Weekend Cooking 3/16

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  This is perfect for me since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!


We are continuing on our new eating adventures with a mostly Paleo diet, due to medical problems. Everyone felt pretty good this week, so I do think it's helping. My son felt very good this week (he's on a diet that even more restrictive than Paleo, until he maintains this level of improvement for a while), I felt good and had plenty of energy, and even my husband (who has no major health problems) has been feeling full of energy and in great spirits on this diet. Also, I lost 5 pounds which makes me very happy because one of the medications I started a few years ago made me gain 5 pounds, so at least I am back where I was before! I've had to start wearing belts again because my jeans keep slipping down! My husband has also lost about 5 pounds.


Whether you are eating Paleo or not, we had some delicious dinners this week that are great for anyone who enjoys flavor! So far, I've just been using regular recipes (mostly from Cooking Light, as usual!) and making slight modifications for us, if necessary.


I try to make traditional favorites when my college-aged son (the one with the worst medical problems and the most restrictive diet) comes home on Sundays - for him, that usually means beef! Last Sunday, I made him a classic roast beef (eye of round roast) and served it with pureed cauliflower and sauteed zucchini. Tonight, of course, we'll have our annual Corned Beef Dinner for St. Patty's Day, just with far fewer potatoes than usual! This is my favorite recipe for New England Boiled Dinner, though I will have to leave out the maple syrup today and go easy on the potatoes. There are plenty of other good veggies in this dish to make up for that.

I've been trying to make sure we have fish at least once a week since it is so healthy and to prevent us from relying too much on red meat (we normally eat a lot of beans and other legumes which are out on this diet). So, one night, I made Pan-Seared Tilapia with Citrus Vinaigrette - it was sooo tasty! With it, we ate roasted asparagus (a household favorite) and delicious Bacon-Maple Brussels Sprouts. I just cooked two pieces of uncured, thick-cut bacon in a skillet, removed them and sauteed the halved Brussels sprouts in the bacon grease until cooked through, then glazed them with a tablespoon or so of real maple syrup, and finished them with a sprinkle of freshly ground salt and pepper and added the crumbled bacon back in. They were delicious and a great accompaniment to the fish. They were both just as good the next day for lunch!


I tried a new crockpot recipe later in the week, Mediterranean Chicken, from the Cooking Light Slow Cooker Tonight! cookbook (sorry this particular recipe isn't available online). This dish was filled with flavor, and the three of us gobbled up all of it! It is basically chick thighs that have been browned on the stovetop, added to the crockpot with onion, tomatoes, seasonings, lemon, capers, and kalamata olives. I added some red bell pepper to up the veggie count. That combination of zesty flavors was fabulous. The only change I had to make was that the recipe recommended serving it over rice. We just ate it without the rice and I added some roasted baby bok choy on the side. Delicious! We will definitely make that one again.


Friday night, my younger son begged for plain old spaghetti! He's been a good sport as the rest of us do this restricted diet (he has medical problems, too, but his are well-controlled with medication and he doesn't need any special diet). Since he was having a friend over, we went with classic spaghetti with meat sauce, with steamed green beans on the side. My husband and I did have a bit of the whole wheat spaghetti - since we don't have gluten issues, we've agreed to stick to Paleo most of the time but indulge in some whole grains or beans or corn once in a while.


So, all in all, it was a very tasty week! I hope you have enjoyed some good food and cooking this week as well!