Getting back on track

Well it's been quiet over here, hasn't it? Moving to Belgium has certainly exposed us to a wide variety of foods that were not always readily available when we lived in the US…or maybe they just weren't available on every street corner:) I suppose I should take my camera with me when we go out to eat in addition to coming up with good menus that are worth posting.
Stay tuned, I haven't forgotten this blog.

Coming soon

Can you tell I like the mobile blog posting capability?

Test

Sent from my iPhone

Colcannon

I have not yet made this, but while looking for new inspirations on one of my favorite sites for recipes, I came across this one. On our recent anniversary, my husband and I went out to a great new restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, VA called Virtue Feed & Grain. There my husband had a wonderful Rockfish served on colcannon and it was delicious. Look for pictures soon!

Catching up

So, I have been a lazy girl. There is no way around this:)

I have several meals that I made and took pictures off, but just have not taken the time to upload them. and then I totally stopped taking pictures all together. But I have grand plans for the future especially because we have been coming up with some yummy, healthy meals here lately, so stay tuned.

As far as the old meals…. Well, I plan on posting some mini-posts and back-dating them tot when I actually cooked it all, starting with Thanksgiving dinner (Yes, really!). So, don't leave:)

Lemon Rosemary Salmon

To keep in my recent tradition of not taking any pictures I have only this one to share. The fish was so yummy and delicious that I apparently couldn't wait to devour it. I'll come back to that one another day…. I promise:)

Easter dinner - Braised Lamb Shanks with Swiss Chard

The husband and I decided to try lamb for a change for Easter. I'm not a big fan of the baked ham to begin with and the fact that ham is so high in Sodium really helped us to reach this decision. So we set out to find a good recipe and found this one. I didn't take many pictures along the way so forgive me for showing you just the results.

 The lamb, just out of the oven

Bulgur is done. 

Baked Tilapia and Quinoa Pilaf

So, as part of eating healthier (especially heart-healthier) we switched to pretty much whole grain only. This involves to explore other starchy sides and so I decided to finally try quinoa. Again simplyrecipes.com was right there to help with this delicious recipe. The Tilapia is actually really easy to prepare. I line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprayed some Olive oil on it; Next I poured about 1/3 cup of lemon juice over it, sprayed a little bit more oil on the fish and sprinkled some fresh thyme all over. Finish it all with a little pepper to taste (no salt!) and off to the pre-heated oven (350°F) for about 15-20 minutes….just watch it. You can also turn on the broiler the last few minutes, but it's up to you.

Grilled Chicken on a bed of Baby Spinach with Mushroom Barley

So, because I didn't take pictures while I was preparing the meal, I posted three of my plate to compensate. Eventually I'll do because each one of those dishes are now a staple on our menu.

The chicken is really the best I have had. I omit the salt and it still tastes yummy. The spinach is just sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic. The barley recipe is so delicious. It s the first barley recipe I tried and so far I haven't made another one. You have to start this one first since the barely takes a while to cook, but it's well worth it.

Again, I will take and post step-by-step pictures and then will link back this post.

Morning Glory Muffins

So, after we started to eat heart healthy (thanks to the hubby's elevated cholesterol), I tried to find some healthier breakfast options as well. Let's face it, oatmeal every day gets kind of boring. So, I stumbled across these muffins and gave it a try.

Overall, I must say they taste good, although my husband liked them more than I did. Next time, I shouldn't make more than half since our son can't eat them because of the yogurt, but I will make them again.

Osso Buco with Creamy Polenta

So, I finally went ahead and made Osso Buco. Simplyrecipes.com was, as usual, a great resource for both the recipe for Osso Buco, as well as the Polenta.

Hmmmm, pancetta!

Brown the veal shanks

And then comes the rest

Everything back together plus the stock and off to the oven!

Yumm!

Served with Chianti, of course.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

It was that time of the year again, so I pulled out my one and only crockpot recipe book and went to town.

Tender and juicy.

You can never have to many "after" pictures…..

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine

I tried this meat-free dish out of The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. The ingredient list is a little intimidating, but really not that much and its a very nice and hearty dish for cold days.

Any good dish starts with sauteing onions….

Root vegeatbles include carrots, turnips and potatoes.

Safran!