Cajun Halibut with Praline Sauce over Dirty Rice

I apologize for the unattractive photo of this dish, however, it's not pretty food, so I've done the best I can.  Serve with a simple salad for best results.

Cajun halibut with praline sauce over dirty rice is the best dish my husband has made in a long time, it's the best thing I've eaten in a long time, it's so packed with flavor my mind is going to explode.  And I give full credit to Jesse for finding this recipe when I simply suggested that we have halibut one night for dinner, I don't know where he found it, so I can't give credit, but no one reads this anyway, and we've changed it up a bit.  Tonight we actually used black cod instead of halibut because Whole Foods was sold out, and it was just as good, the only difference being it was slightly lighter than the halibut was, but it cooked in the same amount of time, had almost the same consistency, and retained the flavor just the same...so I say if you don't want to spend the $25 per pound you would with halibut, black cod is just as good, for about half the price...just make sure you get the skin removed, unless you have a very sharp knife at home.

INGREDIENTS
for the dirty rice:
1 link italian sausage, casing removed
1 tbsp. olive oil
light dash of onion powder
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper (I think we use more)
light dash of garlic powder
3/4 cup long grain white rice (Jasmine rice)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
salt and cayenne pepper, to taste

for the praline sauce:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup sugar (we found it to be really sugary the first time, so we substituted maple syrup, about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup water
4 tbsp butter (we use salted)
1 1/2 ounce (one shot) whiskey

for the fish:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. smoked paprika (we used regular, not smoked)
2 tbsp. fresh thyme
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
4 halibut filets (about 6 oz. each)...we actually just share an 8oz fillet between the two of us and it's plenty...I rub it with the same amount of sauce, though, as listed above.

DIRECTIONS

1.  preheat grill to medium-high
2.  To make the dirty rice, crumble the sausage into a skillet or large saucepan over medium-high heat.  cook until starting to brown, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the olive oil, onion powder, bell pepper and garlic powder.  Cook until just softened, 2-3 minutes more.  Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute.  Mix in the broth.  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper.  Fluff with a fork and serve.

*If your'e making this in the rice cooker, which we do, cook the sausage, bell pepper, garlic and onion as above, adding in a little bit of broth.  Then add the rice to the rice cooker and as much chicken broth as you normally would (1 to 1 1/2 ratio), as well as the mixture from the skillet and the salt and cayenne pepper...press cook and voila!  You've got rice.

3.  While the rice is cooking, make the praline sauce.  Toast the pecans in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, 3-4 minutes.  Add in salt, cook 1-2 minutes more, remove from heat and whisk in the butter, whiskey and maple syrup until smooth.  The sauce may thicken upon standing and can be rewarmed over low heat.

4.  To prepare the fish, combine the oil, paprika, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper into a bowl and whisk to blend.  Pat the mixture over both sides of the fish.

5.  Oil the grates of the gill.  Grill until the fish is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.  Serve over dirty rice and topped with warm praline sauce.

This recipe seems complicated and time consuming, but it's not really, and it's worth it anyway.  We've also found that the dirty rice (and everything else) is delicious cold the next day, we've started to make the rice in the morning and fry up an egg to throw on top for breakfast, then we keep the rice in the fridge and eat it all day long as a snack or for lunch or whenever the mood strikes.  So you can make the rice ahead of time then just heat it up when the fish and praline sauce are ready, saving yourself a lot of time in the kitchen.

Pad Thai soup

I'll start out by saying that this is definitely not my recipe, here is the original which I've made 3 times and loved http://domesticfits.com/2012/10/22/pad-thai-soup/.

Tonight I made a few adjustments in the search for more veggies since tomorrow night we are going out for Korean BBQ and we all know that's a delicious meat feast.  I could have left out the chicken entirely from this recipe and been just fine but I'm working on using what's in my fridge and not letting anything go bad, it's my new years resolution if I were to actually have one.

So here's my version:

Ingredients

3 tbs oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cubed chicken breast
one small head of broccoli, chopped
about 4 large kale leaves, finely chopped
pinch of salt
4 cups vegetable broth
4 oz rice noodles (also called pad thai noodles)
3 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp sriracha
1 tbs fish sauce (For vegan, use adaptation listed in above post)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
1/4 cup green onions
1 tsp crushed red peppers
Instructions

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir. Add the chicken, cook about 3 minutes.  Add the kale and broccoli and a pinch of salt and cook for a few more minutes.
Add the soy, sriracha and fish sauce, stir to combine and coat everything with delicious flavor.  Add the broth, peanuts and noodles and cook until noodles have softened, about 5 minutes.  I turned the heat up a little to bring the pot to a boil which I believe helped the starch in the noodles come out and thicken the broth.  Serve topped with peanuts, green onions and red chili flakes.

If you need a picture, honestly just look at the one on the other website, because it's way nicer than the photo that I forgot to take tonight.  I loved this soup the first time I made it (following the original recipe of course) and I must say, I was blown away with my revised version and it felt more healthy than the original, which is always a bonus in January.

Sweet Potato Soup

I would not consider myself a person who likes soup, I don't seek it out and I've never found myself uttering the words "oh yeah, I love soup" but it's fall now and even in sunny LA the air has become brisk, wood smoke burns somewhere within smelling distance and eating something warm and comforting sounds like a good idea.  Also we go this new Ninja slow cooker.  I've been raving to my family about it, how amazing it is, all the great accessories it came with, everything a good wifey could every want in a kitchen appliance.  It also came with a cookbook from which we've been basing our meals just to try it out and get some new recipes in the mix.  Last night I made Celery and Sweet Potato Soup with Barley and it was so amazing I even ate soup for lunch today and along with never expressing my joy for soup I never express my joy for leftovers.  I honestly don't even know what possessed me to try this recipe, but I'm glad I did, it's amazing.

What you need: 
1 tbsp olive oil
4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup pearl barley, uncooked (I used hulled barley because that's what they had at my farmers market and it was just as delicious as I would imagine pearl barley to be, and more nutritious)

How you do it:
My slow cooker has the ability to saute right in the pot (seriously, do yourself a favor and buy a Ninja) but you can do this first part on the stove then add it to the pot.  So heat the olive oil on high in a pan then add in the celery and onion and cook for about 10 minutes until tender, then add in the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often.  Now throw this into the slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours until everything is fork tender.  DONE!  Was that the easiest thing ever?  

It will look chunky and not very brothy but once in your mouth the soup will taste creamy because the sweet potatoes are soft.  I slathered some salted butter on good bread to enjoy with my soup but it's quite hearty and satisfying on it's own.

REALLY GOOD Veggie Tacos

I LOVE taco night.  I don't, however, always love meat.  So when I convinced Jesse that we should make veggie tacos for dinner and he actually agreed, well I had won the day for sure.  These were so good we both agreed they might even be better than the original beef tacos, which is a huge accomplishment, and you can't go wrong with more vegetables.

Chop up as much of the following as you want (I like everything to be just bigger than a corn kernel):
zucchini
yellow squash
red bell pepper
shallot (I'm really into shallots these days, dice this up much smaller than the rest)
jalapeno (this should also be very small)

Put these into a saute pan with a small can of yellow corn and saute them all together for a while, you know, until they're about half way cooked.  Add in a package of taco seasoning with 3/4 cup water and turn the heat to simmer.  Cook until it all looks done and has a nice saucy consistency.  This is your "meat".

Meanwhile put some taco shells into the oven to heat up.

Chop up a tomato, lettuce and cucumber, open a can of sliced olives, shred your cheese (cheddar and mozzarella for us).

Refried beans are optional, they can go in your tacos, on the side, or as I like them, in between a soft shell and a hard shell for a double decker taco!  Here's how to dress up that can of vegetarian refried beans:  put the beans in a saucepan with about a tablespoon of each: green salsa, sour cream and shredded cheese.  Mix it all up and heat until bubbly.  Way more delicious than a regular can of refried beans.

To assemble the perfect double decker taco:  spread a bit of beans onto a warm flour tortilla (the really small taco sized ones), add just a little bit of shredded cheese then wrap this contraption around a hard shell.  Add in your veggie filling, top with the tomato, cucumber, olives, little more cheese, sour cream, green salsa and top with lettuce.

Of course you can make regular tacos, either hard or soft shell, but I just really like the combo, it's a delicious treat.

Shrimp Tacos with Apple Salsa and Queso Fresco

It's almost that time of year when you can break out the BBQ and start grilling every meal, because most foods are better when grilled.  Luckily for me I live in sunny L.A. and can grill pretty much year round.  Insert dinner:  Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Apple Salsa and Queso Fresco.  Grilly deliciousness.

Clean take the tail shell off of about a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp.  Put them into a ziplock bag with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, the juice of one lime, and about 1/4 tsp each of paprika, cumin, and red pepper flakes.  Squish around until all of the shrimp is covered and let stand for about 15 minutes.

Heat the grill to about 350 or so.

Into a large bowl combine the following, all chopped into salsa sized chunks: apple, red onion, jalapeno, red bell pepper, green onions and the juice of half a lime, half a lemon, and a pinch of salt.  Mix well and let sit in the fridge until everything else is done.

When the grill is ready, place each little shrimp directly from the bag to the grill, making sure they don't fall through.  Cook for a couple minutes on each side until pink and opaque.  Remove the shrimp from the grill and replace with soft, fresh corn tortillas (I like La Tortilla Factory).  Grill on each side until heated through.

Assemble!  Tortilla, shrimp, salsa, crumbled queso fresco.  Eat!
I served mine with marinaded cucumbers and carrots.  I love these because they are potent and the vinegar kinda burns your mouth, it's a real treat...Jesse does not agree.

Thinly slice cucumbers, shave carrots, thinly slice some red onion.  Toss these in a bowl with some rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt.  Mix well and let sit for as long as possible.

Veggie Pizza

Okay, you caught me, Jesse and I are on a diet.  It's really more of an eating healthy trend than a diet...except that I can't eat cookies, which feels like torture, which feels like a diet.  Anyway, our goal was to eat all of the things we love, like pizza, but healthier versions of them.  Insert: Veggie Pizza on whole wheat crust (which was way better than I expected).

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (Whole Foods makes a great one)
Mozzarella Cheese
Goat Cheese
Pizza Sauce
Plum
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Broccoli
Red Bell Pepper
Jalapeno
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to about 425.  Spray a little cooking spray on a baking sheet and stretch out your dough.  Add a little bit of pizza sauce in a thin layer on top of the dough.  Add shredded mozzarella cheese, also just a thin layer on top of the sauce, remember, you're on a diet.

Chop the veggies into very small pieces, about the size of a corn kernel.  If they are too large they will weigh down the pizza and when you pick it up it will flop down and everything will fall off...big pizza fail.

Add all of the veggies, sprinkling them evenly over the pizza, then drop the goat cheese in small clumps over the veggies.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

This pizza is awesome because the plum adds a bit of sweetness, the jalapeno adds a bit of spicy, and the goat cheese adds a lot of delicious.  Jesse was skeptical, but I convinced him after the first bite.

Healthy Vegetable Fried Rice

Healthy, you say?  Why yes, it turns out that every so often I do make a healthy dinner that is blog worthy. Tonight was one of those nights.  My vegetable fried rice is heathy, filling, and goes great with Pork Tenderloin.

Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves
3 scallions
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
Red Bell Pepper
Canned Corn Kernels
Frozen Shelled Edamame
Extra Firm Tofu
Carrots
Zucchini
Summer Squash
2 Lightly Beaten Eggs
Brown Rice
3 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce

I like to chop everything up at once so it is ready to go.  It is also best to chop all the veggies to about the same size, so I use the corn kernels as my guide.  You can use however much of everything you'd like.  You can gauge how much to use by how much rice you have, since you want to have a nice rice to veggie ratio.

Heat a little bit of vegetable oil in a wok over medium high heat.  Add in the chopped garlic, scallions and ginger.  Cook for a minute or so, making sure not to burn the garlic (it will get bitter).

Add just a little more oil and all of the veggies and tofu.  Stir and cook until the veggie are tender but everything is still brightly colored and crisp.

Make a well in the center of the wok and add the eggs.  When the eggs are cooked, stir everything together and add in the rice.  Add in the soy sauce and a splash of worcestershire sauce.  Stir together and cook until the rice is heated through.

I served this tonight with a side of Pork Tenderloin.  I used my standard recipe:
Dump all of the following into a zip lock bag and let marinade in the fridge for 3 days.
Pork Tenderloin (half of one is perfect for 2 people)
Soy Sauce
Rice Vinegar
Orange Juice
Sriracha Sauce
Ginger
Garlic

Cook on a broiler pan for 25-30 minutes at 425.  The temperature at the end should be no higher than 140....135 is best I think.

BBQ Pork Pizza

I have really got to start taking photos of my food more often.


Anyway, the other night I made one of my favorite pizzas, BBQ Pork Pizza.  I used leftover pork from the Savory Pork Tacos, homemade pizza dough, and delicious veggies.  It was so good Jesse and I ate the entire thing, and Ceasar salad!


Ingredients:
*Pizza dough (if you don't want to make your own, Whole Foods sells amazing pizza dough that you can buy fresh.  I also hear that Trader Joe's has pizza dough, but I don't like anything Trader Joe's has to offer.)
*Shredded pork (see recipe in my Savory Pork Tacos post)
*Your favorite BBQ sauce
*Gruyere Cheese (shredded)
*Canned corn
*Red bell pepper (chopped into chunks about the size of the corn kernels)
*Jalapeno (finely chopped)
*Salt and Pepper


Preheat oven to 425.


Stretch out the pizza dough (never roll) and place on a baking sheet coated with Olive Oil Cooking Spray.  Brush on some BBQ sauce to cover the bottom.  Then top with the shredded pork (as much as you like), then I like to add a little more BBQ sauce in drops over the top of the pork.  Not too much, just enough to add a little more sauciness.  Then top with the corn, red bell pepper, jalapeno, shredded cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper.


Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and blistery on top.


Let sit for a minute before slicing and diving in.  Enjoy with a salad for a well-rounded meal.

Savory Pork Tacos

I don't know why pork tacos wouldn't be savory, I just think it sounds nice.  What really makes these tacos amazing is the salsa I invented, but I thought the rest of the taco was worth mentioning as well.  I like to buy pork shoulders because they are very inexpensive and best made in the crock pot, one of my favorite appliances.  This requires a little planning ahead, but the outcome is well worth it.


In to the crock pot put the following ingredients:
pork shoulder
enough beef broth to cover or almost cover the meat
quite a bit of:
salt
cumin
red pepper flakes
garlic powder
onion powder
ground coriander
dried oregano


Turn on the pot and go to work, or stay home and enjoy the smell of simmering meat all day.
When it comes time for dinner, heat the oven to about 375.  Place 2 corn tortillas in a tinfoil pouch sealed on all ends (2 tortillas per person) and put in the oven to warm for about 5 to 10 minutes.


Make the salsa, which I'm naming Anna's Amazing Salsa (because it is really, really amazing):
Chop the following into small pieces (think salsa sized):
Red apple (Fuji, Gala or Honey Crisp would all be nice)
Tomato
Orange Bell Pepper (red, green or yellow would all work)
One Scallion 
some Jalapeno
a pinch of salt
some lemon and lime juice


Toss together and try not to eat it all with tortilla chips before dinner.


To assemble the tacos, remove the tortillas from their pouches and top with some shredded pork, salsa and a little bit of sour cream.  You can also add avocado or cheese or lettuce...whatever you like.


These tacos are great with a side of beans and rice.

Pork Tenderloin

Pork Tenderloin is one of the easiest meats to make.  It's all about the marinade and cooking it to the perfect medium-rare temperature.  Here is my go to recipe for pork tenderloin.


Place the tenderloin in a large zip lock bag with the following (as usual I don't measure anything):
soy sauce,
a little peanut oil,
fresh or dried ginger powder,
fresh or dried garlic powder,
onion powder,
as much Sriracha sauce as you like


Place this in the fridge all day so the marinade can really get in the pork.  You can even do this a day or two ahead of time.  If you're like me, you'll get the pork ready and then not want pork for dinner, so you leave it for the next night....then that next night rolls around and you still don't want pork but you force yourself to make it anyway.  It's so delicious that you can't believe you ate pizza the night before, what were you thinking?!


Preheat oven to 425.
Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray.  I have no idea if this is really a broiler pan or not, but it's the kind of deep dish pan with a rack that sits on top with holes in it.  You put the pork tenderloin on this rack.  Be sure to spray the rack when it's in place on the pan so that the bottom of the pan gets sprayed as well.  Because the juices from the pork drip down onto this pan while cooking, they can easily burn on the bottom and you'll have a hell of a time scraping this junk off...so if you hit it with a little cooking spray, it makes your life a lot easier.  Aaaaaanyway.... remove the pork from the marinade and place it on the rack while the oven is heating up.  When ready, stick it in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.  This is a great time to start some rice pilaf because they take about the same amount of time to cook.  After 25 minutes, check the temperature with a thermometer.  The temp should be about 135 - 140.  I believe the correct temp for pork is 145 but in my opinion that is too done.  Remove the pork (if ready) from the oven and transfer to a cutting board.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes!  Don't even think about touching this pork before 5 minutes.  Then slice into about 1/2 inch thick slices at a slight angle (for looks) and you should have perfect, juicy pork tenderloin. 


I always like to serve this with rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables.  I've been adding a dash of toasted sesame seeds to my veggies right before they are done cooking, it adds that extra little something that makes them better in some way.

Salmon

I read somewhere that you should cook salmon at a lower temperature for a longer period of time because it helps to melt the fats, distributing them throughout the fish and creating a tender, juicy, delicious dinner.  So I tried this, and it worked.


Preheat oven to 375.


Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Coat both sides (skin side and non-skin side) of a salmon fillet with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cajun seasoning if you have it.  I have no idea what is in this cajun seasoning my dad whipped up, but I use it on everything to give just a little kick.  


Place the salmon in the baking dish, skin side down.  Top with a few dollops of butter and stick it in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until opaque.  Be careful with this opaque business though.  If you buy salmon that has been farm raised, it is going to be much more pink that wild salmon, because they put pink stuff in it to make it look..well...pink.  So when you cook it it's going to retain that pink color, instead of wild salmon that becomes less pink when cooked because you can see the fat melt throughout the fish and it becomes opaque.  I learned this lesson the hard way and totally over cooked some salmon one time that I didn't know was farm raised.  Just to be on the safe side, and if you want to eat better salmon (or anything) buy the wild stuff.  It's a little more expensive, but you want to put good stuff in your body, so buck up and pay for it.


When it's done I like to transfer the salmon to a cutting board and use a spatula to remove the skin before putting it on plates.  Just insert the spatula between the skin and flesh and slide it right on through, it's really easy when the fish is cooked.  It's a nightmare to remove the skin before the salmon is cooked.


Enjoy with a nice salad or sauteed veggies.  

Fish Tacos

Ole!




Ingredients:
2 Tilapia Filets
Creole Seasoning
Limes
Shallot
Sour Cream
Chili Powder
Salt
4 Soft Corn Tortillas
Fresh Salsa (chopped onion, tomatoes, jalapeno and cilantro)


First, rub the tilapia fillets with the creole seasoning on both sides.  Heat a little olive oil and butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the tilapia.  Cook for a few minutes on each side until cooked through and slightly crispy on the edges.


While the fish is cooking, put some sour cream in a bowl.  Add the zest and juice of half a lime, a pinch of salt, about a teaspoon of finely chopped shallot and as much chili powder as you'd like.  Stir this into a nice sauce and set aside.


Heat the corn tortillas either in a non-stick pan or wrapped in tin foil in the oven.  When the fish is done, divide the 2 fillets among the 4 warm tortillas.  Squeeze a little more lime juice over the fish, top with the sour cream sauce and fresh salsa.  Eat!


I like to serve these with refried beans and corn chips because it's delicious to scoop some beans onto the taco as you go.  You can really jazz up a can of vegetarian refried beans by doing this: plop them out into a sauce pan, mix in about 2 tablespoons of green salsa, about 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese and 1 tablespoon of sour cream.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.


Serves 2....best recommended with a bottle of Pacifico garnished with a lime wedge.

Spicy Beef Enchiladas

I would like to preface this recipe with the fact that this is not necessarily a healthy dinner.  Perhaps you could make a nice side salad or some sort of vegetable invention of your own, but I had a salad for lunch so I thought, what the hell, jalapenos and green chiles will have to suffice.  Nutrition facts aside, these enchiladas were delicious!  And I used up left over ground beef, which is a near miracle in this house.


I made 5 (8") enchiladas and had leftover rice and meat, so you could make a lot more with these amounts.


Ingredients:
* 1 lb ground beef (buy grass fed, always!)
* One package Taco Seasoning
* 1 box Spanish Rice
* 8" Corn Tortillas
* Grated Cheddar Cheese
* Low Fat Cream Cheese
* One can Red Enchilada Sauce
* One small can of diced Green Chiles
* Chopped jalepenos


Now Do This:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a baking dish lightly with cooking spray.


Cook the ground beef in a pan until just browned.  Add in the packet of taco seasoning and about 3/4 cup water, mix well and simmer for about 10 minutes.  You could easily make your own taco seasoning with things like salt, crushed red pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder... pretty much any of the spices you always have on hand that sounds kinda Mexicany.  I like the packaged kinds that don't contain MSG.


While the beef is cooking, make the Spanish Rice according to the package directions.  Again you could make your own using the same spices and whatever rice you like.


Lay out your corn tortillas and put a small amount of cream cheese in a line down the middle.  I just used my fingers and pulled small dabs off a spoon.  Then, also in a line down the middle (as with everything), put a small amount of the beef, rice, as much jalapeno as you like, and grated cheddar cheese.  Roll the tortilla and put seam side down into the baking dish.  Do this with as many tortillas as will fit in your dish, you can really squeeze them in there.


Pour the entire can of sauce over the top to completely cover the tortillas, then add the green chiles as evenly as possible.  Top with a little more cheddar cheese and put in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and the sauce is starting to bubble.  


After devouring one of these enchiladas I remembered that I wanted to put a little sour cream on top but I was too full to go for seconds.  The sour cream would be really nice because these are pretty spicy.


I'm too impatient for most things, but you could really make this entire meal from scratch, as opposed to packaged ingredients (maybe aside from the tortillas), and I bet it would be amazing.  The only thing that might take longer would be making the enchilada sauce ahead of time.

A Mighty Tasty Salad

I took this recipe from one of my many Cooking Light magazines I have archived awkwardly in a bookcase.  Whenever I'm feeling completely uninspired I grab all the magazines I have from whatever season it is and see if I can find a good recipe.  I found a recipe for a broccoli slaw salad with some sort of Asian dressing and boy was it delicious!  Super flavorful and a great accompaniment to marinated chicken and roasted acorn squash (and now I'm painfully full).


You can use as much of the following as you like, depending on how many people you are serving and how much you like of each ingredient.


For the slaw, mix together the following in a large bowl:
*One large carrot, shredded with the veggie peeler so you end up with long strips of carrot.
*Broccoli with the crown chopped into small pieces, and the stem peeled and julienned.
*Sliced water chestnuts
*One scallion, chopped
*Cucumber thinly sliced (or celery would be good too...probably better)
*A little less than one package of ramen noodles, crushed.  Throw that disgusting packet of preservatives away.


For the dressing:
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon Agave or Honey
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 Teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 Teaspoon ground ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed (or some garlic powder)


Mix all of these together with a whisk then slowly add 1/3 cup canola oil.  Toss the dressing with the slaw then top with a few mandarin orange wedges.


The original recipe called for Napa Cabbage, sunflower seeds and toasted, sliced almonds, which would be delicious.

Pizza, Salad and Artichokes

These recipes are really no-brainers, I mean seriously if you can't make these, then I'm ashamed for you, but I'll give you the recipes anyway, because this dinner was amazing!


Dinner tonight was Margherita Pizza, Spinach+Strawberry+Goat Cheese Salad, and Artichoke halves, vegetarian, cheesy, delicious!


First, cut an artichoke in half and cut off the stem.  Place cut sides up in a steamer basket, cover and steam for about 20 minutes or until the artichokes are just tender when you poke them with a fork.  You really don't want to over cook artichokes, they become mushy and really gross.  But then again, you need to cook them enough so that they aren't tough and you strain your jaw trying to rip the flesh from the leaf.  I like to make a side of melted butter for Jesse and a side of mayo and mustard mixed together for myself to dip these tasty little leaves in.  Did you know artichokes are full of antioxidants and fiber?  It's true.  When these are done be sure to scrape the thistle out of the middle with a spoon, and get it all, this stuff is dangerous!


Once you've got the artichokes steamin', it's time for pizza.  Spray a little cooking spray on a baking sheet and stretch your fresh pizza dough out (NEVER roll it) onto the baking sheet.  I like to use my fists in the middle of the dough and stretch it from the middle first, then hang it from the sides and let gravity do all the work, making sure not to tear the dough.  Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil then cover with pizza sauce.  When you spread around the sauce you'll spread around the olive oil.  Julienne a bunch of basil and sprinkle over the entire pizza.  Shred some fresh mozzarella and add as much as you want... I think a nice coating over the entire pizza is good, but you can add more or less.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly and blistering.


And on to the salad.  Wash and chop a bunch of fresh spinach and drizzle with whatever salad dressing you like.  Tonight I used a Citrus Poppyseed dressing that contained no oil.  Arrange this onto plates so you can add the sliced strawberries and a few chunks of goat cheese on top and it will look pretty.  I love a pretty salad.


I really should have taken a photo of this dinner, it was so satisfying.  And I'm working on better portion control for Jesse and I, specifically trying to follow the rules and have half the plate filled with veggies and fruit, one fourth of the plate protein and one fourth grains.  Tonight it was 3/4 of the plate was fruits and veggies, and 1/4 PIZZA!

Stuff Stuffed with Other Stuff

I highly recommend plating this dinner on a colorful plate, I made the mistake of using cream colored plates and this dinner looked so sad!  There is a serious lack of green in this dish, but it's super healthy and delicious, so put it on a green plate and you're good to go!

Well what the hell am I eating, you ask?  Food stuffed with other food!  Feta cheese stuffed spicy chicken breasts and Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with sauteed carrots and couscous cooked with dried cranberries.  Hearty, healthy and delicious!  There are a lot of little steps to this dinner, but it's super easy.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Butter (I'll divide as I go here)

Salt and pepper 

1 Acorn squash

Brown Sugar

Carrots

Couscous

Dried Cranberries

a little bit of Frank's hot sauce, maybe about 1/4 cup

Toothpicks

Feta Cheese

Process:

First, preheat the oven to 425.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.  Cut the acorn squash in half so you have a top and bottom.  Cut a little bit off the top and bottom as needed so the halves can sit level on their butts. Scoop all of the seeds out of the middles and rub a little butter inside.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and as much brown sugar as you'd like.  Place these on the baking sheet with the open side down flat, or with the cup facing down if that makes more sense.  Set this aside, you want to put it in the oven at the same time as the chicken because they take the same amount of time to cook.

Using a sharp knife cut a slit in the thick side of each chicken breast so you have a little pouch.  Stuff the pouch with feta cheese (or blue cheese), then use the tooth picks to keep the pouch closed.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side.  Heat some olive oil in a cast iron skillet (or any skillet you can put in the oven) over medium-high heat.  Sear the chicken breasts on each side for 2 to 3 minutes to get some nice color then transfer to the oven along with the acorn squash.  Let both of these bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the acorn squash is tender when you stab it with a fork (the inside part, obviously).

Meanwhile, put about 2 Tbsp of butter into a little sauce pan with about 1/4 cup of Frank's Hot sauce.  Let these simmer over low heat until the butter is melted.

Cook the couscous according to the package directions, it only takes 5 minutes to cook, so make it close to when the chicken is done.  I added dried cranberries to the couscous and let them sit together for 5 minutes then fluffed with a fork and set aside.  Sautee sliced carrots with a little salt, pepper and either fresh or powdered ginger.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the oven and put on the pates (or if you need to keep it warm for a little longer while the squash cooks, place it in a pie pan on top of the stove) remove the toothpicks and spoon some of the sauce over the top.  You can use as much sauce as you like, it's quite spicy so just keep that in mind.  

Flip the squash halves right side up so you have a nice little cup sitting on your plate.  Fill it with the couscous and sauteed carrots, plop a chicken breast down next to the squash and you've got yourself dinner!  And just because there isn't anything green here doesn't mean it's not healthy.  Squash is very healthy and we all know the benefits of carrots.  Couscous is a great little grain and the dried cranberries really brighten it up.  If you did want to get some green goodness in there you could sautee some spinach with the carrots, but that texture freaks me out so I'll pass.  I usually stuff Acorn Squash with chopped zucchini, summer squash and carrots, but I didn't have those on hand tonight.

Pork Tenderloin

There's a show on the Food Network where this really obnoxious woman makes dinner for 4 for under $10.  This is a great concept, it's good to know that you can eat healthy delicious food without spending your whole paycheck, it's really something that more people need to know.  But this woman who does the show really rubs me the wrong way.  Regardless, I was absentmindedly watching this show one day while working or online shopping (same difference) and caught this woman making a pork roast.  She rubbed some spices on it then roasted it with some sort of green mixture on top, which I think included cilantro, which I detest, and when it finally came out of the oven it looked delicious.  So I decided to make pork tenderloin for dinner that night, with my version of this recipe.  It had to be my own version because I wasn't paying close enough attention to know exactly what the horrible woman used, and I certainly wasn't using cilantro, yuck!  And I'm a master of the pork tenderloin and I've never made a roast in my life, so...use what you know!


Preheat the oven to 425.


In a bowl large enough to roll a pork tenderloin around in, mix together the following spices:
(You're going to be rubbing these on the pork, so use as much of each as you would like)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
salt 
black pepper
cinnamon
curry powder
cumin
paprika


Then in a food processor add a bunch of flat leaf parsley without the stems, the juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper and enough olive oil to loosen the mixture.  Grind this into a nice puree.


Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and rub the spices all over the pork.  Add the pork to the pan and sear both sides.  Transfer the pork to a rack in a roasting pan and spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over the top of the pork.  Smear the parsley mixture over the top of the pork.  Use all of it, it will create kind of a thick layer of green covering the top of the pork.


Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pork reaches 160.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and eating.  It's delicious!


I made this with some rice pilaf and "roasted" vegetables.  I say "roasted" because I forgot to put the veggies in the oven soon enough, so I cooked them in a pan on low for a long time to achieve the same effect.  I used carrots, parsnips and apples...yum!  Be sure to put the parsnips in the pan first because they take longer to cook, then the carrots, and the apple close to the end.  I recommend adding some cumin, cinnamon, garlic and salt and pepper to the veggies for some nice flavor.


This meal is certainly under $10 and you can easily feed 4 people with it.

Turkey Pesto Sandwich

There is nothing fancy about this sandwich, it is not difficult to make, it requires no cooking and I stole the recipe from a sandwich I ate once.  All this said...it's a really good sandwich, and you should make one.


You need:
*Two pieces of bread.  A slightly more dense bread I think is best, like a whole wheat or slices of whatever bread you ate last night with dinner.
*Sliced turkey
*Mixed Greens
*Provolone Cheese
*Italian dressing
*Mayo
*Pesto


Do this:
Place a small amount of mixed greens in a bowl and toss with some italian dressing.  Set aside.


On one half of the bread, spread a little bit of mayo.  On the other half, spread a good helping of pesto.  On top of the mayo, place the sliced turkey, provolone cheese (as much as you like, but I really recommend using more turkey and less cheese) and mixed greens.  Put the other piece of bread on top and you've got yourself a sandwich!


Lunch!

A Better Lasagna

One day while taking a shower I was thinking of what I could possibly make for dinner that night.  I wanted lasagna but I wanted to somehow make it a little more healthy, without adding pieces of vegetables, because I think that is the easiest way to ruin a good lasagna.  There is nothing more disgusting, in my opinion, than chunks of vegetables in a rich creamy lasagna, yuck.  So I decided I would roast a butternut squash and a head of cauliflower with a ton of fresh herbs and then puree the two into some sort of delicious veggie puree that could serve as one of the layers.  So I did this, and it was, in a word, AMAZING.  Best freaking lasagna I have ever had.  I scaled way back on the cheese to let the creaminess of the puree give that rich velvety texture, and oh man was this the best idea I've had in a while!


This recipe does require slaving away in a hot kitchen for about 2 hours, but it is well worth it.  And it feeds at least 6 people, so you can either feed a crowd or have leftovers for days.  And now I give to you, the best damn lasagna you'll ever make.


You'll need:
*One butternut squash
*One head of cauliflower
*Fresh basil
*Fresh thyme or oregano or sage or whatever herbs you like really
*Salt and Pepper
*Olive oil
*Lasagna noodles (not the "no cook" kind, I don't like those)
*1 lb. of ground pork sausage, hot or mild, your preference (you could also use turkey sausage)
*One 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes in puree
*One 6 oz can of tomato paste
*5 oz. of goat cheese


Preheat the oven to 425.
Peel and cube the butternut squash, the smaller the pieces the faster it will roast.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray (or olive oil or whatever you like) and arrange all of the squash pieces in a single layer.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on salt, pepper and the finely chopped herbs.  Use a lot of these, you really want to give the squash a great flavor.


Chop up the cauliflower and do the same on another baking sheet (only because they won't both fit on one).  Throw in the oven for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.  

Fill a pot with water and boil for the noodles.  Cook according to the package directions.

In another pan, cook the sausage until brown, then add in the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes.  Stir together and let simmer until you're done making the veggie puree.

When the squash and cauliflower are ready, put them into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  I had to add some white wine and a little of the pasta water to loosen the mixture, you can also use chicken stock.  Set this aside.  PS, this is going to be hot, it's right out of the oven, so use your head.


When everything is cooked and ready to be assembled, grease a 9x13 baking dish then put down a little bit of the tomato sauce, enough to cover the bottom of the dish.


Put down a layer of the noodles, then about half of the puree (or however much you think looks good, you might end up with leftover or you might use it all, it's really your preference).  Spread this evenly over the noodles then add half of the goat cheese, breaking it apart with your fingers and evenly distributing it over the entire lot.  On top of that add half of the tomato sauce, spreading it as evenly as possible.  Add another layer of noodles, the rest of the puree, the rest of the goat cheese, and the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top and put in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly.


Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before diving into.


You will really be surprised at how flavorful this lasagna is.  Every layer is jam packed with rich, creamy flavor, so you can avoid the 30 pounds of cheese you would normally use.  This goes great with a nice simple salad and a chunk of bread.  YUM!  You might want to wear sweatpants to dinner.

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls are my favorite vegetable delivery device.  The best part is you can make them as you go, so each one can taste different, or the same, depending on what you put in.  You can make Spring Rolls with any vegetable or fruit you like that tastes good raw.


These are my favorite ingredients:
*Carrots
*Cucumber
*Red Bell Pepper
*Mango


Slice up the vegetables into matchsticks about 3 inches long and place in neat piles on a plate for easy picking.


Heat olive oil and soy sauce in a pan and toss in tofu cut into strips.  Add more soy sauce over the top so each piece receives some flavor.  Simmer the tofu for about 15 minutes or until it has soaked up the soy sauce and browned at least a little bit.


Meanwhile, fill a teapot with water and boil.  Place some thin rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with the boiled water.  Let them soak for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Remove from the water and place in another bowl (again for easy picking).  Save the bowl of water to soften the spring roll wrappers.


If you've never worked with spring roll wrappers before, they're a little tricky, they're like plastic wrap, they like to stick together and make your life difficult.


Quickly dip a wrapper into the water making sure the entire thing gets wet then lay flat on a plate.  In the middle, lay down a small amount of the rice noodles, then a couple pieces of tofu and the veggies, and a dash of peanut sauce.  You can make your own peanut sauce very easily, but the store bought stuff is great too.  Then roll it up like a burrito!  For those of you who haven't been professional burrito rollers at one point in your life, you fold over the short sides first then fold the side closest to you over the top of all the stuff and roll, making sure the rice paper sticks to itself and seals in all the goodness.


Eat!


Other delicious things to add are cooked shrimp, bean sprouts, fresh mint leaves, hell, you can add anything you want.  Shrimp sauteed in salt, pepper and curry powder are delicious.