About Jodee

After thinking about various ways to share my memories, I began to write my blog, Learn from yesterday, live for today..... I started writing this blog, for the most part, to share my life experiences with family and friends, a journal of my experiences, but gradually the idea grew into sharing it with everyone. It's just about day to day living and sharing with loved ones the ordinary things that make every day memories. My blog covers everything from cooking family recipes to travel memories and more. Throughout this journey called life, each of us experience many things and what we take away from those experiences makes us who we are today. My journey has had its up and downs like so many of us and as a result, what I have learned from my experiences has shaped my perspective of life. I invite you to take a look and see what I have shared so far. Hopefully, you will enjoy the experience and share this new adventure with me! Jodee

Delicious Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

When preparing a meal for several guests, it’s always nice to have an easy but tasty potato side dish to serve. Delicious Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries are both tasty and easy to prepare as well as healthy.

Usually I scrub the skins of the potatoes earlier, and then set them aside to dry whole. We all know that baking potatoes whole is easy, but it takes longer to bake them, and you can’t season them or anything, so they are just a baked potato. That’s fine, but if you want something a little different and delicious, this is definitely the dish for you!

I like my guests to feel that they are special enough for me to do something a little extra for them. That something can definitely be both healthy and taste delicious. Seasonings and a little extra virgin olive oil can make all the difference, and it’s not that difficult to do. Besides, with a baked potato, people tend to load them up with not so healthy choices, while these potatoes need no extra garnishes!

Delicious Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries

6 to 8 baking potatoes (depending on the number of people and size of the potatoes)
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried parsley flakes
Sea salt and black pepper to taste (for after baking)

These are the basic seasonings, but you can add any other seasonings you may like. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Prepare your baking sheets with parchment cooking paper. Cut the each potato in half and then cut the halves into ¼” to ½” slices to create your steak fries just before you are ready to cook. You may do this sooner and leave in cold water, but I prefer to do it just before baking.

Put the slices in a large bowl and pour some olive oil over the slices. Toss the slices until all of them are coated with some olive oil. They do not need to be drenched, but just coated. Once coated in olive oil, place the slices evenly on your baking sheets. Sprinkle them to taste with the garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley flakes. You may add any additional seasonings you may like, but if serving guests, I suggest you always ask about preferences as some people may not like or tolerate well certain seasonings. When done seasoning, place the baking sheets in the oven for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Watch them carefully when baking so that you do not burn them.

Once done, place your Delicious Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries in a dish and serve along with the rest of the meal. Your guests may add salt and pepper to their own taste, but they don’t really need it with the seasonings already used. I don’t usually put salt on the table, just a whole peppercorn grinder, and rarely does anyone request the salt. These steak fries are always a winner with those eating, but the best part is that they are full of great flavor and healthy. On top of that, they are really easy to put together and adaptable to the tastes of your guests as well. Try them, and enjoy!

Chicken Breasts with Sweet Peppers, Onions, and Garlic

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

For many years now, one of my favorite dishes is Chicken Breasts with Sweet Peppers, Onions, and Garlic. This simple dish is full of delicious flavor, but is really very simple to make.

Preparing the sweet peppers, onions, and garlic is just a matter of cleaning and cutting these three ingredients first. Then you simply sauté the prepared vegetables in extra virgin olive oil until the onions are translucent. Set aside this mixture and brown the boneless chicken breasts after seasoning them to taste. Once done, everything goes in a prepared baking dish and into the oven to bake.

It doesn’t get much easier than that, but the end product is full of great flavor and gives you a moist delicious chicken breast meal to eat. One thing for sure, you have prepared a meal that will definitely please everyone. My family loves this meal, and it’s a meal that I found easy to prepare after working all day years ago. It’s a meal that looks and tastes like something from a restaurant, but in fact, is homemade and healthy. Sometimes the easier meals are the best ones, if they have the delicious flavor that everyone expects from a meal well done!

Chicken Breasts with Sweet Peppers, Onions, and Garlic

2 to 4 boneless chicken breasts without skin
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 medium thinly sliced onions
3 to 6 garlic cloves chopped
6 to 8 mini sweet peppers cleaned and sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons white wine worcestshire sauce for chicken
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray your baking dish lightly with olive oil. Clean and cut the sweet peppers, onions, and garlic. In a skillet, add the olive oil and heat slightly. Then add the peppers, onions, and garlic to the skillet and sauté until the onions are translucent. Just before removing from the skillet, add the worcestshire sauce with white wine for chicken to the mixture and let heat slightly. Remove this mixture to a bowl, so you can now lightly brown the chicken breasts after seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Once browned, add the chicken breasts to your baking dish. Pour the mixture of peppers, onions, and garlic over the chicken breasts. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for 5 minutes longer, watching carefully, so you do not burn the vegetables.

Once done, the Chicken Breasts with Sweet Peppers, Onions, and Garlic will be ready to serve. We like to have a side of broccoli with this dish and a crusty loaf of bread. This dish is great as is with a baked potato as well or even just a salad. The chicken breasts are moist and succulent. However you choose to serve it, you will be eating a healthy meal with delicious flavor coming from those fresh peppers, onions, and garlic. This simple recipe will delight your senses, so give it a try and enjoy!

Egg White Spinach Mushroom Omelet with Mozzarella

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

The great thing about an omelet is that you can have them for breakfast, but you can even have them for dinner or any other meal.

Most people prefer omelets for breakfast, but done right, an omelet can just as easily be any other meal. The main reason for that is the fact that they usually have vegetables with eggs or egg whites. They may also have meat in the omelet or a meat serving on the side for those who want it. Omelets vary according to personal preferences or tastes. There are very few rules when making an omelet, if any, other than including eggs. But hey, who knows? There may be an egg-less omelet out there somewhere. These days, anything is possible!

This Egg White Spinach Mushroom Omelet with Mozzarella is simple and healthy. It has egg whites, mushrooms, spinach, and shredded mozzarella cheese with a little olive oil. There’s nothing complicated here because it consists of four main ingredients. For extra flavor, you could add chopped onions that you would sauté with the mushrooms in olive oil slightly before adding the egg, but if you want it simple and quick, just add the four main ingredients with a little olive oil. Another thing you could do is to add cut up prosciutto or ham if you want. In fact, you could add any meat you prefer. For us, this omelet was delicious just as it is described here. I love to overload the vegetables, so be ready. It’s the New Year and once again, healthy habits are at the top of our list. We have them already, but we want to keep them so we can maintain good health throughout the coming year.

Egg White Spinach Mushroom Omelet with Mozzarella

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (substitute butter if preferred)
6 egg whites
4 to 6 mushrooms sliced or 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella part skim
2 cups fresh baby spinach
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In your omelet pan, lightly sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes or until ready. Pour the egg whites in over that and let this cook over a medium heat. When ready, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over this. Finally, add the baby spinach to the top of the omelet. Cover and let cook until slightly wilted. When ready, fold the omelet over to create a half circle. Either flip the half circle over to cook a minute or two longer or cut in half to flip and finish cooking.

Once done, the Egg White Spinach Mushroom Omelet with Mozzarella is ready to serve. This delicious omelet is easy to make and has great flavor. Serve with freshly brewed coffee, sliced apples or some other fruit cut up, and a multigrain toast for a healthy meal. Omelets aren’t difficult to make. They really are just a matter of imagination and taste. So enjoy!

Learn from yesterday, live for today…

Life experiences are what make us who we are today. Come share what I have learned from my experiences about cooking, traveling, and more, and enjoy!

Author Archives: Jodee

About Jodee

Delicious Oven Baked Seasoned Steak Fries

Chicken Breasts with Sweet Peppers, Onions, and Garlic

Egg White Spinach Mushroom Omelet with Mozzarella