Southern Grace Gourmet

Written on February 8, 2010 at 10:37 pm, by Angie

Tilapia over Spinach, Artichoke Hearts and Chickpeas

This is one of my first very healthy meals of the year. I was cooking like this a bit more in the past, but for some reason, I have slipped back into my old habits again. This dish is one of those cleaning out the freezer dishes. As I cleaned out the bottom basket of my freezer, I found a white box without a label. My son must have gotten a hold of the box a while back and ripped off the label. To my surprise, I found artichoke hearts in the box. Then a bag of spinach in the freezer door, and tilapia fillets all wrapped separately scattered around on the bottom of the basket. I added a few fresh ingredients, the tomatoes and carrots. Then I added some healthy chickpeas. I always make sure I have canned chickpeas or beans in my cupboard. The end result was a very delicious and nutritious meal.

Ingredients

• 1-2 fillets of Tilapia per person
• The juice of 1 lemon
• Steak or Grill Seasoning, I used one with mustard seed and sea salt
• 1 small package frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
• 1 lb frozen package spinach, defrosted
• 1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add Tilapia to a baking dish. Squeeze lemon juice over fish. Sprinkle with grill seasoning.
2. Add all vegetables to a separate baking dish. Mix together.
3. Bake fish and vegetables at 450 degrees until fish is flaky, and vegetables are heated through.

Written on February 7, 2010 at 11:11 am, by Angie

Taco Pizza with Refried Black Beans

Are you still on the fence about what to prepare for today’s big game? This taco pizza is an easy pizza that is perfect for game day. I first fell in love with taco pizza when I use to work at Pizza Hut. It was the only one of their pizzas I would eat when I worked there. This pizza is just as good on a thin and crispy crust, as it is on a traditional crust. This time I made the pizza on a traditional crust. It is more filling with the thicker crust and great for parties. For my pizza, I used my leftover black bean soup, which consisted of about 2 cups of beans and not much soup. I reheated the beans, while mashing them with a potato masher. I heated them until they had thickened the consistency of refried beans. You can also just use a can of black beans, and mash them up, or just use refried beans. I then pre-baked my pizza dough and topped the dough with the refried beans. Then I topped that with seasoned ground turkey and shredded cheese. After this bakes, cut the pizza before adding the cold toppings. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Taco Pizza with Refried Black Beans

Ingredients

• 1 pizza dough
• 1 can black beans, or re-fried beans, or left over black bean soup.
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• kosher salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced finely

Toppings

• shredded lettuce
• tomatoes, chopped
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• Mexican blend cheese, shredded
• Salsa
• Sour cream

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using black beans, reheat and mash them until they are thick. Preheat a large skillet. Drizzle skillet with olive oil. Add ground beef or turkey to skillet. Add kosher salt, pepper, dried cilantro and oregano, cumin, onion, and garlic. Brown meat.
2. Prepare shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and cilantro.
3. Pre-bake pizza dough. Remove from oven and top with refried beans, ground beef, and shredded cheese. Bake pizza in 450 degree oven until done.
4. Remove pizza and cut in slices. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and more shredded cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Written on February 3, 2010 at 10:10 am, by Angie

Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms

Fried rice is my favorite Chinese takeout food. Its very delicious, but can be full of unwanted fat and calories from your local Chinese restaurant. Making this popular takeout dish at home can ensure the quality of ingredients and save you on some unwanted fat grams. I love to make this dish as our supper. It is full of vegetables, and since it uses eggs as the meat, is very economical. You can make it even more economical by using simple button mushrooms. Simply use your leftover white rice, or make some fresh rice for this dish. I usually never have leftover white rice, so I always make the white rice the same day. After I cook the rice, I spread it on a cookie sheet, so that it cools very quickly and dries a little. Leftover white rice is always a little dry, so I wanted to try and mimic that effect. To make this dish extra special, add some peeled, deveined, cooked shrimp at the end for tasty shrimp fried rice. For the popular pork fried rice, add diced ham before the vegetables, and cook the ham along with everything else so that the ham flavor is incorporated into the whole dish.

Fried Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 2 stalks celery with leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 lb fresh snow peas
• 3 stalks green onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups cooked rice

Method

1. Preheat large skillet or wok. Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce to the beaten eggs. Add one teaspoon sesame oil to the preheated wok, and scramble eggs until set. Remove from wok and set aside.
2. Add the tablespoon each of sesame oil and olive oil to wok. Add onions, green and red peppers, snow peas, and celery to wok. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
3. Add cooked rice and carrots. Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Add more olive oil if necessary. Cook the rice for about 5 minutes, until heated through.
4. Add cooked eggs and green onions, and cook for 1 minute more before serving.

Written on February 1, 2010 at 10:48 am, by Angie

Crock Pot Cuban Black Bean Soup

This is simple crock pot recipe for black bean soup. I first had black bean soup while living here in central Florida. Florida has a large Cuban population, and their traditions have influenced many Floridian cooks. Growing up in the panhandle of Florida, I was never exposed to Cuban or any other Hispanic food. My only experience with Hispanic foods as a kid were tacos, the most Americanized form of any Hispanic food. Every little Cuban restaurant has their own way of making this classic soup. Some are better than others, of course. I have talked to lots of people about their black bean soup recipes, in which I picked out my favorite parts, and came up with this recipe. Serve with sweet or green fried plantains.

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Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried black beans, rinsed
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 2 quarts water
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1 smoke bone
• 2 tablespoons vinegar

Method

1. Soak beans overnight in water. Add beans and their water to crock pot. Turn crock pot to high. Add all other ingredients to crock pot. Let beans cook on high for 2 hours, then turn to low and cook for 4-6 hours, or until beans are tender.
2. Garnish soup with freshly chopped onion, freshly chopped cilantro, and guacamole or sour cream.

Written on January 29, 2010 at 4:04 pm, by Angie

I Am NOT That Mommy

The other day I went on my usual grocery run, this trip was to our local Publix. Publix is a nice grocery store that has nearly everything you want, but can be a little pricey.  I usually make a trip to Sam’s to get what I can, then the farmer’s market, then Aldi’s, and then go by Publix to get the last of what I need. At Publix, they also claim to carry out your groceries. However, if your a man, or with a man, they won’t offer to take your groceries out. If the bagger is female or the bagger is lazy or shy you also are probably not getting your groceries taken out to your car unless you insist on it.  On this shopping day, I happened to get a bagger who wasn’t a complete antisocial invert, and actually got my groceries carried to my car for once without having to ask. He was actually a very witty person that I chatted with out to my car. I pointed him in the direction of my car and we continued to chat. There was a big blue minivan parked in front of my car and he went right for it. Oh, the horror! I said no, no, no, not that one, who do I look like, really? I pointed him in the direction of my little black 2 door coupe. We talked a bit more as he loaded my groceries into my car and I placed my son in his car seat. Where is it written that if you have one child you must give up a perfectly good car that seats 4 comfortably for a minivan that seats 7 or more.  I try to live life in a frugal way, yet enjoy what is important to me. By trying to live this way I do things which are not always considered mainstream, such as transporting a 30 lb toddler in a little car over an enormous minivan.

So I just wanted to clear up any preconceived notions about stereotypical stay at home mommies and let you know who I am, who I am not, and who I would like to be.

Let me first tell you that,

I am NOT that mommy,

• who is part of any mommy click
• who never wears make-up
• who wears the same clothes all day she slept in
• who doesn’t brush her hair
• who wears clothes 2 sizes too big
• who doesn’t bathe everyday
• who is too weak to move the furniture to clean under it
• who wears over-sized flannel pajamas
• who has a hissy when my kid eats a goldfish cracker, or god forbid, off the floor
• who drives a minivan
• who has never colored her hair
• who submits to her child’s every whim
• and who’s idea of a home cooked meal is a Stouffer’s lasagna

I AM the mommy

• who is sometimes manipulated by her child’s cuteness
• who loves to speak with women of experience about their children
• who loves to eat good food
• who loves to speak about her kid, but also has other interests
• who isn’t defined as homemaker, but rather by my former profession that I will one day return to
• who prefers lingerie to sleep in
• who wears a bikini, even while pregnant
• who takes my kid on vacation and everywhere else I go
• who uses cloth diapers
• who swears by attachment parenting
• who believes child rearing doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive
• who was able to have a non hospital natural birth
• who enjoys a good red wine as often as possible, but doesn’t snub some white zin and sprite over ice
• who usually makes homemade, from scratch meals, but doesn’t swear off  junk food
• who wonders why people think its odd that my son eats vegetables
• who changes the color of her hair with the season
• and who knows a little about alot, yet realizes her there is so much more to learn, and so much more I will never learn or understand

I WISH I were that mommy

• who had time to clean the whole house everyday
• who gave myself a manicure and pedicure every week
• who baked bread regularly, instead of buying it
• who had a place to plant a garden
• who made time to crochet, knit, and sew
• who took more time to read
• who had a room with a view
• who didn’t worry about the things she can’t change
• who accepted people the way they are without trying to change them
• who didn’t get easily angered
• who didn’t hold grudges
• and who didn’t judge people

I wish I were that mommy who was, well, perfect, like this fantasy woman I am describing, but that’s not going to happen. I’ll just continue to try the best I can everyday, learn acceptance, and practice moderation in all aspects of my life.

If you liked this post, tell me who you are, who you aren’t, and who you want to be on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, just post in the comment section. You could do mommy like I have done here or daddy, wife, girlfriend, sister, brother, grandparent, or even your profession. If you do this post, leave a link in the comment section here to your blog, so that I can link to you here in my post.