Freelance Foodie

Yogurt breakfast bowl

I'm posting this so I'll remember. Delicious, healthy, easy.

Yogurt Breakfast Bowl

Nonfat yogurt (hopefully, you can get grass-fed locally made yogurt for 1.50 per pint like I can!)
Slivered almonds (got these at Dodson's, for you locals)
dried Zante currants (my new favorite dried fruit, now available from SunMaid next to the raisins)
a squeeze of honey

Mix together and enjoy. This might be my new before-bedtime snack, with a few dark chocolate chips thrown in. Hey, it's better than a Skinny Cow.

Yummy Spinach Mac

I navigated to this recipe off of Yahoo's main page. Check out the comments, get sucked in for at least 15 minutes, like I did the other day. Haven't seen such robust comment-ry since I read the ones after Sandra Lee's recipes on foodtv.com. Makes me kind of glad that I don't get many any comments on this site!

For the record, the Spinach Mac was easy to make and delicious. For the record, I was very good and had one, normal serving, with a side of green beans and a salad. For the record, neither of my children would eat this. Evan's a toddler and doesn't eat much of anything besides hunks of cheese, grapes, "barrrr"s (Barbara's natural cereal bars), and bananas. I'm surprised Aidan didn't like it, but, then again, there's no way I would have eaten anything with cooked spinach in it before I was 25 years old. I know he was thinking, "Damn, woman, why'd you go and ruin it?"

Panini of the Week: Square Grouper Tuna

This week's panini was inspired by a tuna melt I had at The Square Grouper, a really cute restaurant on Hwy. 1 in the Florida Keys. Ahh...lazy Florida days....Where was I? Oh, yeah...

Square Grouper Tuna Panini

Artisan bread slices
Havarti cheese with dill
a few spoonfulls of canned tuna
thinly sliced banana pepper rings

1. Do I really need to write out the recipe? Put the cheese next to the bread, and put on the other ingredients as you see fit. Oil the outsides of the bread. Let the press do its magic.
2. Look up what a "square grouper" is on the link I gave above. Heh.

Panini of the Week: Portabella Squash

I got this panini press a while back. It's gotten much love in this household ever since. We use the grill part for panini mostly, but I've also grilled meat on it and quesadillas, too. We also use the griddle for pancakes and french toast. The griddler got me through a lot of meals when my husband, Matt was deployed for four months this past spring. Now that the hot summer months are here, we'll be using it a lot again, in hopes of sparing ourselves and our decidedly un-carbon-neutral house a roasty oven. So, I want to challenge myself to make a new panini every week this summer. This is one that I made for us on a day last weekend, in about 20 minutes. You can use a George Foreman grill, or get creative and press your sandwich with a hot brick, like in the old country.
Portabella Squash Panini
(This one's less recipe/more method.)

1 zucchini squash
1 yellow squash
red onion
1 or 2 portabella mushroom caps
seasoning
olive oil
bread
spinach
sliced pepperjack cheese

1. Heat up panini press or whatever you're using
1. Cut up veggies.
2. Saute in hot olive oil for a few minutes. Add whatever seasoning you like. I like Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute. S & P will do, as well.
3. Spray outsides of bread slices with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Don't call it EVOO or I might have to kill you.
4. Cover bread slices with cheese. It's important to begin and end your stack with cheese next to the bread so that your sandwich will adhere together in melty goodness after it's been through the press.
5. Pile on as many hot veggies as will fit. Layer on some fresh, raw spinach. It will cook up just right in the press.
6. Add more cheese, top with other bread slice.
7. Let the press do its magic.
8. Pat yourself on the back for doing this yourself while places like Panera Bread are charging $7 for something this easy.

WT Redux: Tuna Casserole

One of the quick meals my mom frequently made while I was growing up was Tuna Casserole. Her recipe was pretty simple: one can of cream of mushroom soup, one or two cans of tuna, and a box of orange-powder-variety macaroni-and-cheese. There was probably milk in there somewhere, too. Although I'm on board with healthy eating, and my food tastes are somewhat more, a-hem, elevated than my mom's were, I still get the hankering for food like this every once in a while. It's fun to think about ways to make this stuff using healthier ingredients.

My Tuna Casserole

1 box of Annie's Shells and Cheese (the kind with the squeeze cheese)
1 packet of Simply Organic Ranch dressing mix
1/4 cup milk
1 family size can of tuna (I get chunk light b/c it's supposed to have less mercury)
1 big handful of frozen peas and carrots

1. Make the mac accoding to box directions.
2. Pour milk into measuring cup and add dressing mix, mixing very well.
3. Pour hot mac into a casserole dish, add cheese packet, ranch mixture, tuna, and veggies.
4. Crumble a few crackers over it if you want a topping.
5. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes.