Cooking Challenge 2010 - Skillet Ginger Chicken with Cilantro and Lime

I just had a great thought. Since a few of you guys are foodies like me, I figured you might want to play along with the Cooking Challenge and actually make the food as well. Hello! So I'm posting the recipe before I make it, in case you're so inclined to give it a shot. I'll post my photos and reactions afterward.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz vermicelli or whole-wheat angel hair pasta (dry)
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
• Lime wedges for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, and cook 1 minute. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add reserved cooking water, soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice. Bring to a simmer. Add pasta and cook 1 minute to heat through, stirring frequently.
3. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and scallions. Serve with lime wedges on the side, if desired.

NUTRITIONAL BONUS:
Chicken is an essential source of vitamin B3 (aka niacin), which is necessary for the body to convert protein, fats and carbs into usable energy. You should have no trouble converting the macronutrients in Miller’s skillet dish – one serving offers over 66 percent of your daily need of the B vitamin.

Cooking Challenge 2010 - Italian Wedding Soup

One of my absolute favorite soups. I'm a sucker for Campbell's microwaveable bowls. This was a chance to make my own, healthier version.

Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
1/2 lb lean ground beef or 1/2 lb. meat loaf mix (ground beef and pork)
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups chopped escarole or chopped spinach
1/2 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot
grated parmesan cheese

Directions
In medium bowl combine, meat, egg,bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil& onion powder; shape into 3/4" balls.

In large sauce pan, heat broth to boiling; stir in spinach, orzo, carrot & meatballs. Return to boil;reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes or until orzo is tender. Stir frequently to avoid sticking. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

So, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but here are a few of the preparation. 

 Chopped spinach and onions 

Getting the meatballs ready -- they are a beast to prepare!

They're tiny, but flavor packed

I made a batch of this last night and ate it for lunch today.

The meatballs are pretty amazing. I'm pretty proud of those. Very very flavorful.

As far as preparation goes, I grated some baby carrots I had on hand directly into my boiling broth, and added some diced red onion (also on hand) because the soup I usually buy has onion in it. I also added a little bit of garlic powder to my meatballs. And I used ground chicken meat and whole wheat breadcrumbs to make my meatballs.

The meatballs were a time consuming process. And I wish I had the patience to make them even tinier. I used acini di pepe pasta -- the small round pastaballs -- instead of orzo and I love them. I also added some extra broth this morning because overnight, the pasta soaked up a lot of it.

I love this soup and it feels good to be eating something I really like and know exactly what is in it. Plus, beyond the meatball labor, it was pretty easy and I get WAY MORE than Campbells will ever fit into those little microwavable bowls. I could always make the meatballs ahead of time, freeze them and have them on deck to pop into this simple soup. 

Probably not something I'll make every week, but nice to know how to do it.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Cooking Challenge 2010 - Linguine with Sausage and Cabbage

Linguine with Sausage and Cabbage
From Shape Magazine
Serves 4

2 chicken sausages (about 5 ounces total)
1 small red onion
1 4 ounce wedge of savoy cabbage (light green with crinkly leaves, milder flavor than green or red cabbage)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces of linguine

Bring a large covered pot of water to boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer covered until ready to cook pasta. Meanwhile, cut sausage into 1/4 inch thick diagonal slices, slice onion to make 1/2 cup, and shred cabbage to make 3 cups. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and cornstarch.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Add sausage, reduce heat to medium, and cook 1 minute. Turn sausage and cook another minute. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, onion and cabbage and saute 1 minute. Add broth and 1/4 cup of cold water; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture and pepper. Cook, stirring until liquid is a little glossy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

Return pasta water to a boil over high heat. Add linguine and cook uncovered according to package directions -- about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander. Add drained pasta to sausage and sauce in skillet and toss gently to combine. Divide among four plates and serve immediately.

Here's the finished dish:

So, some thoughts.

• I need more cabbage. I used 1/4 of a head of savoy cabbage because I didn't want to have a ton of cabbage. I should have used more. And I think I overcooked it a little bit. It was my first time cooking cabbage ever, but the ones in the picture in the magazine looked super green. Mine? Not so much.
• I used chicken sausage with rosemary. Very nice flavor. But I should have browned it a little more. I was trying to follow the recipe exactly though (well, sort of). Next time, I know to cook the sausage until it's brown like I like it.
  
• Fresh pasta is the jumpoff. It's like ramen, but better. And the best kind of pasta ever created. I think it's going to be my new thing. Right after I finish cooking all of this boxed pasta I have.
• The other plus about this dish: it apparently supplies half of my daily folate needs!
  

Overall, I really liked this dish. I didn't eat all of it because I put way too much pasta in it and I wanted more cabbage. But I will definitely make this again in the future. Shoot, I might give it another shot this week. I've got leftover pasta, onion and cabbage. And I think I've got some chicken sausage in the fridge!

Rating: **** (4 out of 5 stars)

T-Dot's Eating Manifesto

I'm tired. It's only 12 days into the new year and I'm already tired.

It didn't come from the high butter dishes over Christmas. This fatigue set in since the New Year began. And I think it has a lot to do with my diet.

I'm a notoriously bad eater. I love to cook, but I'm also lazy, settling for fast food, conveniences and we all know I love some Ramen.

I think it's starting to catch up to me. That, and my lack of sleep. But that's another post.

So I figure what could it hurt to eat a little more healthfully? A little more whole? A little more like Setta B?

I browsed through Food Rules, the new hype book about how we should eat. The advice is boiled down essentially to this rule: "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables."

Sounds easy enough. A flip through the book suggests eating plants -- not anything that was made in a plant. I thought about that book as I drove home from work today. I'd slugged through the last 4 hours of work, even after I'd had half a salad with rotisserie chicken breast for lunch.

I wasn't up to cooking (really, the tub is calling my name) so I considered ordering out or *gasp* making some Ramen, though I knew it wasn't good for me. On the ride home, I vowed to myself that I'd buy real food when I went to the store to reup my pantry. Though I wondered to myself what I would do when I got home.

Women's Health to the rescue. A few months ago, they released an issue with the best packaged foods for women. I'm a fan of the magazine, and I'm all for making small changes with big results, so I picked up a few. An antioxident veggie blend was served with baked salmon and risotto a few days ago. And today, I'm pulling out a stir fry mix with noodles and cooking it with shrimp and some soy sauce.

My plans to be healthier, this time, were actually backed up by my eating habits. I've been doing better on drinking more water (64 ounces a day, playa!).

Anyway, I've decided I need to get a little more serious about eating well. Here are a few of the things I'm going to try to do:

• Eat few foods with ingredients that I can't pronounce.
• Buy fresh. If not possible, buy frozen. Not canned.
  
• More water, less juice.
  
• Eat veggies and protein as often as possible (no more Ramen solo for dinner!)
• Eat the fruit instead of drinking the juice. If drinking juice, check the ingedient list

This is evolving as I learn. If you have suggestions, let me know. I'll keep you guys updated on my progress.

• 
  

Cooking Challenge 2010

I'm getting some help from some friends of mine to accomplish my goal of cooking more new things this year. A bunch of us have gotten together and decided that we'll do an e-mail chain with a new recipe each week. We'll post the recipe one day and the rest of us have a week to prepare the dish. Then, we weigh in with our thoughts on the dish, suggestions for preparation, etc.

Well, lucky readers, I'm going to share that wonderful bounty with you.

I can't guarantee the dishes will necessarily be healthy. I can't guarantee you'll like them. But I can guarantee they will provide different dishes than you've currently been preparing at your home. For my contributions, I'm going to turn to the bounty of cookbooks I received for Christmas for inspiration.

I invite you to cook along with us if the recipe strikes your fancy, and weigh in with your thoughts!

First recipe comes Wednesday!!

Healthy Recipe #9 - Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto style

I'm just a little behind on the whole healthy recipes and blogging thing... but we're going to ignore that for now and go on to what I came here for: a Healthy Recipe!

I found this on the New York Times Web site while I was looking for something to eat tonight. Mark Bittman never steers me wrong...

Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto style (Adapted)

2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed

1 shallot or 1/3 of a small onion, chopped

2 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cups crimini, shiitake or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced

1 cup pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 can chicken broth

1 boneless chicken breast, diced

Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Freshly grated Parmesan, optional.

1. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften and begin to brown on edges, about 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then 1/2 cup of the broth. Stir and let liquid bubble away.

2. Ladle stock into skillet 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixture should be neither soupy nor dry. Keep heat at medium and stir frequently.

3. Begin tasting pasta 10 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender but with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3 to 4 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done — it will be white on inside when cut — and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.

Yield: 2 servings.

NOTE:

I used some Ms. Dash because I didn't have any parsley. As I'm eating it (and it is absolutely great) I wish I had some fresh parsley. I could also imagine it with some chopped scallions (the green parts) atop it. But overall, very tasty and VERY satisfying on a cold December night.

Healthy Recipe #8 Cheese Tortellini with ham and peas

Alright, full disclosure: I'm not sure how healthy this recipe really is. But it seemed interesting and something other than chicken alfredo, so I tried it anyway. There are plenty of versions of this recipe that use proscuitto and make the alfredo sauce from scratch. I didn't have prosciutto and it was late, so I used jar sauce, which helped make this a pretty quick meal. Flog me later.

Cheese Tortellini with ham and peas
1 package of refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used a 12oz package from Trader Joe's)
1 ham steak
1/4 can of peas
1/2 jar of alfredo sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon rosemary, crushed

Bring about 6 cups of water to a rapid boil. Meanwhile, trim the skin from the ham, chop the ham steak into 1/4 inch slices, and then cut the slices in thirds. Add the tortellini to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, stirring occasionally. Once al dente, drain water from tortellini, putting pasta back into the pot. Add chopped ham, peas, alfredo and rosemary. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot. Makes about 3 servings.

Healthy Recipe #7 Stir Fried Shrimp with Snow Peas and Red Peppers

This seems like a simple, yet tasty recipe. I may try it this weekend -- I've got some shell on shrimp I can clean and cook up using this method.

From the NY Times:

3/4 pound snow peas or sugar snap peas, strings and stems removed

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

3 large garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares

3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths, dark green parts separated

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the snow peas or sugar snap peas. Boil 30 seconds, and transfer immediately to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, drain and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon of the corn starch, 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the rice wine or sherry, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar. Add the shrimp, and stir together to coat.

3. Place the remaining corn starch, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, sesame oil and sugar in another bowl. Add the stock, and stir together well. Set aside.

4. Heat a large, heavy nonstick skillet or wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately upon contact. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil, and turn the heat to medium. Add the ginger and garlic, and stir together for about 20 seconds, then add the red pepper and the white and light green parts of the scallions. Stir-fry for two to three minutes, until the pepper begins to soften. Stir to the side of the pan. Add the remaining oil and the shrimp. Cook, stirring, for two minutes, stir in the snow peas or snap peas, and continue to stir-fry for another two or three minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through. Give the sauce a stir, and add it to the pan along with the dark green ends of the scallions. Stir everything together with the sauce until the shrimp and vegetables are lightly glazed. Serve hot, with rice.

Yield: Serves four.

Healthy Recipe #6: Chicken with cilantro and lime (and mango salsa)

So here it was Labor Day and I had a ton of cilantro to use up. I'd bought it after a failed attempt at making lime shrimp with cilantro (I went a little too heavy on the lime and red pepper flakes, it was inedible). And I wasn't in the mood to try that recipe again.

I turned to the Internet. Found some recipes for jerk chicken (but me and spices were on a time out. Found a mango salsa to go with the jerk chicken (ohhh). Then I cracked open my cookbooks. Patti had a Halibut with lemon and cilantro that sounded tasty (my grocer was out of halibut, however). Mark Bittman -- who's "How to Cook Everything" I salvaged from someone who was throwing it out in college has become a treasure trove of goodness in my cooking maturation -- suggested a variation of grilled chicken that included lime and cilantro. Sounded easy and like a winner.

I went to the grocery store and got the stuff for the mango salsa (I was intrigued) and some other necessities and scurried back to the crib. First, for those who have never had mango in anything but fruit drinks, those suckers are tricky. Bittman gives instructions on peeling and getting the fruit from the mango, but I was confused as to what was the pit and what was the fruit. I'd expected a seed, but soon found out the pit is a prickly part of the inside of the mango. As you cut up the pieces, you'll be able to tell the difference between it and the juicy flesh of the fruit.

Grilled Chicken with Cilantro and Lime
Mark Bittman "How to Cook Everything"
3 tablespoons peanut or other oil
2 tablespoons minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon minced shallot (I used red onion from the mango salsa below)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces (I used 10 wingdings instead)

Whisk together all ingredients except chicken. Spray a grill pan with nonstick cooking oil (such as Pam) and allow it to heat well. When the pan is hot, spread a little oil on the bottom of the pan and place the chicken onto the pan. Baste the chicken with the cilantro mixture, turning and basting as needed. Cook until juices run clear (about 6-10 minutes) When the chicken is done, drizzle the remaining oil mixture over top it and garnish with additional minced cilantro.

Mango Salsa
adapted from Bobby Flay
3 mango, peeled and diced
31/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon green onions
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon honey

Combine all ingredients and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature. Now, heads up, I cut this recipe into thirds because I didn't need a vat of mango salsa sitting around. Feel free to adjust it to suit how much you need to make. Using one mango, I easily made enough salsa for 4 people.

I served all of this alongside yellow rice and garlic toast. And just for good measure, I made some regular grilled chicken in case the cilantro lime attempt turned out as badly as my last cilantro lime experiment did. I'm happy to say I didn't need the backup and the chicken will definitely go into my rotation from now on!

Homemade Granola Bars -- NYT

Searching through the Bitten blog on the NYT, saw this recipe for homemade granola. It seems REALLY easy. And very tasty. And cheap! Have at it!

No-Bake Granola Bars

Yield 4 servings

Time 15 minutes

Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
• 3 cups any good, not-too-sweet granola

Method

• 1. Put the honey, brown sugar, and oil in a small pot and bring to a boil. Put the granola in a large bowl and pour the sugar mixture over the top while mixing; stir until the granola is well coated.
• 2. Press into an 8- or 9-inch square pan and let cool in the fridge. Cut into squares or rectangles and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Variations

• Dried Fruit Bars: Use just about any dried fruit here; dates or dried figs are great, as are dried apricots, raisins, plums, pears, and more: Substitute 11/2 cups dried fruit for the honey and brown sugar. Put the dried fruit and oil in a food processor and purée until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides if necessary. (Add small amounts of water if the fruit is dried out and not processing.) Proceed with the recipe.
• Orange-Spice Granola Bars: Add 1 tablespoon chopped orange zest, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each ground cardamom and ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.
• Nutty Granola Bars: Substitute 1 cup mixed or single toasted roughly chopped nuts and whole seeds for 1 cup of the granola.
• Peanut (or Any Nut) Butter Granola Bars: Practically a power bar: Substitute peanut or any nut butter for the brown sugar.

No lunch means craaaaazy posts

This recipe for Chicken Piccata sounds reaaalllly good.

I might have to make it happen.

In other news, I may end up making something with either Angel Hair or rice noodles tonight. Or I may end up just eating Ramen. Time will tell.

I think I'm going to do some cookbook scouting this weekend, so I may have a new healthy recipe to attempt and share come next week. I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, can someone get me a personal trainer? Maybe if I'm paying for fitness, that will motivate me to get up off my butt and do my morning runs -- or my evening yoga for that matter. Good thing is that in about two weeks, Veronica and I will be doing Zumba!

That'll be fun. I need a vacation.

A little belated Independence

It was about 5 p.m. when we started making moves.

My morning was spent in Providence, shopping it up and running (yet somehow, still failing) close to 3 miles in preparation for a race in a few weeks. The BF was there so we hopped in DeeDee and headed towards the Bean -- a friend was having a barbecue we were going to drop through.

Now, this was huge. Ever since I've been in RI, I have wanted to go to a real barbecue. Not just grilled meat in someone's dining room. A barbecue. With music. And watermelon. And pie. And people I don't know. Yeah, I wanted to go to a BBQ. So the BF and I were pretty excited about actually having plans this Independence Day.

They got cut short when we realized that none of our other friends were going to the shindig. And while we were cool with the host, we didn't want to be the only ones we knew there. So as we pulled onto his street around 5 p.m., the plan had already been hatched.

I bought a tabletop grill and charcoal on Friday, because I had a feeling I might want to barbecue this weekend. It was still in the trunk because I'd been too lazy to bring it into the house. But we needed something to grill. We hopped into the car and made a mad dash for the liquor store.

Allow me to explain. GQ had a feature on Fizz -- the bubbly carbonation added to some "adult" drinks. They came with three recipes and the BF and I decided to try a few of them out. We needed to get ingredients from the liquor store because, well, who knows how long they'd be open on a holiday. And you can have a holiday without hot dogs. You cannot have one without cocktails.

Two liquor stores later, we make it to Stop & Shop, split up and grab the fixings for a simple barbecue: beef patties, Ball Parks and baked beans. I already had some chicken marinating in the fridge.

We get to the house and unload our bounty. I ask the BF to assemble the grill -- I figure it's a tabletop, it couldn't take that much, right? I'm unpacking the groceries when I see him whizz by me, grab my car keys and say he'll be right back. I keep unpacking. Five minutes later, I'm done and I head to the back porch to check on the grill progress.

There was little. The BF had gone to get a screwdriver because they didn't have a good one in the house.

I wasn't prepared to wait.

I grabbed a folding chair and whipped out the instructions. I couldn't believe a $20 grill could be this complicated. I started twisting on washers and hand tightening things and before you know it, the BF was standing at the door behind me.

"What step are you on," he asked, a screw driver in his hand.

I peek at the directions. "Six." Of nine steps. He assembles the legs to the grill and we decide that really, we didn't need the screwdriver because everything could be tightened by hand. With a grill firmly assembled, I set about making my first charcoal fire.

The BF was assigned a more important task: mixing up those fabled cocktails.

First, I tried putting the coals in a single layer on the grill floor. They lit, but soon extinguished. So I turned to the Internet. As the sounds of "Summertime" played from the BF's speakers, I googled "how to start a charcoal fire."

I love the Internet.

In no time, I learned I needed to assemble the coals in a pyramid shape. And possibly throw some little newspaper balls (pause) in the midst to keep the fires burning. I assembled, lit and waited. It was getting dark and I was getting hungry. I went to check on the coals. Some were glowing, some were ashen, others were black. I rearranged the black coals so they could get more heat and threw a few more paper balls into the mix. By the time I'd whipped up an impromptu macaroni salad (please get like me), my coals were glowing red and ashen. It was time to cook.

It was about 7:30 when I put the first pieces of chicken on the grill. The vinegar in the marinade made it flame up, and I worried that maybe barbecuing in the dark on a wooden porch wasn't a good idea. I tried to arrange the various meats around the grill so they'd get varying levels of heat. Chicken in the hotter places, burgers next and hot dogs around the perimeter.

Meanwhile, the BF stumbled upon what I believe is my new boogie: the Gin Fizz. And it's super simple: equal parts gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda. That's it! And it tastes like divine lemonade.

It didn't take long for the food to cook and I even caught a glimpse of some fireworks from over the treeline in the backyard. I piled the cooked meat into a disposable pan and headed inside.

"Food's ready, guys," I yelled to the BF, his roomie (Magic) and another friend who'd popped by. We fixed our plates, dilly-dallied a bit and then sat down to eat. By the middle of my pasta salad, I started to feel the fizz creep up on me. The BF and I sat amazed at how (relatively) simple this had all been. And while we were always sulking about not having a barbecue to go to, we realized, it's not that hard to throw one. We did it in about 3 hours.

Now we just gotta find some people to invite.

Healthy Recipe #5 Turkey Lasagna Florentine

Alright, so lasagna? Probably not the healthiest thing you could possibly eat. But you've got to have comfort food sometime, right? This version uses healthier turkey meat instead of ground beef and loads up on various veggies so at least you can feel a little healthier while you tap into your inner Sopranos.

Ingredients:
1 package of ground turkey (1 - 1.5 lbs)
1 box of whole wheat lasagna noodles
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 small container of ricotta cheese (use low fat if you want to make this a little healthier)
1 package of finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)

For the sauce:
1 shallot (or 1/2 a small white onion)
1/2 cup of chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup (or one small can) sliced mushrooms
1 18-20 oz jar of tomato sauce (I use Prego chunky with tomato, garlic and onion)
2 tbls garlic powder (or minced garlic)
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls Italian Seasoning
1 tsp black pepper (divided)
1/2 tsp salt (divided)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tbls of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Toss in the minced garlic and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Add the ground turkey. Season with additional garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 tsp each of the black pepper and salt. Cook until meat is done, breaking up the chunks of meat into small crumbles as it cooks. Add the chopped shallot/onion and the bell pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or just until the bell pepper begins to cook though. Add the tomato sauce. Add the sliced mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer. Taste: add more seasonings (Italian, garlic, onion, pepper or salt) if necessary.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt it liberally. Once rigorously boiling, add 10-12 pieces of lasagna. cook until done, or about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

As the pasta cooks, combine the ricotta and the egg. Add in the red pepper flakes and spinach. [To defrost the spinach, a few hours on the counter, or a few minutes in the microwave will do. Draining can be done by squeezing out the excess water with an old, clean dishcloth, or squeezing the box between two paper plates. A little water (but not a lot) is okay.] Combine ingredients. Set aside.

In a 9 x 9 glass baking dish, spoon about 1 cup of the meat sauce onto the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon on about 1 cup of the ricotta mixture and spread evenly. Top with 1/2-1 cup of meat sauce. Top with cheese. Repeat layers as such: noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, cheese. Repeat until you run out of ricotta. Last two layers should be meat sauce and cheese. Cut excess noodles from the side of the pan to keep all ingredients contained within the dish.

Cover lasagna with foil. Place baking dish atop a metal cookie sheet and into the oven. Cook for 30-45 minutes, removing foil for last 10 minutes of cooking. Lasagna should be bubbly and golden brown atop when it is done.

Serve with salad and garlic bread. It will make about 9 individual servings, or 6 large servings. Recipe can also be done in a larger pan, just buy a larger containers of ricotta and sauce.

Healthy Recipe #3 - Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Asparagus

So, I completely thought that I had already posted this recipe. My apologies. I'm going to post some other recipes that I've been doing lately that I just didn't think to post. Anyway, to the dish at hand. I didn't measure anything like talking about, so it's a little less than scientific.

Ingredients:
15-20 medium shrimp, uncooked or cooked, your choice (I prefer uncooked)
roughly 10 stalks of frozen asparagus spears, chopped in 2-3 pieces, depending on size
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaping teaspoon of minced or chopped garlic
Ms. Dash regular seasoning blend
3-4 tablespoons of chicken broth
3 servings of angel hair pasta
1/3 to 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
butter substitute spread (I use "I can't believe it's not Butter")

In a bowl, combine the shrimp, garlic, lemon juice and toss to coat. Season liberally with Ms. Dash. Set aside. In a large skillet, pour in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter substitute spread and heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the marinated shrimp, Parmesan cheese and cook until done (or if using precooked shrimp, until heated). Remove from heat once the shrimp is done so that the fish doesn't become chewy. Meanwhile, heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Cook pasta according to directions. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the chopped asparagus and allow to cook. Drain and remove from heat.

For service: either place the pasta/asparagus mixture onto a bowl or plate and top with seasoned shrimp and some of the butter sauce, or toss the shrimp mixture with the pasta and serve. Serve topped with additional Parmesan, accompanied by crusty garlic bread or a salad if desired.

Healthy Recipe #2 - Thai Chicken Basil

What's that? You say I forgot to cook something healthy in February? I did. But if I think about it I did do some creative cooking, just forgot to blog about it.

I didn't have any broccoli florets for my chicken Alfredo, so I used a stir fry mix of fresh carrots, broccoli, pea pods and little baby corn, and boiled that with my fettuccine. Then, instead of chicken, I cooked some salmon with just some simple seasonings (salt and pepper) and tossed all of it in jarred Alfredo sauce (the least healthy part of all this, I know). It came out pretty good. So I'm going to count that as my healthy recipe for February.

Anyway, after my workout tonight (gotta get my run on) I'm going to run by the grocery store to pick up ingredients for this recipe, one of my Thai favorites: Chicken Basil. I'm going to add more veggies (red and green bell peppers, scallions, onions, green beans and whole mushrooms) and use sliced chicken breast and serve it over regular white rice, like my favorite Thai restaurant here in Providence. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

THAI CHICKEN BASIL

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped Thai chile pepper (or other chile pepper/red pepper flakes)
• 8 ounces ground chicken breast
• 1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (optional) Kecap manis
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup Thai holy basil (Ga-Prao)
• Salt
• Steamed jasmine rice
  

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok at high heat. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook until it is golden brown. Add the Thai chile pepper and stir well.

Add the ground chicken and cook it just halfway done. Reduce the heat to medium and add the mushrooms, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sweet soy sauce, and chicken stock. Mix well.

When all the ingredients are cooked, add the red bell pepper and the Thai holy basil. Mix well and season to taste with salt. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!UPDATE!!!!

Man. I have been paying for the people at Pakarang Exquisite Thai for nothing! Now, I did have to buy some things I'm kinda wondering when else I'll use (fish sauce and oyster sauce) but I made the chicken basil and it is FANTASTIC!

Here's my yummy dinner. Sorry I don't have a picture of my finished plate. I was hungry and forgot. *Shrug*

It's nice and spicy like I like it. A few changes though -- I didn't use the sweet soy sauce, and I only put in one tablespoon of red pepper flakes, which was plenty. I figured if I wanted it to be hotter, I could add more later. Glad I held off. It was sufficiently spicy with just 1 tablespoon. Two tablespoons and I doubt I would have been able to eat it. I chopped the mushrooms into quarters, and sliced the peppers in bite sized chunks. And I put in like, 6 breast tenderloins, also sliced (on the bias) in bite sized chunks. To save some time, I used minute rice.

This one is a keeper.

Healthy Recipe #1

I'm trying out a new healthy recipe at least one time a month so that I don't get high blood pressure from eating fried chicken everyday. (By the way, my fried chicken is so sincere, if you haven't, you need to try it.) So, for January, I adapted a recipe from Paula Deen that I found on Food Network. Here's her version. Here's mine.

2 boneless salmon filets
salt and pepper
garlic powder
Ms. Dash original seasoning blend (thyme, sage, rosemary, are among the ingredients)
lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons I can't believe it's not butter

Spray a glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Divide butter in quarters and place around the greased baking dish. Lightly season salmon with salt, pepper, garlic and Ms. Dash. Place in baking dish. Take lemon juice and lightly sprinkle in the pan and on the salmon. Idea is to just taste the lemon, not be overwhelmed by it. Cover dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until done to your liking. I served it with rice pilaf and broccoli.

Just a status update:

I'm not doing great on the breakfast thing -- despite the entire cooked package of bacon in my fridge! The other day, I did eat some waffles and juice, though. So that was a success. But then I waited too long to eat again and just ended up eating after I got off from work. Success reneged.

I did, however, manage to work out Saturday and Monday, so I'm off to a good start on the whole "cardio once a week" thing. So I'm proud of that. I'm going to cook some salmon later, and save some for lunch tomorrow, so I can eat when I get hungry instead of having to go to get something or rush home to eat. Baby steps.

Cooking up success...maybe

So I'm going to try to take Kenya and Veronica's advice.

I just finished cooking an entire package of bacon. I'm not going to eat it right now. I put it into a storage bag and I'm going to eat it -- some of it -- in the morning.

I also bought some toaster waffles at the store today. I remember when I went to visit a friend, she ate waffles before work and it amazed me that it was so easy! I figure I might be able to do that.

Anyway, so now, at least I have options. Easy options. Instant oatmeal. Yogurt and granola. Bacon. Grits. Eggs. Toast. Waffles. Now I just have to exercise them.

Anybody got a biscuit?

So, I brought my workout clothes to work today with the full intention of getting my skinny tail on a treadmill. I'm thin, but put me on a flight of stairs and I'll be breathing like Crisco is coming out of my veins by the time I reach the top.

That's not attractive.

But is it wrong to ditch your workout because you're hungry? And you know what the sad part is? Today I actually ate breakfast (strawberry banana yogurt with granola) and lunch (ham and cheese sandwich with tortilla chips and an apple).

So tell me, why, at 7:30 p.m. do I feel like my stomach is going to implode if I don't get something in my belly immediately?

I need to do better about planning for this late afternoon/early evening snack.

Sigh.

Tonight though? That gym bag is staying at my office and I'm thinking it's going to be a DiGiorno night.

Bout time I got '09 in gear

It looks like a lot, but it's not. I'm just very specific with my goals so that each is a step in itself toward fulfilling a larger goal. If I do these things, it'll be easier to cross more of them off come next year!

1. Forgive my father and deal with the issues I've developed with relationships in general because of my relationship with him so that I can stop hurting.
2. Begin yoga/Pilates/stretching 2-3 times a week to alleviate back pain and increase flexibility, strength.
3. Do 15 -30 minutes of cardio at least once a week; work up to two (or three) times a week by July.
4. Sit up straight.
5. Set up a monthly budget cutting out unnecessary expenses and stick to it.
   
6. Set up and begin a payment plan to pay off all credit cards and other debt by July 2010.
7. Set up another savings account so that I can have three: emergency (3-6 months salary); a life happens fund (for unexpected expenses) and a vacation fund.
8. Increase savings contributions to E-trade to finance trip to Spain in fall. Devote tax returns to building up savings reserves and contributing to vacation fund.
9. Do something every month to pamper myself. Get a mani/pedi. Get my hair done. Get a massage. Take a long bath. Buy myself something nice.
10. Try out a new healthy recipe at least once a month. Build up my repetoire to include more than fried foods and fatty sauces.
11. Eat out at a new restaurant at least once a month. Use this time to try different cuisines and experiment.
12. Read. Whatever I want. Magazines. Books. Whatever. Just read.
13. Go see "Raisin in the Sun" at Trinity Jan. 30 - March 30. Go see a show on Broadway with Setta B.
14. Keep clips up and network; send update mailings to potential employees two times a year (March and September, maybe?)
15. Write something that makes me proud, whether it wins any award or not.
    
16. Find an organization to volunteer with and do so, regularly. Can either be one organization with a long term commitment, or various organizations with one time commitments
17. Go on dates with the BF that (sometimes) require more than just driving to Boston and cooking food.
    
18. Take pictures to document life and stretch my creative muscles.
    
19. Start doing crosswords to exercise my mind.
20. Be present at all times. Start each day as if it were on purpose, not an accident.