Keeper: Asparagus

So, this was super simple, but soooo good. It's also mostly from budget bytes.

Take the trimmed asparagus and put it in a skillet with some water (so it's like half covered). Put heat on high and leave it on there until the asparagus is soft and a happy bright green. Then drain off water and add a tiny pat of butter, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh

Drink: Raspberry Lemon Iced Tea

So, this is barely even a recipe, but I bet I'll still have trouble remembering it exists when I want something healthy to drink that's not water. So here it is:

Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger Tea
Lemon juice
Make the tea, put lemon juice in it. Fridge and ice.
Mmmmmh refreshing

Keeper: Freezer Food: Black Bean Quesadillas

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/02/hearty-black-bean-quesadillas/

These are a great freezer option. I want a healthier version though. Things to contemplate.

Cost: My most expensive ingredient was the whole wheat tortillas. Regular flour would have been cheaper (and honestly possibly more delicious to my tastes), but much less healthy.
Convenience: Super easy. Chopping onion and garlic was the hardest part.
Delicious: Mmmh quesadilla.
Freeze: Works well, but can take a while to warm up so the cheese will melt, need it on low.
Uses:  Quick healthy dinner, warming and filling, easy
Notes: -can I add more veggies? --or more cheese? Intriuging

Vegetables: Vegetarian Southern Style Collard Greens

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/vegetarian-southern-style-collard-greens-recipe.html

I had tons of leftover collard greens from the African peanut stew this week, so I made this. It's delicious and easy. I didn't have an onion to spare, so I used dried onion flakes.

My Own Recipe: Easy Hoisin Cabbage

I have no idea what someone else would think of this dish that I just made, but it's making me happy. It's very in your face with the flavors, but I'm liking it.

Situation: I had nearly a whole head of extra green cabbage from last week that I didn't know what to do with. I didn't want to eat the whole thing raw because I would like my stomach to still be talking to me politely by the end of the week. So, it needed to be cooked.

But recipes take effort. I looked up a few and then shrugged, chopped it into small bites, put a couple tbsp of water and the cabbage in the pyrex, and shoved it into the microwave until it got a little softer. (I meant to cook it until it was totally soft, but this cabbage was more persistent than I was.)

This is a success, but not a huge one.Now I had half-steamed cabbage that I didn't want to eat. How to give it some flavor?

Nothing sounded good (except maybe like apple and lime or vinegar, but that would take more chopping), but I want to use up my hoisin sauce, so I decided to see what I could do with that.

This is what I did with that:

 Hoisin sauce + Sriracha sauce + roasted sesame seeds + optional bit of cilantro (I liked the color the cilantro added, but I wasn't entirely sold on the flavor addition)

I couldn't tell you how much of each component because I just squirted the sauces in the bottom of a bowl and stirred them together, added the cabbage, and then liberally sprinkled on the sesame seeds.

And mmmmh it's got some kick and some weird depth of flavor and I am a happy girl. The sesame seeds are definitely essential.

Later: Hmmmm Well. It is delicious, but it's more of a small doses kind of delicious. I got that big bowl of it and I happily ate about half of the bowl. Picked at the next 1/4 and then threw out hte last 1/4. I think it had a chance of being much better if the cabbage was thoroughly cooked and therefore blander. I may shove it back in the microwave and try again.

Keeper Recipe: Baked Acorn Squash

So, I started with this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-acorn-squash-with-brown-sugar-and-butter-recipe.html

But that wasn't going to do it for me and my desire to not get diabetes. So, I did a dash of salt, dash of pepper, maybe 1/3 tbsp of butter, and 1/2  tbsp of brown sugar and no maple syrup.  Next time, I'd give more butter and brown sugar for a much richer flavor, but it doesn't really matter.

Recipe:
- slice it open (and slice a little bit of the bottom if it won't stay upright)
-scoop out insides and throw in trash (unless you have creative powers and can use it)
- put some stuff on it, preferably brown sugar and butter-- add a bit of salt and pepper too
-put it in the oven at 400F for 1 hour and stab it with a fork to be sure it's good to go

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
delicious

Cost: Whatever the cost of acorn squash is, currently it's real cheap.
Convenience: Could hardly be easier to make, but it does take time to cook. 
Delicious: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmh
Freeze: Dunno. Doesn't sound like a great idea.
Uses: Side dish, quick healthy dinner, warming and filling, eat your veggies
Notes: -could be interesting to try some other toppings on it--lots of variety possible
-life is much better if you put it on aluminum foil so you can destroy the environment but not have to wash dishes.

Apple Cherry Baked Oatmeal: It's a thing

Eh. I'll probably make this again, but I'm not thrilled about it.

 I've tried budget bytes morning glory baked oatmeal and that was pretty addictive after a couple of days when I'd gotten used to the baked oatmeal and the flavors had intensified, but it was such a pain to make. I made this earlier this week for a potluck brunch and it was okay, so I tried it again today (all the ingredients were still there) and cooked it for less time and added a tablespoon of brown sugar. It's still just okay, but it's super easy to make and sounds great, so tomorrow I'm going to hope the flavors have gotten stronger and add some almonds on top. Live in hope!

It does get stronger and more delicious the next day. If I made it again, I would consider adding more spices or something-- maybe cardamom? Mix it up a little and give it a little more flavor without adding more sugar.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/05/apple-cherry-baked-oatmeal/

Takes Time, but Dlelicious Sweet Potato Breakfast Burrito

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/13954/addictive-sweet-potato-burritos/

I haven't made these since Albuquerque, but I was just thinking about them and wanted to make sure I had this at my fingertips.

Inspiration Page

I have lots of good soups, but I would like a soup that I could have as a go to for bringing when someone is sick-- a veggie chicken noodle or something?
http://thevegan8.com/2014/10/18/classic-vegan-noodle-soup/

Orzo Summer Salad
http://pinchofyum.com/zippy-orzo-summer-salad

Pasta sauce to try, maybe for my fancy pasta?
http://thevegan8.com/2013/12/28/vegan-garlic-alfredo-sauce/

Baked fried rice! Baked fried rice! (can also try with quinoa)
http://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-baked-fried-brown-rice-yes-baked-fried-rice/

Thai Basil Vegetable recipe-- for when I'm willing to chop things
http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-basil-vegetables-34202

Freezer Pasta Meal

http://ohmyveggies.com/freezer-friendly-pesto-lasagna-roll-ups/

https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/05/5-minute-savory-microwave-breakfast-mug/
Easy breakfast!


https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/watermelon-strawberry-slushie
Healthy slushie come Summer!

https://twosleevers.com/instant-pot-paneer-vegetable-biryani/

Keeper: Quesadilla

I wanted something warm and satifying and comforting for snack and I was wandering around indecisively until I remembered that I had tortillas.

So, less than 5 minutes later, warm quesadilla in hand (pepperjack and brie!), I am so happy with life. 

I just did it dry, works fine and barely have to wash the pan, but I've also used just enough melted butter to coat the bottom before (internet tells me this is about 1/2 tsp. Could also use pam, or just read someone saying that they think it works better to put the butter on the tortilla with their fingers instead of hte pan)

Quesadilla ideas

 Peanut butter and banana (really delicious desert one)

cheese + tobasco

cheese + beans + hot sauce

grated sweet potatoes sauteed with onion and cilantro and layered with Jack cheese

caramelized onions and brie. 

Why am I even listing these? Just make delicious things.