Pear and Pomegranate Salad with Gorgonzola and Champagne Vinaigrette

Ingredients, Salad:

• 8 cups baby spinach or romaine lettuce
• 1 ripe pear, cut in half 
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds 
• 2 ounces Gorgonzola 
• Champagne Vinaigrette, recipe follows 
• Fresh cracked pepper 
• 1 tablespoon honey 

Ingredients Champagne Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions 

Champagne Vinaigrette: 

1. In a small bowl or glass jar, add all the ingredients except the olive oil. 
2. Mix well, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil to combine. 
3. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Salad:

1. In a decorative bowl or platter, add the spinach or romaine. 
2. Cut the pear into fans, and then slice again on the diagonal, add the greens, crumble the Gorgonzola onto the salad and then drizzle with about half of the vinaigrette. 
3. Top with fresh cracked pepper and lightly drizzle the whole salad with the honey. 
4. Serve immediately. 

Recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/pear-and-pomegranate-salad-with-gorgonzola-and-champagne-vinaigrette-recipe-1949032

Pomegranate Glazed Carrots

The only thing I added to this recipe was tossing a handful of fresh pomegranate seeds on the top. Served it to friends we had over for dinner and it was delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 cups peeled, sliced carrots
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice

Directions

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. 
2. Cook and stir carrots in the hot butter until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes; season with salt and black pepper.
3. Stir orange juice and pomegranate juice into carrots, bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to low. 
4. Simmer carrots until tender, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes.

Minestrone Soup

A recipe that lends itself well to killing it at the produce game! As I'm doing gluten free right now I substituted some gluten free rotini in for the elbow macaroni and added in about a half pound of ground Italian sausage, both of which I cooked separately and added in for the last 10 minutes of simmering as I liked the idea of having more control of how well the pasta was cooked. The original recipe called for throwing the pasta in and cooking for the last 30 min (out of a total of 1.5 hours).

The results are delicious and virtuous!

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• whatever other produce is starting to give you the evil eye in the fridge
• 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
• 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage, optional

Directions

1. Melt butter or margarine in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; saute for a few minutes.
2. Add beans, cabbage, tomatoes, tomato paste, potato, stock, garlic, parsley, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer for approximately 45 minutes until vegetables are barely tender.
3. If using it, brown sausage while vegetables cook.
4. Add cooked pasta and browned sausage to the pot, and simmer for 10-15 minutes more, until the veggies are tender. Correct seasoning, and serve hot with grated cheese.

Slow Cooker Sesame Beef

 

With the heat in the 90's this week, cooking is not something to anticipate gladly. So I thought I'd turn to the slow cooker to keep all the cooking heat in that tiny little space. This turned out to be a very delicious recipe that I will definitely cook again. So, so easy, too. The sesame oil is the one that you would use in place of olive oil or vegetable oil, not the super condensed stuff. I always prefer to cook my stuff on low, to give it a chance to get tender and boy, oh boy, was this meat tender. I didn't find that the corn starch worked to thicken the sauce. Maybe my cooker doesn't go high enough. It wasn't a problem, though.


Ingredients:

• 16 ounces thin flank steak*, chopped into 2-inch pieces
• ½ white onion, chopped
• ¼ cup sliced green onions
• 1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced 

sauce

• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• ½ cup water
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• a sprinkling of sesame seeds
•  
• ¼ cup cold water + 1 tablespoon corn starch to thicken sauce

 Instructions

1. Place beef, onions (green and white), and chopped red peppers in a greased slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together all sauce ingredients (do not include the ¼ cup cold water, corn starch). Pour sauce into the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook 2-3 hours on high or 4-5 hours on low.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, whisk together remaining cold water and corn starch. Add corn starch slurry to the slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes or so. Stir just before serving. Serve with cooked white or fried rice.

Apple and Oat Scones with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

• PREP: 15 MINS
 
• TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINS
 
• YIELD: MAKES 12
• • SOURCE: MARTHA STEWART LIVING, FEBRUARY 2012
   

  INGREDIENTS

  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
  • 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, plus more for topping
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups diced Granny Smith apple (2 apples cut into generous 1/4-inch cubes)
  • 2/3 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing
  • Raw turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

  • • DIRECTIONS

      1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers. (The largest pieces should be the size of small peas.) With your fingertips, flatten butter pieces into small disks. Add apples and buttermilk, stirring until dough just comes together.
      2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat dough into a 6-by-8-inch rectangle, and cut into twelve 2-by-2-inch squares with a floured knife. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with raw turbinado sugar and oats. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool on sheets for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

      COOK'S NOTES

      Scones keep, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 day.

    
    

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

 

And another great recipe from Skinnytaste. Operative word - EASY. Operative word - DELICIOUS. That's all you need to know. I think Mike ended up using two pans in order to be able to spread things out, but that's about as complicated as it gets.

Servings: 4 • Size: 2 thighs + vegetables • Points +: 10 • Smart Points: 8

Calories: 401 • Fat: 17 g • Saturated Fat: 3 g • Carb: 15 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 48 g 

Sugar: 2 g • Sodium: 518 mg • Cholesterol: 214 mg

Ingredients:

• 8 (4 oz each) boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• fresh black pepper, to taste
• cooking spray
• 10 medium asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in half
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 red onions, chopped in large chunks
• 1/2 cup carrots, sliced in half long, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 5 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tbsp dried oregano or thyme
• 2 leaves fresh sage, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Spray 2 large baking sheets with oil.

 

 Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl using your hands to mix well then arrange everything onto the prepared baking sheets spread out in a single layer. The vegetables should not touch the chicken or it will steam instead of roast. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are roasted and tender.

Crock Pot Chicken a la Criolla

 

Here's another winner from Skinnytaste. You will not believe how delicious this is. And easy. Three steps - chop, put it in the crock pot, turn on the pot. We just used sliced Spanish olives from a jar. Don't leave those out. They add a great zing to the meal. The chicken just falls apart. Mmmm-mmmm good.

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 thighs + sauce • Points +: 5 pts*  • Smart Points: 5
Calories: 211 • Fat: 6.2 g • Protein: 28.8 g • Carb: 9.9 g • Fiber: 1.9 g • Sugar: 2.1 g
Sodium: 447 mg (without salt)  

Ingredients:

• 10 (2 lbs) skinless boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 bell pepper, chopped or sliced
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp alcaparrado or pitted spanish olives
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• salt to taste
• 1-2 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus 2 tbsp more for serving)

Directions:

Place chicken, onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes in the crock pot. Season with salt, cumin and oregano. Mix well so everything is seasoned.

Add tomato sauce, alcaparrado (or olives) along with 1 tbsp of the brine, 1/2 cup water, bay leaf and cilantro. Mix well and set crock pot to HIGH 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours. When done, taste for salt and seasoning and adjust spices as needed. Add 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro and serve over rice.