Saturday Shopping + Enchiladas

It was a late night the night before, so we decided upon breakfast away from home as a treat. We went to Zeeland Street Market, a local neighborhood joint that serves breakfast and lunch. I would describe the menu as eclectic southern home cooking, part comfort and part healthy.
We both got BESTs- bacon, egg, sprout, tomato sandwiches on wheat toast. My sandwich was awesome, except it had mayonnaise on it, and it was the sweet stuff. Next time I'll order no mayo for sure, since I'm not a big fan of Miracle Whip. They're not stingy with the sprouts, unlike some restaurants.
It hit the spot. We ate our sandwiches while driving, which I hate, but we drove to my favorite coffee shop and got drinks, so all was forgiven. I forgot to take a picture of my drink, but here's an old one:
After drinking this I was geared up to do my shopping for the day. I hit up Target, Albertson's, and Fresh Pickins.
Fruit from FP: California Valencia oranges, Bartlett Pears (cheap!!!), unwaxed apples, and limes (for drinkies)
Veggies: broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes, large onion, avocado (stone fruit really), beets.
and the prize - - - - - an Acorn Squash Fun stuff from Target and Albertson's included: Pomegranate fruit strips, Food Should Taste Good The Works! chips, Kashi bars, nice jam (on sale), cheese, and Clif bars.Then for a late lunch, I ate some leftover stirfry, but added frozen green beans.I'm trying to put a dent in the freezer and cabinet while buying more crap every week!
After the stirfry I ate one of the Kashi bars. I see a lot of the pumpkin pie ones in blogland, but decided to try the dark chocolate coconut. Pretty good!
Also - I scoured all of the stores looking for the Celestial Seasonings Holidays teas to no avail. I guess it's just not cold enough here for Holiday drinks.

Juicin'
We made some juice as a snack, and because both of us are fighting a virus. This juice was supposed to be for breakfast, but we skipped out and ate bacon instead. :)
The ingredients included several Texas navel oranges, 2 carrots, a red delicious and a granny smith apple from the corner store, a grapefruit, and a quickly deteriorating pear.It was gooooood.
For dinner I made a childhood favorite: my mother's famous chicken enchiladas. I have a copy of the sacred recipe preserved.
Ingredients:
Chicken breasts
8 oz sour cream
grated cheese
can of green chilies
condensed cream of chicken soup
flour tortillas

Directions:
Cook chicken, cut in pieces. Mix together on low heat sour cream, cheese, chilies, and soup to make sauce. Soften tortillas in skillet. Spread a little bit of the sauce on the bottom of casserole dish. Place chicken in tortillas, spread sauce inside, roll up, put in pan, cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil, cook at 350 for 20 minutes.

Notes:
Oh enchiladas, how I love thee! I use four small chicken breasts, but feel free to use any chicken bits (or whatever) you have. The sour cream this time was light, but I would like to try greek yogurt or cottage cheese. As for the cheese - as easy as possible, a bag of preshredded "mexican blend" cheese. (What am I, Rachel Ray?) The green chilies is up to the cook, and I prefer to use as many as possible (i.e. the BIG can). Cream of whatever soup will work. And lastly, tortillas: I prefer the small fajita/soft taco size as they fit in my pan nicely, but this time I picked up 2 packs of large tortillas just in case we made burritos. I used 9 or 10 tortillas,
I made some alterations this time. I added black beans, wild rice, black olive, and red bell pepper. Also, I usually just mix all of my ingredients together and use as a filling because it's easy.
Tonight I topped it with a green taco sauce (tomatilla based) and a little cheese. Still very rich and delicious.Yum Yum Gimme Some!
Unfortunately Mr. Greens had to work all evening. I've been cleaning, but I think I'm ready to retire with a good book and maybe a treat. Or two!Has anyone had these?
When I was looking at the Kashi bars these little things popped out at me as a must try. They are 80 calories a bar, and quite good if you have self control. I don't know if I do!

Taste Explosions

Today's post might be a little short because I'm trying to get a lot (of chores) done.
Breakfast was a nonfat Voskos greek yogurt, topped with super nutty granola and honey.This combo had my mouth yelling, "I love it! I love it! I love it!'There was no snackage for me today. My boss went to Zea Rotisserie and Grill, and offered to pick up for everyone. The menu was so big that I had trouble figuring out what to get. What I ended up with was a Carving Board Sandwich with a side of Corn grits. It came in a microwarmable container. Good to know.The grits were my favorite part, and very different from the grits I make at home; more of a sweet mush with corn niblets, milk, sugar(?), and butter. It was like a sweet, creamy corn pudding.After my food coma wore off, I felt a little better. I stopped at the library after work, which was nice. Unfortunately they didn't have about 8 of the books I wanted. :(

For dinner I decided to make a simple stirfry. It contained yellow squash, carrot, celery, edamame, onions, shrimp, bell pepper, and mushrooms on top of brown rice. The sauce is one I've used before.
My pictures of the stirfry came out horribly -
Flash:
No flash:With dinner I drank a club soda with a twist of grapefruit.Now I'm moving on to the One and Only...

A Complete Breakfast

Monday! I got a call from my boyfriend early this morning that I brought his keys to work with me! Ack! I hate it when things like that happen.
Breakfast was the Last of the Voskos with honey, PB Puffins, and a banana.
Once again I'm impressed by Greek yogurt. This container has 140 calories, 0 fat, and has 24g of protein. Plus the texture and flavor is out of this world!
I snacked on carrots, grape tomatoes, celery, plus a couple of red bell pepper with leftover hummus.
After working out at the gym, I came back to my desk starving. My coworker was talking to me while I was cramming my sandwich in my cheeks. It's a regular pita, with Boston lettuce, 2 oz of ham, and 1 oz of cheddar. I like Boston lettuce a lot, so I might have to try growing it. The grocery stores here usually carry pitiful looking heads.
This kept me full for quite a while.
Around 2:00 I had my customary afternoon coffee. I couldn't help but break out the Clif bar.
These things are the devil. Yum!
When I got home, I really wanted a sweet potato, but decided against it. Instead, I threw together a stirfry. It consists of carrots, celery, shelled edamame, garlic, ginger, secret bayou seasonings, and shrimp. Atop brown rice
Just mediocre. I should've gone with what I was craving instead of trying to make a dent in the freezer food.
For dessert I had a pear.
Protein:
This article links to a World's Healthiest foods article about Protein. I found it very informative, especially the foods high in protein that are plant based.
I need to go to bed!

Szechwan Shrimp Stirfry

Breakfast was a repeat of yesterday's spicy oats. Midmorning I had a cup of Mint Medley tea and half of a Clif bar. Yawn!
Let me help you out with this picture: the greenish thing in the foreground is a tea bag, the black blob behind it is my mug and there may be a clif bar in the shadows. Also there is a healthy christmas cactus to the left (not mine), and a parking lot through the window.
Lunch was leftover cauliflower mac and cheese, field peas, and an oven roasted sweet potato. It was just as good the second time. I still have about 4 servings of cauliflower mac and cheese!
Dinner: I wanted something green, and the boyfriend wanted shrimp and pesto pasta, which is a dish we often eat. I told him to go ahead and make it for himself, but make enough shrimp for me. I had an easy szechwan shrimp stirfry in mind. I've made this recipe before, and remember liking the sauce but not liking the veggies I used. Plus I needed to use that Romanesco I bought!

Ingredients for stirfry:

• The sauce

• Romanesco (about half a head)

• 1/2 cup of sugar snap peas

• 1/2 cup shelled edamame (both this and the sugar snap peas have been taking up valuable real estate in my freezer)

• 1/2 of a red bell pepper

• 1/4 cup sliced onion
• 

Served on a bed of rice.

Magnifico! Much better than the last time I made it! I used more ginger than the recipe called for, and only 2 cloves of garlic. Next time I'll add some carrot and maybe toasted sesame seeds.

The evening also saw 2 of these. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
I've got to go to bed!

Sichuan

Risotto and Broccoli with Pine Nuts

Lunch: The boyfriend made risotto and shrimp, I made stir-fried broccoli, and my mother made salad. I would consider all of these dishes our specialties. Well, *ahem*, the three of us have more than one signature dish, but in some circles that might be considered bragging. Onions in a bath of extra virgin olive oilArborio rice and "vegetable" stock. It was really seafood stock (sorry, mom), but my boyfriend pasted the word vegetable over every mention of seafood on the box. I guess you had to be there.Risotto cooking away. It takes close to an hour to cook, but it is worth the wait.

Meanwhile, we all ate cantaloupe, and enjoyed a glass of wine.

My parents went to Groth vineyard this summer. Excellent!My mom brought out some special feta she picked up at the market. As you can see, we made a sizable dent. I like those sundried tomato triscuits.

I couldn't help but take some pictures of the pretty things sitting about.
I chopped up two heads of broccoli. Usually I would cut the pieces a little smaller, at least to "mouth size". I forget how long it takes to cook when I leave huge chunks.

Throw it in the wok with about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a chopped clove of garlic, and a tablespoon of pine nuts. Toss it around until it gets steamed through and has a few dark edges. If you don't like your pine nuts or garlic as burnt, leave those out until the last minute of cooking. I like the flavor that they give the broccoli and don't mind a little crispiness.
Salad before tossing. The ingredients were mixed baby greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red bell pepper, and possibly more. The highlight was the homemade dressing. The base was cottage cheese and yogurt, with lemon, garlic, and several other ingredients. It was slightly creamy but not heavy. Very good salad!
Shrimp seasoned with Tony Chachere's. Sometimes that's all you need.We stuffed ourselves and made plans for the following Sunday. I think we're going to a concert out in Covington, La.


**************************************************
Dinner was a sloppy sandwich of pulled pork on an Orowheat thin. We were disappointed by the quality of the meat. I did take a picture, but will spare you. I was so tired that I zonked out without making my lunch, breakfast, or generally getting ready for Monday!

Pirate's Booty thief!