Choppin' Brocoli!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/4195/saturday-night-live-derek-stevens-chopping-broccoli
(The best part is from 1:48)

I thought I'd start today's post off on a lighter note, but what I'm trying to say is that this week is broccoli week for Kate Jones. I read in an article on stress relieving foods that said that broccoli and blueberries can help to relieve stress by providing you with the antioxidants necessary to rejuvenate your system, so I thought I'd give it a try. I have some fresh broc. in my fridge and I'm looking forward to steaming it, or just eating it plain with some mushroom vinaigrette. I'll let you know how it goes, but even if the stress relieving theory is hogwash, I will be getting a lot of good fiber in my body this week, which is always a good thing. =) Happy eating.

An Interesting Article

I found this article online. It is by Dr. Susan M. Lark who worked at Standford, studying stress in women, and includes techniques for relaxation including breathing and visualization exercises. Hopefully this is helpful to you. I think I might try the muscle relaxation exercise today before my nap. =)
http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Relaxation_Techniques_for_Relief_of_Anxiety_Stress/1205/3

Interesting...

I was just online looking up the difference between melatonin and serotonin because of an ongoing friendly debate between my mother and me, when I found this blog entry from allfall.blogspot.com:

http://allfall.blogspot.com/2005/08/banana-and-milk-or-melatonin-as.html 

which led me to wonder what other health issues this person addressed on their blog, which led me to this article at health24.com. Here's an article I found which is right in step with what my part of the project is about! Here it is...I think I will try to formulate a plan for how I can get each of these foods into my diet in some way over the next couple of weeks.

http://www.health24.com/mind/Diet_and_your_mind/1284-1293,48479.asp

If you can...Can!

I was talking to my hairdresser the other day (who by the way is a veritable font of wisdom as many hairdressers are) and we were discussing how ridiculous it is that I have an apartment on campus with a bathroom, a bedroom, and a living room but no kitchen. I do have a freezer however, and once Robin found that out, she gave me a great idea: this summer I'm going to can. No, that was not a grammatical flub on my part, Robin's going to take me canning in May when I get back from school. She said it's very easy - all you have to do is boil up a vat of your favorite fresh spaghetti or soup, then pressurize it in a canner and pop a top on it. Buying a canner can be expensive, but I would ask around to find out if anyone you know (like crazy old Aunt May) has one and then just borrow it. I am excited to do this because if you can stuff, unlike jarring (yes it's real, look it up if your don't believe me) you don't have to freeze the contents and the product will last for 2 to 3 years. This is a great idea for us college kids because the one thing we can never stop complaining about is how the food here doesn't taste like home. (Oh dear old Sodexo...) Seems like this will be both nostalgic and useful - a winning combo if you ask me.

Set....PUNT!

So today I ran out of ingredients. Not only could I not make the crock-pot lasagna I wanted to make today, but I was left staring at an almost empty refrigerator wondering how the hell I was going to pull this one together. Just when I was on the verge of "throwing up the white towel" as a friend of mine would say, and calling Mom to bring home Costco pizza, a thought hit me. I went out to the outside refrigerator and found the jackpot: a bunch of frozen chicken thighs.

Starting at 4:30, I threw together some onions, garlic and olive oil to brown and chucked the chicken in the microwave to defrost. I then brazed the chicken in a pot with some broth and white wine. Meanwhile, I added red peppers, green beans and tomatoes, fresh basil and parsley. Once the chicken was brazed, I added the chicken and wine-broth to the simmering veggies. I threw in some fresh pasta and when it was done, I ladled my chicken, veggies and sauce over my noodles. I added some salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese and voila! "Chicken whatchamacallit!"And boy was it tasty!

More kitchen miracles coming soon.

Jamaican Jerk Potroast Crockpot recipe

From the Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes:

1 2 or 2 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck roast
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup steak sauce
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs quick-cooking tapioca
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
3 cups hot cooked jasmine or basmati rice

1. Trim fat from meat. Place beef in cooker. In a small bowl combine water, raisins, steak sauce, balsamic vinegar, sugar, tapioca, pepper, Jamaican jerk seasoning and garlic. Pour mixture over roast.

2. Cover, cook on low heat for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. Pour cooking-liquid gravy into a bowl. Skim fat from gravy. Serve roast with rice and gravy.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 359 cal, 7 g total fat (3 g sat. fat) 92 mg chol, 269 mg sodium, 39 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 33 g protein.
Daily Values: 2% vit A, 4% vit C, 3% calcium, 26% iron

Killer Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
Mix together until creamy:

        1 cup softened margarine

        1 cup sugar

        1 cup brown sugar

Add 2 eggs and mix well

Sift together:

       2 cups flour

       1 tsp baking powder

       1/2 tsp baking soda

       1/2 tsp salt

Mix sifted dry ingredients into the creamed sugar mixture. Blend well.

Add:

       2 cups oatmeal

      1 tsp vanilla

      1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet and bake until golden brown, about 12 min

Cool on a cooling rack (get them off the baking sheet immediately, otherwise they will stick)

Pizza with Pizzazz

In order to make home made pizza, the first and most difficult step is making the dough. Here's the way I made some of the most delicious pizza I've ever tasted....Warning: this is not a recipe to try on a day when you have an hour and 20 people coming over. Making pizza takes time, but if if it's a rainy day and you've got some time then andiamos!

Pizza Crust & Toppings
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 1/3 Tbs olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups bread flour
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- Place all ingredients in a mixer and mix thoroughly with dough hook
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 min. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Roll out dough onto a pizza pan or a baking sheet - raise edges of dough if you want a crust
- Spread your tomato sauce around the inside of the crust, sprinkle mozerella cheese and other toppings over sauce.
- Bake at 425 for 20-25 minor until crust around perimeter turns golden brown.

I used this recipe and doubled it to make 3 medium sized pizzas. For toppings I used Italian low fat turkey sausage, (which you will have to brown in a frying pan before you put it on your pizza) Baby Bella mushrooms, red bell pepper and onions.

Margarita pizza is very similar; all you do differently is top the tomato sauce with pieces of fresh mozzarella instead of grated mozzarella, fresh basil leaves and minced garlic. Pop your pizza in the oven for about 10-15 min, then add fresh slices of tomato on top. You can choose to sprinkle the pizza with fresh Parmesan cheese as well. Then it's back in the oven for another 10 min until the crust turns golden brown and you're set.

My family greatly enjoyed the fresh pizza, and I hope yours will too. It was definitely worth the time and effort!

Home Made Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

 

This is my mom's homemade mac and cheese recipe which I prepared Sunday night. I love it when I'm sick, or when I just need a little extra TLC time.

Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

-  Mix together 4 TBS. butter and 2 TBS. corn starch with a wire whisk in a medium-sized pot

-  Cook and stir on medium heat until bubbly

-  Add 2 C. (or so) of non-fat milk*

-  2 C. grated Tillamook mild cheddar cheese

- 1/4 to 1/2 C. of Parmesan Cheese

-  1 TBS. mustard

-  Stir until your hand falls off, or until the sauce thickens enough to where it looks like cheese sauce

*At the same time that you add the milk, cheese and mustard, put a pot of water on to boil, then when the water is at a rolling boil, add macaroni noodles, a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. After eight minutes or so, test a noodle to ascertain if they are cooked enough. When the noodles are done, strain them into a colander and rinse them to get the excess olive oil off. (Nobody likes greasy noodles!)

- Pour noodles into a casserole dish and generously drizzle the cheese sauce over them

- Stir gently to coat every single noodle with optimum amount of delicious sauce

- If you're like me, add an extra schpritz of mustard and maybe some canned tuna and then go watch the Oscars (or what ever it is that you do) whilst you enjoy your comfort food masterpiece

Well folks, there you have it. More recipes to follow. =)

It's Been a While

For the past couple weeks I've been patting myself on the back for how faithful of a blogger I've been, however, I realized this afternoon that I have been MIA for a while now, and I thought I should get back to you!

The past 3 weeks have been a struggle in terms relieving stress. Thanks to midterms, I've found myself up until all hours, sacrificing sleep and peace of mind for the all-important grade. I've also found that when I stress, I eat, unhealthily and often. I know this is a problem many of us can relate to -- how many times in the past week did I head for the dark chocolate rather than the pile of homework looming over my desk? Last week was a real doozy, combining school with personal and computer problems into a Molotov cocktail of explosive stress. When my adrenaline was at its highest, I felt like I was in danger of getting up and bolting out of class to go run laps around U-hall and when I had squeezed out my last dregs of frenetic energy, I felt like a limp noodle. Let's just put it this way, the past three weeks have been rough.

However, now I am home in Oregon for Spring Break, which came early this year, for which I am eternally grateful. Now that I have some distance from the craziness vortex which has become my life on the Bluff, the dust has begun to settle, and my head is starting to clear. This week I am focused 100% on my family. Since they don't get Spring Break for another month, it's just Chance (my hound) and me kickin' it at the Jones ranch this week, and though the peaceful quiet was a little difficult to get used to at first, I'm now thoroughly enjoying it. 

Now that I'm in a place that has an oven and stove, I feel my old love of cooking coming back into full swing, and since Sunday when I got home here's a list of what I have concocted, all of it from scratch:

- Macaroni and cheese (+ tuna)
- Brownies
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Sausage, mushroom, red pepper and onion pizza, vegetarian pizza (minus sausage) and my masterpiece: margarita pizza based off what I remember eating when I was in Italy last summer

Since I have a lot more free time than normal, I have decided to post both the healthy and indulgent recipes I prepare for my family this week for your viewing pleasure. Rest assured, they will probably feed at least 5 people very well (I always bulk up recipes when I'm home on account of my 2 voracious teenage bros) and they will make your taste-buds positively dance. That being said, I haven't decided what's for dinner tonight, but I will keep you posted.