I apologize for the lack of a post last week. I came back from the wonderful ladies "retreat" in Prescott and we began a pretty intensive refurbishing of our kitchen. It was so difficult to eat healthy during the past two weeks. Honestly, it was even hard to eat anything other than take-out because I had no cooking space. The stove was pulled into the middle of the kitchen, dishes and appliances that had to be removed the the counter and cabinets were loaded on the table. Tools, paint and supplies were stacked everywhere! I finally could not deal with yet another meal from a restaurant, so I pulled a book case next to an outlet and put the crock pot where I hoped the dogs wouldn't get into it or knock it over as they rough-housed.
Food
Chicken meatballs in Teriyaki sauce along with fresh fruit (berries, melon and grapes) was a treat after all of the restaurant food. Normally I make my own meatballs using ground chicken (I grind it myself so I make sure it is all white meat and no fat). But given that I couldn't put anything on the counters, I used Aidells Teriyaki & Pineapple meatballs and made a sauce:
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
4 minced cloves of garlic
a splash of rice wine vinegar
3 slices of fresh ginger
Spiced pork roast with yams and onions was a hit with the hubby another evening.
Place small roast in crock pot
Peel and slice yams.
Mix in a bowl with a dash of ground cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon and 6-8 whole cardamon seeds
Place around the sides of the roast
Top with 1 onion (sliced)
Add 1/3 c. of water
Cook on high for 3-5 hours ( my roast was frozen)
Chicken and vegetable soup with black beans - add all of the ingredients into the crock.
Cube 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can of Ro*tel tomatoes with lime and cilantro
1 can of black beans (rinsed)
1/2 package of Trader Jo's Fire Roasted corn
1 1/2 c. sliced carrots
3 stalks of celery (chopped)
3 c. of low sodium chicken broth
1 - 2 tsp Mexican oregano
Cook on low for 5-6 hours
Pork with lentils - one day for lunch I took the left-over pork and yams and turned it into a lentil stew. Again - no stove, so I had to use packaged foods that I normally don't use. But I did find a way to pull the microwave over to an outlet...funny how small things can make me happy.
Chop the leftover roast, yams & onionAdd it to the dish along with 2 packages of Madras Lentils
Heat this through.
Grilled shrimp with kale salad and grilled baby carrots with balsamic
Peel and devein shrimp.
Marinate them a few minutes in minced garlic, pepper and lime juice.
Stir a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil onto the carrots. I will
also slice an onion to add with the carrots.
Grill the carrots for a few minutes on low before throwing the shrimp on the grill
Kale salad - I am using Andrew Weil's Tuscan Kale Salad http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/RCP02206/Tuscan-Kale-Salad.html as it is a favorite of the family
I know some of you who know me are wondering why I didn't just
grill the last two weeks. To be honest, I was too tired! During this time
we painted the kitchen and great room, one wall of the living room, the downstairs bath, and one wall leading up the stairs. Then we stripped the kitchen cabinets and painted them. Finally, we resurfaced the counter tops!
We used the Transformation kits from Rustoleum http://rustoleumtransformations.com/ which worked well as long as you follow the directions to a T! Unfortunately, we needed more of one of the products in the kit, but it is not sold separately and we ended up having to buy another whole kit. I did call customer service and asked about getting a separate container and was told it wasn't possible. NOT the best customer service.
Pictures will be posted next week of the finished kitchen!
