Time off

I just wanted to check in and say, "I'm still here!" We are in the midst of home improvement chaos right now, which leaves me pretty much no time on the computer. In fact, I'm typing this as I scarf down my dinner and supervise my little girl's dinner! I should be back and posting regularly again after this week is over. Pray for my sanity in the meantime ... and I look forward to "talking" with everyone again soon!

Farmer's Market time!

I am loving the farmer's markets right now! While I wait for my own garden to start producing serious amounts of veggies, I'm taking advantage of other farmers' produce. We did a quick trip to the Hillsboro Farmer's Market on Sunday. We were hoping to find some asparagus at a decent price, because I refuse to pay $6.99/lb for the huge ugly-looking asparagus I saw at the grocery store last week! Didn't find any, but we did score on zucchini and eggplant.


My little secret? I have never, ever eaten eggplant in my entire life ... until today. I'm not sure how I made it 30+ years without even trying it, but it was one that slipped by me. So, I got brave today and decided to try another new recipe. Hubby and I saw a variation of this recipe on Food Network, on 10 Dollar Dinners. She made a dish called Eggplant Tian. Her recipe called for onions, which I didn't have and which didn't sound good. I substituted zucchini in it's place. It also called for either parmesan or mozzarella cheese to melt over the top. Since we aren't eating any dairy right now, we skipped that (although I'm sure it would be yummy with that addition!). So, here's my new recipe I tried. It turned out quite tasty, and was pretty economical.


2 cups eggplant, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 cups zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 large tomatoes (or 4 roma tomatoes), sliced about 1/4 inch thick
salt (or Nu-Salt, which I used)
Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning
a couple dashes of low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil


Heat olive oil in large pan on medium heat. Add eggplant, season with salt, and saute until slightly browned on each side. Remove eggplant, add zucchini to pan and repeat same process. Once eggplant and zucchini have been removed from pan, place in rows in a medium baking pan (made about 3 rows in mine), along with tomatoes. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash seasoning, drizzle with soy, cover with foil, and place in oven at 375. Bake for about 20 minutes. If you decide to add the cheese, remove from oven after 20 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven on broil setting for approximately 2 minutes (or until cheese is melted). This dish cost about $3 to make, and fed our entire family at lunch today (in addition to our protein for the day).


I'd love to hear what some of you have done with the local produce this summer. Any fun, new recipes? Or old favorites that you've been making with the goodies from market or your garden?

New recipe Friday

So, as you know, we've been trying to incorporate fish into our diet a little more frequently.  And, since I'm not normally a big fish/seafood fan, I'm constantly looking for creative recipes to dress it up and yet still stay healthy. I found a great one that we tried today. In addition to the fish, we had cauliflower - another of my not so favorite foods. However, I loved both these recipes so much, that we're adding them to the menu again soon!


TILAPIA
4 tilapia filets (about 1 lb total cooked weight)
4 tbsp sesame oil (could substitute olive oil or whatever suits you - this gives more flavor)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash steak seasoning (I know, weird - but it works!)


Place tilapia filets in a large bowl and drizzle with sesame oil. In a separate bowl, mix garlic, italian seasoning, salt & pepper and Mrs. Dash together. Spread over filets. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Transfer filets to baking dish. Cook for 30 minutes or until filets are flaky when pulled apart.


CAULIFLOWER
1 cauliflower head, or about 4 cups of cauliflower florets
4 tbsp low-fat low-cal Italian salad dressing


Place cauliflower florets in large bowl and drizzle with salad dressing. Cover, shake well to coat, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Place in microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, poke holes in plastic with fork and microwave at full power for about 7 minutes.


This entire meal was sooooo yummy, and it is very healthy. Total cost was about $3, or $1.50 per serving. Yummy, healthy, and economical. Can't beat that!

Sick and organized?

Sorry I've been AWOL the last few days. I came down with a lovely cold, which keeps me from thinking straight enough to write. Finally on the mend now, though, and trying to get back into the swing of things. 


I find myself coming up with all these grand plans while I'm sick and too tired to do any of them. Ideas for organizing my house, plans to do more coupon shopping, make a cleaning schedule that I'll stick to, etc, etc, etc. I so rarely follow through with these plans, though. Which is kind of sad. Some of my ideas are good and should be put to use. I just need to organize my thoughts and make a plan.

I've decided my first assignment will be the linen/storage closet. You know, that closet where you stash all the extra toothpaste, soap, cleaners, etc? I went crazy with the coupons last summer, right before we bought our house. As a result, I have enough of these non-perishable-type items to last us through the next decade. Well, maybe not quite that long ... but close! However, I can no longer find anything in that closet, because I keep adding new stuff to the front and pushing stuff to the back. So, I'm going to figure out a way to organize it so I can find stuff. I've seen several posts lately about organizing with buckets. Looks cute, but all those buckets just take up extra space that is already at a premium. I'm leaning toward plastic see-through tubs, shoebox size, with labels. I can sort by product and stack. Then my poor hubby won't have to always ask me if we're out of this or that, or have stuff falling on his head while he digs for something at the back of the closet.


If you've got a big project, break it down into small parts you can manage. And don't stress about getting it all done in one day. Give yourself a reasonable time-frame to do things. I'd love to start this project today, but we have booked ourselves away from home for the entire day. And tomorrow, hubby starts a new schedule of working at nights, which means I probably shouldn't be banging around in the cupboards outside the bedroom while he's trying to catch a nap. So, this project, which seems simple, may take me the next week. But I've set a goal to work toward. Once that's done ... then I'll worry about the next big project!