Cabbage Steaks.

• Slice a whole cabbage into big 1-inch disks (they'll look like round steaks, hence the name).
• Sprinkle on salt, pepper, olive oil, and (optional) garlic. Or even cayenne pepper.
• Bake on a cookie sheet in a 400-degree oven for 30-40 minutes, turning once.

A head of cabbage ranges from 175 to 300 calories, depending on size -- small, medium, or large. A medium head of cabbage has 20 grams of fiber, 13 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, 487% of your daily Vitamin C needs, and no cholesterol.

  

Chick pea snacks. Quite yummy.

14-ounce can of garbanzo beans (chick peas)

Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Other spices, as desired (curry powder suggested)

Drain and rinse the chick peas.  Coat lightly with olive oil in a bowl.  Season with salt, pepper and/or other spices.

Bake in a 400-degree oven for 40-50 minutes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet (I forgot to use the parchment paper but it didn't seem to cause a problem.)

Roll them around periodically while baking.

 

Thanks to Anne V. for the recipe! Maybe one day she'll blog again, although it looks like blogging is dying.

Broccoli + Parmesan. And the scandal about Parmesan.

This is so obvious that I don't need to use words.

 

 

I stumbled across this very interesting, long article about Parmesan cheese. What is and especially what isn't Parmesan. At least according to this writer.

 

Kale Chips! You'll never crave potato chips again. (**Update about kale & the thyroid.)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Wash and tear into chip-size pieces a bunch of kale. (UPDATE: dry completely)

3.  Stir in a little olive oil and salt.

4.  Spread chips in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

5.  Bake chips for 13-15 minutes.

6.  Enjoy!

 

**From Dr. Weil's website:
Some foods, especially cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower) contain natural goitrogens, compounds that can cause the thyroid gland to enlarge by interfering with thyroid hormone synthesis. Cooking has been reported to inactivate this effect in Brussels sprouts. Cassava, a starchy root that is the source of tapioca, can also have this effect. Other goitrogens include corn, sweet potatoes, lima beans, and soy. Some practitioners recommend that people with under-active thyroid glands avoid these foods, even though most have not been proved to cause hypothyroidism in humans.

Brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving. Possibly.

                 

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound fresh brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or bacon fat
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Red-pepper flakes to taste

Preparation

1.

Preheat oven to 400. Trim the ends of the brussels sprouts, and remove all yellowing exterior leaves. Put the sprouts in a large bowl, and toss with the oil or bacon fat, and season well with salt and pepper.

2.

Pour the sprouts onto a sheet pan and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to brown the vegetables evenly, until crisp on the outside and tender within. Sprinkle a little more salt on them and, if you like, red-pepper flakes.

YIELD

2 servings

Recipe and photo from here.

 

This year my Thanksgiving tasks are to bring a hot vegetable and a green salad. I think I'll do something bold, or boldish, and bring Brussels sprouts, probably the country's least favorite vegetable. Here's what one random commenter on one random website said about them:

 

I think they taste like rage and hatred.

 

I thought that was a hilarious comment. And so fitting for a family holiday. Not all, of course. The cliché about family dysfunction at the holidays is sometimes true, as the blogger  Stargazer sadly reports. But at many gatherings on Thursday there will be only low-key resentment or irritation or tsk-tsking -- normal, day-to-day emotions for humans, don't you think? If not, I need to work on my attitude.

 

Chicken, ready to eat plus left-over chicken salad.

 

Is this too obvious to mention? You can get a whole chicken at Giant, and other grocery stores I'm sure. It will be good for dinner for 2 or 3 days, then you can remove the remaining chicken, chop it up, add chopped celery (which you can buy at Giant already chopped up), a little mayonnaise (there's too much in the picture above I think), and some defrosted frozen chopped onions (optional of course). Add salt and pepper, and maybe some sliced almonds, and you've got chicken salad for sandwiches for several days. You could freeze some of the meat also in case you don't want chicken for that many days in a row.

 

(Thanks to Anne Vajda for the prepared chicken idea.)

PB&A.

Adorable and healthy and easy AND cheap.

Acorn squash with parmesan. (See end of post for report on how this turned out for me.)

 

 

 

Slice squash in half and scoop out seeds and fibers.

Make slices and place them on a baking pan that's been buttered or sprayed with Pam.

Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes at 425 degrees.

 

Done!

 

PS: I tried it. It's HARD to cut up an acorn squash! And although the finished product tastes good, you can't eat the hard rind even after 40 mins of cooking. At least, I couldn't eat it -- too tough. Doug ate each piece whole but I noted that he didn't eat more than a couple of pieces -- not sure he even liked it. Next time I make it, and I will, I'm going to bake each half of the squash whole and forget about slicing it up. It will take longer to cook probably. I might add the cheese near the end of the cooking time so it doesn't get overcooked.

Baked brocolli cakes. (See end of post for seasoning update.)

 

 

10 oz package of frozen chopped broccoli thawed and drained of liquid

1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup breadcrumbs

3 eggs

salt and pepper

 

Mix all ingredients together.  With hands form small patties and put on baking sheet. Bake 375 degrees for 25 mins turning patties after 15 mins.

 

Haven't made these yet but I plan to in the next week or so. Can't be bad and might be great.

PS:  Made them, liked them. BUT they lacked zip, so next time I'm going to add Old Bay Seasoning. The left-overs were better than the first-day batch but they shouldn't be re-heated in a microwave. I always forget that anything with bread in it dries up in a microwave.

Pizza. So easy.

 

Top the pizza crust with cheese, mushrooms (optional), sliced tomatoes (optional), a little olive oil, maybe some garlic salt. Bake in oven until crust looks browned on edges and cheese is bubbling. Maybe 15 minutes.

 

Obviously you can add any other toppings you fancy -- green peppers, basil leaves, oregano, tomato sauce, anchovies (soooooo good), left-over chicken pieces. Experiment!

Salmon. Who doesn't like salmon?

 

You can broil it or sauté it or bake it. Add a bit of salt and pepper, maybe a little lemon juice. I like to coat it with panko (coarse bread crumbs) and sauté it in butter. But it doesn't really need any seasoning. And you can substitute any other fish.

 

I won't say too much about checking for the best kind of fish to buy, mercury-wise. It's all so depressing. I think it's best to buy fish from the US but I'm not totally sure of that. It may depend on the fish. I'd probably worry more if I were younger.

 



Crab cakes, rice, and pineapple.

 

Giant sells these frozen crab cakes which are pretty good -- as good as you get at many restaurants. Bake them in an oven, cook the rice on the stovetop, chop up the pineapple. Three-course meal with enough leftovers for a second dinner and pineapple snacks for days.

Portabello mushrooms in minutes.

 

Gently rinse mushrooms in water, place stem-side up on cookie sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, soy sauce, and shredded or sliced cheese.

 

Broil in oven -- bottom shelf (on low setting if you have it) -- for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

 

Yum!

Hummus. Better and much much cheaper than store-bought.

This recipe will be a bit easier if you buy this $30-35 food processer. Target sells them. But if you don't want to bother with the processer just mash up the ingredients using a fork.

 

Add to the food processer, or to a bowl, one can of chickpeas, salt, a few tablespoons of tahini (sold at Giant), a little olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic (optional). Blend in the processer or mash up with a fork.  Done! Keeps for many, many days in the refrigerator.

 

When you open the can of tahini you'll see oil on the top. Some people insist on mixing the oil into the sesame on the bottom, but for making hummus you just need to scoop out some of the sesame butter and some of the oil. It doesn't need to be refrigerated after it's opened and it keeps for a long time.

Crunchy Nutty Cole Slaw.

 

 

I know, I know. Ramen noodles are food for starving students. But this really is a delicious and oh-so-easy recipe. Low fat, low cal, and full of roughage. Lasts for days and days.

 

Without opening the package, crush the noodles. Fun to do! Put the slaw mix, nuts, and crushed noodles into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

 

On the stovetop, heat 1/3 cup oil and the seasoning packet that comes with the noodles. I typically use olive oil, instead of the canola shown in the picture above.

 

Pour the heated oil over the slaw mixture and mix again. Done!

 

 



Baked BBQ chicken.

This is surprisingly good, although you might be put off by using the preserves.

Put chicken pieces in a baking pan. Mix some of the preserves with some of the salad dressing and pour it over the chicken. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Chicken pieces with the skin and bone will be more flavorful than skinned and boned chicken but will obviously have more calories and fat.

 

 

Coming soon: Baked veggies with or without chicken.

Deviled chicken. Prep time = 5 minutes. Cooking time = 20 minutes.

4 or 5 chicken thighs

3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup cooking sherry
1/2 teaspoon dried, minced, or pureed ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients except chicken in a large pan and heat on medium until liquid is bubbling.
Add chicken.
Cover and cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is browned.
Turn chicken over and cook another 10-15 minutes, or until liquid is almost gone and chicken is coated with a glaze.

Done!

Serve over rice.
PS: I never measure out these ingredients. I just approximate the amounts and the recipe always turns out the same. Please don't think you have to follow ANY of the recommended amounts on ANY of the recipes on this blog. As long as you're in the general ball-park you'll be fine.

Mustard chicken.

Turn on oven to 350.

Melt butter in pan.
Add onions --using your handy frozen chopped-up onions.
Count to 60.
Add boneless, skinless chicken thighs, salt and pepper, and parsley (optional).

Cook 5 minutes, turn and cook the other side 5 minutes.
Put in baking dish.
Smear mustard on top of each piece of meat.
Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Bake for half an hour or so. More won't hurt.

DONE!

Guacamole. Serve with whole-wheat crackers. (Or chips.)

 

 

 

UPDATE: use salsa instead of chopped tomatoes and onions. [Thanks Anne V.]

 

Peel one ripe avocado.** Very easy to do! Add lemon juice, salt, garlic, chopped tomato (optional), chopped onion. Mash it up with a fork. Done!

 

You can skip chopping up the tomatoes and onions by buying frozen chopped onions, that will keep in your freezer for months, and a small can of chopped tomatoes, that will keep in your refrigerator for a few days.

**2nd UPDATE: Below is a much easier way to peel an avocado, per Anne V. again. Takes longer to write these directions than to peel the fruit (vegetable?).

With a sharp knife, cut the avocado at its middle point down to the pit and slice all the way around. Twist the two halves, and one of them will loosen from the pit. For the remaining half still attached to the pit, quarter with knife down to the pit. The pit will be very easy to separate now. Now quarter the first half separated from the pit. For all pieces, pull the peel back from the fruit to separate it. If the fruit sticks or the peel flakes easily, use a spoon to scrape fruit from the peel.

Rosemary chicken

Boneless, skinless white chicken meat (breasts, tenders, etc)
Rosemary (if you come to my garden you can pick fresh)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil and/or butter
Lemon juice

Heat/melt butter/oil in skillet
Add chicken
Sprinkle liberally with rosemary; if you use fresh rosemary it's best if you chop it up first but it's not absolutely necessary
Add salt and pepper to taste

Cook until browned, 10 mins or so, depending on how thick the chicken in
Flip, sprinkle with lemon juice, and cook other side

Done! (Chicken in shown in lower left corner, along with other left-overs from my book group dinner).

Eggs with cheese and salsa.

Melt a little butter in a round cast-iron (if you have it) skillet, pour in eggs, add a tablespoon or two of salsa and chunks/slices/pieces of cheese, salt, and pepper.

Cover pan and cook over low-med heat on stovetop, about 10 mins or so. When bottom of omelet looks brown, flip the circle half, and cook another 5-10 mins, or until it's cooked through.

Easy Potatoes

Slice up a potato, or two, and put into bowl. Sprinkle/pour olive oil over the potatoes, enough to lightly coat them. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Put potatoes on baking sheet in a single layer and bake in high pre-heated oven (425 degrees) for 20-25 mins or so. Remove when they look crispy enough.

The online recipe (see link below) has good pictures -- of a slightly fancier dish -- so you can get the gist of how easy it is. And it shows an option in which you could add cheese and get more protein that way.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/03/loaded-baked-potato-fries/