Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Project Pantry Purge: Tuna Cakes

What a name for a recipe, huh? Please don't picture a frosted, layered cake that contains tuna. Think crispy, cheesy savory tuna patties. That's my jam.

So, I don't know what got into me, but I decided to clean the pantry this past week. I'm not going to describe this in words. Pictures are worth a thousand...you know?

Picture before

Progress

Picture after

Ok, I realize it is still quite messy, but I was pretty much over it at this point. I actually consolidated 4 boxes of Panko bread crumbs and took stock of all my goods. I also found some Raisinets on their last leg (read: had just expired) and munched on those while sorting... No mouse poop jokes, please. They were in a sealed bag.

My goal with Project Pantry Purge is to use up some of the food I have on hand before going to the grocery store again (for a full trip, anyways). That's hard for me. I'm the kind of gal that gets down to 1/3 bottle of face wash and then I buy another one...then I use the new one and leave the old one in the shower. Why do I do this?? So wasteful.

I'm gonna change my silly ways. Well, my pantry ways. One thing at a time, people.

Pantry Tuna Cakes
serves 3-4

2 cans tuna, drained
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 box of Italian herb Stovetop stuffing (or whatever flavor...or use 1/2 cup breadcrumbs)
1 egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
pinch cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil for cooking

Combine all, except oil, in a bowl. Use an ice cream scoop and scoop out some of the mixture onto wax or parchment paper. Flatten with your hand. Heat the oil on medium high heat and cook those bad boys for about 3-5 minutes on each side, until crispy and browned.

Yum!

Trying to use up freezer stuff, too..hence the tots and asparagus ;)

See y'all for What I Ate Wednesday!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

Well, hey there, all! Happy Friday to ya :)

Just popping in to give you a deliciously decadent while at the same time light and airy dessert to try this weekend. Or whenever. But you should try it.

I wish I had taken a picture of a slice, but when I turned around to do so, the cake was annihilated. That should tell you something ;)

Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

serves 12

4 ounces dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), in small pieces

¼ cup butter

¼ cup nonfat yogurt

3 eggs (or you could sub Eggbeaters)

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

For serving:

1/2 slivered almonds

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with a nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray again on top of the parchment paper. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Place over a pot of barely simmering water. Gently heat until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in yogurt and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and fluffy, about 4 minutes on high speed. Stir in salt and vanilla then gently fold in chocolate. Do not overmix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar and top with berries and almonds.

recipe adapted from Fitsugar

Have a lovely weekend! See you Monday with a budget friendly pantry meal!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday: Leftovers

Did everyone have a super fantastic Thanksgiving weekend? I did, I did!

In fact, I made a little collage of some fun times that were had (above).

I'll start at the top and summarize. I enjoyed the fall colors, ate Thanksgiving foods, did the Turkey Trot 4 miler with my Mom, played high stakes (sarcasm) poker, cuddled kittens, made nachos..and a flourless chocolate cake, hung out with my awesome nephews, went fishing and caught a leaf, went to the dog park, made pasta, sewed a shirt for Baby the Cat.

Whew. that was the world's longest run on sentence ;)

Ok, so that was my leftover memories from this past week...now, onto leftover foods! Well, not all of them..but you get where I'm going with this, right?

source

Breakfast 1: Toast

Before getting back on schedule with 5 a.m. boot camp, I made my favorite pre-workout snack: peanut butter toast (Natural Jif on Sarah Lee's Delightful 45 calorie wheat bread).

Breakfast 2: Eggs, of course

Boy, am I predictable! Yes, I made an omelet for protein's sake ;) My omelet today was 1/2 cup of egg whites (had some leftover from making pasta), chopped up Thanksgiving turkey and cheddar cheese. On the side was the last of my wheat bagel thins with butter spread. For beverages, I had gingerbread coffee and POM juice. Super filling, indeed.

Morning Snack: Nuts & Berries

I actually thought it would be harder than it was to make myself eat this snack...mostly because this has been staring me in the face since yesterday (they were a holiday gift from a customer--clearly a saboteur of diets).

I noshed on some of these yesterday (actually Monday, but whatever), but stayed away from them today (yay, me!). I enjoyed my blueberries and almonds instead.

Lunch: Leftover Stuffed Shells & Veggies

I made a pretty rockin' pumpkin stuffed shell with sauteed mushrooms Monday night...recipe will be on Endless Simmer by Thursday. On the side, some leftover broccoli and green beans.

Dessert: Starburst

Since I'm obviously not immune to temptation, I had packed 3 Starburst candies in my pocket this morning. And, of course, they were consumed.

Dinner: Burger & Fries

This dinner sure did hit the spot. I made a lean sirloin burger topped with goat cheese, avocado and tomatoes. My bun was a 100 calorie English muffin. Sides were sweet potato fries and roasted veggies. Yum yum!

My brother came over after dinner and helped me set up Christmas decorations! It's beginning to look alot like Christmas up in here.
I also snuggled with this cutie.

Have a grrrrreeeaaaatt week!

Flourless chocolate cake recipe comin' at ya on Friday ;)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

WIAW: Potato Soup

source

Wow, I cannot believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It does not feel like it at all! So, I'll just go on with my normal What I Ate Wednesday post..

Breakfast 1: Toast

I had a piece of 45 calorie Sarah Lee bread with some natural peanut butter before heading out to boot camp this morning. Whew! It was tough. The workout, not the toast.

Breakfast 2: Eggs

For my second breakfast (as the hobbits call it), I had a veggie, egg white omelet and another piece of toast with butter spread. The omelet innards were leftover from this weekend when I made giant omelets..so no chopping required :) In the mix: egg whites, mushrooms, sweet peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes and chopped bacon. Yum yum! Also, coffee on the side.

Snack: Orange & Cheese

I have really been struggling with fruit lately. I just don't want it, for some reason. But, I forced myself to eat this orange today and it was quite delightful. Plus I had one of these delish cheese rounds from Babybel.

Lunch: Soup & Crackers

Some days I do NOT feel like packing lunch, so I had this stored in the cabinet at work for such a day. I was not crazy about this soup. It was way too sweet, in my opinion. I added salt to it, but still. I do like this line of Campbells, though. All the other ones that I've tried have been good.

Dinner: Soup...Again!

I had soup again for dinner tonight. It was really, really good. I made this potato soup recipe from AmyBites. Hop over there and make it. I added peppers and carrots to it, though it did not call for it. I just can't help myself.

Dessert: Froyo

Had to enjoy some of this tasty stuff for dessert.

Ok, well I hope everyone has a super fantastic Thanksgiving!!!!

See you later, gators.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Endless Simmer Recipes from Me!

Hey, y'al! If you read this blog regularly, you probably know that I've been blogging on the foodie site Endless Simmer for about 7 months.

I love coming up with creative recipes to post. Usually on my own blog, I post healthier recipes that I eat in my daily life...but on ES, I am all about the splurge-y recipes ;)

So, I thought I'd give you a round up of all the recipes I've posted to date. Scroll through and enjoy. If you want to see the recipes, click on the name below each picture.