Obsessed with Martha Stewart

Mango Parfait

 

Rating (1-10): 8

If you're on a diet and looking an indulgent, healthy dessert, you should seriously try the mango parfait from the April 2010 edition of Everyday Food. You only need mangoes, water, greek yogurt, sugar, and toasted coconut. It takes about 10 minutes to make. My husband and I agreed that we'd make this more often while mangoes are in season. Refreshing and yummy.

Grocery Bag from April Edition of Everyday Food

If you're new to Obsessed with Martha Stewart, you may not have read my previous grocery bag posts in which I make the 5 meals listed in the grocery bag article of Everyday Food. Each month, it tests my abilities as a cook and my picky eater palette. I've tried many foods that I'd never eaten due to these recipes, and I've been pleasantly surprised by how cooking certain ingredients different ways changes their flavors. This month, I found two dishes two add to my regular rotation and a couple others that I'll definitely make again.

Monday: Baked Eggs and Tortillas in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Rating (1-10): 6.5

This was my least favorite meal out of the bunch. I really don't like "mushy" things. Seriously. One example of this is that I eat my cereal in five spoonful servings at a time, because I won't eat it if it gets soggy. The first time I ate cereal in front of my husband, he thought I was a little nuts. My biggest complaint from this meal was the mushy tortillas. The flavors were decent and it was a fun way to cook eggs for dinner, but I'd never make this meal again, even though my husband really enjoyed it. Sorry, hubby - it's not happening.   

Tuesday: Zucchini Pasta with Ricotta

Rating (1-10): 9

I'm a pasta lover, but I mainly like pastas with tomato sauces. I don't sway from those very often. Then I realized the deliciousness and simplicity of this dish. It was freakin awesome. The day after we had this for lunch, I ate lunch at 11:00 a.m., because I couldn't stop thinking about the creamy goodness of this pasta. And you don't have to feel too guilty, because one serving is only 565 calories. Compare that to your favorite dish that you get at your local Italian restaurant.

This pasta dish was a cinch to make with only a handful of ingredients including EVOO, zucchini, salt and pepper, linguine, lemon, and ricotta. That combination was delightful. 

Wednesday: Tangy Chicken With Orzo Pilaf

Rating (1-10): 8.5

Out of all of the dinners from this week, this one was the biggest pain to make, taking about 1 hour and 15 minutes. That's a little tough to swallow for a weekday meal, but when you realize that you're basically making two meals it's more pleasant. You save half of the sauce and the chicken breasts for Friday's dinner. After I finished cooking, my husband and I ate dinner enjoying a glass of wine. Things that shall not be mentioned here {because my family members read this blog} occurred and we were preoccupied. We fell asleep without cleaning up the dishes {which we usually do} and I woke up at 4 in the morning in a complete panic.

We hadn't put away the chicken or the sauce and it was a congealed mess on the counter top. There went Friday's easy dinner, because I'd have to remake the sauce and chicken.  To top it all off, I couldn't fall back to sleep, so I was irritable the next day.

Thursday: Bean and Cheese Burritos

Rating (1-10): 9.5

Oh. My. Holy. Deliciousness. I usually like my burritos with some type of meat, preferably chicken, but this recipe didn't call for meat. I also despise refried beans. Guess what? I loved them in these burritos. If you want your kids to eat some veggies and healthy protein, make these for them. I liked these so much that we're making them again for dinner this week. The only bad part about this dish was I ate DOUBLE what I supposed to eat. Oops. I couldn't resist.

Friday: Roast Chicken with Zucchini, Carrots, and Onions

Rating: (1-10): 8.5

If I hadn't had to remake the chicken and sauce, this meal would have been super simple. Unfortunately, having a little too much fun on Wednesday night caused me to forget that the chicken and sauce were cooling on the counter. Even though, I had to do double the work and spend double the money, I enjoyed this meal. I felt really healthy eating it and the recipe included cooking the veggies my favorite way - roasting them.  

New Orleans-Style Barbecued Shrimp

 

Rating (1-10): 8.5

I'm a huge fan of New Orleans-style food. One of my best food memories comes from a trip that my husband and I made when we were still dating to New Orleans. We stayed with a friend of his and were treated to a crawfish boil. His parents went all out, boiling at least 20 pounds of crawfish for us. I'd never eating a crawfish and was a little put off by the looks of them. My husband showed me how to peel and eat them. After my first bite, I was in lust. I ate a healthy couple pounds of crawfish that night and believe it's one of the foods I'll crave when I'm pregnant. That and cake batter ice cream. 

Anyways, I was super excited to try out this recipe from Everyday Food {April 2010 edition}, because I wanted to feel as if I was back in New Orleans. This dish didn't disappoint. It's not something your kids will like, because it's incredibly spicy, but if you like heat, you'll love shrimp cooked this way. The creole seasoning, worcestershire sauce, and lemon give it a zing. My husband suggested making some corn on the cob to go along with it the next time. And there will definitely be a next time.

Red Rice with Sausage and Bell Peppers

 

Rating (1-10): 9

This recipe is comparable to jambalaya, one of my all-time favorite dishes. It only takes 25 minutes to whip up and serves four people. Since it's just my husband and I in our house, we had enough to enjoy it for lunch the next day, and you know what we found out? It's even better the next day. You can't say that about too many dishes. I added red pepper flakes to the recipe, because we like our dinner spicy. If you like a little kick to your meals, I suggest you do the same.

Note: This recipe comes from Everyday Food, April 2010 edition. 

BLT and Potato Salad

 

For the past three and a half months I've been seriously focused on becoming more like Martha Stewart, especially in the kitchen. So much, in fact, that I've forgotten that it's okay to resort back to some of my simple favorites for a night off. Every time I feel like I need a night off, my husband grabs fast food on his way home, because for some reason, I've felt as if everything I make must be a Martha Stewart recipe. Yesterday, when I was making the grocery list, I said screw it. I was in the mood for a BLT sandwich and potato salad. Nothing fancy, so I gave in and planned two non-Martha Stewart meals for this week. Last night we had the BLTs, and they were so delicious. It was the best BLT I've ever had. Probably because I haven't had one in a long time, but it made me realize that I shouldn't stop fixing all my favorites just because I'm on a Martha kick. It's okay to do both.

Sunshine Award

Thanks to Amy at Art of Amy for giving Obsessed with Martha Stewart the Sunshine Award!

 

The Sunshine Award is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world.

The rules for accepting this award are:

Put the logo on your blog or within your post.

Pass the award on to 12 bloggers.

Link the nominees within your post.

Let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

Share the love and link to the person whom you have received this award.

Here are my sunshine award nominees:

Serious Eats

Creative Kismet

Creature Comforts

Everyday Beauty

Everyday Food Blog

Hip Hostess

Kiss the Groom

Oh, Hello, Friend

decor8

sfgirlbybay

Design*Sponge

Jill Bliss

  

Cinnamon-Toasted Pound Cake

 

Rating (1-10): 7

This dessert can't compare to some of Martha's pies, cakes, and tarts, so I had to give it a 7. But, it was super simple and pretty darn tasty. I would recommend it if you're looking for a last minute, easy summer dessert. The recipe called for frozen strawberries, but I used fresh - I like fresh berries much better and they finally had some organic ones at our grocery store. 

My biggest complaint about this recipe was that the pound cake started to burn when we stuck in the broiler. We were only able to cook it for half the time. We couldn't taste the burnt parts, so it didn't really matter. It just didn't look pretty {the burned side is face down on the plate in the picture}.

Note: Recipe from April 2010 edition of Everyday Food.

Fish with Mango Relish

 

Rating (1-10): 8

Usually, my husband and I go grocery shopping together on the weekend. In my opinion, it's much more enjoyable when you have someone to do it with, and somehow, we turn this chore into something fun. I've gotten spoiled by this, because my husband always pushes the cart, reaches things that I can't {I'm pretty short}, bags the groceries if there isn't a bagger, and loads the car. I carry the list, check it off as we find items, watch the cashier ring up our items to make sure we're not paying more than we're supposed to {which happens more than you'd think}, and pay the bill with our joint check card. 

Last week I had to go grocery shopping by myself, and it was an eye-opener. The cart was hard to push after I'd loaded it up with dog food, water, and tons of groceries, it was hard to check things off the list and push the cart, and I had to jump to reach the organic peanut butter. It made me appreciate my husband {even more than I already do}. 

Anyways, I did the grocery shopping right before picking him up from work. I had to plan a simple meal for that night, because I wouldn't be home to start it early. I picked the fish with mango relish recipe from the April 2010 edition of Everyday Food, because it reported a total cooking time of 25 minutes and I wanted to try it out anyways. 

Most recipes take me longer than the estimated time, but this one didn't. And it was super tasty. I would definitely recommend this one to busy moms {or dads} who want a simple meal to cook after work. It was refreshing and filling. 

Emeril's Chicken Patty Pockets

 

Rating (1-10): 9.8

I choose to make Emeril's chicken patty pockets from the April 2010 edition of Everyday Food on craft night. When I skimmed the recipe, they seemed simple to make and the estimated total time to make them was 25 minutes. Just looking at the picture made my mouth water. 

This recipe lived up to my expectations. They were simple and so yummy that I could eat them twice a week for a year without getting tired of them. They were that good. The chicken patties were a cinch to make and while they baked, I cut the veggies and got the pita pockets ready. If you have kids, leave out the cayenne pepper {because it makes them spicy}, but this will become one of their favorites - they're messy and fun to eat. You'll be happy as a parent, because they're healthy and will encourage your kids to eat some veggies. 

I've added this recipe to my "staples" file. 

Your Pets: Weight Matters

Martha Stewart is an animal lover. She has three dogs - she just added a new chow puppy to her family. So it's not unusual that there is a column dedicated to pet care and health in Martha Stewart Living. In the April edition, the author, Amelia Glynn discusses pet obesity. I learned from my vet that you should be able to feel {not see} your dogs ribs.

My husband and I adopted a lab mix when we moved to Virginia. We had no idea that she was pregnant and would have seven puppies the day before our wedding. When she started putting on weight, we took her to the vet, and I asked, "There's no way she could be pregnant, right?" He looked at me and grimaced. He gave me the bad news that she was probably pregnant and the puppies were pretty far along. So, when she had the puppies, we took care of them until they were ready to go to their forever homes. We found good homes for five of the puppies and decided to keep two.

I'm always afraid that we're feeding them too much or too little. I'll feel their ribs on a regular basis to make sure they're on the right track, but it's hard to tell with puppies. Your supposed to feed them much more than an adult dog, so we've been measuring their food each meal and hoping their getting the right amount. However, my problem is definitely the treats. I want my dogs to be happy, so I give them too many treats. Today I spent $45 on dog treats, and we'll be happy if they'll last the whole week. Our dogs aren't overweight, so I guess the amount of treats is okay.

Anyways, a good tip I got from this article is to feed your dog healthy treats such as carrots, pieces of apple, and green beans. My dogs love berries and apples, so maybe I'll try this. They also love a little slice of turkey which I give them when they're being extra good. What indulgences do you give your pets?