Crock Pot Corned Beef

Yes, it can be done. I mean, in theory, it should be a no-brainer, right? Well, I felt the need to test so that's what I did this week. I really like the Trader Joe's one. It's all natural corned beef, no added nitrites/nitrates, hormone free. It comes in a brine with seasonings. I put it in the crock pot, poured a bit of water on top (maybe 1/2 - 1 cup) and let it cook.


Instead of simmering in a pot on the stove, use the crock pot. Basically, you have to replicate 3 hours of a simmer. I have found that is 5-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. The variation comes from how cold your meat is as well as how big it is. I like to err on the longer side to make sure it's cooked just right. If you are leaving in the morning for the day, I would suggest the longer setting on low.


Now, here's the only caveat. You have to add the cabbage, potatoes, and carrots about an hour before you want to serve it. If you tried adding in the beginning of the cooking time, you would have a bunch of mush. Make sure to give yourself that time.

You can remove the meat and allow it to rest on a cutting board, covered, while you cook the veggies and potatoes. I like to use 3-4 peeled carrots, cut into chunks, 1/2 head to a whole head of cabbage, cut into wedges and little "creamer" potatoes (count the number of people eating and multiply by 2 or 3). All of these should cook for 30-45 minutes on high or maybe 60-90 mins on low. Make sure all of the vegetables are tender, checking half way through the cooking time.

Cooking the veggies in the cooking liquid really makes for the perfect sides to the corned beef. If you really are short on time, steam the potatoes, cabbage and carrots (in that order) and then leave in the cooking liquid for 5-10 minutes to get the flavor.

So, working parents, St. Patrick's day is right around the corner. Don't let a Tuesday night deter you from preparing this traditional meal. I have a great Irish soda bread recipe. Look for that later in the week...

Not Your Mom's Tuna Casserole

The funny thing is that my mom didn't make a lot of tuna casserole. I acquired a taste for it when I lived in New England and worked in hospitals known for their all-American menus. Over the years, I never had it very often, especially after moving to California, but always liked it.

A few years back, I saw a recipe in Gourmet magazine that was a little fancier than the "boil noodles and add a can of cream of mushroom soup to it" version. I decided to give it a try. You basically make a really flavorful mushroom soup as the base. And then you add it to cooked noodles and bake. The flavor development is just delicious.

I decided to add my own twist to it as well as amounts. That is what you see below. Even if you sauté some onions and mushrooms and deglaze it with marsala or sherry and add that to mushroom soup, you'll get a much better product. If you look at the picture to the left, you may notice it doesn't look like 4 cups of mushrooms. I like to cook the wild mushrooms first like porcini, crimini and portobello and then cook the white or button mushrooms. Even if it's for 2-3 minutes, this technique seems to produce a browner mushroom because I haven't crowded the pan. Plus, those mushrooms are a little firmer and some times take longer to cook. I thought it might be too much information in the recipe so if you want to try it, adjust accordingly.

It may not seem easy (there are a lot of steps) but make it once or twice and you won't think about it again. Also, instead of tuna, you could substitute chicken or salmon; for the vegetarian option, leave out the meat. Don't have egg noodles? You can also use rotini or break up some spaghetti for a tuna noodle tettrazini. For the breadcrumbs, rather than buying something in a cardboard container, my local bakery sells dried crumbs which are definitely fresher than what is on the shelf in a store. If you don't have any crumbs, toast 3-4 pieces of bread, cool and then chop in a food processor. For an added treat, crush up a few potato chips and throw those on top as well. Wow, that's a real throwback to comfort food!

What I want you to gain from this is the technique. Making a quick cream sauce, even if you use low-fat milk, is within your reach. Just give it a try. And let me know how it came out when you do.

Amy's Tuna Noodle Casserole

6 oz dried curly egg noodles (a Pennsylvania Dutch style; about 3 ½-4 cups)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tsp oil
6 grinds of pepper (or about 1/4 tsp)
3 Tbl unsalted butter, divided
10 oz mushrooms, sliced, about 4 c total-can use a combo of white, Portobello and shitake
1 Tbl soy sauce
1/4 cup Marsala or Sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tbl all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken and/or mushroom broth
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
6 oz can tuna, drained (I like tuna packed in olive oil but use what you have)
½ cup frozen peas
3/4 c plain bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbl vegetable or olive oil
Optional: 4 oz grated Cheddar (1 cup)

This tuna casserole has 4 components, any of which can be done ahead:
Cook the noodles
Cook the mushrooms
Make a mushroom sauce
Bake the casserole

Note: if you chose to prep the casserole ahead and refrigerate, you will need to adjust the cooking time. It is done when the casserole is bubbling and the top is brown.

1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain noodles in a colander with cold water and keep near by.
2. In the same large pot, cook onion in olive oil with pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. If onion seems dry, add a little bit of salt.
3. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 375°F. Butter or spray with non-stick spray a medium casserole dish. Set aside.
4. To the same pot which the onions are in, increase heat to moderately high and add only 1 Tbl of butter and the mushrooms. Sauté, stirring only occasionally, until mushrooms begin to brown. If mushrooms seem too dry, add a little salt. Once the mushrooms are browned, add soy sauce and continue to sauté, stirring, until liquid is evaporated.
5. Add Marsala or Sherry and simmer, stirring occasionally, until evaporated.
6. Add 2 Tbl butter to the pot, allow it to melt and then add 3 Tbl flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes. This is your roux.
7. Add broth in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil. Whisk in milk and simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in lemon juice. Flake tuna into sauce and stir gently. Add peas and noodles. Taste and season sauce with salt and pepper if needed.
8. Transfer mixture to baking dish, spreading evenly.
9. Toss together bread crumbs, oil, salt and pepper (or truffle salt to make it even tastier) in a bowl. Sprinkle evenly over casserole. Bake until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.

Focus on Nutrition

I think I’m doing pretty good these days when it comes to what we eat. It always could be better but it’s relative. When I think about what I used to eat 5 years ago and what I eat now, it’s a big improvement. Being pregnant and having kids has opened my eyes to nutrition for both me and them. We are so lucky to have access to fresh, wonderful produce; it has changed my comfort zone of which vegetables I prepare. These two things have made a big impact on what I keep in the house and what we eat as a family.

Let me start with what I keep in the house. A few years ago, after one of the speaker events sponsored by the Coastside Mothers’ Club focusing on Healthy Fats, I started to rethink food. Dr. Endemann talked to us about partially hydrogenated fats. It made me start to really look at labels. I stopped buying products containing these fats since now I knew of the health risks associated with them. My next big change was high fructose corn syrup. I’m not sure where I learned about it but when I realized how it was made and how it affects our blood sugar, I cut it out. With the rise of diabetes in children in the US, I wanted to eliminate any risk factors I could control.

I spent extra time in the store reading labels. Some times I would buy another product and some times I would just put it back and say to myself “I’m just not going to buy that.” I encourage you to do what’s best for your family. If you are looking to make changes, make small ones and do it gradually. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Now, about the same time that was happening, I also started to frequent the farmer’s market. There was always such variety at the market. I would some times feel overwhelmed and just buy the produce I knew how to cook. I remember the first time I bought fresh beets and baked them at home. That was a leap for me! The more I went, the more I started talking to the farmers, learning the best way to prepare the vegetables and taking the produce home to experiment. In the past, kale was a garnish to me and I had never cooked with it. Now, it’s a regular part of the repertoire.

Where should you start? The buzz word these days is to eat from the rainbow; eat foods that represent the different colors to get a wide variety of the necessary nutrients. If you never have salad, eat it twice a week. If you only eat romaine, try some darker, leafy lettuces. Go to the store with the kids and let them pick out any vegetable they want. I recently discovered Cheddar Cauliflower which I let them pick. I would have never picked it because I didn’t know what it was. It is a nice alternative to the regular variety of cauliflower.

Another change you can make is increasing your whole grain intake. The recommendation is that half of our grains be whole. If you always eat white bread, rice and pasta, try some of the other ones. Worried about how long brown rice takes to cook? Try making it in the rice cooker but use a ratio of 3 parts water to part rice. Works like a charm! Have you had quinoa yet? It’s actually a seed that acts like a grain. Called a supergrain, quinoa is highly nutritious and can supply us with all of the body's requirements: carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Find it in the bulk section, cook it up like rice and add flavoring to it like cumin and coriander or feta and toasted pine nuts.

You might be reading this feeling overwhelmed. Where do I start? I want to remind you that my evolution began 5 years ago and was very gradual. It has been a process. If you are interested in changing your eating habits, start with something small. You can do it!

Cheddar Cauliflower Au Gratin recipe

I've had plenty of days when I bring my children to the grocery store with me and I really regret it. What should only take 5 or 10 minutes of my time, takes 20 minutes or longer. There's countless "Not today, honey" and "We have cereal at home" as well as "Don't fight!" I often leave with twice as many things as I had planned on buying. Ahh, the joys of motherhood and tests of my patience...

But, luckily, there are those times when they come with me and provide wisdom and good judgment. This was one of those days.

We usually start in the produce aisle. Seems innocent enough but they really want to put everything in the cart. Since I already know the inventory at home, there's a bit of negotiation. As I was perusing the produce, the kids saw this orange vegetable that looked like cauliflower but was...orange. I'm one of those people who, when faced with an unknown item in the produce aisle, turns her head and looks for the old comforts of carrots and broccoli.

This vegetable was labeled cheddar cauliflower. Both kids enthusiastically pleaded with me to put it in the cart. It was so pretty and orange, I decided to go against my normal grain and buy it. Just looking at it, I thought, well, I can steam it and bake it in the oven with cheddar and some milk. Cheese usually makes everything taste good anyway, and with that name, what else could I do?

When I got home, I was curious. What was the deal with this orange vegetable? This is what I learned:

• It was first discovered in Canada in 1970
• Over the years, it was crossed with a white variety to create a delicious, high vitamin content cauliflower
• The curds contain approximately 25 times more beta carotene (Vitamin A) than white cauliflower
• Cheddar cauliflower is creamier than the white variety making it easy to serve mashed.

Ooh, sounds exciting. So, when I began dinner that night, I did just what I planned. See the recipe below. The night I made it, I had some extra barley and I used that as a base. You'll see that in this picture but I didn't include it in the recipe.

Next time you are in your grocery store, consider trying cheddar cauliflower and expanding your horizons.

Maybe they'll think there really is cheddar in the cauliflower...

Cheddar Cauliflower Au Gratin
1 head of cheddar/orange cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbl olive oil or melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Steam cauliflower in a steam basket in a pot or a rice cooker. Cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Prepare a casserole dish by spraying with non-stick spray or lightly coating with oil or butter.
4. Place cauliflower in dish. Pour milk over and then top with cheddar.
5. Mix breadcrumbs in a bowl with oil or butter, salt and pepper. Place breadcrumbs on top of cauliflower. Bake 15-20 minutes or until breadcrumbs start to brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Organic Crock Pot Vegetable Soup

I had already posted a crock pot soup recipe but I wanted to make a super simple one. That one is this. As you see in the picture, the only real effort with this soup is chopping the veggies and opening one can. Once you do that, you'll have a delicious and super-nutritious soup 3 to 6 hours later, depending upon which setting you use.

I consider this soup to be organic. All of the ingredients are organic, except the seasoning which accounts for 1 tsp. Then again, I'm not moderated by the QAI.

If you want to lower the cost of this dish by a few dollars, use 2 qts of water instead of the broth. Add extra salt, at least 1 tsp. And speaking of salt, you should add to taste. The more flavor from the broth and the veggies, the less you need. But, if you taste the soup and it tastes "flat" or bland, add salt. With this amount of soup, add 1/2 tsp at a time until it tastes good. Your family can also add their own salt to their taste, too.

If you want to make it completely vegetarian, use the water option or vegetable broth. Remember, you can always make your own vegetable broth with veggies, water and salt. That's a good way to reuse veggie scraps as well. And if you have other veggies in the fridge like broccoli, zucchini, peas or peppers, add those to this soup. But wait until the last 30 minutes. Otherwise, those vegetables might get too soft and disintegrate.

The cooking time will vary depending upon what setting you use. This really depends upon whether you are starting it at 8a and coming home at 4p or starting at 2p and want to eat around 5p. Either way, check the beans to make sure they are cooked before serving. It might need less time than what is suggested. You want to ensure the hard beans are soft. Doing it this way means you don't have to soak them, either. Most beans, if cooked for 2-3 hours at a simmer, will be soft enough.

I hope you'll give this a try. If you don't have a crock pot, use a big pot on the stove. When I cook something on the stove for a long time, I do it when I know I will be home. The crock pot is different.

I literally threw the ingredients in a pot and 6 hours later, this is what it looked like. See below for the recipe.

Organic Crock Pot Vegetable Soup

1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
1 cup bean & grain mix
1 can diced chopped tomatoes
1 32 oz carton chicken or veggie broth
1 tsp salt free seasoning (or any blend)
2 cups water

Add all ingredients. Cook 6 hrs on low. Add 8-10 oz frozen organic chopped spinach and 2 cups cooked pasta at the end. Add salt to taste. Serve with extra virgin olive oil, like California grown Bariani, and fresh grated Italian cheese.

Get ready to eat. Mangia!

"Better than a Box" Brownies

Make these brownies in less than 45 minutes start to finish

There is nothing like a good brownie. I grew up with brownies from a box. I loved making them and eating them. At some point, someone, somewhere brought to my attention that most boxed brownies don't even really taste like chocolate. No way. Really? The next time I saw one of these "not really chocolate" chocolate brownies, I tasted it. I used my senses and not my eyes. Hmm, it was good, sweet, and dark but...not really that chocolately.

I then did some research and found the ingredient listing of one of the more popular brands:

Sugar, Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid) Cocoa Processed With Alkali, Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oil, Corn Starch, Salt, Carob Powder, Artificial Flavor, Nonfat Milk. Contains Wheat and Milk.

Not as much chocolate as I would have expected...so, I looked for an easy recipe. I came up with the following, after playing around with a couple of recipes. I've made some adjustments and am happy with the results (as are most friends I serve this to!).

I put this recipe in the category of "healthy" because the ingredients are whole and I've cut the sugar down quite a bit. And healthy is all relative. Although I'd like to make a meal of these, a little square is a nice treat. As long as you don't overdo any treats and you are eating a balanced diet, in my opinion, you deserve a brownie once in a while.

I've included lots of pictures to give you an idea of how to do it. Start it at 5pm, they will be in the oven by 5:30 and out by 6:00. If dinner is done at 6:30, pour a glass of milk and enjoy!

"Better than a Box" Brownies

½ c semi sweet chocolate chips, like Guittard
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
3 Tbl unsalted butter (you can use 6Tbl butter instead of using the oil)
3 Tbl canola or vegetable oil
3 eggs
¾ c white organic sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¾ c unbleached white flour
½ tsp salt
½ c semi sweet chocolate chips

1. In a microwave safe bowl, place chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate and butter. In 30 second intervals, microwave butter and chocolates, stirring in between until chocolate is melted. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Add oil.
2. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. This temperature helps to cook brownies more evenly. Spray an 8”x8” pan with non-stick spray. You can also line the pan with foil if you want to be able to remove the whole brownie from the pan, and then cut into pieces.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the chocolate from step 1.
4. Add flour, salt and chocolate chips and mix until blended. Pour into square baking pan and use a spatula to get out every last drop.
5. Bake about 27-31 mins. It’s done when a toothpick inserted in the middle has moist chocolate on it but is neither dry nor very wet.

Ravioli & Sausage Soup

One night last week, when it was time to make dinner, I went to the freezer. I saw ravioli and frozen spinach. I remembered I had chicken sausage in the fridge as well as tofu and chicken stock. 20 minutes later, dinner was on the table.

I know some times it's hard to see dinner when you open a cabinet but keep soup at the top of the list. Sure, I like to make chicken soup from scratch once in a while but it's not realistic unless I plan it. To make life easy, I usually keep a few containers of organic chicken broth in the pantry.

Soup can be a great one-pot meal, too. I find that if I add the spinach or chard to the broth, my children just sort of eat it. I know for all of you, that's not an option; some children will pick it out. Do the best you can. They are bound to get a few residual nutrients even if they do.

Here are a few ideas to make that chicken broth just a little more exciting:

• Boil pot stickers in broth and add mixed frozen vegetables at the end with a dash of sesame oil
• If you have any leftover rice, pasta or potatoes, use that with veggies and protein
  
• Look for leftover or need-to-use protein in the fridge; saute raw protein like sausage, chicken or ground meat but use the broth to cook seafood like shrimp
• If cooking raw vegetables in a broth, add the hardest veggies first, like carrots, and then add the softer veggies, like zucchini, toward the end
• I know I'm Italian but there's nothing like good quality olive oil and some freshly grated Italian cheese like Grana Padano or Peccorino Romano on top (except when making the potsticker version!)

Ravioli and Sausage Soup
Serves 4

1 or 2 Italian pork or chicken sausages (like pesto, mild Italian, or sun-dried tomato)
1 32 oz carton of organic chicken broth
about 1/2 pound cheese ravioli (I like the Genova brand mini ravioli the best; great flavor)
1 10 oz box or 1/2 bag of frozen, chopped organic spinach
4 oz firm tofu, cut into cubes
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly grated cheese

1. In a large pot, cook sausage until brown. Remove and cool slightly. Slice and keep warm.
2. Place carton of broth in the pot along with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
3. Once broth is boiling, add ravioli and cook for 5 minutes, 1 or 2 minutes less than recommended time.
4. Add frozen spinach and tofu. Bring back to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Add sausage.
5. Serve in big bowls topped with olive oil and cheese.