OT Lazy Cooking with Cat!

[agate]

Maybe it's meant to be served in lots of small servings.

Virginia, your SIL and her family may be among those lucky people who can eat whatever they want and get away with it. The rest of us put on weight if we even look at brown sugar, butter, or pecans.

[Virginia]

Well, she was serving either 15 or 16, I can't remember which. So she made two 11 x 13 casserole dishes. My brother is the one I worry about in that family and not because I don't care about the others, but he is the one with the genes that we all have in our family - on my Mother's side and my Father's side of the family. When my middle brother was 43 and had to have all 5 arteries bypassed without being over weight, the Doctor who had been my Mother and Father's Doctor stopped by the hospital and told him that he had the arteries and veins of his parents and that meant that his siblings did also. My brother said he then said that includes your sister. I don't know why he picked me out. I probably weighed about 105 to 108 at that time. I guess he was trying to say that this was a case where weight is definitely not the only factor.

However, I must say my SIL does cook very healthy with the exception of big family meals on special occasions. I think it is when someone eats like this on a regular basis that it is dangerous.

[Lazarus]

Today I started early and made a delightful, light soup. I cut up and steam veggies in water for 20 minutes and then drain the veggies to sauté them while saving the liquid to use as the broth. Making my own broth like this is great. (I had chopped carrots, celery, parsnip, onions and maybe something else.) I added tortellini and spices and it was wonderful. And then, I did something I have never done...used a mix to make brownies. I think it was Betty Crocker. Everyone gobbled them up and I fed all 3 workers for a satisfying lunch on a cold, cold day.

[SuzE-Q]

Bringing this up for Virginia, a recipe for Pickle Pasta Salad, so nice to go through again, lots of great recipes and very special people in this thread:

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INGREDIENTS

PASTA SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb (450g) uncooked Farfalle (bowtie) pasta
• 1 1/2 cups dill pickles sliced
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese cubed
• 3 green onions sliced
• 5 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
• salt
• black pepper

SALAD DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons dill pickle juice
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard or Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

DILL PICKLE PASTA SALAD INSTRUCTIONS:

• Cook pasta according to packet instructions.
• Drain the pasta and add in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to keep it from sticking. Allow pasta to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the dill pickle salad dressing by adding all ingredients together and whisk till smooth. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine pasta, cheese, pickles, green onions, dill, salt and pepper. Then add in the dressing and mix the dill pickle pasta salad till combined.
• Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
• Cover the finished dill pickle pasta salad and chill until ready to serve.

**I used radiatore pasta, left out the cheese cubes, chopped the pickles, added a little extra pickle juice, and only used 1 teaspoon (not tablespoon) each of dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. I did not add any extra salt since there is already plenty in the pickle juice. I keep extra sauce in a small container to add extra on subsequent days. Make sure, after cooking pasta, that you toss pasta in a little olive oil to coat it so the pasta won't absorb all the dressing, otherwise dressing will disappear.

[Virginia]

Also, on tonight's news we need to eat more olive oil.

[Lazarus]

Great to see this thread and read through the people and recipes.

I have been working on perfecting an easy and really good hummus recipe. There is a restaurant in my area and the owner is Israeli and the hummus is wonderful. Since I am not close enough to get the hummus easily I read and experimented and did the same again and again!

I have it down pat and end up with a big container of hummus that I use over the course of a week. So instead of grabbing a cookie I grab a stick of celery and spread it with hummus. Satisfying . I have started controlling what I am eating and this was the first step. Breakfast is a piece of toast spread with peanut butter or hummus or both! I am so happy to have a healthy and ready to eat food choice.

[SuzE-Q]

Linda, please post your hummus recipe!