Using Leftovers

In case you couldn't tell from the many other posts, I don't eat just a ton of meat.  (Un)Fortunately I end up at quite a few steak restaurants for team dinners because the rest of the corporate world likes to eat steak.  My Solution?  Order a bunch of sides to share with the table and skip the steak. It works out pretty good because I get to try an bunch of things and then there isn't the awkward moment where I have to explain that the side they are serving to the entire table was actually my meal.  Of course there are always leftovers and when I am in Dallas I ask for those to be boxed up so I can get a few more meals out of them.  In this instance there were leftover sauteed mushrooms which were screaming at me to go into an omelette. So into a skillet they went to reheat, toss in a few green onions, two scrambled eggs and some gouda and you have yourself an awesome meal.  Now, don't be like me and just scramble everything into a hot mess (evidence by the awesome unappetizing looking picture below).  Spend some time and make a nice looking omelette so when you take a picture it looks amazing.  Or not because you are way too hungry to take that kind of time.

Sauerkraut

Well, I've gone and done it.  I have become a real German (never mind that being a citizen thing, that didn't do it) and made my own Sauerkraut.  And it turns out that its pretty good and hasn't killed me yet.  What you see in that Stein in one head of cabbage that was shredded and combined with a scant tablespoon of Kosher Salt.  The goal is to mash and squeeze the cabbage and salt mixture to break down the cabbage and get some liquid out of it.  When I was making this the cabbage was cold from being in the fridge so after only a minute of squeezing the cabbage I stopped to warm up my hands and ended up getting back to it 15 minutes later.  At that point the salt was already working its magic and there was quite a bit of liquid.  Back to the squeezing I went a probably spent another 5 minutes mashing it up, then it all went into the stein, pressing it in as firmly as I could the whole time.  Don't forget to add those good juices on top.  Weigh it down, cover and let it sit for 3 days in a cool dark place.  Then dive in a refrigerate the rest.  For the record it was way better than the jarred stuff.

For more reference materials:

http://gracefulfitnessblog.com/2011/03/08/kraut/

http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut

Brazil Nuts

Prepare yourself...it is the nutrition lesson of the day.

Brazil nuts are high in Selenium.  In fact they are so high that you only need one a day to get more than your daily recommended limit.  Why do I care?  Selenium can help improve thyroid function which unfortunately my body doesn't do a great job at.  There has also been some connection to selenium and reducing cancer risk, but nothing terribly conclusive at this point.

Now that I know this I will be trying to eat one a day, to keep the doctor away.

Read more:

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=95

Sunday Dinner 1/15/2012

This particular Sunday dinner was served while watching The Incredibles.  It was a really cute movie that had me laughing most of the way through.  It is fun to be a kid again on occasion.

As for the dinner...

Twice baked potatoes and Panko Crusted Shrimp with a green salad to start (not pictured)

Do you care about what was in the salad?  Just romaine, sprouts and zucchini. Nothing special.  But the dressing was homemade with sour cream, chipotle in adobo, roasted garlic, balsamic vinegar and pepper.  Turned out to be a good dipper for the shrimp as well.

Potatoes were previously baked on some other day when I had the oven on.  So this started by the potatoes coming out of the fridge, cut them in half and scoop out the insides, leaving enough around the edges so the shell doesn't fall apart.  Put the insides in a bowl with a large scoop of sour cream, salt and pepper.  I also added some gouda and green onion to the mix for the fun of it.  Put the mixture back in the shell top with more cheese.  Bake at 350 until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is melty.  (This part I did in the toaster oven to save energy).

Shrimps...these beauties were purchased shelled and de-veined.  I recommend saving yourself the time and do the same but if not do that part first.  In a small bowl mix up an egg with just a splash of water and toss the shrimps in.  Put some panko bread crumbs and salt in another bowl.  If you are like me you will also add in some flax seed for a little added nutrition, but totally not necessary.  Coat the egg soaked shrimp in the bread crumb mixture then cook on medium heat in a skillet with a little oil until they are brown on both sides.

Dive in!

Spicy White Bean Hummus

When I first tasted the almost finished product, I could have mistaken it for mashed potatoes. Now, once it has cooled down it is definitely a bean dip, but warm....I could eat this as a side dish when craving starches.  Of course you can leave out the spicy parts if you want to actually eat these as a starch replacement.

To recreate:

Half a pound dry Great Northern Beans
1/2 Tbsp Roasted Garlic
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 Tbsp green chilies
1/2 roasted habanero
Salt and Pepper to taste
Perhaps some olive oil but not necessary

Soak the beans overnight in water.  Discard the soaking water and cover the beans with fresh water in a pot.  Boil for 30 minutes and test to see if they are done.  If you have ever eaten a bean it should have the same texture, soft but not mushy.  If they aren't done just keep on going, checking every 15 minutes or so.  When you think they are done enough strain the liquid into a bowl to use later.  Toss the beans, roasted garlic, green chilies, habanero, salt and pepper in a blender.  Puree until smooth, adding the reserved cooking liquid as needed to keep the mixture moist and moving.  If you want to add a little of the good fat to this use olive oil in place of the cooking liquid, but that's a personal choice.

If you are like me you proceed to stick a spoon in and enjoy, but you can refrigerate to use later on salads and as a dip.

Potato Cakes

This is my absolute favorite thing to do with leftover potatoes.  I dream about it, I buy 10lbs of potatoes just so I can make potato cakes.  Luckily for me I am the only one in the house that likes them so I get to enjoy them all to myself.  Anyway here is my latest adventure in potato cakes. (Have I said potato cakes enough?)

Roughly two cups of leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
2ish Tbsp flour
1 green onion (optional)
4 slices ham (optional)
Perhaps some cheese?
Salt and pepper to taste

(I don't really remember what went in for sure, so sue me)

Combine everything in a bowl.  You may need to add more or less flour depending on how wet your potatoes are.  You should end up with a mixture that you can form into a firm ball.  Then take those balls and put them on a medium high griddle or skillet with a bit of oil, press them down to make a patty shape.

Flip them when they are golden brown and delicious.  Then take a really bad iPhone picture.

Serve them up just by themselves, as a side dish or with some sauce.  I will throw whatever I have in the fridge at the time that needs to be used up into the mix.  Have fun with it, but make sure they aren't too loose so they don't fall apart on you in the pan.  Of course, think of me when you are eating them and perhaps some day we can have a potato cake party...

January Fitness

BodRock.tv is doing a 30 day workout challenge that I have decided to start.

http://www.bodyrock.tv/2012/01/02/day-1-of-our-30-day-challenge-fit-test/

As the workouts have been posted, I have realized that I won't be able to do all the days because I don't have all of the equipment.  Which got me thinking....Why don't I just use day 1 as a marker for my fitness level?  So here we have it, roughly the first of every month I am going to do the day one challenge just to see where I am at and try and post the results.

January 2012 results
Squat Jump - 28
Pushup - 19
Burpee - 6
High Knees - 100
Switch Lunge - 13
Tuck Jump - 10
Straight Abs - 17

Don't let me forget that I should keep up with this every month and post my results.

Good luck staying fit in 2012 everyone.

Sunday Dinner

Dinner last night made me quite happy.  Roasted Brussels Sprout with a side of baked Tilapia topped with homemade salsa.  Yum Yum.

As for recreating...

Cut the brussels in half cover in oil, salt and pepper and roast at 375F for roughly 30 minutes or until they are crispy.  The fish was a frozen filet and went into the oven still slightly frozen and stayed in for about 15 minutes.  It was also simply dressed with oil, salt and pepper.  The salsa was a combination of canned tomatoes that had been drained, roasted garlic, softened onion, habanero peppers, tomatillos, salt and pepper.  Try it some time :)