Living Insanity's Loving Food

It was my best friend's birthday this weekend.  We all headed to Eldersburg for some Basta Pasta.  Boyfriend got the crush of the week, key lime pie.  We also managed to be there for happy hour Fri night.  The best thing we ate were the veal meatballs.  The app comes with 2 huge meatballs.  They were full of garlic.  Yum.  Since I'm not eating pasta I had the meatballs, caprese, salad, chicken parmesan, and a side of broccoli.  The caprese was the most disappointing item we ordered.  It was sliced tomato, sliced mozz, some basil chiffonade, and no balsamic drizzle of any kind.  The service was very good this time.  The live music was also great.  Not too loud and good selection of songs.  

I thought I had food poisoning last week, but it could have been a stomach virus.  Either way I finally got over it and I was hungry.  I also didn't want to cook.  For a while, pictures of food make me sick.  I ordered enough Ziza Kabob to last me 2 meals.  Pictured is 2 samosas, kofta and chicken kabob over rice with a very small disappointing salad, an extremely large pita bread, cilantro yogurt sauce, mango chutney, and bolani which is a bread stuffed with a potato filling.  I will say the baked bolani is better at Maiwand Kabob.  

Ingredients for the loaves: 1 lb ground beef 1 -2 slices of bread (original recipe suggested crush tortilla chips) I used low carb bread Can black beans.  Eyeball the amount you want.  A whole can is not needed  Can corn.  Eyeball the amount, whole can is not needed.   1 -2 eggs salsa 1 packet taco seasoning dash of milk.  I used almond milk  Shredded cheddar cheese Topping:  red enchilada sauce and more cheddar cheese Serving Suggestions:  sour cream, salsa, guacamole, avocado slices In a bowl place the bread and soak it in milk.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and mix using your hands.  I make mini loaves and this made about 5.  A few fell apart so I think I needed more egg and more bread to bind it together.  The addition of the corn and black bean made it hard for them to stay together I think.  Put the mini loaves on a sprayed sheet fan.  Top with red enchilada sauce.  When the loaves are done add cheese to the top and pop in the oven to melt.  Serve with your favorite Mexic

I marinated some boneless chicken thighs in mojo sauce.  BBQ sauce was added at the end of grilling the chicken.  I also had some chicken sausage, asparagus with lots of lemon juice, and baked loaded sweet potatoes.  I love the warmer weather!  

The low carb chaffle.  I got a mini dash waffle maker for Christmas.  This recipe makes about 6 waffles if you dont overload the waffle maker and make a mess like I did on my first try :) Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 cup cheddar cheese 1/4 cup almond flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Combine everything in a bowl.  Preheat the waffle maker.  Lightly spray with cooking spray. Spoon batter onto the waffle maker and cook at least 3 minutes. I suggest having an air fryer on or your oven to keep the first few warm.  By the time you make 6 they will be cold.  I used two waffles to make a breakfast sandwich.  I think they would be wonderful as a soup dipper too.   

  Almond flour paleo biscuits with everything bagel seasoning Chicken noodle soup with mushroom (noodles)   Turkey, bacon avocado wrap on a low carb keto tortilla Pepperoni pizza on a low carb keto tortilla Yeah I'm back on the low carb healthy eating train :(

My best friend says he likes to just roast vegetables to eat.  I have been eating sweet potatoes in a few different ways lately.  I peel, cube, and roast the sweet potato with olive oil, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.  This was a sweet potato with friend rice.  I recently made roasted sweet potato topped with leftover taco meat and made a taco bowl.  

  I bought packages of dried tortellini on sale and needed something to use them in.  I also buy packages of Costco meatballs and freeze them.  I got a jar of pasta sauce out, watered it down, added some seasonings like salt, pepper, Italian, then got it boiling.  I added the tortellini and some frozen peas and boiled the pasta until it was soft.  I baked my meatballs in the oven and then added them to the soup.  This is one of those soups that tasted better the second day.  

This is one of those recipes to use up some pantry items!  Plenty of people will argue it's not real goulash and it's not supposed to be.  Some people call this American chop suey too.  Either way it's a hearty good meal during winter. Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey 1 small onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic, diced Half box of Macaroni noodles 14 ounce canned corn 14 ounce canned green beans 8 ounce canned tomato sauce 14 ounce diced tomatoes 1 cup chicken or beef broth 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt and pepper 2 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning Directions: Heat oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onion and meat, cook through.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add all seasonings.  Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add in canned vegetables.   Reduce heat and add noodles until cooked through.  Follow the minutes on the packaging.  Ready to eat!   

  The Costco meatloaf is large like all things Costco.  It costs $16 and you can get four servings out of it for sure, maybe more.  I felt like it needed a green veggie accompaniment.  When I reheated the mashed potatoes I added some milk and sour cream to the top to keep them moist.  When I reheated the meatloaf I added some extra bbq sauce or ketchup too.  This was perfect for week night meals.  

  INGREDIENTS: 1 package frozen cheese and onion potato pierogi. 1/2 spicy smoked kielbasa sausage Onion Sauerkraut Butter Steam pierogi in a covered pan with water and a little oil. Melt butter in a pan and saute onions and brown the sausage.  Add some krat at the end and just heat it through.  Stir steamed pierogi into the butter mixture and serve.  Some people like to serve with some sour cream on the side.  

 My birthday was between Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine's Day which also happened to be Ash Wednesday this year.  I made myself a few devil's food cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting to celebrate.  

We went to Fogo de Chao for my birthday!  I had a wonderful cranberry cosmo mocktail.  It was so good I ordered the CleanCo vodka, tequila, and rum to make mixed drinks at home.  This was my salad bar plate waiting for meat to arrive LOL the other drink was the boyfriend's strawberry hibiscus caipirinha.

I had turkey pot pie soup at a local Irish restaurant.  Ever since I've been thinking I want that soup, but with mashed potato topping.  So here we are, a chicken pot pie filling with a mashed potato topping. Ingredients: Rotisserie chicken Butter Flour, about a half a cup.  You just need enough to cover the amount of veggies you sautee Carrots, diced Celery, diced Onion, diced (this one happened to have some diced green pepper in it) (you can add frozen peas, but my boyfriend wont eat them) 2 cups Chicken stock.  Don't add all at once.  You don't want a runny filling. Salt Pepper Thyme is also a good herb to add in with chicken Mashed Potatoes (red skinned potatoes, milk of your choice, butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, sour cream all to taste) Shredded cheddar cheese  Melt about a stick of butter in a large deep pan or a soup pot. Stir in diced vegetables and cook until softened. Add the flour over the vegetables and cook the flour in the butter for a minute.  You don&

  Ingredients: Italian sausage, casings removed 1/2 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 3 cups chicken broth 2 1/2 cups water 2-3 dried bay leaves 2 cups marinara sauce (I used our regular jarred spaghetti sauce) black pepper broken lasagna noodles (break them into small pieces or they just don't stay on the spoon) Toppings: shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup ricotta cheese grated parmesan cheese fresh chopped parsley fresh basil chiffonade Mix the ricotta cheese with some fresh parsley and grated parmesan.  The mozzarella and basil will be individual toppings.   Directions: Heat oil in a large soup pot.  Add the sausage until browned breaking it up with your spoon. Add chopped onion and cook about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant.   Add broth, water, parsley, pasta sauce, bay leaves, black pepper, and bring to a boil. Add in broken pasta and boil per box instructions. Divide soup among bowls and top with the riccotta cheese mixtur

  Ingredients: 2 cups diced onion (about 1.5 small onions) 1 package sliced mushrooms 4 tablespoons butter 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprika 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons corn starch 1/2 cup sour cream Lemon juice Salt Pepper Cayenne pepper In a large pot melt butter. Add onions until softened. Add mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and soy sauce. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 cup milk. Add milk mixture to soup, cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne. Serve with some crusty bread

  Ingredients: 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs 1 cup grated parmesan 3/4 cup flour 2 large eggs 6 thin chicken breasts Salt Pepper Cheese Favorite jar of pasta sauce Peanut oil for frying Add flour with salt and pepper to a plate. In a shallow bowl combine breadcrumbs and parmesan. In another bowl beat the 2 eggs with a tablespoon of water. Pat chicken dry, dip into seasoned flour, shake off excess. Dip floured chicken into the egg and then breadcrumb mixture. Heat oil in a large pot or pan until thermometer reads 350 degrees F. Fry one piece of chicken at a time. Transfer to an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Spoon pasta sauce over the chicken and top with cheese. I used a slice of thin provolone and then sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on top of that. Place under the broiler for about 2 minutes. Cheese should be just browning. Serve over spaghetti with extra pasta sauce and with a salad!