I don’t think you need much of an explanation as to why I made this dish from this Pin. The name of the recipe says it all. All ingredients I love combined to deliver a delicious side dish. It’s really good. You should make this tomorrow.
This recipe can be found at boulderlocavore.com
206 to go………
I made this soup a while back and am just getting to write about it now. I think I made it during the last big snow storm, when we got 12 inches on the ground.
I feel like any soup is comfort food but this one seems to top the list. The creamy white beans and the garlic and fennel flavor is a nice combination. And really, you can’t go wrong with toasted cheese on slices of baguette. Although I substituted whole wheat bread triangles for a lighter version. Still delicious.
This is the soup you want to make on Sunday morning, so you can eat it Sunday afternoon, and the Monday after that.
Recipe courtesy of My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow
Ingredients
Optional additions:
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and garlic, turn the heat as low as it can go, and cook for 1/2 hour, stirring here and there. A little color is okay, but you really the vegetable to get soft and sweet. Add the chile flakes, oregano, and pepper and cook for a minute. Add the beans and stock, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, add salt to taste, and let cook on low heat for 1 hour.
For optional ingredient additions:
Stir in the kale leaves and let cook for 7 minutes, or until just cooked. Ladle into four bowls, float two toasts on each bowl and evenly distribute the cheese. Put the bowls under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly, less than a minute. Serve.
There’s a handful of dinner recipes that are my “go to” recipes. The kind of recipes that aren’t time-consuming, are able to be cooked with a two-year old tugging at my pant leg, include a small list of ingredients, are affordable and can be easily doubled. Those are my requirements for a “go to” recipe. Oh yeah, and they gotta taste really good! That’s a requirement. Here are my dinner “go to’s” in no particular order:
The best roast chicken with the crispiest skin and moistest chicken. I make 1-2 a week, no lie. Continue reading
I’m not sure I would use the word burger in this recipe. To me, that implies some sort of juicy, succulent meat, grilled to perfection, served on a soft bun and topped with god knows what deliciousness. There ain’t no meat here kiddies.
Maybe Quinoa Patties. That’s better. Don’t get me wrong. They are tasty in a very subtle way. I thought the addition of cheese would give it some buttery, salty flavor but I didn’t get that here.
It’s a veggie patty so that’s what it tastes like. It’s soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. A nice compliment of textures and flavors.
I served mine on these Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Everything Bagel Slims. At 110 calories, they added a nice addition of everything bagelness.
I also added some arugula and avocado to round out the sandwich. Since each patty is only about 132 calories, I needed a little something extra to tide me over till my next snack.
I made a couple substitutions in my recipe since I did not have some of the ingredients on hand. Instead of cottage cheese I used part-skim ricotta cheese and I used chopped red onion instead of scallions. I also eliminated the sugar.
This recipe makes about 10 patties and I’m hoping the batter will survive the week so that I may eat one each day for lunch. This could be a nice snack too and a delicious appetizer if the patties were made a little smaller and served with some spicy, creamy dipping sauce. Maybe a post for the future? Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:
Recipe courtesy of eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com
2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (see note below for cooking instructions)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or other variety, if you prefer)
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 medium carrot, finely grated (OR 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 green onions, including white parts
1 /2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Olive oil for frying
.
To cook quinoa for the above recipe:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil over high heat. Add quinoa and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl combine the 2 rounded cups of cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, Splenda, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.
(To help them stay in patty form and not fall apart, I cook them on med-low slowly so they have longer to set-up without burning. Makes them easier to flip, too.) Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons olive oil over medium-low heat. Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Makes approx. 10 burgers.
Per burger: Calories 132; Protein 8 g; Fat 5 g; NET Carbs 12 g; (Fiber 2 g); Sugar 0 g; Sodium 200 mg
232 to go………….
Since entering this weight loss challenge I have tried to increase my protein intake. So I try to get in as much as I can throughout the day and chicken is about the easiest source of protein to prepare for dinner. But I’m getting bored with my recipes so I found this one that I could easily tweek with the ingredients I had on hand. Originally honey lime chicken, I substituted lemons because that’s what I had. Instead of an outdoor grill I used my George Forman which comes in handy during the winter months and makes cooking low-fat meals possible. I served the chicken, sliced over a quinoa salad that I kinda threw together using whatever was in the fridge. The chicken was very moist and I used the leftovers for a wrap the next day. I think this marinade could also be nice on a white fish like tilapia and grilled the same way or sautéed in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Here’s the original pin and here’s the recipe:
PS: this is a great weeknight meal for the family.
Recipe courtesy of unsophisticook.com
Yield: 4 chicken breasts
Instructions:
Note: If you are cooking on a George Forman grill, preheat to 425 and cook for about the same time, until cooked through.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in saute pan. Add onion, peppers and garlic and cook on medium heat till soft, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile using a whisk, mix together soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl. Set aside. Add cooked quinoa to onion/pepper mix and heat till warm. Add edamame and soy sauce/lemon mix. Cook till heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
233 to go…….
I roast most of my veggies in the oven. With the exception of some green ones. The flavor is always so much better. Even when I don’t toss them in dressing or sprinkle them with cheese. I don’t know what roasting does to veggies, or any food really, but everything just tastes so good. Even the burnt ones. Those are the best ones. This was a great recipe. I’ve roasted broccoli but haven’t adding the dressing and cheese and wow what a difference that makes. Delish! My husband and I kept all of it to ourselves and didn’t share any with the kids. And they probably would have eaten it too. They like broccoli. Next time I’ll share. Next time I’ll make more. One thing to note, I did not use the shallots because I did not have any. It was still yummy and maybe more kid friendly. Here’s the original pin and here is the recipe: Continue reading
What else can I say? I’m always trying to find something to do with these yummy, yellow squash blossoms. Nine times out of ten they’ll get fried in some way. And this recipe is no joke. Three ingredients (not including the oil) and they are so satisfying and really addictive. I’ve never seen zucchini blossoms available in the supermarket but you almost always find them at farmer’s markets or farm stands. I paid $10 a pound for these. Sounds like a lot but I bought maybe 16 blossoms for about $2.25. They are light as a feather but once you dip them and fry them you’ll probably only eat 3 or 4 at the most. You’ll want to eat more, but the grease will put a stop to that. Definitely pull out the stamins from the inside and check for little buggers that may be hiding in there. We were so impressed with this batter that we sliced up some onion rings and started frying those up. It’s very similar to tempura batter so a selection of veggies fried up would be nice too. A tip though, dip your rings in flour first so the batter has something to stick to. PS: don’t look at the nutritional value below, you know they’re not good for you why torture yourself. Just be sure to hit the gym the day after.
I know that is a total cop out, making a ton of pesto. But you really need a good amount of basil to make a good amount of pesto so why not make it easy on yourself and use if for one thing. I found this recipe in a great cookbook, Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle and it doesn’t require any pine nuts. That helps the wallet a little. I found it very tasty and you can always add some pine nuts or walnuts to give it that buttery nut flavor. I made this on Father’s Day and made an appetizer using the fresh pesto and a nice Chiabatta loaf. Pesto can also be a nice addition to pasta, steak, tomato salad, or grilled chicken. I often freeze my pesto and it will last for months. Just freeze it in small batches and defrost in the fridge. You can enjoy your home grown basil pesto all year long.
To make the pesto, rinse the basic leaves and dry thoroughly in a salad spinner. Combine the basil and garlic in a processor with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the oil. Pulse until you have slightly chunky sauce, but not smooth, adding the remaining oil while processing. Stop once or twice to scape the bail off the sides. Spoon into a bowl, stir in the cheeses and season with salt. Float a slick of oil on top, until ready to use.
Heat broiler. Slice a french baguette or Italian loaf in half lengthwise. Brush with olive oil, place on baking sheet, and toast under broiler for approx. 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on the bread so it doesn’t burn. Remove from oven and spread a thin layer (or a lot if you like)of Ricotta cheese over the surface of the bread. Then spread a thin layer of pesto over that. Slice and serve.
Ok so she’s not really following me but this came in the mail today:
And it’s kinda freakin me out. Is she stalking me or something? I know you are a great actress, I know you write a blog too, I know you sing, but cooking too? WTF!? Oh, and here’s her awesome recipe for Kale chips, aka Leaf chips (thank you Riley). Oh, and they’re good, really good. Riley loves them too. Really. WTF!
Ps: Thanks Gwynny. Oh, and stop following me!
Yes, that’s what I said. And I know my husband is reading this thinking, awesome. But for some reason, lately I’ve been checking out stuff with her in it. I’ve never really been into her movies. In fact, I can’t really think of any movies that I’ve seen with her in it, with the exception of the one with Brad Pitt when her head is in the box. That one I remember, but really just that part. Gruesome right? No, I’ve never really been a fan but I recently purchased her new cookbook at Sam’s Club (20 bucks. $10 less than the cover price, nice!). My Father’s Daughter is a real down to earth cookbook with recipes that include gluten-free, low-fat, and alternative ingredients. I started paging through it in the store and found myself really relating to her writing about her family, kids, husband, the whole nine. Her recipes are accessible, passed down from family members and the images are striking. I always judge cookbooks on their pictures. You gotta have nice food images. So I bought it. Then I caught myself watching Glee that night with her guest starring. What is wrong with me? In the meantime, here’s her recipe for roasted winter veggies with a subtle mustard sauce. I like this recipe as an alternative to my classic roasted veggies. I didn’t have any sweet potatoes so I used beets instead. I think they may have overpowered the carrots and parsnips. As Riley would say, everything was pinkalicious!
