Easy, Light Salad

I had a recipe kicking around on my computer from a couple of years ago and it was interesting to me but not quite flavorful enough. So I tweaked it here and there and we ended up with a yummy dinner!

Ginger Pork & Pear Spinach Salad

1 lb. sliced or diced lean pork

1 - 2 pears diced

1 bag baby spinach leaves cleaned

feta or blue cheese for topping salad

fresh ginger and garlic - about a T of ginger and a clove or 2 of garlic

Dressing

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T honey

2 T cider or white wine vinegar (you can do this to taste too)

salt and pepper to taste

2-3 tsp. dijon mustard

2 tsp. lemon juice.

you can do all of this to taste too. Blend it and toss with the salad.

For the salad.

Saute the pork in some olive oil until almost done. Then toss with the ginger and garlic and a touch of salt to season.

Toss the pork, spinach, pear and cheese together and top with the dressing or the dressing of your choice.

Enjoy!

A New Twist on Curry

Well thanks to our good friends here who are from India, the hubs and I have really developed a taste for Indian food.

I found this recipe on myrecipes.com and was truly intrigued. I had two small sugar pumpkins around that needed to be used so this fit the bill.

Absolutely incredible, I can't say enough about it! I did omit the jalapeño and the limes (the limes because I forgot and it was 9 when we sat down to eat). I served with rice and also some naan.

Totally easy meal to make too! I did use the whole bag of red lentils - I always do when I make Indian food - I just use most or all of the bag so I have enough for leftovers.

Do make this - you could use butternut squash as well.

Sorry no pictures- again, it was late and we were famished.

Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry

We're Back!!!

Well sorry for the delay on the blog - the hubs and I were away on vacation.

A Caribbean Cruise to be exact.

We only really got to eat out on one of the islands one time, but we had some excellent foods while we were there.

One of our first ports of call was Samana in the Dominican Republic.

We stopped at this beach resort hotel (since our excursion was cancelled) and had the most incredible appetizers for lunch that day.

The hubs had this fantastic fried chicken - the spices were incredible, mild yet flavorful and not greasy at all.

I had these potato croquettes that had a seafood stew on top of them. It had a little kick to it but wasn't so spicy you couldn't eat it. It had the most wonderful balance of delicate seafood and crispy croquette and a sweet tomato sauce.

I didn't really take pictures of anything else we ate. But we ate well that's for sure!

We were on Norwegian Cruise Lines, so you could eat whenever you wanted, wherever you wanted. We ate in the formal dining room a few nights and had some wonderful meals. Our first tight I had the most robust and delicious tagliatelle with braised short ribs. Oh my god I need to re-create this recipe.

We had some delicious vanilla bean souffle, indulged at the chocolate buffet (but nothing was really all that exciting or memorable). We enjoyed a great Hibachi dinner in the Lotus Garden Restaurant - and we also splurged twice on Sushi. I had these wonderful rolls I've never seen before. One had the whole roll that was tempura fried and another was unagi (my favorite) with cucumber and avocado in a roll. DELISH!

The one nice thing is we really didn't eat ourselves silly on the cruise. Although the hubs did rename breakfast to Bacon Meal since he enjoyed that every morning. And I too truly enjoyed a pecan sticky roll every morning too. Ahh sweet indulgence!

But now we're back and back to cooking again - so I'll have some more posts for you!

WOW The hubs ate a vegan dinner!

I didn't set out meaning for it to be a vegan meal, but it really was and it was so tasty good!

It was so good - and such a late dinner - that I didn't get a photo. Sorry foodies!

I got this recipe for these Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers from the Brown Eyed Baker Blog. It so did not disappoint! I served them on the sandwich thins - so tasty! along with some avocado and some Garam Masala Roasted Cauliflower.

If you like cauliflower, you need to make this. Cut your head of cauliflower up - toss with oil and garam masala seasoning and roast at 375 until roasty, toasty tender.

I did double the burger recipe on everything so I could have some burgers to freeze - this ended up making 7 good sized burgers. I didn't cook them with oil, just dry skillet pan. It did end up using about a cup of bread crumbs and then I let it sit for a bit to stiffen up a bit.

Delicious dinner - it's a hearty burger, you'll love it!

Mushroom Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Mushroom Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

1 Tablespoon canola oil, plus more for brushing
1 cup finely chopped onion
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
4 slices whole wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted - I just used bread crumbs
15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ounces (about ½ cup) shredded cheddar cheese - omitted, because I forgot!
Salt and freshly ground black pepper - I did not season with salt or pepper.
4 English muffins, sandwich pockets, or hamburger buns, split and toasted
Salsa and sour cream, for serving (optional)

1. In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, garlic, cumin and paprika and cook until mushrooms have released their juices, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

2. Tear toasted bread into pieces and place in food processor. Process until broken down into crumbs. Pour the crumbs into a medium bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and beans to the food processor; pulse until combined, but not smooth – leave some chunky bits. Scoop mixture into the bowl with the bread crumbs; add the cheese and season with salt and pepper. - *Again, I just used breadcrumbs *

3. Mix ingredients together and divide into 4 equal portions. With dampened hands, shape each portion into four thick patties. Lightly brush each side of all patties with canola oil.

4. Heat a grill, grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Place patties on the surface and cook until thoroughly heated through and the outside has crisped, about 5 minutes per side. Serve burgers on toasted English muffins and topped with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Makes Mouth & Belly Happy in a Very Veggie Way!

No Picture- sorry!

BUT MMMMMM good! Make this!

I went with the idea for this casserole based on the quesadillas found at Ezra Pound Cake. Since I wanted to make this for lunches for the week - knowing there was no way the hubs would eat this for a main course for dinner ("where's the meat?!?") I had to come up with something I could make in advance and would transport better.

I turned this in to a casserole very easily.

We'll call this -
Corn and Zucchini Enchilada Casserole

You'll need:
1 cup frozen corn (or fresh)
1 large or a few small green zucchini
1 large onion finely diced
corn tortillas - 8
shredded cheeses - whatever you have on hand.

spray a sautee pan with Pam and add 2 tsp. olive oil. Put in your onion and zucchini with a 1/4 tsp. salt and some pepper and sautee until very tender. Then add in your cup of corn and let the mixture sit to defrost the corn.

Preheat your oven to 375. Spray a square baking dish with PAM and layer, overlapping, 4 corn tortillas in the bottom of the pan. Spread the mixture on top of the tortillas and top with cheese/layer throughout. I used a mix of a bunch of bottoms of the bags - swiss, mozzarella, cheddar. Top with four more corn tortillas and more cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes until bubbly and cooked down a bit more.

Cool and cut in to four slices - fits perfectly in a small tupperware for lunch!! Would make a great dinner too with a nice salad or some rice.

Caramel Apples for Dinner?

Um, yeah, seriously, caramel apples for dinner!!

I found this recipe for Caramel Apple Pork Chops on all recipes and it was fan-frigging-tastic. I'm already dreaming of making these again. It was the prefect combo of sweet and savory and just such a perfect fall dinner.

The recipe calls for making these on the stove top. But, and I'm going to admit something here... there is nothing I dislike more about cooking than babysitting a stove top (unless it's for risotto or polenta). Therefore every time you see a recipe on this blog that calls for a stove top cooking process for a meat or something like that - you can bet a good 90% of the time I cook it in the oven instead. Truth be told by the end of the day after working, the last thing I have any interest in doing is standing at a stove top flipping meat!

So you can CERTAINLY make this in the oven - in fact, I totally would - it was so easy and so good!

This is the recipe as is from Allrecipes

The changes I made. Place oven at 350 and spray a pan with PAM.

Season pork with salt and pepper on both sides.

Cook the apples on the stove top according to the recipe and then remove them with a slotted spoon and place on top of the pork chops. Drizzle a TINY bit of sauce over the apples and pork and bake for about 30 minutes until the pork is done.

While that's cooking you can finish cooking the sauce to thicken it up - and let me tell you it really does make caramel sauce. Like top your ice cream, dip your apples, make your turtles, caramel sauce!

When the pork is done, plate it, top with the sauce and sprinkle some chopped nuts on top - I used pecans.

Serve with some wonderful fall squash or corn and enjoy!!

Such a perfect fall meal...

I made this a couple of weeks ago and it really was the most perfect fall meal. I can imagine it would be wonderful in the depths of winter as well.

I've had this recipe on my computer for - gosh over a year now I think - but I've never gotten to making it until now.

I didn't have borlotti beans, but I decided to use these beans the hubs and I bought dried at Federal Hill at one of the Italian markets. Lupini beans. I soaked the beans, and cooked the bean and cooked them some more and they would NOT get tender. Finally I bit in to one and it was the worst tasting most bitter thing I've ever had. I figured OK they aren't done enough. I cooked some more - the hubs tried one later and he agreed, the worst beans we've ever had.

So I hopped on the laptop and researched a bit and found out that lupini beans do have a bitter taste and you can't get rid of that. CRAP! I just spent a whole day soaking and cooking these beans for this meal I had such wonderful hopes for.

The beans got tossed - there was NO WAY we could have ever eaten them. Thank God for my stash of canellini beans in the pantry!!

So if you can't find borlotti beans for this recipe - use a nice soft, buttery white bean, it will be great. This meal was wonderful!! Even despite the hassle of the bad beans!

The recipe came from Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn and can be found here.

I made everything as is and just tossed in the canned beans near the end to heat through - I used two cans of canellini beans.

It's not easy being green...

I have had this recipe in my box on Epicurious for an age and a half now. I've bought the stuff to make it multiple times but always end up doing something else with the ingredients.

It was really good, a little heavy, but really good and a great flavor. I would make again, but I would find some ways to lighten it up a bit.

Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

* I used spinach gnocchi instead of plain and I also used light cream instead of heavy cream, the only changes I made.

** Ok re-reading the recipe now and looking at this picture, it really was a super yummy dinner and super easy!

Green Fish?

I found this recipe on Proceed with Caution. It sounded delicious so I knew it had to get made in our house. I used some fresh bass that we had in our freezer from the hubs many fishing trips out this season. So you can easily use another white fish if you don't have Tilapia.

I had such wonderful high hopes for this recipe. And it was so delicious. However, if you are one that is prone to heart burn and doesn't do well with spice, skip it. I woke up and was up most of

the night with the worst heart burn I've ever had in my entire life. Too much raw ginger and jalapeño. Which is so sad because it was such delicious fish!!!

If you have a strong stomach, I'd totally say go forth and make this dish. If you are sensitive like me - you may want to pass on this one.

Cilantro Ginger Tilapia

1 clove garlic, peeled
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded (I used half)

1 piece fresh ginger, 1 inch peeled and chopped

3 T lime juice

1 cup cilantro leaves

3 T olive oil

salt and pepper

tilapia fillets

Combine garlic, jalapeño, ginger, lime and cilantro in a blender and blend - slowly drizzle in the oil. season with salt and pepper. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. **Here the recipe has you prepare the fish in a skillet - but I opted for baking in the oven on 350 for about 20 minutes, remember bass is thicker than tilapia so judge accordingly if you choose to bake.** Place fish in a baking dish with pam, season fish with salt and pepper and top with some of the sauce and bake. You can then top the cooked fish with additional sauce.

Crock Pot Thai

As I've said before, the hubs and I love Thai food. To find a crock pot Thai recipe was incredibly exciting - because it meant coming home to a cooked meal!

I found this recipe at Cara's Cravings. I strayed from her recipe a bit based on what I had in the house. Her blog is great - she makes wonderful low carb and low fat foods. Do check it out!

So the link above goes to her recipe that is lower fat and cal than mine probably ended up being. Since mine was cooking all day - I added the whole can of coconut milk and a can of chicken stock so I upped the seasonings from below and I'll put that in brackets for you.

Either way it was incredibly delicious. I shredded my chicken up because it was so tender and I served it over Bastami rice with some sugar snap peas that we steamed. Delish!!!

Crockpot Coconut Peanut Curry Chicken

10 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I put mine in frozen)

salt and pepper (I omitted)

1 garlic clove minced (I used a couple of cloves)

2 tsp. minced fresh ginger (I probably upped this to a T)

1 T curry powder (I ended up using 2-3)

1/2 tsp ground coriander (I think I ended up using a few tsp.)

1 jalapeno pepper minced (I only used half of a jalapeno)

1 cup light coconut milk (I just used the whole can)

**I added 1 can of chicken stock, fat free low sodium**

1/2 tsp. coconut extract (omitted since I didn't have but need to buy, it helps bring out the coconut flavors)

4 T of PB2 - the powdered PB you add water too (I didn't have this so I used 4T of natural PB)

juice from 1/2 lime (I used a whole lime and I also put in the lime zest)

1 large scallion chopped

2 tbs fresh cilantro

rice or cauli-rice

Pour the seasonings and sauces in the crock pot. I used a whisk here to break the PB up. Place chicken in crock pot. I let mine cook on low all day and then shredded and serve over rice and topped with cilantro.

Will certainly make this one again!

It's Fishy and It's Round!

I love fish - any seafood really - I adore it!

(can you tell there aren't too many foods I don't like?!)

I love to make fish cakes/patties. It's an easy dinner and they are easy to take for lunch leftover as well.

I found this recipe for Salmon Cakes at Chop. Stir. Mix (great blog by the way if you don't have it in you regular rotation) but it looks like she got it from Food Network. So mad props to all - excellent meal!

Great, easy meal. Serve it up with some roasted potatoes and veggies and mmm mmm good!!

Even great on a light hamburger bun the next day for lunch!

What you need:

2 strips bacon, cooked until crispy, crumbled, bacon fat reserved (I used three bacon strips because I'm a bacon ho')

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 egg

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sugar (Omitted - didn't need it)

1/2 lemon, zested

1 (14-ounce) can wild salmon, checked for large bones (I used a fresh fillet, cooked earlier in the day and then cooled)

1 baked or boiled russet potato, peeled, and fluffed with a fork (I just microwaved)

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used a mix of bread and panko)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I omitted - see below)

1) Fry up some BACON!

2) Remove bacon, place on paper towel, toss the onions into the bacon grease (Hey, I never said this was a low-fat recipe). Cook until see-through and let cool a bit.

3) Mix the bacon, onion, egg, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl.

4) Add the salmon and the potato and mix gently

5) In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and pepper, to taste.

6) Form patties (around 12 small ones or 9 medium) and coat them in the bread crumb topping.

This is where I moved from the recipe

The recipe has you fry the cakes in 1/2 cup of oil - egads!!! We popped ours on my air bake cookie sheet and baked at 350 for about 15 minutes-20 minutes and they got nice and crispy. I did spray the tops of the cakes with my olive oil mister to ensure they got a little brown and crispy and they sure did!

The Perfect Fall Risotto

Hello my name is Steph & I have an addiction.

I love bacon

I love pumpkin

I love risotto

I mean I love, adore, would marry bacon, pumpkin and risotto - all individually. But mix them together and heaven help me I've found my soul mate and it's on my plate!

I made this a few weeks ago and I can't wait to make it again already.

I didn't follow a recipe to make this but just kinda winged it. And I must say it was FAB!

It was a great way to use up a gallon bag of cut up pumpkin in my deep freeze and a great way to use my ever faithful strips of bacon that I freeze in to sets of 4.

Pumpkin & Bacon Risotto

Heat oven to 400 and place diced pieces of pumpkin in a roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, salt, and nutmeg and pepper.

In a saucepan, heat 1 large can of chicken stock along with about a quarter cup of sherry or white wine.

In a large skillet, cook 4 slices of bacon and remove from pan when crispy brown and set aside to drain. Go ahead and chop them up and set them aside to stir in later. Using about a T of the remaining bacon grease, saute 1 cup of risotto rice and 1 onion diced, and a couple of cloves of minced garlic.

When the rice starts to get browned, start adding the stock in by ladle full and stir constantly. Keep adding liquid in batches and stirring until the rice is cooked.

Once the rice is done, add in your cooked diced pumpkin. It will break down a bit and that's more than fine. You can use canned pumpkin too if that's easier for you.

Season to taste- salt, pepper, nutmeg.

Top your risotto with bacon pieces (you can also stir it in if you'd like)

Now unlike most people, I did not add cheese to this risotto recipe, the pumpkin is rich and creamy enough - as is the bacon - that you don't need it!

Ooo La La!

My friend from the What's Cooking board on the Nest (Carrie) made this recipe and posted it on her blog and it was right up my alley.

WONDERFULLY good!

I did make some slight alterations and I'll add those below. This is a great crock pot meal and wonderful for a winters night. It's also a nice variation on beef stew - one that isn't just potatoes and beef and peas.

French Onion Beef

(From: Pillsbury Pot Pie and Casserole Booklet & Carrie's Sweet Life)

• 1 1/4 lb. boneless beef round steak (I just used stew meat)
• 1 pkg (8 oz.) sliced fresh mushrooms (I doubled)
• 1 lg. onion, sliced separated into rings
• 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) condensed french onion soup (I also had to add a can of beef broth and some water to have enough liquid for cooking for the day)
• 1 pkg. (6oz.) 10-minute herb stuffing mix (I just used bagged stuffing mix from Peppridge Farms because it's what I had on hand.)
• 1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted (Omitted)
• 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (omitted - but I did use some of the leftover shredded asiago I had on hand and we each topped our own)

Spray slowe cooker with cooking spray. Cut beef into 6 serving size pieces. In cooker, layer half each of the beef, mushrooms, and onions; repeat layers. Por soup over top.

Cover; cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

In medium bowl, mix stuffing mix, butter, and 1/2 cup liquid from slow cooker; toss to mix. Place stuffing on top of mixture in cooker. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 10 minutes longer or until stuffing is fluffy. Sprinkl with cheese. Cover cook until cheese is melted.

Down Home Cookin'

For some reason I was craving something down home, smothered and delicious. But again, I don't like to make really fatty foods or high caloric foods so finding something that fit the bill was proving challenging.

I turned to one of my good old healthy cooking site standbys - Prevention Magazine's Cook! Section.

These did not disappoint. Absolutely wonderful, flavorful, and would be the perfect meal for for a cold winters night.

I served with some acorn squash and corn on the cob and it couldn't have been any more comforting!

Smothered Pork Chops

8 pork loin chops - 3-4 oz. each (I just used two)

1 can low sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can mushroom stems and pieces (I just used fresh mushrooms that I sauteed first)

2 7/8 0z cans french fried onions (I omitted this but I think it would be great)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (I also added 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1/4 tsp. paprika)

2 T vegetable oil (I used canola)

3/4 cup fat free milk

Directions

1.

In a shallow dish, combine the flour and the garlic powder; mix well. Coat the pork chops completely with the seasoned flour. Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the pork chops over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Dump in the soup, the mushrooms, and the milk; mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through and tender. Sprinkle with the onions, and serve.

Gourmet Pizza Night In

I found this recipe on NYT.com and it immediately blew me away.

It reminded me of the pizza recipe I had at the Italian place up in the North End in Boston when we were there over the 4th of July.

This was an incredible pizza. It really felt like I was at a chi-chi pizza place and not my couch in front of the coffee table and television.

Huge hit all around the house (not hard since it's just me and the Hubs).

Pizza with Shrimp, Bacon and Artichoke Hearts

8 ounces fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Kosher salt
4 thick slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch-thick matchsticks
1 ball pizza dough(I used store bought dough)
Flour, for dusting
6 cooked artichoke hearts, quartered (I just used canned artichoke hearts)
4 to 6 ounces sliced semisoft Asiago cheese
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, roughly chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil, to drizzle
Freshly cracked black pepper.

1. At least 45 minutes before cooking, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 550 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in a small sauté pan over high heat until it foams. Add the shrimp and garlic, season with salt and cook for about a minute, shaking the pan, until the shrimp just start to color. Transfer to a bowl. (since there was already so much fat with the cheese and bacon, I just cooked the bacon first, drained most of the grease and then tossed the shrimp in. I also cut up the shrimp once it was cooked.)

3. Place the bacon in the pan and set over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl.

4. Place the dough on a heavily floured surface and stretch and pull, using your hands or a rolling pin, into about a 14-inch round. Place on a lightly floured pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Cover with the toppings, being careful not to press on the dough and weigh it down: the bacon first, then the artichoke hearts, the shrimp, the cheese and finally the oregano, leaving roughly a 1/2-inch border. Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. (Gently lift any sections that are sticking and sprinkle the peel with flour.) Slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick, forward-and-back motion. Cook until the crust has browned on the bottom and the top is bubbling and browning in spots, about 7 minutes. Drizzle the pie with a little olive oil and some pepper. Serve hot. Serves 2.