Tuesday, March 31, 2009

stir fry pork with veggies

1lb pork, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 lb baby zucchini, or regular
1 bell pepper
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry
4 tbsp veg oil

  1. marinate pork in sherry and soy sauce
  2. chop veggies
  3. heat veg oil, stir fry pork until almost done. remove from wok and keep warm
  4. stir fry veg a few minutes. Add pork back to wok and cook it until it's done.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Ginger glazed Mahi Mahi

(from allrecipes)

3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil



In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.

Reserve some marinade

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F (165 degrees C) for about 20 to 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Shepherds Pie

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

1 onion -- chopped

1 small bell pepper -- chopped

2-3 cloves garlic -- minced

24 oz. tomato juice (no added sugars)

salt and pepper to taste

Frozen Peas, or string beans, or
fresh green beans if possible.

1 head cauliflower

1 stick unsalted butter

12 oz. sharp cheddar cheese ( you experiment with different kinds and quatities of cheese)

Directions:
Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. ( If you are concerned about the fat left in pan, you can brown meat in microwave. Take a plastic colander and place in microwavable bowl. Break meat apart and place in colandar and microwave till brown, stirring occassionally. The fat will drip into bowl and you can throw it away.) Add tomato juice and string beans (or peas or a mixture of the two) and cook on top of stove till it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the meat sauce is cooking you can cook the cauliflower till tender. Drain cauliflower and then beat or blend in food processor. Add buter and salt and pepper and about 1/2 of the cheese. (These are a variation of the cauliflower potatos.

Put meat in a casserole dish. Top with cauliflower potatos and then top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. ****Note: I sometimes put mine in individual casserole dishes, bake and then when they are cooled down. I freeze them. This way I have something I can take with me. I just heat it up in a microwave.

Spanakopita

adapted from allrecipes.com

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 2 (4 ounce) packages feta cheese, crumbled
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 (16 ounce) packages phyllo dough
  • 3/4 pound butter, melted
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly cook and stir onions until softened. Mix in spinach and dill. Cook approximately 10 minutes, or until most of the moisture has been absorbed. Remove from heat. Mix in feta cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.
  3. Separate one sheet of phyllo from the stack and evenly brush with a light coating of butter. Place another sheet of phyllo over the butter and press the two sheets together. Cut the layered phyllo dough into long strips about 3 inches wide. Keep the remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.
  4. Lay out one strip of phyllo at a time on your work surface with one of the narrow ends close to you. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling 1 inch from the end closest to you. Fold the bottom right corner over the filling to the left edge to form a triangle. Fold the triangle up, bringing the point at the bottom left up to rest along the left edge. Turn the lower left corner over to touch the right edge. Continue turning the triangle over in this manner until you reach the end of the phyllo. Repeat with the remaining filling and phyllo dough.
  5. Alternatively, layer a few sheets on the bottom of the pyrex dish, brushed with butter, dump in the spinach/cheese mixture, and top with another few layers of phyllo to make one big spinach pie.
  6. Place filled phyllo dough triangles on a large baking sheet and brush with the remaining butter. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

New Orleans bbq shrimp

Adapted from nolafoodie.com

1 lb peeled shrimp

2 Sticks Butter

½ Large White Onion

4 Cloves Garlic (Peeled and Smashed)

Olive Oil

Worcestershire Sauce

1 Bottle Abita Amber Beer (Do Not Substitute)

Juice of one lemon

Garlic powder

Coarse Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Cayenne Pepper

Slap ya Mama



Hardware



2 Quart Saucepan

Large Pyrex baking dish




Prep (5 minutes)



Dice Onion

Smash Garlic

Clean shrimp and lay them in one layer the baking dish, sprinkle with kosher salt




Cook (15 minutes)



1. In the saucepan, sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic (yes, in chunks), then the two sticks of butter.
2. When butter has liquefied, add each seasoning while stirring – garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, crab boil, and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Add the olive oil, squeeze in the lemon, stir, and then add about half of a bottle of beer (6-8 oz.).
4. Keep stirring; drink the rest of the beer.
5. When the foam from the beer subsides, pour the sauce over the shrimp in the baking dish.
6. Place under the broiler for about 10 minutes, stir, then another 5 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and cooked.
7. Remove from broiler and let rest for at least ten minutes.
8. Serve in a bowl with lots of sauce and pieces of po-boy bread for dipping.

(i will make an exception for bread with this - it's too good not to)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic

From NYT

  • 1 pint brussels sprouts (about a pound)
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
  • 5-10 cloves garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Method
  • 1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Put in garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • 2. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally, until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 1/2 hour.
  • 3. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar

ostrich flambe

Ostrich Filets Flame

* (2) 4 oz. Ostrich filets
* salt and pepper
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 2 tbs. butter
* 1/4 cup brandy
* 1/2cup ostrich stock (may substitute beef stock)
* 1 1/2cups sliced mushrooms

Pound ostrich filet lightly with a mallet. Season meat on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan and add the meat. Saute ostrich filets on each side for about 2 minutes per side. Add brandy and flame. Remove meat to a platter and keep warm. Add mushrooms to the sauce remaining in the pan. Add stock and reduce by half. Pour sauce over meat and serve immediately. Serves 2.

Stuff I enjoy

Everybody needs a treat once in a while :)

Good Treats (legal, healthy foods)
Almonds
homemade beef jerky
homemade yogurt
homemade cottage cheese (dry curd)
really good cheese
whole foods 365 black cherry jam
blood oranges
mangoes
blueberries
tuna sashimi with lots of wasabi
florentine omelets
bacon

Stuff I probably shouldn't eat, but will on occasion:
spanakopita
naan
edamame
slim jim
hummus
pitas

Stuff I don't eat/drink

Occasionally, an exception is made, but these are the things I try to avoid:

soda, diet soda
gum
white potatoes
pasta
bread
sugar
cottage cheese
foods containing bifidus
artificial sweeteners
artificial colors
artificial flavors
chocolate
corn
rice
couscous/ other grains
cornstarch
flour
baking powder

grapefruit (yuck)

Mushrooms Arrabbiata

Roast Mushrooms: (adapted from wegmans.com)

SERVES 4

1 pkg (5 oz) sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 pkg (10 oz) Food You Feel Good About Baby Bella Mushrooms, quartered
2 portobella mushrooms (about 1/2 lb total), stemmed, 3/4-inch dice
3 Tbsp olive or grapeseed oil

Arrabbiata Sauce: (adapted from allrecipes.com)

  • 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauce: In a large saucepan, combine tomatoes, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Stir in garlic, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in basil, salt and pepper.

Toss mushrooms with basting oil. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Roast 20 min; toss with sauce.


Calories: 140

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 cup) contains 140 calories, 12 g carbohydrate, (3 g fiber), 5 g protein, 10 g fat, (1 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, and 430 mg sodium.