A Look at the Classics

I sure was on a roll this past week for good recipe choices!  Until Thursday night.  It wasn't the recipes fault.  I tried to sub a couple ingredients.  What a colossal failure.  Looked nasty and tasted almost as bad.  Oh well, that's how the ball bounces, as we used to say!  I did however make an awesome blueberry omelet this morning.  Yes!  Blueberries in an omelet.  Very good.  This was an omelet made the way I learned in Home Ec class.  (In case you aren't familiar with that, it is a class that all girls took in high school so we could learn the basics of cooking and sewing.  At that time boys took Shop class so they could learn to be handy around the house.  While I think it was sexist to put you in either class based on gender, I must admit to having learned some handy skills to have.  Not just as a wife and mom, but as a "human bean" (as my brother says) living day to day.)

So anyway!!!  The way I learned to make an omelet, but not the way I do it most days in the interest of time, is to beat the whites separate until they are firm and hold soft peaks.  Then you fold them into the yolks.  If you have never done it this way, you will be amazed at how incredibly fluffy your omelet turns out.  It is worth the time if you have just a few minutes extra.  In the case of the blueberry omelet I made this morning, I just let the Kitchen-Aid run and fluff those whites up while I mixed together the other ingredients with the yolks, and got the pan ready.  I think it was well worth the little extra time.  And then it is finished in the oven which gives it a beautiful brown top without deflating the whites.

Fortunately the majority of recipes I try from other cooks turn out well. As do some of my own creations.  This week I am pretty much sticking with the classics.  At least they are classic in my house.  While I love a great meal, I don't want to spend all weekend or every evening cooking forever.

As I write this, there is granola baking in the oven.  MR likes to mix this with some plain Greek yogurt for a snack during the day.  I bake up a batch just about every week and store it in an airtight container.  No added stuff, just good clean granola!

This afternoon I will put a rosemary pot roast in the slow cooker.  This is probably one of my all time favorite entree recipes.  It is very simple but so incredibly full of flavor that I just can't begin to describe it.  Good stuff!  Try it!

One night I will make those coconut chicken fingers again. These are good as an entree or on a salad.  I have some fresh pineapple so I will grill that and serve it alongside the chicken.

MR loves chili.  Not as much as he loves pizza, but he does love chili.  This is another easy go to.  Just a pound of ground beef, sautee some green peppers and onions, and throw in a can of tomato bits, a can of green chili and tomatoes, a can of black beans (drained and rinsed), and a can of pinto beans (not drained or rinsed).  Can you eat clean from a can?  Sure!  Just make sure the ingredients are simple.  In the case of these ingredients, most are just one ingredient:  tomatoes, black beans, etc.

Did I mention MR loves his pizza? He admits that he would eat it every day.  We makes his with fresh whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's and MR's own pizza sauce (just tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and olive oil!), but you can use one of the many alternative crust recipes available online like this one.

Did you see the recipe I posted for meatballs alla parmigiana?  Boy oh boy were they good!  I wanted to eat them all week.  And I did!  At least until they ran out.  Okay, so this week I am going to experiment and see if I can just use the same recipe for meatloaf.  You think that will work?  I sure hope so!!!



One night we will throw steak on the grill.  This is easy because I just rub it with a little olive oil, sprinkle it with rosemary, and a bit of sea salt.  The weather continues to be great for grilling so I want to take advantage of it while I can.

So what's going on in your kitchen this week?  Whatever it is, Keep it Clean!!

Many Recipes, One Post

Yesterday I worked from home so I had a moment to throw some cookies in the oven.  The only problem with these cookies is that they are FABULOUS!  And ADDICTING!  I really have to stop myself from eating them all.  It's like eating a flat macaroon.  All chewy, coconutty goodness.  Making me want one!  Stop it!  So here is the link to those, just to get that out of the way!  Coconut Cashew Cookies I am telling you, if you like coconut macaroons, you will not be disappointed in the flavor!


I'm sure I have mentioned it a hundred times, but we picked up this year's side of beef last weekend.  Now my freezer is full again!  Hooray!  We have made a couple of things out of it already and, you know, awesome as usual.  There is just nothing like local-farm-raised-grass-fed beef.  And I know not everyone can source it, or afford that up front cost.  But think about this... if you stashed $20 a week, this time next year, you could afford it!  We lay out about $1000 for an entire side of beef, cut and wrapped to our specifications.  It works out to just over $6 a pound.  That's the price of really good hamburger, but includes steaks, roasts, chipped steak, hamburger patties....  Seriously.  Think about it.  And if a half is too much for your freezer our your wallet, think about buying a quarter.  So very worth it!

Things are a little up in the air for us this week, so I'm not sure how many meals I need to plan for.  I guess what I will do is make sure I have the staples around, almond milk, tomato paste, tomato sauce, eggs, etc., and just wing it from there.  I may have to do another grocery run this week depending on how things pan out.  This is another benefit to having a freezer full of meat!  At least I have protein!

Instead of my regular weekly menu plan, I will just share some of my all-time favorites!

Granola - One thing I make every Saturday morning (just about) is granola.  MR likes to mix it into his plain Greek yogurt.  I like to pour a little almond milk on it and heat it up for breakfast.

Three Recipes on One Blog! At this link you will find three of my favorites.  It's like winning the trifecta... .lucky you!  Rosemary Pot Roast, Sarah's Marinara, and Pesto Chicken Sandwiches are all really amazing recipes that you need to try.  Really! Neeeeeeeed to!

Another Three-fer!  Oh!  Here's another one that has at least three really great recipes.  Pepperoncini brisket just really couldn't be any easier, apple pie balls are the bomb, and MR's famous steel cut oat recipe is perfect for make ahead breakfast that you can have all week!

Wow!  That's a lot of recipes.  I know you will find something yummy... and clean... to eat!  Hope you have an ab-fab week!  And keep it clean!