Great Lunch Ideas You Can Take To Work

Debbie K., a Simple Daily Recipes email subscriber, emailed me the other day. She said, “I’d really like some great lunch ideas that I can take to work maybe heat up in the microwave, things that can be made before hand that are hopefully tasty and healthy.” HERE’S WHAT I’VE COOKED UP BEFORE Minestrone with Pasta and Beans Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup No Heartburn Beef Chili Very Delicious Cream of Zucchini Soup Red Bean Tortilla Soup Butternut Chicken Stew Organic Italian Soup REAL Chicken Chili Sponsored by: Menus 4 Moms Busy Moms Menu Planning

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Great Lunch Ideas You Can Take To Work

Sourdough Italian-Style French Bread

Do you notice how these pane francese photos seem to be taken at a peculiar angle? How they show most of the loaf surface area but not quite the entire picture? There’s a reason for that. The…

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Sourdough Italian-Style French Bread

So you all know I live in Florida…

I love living in Florida and part of the reason is for the incredible diversity that you find throughout the state.? One of my favorite places to go is to Kissimmee in the Orlando area.? There is so much to do and I mean beyond the Theme Parks.? What about checking into your hotel and going on a beautiful hike through one of the nature parks scattered throughout the area?? Did you know that Osceola County has the largest population of nesting bald eagles in the continental U.S. It’s also one of the country’s few re-introduction sites for the endangered Whooping Crane. You can spot some of these awe-inspiring birds at Lake Lizzie Nature Preserve

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So you all know I live in Florida…

Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes

Pasta with sauce is total comfort food for me. Growing up in an Italian family, we had pasta often…very often. I could never get tired of it. These days I don’t eat pasta as often, but I do try to enjoy it at least once a week or so. This pasta dish can be easily made on a week night…it’s that easy. And even better…it’s healthy and delicious. Its full of good stuff for you…tomatoes and spinach, and lightened up turkey sausage. It’s hard to believe, but I’m entering into my 9th week of training for my triathlon . The race is fast approaching and I’m really getting excited about it. I have joined a team of amazing women at my YMCA and am so enjoying sharing this training experience with them. We have been training 6 days a week (I’m really happy if I get in 5!) and have started completing “bricks” on Saturday mornings…bricks are when two legs of the training are combined, for example this past Saturday we rode 13 miles on our bikes then ran for 25 minutes. These next few weeks we are adding in open water swims as well as more intense workouts. If you’ve ever thought of trying a sprint triathlon I encourage you to find a training group, it’s really motivating to have others along for the ride with you and makes for an unforgettable experience! Enjoy your pasta! Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen Serves 3-4 1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta…

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Penne with Sausage, Spinach and Tomatoes

an unordinary asparagus bacon risotto

I was meant to finish posting this a few days ago but was distracted with other things in particular in doing the ground work for moving to my new domain. And today I have finally made it. Maybe you do not notice by my previous blog address has automatically directed you to my new blog

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an unordinary asparagus bacon risotto

Chef Robert Irvine is Back!

Chef Robert Irvine Taping an Episode of Dinner: Impossible in September 2007

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Chef Robert Irvine is Back!

Shrimp in Zippy Tomato Sauce

You can make the tomato sauce base as mild or spicy as you prefer.  I started with a mild tomato sauce then added the spicy goods at the end when I brought the shrimp and sauce together.  I kept aside half of the mild sauce for the sensitive folks in my family.  That’s just the way I have to roll. HERE’S HOW EASY THIS IS 6 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 1 small red bell pepper, seeded & chopped 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 (14 ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped with their juice salt and freshly ground pepper 2 pounds shrimp, peeled & deveined 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried 1 piece dried chili, crumbled or chopped (optional) OR 1-2 teaspoons of the tomato sauce that comes from the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce Serves 6 In a heavy saucepan, heat half of the oil.  Add the onion, and cook over low heat until soft.  Stir in the celery and chopped bell pepper, and cook for 5 minutes more.  Raise the heat to medium high, and add the red wine vinegar and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer until the veggies are soft, about 30 minutes.  Puree the sauce through a food mill OR a food processor then push it through a sieve with a spatula. Set tomato sauce aside. Heat the remaining oil in a clean heavy saucepan.  Stir in the garlic, parsley and chili, if using.  Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden.  Do not let it brown.  Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Taste for seasoning. Stir in the shrimp. Bring the sauce back to a boil.  REDUCE heat slightly and simmer until the shrimp are pink and firm, 4-6 minutes, depending on their size.  Remove from the heat and serve. My Notes It would be just as easy to use leftover, homemade tomato sauce from a previous spaghetti dinner. I happened to have been given garlic pickled with habeneros and used them instead of fresh garlic – WOW! They were HaahhOT & YUMMY! I didn’t have a dried chili on hand.  But I had some …

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Shrimp in Zippy Tomato Sauce

10 Tips to Save You Money And Still Maintain Your Waistline

These are some tough economic times. Prices at the supermarket are on the rise while benefits, salaries and jobs are getting cut. Don’t let the recession negatively impact your diet. You can still… Click on the link for the full recipe.

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10 Tips to Save You Money And Still Maintain Your Waistline

Homemade Bread Roundup

Time does fly! It seem like it was just yesterday when I announced the second installment of my food event Homemade and now it is time to post the roundup. I am very happy because this month we had 15 entries! 15 delicious breads were shared by our particpants. We have yeasted bread, flat bread, pizza, tortillas, and an array of flavors that will stimulate your senses. I am also glad to know that a couple of our participants got inspired by this event to start baking their own bread. That’s what this event is all about, get people excited about homemade food. And without anymore ado here are this monht’s entries: Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures made Cinnamon Raisin Bread Soli Deo Gloria of Heart and Hearth made Whole-Wheat Loaf Soma of eCurry made Rosemary Pepper Peasant Bread Joy of Gourmeted made Whole-wheat Bread (this is Joy’s very first food event, ever! I am honored ) Mrs. Ergül made Garlic Toast Soma of eCurry made Pizza Margherita (she made the crust herself ) My lovely friend Deeba of Passionate About Baking made Pitanini (very clever and creative!) Jescel of Spice of Life made Sweet Challah Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Cumin Flavored Whole Wheat and Barley Flour Rolls Divya Vikram of Dil Se made Oatmeal Wheat Bread Curry Leaf of Experiment, Emotions, Experiences with Food made Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Yasmeen of Health Nut made Cimmanon-Cocoa Quick Bread Simone of Junglefrog Cooking made Hungarian Farmers Bread (This is Simone’s very first homemade bread. I am glad to see this event has inspired some of my friends) Soma of eCurry made Vegan Banana Orange Nut Loaf And your host (that’d be me) made Whole-wheat tortillas Thank you …

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Homemade Bread Roundup

Soothing Vanilla and Cardamom Flan

I love the combination of vanilla and cardamom. It reminds me of a gentle chai-flavor that soothes even the most unruly nerves. Real vanilla beans are an incredible spice. It has a very ethereal flavor that smooths out and blends with many spices and yet it does not lose its own identity. I could eat this flan everyday because it is just so delicious and not too sweet… These days, I have been extremely busy. Busy with a new food-related project (I can’t wait to share it with you guys!) and busy with life in general. I just wish it would be more fun, hopefully when the weather clears and summer arrives I will be able to go for another vacation! For now, it will have to make-do with something flan-tastic like this vanilla and cardamom scented flan. It is very easy to do, as are most of my attempts at making sweet things. Here’s what you need: Vanilla and Cardamom Flan 1 Vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pods reserved 8 cardamom seeds, de-shelled and grind into a powder 1 cup milk 1 cup cream 2 tablespoon sugar 3 egg yolks 1 egg a very small pinch of kosher salt Caramel: 1/4 cup sugar Method: Pre-heat your oven to 350F. 1. Pour your milk and cream into a sauce pan. Stir to combine them well and throw in your cardamom powder, vanilla seeds and pods. Heat the milk and cream until it is *almost* boiling and let it steep for 15 minutes. It is important that you do not boil the dairy. 2. While the milk and cream is steeping with the…

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Soothing Vanilla and Cardamom Flan

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