Standing Rib Roast Stew/Soup

A friend gave me the leftover roast from her Christmas dinner; a meaty standing rib roast.  I placed it in my dutch oven, filled the pot with water and simmered it for several hours.  When the meat was falling apart, I removed it from the pot and set it aside.  I then put about 10 ginger snap cookies into a 2 cup measuring cup and filled the cup with the broth from the pot.  Once the cookies dissolved, I poured the mixture into the pot, added 3 diced carrots, 2 medium diced SWEET onions, a 1/4 apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of honey, a bit of Himalayan Pink salt and 4 Bay Leaves.  As this simmered, I shredded the meat and added it back to the pot.  I simmered this for several hours.  

I placed it in the fridge overnight.  The next day I removed the fat that had come to the surface, reserving a tablespoon that I melted in my frying pan.  As it melted, I crushed another 6 ginger snaps and added this to the fat to make a rue.  Once it was thick I added it to the pot, stirring it in completely.  

I cooked a pound of extra wide egg noodles and added them to the stew/soup.  It goes well with pickled Red Cabbage and applesauce.

Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms

6 mid-size Portobella Mushroom Caps
Frozen Shrimp; uncooked 41-50 count
Swiss Cheese
Veggie or Mushroom broth
Bread crumbs

Remove stems from cap, clean undersides of mushroom cap. Place chopped stems, cubed cheese & chopped shrimp (leave 6 whole to top mushrooms with) in a mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs to cover mix of ingredients & toss together. Add enough broth to dampen the mixture so it sticks together. Fill caps, placing whole shrimp in top; place them in baking dish, pour broth in to about 1/2 inch; cover with foil and bake slowly (325 degrees) until tender (45 minutes).
Serve with side of steamed broccoli for a wonderfully succulent dinner.

Creamy Salads

Everyone seems to love my tuna or chicken salad. These are creamy salads I use in place of cooked meats. When it comes to the chicken salad, I prefer the bone-in chicken breast that I grill or bake. Tuna is canned, in water.

Tuna Salad

Drain canned tuna
Dehydrated onion flakes
Dried Sweet Basil
Chopped celery (optional)
Onion powder
Mayo (dry or wet to taste)
Mix all ingredients together and chill

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

Shred the meat into a bowl
Add:
Sweet peas; fresh or frozen
Crushed Pecans
Dehydrated onion flakes
Onion powder
Salt (I use Himalayan Mineral Salt for all my cooking)
Pepper
Toss all ingredients together
In a separate bowl mix mayo and honey mustard dressing (Paul Newman's rocks)
Pour this mixture over dry ingredients and mix together
Chill several hours or overnight to allow flavors to marry

Both these salads go well with any type of green, chopped mushrooms (I love Baby Bellas), and cucumbers. I mix it up with mixed bean salad, pickled beets, cold baked beans or marinated artichoke hearts. Sometimes I cut up a baked sweet potato and add that to the salad plate. Use your imagination; that feeds the soul as you feed the body.

Salads

Ah, Spring is here and my body craves greens. Ok, so there's apparently a 'thing' about bagged salad mixes... Oy! I ask you: what isn't an issue with someone these days? Get over it people. The rule for me is simple: if it stinks, is slimy or mushy or generally makes me want to vomit, I don't use it. Wash it if you want, but I believe that if my intention is loving what I'm making that energy makes up for a whole host of 'issues'.
SALADS!!!

I grill up chicken, steak or pork a few pieces at a time, storing it in the fridge for a few days, so that I can grab it for a salad and go. I tend to not overly season the meat so that it can fit with almost any taste I am craving. However if there is a particular taste I'm looking for, I marinate the meat in the dressing I am going to be using for the salad. My preferred brands of dressings are Paul Newman's and a local store called Fresh & Easy. Most importantly, these brands have no high fructose corn crap, and offer low sugar and low fat options. I especially like the Newman's brand as all the profit goes to charity. I also buy nuts, store them in the fridge and either crush or chop them as needed. The bagged salads I use are generally field greens, spring greens or baby spinach. I don't often use tomatoes as they wreck havoc with my joints, but feel free to add them to yours. OK, so with the meat and dressing ready, here are some yummy favorites of mine.

Strawberry Fields Forever
A generous handful of Field Greens with Herbs
Sliced strawberries
Crushed Pecans
Sweet Peas; fresh or frozen
Kerri -Gold Dubliner cheese, cut in tiny cubes (this is a dry cheese that has a sharp but buttery taste)
Chicken pieces
Balsamic dressing Croutons are always optional


Ham & Swiss; Hold the Rye
A generous handful of baby spinach
Halved, seedless red grapes
Either deli ham or grilled ham; diced/cubed
Aged Swiss; cubed
Crimini mushrooms; sliced
Red onions; thinly sliced
A Honey Dijon dressing
You can make rye croutons by toasting rye and then cubing it


Bar-B-Que Pork Salad
Here I use bar-b-qued pork chops that I basted with sauce while cooking
Chopped Romaine
Shredded Green Cabbage
Shredded Carrots
Pork chop pieces
Canned Baked Beans (amount and flavor to suit)
I make a dressing from mayo and the bar-b-que sauce and dress the salad about 30 minutes before I want to eat so that it has a cole slaw like consistency.


Blue Steak
I generally make a top round London Broil for this one, slicing it as I need it
A generous handful of Spring Greens
Chopped Scallions
Texas or Georgia Sweet Onions; diced; I go light on these
Blue Cheese crumbles
A light Blue Cheese dressing

Cranberry Citrus
A generous handful of Spring Greens or Baby Lettuces
Dried cranberries
Tangerine wedges
Finely chopped almonds
A chicken breast marinated in equal parts of balsamic vinegar and orange juice before grilling
The same mixture of vinegar and oj serves as the dressing

Mushroom Cheeseburger

A generous handful of Field Mix
Peas; fresh or frozen, uncooked
Corn; fresh or frozen, uncooked
Sauteed onions & baby bella mushrooms
Grilled burger with your choice of cheese; I like aged Swiss for this one
Place cooked burger and mushroom/onion mix atop salad
I used mayo, ketchup and spicy mustard all plopped on top of the burger; it's messy but delish

Pan-seared orange balsamic glazed chicken breast

Butterfly the boneless breast while heating coconut oil in a heavy pan at a fairly high temp. Sprinkle breasts with onion and garlic powder, salt and crushed rosemary. Sear each side of chicken (don't mess with the breast until it's good and brown on each side) then lower heat to medium and finish cooking (a few minutes more per side). Mix 1/4 c of orange juice with and 1/8 c of balsamic vinegar. Place a small pat of butter on each breast and as it begins to melt, pour the oj vinegar mix on to each breast, then into the pan. Increase heat to medium high and let the liquid cook down to a syrup, flipping the breasts a few times while it does.
YUM!!
Serve with buttered peas and a sweet potato

Sweet Potato with a twist

I used a Sweet Potato... not a Yam, but the yellow tuber... cooked it up and added ground Walnuts and Cinnamon Applesauce instead of butter. OMG!!! Nutritious. Healthy. Delicious.

Now I'm thinking Yam with Pecans, plain Applesauce and a hint of real Maple syrup.

InJoy it.

Smooties

When available, I use fresh fruit, but frozen works too. I include 2 staples as the liquid base in all my smoothies: 1/2 C Almond milk (I use unsweetned Vanilla) and 1 C Kefir or Greek Yogurt with probiotic cultures.

My favorite:
To the liquid base, I add:
1 Banana
1/2 C Dark Bing Cherries
1/2 C Pineapple

Another good one is:
1 Banana
1 Pear
1/2 C Pineapple
1/2 C Blackberries