Cooking Light Night #2

Welcome home Matt & Camille. I picked them up at the Burbank airport tonight on their return trip from Spokane. It was great to see them but did make for a bit of a long day. Between baggage mishaps, arrival times, and traffic, I didn't make it home until 7:30 p.m. And you know what, it was ALL WORTH IT. Because Don had dinner ready and waiting for me when I got home. Tonights Halibut recipe was a nice change from our regular chicken, beef, and salmon rotation. We just used frozen Halibut from Trader Joes and it turned out quite tasty. The whole steaming in Parchment thing is kind of fun and makes clean up pretty easy. But Halibut aside, the highlight of the meal had to be the dressing on the bean salad. It's absolutely unbelievable. You must try this recipe! We used fresh cut green beans instead of wax beans. Either way it's still delicious. Thank you, Babe, for an AMAZING dinner!

Parchment-Baked Halibut With Pesto, Zucchini, and Carrots


Prep: 20 minutes; Cook: 15 minutes. In place of halibut, you can use other small, flat, white fish fillets, such as red snapper, sea bass, pompano, striped bass, or cod.


4 (12- x 18-inch) sheets parchment paper
Cooking spray
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1/4 cup commercial pesto
1 cup shredded carrots (2 medium)
1 cup shredded zucchini (1 small)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 teaspoons dry white wine

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Follow directions for heart-shaped parchment package below.

2. Unfold parchment heart, and coat lightly with cooking spray, leaving a 2-inch border ungreased at edge.

3. Place fillet on one side so that it touches the fold, but not the ungreased border. Spread 1 tablespoon pesto over fillet; top with 1/4 cup carrot and 1/4 cup zucchini. Sprinkle with one-fourth of salt and pepper. Drizzle fillet with 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon wine.

4. Fold paper; seal edges with narrow folds. Repeat with the remaining parchment paper, fish, and vegetables.

5. Place packets on baking sheets. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. To serve, open packets and transfer the fillets with their vegetable topping to plates; pour juices over top. Or serve right in packets; carefully transfer to plates and pierce each to allow steam to escape.

Note: Nutritional analysis includes Sugars 0g.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 parchment packet)

CALORIES 253 ; FAT 10g (sat 2g,mono 6g,poly 2g); CHOLESTEROL 56mg; CALCIUM 112mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1g; SODIUM 337mg; PROTEIN 36g; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 2mg

Health, MARCH 2005

Wax Bean, Roasted Pepper, and Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese


A tart vinaigrette dresses this fresh combination of mild-tasting wax beans, sweet roasted red bell pepper, and juicy cherry tomatoes. Pungent goat cheese adds an extra dimension of flavor. To save time, you can use bottled roasted red bell peppers; just rinse them well to remove as much of the briny flavor as possible.


1 medium red bell pepper
2 quarts water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 pound wax beans, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preheat broiler.

Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, and discard the seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil pepper halves 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag, and seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and cut into strips.

Bring 2 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add beans; cook 4 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain; place in a large bowl. Add bell pepper strips, tomatoes, onions, and parsley; toss to combine.

Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, cider vinegar, and remaining ingredients except goat cheese, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad; toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with goat cheese.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 63 (36% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 3mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.9g; SODIUM 289mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 2.7g

Cooking Light, JULY 2005

Cooking Light Night

Trying to eat better. Planned a bunch of evening meals from Cooking Light and I'll be reviewing them here. Don cooked this one up to perfection. It's hard to believe it's a light recipe it was so good. We ommitted the frozen mashed potatoes and substituded the roasted potato recipe below. The mushroom sauce on the steak was incredible. Even so, it was the chile, garlic, and parmesan flavoring of the potatoes that really stole the spotlight. Be sure to give enough roasting time to let the potatoes get nice and crispy and make sure you don't add the asparagus too soon or it will get mushy. Serve with a tall glass of ice cold milk.



Sirloin Steaks with Mushroom Sauce and Chive-Garlic Potatoes


Serve with sautéed haricots verts.


4 (4-ounce) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed (about 1 inch thick)
3/8 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (8-ounce) package sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 (24-ounce) package refrigerated mashed potatoes
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Sprinkle steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; keep warm.

2. Add mushrooms to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Combine wine, 1/2 cup water, flour, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; stir well with a whisk. Add wine mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until thick; stir constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Prepare potatoes according to package directions. Stir in chives and garlic powder. Place 3/4 cup potatoes on each of 4 plates. Top each with 1 steak and about 1/4 cup mushroom sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 326 (29% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 3.4g,mono 4.9g,poly 0.7g); IRON 4.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 46mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.8g; SODIUM 682mg; PROTEIN 28.4g; FIBER 3.6g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2008

Spicy Roasted Potatoes and Asparagus


Move the potatoes to one side of the dish before you add the asparagus so the spears can cook in a single, even layer.


2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 small red potatoes (about 3/4 pound), quartered
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
1/2 pound asparagus spears

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, thyme, peppers, and potatoes in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450º for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese and 1/2 teaspoon garlic.

Snap off tough ends of asparagus. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and asparagus. Add asparagus mixture to dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.

Yield: 2 servings

CALORIES 223 (27% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.6g); IRON 3.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 136mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.2g; SODIUM 419mg; PROTEIN 9.1g; FIBER 4.6g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003

Easy summer salad

I've been getting into salads lately, with the heat of the summer on it's way, they are a great way to feel full and stay cool. I found this one in a cookbook awhile ago and we both love it so much that I make it once a week. My only change is that I use the tri-color rotini pasta as it adds a lot of color and gives it some much needed texture. It's great with a white wine!

Salmon Pasta Salad

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
1 1/4 cups macaroni, cooked, spiral
1 can pink salmon, drained
1/3 cup pea pods
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon black olives, sliced
2 slices onion rings
lettuce, for garnish
fresh fruit, for garnish

In a small mixing bowl, combine mayonaise, yogurt, vienegar, dill weed, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour to blend flavors. Cook pasta according to pasta directions (without added fat or salt). In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, salmon, pea pods, onion, red pepper, black olives, and onion rings, and toss gently. Serve on a bed of lettuce, garnish with fresh fruit.

Chicken Tagine - Moroccan Cooking

This is the tagine recipe I served Don and Cindy about a month ago. Not too much trouble, so long as you have all the ingredients. But, like all tagines, it does need time to cook. Also, watch the pot after you've added the honey. Everything may seem like its summering fine, but the honey will be burning at the bottom of the pot!
This tagine isn't too spicy as is. When I made it I added more spices to my taste, and to cover the slight burnt honey taste. ;) Enjoy!

Best Chicken Tagine Recipe #212534 From RecipeZaar.com

This was inspired by a fantatstic chicken tagine from Melbourne's Meccah Bah. It has a lovely balance of spice and sweetness. I've customised it from other tagine receipes I've found - and I think this produces the best result. Modest .. maybe.. try for yourself!

by amanda l b

1¼ hours | 10 min prep | SERVES 4

1	tablespoon olive oil
1	large onion, thinly sliced
3	large garlic cloves, finely diced
1	tablespoon chopped gingerroot
1 1/2	tablespoons paprika
1	teaspoon turmeric
1/2	teaspoon ground coriander
1/2	teaspoon ground cumin
1/2	teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
1/8	teaspoon ground cinnamon
2	cups water or chicken stock
300	g chickpeas (or fresh)
425	g diced tomatoes
1	tablespoon coriander root (finely chopped)
1/2	cup honey
4	skinless chicken thighs or 6-8 skinless chicken drumsticks
1	teaspoon sesame seeds
1	tablespoon coriander leaves (to garnish)
1	cup couscous
2	teaspoons chicken stock powder
2	tablespoons toasted almonds

1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.
2. Brown chicken and remove.
3. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to the pot. Cover and cook until onion is tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
4. Add paprika, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and stir 1 minute to lightly 'toast' the spices.
5. Stir in 2 cups water, chickpeas, tomatoes with juices, honey and coriander roots. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to pot. Cover and simmer for about 50 minutes - or until the chicken is cooked and tender.
7. Add more water to cover the chicken if liquid has evaporated.
8. When the chicken is almost ready, begin to prepare the cous-cous as per packet instructions. Add the chicken stock powder to the cous cous. When the cous cous has absorbed the liquid, add the almonds and stir through.
9. If using drumsticks, remove the drumsticks and strip the meat from the bones. Return the meat back to the mixture and mix through.
10. Stir sesame seeds through.
11. Serve on a bed of cous cous, garnished with coriander leaves.

Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

One of the best things about living in California is the enormous variety and access you have to some of the worlds best and freshest produce. Last weekend we took a trip to the farmers market and were inspired about all of the tons of options available straight from the farm to my fridge.

Ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver (well, I didn't finish the entire book but read enough to get the picture) I am even more inspired to hit up farmers markets whenever I can, not just as a responsible consumer supporting local industry, but the ultimate taste in freshness can never be bought in a supermarket. The exciting treasures I walked home with this week were five jumbo yellow grapefruit - some of the sweetest I have ever tasted; I have them sitting in a bowl on my dining room table and you can smell them before you even walk in the room and they haven't even been cut open yet. Also I picked up a head of fresh romaine lettuce which I made into a fantastic caesar salad last night. Additionally, I picked up a bunch of asparagus to go with our filet mignon supper. And finally, the real treat of the evening was a package of gorgonzola cheese called Oregonzola - gotta support the home state - and also a loaf of fresh baked pumpernickle bread.

When I can't make it to the Farmer's Market, the next best thing is the Produce Mart near my house, locally owned and operated which as you can guess serves fresh produce only with a mixture of a few treats here and there such as dired fruits and nuts. Last night I picked up a few gorgeous red bell peppers and made this awesome recipe which is one of Don's and my favorite grilling sides. We served it alongside some grilled salmon and the ceasar salad I mentioned earlier. Below is the base recipe as I discovered it long ago in my Betty Crocker Quick Grilling Pamphlet from the grocery store checkout stand. Feel free to experiment with different cheeses and herbs. My favorite combination so far was actually the one we used last night: goat cheese, swiss, fresh basil and mint. Since I have enough herbs leftover, I may pick up a couple more peppers and make them a second time this week.

Peppers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

2 medium red, yellow, or orange sweet peppers
1 ounce soft goat cheese
1/4 cup shredded Montery Jack cheese
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Grill: 4 Minutes
Makes 4 servings

In a medium covered sauce pan cook peppers in a small amount of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, cut sides down, on paper towels. (I always skip this step.)

Meanwhile, for cheese mixture, in a small bowl combine goat cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, chives, and basil. Spoon into pepper shells.

Fold a 24x18-inch piece of heavy foil in half to make a 12x18-inch rectangle. Place peppers in center of foil. Bring up 2 opposite edges of foil; seal with a double fold. Fold remaining ends to completely enclose peppers, leaving space for steam to build. (We skip this step too and just grill them open faced.)

Grill peppers on the rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium to medium-hot heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until peppers are crisp-tender and cheese is melted.

A week of new dinners

Last week was ambitious week, we had a new dinner recipe for each night of the week, so here's a few of them.

The first one, Brown Rice Risotto with Lamb, we actually didn't follow the directions - we used beef (from Trader Joes) instead of lamb, chicken broth instead of vegetable juice, rosemary and thyme insted of curry powder... but our substitutions worked out well and the original recipe still looks very tasty.

Brown Rice Risotto with Lamb

Ingredients

• 1 2- to 2-1/2-pound (boneless) lamb shoulder roast
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2-1/2 cups hot-style vegetable juice
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper

1, Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cocker. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Cook meat in hot skillet until browned, turning to brown evenly. Drain off fat. In the slow cooker, combine vegetable juice, uncooked brown rice, curry powder, and salt. Top with carrots. Place meat on carrots.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
3. Add the sweet pepper to slow cooker. Cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes or until sweet pepper is tender. Makes 8 servings.

From Better Homes and Gardens, http://www.bhg.com/

Crunchy Apple Salsa with Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

Salsa

• 2 cups chopped, cored Gala apples
• 1 Anaheim chili pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• salt and black pepper

Grilled Chicken

• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To prepare salsa, in a medium bowl combine apples, chili pepper, onion (I used white onion), lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the salsa mixture and set it aside while preparing chicken. (Salsa can be made ahead, several hours or a day, just refrigerate the salsa).

To prepare the grilled chicken, in a large bowl combine white wine, apple juice, lime zest, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and turn the chicken to coat it on all sides with the mixture. Cover the chicken and refrigerate it for 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat grill. Drain the chicken and discard the chicken marinade. Grill chicken until it is cooked through, serve with salsa and that bottle of wine you opened to make the marinade.

Recipe From the Heart of Washington, I found it in my magazine from the local hospital ... :)

Fried-rice jambalaya

Ingredients

• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound dry (cooked) chorizo sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine rice, 3 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes (or depending or your rice's cooking directions). Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage, peas, paprika, pepper, remaining salt, and cooked rice. Heat through, 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring. Sprinkle with the scallions, if desired. Serve hot.

We couldn't find cooked chorizo, so we used salami instead, but basically any leftover meat or chicken breast can be thrown as replacement for the chorizo. The recipes serves 4 as in 4 pretty hungry adults, because we had leftovers enough for another dinner a day later.

The recipe is from Real Simple, as is the next one, which we served with the jambalaya.

Rosemary Corn Bread

• 2 8 1/2-ounces boxes corn-bread mix
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 8-ounce container plain yogurt
• 2 7-ounce cans whole-kernel corn, drained
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves

Heat oven to 400 F. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Stir all the ingredients together. Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake 25 minutes or just until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool, when cool cut into pieces.

This recipe serves 24, so I only made half as much in a square 8-by-8-inch pan. I loved the corn kernels in this bread and may actually have found my first contribution to the Thanksgiving dinners.

And if you aren't hungry now, I don't really know what to tell you ... all yummy dinners, all of them pretty quick to make and the stew simmering for nine hours sure made the kitchen smell nice all day long.

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Hello friends old and new!

Thanks Cindy for inviting me to the blog! Here is one of my favorite recipes. This is a fantastic Thai peanut sauce- good for noodles and vegetables- and I bet there are other things you could use it on. I always make a double batch and use it in different ways over several days. This is an easy one to adapt- more spicy, less spicy, more sweet, less sweet- depending on how much brown sugar or red pepper you put in.

Ingrediants:
3 T chunky peanut butter
3 T milk or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-3 T brown sugar
1 clove garlic
2 t crushed red pepper (or to taste)
1 t lemon juice
1 bay leaf

Stir together peanut butter and milk or water to make a paste. Mix everything else in and let stand several hours to blend flavors. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

Serve over hot pasta and steamed or stir fried vegetables. I basically just go to the store and pick out fresh vegetables that will be an appealing mix of colors, that I like, and that look good. This recipe is fun because you can change it in all sorts of ways. I have put chicken in this- but I don't really like it- you might! :)

Enjoy!