Roasted Vegetables

Last weekend I went to a really great Argentinian restaurant. Strangely enough, one of the highlights of my meal was the roasted vegetables I took from my boyfriend’s plate. Ever since, I’ve had roasted veggies on the brain. So after a good workout at the gym, I jumped into the kitchen.

Roasted Vegetables
Inspired by The Wednesday Chef

Ingredients

1/2 tomato, peeled and chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
4 baby gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small crown of broccoli, chopped
1 Japanese eggplant, peeled and chopped
6 white mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper
Olive oil

Directions

1. Place veggies, seasonings, and a few drizzles of olive oil in a casserole dish. Roast at 375 degrees F for approximately 45 minutes. Mix every 15 minutes.

Meatless Monday – Simply Salad

I never ate a lot of salad when I was growing up. If it wasn’t smothered in ranch dressing, you might as well forget about it! Glad I grew up and got over that.

This salad that I put together tonight is not exactly a novel idea, but it was the perfect thing to make for Meatless Monday, along side some börek leftover from my Turkish feast.

Kerry Kitchen Salad

Chopped lettuce
Carrot sticks
Finely chopped onion
Flax seed
Goat/feta cheese

For tonight’s dressing, I mixed olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl.

When I’m not in the mood for balsalmic, I use apple cider vinegar and fresh squeezed lemon juice instead. It’s sour, but in a way that I like.

Obviously, I could use some help coming up with more dinner ideas for Meatless Monday. Got any ideas, fellow bloggers?

Meatless Monday – Stir-fry

It’s not just Meatless Monday. It’s also Blue Monday. The holidays are officially over and it’s back to the grind. It was a bit of a rough day, but now that I’m home and I’ve had a good meal, everything feels pretty peaceful. It’s just another day.

In keeping with my new year’s resolutions, I made a Meatless Monday dinner: vegetable stir-fry and chow mein.

Carrots, onions, garlic, mushrooms, lettuce, broccoli, red and green bell peppers, bean sprouts, cabbage, and snap peas. Now that’s an assortment of veggies.

I sauteed them in 2 1/2 tbsp of canola oil for about 5 minutes at medium high heat. Then I mixed in General Tso stir-fry sauce and continued to heat for another 3 minutes.

As the vegetables cooked, I boiled water for the chow mein noodles.

And just like that everything was cooked! I filled two deep bowls with the chow mein and then topped each with the vegetables. It was the perfect amount of food for 2. And the sauce was delicious! A little spicy but just barely. 🙂

New Year’s Resolutions for the Kitchen

Eat Less Sugar

The holidays have made it easy to fall off the healthy train. Time to get back on track.

Make a Grocery Budget

In an effort to save some cash, I’m going to try sticking to a monthly grocery budget. As part of this goal, I am going to look for coupons, coupon apps, and other frugal tips.

Plan Week Night Meals

When I get home from work, I don’t need to worry about what I’m going to make and whether we have all the necessary ingredients. I’m going to be more prepared this year.

Less fries

When I do go out to eat, I want to start avoiding fries. Really, I need to avoid all fried foods. They’re delicious. But I can do with less.

Try new recipes

I’ve owned a few cookbooks for years and have barely cracked them open! It’s  time to change that. I’m also looking forward to new finds on Pinterest and of course from fellow bloggers.

More fish

Fish is a much leaner, healthier option for meat and I want to try to go for this option more often.

Meatless Mondays

I want to cut down the amount of meat I’m eating. Especially red meat. So in order to reach this goal, I will institute Meatless Mondays in my kitchen…maybe Meatless Wednesday too.

Throw Away Kitchen Junk

I have a lot of kitchen supplies from freshman year of college. Everything is rusted, broken, and unmatching– not classy. So this year, I resolve to give away or throw away crap and replace them when the budget allows.

Perfect Cupcake Decorating

What I mean to say is…I want to keep practicing, keep learning. My cupcake decorating skills are miles away from what they once were but I want to get even better in 2014.

Eat At Least 1 Serving of Veggies Per Meal

I pretty much do this anyway, but I want to be more strict about this when I eat out. I want to make sure I am getting enough vegetables in my diet.

Eat breakfast more often

I am not a morning person. I make it to work on time, but I usually don’t leave enough time for breakfast. I’m going to make homemade granola bars on the weekends and prepare sandwich bags with instant oatmeal to keep at my desk.

Replace candy with fruits

I do love my chocolate bars but it’s time to cut back a bit. Less processed sugar and more natural, healthy sugar.

No Soda

As a rule of thumb, I don’t drink soda. I don’t like drinking my sugar. But I do have a soda every once in a while. I think I want to cut that down to I almost never drink soda.

Organize cabinets

Over 2013, I’ve accumulated a bunch of new decorating supplies. I think it’s time that I get organized. Note to self: research organizing ideas.

What are your kitchen resolutions for 2014?

Green Lentils for Lunch

Weekends can sometimes lead to unexpected spending, leaving less money in your pocket for eating out. This was one of those weekends.

I have the perfect secret weapon for a cheap, filling meal, that’s packed with real nutritional value. One small bag will set you back about a $1.60. Green lentils.

I boil them 3/4 of the way, drain the water, and then add filtered water, sauteed onions and a scoop of tomato paste. Once the water is mostly evaporated and the lentils are soft, it’s done. Add salt and pepper. Serve with bread and Greek yogurt.