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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Mon. Oct 29th - Tues. Oct 30th - Wed. Oct 31st

Cooking by Candle Light!

Daily Tidbit:  The Power has returned!  I hope that if you are reading this post that means you are safe and well and that your families were able to weather the powerful Hurricane Sandy this week which ravaged our towns and our homes, rendering many of us without Power.  In times like these we remember that we are lucky to have our health, our home standing in one piece and Gas cooking 

When Hurricane Sandy hit us Monday and took out our Power we were still able to cook on our gas stove luckily.  We quickly switched to using Paper Plates and Paper Towels, as the Laundry & Dishwasher were rendered inoperable.  Too bad the days are short and it is dark when we wake in the morning and dark again much too early in the evening, well before our typical dinner time.  No matter.  We pulled out our candles and by candle light I managed to get us some warm food and drink over the last couple days.  

It wasn’t until the temperature dropped that I threw in the towel and headed for warmer brighter spaces at my parents’ house when they regained electricity and considered ourselves very lucky!  We were happy to be warm (without wearing hats inside) and be able to cook a real dinner in full light so we did not let the lacking Internet Access & Cable get us down.  But now the power at home is back on and we have Internet Access too – Hooray!  

Again, I’m hoping you and yours weathered this storm without too much discomfort or damage.  It is times like these that we remember the things that matter most, and can truly appreciate the value of a warm and filling meal!


So, on with it!  Below are the 3 missing posts for this week (Oct. 29 - 31) which include a new yummy Coffee drink, a new tasty & filling Veggie Lasagna recipe, and possibly some meal ideas for you to consider next time you find yourself without Power; enjoy!


       

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Monday, October 29th


Plain Oatmeal with Walnuts & Cinnamon


Breakfast:  Plain Oatmeal with Cinnamon & Walnuts 
1/2 cup Oatmeal (uncooked) mixed with 1 cup Fat Free Milk & microwaved
3-4 good shakes of Plain Cinnamon 
2 tbsp plain chopped Walnuts 
5 oz. Orange Juice
Regular Coffee, black 


Crudite Platter

Lunch: Crudite Platter for Lunch
2 Hard Boiled Eggs, sliced
1/2 Avocado, diced
5 Artichoke Hearts (canned, drained)
1 Vine Ripened Tomato, sliced
3 Black Kalamata Olives
1 tbsp EVOO drizzled on top of everything
Water with Lime



Snack: 4 cups Plain Popcorn, Red Roibus Chai Tea



Snack: Corn Tortilla Chips with store bought Fresh Tomato Salsa


Veggie Lasagna & Meatballs

Dinner: Veggie Lasagna & Beef Meatballs
2 servings Veggie Lasagna (recipe below)
3 store bought mini Beef Meatballs in Organic No Salt Added Marinara
White Wine


Dessert: Gala Apple, Water

     
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Tuesday, October 30th

Whole Wheat Cranberry Oat Bread

Breakfast:
2 slices of Whole Wheat Cranberry Oat Bread (recipe below)
5 oz OJ
Regular Coffee with Fat Free Milk & Plain Cinnamon


Because we lost power, our coffee maker wouldn’t work so we had to boil water on the stove to make instant coffee (I was thrilled to find this in the pantry!)  I was worried about the flavor so I decided to add some at Fat Free Milk and a couple shakes of Plain Ground Cinnamon – it was delicious!  It was like having a flavored Coffee without all the Artificial Sweeteners and Artificial Flavors!



Lunch: Pita, Eggs & Veggie Dip with Chips
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
½ Whole Wheat Pita stuffed with 1 tbsp store bought plain Hummus
½ Avocado mixed with ½ cup of store bought Fresh Salsa
Corn Tortilla Chips
Green Tea, plain


Snack: 5 dried Apricots & Red Roibus Chai Tea

Cooking Dinner by Candle Light!
Chick Pea & Veggie Couscous

Dinner: Chick Pea & Veggie Couscous
½ cup Whole Wheat Couscous, topped with:
2 cups Trader Joe’s Red Curry Sauce cooked with Chick Peas, Zucchini, Carrots & 1 Yukon Gold Potato
White Wine


Dessert: Gala Apple, Water

       
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Plain Oatmeal with Walnuts & Cinnamon


Breakfast:  Plain Oatmeal with Cinnamon & Walnuts 
1/2 cup Oatmeal (uncooked) mixed with 1 cup Fat Free Milk & microwaved
3-4 good shakes of Plain Cinnamon 
2 tbsp plain chopped Walnuts 

Regular Coffee, with Fat Free Milk & Plain Ground Cinnamon


Snack: 10 Baby Carrots

Cheddar Nachos
Kidney Beans, Avocado & Salsa

Lunch: Nachos
Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips, broiled with
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
½ Avocado mixed with 3 tbsp Newman’s Own Medium Salsa & ¼ cup Red Kidney Beans (canned, drained/ rinsed)
Decaf Coffee, black


Snack: ¼ cup of Mixed Nuts (Pistachios, Pecans, Peanuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts), Fat Free Milk


Raw Veggie Salad

Snack: 1 cup of store bought Raw Veggie Salad (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Red & Yellow Bell Peppers, Red Onions and Grated Carrots tossed in a Red Wine Vinaigrette with Dijon Mustard and Carraway seeds)
Decaf Coffee, Fat Free Milk & a couple shakes of Plain Ground Cinnamon


Filet Mignon with Mushrooms & Onions

Dinner: Filet Mignon with Caesar Salad
4 oz. Filet Mignon grilled with sautéed Mushrooms & Onions
Caesar Salad
2 slices of Bread, served with Olive Oil mixed with Italian spices
Red Wine

I ended up eating a 2nd helping of Salad and another piece of bread, it was too good not to!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dessert: 2 small store bought Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies



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RECIPES: 


Veggie Lasagna Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350.

Pour 1/2 cup Organic No Salt Added Marinara sauce to the bottom of a Casserole dish. Brush around covering the bottom and sides of the dish.  

In Cast Iron Pan add 1/2 White Onion, sliced.  Saute and once soft, put into Casserole dish.  Next put 1/2 container of pre-sliced Mushrooms into the pan and Saute with a dash of Salt until browned and softened.  Add Mushrooms to Casserole dish on top of Onions.  

Next dice 1 large Eggplant into bite sized pieces and add to Pan with 2 tbsp EVOO, 1 tsp crushed Garlic, 1 tsp Tomato Paste and another dash of Salt.  Mix ingredients together well and let the Eggplant cook in pan until softened.  Then add cooked Eggplant to the Casserole dish on top of the Mushrooms.  

Then dump 1 bag of Baby Spinach into Pan to wilt.  Once wilted layer that on top of Eggplant in Casserole Dish.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan & 2 Eggs; mix thoroughly.  Once mixed add 1 cup of Precooked Pasta (I used Orzo, which had been cooked with Sweet Peas as well).  

Pour Ricotta Egg Pasta mixture on top of the Wilted Spinach layer.  Then add 1/2 cup more of the Marinara Sauce. 

Put Casserole into oven and bake for 40 minutes.  Then top Lasagna with Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.  Serve and enjoy!  



Whole Wheat Cranberry Oat Bread Recipe:
receipted adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/honey-cranberry-oat-bread/

I liked the above recipe, but made it Whole Grain by using Whole Wheat Flour and made a few other tweaks to make a healthier version.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease loaf pan with Canola Oil Spray.

Meanwhile in a large bowl mix:
-1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
-1. 5 cups Whole Wheat Flour
-1 cup White Flour
-1/2 cup Sugar
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1 tsp Baking Powder
-1/2 tsp Salt
-1/2 tsp Cinnamon
-Dash Nutmeg

In another large bowl mix:
-2 Eggs
-4 oz Apple Sauce
-2 tbsp Orange Juice
-1/2 cup Fat Free Milk 
-2 cups Dried Fresh Cranberries 
 
Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients mixture and mix until everything is moist.  Pour into greased Loaf Pan and Bake for 40 Minutes and serve!


 

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