Breakfast Burritos ~ The Low Sodium Way

One wouldn't think that it was very difficult to eliminate the majority of sodium from a diet, but I'm here to tell you that it's harder than it sounds!  My biggest difficulty has been bready things ... you just can't find them on the shelves without high levels of sodium.  That's no bueno for this girl!  I've been a bit slack what with Christmas and New Years and the kids being on holidays.  But now that those are all but finished, I'm getting back on track.  I'm going to be revamping our favorite recipes into Low Sodium versions.  Tonight's breakfast burritos were a perfect start!  I loved having a big win!  And though there was no bacon involved, the homemade 'sausage' was a very tasty and quite acceptable substitute. 

I used a few kitchen gadgets to accomplish this but you could totally make these without those gadgets ... it just might take you a bit longer than it took me.  There are lots of components, none of them complicated ... and no real measurements, it depends on how many you are cooking for ... you'll work it out !

Potatoes:  Spiralize potatoes.  (You could also chop or chip or whatever!) Shallow fry in hot olive oil til crispy.  Set aside.

Breakfast "Sausage":  To 500g pork mince add 1&1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp crushed sage (I would have used fresh if I had it), 2 tsp fresh thyme, 1 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped), 1 TBLS brown sugar, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.  Mix.  You could make these into patties but I just tipped the meat as it was into the hot pan that I had just cooked the potatoes in.

Eggs: Scrambled. Do these at the end so that they are hot when you serve

Tomato Salsa: For this one I diced two tomatoes, 1/4 of a red onion (finely diced), 1 clove of freshly minced garlic, 2 handfuls of fresh coriander,  pepper and the juice of one lime. Mix.

Flour Tortillas: I made the dough in the Thermomix but you could mix it by hand.  370g flour, 180ml lukewarm water, 40g olive oil, 1 tsp sodium free baking powder.  Add to TM bowl, blitz speed 5 for 10 seconds.  Knead setting for 2 minutes.  Tip dough out, roll into big ball then divide into 8 equal portions.  Roll with rolling pin.  Fry in hot, dry (no oil) flying pan for 1-2 minutes or until it bubbles, then flip.  The second side never takes as long.  AND the first tortilla never works!  Note to self: make a small one to be 'first one' that goes in the trash!

Top the tortillas with whatever combo of the above ingredients you want ... we add Avocado and Sour Cream too. Fold it up and eat it ! So good !!

Fish Vegetable Bake

I meant to post this recipe many moons ago...but it seems I never got around to it.  This was one of the only ways I liked fish when I was a kid and I still love it. 

Ingredients

-          4 medium to large potatoes, peeled and sliced

-          1 large carrot, sliced ¼ inch thick

-          1 small onion, sliced ¼ inch thick

-          2 Tablespoons butter, melted

-          1 teaspoon dried dill weed

-          1 teaspoon dried basil

-          ¼ teaspoon salt

-          ¼ teaspoon pepper

-          16 ounces of favorite white fish (I love Swai), thawed

-          1 small green pepper, sliced

-          2 teaspoons lemon juice

-          2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or one can of chopped tomatoes)

 

Directions

Place potatoes, carrot, and onion in a casserole dish.  Combine melted butter, dill weeds, basil, salt, and pepper.  Spoon half of the butter mixture over the vegetables.  Cover and bake in a 425-degree oven for 25 minutes.  Place fish on top of vegetables in baking dish.  Add green peppers.  Combine lemon juice and remaining butter mixture and spoon over fish.  Cover and bake about 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with fork and vegetables are tender.  Uncover and add chopped tomatoes.  Return to over and bake about 5 minutes more or until tomatoes are hot. 

Serves 4

 

 

 

 

Evelyn's Stew

The college student home from a short break requested this as his first meal...figured that means it's definitely a hit!  I know I love it!  It's a throw back to when I was a small child attending Church luncheons.

Sauté together:

-          1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (I usually double the recipe, so mix 1 pound of each)

-          ¼ cup teriyaki sauce

-          1 tablespoon soy sauce

-          2 tablespoons steak sauce

 

Steam until just tender:

-          Sliced potatoes

-          Sliced carrots

-          Chunks of cabbage

-          Onion  - quartered

-          Red, yellow, and/or green bell pepper

(cut enough of the veggies to feed your family)

 

Place steamed vegetables on bottom of casserole dish.  Top with meat and sauce.  Mix 1 can of mushroom soup and one can of milk and pour mixture over top of meat and vegetables.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until bubbly. 

 

 

 

 

Curry (Korma)

I realized after Jimmy commented on my rabbit curry, that I've never posted the recipe here.  Since I was gathering some of my favorite recipes for a potential church cookbook, I decided it was high time I added it to the blog!

Picture credit goes to Jimmy - Cause I almost always forget to take one!

Ingredients

-          2 tablespoons vegetable oil

-          2 teaspoons curry powder

-          1 pound boneless beef or lamb (you can also use venison or rabbit) – cut into one inch cubes

-          ½ large yellow onion – peeled and chopped

-          3 large potatoes – peeled and cut into one inch pieces

-          1 green bell pepper (optional) – chopped

-          Frozen broccoli (as much or as little as you’d like)

-          1 teaspoon salt

-          1 teaspoon paprika

-          1 teaspoon garlic powder

-          ½ teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste - depending on how spicy your family likes things...I keep it really mild and let people spice it up at the table since two of us are not fans of spicy things)

-          1 can of chopped tomatoes

-          1 cup sour cream (or to taste)

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet or soup pot (depending on how much you’re making).  Add the curry powder, meat, and onions.  Cook 3 or 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the meat has browned.  Add the potatoes, bell pepper, broccoli, salt, and spices, with only enough water to cook the vegetables.  (I normally splash in an inch or so of water and then add more if it boils off.  Better to need to add more then to have too much water!!)  Cook over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are cooked.  Just before serving, add tomatoes and sour cream.  Cook over low heat just until heated through. 

Serve over rice.

Optional: top with your favorite chutney, chopped peanuts, French fried onions, and/or chopped hard-boiled eggs.

SJG Potato Salad

My brother in law brought a delicious potato salad to Christmas dinner this year ! Of course, I had to know how he made it. He told me the ingredients. I used most of them ... but not all. I've made this twice. The second time was better than the first and the key was the garlic and how I cooked it. Here's how I did it ...

What you need:

Potatoes, chopped (smallish bite size pieces)

Eggs, hard boiled

Bacon, chopped

Capers

Kewpie Mayo

Garlic, sliced (I used a head of garlic)

Red Onion, finely diced

Salt

Pepper

What you do:

There are a few components to this potato salad.  None of them difficult.  There aren't really measurements.  It's all pretty much to taste.

Preheat oven to 180C/375F

You'll need to boil the potatoes to your desired tenderness.  While those are boiling, cook your bacon.  I like it crispy. 

Once the oven is preheated, put the garlic slices and a bit of olive oil into an oven proof ramekin. Cover with tin foil and roast in oven til browned and smelling AMAZING !  (You could just fry the garlic if you wanted but I think the roasting adds so much flavor !) (The first time I made it, I roasted the head whole and then added it to the mayo and mixed it through ... I found the taste of the garlic got lost ... not so when I tried it this way the second time !)

Once potatoes are done, mix through kewpie (japanese mayo) to taste, salt and pepper, capers, bacon & red onion.  Mix.  Slice eggs and add to top ...

Serve.  Try not to eat the whole bowl by yourself !

PS ... Steven also adds corn and parsley.

my birthday dinner ....

it was my birthday a couple of days ago.

my husband planned the most amazing surprise !

you can read about the whole day over on my simple beauty blog but

i'm just going to cut and paste and share the food bits of the story for you here ...

let's start with ... my neighbors coming over with birthday cocktails

i love having neighbors who are such a bit part of our lives !



when rory gets home, he says

'would you be totally disappointed if i told you i've made a reservation for us at a restaurant ?'

ummmm ... let me think about this for a minute ?!

i still don't have to cook ?

i get to go out ?

yeah ... i'm good !

rory got a phone call just as we were ready to leave, from our friend craig

he said 'we've got a present for bonnie,

would you guys swing by and pick it up on your way to dinner ?'

up until that phone call, i had NO IDEA anything suspicious might be happening

after that ... i wondered if all wasn't as it appeared !

but ... i had NO IDEA of the amazing surprise that lay in wait for me

weeks of planning, international conversations, importing of food

so ... we get to C & J's place to 'pick up the present'

and the house is all decorated

and something smells incredible ... (and very familiar)

and then there were shouts of surprise and the faces of other friends i love

rory hands me an envelope and says

'this is my present to you'

inside the envelope is this menu .........



the foods of my childhood !

and VONGOLE !

(my requested birthday dinner every year since we had lived in Italy !)

now ... this is no easy feat ... because in my little girls mind, the vongole (clams)

HAVE TO BE IN THEIR SHELL

well ... you can't get that here ...

in fact, you can't get clams here at all, unless they are in a can

so Rory IMPORTED them from New Zealand

can you believe that ?!



the food was amazing.

APPARENTLY, they had been cooking all afternoon ... I thought Rory was 'working late' !

Here's the Patatas Alioli and the Champinones Al Ajillo con pan (with bread), of course.



And then came the never ending supply of Gambas Al Ajillo ... OH YUM !!



Master Chefs in action ...



Amazing team work ...



And here's the Traditional Vongole ... with homemade fettucine ...

I'll have to find out what recipe he used for this ... he said it was a Jamie Oliver one.



And the Vongole like my Mom used to make, only with a spicy Casa de Ross twist.

And this recipe too, I'll have to write it down and share it with you ... it's a spicy tomato sauce ...

mmmmmmm !!!



Do you know one thing I loved about this night ?

There were so many things I loved ... but here's just one.

I loved that I was the only known clam lover of the bunch but they still cooked this for me !

And (almost) everyone tried the clams ! Some even liked them !

All of these dishes were new to everyone besides me and Rory, and everyone tried them !

And again ... liked (and even loved) them !

I love the adventurous nature of this group of friends !

And I love that they love to celebrate life.

**

Mom ... Rory insisted that I take this photo for you ....

**

Empty shells !!



Cheesecake.

When we were little, it was tradition in our house that all birthday cakes had to be chocolate.

So ... we have gazillions of birthday pictures of us COVERED IN CHOCOLATE !

BUT, once we were old enough to request our own birthday cake preference ... mine was

ALWAYS cheesecake (with cherries on top) !

My sweet friend Donna recently learned this about me and though she had never made one

before, she baked me the most wonderful birthday cheesecake ! with berries ! oh my !



and Jodie made cupcakes

that I have yet to try

but some came home with us and I will be having one for breakfast !



I was crowned 'birthday queen' and actually wore my 'crown' for a good hour.

Not the mask though ... it was way too hot for that !



Spoiled ? Yeah ... I can't disagree.



I have an amazing, thoughtful, selfless husband,

kind, encouraging and giving children,

enthusiastic, creative and (SNEAKY!!) friends,

an extended family like none other,

friends all over the world (thanks to the Navy and now facebook !) that i love

AND

to top it all off ....



my very own website !!



I cannot wait for you all to see it !

Well ... you can sort of see it here but I've crossed off it's name (which you are going to LOVE)

because I don't want you to go there just yet.

I'll let you know when you can !

Craig and I are going to play with it a bit more first ...

by the way, Craig ... who is a music lover, not a web guru, designed this !

Look out world !

**

All in all ... this has been my best, most favorite birthday ever.

Thanks to everyone who was a part of it !

~ bon ~

Jamie and Julia ~ Steak and Mash

When Jamie Oliver was on Masterchef the other night, he talked about dressing the board. Basically, you just put a bunch of herbs and oil and some sort of acid and a bunch of garlic onto your cutting board. Once you've cooked your steak, we did our on the Weber, put it on the board and just massage the flavors into it a bit. I am not a big steak person ... I had seconds of this !!

I didn't write down what I used but just go with flavors you like ! I know I did olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, thyme, parsley, greek basil and garlic. I may have used other things pero no recuerdo !!

I also tried Julia Childs' Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I didn't, at the time, but I do now, have a potato ricer so don't know if it would have made a difference. And maybe I'll try these again just to see. But, to me, they weren't worth the absolute mountain of effort they took to make.

Grilled Vegetable Moussaka ~ With Meat

Rory and Jono were watching a cooking show the other day, saw Moussaka being made and promptly requested that I add it to the menu ... I'm glad they did because this is a delicious discovery !! I found the recipe here but of course, made a couple of changes ...

Ingredients:

3 large eggplant, thin round slices
3 large potatoes, thinly sliced
3 large zucchini, thinly sliced lenthwise
extra-virgin olive oil - for grilled veg
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons whole wheat flour
5 cups milk
1 pinch ground nutmeg
salt to taste
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 kg beef mince (ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
large can of diced tomatoes
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Fire up your BBQ. Brush eggplant, potatoes, and zucchini lightly with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill until just tender and golden brown.

Layer potatoes into the bottom of a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Next layer in the eggplant, followed by the zucchini; set aside.

Preheat oven to 190c/375f. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add the flour, cook until the flour smells slightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Gradually add in milk, about a cup at a time ... if you haven't worked it out, you're making a white sauce here ! Add nutmeg and salt. Bring to a bare simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.

Place the egg yolk into a bowl, and quickly whisk in 1/4 cup of the white sauce, Quickly stir the egg yolk mixture into the white sauce, mix until smooth, then set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown beef and onion. Stir in the oregano, parsley, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To assemble, spread the meat mixture over the vegetables, and sprinkle with the feta cheese. Pour the white sauce over the top. Bake moussaka in preheated oven until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Meat Pie and Taters

So ... this was linked up in one of my old menu plans but it was on an old blog
of mine that is private and no longer used. Andrea stumbled upon it and wanted the
recipe so I'm cutting and pasting it to here !!

~~

This is another leftovers/use up what I have recipe.


A while back I made a pot roast in the crock pot.

It was ok but not something we wanted to eat for leftovers so I froze it.

It's a super easy recipe.

You just chop up some carrots, potatoes and onions.

Add them to the crockpot along with a big hunk of beef.

Mix a can of cream of mushroom soup with a package of french onion soup mix.

Pour the soup on top of the meat/veggies. High for 8 hours.


So, tonight, I used the thawed leftovers.

Added some mushrooms and instant gravy.

Poured that into pie tins lined with puff pastry.

Topped with pasty.

Baked in oven ~400F, 200C ~ for about 40 minutes.

It was delicious !

OR

you could try this beef and guinness pie recipe that is delicious as well !


I served it with these potatoes that I found through super cook !!

I changed them a bit so I'll tell you how I did them.

I boiled the potatoes for about 15/20 minutes.

Skin on. But that's my personal laziness preference.

Drain. Cool. Chop.

Add a finely diced onion, big handful of chopped fresh parsley, 1 tbls (?) chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper to the a frying pan with hot olive oil in it. Add the potatoes first. Fry til they are your desired crispiness.

Patatas Alioli

Garlic Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes
salt
4 to 6 garlic cloves (I used 6)
1/2 cup mayo
fresh flat leaf parsley, 12 sprigs

Chop potatoes into big chunks like you'd do for potato salad.
Boil 'em to desired tenderness.

While that's happening, mix the garlic (that you've done in your garlic press), and the parsley (that you've chopped), with the mayo.

When potatoes are done, drain, and let cool. (I put mine in the fridge for 10/15 minutes.)
Then mix potatoes with mayo.

Done.

Enjoy.

Yes, you will have garlic breath.

Yes, it is worth it !!

I served this tonight with Pollo en Salsa de Ajo.

Bonnie Makes The Pollo

Has anyone besides me made this yet ?

IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD !

... and easy to make.

Try it.

You'll like it !

Pollo Guisado con Papas

Foods of The World - Potluck

This is a savory dish, wonderfully complemented by sweet amarillos, the recipe for which also follows. It may seem a little strange--rice and potatoes?!--so let me just say, a Puerto Rican diet is not for the faint of heart, or for those watching their carbs! But trust me, once you get a whiff of this while it's cooking, you won't care how many calories or carbs are in it. If you feel the need to assuage any guilt, though, serve it with a salad.

Pollo Guisado con Papas
Stewed Chicken with Potatoes

6 chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless thighs, but it's your preference)
2 or 3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large sweet onion, cubed
6 - 12 cloves garlic, minced (depends how much you like garlic!); can substitute minced garlic you buy in a jar
12 green olives (you can always pick them out if you don't like them, but cook with them for flavor)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 Cup white cooking wine
1 Cup olive oil (if you're concerned about the amount, you can reduce it, but I wouldn't go less than 1/2 a Cup)
1/4 Cup white vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Combine everything in a large pot, stirring to coat the chicken and vegetables with the sauce mixture. Push the chicken down, covering it with the vegetables, to keep it tender and ensure it cooks through.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high. Keep at a steady boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir, ensuring the chicken is covered again. Cook 30 more minutes. Check potatoes for tenderness; if necessary, cook an additional 15 minutes. If you don't serve it immediately, reduce heat to low and cover.

Serve over white rice with amarillos on the side.

Amarillos
Fried Plantains

These sweet, fried plantains (platanos) are called amarillos in Puerto Rico, and maduros in Cuba. Amarillo means yellow in Spanish, and maduro means mature or ripe, so they're both apt names for the ripe, yellow plantains used to make them!

Ripe plantains (also known as green bananas), 1 plantain per 2 people should be enough
Olive oil (or vegetable oil, if you prefer)

Allow plantains to ripen at room temperature until yellow with black spotting, to the point where they almost look spoiled. Depending on how green they are when you buy them, this could take a week or more, so plan accordingly. You can speed the ripening process by storing the plantains in a brown paper bag with a small apple. Just be sure to keep a close watch on them to prevent spoiling! This is what they should look like.

Using a very sharp knife, cut off the ends of the plantain and split the skin down the length of it. The fruit inside should be pinkish-yellow. Carefully peel. A plantain's skin is thinner than a banana's, and it adheres a bit more to the fruit when it's ripe, so it's not as easily peeled as a banana. Cut off any bruised spots.

Pour oil into a shallow frying pan, about 3/4 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat. While the oil is heating up, slice plantains into wedges, about 1/4 inch thick.

Place plantain wedges in oil but do not overlap them.

Fry, turning once, until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve and eat together. The two flavors mixing and melting in your mouth...heaven!

You can reheat leftover pollo guisado in the microwave or on the stove top, but I recommend reheating amarillos on a lightly greased or foil-covered baking sheet in the oven or toaster oven at about 300 degrees for just a few minutes.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do. ¡Buen provecho!

Spicy Potatoes

I can't believe I have never posted this recipe before. It is a favorite around here.

900g / 2lb potatoes

1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 tbls oil
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbls sesame seeds

So ... I never measure the potatoes for this. I just get out a big baking dish, line it with baking paper, fill it with chopped potatoes, cover with oil and bake in hot oven .... 200C. I stir them a couple of times so that they all get done and not just the top ones. It takes a while ... maybe 30 minutes ? Maybe longer ? Just keep tasting testing them ...

In the meantime. Get yourself a little bowl and mix up the turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Set aside.

Also in the meantime ... chop up the garlic and chilli. I don't always have a chilli. So, sometimes I don't use one. The time I took the photo, I had a red chilli ... used that. Makes no difference. I like the garlic chopped fine, rather than crushed but you can do what you like. I also use a fair bit more than one garlic clove like the original recipe called for !!

Ok ... get your smallest frying pan and heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. I use more than 1/4 tsp and I use a combination of black and yellow seeds. Fry the mustard seeds a couple minutes ~ til they splutter. Add the chilli and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes. I like the garlic to begin to turn brown. Then add the sesame seeds. Fry for a couple of minutes ~ til they begin to turn brown. Remove from heat.

When the potatoes are done, pour into serving bowl. Sprinkle the spice mixture on the potatoes and toss to coat. Then add the chilli/garlic mixture.

Voila !

Serve straight away. They are best piping hot !!

PS ... I pull out the servings of potatoes for the kids before I put the spices on. They prefer them that way ... just a bit too spicy for their little taste buds !