Last Father’s Day we went to Los Feliz and had lunch at Umami Burger. I had a burger with slow-roasted tomatoes and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
{So Cal Burger ~ butter lettuce, slow-roasted tomato, house spread, house-made american cheese, caramelized onions}
Roma tomatoes were a dime a dozen last week at Sprouts so I picked up a couple pounds and tried to create my own delicious wrinkled tomatoes at home.
I used 5 big romas and cut them in half length-wise and placed them cut side up on a foiled baking sheet. I mixed together about 3 tablespoons {since I used less than 4 pounds as the recipe called for} olive oil along with LOTS of minced garlic and drizzled it over the cut tomatoes. Sprinkle liberally with salt & pepper and place into a 200* oven for 6-8 hours ~ I left mine in for exactly 7 hours and they were perfect! Next time I will roast more because Jay and I ate over half of them with our chicken marsala…they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks, though.
These would be excellent over pasta with fresh basil shreds, on bruschetta, in a grilled cheese sandwich, on a salad, in a turkey sandwich or on a burger!
Always trying to duplicate the Original BBQ Chicken Salad from California Pizza Kitchen…
This will just have to do ~
1 bag romaine, chopped into smaller pieces
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken {or leftover chicken}, cooled and chopped
1/4-1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup {or so} sweet white corn {I use frozen, thawed}
1/4 cup shredded cheese {I used Mexican blend, light}
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped
Chopped cilantro {however much you like ~ we like A LOT}
1/2 of an avocado, sliced or chopped
red onion, finely chopped {optional}
Squeeze of lime {optional}
Dressing:
I just mix a little store bought light ranch and some bbq sauce and toss!
{You can also get fancy and drizzle bbq sauce over the salad like CPK does, but the brand I bought wasn’t a squeeze bottle and I didn’t want to over-do the sauce/dressing}
Jay listened to this podcast and immediately requested Frito Pie for dinner this weekend.
Who was I to deny him.
I chose to make an oven baked version rather than the {street} way ~ cut open a small bag of Fritos, pour in some chili & add some cheese like Pioneer Woman does…not that I am above or would not totally devour it in that form, but I was trying to take a little more of a healthified, sophisticated route.
Here’s how this little number comes together…
1. Sauté a chopped onion, 3 cloves of minced garlic and a chopped red pepper {I used a tri-color pepper assortment that turned out to be about 1.5 peppers}.
2. When those are soft {about 5 minutes}, remove them from heat and pour them into a bowl.
3. Brown about 1 pound of ground beef or turkey {I used extra lean ground beef}.
4. Add one package taco seasoning and about 1/4 cup water ~ let simmer for a couple minutes.
5. Add an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes, a drained can of pinto beans {no need to rinse} and handful of shredded cheese {I used reduced fat Mexican blend}.
6. Add in your onion, peppers and garlic mixture and combine together ~ will look like chili.
7. Spray a 9X13 pan with Pam and pour half a bag of Fritos {I used Scoops} in the bottom of the pan.
8. Pour the entire pan of meat/veggie mixture onto the chips and place in a 350* oven for 20 minutes.
9. After 20 minutes, remove and spread 1.5 cups sour cream {I used light} on top followed by a the rest of the Fritos and about a cup of cheese.
10. Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
I am all about the toppings so we added some cilantro, avocado, Cholula and a squeeze of lime to ours…totally forgot about the jalapeños!
It was yuuuummmy…the bottom layer serves as a kind of crust and gets soft, but there is still crunch from the top layer. I felt a little better about making this by adding the additional peppers and using low fat versions of the cheese and sour cream.
Definitely a keeper!
It makes a TON so would be perfect for Superbowl Sunday!
Who will it be?
I’m hoping for a showdown between the Niners and the Pats…
I was back in drill sergeant mode this morning. It was not fun, but we made it out the door and to school on time.
I had to abandon my coffee and dreamt about a hot cup ALL morning.
It was 35* in the SCV this morning!
I didn’t have time to {put my face on} as my Gam used to say, so it was one of those mornings when we pulled into the preschool parking lot at 8:15 {45 minutes early} and I applied the MAC and Great Lash while Holden fiddled around on the iPod Touch. Usually, before dropping Holden off, I like to squeeze in an early morning errand {like Target or Dollar Tree for unnecessary junk} but I just didn’t have it in me this morning plus I needed my face on since I was volunteering in E’s class at 9:30.
This is my favorite new breakie….
{2 Kashi 7-grain waffles, 1 T peanut butter and half a banana, sliced}
All for under 300 calories and satisfying.
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Looks like we’re back to the regular morning routine ~ “Time to get up!”, “Let’s get dressed!”, “C’mon, eat your breakfast!”, “Brush your teeth!”, “Get your shoes on!”, “Please grab your messenger bag and let’s go!”.
While my car was being serviced in Lawndale on Saturday morning, we all piled into Jay’s Jeep Wrangler and headed due west to the Manhattan/Hermosa Beach area and searched for a breakfast joint. We settled on Brother’s Burritos and were pleased with the casualness and local vibe at this little place. The kids shared Hawaiian Bread French Toast squares…
I was bad and had the egg, avocado, bacon and jalapeño burrito with spicy salsa. We ended up not eating lunch so I didn’t feel so bad.
After breakfast we let the kids play on the beach for a bit to kill time. Jay shot some great pics ~ it was overcast and a bit cloudy ~ perfect picture taking conditions.
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The fam also took a last minute trip into Hollywood for an appointment yesterday afternoon and then ended up at a new {to us} sushi restaurant right in our own backyard here in Valencia ~ Sushi One. Yelp gave it great reviews so we gave it a try. Jay and I shared a Sapporo and some rolls and the kids devoured the bulgogi {Korean beef} and steamed rice! Here they are with their after dinner lollipops…
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The kids played dress up and came up with this concoction:
Reminded Jay and me of LMFAO ~ the hair. Love it!
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Trying to be better at meal planning…cuts down on a lot of problems like not knowing what’s for dinner at 5:00pm, unnecessary trips to the market and going over budget on groceries.
I decided to keep it easy with familiar/already tried recipes this week since it will no doubt be hectic trying to get back into the swing of things routine-wise.
Here’s what will be on our table this week…
Monday : Half of a grilled beer can chicken {Jay’s off today so he can grill}, zucchini fries and TJ’s Harvest Grains blend {Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans & red quinoa}
I am constantly looking for recipes that are Weight Watcher friendly/healthy AND delicious.
{P}interestingly enough, I spotted this soup and it fit the bill.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
I am not a huge fan of bell peppers, but this soup looked amazing and once they’re cooked, their flavor becomes a little more pleasant, in my opinion.
{Next time I will use a mix of green, red and maybe yellow peppers}
This gorgeous weather we’ve had during these early January days has seemed to cool off plenty at night to warrant a nice bowl of soup, so that’s what was for dinner last night.
It is SUPER filling ~ a serving size is 1 1/3 cup soup with 1/2 cup rice ~ I went ahead and just used 1/3 cup brown jasmine rice and it was plenty!
This soup is so flavorful and guilt-free that I want to eat it for days….but I won’t because I don’t want to tire of it.
It will for sure be on the rotation from now on ~ maybe not in the summer, but most definitely in the cooler months.
This recipe also calls for a spice that I had never used before ~ marjoram. {It is likened to oregano} I always enjoy adding a new spice to my spice drawer.
TIP: Some spics can be expensive. Before you commit to a larger jar, check the international food aisles….sometimes they have small packets for under a dollar. Sprouts also has spices by the ounce so you can get just what you need and save some money until you know if you’ll utilize it.
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If you’re looking for a dinner that comes together quickly, is full of flavor and not calories, I highly suggest this satisfying soup.
For the slaw, I just used one package of cole slaw mix and mixed it with the first five ingredients of this recipe and added a little squeeze of Sriracha. Let it sit and marinate for a couple hours and then get ready to build your tacos!
I used just under 3 pounds of meat {lean chuck roast} and cooked on low for about 8 hours…
These were to-die-for.
The meat and slaw would also be excellent in slider form or just pile a little meat on top of some slaw and call it a salad.
We don’t need no stinkin’ expensive gourmet taco truck!
I hope you had a fabulous time last night whatever you did…we stuck close to home and were in bed right at 3am! Amen to great friends and neighbors, great food & drink and great conversation into the first few hours of Twenty Twelve.
My in-laws start out the year by serving foods that represent good fortune like black eyed peas for luck, collard greens for money and noodles for long life!
Jay had an idea to make pancit {a Filipino rice noodle dish} for New Year’s Eve to share with our friends.
This recipe is from my mother-in-law, Lucy {or Lola}:
Pancit
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion sliced
2 pork steaks or pork chops, boiled with 1 tsp salt (keep broth)
or 2 skinless chicken breasts
1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch strips, or thinly sliced diagonally
½ cabbage cut into 2 wedges, then sliced across
2 ribs of celery thinly sliced diagonally
4 tablespoons soy sauce
½ to 2 cups broth from boiling pork, skim off fat layer
1 8-oz pack of rice noodles (mei fun) ~ these are easy to find in your local supermarket…I found these at Target
additional 4 T soy sauce
salt to taste
sliced green onions for garnish (optional)
Slice boiled pork into thin strips, set aside.
Soak rice noodles in warm water until soft and pliable, about 15-20 minutes. It can stay in the water until ready to sauté with vegetables.
Add a small amount of oil (olive or canola) into wok and sauté garlic.
Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent, then add pork and soy sauce. Stir together.
Add carrots, stir for 2 minutes, then add celery and cabbage. Add ½ cup of the broth and cook vegetables just until crisp.
Transfer the cooked mixture into a bowl. To the wok add the remaining 1 cup of broth and additional 4T soy sauce, bring to a boil.
Drain noodles and add to boiling broth. Turn heat down to low and mix well to absorb the liquid. If it sticks in the pan, add about 2T of oil. Keep mixing the noodles until all liquid is absorbed and noodles taste done.
Add back the vegetable mixture and mix well.
Garnish with sliced green onions
This dish is actually quite healthy and is loaded with veggies. You can also make it with broiled, shredded chicken breast which is just as delicious. The kids love these noodles, too.
So, here’s to {long life} and a year of good fortune, lots of laughs, new adventures, making a difference and no regrets!
I’ve had visions of these dancing in my head ever since they jumped out at me on {the big p}.
I decided we needed to ring in the new year with these beauties ~ don’t they look like they’d go well with champagne?
Light.
Classy.
Not overly sweet.
I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not a big cream cheese frosting fan so when I saw that the frosting had something to do with Philadelphia, I was a little skeptical. But the rest of the butter, powdered sugar and Nielsen-Massey made up for it!
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You MUST make these. They are MUCH easier that rolling out sugar cookie dough, cutting and decorating!
The recipe makes a TON…..so if you live nearby, I have 5 big soft, sugary squares of this stuff tucked neatly inside a cellophane bag and tied up with a bow. If I know where you live {in the SCV only ~ ha!} and you’d like the sugar cookie bar fairy to drop a sweet New Year’s Day goodie off at your doorstep, just say the word.
