Archive for April, 2009

Chick Pea and Tomato Curry….even in a hurry!

April 24, 2009 · Filed under Recipes

CHICK PEA AND TOMATO CURRY
Makes 4 servings (1 1/2 cups each)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon olive (or canola) oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger root
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) chick peas (or garbanzo beans), drained, rinsed
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
• Hot cooked brown rice, if desired
• Plain yogurt, if desired

Directions
1.In a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger root and curry powder. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are tender.
2. Stir in chick peas and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Season with salt.
3. Serve over rice; top each serving with yogurt.

Notes
Round out with 1 cup brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

Calories 405/protein 18g/Fiber 15g/Fat 9g/calcium 150mg/cholesterol 0

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Best Dam Turkey Burger I Ever Had

April 10, 2009 · Filed under Recipes · Tagged

Oprah got this one right friends!  And a HUGE shout out to Mom for seeing it on the Today Show and writing it down.  I will def be going for one when I am in NYC next time!

I use two packages of turkey meat from Costco and make 8 burgers no problem.  I froze 4 and used them the next week, JUST as GOOD!

We BBQ’d one time and broiled the next, both made a fab burger!  I have also made this recipe without sauteing the veggies, tasted great, but burgers are a bit more frail w/o the oil helping them to stick….better to broil if skipping the sauteing.

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
* 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
* 1/8 cup canola oil
* 4 pounds ground turkey breast
* 2 Tbsp. salt
* 1 Tbsp. black pepper
* 2 tsp. chipotle Tabasco™
* 1 lemon, juice and grated zest
* 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped (I use cilantro b/c it has more flavor IMO)
* 1/4 cup Major Grey’s Chutney, puree (I used 1/3 c and did not make the Mar-a-lago Chutney, but will include below)

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender.  Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll.

(I did not use this, just a bit more of the Major Grey’s Chutney)
Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney:

INGREDIENTS

* 1 Anjou pear, peeled and diced
* 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1 tsp. sea salt
* 1 1/2 cups Major Grey’s Chutney
* 1/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toss the diced pears with the cinnamon and salt. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Cool and mix with the chutney and currants or raisins

 

The 411:

Oprah found a new favorite food when she tried this turkey burger at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach. “I believe [it] may be the best turkey burger in the entire world,” she says. The Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger will be permanently available at the Trump Bar and Grille in Trump Tower in New York City, open to the public for lunch and dinner. It will also be served during lunch in Chicago at Sixteen, the Trump International Hotel restaurant.

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Sauteed Tilapia

April 10, 2009 · Filed under Fish, Recipes · Tagged , ,

So I am a salmon girl…100%.  But I have a friend who swares by Tilapia.  I saw it as Costco (frozen, and U.S. Farmed) and went for it.

I think this flakey white fish (boneless YAHOO) would taste good no matter what you put on it, but this was easy, lite and so yummy!

Sauteed Tilapia with honey-scallion dressing

DRESSING:

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3         tablespoons chopped green onions

1         tablespoon honey

1         tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1         teaspoon fresh ground ginger

1         teaspoon dark sesame oil

FISH:

1         tablespoon canola or olive oil

4         (6 -ounce) tilapia fillets

1/2     teaspoon salt

1/8     teaspoon black pepper

8          Cups gourmet salad greens

1.     Combine dressing ingredients in bowl and mix well with a whisk

2.     Heat oil in skillet/  salt and pepper fish/ cook 3 min each side (until fish flakes easily)/  Place on greens & top with dressing

250 calories/ 10g Fat/ 35 mg Calcium/ 8g Carbs/ 34.2g Protein

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All the fish are swimming in the water

April 10, 2009 · Filed under Fish · Tagged

If you are one of those people who says “I don’t like fish” or “I don’t eat fish”…I say to you, “Get over it!”  Fish is an excellent source of protein, low in fat, and there are a million ways to cook it.  So join the 21st Century and Google some yummy fish recipes ASAP!

 

Here is the 411 on fish.  Salmon should NEVER EVER be farmed.  It is SO BAD for you!!!! (you can Google that too)  All of your salmon should say “Alaskan wild”.  There are some fish that you can buy farmed, and it is ok…but please do not buy farmed in China fish…icky, yucky!  Here are the rules I follow:

 

Tilapia = U.S. farm-raised

Salmon = Alaskan wild

Tuna = Albacore

Catfish = U.S. farm-raised

Shrimp = U.S. farm-raised

Cod = U.S. Pacific-caught

Halibut = U.S. Pacific-caught

 

Visit edf.org and click on”Healthy Fish Guide” for further recommendations.

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Healthy Chicken Nuggets

April 3, 2009 · Filed under Beef, kids, Quick Dinner Ideas, Recipes, Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

So each morning I try to assess what it is I think I am going to serve for dinner.  A few days ago I pulled out a package of skinless, organic chicken breasts (pre-packaged in two’s from Costco- buy them and freeze them), placed them in a bowl in the fridge to defrost and figured I would decide later.  Michael and I were heading out so I was just going to do something simple for the kids.

Well one thing led to another and then one of my dearest friends (love ya Cin’s) called at 5pm!  At 5:30pm my wonderful husband opened the door and asked what he could do to start dinner?

Crud!  So moving quickly I came up with what my kids have decided should be called “Mom’s Yummy Chicken Nuggets” (not super creative, but hey-they are 5 and 3)… they really are the best!

I started this dinner at 5:35 pm and at 6:15 pm I was loading the dishwasher…so WALK IN THE PARK!

Mom’s Yummy Chicken Nuggets

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts-rinse, pat dry, and cut into chicken nugget size (do 4 for the whole family, we were going out so I was feeding two)

Double for 4ppl

  • 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
  • 1 egg, or the equivalent in egg whites
  • 1/2 cup milk (whatever kind you have)
  • Agave Syrup

DIRECTIONS

  • Rinse chicken breasts, pat dry, cube chicken into whatever size looks like nugget size to you
  • In a small mixing bowl combine the egg, milk, and about two tablespoons of Agave syrup.  Mix/beat with a fork
  • Drop chicken cubes/nuggets into the bowl and let sit for a minute, make sure all the meat is coated
  • In a large ziplock combine the panko, bread crumbs, and some salt and pepper
  • Using a fork, or slated spoon, move the chicken pieces to the ziploch bag, let as much of the egg mixture fall off as possible
  • Seal bag and shake until all chicken is coated well
  • Cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil, spray with an olive oil or pan spray
  • place nuggets on tray and place in oven

I did about 8 min per side on 400 and turned the pieces half way through.

(Just take the biggest nugget and cut it open if you want to see if they are ready.  You want the outside of the nuggets to be a toasted brown color)

DIPPING SAUCES

I added Agave Syrup to yellow mustard and created a hot mustard dipping sauce that I can confidently say rivals McDonalds…yep, you read that right!  And of course Ketchup! 

I chopped a cucumber and a pear and voila dinner was served!

It was a hit, and they have already asked for it for tomorrow night!  They also had to fight Daddy off which is always a sign I am on to something!

And the proof it was enjoyed!

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