Lean Cuisine Linguini Carbonara

I love pasta.  Tonight, we're even having pasta for dinner!  Omnomnom...
Anyway, I know that in their regular, not super healthy varieties, Stouffers makes some good pastas.
I have to say, this Lean Cuisine followed in that tradition.
The noodles were very good, the bacon was yummy, the veggies were crisp, and the sauce was creamy.
At 8g of fat and 300 calories, it was a little less lean than their other cuisines, but it stills falls into the good for you category and it tastes good to boot!
I might purchase this variety again.








Taste: 3.5
Appearance: 3.5
Good-for-you-factor: 2.5
Fullness-factor: 2.0
Overall: 3.0

Homemade Mini Pop Tarts

adapted from Crepes of Wrath


At our household, we love pop tarts.  They may be horrible for you, but they're oh so tasty!
So.  I found a recipe that seemed simple enough.  And tried making my own.  And then I discovered that I sucked at measuring, so they became mini-bite sized strawberry-turnover type desserts.  Still delicious, however.


Let's meet the ingredients:


For the filling:

Strawberries, a few days old, that have been soaking in their own juices + a little Splenda

For the filling, basically I just took about 4 tablespoons worth of strawberries and pureed them in my food processor.

Yum.

For the crust:

Flour, salt, shortening, butter, water (not pictured)

Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add in the cubed butter and shortening.

Mix everything together by hand (clean!) until the dough is crumbly.

Add in the water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball.

Separate dough into two balls.

Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about .125 inch thickness.

Cut into strips appropriately large for pop tarts.  Note that mine were unintentionally miniature.

Place strips on a lined, greased cookie sheet.  Place a small amount of filling on top on one side.

Fold the pastry over and crimp edges with a fork.

Note that mine is over-filled.

Repeat with each strip.

Note that almost all of mine are overfilled.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 375.

Remove from oven an allow to cool.

For the frosting:

Powdered sugar, milk, and sprinkles

Mix sugar and milk until it's a syrupy consistency.

Spoon onto pastries.  (Be sure to let them cool first!  I didn't and it kind of failboated!)

Sprinkle sprinkles on top of the pop tarts.

Allow them to cool fully and enjoy!

Recipe:

Crust:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

.5 teaspoon salt

.25 cup shortening, cubed

.25 cup buttered, softened and cubed

cold water

Filling:

2-2 tablespoons pureed strawberries (or other fruit)

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk

sprinkles

1)  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl, then add in the cubed butter and shortening.  Mix everything together with clean hands until the dough is crumbly.  Add in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture forms a ball. My dough took about 6 tablespoons.  If it gets too wet, add more flour.

2)  Separate the dough into two balls.  Roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a square, to about .125 inch thickness.  Cut out long strips about 3 inches wide by 5 inches long (mine were much smaller).

3)  Take one pie crust edge and place about a teaspoon of filling on top.  Fold the top part of the dough over onto the bottom part and use a fork to crimp the edges.  Repeat with all dough.  Place the pastries on a lined and greased baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.

4)  Remove the pastries from the oven.  Allow them to cool.  When they've cooled, place the powdered sugar in a bowl.  Add the milk about .5 tablespoon at a time until the icing is a syrupy consistency.  Spoon it onto the pop tarts, then top with sprinkles.  Nom!

Strength modifier:

These are intended as a snack, so they did their job.

Intelligence modifier:

This was my first time making my own pastry dough, so it was a bit of a trial-and-error challenge.

Wisdom modifier:

We had everything on hand, so this would be super easy to make up just about any day.

Charisma modifier:

Yum yum yum!  We gobbled them up!

Constitution modifier:

Much healthier than their boxed, counterparts, and, like all things, perfectly fine in moderation.

Overall score:

Would definitely make these again!

Lean Cuisine Ginger Garlic Stir Fry with Chicken

The rundown:
4g fat, 280 calories.
Now.  I don't think I've ever mentioned it before...but I hate ginger.  It makes me gag, I can't stomach it at all.  But, for the purpose of this blog, I bought this dinner and went ahead and tried it, just to get it out of the way.
And it was awful.
I nibbled the chicken out of it, but that was it.  The veggies, while they looked good, were drier than usual.  The noodles were grainy, and usually I'm a huge fan of whole wheat pasta.  The sauce was in short supply, but was far too gingery for my tastes.  Once again, I have to give an incomplete review because I couldn't stand to finish the dish.  My apologies!

Taste: 0.5
Appearance: 3.5
Good-for-you-factor: 3.0
Fullness-factor: N/A
Overall: 2.5

Cheesy Lamb Cups! And official new bloginess!

So, after much thinking and planning, I am today ready to introduce the new recipe ranking system!  
We're going to pretend that each recipe is a D&D character, with specific modifiers:

Strength modifier = how filling the dish is

Intelligence modifier = how hard it is to make (the easier it is to make, the higher the score will be)

Wisdom modifier = how likely it is that you will have all the necessary ingredients on hand  (again, the higher the score, the more likely it is that you’ll have everything)

Charisma modifier = how good it tastes!

Constitution modifier = how good for you it is

All of these catagories will be on a 1-4 scale.  They will then be added together to create a final score out of 20.

So, to inaugurate my new system...I present:  Cheesy Lamb Cups!

First, let's meet the ingredients!

For the lamb cups:

Onion soup mix, bread crumbs, evaporated milk, ground lamb, cheddar cheese

In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, bread crumbs, and evaporated milk.

Crumble lamb over mixture and mix well.

Press half the mixture into 6 greased muffin cups, filling each half full.

Press one cube of cheddar cheese into each cup.

Cover with remaining lamb mixture.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the sauce:

Cheddar cheese soup, Worcestershire sauce, and milk

Mix all three ingredients in a small saucepan.  Heat.

Serve over lamb cups.

Recipe:

.5 envelope onion soup mix

.3 cup dry bread crumbs

.5 cup evaporated milk

1 pound ground lamb

2 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into 6 cubes

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

.5 cup milk

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1)  In a small bowl, combine first three ingredients.  Crumble lamb over mixture and mix well.

2)  Press half of mixture into 6 greased muffin cups, filling each half full.  Press one cube of cheese into the center of each cup.  Cover with remaining lamb mixture; mound slightly.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

3)  For sauce, combine soup, milk, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan.  Heat through; stir until smooth.  Serve over lamb cups.

Strength Modifier:  

 

We were still a tad bit hungry after this meal, even though we each had 3 lamb cups!

Intelligence modifier:

This was ridiculously easy to put together.

Wisdom modifier:

We had pretty much everything on hand - except the lamb.  But now even Walmart sells lamb, so it definitely falls into the doable category.

Charisma modifier:

It was a little bland.  If I make it in the future, there will definitely be more spices mixed in with the lamb.

Constitution modifier:

It was pretty greasy, and full of cheese.

Overall score:

It wasn't horrible, but it's probably not something we'll make again.  Regular meatloaf probably would have been more satisfying and probably healthier as well.

Be sure to check in later!  Homemade pop tarts are next in line to be made!
And a HUGE thanks to Mr. Chris Mcnair for the inspiration for the theme of this blog!  There are a few more little things I'm going to add, but they will probably come at a later time!

Korean Rice Bowls

My husband and I love Oriental foods.  He spent time in Korea while he was in the Air Force and says he got to experience some amazing foods.  So, I decided to try my hand at a recipe I found for some Korean Rice Bowls with Steak, Asparagus, and Eggs.  I modified it a little bit for what I had on hand, but they were quite tasty.
First, let's meet our ingredients:

Sesame seeds, sea salt, chili powder, strip steak, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, sugar, cooking Sherry, garlic, asparagus, vegetable oil, eggs, rice, and kochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

Toast sesame seeds over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

After the seeds have cooled, grind them, the sea salt, and chile powder until about half of the sesame seeds are finely ground.

Cut steak into thin slices.

Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, sugar, sherry, and garlic in a bowl.

Toss steak in the mixture.  Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet lined with foil.  Toss with vegetable oil and sesame oil.  Sprinkle the sesame salt over it all.

Broil for about 4 minutes.

Heat griddle to about 325 degrees; spray with cooking oil.

In batches, grill steak until just browned, about 1 minute on each side.

Once steak is cooked, crack eggs onto hot griddle.

Cook until whites are set but yolks are still runny.  (I overdid these a little because my husband and I can't stand raw eggs!)

Divide rice among bowls.  Divide asparagus among bowls.  Divide steak among bowls.  Top with fried egg.  Serve with pepper paste.

Recipe:

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

.75 teaspoon sea salt

.5 teaspoon chili powder

1.5 pounds New York strip steak

.25 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cooking Sherry

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can asparagus spears

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

3 eggs

3 cups fresh cooked Jasmine rice

Korean hot pepper paste (kochujang)

1)  Toast sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes.  Transfer to small bowl to cool.  Grind sesame seeds, sea salt, and chili powder in mortar with pestle or in spice mill until half of the sesame seeds are finely ground.  Return to small bowl.  (This can be done up to a day ahead.)

2)  Cut steak in approximately .125-inch-thick slices.  Whisk soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, green onions, sugar, Sherry, and garlic in medium bowl.  Toss steak in mixture.  Marinate at room temperature 30 minutes, tossing occasionally.

3)  Preheat oven on low broiler setting.  Drain asparagus and arrange stalks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Toss asparagus with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil.  Sprinkle with the sesame salt.  Broil for 4 minutes.  Keep warm.

4)  Spray griddle with vegetable oil.  Working in batches, grill steak until just browned, about 1 minute per side.  Transfer to bowl; keep warm.  Spray griddle with vegetable oil.  Crack eggs onto hot griddle.  Cook until whites are set but yolks are runny, about 3 minutes.

5)  Divide warm rice among bowls.  Divide asparagus, then beef among bowls, placing on top of rice.  Top with fried egg.  Serve with Korean hot pepper paste.

This was pretty much the epitome of awesome.  Our apartment smelled like a quaint little take-out place.  The asparagus had a lovely flavor from the sesame salt, the beef was sweet and tender, the eggs had a nice kick from the flavors left on the griddle, the pepper paste was super spicy.  It was just wonderful.  It didn't really take that long to put together, either.  We'd definitely make it again!

Taste: 4.5
Difficulty: 3.5
Good-for-you-factor: 3.5
Fullness-factor: 4.5
Overall: 4.0