Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

  Not too shabby for my first pie ever that didn't start with buying crust already in a pie tin. Next time I'll tuck in the edges better, and also maybe use an actual pie tin. View of the inside. For my first ever apple pie, I knew I wanted something simple, something with a lattice top, and something that started with just layering raw apples inside the crust, rather than cooking the apples into a saucy filling. I decided to use  this recipe from Allrecipes , thinking that maybe I'd step things up to make a fancier pie in the future. But it is SO GOOD that I think this will be my forever pie recipe. I watched YouTube videos to learn how to do the lattice top, and then the 5-year-old actually carried out the work of doing it. It's a fun project to do with kids.  So good. The Recipe: 6 cups peeled, thinly sliced granny smith apples (I used 7 medium-small apples) 1/2 c white sugar 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tb butter, plus more for greasing the pie dish dough for 2 9-inch pie cru...

  This is what the cold leftovers look like, because I forgot to take a photo on Thanksgiving. This is my perfect stuffing. I wanted something basically like boxed Stovetop Stuffing but fresher and generally better, and also with bigger pieces of bread. I used  this recipe from Mel's Kitchen . All I changed was to double it, and also to substitute fresh rosemary and sage for dried thyme and sage (because I had them in the garden).  I will probably eat all of the leftovers cold with my fingers before they ever make it to our plates. Too good. The Recipe:  2 16-oz loaves of crusty Italian bread, cut into large cubes 5 cups vegetable broth, warmed (unless you're making the stuffing ahead and keeping it warm in the oven) 1 tsp salt 12 tb butter  1 large onion, chopped 7 stalks celery, chopped 6 cloves garlic, minced 3 tb poultry seasoning 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1/2 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped Dry out the bread cubes by some combination of leaving ...

Over a bed of shredded cabbage, strongly recommended.  I'm slowly but surely learning how to make all of my restaurant favorites during this pandemic. This was one I hadn't bothered with because I assumed that I would need to fry the tofu, and I really hate frying things. But  this recipe from She Likes Food  gave me the confidence to try it baked, and it works! This one is now going into the rotation of favorites. The original recipe for the crispy tofu calls for coating the tofu in soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, garlic, rice vinegar, and maple syrup before adding the cornstarch. I kept it simple and only used soy sauce and sesame oil, since I was planning to top it with teriyaki sauce. I think this was the right choice, but I'll try the full list of ingredients another time. Whenever I get tofu teriyaki in a bento, it's over a bed of thinly sliced cabbage, slightly wilted from the warm tofu and sauce. I love this and I think it's the perfect accompaniment to teriyak...

  Next time I'll broil it a bit toastier This is another keeper from the Martha Stewart meal kit. This one is very easy to do without the kit, since it doesn't use many ingredients. I also love that it's a one-pot meal, and it comes together quickly. The original recipe uses mascarpone, which yes, is delicious. But I've substituted cream cheese twice now, and it's still yummy. I remain fascinated by how perfectly the broccoli and spinach end up being cooked using this method. I'm curious about branching out and trying other vegetables, but I lack confidence that the vegetables would turn out so well. Also, I love the sheer quantity of vegetables in this recipe! We very easily eat the entire crown of broccoli and 3 oz of spinach in 2-3 servings, and it doesn't feel like a chore.  The Recipe: 1 small crown broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 oz parmesan, grated 3 oz baby spinach 1 package cheese ravioli (the refrigerated type) 3 oz c...

  One day when the children aren't pulling me in 5 directions, maybe I'll take a cleaner photo. The schools are doing free lunches (plus breakfast for the next day) to go while closed for Covid. Miles loves the novelty and I love having new fresh fruit and vegetables every day. But it's leaving us with a LOT of milk cartons in the fridge. It's all skim and 1%, which isn't the best for making yogurt or cheese. So I had no choice but to try chocolate pudding. This recipe uses pantry ingredients and doesn't require me to melt chocolate, and it's delicious. I may experiment with making it more gourmet, but there's nothing wrong with a basic chocolate pudding with cornstarch. I followed  this recipe  and didn't change anything except to decrease the amount of butter. The Recipe: (makes 6 half-pint servings) 1 1/3 c sugar 2/3 c cocoa powder 1/3 c cornstarch pinch of salt 4 1/2 c milk 1-2 tb butter 1 tsp vanilla In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, coco...

  With the last of the garden basil I'm pretty sure I tried this recipe once before and failed at it. I probably undercooked the cauliflower and I definitely didn't puree it for long enough. I'm glad I tried again. I'd forgotten how delicious fettuccine alfredo is, and I'm so happy to have a healthier, dairy-free version. It's yet another amazing recipe from  Pinch of Yum . I only made small changes: I replaced the heavy cream with almond milk, omitted the nutmeg, and inadvertently doubled the butter and oil because I halved the recipe and forgot to halve those, but it's delicious that way and still quite healthy. Oh, and I didn't add any pasta water because the consistency was perfect without it.  The Recipe: 1/2 lb fettuccine noodles 12 oz cauliflower florets 3 c vegetable broth 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tb butter 1/2 tsp salt pinch of black pepper 1 tb olive oil 1/8 c almond milk Boil the fettuccine according to instructions on package.  In a large sa...

  I feel very proud of this. After trying a number of meal kits, I've settled on Martha Stewart's kit, which I won't name or link here in case they don't like their recipes being posted on the internet. But it's easy to find. We've gotten two boxes so far, and nearly every recipe has been amazing. I wasn't planning to blog/keep any of the recipes, but this one was too good and I want to remember it so I can duplicate it on my own. I've never made pot pie before, since I don't like meat and it never seemed appealing enough to bother with all of that work just for cooked vegetables. My mind is changed. It's worth it. The only change I made is to scale it up from a 10" skillet to a 12" one, and to add Quorn for some protein. The Recipe: 2 large carrots, diced small 1 cup broccoli and/or green beans, diced small 1/2 medium onion, diced small 1 c corn 1/4 c parmesan, grated 1 potato, diced 2 bags Quorn Meatless Quiquin pieces 1 tsp chopped f...