Boy oh boy. Mushrooms and eggplant get shunned. A lot. I mention them on the blog and BOOM! everyone comes out of the woodwork with conviction. Mention them on Facebook, and KA-POW! silent readers decide it’s time to speak up.

Sigh. The poor mushroom is cursed with being labeled a fungus. And eggplants are rarely used in anything other than Eggplant Parmesan (which is never prepared well.) What chance do either of them have?
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Continue reading Turkey and Vegetable Chow Fun

Let’s play a hypothetical game. (Oh, fun!)

Thanksgiving is now over. (What? NOT fun!)

So we’re sad because we have to wait a whole year for it to come around again (um, ya.) But we’re happy because it lives on for another week with mountains of left over turkey (oh right, whew.)

What to do with it?

The easiest choice is (a) casserole or (b) sandwiches. (Actually, the easiest choice is to just stand over your counter top, picking the turkey off the bone, but that’s too obvious.) Since we’re all cooked out – back hurts from standing for 10 hours, and bellies are stuffed from all the eating, making our mobility limited – I vote for option b.

I also vote for this particular sandwich.

If you still have some of the cranberry-pomegranate relish I urged you to make, this is a perfect way to use it up. It’s such a flavorful sauce, you really don’t need any other type of spread on the bread, but since I’m a mayo freak (don’t judge), I included it on mine.

Yay, fun!

Print the recipe.

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You know in the old Looney Tunes cartoons when a character is so hungry that they begin to fantasize about another character, or inanimate object, as a chicken leg…or hot dog…or donut?

Well, that’s what this Insanity workout does to your mind. You start looking at the candlesticks like they’re carrots. Or the sponge becomes a slice of pound cake. Or the backyard grass is a sea of alfalfa sprouts. Or the curled up cat becomes a croissant.

You are ravenous. All day long. Even with the allotted five meals a day. Ravenous.

The restraint in this house right now to avoid snacking is pretty impressive. (Which hasn’t been 100%, I’ll admit. Hey, that last cookie was just begging for someone to finish it off, so the container could be recycled. Who am I to go against the Green initiative?)

Aside from the cookie incident, though, we’ve been so good all day long. Because of this, I’ve been pretty lenient with dinner. (Otherwise, I might chew off Paul’s arm in the middle of the night.)

These Sloppy Joes are just what my rumbly in the tumbly needed. Loaded with carbs, protein, and fiber, they were extremely filling. What’s more, they were really yummy. And other than the cheese and coleslaw (which is a must – don’t skip the slaw!), they weren’t that high in calories.

I wish we could have them every night. With a cookie.

The Giveaway
3 (three) lucky readers have a chance to win 1 (one) copy of Cuisine Tonight Sandwiches & Salads, courtesy of the outstanding people at Cuisine Tonight. They understand my love of this issue (and all their others) and were happy to help me share it with you.

There are three ways to enter: (1) leave a comment on this blog (2) go “like” us on Facebook or (3) Already a fan? Just leave a comment on The Wall.

The drawing closes on Saturday, October 16th at 8pm PST.

UPDATE 10/16/10:
Surprise! I got my hands on one extra copy. So, we have 4 lucky winners. Random.org chose Jennifer Gaul and Andrea Ferak (FaceBook) and Peg and George A. (blog.) You’re getting one of my favorite cooking magazines. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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Let’s face it. Meatloaf just doesn’t photograph well. (The food, not the performer…although I think it’s safe to say that the camera isn’t very kind to him either.) It also has an unappealing name. Meat. Loaf. Not very inviting.

So it gets dissed a lot. But I think unfairly.

It’s such an easy-all-American-kitchen-sink type of meal. And in essence, isn’t it just like a gigantic hamburger minus the bun?

I’ve made so many different versions over the years; one with feta cheese, one with parmesan. One with ketchup, one with tomato sauce. One with carrots, one with rice. One with bacon, one with mushrooms. The list goes on… But salsa? No. Salsa has never ever occurred to me.

Sister Jen told me about these. Keeping in mind, I am a fan of meatloaf – sister Jen is not. If she was endorsing these, I knew they had to be really good.

In the immortal words of Jon Lovitz, in a Friends guest appearance, “Well, slap my ass and call me Judy!” Salsa in meatloaf is fantastic.

And as I’ve clearly pointed out, there are no rules with meatloaf. This particular recipe actually called for ground beef, but I used ground turkey. It also included Chipotle salsa, but you could use a milder variety if you or your young’ins are sensitive to spicy.

So there you have it. Good, fast, and cheap. What’s not to like?

Print this recipe (originally from Cooking Light)

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There’s so much hype in the food blogging community lately regarding Greek yogurt, you’d think it was gold. Jennifer, at My Recipes, even proclaimed that “her view on yogurt changed for life” after eating it. Really? That’s quite an endorsement.

So, when Stonyfield Farm contacted me and wanted to know if I’d like to try their new Oikos Greek Yogurt, I happily accepted. I knew I’d like it, though. I’m a big fan of the Stonyfield brand, in general. Their ingredients are pure and organic. My kids consumed a lot of YoBaby yogurt their first year, and now Stonyfield’s low-fat yogurt always occupies a shelf in my refrigerator.

The question was, how much would I like this Oikos Greek Yogurt?

I decided to test it out on these Flatbreads (adapted from Everyday Food.) I made one with plain yogurt and one with the Greek yogurt.

There’s definitely a difference. It’s a lot thicker than regular yogurt; similar to the consistency of sour cream. And it’s tangy, with more flavor. I was also very impressed that it didn’t taste non-fat, even though it is.

It was really good. Not orgasmic good, and certainly not a game changer, IMHO. But, yes, it was really good. The one downside is that it’s expensive. I actually had a little sticker shock when I saw that a 16-ounce container was over $5.00. (However, I gather the high cost is because there’s less water and more milk solids, and thus more protein.) To offset the cost, though, you could make the tub last a while if you use it sparingly.

I would definitely buy this product again. Not regularly, due to our budget constraints right now, but certainly on occasion. I’ve seen several recipes where it’s used in baked goods, so I’ll probably try it that way next time.

Now, back to this easy Flatbread recipe for a minute…DELISH. Paul must have said ten times how awesome they were. They really were.

I’ll be making them again…with my Oikos Greek Yogurt. And you can, too, courtesy of the lovely people at Stonyfield Farm.

Twelve (12) lucky readers have a chance to win.

Three (3) of you will get one (1) coupon for a FREE 16 ounce container, which is available in plain and vanilla. And nine (9) of you will get one (1) coupon for a FREE 5.3 ounce container, which is available in plain, vanilla, honey, blueberry and strawberry flavor.

UPDATE: This drawing is now closed.

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