Garlic Grilled Lobster

   

• 1 pound uncooked lobster meat, start with two 1 1/4 pound whole lobster (This is for serving 2-3 people)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3-4 medium garlic cloves, pressed
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

1. Preheat grill. To prepare lobsters, cut off heads, split tails and crack claws; set aside. (I usually have the lobsters killed for me at the Seafood Market - I can't kill them myself - If you can do it, more power to you!)
2. Stir together olive oil, garlic and lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss tails and claws with half the olive oil mixture.
3. Grill lobster pieces, turning and moving them as they cook until shells are charred and meat is firm and opaque (8 minutes).
4. Crack lobsters and dip meat in remaining olive oil mixture.

This is a great summer recipe and is a great, healthy way to have lobster (notice there is no butter).  I've taken my mother's version of this and essentially "South Beached" it with the Olive Oil instead of the pounds of melted butter my Mom uses.  It's also great because the lobster is already shelled and doesn't involve all the digging/cracking.

Retro Cooking Month - My favorite Recipe - Crockpot Chili

This is another cold weather favorite.  I found this one online originally, but I've tweaked it with my own additions.

You Will Need:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• garlic powder to taste
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
•  1 Tbs Hot Sauce (you can leave this out if too much spice bothers you)
• 2 cans (approx. 16 oz each) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (16 oz) tomato puree
• 1 can (16 oz) kidney beans
• 1 can (16 oz) black beans

To Make:

1.Brown ground beef in a large skillet.  Drain and place beef into crockpot.
2. In skillet, saute chopped onion and green pepper in olive oil (or the grease from the beef - I don't use it to make the recipe a little healthier).
3. Mix beef, onion and green pepper into the crockpot and add spices; let stand 1 hour on low heat.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, beans.
5. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.  

Retro Cooking Month - (Easy!) Beef Pot Roast

It seems that I never put any healthy recipies up for Retro Cooking Month.  I guess this recipe will be the closest to "healthy" as I get for family recipes.  I do a lot of cooking out of South Beach© for my diet, but because of that little ©, I'd rather not risk posting their recipes here.

This is my mother's recipe for Beef Pot Roast.

You Will Need:

3lbs Beef Cubed
1/4 Cup Butter
3 Carrots Chopped 
4 Stalks Celery Chopped
1 Medium Onion Chopped
1 Clove Garlic Chopped
1 10 1/2oz can Beef Broth
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/8 tsp. Black Pepper (or more for personal taste)
5-5 Red Potatoes cut into 4's

This is a very easy recipe to cook. 

1. Brown beef on all sides in heated butter skillet.  Make sure the skillet has a tight fitting cover. 
2. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook until the onion is golden.  Stir occasionally.
3. Blend thoroughly.  Add beef broth* and remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer 2 -3 hours or till beef is tender.  Serve plain or over egg noodles.
           *If you would like a thicker broth, you can add some flour and stir to combine.

Retro Cooking Month - Pantry Essentials

I will break this down similar to Mrs. B's post: Pantry, Freezer, Fridge

The Pantry

• Multi-Grain Pastas
• Brown Rice and Wild Rices (try to have both instant and regular rice)
• Egg Noodles
• Multi-Grain Bread
• Bread Crumbs (I try to make my own, but I keep a box of pre-made multi-grain bread crumbs around)
• Canned Tuna - I <3 Tuna.  I lived on it in college and I could live on it again!
• Low Sodium and Low-Fat Soups and Broths
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Olive Oil
• Canned Crushed Tomatoes and Tomato Paste
• Good Cooking Wine
• Wesson Oil
• Bisquick
• Dried Herbs - Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary are the staples in many of my recipies
• Mrs. Dash
• Garlic Powder
• Honey
• Variety of Mustards - Can be used as dressings/marinades/etc.
• Smart Balance Peanut Butter - Of all the low-fat. organic peanut butters, this is the one that tastes "normal" for me
• Nutella
• Fresh Garlic and Onions

The Fridge

• Eggs
• Skim Milk
• Parmigiano-Reggiano (Fresh Block)
• Deli Meats - Turkey, Ham and American Cheese are always in the Deli Meat drawer
• Plain Low-Fat Yogurt (I'm not a fan of Greek Yogurt)
• Romaine Lettuce Heads
• Hummas
• Carrots
• Red Bell Peppers
• Bags of Spinach

The Freezer

• Frozen Homemade Pasta Sauce -  I always make more than I need when I make sauce, so I freeze the extra
• Chicken Cutlets, Steaks, Salmon, Pork Cutlets (I have a vacuum sealer - Best Purchase ever!)
• Frozen Berries
• Frozen Veggies (Stir Fry Veggies, Broccoli, Mixed Veggies, Artichoke Hearts)

I know there are some that are missing, but since my husband and I moved in with my parents, I can't seem to remember what I kept in my kitchen!  Oh, well!

Retro Cooking Month Contest

I'm so excited about Mrs. B's most recent give-a-way post: a copy of Liz Clement's book Inside Glass Jar Goodies.  I used to make glass jar chocolate chip cookies with Girl Scouts and I had no idea that you could do this for things outside of cookies/brownies.  I'm excited to try the Sun Dried Tomato Herb Dip Mix and to maybe give a few of these as gifts during the holidays.