What's cooking? part 4

Seems like the right place to me! Sorry about the scare. That's not a nice thing to go through.

I feel like I need some more breakfast and work lunch ideas myself, but at the moment I make these microwave muffins for breakfast and I think they're pretty good. I leave out the Stevia and I use greek yoghurt to top them instead of butter. I've given up all attempts at paleo despite what they're called on the website, but these seem healthy to me because the protein seems to keep me full for hours and stop me having to grab crap to eat when there's not much I really want available. I might experiment soon with reducing the fat by subbing applesauce for the oil, but if they taste terrible I'm going straight back to the oil :) They're also really good if you make them with banana and stir in a bit of peanut butter.

Workday lunches are tricky for me too. At the moment I do a kind of home-made Lunchables: carrot sticks, nuts, Emmenthal because it's one of my favourite cheeses, snow peas.

VG have you thought about making little omelette muffins for breakfasts? basically, if you can put it into a muffin tin and it tastes good, you can eat it for breakfast. i like spinach (fresh), feta, maybe a few lil bacon bits if i have bacon. Also those little oatmeal cupcakes are great for on-the-go snacks. I think getting into the habit of making something every week and knowing you're gonna eat it for breakfast every day is a good habit to start with. when the school year is in full swing, i basically eat the same thing every day for breakfast/lunch and then dinner is a special treat of my choosing. it makes grocery shopping easier too.

oh also i make granola and eat it with berries and yog for breakfast a lot -- i use an adapted version of this granola recipe (i use unsweetened coconut, reduce sweet elements, and sub pecans for cashews) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/granola-recipe.html

I've been making a lot of spinach and cheese strata lately, subbing frozen diced potatoes for the bread tho. It's this recipe:

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/12/spinach-and-cheese-strata/

It's for real SO GOOD and just as good cold, I've even been taking slices on bus trips and stuff for when I can't get gluten-free foods on the road.

If you want to add meat, after the onion softens I add a few links' worth of sweet Italian sausage out of the casing and brown that up, THEN add in the spinach to wilt. (I tried using raw spinach but it's so voluminous that it makes the casserole too tall to fit in the pan and then cooks down to not enough. Turns out you kinda have to cook it first.)

oh yeah -- i totally do that with chorizo! i burnt out on making egg things for a while but i guess the season is here :-/

I've been making a lot of salads lately because even though it's a mild summer, it's hot enough that I don't want to cook any more than I have to. They are good because there's always leftovers for lunch.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/07/crunchy-kale-chicken-salad/
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2010/04/tuna-pasta-salad-wpeas/
http://www.daringgourmet.com/2014/01/02/mega-healthy-wheat-berry-salad/

Also if you like eggs, hardboiled eggs make a good protein snack or lunch component.

speaking of salads i just discovered that my new local big grocery store has those huge things of spinach for $5 all the time
i go through one of those a week! on the grand scale of humanity this is a small achievement, but i was glad.

woo you guys are full of great suggestions!! imma try all these!!

thanks everyone!

I think the best thing you can do is experiment more with cooking in general. Trying to switch to a healthy diet is great but I meet so many health-oriented people who are baffled about how to implement it in their cooking long-term because they struggle to think of what to cook when they're tired of the one or two obvious ideas they have for a particular ingredient.

So, for example, maybe take a week of experimenting with how you can use one new ingredient. Like farro, for example. Make enough so that you can make something with it today and then have enough extra to make a farro-inclusive salad the next day or etc. Next week, swiss chard. Following week, green lentils. Maybe some weeks try making something very unhealthy but unfamiliar (a kind of cheese you've never had? lamb? veal stock? fish sauce? etc.).

if you are into steel cut oats at all (their a super low glycemic and filling brekkie, imo) you can just toss 'em in a rice cooker (if you have) and go about your morning routine, then they'll be ready whenever your ready for 'em. even sans cooker they take ~12minutes on the stove and i think they might be a nice option for you VG unless of course you hate the stuff. i like to add a bit of dried fruit, maybe some nuts, cinnamon and always a little butter, ymmv (?)

You can also make them overnight in a slow cooker! And they freeze and reheat well.

thanks outdoor miner, i do like steelcut oats!

carl, can u tell me about slow cooking them? how much/how long etc

my breakfast is usually a handful of frozen blueberries from a costco 5 lb bag microwaved to melt (40 seconds) and add half a 17 oz tub of fage

I always used Alton Brown's technique - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-oatmeal-recipe.html

But this looks good, too - http://www.chow.com/recipes/30656-slow-cooker-steel-cut-oatmeal

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/06/better-no-knead-bread-recipe.html

Made the Serious Eats version of no knead bread (first time baking) and it was good - didn't rise much, but I kind of combined that recipe with the Bittman steps (ie less resting, not being in the fridge for days).

whoa harbl i am feeling that blueberry tip

Found my new favourite cooking channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VXQltHSkyY

Those look really good.

VG - here's an interesting freezer friendly breakfast idea: http://damndelicious.net/2013/06/12/breakfast-taquitos/

ooh yum! thx carl

what can i make out of ground turkey for dinner? i have a lot of basil, also tomatoes squash bell peppers and eggplant

the only thing i ever make is turkey burgers... u could make p flavorful ones!

turkey meatballs with your spices of choice and some grilled/baked(roasted?) veggies?

yeah meatballs sounds good. i'll put some basil and garlic in the food processor and see what happens. my pepper grinder seems to have broken. unrelated.

picadillo is my favorite thing to make with ground turkey. Here's the recipe I kind of sort of follow in a flexible way. The raisins and capers are key.

http://www.fareshare.net/recipesV13-07T.html#Turkey%20Picadillo%20-%20Cuban

that looks awesome! i'm gonna make that next time i get turkey. soon.

omg yes i will eat that

esp because i'm looking for more things i can eat with rice because i love rice. i basically made pesto w/o cheese, mixed with turkey and an egg, and tossed some bell peppers and squash in some stuff. baking at 400 on a wire rack + baking sheet.

oh yeah I always always always serve the picadillo over rice!

Or rice + black beans. I should also have mentioned that the chopped green olives are also key, along with the capers and raisins. I don't measure a goddamn thing, just chuck stuff in whatever seems like appropriate quantities. I usually throw in a chopped chipotle in adobo because I like the smoky/spicy thing. And cilantro. And a squeeze of lime.

and while I'm at it I will totally rep for that Miami Spice cookbook--really great for when you are feeling bored with the same ole stuff. Most of the recipes are pretty quick and easy, and the headnotes are great.

I made this tonight with a whole chicken, turned out damn good!

http://paleomg.com/enchilada-chicken-stew/

Don't tell me what to garnish with cilantro, enchilada recipe blogger

the intro to that recipe made me sooooo not want to make it

keep the recipe, delete the rest including chatty-cathy

I am so glad that you used a whole chicken and not just chicken breasts, which are for ppl who don't really care how food tastes.

Picadillo looks wonderfully/terrifyingly hearty! I don't want summer to be over yet but I am looking forward to fall cooking--it's not really any fun right now. :(

Maybe the enchilada slow-cooker stew though! I have a lot of chicken in the freezer, and I'll be the leftovers make GREAT chilaquiles....

This is my goto recipe for leftover turkey:

http://gastrogeek.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/ottolenghi-turkey-and-sweetcorn-meatballs-with-roasted-pepper-sauce/

habanero and cheddar cornbread

fuckin' CRISPY SKINNED BERBERE CHICKEN W/ ETHIOPIAN LENTILS, that's what's cooking? part 4

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1zgptXIJekg/UJppSe0it8I/AAAAAAAAEoA/LJEMw8n4qvY/s1600/Bere+Bere-5940-2.jpg

http://www.feastingathome.com/2012/11/crispy-berbere-chicken-with-ethiopian.html

it is so spicy but so goooo oo oo o o oooood

pro-tip: add like 1 cup of diced potato (I used yukon gold but it's kinda earthy and I will go w/ something more neutral next time)
pro-tip: just go to a spice shop or a co-op and get berbere in bulk

bookmarked that, looks great

I just discovered that the co-op I'm a member of sells Bell & Evans chicken and thighs are $3.49/lb which seems p reasonable for chicken that fyi is SO SO MUCH BETTER than shit you get at Acme or whatever. I don't think I've ever made chicken this good.

Bookmarked here too!

Here too, that looks really good.

fyi it was also pretty easy to make (once you acquire the berbere that is)

i think i could make it now save the fenugreek but a premade version would be welcome.

fenugreek is p essential IMO

oh believe me i would be buying me some fenugreek

I made the Alton Brown overnight steelcut oatmeal last night, and it turned out great! so creamy and lovely and filling!

I have a question -- I found that 1 cup each of dried cranberries & dried figs was really overpowering, kind of felt like there was a bit too much fruit going on, I like my oatmeal a little more plain, I think.
Next time I would like to dial back on the fruit by about half. If I do that, should I then cut back on the water? So 3 cups of water instead of 4, since there will be less fruit to soak up the liquid? Or just leave the liquid as is.

help?

made that berbere chicken & lentils dish last night, it was incredible! will be my lunch today as well, thanks for the tip

I'd leave the liquid as is, since it's the oatmeal/liquid ratio that's key. Fruit is just a mix in.