Tag: dinner

Sautéed Collard Greens? Cajun or No?

FOOD, Uncategorized

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Yes. Sautéed collard greens. Is it easy to do? Yes, it is. Is there more than one way to do it? Of course. Here is my spin.

  • One bag of chopped and pre washed greens (Does not have to be collards & as you can see mines were on sale). They can also be fresh greens but, you will have to wash (several times to remove dirt/sand/etc.) and chop them.
  • Olive oil
  • Chicken stock/broth or water (in my opinion the broth/stock adds flavor)
  • Butter
  • Louisiana Cajun Seasoning (If you are not up for spice just use salt and pepper)
  • White pepper (optional)
  • Spice Supreme Crushed Red Pepper (optional)
  • Garlic Salt
  • Onions (frozen or fresh but I used frozen chopped onions) 1/2 cup (optional)

The bag is 16 oz and I chose to use 8 oz of greens which was enough for two people. You can use the entire bag. I froze the other half. Soak the greens in hot water from the faucet for 10 minutes. Remove and pat dry.

In a medium skillet, add one tbsp. of butter and one tbsp. of olive oil. (If you are doing the entire bag you will need a large skillet but you can use the same amount of butter and oil it is up to you. You can also use only butter or only oil). Heat butter and oil on medium, medium-high (I put mines on 6). Add onions (you can use onion powder or flakes instead). When onions are translucent add your greens and 1/2 cup of chicken broth (1 cup if you are cooking the entire bag). YOU CAN USE WATER but, to me the broth or stock adds flavor. Add the seasonings I have listed for Cajun (Cajun seasoning, white pepper, crushed red pepper and garlic salt) or if you don’t want Cajun just salt, pepper, or garlic salt will do. How much? Add to your liking (I sprinkle evenly as possible across and stir in for each seasoing except the crushed pepper flakes!). NOTE: You only need about 8-10 flakes of the red crushed pepper. It is powerful! ALSO: I stir occasionally and definitely keep and eye on it to if the broth evaporates too soon you will need to add more.

It takes about 8-10 minutes (or until broth nearly evaporates) to sauté for a firm leaf but, if you want it a little more tender keep going and add more water or broth. Just test to see if it’s okay for you.

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~Nikki

 

RA Blog: What’s For Dinner?

FOOD, RAFibroOAEtc., Uncategorized

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One of my favorite, simple, and easy things to make for dinner is pizza. We all know cooking with RD (RA) or any other autoimmune disorder can be tough and almost impossible. We want it to be quick, easy, and as healthy as possible. You want it now as well if you have had a prednisone dose (most of us are extremely hungry because of this steroid for pain)!

Well, this may or may not be healthy depending on what you put on it and what type of crust you use. In the one above it’s a veggie pizza. You can buy veggies already chopped or chop your own. You can look in the fridge and just throw whatever veggies you have on the pizza. Think outside the box and take a chance with veggies like carrots and cauliflower. You can buy any type of crust you like or even make your own with cauliflower. I used a flatbread crust for mines. You can choose your sauce and add cheese. The one below is a buffalo chicken pizza topped with bacon. Pizza nights for us are usually on the weekend or it can be whenever you are just not feeling up to cooking a big meal. Add a salad and enjoy.

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When making the buffalo chicken pizza, I bake a boneless chicken breast (season it with Tony’s seasoning), cut it into pieces (slices or chunks, most of the time my daughter does this because of my hands), and let it soak in a buffalo sauce. Any buffalo sauce will do. I let it soak for about 10 minutes and then I toss them onto the pizza. Baking times are usually on your crust package. Once it’s done, I top it with bacon (optional of course) immediately so it can stick to the cheese as much as possible ( I cook the bacon while I am baking the chicken).

~Nikki

Food Confetti: Easy Mini Beefy Mac Bake

FOOD, Uncategorized

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1 lb ground chuck (turkey, lean ground beef)

macaroni pasta (about 2 cups dry for four mini dishes)

pepper

Dried oregano

Dried basil

Garlic salt

Onion (1/2 cup or to your liking. My daughter doesn’t care for onions and manage to not get complaints with a 1/2 cup lol)

Casserole cheese (fine)

Jar of Chunky Garden Spaghetti sauce (now you see why it’s easy!) Plus veggies are in this sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put your pasta on per directions on the bag.

Brown ground chuck, add in pepper to your desire, 1 tbsp of oregano and basil (depending on how much you like…a little of these two go a long way), 1 tsp of garlic or garlic salt. Drain. Remove from burner/ire.

Add sauce. Stir.

Add in macaroni. Stir.

Portion it out into mini back dishes. Top with cheese. Place the individual dishes on a baking sheet (I used my pizza pan). Bake for 20-25 minutes. Done!

You can a green veggie on the side or a salad and garlic toast.

~Nikki