Swiss Chard with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Gorgonzola January 31, 2008

I’m sure I could have staged this picture better, but I was just so hungry and it smelled so tasty that I couldn’t wait. I have been cooking swiss chard a lot lately. It’s heartier than spinach and doesn’t shrink up as small when sauteed, which I like. It’s obviously very nutritious and filling. Last night I substituted swiss chard for Broccoli Rabe in this recipe.

1 bunch swiss chard, cut out the center stem, cut into pieces and wash
1 T. olive oil
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed of oil and sliced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-2 T. gorgonzola cheese
Salt and Pepper

Saute swiss chard in olive oil in a big skillet on medium high heat. Once it starts to wilt, toss in the sun-dried tomatoes and salt/pepper and red pepper flakes. Turn off the gas and top with gorgonzola. Toss to mix in and serve immediately.

Notes: Note only did this taste great, the colors were beautiful. The green, red and white really worked well together.

Servings: 2 big servings

Mini Egg Quiches January 30, 2008

I wanted to make some healthy breakfast quiches/casseroles that were filling enough to last me to lunch. I threw together these mini quiches and the taste great and are filling for a nice breakfast.

5 whole eggs, 2-3 egg whites
3/4 cup milk
1 cup broccoli, cut into pieces
3/4 cup mushroom, sliced
1/2 cup cheese (I used Mozzarella)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whip eggs and milk. Add vegetables and cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour into silicon baking cups in a muffin tin. I filled 12 muffin cups and then had extra I baked in a regular pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until the eggs are fully cooked. Pop out of silicon cups and store in the fridge. Warm in the microwave for 1-2 minutes in the morning and enjoy.

Notes: Any vegetable or meat or cheese can be added. These worked well with broccoli and mushrooms.

Servings: 7 +servings (I eat two mini egg quiches for breakfast.)

Portobello ‘Pizza’ January 29, 2008

Last night’s meal of portobello pizzas with a big salad turned out better than I had hoped. It was very easy and very filling.

4 portobello mushroom caps
2-3 cups spinach – washed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jar pizza sauce
Mozzarella Cheese

Saute spinach in a little bit of oil, along with the garlic, until soft. Add pizza sauce and mix in. On a cookie sheet, place a sheet of foil and spray with a little oil. Place each mushroom, top side down, on the sheet. Fill each mushroom with spinach and sauce, adding more sauce if you’d like. Top with cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Finish by broiling to give it a nice brown top. Serve with a big salad and enjoy.

Notes: This was stupid easy, cooked fast, and was quite healthy. The ‘toppings’ that go on the mushroom are endless. Next time I may try swiss chard and sundried tomatoes and make my own pizza sauce instead of using a can. I also won’t use as much cheese next time. Oops.

Servings: 4 servings

Taco Salad January 24, 2008

Taco Salad! It’s not even a recipe, it’s just  the easiest meal ever!

Ground venison – cooked
Taco seasoning (I just used a package)
Lettuce
Cucumber – diced
Green pepper – diced
Tomatoes – diced
Cheese – shredded (I used what I had on hand, which was some sort of hard, white cheese with no label. I think it was asiago. My cheddar had gone moldy. Oops)
Tabasco sauce

Cook meat and mix in seasoning. Put lettuce on a plate and top with veggies, meat and cheese. Shake on Tabasco sauce. Top with broken up tortilla chips if you want. Eat.

Notes: Lame recipe, I know. It tasted good though and I’m having taco salad for lunch today too.

Servings: 4 servings

Smoked Salmon on Toast/Cucumber January 22, 2008

This is barely a recipe, but it’s one of my favorite easy and fast dinners that I thought I’d post it. We ate these along with edamame and sauteed swiss chard with a little soy sauce.  These would also be a great appetizer.

1 package of smoked salmon
1-2 pieces of toast, cut into pieces (or crackers, but we didn’t have any last night)
8 slices of seedless cucumber
Light cream cheese
Dill

Spread a little cream cheese onto each piece of toast or cucumber slice. Sprinkle dill on top of the cream cheese. Slice the smoked salmon and place a piece of salmon on each piece of cucumber or toast.

Notes: Yum. I *heart* smoked salmon.

Servings: 2 dinner servings

Thai BBQ Chicken January 21, 2008

Last night I made chicken. It was ‘Thai’ inspired and the flavors were nice. I pared it with an easy salad of cucumbers and tomatoes in a lite Caesar dressing.

3/4 pound chicken breast
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. sherry
3 cloves garlic, minced and smashed into a paste
Handful of cilantro, washed and diced into small pieces
1 T. sugar (or splenda)
Salt and Pepper

Cut chicken into strips and marinate in mixture for at least 45 minutes in the fridge. I did mine in a large ziploc bag. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes then flip each piece and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Serve with a little cilantro on top.

Notes: This was a fine dish, but a bit dry. I’m not a big fan of cooking chicken like this, I normally like to have it mixed in with lots of vegetables or pasta. I’ve also decided that from this day forth, I will buy organic chicken, no matter the price. The chicken breast I used last night was enormous and terrifying. I can’t imagine what that ‘chicken’ looked like alive. Gross.

Servings: 2 servings

Butternut Squash Curry January 19, 2008

I bought a couple butternut squash and finally had time to make them last night.  I threw in some different vegetables along with a curry recipe I found online.  As I was cooking, I added some extra seasonings as it was a bit bland to start with. It turned out well and made a whole lot of curry.

1 Butternut Squash – peeled, seeded and sliced into small cubes
1 head of broccoli – cut into pieces
1 package mushrooms – cut into pieces
1 package firm tofu – cut into pieces and baked
1 1/2 can coconut milk
1 onion – peeled and rough chopped
1 inch piece of ginger – peeled and rough chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp chili
1 tsp tumeric
Salt and pepper

Drain tofu and cut into pieces. Place on a cookie sheet, sprayed with oil, and bake for 20 + minutes at 350. I do this to help dry it out and help it keep its form in the curry.

In a food processor, mix onion, garlic, ginger, seasonings and mix until smooth. Put into a big pot and heat for about 2 minutes. Add the squash and other vegetables along with the coconut milk and heat. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the squash is cooked. At this point I tasted the curry and added some more curry paste to bump up the flavor as it was a bit diluted.

Serve with rice!

Notes: I probably won’t go to the trouble to make the curry paste again as it wasn’t flavorful enough for me. This was a great use of butternut squash though, and I will include that in my curries again.

Servings: 5-6 servings

Vegetable, Potato, Chorizo Soup January 17, 2008

This soup was made in half an hour and it made the whole apartment smell lovely. It tasted great too. Found this recipe on Serious Eats. As you can see, things are measured in ounces and grams, so I was making things up as I went. I can’t be bothered with a scale when making soup.

1 package chorizo (spanish style)
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 box chicken broth
Large can of diced tomatoes
3-4 medium sized white skinned potatoes, diced
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, diced
1 T. tomato paste
2 bay leaves
Dried oregano and parsley
Salt and Pepper
1 cup corn kernels (I forgot to add this, but will definitely add it in next time)

Saute the chorizo in a large pot, no oil, until browned. Add onion, garlic and celery and a little oil and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add cumin. Mix in the tomatoes, potatoes, stock, peppers, tomato paste and the rest of the herbs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. At this point you should add in the corn too.

Notes: This will be made again due to the wonderful flavor and the fast cooking process. And it makes a lot.

Servings: 6-7 big bowls

Sweet Potato Pot Pie January 15, 2008

There are some dishes that I just know are pretty awesome and that Chris is going to love as much as I do. This sweet potato pot pie recipe is one of them. Lovely flavor and perfectly filling for a cold winter night. I promise that the next recipe won’t be a 101cookbooks.com recipe. Promise!

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 regular potato, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilies (Easy to find in the grocery store and a must for this recipe!)
1 cup corn kernels, frozen
1 package chorizo sausage
2 cups cold low-fat milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 box puff pastry dough (allow 20 to 30 minutes to thaw)
1 egg white

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, onion, garlic, sweet potato, chorizo and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the adobo sauce and corn.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and cornstarch, then pour the mixture into the sweet potato pot. Leave the heat at medium-high for a few minutes to bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook until the filling starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and season with more salt to taste. Pour the filling into small ovenproof bowls, each three quarters full. I used four small ramekins, two slightly larger glass dishes and one much larger pyrex dish.

Cut a piece of puff pastry dough to fit over each bowl, with some overlap. Place the dough on the bowls and fold over the edge of the dish. Brush the dough lightly with egg white.

Using a fork, poke a few holes in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape, and bake until the crusts are tall and deeply golden, about 15 minutes at 400. Tip: Bake the potpies on a baking sheet lined with foil in case some of the filling bubbles over.

Notes: I added in the chorizo to the recipe. I bought a package for a soup I’ll be making and it comes with two packages of chorizo inside. At the last minute I decided that the flavor of the adobo sauce would go well with the chorizo, and it did.

Servings: 4-5 servings

Mega Scones – Raspberry January 15, 2008

MEGA scones indeed. I made two mega scones this Sunday and the basically filled a cookie sheet pan.  This is the first time I’ve made scones and they turned out well. The simplicity of making two, giant scones appealed to me. I followed Heidi’s recipe.

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups half-and-half ( with a little extra to spare if needed)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

2/3 cups raspberry preserves

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using a food processor, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). Add the half-and-half, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Pulse  dough just comes together – don’t over mix, but if the batter is too dry add more cream a bit at a time.

Turn out onto a floured piece of parchment paper, divide into two equal sized pieces of dough and set one aside. Take the first piece of dough and roll out into (roughly) a 9×9 inch square, 1/2-inch thick. You want to keep the dough from sticking to the mat/paper if possible, so sprinkle with more flour if needed. Slather the slab of dough with the jam and fold the left side of the dough in toward the center. Fold the other side in after. Slide onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other piece of dough. The two scones will fit on one baking sheet but give them a few inches between each other so they don’t bake into each other. Brush with a bit of cream, and bake for about 25 minutes at 375 or until golden where the scones touch the pan.

For the glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Stir until well combined, and set aside. When the scones come out of the oven brush them generously with the glaze and let cool.

Notes: This probably won’t be made often, but is a great idea for brunches or special occasions.

Servings: Two mega scones or about a billion little slices.