I couldn't just let that buttermilk go to waste.

Last week I had to buy buttermilk to use in our chilaquiles recipe. The smallest container I could find was a quart-sized carton, and my recipe only called for a little bit. I hate wasting food, but even more than that, I hate the idea of drinking plain buttermilk. If only I still lived with Courtney...
Anyways, I decided to look for another recipe that required buttermilk so that I could use up a little more.

Buttermilk biscuits sounded like an excellent idea, so I went looking for good ones. Fortunately for me, I found a cheddar buttermilk biscuit recipe. Mmm cheese. Also, this one is property of the Barefoot Contessa herself, Mrs. Ina Garten (I hope I spelled that right so my sisters don't get mad at me), so it's gotta be good. The only problem was that biscuits don't really qualify as a whole dinner. At least, not a well-rounded one.

Isaac suggested we have some fish, like we're at Red Lobster. Funny, because we don't actually like Red Lobster. This dinner is probably better anyway. Hopefully better for you too (maybe). He found recipes for tilapia and veggies, and we were set.


Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Prep time: 40 minutes              Cook time: 20-25 minutes                     Serves: 8ish biscuits

Ingredients.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
• 1 cold large egg
• 1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Directions.

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• Place 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low, add the butter and mix until the butter is the size of peas (random, i know).
• Combine the buttermilk and egg in a small measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork. With the mixer still on low, quickly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and mix only until moistened. In a small bowl, mix the Cheddar with a small handful of flour and, with the mixer still on low, add the cheese to the dough. Mix only until roughly combined.
• Dump out onto a well-floured board and knead lightly about 6 times. Roll the dough out to a rectangle 10 by 5 inches. With a sharp, floured knife, cut the dough lengthwise in half and then across in quarters, making 8 rough rectangles. ** Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with the egg wash (egg and milk) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot!

**A few disclaimers-1, I don't have a rolling pin, so I floured my (empty) Nalgene water bottle. 2, rectangles are boring, so I used an awesome cookie cutter shaped like a recycling truck to cut out biscuits. Isaac's mom gave it to me a while ago and I haven't had the chance to use it yet. It's hilarious. If you do want to use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, just make sure you flour it between uses. Since I was left with excess dough after cutting out little trucks, I just balled it up again and rolled it out once more to make additional shapes. 3, I didn't have parchment paper, so I just greased the pan well. It worked fine.


Tangy Pan Fried Tilapia

Prep time: 14 minutes                 Cook time: about 10 minutes                Serves: 4

Ingredients.

• 1/2 lb tilapia (fillet)
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions.

• Coat tilapia fillets in Dijon mustard
• Dip in panko to coat
• Heat oil in skillet on medium/high heat
• Pan fry fillets until golden brown on both sides (flip in between, but try to turn fillets only once since this fish is delicate and can fall apart)
• Season with salt and pepper while still hot

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

Prep time: 5 minutes                  Total time: 20 minutes                     Serves: 4

Ingredients.

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions.

• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat
• Add the green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2-3 minutes
• Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender
• Push beans to the side and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds
• Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2-3 minutes
• Remove from heat, stir in vinegar, salt and pepper

Per serving (vegetables only): 71 Calories, 3 g fat, 11 g Carbohydrates, 3 g Protein, 5 g Fiber, 157 mg Sodium, 379 mg Potassium

Thanks to www.foodnetwork.com, www.yummly.com, and www.eatingwell.com for these delicious recipes.

,

Frat Brats

Another Trader Joe's recipe!
We made this one a while ago, but it was so good I had to share.

This meal was quick and easy, although we had some trouble deciding on what to eat along with it. Fries or onion rings would have probably been really good, but we opted for something a little more healthy-broccoli. It wasn't a bad combination!

I'm not a beer drinker (we all know that's not true of Isaac), but I love things cooked with beer. Chicken, bratwurst, whatever. Isaac wouldn't allow me to use a bottle of "Homebrew" for this recipe because he said it would be a waste, so next time I'll secretly have to steal a bottle without him knowing.

Frat Brats
Serves:4          Prep time: 5 minutes          Cooking time: less than 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 package Trader Joe's Hofbrau Brats (you could substitute for a different bratwurst)
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1** (12 oz) beer (We chose a Honey Brown lager)
4 focaccia or panini rolls
About 1/2 cup Trader Joe's Corn and Chile Tomato-Less Salsa
Optional garnishes: sliced avocado, sliced Muenster or Havarti cheese, and sliced tomatoes

**Better get more than one beer if you plan on having a drink with this meal!


Make it!
Place the bratwurst and sliced onions in a medium saute pan and pour the beer over them. Bring the beer to a boil and simmer the bratwurst 5 minutes. Turn sausages over and continue to cook until beer is nearly evaporated and onions begin to soften and deepen in color, about 10 minutes. Remove onions and set aside. Cook bratwurst until lightly browned on one side, then turn to brown lightly on the other side. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Cut sausages in half lengthwise. If they are not cooked enough for your liking, return them to the pan, cut side down, for a few minutes to cook them more thoroughly. Split the focaccia rolls (like hamburger buns) and arrange a bratwurst on the bottom of each roll. Place some of the onions on top of each, and add a dollop of corn salsa. Garnish as desired with avocado, cheese, and tomatoes.


We went with the avocado and onion, but left out the tomatoes and cheese. The bratwurst itself was so flavorful when combined with the salsa that I don't think you even need anything else on top!

Get the cookbook HERE!

Grit-Style Chilaquile Casserole

40 minutes in the oven? Ugh-that's such a long time for someone as impatient as I am, especially when it's after 8 and you're waiting on dinner. So what do we do when we have over an hour and a half to kill? Put on some Buena Vista Social Club and make margaritas! Oh, and write a blog post.

Tonight's dinner comes from The Grit cookbook. Even though we aren't vegetarians, The Grit in Athens, GA is one of our favorite places to eat! They have a great selection of typical and not-so typical home-cooked meals and desserts. When I visit the Grit, it always takes me forever to decide what delicious thing I want off the chalkboard (I usually order from the board, not the menu). Fortunately, I now have The Grit Cookbook which allows me to make their down-home recipes all the time. I've been working my way through it, and I have yet to make something Isaac and I didn't like! A few weeks ago I was looking for an interesting chilaquile recipe, and I stumbled across this one .Finally, we're trying it out...

But first, a little bit about chilaquiles. Chilaquiles is a dish that comes from Mexico and is generally comprised of fried corn tortillas, scrambled eggs, beans or meat, cheese, and salsa . Different versions are found in certain parts of Mexico and areas of Central and South America.

Looks messy but tastes delicious

The following meal serves 8, and took about 15-20 minutes to prepare (Isaac cut and sauteed the veggies while I put the casserole together). Cook time is about 35-40 minutes. They say to cool for 10 minutes before serving, but we'll see if I can wait that long.


Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 small or 1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped (approximately 2 cups)
1 medium yellow squash (approximately 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
5 taco-size (8 inch) flour tortillas (we used whole wheat), divided
4 cups shredded white cheddar cheese, divided
1 medium jalapeno pepper, minced
2 cups Grit Pintos or canned seasoned pinto beans
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon dry or prepared mustard

**White cheddar cheese can be expensive, so we went with a bag of mixed "Mexican blend" cheese. Seemed to work fine.
Also, I left out the jalapeno pepper. I like a little spice, but those bad boys are difficult for me to enjoy.

Make it!
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13" pan or glass casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter and set aside.

In a large skillet or frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over high heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute until onions are softened. Add zucchini, squash, dry spices, and salt. Tossing frequently for even cooking, saute until vegetables are fully tender and onions are caramelized. Set aside.


Tear 3 tortillas by hand into random strips 2 to 3 inches wide. Distribute tortilla strips into bottoms of casserole dish, layering evenly (retain remaining 2 tortillas for top crust). Spread 2 cups of shredded cheese over torn tortillas. Sprinkle minced jalapeno evenly over cheese, followed by a layer of the pinto beans. Spread sauteed vegetables over this, and top evenly with remaining cheese.


Tear remaining 2 tortillas as before and distribute on top to form upper crust.
Beat eggs together with buttermilk and mustard.
Pour mixture over casserole and place in oven.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and well browned on top.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Top with Grit Salsa.

Right out of the oven

**If you ask really nicely, I may post the recipe for Grit Pinto beans and Salsa. Or you could just go buy the book and support this amazing local restaurant!





Check out The Grit and get the cookbook HERE!

Naan Pizza with Canadian Bacon, Asparagus, and Fontina Cheese

Since Isaac and I are both pretty active people, we attempt to eat healthy and make good meals that will benefit our exercise and training. Sometimes it's hard to find recipes that are full of protein and the right amount of carbs to compliment all the cardio we do. I mean, you can only eat chicken and broccoli so many nights a week. If you're like me, you don't like to eat the same thing twice in, well probably about a year. I'm all about changing it up and cooking a variety of things, even if some of the ingredients are similar. This drives Isaac crazy, but I think he secretly enjoys the adventure of attempting to cook something new every night.

My awesome friend Courtney bought me a cookbook for Christmakah last year. It's called The Athlete's Palate Cookbook, and it's a compilation of recipes by different chefs who are also athletes. It contains a ton of different, healthy recipes that are good for training days, race days, and recovery meals. Tonight's dinner was one of the easiest recipes I've made from this book, and definitely one of the best (so far). I guess you want the recipe, right?
Oh, and I hope this color makes you think of Canadian bacon.


This recipe feeds 4 (or 2 really hungry athletes)
Prep time: 10 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes


Ingredients:

Chop chop.

2 (9") naan (8-ounce package)
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup prepared pesto (I made my own)
8 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off, cut into 1.5" lengths
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (or E.V.O.O if you're a fan of Rachel Ray...)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 slices Canadian bacon, cut into thin strips
2/3 cup (about 2 ounces) grated Fontina cheese

Ready for round one in the oven.

Put it all together:

Oven rack should be at a lower-middle position. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the flat breads on a baking sheet. Mix the ricotta and pesto and dollop onto the breads. Toss the asparagus with the oil ad a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Evenly distribute the spears, along with the Canadian bacon, over the naan. Bake until the breads are warm throughout and the asparagus is bright green, about 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven. Divide the fontina equally and top each naan with a portion of the cheese. Return them to the oven and continue to bake until the breads are crisp and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes longer. Cut each naan into quarters, serving each person 2 slices, or half a naan.

Per serving: 360 calories, 18 G protein, 32 G carbohydrates, 18 G fat

**If you don't want to spend the big bucks on Fontina cheese, I'd go with a white cheddar or another soft Italian cheese. We also topped ours with grated Parmesan. What can I say, I like cheese.

Mmm. It was so crispy and good.

Buy the Cookbook HERE!

Potsticker Soup

Isaac and I both love shopping at Trader Joe's. However, it's not the most practical thing for us, since we live on the East side of town, about 4 minutes away from Kroger and an additional 1 away from Publix. When we do go to Trader Joe's, we go a little crazy with our grocery shopping. As silly as it sounds, it somehow seems special to shop there, and way more fun.

Last year I bought The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook, and I've just recently started cooking out of it. It has a ton of great recipes, and you don't have to buy everything at Trader Joe's. The following dinner is just one of the many awesome recipes from the book.

There was no picture in the cook book, but ours turned out very colorful!

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cubes frozen crushed garlic (you could use a clove or two of fresh garlic, chopped)
1/2 (16-ounce) package frozen chicken or vegetable potstickers (about 12)
1 (20-ounce) bag of stir-fry vegetables (or really any frozen veggies you're in the mood for)
1/2 cup shredded carrots
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
*If vegetable broth and vegetable potstickers are used, the recipe is vegetarian!

What to do:
In a medium saucepain, combine brother, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Add potstickers and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes. Add stir-fry vegetables and carrots simmer until vegetables are tender and potstickers are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Garnish with green onions and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Serves: 4-6
Prep  Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Black Bean Burgers

Tonight Isaac cooked up some simple black bean burgers.

The original recipe is for six servings...we went ahead and made all six so we could have leftovers for lunch.

We ate our "burgers" with cheese, lettuce, and tomato on top. Next time we'll try them with avocado or guacamole, and maybe a little bit of salsa.

Since we were sticking to a quick recipe tonight, we made some Alexia brand sweet potato waffle fries to go along with our entree. They were delicious and went really well with the flavors of the burger.

The original recipe can be found at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2565

Ingredients:

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped (it's a lot of onion, you may want to add less)

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or granules
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot sauce to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive or canola oil
6 potato rolls (you could use whole wheat hamburger buns instead)
Lettuce (however you like it)

Tomato (thinly sliced)

Monterrey Jack Cheese (slices)

Instructions:

Put beans in a large bowl and mash well with a fork. Add egg, yellow onion, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Mix well to combine then shape into 6 patties.

Heat griddle to 375 degrees F and coat with cooking spray OR heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange patties in a single layer (working in batches, if needed) and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total. Place cheese on patties while they're still on the griddle to allow for melting time. Transfer to buns, top with lettuce, tomatoes and serve.

Per serving: 290 calories (70 from fat), 7g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 35mg cholesterol, 450mg sodium, 47g total carbohydrate (10g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 12g protein

*This does NOT include the cheese!

This recipe has been Abe-approved.

The takeover

Hi. My name is Whitney. I have (un)officially taken over Isaac's blog. As you can see, nothing has been posted since February, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been eating. In fact, he has been eating pretty well. I have continued to take pictures of our meals on his phone and have encouraged him to post, but my attempts have been unsuccessful. So here I am, writing my first blog post ever. I'm not a very eloquent writer, but you're not here to listen to me, right? It's all about the food. We don't make up a lot of our own recipes...why reinvent the wheel? It is, however, nice to share the good ones we come across.

Anyway, here's what Isaac ate tonight (he actually cooked it all too):

Naan.

Prep time: 20 minutes            Rest time: 60 minutes             Total Time: 90 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

Directions

1. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Stir in the yogurt till the dough is too stiff for a spoon, then knead it in the bowl till it holds together well, adding more flour if necessary.
3. Turn it out on a floured surface and continue kneading for about 5 minutes till the dough feels smooth and elastic.
4. Form the dough into a ball and put it in an oiled bowl, covered with a towel, to rest for an hour or longer.
5. Take the dough out and cut it into 5 equal pieces. Form each into a ball and press the balls flat into round discs.
6. Heat a large frying pan or griddle, either seasoned cast iron or a good non-stick finish.
7. Heat your oven to about 500 degrees F.
8. Take 1 piece of dough at a time and roll it out on a floured surface till it is about 8-10 inches across and less than 1/4 inch thick.
9. Lay it on the hot griddle and cook it over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
10. It will puff up in places or all over, and there will be some blackish-brown spots on the bottom.
11. Slide a spatula under the naan and transfer it to the oven, directly onto the rack, for a minute or two, just till it finishes puffing up into a balloon and begins to color lightly on top
12. Remove naan from the oven and brush it lightly with melted butter if you like.
13. Continue this way with all the dough.
14. Serve the breads hot, fresh from the oven, or let them cool and wrap them up.
15. To reheat, wrap them in aluminum foil, in packets of 4 or 5 breads and put them in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

**Since there are only two of us, this is our scaled-down version. Get the original recipe at: http://www.food.com/recipe/naan-203261#ixzz1rgZf73Gt

Green Lentils with Garlic & Onion.

Prep time: 10 minutes                   Total time: 75 minutes                  Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (we used ground)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup whole green lentils, washed and drained
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Directions

1. Heat oil in heavy pot over a medium flame. When hot, add cumin. A few seconds later, put in the garlic. Stir and fry until the garlic pieces turn a medium brown color. Now add the onion. Stir and fry until the onion pieces begin to turn brown at the edges. Put in the lentils and the water. Bring the water to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for about an hour or until lentils are tender. Nearly all of the liquid should have been absorbed, but watch that it doesn't turn completely solid.
2. Add the salt and the cayenne. Stir to mix and simmer gently for another 5 minutes.

View original recipe at http://www.food.com/recipe/green-lentils-with-garlic-onion-madhur-jaffrey-438848


This meal took a while to prepare, and may be better for a weekend than a busy weeknight! If you give yourself enough time and start the naan ahead of time, you'll be good to go. Isaac liked the naan, but I thought it was a little bit tough and not as soft and fluffy as it should be. It was tasty once I topped it with lettuce, shredded carrots, and the lentils, and good for a recipe with such few ingredients. Overall, it was a nice,simple vegetarian meal with lots of fiber and a decent amount of protein (go lentils!). I would make it again. Wait, let me re-phrase that. I would have Isaac make it again!

Oh, and listening to your Bollywood radio station on Pandora while cooking and eating only enhances the experience.