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Category Archives: food

Garden Minestrone

PhotobucketEvery May, right around Mother’s Day, I come down with the worst allergy related cold.  My chest becomes tight.  I can’t breathe and I spend my days hacking up a lung.

This May has been no exception.  Since I spend my nights coughing, I’m not sleeping well.  A lack of sleep means I’ve been too tired to run, but I can’t breathe anyway; therefore running has been replaced with resting.  Plus all the coughing has caused me to lose my voice although I don’t think anyway in this house is too terribly upset that I can’t speak to them above a whisper.

Despite being under the weather, I still have an appetite, but all I want is soup.  For me, soup is my favorite natural remedy and I crave it whenever I’m feeling poorly.  Since I was too tired and not up for the soup kitchen challenge, I submitted an order to Iron Chef Allan for Garden Minestrone.

Chopped tomatoes and chicken stock is the liquid base for the soup, which is already a healthy start.  Toss in some summer time veggies and it becomes healthy portion of green goodness with every spoonful.

Garden Minestrone
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Cuisine: Soup, Vegetarian
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
A garden flare to a favorite traditional Italian pasta bean soup.
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
  • 2 large yellow squash, chopped
  • 2 large zucchini, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 carton (26. 46 oz) Pomi chopped tomatoes
  • 4 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup uncooked ditalini pasta
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp crush red pepper flakes
  • Grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese, (optional for topping)
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, heat oil iover medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add oregano and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in squash, zucchini and carrot. Sauté five minutes or until vegetables are tender.
  2. Stir in chopped tomatoes, broth and beans and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
  3. While soup simmers, prepare ditalini pasta as directed on package for al dente, only one minute less. Drain and add to soup. Stir until well incorporated. Remove from heat.
  4. Stir in spinach; season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.
  5. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Top with freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week! 


*Also submitted at*

Tampa Bay Margarita Festival {Giveaway}

How do you like your margaritas?

With extra salt?

With extra lime?

Heavy on the agave and the tequila?

Over ice and a glass that’s never empty?

TBMargFest_flyer

Next Saturday, May 25, I will experience THE margarita event to remember at the first annual Tampa Bay Margarita Festival at Curtis Hixon Park.  With live music, piñatas, volleyball, food trucks, fireworks and more, the event promises to provide margaritas just the way I like them: constantly pouring.

For the ultimate margarita experience, I plan to upgrade to La Vie Grand Marnier VIP Experience Admission  for endless Grand Mariner margaritas, unlimited queso and chips, a VIP Taco Happy Hour and Grand Mariner swag.

Although I am a bit of a margarita snob, the margaritas at the Tampa Bay Margarita Festival sound almost as good as our homemade ones.  The margaritas at the Tampa Bay Margarita Festival consist of “fresh squeezed lime juice, pure cane sugar, fresh agave, and of course, the highest quality tequila and liquor”.

Yo estoy ahí. (I am so there.) And you can be too.

One lucky local Run DMT follower will win a pair of General Admission tickets to the Tampa Bay Margarita Festival on Saturday, May 25 from 2:00-10:00 pm.

TampaMargaritaFest

“GA Admission gives you access to the Tampa Bay Margarita Festival with re-entry privileges and enjoy the live band on stage all day, beach volleyball, and more while you enjoy your margaritas!    

Plus, the first 2,500 margarita lovers to redeem their tickets upon leaving the festival will receive a complimentary Budweiser/Cayman Jack gift bags filled with branded goodies and swags, in addition to one bottle of Cayman Jack Margarita (while supplies last).”

Contest ends 5/20 at 11:59 EST.  Only Tampa Bay residents, please.

For more information about Tampa Bay Margarita Festival tickets, directions, cabana rentals and other event details, visit www.tampamargaritafest.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roasted Veggies and Asiago Flatbread

PhotobucketI have a new Friday night favorite other than our usual pizza.  Iron Chef and I made this Roasted Veggie Flatbread as a team.  I prepared the roasted garden vegetables of baby Portabella mushrooms, red onions, zucchini and yellow squash using my roasted veggie recipe while Allan made the dough using this New York style pizza crust recipe.  The steps for flatbread are very similar to pizza but Allan has perfected his crust even more since I shared that recipe.

First, he flours the board with lots of flour.  Then, using a rolling pin, he rolls out dough as thin as possible, about ¼- 1/8 of an inch and lets the dough sit for a minute or two.  Then, he rolls it out and let again to 1/8 of inch.   This process produces a thin, crispy gorgeous crust that’s perfect for the crispness for flatbread.

This week, we decided to serve Roasted Veggie and Asiago Flatbread for Meatless Monday.  The combination of charred veggies and about 2 Tbsp of shaved Asiago cheese with the crispy flatbread was better than I had hoped.  This may replace our regular red sauce Friday night pizza tradition.

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week! 


*Also submitted at*

Cinco de Mayo Menu

PhotobucketI had a bit of blogger failure.  With Cinco de Mayo on the horizon, I forgot to create and plan a Mexican inspired dish to share for Friday Food Fight.

Then, it dawned on me.  I don’t need to share anything new.  I’ll spotlight some of my favorite Mexican dishes I’ve already shared for a Cinco de Mayo menu. Yes! That’s the ticket!

Of course, every good Cinco de Mayo fiesta needs to keep the margaritas flowing.  Iron chef Allan’s Better Than Margaritaville Margaritas will definitely put the ole’ in your day.

Better Than Margaritaville Margaritas

Most Cinco de Mayo menus offer very little vegetarian options.  Serve this tasty Roasted Vegetable Mexican Lasagna and you will please everyone.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Wholly Diablo Shrimp served Skinnytaste’s Skinnytaste’s Southwest Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley would make a mucho bueno combo.

Wholly Diablo Shrimp

Skinnytaste’s Southwest Black Bean, Quinoa and Mango Medley

If you feel Mexican food needs meat, but want to keep things relatively low fat, how about a ground turkey Mexican Lasagna?  This dish will please a whole crowd of carnivores.

Mexican Lasagna

Chicken-Mushroom {and Spinach} Quesadillas adds some healthy greens to your fiesta.

Chicken-Mushroom {and Spinach} Quesadillas

If your Cinco de Mayo can’t be complete without tacos, then try these Ground Turkey Tacos.

Ground Turkey Tacos

For an undersea Cinco de Mayo inspired taco selection, serve Banging Baked Fish Tacos or Blackened Baja-Style Talapia served in a corn tortilla.

Banging Baked Fish Tacos

Blackened Baja-Style Talapia

If more plato needs more pollo, try Pollo Relleno or Chicken Veracruz served with Spanish Rice.

Pollo Relleno

Chicken Veracruz

Spanish Rics

For dessert, the obvious choice would be Mexican Wedding Cakes for Cinco de Mayo, but you prefer something a bit more festive and decorative, try these Piña Colada Cupcakes.

Mexican Wedding Cakes

Piña Colada Cupcakes

What’s on your Cinco de Mayo Menu?

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!



*Also submitted at*

Pinning and Planning – April 29 (and giveaway)

What’s that quote about “the best-laid plans”?  That was me last week.  I was so excited about the Yelptucky Derby , attending my first Yelp event and having excuse to get all dressed up to wear a fancy hat.  Then my kids got sick.

Our parents have comprised immune systems so we can’t have them babysit when the kids are sick and run the risk of exposing them to whatever our kids caught.  Instead, I sadly hung up my fancy hat to play nursemaid.  Of course, that also meant the meals I planned had to be postponed as my kids only wanted toast and cuddles from mama.

Thankfully, everyone felt better by Saturday so Allana and I could attend her Girl Scout Troop’s Run 4 Respect and the Keel and Curley Blueberry Festival.  We picked berries and enjoyed some wine.  Stay tuned for photos and blueberry themed recipes!

M – Pasta Shells with Tomatoes and Mozzerella Cheese

T – Sautéed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce on Couscous with Roasted Asparagus

W – Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Th – Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwiches and Low Fat Classic Coleslaw

F - Pizza

What’s on your dinner menu plan this week?



And to help with menu planning, portion control and tracking it all, I’m giveaway a FitBit Zip, fitbook, a sleek red digital glass scale and a red and white polka dot reisenthel tote. Enter to below! Giveaway ends 5/6/13 at midnight EST.

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Low Fat Ground Turkey Chili

PhotobucketGround Turkey Chili is my go-to dinner. Everyone eats it without complaint.  My kids love with it piles of shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream, which masks any heat.  I prefer my chili with a dash (or two or three) of hot sauce or topped with some salsa. Depending on my mood, I’ll serve it over brown rice or white rice. Thankfully, my kids will eat it with either rice.

Back in my vegetarian days, I prepared this with tofu crumbles.  Made with either turkey or tofu, this dish is packed with protein and only takes about 30 minutes to prepare.  It’s perfect for those crazy busy schedule days.  You can prepare it the morning and reheat it when you return home.  The leftovers make great nachos and the leftovers freeze well too.

Low Fat Ground Turkey Chili
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Cuisine: Tex Mex
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
A quick, healthy and flavorful chili dish made with lean turkey.
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey
  • 1 – 15oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 4 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 carton Pomi chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil on in a large skillet on a medium to low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant.
  2. Add turkey to pan. Chop and stir turkey to combine with garlic and onions. Cook until no longer pink.
  3. Add spices stirring through meat. Add cider vinegar and cook for a minute. Stir in chopped tomatoes and pinto beans. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Serve over rice.


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Keel and Curley Winery Tour

Disclaimer: Keel and Curley Winery provided the Tampa Bay Bloggers with a tour and wine tasting for an honest review of our experience and to promote their upcoming Blueberry Festival.  The opinions shared are my own.

*Photo credit to Caitlyn Connolly.*

About 30 minutes from hustle and bustle city life of Tampa, lays the quite country life of Plant City.  Fields of strawberries and blueberries greet city slickers on the way to sample the trendy, fruity wines of Keel and Curley winery.  Upon arrival, the Tampa city slickers trade in their mini-vans and SUVs for a tractor-pulled tour through the Keel and Curley blueberry farm.

Joe Keel, a central Florida blueberry farmer, founded Keel and Curley Winery in the spring of 2003 while trying to find a way to use his remaining blueberry harvest.  Through a trial-and-error process with hundreds of gallons of blueberry wine, Keel discovered three distinct tastes: sweet, semi-dry and dry, which are all made from 100% blueberries.

Keel and Curley is the only estate winery in Florida where each step of the wine (growing, making and bottling) happens on the same site.  Since blueberries bruise easily, all the berries are handpicked, then sweetened Dixie crystal sugar from Florida.

Sam, our driver and tour guide, shared the four-step process for Keel and Curley’s blueberry wines: fermentation, clarification, filtering, bottling.  The berries take approximately one week to ferment and pump and only four weeks to clarify.  Within six weeks, the wines are available at local supermarkets and retailers, such as Publix and Total Wine.



The winery proudly boasts their business as a family-owned and operated facility as well as producing a product that supports local by utilizing as much local materials as possible.  All the bottles are produced by Anchor Glass of Tampa and even the synthetic environmental-friends corks are made locally.

After our tour, we visited the Keel and Curley Tasting Room.  Wall to wall shelves displayed every variety of Keel and Curley wine as well as fun wine related gift items.

The quaint country bar meets Cracker Barrel atmosphere offered limited seating but our large party found plenty of seating under the tent out back.  Live music and a food truck provided a fun, casual family-friendly dining atmosphere.

Our wine steward shared all the Keel and Curley wine selections with us.  Honestly, several of them were too sweet for my taste, but I really did enjoy the Dry Blueberry.  The Semi-Dry Blueberry had a minty finish and tasted very similar to Manischewitz to me.

In July, 2011, Keel & Curley featured two new wines: Dry Blackberry and Sweet Blackberry; both are made with 100% blackberries.  I found the Dry Blackberry to be flat, lacking in body and the Sweet Blackberry tasted like your average Welch’s grape juice.

Keel and Curley Winery also produces seven different fusion wines: Strawberry Riesling, Wild Berry Pinot Noir, Tangerine Zinfandel, Key West – Key Lime, Black Raspberry Merlot, and Peach Chardonnay as well as a Ice Wine (dessert wine).  These fruit blends are grape based wines (such as Merlot or Chardonnay) and blended with fruit juices (Strawberry or Tangerine).

I found these fruit fusion wines fun and very unusual.  With the hot summer Florida days fast approaching, Keel and Curley’s fruit blend wines will make a wonderful addition to summer cook-outs.  I especially enjoyed the Wild Berry Pinot Noir, the Tangerine Zinfandel and Peach Chardonnay.  I’ll add some ice and a bit of club soda for an even more refreshing summer drink.

This Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, Keel and Curley celebrates its 6th Annual Blueberry Festival.  Admission is free as well as the entertainment and kids area.  With live entertainment, over 100 Food and Craft Vendors and a u-pick blueberry patch, the event is guaranteed to be casual Florida fun for the whole family.  For festival hours and directions, visit keelandcurleywinery.com/blueberryfestival.

And for the next two days, you can take advantage of a really great Keel and Curley deal on LivingSocial.  The deal includes two wine tastings, one bottle of wine to take home, and VIP parking for the Blueberry Festival.

Throughout the year, Keel and Curley also offers Happy Hours and a variety of events.  Tour are available Saturday and Sundays.  For more information about upcoming Keel and Curley events, visit keelandcurleywinery.com.

Pinning and Planning – April 21

Hubby is finished traveling for the time being.  Now, we only have a few more days of FCAT to contend with and then, our days will be less stressful.  Thank goodness!

Tomorrow is Earth Day.  Little Lion Man and I have a fun day planned at the beach with friends to celebrate.  I’ll bake this earth cake for the playdate and then we’ll have this fun dirt cup snack when the girls come home from school.

Tomorrow is also one week after the Boston bombing and many running communities are coming together to Run Boston Strong.  Therefore, tomorrow’s night dinner will be a quick one so the girls and I can go run and show our support.

On Friday evening, Allan and I will be attending our first Yelp event: Yelptucky Derby and it sounds like one that can’t be missed!  I’m so excited to get all dressed up and have excuse to wear a fancy a hat in true southern style!  I’ll be like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman!

Then on Saturday, the whole family will be kicking up our heels at Keel and Curley Blueberry Festival for more southern style fun.

S – Buffalo Chicken Burgers and Low Fat Classic Coleslaw

M – Linguini with Roasted Tomatoes and Arugula

T – Sautéed Tilapia with Lemon-Peppercorn Pan Sauce on Couscous

W – Roasted Veggies and Shaved Asiago on Flatbread

Th – Chicken Curry with brown rice

F – Yelptucky Derby

S - Keel and Curley Blueberry Festival

What’s on your dinner menu plan this week?  Are you trying any new dishes?



Chicken Veracruz

Goya sent me an assortment of goods and their recently released cookbook: Healthy, Tasty, Affordable Latin Cooking to try.

Goya’s cookbook, Healthy, Tasty, Affordable Latin Cooking, features 30 healthy recipes from Latin America and Spain as well as a healthy Latin twists to American favorites.  The MyPlate/MiPlato bilingual approach focuses on the First Lady’s Let’s Move initiative to help promote healthy eating in the Hispanic community.  All the Healthy, Tasty, Affordable Latin Cooking recipes are simple to follow and offer nutritional information.

I typically buy organic canned goods and rice and tend to stay away from packaged spices.  However, I was surprised to learn about the assortment of organic Goya foods available, which were spotlighted in the cookbook after the recipes.

Although many of these items are not available at my supermarket just yet, the organic Goya products can be found online at the Goya e-store.  Thankfully, Goya sent me their Quinoa to try, which I shared last week.

All the recipes featured in Goya’s Healthy Tasty Affordable Latin Cooking can be found at Goya.com and to make their healthy, tasty meals even more affordable, Goya coupons are available online too.

I tried a few recipes, but I’ll share the most recent recipe that was kid-approved (and Iron Chef Allan) approved.  Although Goya’s Chicken Veracruz recipe calls for GOYA® Adobo Light All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper, I prefer to make my own mixture of “adobo” by adding garlic powder, oregano and turmeric.  I also added a fresh jalapeño rather than a canned pickled one.  This Goya’s Healthy Tasty Affordable Latin Cooking – Chicken Veracruz recipe can be found here, but I’m sharing my adaptation.  This dish can also can be prepared with turkey or fish.

Chicken Veracuz
5.0 from 1 reviews

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Recipe type: Chicken, Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
A tender, tangy Mexican-style chicken
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp. GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 1 cup Pomi Strained Tomatoes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • GOYA® Manzanilla Olives Stuffed with Minced Pimientos, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp GOYA® Capers
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
  1. Using a meat mallet, pound out chicken breast to approximately ½ inch thickness.
  2. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until light golden brown on both sides, flipping once, about 5 minutes; set aside.
  3. Stir in onions, cooking until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add jalapeño and cook until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
  4. Add turmeric and oregano to pan and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, 1 cup water, salt, pepper, olives, jalapeño, capers and bay leaf. Bring tomato mixture to boil.
  5. Return chicken to pan. Cook, flipping once, until coated in sauce and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
  6. To serve, divide chicken and sauce evenly among serving dishes; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with rice.

 Photobucket

Thanks for joining our weekly Friday Food Fight! Can’t wait to see what everyone is flinging this week!


*Also submitted at*

Pinning and Planning – April 14

I only have one more week to deal with hubby’s crazy travel schedule which is right in the middle of FCAT week (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test). Grades 3-12 grade will endure a completely ridiculous, stressful exam in order to be promoted.  It’s a horrible exam and everyone feels the pressure statewide: the students, the teachers, the administrators and the parents.  *sigh* Thankfully, I will only be flying solo one evening during testing week.

As for our dinner menu, last week we packed on the protein to prepare my muscles.  This week, I’m serving lots of brain food for good test scores.

S – Pork Chile Verde with Cilantro Rice (Still refining this tasty recipe! Use juice of 3 limes and no zest!)

M – Caprese Paninis and Broccoli Salad

T – Chicken Veracruz with Garlic and Spinach Rice

W – Penne and Asparagus

Th – Black Bean Quesadillas and/or Cuban Quesadillas (Reduced fat Swiss Cheese, Pickles and leftover Pork Chili Verde)

F - Pizza

What’s on your dinner menu this week?



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