Poke...Yes Please!

Wow it has been quite some time since I have posted on my blog.

A lot has happened since January 2024!

I started this blog when my son was just a toddler and he is 14 now. Mercy

One thing I have always tried to do is make sure my son experiences a multitude of foods throughout his life so far. I have my own personal foodie buddy. We tend to like the same thing, so it is just fun having new food experiences with him. 

Last Summer he was on a kick that he wanted to try poke (pronounced poh-kay). For those that don't know what poke is, it is a traditional Hawaiian dish. At its basic sense it is bite sized pieces of raw fish usually ahi tuna (you can use other types of fish as well). You season the tuna lightly with ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, and sea salt. The poke literally means "to slice" or "to cut crosswise", which that is how the fish is prepared. It is presented in a bowl which usually includes rice or greens, the marinated fish, and then the sky is the limit for toppings.  

That is where our version comes in. While traditional poke honors its Hawaiian roots with simplicity, my son and I take a more playful, mix or match approach-aka no rules, more about flavors my son loves. It is still considered poke but we add a variety of fresh ingredients, bold flavors and the bowl turns into both comforting and fun. My son and I like to do a Cajun seasoning seared ahi tuna. Then we tend to include avocado, cucumber, seaweed salad, Krab salad, edamame, crunchy onions (like the kind in green bean casserole), green onions, pickled ginger, often tropical fruit like mango or pineapple. Then you will see some sort of spicy mayo or unagi sauce drizzled over the top. 

Poke has turned into a regular rotation meal on our calendar each month. Give it a try. You don't have to serve it with truly "raw" fish. I have seen some restaurants use cooked chicken or shrimp in the poke bowls too. 

Ingredients

Ahi Tuna (fresh or frozen steaks) - I have found that Aldi has three small pieces for less than $5 frozen

White rice or sushi rice - cooked 2 cups

English Cucumber - peeled and cut into bits size pieces

Edamame- fresh or frozen- 1 cup

Fried Crunchy Onions (1/2 c - the kind you use for green bean casserole like Durkee)

Green onions -2 sliced into small pieces whites and green parts

Krab Salad (if you like this)- you can make it yourself or buy at deli 1/2 cup

Avocado- 1 sliced or cut into bite size pieces

Pickled Ginger- just a bit to throw into the bowl for palate cleanser

Fresh Mango/Pineapple- 1 cup cut into bite sized pieces

Sauce (drizzle)- We like the premade Unagi Sauce that we find at our local H Mart but I have seen it on Amazon.

Cajun Seasoning (our preference)

Olive oil or Avocado oil

Let's put this together (You should be able to get 2-3 bowls out of this)

First you would want to prepare the ahi tuna. 

Liberally coat your tuna steaks on both sides with the seasoning of your choice. In our case Cajun.

Drizzle some oil in the skillet and make sure it is hot not smoking but hot. Place the tuna steaks in and sear for about a minute or two on each side, leaving the middle raw (our preference). Do not overcook. 

Remove from the skillet and place on cutting board to cut into bite size pieces. 

You will want to cook your white rice, or you can also use leftover Chinese take-out rice too.

Now let's get this bowl put together. 

Place your rice in the bowl. 

Then here is where I have fun being creative and place the fresh ingredients on top of the rice so that it is eye pleasing. After all you eat with your eyes first!

Place your tuna on top and then drizzle with your sauce of choice. 

Now it is time to enjoy eating your masterpiece. 

I hope you try this recipe or even try it out in a restaurant some time. 

A nice day for potato soup

 Woke up this morning thinking I didn’t want to leave the house today but wanted to make some soup. 

So I went through the pantry and fridge and decided to make some potato soup. Soups are so nice because you can often just use up what you have in fridge from the week that need used up. 

Potato soup is always so filling and could lead to a nice afternoon nap on the sofa. 

Here is how I whipped up some tasty potato soup for today to enjoy. Hope you decide to make up something just as tasty today. 

Recipe

Ingredients-

5-6 slices of bacon (more if you want to garnish with crumbled bacon)

6 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes 

1 c diced onions 

1 c chopped celery

3 minced garlic cloves

3 T butter

1/3 c flour

2 2/3 c Whole milk

4 c chicken stock

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 c sour cream

Shredded cheddar (optional)

Green onion (optional)

Directions- 

In Dutch oven, cook up bacon and remove once crispy. Keep bacon grease in pot. 

Add butter to pot with the bacon grease. Add onion and celery and cook over medium heat until tender. 

Add in garlic and let it mingle with onions and celery for about one minute. Sprinkle in flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Let it cook for about another minute.

Add in potatoes, milk, stock, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Stir and let pot come to a boil. Make sure you occasionally stir to make sure nothing sticks to bottom of pot. Continue to boil until potatoes are tender. 

Back the heat down to low. Then remove about 4-5 cups of the soup and put in blender to smooth. You could also use an immersion blender. I prefer to throw into my Vitamix so that I don’t over purée all of the potatoes in the pot. 

Pour back the portion of soup you took out to blend back in with remaining soup. Stir in sour cream and the crumbled bacon you previously cooked. 

Let simmer another 5 minutes on low. Turn heat off and ladle you out some yummy goodness. Garnish with shredded cheese, green onion, bacon, and or sour cream. Whatever you like. 

Hope you enjoy.

Hey Mom- I’m Hungry

 If I had a dime for every time I heard that, I would be rich woman. Lol

Having a son that is obsessed with basketball, I am always looking for ways to keep him fueled so he can do what he loves. 

He has been so focused on trimming down and becoming the best he can be so that he can excel in playing basketball and feeling good about himself. 

I mean after all he is at that age where appearance starts mattering and if they are passionate about an activity such as basketball in his case, they want to be able to keep up with their peers and be the best they can. 

So that is where this blog topic came to mind. What are some healthy snack and meal choices to keep our active kiddos running on a full tank?

I am very fortunate to have a son that loves his veggies. He truly isn’t a picky eater. We have gone through years where he was so addicted to carbs. You know bread and rice. He would love for me to just give him a bowl of white rice with some soy sauce and that would make him happy. Well it caught up with both us. The pounds started packing on. 

We have since then changed over to occasionally have the rice but on a regular basis we choose to make riced cauliflower. I was skeptical but we have really taken a liking to it. 

Protein is key in our diet and it seems to sustain an even flow of energy for us to tap into. We love salmon, chicken and the occasional grilled pork chop. 

Morning go to for a quick breakfast out the door to school could include egg white omelet or what my son refers to as Mom’s egg quesadilla. This is where I will make an egg white omelet with some cheese, green onion and then sandwich it between a low carb tortilla. Add some hot sauce and the boy is happy and ready to head out for the day. 

On days that he would prefer to drink his breakfast, we throw together a fruit and veggie smoothie. Adding protein powder to it for an extra kick some days. 

Soups can be hearty and healthy too. 

The key I think is keeping easy to prepare items that are quick as well as healthy. 

You don’t have to have strict rules on what foods should be for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can have normal breakfast item for dinner if it sounds good to you. Heck we have been known to eat air popped pop corn for our dinner if we get home late from a basketball game. The idea of going to bed with a heavy meal on our stomachs just doesn’t sound good anymore like we used to do in the past. 

What are your go to foods to make or to keep on hand for your kiddos to stay fueled for all their busy schedules and even make your life easier in the mix?

I ran across a quote the other day that truly spoke to me. 

“Health is not about the weight you lose, but about the life you gain!” - Dr. Josh Axe

Moms and Dads remember to take care of yourself along the way too while you are running your kiddos to all their activities. 

Remember it is the small things that can add up and make a difference. 

Enjoy your day!

Summer Heat…What to Eat?

With the outside temps consistently staying in the 90’s here in the Midwest, there are times I just want to eat something light.

What are some of your favorite Summer time eats? 

Do you stick with grilling food and keeping the heat and mess outside? 

Do you graze on salads to keep things light?

We love fruit and have starting grilling fruit.

Post your favorite Summer time eats! 

Airfryer- Love mine

Who has an Airfryer?

I love mine. I have a Ninja and it is the perfect size for our family.

I use it for even baking up some corn bread when my oven is full with other items.

They are so handy!
Nicholas my son loves to throw in leftover pizza to reheat so it isn’t floppy.

His favorite thing to enjoy as well as my step daughter is when I make chicken wings in it.
So much cheaper to make your own instead of ordering from your favorite wing place. In fact you will become you new favorite “wing place”.

If you find yourself needing to cook up a quick snack for the kids, the AirFryer will be your new best friend. I have done pizza rolls, cheese sticks, and French fries to name a few in this and it gets rid of the hangry attitude that the kids are throwing your way quickly. 

Heck check out Pinterest for a ton more ideas on what to make in it. You will be so happy you made the investment. 

You will find helpful hints all over the internet on ways for fast cleanup too. My mother puts a slice of bread in the bottom of hers under the tray to absorb any grease from items as she cooks. When I cook anything that might “caramelize” or stick, I will put a round piece of parchment or precut parchment discs you can get online to help with clean up. I will say do not use non stick spray on your AirFryer. It will cause the finish to get a nasty coating on it. 

Get yourself an AirFryer! 

Share your recipes or success stories!

Good morning.
It’s a rainy morning here. So made me in the mood for baking. So homemade biscuits and why not some sausage gravy!

Biscuits are so easy to make.
The key is cold ingredients!

Dough is sticky so make sure you have extra flour on hand to help work it.

Ingredients-
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar
3/4 c cold butter cut in small bits
      (You can freeze your butter and grate it)
1 egg cold
1 c cold whole milk (you can use buttermilk but will need a tad bit more since it is thicker)

Sift you dry ingredients together. Sometimes I just mix them with a whisk to save time of sifting.

Add your butter and cut in with a pastry blender or two forks. You want small bits the size of peas of butter in your flour mixture.

Then add egg and milk and blend together. Don’t over mix your dough. You don’t want the butter to soften up or melt.

Flour your pastry board or counter and flip out your dough onto it. Work the dough aka knead a bit like 10-12 kneads. Roll or use your hands to press out dough to 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut out your biscuits with a biscuit cutter. If you don’t have one use the rim of a glass.

Place the cut biscuits into a parchment lined or lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush tops with some melted butter if you like.

So tasty and flakey.

They go perfect with gravy but don’t forget jelly or jam too.

Quiche- fancy word for an omelet in pie form. 😋

Don’t let it intimidate you.
You don’t have to make your crust from scratch. You can buy pre made crust. I just enjoy making mine from scratch.

My basic pie crust recipe is:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1 stick (8T) of butter cold
5-7 T of ice cold water

I sift the the dry ingredients together.
Then I cut my butter into cubes and add to flour mixture. I add 1 Tbs of iced water at a time and do what is called cutting in with my pastry blender but you can use two forks. You want to work the mixture until your butter is incorporated and small bits like tiny peas.

I work the dough together into a disc and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

I pull it out and lightly flour my board and roll it out to and 1/8 to a 1/4 inch thick. Place in my pie dish and create my edges. If my egg mixture isn’t ready I place the crust in the dish back in fridge. This keeps the butter cold in your crust. When butter melts in the baking process, the steam that is created will help cause a flakey crust! 🙂

When making the egg quiche mixture, I tend to make it with I have on hand. So whatever your heart desires.

I normally use 8 large size eggs and 1/2 c half and half or whole milk. I beat that together.

Now is where you decide what is in your quiche.

Always remember to add a bit of salt and pepper. It will need it.

I like to sauté any veggies that I put in my quiche a bit so they aren’t hard crunchy bits in my quiche.

You can put meat in your quiche but you need to cook and drain it first before mixing into your egg mixture.

Quiche needs cheese! 🧀
I use at least a cup to a cup and a half of cheese in mine then a bit extra to sprinkle on top.

I bake mine at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes.
It is done when top is golden brown and firm and not jiggly.

I let mine sit once removed from the oven for 10 minutes before cutting.

They are great for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I like to serve a mixed greens salad with mine.

Share your quiche pictures below!