tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38018597648468522172011-11-27T15:35:14.032-08:00My attempts to make healthy gourmet food for two on a tight budget.Jennynoreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-72853079389376148162008-09-26T22:00:00.000-07:002008-09-26T22:32:35.604-07:00

Wow - what a long week! After my first 40 hour week ever, I needed to make some yummy food to relax. So for dinner, we had tasty burgers topped with lettuce, tomato, and avocado, with some coleslaw made with nonfat yogurt and low fat sour cream (instead of mayo). I just want to say - it was absolutely delicious with a little salt and pepper, and normally I'm not one to enjoy coleslaw. So I highly

Jennynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-19875521197736672412008-09-24T20:59:00.001-07:002008-09-24T21:11:28.885-07:00

Today was day three of my new jobs. After a full day of work, some errands, and a meeting for school, this nice fruity margarita recipe (along with some raspberry sorbet and frozen fruit) went a long way toward helping me relax. Here it is - short, simple, but not too sweet:Fruity Margarita:1 shot tequila1 shot Triple Sec1 shot lime juice (sweetened or fresh based on your preference)Dole orange

Jennynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-82207777616401794512008-09-23T18:14:00.001-07:002008-09-23T18:42:24.735-07:00

Wow.. So this new schedule is wreaking havoc on my ability to work, study, cook, eat, blog, and sleep. Hence the lack of a post yesterday. But I did make a delicious summer salad on Sunday that I'm eating for lunch this week - it's incredibly healthy and very very tasty. I got the recipe from epicurious, and have added my own tweaks to make it more simple and savory. Here's how:Black Bean Tomato

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-2919115802333932322008-09-21T18:42:00.000-07:002008-09-21T18:47:59.568-07:00

So I'm not actually going to post a recipe (today was leftover day), but I do have something to say. I'm very frustrated right now at the disposable habits of this country. To start off, my camera is broken. It still takes pictures (as that's what I've been using to post pics of my food), but the flash no longer works. I took it in to the camera shop that is conveniently located next to our

Jennynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-12434127172113312682008-09-20T19:29:00.000-07:002008-09-21T16:49:07.935-07:00

So today was very hot, and kind of a lazy Saturday. I've got two papers due early next week, and I spent a lot of time working on them. Today's only interesting meal ended up being breakfast - and it was super tasty! The bananas get ripe very quickly in this heat, so I wanted to use them up before they got all brown and mushy. Here's what I did:Banana Raisin Oatmeal Pancakes:1/2 cup old fashioned

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-34600276577434826962008-09-19T18:51:00.000-07:002008-09-19T19:38:09.916-07:00

HOORAY! My interviews went so well this morning, that I'm starting both jobs part-time on Monday! I am thoroughly excited, happy, and relieved. So to celebrate, I broke out the salmon from the freezer, and made one of my favorite side-dishes, mashed potatoes. It was simple and easy, and the thing that took the longest was boiling the water for the mashed potatoes! Here's how:Honey Dijon Salmon:

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-90672055896404857482008-09-18T22:41:00.000-07:002008-09-18T23:39:12.665-07:00

Ok. I admit it. Fried eggplant smothered in cheese may not be the healthiest dinner in the world. But it is one of the tastiest! As long as you have the skills needed not to completely splatter yourself with sizzling hot oil, you can make this dish. I'll post the recipe tonight, but I'll have to add the nutrition facts tomorrow, as it's late and I have two(!) interviews tomorrow morning. Here's

Jennynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-19018684500339603862008-09-17T21:57:00.001-07:002008-09-17T22:43:27.420-07:00

Tonight we had one of my favorite foods - asparagus! I have no idea why I enjoy it so much, other than its tender, juicy texture with its healthy, green flavor, with a hint of lemon and butter. Also, we had sweet potato chips (an experiment that turned out quite well) and a delicious bit of swordfish. Paired with a refreshing chardonnay, it was a great meal. Here's how we did it:Sweet Potato

Jennynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-8771397818351404212008-09-15T19:58:00.000-07:002008-09-17T13:00:39.699-07:00

I love veggie pizza! After spending 2 hours cooking yesterday, I wanted something quick, easy, and delicious. So I grabbed out some leftover veggies, a Boboli Whole Wheat pizza crust, and it took about 15 minutes start to finish for this tasty meal. Here's how:Ingredients:1 premade pizza crust ($2.00)1/4 cup mushrooms ($0.25)1/4 cup spinach ($0.25)1/4 cup colored peppers ($0.25)1/2 cup pizza

Jennynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-43702070917611117142008-09-14T20:21:00.000-07:002008-09-15T16:21:34.957-07:00

Tonight for dinner we had a Chicken Tortilla Soup, recipe complements of the Skinny Gourmet. I highly recommend you check it out - it was fantastic even with the substitutions I made, like adding a little less chicken broth, and using diced tomatoes with jalapeno instead of the two different cans she recommends. Of course, I couldn't follow the recipe exactly because I didn't have all the

Jennynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-59443426435439602652008-09-14T14:33:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:49:30.972-07:00

I love having a big pot of tea in the fridge for when I need a refreshing iced pick-me-up (here in Arizona, I need that pretty frequently, and water gets boring). So I made regular green tea the other day, but today I was craving some Chai tea. Here's how I did it (beware, this made almost a gallon!):Boil a large pot of water on the stove, like you were going to make a couple pounds of pasta, but

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-21825708660500439022008-09-13T17:57:00.000-07:002008-09-13T18:32:59.092-07:00

So today was a lazy Saturday. We had plenty of leftovers (and might I add again just how delicious that mac and cheese was!!), so there was really no need cook. Plus, I had a get-together with some members of my local alumnae chapter, so I really had no reason to make anything (hors d'oeuvres were provided, as was tasty wine). But, I did make breakfast this morning (lemon poppy seed muffins with

Jennynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-16129798768898499812008-09-12T18:02:00.000-07:002008-09-12T19:46:17.302-07:00

So I mentioned mac and cheese a few days ago, and my boyfriend has been wanting it ever since. I finally gave in, so we're having a tasty mac and cheese for grownups (ie. not from a blue box, with a bit of a kick). It tasted delicious as I was making it, and it's even better when its done!Ingredients: Bread crumbs, dry, grated, seasoned 0.3 x

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-39771187242734579992008-09-12T00:37:00.000-07:002008-09-12T15:47:55.178-07:00

So today wasn't so successful in terms of my wannabe gourmet lifestyle. We had chocolate mug cake for breakfast (my boyfriend had an interview so I made him whatever he wanted) which I'll post the recipe for once I make it a little tastier. Then for lunch we turned more of the leftover veggie mix into another warm veggie wrap (for me) and a quesadilla for him - on a side note it was fantastic

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-8551181311562901902008-09-10T16:28:00.000-07:002008-09-14T14:33:27.127-07:00

Ok so I've officially found my new best friend. Well, sort of - if you can be best friends with a website. My point is - NutritionData is a wonderful idea that makes healthy cooking even easier. You can enter your own recipes using pre-listed, detailed ingredients - or you can enter your own nutritional information for ingredients you bought at the store. It's a great way to make sure you're

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-29234496426054465732008-09-09T21:19:00.000-07:002008-09-10T18:16:42.405-07:00

Today was great - our dishes finally came, so we can eat off of these awesome polka dotted plates instead of out of stainless steel pans and mixing bowls! We celebrate by going out to the grocery store and getting some rice (and other things). So in addition to tonight's recipe, I've decided to start incorporating as much information about costs as possible. In response to girlyjock's post about

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-52197232276697546602008-09-08T09:36:00.001-07:002008-09-12T15:48:56.430-07:00

Picture from Martha Stewart's pancakesSo for breakfast this morning, I decided to make some pancakes, since we bought a ton of whole wheat flour and frozen veggies. I found a recipe on Epicurious that I used as a basis, but I made some changes to ingredients. Here's the way I made it:For pancakes1 1/4 cups

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3801859764846852217.post-19029702472034793832008-09-07T21:57:00.000-07:002008-09-17T13:00:59.028-07:00

So I have another blog, but I realized that people who want to read about yoga and renewable energy might not want to read about gourmet cooking, or vice versa. So I decided to separate them. I want to create this to document my journey of exploration... if you want to put it that way. Now that my boyfriend and I have an apartment of our own, we're trying out all these fantastic new recipes. I

Jennynoreply@blogger.com0