Even though we are eating out of the freezer, I am using recipes that I have found in Cooking Light, Mix and Match. Cooking light is owned by Sunset magazine in CA. I stopped taking Cooking Light as I found my favorites were in Sunset and it took about 137 pages of ads to get to a recipe in Cooking Light The nutty cheesy filling of the chicken breasts was wonderful. However, I was using Purdue Chicken Breasts that are frozen and I know that they remove the chicken tender. So they are very thin and it took a lot of toothpicks. Buy regular skinless breasts from the store and your life will be easier. Also I froze ½# of green beans without steaming them, didn’t work. They were really tough. If you have left over green beans, cook them and freeze;. nuke to defrost and serve.
Ingredients:
1/3 C light garlic and herbs spreadable cheese
¼ C slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped, and divided
3 T chopped fresh parsley, divided
4, 6 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
½ t salt
¼ t peppers
1 ½ t butter (I can’t stand cooking only in butter. I used half EVOO)
Directions:
1. Combine spreadable cheese, 3 T almonds, and 2 T parsley in a small bowl. Set aside
2. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each breast half to forum a pocket. Stuff 1 ½ T almond mixture into each pocket; secure each pocket with a wooden pick. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
3. Heat butter/EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 6 minutes on each side. Remove from pan; cover and let stand 2 minutes. I put all the stuffing inside, but if you divide tic, top the chicken evenly with 1T almonds and 1T parsley.
The suggestion was green beans and couscous. I boiled fingerling potatoes and as above we did serve green beans. As followed the chicken is 428 cal. Per serving. Jim loved this meal.
He served a Glen manor, 2008 Cabernet Franc from VA with the meal. It was really good
Monday, February 28, 2011
Mango and Black Bean Salad with Shrimp
We are still eating out of our freezer. Tonight’s meal was spectacular and we also eliminated some items from the pantry and the refrigerator as well. This is also from the Cooking light Mix and Match Cookbook. It is listed as a lunch, but we had it for dinner and really enjoyed it. I didn’t follow directions to a t, but will explain what I did that did not comply. The recipe says that adding 1/3 C of cooked shrimp to the recipe adds 85 calories. I thought it was unclear whether it was 1/3 C per serving or over all since the calories are listed per serving. If you follow the recipe exactly it is to be 334 calories per serving.
Ingredients:
1 ½ C chopped peeled ripe mangos. (I used frozen)
1 C thinly sliced green onions
3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
½ C cooked wild or brown rice. I put ½ C red rice and one cup of water in a pot, soaked it and cooked it. I added the whole amount.
2 T fresh salsa, (I added some leftover chutney and a very hot veggie salsa that I had made.)
2T fresh lime juice
2 T EVOO
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
½ C precooked shrimp (I used ½# frozen shrimp thawed)
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix.
2. Yield is 3 servings
Ingredients:
1 ½ C chopped peeled ripe mangos. (I used frozen)
1 C thinly sliced green onions
3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
½ C cooked wild or brown rice. I put ½ C red rice and one cup of water in a pot, soaked it and cooked it. I added the whole amount.
2 T fresh salsa, (I added some leftover chutney and a very hot veggie salsa that I had made.)
2T fresh lime juice
2 T EVOO
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
½ C precooked shrimp (I used ½# frozen shrimp thawed)
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix.
2. Yield is 3 servings
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Restaurant Reviews and Julia's Scrambled Eggs
I’ve had a couple days off from cooking. Friday we went to the Baltimore Craft Show and met with our friend Jim T. After the show we went to Ze Mean Bean Café which specializes in Slavic food. This was Cynthia’s favorite restaurant. With a menu containing stuffed cabbage, Pierogi, sauerkraut and beets, Jim was totally out of his element. He finally chose borscht and a Polish sausage sandwich. I had a salad of beet green and beets. I followed this with and a platter of stuffed cabbage, Polish Sausage and 4 different Pierogi. We drove home and decided to skip dinner as we were stuffed.
Saturday we joined friends at Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville, VA. It is a lovely old grain mill converted into a restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner. I had a starter of fried green tomatoes. Perfectly done and followed this with a delicious piece of salmon, moist and perfectly done, not overcooked at all. They even provided pickled ginger and wasabi mashed potatoes. The other three all ordered steak, 2 medium rare, one of the medium, one of the rare with blue cheese mashed potatoes instead of garlic. Joan got Rich’s order. Jim got Joan’s, etc. We had a great time. Jim ordered a chocolate dessert.
I have been reading a delightful book of letters between Julia Child and her friend Avis DeSoto. In one letter Avis describes how perfect scrambled eggs were according to Julia’s recipe. I tried it this morning and it does really make a difference. I have always used these ingredients, but never in precise measurement and I believe that the low heat made the difference. Our eggs this AM were creamy and divine.
Scrambled Eggs 4-5 servings
Julia states in the beginning of the recipe that the preparation is entirely a matter of stirring the eggs over gentle heat until they slowly thicken as a mass into a custard.
Utensils:
Wire whip
Mixing bowl
Heavy-bottomed skillet 7-8” in diameter
Rubber spatula
Ingredients:
8 eggs
¼ t salt
Pinch of pepper
2T softened butter
2T whipping cream
Directions:
1. Beat the eggs in the bowl with the seasonings for 20-30 seconds to blend yolks and whites.
2. Smear the bottom and sides of the pan with the butter.
3. Pour in the eggs and set over moderately low heat. Stir slowly and continually, reaching all over the bottom of the pan. Nothing will seem to happen to 2-3 minutes as the eggs gradually heat. Suddenly they will begin to thicken into a custard. Sir rapidly, moving pan on a off heat, until the eggs have almost thickened to the consistency you wish. Then remove from heat, as they will continue to thicken slightly.
4. Just as soon as they are of the right consistency, stir in the cream, which will stop the cooking.
This recipe easily divides in half. Usually I look to Julia for difficult food items explained in a way I can actually accomplish it. In the movie Julia and Julie the premise is cooking through the entire book in a year. I think we all could lean a million lessons by doing this.
Saturday we joined friends at Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville, VA. It is a lovely old grain mill converted into a restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner. I had a starter of fried green tomatoes. Perfectly done and followed this with a delicious piece of salmon, moist and perfectly done, not overcooked at all. They even provided pickled ginger and wasabi mashed potatoes. The other three all ordered steak, 2 medium rare, one of the medium, one of the rare with blue cheese mashed potatoes instead of garlic. Joan got Rich’s order. Jim got Joan’s, etc. We had a great time. Jim ordered a chocolate dessert.
I have been reading a delightful book of letters between Julia Child and her friend Avis DeSoto. In one letter Avis describes how perfect scrambled eggs were according to Julia’s recipe. I tried it this morning and it does really make a difference. I have always used these ingredients, but never in precise measurement and I believe that the low heat made the difference. Our eggs this AM were creamy and divine.
Scrambled Eggs 4-5 servings
Julia states in the beginning of the recipe that the preparation is entirely a matter of stirring the eggs over gentle heat until they slowly thicken as a mass into a custard.
Utensils:
Wire whip
Mixing bowl
Heavy-bottomed skillet 7-8” in diameter
Rubber spatula
Ingredients:
8 eggs
¼ t salt
Pinch of pepper
2T softened butter
2T whipping cream
Directions:
1. Beat the eggs in the bowl with the seasonings for 20-30 seconds to blend yolks and whites.
2. Smear the bottom and sides of the pan with the butter.
3. Pour in the eggs and set over moderately low heat. Stir slowly and continually, reaching all over the bottom of the pan. Nothing will seem to happen to 2-3 minutes as the eggs gradually heat. Suddenly they will begin to thicken into a custard. Sir rapidly, moving pan on a off heat, until the eggs have almost thickened to the consistency you wish. Then remove from heat, as they will continue to thicken slightly.
4. Just as soon as they are of the right consistency, stir in the cream, which will stop the cooking.
This recipe easily divides in half. Usually I look to Julia for difficult food items explained in a way I can actually accomplish it. In the movie Julia and Julie the premise is cooking through the entire book in a year. I think we all could lean a million lessons by doing this.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Fresh Salmon-Cilantro Burgers and Spinach Salad with Feta
Luckily we did not want to eat until late as it was a class day and I had to make these burgers. This meal is again from Mix and Match, Cooking Light. Yield 4 servings, 414 calories
Ingredients:
¼ C reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 T chopped fresh cilantro, divided
3 T fresh lime juice, divided, 1 whole lime
5/8 t salt, divided
3/8 t pepper, divided
1# salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1” pieces
¼ C dry bread crumbs
2 T chopped green onions
1 T chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
Cooking Spray
4 hamburger buns (we used ½ of an English muffin per burger)
12 (1/4 slices) English cucumber
4 green leaf lettuce leaves
Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients but only 1/8 t salt and 1/8 t pepper.
2. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add breadcrumbs and the next 3 ingredients plus the remaining salt and pepper. Divide into 4 equal portions.
3. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 2 minutes each side or until done.
4. Spread one quarter of the mayonnaise mixture on the bottom half of the bun. Place the burger on top. Top with 3 cucumber slices and a piee of lettuce. Top with bun if using a usual hamburger bun.
We liked these very much. We thought there was too much dressing for the salad as follows. I would do half the dressing or twice the spinach and bell pepper. The salad is only 73 calories, how much could extra spinach and pepper add?
Salad
Ingredients:
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 t canola oil
2 t water
¼ t chile paste
½ (5 oz) pkg. baby spinach
½ C yellow bell pepper strips
¼ C thinly sliced red onion
¼ C crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
2. Add spinach and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss to coat
Ingredients:
¼ C reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 T chopped fresh cilantro, divided
3 T fresh lime juice, divided, 1 whole lime
5/8 t salt, divided
3/8 t pepper, divided
1# salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1” pieces
¼ C dry bread crumbs
2 T chopped green onions
1 T chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
Cooking Spray
4 hamburger buns (we used ½ of an English muffin per burger)
12 (1/4 slices) English cucumber
4 green leaf lettuce leaves
Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients but only 1/8 t salt and 1/8 t pepper.
2. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add breadcrumbs and the next 3 ingredients plus the remaining salt and pepper. Divide into 4 equal portions.
3. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 2 minutes each side or until done.
4. Spread one quarter of the mayonnaise mixture on the bottom half of the bun. Place the burger on top. Top with 3 cucumber slices and a piee of lettuce. Top with bun if using a usual hamburger bun.
We liked these very much. We thought there was too much dressing for the salad as follows. I would do half the dressing or twice the spinach and bell pepper. The salad is only 73 calories, how much could extra spinach and pepper add?
Salad
Ingredients:
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T rice vinegar
2 t canola oil
2 t water
¼ t chile paste
½ (5 oz) pkg. baby spinach
½ C yellow bell pepper strips
¼ C thinly sliced red onion
¼ C crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
2. Add spinach and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss to coat
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Surprises from the Freezer
Still eating out of the freezer and we used up two packages of the Sauerkraut Pierogi and one package of the pork burgers that I made a while back. These burgers had ras al hanout as the mixed in ingredient. It came from Food Network get Grilling; I blogged about it at the time. It is an excellent combination of spices and I can’t wait to use it this summer grilling. Supposedly it is great on chicken also. I fixed the Pierogi exactly according to Jim’s brother’s directions and they were better. Not sure about the ¼ # of butter though. Tomorrow is school. Hope I am up to dinner fixing when I come home. Wednesday’s are knitting day. Having furan learning.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Speghetti with Meatballs
This is the second night of eating out of the freezer. I found during my inventory ½# veal, ½# turkey, ½# chicken, all ground. I thought must be leftover from a meatloaf. There was a Spaghetti and meatball recipe from Viansa lying on the counter from a recent shipment. It wanted a pound of sweet Italian sausage. Also in the freezer were 3 partial packages of chunked prosciutto that added up to ½#.. So I had double the meat required. I figured that there are probably as many recipes for meatballs as there are Italian grandmothers, so I decided to improvise as meatballs and meatloaf are close. I doubled the recipe and then added half of them to the sauce. Unfortunately, I now have added meatballs to the freezers I am trying to empty. I was also able to use up a container and a half of the basil sauce that I made this past summer when I was overwhelmed with basil from the garden. Here is Viansa’s recipe. I will put in () how I changed it. If I had added some red pepper flakes and some Italian seasoning, I too could be an Italian Grandmother.
Ingredients:
2/3C fresh bread crumbs ( I used Panko bread crumbs)
3 T milk
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
¼ C finely chopped onion
3 T minced fresh basil (I used dried, use 1/3rd less.)
1 large egg
1 clove garlic minced
¼ t black pepper
1 # sweet Italian sausage, casing removed ( I used the meats described above.)
2 T pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (I did not chop them and felt the texture great in the meatball)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix bread crumbs and milk in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan cheese, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add meat and pine nuts.
3. Blend well (using latex throw away gloves). (I used an ice cream scoop and made 24 meatballs. But because I was doubling the recipe, it was obvious that I had to bake them longer.) The single recipe say it will make 24 1 ¼ “meatballs. So half the size scoop I used.
4. Place on a rimmed baking sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil.
5. Bake until the meatballs are light brown and cooked through, turning as needed about 30 minutes. (I baked for 45 minutes and did not turn. They were great looking.
6. Next I added them to the simmering sauce that I had defrosted and cooked the pasta.
I added the pasta to the sauce and served with more parmesan cheese. Jim really liked these meatballs. I could have used them a little spicier. I liked the idea that the meatballs were baked rather than fried. The sauce kind of overwhelmed the meatballs in my opinion. I have some Paul Newman vodka sauce in the pantry. I will try these meatballs with it. It could be that Italian grandmothers have multiple recipes to fit the sauce.
Ingredients:
2/3C fresh bread crumbs ( I used Panko bread crumbs)
3 T milk
1/3 C Parmesan cheese
¼ C finely chopped onion
3 T minced fresh basil (I used dried, use 1/3rd less.)
1 large egg
1 clove garlic minced
¼ t black pepper
1 # sweet Italian sausage, casing removed ( I used the meats described above.)
2 T pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (I did not chop them and felt the texture great in the meatball)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix bread crumbs and milk in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan cheese, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add meat and pine nuts.
3. Blend well (using latex throw away gloves). (I used an ice cream scoop and made 24 meatballs. But because I was doubling the recipe, it was obvious that I had to bake them longer.) The single recipe say it will make 24 1 ¼ “meatballs. So half the size scoop I used.
4. Place on a rimmed baking sheet covered with non-stick aluminum foil.
5. Bake until the meatballs are light brown and cooked through, turning as needed about 30 minutes. (I baked for 45 minutes and did not turn. They were great looking.
6. Next I added them to the simmering sauce that I had defrosted and cooked the pasta.
I added the pasta to the sauce and served with more parmesan cheese. Jim really liked these meatballs. I could have used them a little spicier. I liked the idea that the meatballs were baked rather than fried. The sauce kind of overwhelmed the meatballs in my opinion. I have some Paul Newman vodka sauce in the pantry. I will try these meatballs with it. It could be that Italian grandmothers have multiple recipes to fit the sauce.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sauce
This week we are approaching the development of meals differently than I usually do. We have 2 refrigerators with freezers and they are stuffed. So this morning I inventoried both freezers and quite frankly relieved us of some things that I could not determine according to George Carlin, “Is it meat or is it cake?” I then proceeded to make up recipes that would use up the contents. I had a problem today so Jim went to the store for me and I guarantee that the 2 bags of fresh ingredients that he returned with will probably do us for 9 days. After I empty the freezers, I will attack the pantry. To give an example, I found that between the 2 freezers, I have ever type of almond in existence, in quantity.
I turned first to the new Mix and Match Cooking Light. This again was a very good meal. It serves 6, but I cut it to 4, and is listed as 452 calories. It is heavy on chicken. How many calories can mushrooms have? If you make it add more mushrooms. I served peas and frozen small white onions as an accompaniment.
Ingredients:
6 (6oz)skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 T butter, divided
½ t salt
¼ t freshly ground black pepper (I used more)
4 oz. morel mushrooms (I hydrated from dried)
4 oz button mushrooms, thinly sliced (I bought sliced and feel you could use double and not significantly add to the calories.)
2 C fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
¼ C heavy cream
4 ½ C hot cooked egg noodles
Parsley for garnish
Directions:
1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to ¼” thickness using a meat mallet. ( I did not do this as I had chicken breasts from Costco by Purdue and I think they remove the tender and they are already thin.)
2. Heat 2 t butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with S&P. Do not crowd the pan, but fry in batches about 3 minutes per side. Place in a dish and after all are cooked cut in strips. Keep warm.
3. Melt the remaining 1T of butter in the pan over medium heat and cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the broth to the pan. (As my morels were dried, I soaked them in 2C hot water. I added concentrated chicken stock to the mushroom stock and heated it in the microwave and added this to the pan.)
4. After it reduced by half I added the cream. I did not remove the mushrooms. I then added back the chicken strips and turned the heat to low, stirring all together.
5. Meanwhile I cooked the egg noodles according to pkg. directions about 8 minutes.
6. I served it in one pasta dish. First the noodles and then the sauce, chicken and mushrooms evenly distributed. Topped with chopped parsley.
Mine was easy to divide as I had reduced to 4. Otherwise you are to serve separately. Whatever is easiest for you. Per their suggestion and remember we are emptying the freezer, I cooked up a leftover bag of small white onions in butter and then added peas, salt and pepper. They were delicious and probably more than the 88 calorie addition suggested by the cookbook. So far, so good with this book. I am about to recommend it at the end of this week. Stay tuned for more pantry deletions tomorrow. Jim served a white wine, but not a good one as it was a "diet" recipe.
I turned first to the new Mix and Match Cooking Light. This again was a very good meal. It serves 6, but I cut it to 4, and is listed as 452 calories. It is heavy on chicken. How many calories can mushrooms have? If you make it add more mushrooms. I served peas and frozen small white onions as an accompaniment.
Ingredients:
6 (6oz)skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 T butter, divided
½ t salt
¼ t freshly ground black pepper (I used more)
4 oz. morel mushrooms (I hydrated from dried)
4 oz button mushrooms, thinly sliced (I bought sliced and feel you could use double and not significantly add to the calories.)
2 C fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
¼ C heavy cream
4 ½ C hot cooked egg noodles
Parsley for garnish
Directions:
1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to ¼” thickness using a meat mallet. ( I did not do this as I had chicken breasts from Costco by Purdue and I think they remove the tender and they are already thin.)
2. Heat 2 t butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with S&P. Do not crowd the pan, but fry in batches about 3 minutes per side. Place in a dish and after all are cooked cut in strips. Keep warm.
3. Melt the remaining 1T of butter in the pan over medium heat and cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the broth to the pan. (As my morels were dried, I soaked them in 2C hot water. I added concentrated chicken stock to the mushroom stock and heated it in the microwave and added this to the pan.)
4. After it reduced by half I added the cream. I did not remove the mushrooms. I then added back the chicken strips and turned the heat to low, stirring all together.
5. Meanwhile I cooked the egg noodles according to pkg. directions about 8 minutes.
6. I served it in one pasta dish. First the noodles and then the sauce, chicken and mushrooms evenly distributed. Topped with chopped parsley.
Mine was easy to divide as I had reduced to 4. Otherwise you are to serve separately. Whatever is easiest for you. Per their suggestion and remember we are emptying the freezer, I cooked up a leftover bag of small white onions in butter and then added peas, salt and pepper. They were delicious and probably more than the 88 calorie addition suggested by the cookbook. So far, so good with this book. I am about to recommend it at the end of this week. Stay tuned for more pantry deletions tomorrow. Jim served a white wine, but not a good one as it was a "diet" recipe.
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