Lamb Ragu Over Vegetables

Before I brag about last night's "moderation plan" dinner, I've gotta brag about something else. Yesterday JBug's Kitchen Antics received an award from Sarah at All Our Fingers In the Pie.

 

Now Sarah's got a lot going for her because she happens to be from Calgary, the city in Canada I called home for 25 years, and is new to this blogging adventure much like I am. She writes beautifully, cooks like a dream and has a background in Home Economics which makes her even more near and dear to me, as I have an affinity for the subject. Hat's off to you Sarah and thank you for the nomination. I'm flattered and humbled and just plum tickled. This blogging adventure has given me a whole new sense of purpose and there's hardly a day goes by that I can't wait to tell you all about last night's dinner and of course hear the comments about what you think about it.

Now I get to pass this honor along to a fellow blogger who has been a mentor, confidant and more important a great new friend. She's a very talented blogger with a great wit and fabulous skills in the kitchen. Take a bow Mags. See being the other side of 50 isn't so bad after all.

Last night's dinner was a trip to another far away country - the sunny islands of Greece. Since I'm once again craving the stuff that's loaded in calories and tastes so good, I thought I'd take my recipe for Moussaka and make a few changes that would give us the flavors but not all the calories.

 

I sauteed some onion and garlic until the onion was soft, added 3/4 of a pound of lean ground lamb and some spinach then mixed in a bay leaf, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, thyme, lots of pepper, and a little red wine just for flavor. When the wine had all but evaporated, a cup of tomato sauce joined the pan along with a 10 oz. can of beef consomme. It all cooked down, uncovered for 30 minutes and voila' dinner. Download Lamb Ragu

Served on a bed of roasted vegetables (summer squash, zucchini, red pepper, cauliflower and onion with a little oregano, salt, pepper and a smidge of olive oil) it was pretty darn tasty. Between you and me, it doesn't hold a candle to the fabulousness (is that a word) of a serving of great moussaka and believe me all modesty aside, the recipe on this blog is the best I've ever made, but potatoes and bechamel have a few more calories than we really wanted to eat last night so we had to settle for the veggies. Boo hoo - it would also be great on top of some rigatoni or baked in between layers of rigatoni and bechamel sauce, or even as a filling in Mediterranean flat bread (Sloppy Joes)...now there's an idea to keep for future reference.

Comments

[noble pig]

Wow, this hardly seems like moderation cooking, I love it.

[June]

Thanks Cathy, but I would much rather have some of that pasta you posted today...yum all my favorite stuff - bacon, eggs, cheese and pasta!

[Mags]

Aww June...I'm touched and so very flattered. Thank you for the award! You know I feel the same away about you, dear friend.

And I agree with Noble Pig, this hardly even seems like moderation, but I can see where your modifications have made it so. You're awesome!

[June]

Yes, moderation. It helps when you put a large helping in a very small bowl too! Fools the eye and therefore the stomach...well kinda' sorta'.

By the way - I forgot to mention the calorie count - the Ragu per serving 158, the vegetables per serving 50 - total per serving 208 (and that's even accounting for the spices). Sorry I didn't figure out the carbs, but if we'd had it with say Barilla Rigatoni, it would have added another 200 calories. How 'bout them apples, eh?

[Lea]

Your food is looking so rich and lushious!!! Does not appear to be the slimming type of food at all!
Back from Colombia - in Louisiana and used my oven today!!! Roasted locally grown cauliflower, carrots, and garlic then made a soup with sweet onions, chicken broth, one Abita Amber beer, and about a cup of mild cheddar cheese - all blended till smooth. Yummy!!!! Perfect for this cold and rainy day!!

[June]

Lea - so glad you made it home safely and how exciting to be cooking in your own kitchen again! Your soup sounds wonderful!