Author Archives: mrsnowlin
Fisherman’s Soup
I found what looked to be a delicious soup on Pinterest and could not wait to give it a whirl. So much of the time, what you find on Pinterest is pretty much just a pretty photo or novel idea. Not this time! I had a feeling about Cookin’ Canuck’s recipe for Fisherman’s Soup and my instincts set me in the right direction.
Every so often, I develop a new blog crush. My longest one-way relationship was with The Pioneer Woman. My newest? Cookin’ Canuck of course! I love that she is super down to earth, totally adorable and she’s been through a weight loss journey herself.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded & diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ⅛ – ¼ tsp dried (crushed) chile flakes
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 can (28 oz.) petite diced tomatoes (juices included)
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1¼ lb. firm white fish (such as tilapia), cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ lb. medium shrimp, shelled
- 2 tbsp capers
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, red bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and peppers are tender, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Add the oregano and chile flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Add the parsley and white wine, and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Add the tomatoes and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer.
- Add the tilapia pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fish is almost cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and continue to simmer until the shrimp is barely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in capers and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.
The worst part of this soup was peeling the shells of the shrimp. Follow the recipe and get shelled (meaning no-shell) shrimp. I could have never married a food critic or adventure loving eater like Anthony Bourdain. Shelling the shrimp was super traumatizing.
Now, off to get in a workout. Dallas is helping me stay on track with exercising; we have a calendar to mark all our workouts. One month and I’m rewarded with a mani/pedi and he gets a new Wii game. After my four month (16 week) DAMY plan is over, I have made Jy promise me a big, fat, long date in San Francisco. Time to go sweat and forget about the WORST picture of me posted on my dentist’s Facebook page. Seriously, the worst. I had to ask them to take it down it was so awful. Talk about a tearful motivation.
Mango Raisin Muffins – REVISED!
I needed to make these muffins again, they were so yummy the first go around! I’m editing the recipe to include greek yogurt instead of oil, it makes a healthy difference that tastes even better! Bigger, better, a little lighter. Lighter as long as you aren’t noticing the cafe’ style sugar coated topping, that is. Remember, these aren’t for you!
Not too long ago, I introduced you to the best muffin recipe. Ever, ever. I also warned that these muffins aren’t for you. They are for your friends you want to fatten up, or your picky kids, or anytime you might find yourself alone with a giant mug of coffee and the Sunday paper. So really, just the first two options.
Well, I have taken these muffins and made them exotic and new. Really, I was out of blueberries and stumbled on to a better muffin!
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup raw sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 T. cinnamon
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large mango, diced
- ½ cup raisins
- Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter, cubed
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
- Combine 1½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Place coconut oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add egg and enough milk to fill the cup.
- Mix the wet mixture with the flour mixture.
- Fold in mangoes and raisins
- In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Be sure to crumble up the cubed butter, if you have a pastry knife, bust that baby out.
- Fill muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. (I wound up with extra topping, use as desired).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup raw sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 T. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large mango, diced
- 1/2 cup raisins
Topping:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Place coconut oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add egg and enough milk to fill the cup.
- Mix the wet mixture with the flour mixture.
- Fold in mangoes and raisins
- In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Be sure to crumble up the cubed butter, if you have a pastry knife, bust that baby out.
- Fill muffin cups right to the top and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. (I wound up with extra topping, use as desired).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.
***My husband was convinced that you couldn’t even taste that these muffins are healthier than their blueberry counterpart. Uh, because they aren’t!
COFFEE CHALLENGE!
If you can create a gluten free version of this muffin (and it must taste GOOD), I will send you a $10 starbucks card. Happy Baking!
Wordless Wednesday – Foodie Style
Ok, so it would possibly kill me to try and actually be wordless. But, I’ll be keeping it to a minimum today while I work on some St. Patrick’s Day food! I thought this would be a good time to share some of my favorite finds (and snapshots) from the Gluten Free Expo in San Francisco.
I came home with a bagful of samples and some new favorite products. Red Apple Lipstick sold me a lipstick-shaped lip balm and I am in LOVE with it! They are a gluten free (and chemical free) lipstick company, which sells a few other types of cosmetics as well. I’ve never loved a lip balm as much as I love my Red Apple! They are actually sold out on their site, but keep checking for it, totally worth it!
Another fave is my kids’ new shampoo/soap/bubble bath, from Monkey See Monkey Do. With hesitation, I dropped $10 for a bottle of natural, unscented 2 in 1 Body Wash and Shampoo. The extra $6 I wouldn’t normally spend was well worth it. Max doesn’t have little baby bumps all over his back anymore. Johnson’s Baby Wash ain’t as gentle as you might think, Google it! Max’s skin is totally smooth and I can’t go back to the gold stuff. I’m hooked.
The last love I will mention is my peppermint tea from Teatulia, an amazing company in Bangladesh, who grows their tea in a single, organic garden. It’s a company you can feel good about buying from and a tea you will love!
So much for being wordless, right?
Tilapia Gone Wild!
So, you’ve gone to Costco and have bought yourself 3.25 pounds of Tilapia. Now watchoo gonna do with it? I’ll show you how I rationed mine white fish out!
First pound of tilapia went into the oven after a rub down of :
2 T. olive oil
2 tsp. chopped garlic (from a jar)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 zest of a lemon
2 T. gluten free chicken coating (you can use bread crumbs just as easily)
Bake for around 15 minutes at 350 degrees and you’ve got yourself some nice boring old fish that tastes good but brings no boys to the yard. Keep shaking that milkshake girls.
Oh girl, you gonna like this.
Next three big, fat, juicy pieces of fish are going in the crock pot! Did I mention you can cook your whole fish purchase in a short afternoon? Then, freeze it or reheat it for dinner. What-what!
Packet number one is tilapia with balsamic and honey drizzled over the top, with lemon slices (but orange slices would be yummier). Perfect for topping a salad. This fish belongs to me!
Number two is full of fat and for the kids. Garlic, full fat plain yogurt and a whole lotta cheddar.
Number three, big butter chunk, plenty of olive oil and some good shakes of salt and pepper.
Seal each fish into a foil packet, closing each packet up nicely and stack into a 6 quart CROCKPOT (slow cooker). Cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours on high and carefully remove the steaming hot foil packs. Your fish will be fluffy and flaky. Check it!
So yummy! I mixed the kids’ fish into some macaroni and cheese and they accepted it. That’s all I can ask for. The last two pieces of fish were cut into chunks and flash frozen for future soup or pasta additions.
Ok, I have to stop and add a quick little note. Since I’ve moved my blog to WordPress.org, I have lost about 1,000 views a day. Sad, right? Be my best friend ever and share Food It Forward if you like it! Follow me on Twitter to hear how my son says sweet things to me like, “I love you….stupid”. You can join the FoFo Facebook page, so you won’t miss a post. Or better than all of that, you can send me your copy of last week’s People magazine. Because I totally love reading it, but never buy it.
Slowly but surely, as Pinterest pinners find their way back to my posts and WordPress.com readers search Food It Forward back, the site will once again grow. For now, I will cherish you, my special 8-35 readers a day and treat you all like my children. Except, you TOTALLY don’t want me to do that. I can barely handle two kids. Before you know it, I’ll start giving you chores and making you get my iced coffee.
Ah. Late night writing.
DAMY Has Street Cred
This is the BEST time of year to shed pounds. I don’t just think it, I have seen it! Do you know anyone losing weight right now? I bet you do. It’s after the major holidays, before summer and a fairly boring time of the year for food. I’ve talked a lot about DAMY in the past. Whenever someone asks me what I mean by DAMY, I take a minute and let them know that the program owners are Dave and Amy, hence the name. Ah ha. Ok, got it.
So DAMY programs are health programs, plain and simple. There are a couple of different types, depending on where you are right now. If you are someone with more than a handful of pounds to shed or someone who is fairly new to a seriously healthy lifestyle, you want the Method Program.
If you are like some of the chicks I know, who understand that eating healthy doesn’t mean Lean Cuisines for lunch and you are already exercising regularly, you’ll want the Bikini Body Program.
I always laugh when I see magazines claim they can get me bikini ready in 6 weeks. Really? Can you? That’s a big claim, my friend. If you tell me I just have to do three days of cardio and two days of leg lifts before I am bikini ready, perhaps you are a candidate for Lasik eye surgery.
In the past, I have posted some of the reasons why I went off track with DAMY. Now that I am back on the program, I am feeling much better and want some friends to DAMY with me!
You will never see a bikini photo of me on this blog, that just ain’t gonna happen. But, let me show you how much better I looked after two short months on the program one year ago.
DAMY gave me energy, helped my mood, made me MUCH stronger and took off a good 20 pounds. Too bad it couldn’t hide my bra straps in my photos.
I’ve posted before about gaining weight after 6 months off of DAMY and how I should have finished adapting the lifestyle before trying to go my own way. So, once again, I have a before photo. Here we go:
I’ll be posting a progress photo the day before Easter and then again at the end of April. If you want to join me in a healthy lifestyle (and shed serious pounds), let me know! I’ll be having a party after 12 weeks on the DAMY program and you never know what kind of prizes I might be offering as goodie bags for showing up!
As for Amy Layne and her street cred, click on the link to check out one of her two pages in this month’s Oxygen magazine!
Wanna see all of Amy’s Oxygen articles? Head over to her site, you’ll find so many resources on her blog. She offers recipes and plenty of before/after photos and testimonials to get you excited.
Let’s do this together, I need some more DAMY pals! Get yourself the most valuable E-book out there and get on the plan. Her plans come with free, personalized coaching from Amy herself, no generic stuff! The plans will get you to eat real food without chemicals, exercise like you have never before (meaning smarter) and become totally inspired to live the best life you can.
Take your before photo TODAY!
App’ing It Forward
My heart is leaping for joy and breaking to bits over this blog move to WordPress.org and GoDaddy from WordPress.com. I have lost so many links to Pinterest pins, old posts and other pieces in the move. The possibilities on this new site however, are proving to be worth the momentary struggle. Most of my time has been spent out of my kitchen, so I don’t have any food to share. I have great news to pass along instead!
My friend Pete’s game has finally hit the app store and is ready for purchase. There will be a special Mr. Jabbs post coming in the next couple weeks, with a special celebration recipe attached. For now, head over and drop the .99 cents on Mr. Jabbs’ Epic Waste of Time and keep checking back in to Food It Forward!
Movie Fuel’s Oscar Picks
Pardon my web-dust as I learn to add new fonts, gadgets and the rest of it to Food It Forward. Jy is really excited to share his picks for tonight’s awards and I’m excited to recycle last year’s Opera Cake with you! It was one of the hardest things I have ever made and I took such a mediocre photograph. You live, you learn and you eat, right?
- Foreign Language Film: Amour
- Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
- Original Screenplay: Amour
- Animated Feature: Wreck It Ralph
- Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
- Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
- Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
- Actress: Jennifer Lawerence, Silver Linings Playbook
- Actor: Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln
- Picture: Argo
Hawaiian Dip Recipe
I’m in the middle of linking all my old posts with my new. (Sounds like a real party, eh?) I’m just posting this old recipe (with an old note underneath) to make sure it will still be found!
This dip could NOT be easier to make!
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2½ cups sweetened coconut (I prefer flaked over shredded)
- 20 oz. can pineapple (chunks or crushed)
- nuts or cherries to top dip with
- Blend all ingredients together in food processor to crush up pineapple and coconut pieces. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. I think it tastes great with Trader Joe’s Pita Crackers, but I am sure there are plenty of dipping options you can find!
Quick and easy recipe for today, be sure to save this recipe for summer (which seems so far away right now)!
Jy and I are hoping to get out to see the Oscar nominated short films this Saturday. Cross your fingers we can get out to go, it is always such a fun tradition that has gotten harder to keep up with after having kids. Are you watching the awards this Sunday night? Are you going to be happy when I quit talking about the Oscars and movie themed food? Hope not!
See you tomorrow, Happy Tuesday friends!
Oscars 2013: Zero Dark Thirty
Well, here it is! The final Best Picture nominee of the Oscar themed food posts, Zero Dark Thirty. I have been putting it out there what a hard time I’ve had coming up with fun food for this movie. I’ve loved all the ideas many of you have emailed me! Zero Dark Thirsty, Zero Dark Thirtini, Gyro Dark Thirty, Zero Dark Chocolate Cake and what I think is my favorite, Hot on the Trail Mix! I promised a $10 coffee gift card to any reader who sent in an idea which would inspire a post on Food It Forward. So, Cara, I am sending a Starbucks card your way!
Thank you all for such great ideas! The hot on the trail mix helped me think outside the box of the movie title. Ready for it?
Osama Bin Hidin’ (In Yo’ Dessert)
I’m kind of hoping I have some readers who read the title with the word desert, instead of dessert. Anyhow, here’s how it goes.
Step One: Gather your ingredients. I have chosen a dark chocolate brownie mix, dark chocolate ice cream and a dark salted flavor caramel sauce and chocolate covered cherries. Remember, think dark. You know I am usually not a fan of boxed stuff, but Ghiradelli brownies are always an exception in my world.
Step Two: Hide Osama at the bottom of your dessert dish. Please don’t think I mean anything by Osama being a chocolate covered cherry. The cherry inside is more about blood than a sweet heart. Do you feel sad for OBL, all alone in that dark dish? Me neither.
I didn’t do this the first go around, but I’d suggest melting your chocolate covered cherry for 10-15 seconds in the microwave. He’ll be easier to kill that way. I over did it at about 25 seconds.
Step Three: Hide Bin Laden in a cave of ice cream. Cover that ice cream with rocky mounds of brownie. Drizzle your dark topping of choice.
It’s hunting time! You and your crew can each go searching for the Target. No torture involved.
Now, you and your guests go in for the kill!
Like I said before, Osama will be easier to kill and a bit bloodier if you melt him in the hot Middle Eastern microwave first.
DISCLAIMER:
This is all in the name of the Oscars and the movie, Zero Dark Thirty. I have not seen the movie. I don’t condone killing anyone. Hey, Al Qaeda, I’m sure Osama was nice to some of you. In other words, although I am 35, I’m still to young to die. Please don’t come find me and kill me.
This fear has probably come from the old neighbors I just ran into at Target. They told me a story of how Homeland Security now uses their old phone number to catch a Terrorist, who….GET THIS….still lives about 50 yards from me. Huh?! They had to flee the country, but came back for the daughter’s medical needs. These ladies either have a serious exaggeration problem, or I need to buy an attack dog. Not sure which one. They would always bring Dallas cute gifts and love on him when he was a baby. So, I kind of believe them out of guilt. How’s that for movie-style drama?
Oscars 2013: Les Miserables
Someday, someday I say, I will learn how to type an accent with my keyboard and it won’t look like this: Les Mise’rables. That’s an apostrophe not an accent. Am I right? Am I blind? Am I hungry? Nope, I just ate a bowl of Les wonderful soup.
This is the second to last Best Picture nominee post and it has been a tough one! There were too many options for this movie and I couldn’t narrow it down to something easy and yummy without some contemplation.
On the way home from our weekend getaway, Jy (Mr. Movie Fuel) gave me plenty of fun ideas. My favorite? Les Fisherables. Really? Les Fisherables? After discussing the possibility of injecting a baguette with wine and brie, Jy stumbled onto the fact that French Onion Soup was too, a meal of the poor. Bingo! I’m poor, so it sounded like a match made in heaven.
As we all know, plenty of chefs have had their hands on French Onion Soup and have classed up the beefy pot quite a bit. I’m doubting the French who rose up against the aristocracy were preparing their soups with organic croutons, Gruyère and sherry. I’m thinking more along the lines of rotten onions and hopefully some bone broth!
Luckily, I found a recipe that is light on the wallet, good for the body and easy on the cook. I’ve added a slice of french bread into my soup, which is not done in the, as it is meant to be a “clean recipe”. The Gracious Pantry is an awesome site to read about clean eating and find almost any recipe to replace your old, dirty, fat food. Did I just make you drool there? Mmm, old, dirty fat food!
- 4 cups beef broth (I used the organic “Pacific” brand)
- 2 onions
- 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- Parmesan Cheese
- Clean and slice your onions. (Slice them thin!)
- In a soup pot, sauté your onions in the olive oil until they are soft.
- Add beef broth and vinegar to the pot and boil until the liquid has cooked down by approximately half.
- Serve sprinkled with approximately 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.
Again, bread makes the world better, so I’ve added a slice to my soup. Yeah, I’ll suffer the gluten consequences, but who am I to talk of suffering? I never had to diet the way Anne Hathaway did for her role in Les Mis. That, my friends, is suffering. Although her millions of dollars may have soothed her hunger pains. Wait, does cash have carbs?
.
