Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 1medium cauliflower or 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 1/2 ounces cream cheese
• salt, pepper, or anything else that strikes your fancy

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut cauliflower into florets then add to boiling water and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until a fork can easily be pierced through the cauliflower.
2. Drain cauliflower then throw back into the hot pot (off the heat) and cover with lid. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the cream cheese, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to the cauliflower. Then, use a potato masher to smash the cauliflower (I use the food processor). 

Photo from inspiredtast.net

Portobello and Fried Egg Panino

Ingredients

• 1 slice whole grain bread
• 1 garlic clove, halved (optional)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium portobello mushroom (stuffing size), or 2 or 3 white or cremini mushrooms, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
• 1 egg
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, marjoram or parsley (optional)

Directions

1. Toast the bread while you cook the mushrooms and the egg. When the bread is lightly toasted, rub with a cut clove of garlic if you wish.

2. (To reduce the oil needed I have also just cooked the portobellos on the grill) Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, and cook on one side without moving them around until they begin to sweat, three to five minutes. Shake the pan a little and continue to cook until lightly colored, then turn over and cook on the other side until the mushrooms are tender and moist. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat, and place on top of the toast in a single layer.

3. Heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil in the hot pan over medium heat, and break in the egg. Fry until the white is set, about four minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and carefully place on top of the mushrooms. Sprinkle with herbs if desired, and eat.

Photo and recipe from NY Times

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Pineapple Dipping Sauce

Amanda and I first tried this on one of our cooking nights last summer... before we had babies. The boys really enjoyed it, as did we; they were delicious!

I couldn't find straight up pineapple preserves so I just used an apricot-pineapple preserve and I skipped the jalapeno because those scare me.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
• 1/2 cup pineapple preserves
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp peeled and deveined
• 2 egg whites
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Directions

1. Combine lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and pineapple preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a small bowl beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.
4. Place cornstarch and coconut on two separate plates. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip and coat the shrimp with cornstarch. Next, dip the shrimp in the egg whites and finally in the coconut coating well.
5. Place shrimp on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until coconut is a golden brown. Make sure to turn it once halfway through (around 8 minutes into cooking time) to make sure both sides brown.
6. Serve with pineapple dipping sauce.

Photo and recipe from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon

Ingredients             

• 1 scallion, minced
• 2 tablespoon(s) reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon(s) rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon(s) honey
• 1 teaspoon(s) minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound(s) center-cut salmon fillet, skinned (see Tip) and cut into 4 portions
• 1 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame seeds, (see Tip)

Directions

1. Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.
2. Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

Photo and recipe from www.delish.com

Pasta Carbonara

4 servings

• 6 ounces turkey bacon, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups spaghetti, cooked
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup 2% low-fat milk
• 6 tablespoons egg substitute

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Add garlic and saute 1 minute or until tender. 
2. Reduce heat to low; stir in pasta, cheese, parsley, and pepper. 
3. Combine milk and egg substitute; stir well. 
4. Pour milk mixture over spaghetti mixture, and cook 3 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving: Calories 470 - Calories from Fat 97
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 21%, Protein 21%, Carbohydrate 59%
Totals and Percent Daily Values (2000 calories): Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 42mg, Sodium 739mg, Total Carbohydrate 69g, Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 0g, Protein 24g, Vitamin A 337 units, Vitamin C 2 units, Calcium 0 units, Iron 5 units

Savory Breakfast Muffins

Photo Courtesy of EatingWell.com


INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions, (about 1 bunch)
• 3/4 cup diced Canadian bacon, (3 ounces)
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter in a medium bowl. Fold in scallions, bacon, cheese and bell pepper. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).
4. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

NUTRITION

Per muffin: 217 calories; 9 g fat ( 3 g sat , 4 g mono ); 50 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrates; 9 g protein; 3 g fiber; 339 mg sodium; 113 mg potassium.

Recipe from EatingWell.com

Southwest Meatballs with Warm Corn-Black Bean Salsa

The original recipe called for making your own turkey meatballs... that doesn't quite fit into my lifestyle at the moment so I always go for the frozen ones. I love the versatility of this recipe; you can always go heavier on the stuff you like and lighter on the stuff you don't, you can make it less "prepared" by making your own meatballs or using fresh corn and/or tomatoes. I usually serve it over rice, but it's also good all on it's own.



Ingredients

• 1 24-oz package frozen turkey meatballs, thawed
• 1 15-oz can corn
• 1 15-oz can low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed well
• 2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth (or stock).
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large pan combine meatballs, corn, beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, lime juice and cumin.
2. Simmer over medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine

Vegetarian Chili

Way back from our very first week of the cooking club comes the vegetarian chili. Super easy recipe... super delicious result. It freezes well and makes a ton! I've never tried it before but the photo has it sprinkled with some diced avocado.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 peppers, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 large can (28 ounces) tomatoes, undrained, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce)can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• 1/2 cup bulgur
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cilantro, for garnish, optional

Directions:

1. In a large pan, saute the onions and spices with oil. Add peppers and garlic for 1 minute.
2. Add cocoa, tomatoes, and water; bring to a boil. Add kidney and black beans, corn and bulgur.
3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. or until bulgur is cooked. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Basil Quinoa Cakes

Photo from Greatist.com

I stumbled on this recipe while searching for an old quinoa cake recipe. The "basil" caught my eye because... for goodness's sake... who doesn't love basil?!? Quinoa is one of the slightly out there foods to which Lauren introduced me, giving it a special place in my heart and kitchen.  The original recipe called for frying them in a few tablespoon of oil. I'm working really hard at eating better right now so I opted to bake them (I also fried a few to see the difference and was VERY surprised at how well the baked ones came out. To form the patties I used a pancake shaper (very technical cooking term - see right) because then I could pack the quinoa mixture and form a nice round patty which will make them less likely to fall apart. These freeze great, so double or triple the batch. And it really does require that many eggs... I tried with fewer and didn't get the right consistency.

They're great plain or dipped in sour cream or hummus. Later this week Amanda and I will be eating them in pita pockets with hummus, cucumber, and sprouts.

Ingredients:

 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 large white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2/3 cup bread crumbs (plus a few extra tablespoons if needed)

Directions:

1. Combine cooked quinoa, beaten eggs, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add basil, cheese, garlic, and onion, and stir until evenly mixed.
2. Add bread crumbs and let stand so crumbs absorb some moisture. The mixture should be easily formed into balls without falling apart. If needed, add a couple tablespoons of breadcrumbs and let stand a few minutes more.
3. Form patties by hand or with pancake shaper device and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Modified from Greatist.com

Shrimp in Tomato and Chili Sauce

This is a lovely dish Mike and I did off the cuff this week.  It was so good that we wanted to share it.  It was one of those delightful experiences where you open the refrigerator door and ask yourself, "What's in here that needs to be used?" and it turns out beautifully. Fortunately, we were starting with a base of shrimp which was fresh and you almost can't go wrong when you start there.  Here is what we did:

2 dozen uncooked shrimp, peeled and tails off
1 cup finely chopped tomato (you could use canned, of course, but I believe that this would detract somewhat from the final outcome)
1 cup packed fresh spinach
3 or 4 cloves of minced garlic (through the garlic presser)
1 dried chili sliced in half lengthwise to permit some of the heat to get out
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese (each according to their own taste)

 Simmer the tomatoes in just a tiny bit of oil for about 5 minutes.  Then add garlic and chili and simmer for 20 more minutes.

Toss in your prepared shrimp and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Remove dried chili parts. 

Remove from heat and toss spinach throughout the dish until it is wilted. 

Serve over pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

Ooompah! as we say in Scotland.  Ask Max about that.

Grilled Pesto Shrimp

Photo Courtesy of Skinnytaste.com

Amanda and I made these a few months ago (maybe a year now... doesn't matter). Last week I actually had frozen uncooked shrimp and some frozen pesto from the last time I made some so I defrosted both  for a revisit of this recipe. I decided not to do pesto on Max's, to increase the odds that he'd eat them. I was reminded as I was cooking of the downside of pesto slathered shrimp... one can no longer tell when they've turned pink (i.e. when they are done cooking). Happily, this time around I had Max's plain skewer to tell me when the shrimp were cooked. So my advice is thread one shrimp on your skewer that doesn't have pesto as a doneness gauge. I also didn't follow the recipe for the pesto, I probably threw in some spinach and pine nuts but, because the pesto isn't the focus of this dish, even store bought pesto would work great!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 7 wooden skewers

Directions:

In a food processor pulse basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing.

Combine raw shrimp with pesto and marinate a few hours in a bowl. Soak wooden skewers in water at least 20 minutes (or use metal ones to avoid this step). Threadshrimp onto 7 skewers.  

Heat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan over medium-low heat until hot. Be sure the grates are clean and spray lightly with oil. Place the shrimp on the hot grill and cookuntil shrimp turns pink on the bottom, about 3-4 minutes; turn and continue cooking until shrimp is opaque and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. 

Recipe from skinnytaste.com