Portabella Mushroom Fajitas

Last year for Lent, my daughter wanted to give up all meat, dairy and other animal products.  She decided to become vegan for Lent; unfortunately, she decided this on Ash Wednesday.  I flailed around trying to come up with something she could eat, but I was ill-equipped and ill-prepared for her to become vegan with such short notice. I think she starved for a couple of days before I convinced her to give up something else.  I promised I would do some research, so she could be vegan for this year’s Lent.

True to my word, I have been adding vegan recipes (or recipes easily made vegan) to my arsenal, like Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili,  Winter Vegetable Stew with Moroccan Flavors, and Barley Kale Salad.  I’ve been doing research and testing recipes, and about a month ago, I was testing a recipe for red lentil burgers.  I gave one to my daughter, and she said she liked the burger, but she wanted a “real” hamburger.  I explained I was trying out recipes for her vegan Lent this year.  She looked at me and said, “Oh yeah, about that, I’ve decided to give up soda this year instead.”

I walked away stunned.  Really?  Really!?! I had to regroup after her declaration, but when I came out of my shocked disbelief, I realized all my work could still be used.  Les and I would cut out meat and dairy for Lent!  Les was on board, so I continued with my plans.  And, with her dad and me as good role models (yeah, right!), our daughter has decided to join us in our Lenten sacrifice (our son is another story).  So, for the next 40 days, I will be posting mostly vegetarian/vegan recipes.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

I tested these Portabella Mushroom Fajitas last weekend, and I will be making these quick and easy fajitas again.  The fajitas are moist, flavorful and have nice meaty bite.  I might add a little non-dairy sour cream or guacamole to the fajitas next time I make them.  Yum!

Portabella Mushroom Fajitas

Printable Recipe

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Juice of two limes

1 tablespoon tequila

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 small Serrano pepper, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 large portabella mushroom caps, washed, stemmed.

½ yellow onion, sliced

1 sweet bell pepper, sliced (I used ½ green and ½ red bell pepper)

Corn tortillas, warmed

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the oil, lime juice, tequila, cumin, coriander and salt.  Stir in the Serrano pepper and cilantro, and set aside.

Gently remove the gills from the portabella mushroom with a spoon.  Slice the mushroom into ½ inch slices.  In a large bowl, add the mushrooms, onions and bell pepper.  Pour marinade over the mixture, and stir gently.  Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to distribute the marinade.

Heat a scant teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven, and add the mushrooms, onions and peppers in batches, so you don’t crowd the pan.  Cook until the mushrooms are browned and the onions and peppers are soft.  Pour any remaining marinade over the hot mushrooms and peppers.  Serve in warmed tortillas.

Surfer Soup

We are having a beautiful, mild winter here in Northern California.  I would enjoy the weather more if the specter of drought wasn’t hanging over our heads, but we have had beautiful days to hike, bike and enjoy the outdoors.  January and February are usually gray and drippy, so we don’t plan many camping trips or outdoor activities.  The weather in October is a different story. 

Northern California beaches are best in the fall.  The summer fog is gone, and the ocean water is a little warmer than in the spring, although less cold is probably a better description.  With the good weather of fall in mind, Sandy and Brian plan a beach camping trip for the beginning of October every year.   My son loves this trip!  We head to the beach campground on Friday, set up our tents, and hike down the cliff to enjoy the sand, water and a beautiful sunset before heading back up to our campground.  The kids go up without complaint because they know they will be spending all day Saturday in the water.

Then on Saturday, while I’m sitting on the beach under my umbrella, our friends Janet and Tony are usually decked out in wetsuits riding the waves on boogie boards with the kids.  This year, though, they roared into camp with surfboards strapped to the roof of their Yukon.  This raised their cool factor enormously. I’m sure my son wishes he had parents like Janet and Tony!  Never mind we never actually saw Janet and Tony surf.  They used the excuse that the waves were better at another beach, blah, blah, blah, but they allegedly surf.

Janet was in charge of dinner on Friday night, and she brought—you guessed it—Surfer Soup!  Janet’s soup was perfect for camping.  She calls the soup Surfer Soup because she makes the soup in the morning before they head to the beach.  When Janet’s family returns from surfing, they have a delicious dinner to help warm them up after a day in the ocean.

I made a double batch of the soup a couple months ago, so I stashed the leftovers in the freezer. I pulled the soup out for a quick dinner last night.  The soup tasted just as good, and maybe a little better out of the freezer than it did the night I made it.

Surfer Soup is a hearty, healthy, low fat soup perfect for when you’ve spent the day surfing the waves, or if you’ve only spent the day surfing the net. 

Surfer Soup 

PrintableRecipe 

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound ground turkey

½  yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 15-ounce can petite cut diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 6-ounce bag of baby spinach, chopped

Parmesan cheese

Tabasco sauce

In a large saucepot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook until the onion is soft.  Add the turkey to the onions, and cook until the turkey is no longer pink.  Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and cook for another minute.  Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, cannellini beans, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to simmer, and simmer the soup for 15 minutes.  Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if needed.  Add the spinach and cook for another 5 minutes.  Serve with Parmesan cheese and Tabasco sauce.

Salmon with Mustard-Dill Glaze

I have another recipe to share from my Christmas entertaining.  If you’re like me, and made a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier this year, this recipe will go farther to help you with your goal than the cookie, fudge and appetizer recipes I shared during the holidays. I can’t blame the Salmon with Mustard-Dill Glaze we had on Christmas Eve for the scale trauma I had on January 1^st.  (No, I enjoyed way too many helpings of cookies, fudge and appetizers over the holidays, and am now paying the price on the scale.) 

Margot, Jeff and their kids joined us again on Christmas Eve (we’ve been celebrating Christmas Eve together for 15 years.  What a great tradition!)  Margot is my hero!  She has been fighting colon cancer for five years, and she watches what she eats carefully.  I like to make something she feels good about eating, so Salmon with Mustard-Dill Glaze was one of the dishes I served for Christmas Eve.  I only started cooking fish a couple of year ago, and I never would have dreamed of serving it to guests until recently, but while I was enjoying my Christmas Eve dinner, I was thinking Salmon with Mustard-Dill Glaze was perfect to serve to friends on Christmas Eve.

I generally will barbeque or poach salmon, so I’m glad I found a baked salmon recipe we like.  The mustard and dill glaze tastes great on the salmon, and when you add the sour cream sauce, the salmon is delicious. But, what I like best about Salmon with Mustard-Dill Glaze is it’s easy enough to serve on a weeknight, but it’s fancy enough to serve to guests.

Salmon with Mustard Dill Glaze

Adapted from Holiday magazine

Printable Recipe

3 Lemons, 2 thinly sliced, 1 cut into wedges to serve with salmon

½ cup spicy brown mustard

¼ cup mayonnaise (I used canola mayonnaise)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

½ cup chopped fresh dill

2-3 pounds boneless side of salmon

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

¾ cup light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, and then place the lemon slices diagonally across the baking sheet.   Place the salmon, skin side down on the lemons, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the mustard, mayonnaise, sugar vinegar and dill.  Stir until the sugar dissolves.  Set aside half the mustard mixture.  Brush the remaining mustard mixture on top of the salmon.  Bake the salmon until it is just opaque through, 13 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the mustard mixture set aside earlier, and the sour cream. 

Place the salmon on a large platter with the lemon wedges, and serve it with the sour cream sauce.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

I can’t believe summer is almost over.  We’ve had a fun and busy summer with not one but two great vacations.  We took a two-week trip through Oregon and Washington in June, and we took a trip to Disneyland the first week of August. (I know we are spoiled). 

My daughter starts her senior year in high school this week, and I’ve been living my life in denial (both that summer is over and that I’m old enough to have a senior in high school), but reality came crashing back at 2 am last Sunday morning when I remembered I still needed to order my daughter’s school books and tackle my 6^th grade son’s forever-long school supplies list.  I got back to sleep by telling myself that nothing could be accomplished at 2am.  I woke feeling sad, but I had to face the fact summer was almost over, so Sunday morning I ordered my daughters books and Les and I took our son to buy his school supplies.

Sunday afternoon I was in need of something to take my mind off my end-of-summer blues, so I headed into the kitchen to try a new recipe.

Since last October, I have been slowly been overhauling my family’s diet to a more Mediterranean diet (less refined grains and sugar and more whole grains and beans).  We have been doing well with it, even on vacation in the Northwest and Disneyland (my chocolate covered frozen bananas, ice cream and caramel apples not withstanding).  I bought Fast & Fresh Vegetarian by Marie Simmons right before we left for Disneyland, and I was itching to try some of the recipes. 

Les and my daughter enjoyed Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili, although the chili was a little too spicy for my daughter.  My son even liked the spicy chili, but he wouldn't touch the sweet potato.  I liked the combination.  The chili was spicy, but I thought the spiciness went well with the sweet potato and the cool yogurt and avocado.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Black Bean Chili

Adapted from Fast & Fresh Vegetarian by Marie Simmons

Printable Recipe

4 small sweet potatoes or yams, scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, separated

½ small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Plain Greek yogurt

Juice from one lime

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 avocado, sliced

Heat a large baking sheet by placing it in the oven and preheating the oven to 450°F for 10 minutes.  Brush cut sides of sweet potatoes with one tablespoon of the olive oil.  Remove the hot pan from the oven, and place the sweet potatoes cut side down on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes.  Turn the potatoes with a spatula and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. 

While the potatoes are roasting, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive and the onion in a large Dutch oven or skillet.  Cook the onion on medium-low heat until tender and golden, about 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute, and add the chili powder and cumin to bloom for about 20 seconds.

Add the black beans, tomatoes, ½ cup water, chipotle chili and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Mix yogurt, lime juice and cilantro in a small bowl.

Assemble the potatoes by scraping the flesh of the potato with a fork and topping the potato with the chili and the yogurt mixture.  Add the sliced avocado and serve.

Chicken Tikka with Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds

I’ve been craving Mediterranean food lately.  This is a new craving for me, because while I have craved Mediterranean food in the past, it was always French, Italian or maybe Greek food.  I didn’t realize there was another whole section of the Mediterranean food I’d been overlooking.   I’ve been missing out on a more eastern Mediterranean culinary experience (Turkish, Syrian, Lebanese).  Well, that changed a few months ago when I met some girl friends for a good-bye dinner for our friend Barb at a local Mediterranean restaurant.  I loved every bite of my dinner!  We ordered the appetizer platter with flat bread and more toppings than I can remember.  For dinner, I ordered a chicken dish with aged yogurt and saffron rice, and I was in heaven.  My dinner was full of exotic spices and tangy yogurt.  I couldn’t wait to have eastern Mediterranean food again. 

Les and I went out to another Mediterranean restaurant on another night, and we enjoyed it, so I knew I needed to try my hand at Mediterranean food myself.  I bought a few Mediterranean cookbooks and drooled over the recipes (I will be testing other recipes from my new Mediterranean cookbooks, so stay tuned).  But, I played it “safe” and tried a kabob recipe from Food Network Magazine.   My family loved the kabobs, and I knew this would be a great recipe for entertaining.

A few weeks ago, I served Chicken Tikka and Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds for dinner to some of my friends who were at Barb’s good-bye dinner.  The dinner was on a Friday night, so I needed an easy menu I could throw together quickly (with the help of my husband who grilled the chicken).  Chicken Tikka, Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds and a simple green salad was the perfect menu for dinner, and this menu satisfies my craving for Mediterranean food. 

The chicken was moist and tender and perfectly spiced.  Be sure to serve it with the yogurt sauce as the sauce adds great flavor.  Food Network Magazine had the recipe in their 50 Kabob booklet, but I like the whole pieces of chicken as they stay moister, but you can kabob the chicken with some green onions if you would like.  The cranberries in the pilaf added a touch of sweetness to the rice while the slivered almonds add a great crunch.

Chicken Tikka
Adapted from Food Network Magazine 50 Kabob booklet
Printable Recipe
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups Greek yogurt, separated
2 tablespoons garam masala
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, separated
1 ½ teaspoons grated ginger
1 ½ teaspoons grated garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice, separated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup Greek yogurt, garam masala, ½ cups chopped cilantro, ginger, garlic 1 tablespoon lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.  Take out 2 tablespoons of yogurt mixture and set aside.  Add the chicken to the large bowl with the remaining marinade, and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

In a small bowl, add 1 cup Greek yogurt, the 2 tablespoons of reserved marinade, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, and 1 tablespoon lime juice.  Set aside.

Take the chicken out of the marinade, and grill over medium heat until done, about 3-5 minutes per side.  Serve with yogurt sauce.

Rice Pilaf with Cranberries and Almonds
Printable Recipe
1½  cups basmati rice
2¼  cups chicken broth
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup chopped dried cranberries
½ cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add vegetable oil and butter.  When the butter is melted, add the onion, and cook until softened.  Add the dry rice, and mix until the rice is coated with the butter and vegetable oil.  Cook the rice until it becomes opaque.  Add the chicken and cook until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.  Add the slivered almonds and cranberries, stirring to combine.  Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Beef and Bean Chili

My friend Barb moved to Nashville over the summer, and she recently sent a picture of the trees in her backyard with their vibrant hues of red and yellow. My backyard is full of trees that don’t turn color in the fall, so I have to look for other signs of the changing of the season.  Well, we have turned our clocks back and turned the house heater on, so I know it’s fall. 

During the first week of the time change, I’m always in a panic to get dinner on the table when I get home from work.  I guess I get into a rush thinking it is almost time for bed.  I rushed dinner so much on Monday night, we were finished and the dishes were done by 6:15pm!  I hardly knew what to do with myself for the rest of the evening! 

Once we change the clocks, I know I have to change what I plan for dinner.  I can no longer ask Les to barbeque on a weeknight (our backyard is too dark to barbeque in the winter), so I have to have some other dinner standbys.  And, nothing says fall to me like a pot of chili. 

I love to have a pot of this chili ready for a weeknight meal.  This recipe is easy to put together.  I will cook this chili on a weeknight if I have some time, but I am more likely to make it on the weekend and heat it up for a quick weeknight meal.  I usually serve this tasty chili with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and chopped onions, but I will also whip up a batch of cornbread to go with it.  This chili is low fat with lots of fiber, so I love to have leftovers to take with me for lunch during the week.

Beef and Bean Chili
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine March 1990
Printable Recipe
1 pound lean ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 14 ½ oz cans low sodium dark red kidney beans (do not drain the beans)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 ½ oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 8 oz can diced green chili peppers

In a large pot, brown the ground beef and onion until the meat is tender and the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the chili powder, oregano, salt, red pepper and black pepper, and heat for another minute.  Add the undrained kidney beans, tomatoes, and green chili peppers, and bring to a boil.  Cook uncovered for 1½ hours, or until the chili is dark in color and the desired consistency.  Makes 12 1-cup servings.

Chinese Chicken Salad

As I’m sitting here looking out my window at the rainy weather, I’m having a hard time believing what a beautiful day it was yesterday.

Les and I were invited to a wine tour and tasting at a local winery.  We have some lovely wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but I often forget about them, and think we need to travel to Napa or Sonoma for wine tasting and tours.

Our hosts, Beth and Scott rented a van for the ten of us who were going on the tour, so we could taste the wine without worrying about driving home on the winding roads.

We all brought a contribution for lunch, and we purchased wine and gourmet mustards from the winery to enjoy with our lunch. The weather was sunny and warm with a light breeze, and we spent most of the day laughing and enjoying our friends.

Lunch was delicious.  I am always amazed at the potlucks this group of friends puts together.  Everything always goes together beautifully.  For lunch, we had cheese, fruit and crackers, sandwiches and delicious desserts.  My contribution to lunch was a Chinese Chicken Salad.  I’m not sure the salad was a perfect match for the Pinot Noir, but no one complained. 

Chinese Chicken Salad
Adapted from Ellie Krieger Food Network
Printable Recipe

Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons soy sauce (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
¼ cup canola oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ head of green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
2 large carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ head of red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into chunks

I package ramen noodles, broken into small pieces

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil. 

In a large bowl mix together the green cabbage, carrots, red cabbage, onions cilantro and chicken.   Toss the chicken and vegetable mixture with the dressing (you might have a little extra dressing, so you might not want to put the dressing all on at once). Top with the crumbled ramen noodles, and serve immediately.

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin

I love the smoky heat of chipotle peppers.  I love chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and I love dried chipotle powder.  I can’t seem to get enough of them, and I will soon be sharing more recipes to prove it!  I’m afraid you’ll be sick of hearing about chipotle peppers before I’m finished. 

I’m not sure I can say I love pork tenderloins, but they are convenient for weeknight meals. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy pork tenderloins, but like chicken breasts I got tired of how I fixed them.   This rub was just what I needed to enjoy pork tenderloin again.   The rub was delicious on its own, but I added the apple jelly glaze to intensify the sweet and spicy combination of the rub.  My family enjoyed this pork tenderloin for dinner too.  Always a plus!

I had forgotten how easy and quick pork tenderloin is to make for a weeknight dinner.  Do you have a good pork tenderloin recipe?  Let me know.  I’d like to expand my pork tenderloin repertoire

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin
click here for a printable version of the recipe.

2 pork tenderloins.

2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons chipotle powder, separated
1 teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup apple jelly

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium high.

Mix together the brown sugar, 1 teaspoon chipotle powder, paprika, coriander, garlic salt and kosher salt.  Rub the spice mixture evenly over the pork tenderloins. 

Heat the apple jelly until it becomes smooth, and add ½ teaspoon chipotle powder.

Place the pork tenderloins on the grill.  Grill the pork for 15-18 minutes or until you get a temperature of 155°F, turning the pork often.  In the last 3 to 5 minutes of cooking, brush on the apple jelly mixture.  Take off the heat and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Slice and serve.

Grilled Herb Chicken with Vinaigrette

With all the rain we’ve been having this year, the garden is looking especially green and beautiful, and my herb garden is no exception.  I have a plethora of oregano, thyme and rosemary.  I suppose I could dry the herbs or freeze them, but their fragrant leaves call to me to use them fresh.  I think I’ve hit on a good way to use my fresh herbs.   Grilled Herbed Chicken with Vinaigrette is fresh and flavorful, and tastes like spring. 

I used a mixture of thighs and breasts since that is what I had on hand.  My husband was late coming home from work on Sunday, so I had to grill these babies myself.  I think I did a good job, but don’t tell Les I said so.  He is the “grill master” in this family!

Grilled Herb Chicken with Vinaigrette
6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or a mixture)
¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
Juice from 2 lemons, separated
4 Tablespoons olive oil, separated
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon, tequila or dry white wine
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt, separated

In a small bowl, combine the oregano, juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme, rosemary, tequila or wine, garlic, lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon salt.

Remove 2 tablespoons of the marinade mixture, and place it in a small bowl.  Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of the remaining lemon and ½ teaspoon salt.  Set the vinaigrette aside.

Place chicken in a non-reactive baking dish, and poke the chicken all over with a fork.   Pour the marinade over the chicken and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes.  Preheat the grill to medium high heat.  Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes and serve whole or sliced with the vinaigrette spooned over the top.

Click here for a printable version of Grilled Herb Chicken with Vinaigrette

Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

I'm sorry I haven’t posted in over a week, but we took a quick trip to Lake Tahoe.  My son has been begging us for a snowboarding trip for months, but with all of our busy schedules, this was the first opportunity we had to get away.  It was a beautiful spring weekend in the snow, but I’m a little behind this week.  I have piles of laundry waiting to be folded, and I had to make a quick trip to the store after work since my cupboards were bare.  I needed something easy and quick to make for dinner, so I chose Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw.  

I don’t usually re-post recipes, but Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw has become a family favorite, and I’ve tweaked the cilantro slaw enough, I wanted to share my new recipe.   This is one of my go-to dinner recipes when I know I’m going to be busy.  But, the best thing about these tacos is the kids love them.  When the kids find out we are having Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw they are thrilled, and I’m thrilled my son is eating cabbage and enjoying it!  

Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Slaw
Adapted from Bon Appétit  
2 14-ounce cans black beans
½ teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons canola oil
12 6-inch corn tortillas

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Place the black beans and cumin in a bowl and partially mash. Brush oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Place two or three tortillas in skillet. Add ¼ cup of bean mixture in the middle of the tortilla, and cook one minute. Fold in half and cook about one minute on each side or until golden brown. Fill tacos with feta cheese and Cilantro Slaw.

Cilantro Slaw
1 16-ounce bag of coleslaw mix (I use the ready made coleslaw mix for convenience, but you could thinly slice a head of cabbage)
6 green onions, chopped (white and light green parts only)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes (about ¼ cup)
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon salt

Place coleslaw mix, onions and cilantro in a large bowl, set aside.  In a small bowl mix together the mayonnaise, limejuice, jalapeño and salt until smooth and creamy.  Pour the mayonnaise mixture into the coleslaw and mix well.


Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange Chipotle Glaze

For the last couple of years, I’ve been in a slump when it comes to chicken breasts.  I used to eat chicken breasts all the time.  I enjoyed the mild flavor of the white meat with a teriyaki marinade, barbeque sauce or a spice rub.  Then I stopped enjoying my go-to choice of meat.  I began to find chicken breasts, okay I’ll just say it, boring!  I switched to chicken thighs, and I appreciated the succulent flavor and texture of the thighs.   But thighs aren’t as low in fat and calories as I would like, so I have been experimenting with new ways to serve my old favorite.

The orange tree in my backyard is bursting with fruit, and the oranges are full of juice from all the rain we got this year, so I am trying to use up my harvest (I’ll have to tell you about the orange marmalade in another post).  I used the oranges as my inspiration for the glaze below.  And I love sweet and spicy together, so I added the chipotle pepper.

I few months ago, I made a Beer Can Chicken, and I had some of the rub leftover.  I sprinkled the rub on the chicken, and then Les grilled it.  I added the glaze to the cooked chicken after Les took it off the grill, and I passed the rest at the table.

My family loved Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange Chipotle Glaze.  And when dinner was over, my thoughtful husband started to do the dishes, or I at least I thought he started to do the dishes, but no he was just looking for something else to dip into the glaze that was still on the stove!

 Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange Chipotle Glaze
4 chicken breasts
¼ to ½ cup Beer Can Chicken Rub
Orange Chipotle Glaze

Coat the chicken breasts with the Beer Can Chicken Rub, and grill over a medium fire for 3-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Brush the glaze over the cooked chicken.  Slice the chicken and pour more glaze over the top.

Beer Can Chicken Rub
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
¼ cup sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon celery salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Store any extra rub in an airtight container.  Makes about a ½ cup.

Orange Chipotle Glaze
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp olive oil
Juice from two oranges
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest (omit zest if using orange marmalade)
½ cup jelly (I used homemade pepper jelly that was tangy but not spicy, you could use apple jelly or orange marmalade)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the onion and cook until the onion is soft.  In a small bowl mix together the orange juice, orange zest, jelly, thyme, chipotle, cornstarch and salt.  Add the orange juice mixture to the onions in the saucepan and simmer until the sauce thickens.  Pour over the cooked chicken.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

Both of my children like to have hot lunches, and I’ll admit I like hot lunches too.  My daughter and I will eat a sandwich or a salad in a pinch, but we are happier if there is soup involved.  (My husband is another story.  He will eat anything for lunch, including cold food that should be warm. Yuck!)  My son’s hot lunch preference works fine most of the time, since his school serves healthy hot lunches, but when my son needs me to pack him a lunch, then I’m in a quandary.  If he is going to eat at school,  I can pack him soup or chili in a thermos, but if he needs a sack lunch for a fieldtrip,  I have few options.  And, when I finally find something he will eat, he will turn up his nose at same lunch the next time!

At least I can make my family a hot lunch when we are home on the weekends.  Sunday was cold and blustery, so I was happy to make a hot lunch for my family.  And, not only were Chicken Parmesan Burgers healthy (and hot), but they were from my March issue of Bon Appétit.  So, not only was I making my family happy, I was making something from this month’s magazine collection!

Chicken Parmesan Burgers weren’t an unqualified success for the kids. (Les was working and didn’t get to sample the burgers, and I took the fourth burger to work today.  Shh!)  My son loved the burger, and he ate the whole thing, but I had to pull the cheese off, and then he ate it plain on the bread.  My daughter said the burger was “okay,” but I’m used to her proclaiming, “That was amazing!”  So, I was a little disappointed.  She couldn’t tell me exactly what was wrong with it, but she, like my sister, is a dark meat lover, so the burgers might not have been to her taste.  As for me, I loved the burgers!  I wasn’t sure how the bitter radicchio, the peppery basil and the chicken would play together, but all the flavors got along like best friends.  I will definitely make Chicken Parmesan Burgers again.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers
Adapted from Bon Appétit
10 ½-inch-thick French bread slices, toast 8 slices, remove the crust and dice the 2 remaining slices
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil, plus 12 large leaves
¾ cup purchased refrigerated marinara sauce
16 ounces ground chicken
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon grated onion
¼ teaspoon salt
4 slices whole mild mozzarella
4 large radicchio leaves

Place the Parmesan cheese and diced bread into the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until the mixture is in fine crumbs.  Reserve ½ cup of the Parmesan mixture and transfer the remaining mixture to a pie plate.
Mix the marinara and the chopped basil in a small saucepan.  Remove 2 tablespoons of the marinara and place in a large bowl.  Heat the marinara in the saucepan on low, stirring occasionally.   Add the ground chicken to the bowl with the 2 tablespoons of marinara, and mix in the ½ cup of reserved Parmesan mixture, the onion, salt and the ½ tablespoon of olive oil.  Mix until just combined and form into patties.  Dredge the patties in the Parmesan mixture.

Heat the 1½ tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  When the oil is hot, add the patties.  Cook the patties until the bottoms are golden brown and have developed a crust, about 4 minutes.  Turn the patties over, top with cheese and cook for another 3 minutes.  Cover and cook for 1 minute or until the cheese is melted.

To assemble the sandwiches, place 1 slice of radicchio and 3 slices of basil on a slice of toasted bread.  Add a chicken patty and top with marinara and the second slice of bread.

Crunchy Oven-Baked Fish

I have another fish recipe to share with you, and if you’ve read my last fish post, you know I’m not much into fish. My family should be eating fish more often, and I certainly want my children to grow up liking it. So, here I am cooking and blogging about fish!

I have always eaten fish and chips, because how can you go wrong with something that’s been deep-fried? But, deep-fried fish kind of defeats the whole purpose of eating healthy.  I wanted to find a fish recipe that reminded me of fish and chips, but was healthier.  I found what I was looking for in the 2009 America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. 

Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette

I am a little shocked by my posting a salmon recipe. Why? Well, I have never enjoyed fish or shellfish, but I have been trying to change my palette, and I had heard if you keep introducing certain foods to your diet, you would eventually enjoy the food you have introduced. This worked for me with dark chocolate, so I decided to try it with fish (a little more difficult than chocolate, I’ll admit).

Hibernation

Well, my hibernation is almost over, and I'll be going back to work tomorrow. I'm sad the season is over even though Christmas was bittersweet this year. For me, Christmas is always a joyous season filled with love and hope, and we were blessed to spend time with wonderful friends and family to help us celebrate. But, we also tragically lost a dear friend who will always be missed.

Even with my heavy heart, Christmas had to go on, but to make matters more difficult (especially for the kids) Les had to work on Christmas Day. Despite everything, we had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And, lucky for me, everything slowed down right after Christmas, and I was more than ready for the slowdown.

At about noon on the day after Christmas, I finally stopped urging the kids to get dressed, so they stayed in their pajamas all day. We put together new Lego sets (or at least my son did), read our new books, and watched our new movies, and we did all of this in front of a roaring fire. I think we started a new “pajama day” tradition. We liked it so much we had a second “pajama day” on New Year’s Day to include Les who was working the day after Christmas.

With the exception of going to a New Year’s Eve party, we stayed fairly close to home during our time off after Christmas. So, what do you serve your family during hibernation? Well, if you're like me, you serve Pumpkin Black Bean Soup and Minestra with Sausage. Both of these soups are perfect for a quick meal whether you're hibernating or not. And, I had all the ingredients for the Pumpkin Black Bean Soup in my pantry, so I didn’t even have to leave the house. This soup is delicious with a creamy spiciness. I served simple grilled cheese sandwiches with it.
Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
Adapted from Rachael Ray at Food Network
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1 14 ½ ounce diced tomatoes in juice
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained
2 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 green onions chopped for garnish

Add the oil to a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onions, and sauté until the onions are softened about 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans, and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine and bring soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt. Simmer 5 minutes and taste to adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped onions.

My son loves the Minestra with Sausage soup. He is a big fan of sausage, pasta and soup, so this soup was made for him. And I get some green vegetables into him, so I love it too. I’ve made this soup a couple of times. The first time, I used all spicy sausage, but it was too spicy for my daughter, so I adjusted the recipe to make it less spicy. Everyone loved the soup after I adjusted it.
Minestra with Sausage
Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 links of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 link hot Italian sausage, casing removed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 14.5 ounce can cannellini beans, drained
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup mini penne pasta
Grated Parmesan cheese, for passing around the table

Add the oil to a soup pot or Dutch oven, and heat on medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Then stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans and spinach; season with salt and pepper to taste, and then add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover the pot and stir in the pasta. Lower the heat and cook until the pasta is al dente. Serve and top with the cheese.

Here are a couple other soups for hibernation or just a quick weeknight meal...
Florentine White Bean Soup
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives

I have another quick weeknight meal to share with you. This time of year I struggle with getting a healthy meal on the table. I know I need help when I see the KFC commercials and think to myself that looks like a good solution. Not!! It is a solution filled with fat and sodium. Just what my family doesn’t need. I’ll admit I do get take out occasionally, but I like to reserve it for emergencies only. I want to put a healthy meal on the table as often as possible, and this is one of the recipes that makes sitting down to a family meal a little easier.

Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives is a Robin Miller recipe I found on the Food Network website. She created the recipe knowing she was going to use the chicken for two more meals. I’ve made this recipe a couple of times using only one pound of chicken for one meal, but this time I decided to see how the chicken faired as leftovers. We ate the chicken one night and I used the leftovers for tostadas with Elva's Salsa, and I still had enough chicken left to have some on my salad for lunch one day.

I enjoyed Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives, but I really liked having the chicken already prepared for another meal. My family liked this chicken the first night, and they really liked the chicken on the tostadas.

Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives
Adapted from Robin Miller's recipe at foodnetwork.com
Cooking spray
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons Worchester sauce
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives

Preheat oven to 400° F. Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, garlic, lime juice, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper, and toss to coat. Transfer the chicken to the prepared pan and pour over any remaining marinade. Arrange the olives over and around the chicken in the pan, and roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Serve some of the chicken right away, and reserve the remaining chicken for another use.

Quick, Easy Chinese Chicken

With the holidays fast approaching (when did that happen?), I like to have some easy recipes to rely on for quick weeknight meals. I found this recipe for Quick, Easy Chinese Chicken in Cooking Light years ago. I ripped the recipe out of the magazine, so I don’t know exactly how old it is, but there is an add for a Jane Fonda exercise VHS video, if that gives you an idea.

Quick, Easy Chinese Chicken is a standby for me. I can put this recipe together in minutes, it does take 45 minutes in the oven, but I can use that time to accomplish something else. This was my daughter’s favorite meal until Creamy Baked Penne came along to bump it off, but both my kids are happy when I tell them we are having Chinese Chicken for dinner. This is also my go-to recipe to take to a sick friend. It keeps well, and freezes well if my friends end up with too much food.

Quick, Easy Chinese Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light
6 to 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
¾ cup ketchup
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon dried minced onions
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat the oven 375°F Place the chicken in a 1½ quart baking dish. Combine the next 6 ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake for 45 minutes. Serves 4.

Florentine White Bean Soup

So, we have been back to our school routine for over a week now, and I realize now I was deluding myself when I thought my life would be easier once school started. One or both kids have something going on each night of the week, so I haven’t exactly been relaxing. I have managed to have a home-cooked meal on the table for the last couple of nights. Not a major feat, I know, but still comforting, and with any luck, I can keep it up!

Tonight I made these paninis with Florentine White Bean Soup. I have been trying to use up some of the food in my pantry, and I had a couple of cans of cannellini beans, so I knew I wanted to make a white bean soup. I have seen a few different recipes in magazines and on the web, but I chose this recipe from my William-Sonoma cookbook Food Made Fast: Soup cookbook. I was tempted by the 30-minutes from start to finish the recipe promised. The recipe lived up to its promise. The soup took me almost exactly 30 minutes.

I enjoyed the flavors of the soup, but what I enjoyed most was the smell. The only way I can describe the smell is to tell you it smells like my favorite Italian restaurant where you walk through the kitchen to get to your seat. My daughter and husband loved this soup. My son who usually loves soup didn’t even try it. The little bugger! At least he ate his sandwich.

Florentine White Bean Soup
Adapted from Food Made Fast: Soup from Williams-Sonoma

2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 oz pancetta chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 ½ Tablespoons tomato paste
6 cups chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan heat the oil and add the pancetta. Cook the pancetta until lightly browned about 5 minutes. Then add the onion and carrot and cook until soften about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and the oregano and cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste mixing well, and add the broth and beans. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and add the spinach. Cook the soup until the spinach is wilted about 10 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

Fettuccini with Spicy Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce

A couple weeks ago I was craving spicy Italian sausage and pasta. I didn’t have a recipe in mind when I went to the store, so I just picked up the sausage and the pasta. A couple of days later, I needed to move my craving from an inspiration into a complete meal. I had the fettuccini and sausage on hand of course, and I also had some tomatoes, cream and parsley, but I knew my dish needed another flavor. I looked though my refrigerator and freezer and came up with the quintessential Italian ingredient of frozen edemame. No, not so Italian, but still good in my pasta dish. You could substitute some broccoli or spinach if you don’t like edemame. My family enjoyed this dish. My son loves Italian sausage, so he thought I was a hero to serve it with pasta. My husband and daughter enjoyed it too.

Fettuccini with Spicy Sausage and Creamy Tomato Sauce
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1 lb fettuccini
7 ripe medium tomatoes
11 oz bag frozen shelled edemame
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and Pepper
¼ cup chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Cook the pasta following the package directions. Remove the sausage from the casings and brown in a large skillet. Once the sausage is brown, remove it from the skillet, and drain all but one tablespoon of fat from the skillet. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook until the tomatoes are soft, and then add the cream, edemame and sausage. I added a couple of ladles of pasta water to loosen the sauce, and then I added salt and pepper to taste. Toss the pasta into the sauce, and add the parsley and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes and Lemon

I like to plan a week’s worth of meals during the weekend, so I can go shopping on Saturday or Sunday (I like to do this, but it doesn't always happen). I then have everything ready to cook when I get home during the week, and I don't have to stop at the store. When I can plan like this, weeknight meals seem so much easier.

I am always looking for inspiration, so we don't have tacos and spaghetti every week. I picked up Fine Cooking’s Make It Tonight magazine. (With all of the cookbooks and magazines I already have, it feels a little obsessive to bring home yet another cooking magazine, but I did it anyway. I think it might be a sickness, but I’ll have to work that out later.) One of the recipes in Make It Tonight that caught my eye was the Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes and Lemon. I love artichokes, and you already know how I feel about lemon, so this recipe looked great.

I can’t believe how easy this recipe was to put together. It took about 45 minutes total time to cook, but I could leave it for most of that time to get some things on my to-do list accomplished. I loved this whole dish. My husband and daughter didn’t like the vinaigrette on top of the artichokes, but they didn’t mind it on the rest of the dish. I thought the vinaigrette finished off the dish nicely.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes, Artichokes and Lemon
¼ plus 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; more for the baking sheet
4 to 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 package frozen artichoke hearts, 10 ounce
1 lemon
1 pound small potatoes, such as fingerling or baby Yukon Gold, those over 2 inches cut in half
4 small sprigs of thyme
Flat-Leaf parsley for garnish

Preheat over 450°. Lightly oil a heavy duty rimmed baking sheet. Put the chicken on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Leave plenty of room between the chicken thighs. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the artichokes in a colander to partially thaw, and drain. Thinly slice half the lemon and juice the other half. Place 4 teaspoons of the lemon juice in a small bowl, whisk in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Combine the artichokes, potatoes, lemon, thyme and the ¼ cup of olive in a large bowl. Mix to coat the ingredients. Add 1 tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper. After the chicken has cooked for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and add the artichoke mixture. Spread the mixture out on the baking sheet keeping the lemon slices toward the middle, so they don’t burn. Continue roasting for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Divide the chicken and the vegetables on plates and drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette, and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 4 to 6.