Posts
::tap tap tap:: Is this thing on?
Yikes, it's been a while since I've updated. Between the extreme heat, going out of town, eating already-blogged things, going out to dinner and...well, you get the point, poor little vox has been neglected. And, so have the blogs I read because at last check, my google reader had well over 300 new items. Oops!
So with all that said, I knew it was time for an update, and not just an update but a healthy update because of all the bad-for-you food I've been eating lately. I decided to make some healthy chicken burgers. The're good for you, and totally hit the spot. These burgers are reminiscent of chicken shawarma, which is one of my favorite meals on the planet (as the staff at the nearby Lebanese knows all too well).
And, because this burger is some good eats, I am submitting this over to Ivy and Ben who are hosting Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets. This meal is packed with protein and lots of nutrition but is low in fat and calories. Like Ivy says, eating healthy doesn't have to be boring or difficult. In fact, that's one of the reasons I made this blog and post nutritional information for the majority of my recipes. I promise you, Tom and I don't eat boring food day in and day out. :)
Lebanese-Inspired Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 heaping Tbsp. fat free plain yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 heaping tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground sumac
salt and pepper
4 mini whole wheat pitas, split and warmed
Tahini Yogurt Sauce
1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt (Greek is best because you don't sacrafice creaminess)
1 Tbsp. tahini
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced/pressed
salt and a just a little pepper
Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients. Allow the sauce to sit as you prepare and cook the burgers, so the flavors can marry.
To make the burgers, combine all ingredients and mix--but don't overmix. Form into 4 patties. Spray your grill or grill pan with some olive oil and grill the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, or until done.
Place the cooked patties in the pita pocket, along with any garnishes you'd like and top with the tahini-yogurt sauce.
Nutritional Information Per Burger (using a combo of white and dark meat will increase the calories by about 100 and the fat by about 10g): Calories: 240 / Fat: 3.3g / Carbs: 23g / Protein: 31g
Some food tastes good but it doesn't look pretty. In fact, I don't think it's meant to look pretty. It's just meant to comfort you. Oh and fill you up :) Tonight was one of those meals. I think Giada calls things "rustic" when they are homey and not picture perfect. So we'll call this our rustic Greekfest.
Yesterday Tom went to the butcher and surprised me by bringing home lamb! So, we had saganaki/lamb kabobs today, with some tzatziki, pita, Greek style peas and potatoes (which I make like my green beans but with dill instead of parsley), and saganaki. All the recipes are already on my blog with the exception of saganaki (not much of a recipe but I will post it below).
Mmm tzatziki! It came out damn good this time because there was Greek yogurt at the store (last time I settled for regular and it didn't strain as well as I would have liked).
And saganaki!
1. Cut about a 1/2" slice of kefalotyri or kasseri cheese.
2. Dip the cheese in a beaten egg (I also add a little lemon juice).
3. Dredge in flour seasoned with some fresh pepper.
4. Melt butter in a skillet.
5. Cook cheese in butter until it is browned and melty.
6. Splash with brandy.
7. Flame the brandy (shake pan a little).
8. Say "OPA!"
9. Squirt with fresh lemon.
10. Eat on pita and say "mmmm."
Kefalotyri=le yum.
I'm a bit of a Kashi fanatic. At about 10:50 nearly every weekday morning, I eat a Kashi granola bar. I love the TLC crackers and I especially love the party crackers. Go Lean Crunch with fruit and Greek yogurt is a fantasic snack. Even the frozen dinners are good, and I hate most frozen dinners (though it's rare for me to buy a Kashi dinner because they are really expensive). The only thing I haven't really been enamored with are the cookies, but then, who wants a healthy cookie? If I am going to eat a packaged cookie, sign me up for Oreos or Girl Scout cookies.
I'm sure you already know, but Kashi products all contain their 7 whole grain blend, plus sesame seeds. One of my favorite Kashi products is the pilaf--the 7 grains in their simplest form. "Pilaf" is a little misleading because you'd think it had some sort of flavoring in it, but it doesn't. It's just the grains. I love it but for some reason, I have a really hard time finding it. It's been ages since we've had it and when I finally saw it in the store the other day, I knew I had to pick up a box.
Like rice or any other grain, you can jazz Kashi pilaf up any way you want, of course. I will say that I increase both the cooking time and the amount of liquid slightly from the box instructions. I don't think brown rice can cook in 25 minutes. At any rate, this application of the pilaf was basically just to use up some swiss chard and mushrooms that were on the verge of going bad. Combined with the sage and the nuttiness of the pilaf, this is a really earthy, yummy side.
Kashi Pilaf
Serves 4
1 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 envelope (1 cup) Kashi pilaf
2.5 cups (scant) chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cups swiss chard, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and cook an aditional 2 minutes or so, so they mushrooms begin to lose their moisture. Stir in the pilaf and coat it with the butter.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes or until the grains are just about cooked. Stir in the swiss chard and finish cooking, uncovered, an additional couple minutes until the grains are tender and the chard has wilted. Stir in the sage and salt & pepper to taste, if necessary.
I decided to use the last of the "poultry rub" herbs I bought the other day on some bread that I thought would go well with our meal of--you guessed it--soup! This bread turned out great! It was nice and crusty and very flavorful--though I'd probably up the amount of fresh herbs a little to 1/4 cup next time.
Bread Machine Garlic Herb Bread
Makes 1.5lb. loaf
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3 cups bread flour
3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram)
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk
1.5 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1.5 tsp. bread machine yeast
Place the ingredients in your bread machine in the order listed above (or as required by your bread machine). Set to the white bread cycle, and put the crust on light or medium.
Don't you hate it when you plan something only to have those plans thwarted? In an effort to keep grocery shopping and eating out costs down, I try to plan meals for about 7-10 days in advance. I don't necessarily plan things day by day, but just shop for all the ingredients I need at one time (save for fresh produce which I tend to buy every 4 or 5 days). I had planned on making a big batch of pesto and using it once this week for chicken pasta with pesto cream sauce and another night for pesto potatoes. Of course neither Jewel nor Trader Joe's had fresh basil. So, those ideas were out.
What I did see at Trader Joe's was a package of fresh mixed herbs dubbed "poultry rub." The herbs were marjoram, sage, rosemary and thyme. I decided to go ahead and pick some up and decide later what to do with it. I've never seen this before, but it's such a good deal when cooking for two because I always have problems using up fresh herbs before they go bad. This way, you get small doses of different herbs.
I decided to make a really easy, quick dish: chicken with some herbed pan sauce. Some people are always stunned when you tell them you cook dinner, from scratch, most nights. I think a lot of people have the misconception that when something is from scratch, it has to take at least an hour to make, and it has to be a pain to prep after a long day of work. But, 99% of the time, my weeknight meals take 30-45 minutes tops, and that includes cook time.
Chicken with pan sauce is one of those really easy meals that you can modify 100 times over but it's always simple and flavorful. It comes together, cook time and all, in way under 30 minutes (and this is a real-deal 30 minutes, not Rachael Ray's 30 minutes which are only true if you have a sous chef and an oven that preheats in 45 seconds).
Chicken with Herbed Pan Sauce
Serves 2
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 chicken breast halves, pounded to about 1/3" thick
1 small shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh marjoram, thyme, rosemary & sage (or whatever herbs you want!)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 Tbsp. butter (optional but well...it's butter :)
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then cook in the oil, about 4 minutes per side or until done. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
Add the shallots to the pan and saute until tender. Add the garlic and herbs and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Pour in the white wine and cook it down by half. Add the chicken broth and do the same. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and add the butter in to melt. Serve sauce over chicken.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (5 oz. chicken and half the pan sauce): Calories: 293 / Fat: 14.5g / Carbs: 0.3g / Protein: 33g
I had a decent amount of fresh sage that I wanted to use up before we went out of town for the weekend. Rather than adding a leaf or two to a meal, I decided to go with a pesto so that I could use up more of the sage.
To put a slight twist on the traditional pesto, I made it with fontina and added sundried tomatoes. Then I stuffed it into chicken. We had this with some Kashi pilaf with mushrooms and peas. I really love the Kashi pilaf and recommend it. However, they claim it takes 25 minutes to cook, which makes no sense to me since brown rice is one of the grains in there, and it takes longer than 25 minutes. So, I tend to add a little more liquid (chicken broth in this case) and cook it for 10 or sometimes 15 minutes longer than directed.
I didn't really measure the pesto, but what's below is probably close. Obviously this doesn't make a whole lot, since I was only using it to stuff 2 chicken breasts. But it does use up a lot of sage if you have some around!
Sundried tomato and sage pesto
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes
handful of fresh sage
3 Tbsp fontina cheese
EVOO (I used some regular EVOO and some oil from the sundried tomatoes; use as much as you want depending on the consistency you are going for)
salt and pepper to taste.
Stick everything in a food processor. Process and you're done :)
For the chicken, I stuffed it with the pesto and seasoned it simply with salt and pepper. I just pan fried it in a little olive oil to brown it and then finished cooking it in a 350 degree oven. Right before I put it in the oven (in the same pan I pan-fried it in), I added a few splashes of chicken broth to make more of a pan sauce, which I spooned over at the end.
Nutritional info for the chicken (using a 5 oz piece of chicken breast and .75 Tbsp EVOO per serving which could be cut down if you don't pan fry it): Calories: 389 / Fat: 23g / Carbs: 6.3g / Protein: 39g
One of my favorite side dishes to cook during the summer is grilled corn on the cob. It is quite easy to prepare and is usually ready in under 30 minutes. I like to use fresh sweet corn thats in season. There are a number of ways to prepare this delicious side dish. The following method is how I like cook corn on the grill. I hope you enjoy....
Click here to read the rest of this post on cooking corn on the grill...
Sometimes, you don't really know what lurks in the depths of your freezer. I admit I'm a bit of a list-maker (read: crazy person) so I have a list of all the meats and quantities magentized to my freezer door. But, I don't write down the random things in there, like pesto "cubes," walnuts, tortillas, phyllo cups, or in this case...artichoke hearts.
Tom and I have been out of town a decent amount, and we're going out of town again Saturday through Wednesday (which, as you may have guessed, translates to no blogging for me). So, rather than buying tons of groceries like I usually do, I've been trying to use up what's in the freezer and my cabinets, buying some fresh produce when necessary. When I saw the artichokes, I knew they needed to be used up soon.
This Greek dish is most commonly made with lamb. And, of course it's better with lamb because lamb is better than chicken. Duh. But "lamb" was not on my magnetized freezer list, so chicken it had to be. But no worries--this is a really tasty meal with chicken, too. It's sort of like eating an avgolemono stew, rather than a soup, with artichokes in it. I personally prefer using a dark meat chicken for this because 1) it tastes better and 2) it holds up better to poaching/braising/etc. without drying out. We had this with a salad, and some rice to soak up all the egg-lemony goodness.
Have a great weekend and early week, all!
Chicken with Artichokes and Egg Lemon Sauce (Kota Me Aginares Kai Avgolemono)
Serves 2
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 pieces bone-in chicken (thighs, leg quarters, etc. I skin them because to me, skin is worthless if it's not crispy from roasting!)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 cups chicken broth
Dill, to taste
1 cup artichoke hearts
1 egg
1 lemon, juiced
a little cornstarch
salt and pepper
Heat a pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then brown in the hot oil. Remove the chicken, and add the diced onions to the pan, cooking until translucent. Stir in the garlic until fragrant. Add the chicken broth, being sure to scrape up all the browned bits as you deglaze, and bring to a boil. Add the dill, chicken, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Add the artichoke hearts and continue to cook, this time uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the artichokes are tender. Season to taste if necessary.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice and a little cornstarch. Slowly add a couple ladels full of the broth from the pan (I find it easier to plate the chicken first, so you don't have to maneuver around that) to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking constantly so your eggs don't scramble. Then, slowly add that mixture back into the pan, again whisking constantly. Stir until thickened. Pour the avgolemono sauce over the chicken and artichokes (and rice!)
We had more great entries for this round's Eat to the Beat! If you didn't get a chance to participate this time around, be sure to check out the guidelines and submit your entry for the next round-up in September. Many thanks to those who participated, and I hope to see entries from you and others for the next edition! If I missed your submission or you see any other problems, please let me know.
Now without further ado, I bring you the June round-up.
Val, who is definitely serving up More than Burnt Toast here, brings this gorgeous and no doubt incredibly delicious chocolate budino with ice cream to EttB. *drool* Val's inspiration was one of my favorite songstresses, Sarah McLachlan, and her song "Ice Cream." This pudding cake is made all the better with a big ol' scoop of cool, creamy goodness.
Núria takes some of my favorite ingredients and makes this irresistible Spanish tapas of quail egg on sobrassada toast. This may be tapas, but I would be content eating a couple of these for dinner. Núria also shares the story of when she was in Mallorca (eating lots of sobrassada sausage!) with her then-boyfriend, who ended up falling in love and marrying someone else. Like the Hermes House Band says, "Life is life!" But of course, for Núria, it ended well and that was a great experience for her, since she ended up later meeting her husband. And of course because she got to eat all the yummy sobrassada ;)
Ivy of Kopiaste takes the Fool's Garden song "Lemon Tree" to a whole new level with this tasty lemon marmalade. I have yet to make marmalade myself, but I think I may start with Ivy's recipe, as I love anything lemon flavored. With all those rinds and juice it has got to be really flavorful...and perfect on a scone :)
Although Albert Hammond claims "It Never Rains in Southern California," rain is exactly what prompted Susan, a favorite FoodBlogga of mine, to make this fresh cherry and peach upside-down cake. I have to agree that there is something great about baking a cake when it's raining outside. And I can take some thunderstorms if it means a piece of that!
"The first cut[let] is the deepest" kind of sounds like a Weird Al version of the famous song, doesn't it? Hehe. But, in this case, Mollie's mind just instantly went to that Cat Stevens (or possibly Sheryl Crow?) song when she started preparing these chicken cutlets for her delicious looking chicken parmesan. Mmm, this dish looks crispy and moist and cheesy and yum.
Peter, the Greek gourmand over at Kalofagas, definitely made me laugh with his entry. Though his dish ties in with Elton John's "Rocket Man" the song posted on his blog is a spoken word version by none other than William Shatner. I admit, I do have some Shatner in my music collection, vis-a-vis the Ben Fold's collaboration "Fear of Pop." But I digress; this rocket (or arugula) pesto on spaghetti looks so delicious. I love, love, love arugula. And you know already how I love pestos!
Rachel, the Crispy Cook, was "tempted by the fruit of another" much like the popular '80s band, Squeeze when she created this entry. "Tempted" is definitely one of my favorite '80s songs and mango is one of my favorite fruits, so I, too, would be tempted by this beautiful grilled cardamon-glazed mango! Grilled fruits are one of my favorite new things!
Erika from Bean's Bistro is definitely one of those ubercreative types. You can just tell by her EttB entries. This time, she makes "When Doves Cry" Cornish Hens with Port Sauce and Grapes. We all remember Prince's "When Doves Cry" (and, we will no doubt now have it in our heads for days) and this is a perfect tribute to the song, and to purple man himself. Cornish hens are kinda-sorta like doves and the stuffing is bold (like Prince's father?). And of course grapes are signature Prince-purple. NICE.
Stefany is not only joining EttB for a second time, but she is giving us 2 dishes yet again! And if that wasn't good enough, Stefany is channeling a good old fashioned 1980s hair band, Poison. Surely you remember the song "Every Rose Has its Thorn." Stefany picked up a couple bottles of rose nectar and was on her way to EttB goodness. And, since "every night has its dawn," Stefany gives us these buttery bites of goodness--Morning Rose Madeleines. Plus, she makes these great rose cupcakes. I'm not sure which one I'd rather have, so you can just ship one of each to me, Stefany. Thanks!
One of the reasons I love blogging events is that you learn all about new blogs, and Ben's was one of those blogs (though not from this event). His blog is full of amazing looking stuff, and this arroz moro is certainly no exception, considering my mouth dropped when I first viewed the picture. Ben enjoys salsa music and especially likes Cuban singer Cecelia Cruz. And of course Cuban music goes perfectly with that delicious Cuban dish!
Dear readers, I seriously cannot tell you how much I love key lime pie (okay, anything with lime). In fact, I'm sad to say I've never made my own, but after getting Erin's entry to this event, I definitely need to give this recipe a try. Erin's key lime pie goes hand in hand with a Kenny Chesney song of the same title. Like Erin, this makes me wish I were relaxing on the beach (eating at least 2 pieces of key lime pie).
Lindsey channeled the Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever" when she made these gorgeous, juicy strawberry anise scones. These yogurt scones have actually been on my (mile-long) "to try" list for a while and I think the addition of the anise sounds wonderful. And even better, though you wouldn't know it by looking at them, these scones are healthy, to boot.
Whenever Michelle at Big Black Dog sits on her porch sipping lemonade in the warm weather, the song "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini" pops into her head. By the way, is that even the title? I don't know. What I DO know is that this lemonade looks fabulous. I'm not sure which I like better in this pink lemonade--the cranberry juice or the lime. I am a sucker for -ades of all sorts and this one looks so good and refreshing!
Kate at Paved with Good Intentions used inspiration from the Eagles to make this really schmany dessert of champagne ice cream. You remember in Hotel California where there are mirrors on the ceiling and the champagne's on ice? Kate used Cava in place of champagne but, hey, I am all for adding any type of booze into my food, thanks. I can just see this with some chocolate covered strawberries (and, I'm not going to lie, I kept hearing this as "cham-PAHN-ya!" a la Christopher Walken in SNL).
Kelsey at Apple a Day ditches the apples for some berries and makes this gorgeous All-American Berry Bundt Cake. It's stuff like this that really makes me want specialty cake pans. Mmm. This cake sounds so good (I love ANY form of fruit dessert), and it fits in perfectly with the song Kelsey chose, which is "All American Girl" by Carrie Underwood. The red and blue berries and white cake are totally festive.
And here's my dish--chocolate milk cupcakes, inspired by Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk." I have never really been one for moderation, so anything that's "a little bit sweeter, a little bit fatter, and a little bit harmful for me" is right up my alley.
I LOVE and adore banana pudding, real banana pudding. By real I mean the kind where you make the pudding from scratch and pour it warm over a bowl of yummy Nilla wafers and fresh cut bananas. That stuff with boxed pudding mix cannot even come close to how this tastes. If you think you've had banana pudding before and it involved a boxed pudding mix...THAT was not banana pudding! THIS is Banana Pudding!
.
Put a layer of Nilla wafers in the bottom of a medium sized mixing bowl. Slice a banana over the top. Repeat these layers until you've used up all your nilla wafers and bananas. It really is important that you put Nilla wafers first, by the way. These are going to soak up all the yummy pudding that settles at the bottom of your bowl. I use a mixing bowl because thats what my mother always used. She had this Corning green glass mixing bowl, it was enormous. She must have made at least two recipes of banana pudding each time she made it. Seeing that bowl on the counter was always a welcome sight!
Crack your three eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Since we aren't making a meringue, we won't be using the whites. You can save them for another use or throw them away (which I did because....I just care about my banana pudding right now.)
Put this on the stovetop on medium low heat and stir it really well with a whisk. You can also just use a spoon for this.
Today I read a few articles from the new issue of PopSci. I love that magazine. This one shows you how you can turn your iPod or even iPhone into a projector that will project movies onto your wall up to 5' x 7'! All you need are a small cosmetic mirror, a cardboard box, some tape, and a lense from an old slide projector. I actually want to do this. Anyone have an old slide projector? ~grins~
Seriously, be patient, keep stirring, don't turn the heat up past four. This is going to take a long time and do nothing, but then ALL OF A SUDDEN it will be thicker.
Yes, I need to clean my stove. I started to photoshop that out but then decided....."eh".
Now, your pudding isn't going to get super thick, but after about fifteen minutes of stirring, it will suddenly get thicker. The consistency will be about what that boxed pudding is right after you mix it before it sets well. TAKE IT OFF THE EYE! Quick! we don't want it to scorch or keep getting thicker. Now if you end up with scorched pudding or lumpy pudding, just use it anyway and pay attention to me when I tell you to slow down next time!
Homemade Banana Pudding
1/2 C Sugar (or splenda)
1/3 C Flour
3 egg yolks
2 C milk
1 box Nilla Wafers
5 bananas
1/2 tsp Vanilla
dash salt
Enjoy!
