Wednesday Dinner - Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Tonight's menu:

• Randomness in a bowl

This was a very unusual dinner for us. We had no planned menus, have not gone on a grocery run recently, and had pretty much no energy to do anything fancy (and, maybe more importantly, no money to order takeout). So we assessed the state of our pantry and found the following items:

• Ground beef
• New potatoes
• Celery
• Carrots
• Frozen corn
• Red cabbage
• Canned diced tomatoes
  

We chopped all the veggies up and spread them out in layers in a baking dish. We mixed the meat with soy sauce, worcestershire, chili powder, and cumin and spread it over the top. Then we baked the whole thing for 1.5 hours at around 350 degrees F.

I have to admit I was skeptical about this dish. We had no recipe to follow, no plan, and we were just using a random assortment of items. Turns out it was delicious! Putting the meat on top allowed its juices to drip down onto the veggies while it cooked, which gave everything a really nice flavor. And while this wasn't the most exciting gourmet dinner I can think of, it was cheap, easy, and healthy to boot, with no added oil. I'm glad to know such a dish is possible and I'll definitely remember it next time we're feeling tired and uninspired.

Bonus: it was just as good for lunch the next day!

Friday Breakfast - Healthy Style

So I don't normally post about breakfast, because to be honest I don't normally eat it. At least, I don't eat it before leaving the house. I usually grab some kind of breakfast-like-snack (Luna bar, bagel, etc.) during the morning hours of my work day, but I rarely manage to make myself any kind of breakfast worth posting to a food blog.

Lately, however, Matt and I have been making smoothies in the morning. He developed this recipe and I love it both for how good it tastes and how good it makes me feel. Having two full servings of fruit and some protein in the AM will really kick-start your day! Here's the recipe we use.

Add these ingredients to the blender first:

• Big pinch of flax seeds
• Handful of whole almonds
• 1/2 a carrot, cut into pieces
• 1 banana broken into pieces
• 1 cup (ish) of frozen fruit -- we like to use a mixed berry blend, because it's delicious and cheap

Add vanilla soymilk to about halfway up your pile of fruit. Then add fruit juice (we use organic pomegranate juice) to the top of the fruit pile. Blend and drink! This does tend to make a runnier smoothie, so if you like yours thick-as-a-milkshake, add less liquid or more fruit. Breakfast that's healthy and tastes like dessert...definitely a winner!