Not Your Father's BLT

First off, let's agree to call it a really good mushroom sandwich instead of a BLT. The liberal use of liquid smoke gives the mushrooms a smoky flavor that reminds you of bacon. Pair these mushrooms with a good summer tomato and some lettuce on toasted bread and you have a very good sandwich. Because of my desire to cut out as much fat as possible I didn't put mayonnaise on my sandwich.  We used mustard, honey and Greek yogurt that we mixed together.

The recipe is very simple:

1/4 cup liquid smoke

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon salt

Use real maple syrup, not the type that you put on your pancakes. Mix the liquid smoke, maple syrup and salt together. Cut the portobello mushroom caps into quarter inch slices and lay them in a shallow dish that as been filled with the marinade. Let the mushrooms set for 15 minutes and then turn them over for another 15 minutes. The original directions say to fry the mushroom strips in oil, but again because I'm cutting out oil I used just a quick spray of Pam, and then added the marinade as I cooked the mushrooms in order to keep them from sticking to the pan. Make sure your pan doesn't get too hot, or all the sugar in the maple syrup will start to burn. Once the mushrooms look slightly like strips of  bacon it's time to assemble your sandwich and enjoy .

The Latest Iteration

The latest iteration of my blog is a low-fat , fat-free , heart healthy blog. In September 2015 I was diagnosed with heart disease. Let's face it, this is the result of years of effort . I love my potato chips, I love my chocolate, and I love eating junk food. Is it any surprise then that I began having chest pains, throat pain, and pain in my left arm whenever I walked. A routine physical picked up and an irregularity in my EKG. Subsequent tests, including a heart catheterization, revealed six blockages ranging from 30% to 100% . Due to the number of blockages , and their locations, I was not a candidate for stents but was a candidate for an immediate bypass surgery. Since I am not a fan of having your chest cracked open,I decided to think about the surgery for a while.I'm still thinking about it. But in the meantime I'm taking my medications, and pursuing an exceptionally low fat or fat free diet. I'm loosely following Dr. Dean Ornish's program for reversing heart disease.
As you can see by scrolling through my blog, follow-through is not a strong point of mine. I do have some good recipes and I refer back from time to time when I need a recipe, so I guess it fits my needs. You may find a recipe that looks interesting and rest assured I won't put anything on this blog that isn't excellent....But understand this....being on a very low fat diet lowers your standards quite a bit. Enjoy!

Lemon Sherbert

Want an easy, refreshing dessert for a hot summer day? Try Lemon Sherbet made in your freezer.....not an ice cream freezer...your regular freezer. The original recipe, written in 1940, simply called for lemons, sugar and milk. Today's milk has much less fat, so I use half and half. Here's our recipe:

1 quart half and half

Zest from 1and a half lemons

Juice from 3 lemons

2 cups sugar

Mix the juice, sugar and lemon zest together. Add half and half. Make in the morning and stir it a couple of times throughout the day. We usually double the recipe and serve 10 - 12 people. What a great, easy recipe!

 

 

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Home made chips

One of my addictions is potato chips... I could (and do) eat a bag at a time feeling guilty afterward and a tad ill. Enter home made chips! I recent read something about making your own junk food because the process of making it slows down your consumption...that's is certainly true with my chips. They're slow to make but worth the time.
I start with a large russett sliced thin. I use a vegetable slicer I've had for some time. Rinse well until the water runs clear- I'm assuming this removes some of the starch. I then lay out the slices on a microwave safe dish- I'm using a dish intended for bacon. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Microwave on high for about four minutes or slightly longer until the chips start to brown. I do batches of about ten chips at a time...see....slowing down. The results? A healthy chip for no guilt snacking.

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Marinated portobello feta salad

Its been a while since I posted a new dish and a lot has changed. Over a year ago we started our vegetarian experiment....that experiment has become a lifestyle. A couple of months ago we added a gluten free diet. Gluten free is definitely more of a challenge, but aside from missing bread, we're making a go of it. I have several dishes I need to post, starting with one we had today....and out was great!
2 T honey mustard
1 T basil, chopped
1T green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
2 t red wine vinegar
2 t olive oil
1 1/2 t maple syrup
1/2 t salt
4 portobello mushroom caps
Mixed greens
Feta cheese

Mix all ingredients up to the mushrooms....process in food processor until smooth. Place mushrooms stem side up on a baking dish and spoon dressing over the mushrooms. Broil, flipping once, about 6-8 minutes, until tender. Remove from oven and slice. Serve over greens and sprinkle with feta cheese.

The secrets..... I bought mixed greens at the grocery store salad bar. So easy! I doubled the dressing putting half on the mushrooms and half directly on the salad.

A great meal!

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Veggie Fritatta

It's been a while since I've posted but this dish was so god and easy that I knew I needed to get this one out. The only problem with this recipe is you need a 10 inch oven safe frying pan. I borrowed Josh's cast iron Cracker Barrel pan.... I may need to go buy one of my own.
Chop the following:
1 medium onion
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 medium zuchinni
2 cloves garlic
saute the above in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Before adding the eggs store in a half cup of frozen or canned corn.

Beat six large egg and pour over the veggie mix....shake pan to even things out. Allow to cook on the stove top until eggs begin to set around the edges then place the pan in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. When you remove the fritatta from the oven loosen the edges with a spatula and slide it onto a serving platter. Slice and serve!

Seasoning: the original recipe called for fresh basil and parsley.... I added a little dried as I sauteed the veggies. I added half a teaspoon of red pepper, a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper. It was a little spicer than I like do I may cut out the red pepper next time. I'd also consider adding other veggies, particularly mushrooms. I think any combination of veggies would work.

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Easy Marinara Sauce

This is a weight watchers Marinara Sauce that we spiced up a little.  You can start with the basic sauce and pretty much add anything you want.  I added squash, zucchini and bell peppers....I think a few mushrooms would be a good addition.  Any way....it's easy and great tasting!

32 ounce can of crushed tomatos
16 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic

Heat the olive oil in a pot.  Add the garlic and saute for about one minute.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for as long as you can wait to eat.  Seriously, I added the veggies and simmered the sauce long enough for the veggies to get tender.  I served this over whole wheat penne pasta with a salad and a bottle of red wine....if only I had a good baguette it would have been perfect!
Enjoy.

Roasted vegetable pizza with parmesan pizza dough

The dough:
4 cups flour
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. fast-rising yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the all ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir until mixture forms a soft dough.  Knead on a lightly floured surface gradually adding up to one cup additional flour until smooth and elastic.  Cut dough into four pieces.  Each piece is enough for a 12 inch pizza.  Spray with cooking spray and cover lightly....lest rest for 15 minutes.  Dough that you are not using can be placed in a freezer bag that has been sprayed with cooking spray and frozen for up to 3 months.  You can also keep the dough in the refridgerator for up to 2 days.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced zucchini
1 medium bell pepper, sliced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh basil 

Place veggies in a large bowl, add pepper and olive oil.  Toss to coat.  Place veggies on a jelly roll and bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes.  Place 1/3 cup tomato sauce on your crust. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese over the sauce.  Add veggies and top with an additional 1/2 cup of cheese.  Dollop with 1/3 cup ricotta.
Bake at 500 degrees for 11 minutes until crust is golden.  Sprinkle with basil.

I recommend using a pizza stone and pre-cooking your crust.  I spread out the crust on the stone, sprinkle with corn meal, and then prick the crust with a fork  all over.  Place the crust in the pre-heated oven for approximately 7 minutes.  This cooks the crust and hopefully will give you a crispy crust. 

Seth's easy broccoli quiche

Josh, Jan and I went to Seth's for dinner (Brittany was working.) This was Seth's attempt to feed three vegetarians and he did a great job!
2 tbsp. Butter
1 onion minced
1 tsp. Minced garlic
2 cups copied fresh broccoli
1 nine inch pie crust
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
4 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp melted butter

Melt butter and saute onions, garlic and broccoli. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until tender. Place into crust and sprinkle with cheese.

Combine eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in melted butter. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until set. Allow to set five minutes before serving.

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It's all about the sauce

We did a stir fry to serve with the noodles below. I really think you could use just about any vegetables you wanted, because it really is all about the sauce.
The secret:
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

The original recipe called for:
1 carrot peeled and sliced
1 green pepper cut into strips
1 cup baby corn drained
1 small head book choy chopped
2 cups fresh mushrooms sliced
1 1/4 cups bean sprouts
1 cup bamboo shoots
2 medium green onions thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root finely chopped
16 ounces tofu cubed

The directions:
Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in a wok (I used sesame oil) until hot. Add olgarlic and ginger stirring for one minutes. Add tofu and cook until browned.

Add carrots, bell pepper, and baby corn cooking for two minutes. Stir in bok choy, mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and stir for two minutes. Add sauce and serve.

Sauce:
In a small pan combine water, rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer. Cook for two minutes then stir in cornstarch mixture. Simmer until sauce thickens. We found that we needed to add a little extra cornstarch to get the sauce to thicken.

When we made this we added chicken that had been cut into bite size pieces and sauteed in some sesame oil. The next time we do this I think we'll stick with fresh veggies. Maybe we'll throw in some squash and zuchinni. We used canned bean sprouts, but we'll try to find fresh next time. As I said in the beginning, use any veggies....the secret is in the sauce!

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Sesame-peanut noodle salad

Cyndi was in for a visit this weekend and we decided to experiment a little. I'll be posting later with a tofu stir fry but for right now we'll do the noodle dish. Cyndi mentioned doing this so I found this recipe. Jan just finished putting it together and I'm thinking it's going to be a hit. This recipe makes a lot so you could make it once Iand eat it all week.

1 pound thin whole wheat spaghetti
1 pound broccoli crowns
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup peanut butter
Red bell pepper thinly sliced
4 green peppers
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cook spaghetti according to directions and set aside.
Add broccoli to boiling water, cook 3 to 5 minutes, drain and immerse in ice water. Drain
Whisk together canola oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter in a medium bowl.
Combine cooked spaghetti, broccoli, peppers and green onions. Toss with dressing and add the rest of sesame seeds and cilantro.
Serve cold.
This was delicious.

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Arroz con Queso

Nothing says "happy valentines day" like crock pot throw-up! It doesn't look good, but it sure is tasty. It's meant as a side, but we ate it as a main dish with some chopped lettuce and tomatoes and some fruit.
16 ounce can diced tomatoes
16 ounce can refried beans
1 1/2 cups long grain converted rice
1 onion, chopped
1 cup cottage cheese
1 four ounce can green chili peppers
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

Lightly grease crockpot and add all ingredients, stirring to mix. Cook on low 6 to 9 hours. The next time we try this we're going to add a second can of tomatoes, some chopped green peppers and some chopped celery.

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Easy vegetarian chili

Thirty-six days and counting. We started our vegetarian experiment on January 1 planning to try remaining meatless for the month of January.  Here we are in February and still eating vegetarian.  There are plans to venture back into the meat world because in Jan's words..."I don't want to be vegetarian!" She doesn't want to be one of those people who when invited out for dinner creates problems for the host as they try to think of something we'll eat.  I'm not opposed to returning to meat every once in a while, but I really think I consider myself a vegetarian now.
Today we tried an easy vegetarian chili and while I was skeptical at first, I found it to be great!  I made a few changes to the recipe that I think improved it.
Easy Vegetarian Chili
1 tsp. canola oil
1 clove garlic
14 ounce stewed tomatoes
15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
15 ounce can of yellow corn, drained
15 ounce can of tomato sauce
15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
The original recipe doesn't call for the diced tomatoes, but I added them for extra flavor.  I also added diced onion and green pepper and if you're using tomatoes in a recipe you have to add just a little sugar to bring out the flavor...I added 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Heat the canola oil and saute the garlic, green pepper and onion. Add all the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.  We ate the chili with some homemade corn chips and hommus.  The hommus was bought.
We made the corn chips by taking corn tortillas, cutting them into six pieces, spraying a little olive oil on them, sprinkling a little salt and baking for 10 - 12 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.  We're going to keep working on the corn chips....they have potential but need some extra seasoning.
We ate the chili as is, but you could add some low fat cheddar cheese and sour cream.  It would also be wonderful served over some rice or a baked potato.....Enjoy

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Brocolli quiche - really brocolli ricotta pie

This is another good vegetarian dish, but it's not quiche!
You need:
A 9 inch pie shell
10 ounces frozen chopped brocolli, thawed and drained well
Medium red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup low fat cheddar, grated
1 tablespoon grey poupon mustard
1 egg
2 egg whites
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon grated parmesan

Saute the red onion in olive oil
Add to remaining ingredients and stir well
Pour into pie shell and top with parmesan cheese

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with a salad, fruit and enjoy.

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Momma Mia vegetable pie

Day 12 of my vegetarian experience and I've got to say it hasn't been bad. I don't know if I'll stay a vegetarian, but I have found I can do with a lot less meat and still eat a very fulfilling diet. Last night we had a vegetable pie with a spaghetti crust. I was skeptical at first, but it was delicious!
You need:
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped portabella mushrooms
6 ounces tofu, crumbled
12 ounces tomato sauce
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Cooked spaghetti - hard to say how much -you're lining a 9 inch pie plate with it.

Saute the green pepper, onion and mushrooms in a little olive oil until softened
Add tomato sauce and tofu, bring to a boil then simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Line a pie plate with the cooked spaghetti. Pour the sauce mixture over the spaghetti. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes and enjoy with a salad and a glass of wine.

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Spinach, Potato, and Tomato Soup

Here's the soup recipe that I served when Grandma and Grandpa were in town:

Ingredients

3 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic

1 large onion, chopped

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 quarts chicken broth

3 lbs all purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 lb fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

¼ tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

1 (28 oz) can chunky-style crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes in puree

Instructions

In a deep pot, sautee the potatoes in olive oil until the potatoes start to brown. Add garlic and onion and suatee for an additional 3 minutes.

Add broth and bring liquid to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in spinach in bunches as it wilts into soup. Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in tomatoes and heat through, 1-2 minutes.

Best to serve with grated cheese and bread.

Very veggie wraps

Three days into my month long vegetarian experiment and I'm still happy. Lots of tofu egg salad for lunches and today I found a great recipe for a veggie wrap.
2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan
Add one small onion, chopped
Add some garlic
One carrot chopped
One stalk celery chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 can white beans
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
Pinch of sugar, pepper and cinnamon
Simmer for an hour and serve on a burrito with cheese and sour cream

Delicious!

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Tofu eggsalad

Who would have thunk it? After years of denying the existence of tofu and being mildly amused by people who actually eat the stuff I am a covert. Here's my recipe for tofu eggsalad:
Half a block of firm tofu
1 dill pickle, diced
Some green onion, diced
Some diced celery
Salt, pepper and garlic powder
A spoonful of salad dressing

You notice the amounts are a little vague. I really don't think it matters much. This is the start of my grand adventure of trying to do as much vegetarian as possible for the month of January.I'll let you know how it goes.

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Beef, Bacon and Mushroom Stew

We fixed this last week, and it was incredibly good! I felt that it needed to be served over something so I had it over egg noodles. Jan ate it with a little sour cream on top. Either way, it was a hit!

1 1/2 pounds of lean beef tips (could use stew beef)
4 slices of Canadian style bacon, chopped
12 pearl onions...could use more
4 cloves garlic
1 cup red wine
1 cup tomato paste
2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
3 1/2 cups mushrooms
1 can green chili peppers

cut meat into one inch cubes. Coat a large pan with cooking spray, heat and cook onions, garlic and meat until the meat is browned. Stir in wine, tomato paste, water and bouillon cubes. Simmer covered for 45 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and chile peppers. cook for 10 minutes more. Stir in bacon. Serve and Enjoy!