My Favourite Lunch February 26, 2010
Posted by Teresa in : Lunch , add a commentMy new favourite lunch is simple, and so delicious! I roughly dice 2 rona tomatoes. I open up an avocado and dice it too. Add them together in a glass bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over, a tiny bit of vinegar (not the white kind, a nice balsamic or apple cider), then a few spices: oregano, sea salt, and black pepper.
That’s it! Stir and enjoy! You can have it on a pita, which is nice, or just plain on your plate!
If you need more excitement, you can add some diced celery, too.
My second favourite new lunch is a cold salad, too! 
A can of chick peas (or mixed beans), diced celery, almonds, and a little finely diced sundried tomato. A similar dressing as for the tomato-avocado salad, or a mixture of these spices, just a little of each: cumin, paprika, onion powder, sea salt. You can also add a little cubed cheese (whatever is handy)!
Tex Mex Meat Loaf January 8, 2010
Posted by Teresa in : Dinner, Lunch , add a commentTex-Mex Meat Loaf
Preheat oven to 375°F. Add more chili powder if you like! The nice part is, you don’t have to brown the ground beef!
Ingredients Supplies/Equipment
1 1/2 lb (680 g) ground beef* standard loaf pan
3 slices bread
1 egg
10 oz can diced tomatoes (300 mL)
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
Ingredients (topping)
1/3 cup chili sauce (Louisiana hot sauce, whatever)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Tear bread into small pieces. Combine main ingredients in a bowl. Spread into an ungreased loaf pan. Bake 1 hour in 375°F oven; drain excess drippings. Spoon chili sauce over cooked loaf, sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 15 minutes. The bread is awesome!
*You could use “Veggie Ground Round” instead of ground beef, although I haven’t tried it that way yet.
Crazy Potato! August 9, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Dinner, Lunch , add a commentIt was the week of crazy food around here! When I went to Mexico, Mary introduced me to the Papa Locas, the “crazy potato.” It’s a baked potato, with a crazy variety of toppings on it. They peel back the foil, add some crema (a thick cream they have in Mexico, similar in texture to toothpaste, not sour, just cream) and some butter and some soft cheese (again, something I’ve only had in Mexico, like a cross between cream cheese and ricota). Then they wrap it back up again in the foil, and let it warm up for all the yumminess to melt. Then, a few minutes later, they open the foil and add any or all of these toppings (depending what you want):
- shaved marinated beef
- radishes (sliced)
- lettuce
- tomatoes (diced)
That’s all I can remember, they might have also had more cheese. I’m pretty sure they add fat (beef fat) to the shaved beef to keep it moist while they warm it on the BBQ.
So, I wanted to make this at home, so I went to the deli and got some roast beef, sliced as thin as possible. I cut up some mushrooms, and cooked them in a pot with a little butter, until they released their juices and were smelling wonderful. Then, I added the beef to that, put the lid on and forgot about it. I had whipping cream for the cream, and used Ricota for the cheese, but also had sour cream and cottage cheese on standby in case someone wanted those. I had lettuce cut into small strips, and sliced radishes. I grated some mozza too, because who wouldn’t want mozza on a baked potato! After a half-hour or so, I took the beef out of the pot and cut it into slices, so it was more or less like the beef from Mexico (shaved). It was all so yummy when I put it all together! It’s a meal all in itself!
My ingredient list:
- yukon gold potatoes, wrapped in foil
- roast beef, sliced very thin
- sour cream
- whipping cream
- cottage cheese
- Ricota cheese
- butter
- lettuce (romaine)
- tomatos, diced (roma)
- radishes, sliced
- green olives, with pimento, just for fun!
Taco Soup January 24, 2009
Posted by Teresa in : Dinner, Lunch , add a commentAll the best ingredients from tacos! Get a big pot and get going!
- one package of Veggie Ground Round (or 1 lb ground beef)
- half an onion, minced, about 1/4 cup
- 1 can of mixed beans (“bean medley” of PC Organics worked well), including the juice from the can
- 1 can diced tomatoes (I also had a fresh tomato, so I diced that and threw it in)
- 1 cup frozen corn (or 1 can of corn niblets)
The original recipe also called for 1 pkg taco seasoning mix and ranch dressing mix, but I just added a little chili powder, salt and pepper. If you use real beef, brown it thoroughly first, then add other ingredients. I highly recommend the Veggie Ground Round, as it’s easier, better for you, and tastes great! Heat up all ingredients until they are warmed through. Serve with
- 1 avocado, pitted and cut into pieces (or you could use guacamole)
- sour cream
- tortilla chips
You can crunch up the tacos like adding crackers to soup, or just munch on them on the side. The avocado and sour cream add SO much to the flavour — don’t leave them out! The original recipe also called for 1 can of hominy, but I had no idea where I could get that. The soup was great without it! Enjoy!
This recipe came from a 4H cookbook I bought just before Christmas! It’s huge – I am looking forward to trying more recipes from it!
Eggs-traordinary Toasty Baskets November 3, 2008
Posted by Teresa in : Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch , add a commentThis recipe is another gem from Rachel Ray’s 365: No Repeats cookbook! Great for any meal (not just breakfast). Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
Get out your muffin tins!
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices soft white bread (but I used multigrain and it was delicious as well)!
- 3 Tbsp. melted butter (unsalted)
- 1 tomato (vine-ripened, if you have), chopped
- 4 eggs
- grated parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or other cheese
Preheat a small skillet over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil (once round the pan) and the chopped bacon, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp. Add the garlic, onions, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
With a serrated knife, cut the crusts from the bread. With a rolling pin (or a large jar or glass), flatten each slice or bread as thins as you can get it. Nestle each thin slice of bread into the cup of a non-stick standard 1/2 cup muffin tin, pushing the bread down on the bottom of the tin and pushing it up the sides. It should be all the way up the sides, or slightly above. If the bread rips, don’t worry about it, just smoosh it together a little. If your muffin tins aren’t non-stick, put some melted butter in first, then the bread. Either way, once the bread is in, brush it lightly with melted butter.
Add the tomatoes to the bacon and onions. Turn the heat up a little to evaporate some of the liquid of the tomato, about 1 minute. Also, one time when I made these, I cheated and used bacon bits (gasp!) instead of real bacon, and it worked okay! I just don’t buy bacon very often! So I added the bacon bits now, after the tomatoes, and stirred it all together.
Working one at a time, crack the eggs into a small bowl and the carefully transfer to the bread-lined muffin tins. The goal is not to break the yolk. Alternately, you can scramble the egg and pour it in that way. I found that I had to pick the smallest eggs I had – the large ones would flow over the side. So, I was also thinking that if your eggs are big, you could scramble 3 and pour them into 4 muffin tins (I’m going to try this next time I make them). Anyways, you get the idea. Sprinkle the egg with salt and pepper. Top each egg with some of the tomato-bacon mixture (1/4 each) and then a little cheese. Place in the hot oven and bake for 15 minutes! How easy was that?!? You could also change up the ingredients a little – like using feta cheese (my idea), adding green olives or sausage instead of bacon (Rachel Ray’s idea). Experiment (but don’t go crazy)!
