Category Archives: Put It In Your Belly

Made this stir-fry tonight in our new wok we got for Christmas. I think this was my first-ever stir-fry and mmm, mmm it was good! Here’s the recipe (I added broccoli).

Do you have good stir fry combos? Do share! My taste buds will thank you.

Ryan’s parents were in town for the weekend, and we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off, seeing the sites and sampling all the food that DC has to offer. By the time Sunday night rolled around, we were all ready to relax, so we invited them over for some football, 60 Minutes and soup.

The great thing about this soup, like all soups, is that it’s so easy and no stress. You really can’t mess it up. I served it with a side of cornbread and sliced chicken for the Healy men – Ryan and his dad, Jack – to add into their bowls; it was a big hit.

Here’s one that I’ve made a few times. The original recipe calls for you to roast the tomatoes in the oven, cool the tomatoes and cool the couscous – but I don’t have the patience for all that. So I just pan-fry the tomatoes and mix things up when it’s still warm. Since I haven’t roasted the tomatoes I can’t tell you if it’s any better, but I can tell you that my version is pretty darn good.

Meat-lovers can add sliced and fried chicken, but as usual, I prefer the dish without meat.

Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2002.

I made this dish just as Ryan and I were starting to feel better and oh man, did it do our bellies good. It’s a deliciously tasty dish that will wrap you in Fall aromatics as you cook.

The original recipe didn’t call for sausage, but since Ryan won’t eat a meal without meat, I chose a sweet sausage to accompany the dish. I think I would have preferred it without the sausage (it was pretty rich with it), but the beauty of risotto is you can add and subtract what you will.

Risotto with Butternut Squash, Gorgonzola and Toasted Pecans
(and Maybe Sausage)
Adapted from Oprah.com.

Did you see? Brazen introduced Network Roulette today! I’m seriously a Network Roulette addict and not just because of my disclosed relationship with the company. I’ve been to a ton of real-life networking events – heck, my last job was to create those events – and Network Roulette truly mimics those experiences. I love helping people and Roulette makes that super easy to do.

Speaking of help, Ryan and I have discussed getting a live-in masseuse. Some people have butlers, but we would like a masseuse. Especially when we’ve been sick like the past week and a half. Ryan went to the doctor on Monday and actually has bronchitis.

Tomatoes are by far one of my favorite foods, and lately cherry or grape tomatoes, which I cut up and put into all sorts of everything.

Try one of our favorite dishes for these little guys. While your favorite pasta is cooking (linguine is good and I like DaVinci’s Flowers a lot), fry up some grape or cherry tomatoes, then add your cooked pasta, a jar of pesto, handfuls off fresh spinach and top it off with cheese. When Ryan and I cook it together, chicken is also thrown in, but I’m partial to the dish without any meat myself.

Served with a sprinkling of salt and ground pepper is also recommended.

What are you doing for the labor day weekend? Ryan and I are going to have a staycation for once since we’ve been doing so much traveling and have more to come this month. I’m really looking forward to kicking back and cozying up with a good book. If you’ll be running around, here’s a good pasta salad to take with you.

Zuchinni & Almond Pasta Salad
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 2-3 zucchinis, halved lenthwise and very thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lemon, garlic and oregano feta cheese
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 box whole wheat pasta
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup of basil, thinly slivered
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation Instructions

Toss zucchini slices with one teaspoon salt in a large colander set over a bowl or in sink.

I am not sure what’s better and more deluding to your health than a delicious bagel sandwich.

Gotham Bagels in my neighborhood are New York style, and if you’re in the city, you should defniitely give them a visit. This particular beauty, called the “V”, is scallion cream cheese, roasted poblano peppers, tomato, arugula and avocado on a bagel. Ryan picked it up and hand-delivered it to me a few weeks ago. Have I mentioned I’m a lucky girl?

You must start this meal (Ryan would call it an appetizer, I will call it a meal) with a delicious extra virgin olive oil, the kind you wouldn’t mind dipping your finger into just to taste…. this variety came to me from Sicily via Alice.  You can see how much I’ve used already and the bottle only recently arrived at my doorstep. Ah, Sicily!

Now that you’ve found a quality olive oil, here is the rest of the recipe:

Broiled Bread w/ Zucchini, Goat Cheese & Basil
Adapted from The Dabble.

Ingredients

• Sliced french bread
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Zucchinis, thinly sliced
• Fresh basil
• Red pepper flakes
• Sea salt/ground pepper
• Goat cheese, garlic and herbs flavor

Preparation Instructions

Drizzle your olive oil over slices of french bread.

I recently got the craving for quesadillas from an article describing how sad the state of food was now that we are elevating the plain and humble quesadilla. Which only made my insensitive taste buds salivate at the thought of delicious melted cheese. Ohh, cheesy cheese!

Mainly quesadillas, with some of your favorite flavors, are easy to make as a quick dinner on a Monday summer night.

Just take some corn tortillas – stay away from flour, please. Corn tortillas have so much more flavor and are usually smaller which means you can experiment with different fillings in one session. Plus, they’re better for you.

I’ve been eating a lot of potato chips lately, and while carrots are a good replacement for the crunch, I still want something salty! When I saw this recipe, I was anxious to try it even though I don’t think I’ve ever had kale before (maybe just in soup).

I was skeptical until it started smelling really good halfway through the baking time… then when they were finished, I popped one in my mouth, and delicious! You don’t need too much salt or oil to make it yummy.

Baked Kale Chips
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F.