Gluten Hates me is a fantastic Blog written by Marlow about her now 7 year journey with Celiac Disease.  She always posts interesting tidbits including innovative recipes, new gluten free products and the like. And MANY of her recipes are created in an attempt to replace or replicate something she finds missing in her life now that gluten is no longer a part of it.  Like pizza, or Phillie Cheese Steaks. Marlow uses a gluten free hot dog bun to replicate one of her favorite sandwiches and she makes an inventive Potato Crust to build her pizza upon!   However lots of her recipes are simply using gluten free products in more traditional recipes. Such as the case of Cheesy Cabot Quinoa Bites

I came across this little gem one day and decided to substitute my plannedover 8 grain wheatless hot cereal for the quoina.  And they were delicious.  I used two types of cheddar cheese and added some chopped steamed broccoli and chopped onions.

Mixed throughly and put in mini muffin pan

 Marlow's recipe calls for a mere 15 minutes in the oven, that did not work for me.  Probably because I look at recipes as mere suggestions on how to accomplish your goal.  My bites spend 30 minutes in the oven and were fabulous!!

Bite sized and cheesy - Don't really need anything more than that!!

Enjoy!!

Happy Eating!

Bob's Red Mill

I am interested in and somewhat fascinated by nutrition.  Some might view my, ahem, hobby, as a bit of an obsession, but I say live and let live - and leave me alone.  So a year or so back I decided to try the gluten free lifestyle and have been gluten free - for the most part without much struggle.  I have however gotten very bored with certain foods.  Like quinoa.  Now don't get me wrong I LOVE quinoa - but I was ready for a change, a new adventure in the world of food.  I decided to hit up Bay Naturals to peruse the aisles and pick the brain of their ever helpful staff.  In the world of online shopping and our dependence on other people's reviews, it's really nice to go someplace local where you can find like minded people.  And this is where I find people who think like me, nutritionally speaking.  And it's ok if you find your people at TACO Bell, or Ruth's Chris, or Krispy Kreme.  I am not here to judge.  But it is my blog and I'm sharing my story and Bay Naturals is a part of that.  Just FYI - my people can also be found enjoying adult libations - and often are.

So while I looked and asked I came across Bob's Red Mill wheatless 8 grain hot cereal and I had to give it a whirl.

 I bought it home and the husband was game so I made a very small batch to accompany our dinner.  It WAS delish.  There were no makings of a planned over in this case because sadly,  it was all very gone.  I went the savory route and used stock in leiu of water - I think you could add whatever veggies or cheese and of COURSE a wad of butter.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth - but I'm sure this would be equally delicious topped with honey or maple syrup, or maybe just mix in some fruit.  So give it a try and go on your very own eating adventure!!

Enjoy!! Happy Eating!!

Spring Squash and Spring Break

I'm a lucky woman to be married to a wonderful man, who through his love of travel has opened up his very own agency Take The Trip Travel.  AND to keep up with the ever changing industry we are required, as I am sure you can imagine, to TRAVEL and experience products and services, cruise lines, tour groups.  Market research.  You get the picture.

So before our most recent adventure I found myself with bits of this and that in various containers in my fridge.  None of which individually would have been sufficient - I had  the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts mentality and a jar of roasted red pepper and eggplant spread- and thus I had a plannedover.  This spread is one of my very favorites and it's been mixed into ranch dressing for a dip - combined with tomatoes for a pasta sauce, even served with eggs, it's delicious!You could make your own or you could hop on over to Trader Joe's and pick up a jar, pop the lid and proceed full steam ahead. 

In my containers I found roasted green beans, roasted squash, and some cooked collards.  All went into a bow with a generous dollop of RRPS and some goat cheese.

Mixed thoroughly and popped into the microwave to heat- Fridge cleaned out, bellies full, ready for our adventure!!

Seen here with some plannedover Mac n Cheese!!!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!!!

Roasted Squash to Ratatouille

A recent rummaging through my produce drawers yeilded yellow squash, zucchini - (which my darling husband did not know until like a week ago, was a squash - married to me no less, for almost 11 years!!! - but I digress) an eggplant and one sorry lonely red pepper.  Not really feeling up for a whole lot of active cooking time - I decided to chop it all - add to it an onion, the requisite garlic, some cleaning out the fridge tomato paste, a little Italian herb, and a healthy splash of EVOO.  Tossed in a big ole bowl and spread on a sheet pan, into the 425 oven for 40 minutes with a stir half way and we had ourselves a WINNER.  Served as a side one night and a topper for my salad the next, the sheer volume of veggies used in the original made a planned over inevitable.

Squash, Eggplant, Onion, Red Pepper.........................Ratatouille!! And no not the animated rat who cooks!

According to Wikipedia "Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but may also be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by pasta, rice or bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers, marjoram and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence. There is much debate on how to make a traditional ratatouille.

As my blog clearly shows I don't find it within myself to feel the need to adhere to tradition when it comes to cooking.  I had the roasted veg that on it's own had an excellent flavor profile, I simply wanted to tweak it to change what we already had into new and even more spectacular.

My original dish was pretty chunky so I more finely chopped the veg and added capers, olives, and some tomatoes.   For a touch of summer a cube of pesto and a small squeeze of lemon.  Even more perfection.

Garth and the Luck of the Irish

My Grandfather Garth was a pretty awesome guy.  Always a twinkle in his blue eyes and the whitest legs you have ever, ever, laid your eyes upon.  Always quick with a joke and never having met a stranger - he was the first person to tell me I was beautiful.  LOVER of ice cream, I remember fondly the sunday bar's he would create for sister and I.  During their marriage, the LOVE of his life, my grandmother Joise, they very nearly never spent a night apart.  Great man, greatly missed.

His favorite thing for Josie to make was her stuffed cabbage rolls.  And while I don't remember ever her making them or having them served to me, I always remember that they were his favorite.

In honor of Garth and as a way to use up a bit of PlannedOver cooked rice, I present Stuffed Cabbage Rolls!!

Blanch cabbage leaves in salted boiling water for 4 minutes each.  Set aside to cool.  Sautee onions and ground beef until no longer pink.  Add cooked rice, a splash of whostershire sauce and stir to combine.  Fill leaves with rice mixture, roll and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Top with tomato sauce.  Bake 350 for 40 minutes!

 Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice PlannedOver Part 2

I do promise I am nearing the end - for now- of what it is that you should be doing with the various stages of broccoli I found myself with.  From Soup to casserole to cakes and now for it's final incarnation - Fried Rice!!  It has been said and I find it to be quite true that indeed necessity is the mother of all invention.  And while I am not opposed, per se, to straight out of the fridge left overs - on occasion that is - I find it much more compelling to create something new and unique.   This desire for new tastes and flavors combined with my overly healthy desire to NOT WASTE food was the birthplace of turning something into something else.  Now add to that mix my busy schedule which necessitates a high degree of organization, and thus plannedovers were born. 

And don't get me wrong.  There is no NEED for this much planning and organizing and forethought always.  For you.  For me my desire to have a wonderful dinner on a daily basis - trumps pretty much all else and so the neurosis continues!  Come along for the ride - it's sure to be a tasty one!

Fried Rice

I sauteed some onion and peas in a touch of sesame and garlic oil added the rice and a little soy sauce and once heated drizzled a beaten egg turning over with a spatula to ensure the egg was thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Plannedover Part 1

And thus continues the never ending saga of broccoli around my parts.  I hope you too have as much as an affinity for the tree top cruciferous vegetables as I certainly seem to.   Who can guess if I had to google how to spell THAT word? 

Lots of broccoli called for more creativity and I was on it, sorry could not help myself, like white on rice.  So the planned over rice was stripped of its top cheesy layer, and tossed in a bowl with some bread crumbs until it "held"  I took the cheese and sandwiched it between two rice patties carefully sealing the edges as to not allow any cheese to escape.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes in the pan, bad.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes on your plate, very, very good!

Into a pan with a squirt of EVOO and just a little time to turn blah boring beige into delightfully golden brown. 

Delish!  Enjoy and Happy Eating!!

Stay tuned for just what in the world this crazy woman is up to with the never-ending broccoli plannedover next week!

Part Two of my broccoli overloaded surplus.

So now I have a mess of Broccoli soup to contend with and while a stint in the freezer is always a great option  - who doesn't love to have something at the ready to pull out at a moments notice?  The recent ice storms here - yes ICE STORMS - in the sunny south - have altered my viewpoint of the merits of a too too full freezer.  So I had to come up with a plan b.  I remembered my mom's mom Anna and the broccoli casserole she would make only just for me upon my summer visits.  Although I am sure it was chock full of Cream of something soup - I LOVED that she made it for me and I really did not like to share.

Fond memories present I found in addition to my broccoli soup some cooked rice and violia Cheesy Broccoli Rice casserole was born.  Have you ever noticed that if you prepose pretty much anything with the word Cheesy it becomes appetizing?  Try it - you'll see. Rice Casserole.  Cheesy rice casserole.  Enchiladas or Cheesy Enchiladas.  Broccoli or Cheesy Broccoli.  I rest my case.

I mixed broccoli soup with cooked rice, topped it off with some shredded cheddar.  Bake in a 350 oven 35-40 minutes until heated through and it's reached it's perfect level of cheesy!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

And now......what to do with PlannedOver Cheesy Broccoli Rice part I

Costco and Broccoli Stalks

A long time ago in a forest far away lived a whole very big bunch of broccoli.  Won't you join us please on this four part planned over that will take us on an unprecedented use of plannedover product.

It all began with a trip to Costco.  In which I shopped without consulting my fridge for inventory and now I have a new rule, a new shopping rule that is, that I will share with you so you can learn from the error of my ways.  Do not go to Costco straight from the airport after you have been gone for a week and buy industrial sized (IS) bags of vegetables.  Just do not, bad idea.  There is however, one caveat to this rule which proves you are the ultimate planner because your have made sure your fridge was empty when you left. In THAT case you can shop freely for extra large portions of perishables to your hearts content.  I however found my self with 1.5 IS bags of broccoli AND a small bit of mostly stems in a produce bag hiding in the back corner.  I had a LOT of broccoli.  Even my darling husband who NEVER complains about anything that I make feebly requested to have one day broccoli free.  So I had to get REALLY creative.

I triaged my supply and determined the stalks and half empty old IS bag of broccoli needed to go sooner rather than later.  What to do with stalks and oldish broccoli?  You could make the Broccoli Pesto I wrote about here ages ago.  Or you can keep it simple and oh so satisfying by throwing the broccoli bits, some onion and potato, and some stock into a big ole pot and you can make soup.  Broccoli soup is healthy, a great use of excess and unwanted broccoli parts, and most importantly deliciously comforting food.   Top with some cheddar cheese perhaps a dollop of sour cream and thoroughly enjoy!

Maybe not the most appetizing photo- but hey it's hard to take a picture of steaming soup!  Try Food and Wine's recipe!

And now..... what to do with our planned over Broccoli Soup???

Happy Eating!

The Reincarnation of the Roast of PlannedOver Future

A not so Long long time ago (humming when the music dies) I wrote a post about the Roast of PlannedOver Future - and while we did enjoy the roast first go around, knowing that I have something cooked and in the freezer and ready to incorporate into a fabulous dinner - gives me immense satisfaction.  What can I say??? I'm a planner!  I do and have realized after talking with friends and meeting new people that not everyone shares my affliction for needing to plan.  Some are in fact, quite happy to have no clue what they will be eating for dinner that night, even if it is RAPIDLY approaching dinner time.  I have not found myself to have that capacity, it sounds nice - if only on paper.

So after we enjoyed the roast I subdivided into two portions and vaccusealed and labeled the plannedovers and into the freezer to await their rebirth into a hectic work day meal.   On this particular occasion I knew it would be a late night for me so I needed something simple for my darling husband to simply heat and eat.  That coupled with the cold temperatures of late led me to make something warmy and comforty and I decided on a stuffed spud.  To keep it as simple as possible I shredded the meat and added it to a homemade bechamel style cheese sauce, using up the last bits of several bags of shredded cheese including mexican and Cheddar.  Ready to simply heat and pour over baked potatoes.  Add a simple salad and some steamed broccoli and dinner is DONE!!

Shredded Meat in Cheese Sauce

Happy Eating!!! Enjoy!

You say potato I say POtAto. Either or EIther way you look at it reheating a big ole bowl of mashed up spuds is just plain boring.  I have explored various uses for putting to use purposefully plannedover pureed potatoes, because lets face it if you are going to put the work into homemade mashed potatoes it behooves you to plan it out to get the maximum bang for your
buck.  We've had potato pancakes.  Tried and enjoyed plannedover potato gnocchi.  And now, a genius use for planned over spuds I came about while trolling the internet on a very recent very uncommon snow day.  Twice baked potato casserole! Brilliant!!


PlannedOver mashed potatoes
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Milk
Sour Cream
Crumbled bacon - optional
Chopped Green Onions - optional

Preheat oven to 350. Mix mashed potatoes with sour cream and milk - stir in cheese, and if using bacon and onions.  Top with cheese.
Place in an oven proof baking dish.  Bake until heated through and cheese is melted 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy!! Happy eating!

The Business of a Name

What is it about the particular name of something that either induces a strong desire for or against a particular food.  For example pate sounds much more desirable than liver pudding - yes such a thing does exist.  All I can tell you about puddin as it is know around these parts, is that when I asked how you serve it and eat it here is what I was told "You cut a slice and put it on hot grits and it just sort of melts."  I passed.  Boudin noir better than blood sausage, Escargot infinitely better than sails and crudites sounds more appetizing and far more chic than raw cut up vegetables. To me,  being a love of  vegetables in all form this one does not apply to me.  So food, or the perception of food, along with so many other aspects of life can vary greatly, depending how it is presented.

So whether you call it stuffing or dressing the teenage male in my household had made up his mind that he did not like this particular dish.  Please do not even get me started on the thousands of variaions of what stuffing or dressing can be comprised of, he is of the opine that if he had eaten something called stuffing and he did not like it, he would therefore from that point moving forward, not like anything called stuffing.  A dilema because I had stale bread and leftover celery from Christmas morning bloodies and when you find yourself with those  two ingredients and it is winter - you make stuffing.  And I did.  I did also, however, when querried as to what was for dinner, rename it as bread pudding.  Needless to say it was a hit!

Hodge Podge of Stale PlannedOver Bread

Left over bread - if you see from my picture I used bagels
Onion
Celery
Mushrooms
Eggs
Broth or Stock
Salt and Pepper
Bell's seasoning

Saute onions, mushrooms and celery in a little butter and olive oil until translucent and soft.  Transfer to a bowl.  If your bread is not dried out - put it in a 350 oven for 20 minutes.  Add cubed or torn bread to bowl with onions add two beaten eggs, stock and seasoning to taste.  Mixture should be pretty wet.  This can even be made in advance, refridgerated, check if additional broth needs to be added and continue.  Place mixture in a baking dish 350 45-60 minutes!

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

The Roast Revival

I cooked a RibEye Roast for the first time - times 2 - this holiday season.  Having never cooked this cut of beef before I asked the butcher for recommendations.  For my 5 plus pound roast I was given the following instructions:

Bring the roast to room temperature by leaving on the counter for one hour prior to cooking Preheat the oven to 350- Cook for one hour then turn the oven off.  DO NOT OPEN the Door during this time.  Wait one hour.  Then turn the oven back on to 350 and cook 20-40 minutes depending upon your preference for how rare you like your beef.

She told me she had been cooking her roast this way for 25 years and true to her word it came out beautifully!  Now I just need to remember to stop in and let her know how it turned out!

The marbling in a ribeye is a beautiful thing and provides so much of the rich beefy flavor of this particular cut of beef.  Especially when it is hot.  Next day ribeye leftovers that marbling can seem obscene as if somehow overnight in the refrigerator all of the fat molecules joined forces and multiplied - a lot.  I figured I could take advantage of their effort and use a braise to melt the fat and re-infuse the meat -making it tender and juicy.  I fine chopped all I had left and added it to a pan with some remaining au jus and a little broth and simmered it all for about 30 minutes.  Sauteed up a mess of peppers and onions and my Ribeye Roast was reborn into a Philly Cheese Steak.

 Enjoy and Happy Eating!!!

By the way...................Spencer says

A Tale of Two Dips - part Two

The other luscious leftover from our celebrations was a simply divine mushroom pate spread.  Long long ago in a galaxy far far away, no wait - that was just for you MG, faithful reader and mine.  Several years ago one of us got a small tin of Mushroom Pate in her stocking.  I believe it was my mother who took it and developed a simply marvelous mushroom mashed potatoes that is  heavenly and has been oft repeated at holiday dinners.  We had a menu change this year which left me with a tin of pate and a desire to have a mushroomie component to our meal.  I mixed the tin with some sauteed finely chopped mushrooms, cream cheese, and a hefty handful of grated Parmesan.  35 minute stint in a 350 oven produced a creamy, earthy, cheesy - mushroom delightful spread.

And now the fun begins round two with the continuation of the party, the refrigerator clean out party that is. It has been unseasonably cold here, well everywhere for that matter and that has me staying indoors and seeking warmth.  I decided that the perfect second life for our cheesy magic mushroom spread was to become a sauce for pasta.  I took the spread, thinned with a little milk and heated in a saucepan.  I added cooled cooked orzo and cooked until heated through.  Perfect as is or feel free to add some freshly chopped parsley and a little more Parm - never hurt anything!

Happy Eating!! Enjoy!!

A Tale of Two Post Holiday Dips Part One

Tis the season for celebrations and there has been a great deal to celebrate what with the holidays and New Years and family and company.  And celebrations for my family  will ususally mean one or hopefully, more than one snack meal.  The origin of our family tradition began for me as a young child in my parents home where the snack meal was almost favored over a traditional sit down dinner for any special occasion.  The meal can be as complicated or as simple as you wish and the very most delightful thing about this style of eating is little bites of this and that, tons of flavor, texture, and temperatures-  it simply is the best.  Our snack meals over the years have become somewhat legendary with some, namely sister, who insists on certain components to be present for it to even be considered a snack meal.  In this instance, and at her insistence, the object of her utmost desire is smoked white fish and to go along with it, smoked white fish dip.  She loves it and has over the years developed her very own sensational spread.  So of course we have THAT.  But we also have something warmy and something crunchy and something veggie, and we have lots of lots of things that are spready.  And we have conversation, we have laughter, and we create memories, and we have fun.

So after the guests have departed and I survey the scene that is my refridgerator I find myself with an abundance of two such spready things and the hamster starts running and the wheel starts a-turning and low and behold a plannedover is born.Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, and Goat Cheese Spread is gloriously reborn into a decadent frittata with additional sauteed spinach, a little more goat cheese and some eggs. 

Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, and Goat Cheese Spread
1 Block of Cream Cheese
Sauteed fresh Spinach or frozen spinach drained and sauteed - with garlic of course
1/4 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 of a small log of goat Cheese


Allow Cream Cheese to come to room temperature and blend in remaining ingredients - either by hand or using a stand mixer.  Transfer mixture to an oven proof serving dish.  Heat at 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.  Serve with crackers or toast points.

This had been baked and enjoyed and is en route to being reborn!!

Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, and Goat Cheese Frittata
3/4 Cup of PlannedOver  Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, and Goat Cheese Spread
1 Cup Sauteed Spinach
1/4 of a small log of Goat Cheese
6 eggs

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl, whisk to combine - pour into a glass baking dish- I used a loaf pan- and bake at 350 for one hour.

Happy Eating!!! Enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes become Gnocchi Part Deux

Happiest New Year to you!!! I can not hardly believe it is 2014.  I hope your holidays were all you wanted and that this glorious year has gotten off to a smashing start!  I hope your resolutions included incorporating plannedovers and delicious food in the New Year!  On to Gnocchi!

So if you have frozen gnocchi - bring a pot of salted water to a boil - drop gnocchi and cook - it is ready when it floats to the surface

I scoop from the water an put in a bowl with a little olive oil until I am ready to use.

Next step is where the magic happens.  I personally find the texture of boiled gnocchi to be a bit redundant lacking any yin to the yang - it's all just the same.  However that same so so gnocchi plus a little butter and some time in a pan-you get the good stuff.  Crunchy outside and creamy pillowy inside in which the two textural components create an end product that is infinitely better than individually. 

In the beginning

Golden Nuggets of Goodness

Like all of the photos?  Let me tell y'all how much flour I got on my phone taking these!  Enjoy!! Happy Eating and Happy New Year!!