Recipes for the week

I've been terrible about not posting recipes lately. The problem with not posting is that if I really liked the dish, I will forget how to make it. I was able to make it out to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods on Monday (40 minute drive) which is one of my favorite things to do. I have to be careful not to waste too much time looking at everything! I feel like a kid in a candy store.

When I go on a big shopping trip, I will buy necessities and unique items that look interesting. I love to read about the item and create something with it.  As always, I try to buy mostly healthy things and stay away from processed items but I'm human, LOL. And, restricting my diet is really no fun-everything in moderation when it comes to food. I'd rather save any extreme behavior or compulsivity in my life to ultra distance running. No joke.

All three of these recipes are my own based on experience and trial and error. Unfortunately, I did not care for part of Tuesday's night dish but we will get to that.

Monday


Wild Caught Salmon, arugula salad with toasted pine nuts and goat cheese, roasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary and sliced shallots, and roasted purple asparagus with sliced shallots.

Arugula Salad
Easy recipe of 1tsp of blue agave sweetener (or sugar), 1 tsp of honey, 1 finely chopped shallot, 2 tbs of red wine vinegar, the juice of one lemon, 1 tbs of Dijon mustard, and 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. After whisking, pour the contents into a bottle (I like to recycle red wine vinegar bottles for this purpose. The label comes off really easily. I got this idea from mom). Refrigerate while you are cooking everyone else and shake it up when ready to use.

Toasting pine nuts is simple and quick (and worth it). I freeze pine nuts and use a small nonstick skillet to toast them. I keep the heat on fairly high but watch carefully. They will burn in like two seconds if you are not careful. Flip them over and turn off the heat. They will continue to toast even with the heat off.

I used a small log of goat cheese, lots of pine nuts, a minimal amount of dressing (I don't like my greens to swim) and the arugula. Put the whole thing together to your own liking. The tangy goat cheese, lemony and sweet dressing, and pine nuts, off set the somewhat bitter arugula.

Roasting veggies is my favorite way to eat them. In order to save on washing pans, I was able to use a cookie sheet (sheet pan) for both the potatoes and the asparagus. After taking the stems off of the asparagus, I tossed them with the fingering potatoes in a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and sliced shallots (two, I think). I separated them in the pan and then added fresh rosemary from my garden to the potatoes. After about 20 minutes (oven set at 450), they both came out evenly cooked.

Salmon is a favorite fish and grilling it after marinating in some terriyaki marinade (purchased at Trader Joes), usually makes it perfect. Served with some lemon wedges.

Tuesday


Calzones with ricotta cheese, pecorino romano cheese, chopped mint, sun-dried tomatoes, and lemon juice. Served with a a quick marinade dipping sauce and braised rapini.

Calzones

I love store bought fresh pizza dough! Trader Joe's sells it for only 99 cents. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to put in the calzones this time that would be a little different than usual. Unfortunately, I didn't like the combination of the filling with the standard marinara sauce that I make. The marinara was too strong for the filling and it took away from the interesting flavors of the filling.

Filling: 1 large container of ricotta cheese (part skim), one cup of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (parm would work, too) a large handful of dried julienned sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup of chopped mint, the juice of one lemon. Mix and store in the refrigerator until it is time to use it.

On a large cutting board with a generous amount of flour, quarter the pizza dough (you may need to let it sit out of the refrigerator for a half an hour before working with it). Take one quarter and roll it out. place about a cup of filling on the dough and roll it up, making sure that none of the filling can seep out. I'm not very patient about doing this well so my calzones never look very good. Spray the sheet pan with oil and place the calzones on the pan. Make two slits on top of each calzone and brush with an egg wash (one egg and a few tbs of water-whisked together). Place in the oven (400) until golden brown.

Marinara Sauce


Several cloves of garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil
One large can of crushed tomatoes
2 small cans of tomato sauce
pinch of red pepper flakes
fresh basil and oregano
(sometimes I will add some dried basil, as well)

Saute the garlic and red pepper flakes in a tbs of oil for just a few minutes in a large pot. Add the cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil and down to a simmer. Add fresh basil and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for awhile (half an hour).

Braised Rapini

3 minced tbs of garlic and one small sliced vidalia onion in a large pot with a tbs pof olive oil. Saute until soft and add rapini (take off the stems-about 3 or 4 inches off). Pour a cup or so of chicken or vegetable stock to the pot. Bring to a boil. Then, simmer for 20 minutes. This will help pull out the bitterness of the rapini. Salt and pepper to taste.

Wednesday


Peach Salsa with Beth's Chicken Mexi Cassarole

Peach Salsa

3 or 4 peaches, diced (or 2  diced mangos-but then it would be called Mango Salsa. LOL)

5-7 diced tomatoes

1 finely diced jalapeno (two if you like it spicy)

big handful of chopped cilantro

the juice of one lime

either a cup of chopped onion or chopped green onion

salt to taste

Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with tortilla chips or just eat on a bed of greens.

Beth's Chicken Mexi Casserole

I'm not a big casserole fan but this one is truly comfort food. After researching recipes a while back, I came up with a combination of ingredients that I like. 

1 tbs oil

1 red pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced

1 can of black beans, rinsed

1 cup of frozen or fresh corn

4 boneless, skinless breasts of chicken

1 big handful of cilantro

1 cup of fat free or reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup of 1/3 Fat cream cheese

2 tbs of dried cumin

cheddar cheese

green onions (optional)

I had some frozen chicken that I pouched in a pan to defrost. I did not bother to cook the chicken all the way through.

Preheat oven to 375. Add 1 tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Canola oil) to a very large skillet. Saute the red pepper, jalapeno, and onion until fairly soft on medium to high heat. Dice the chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the skillet. Add the cumin. After about 5 minutes or so, when the chicken appears cooked through, add the corn and rinsed black beans. Then, add the cilantro, sour cream, and cream cheese. Mix thoroughly and turn the stove off after about 5 minutes. Don't cook for too long or it will dry out.

Spray a casserole dish (lasagna pan size) with cooking spray and place small corn tortillas in it. Layer the chicken mixture in, then add a good bit of cheddar cheese (feel free to use reduced fat cheese). Place another layer of tortillas over the cheese and repeat. The top layer should be the mixture and cheese.

If you don't like corn tortillas, feel free to use flour or even whole wheat tortillas. 

Garnish with green onions or scallions.

Thursday

Whew! I'm eating out! Off to get some sushi.

Let me know what you think to my recipes this week. It's been fun, as always. 

Mo's Japanese/Indian Dish

I love talking to people about cooking, especially from different nationalities. My friend Mo Mussel, whom I have known for over a year through Little League Baseball, knows a thing or two about Japanese food. She is Japanese American. She asked me if I liked curry and I told her ABSOLUTELY!

She told me about a product that she purchased from the Asian Market (and I think widely available) that is to be mixed with vegetables/meats and has a delicious curry flavor. She was kind enough to bring it to a recent baseball game to try and I made it the following night.

I followed the instructions on the box but did not carefully measure the amount of water that was needed and had too much. Oops. The sauce mix is made up of two solid brownish colored blocks that are supposed to be broken up into the saute'd vegetables and after simmering,  it turns into a thick stew. The following day, the leftovers were great because the sauce had thickened up.

I chose to brown some chicken on medium high heat in my dutch oven in some vegetable oil, remove when browned on both sides, then saute chopped garlic, onion, peppers, and zucchini and broccoli (zucchini and broccoli saute'd at the end). After softened, I added the sauce mix and then 6 cups (or so!) of water. Added the chicken back in the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Mo made a point of telling me that any meat or vegetables will work so I like the flexibility of this sauce mix.


I served the dish with brown basmati rice. It was very quick to make and tasty. The curry was not overpowering but you must like a little bit of heat to like this product.

Thank you, Mo!

Chicken Cacciatore, My Way

I have made variations of Chicken cacciatore in the past but I believe that this is the best yet. Using skinless chicken breasts on the ribs cuts down on the fat significantly but still gives the cacciatore flavor.

Before the chicken goes back in the pot. I charred the chicken a little but it didn't matter

Chicken Cacciatore, My Way

4 skinless chicken breasts on the ribs

1 cup of skim or 2% milk

1 egg

2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

10-15 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems

red pepper flakes, to taste (I used 1/2 a teaspoon)

1 red pepper, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 cup of dry white wine

1 thinly sliced lemon

3 tbs of capers

1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

parmesan cheese, optional

1 box of spaghetti

Heat large pot with half of the olive oil. In a bowl, whisk one egg with the milk. In another bowl, add flour, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Dredge the chicken into the flour, the egg wash, and then back into the flour. Set aside until all four breasts of chicken are coated. Fry chicken for about 7 minutes on each side. Be careful not to char the chicken like I did. Remove and place on a plate. Chicken will not be cooked through until placed back in the pot.

Add remainder of the olive oil in the pot and on low heat,  add onion, red pepper, garlic, thyme, capers, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Saute for about 5-7 minutes or until soft. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil and then to simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add spaghetti. Follow instructions on the box.

Add chicken back into pot and pour wine over the chicken. Simmer for about 20 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add parsley and and serve with parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. I usually go easy on the salt considering the canned diced tomatoes contain salt.

*Feel free to use gnocchi, rice, or any other type of pasta other than spaghetti. The wonderful thing about cacciatore is that it's extremely versatile. 

*I like to keep a lid over the pot but slightly cracked while the cacciatore is simmering. 

*Serve with a side salad or an other vegetable of choice. I served it tonight with a side dish of steamed zucchini.

When Cravings take Control

I posted on facebook last night that I was making something really strange for dinner. I guess what I made wasn't so strange. It was my thought process that led to what I made that was out of character. The actual dish wasn't all that strange in reality. But, it was off track from my healthy cooking streak in preparation for Iron Horse 100, which is in just 2 and a half weeks.

Cravings...
I have found that everyone is quite different when it comes to food cravings. Some people crave sweets such as cupcakes, cookies, candy, chocolate, etc. Others crave salty and/or crunchy items such as chips with dip, fast food items such as hamburgers and french fries, chicken wings, and anything else on the planet that is bad for you. In general, I'm one to crave sweets rather than savory/salty foods. My weakness is chocolate and I really love finishing my dinner with an ice cream bar, or two. I figure that I deserve it because 80-90% of the time, I eat pretty healthy.

Last night's craving was different...
For the past 7 years, I have been attending neighborhood functions: brunch, dinner, holiday parties, and bunco. My friend Diana Konkle, always brings her corn dip, even if we are not requested to bring something. It's extremely fattening and delicious. Normally, I would be more attracted to hummus, or homemade salsa, or any of the other healthier options but when I see this corn dip, I can't stop eating it. It does everything for me. Creamy and cheesy, crunchy (served with tortilla chips), spicy, salty, AND sweet.

As I was helping Grant with his homework last night, I realized that I have not given any thought to dinner. However, that corn dip kept popping up in my mind. I think that I'm craving fat and carbs because my body needs it. If I was craving McDonald's, now that would be a different story.

I couldn't get my mind off of the corn dip but realized that I was lacking cream cheese. I guess I could have dragged Grant with me to Publix and pick up some cream cheese but this doesn't make sense. Marty will arrive home from work and see that we are having corn dip for dinner. He likes the corn dip but honestly, he is watching his waistline and would probably prefer a more balanced meal.

So, what am I going to do? I really want this corn dip. My next thought was macaroni and cheese. I looked in the pantry and did not have any macaroni but did have ziti. I looked in the fridge and saw that I had a variety of cheeses, specifically white cheddar and colby cheese. So off to the races...time to combine the two.

Diana's Corn Dip

1 bag of shoepeg corn (or 2 boxes)

8-oz package cream cheese

1/2 stick butter

1 cup shredded cheddar

1/2 cup chopped jalapeno (find by pickles in store)

Mix all and bake uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve with tortilla crisps.

(I use a little more corn than what is called for in the recipe)

Beth's Corn and Jalapeno Ziti-n-Cheese

1 box of ziti pasta
4 tbs or half a stick of butter
4 tbs of flour
2 cups of milk (skim is fine, if you would like)
1 and a half cups of shredded white cheddar cheese
1 cup of colby cheese
2 cups of shoe peg corn
1/2 cup of chopped jalapeno (pickled-Mt. Olive)
salt and pepper to taste
bread crumbs (mine were from bread that I food processed and froze for later use)
1 tbs of butter


Preheat oven to 375


Bring a medium to large pot to a boil and follow the instructions on the box for the ziti. However, drain just before al dente. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven.  Once drained, use the same pot and on medium heat, melt the butter and flour together. Whisk it into a roux. Make sure flour is cooked and the mixture appears yellow/brownish. Whisk in the milk. Continue to whisk until thickens to a gravy consistency. Then add the grated cheese and cooked ziti. Finally,  add the corn and drained jalapenos. Salt and pepper to taste.


Pour the mixture into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and little pieces of butter over the breadcrumbs. Place in the oven until melted and bubbly. Approximately 25-30 minutes. 


Let sit for 5 minutes and serve.


We had this as a main dish with a side salad. However, perhaps this dish can be a side dish to a big juicy steak. LOL. 


It is not uncommon to add ingredients to mac-n-cheese so I know that what I made was not all that strange. However,  I'm fairly traditional when it comes to homemade mac-n-cheese so this was a new one for me. It definitely hit the spot and makes a lot so enjoy the leftovers! 

Comfort Food at its Finest

Just like everyone else, I get stuck in cooking ruts. I keep preparing the same types of dishes that are no brainers for me and it gets to the point to where I'm not enjoying cooking or eating as I normally do. In between lots of errands and working at Grant's school yesterday, I met Whitney for a light lunch (well, not so light-Mexican food. LOL). Whitney and I always have such a good time having lunch together and one thing in particular that we have in common is cooking. She casually mentioned that she was making chicken and dumplings for dinner which quickly sparked my interest. "I have never made chicken and dumplings before-and what a great night for it!". So, I listened very carefully to Whitney's instructions (and did have to call her while making the dumplings for clarification) and off I was to Publix to buy what I needed.

When Marty returned home from work and I excitedly told him that I made chicken and dumplings (and I know he smelled something good), he immediately said, "That sounds fattening".  I was thrilled to inform him that on the contrary, this recipe was low fat and healthy. 

One of the things that intrigued me about this recipe was that it's rustic. I don't have to finely chop my veggies and I don't even have to saute anything.  What a treat! Kitchen clean-up was quite simple, too.

My mother told me that she and her grandmother both made chicken and dumplings but I don't recall ever eating it for some reason. Even though I have heard of chicken and dumplings and new it was a classic, old fashioned one pot dish, I have never thought about making it. I do believe that I will be making this one on a regular basis throughout the winter months. It hit the spot more than anything else has in several weeks. Thanks Whit!

Not a very good photo and you can't see the chicken under the dumplings but you get the idea.

Whitney's Delicious Chicken and Dumplings

• 2 cartons of low sodium chicken stock
• 1-2 cups of water (as needed)
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5-6 carrots, roughly chopped
• 5-6 stalks of celery, roughly chopped (include leaves)
• 4 skinless breasts of chicken with ribs
• 2 cups of Bisquick
• 2/3 cup of skim or 2%milk
• salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
• fresh thyme, several sprigs (or your favorite dried herbs for soup)
• fresh flat leaf parsley (optional)

In a large pot, bring 2 cartons of chicken stock to a boil. Meanwhile, chop the onion, carrots and celery and add to the stock. Then, add the chicken, fresh thyme sprigs (you can remove the stems later) 2 bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Be careful with adding salt. Both stock and the dumplings will already have salt in them.  Once it comes to a boil, bring it back down to simmer and cover. After about 20 minutes, check the chicken to make sure it's cooked through. Then, remove all of the chicken off of the bone and place it back in the pot. 

For the dumplings, in a medium size bowl, mix 2 cups of Low Fat Bisquick mix with 2/3 cups of milk. Make sure it's thick-almost like pizza or bread dough. Spoon the mixture (small dollops, the size of cookie dough to make cookies) into the soup. Simmer for 10 minutes uncovered. Move the dumplings around slightly and then continue to simmer covered for 10 more minutes. Add fresh parsley at the end for added color, flavor, and nutrients.

*I served the soup with a mixed greens salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. 

*Noted by Whit-don't be afraid that you messed up this recipe when you see the dumpling mixture floating in the pot. She claimed that it will look weird but not to worry. She was right and I'm glad I was warned. 

Dried Cherry Chicken with Capers

2011 will be about trying new healthy recipes. I am feeling very good about my training as a runner these days and am convinced that healthy eating is an integral part of this.  Since I am terrible at meal planning, this is how I came up with this recipe. I went to Costco yesterday to stock up on all the necessities for the week. I spotted packaged fresh organic chicken breasts and couldn't resist-especially when the cost was considerably less per pound than at Publix. As I was about to check out at Costco, I spotted the dried fruits and suddenly had a craving for dried cherries. Oh, how much I love dried cherries.

So, as I was munching on some cherries while on the computer, I decided to google dried cherries and chicken. I came across several recipes that all seemed similar. One in particular was Persian but I didn't have all the ingredients. So, I decided to combine ideas and this recipe was what I came up with. 

I hate dry chewy chicken...

In general, baking boneless skinless chicken breasts scares me. So many times, the chicken ends up being too dry and chewy which can basically ruin a meal. I am 100% convinced that using organic chicken made all the difference. I was very pleased with how this chicken came out. It was moist, flavorful, and the paprika gave it a pretty color. My son Grant LOVED it and wanted it packed in his lunch for the following day.

Good carbs vs bad carbs...

I love my unhealthy carbs and if you read my blog, you already know this- white bread (specifically french baguettes) and pasta in particular. Even though I am a runner and weight management is not an issue for me, my New Years resolution is to focus on the good carbs-not only for my own overall health but also for my weight conscious husband.  I cannot tell the difference between whole wheat and white couscous and I noticed other similar cherry chicken recipes are served with couscous. It was perfect.

Oh, how I love asparagus...

The easiest way to serve asparagus is steamed. But, because I have a double oven and some time on my hands waiting for the chicken, I decided to roast it. I pre-heated the oven to 450 degrees, snapped off the ends of the asparagus (no mom, I didn't feel like peeling it), coated it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and threw some sliced onions on top. Cooking time is usually about 15 minutes but check it and make sure it doesn't stick. Also, be sure not to overcook it. No one likes mushy asparagus (except for my husband but he grew up on canned asparagus. Ewww...).

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1.4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts-I prefer organic
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small vidalia/sweet onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if you don't like too much heat)

preheat the oven to 400 *F

In a small bowl, combine the paprika, salt, and black pepper. Place the chicken in a large shallow roasting pan. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle with the paprika mixture.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes. It is very important to check the chicken by cutting into a piece. Ovens and size the size of chicken can vary. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the broth, cherries, capers, honey, cumin, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the cherries are plump and the sauce has thickened. 

When the Chicken is cooked, for extra flavor, if desired, drain off any pan juices and stir them into the cherry sauce.  Place the chicken on a serving platter and top with the sauce.

If you decide to make this, let me know what you think!

Omega 3 Fatty Acids for Fat Ass

Just few days ago, I decided to not end my Fat Ass 50K streak (two previous years) and head out to Sweetwater State Park in Lithia Springs, GA tomorrow morning with over a hundred GUTS runners. Just recently, I started working on my speed again and was going to save myself for Museum of Aviation Marathon in Warner Robbins, GA which is the following weekend. But in a weak moment, I found myself sending Vikena Yutz a message to let her know that I was coming.

At Costco yesterday, I bought $22 worth of salmon and decided to try a new marinade that I bought awhile back: Roasted Rasberry Chipotle Sauce-also purchased at Costco. So, for dinner we had grilled salmon with lemon wedges, brown basmati rice with a tablespoon of butter, sauted fresh spinach with garlic and olive oil, and a mixed green salad. Pretty easy and basic.

The purpose of buying a large amount of salmon is to use it for leftovers. Nothing is more delicious than cold salmon the next day whether it's on a salad or on a sammie. 

The days that I don't run, I'm ravenous! I don't know why but I can eat a fairly decent sized breakfast and be very hungry just an hour or two later. So, today, which is a rest day, I decided to have lunch at 10:15 a.m. I just couldn't wait any longer-not to mention I kept thinking about that yummy salmon in the fridge. Am I the only one who is hungrier than normal the days that I don't run? Or is my mind telling my body, "You better eat a lot today, you've got 31 or so miles to run in the a.m., girly!"?

A salmon sammie is what I made and it took 5 minutes to toast a baguette (also bought at Costco) in the oven, spread a little dijon mustard (mayo would have been great, too), the leftover mixed green salad from last night, and of course, some leftover salmon with lemon juice.

The temperature tomorrow morning for Fat Ass 50K is going to be cold-23 degrees or something. Salmon has Omega 3 Fatty Acids which is supposed to be great for keeping the skin from drying as a result of cold, dry weather. I am not sure if I care that much about this but it was worth mentioning. LOL.  We are recommended two servings of Omega 3s a week and it can also promote healthy joints and fight against heart disease. Wild salmon is supposed to have higher Omega 3s than ocean farmed salmon.

*When I took the photo, I realized I had the sammie on one of my $1.00 Walmart plastic plates. Actually, it doesn't look that bad. LOL.