I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to this gorgeous Smoked Salmon and Dill Frittata I just pulled out the oven. My husband rises early for work before I am up for the day, so sometimes I try to prepare something the night before that he can enjoy for breakfast. No need to go through a drive thru when you got all this “yumminess” at home. Ok, I was talking about me then…Lol!

You guys know how I love the Barefoot Contessa and this is her recipe. It is filled with smoked salmon, fresh dill, Montrechat goat cheese, scallions, heavy cream, sautéed onions, and of course a dozen of eggs. This is a 12 inch pan so it will be plenty for my husband and girls. Hopefully they will save some for me.

I love making five star dishes at home. It makes me feel like we are getting our grocery store dollars worth, which these days is a nice size budget. When in the store picking out the specialty goat cheese, I struck up a conversation with the cheese guy on how he finds himself eating less, but better, meaning having a discriminate taste for top quality ingredients. I agree, and this, my friend, is one of those taste discriminatory moments. I wish you could have some…;-)

Say what?…

If you are a southerner, you know we love our catfish. Whether fried or blackened, or piled up high on a poboy sandwich, I am all in.

Don’t let “blackening” catfish intimidate you. All you need is a hot cast iron skillet, a little butter (in my case I prefer ghee as it has a higher smoke capacity), and catfish fillets seasoned with a little Old Bay seasoning or your favorite seafood seasoning as Cajun seasoning would work great too. Sear on both sides, laying front side down first and ending with bottom side. What you want is a good seared “crust” to form on the blackened side. Once done, just squeeze a little lemon over it and you are set. You can keep warm by placing in hot oven until you finish up the sides, skillet and all.

Bye for now. I hear some hushpuppies and spiced sautéed broccoli calling.

Wishing all the moms out there a fabulous day! This is your day to be showered with all the love you give each and every day. Children are a heritage, and I am so blessed to be called their “momma.” No cooking today, thanks to my husband. We opted for our annual Mother’s Day brunch at the Westin.

Reblogged from thepreparedtable73:

Dinner is served! Low carbing will be a priviledge tonight. Building a great low carb salad just starts with the basics of protein, leafy salad greens, and vegetables, but you can add the wow factor by maxing out flavor by grilling your tomatoes, putting a special spice rub on your meat, and adding in special elements like a good quality Parmesan (I only use Parmesan reggiano) and make your dressing fresh with a wonderfully aged balsamic vinegar and quality olive oil. And since we eat with our eyes first, take the time to make your plate beautiful by making your meal look restaurant quality. Even a simple meal looks fabulous on white plates.

I hope this photo does the title justice. These are grilled tomatoes that are seasoned with savory herbs, toasted garlic in olive oil, and a sprinkle of Parmesan reggiano and thyme. I started off on grill to get that smoked flavor, then transferred to cast iron skillet to roast in oven to reduce down, and finally topping with fresh grated Parmesan. I will serve this on a bed of organic spring mix salad and topped with thin slices of grilled ribeye on top. Perfection! I’ll make a simple dressing of fresh squeezed lemon, olive oil, Dijon mustard and Balsamic vinegar to dress the salad.

When my husband and I notice ourselves getting “chunky,” we resort to eating low carb to get back on track. I love it because it’s easy, no counting calories, just food combining. Eating this way keeps you full and satisfied. As a starter, I made mushroom bisque soup to tie us over until dinner.

Budget tip: I bought 2 1 pound thick cut ribeyes that I will slice thin in 4 ounce servings, which will give me enough for 2 meals (1 steak will feed us 4 tonight). I buy the big organic salad bins at Costco, along with tomatoes and mushrooms for the other dishes. Even the huge Parmesan reggiano can be purchased there. The idea is to buy in bulk the items you will use for a meal and double the servings for 2 separate meals. That way we will use up the fresh produce on hand and round out the meals.

I’ll post a pic when the plate is all dressed up. See you in a few…

If you grew up in my house as a child, when the question was asked “When can we eat,” the answer was “when the cornbread get’s done.” Somehow the cornbread in the oven became our timer for chow down time. So now that the homemade cornbread is out the oven, you know what time it is. Be slow if you want to, and you’ll miss out. Now let’s get swimming (cornbread) in my bowl of pintos. This cornbread is ready!

Hello all on this glorious Sunday! It’s been a minute since I blogged so I wanted to stop by and show my face. Today we are having what we call our “peasantry meal,” you know the one you can pull off for less than $20 (try that at your Sunday restaurant), which for us consists of Pinto beans with hambone, barbecue meatloaf, skillet cornbread, chow relish, iced tea, and banana pudding for dessert. Anytime I can sneak in an organic ingredient for pennies more I do, like the pound of dried organic pinto beans that cost me around $2.49 a pound, the organic chicken stock I buy to slow cook them in courtesy of Costco for around $2 a carton, and the organic bananas for the banana pudding which were just 34 cents more than conventional. I hear folks say that eating organic is too expensive, but either they are buying unnecessary things organic or opting for convenience, which in the world of whole food eating is a much needed attribute. I cannot tell you the times I have went to Earth Fare to pick up my basic produce to find they are “out of stock” or waiting for next morning’s shipment. Even though it’s an inconvenience I have to rely on the fact that Mother Nature knows best and GOOD food takes time to grow before it hits my table. But the trade off for my health is priceless. We all are trying to cut costs here and there, and make trade offs where necessary. For my house, we have decided we absolutely will not skimp on buying all natural, antibiotic free meats, and that they are worth the added cost when we choose to eat it. Have you heard the horror that is going on with some meat purveyors now? From pink slime to ground horse meat quite frankly I am scared! I buy all my meats from Earth Fare, and I have to tell you how reassuring and therapeutic it was to actually “watch” them one morning freshly grinding up the ground chuck. And at $4.99 a pound on sale, not bad of a stretch to make a fantastic meatloaf, full of good stuff.

This coming week, I will be blogging about getting the junk out your kitchen and welcoming you to the world of whole food eating and how to make it work. Your health is worth the work. Sure, I might indulge in some of my old favorites, like banana pudding, but it will be with utmost eye on quality with layer upon layer of organic bananas, organic sugar, eggs, organic milk, and high quality vanilla. They even make all natural vanilla wafers…go figure.

So until tomorrow, put your best foot forward in the kitchen. Your family is depending on you.

Ya’ll know what it is! Tonight’s meal is a rendition of a meal we had once on a beach vacation. Grilled crab legs, pineapple coleslaw, grilled corn, baked potatoes, and hush puppies. The butter is already drawn and we are ready to get crack’in…no pun intended.

The making of the best sandwich in the world, in my opinion.

A spread of homemade Caesar on toasted ciabatta split ciabatta roll, followed by baby arugula, smoked sundried tomatoes in olive oil, Parmesan shavings, sliced chicken breasts, crispy pancetta, baby arugula, topped with top of ciabatta roll with a spread of Caesar. One sandwich for each of us, although my husband will end up gobbling his fast and looking pitiful for my half, but I’m not budging today. I’ve dreamt of this sandwich. Lol!