After rain there is sunshine so lets make dinner outside!

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Malin

I think this is honestly the roughest winter I ever experienced, even for a swede! So when I woke up to a coldish gloomy day I never thought I would make dinner outside but I guess behind the clouds the sun is always lurking. So the I whipped the together some delicious beef patties filled with sundered tomatoes served with a basil and feta cheese spread.

I think Gary-Taser was the happiest of all not being stuck inside 😉

Beef Patties

1 pound of organic minced beef

1 chopped garlic clove

1-2 tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 egg

salt and pepper

Mix everything together and make small patties ready to put on the grill

Grilled Vegetables

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Bell pepper

Red onion

Squash

Unflavored coconut oil

salt

I used whatever vegetables I had in the fridge and I am so happy that Heinen’s, our new grocery store has unflavored coconut oil as it is so good for you.

Basil and feta cheese Spread

1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt

1 Crushed Garlic clove

feta cheese (to you liking)

1/4 cup chopped basil

chopped sun dried tomatoes

salt and pepper

Mix everything together and store in a cool place until it is time to serve dinner and when you do…I guess the summer is back!

LowCarb Nasi Goreng

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Malin

I always have my freezer stocked with meat or fish but when I opened it up today I realized the only thing left was a piece of pork tenderloin. Not knowing what I was going to do with it I started to unfreeze it and pulling out whatever we had in the fridge…and this is what it turned into 😉

1/2 shredded Cabbage
Sesame Oil
chopped Garlic
fresh grated Ginger
Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon tomato pure
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek
Fish sauce (I used touch of taste)
apple cider vinegar
splash of Worcestershire Sauce
1-2 teaspoons Hoisin Sauce
leek
Cilantro
2 egg
Salt
Edamame Beans
Pork Tenderloin
Salt and Pepper

Direction: Start by shredding the cabbage and fry it in the sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, hoisin, sambal oelek, tomato pure, fish sauce, vinegar, worcestershire sauce and let it cook or simmer until dry. What you will find is all the spices will really infuse into the cabbage.

Whisk the two egg with some salt and fry in sesame oil. Slice into smaller pieces add into the cabbage together with the edamame beans and the chopped leek.

I used the grill to cook the pork tenderloin. I love to use the grill, less mess and the meat taste 100 times better!

Serve the meat on top of the cabbage with some fresh cilantro. The kids loved it and so did the grown up…so tumps up!

Unfortunately I did not keep track of the measurement but I think with common sense it will be ok 😉

Grilled Cod with the famous yumyum sauce

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Malin

A few weeks ago we ended up going to a local restaurant after my dinner attempt turned into an epic fail. I ended up having the fish tacos and after that I am craving fish, so fish was what was on the menu for this evening but their was a slight problem When I woke up this morning winter was back with vengeance after those lovely couple of days of spring. But that was not letting my spirit down and stopping me to proceed with my dinner plans…Grilled Cod.

I think their is a few advantages to making food on the grill; I don’t have to deal with the yucky fish smell that always is stuck in the house for days on days and the food just taste so much better. There is one more thing I always have to deal with when it comes to fish & kids…It’s not their favorite dish but my mother-in-law has the solution and we call it the yumyum sauce! Every kid that has ever tried it ends up eating their fish like it is candy so here we go…

Fish

1 lb of fresh Cod

Canola Oil

Salt and Lemon Pepper (or pepper and lemon juice)

Direction: Use a gridiron so if the fish separates you end up with nothing except an empty plate. Grill the fish for approximate 4 minutes on each side, make sure not to over cook it so it turns dry and awful.

The yumyum sauce

1 part sour cream

1 part cream

1 tablespoon Fish Fond or a cube of fish boullion

Direction: Mix it together and bring to a simmer…as simples as that!

This is magic!

Both the kids finished all the fish and they loved it!!

Leftovers comes from a lot of love and so does this lasagna!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Malin

I spend a fair amount of time planning, preparing and cooking and I think the more love you give the better the outcome and sometimes leftover just gets better with time. But be warned, they may have joined the dark forces if they start moving around on their own in the fridge 😉

So even we had a lot going on this afternoon we still had a lot of love on our plates from the Sunday leftover Lasagna.

Meat Sauce

1 lb Minced Beef

1 Yellow Onion

1-2 Garlic Clove

Chopped Mushrooms

6 oz Tomato Paste

6 oz Water

Soy Sauce (by taste)

1 tbsp Kale Fond or Beef Bullion

Oregano

Tarragon

Thyme

Basil

Salt and Pepper

Directions: Cook the minced beef, add the chopped onion, garlic and mushroom and fry together for an additional couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes and meanwhile prepare the lasagna plates.

Homemade non wheat lasagna plates

2 eggs

1/4 cup Farmers Cheese

2 tbsp Psyllium Husk

1/4 water

Direction: Add everything together in a bowl and whisk it together and let it stand for 5 minutes until its a think paste. Between two sheets of parchment spread the paste evenly and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350-400 F. (My never know the exact temperature in my oven that is why I have approximately time and temp)

Mix cheese, cream and sour cream.

In a ovenproof dish layer the mince sauce, the cheese mix and the lasagna plate x2.

Bake in the oven until the lasagna is thoroughly warm and the cheese as melted.

It doesn’t have to be “Chicken Fried” to be fast food…or a friday night!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Malin

What a gorgeous day it was yesterday and when I got back from the gym I had my lunch and drank my coffee in the sun while watching Gary running around in the deep wet snow having the time of his life. After getting some stuff done around the house life happened and the kids came back from school with homework and activities to attend. So being a little rushed between figure skating and making it to my “new passion” I had to come up with something quick and fast for dinner and that was not a bucket of fried chicken from KFC!

4 Chicken Tenderloin cut into smaller pieces to shorten the time spent on the bbq.

Grated fresh Ginger

Minced Garlic

Splash of Soy Sauce (gluten-free)

1-2 tbsp Sesame Oil

Salt and Pepper

I threw everything in a big bowl to marinate while I cut the vegetables and that was what I could find in the fridge. A good way to make them roast beautifully in the oven is to mix a little canola oil, garlic and salt together and blend in with the vegetables and not overcooking them.

Normally I make my own mayonnaise but yesterday I was just a little to rushed so I used the ready-made and mix it with chili sauce and sesame oil.

Dinner was ready in 20 minutes, delicious, yummy and healthy and I made it to class!

Gary, my Co-Pilot!

Teriyaki salmon and Asian Ceviche

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Malin

Yesterday was Knuts “end of the year” hockey party, the kids vs. the parents and as much I wanted to go I knew it was not happening as we were expecting dinner guests. So Knut and Freddie went along bringing their skates and stick and I told them to get home at 6.30 because I was taught a good host should be home when the guests arrive. I know sometimes its hard to leave a good party so I thought I give Freddie a call and sure enough he is not picking up. I call again and get straight to voicemail so after some angry faced texts messages the two of them rocks up 15 minutes after Laura and her family arrived. I am not the one to hold grudges so after a peck on the cheek we were good to enjoy the Asian Ceviche before we got to the Teriyaki salmon served with a pinot noir… but most of all, enjoying the company of very good friends.

Teriyaki Salmon

1 lb. salmon filet
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 inch fresh ginger
1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sriracha hot sauce

Make the teriyaki marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, minced garlic, grated ginger, nectar, white wine vinegar.
Cut the salmon filet into four equal sized portions and place in a large zip top bag. Pour the marinade over top, remove as much air as possible and close up the bag. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, mixing the bag occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
Grill it but make sure not to over cook it.
In a small bowl, mix together the sriracha hot sauce and mayonnaise. Serve the fish with a dollop of sriracha mayo on top!
I served this with oven garlic roasted vegetables.

Asian Ceviche

Prawns
1 Mango
1 avocado
red Onion
1 lime
Chiliflakes
1 tablespoon sesame oil
cilantro

Chop mango, avocado and onion and mix together with the prawns.
Squeeze the lime juice and blend together with sesame oil, chili and cilantro and keep cool until serving.

A stormy Wednesday Night

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Malin

I had no classes today so I decided to kill my arms and shoulders over at Lifetime Fitness this morning and it went really well 🙂 So this evening I decided to cozy up in the mid-September storm with Chicken Gratin with taste of India and a glass of red wine from the Rhone Valley…Thank you Elise 😉

La Ferme Julien, Traders Joe $5.99!!! Together with my favorite candle from Henri Bendel

Chicken Gratin

1 whole “Store grilled” Chicken

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Head Broccoli

1.2 cups/ 3 dl Cream

0.4/1 dl cup mango Chutney

1 tablespoon curry powder

splash of sambal oelek

1 Garlic Clove

Chop the chicken, vegetable

Quinoa

Chop the chicken, vegetables and put it in an oven proof dish. Mix the cream, Sambal Oelek, Mango Chutney, garlic, and Curry in a bowl. Pour it over the chicken and the vegetables and place it in the oven for 12-20 minutes. Meanwhile cook the quinoa according to the direction on the instructions. Serve the chicken with quinoa and a green salad.

Another low calorie soup…with chèvre!

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Malin

After my cracking spinning class this morning I thought this day would be though but fasting has gone great and now we have just finished a delicious Spinach and Asparagus soup topped off with a splash chèvre creme…all under 500 calories/serving

Soup 2 servings (263 calories/serving)

1/2 teaspoon truffle Oil 30 calories

100 grams Asparagus 29 calories

50 grams Spinach 12 calories

40 gram chopped Shallot 16 calories

1 chopped Garlic Clove 4 calories

Chopped Chili

3-5 dl water

1/2 dl dry white wine 35 calories

1 bay leaf

Thyme

1/4 cup Green Lentils 140 calories

Chicken Bouillon

Salt and Pepper

2 tablespoons Sour Cream 60 calories

Salt and Pepper

Chèvre Creme

2 tablespoon Sour Creme 60 calories

50 gram Chèvre 140 calories

Salt and Pepper

Fry the shallot, garlic, asparagus and spinach together with the truffle oil. Add water, wine, bouillon, bay leaf, thyme, green lentils and bring to a boil for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix sour creme and chèvre together and season with pepper.

Mix the soup smooth with a hand mixer and add sour cream and serve with the chèvre cream.

Enjoy!

Pizza Date Night

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Malin

Earlier this week I went to Costco and could not believe my eyes when I saw they already brought out the Christmas decoration and what I thought was even more weird was that there were people putting the stuff in their carts!

Anyhow at my house the summer is far from over so last night me and Freddie had a “Pizza Date Night” on the patio before Laura and her crew came to join us for a glass of wine.

Low-Carb Pizza Dough

4 eggs

100 grams Parmesan Cheese

2 tablespoons Phyllium Husk

0.75 Deciliter Water

Tomato sauce

1 can Tomato Sauce

Fresh Chopped Tarragon

Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper

Topping

Mushrooms, olives, marinated garlic, ham, cheese

Whisk all the ingredients together and let it “rest” for 5 minutes. Spread it put on parchment paper and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until it as a nice surface to it.

Add the topping and bake it again until the cheese has melted.

I served this with home made coleslaw and a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon…

Homemade Coleslaw

Cabbage

Red onion

Garlic

Mayonnaise (recipe https://mrsmalin.com/2013/04/29/alabama-drumsticks-so-easy-and-fool-proof/ )

Dijon mustard

Vinegar

Salt and pepper

Put another shrimp in the soup!

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Malin

I knew last night when I went to bed that my second day fast this week was going to be a tough one. I’m not sure if it is mentally because I already had that mind-set that way, well what I do know was that it has been a challenge today!

I started out this morning with a rocking spinning class and even though my legs were very sore and tired from yesterdays workout I killed it today. I was really focusing on the strokes, the power, the time and calories burned, that way I can really give it all!

After class it has just been one thing after another and I think when we finally sat down to have dinner it was 7pm and I made another version of the famous “tomato soup”. I’m thinking about becoming a professional Tomato Soup Maker…lol

Anyhow, the soup turned out to be another perfect recipe that goes hand in hand with the 5:2 diet and has less than 500 calories!

This makes 2 servings (approx. 325 calories)

1 Can of diced tomatoes

4 tablespoons Salsa

2 dl water (I used more to make it less thick)

Bouillon

1 Chopped Garlic clove

1/2 chopped yellow onion

1/4 cup Green Lentils

1 bag Zero Noodles (I use scissors to chop them in smaller pieces)

200 grams Shrimps

2 tablespoons Sour cream

10 grams of Mexican cheese

Fry the garlic and onion together (no oil or butter) and mix water, tomatoes, bouillon, salsa, lentils and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Use a mixer to make the soup smooth add the sour cream and the noodles and re heart. Add the shrimps and the cheese, sprinkle on some Chili Flakes and enjoy!