Happy Friday!  I know you are going to have a hard time believing this but… Here is another healthy salad.  I am on a new lifestyle kick and loving it.  This week has marked one of my best eating weeks in my life.  I have been really concentrating on eating real foods and watching the types of snacks and foods I am eating throughout the day.  And guess what?  I have not had take out at all in the past 7 days!

For this salad I went a little on the wild side with some of the ingredients but the results were astounding.  I noticed that I had one sweet potato left in the fridge and I was craving it – but I was unsure how to incorporate it in the salad.

I had often slow roasted them in the oven in thin slices so I thought… hmmm that would be a great idea.  Then I was browsing around the blogosphere and noticed Carrots N’ Cake had a similar idea.  Hers looked great so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the results.

Ingredients

• Red leaf lettuce
• Sliced mango
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Cinnamon
• Olive oil
• Honey

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Slice sweet potatoes thinly and toss with olive oil and cinnamon and bake for 20 minutes.  Then turn sweet potatoes over and reduce heat to 200 degrees and continue baking until crispness is reached.
3. Assemble lettuce, cucumber, carrot and mango.
4. Top with sweet potato slices and drizzle with honey.
5. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Initially baking the sweet potatoes at 400 degrees to brown them and begin to crisp them up is a great technique but be really careful they do not burn.  By lowering the temperature to 200 it removes some moisture and allows them to crisp without burning.

I hope you really like the salad as I was tickled pink with the flavor as I devoured the whole bowl full.

Can you ever eat too much salad? This is what I sometimes wonder.  Next week I think I am going to venture into adding some beans into my salad.  I am trying to eat more greens on a daily basis and cut down on my bread in take.  If I ever told you how much bread I consume on a daily basis ( all be it whole grain) you may go into cardiac arrest.

Alright  – I better head out and get some work done.  Have an amazing Friday and if you like the salad drop me a note.  I am always open for suggestions.  I will be back Monday with some writings, tips, and recipes on juicing.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday and welcome to the closest day to the weekend you can get!  Whooo Hooo.  So as of late I have been trying to eat more salads in the middle of the day instead of sandwiches and other things for lunch.  Whether it is working on the waist line or not – we shall see!  Let’s just say I really do love salads but sometimes I get tired of the same ole dressings you see inside the fridge door so most of the time I just whip up my own.

It is nothing extravagant by any stretch just a simple vinaigrette.  Lately I have been obsessed with Balsamic Vinegar! I love it.  The tartness and the flavor in such a small amount is incredible.  Here is a simple salad I whipped up.

During the excitement of building the salad, I forgot to add the walnuts before snapping the pic…. my apologies

Ingredients

• Few handfuls of Leaf lettuce
• Grape Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Feta cheese
• Red peppers
• Cucumbers
• Toasted walnuts
• 1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1 Tsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tsp. Garlic ( crushed)
• 3/4 Cup Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Chop and toss all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Over a medium dry saute pan, slowly roast the walnuts until toasted.
3. In liquid measure or small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper.  I also like to use a mason jar to add it all in and throw the lid on and shake it up.
4. Dress the salad
5. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Dress your salads just before serving to avoid wilting of the greens and causing the salad to be soggy.  Also if you are adding nuts to the salad it is a nice idea to toast them before adding them to the salad for enhanced flavor.

So that is my salad!  No of course if you are interested in salads then the world is endless.  The varieties and possible ingredients go beyond what the mind can imagine.  If you want to participate in a Salad Challenge – go check this out.  RhodeyGirlTests is hosting a “I LOVE SALAD” Challenge.  I think I should check it out.

Question of the day: Favorite Dressing

What is your favorite dressing?  Does it depend on the greens, vegetables, or do you have a staple that you go to every time?

I am off for now but back again on Monday.  Zesty will be performing super dad duties all weekend as Mrs. Zesty is off for a girls weekend of running and shopping.  Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty

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Welcome to Mid Week Wednesday!  I have nothing exciting in my life to report except… work work work and some upcoming travel to the DC area.  So I thought I would get right to the point and chit chat about some homemade whole wheat chicken noodle soup that very well might loosen your socks.  I don’t want to come right out and say that it will knock your socks off but I am pretty sure they will be loosened.

A simple concept for sure – packed with flavor and missing all the sodium!  What a treat.  I can honestly say that the results were spectacular as I was only able to get one bowl of soup from the huge pot.   Let’s just say Mrs. Zesty and family enjoyed this one.

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb Whole chicken ( roasted and separated)
• 1 Tbsp Butter
• 2 Cups carrot ( chopped)
• 1 Cup Celery ( chopped)
• 1 Cup Onion ( chopped)
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. Ginger
• 1 Tsp. Dried Thyme ( optional )
• 2 Cloves garlic
• 4 Cups chicken stock ( I used Organic Chicken stock )
• 3 Cups water
• 1 Tbsp. Salt
• 2 Bay Leafs
• 1 500g Bag Egg noodles

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare the chicken to be roasted.  Clean the cavity, salt the inside, add a bay leaf to the cavity and splash a dollop of butter on top.





2. Roast until cooked through and browned nicely 9 about 20-25 mins/lb.  Remove from roaster and let cool





3. In a large saucepan preheated to medium heat, add the olive oil, onion, garlic and ginger







4. Let the onion cook down for a few minutes until becoming translucent



5. Toss in the carrots and celery and continue to cook for 7 minutes.





6. Pull all the chicken off the bird and chop into small pieces and set aside.



7. In the sauce pan, start adding your flavor – dried thyme and remaining bay leaf.
8. Toss in the chicken
9. Add the chicken stock and water and let simmer for 45 minutes.



10. Stirring occasionally and testing the seasoning adjust prior to adding the noodles
11. Drop in the noodles and stir to mix.



12. Let the noodles cook through another 10 minutes.



13. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I think the best thing about this dish is that is freezes well and will last the whole week for lunches and or suppers.  Drop it off to your friends or just eat it all yourself.  This is true comfort food that doesn’t take long to make and is super easy.

The Mandolin Slicer Winner

Let’s put our hands together and rise off the chairs for Georgeann from Hurst, TX. Also, the coupons have a few extra days before they expire so make sure you pick up your own mandolin for the kitchen.  Thanks for everyone who entered the contest.  I believe the turn out was successful.  Georgeann – your mandolin is on it’s way.  Make sure you tell me what you think.

I hope you enjoy the chicken noodle soup.  This was my first time using the whole wheat egg noodles.  I did enjoy them and would likely do it again.  In hindsight I would reduce the number of noodles next time for the amount of broth.

I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday!  It feels like I have been away for a long time which I guess is not that far from the truth.  Spinach and Mushroom Pasta was my last post since I had a special guest sit in on Friday with Sippity Sup.  This weekend was action packed and full of cooking.  A while back I used to cook on Sunday’s for the whole week including lunches ( for work ) and dinners in the evening.  I am not quite sure why I ever stopped doing that but I will chalk it up to being a bit too busy.

But I was talking to Mrs. Zesty earlier on the weekend and said” Let’s bring back cooking Sundays.  Sunday cooking was REBORN.  I will not get into great details as to what I prepared as you will see through the week and next but it was a ton of fun especially since Zesty Jr. was by my side for a couple of dishes.

This dish I want to share with you today is a simple dish combining a little Mexican and a small bit of India with the use of a few simple ingredients.

As I look back on my blogging career, I notice a pattern; everything I cook is super simple and quick.  I wonder if that means I am SIMPLE.  Anyway, let’s not go there.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Jasmine Rice
• 1 1/2 Cups Water
• 1 1/2 Cups Salsa ( I used store bought )
• 1 Tbsp. Cumin
• 1/2 lb. Extra Lean Ground Beef
• 1 Carrot ( chopped)
• 1 Cup Mushrooms ( chopped)
• 1 Celery stalk ( chopped)
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare rice according to directions and set aside once cooked.





2. In a large preheated sauce pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, celery and carrots; cook for about 7 minutes



3. Add mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes



4. Next, toss in the ground beef, cumin, salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink







5. Add salsa and let simmer 5 minutes





6. Stir in cooked rice and mix thoroughly.



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When using mushrooms with a meat dish, be sure to cook them prior to adding any meat as they will release a lot of water and will not allow the meat to brown.

This was a super fun weekend and I am looking forward to doing the Sunday cooking next week as well.  Holler at me if you have any suggestions/recommendations for the week’s dishes.  I am looking for dishes that reheat well and pack up in a resealable container well.  I would love to hear your ideas.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday to you!  I hope you had a great weekend.  My weekend was action packed with “the house”.  We started painting the ceilings this weekend and I had to clean the whole house  before paint starts on the walls (today).  We are still having window problems – we had some more rain along with a couple of new leaks – grrrrrrr.

We had a lot of help at the new build with sweeping, cleaning and vacuuming.  It was greatly appreciated.  A zesty in law spent the whole day on Sunday pushing the broom, scraping the seam filling mud off the floor and vacuuming.  You gotta love great help!  Needless to say I didn’t spend much in the kitchen but we did manage to eat.  I wanted to share with you a old time recipe that I am guessing everyone has tried.

Now this is a super dish for leftovers, a great casserole in the winter and even better a pretty healthy dish over all.  I know this has ground beef on the bottom but if you are a vegetarian you could simple substitute out the beef for scrambled tofu or just use other vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini or even squash.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1-2 cups vegetables – chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 – 2 lbs potatoes (3 large potatoes)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
2. While the potatoes are cooking, add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink.
3. Add the carrots and let them cook until warmed through.Add salt and pepper.
4. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5. Add corn or peas near the end of the cooking process before adding to the casserole dish.
6. Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, add the milk to give some extra flavor and season to taste.
7. Place beef and vegetable mixture in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely.
8. Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Zesty Tip: There are a couple of tips that I would recommend with this dish.  Utilizing a can of vegetable soup is a great idea if you don’t have beef stock on hand.  It gives a nice flavor and keeps it moist.  Another idea is to rub a little milk and butter on top of the potatoes to ensure they get nice and golden brown.

My final idea, which I have yet to try, is to attempt this recipe with a “SWEET POTATO” topping.  I can only assume this would be delicious.

Open Sky NEW PROMOTION – 10% OFF SALE

We’ve launched a 10% OFF SALE!  This sale applies to EVERYTHING in every OpenSky shop, from Yes You Can Grill’s Outdoor Chef City Grill to Cooking With Friends’ Jarden Ball Home Canning Kit to Veggie Gardening Tips’ Composting Accessory Kit.

Here are the details:

• Coupon Code: Cory1009
• Offer: 10% off
• Expiration: November 15, 2009

Giveaway Update

I am really impressed with the results of my latest giveaway from Friday and I am really grateful for all your nice comments.  They really are fun to read!  I was thinking of a crazy idea and I wanted to run it by you to see what you thought.  What do you think if I get 350 comments on the giveaway that I actually give TWO Design Makeovers.  Let me know your thoughts and then tell all your friends and see if we can reach that number.

Wow  – I think that was a long post.  I hope you have an awesome Monday.  If I can remember to take the camera to the house tomorrow – you will be getting a house update.

Take care

zesty

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Hey to you!  I was walking around the kitchen on Sunday afternoon wondering what to do with another big squash that was hand picked by “The Best Builders” around when I noticed some nutmeg sitting in the pantry.  A little light bulb went off and thought that it would be a great combination.  I then wandered over to the fridge as I knew that we had some “real” maple syrup.

That was enough to call it a dish.  Below is the scoop on how this goes together.  Pretty simple yet a perfect fall treat.  Here is a shot of my laptop as I was playing around with the settings on my camera.

Ingredients

• Carrots
• Squash
• Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Prepare and peel the carrots and squash.  Cut into chunks and place in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, nutmeg and maple syrup.
3. Throw in a roasting pan and let cook for 25 minutes.
4. Remove and toss in tomatoes.
5. Cook another 15 minutes.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When cooking grape tomatoes, I tend to put them in later in the cooking process so they do not completely break down and become mush.

That dish is pretty simple yet satisfying.  Very nice for this time of year for sure. 

I spent a little time at the house (with no power) tonight with my car headlights on cleaning out the utility room.  I think we are getting some heat in the house tomorrow!  The boiler is being installed. 

Question of the Day

How do you heat your house?  Let me know – I think it will be interesting as we go across the globe.

Have a great Tuesday.

Take care

zesty

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Did yesterday feel like Monday to anyone else?  I think for me because of the holiday I was in slow motion and dragging my heels the whole day.  But all in all I survived.  I was excited when I got home because my Mom had one of my favorite turkey left over meal – Turkey Pot Pie.  I love it!

As for the house progress, it is coming along quite well.  We had a couple of hiccups yesterday and it looks like the insulation will be one day behind which will impact the drywall.  We had the rough grading done and as you will see from the pictures below – I think it turned out well.  The guys got a start on the front porch after we finally made up our minds on which product to use.

On to the Food

Today’s recipe is part of the fabulous Thanksgiving Saturday at the inlaws.  I will call it Pan Fried Carrots in a Pear Balsamic reduction.  Is your mouth watering yet?  These little sticks of heaven were delicious!  It really is easy to take a plain old carrot and turn it into something so eye catching and delicious.  I was sure to take lots of pictures as the colors were really nice.

As far as the prep goes, it is a little time consuming with the slicing unless you have a trusty Mandoline but outside of that a really straight forward recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Carrots ( Sliced lengthwise – see picture)
• 1 Fresh Pear ( Diced)
• 2 Tbsp. Butter
• 1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 Chicken Stock
• 1/4 Cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Slice carrots according to the picture below.  Soak in cold water until ready to go.



2. Warm Saute pan over medium heat and add butter.  Once beginning to melt, add carrots and let brown. ( about 10 minutes)



3. Once brown add the chicken stock, and let reduce to half.



4. Add balsamic, diced pear, salt and pepper and let reduce again.
5. Once cooked until desired doneness, add chopped parsley and serve





6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Ever have too many carrots – blanch them in boiling water and then freeze them.

House Update

Below are the latest shots of the house. Someday I am going to be giving you a final tour of the house …. maybe  some zesty videos from the new kitchen.

Have a great day and be sure to let me know if you have any questions about the recipe, blogging in general or the house.

Take care

zesty

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Last weekend I was playing around in the kitchen and created something unique with some root vegetables and fresh grape tomatoes.

Ever get tired of tasting the same old vegetables with your dinner? I do sometimes so I wanted to kick it up a notch with a funky glaze for some plain ole vegetables. The title pretty much sums it up but I did add a few more ingredients than just apple and molasses.

Have you guys noticed how few ingredients I have been using as of late? I have not even been trying to keep it to a minimum  – I guess I am just lazy!

Below is the low-down on the recipe that hopefully you will try. I realized as I was shooting this that a green vegetable would have been a nice addition. I will mention that in the zesty tip down below.

Ingredients

• Carrots
• Squash
• Grape Tomatoes
• Turnip
• 1/4 Cup Molasses
• 1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Apple Juice
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
2. Prepare all vegetables ( clean, peel and chop )



3. Combine soy sauce, molasses and brown sugar into a bowl and mix well.



4. Add apple juice and black pepper and pour over vegetables



5. Cover and bake until fork tender – About 45 minutes.
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Roasting Vegetables intensify the natural flavors.  Different from boiling, roasting actually will enhance the flavors you choose to match with the vegetables. Try to combine root vegetables with this dish as opposed to leafy vegetables due to the cooking time.  Green vegetables would work well in this dish as well.

I hope you have a great day and stay tuned for another house update in the near future as well as a super fun product review.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Wednesday!  Phew… what a day!  We will get on that in a minute.  I have been working on house decisions what feels like all day yesterday as the builders had made some great progress and had lots of questions as the floor system got underway today.  House Update Below!!!!

On to the carrots!  These babies were amazing.  As part of the huge barbecue feast from yesterday we had some fresh garden carrots that were just aching to be kicked up with some Canadian Maple Syrup.  Now not that this carrot recipe is low in fat… but I really enjoyed them.

Here are the simple step by step instructions on how to spin these carrots for your next dinner.

Ingredients

• Carrots
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Tsp. Fresh Thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Wash carrots and cut ends off.



2. Cut into pieces and place in pot and cover with water.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender.
4. Drain water, turn off heat and place pot back on the burner.



5. Season immediately while hot, add butter, thyme and maple syrup.





6. Stir and serve.
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: I like to slightly under cook vegetables as I find they taste better than when they are mushy.  So I like to keep a close eye and try to cut them similar in size so they cook evenly.

House Update

So there you have it! Some kicked up carrots and a zesty house update. Have yourself a great Wednesday and I will see you all tomorrow for a very “Beantown” menu choice.

Take care

zesty

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WOW I am exhausted!  I just got back from checking out the house progress for today.  Garage footings are in place and things are taking shape.

I didn’t really have  much time to prepare dinner as I was invited to an off site meeting for work and homemade burgers were provided.  As I was checking my cooking bank – aka (all my cooked meals I have not posted yet) and I came across what I remember as a 5 ingredient chicken dish that will tantalize your taste buds.

This is definitely one you have to try.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts
• Carrots
• 1/3 Cup Molasses
• Black Pepper
• Onion Soup Mix ( low sodium)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add chicken and carrots ( cut in quarters) and place in roasting pan.
3. Add remaining ingredients, cover and roast for about 35-40 minutes.
4. ENJOY!

Zesty tip: Try not to overcook chicken, use the clear running juice technique to ensure the chicken is cooked but not dried and out and rubber-like.

Around the Blogsphere

Vote for Danica’s Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet Over Fresh Fruit! (vote here)

This is really a simple and fun recipe to try and you are stuck for time and want to try a different flavor combination.  I hope you have a great day

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