These past three months have been really stressful while I waited to see what next year would bring. But now that I have my plans locked in for next year, I am definitely going to be posting more! With little time to cook or go to the grocery store, I was living off of cereal, fruit and yogurt. It's no wonder that I was craving some vegetables today!

Chick Peas and Spinach

Background: At work, I will sometimes grab Asmar's chickpeas or hummus before I start my shift. The chick peas are prepared with lots of olive oil and lemon, a little bit of spinach and a mixture of spices. Today, I tried to make a similar meal.

Ingredients: 1 can of chick peas, washed and drained, 1/2 bag of spinach, washed, olive oil, 1/2 fresh lemon, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper

Procedure: Saute garlic and spinach in a little bit of olive oil. Once the spinach is cooked down, add in the chick peas, and spices, to taste. Use lemon juice sparingly, as the spinach soaks it up like a sponge. It's delicious hot or cold!

What's nutritionally awesome about this meal? Chickpeas are a great source of fiber, folate and iron, with little fat and no saturated fat. Spinach is a great source of Vitamin A,C, and K and is packed full of antioxidants. Olive oil will give you a dose of healthy fats, including omega-3's. 

 

Hmmm... this picture may look questionable, but if you are looking for a satisfying, low-calorie breakfast, this may be just the thing. 

What is in it? Well, turkey sausage bits, egg whites, 1 whole egg, and tomatoes and onions. How many calories? About 200 when you use non-stick cooking spray, like Pam. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1 whole egg

1/2 cup egg whites

Milk, Salt, Pepper (optional)

1/3 cup pre-cooked turkey sausage bits 

Cooking oil

Fresh Thyme (optional)

Directions:

1. Saute the onions, and add tomatoes when they begin to brown.

2. Throw in the sausage and cook until heated. I also added thyme at this step because I had it laying around. 

3. Combine the egg and egg whites, and add milk, salt and pepper, if desired

4. Pour the eggs over the rest of the ingredients in the pan and cook until done.

Celebrating Holidays with Food II

This Upcoming Friday is Purim, a Jewish holiday which is celebrating with dressing up in costumes and making Hamantaschen. The recipe I used was actually really easy to use, and the results were better than anything store-bought! 

These are them before they went into the oven. I thought they looked pretty good, but in the first batch, the corners separated and they opened up. The second batch turned out much better because my friend showed me how to mercilessly pinch the corners of the cookies until you can't pinch anymore. 

The results were delicious! I used pre-made poppy seed filling in some and raspberry jam in others. There were also one or two we stuffed with chocolate chips, but that didn't work so well.

Here's the recipe, from the Food Network, for the Hamantaschen dough. 

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 orange, zest grated

Equipment:

2 1/2 to 3-inch round cookie cutter

To make the Dough: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, egg, egg white, and orange zest. Add it to the processor and pulse to mix, being careful not to over mix. (Or just mix it up and combine it with your hands, like I did.) Divide into 2 disks and chill 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out 2 1/2 to 3-inch disks. (You can re-roll the scrapes to make more disks.) Place a disk of dough down and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Pinch the disk in 3 places to form a triangular shape with the filling still showing in the center. They will look like 3 cornered hats. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Continue until all the disks are made.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Celebrating Holidays with Food I

The months of February and March are filled with so many great holidays that are made better by homemade food. Valentine' s Day is one of my favorite occasions to cook and avoid the crowds, Purim is a great excuse to cook some of my favorite desserts, and St. Patrick's Day brings Irish Soda Bread and Scones. Easter is around the corner too, which means Cadbury Creme Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies. 

For a Valentine's Day at home, I used grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil to make these cute appetizers on colorful plastic swords. 

I cooked up some wild rice while I was preparing the appetizers. Then it was mixed with dried currants, dried apricots, craisins, toasted pecans, thyme, chopped celery and chopped onion.  

Next came the Cornish hens. I found them in Whole Foods, and they were all ready cleaned and prepared. All I had to do was unwrap them, stuff them with the wild rice, and brush a little melted butter on top. 

Voila! Beautiful Dinner for Two, with leftovers!

Grey Sole...

Recently, I read several reviews of New York City restaurants that served amazing Dover Sole. Naturally, I had to go to Balducci's and try this fish for myself. This was just Grey Sole broiled with lemon juice, salt and pepper. I also made a sauce, but it just tasted like lemon juice, and it wasn't necessary. I definitely would make this again.

Kentucky Down Home Cooking?

From a Chicken Stir-fry recipe in The Herb Garden Gourmet by Tim Haas and Jan Beane that I bought in Knoxville, Tennessee.

I've never used crystallized ginger before, but it was really easy to use. Those who tasted said it was a good mild-flavored dinner for every day. Plus, I got to use a wok! 

These are a great easy side dish when you don't know how long the main course is going to take to cook. The green beans are trimmed; the red bell peppers are cut into strips. Boil the green beans for three minutes, rinse with cold water and set them aside. This will take about 15-20 minutes if you are slow at prepping. 

LEAVE THE GREEN BEANS AND PEPPERS ALONE UNTIL FIVE MINUTES BEFORE YOU WANT TO SERVE DINNER

Then, dab 2 Tbsp of canola oil into a skillet. Turn the burner to medium-high, wait for the oil to heat up and throw in the peppers and green beans. Sprinkle them with a little soy sauce. After two minutes, turn off the heat, add 2 Tbsp sesame oil, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top (not pictured) and serve. Voila! 

Martha Stewart's Mediterranean Tuna Noodle Casserole

When my hubby had a sore throat, this was a real treat because it was smooth going down and easy to swallow. I thought it was a little bland, but some freshly ground pepper gave it a nice little kick.

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound wide egg noodles
2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
4 cans (6 ounces each) tuna in olive oil, drained
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and thickly sliced
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until 2 minutes short of al dente; drain, and return to pot.
Meanwhile, in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add bell peppers; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer.
Remove from heat; add mixture to noodles in pot, along with tuna, artichoke hearts, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Divide between prepared baking dishes, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes.

To Freeze: Prepare through step 3; cool to room temperature. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, and freeze up to three months.

To Bake from Frozen: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, until center is warm, about 2 hours. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more.

To Bake from Thawed: Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake, covered with foil, until center is warm, about 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake until top is browned, about 20 minutes more.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Mediterranean Tuna-Noodle Casserole - Martha Stewart Recipes

Regarding Beans and their various forms...

I am so conflicted about the issue of beans. Canned beans are so easy and convenient, but they are more expensive and full of salt. Dried beans are supposed to be so healthy for you, but every time I cook them it take more than three hours. According to what's cooking america, "The best way [to soak beans] is to put them in cold water; bring them gently to a boil and then with saucepan off the heat, allow them to remain in the water for 1 to 2 hours only." The package had similar directions, but after an hour of soaking, and another hour of simmering, I still had crunchy beans. I had to basically boil the beans for an hour to get any effect at all, adding cups of water at a time. I think I will continue to use both dry and canned and try to make up my own directions for  soaking beans without leaving them overnight....

Ingredients:
Servings:4

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 -3 cloves garlic
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans black beans
2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper
1 small red onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped or finely chopped (whatever you prefer)

Directions:
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

1. Saute onion in olive oil.
2. When onion becomes translucent, add cumin.
3. Cook 30 seconds, then add garlic and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Add 1 can black beans and 2 cups vegetable broth.
5. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
6. Turn off heat.
7. Using a hand blender, blend the ingredients in the pot, or transfer to a blender.
8. Add the second can of beans to the pot along with blended ingredients and bring to a simmer.
9. Serve soup with bowls of red onion and cilantro for garnish.
10. I add a bit of cilantro to the pot, too.
11. Can be doubled or frozen.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-black-bean-soup-59796#ixzz1C7BwXHEg