what we got... Freakin' delicious... carrots... WHO KNEW?? So good and so healthy! Next, potatoes... First wash and chop potatoes and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary!!! Cook for 30-40 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Super savory potato deliciousness! Crispy, tasty, comforting, aromatic potatoes... ahhhhh! Now, pork! I did the usual... coated the tenderloins in a rub of 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Next, I seared them off in a hot pan on all sides. Turn the tenderloins every 2 minutes as they brown. Then, pop into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until they read 137-140 degrees. These took exactly 15 minutes tonight. I also chopped up an onion to join my pork while it cooks... and I'm glad I did! After the pork was done, I had this pan full of onions and pork tenderloin drippings... potential for greatness... I mean, this is my pork tenderloin's grammy moment... a championship moment, so I took another 5 minutes to make some killer "gravy" or sauce out of those drippings from the pork and onion! So, all I did was take the pork out to rest (meat mantra... let the well cooked meat rest), and make a little sauce by adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan, stirring into the drippings and onions, and then I added about a half to one cup of chicken stick to the pan. All while stirring on a medium high heat. The stock gets thick and the sauce looks delicious. Last, I did that thing my Mom always does, I added a dash of "gravy-master". It's this little bottle of magic. It turns your gravy or sauce into a PROM QUEEN, a NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER of gravy, and we love it! Holy Cow?!?! What's that... apple pie! HECK YEAH!!! Thank you daylight savings, and your extra hour! Tonight it's dinner, and dessert! So, here you have our humble, delicious, comforting pork tenderloin, potatoes, and simple roasted carrots! Easy, delicious, and full of lean nutrition! And... a gluten free dinner... just in case your wondering (accept for the pie, and the flour in the gravy, but those are easy to leave out)! Fall, football, and food... does it get any better????

Saturday Night Spicy Noodle Craving!!!!

Have you ever been home on a Saturday night with a hankering for something special, but with little ingredients to inspire the foundation for something tasty? That's MY NIGHT... right now... but I'm determined to make this hankering for some spicy noodles a REALITY! Let's see if I can pull it off?? So, I need spicy noodles... and this is all I could find... I'm not sure where this is going... but it can't be all THAT bad, right? I started by cooking these cellophane noodles... if you don't have these, just use plain old pasta (thin spaghetti or angel hair) and cook according to the package directions! I knew I wanted it "spicy", so I chopped up those 2 red skinny peppers from my neighbors garden... seeds and all! PREPARE FOR HEAT!! If you don't have an awesome neighbor who gives you hot peppers, you can use crushed red pepper flakes to taste. So, I have heat, I have noodles, but I want some crispy nutrition to go with it all, so I chopped up everything I could find... 2 small red bell peppers, a small red onion, and some shredded carrots. I also chopped 6 cloves of garlic, cause I'm not playin'... and I want flavor!!!! After I cooked my noodles, I rinsed them in cold water while I heated up my wok-ish pan. I added a couple of tablespoons of canola oil, and all my chopped veggies and cooked on high heat for about 2 minutes. After 2 minutes I added my ridiculously hot red peppers and garlic (can you say flavor explosion?), and cooked for another minute while I mixed it all together. While the veggies and garlic had a wok party, I measured out 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons (half of the soy) of rice wine vinegar. I thought about all that heat with those peppers, and I decided to add a big dollop (tablespoon or so) of honey, to balance the heat. After the soy cooks with the veggies for a minute or two, add the noodles and toss for another couple of minutes until heated through! YUM!! Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro (if you have it, if not, garnish with a fork and your mouth)... Delicious piping hot spicy noodles with veggies! Hope this dish can live up to the expectations of my Saturday night spicy noodle craving!!!