Asparagus!

A wonderful sign of Spring.

Get some roast it and enjoy!!!!!!!

Success!

Well the weigh in was completed on Friday and Frank lost 31 pounds in 9 weeks!

He is amazing-but I have to take some of the credit too-he did all the tough working out-and I got to do what I love most, cooking the food that provides enjoyment to those that eat it!

Another year in the books with the weight loss challenge and the message that I take out of it this year-portion control, fruit and lots and lots of greens!

I am so very proud of my husband!

It's Over!

Today is weigh in day for Frank's weightloss challenge-so what did I do? I got up and made a recipe that I found during the challenge-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies! The only switch up is that I am making it Peanut Butter chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.

Sounds sinful-I will let you know how they taste!

Enjoy

Not your Mom/Grandma's Pressure Cooker

Here is a picture of my Fagor Electric 3 in 1!

This wonderful appliance is a rice cooker, slow cooker and a pressure cooker all in one.

In the old days the pressure cookers that were used on stovetop involved alot of guess work and in my opinion luck! Making sure it was up to the pressure you needed and then timing it and releasing the pressure manually-if you dared!

This wonder does all of this for you and can I tell you it makes some of the best meals you can imagine in under 1 hour.

A few years back my stove was broken during the holiday season-I cooked everything in my pressure cooker from soup to dessert. It was awesome.

Here is one of my favorite meals-which I can gaurantee you, you will not find this recipe in any of the old fashioned pressure cooker cook books.

Cheese Stuffed Calamari in Tomato Sauce

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion-chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Filling
4 oz calamari tentacles, finely chopped
2/3 cup bread crumbs
2/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1 garlic clove crushed
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

12 large calamari bodies
For the sauce: in a 5-7 quart pressure cooker, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic. Cook stirring often until the onion begins to soften, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and hot pepper.

Lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Quick release the pressure and open the lid.

Meanwhile make the filling: In a medium bowl combine the chopped calamari tentacles, bread crumbs, ricotta, parmesan, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Loosely stuff the calamari bodies with the filling (fingers work better than a spoon), leaving some room for expansion, and close the openings with wooden toothpicks. Pinching the openings closed quickly rinse off any filling on the outsides of the stuffed calamari under running cold water.

Place the stuffed calamari in the sauce. Lock the lid in place. Return to high pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Allow pressure to release on it's own.

Serve calamari and sauce in bowls sprinkled with fresh basil and french bread.

Enjoy this recipe and please let me know what experiences you have had with pressure cookers.

One week and counting......

We are in the final week of the weight loss challenge! My mind is racing as to what I am going to make when we are done with this portion of the winter (9 weeks total)!

All I think about is pizza, pasta and fresh baked bread all of which we have pretty much gone without over the last 8 weeks! I know you are saying to yourself-is that possible? Yes I guess it is-but not neccesarily enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong I am definately noticing the difference in how things are fitting and I am getting compliments-which is awesome........but bring on the goodness! I will do a count down this week and then wait for next weekend and I will do the rundown of ALL the bad things we eat!

Keep your fingers crossed Frank is at the fish shack this weekend with his brothers which is a true test on how he will eat and where is weight will go in 3 days away.......

Wonderfully Flavorful New Sidedish!

In the paper this past week there was a recipe for Spinach in Browned Butter-now remember we are still on the weight loss challenge and anything that has butter in it sounds or so naughty!

But this dish as it was presented was only 156 calories per serving-I added a few things that would add a little bit in the calorie counter-but nothing that put it over the top. Here is my version of Spinach in Browned Butter

2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup rough chopped oyster mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 pound spinach
salt and pepper to taste
2 hard boiled eggs chopped
1 small lemon cut into wedges for serving

Heat butter in large saute pan-as it starts to brown at the mushrooms and saute them for a couple of minutes until they take on some color. Then add the chopped garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the spinach and wilt. Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with the hard boiled eggs that have been chopped.

Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing on dish as being served.

Try this one and I can promise you will become a huge fan!

Enjoy

Almost Famous!

Check out the article in yesterday's Star Tribune-I was interviewed about a month ago about our winter cooking on our Big Green Egg-unfortunately our schedules didn't work out and we didn't get featured in the pictures!

Just reading the article makes me anxious for the weekend when it is supposed to be good and warm and we will fire up the old green egg!

Enjoy