Black bean soup and quesadillas

 Too bad you can't just reach out and taste this soup.  It is SOOOO good (and fast and healthy)!  I went to the salad bar and took a scoop and chopped onions, chopped celery and shredded carrots.  I sauteed these in a soup pan until they were all soft.  Didn't take long.....maybe 8 minutes.  Then I dumped one large can and one small can of black beans in there - along with some cumin (about 1t) and few shakes of ground chipolte pepper.  Let them all heat and and put in 2 cups of chicken stock (I had made some a few weeks back in my pressure cooker and portioned it out into plastic containers and froze them).  I didn't even bother to thaw it, just dumped in the froze lump.  Heated it all up again and then shooshed it with the stick blender.  I left it a bit lumpy this time.  I usually shoosh until it is smooth, but I wanted to try it this way.  We were split on the added texture.  Half of the family liked it lumpy and have liked it smoother.

I added some cheese and non-fat greek yogurt to mine.....for added treats and protein.

Our son made the quesadillas for the family.  He wanted to make sure I took a picture of this one particularly.....he liked how the cheese was oozing out.  I used non-fat flour tortillas that I found at work.  They tasted just as good as the full fat ones and I hope a bit better for us.

My kids are driving me crazy

OK.....I need some feedback here.  My kids are driving me nuts.  It seems within the last couple of months, our kid's dinner eating habits have changed.  I can't make dinners any more or eat out any more without someone complaining and refusing to eat.  It seems that their likes/dislikes change by the minute.  I made matzoh ball soup the other night....used to be a huge family hit.  No longer so.  NO ONE ATE IT!!  Not one ate it. Not a one....went to waste. Was going to make sushi another night...only one kid (out of three) said they would eat it, so I didn't make it. Ordered Jet's Pizza - old family favorite.  Only one kid ate it.  The other two complained A LOT, but eventually they did eat some of it.

And now for restaurants.  Places we would go with not one complaint have now turned into complaints galore.  REALLY???  You are complaining about a free meal??? REALLY??

What am I to do??  I am so tired of hearing complaints over food.  There is no longer anything I can make or anywhere we can go that everyone smiles and says "Yeah!".

Please write here and either make me feel better by commiserating with me or tell me strategies how to deal with this.

Great, healthy, easy dinner - Chef's salad

This is a wonderful, healthy supper - Chef's salad.  I just go to the deli section of the grocery store and have them cut the meat and cheese about 1/2 inch thick.  This night I had turkey, salami, and muenster cheese.  I also cut up an onion and picked some tomatoes from my garden. I usually like to try a new salad dressing when I serve this supper.

Late summer on a plate

I ordered this dish and just thought it was SO pretty, I had to take a picture of it.  Heirloom tomatoes, drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of rough sea salt, a lump of goat cheese, a swipe of balsamic vinegar and a small pile of micro greens.  So pretty.  It was like late summer on a plate.

Restaurant review - New Seoul Restaurant Des Plaines, IL

When we were trying to decide where to go for lunch, this idea of korean bbq was brought up by our son.  Come to find out this seed was planted over a year ago my our son's 5th grade teacher, Mr. P, a teacher who liked to talk about food and eat Cheese Nips.  Mind you, our son is now in 6th grade and this idea had been brewing in his mind this whole time. We were excited because this would be a new food adventure for all of us.  I had never been to a korean bbq place and I am always open to trying a new cuisine.

So I yelped and found New Seoul in Des Plaines, IL.  It is a little no assuming place.  But what a treat.....expensive though.  But you did get a lot of bang for your buck.  There were also pot stickers to order for the kids....just in case.

 First they bring all these sides to the table.  It just kept coming....different pickled roots vegis, different sauces, creamy slaw-like sides....most were yummy.  Tangy, spicy, sweet - a bit of everything.  See the hole in the table....stay tuned to see what goes in there.....

 We ordered shrimp - little did we know it was going to be full bodied, huge prawns (the menu said shrimp).  They were heavily salted and beautiful, but it freaked out the kids to see the whole thing, which is ok.  We love for them to experience as much as possible and understand what their food actually looks like.

 This was the beef.  Look at it....marinated with all kinds of spices and scallions....cut thin.  Wow!

 Here was some of the sides....you can see here (top to bottom) some kind of root in a spicy marinade, shredded scallions with some chilis and vinegar, and kim chee - a typical korean side dish.

 A pot of hot charcoal was brought out to the table and put into the hole in the table.  You can almost feel the heat radiating off of this picture.

 We put the meats right on the grill.  The smells coming off the grill was amazing!

We also ordered buckwheat noodle soup, thinking this would be a good filler if the kids didn't like the grilled stuff.  Well, the kids didn't like this....I did (go figure!). The noodles were a texture they didn't quite like - a bit "slimier" than what they are accustomed to.

The people working there explained how to eat it. Once you grilled the meats, you wrapped it up in a lettuce leaf with some sides tucked in there.  So tasty and fresh.  The hot meat with the tangy side in the crunchy, cold lettuce leaf....wow!!!  Happy mouth!!!

Here is the prawn cooked....then I had to peel the shell - exposing all the inards.....not too pleasant, I do have to admit.  I didn't eat the head portion....I know some folks find that a delicacy - I'm not one of them.  Next time I wouldn't order the prawns....just more beef.

Family favorite meal

This is one of my family's favorite meals.....marinated skirt steak, roasted vegis, and then I tried something new....Streitz's Quinoa Herbs and Mushrooms.  It was just from a plastic container and had all the herbs, mushrooms and quinoa.  Just add hot water, let it boil and then sit.  It was SO good!  As you can see, I roasted cauliflower, brussel sprouts and carrots.  I have written about it many times, so I am not going to repeat the process, but look it up if you need it.  It is such an easy way to prepare a healthy, filling portion to a meal. I also made baked potatoes. What a wonderful meal!

Comfort Food - Scrambled Eggs and american cheese

Here is what I make when I just want that warm feeling inside.  Scrambled eggs with american cheese.  I always make my scrambled eggs with more egg whites than yolk....and then like to make sure that you can see and taste the american cheese that is so nice and melty in there. Hhhhmmmmm.....makes me feel good.