Please excuse the momentary diversion

I will have some low carb goodies soon. I am super busy working on the next Diner News...and working on our "school." I mention it often. It is a huge part of my life now. In launching, we are struggling like most new businesses. We have several students who would like to attend, but the families just cannot find tuition money. We would love to help with scholarships, but until our enrollment increases, every dollar matters. We are raising money with an Indiegogo campaign. You see, we are not a traditional school. We are for kids who don't fit in with most schools. My son was one of those. This past summer, he introduced himself as "broken" in one of our meetings. I cried. With his severe dyslexia, he would have been considered broken. With our academic intervention, he went on to earn a 4.0 in college the last year and a half. He is just one of our amazing stories. His happy ending never would have happened if he had remained in a classroom, struggling to keep up with the other 25 kids.

 I know there are many kind, wonderful human beings out there who follow my blog and buy my books. Much of the money from my cookbook sales are going to fund this educational program, so this is your project too. Included with it is a great little video that gives insight into what we are about. Take a look at the campaign just to see the video. Then you will know what I am doing all day (I do still do some cooking at our eLemenT house, but my time is definitely an issue) If you are so inclined, leave a gift toward our scholarship fund. If you think we have a worthwhile endeavor here, please share it with your friends. I promise the next post will have a recipe! Until then, please check this out.

Heart of Italy Skillet Stew

I am developing some new stew and soup recipes for the Diner News in October. This one is especially delish. It features artichoke hearts in a chunky Italian stew.  I took some, packed in a canning jar, to school today. Not so elegant eaten out of a jar, but the taste was a way beyond the standard PBJ!

This will be featured in the News, but if you don't want to wait, you can make it sooner. You can make it in a Dutch oven of course, but if you are in a hurry, it can be made in a skillet just as easily.

 Heart of Italy Skillet Stew

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, diced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 can Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Fennel and Red Pepper (or regular diced tomatoes)

1 can medium artichoke hearts, cut in half

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Brown ground beef with onion. Drain fat. To the skillet, add the zucchini slices. Let them cook for about 5 minutes. Cut the artichoke hearts into halves or fourths. Add the diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts and seasonings to the skillet. Let simmer for ten minutes or longer.

 Yes, it really is that easy. Easier than Hamburger Helper. If speed is important to you, t is worth a hunt for the Hunts. The fennel flavor really does come through.Unfortunately, Hunts does add some sugar, so the carb count is about 10 carbs more for the entire dish. If want to keep carbs  lower,  then add some crushed fennel seeds to plain diced tomatoes. I hate trying to crush the seeds, so I love this brand. I am not sure how much of a red pepper flavor is in there, so it is probably fine to leave that out for the lowest carb count. 

This stew is great when you need to throw a dinner together in a hurry. A little sprinkle of Romano cheese doesn't hurt either.

If you have a favorite fall soup, stew or one pot meal, please feel free to send it to me for the Diner News. I love recipes from fellow Diners!

Applewood Smoked Chicken Salad

This stuff is amazing. I mean really, really delish. I will be making some of this for my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower. Until then, I am just eating it--for the second time in two weeks. Yummo.

Sent some to work with my hubby. I didn't warn him he was supposed to put it on the bowl of lettuce in the other container. He warmed it in the microwave. Said it was still good. Yup. Still good even hot.

Amazingly easy too if you have already baked and cubed chicken squares like I do. If not, still worth it to make the chicken cubes.

Applewood Smoked Chicken Salad

3 cups prepared chicken cubes or lightly seasoned rotisserie chicken shreds
1 tsp Wrights All Natural Applewood Liquid Smoke
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded Romano cheese
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Place the chicken cubes in a large bowl. Sprinkle the liquid smoke over the chicken. Stir well to coat. Add in mayonnaise and stir well. Gently stir in Romano cheese and slivered almonds. Chill and serve.

This is delish. Eat it as a salad, or roll it up in lettuce leaves. Spoon it on cucumber slices. I guess you could heat it up too, but I'm pretty sure cold is best. Sorry, Hon.

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Prefer Coffee or Tea? Yes.

 First things first. Is that the most awesome cup? When I saw it at Goodwill, it made me smile. No, I don't pour Bailey's Irish Cream in my coffee like it promotes, but I do have another trick. Maybe that is why my cup is winking.

I must admit.  I prefer coffee to tea. Not that I don't like tea--I do. It is just that when I have all these choices, I find myself going to coffee more often. Some nutritionists are fine with coffee, and some aren't. I know I am not giving up my java, so I put my hands over my ears and sing la la la when they discuss coffee. Green tea however. Have you ever heard anyone NOT approve of green tea?

I have tried to fall in love with it. It is doable, but not what I run to. My mom heard about this fusion idea. She saw it on TV--maybe Dr, Oz, I dunno. She told me to try it since I seem to get in much more coffee than tea. It is a fusion of the two. Cool idea. I guess the overpowering little coffee beans can coexist with their brothers, the leaves.

The idea is, you get all the health benefits of drinking green tea, with the flavor of the coffee. Now, the ratio of tea to coffee is up to you. In my experimenting, I have found that one tea bag to one cup of joe was just too much tea for this girl. It tasted "weird." I can do one tea bag to two cups of coffee, but that is still a little strong. What I have settled on is one or two tea bags directly in the basket with my coffee grounds. We usually make 8 cups. Sure, the benefits are diluted, but then, it is better than none at all. Sorry Keurig users, I don't know how you could do this...

I drink my coffee with half and half and stevia. With those additional flavors, I don't notice the tea at all. Even if I choose to make a stronger tea infusion, the taste is unique, not bad. Try it for yourself. It may not be a miracle cure, but every little bit helps.

How To Dress a Fish

Normally, I am not a huge fan of fish. Probably comes from living land locked. I would never really "dress" one, as in grab the fillet knife and cut away. I can't even buy something that is staring at me. I have learned to eat Tilapia. These fillets don't taste quite as fishy to me, and they are super easy to prepare and reasonably priced. I love that I can keep some individually wrapped fillets in the freezer.  These can be popped into the oven, still frozen. With just a few veggies and some flavorings I have a nice meal that bakes while I make a side dish or dessert.

This week, I took that idea and decided to employ the same strategy at work. With our school housed in an old house, actually an old orphanage, we have a huge kitchen. Why not take advantage of that? So today, I grabbed a bag of tilapia and raided the spice cabinet. I have now packaged five different lunches, all wrapped in foil packets and ready to pop into the toaster oven at school. If I let the fish thaw all morning, it will bake up in about 20 minutes. I can just pop it in, do some more work, then enjoy lunch with everyone else. Easy Peasy hot lunch. And because they are all different flavors, no boredom. Not that I was planning to eat fish everyday at lunch. I will spread these out over the next five weeks. If you can't cook for lunch, these are great weeknight meals too.

Amazingly easy to pack in the morning too. I will just grab some sesame crackers and maybe a flavored yogurt and lunch is packed. No excuses. Here is what I came up with. I just used the veggies I had on hand.  Feel free  to add in what appeals to you. I also drained a can of fire roasted tomatoes to add in. Love that flavor.


Tilapia Foil Packets

1. Chop vegetables and gather spice blends.
Line a small cookie sheet with foil. I press down the foil to catch any spills from the flavorings.
2. Place a fish fillet in the center. Sprinkle with seasonings and add veggies. Drizzle with oil if using.
3. Fold the foil up on the top and bottom along the short edge. Bring the long edges together to meet in the center. Fold these sides together, creating a seal. You will repeat this procedure with each fillet.
4. Use a permanent marker to write the flavoring directly on the foil.
5. Place all foil packets inside a gallon size bag (or the outer bag from the fish)
6. Place foil packet on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes depending on size of fillet and degree of thawing. Fish should flake at the thickest point when done.

Tilapia Creole (pictured at the top of the post)
Sprinkle with Creole Seasoning. Surround with vegetables (I used green bell pepper, onion and fire roasted tomatoes) and drizzle with olive oil. Seal.

Chipotle Lime Tilapia
Sprinkle fish with one packet of True Lime and with chipotle chili powder to taste. Add a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil. For a fajita like meal, use onions and peppers for the vegetables.

Smokey Joe's Tilapia
Sprinkle fish with Hickory Salt and onion powder. Add a bit of olive oil. Fire roasted tomatoes and onion complete the outdoorsy taste.

Persian Lime Tilapia
The star of this one is some amazing flavored olive oil. The oil itself is infused with lime flavor. That makes a dish like this incredibly easy to prep. Just a drizzle with a good dose of garlic powder and a sprinkle of salt. To this, I added zucchini, with a tiny bit of onion, bell pepper and some fire roasted tomatoes.

Chinese 5 Spice Tilapia
Change up the usual flavor with some 5 Spice Blend. The anise in this is so unusual! Just sprinkle a little of the spice on--just a bit because the flavor can easily overwhelm. I also added some garlic and some soy sauce. The veggies are celery and zucchini. (I would think there are others that would be good too)

This takes so little time, it is embarassing. But maybe, you had never thought of it. Every little step you can take in early prep means being more successful on your eating plan. Now on to the rest of my prep day. Have a great week!

Guajillo Beef

Still loving my guajillo chile powder I ordered online. That has been a while, but it is still full of flavor. Unusual, not your grocery store variety.  This recipe would work with the standard stuff, but guajillo takes it up a notch.

The great thing about this recipe, which is a cousin to my Southwestern Beef, is that it can go in the crockpot, cook for just aw hours, then get used as a Triple Play Meal for all sorts of things! To make it extra easy and quicker to cook, I used Carne Picada. Instead of cooking a whole roast then shredding, the meat is pretty much shredded going in. (remember my issues with cutting raw meat--love that this is done for me)

The other thing that adds a depth of flavor to this dish, is that it is braised in coffee. Make a little more than you usually drink in the morning, and use it to add to the beef. Mmm. Even though my husband does not like hot and spicy and disdains coffee, I still think he would like it. I planned it, though for those of us in the house who appreciate the heat. John got a new chicken salad recipe, which he though was a casserole in his lunch. Oblivious to the salad concept, he nuked it at work. Oops. He still ate it. What a guy. I wonder what that tasted like? I am featuring that recipe later this week. My taste of it was delish. I will recommend it be served cold, however.

The beef is spicy and full of flavor. I left out the cheese and didn't even miss it.

Guajillo Beef

1 1/2 to 2 lbs Carne Picada (or stew meat)
3 tbsp Guajillo chile powder
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
3/4 cup brewed coffee

Place beef in the crockpot. Sprinkle the spices over the meat. Pour in the coffee. Cook on high for 3 hours. Drain all but a few tablespoons of liquid. Stir the cooked beef to distribute flavors. Divide into meal sized servings. Possible uses: salads, filling for mini peppers, in lettuce leaves, with scrambled eggs, in quiches, as filling for crepes or in low carb tortillas.

I love mini bell peppers. They are fun to fill with all sorts of delicious stuff! Eating this at work will make everyone who has a sandwich jealous. I took my photo catching up on some work at my desk. Not the best lighting, but life as it really is.

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Spoon Salad and Cauli-rice Cups to Go

Cauliflower. You could consider it boring. I mean, it really doesn't taste that amazing. Kinda bland on its own. Growing up, my mom could only get us to eat it one way--with cheese sauce. Good news is that cauliflower adapts so well to all sorts of flavors. You already know the drill. We low carbers mash it to replace mashed potatoes. We boil it for "tater" salad. We roast it to replace popcorn. We bake it into desserts. We even cut it up really fine to replace rice. That is one of the things I did today with a fresh head of cauliflower. But I do it a little differently sometimes. Alright I am lazy.  I admit it.

My sons refuse typical cauli-rice. Just not their thing. Well, one son actually calls cauliflower "nature's snot." Guess I overcooked it for him on some occasion. A whole head is a bit much just for the hubster and I, and ricing it is a mess. So here's what I opted for today, and I think it is working out fine.

I had planned to put a Spoon Salad on the menu this week. That requires finely chopped cauliflower. I do that in my Ninja. Even a girl trying to eat more salads can only eat so much, though. So the rest, I packed into little silicon muffin cups and froze. These are going to be great for work lunches. They reheat in the microwave and can still be doctored up to go with so many things we may be packing for lunch. So which first? The spoon salad or the Cauli-rice cups?

The Spoon Salad is nothing new. I have had the recipe in my Diner News before. The idea is to chop sturdy vegetables really, really finely. Make sure to chop things that don't have too high a water content or spoil too quickly. You can add those in just before you dine if you like.

Start with hard veggies. I like mostly cauliflower and cabbage here, but a bit of carrot or jicama is good too. Process those together in a food processor. I use my Ninja. Maybe not quite as good, but it does the work. Don't try it in a blender.

Next choose some medium textured veggies. I like all colors of peppers and a little red onion for flavor and color. I have heard of using zucchini, but it can get a little watery. Process them until finely minced. Stir them in with the hard veggies.

Next, I do the softer, leafy greens. I like kale the most, but you can also use spinach, like I did today. Add in some fresh herbs. My choice today was rosemary and chives. Mint is good, basil is wonderful. I also like Lemon Balm. Process those and remember to pulse to avoid turning them into mush. Add those in with the hard veggies, and stir well. Store the salad in a covered container. I like wide mouth jars. Don't add dressing yet.

When lunch time rolls around, spoon some salad on your plate and drizzle with your favorite dressing. I like vinaigrettes here with a bit of feta cheese sprinkled on top. Sometimes I add a pinch of chia seeds for extra nutrition. Don't put those in the day you make it or you will get sprouts. These salads should stay good for the work week as long as your ingredients were fresh. The proportions are up to you. Again, method not recipe.

Now with that extra minced cauliflower I had. This is a little finer than I make with my usual cauli-rice. I like it that way so that it gets more tender with very little cooking. For today, I pre-cooked it in the microwave for three minutes, along with some diced bell peppers. I was going for the confetti rice look. Partially cooking keeps the cauliflower from totally becoming mush in its upcoming meal, when it will finish cooking when I warm the dish.  Stir in some sea salt to taste, or add in some tamari.


I scooped this mixture into silicon muffin cups and froze them. These are going into a gallon bag. Then, I can easily add them to lunches when I have leftover sauces from dinners. This week they are matched with chicken curry. They will also be great to eat with teriyaki steak, fajita chicken bites, basically anything we would typically like rice with. If you don't have a sauce, you could even just thaw and eat these with some salad dressing.


So nothing too fancy here. Just a couple of Diner style time savers. I only have to clean the food processor once, and several meals have a side dish covered. That is how I do it.