 Again, this is such a quick meal and absolutely delicious. Since you roasted the veggies for the week days before, the only thing left to do is steam the broccoli and pan sear the salmon. Done! Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 15 minutes Approximate Cost: $8.20 or $4.10 per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Allergens: Gluten free Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 salmon steaks ($4.50) 1 tbsp. Angie’s Basting oil for the fish and the broccoli (see my link below) (.35) 1 ½ tsp. Angie’s Dry Seasoning 1 for the salmon and ½ for broccoli (see my link below) (.35) 1 lb. (about 2 small) Broccoli crowns cut in half and florets separated ($1.25) 2 cups of roasted veggies ($1.75) Directions
Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil
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 This is such an easy meal to prepare. The key is to roast the veggies for the week, so you will have that side done ahead of time. What is left is simple, marinate the pork chops, cook them, slice the avocado and you are done in 15 minutes. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 15 to 20 minutes Approximate Cost: $7.75 or $3.88 per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 2 Ingredients 5 Pork loin center cut chops ($4.25) 1 tbsp. Angie’s Basting oil (or use Olive oil) (.45) 1 tsp. Adobo (.35) 2 cups of roasted organic rainbow carrots (cooked previously) (Trader Joe’s-@ $2.89/bag ($1.45) 1 Avocado ($1.25) Directions Marinate the pork chops, refrigerate until ready to use. Bring the carrots out of the fridge and warm them up. In a skillet, sauté the chops until internal temperature is 140 degrees. Slice the avocado. Done! Enjoy. ROASTED VEGGIES WEEK #2: PAN ROASTED CRAB CAKES, PURPLE CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI AND AVOCADO11/28/2017  I never get tired of good old crab cakes. This is one of the very few things that I don’t make from scratch often. Now don’t get me wrong, I know how to make them, however, when I don’t have much time, I prefer to purchase them from Wegman’s; since I know that their crab cake quality is high, I rarely I find a shell, well perhaps one time and that is a lot to say. This menu consists of amazing healthy veggies and of course avocado. So simple, nice looking and super tasty. What are you waiting for? Run to the store and make it this week. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: Under 30 minutes Approximate Cost: $23.50 or $11.75 per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 large crab cakes ($18.00) 1 ½ cup of broccoli florets ($1.00) 1 ½ cup of purple cauliflower florets ($1.50) 1 small onion, chopped (.35) 2 small sweet peppers (.15) 4 cloves of garlic, chopped (.15) 1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s Basting Oil (.40) 1 tbsp. Angie’s Dried Seasoning (or to taste) (.30) 1 Avocado ($1.30) Basil and Parsley for garnishing (.35) Directions In a saucepan with ½ cup of water and salt to taste, briefly shock the broccoli and cauliflower for about 4-5 minutes. (This is my hack to ensure that when sautéed both are tender when serving them) Drain the water, remove from the stove, drizzle 1/2 tbsp. of my basting oil (or the oil of your choice) and set aside. In a skillet, add ½ tbsp. of basting oil to sauté the garlic, onion and red sweet pepper. When translucent, add the broccoli, cauliflower and 1 tsp. of my seasoning (or the one of your choice) Cook just briefly for about a couple of minutes, to keep the brilliant colors. Remove and set aside shortly. In the same skillet, add ½ tbsp. of basting and sear the crab cakes until golden brown. (These cakes don’t need any seasoning nor salt.) Slice the avocado and get the garnishing herbs together to start plating. Enjoy!  I believe on saving energy and time. Therefore, very often I cook once to eat several times during the week. My best example is the Roasted Veggies. This is not the first time that I post about it. I keep doing it when I have a combination of quite a few veggies to cook. For instance, this week it was all about: Organic Rainbow Carrots Purple Cauliflower Baby Medley Potatoes Beets and Sweet Potatoes These 5 vegetables were cooked together once. Then I chose to use one of them each day, or I combined 2 or 3, or I added some to another dish. Another though is to use them as sides for your Thanksgiving meal. Hey, they will go perfectly with your turkey, smile. After all, it’s all about saving time and energy and furthermore; make it easier and healthier for you in the kitchen. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour Approximate Cost: $ 8.90 or $1.11per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 8 plus Ingredients ½ bag of Organic Rainbow Carrots (@ $2.50/bag = $1.25) ½ head of Purple Cauliflower ($2.50) ½ Baby Medley Potatoes (@ $3.50/bag = $1.75) 1 bunch of fresh beets ($1.25) 1 Sweet Potato ($1.00) 1/3 cup Angie’s Basting Oil ($1.15) (See my link below) Directions Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Rinse all the veggies thoroughly and pat dry. Peel the carrot and slice them diagonally into an inch size. Place the carrots in a separate baking pan. Peel the sweet potato and cut in 1” cubes. Peel the beets and cut in 1” cubes. Place them together by their group in a foil baking pan. Pour 1/3 cup of my basting oil or the oil of your choice over the veggies. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking until all the veggies are tender and have that roasted color lightly. Finally, you can keep them in the baking pan and use one veggie as a side dish daily for the next 5 days, or you can store them in separate containers as you desire. My Link: Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  This drink is so good and yet you can only have it briefly sometime during the fall season. Really? Well, NO! We need to have it anytime we feel like drinking it. Therefore, to make it my own, I tried to identify the flavors of the original and then, added my own crazy flavors. My baby girl Sienna loves it, that means I passed the flavor test with her. Now, I’ll wait for Sascha, Mara, Isabelle, Dave and Cami for the “teens” review. Hopefully, I’ll pass the test too! Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 15 minutes Approximate Cost: $6.90 or $3.45 per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 2 INGREDIENTS 1 ½ cups milk (is best to use 2% or higher) ($1.00) 2 ½ tbsps. pumpkin puree (from a can) (.25) 1 ½ tbsp. brown granulated sugar (.30) 1 ½ tbsp. pumpkin spice (see my foot note if you don’t have this ingredient at home) ** (.15) ½ cup of coffee (.50) 2 large scoop of vanilla ice cream (or butter pecan or your favorite flavor) (.85) 1 tbsp. Vanilla ($1.25) 1 tbsp. Amaretto (optional only for adults) ($1.25) Ghirardelli Caramel Syrup to-taste (to drizzle over the ice cream) (.55) 2 dollops of vanilla ice cream to garnish (or butter pecan or your favorite flavor) (.50) 2 Dollops of whipped cream (one for each cup) to top the cups before serving (.20) ½ tbsp. pumpkin spice to sprinkle on top just before serving it. (.10) DIRECTIONS for the hot Latte In a blender mix the milk, the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, 1 tbsp. of pumpkin spice, coffee, and 2 large scoop of vanilla ice cream. Pour the mix into a saucepan in med high, stirring until steaming and foam begins to appear before a boil. Remove from stove, add the vanilla (and amaretto if you are an adult, smile) and pour the mix into 2 mugs or cups. Top with a generous scoop each of ice cream and whipped cream. Sprinkle pumpkin spice and drizzle caramel sauce on top. Serve hot. DIRECTIONS for the Cold Latte In a blender mix all the ingredients listed, except the whipped cream, the caramel sauce, ½ tbsp. pumpkin spice to sprinkle on top just before serving it and 2 scoops of ice cream. Pour into two nice glasses. Top with a generous scoop of ice cream and whipped cream. Sprinkle pumpkin spice and drizzle caramel sauce on top. Serve super cold. **If you don’t have Pumpkin Spice at the moment, you can make your own from scratch. Pumpkin spice is nothing else but a blend of several spices that you already have in your pantry. I always prefer to use Trader’s Joe, but if I run out of it, I make my own blend based on what I like. You can do it too. use a mix of the following: 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon and 1 tbsp. of ground nutmeg. That’s all I use, since I hate the ground cloves flavor.  This is the week; family is coming from all over to celebrate Thanksgiving. Cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, hey, they all crave for sweets. Time to try my Gluten Free Cheerios Balls, they take no time to make, no baking and taste amazing. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: Under 20 minutes Approximate Cost: $5.46 or .68 cents per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 8 large treats or 16 small Ingredients 3 cups of Chocolate Cheerios ($1.50) 3 cups of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios ($1.50) 1 (11.5 oz.) bag mini marshmallows ($1.61) ½ cup butterscotch morsels (.50) 4 tbsps. of unsalted butter (.35) Directions Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add Chocolate Cheerios, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, butterscotch morsels and stir until well coated. Using wax paper (or wet your hands with water), evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray or unsalted butter. Wait until it cools down. For small balls, cut into 2-inch squares and shape into balls. For large balls cut into 3” It’s best to serve it the same day.  These cupcakes are inspired in real pumpkins growing in top soil (dark chocolate frosting) and wrapped individually to eat them at the moment or to take home. I made these cupcakes to surprise Mara at her last JV Volleyball game, so she could share them with her teammates. However; since they look so seasonal, you can make them this week to serve at home or you could bring them to a Thanksgiving dinner that you were invited. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 20 minutes Approximate Cost: $11.14 or .53 cents per cup cake Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 21 Ingredients Cupcakes ($4.56) Trader Joe’s pumpkin muffin mix (or any other cake mix) ($2.99) 2 eggs (.32) 1 cup water ½ cup Peanut oil ($1.25) Frosting ($6.58) Pumpkin candies ($1.00) 2/3 cups Hershey’s Cocoa ($1.80) 1/3 cup Evaporated milk (.33) 3 cups Powdered sugar ($1.25) 1 stick of unsalted butter – melted ($1.25) 1 tbsp. Pure Vanilla (.95) Directions
 I had all the ingredients at home. I arranged them on my counter to take a photo. Suddenly, I realized they were all green, so, what was I supposed to do? Call it My Green Lovely Meal, brilliant, smile. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: Under 30 minutes Approximate Cost: $10.20 or $5.10 per serving Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 2 Ingredients 2 Salmon steaks (@ $2.25 ea. = $4.50) ½ bag broccoli rice ($2.25)’ ½ cup chicken or beef broth (.50) 1 ½ tbsp. Angie’s Basting Oil (.45) (see my link below) ½ tbsp. Angie’s Dried Seasoning (.35) (see my link below) ½ pk. Asparagus ($1.45) 2 tbsp. of store bought Pesto at room temperature (.50) Chives for garnishing (.20) Directions Season the salmon steaks with basting oil, dried seasonings or those of your choice. Clean and steam the asparagus until tender but still with the bright green color. Cook the broccoli rice according to package directions, about 15 minutes, by adding basting oil to a skillet, when bubbly, add the broccoli rice, sprinkle with seasoning and finally, add ½ cup of broth, cover until tender. Done! Time to plate your meals. Angie’s Dry Seasonings: http://www.angieslifehacks.com/family-life/oven-roasted-bacon-chicken-and-angies-seasonings Angie’s Basting Oil: www.angieslifehacks.com/cuisine/the-flavor-series-recipe-2-angies-basting-olive-oil  Traditionally, oysters have been classified as an aphrodisiac delicacy, either cooked or raw. Not everyone has an acquired taste for this seafood, especially, when is served raw. However, either way, if you have never tried it, give it a shot, just use the cooked version or my recipe, you will love it. Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 20 minutes Approximate Cost: $4.35 Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: 1 cup Ingredients 1 can Smoked Oysters with its olive oil ($1.75) ½ cup mayo ($1.15) 2 oz. softened cream cheese (.70) 1 small garlic, chopped (.15) ½ tsp. fresh lemon juice (.15) 1 tsp. fresh Chopped Italian parsley (.15) Adobo to taste (.15) ½ tsp. hot sauce (.15) Directions In a food processor or blender, add the garlic, Adobo to taste and process. Add the Mayo, cream cheese, fresh lemon juice, hot sauce and finally the can of oysters with the oil and process just until it all blend but you still see oyster small pieces throughout. HACK: These are my suggestions to introduce you to oysters: Use my spread into white sandwich bread to make Tea Sandwiches. Use as dip with assorted crudité, cut in nice even sticks. Use as spread on assorted crackers; multi-grain, Ritz, bagels, etc. RE-POST-RETRO DISHES: ENTERTAINMENT #2: MY TASTY OCTOPUS TEA SANWICHES – (MEZCLA) and HACKS…11/15/2017  Octopus is a tasty seafood that can be eaten in salads, serve with crackers, purchased fresh to cook at home or canned in olive oil. These are just few options that can be used with this delicacy. I prefer the white chunks marinated in olive oil for this spread. Incidentally, my daddy loved fishing as a hobby and would bring fresh octopus home for me to cook. They scare the heck out of me, but he cleaned and move them to the pot for me, then I did my magic. What a treat! Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 20 to 30 minutes Approximate Cost: $8.54 or .28 per Tea sandwich Difficulty Level: X Easy ____ Intermediate ____ Advanced Servings: Makes about 1 ½ cup (or about 30 Tea sandwiches) Ingredients 1 can of octopus and its oil ($3.80) 5 oz. cream cheese at room temperature ($1.25) 1 small garlic (.30) ½ small red onion (.20) 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (.15) 1 tsp. fresh Basil (.20) Lemon Pepper to taste (.15) 3- Baby cucumbers to garnish (.50) 1 bag of white bread ($1.99) Directions In a food processor or blender, add the garlic, onion, Lemon Pepper to taste and process. Add the cream cheese and process, then add fresh lemon juice, basil and finally the can of octopus with the oil and process just until it all blend but you still see Octopus small pieces throughout. HACK: How to use this spread: This is quite versatile; these are some of my suggestions to use it: Use as spread into white sandwich bread to make Tea Sandwiches. Use as dip with assorted crudité Use as spread on assorted crackers. Garnish with fresh Chopped Basil. |
ABOUT THE AuthorI am a blogger, a photographer, a jewelry designer, a gourmet cook, and a recipe book writer. I am also a flea market flipper, an avid gardener, an interior/ outdoors designer, an avid golfer and traveler. Categories |
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