SES-A-YOU, SES-A-ME!

LASDI©

I think we are all the busiest person we know these days.  I know I am!  I am really trying to get every piece of the Life As She Does It quadrant perpetuated, and sometimes that means no time for a healthy dinner, or no energy for one......or BOTH!  But I have learned from the tragic example of ex-300-pound me that not carving out that time or energy can cost both my hips and my wallet!  The other night after a crazy-busy day, I found we had two tuna steaks in the freezer, some lettuce, cabbage and onion, and some sesame seeds in the spice cabinet.  This dinner litch-rah-lee took five minutes to make, was inexpensive, healthy, delicious, and SHEtox Week Two-friendly!

SESAME TUNA OVER ASIAN SLAW SALAD

4 tbs coconut oil

2 tuna steaks

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp coriander

2 cups toasted sesame seeds (for color: 1 cup black, 1 cup regular)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup toasted sesame oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 head lettuce, shredded

1/2 head cabbage

1/2 onion, slice fine

1/2 cucumber, sliced

4 radishes, sliced fine

Heat the coconut oil in a heavy skillet (I use my cast-iron skillet, of course!) on medium-high heat.  While it is heating, mix sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, coriander, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.  Roll your tuna steak (see notes) in the spice and sesame seed mixture until all sides are coated and press down into the steak with your fingers.  Place the coated tuna steaks carefully into heated oil and cook for 45 seconds before turning and heating on the other side for 45 seconds (see notes).  With tongs, carefully stand up the steaks on it's perimeter and sear for five seconds on each side, and remove from heat.  Place on a cooling rack or paper towel.  Combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sea salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl ans whisk for about 45 seconds.  Add the vegetables to the bowl and stir.  Serve on a plate with the tuna on top.  Delicious, fast, and inexpensive!  (Ses-a-ME!!)

NOTES: If your tuna is frozen, as mine was, run the water from your faucet until it gets warm, almost hot and put in a bowl.  Place your tuna steaks in the bowl for about a minute or two and they will be ready to roll in your sesame seeds and seasonings to sear!  If you like your tuna somewhat rare, the recipe above is good.  If you like your tuna a little more medium, sear for one minute on each side.  Like it cooked through?  Cook for one minute, fifteen seconds on each side.  It will still be fantastic!  Trust-a-me!

Creamy Dreamy (Leftovers?)

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

I had leftover pasta from sausage ragu night.  I had leftover roasted chicken from Sunday Supper.  I had leftover salad I had used as a side.  I loathe waste so I can't throw it all away!  What's a girl to do?  Simple!  Throw it all into a bowl and smother it in a creamy, dreamy sauce and give it a name everyone is familiar with, like Pasta Chicken Salad, and voila!    No more leftovers!

CREAMY PASTA CHICKEN SALAD

leftover pasta (or just make some!)

leftover roasted chicken, de-boned and shredded (or some store-bought rotisserie)

leftover salad, consisting of spinach, lettuce, carrots, celery, green onion and cucumber (or cut up these veggies or any veggies you like!)

Toss this all together in a bowl.  Await dressing.

CREAMY DREAMY DRESSING

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1 tbs prepared horse radish

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

slight squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Put all ingredients into a jar with lid and shake or place in a bowl and whip with a whisk.  Pour over pasta chicken salad and eat.  Close your eyes, let out a slight moan of deliciousness.  Repeat.

NOTES: Carb-free or low-carb?  Prepare the chicken and salad with dressing first and set some aside.   Add pasta for everyone else and mix!

Love Stack!

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

I love food.   And there are some foods that bring back sweet memories for me.  A beautiful antipasto is one of them.  (Yes, I just described an antipasto as 'beautiful')  The array of Italian meats and cheeses, the colorful tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini, the tangy marinated artichoke hearts and pop of garbanzo beans that add texture to the tray?  Oh, yes, My Friends.  SWEET MEMORIES.  Well, I wanted to try something a little different; something easy with less fuss, and something that would taste like that beautiful memory, while creating a new one.  THIS??  This is GENIUS.  It has all the antipasto flavors, resembles a lasagna, and tastes like a slice of heaven.

ANTIPASTO SALAD STACK

1/4 pound sliced salami

2 carrots, ribboned

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, shredded into ribbon-like pieces

1/4 pound smoked provolone cheese

1/2 container grape tomatoes, quartered

1 large zucchini, ribboned

1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, juice/oil reserved for dressing

home-made balsamic (or your favorite store brand)

1/4 pound sandwich-sized pepperoni

1 jar garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

1/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

FOR DRESSING:

1 cup mayonnaise

juice/oil reserved from jar of artichoke hearts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

parsley, chopped, for garnish

In a square baking pan, layer salami, carrot ribbons, and Romaine ribbons,  On top of that, layer the provolone cheese grape tomatoes, zucchini ribbons, and artichoke hearts.  With a light hand, barely drizzle the balsamic dressing over this layer.  It is now time to layer the pepperoni, garbanzo beans, and red onion (see notes).  For the final layer, place your mozzarella cheese on the top, and then gently-but-firmly press down on the entire salad stack.  Cover with foil or non-stick cling wrap and place in the fridge.  At this point, you will need something heavy to place on top - I used my gallon of milk, which fit perfectly into the square pan.  Let this sit for at LEAST an hour.  Meanwhile, mix your dressing ingredients and refrigerate as well.  When ready, slice CAREFULLY into squares - oh-so-carefully so as not to disturb the meat layers and have them slide around.  Take your spatula and plate one of those beauties.  Pour your dressing on top and garnish with the parsley.  A knife and a fork helped me put each bite into my mouth while keeping the layers in tact.  And oh!  The MEMORIES!

NOTES:  You can substitute any deli meat and cheese you like, as well as the veggies.  TOTALLY replaceable with whatever you like!  It's also low-carb for those of you that care about that part.  They key here is the stacking and pressing.  Also, my Aunt Frannie said if you are one of those people that don't like the bite in the red onion and want to take it out, soak it in cold water for ten minutes after slicing.  

Want to see how easy this was in real-time?  Click HERE to see!