Chicken with Artichokes,
Lemony
Brown Rice and Greens
The combination of this chicken and rice
dish with either baby spinach or arugula is absolutely delicious.
1 lb chicken breast,
bite-sized pieces
Trader Joe’s Artichoke Antipasto or 1 can artichokes, roughly chopped and
2 T olive oil
½ cup radicchio, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 lemon—juice and zest
Handful of parsley, chopped
Dust chicken in
flour and sauté until brown. Transfer to casserole dish. Add butter and
flour to sauté pan, stirring with a whisk, 3 minutes. Add chicken stock
and stir until thickened, then add to casserole. Add remaining ingredients
to casserole dish, stir and bake 30 minutes at 350 or until bubbling.
Lamb Burgers
1lb ground lamb
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Handful kalamata olives, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese feta, crumbled
1 small red onion, chopped
1 T oregano
Grill or sauté.
Serve with bread like Ciabatta.
Chicken with Diced Tomatoes and
Artichokes
Serve with bread
for dipping and veggie like shredded and sautéed zucchini.
! lb chicken
breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can (28 oz.)
diced tomatoes
½ cup dry white
wine
1 can artichoke
hearts, drained and quartered
4-5 cloves
garlic, minced
1 lemon, juice
and zest
Handful kalamata
olives, chopped roughly
1 T green
peppercorns (optional)
Handful parsley,
chopped
Flour for
dredging
Lightly coat
chicken pieces with flour and sauté until just brown. Put aside. Sauté
garlic until soften, add tomatoes and wine and cook 10 minutes. Add
remaining ingredients, except lemon and parsley and cook until chicken is
done. Turn off heat and add lemon and parsley.
Grilled Peppers, Onions and
Tomato with Cuban Rice and Beans
1 ½ cups brown rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 t saffron
1 T turmeric
Salt
Bring water to boil, add ingredients and follow rice package directions
Black Beans
1 Can or prepare from dried beans
Heat and serve with rest of dishes or add a bit of minced onion, garlic,
green peppers and sauté; add red vinegar, then add beans and heat.
Chimichurri Pork Loin with
Cuban Rice and Black Beans and Peppers
1 lb pork loin, sliced
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup water
1 T oregano
Handful parsley, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 T paprika
Salt & pepper
1 T cornstarch
Mix ingredients and marinate pork in a covered dish 8 hours -2 days. Sauté
with marinate until done.
Sautéed Filet Fish, Israeli
Couscous and
Sautéed Kale
4 oz filet fish per person
Panko
Salt & pepper
Coat fish with panko, salt and pepper
and sauté in a pan with a bit of olive oil
The Best Burger and Salad
I was craving a burger
last week and made them two days in a row, with slight modifications.
The most important ingredient is good quality, humanely treated meat. I
routinely use bison or buffalo. The animals are not domesticated, so
they roam freely and are slaughtered humanely. Bison is as lean as chicken
breast and the meat is flavorful.
The first night, I pan-fried the burgers, using no oil on my cast-iron
skillet. Here to report that there was NO fat in pan--I could have used
cooking spray! I cut a loaf of ciabatta bread into burger-sized pieces and
heated it up in the toaster oven. This bread is great, because it doesn't
have a lot of "fill", so you taste meat, not bun. I sliced up some grape
tomatoes and put in bun. Also, I added salt & pepper to meat. Served with
a big to tossed salad with
Caesar
dressing.
The next night, I grilled burgers outside, and melted sharp cheddar cheese
on them, with same bread and tomatoes. Salad tossed with a simple
balsamic vinaigrette.
Wild Rice
with Pork Tenderloin and Sautéed Swiss Char
This combination of dishes
is really great. I combine the wild rice with wheat berries. Wheat berries
are crunchy and can be found in your natural food store.
Pork
1 lb pork tenderloin
Whole wheat flour
Salt and pepper
Canola oil
Mix enough flour
with salt and pepper to dredge pork. Cover pork in flour. Preheat oven to
350. Heat a cast iron pan on high, add oil and when hot, sear pork on all
sides, about 5 minutes. Bake in pan 15 minutes per pound. Done when 165
degrees.
Scallops with Pappardelle Pasta or
Egg Noodles
1 lb scallops
1 lb Pappardelle
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
handful parsley, stems removed and chopped
1/2 bunch scallion, chopped
1 can anchovies
1 bunch arugula, tough stems removed or baby arugula
1 lemon, juice
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Prepare pasta according to directions. Put arugula in colander and drain
pasta over it. This will wilt arugula. Heat olive oil on medium low and
sauté garlic and anchovies. Add scallion. Add scallops and
cook. Toss all ingredients together. Lemon juice, salt and pepper to
taste.
Chinese
Broccoli and Tofu Pasta
Sauce is so good! Add or
use other vegetables, add meat, whatever. San-J sauce can be found in
Asian markets, natural food stores and some grocery stores in Asian
section. I use it for my
cold
noodle recipe, too. Good stuff.
Broccoli
florets, stems chopped
8 oz package of Tofu Shirataki (Asian markets or natural food stores next
to tofu; faux pasta
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T roasted peanut oil, preferably Lorivar brand
4 T water plus water for steaming
2 t cornstarch
Seasoning
sauce
1 T soy sauce
2 T oyster sauce
1-2 T San-J Szechuan stir-fry and marinade
1 t sesame oil
1” ginger, minced
Heat oil in a
wok or cast iron pan on medium and sauté ginger and garlic for a minute.
Add broccoli and a bit of water, cover and steam for about 5 minutes. Mix
water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Mix remaining seasoning sauce in
another bowl. Drain tofu. Add sauce and tofu to broccoli. Stir cornstarch
mix and add to pot.
Swordfish Steak in Tomato Sauce with
Pappardelle
I used Trader Joe’s Lemon
Pepper Pappardelle pasta which was delicious. I serve the raw ingredients
on the side to let each person decide how much flavor they want. This dish
is very savory and tasty and best served with a plain green vegetable, or
one sautéed with some olive oil.
1 28 oz. can
crushed tomato
1 head garlic, chopped and divided
Olive oil
1 lemon, juice and zest
Handful of parsley, chopped
Kalamata or black cured olives, coarsely chopped
1 lb Swordfish steak
Panko or bread crumbs
Pappardelle or angel hair pasta, cooked.
Cut swordfish
into bite-sized pieces and coat with panko or breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil
in a sauté pan, and cook fish on medium high temp until almost done, or
panko is browning. Set fish aside and reserve fish juices. Put juice in
tomato Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté half the garlic until soft. Add ½
of the lemon juice, ½ of the parsley, juice from cooking fish and tomato
and cook. Add fish and heat through. On the side, mix remaining parsley,
lemon juice, lemon zest, olives. Pour tomatoes mix over pasta, add fish
and add serve raw mixture on side. Serve with parmesan.
Tuna with Tomato over Pasta
I usually cook tuna steaks medium rare,
so was leery about this recipe that a friend told me about. But, it's
delicious and packed with flavor. So much so that the vegetable side dish
has to be pretty plain; a salad with dressing would overwhelm my
taste buds. Last night, I made this with sautéed kale and tonight I will
serve it with sautéed zucchini.
1 lb tuna steak
1 can anchovies
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 lemon zested, ½ lemon juice
½ head of garlic, chopped fine
1 T capers
Handful kalamata olives
Pepper (I omit salt, as other ingredients are salty)
Water
Sauté garlic
and anchovies in garlic under medium low heat, then add tuna and sauté.
Add crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, pepper and simmer about 45 minutes.
Turn off heat and add lemon juice and zest. Add water if suace is too
thick. Gently break tuna into small pieces. Serve over spaghetti or angel
hair pasta. Serve with a sautéed or steam side of greens, like kale,
zucchini, or broccoli.
Corned beef and Cabbage with Roasted Vegetables
For musings on the corned beef, go here.
Roasted vegetables
3lb Corned Beef
1 small head cabbage, quartered
Put enough water in a large pot to cover meat. when boiling, place meat in
pot and cook one hour for every pound. Add cabbage last 20 minutes. Slice
meat against grain.
Cold Noodle and Sesame with Tossed
Salad
In college, my boyfriend introduced me to cold noodles. I was addicted
from the start, although the spicy dish was difficult for me to eat.
Slowly, I became accustomed to the heat and now I enjoy a wide variety of
spicy foods. Adjust spice to your level of comfort.
Serve noodles over salad with Soy
Dressing, below.
1 pound
Chinese-style dried noodle (found in Asian food stores, the noodle looks
like spaghetti, fettuccini or angel hair, but tastes different) or
spaghetti/fettuccini
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons ginger, minced
3 tablespoon black or white sesame seeds
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 cucumber, cut into long thin shreds
Sauce:
2 tablespoon San-J® All Purpose Szechuan Hot and Spicy Sauce
1 cup crunchy or smooth natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Hot pepper flakes to taste
Water
While heating
water to cook pasta; sauté ginger, sesame seeds and garlic. Adjust heat to
low and add ingredients for sauce, stirring well. Add small amounts of
water until you like the consistency—should be thin enough to coat the
pasta easily. Taste the sauce, as you may want to add more of one or more
ingredients. If it is too hot and spicy, add more peanut butter. Cook
pasta, drain and toss in the sauce. Embellish with cucumber. Serve room
temperature or warm.
Soy Dressing
3 parts olive oil
1 part rice vinegar
1 part soy sauce
Pepper
Whisk ingredients together. Adjust to taste.
Blackened Fajitas
Forget plain and boring fajitas...add lots of blackening spice (see
"Main Courses" Blackened Chicken and
Caesar Salad for spice
recipe). If you don't want to make your own, some natural brands will
suffice. You can use chicken, shrimp, pork, beef or a vegetarian
substitute. Last night, I made recipe with free range pork.. This serves
4-6.
I purchase good quality salsa and add an avocado--saves time and is
basically salsa and guacamole.
1 lb meat, cut into thin strips
1/2-1 cup blackening spice (See below, under Caesar Salad)
Canola oil for cooking
2-3 assorted bell peppers
2 large red onions
8 flour tortillas
1 avocado
1/2-1 16 ounce container salsa
1 lemon
1 can black beans, reserve some liquid
Couple ounces cheddar cheese
Cilantro for salsa, optional
Coat meat in blackening spices and
heat sauté pan (preferably cast iron). Cook until done, remove from heat
and add lemon juice.
Either thinly slice by hand or use a food processor with slice blade to
cut onions and peppers. Sauté them and combine with meat mixture.
Heat beans and cheese together.
Smash avocado into salsa and add lemon juice to taste.
Heat tortillas on open flame with a gas stove or in oven until warm.
All dishes go on table and each person makes there own roll ups.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
I had never made this soup before, but have memories of the commercial
canned version growing up. This is nothing like that; it had tons of
mushrooms and lots of flavor
from the chanterelle stock and truffle oil. The recipe is
loosely based on Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for
Everyone. Among other changes I made was my choice of not pureeing the
soup. For me, pureed food is something one eats in a nursing home.
However, if you like soup that way, puree prior to adding cream.
I had chanterelle stock on hand from making Beef Wellington, see below;
however, you can also make plain mushroom stock. I used Trader Joe's
Truffle Oil and added that last minute; if you don't have it, the soup is
still good.
1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms (I
used white, but try a variety), chopped
3 T butter
1 cup scallions and shallots, chopped
4 thyme sprigs or 3 pinches dried
Salt & pepper
1 T flour
1 quart mushroom stock
1/2 cup or less heavy cream
2 T truffle oil, optional
Melt 2 T butter in a soup
pot and add garlic, scallion, shallots and thyme and 1/4 cup water. Cover
and cook, medium heat, 5 minutes. Raise heat, add mushrooms and cook 5
minutes. Stir in flour for a minute, add stock and bring to a boil. Lower
heat and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Stir in cream, salt and
pepper. remove from heat and add truffle oil.
Serve with a tossed salad
and bread.
Caesar Salad and Blackened Chicken
This is one of my favorite
dinners. I started eating it when I first met my husband at a restaurant
called Old Village Inn in Nyack, New York. They served a large Caesar
salad with very spicy chicken and a side of bread and butter. So good!
This blackened chicken works well with any cool and creamy dressing. Serve
with good, hot bread.
I purchase organic spices in bulk (4-8 ounces) and make large batches of
blackened spice. Just store in an airtight container; even better to store
in refrigerator of freezer.
Caesar Dressing
Because of the
dangers of raw eggs, I hard-boil mine and chop into dressing. This will
make a couple cups of dressing and will be fine in the refrigerator for
weeks.
A classic Caesar salad includes romane lettuce, croutons
and anchovies. I omit anchovies, but use them in dressing. I add other
lettuces and celery, depending on my mood.
1 ½ olive
oil/canola oil
2 T white vinegar
2 inches of anchovy paste
2 garlic pressed
3 T lemon juice + zest of one lemon
2 T Dijon mustard
2 t white pepper
½ cup parmesan cheese
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
Combine
ingredients and whisk or blend in a blender
Blackened Spice Mix
1 cup Garlic Powder
1 cup onion powder
2/3 cup paprika
1/3 cup cayenne
2/3 cup oregano
1/3 black pepper
1/3 cup cumin
2/3 cup lemon peel
1/3 cup tumeric
salt
Mix all
ingredients and store in an airtight container.
Blackened Chicken
4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast per serving
blackened mix
Slice chicken in strips and coat with spice mix. The heavier the coat, the
spicier, so beware! If you like really mild food, don't cut chicken--just
coat whole pieces and cut once cooked. Use canola or olive oil and cook in
a skillet.
Plate salad with dressing tossed and mound chicken on top. Serve with hot
bread.
Cilantro Swordfish,
Mexican Green Rice and Asparagus or
Tomatoes
I was inspired to make these dishes after a trip to Colorado last
summer, as Mexican restaurants are plentiful and great out there. Over
rice, add sliced, cooked fish and drizzle cilantro dressing over it.
Dressing is also good over the vegetables.
Swordfish, Mahi Mahi or any firm fish steak with Cilantro Dressing
Grill
or pan fry fish
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
2 Limes
3/4 cup Olive Oil
Processes ingredients. Store leftover in refrigerator
Tomatoes with red onion (Seasonally)
Tomatoes, chop into bite-sized cubes
Red onion, diced
Drizzle with cilantro dressing
Beef Wellington with Kale or Swiss
Chard
My husband and I don't eat red meat often, but when we do, it's the
best: free range, anti-biotic free, grain fed. I had bought beef
tenderloin a couple months ago from Whole Foods and froze it, waiting for
a special occasion to cook it. My husband has been working like crazy
lately, Saturdays included, so I decided to surprise him this past weekend
with this dish.
My local A&P now carries organic dried wild mushrooms and I had a bag of
Chanterelle mushrooms that I wanted to try. I used them instead of
regular mushrooms and enjoyed them. You soak them in water, and the water
smelled so great, I decided to save it. I will use it as the stock
for cream of mushroom soup.
There was enough for two nights (recipe that follows is for two portions)
and we had roasted kale the first night and sautéed char the following
night. I've been on a kale and swiss char kick lately--love those
veggies--and my husband and I enjoy slob-sized portions of them. I'll add
more recipes some other time.
Beef Wellington for Two
4-6 ounces beef tenderloin
Salt & pepper
1/4 t dried thyme leaves
1 t Dijon mustard
1 T+ 2 T butter
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
1 t milk
1 shallot, minced
1/2 bunch scallion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 ounces cultivated mushroom, finely chopped or 1 ounce dried
mushrooms, like Chanterelles or Porcini
Melt 2T butter in a sauté pan and cook shallots, garlic and scallion under
low until translucent. If using dried mushrooms, hydrate and retain liquid
for another use. add mushrooms and thyme and cook. If using fresh
mushrooms, allow liquid to evaporate. Set mixture aside.
Preheat oven to 425. Combine salt,
pepper and thyme. Rub meat with mustard and sprinkle mixture on meat. Melt
1 T butter in a skillet and sear meat on all sides, 5 minutes.
Roll out pastry and cut two circles.
Place them in an oven proof container. Add mushroom mixture and meat. Fold
pastry to cover and seal. Brush egg and milk mixture over pastry. bake 15
minutes for medium rare.
Chicken Soup or
Stew
Unfortunately,
there is no vegetarian equivalent. I love to make “Jewish Penicillin” when
someone is sick—or if I am just in need of a good warm up. The stew is just
more added rice and a bit less liquid.
For stock:
Whole or quartered
chicken
2 carrots
1 onion, peeled
2 celery stalks
1 parsnip, peeled
1 turnip, peeled
Parsley
Salt and pepper
Wash chicken,
remove fat and most skin and put into a deep stockpot and cover with water.
Add all ingredients and bring to boil. Allow to simmer for an hour. Remove
chicken. Separate big pieces of meat from bone and throw bones back into the
stock. Cook another 45 minutes. Strain chicken bones and vegetables from
stock by using a colander.
Soup or stew:
3-4 carrots,
peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
2 or more cups rice—more for stew
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped
Chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
For a plain
chicken soup, add a couple of cups rice to the stock and bring back to boil.
Add vegetables and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Add chicken and salt and
pepper to taste. If not enough liquid, add more water.
For stew with more
pizzazz:
Sauté ginger, garlic,
zucchini, mushrooms and curry powder or paste and add to stew
Cioppino
This is a
fantastic dish. Prepare and cook in practically no time, it is delicious and
healthy. Serve with a good bread for dipping and a salad. You may use only
scallops or shrimp, or add calamari or another firm fish. I cheat and use
canned clams because I like to reduce the juice down for added flavor. Use
fresh clams if you prefer.
½ pound scallops
½ pound shrimp, peeled tail on
2 cans clams
1 head of garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 can whole tomatoes, broken up
1 teaspoon oregano
2 bay leaves
½ bunch of parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper seasonings to taste
Sauté garlic, add
clam juice and reduce until half of liquid remains. Add wine, tomatoes and
spices and cook 5 minutes. Add clams, shrimp and scallops, cook 3 minutes.
Turn off heat and add parsley.
Tips on how to
save time cooking and lots more delicious and healthy recipes can be found in
Harmonious Environment: Beautify,
Detoxify & Energize Your Life. Your Home & Your Planet.
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