Saturday, July 30, 2011

All-In-One Fiesta Stew Pot


This is not a good recipe for a 100 degree-plus day, but it is an awesome recipe and worth the time needed to make it.  So save it for a snowy winter’s day.  And thanks for Marge Walter, Santa Claus, Indiana for submitting the recipe to some magazine and now I’m about to type my little fingers off getting all the ingredients in this recipe posted.  I do not alter or do short-cuts on this recipe.  It’s too good.  I have doubled it, but expect the cooking times to take longer.  My sister found this recipe and it is always the stew recipe I  make for company.  There are some unusual flavor combinations that work.  I think you’ll be able to see where I got my idea for yesterday's Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas.

All-In-One Fiesta Stew Pot

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ lbs. lean beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup defatted beef broth
½ cup apple juice
6 small white potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 2-inch strips
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 2-inch strips
1 medium onion, peeled and slivered
1 can (10 oz.) tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
Coarsely chopped black olives, for garnish

            1.  Combine the flour, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add the beef cubes and toss with a fork to coat.
            2.  Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Brown the beef, in batches, on all sides.  Return the beef to the pot.  Add the beef broth and apple juice.  Cover and simmer over medium heat until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.
            3.  Add the potatoes, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes with green chilies, tomato sauce and honey.  Cover the simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.
            4.  Add the apples and kidney beans.  Cover and simmer until the apples are tender, about 15 minutes.  Stir in the chopped parsley.  Serve in shallow bowls, garnished with the shredded cheese and chopped olives.

Call me when you make it!


Friday, July 29, 2011

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

This is what I think of an a “dump” recipe, my favorite kind.  You just dump the ingredients in a bowl, with no or very little measuring.   This quesadilla filling is a favorite with EM and me and there are several ways to vary it.   In this blog, I will always give credit when I know where the credit is due.  I used a stew recipe for inspiration when I made up this recipe, but have since seen a similar recipe posted on foodie blogs.   Isn’t it wonderful that recipes can’t be copyrighted?  Tomorrow, I'll post the stew recipe.  I had never had that combination of stew flavors and liked it.   The ingredients for the quesadilla filling are also things that you can keep on hand for a while. These things are basics for me. I hate having to make that extra run to the store.

(My apologies here for the lack of photos.  I haven’t learned how to load them yet at Blogspot AND I have lost my camera somewhere in this house!  Hope to have photographs someday!)

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Microwave or bake 2 sweet potatoes
Rinse 1 can of black beans (I use reduced sodium beans, and also rinse to reduce sodium by another 1/3)
Cumin
½ c. to ¾ c. prepared salsa
Handful of shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla shell

Roughly mash the sweet potato. Add the beans, salsa, and cumin, and mix.   Put one shell in a hot skillet, sprayed with Pam.  Put the sweet potato/bean mixture on the shell. Top with cheese.   Put second shell on top.  When the cheese begins to melt, flip the quesadilla until the shell is lightly browned.   Cut into 4 sections.  Save the leftovers for me!

Variation:
Put the filling in a casserole, minus the cheese. Put the cheese on top and bake in the oven.  This is a good potluck dish.

Tips to lower sodium:

  • Corn tortilla shells are very low in sodium; flour shells are much higher.
  • A fruit based recipe usually is lower in sodium.  I use a mango-peach salsa in his recipe.  For example, look for recipes for the peach salsa-topped chicken breasts, rather than the marinara-sauce topped chicken breasts.
  • Almost all pre-prepared foods are high in sodium.
  • Swiss cheese is lower in sodium that other cheeses.
  • Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon, no salt added, can be used instead of chicken broth, with is very high in sodium.
  • Soy sauce is extremely high in sodium.  Substitute Kikkoman Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing and Sauce (360 mg sodium/tablespoon) for soy sauce (950 mg sodium/tablespoon).  Then try to half the sauce that the recipe calls for.  You’ve now reduced the sodium of the recipe by 5/6ths!
  • The down side – once you get used to lower sodium, it will ruin you for eating fast food.  The KFC will taste VERY salty!
  • You can also reduce salt in baked recipes.  When I reduce the salt, it makes the baked goods taste much sweeter, so I’ve wondered if I could further reduce the sugar, but I have not seriously researched it.
  • Vinegars!  If you like vinegars, they are a healthy way to add zip to your recipes.  I use roasted garlic rice vinegar, balsamic vinegars.  There is a whole world of amazing vinegars that I have not yet started exploring.
Tomorrow, I will post the Fiesta Stew, classy enough to serve company and yummy enough to hope some of your company doesn’t show so you’ll have more for yourself!

You cannot even imagine how much I struggled with spelling "quesadilla"!  I must have looked it up 5 times!


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ballroom Dancing and Marriage

EM and I have been ballroom dancing for almost 6 years. We started to prepare for our niece’s wedding, and got hooked. We agree that we are so lucky to have found a hobby that we enjoy together, that is good for us physically and mentally. We do not dance competitively. The dancing you watch on Dancing With the Stars is choreographed. We are not nearly that skilled and do not do choreographed dance. We dance traditional ballroom dancing where the man leads and the woman follows. However, our experience has some similarities with DWTS. You know when DWTS shows the difficult moments practice session with the stressed out performers? Oh, yes, we've been there many times. The longest our dance classes have been is two hours, and EM and I have each looked at the other person's glazed expression at the end of the class and said, “You're toast!”

So, ballroom dancing and marriage, you ask? I consider myself to be an independent person. I didn't get married until I was almost 30. I moved across country by myself to a new job. I bought a house by myself. EM and I consult each other with every major decision in the household. So the concept of the husband LEADING and my FOLLOWING, was initially hard to accept. After 25 years of marriage, EM and I have learned to depend on each other, but this was a whole new level.  There are times to empty yourself and follow your partner.

Tomorrow night, we are going dancing!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

First Post








I've had a private blog for several years, although I've been neglecting it recently since I've discovered Facebook.   I called my private blog "a grandma blog", with braggings about my child and reports of family events. I've long been thinking about creating a public blog and with the recent inspiration of a co-worker's blog, acraftyteacher.com, I've been inspired to discipline myself and start a public blog. I intend for my writings to be positive. I am very aware that the written word can be interpreted a variety of ways and that is the reason I have waited this long to have a public blog. I have journaled for a long time and write everything so my daughter can read it someday without an “ouch. “ That is also my intent for this blog.

So, here we go. First you need to know the cast of characters.

Myself – I am a wife, a mom, a speech-language pathologist, a post-menopausal woman posing as a young mom, a foodie, a ballroom dancer and maybe I will think of other things later. My interests also include yoga, health, and reading. Not much high risk behavior at this point in my life, but I'm having lots of fun!

Energizer Man (EM) – He is my husband and is an amusing character who will appear occasionally in the blog. He gets the name EM because he is the strongest, hardest working man I've ever watched work. And that's not just my opinion. He can do anything he needs to do on the computer, but has no interest in social computer networking. He will probably never read this, although I will usually tell him what I write. He is also passionate, intense, and smart.

Almost Teenager (AT) – She is 12 and flips between teenager and child. She is our delight and is creative, intense, talented, and funny. And Dramatic!  Currently, she is gasping as it she were dying, on the other side of the bed, pretending she is stuck under the bed. I'm supposed to bite and go over there to see what the problem is. I don't mean to encourage her with all the drama, but she often catches me off guard and I laugh aloud. I'm either laughing or saying “Stop it!” Now she may be pretending she's climbing on top of a block of ice in the North Sea, since she recently saw the movie The Titantic. That's the way she works.

The Dog – She has just reminded me that she exists. She is almost seven and calmer, but she has spent most of her life trying to be dominant and bossy. The dog never lies. If she says her bone is under the bed, it's under the bed.

The Cat – She is five and bossy also. She is very talkative and her favorite activity is to yell at EM, loudly and repeatedly, which annoys the heck out of him. The cat always lies. If she says she has never been fed today, it's not the truth. The dog LOVES the cat and was delighted when we got her.

One of the primary topics I'll address is FOOD!  Love it. I enjoy cooking for my family, but it is a real challenge. By the time you combine thinking of menu ideas, time-constraints, and individual preferences, it's often overwhelming. EM, due to health issues (which are very well managed), is interested in low sodium, heart-healthy recipes. However, due to his passionate nature, he thinks about food only when hungry. If I ask what he wants to supper and he's not hungry, he has no suggestions. If I say, “Does this taste funny to you?”, he immediately stops eating that food. (You know that I have learned NEVER to say that). We are basically vegetarian at home (we eat seafood), but will attack meat when eating out.

I want savory – umami – strong flavors – food adventures. I've been told I like “stinky” foods and it's true. Hummus, salmon, feta cheese, wasabi, vinegars, smoked oysters, sushi. The list going on and on. I love to plan meals and parties. When I find a great recipe, victory! I plan to post those recipes.

AT is a chickennugget-wheat-tarian. She likes a nice variety of foods, but wants everything seperate, not mixed. She does not eat beef at all and I struggle to get her to eat her veggies and fruit. No vinegars, mayo, white sauces for her.

Why is the blog named "It's Fun to Be a Grownup?"  Because, when I was in my 20s, I had a new job, new friends, new income, new state.  I was on a great adventure and became known for saying "It's fun to be a grownup!"  Now, a long time later, I still feel the same way (usually).

So, off on the blog adventure. I look forward to connecting with you!