Couple of delicious eats!

This Cajun Jambalaya (to the left) is why I bought chicken thighs, shrimp and chorizo to begin with. Sub in cauli-rice if you like, though I limit my serving size instead. Since there was more of each of those meats than I needed, I cooked them on the grill anyway and figured that I'll decide what to make with them later. Fate had me paging through the most recent issue of Cooking Light the next day where I came across the recipe for Shrimp, Chorizo & Corn Salad, which left me with a couple of boneless/skinless grilled chicken thighs still. Coincidentally, I've been craving chicken salad and happened to have everything else on hand already, too! Yay!

You may notice my chicken salad's a little darker colored than typical. The spice used to season the chicken when I grilled it for the jambalaya blackened (No, not burnt!) and that's what affected the color. I did include some grapes... mostly because we had them in the fridge already, but also because I like a little sweet in my chicken salad - whether that be raisins, apple or pear bits. No recipe to link to, just tossed chicken, pecans, grapes, celery, green onion, mayo & sour cream together and plopped on top of chopped romaine. The grill seasoned chicken was enough seasoning.

This photo is not mine. (I scanned a part of the page in my magazine.) Though mine did look nearly the same. I did not have fresh basil or tiny tomatoes or lemon, and I only had one half-ear of corn on the cob leftover from Father's Day. Fortunately I was easily able to remedy this by using dried basil, a chopped whole tomato, a splash of lime juice and a little additional frozen corn. I'm not a big fan of shrimp so I had only two bites of this. It was good, but not good enough for me to justify eating more corn, which, of course, is a high sugar veggie. But the rest of my family thought it was fresh and good. "A" thought it probably would be extra good as a chilled salad, too.

If you set out to make one of these, the Cajun Jambalaya is awesome! (Also, it's easy to make desired substitutions, such as the sausage type/pepper variety/seasoning mix/rice...) I was thrilled to make a purchase for just the one meal I had in mind, only later to find that they easily slid into place for two more dishes. Does anyone actually set out to do this? What meals do you end up making this way?

I know, I know. Still too many treats going on around here.

Monday, 2/18/2013
B> scrambled eggs w/spam, salsa & cheese, 2 strawberries, 3 blackberries, hot tea
L> cheese, turkey deli meat, salami, 1/2 apple sliced, 1 strawberry, 1 sf vanilla cappuccino
S> serving Dreamfield's w/meat sauce, sf coleslaw, 1 clementine segment
Snacks> 1 sf Blackberry Cream Italian Soda, couple more slices mozzarella & salami, carrot stick w/pb

Tuesday, 2/19/2013
B> scrambled eggs w/spam, 2 strawberries, 1 sf homemade cappuccino
L> small bowl wild rice chicken soup, few celery sticks w/pb
S> 1/4c jasmine rice w/pork stir-fry, cottage cheese, 3 chunks pickled beets, Blackberry Italian Soda (no h&h)
Snacks> few peanuts, 1 Ezekiel toasted w/pb, 1 sf fudge pop

Yes, they were regular homemade pickled beets.  Yes, they were good.

Wednesday, 2/20/2013
B> egg w/bacon & cheese on multigrain english muffin, 2 strawberries, 1 sf homemade cappuccino
L> 1 Ezekiel bread w/turkey/roast beef/cheese/lettuce/mustard, couple celery sticks w/pb
S> sirloin steak, about 1/4-1/2c mix of boiled & fried potato/carrot/mushrooms, 2 slices roma tomato w/mozzarella & fresh basil drizzled with balsamic & olive oil, Blackberry Italian Soda
Snacks> handful homemade sf cocoa coated almonds, hot tea, 1 piece sf cinnamon cake w/whipped cream, 1sf fudge pop

I'm very sad.  I'm all out of club soda, though I still have lots of the blackberry simple syrup.  The last couple of times I skipped adding the h&h to the Italian Soda and it is just as wonderful.  I'm out of berries.  I'm sort of relieved because simply having the fruit hanging around is just too much temptation for me.

Thursday, 2/21/2013
B> scrambled eggs on 2 roma slices w/mozzarella leftover from last night, 1 sf homemade cappuccino
L> small chicken taco salad, couple celery sticks w/pb
S> about 1/4c baked beans w/3 meatballs, few bites salad, mozzarella/tomato, 5-6 mandarin orange segments
Snacks> handful peanuts,1 sf hot chocolate, salami/mozzarella/apple slices small plate

My family had a chocolate silk pie thawed for dessert.  I was only momentarily considering having a slice, thought if I really want it it will still be there in the fridge tomorrow.  Also made it through work without indulging in the moist chocolate cake with fudgy frosting that we served as part of lunch to students.  It was tough after traying all that cake and smelling that wonderful sweet cocoa goodness...

Friday, 2/22/2013
B> 2fried eggs, half slice ham, 1whole wheat toast w/butter & jam, Tassimo Chai Latte
L> 2 chicken thighs, cottage cheese w/few segments mandarin orange, celery sticks w/pb
S> serving Dreamfield's pasta w/hamburger/Tbsp corn/broccoli, cottage cheese, SoBe (watered down)
Snacks> several small handfulls peanuts, small slice cheesecake brownie, coffee w/h&h and stevia & xylitol

Oh my.  You must make this brownie cheesecake recipe.  Here's the link to All Day I Dream About Food, Carolyn's, recipe:  Brownie Cheesecake.  The only changes I made were to use xylitol and Stevia In The Raw for sweeteners and I omitted the salt.

I made bone broth last night.  Smelled so very good.  I dumped some pork rib bones, leftover steak chunks & trimmings, tons of chicken wings (That were free to me - YAY!) and trimmings from mushrooms/tomatoes/onion that we used this week, as well as some sorry looking fresh basil and a couple of bay leaves.  Then I splashed a bunch of water over it and a Tbsp or two of cider vinegar and set the crockpot on low overnight.  This morning it was a beautiful caramel-y golden color.  Not sure what I'm going to do with it, aside from using it as a soup broth base, as I've never been one for drinking plain broth.

Saturday, 2/23/2013
B> piece of Brownie Cheesecake, 2 coffee w/h&h/xylitol/stevia
L> 1 slice whole wheat bread w/turkey/cheese/mustard and 3 tortilla chips
S> Subway 6"flatbread tuna w/cheddar/greens/little onion & tomato&oregano, 3 thin slices of salami
Snacks> 1/2apple w/pb, watered down SoBe

Sunday, 2/24/2013
B> scrambled eggs w/spam
L> piece of Brownie Cheesecake, 1 sf vanilla latte (with added coffee at home to warm it up), salami/cheese/few slices apple
S> Jorge's chicken skewers, 1/4c (x2=1/2c, actually) coconut jasmine rice, cottage cheese w/few bites pear
Snacks> sf fudge pop, few peanuts, 1 mini sf york patty

This was another of the things that Jorge was shown making in that emailed video glimpse into some recipes from his newest book.  It was good.  Except for the eggplant.  Nobody in my family really liked that part of it and there was a mountain of skewers and eggplant chunks sitting on top in the garbage can after supper.  While Jorge didn't include mushrooms in his I had a handful to use up and included them.  I believe he served it with plain rice or brown rice.  I had a hankering for coconut rice.  More so as coconut jasmine rice.  I should've known better... I went back for nearly a second serving.  Love, love, love jasmine rice.  It was out of this world (at least to me it was) made with 1c jasmine rice, 1 can coconut milk and about a half can of water brought to a boil, shut off and left to finish cooking by steaming with the lid left on.

So what is on the skewers?  Chicken, eggplant, red bell pepper, green onions (a.k.a. scallions, if you prefer) and a brushed on marinade of dijon mustard that was mixed with a bit of lemon juice (though I had a fresh lime that needed to be used instead).  Would I make it again?  Probably.  Definitely not with the eggplant, though.  The eggplant didn't taste horrible, think it was a texture thing for us.

Quick Pork Stir-Fry Recipe

Quick Pork Stir-Fry
(majorly adapted from Food Network magazine)
(serves 4-6)
2lbs. boneless sirloin pork chops,cut into bite-size pieces
1T + 2tsp cornstarch*
1T + 2tsp balsamic vinegar
3tsp soy sauce
2tsp packed brown sugar**
1/3c water
1tsp Chinese Five Spice powder
2T coconut butter, softened/melted
2T minced garlic, heaped
3T coconut oil***
2 pkgs. frozen stir-fry vegetables mix****
s&p to taste

Toss pork with 1T each of the cornstarch and vinegar and 2tsp soy sauce.  In another bowl, place the brown sugar, remaining 2tsp cornstarch, remaining 2tsp vinegar, remaining 1tsp soy sauce, water, Chinese Five Spice, minced garlic and the coconut butter - set aside.  Heat 1T coconut oil in large pan or stir-fry pan over high heat.  Add pork and cook through, possibly doing in several batches depending on pan size.  When done, move to a paper towel lined plate.  Add remaining 2T coconut oil to same pan, over high heat, then add stir-fry vegetables.  Once vegetables are hot and at desired tenderness, pour the brown sugar sauce mixture over, then add pork back to the pan.  Add s&p as preferred.  Toss to mix and heat through.  Eat on its own or over jasmine rice.*****

*I used 1/2 cornstarch and 1/2 xanthan gum to cut back on the carbs.
**I used a loose teaspoon of brown sugar to further cut back.  You likely can omit completely or sub in your choice of sweetener.
***I used a mix of coconut oil and peanut oil.
****I used 2 Chinese stir-fry frozen veg mixes that I'd got at Walmart, which I believer were 12oz each.  Again, sub in your choice of veggies, fresh or frozen.
*****I allow myself 1/4c rice with stir-fry meals.



...Belly-Aching Alert...

11/3 - As I may have posted before, I have been having some chest discomfort and muscle pain (sometimes nearly spasms) in my lower & upper back, chest & ribs, for quite some time.  A couple of days ago I realized that I'd also had a couple heart palpitations again, which I hadn't had for a while.  I thought about my one cup of coffee each morning as possibly being the culprit.  But I've been drinking coffee for some years now and just don't believe that that once-a-day-most-days cup could cause the aching that I've been having off and on for around the last year, which I'd noticed has become around the clock recently.  Then I thought about medications.  The only one that I take is Losartan Potassium for my blood pressure, which is what I'd switched to when a previous one caused my potassium level to drop and another previous one I'd tried caused an irritating cough.  When I did a quick search I discovered that I was experiencing some known side effects, which made me decide to stop taking it yesterday.  I'm anxious to see if my symptoms drop off over the next several days.  (Yes, I did talk to my doctor regarding this over the phone last night.)  This possibly sounds like a really lame excuse, but I have been wanting to start doing my work-out dvd's again and have been hesitant to do so because of the discomfort in my chest.  I know that exercise is a key component that I have been missing while trying to continue to reduce my weight and increase good health.  I know that I feel better when I am somewhat regularly working out.  I just didn't want to fall over from a heart attack when trying to do the things necessary to avoid one in the first place - ha ha!  Now, just one day later, I am a little less sore.  But it is early in the day and may just be coincidence, so I am keeping this post as a way to help monitor.

11/4 - Woke with a small headache behind my eyeballs, which is what I notice when my bp is elevated.  But I also am getting a cold, so hard to tell yet what it's really attributed to.

Singapore-Style Fried Rice

Singapore-Style Fried Rice
Serves 6-10
(adapted from an old issue of Woman's World magazine)
3T olive oil 
3tsp sesame seed oil
1 large onion, diced 
1/4c diced ham 
1 large red bell pepper, diced 
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced 
1 bunch bok choy, stems and leaves chopped
2 medium portabello mushrooms, sliced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
2tsp finely grated, peeled fresh ginger 
1T minced  garlic, heaped 
1 lb. sliced beef & pork, cut into bite-size pieces 
3 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 
4c cooked basmati rice, cold 
2T low-sodium soy sauce  

Prepare your vegetables.  If you haven't any leftover or pre-made rice ready, get it done and rinse with cold water.

 
Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil and 1 1/2tsp sesame seed oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, peppers and ham and stir-fry 4 minutes or until veggies start to soften.  Move to a bowl.

 
Return skillet to heat; add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil & 1 1/2tsp sesame seed oil. When hot, add meat and stir-fry until cooked through. 

Add the reserved onions/peppers/ham, bok choy, mushrooms, water chestnuts, ginger & garlic and curry powder on top of the meat and gently stir-fry until bok choy wilts.  Add rice on top and drizzle soy sauce over and fold rice under to bottom of pan. Gently let fry while you make the scrambled eggs in a seperate small skillet with the remaining oil.

When eggs are set, turn off skillets, spread scrambled eggs over fried rice and carefully fold in.  Serve with additional soy sauce or red chili pepper sauce at the table.  So, so good.