Tag: Recipes

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Beef · Recipes · Uncategorized · WLS

Zucchini Mini Meatloaf

jachancellor1 Comment

I had planned on making lasagna with zucchini noodles, but things don’t always work out the way I plan.

Most of the zucchini went bad, but one survived.  So I decided to shred it, and make mini-meatloaves.   The zucchini add a ton of moisture, and with some other flavors, really nice mini meatloaves.One pound of ground chuck, half of onion, and one small zucchini shredded.  Added Italian seasoning, two eggs, and some panko breading.I have the Brownie pan from Pampered Chef.  I love the little square portions I am able to make with anything I cook.

These are about two ounces each piece, and works out to be about 95 calories each.My plate with the vinegar smashed potatoes (another post).  Perfect, juicy and the right portion size.

Blessings.

 

 

 

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Goals · Korean · Uncategorized · WLS

Korean Beef BBQ

jachancellor1 Comment

I have been craving Korean BBQ for a while now, and decided to give it a try making it at home.

Part of my goals/weight loss is cooking more at home.  I found a couple of recipes, and combined what I thought would be good.  David and I loved the marinade, and will make it again.

Ingredients:

For the steak:

  • ¼ cup tamari or lite soy sauce
  • ¼ cup mirin (we made our own with Sherry and sugar)
  • ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Asian pear (used a firm Bartlett pear)
  • small onion, grated
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds flank steak (next time will use Ribeye)
  • Canola or other neutral oil

To serve (optional):

  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • Cilantro or mint leaves
  • Kimchi
  • gochujang
  • Cooked rice, optional
  • Nori (seaweed sheets), optional
Whisk together the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, pear, onion, garlic, ginger for the marinade. Whisk until the ingredients are well-combined.

Marinate the steak for 20 to 30 minutes: Cut the skirt steak into 2-inch wide strips. Add the strips to the bowl of marinade and stir until evenly coated. Marinate the strips of beef for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature.

Cook on a grill or stop top grill with the pan at a high heat setting.  This cooks quickly, so be careful not to burn.To serve: Sprinkle the beef with sesame seeds and cilantro or mint, if using. Serve with rice, kimchi, nori, and gochujang.  We did roasted mini peppers and purple onion.  David’s plate, served over rice.My plate. Lots of peppers and not so much meat. This so satisfied my craving for Korean.Like I said earlier, we will make this again! So yummy. Need to change the meat as the flank steak gets a little tough. Marinade was spot on.

Blessings.

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Recipes · Uncategorized · WLS

Cheese Crisps

jachancellor1 Comment

I have seen these around Pinterest, and other sites, and decided to give them a try.  And, I got a fail—-big Pinterest FAIL!So the recipe was pretty simple.  Take cheese slices, place them on the baking sheet (with a silpat), bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Well, this was my fail.  Too many cheese slices on the baking sheet.  Everything melted together.  Yes, fail.  So to recover, I cut the sheet and tried baking them a bit further.I spread them out more as well.  They turned out wonderful this way.  Crispy, crunchy, and savory.  Loved these, and will make them again….So much better than buying them already done.  I liked failing at this.  It made me want to succeed, and conquer cooking.  It was supposed to be super simple, and easy.  It was, but if you do it correctly.

Blessings!

 

 

 

Instant Pot · Uncategorized

Hearty Coq au Vin-Instant Pot

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We got an Instant Pot at Christmas (Kohl’s Sale), and finally tried to cook something in it.  I was scared at first with the pressure cooker, but now I can’t wait to find recipes to cook in it.  I found this yummy recipe at the Instant Pot site.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs
salt and pepper
Pancetta – cubed
2 cups leeks, cleaned and diced (rinse or soak the cut leeks to remove the sand/dust)
1 1/2 cups carrots chopped
2 cups mushrooms sliced or quartered
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
1/4 brandy (we didn’t have any but the recipe called for it)
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion (called for pearl onions)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons butter softened
5 teaspoons all purpose flour

Instructions:

Pat the chicken dry, and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Press ‘Sauté’ and cook pancetta until crisp. Press ‘Cancel’ and remove; set aside.

Press ‘Sauté’ and brown the chicken in batches. Remove and set aside.

Sauté mushrooms and set aside.

Cook leeks and carrots until leeks are soft, about 1 minute.

Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook till tomato paste begins to change color and/or begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Turn off Instant Pot and deglaze with brandy (included in instructions if you use it, we didn’t), until almost evaporated, stirring often.

Stir in chicken, wine, broth, onions and thyme and close the Instant Pot. Cook on ‘Manual’ for 15 minutes.

While Chicken is cooking, mix together the softened butter and flour.

Do a Quick Release of pressure when cooking time is up and open the Instant Pot. Stir in the sauteed mushrooms.

Press ‘Sauté’ and drop the butter and flour mixture into the Instant Pot using a teaspoon.

Stir the coq au vin and simmer until thickened.

Top each serving with pancetta. Serve with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips. We served ours over cooked rice.

Note: If the Instant Pot gets too hot while sauteing the first set of ingredients, turn it off to cool it down every so often.

My dish without rice. This was hearty, and good depth of flavor. I am not so scared of my Instant Pot now…prepare yourselves for more posts with the Instant Pot.

Blessings.

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Goals · Uncategorized · WLS

No-Bake Energy Bites

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Or Protein Balls.  I made these for my Lunch prep for last week.  Super yummy.

1 cup oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 chia seeds
1/4 hemp seeds
1/3 cup honey
1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla flavored)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

Keep these separate for rolling in later.
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened cocount
1 Tablespoon Cacao

Mix the dry ingredients then add the peanut butter and honey. Stir until well blended.

I rolled them in Cacao and coconut.  Next time I will incorporate those items into the balls, as they really didn’t stick as well as I thought they would.

Form into balls, and place into the freezer for about a hour to firm or set.  Thaw to enjoy!

Blessings!

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Goals · Recipes · roasted · Uncategorized · WLS

Sautéed Scallops

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Okay… I love Gordon Ramsey. We had frozen scallops (first fail I am sure), but I have been wanting to try his recipe.

Pat the scallops dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place oil in hot pan.

Place them individually clockwise in the pan with the “fatter” side down.

Cook until browned on bottom (about 3 minutes).

For one set of scallops we added a tablespoon of butter, and a thyme stem.  It definitely added flavor.

Drain on a paper towel, and enjoy!

One batch we did without the extra butter but with the thyme, still yummy.

David’s plate (we had leftover Burgundy mushrooms) and served with roasted broccoli.

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My plate.  The scallops didn’t need any additional sauce or seasoning.  I so loved them, and we will make them again!

Blessings!

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Lunch · Lunch Prep · new habits · Recipes · Uncategorized · WLS

Chickpeas

jachancellor4 Comments

I needed to make some snacks that would incorporate my healthy changes.

Prepping for the week so that I plan to succeed. These are simple and a tasty snack on their own or on top of salads.

One can of chickpeas, drain and rinse until bubbles are gone. Dry on paper towels.

Put onto a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, and sprinkle cumin, cayenne pepper and paprika over, and roll to make sure they are evenly coated.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until crispy.

Sprinkle with coarse salt. Store in an air tight container. These will spoil quickly. I store mine in the refrigerator.

Blessings!

Bariatric Surgery - My Story · Chicken · Recipes · Uncategorized · WLS

Chicken Breast Supreme

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Over the holidays, I have a tendency to want to eat memories.  This is one of those recipes.  Although, haven’t remade it, I believe it needs more seasoning.

Ingredients:
2 cups Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
4 teaspoons celery salt
2 teaspoons paprika
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
6 whole chicken breasts
2 cups fine dry bread crumbs (we used panko instead)
1/2 cup butter

Directions:
Combine sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire Sauce, celery salt, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper.

Dip each breast (pat dry) in sour cream mixture, coating well.

Refrigerate overnight, covered.  Remove chicken from mixture and roll in bread crumbs.

Arrange in a shallow pan.  Melt butter ad spoon over chicken.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.  Spoon rest of butter over chicken and bake 15 minutes longer or until brown and tender.

It was good, but really needed something more.  We will rework this one.

Blessings!

Brussels Sprouts · Emeril · Recipes · Uncategorized

Bacon Vinaigrette

jachancellor2 Comments

When David and I went to the new Emeril’s restaurant (Emeril’s Coastal Italian), he had the Brussels Sprouts.  They had this vinaigrette on them that was wonderful.

We love roasted Brussels Sprouts, and thought the addition of a vinaigrette would be good as well.  So I searched, and found Emeril’s site full of his recipes.  His recipe called for the following:

  • 6 strips thick-cut bacon, finely chopped (about 8 ounces)
  • 1 shallot, minced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Creole mustard (used Dijon)
  • 4 tablespoons sherry vinegar (used Red Wine Vinegar)
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • Kosher salt, as needed to taste
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (we roasted them with olive oil, salt and pepper)

In a large saute pan, render the bacon until crispy. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until softened and translucent. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, and the brown sugar. While continuing to whisk, add the canola oil in a thin, steady stream. Season lightly with salt and remove all but 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette from the saute pan to reserve for later.

Emeril deep fries the sprouts.  Again, we roasted ours, but when they were done tossed them with the dressing.

It was bright, and tangy.  It added a depth to the sprouts that was needed.  We all loved it.

Blessings.

cake · cake mix · Christmas · friends · Recipes · Uncategorized

Coconut Icebox Cake

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Our friends Adam and Julie normally make this cake at Thanksgiving, and we have had the privilege of receiving a good portion of it (and even get sent home with some leftovers).

It is moist, creamy and decadent.  Best part of this cake was that we didn’t have to make it.  Adam made it.

We had been invited over to the in-laws for Christmas dinner, and was asked to bring dessert.  I got it in my head that I could make this cake.  Adam texted me the recipe, and this is my version.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow or white cake mix
2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 (9 ounce) Cool Whip
1 package frozen, sweetened coconut

Directions:

Bake cake according to package directions in a 9 x 13 inch pan.While the cake is still warm, prick holes in cake.Boil sugar and milk together for 1 minute.  Pour in holes in cake. Chill (for at least 24 hours).When ready to serve, spread Cool Whip on top, and sprinkle on the coconut flakes.  I made the mistake of putting on the Cool Whip while it was still warm as this wasn’t in the original directions and it melted into the cake.It was still wonderful, and everyone enjoyed it.

Blessings.