Sunday, March 29, 2009

Tuna & Red Pepper Penne Salad

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 6-Ounce Can Tuna, Drained
  • 1 7-Ounce Jar Roasted Red Peppers, Rinsed, Sliced, and Divided
  • 1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Red Onion
  • 2 Tablespoons Capers and Rinsed
  • 2 Tablespoons Plain Yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, Chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1-1/2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
  • 1 Small Garlic Clove, Crushed
  • Salt to Taste
  • Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste
  • 6 Ounces Whole-Wheat Penne
DIRECTIONS:
  • Boil a large pot of lightly salted water, and cook pasta until just tender, around 14 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, combine tuna, 1/3 cup red peppers, onion and capers in a large bowl.
  • Combine yogurt, basil, oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and the remaining 1/3 cup red peppers in a blender and puree until smooth.
  • Once pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cold water.
  • Add to the tuna mixture along with the red pepper sauce, and toss to coat.
This creamy and healthy, homemade dressing of yogurt, basil and red pepper is awesome! The tuna could easily be substituted with any chicken or turkey you may have in your refrigerator. This recipe makes great left-overs.
Enjoy!
This recipe is from Eating Well magazine.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Recycling DVD Spindles

Don't you hate plastics that can't be recycled? Why are they even used nowadays? Dean Bean goes through these DVD/CD spindles at work constantly. After letting them pile up and not wanted to throw them away, we thought, why buy more glass dry good containers when we can simply hack off the spindle of these, flip them up-side down and voila! So far so good.
I have 100's of these if you want any...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Chicken Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
  • 2 Anaheim Peppers, Diced
  • 1 Poblano Pepper, Diced
  • 1 Medium Onion, Diced
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
  • 1 Pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into 1-Inch Pieces
  • 4 Cups Chicken Broth
  • 1 14-Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes With Green Chiles
  • 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
  • 1/2 Cup Corn Tortilla Chips, Slightly Crushed
  • Hot Sauce to Taste
DIRECTIONS:
  • Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add peppers and onion and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to soften, around 5 minutes.
  • Add cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
  • Add chicken, broth, tomatoes and their juice, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, around 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice.
  • Serve each portion topped with some of the tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro and hot sauce.
This recipe for tortilla soup is not only incredibly tasty, extremely easy and quick, but most importantly is an ideal vessel for hot sauce! If you really feel the need to get fancy, you could always bake your own corn tortillas... This Mexican potage weighs in under 290 calories per 1-1/3 cups.
¡Buen Provecho!
This recipe was adapted from one in Eating Well magazine.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Bowled Up Frum Da Flo' Up v The Bowling Stones

Missing our anchor, Josh, and facing a scrappy Bowling Stones team, BUFDFU squeaked out a 2-2 tie in week 12 with the help of our 'bouncy' sub, Kim. The Bowling Stones easily took game one as BUFDFU registered a very modest 524. Bowled Up bounced back in game two, winning by nearly 100 pins with a 613. Game three came down to the wire, with the Stones prevailing behind the 10th frame heroics of their ladies. The 100 pin victory in game two made the difference in the match, giving BUFDFU their second and tieing point.

Highlight of the match has to be Kelley Bean registering a Turkey in all three games!
  • Nina- 140, 137, 90
  • Dean- 146, 152, 105
  • Kelley- 150, 185, 168
  • Kim- 88, 139, 122
Heading into week 13, BUFDFU still sits in third place at 26 - 22 with a pending match-up against the second place Co's Ho's...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Ragout of Pork and Prunes

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 Pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder, Cut Into 1-1/2-Inch Pieces
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt, Divided
  • Fresh Ground Pepper To Taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil, Divided
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter
  • 1/2 Cup Minced Shallots (3 Large)
  • 2 Teaspoons Grated Fresh Ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Sherry Vinegar
  • 1 Teaspoon Thyme
  • 1 Cup Beef Broth
  • 1 Cup Pitted Prunes
  • 1/2 Cup Tawny Port
  • 2 Tablespoons Water
  • 2 Teaspoons Cornstarch
DIRECTIONS:
  • Preheat oven to 350° degrees.
  • Season pork with 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, and cook the pork until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes and set aside.
  • Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot, add the shallots and ginger and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Add brown sugar, vinegar and thyme, bring to a simmer and immediately add broth.
  • Return the pork to the pot, cover, and transfer the pot to the oven, baking until the pork is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Remove from the oven, uncover and let stand for about 15 minutes.
  • While the stew stands, combine prunes and port in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Skim any visible fat from the stew, and stir in the prunes and port.
  • Return the pot to the stove, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
  • Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl.
  • Transfer the pork and prunes to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
  • Return the remaining sauce to a simmer.
  • Stir in the cornstarch mixture a little at a time, stirring and adding more as needed, until the sauce thickens to just coat the spoon.
  • Stir the pork, prunes and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt into the sauce and heat through, about 1 minute.
This inexpensive, slow cooked meal is wonderfully flavored and fills your kitchen with an amazing aroma! The port soaked prunes add a delectable sweetness to the very tender pork that tastes even better as left-overs! This recipe makes about 6 servings at 2/3 cup each and is under 390 calories.
Enjoy!
This recipe is from Eating Well magazine.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Bowled Up Frum Da Flo' Up v On The Ball

Don't look now, but BUFDFU is streaking up the standings! Bowled Up came out strong against a heavily substituted On The Ball team, taking games 1 and 3 by over 100 pins each in addition to the overall pin total. Having finally found some sort of consistency (through two weeks, at least), BUFDFU is poised to make a playoff appearance this season, our first as a team!
  • Nina- 136, 99, 114
  • Dean- 149, 143, 155
  • Kelley- 145, 145, 142
  • Josh- 161, 129, 182
With three weeks of regular season play left before playoffs, BUFDFU sits in 3rd place at 24-20.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Chicken Tostada

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 14-Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes with Jalapeños
  • 1 Medium Onion, Thinly Sliced
  • 1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
  • 8 Hard Corn Tostadas
  • 1 Avocado, Pitted
  • 1/4 Cup Prepared Salsa
  • 2 Tablespoons Sour Cream
  • 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
  • 1 Cup Romaine Lettuce, Shredded
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
DIRECTIONS:
  • Grill the chicken breast over medium heat until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side and transfer to cutting board.
  • Using a fork, pull chicken apart to create shredded, bite-size pieces and set aside.
  • Bring tomatoes and their juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Add chicken and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, mash avocado in a bowl, stir in salsa, sour cream and cilantro until combined.
  • Spread each tostada with some of the avocado mixture.
  • Top with the chicken mixture, lettuce and cheese.
Grilled chicken breast can be substituted with nearly anything in this Tex-Mex recipe. We like to use our George Forman quite a bit, but you simply poach the chicken breast. Try left-over turkey from Thanksgiving or that small piece of tenderloin you just couldn't finish. One serving is two tostadas and only comes in at around 400 calories!
Enjoy!
This recipe was adapted from Eating Well magazine.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Bowled Up Frum Da Flo' Up v The PinUps

Sweep, sweep, sweep, sweep...
BUFDFU took it hard to fellow NorthEnders, the PinUps this week taking all four points in a blow-out!
  • Nina- 131, 107, 112
  • Dean- 190, 145, 145
  • Kelley-151, 149, 161
  • Josh- 118, 136, 129
With four weeks until playoffs, BUFDFU is sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot at 21 - 19.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Borscht

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
  • 2 Cups Beef Broth
  • 1 Medium Russet Potato, Peeled and Diced
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
  • 1 Bunch of Beets, Root Ends and Greens Trimmed, Peeled
  • 2 Teaspoons Red-Wine Vinegar
  • 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1 Tablespoon Horseradish
  • 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, Chopped
DIRECTIONS:
  • Place cubed beets in a vegetable steamer basket over 1 inch of boiling water in a large pot, cover and steam over high heat until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
  • Add broth, potato, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the potato is tender, about 8 minutes.
  • Add steamed beets and vinegar, return to a boil, then cover and continue cooking until the broth is deep red and the potato is very soft, 2 to 3 minutes more.
  • Combine sour cream and horseradish in a small bowl.
  • Serve the soup with a dollop of the horseradish sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley.
This simple Ukrainian soup gets a little extra kick with the addition of horseradish. This can easily be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for the beef broth. One servings is one cup of soup and is under 175 calories!

The Beans ♥ The Beets

насолоджуватися!
This recipe is from Eating Well magazine.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Bowled Up Frum Da Flo' Up v I Can't Believe It's Not Gutter

Game one = Competition.
Game two = Let down.
Game three= Wheels feel off. (418 Team Score)
  • Nina- 103, 114, 101
  • Dean- 134, 117, 87
  • Kelley- 142, 142, 132
  • Josh- 125, 145, 99
BUFDFU is in 5th place at 17 - 19.