Run With The Fishes

Here is another one for the Whip It Up weekly submission. Even without this challenge, this recipe would have made it up here. It is definitely one I will be making again.

Lettuce wraps are the perfect meal for the summer. They are light, cool, fairly easy to make, and mostly healthy. The first lettuce wraps we made were a success, and since we liked the idea of lettuce wraps, it was time to find a new one to add to our rotation. When I saw this one over at Two Fat Als, I knew I had to try it. It did not disappoint.

I (and consequently the kids) had never had fresh mango before. It’s not something that’s readily available growing up in the Midwest. When my children hear of anything that remotely resembles a word for fruit, their heads pop up, their eyes glaze over, and their mouths start watering. They act like they have never had a piece of fresh fruit in their lives. Mango, we’ve discovered, is tasty, but sticky.

Everyone really liked this wrap. Even Nathan and Allison didn’t mind the green onions with it because the mangoes gave it a sweeter flavor. Greg and I were a little leery of the honey lime vinaigrette, by itself, it just didn’t work. Once I poured it over the chicken though, everything came together with a delicious flavor. The next time I make it I will cut the amount of sesame seed oil in half (I’m not a huge fan of it to begin with) and will only make a half batch of the dipping sauce. I guess that means I will really be using 1/4 of the sesame oil.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps, by Two Fat Als
Ingredients (serves 5 or more):
(wraps)

1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed * I don’t have jasmine rice. It’s not something that is sold locally so I just used regular white rice
3 chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
1/2 cucumber, cut into matchstick-size slices
3 scallions, thinly sliced into 3-inch strips
3 carrots, shredded (in the food processor) or cut into matchstick-size slices
1 mango, peeled and cut into matchstick-sized slices
1/2 cup cilantro

(lime vinaigrette)

1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt

(soy dipping sauce)

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
6 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ginger, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Bring 1 3/4 cups water to boil add rice and a pinch of salt. Cook covered until rice absorbs water, about 20 minutes.

While rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a large pan. Add chicken and cook through, about 5 minutes per side. You can also grill the chicken if you prefer. Once chicken is cooked, shred it into small pieces by pulling it apart with two forks.

Make lime vinaigrette by whisking together all ingredients. I just put them all in a lidded container and shook it, shook it up baby. Dress the shredded chicken with the lime vinaigrette.

Combine all ingredients for soy dipping sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Lay out all ingredients, stuff lettuce leaves with chicken and vegetables, dip in soy dipping sauce or add it into the wraps.

Week 2′s submission for the Whip it up! Challenge. I know, I know, it’s a little late, but we seriously ate at the ball park every night last week (except for Wednesday when I made some light and healthy cucumber pasta salad). This week was supposed to be an eating healthy, mostly some kind of salad for dinner week. My problem? I lost my hand written list of meals I had planned. Next week I’ll get back to putting our menu lists online so that I don’t forget what I bought ingredients to make again.

The suggestion for week two was cheese. I thought it would have been cool to make some of our own mozerrella but couldn’t find some of the key ingredients. Instead we opted to try out the Pizza Frittata recipe from the October 2004 Everyday Food magazine. I’m not sure why I didn’t keep my subscription up, there are all kinds of great recipes in the issues that I do have.

In case you didn’t know, a frittata is basically a baked omelet. Even if it isn’t, it felt so much healthier than a regular pizza. We had it with a side salad and some garlic toast. It was so yummy. Next time we have this, and there will for sure be a next time because almost everyone loved it, we will add some pizza toppings and really add to the flavor.

Ingredients

1 tbls plus 4 tsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 large eggs plus 2 egg whites (I just used 8 eggs)
salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 can whole tomatoes with juices
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint or parsley (I have some wild mint that took over a portion along the fence in the back of our yard).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 10″ oven proof non-stick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring often, until soft, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. ** I forgot to do this step and it still tasted fine.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Stir in onions and 3/4 cup mozzarella.

In skillet, heat 1 tbls oil over medium heat. Add egg mixture; reduce heat to low and cook until beginning to set around the edges (about 3 minutes). Transfer to oven and bake until set (about 12 minutes).

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tsp oil in large skillet over low heat. Cook garlic until soft, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, mint and salt; simmer, breaking up tomatoes with a spoon, 5 minutes.

Spoon sauce over frittata; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese melts; about 1 minute.

makes 4 servings. 296 calories per serving; 20.1 grams of fat; 19.6 grams of protein; 9.7 grams of carbohydrates; 1.9 grams of fiber.

I am a fan of Gordon Ramsay. The British version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is so much better than the over-dramatized American version. So, back on subject. When I was watching his show, The F Word, on BBCA sometime last year, I thought that this recipe looked so delicious. The only thing that kept me from making it was that I didn’t want to buy the prepackaged filet mignon (with the bacon already wrapped around it). Only one of the grocery stores had a butcher shop that could cut me enough tenderloin for all five of us. In case you didn’t already know, it is also super expensive. If I had them cut one, it would have been about $8 per pound. That would have been about 40 dollars just in meat, for one meal that we weren’t even sure we would like. I couldn’t justify it.

If you were paying attention, you noticed that two weeks ago, I put it on our weekly meal plan. I found a tenderloin roast on sale. Perfect. I adapted Gordon Ramsay’s recipe for a larger cut of meat. His called for 1 lb of meat and would have served 2 people. My cut was about 5 lbs. 

The recipe is simple and delicious. Everyone loved it, even Nathan (although he scraped off the mushrooms). As easy and as tasty as it was to make, I will probably not make it again, at least not for a while. You know how when you get sick, sometimes your body automatically becomes repulsed by what you happened to eat? The night I made this I came down with a 24 hour stomach bug. Don’t let that hold you off from making it though. It really was good.

Ingredients
1 Tender Roast (5-6 lbs)
2 lbs (about two containers of fresh) Flat mushrooms*
8 slices Parma ham (prosciutto is what it is called in our deli)
English mustard for brushing meat
1 box puff pastry – thawed (two packages per box)
2 Egg yolks
Approx 8 Charlotte/New potatoes
1 Clove garlic, crushed
1 Sprig thyme
2 large baby gem lettuce
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Mustard vinaigrette, optional

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200c (about 400f).

2. Heat some oil in a large pan and quickly fry the seasoned beef all over until it’s brown. Remove and allow to cool. The point of this is simply to sear the beef and seal all those juices in, you don’t want to cook the meat at this stage. Allow to cool and brush generously with the mustard.

3. Roughly chop the mushrooms and blend in a food processor to form a puree**. Scrape the mixture into a hot, dry pan and allow the water to evaporate. When sufficiently dry (the mixture should be sticking together easily), set aside and cool.

4. Roll out a generous length of cling film, lay out the slices of Parma ham, each one slightly overlapping the last. With a pallet knife spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the ham.

5. Place the beef in the middle and keeping a tight hold of the cling film from the outside edge, neatly roll the parma ham and mushrooms over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the ends to secure the cling film. Refrigerate for 10 -15 minutes, this allows the Wellington to set and helps keep the shape. [It can also be longer if you want to do this part ahead of time.]

6. Roll out the pastry quite thinly to a size which will cover your beef. Unwrap the meat from the cling film. Egg wash the edge of the pastry and place the beef in the middle. Roll up the pastry, cut any excess
off the ends and fold neatly to the ‘underside’. Turnover and egg wash over the top. Chill again to let the pastry cool, approximately 5 minutes. Egg wash again before baking at 400f for 40 – 45 minutes. Rest
8 -10 minutes before slicing.

7. Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before
serving.

8. Separate the outside leaves of the baby gem (leaving the smaller inner ones for salads) and very quickly sauté them in a pan of olive oil with a little salt and pepper – just enough to wilt them.

9. Serve hearty slices of the Wellington alongside the sautéed potatoes and wilted baby gems. A classic mustard vinaigrette makes a great dressing.

* Flat mushrooms just means that they are fully developed and the cap has spread out.

** After I pureed the mushrooms, I made the kids taste them and guess what they thought it was. Nathan didn’t know what it was, but knew he didn’t like the taste. Zoey liked it, but thought it was chopped black olives. Allison was watching, so knew it was mushrooms already.

It’s obvious that I am not a photographer of foods. They never quite look appetizing to me when I look at the pictures.

This is one of the new recipes I tried over the past two weeks. I served it with some mashed potatoes on the side. It was so good that it made it back into rotation again this time around. It was so very delicious. The chops were tender and the apples were tasty. The sauce went well with all of it. The first time we had it Zoey wasn’t home, but everyone else thought it was plate licking good. Okay, we didn’t really lick the plates.

From Epicurious

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
six 1-inch-thick loin pork chops (about 2 pounds)*
3 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons applejack or Calvados
1/4 cup dry white
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon crumbled dried sage

Pat dry and season pork chops with salt and pepper.
Peel, core, and cut the apple into eighths.**
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderately high heat until the foam subsides, in it brown the chops, in batches for 2 minutes on each side, and transfer them to a plate.
Pour off the fat from the skillet, add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, apples and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar.
Sauté the apples over moderately high heat, turning them for 3 minutes, or until they are golden.
Add the applejack, the wine, the remaining tablespoon brown sugar, the cream, the celery salt, and the sage.
Bring the mixture to a boil, and add the chops with any juices that have accumulated on the plate.
Simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the chops and the apples to a heated platter.
Cook the sauce for 1 minute, or until it is thickened, and pour it over the chops and apples.

* I am frugal ( a nice word for cheap). We don’t buy 1″ thick pork chops. Not only are they pricey, but really, we don’t need that much meat.
** To keep apples from browning, I place them in a bowl with cold water and 2 tbls lemon juice. Also, as you can see, I didn’t peel them.

We had this sometime during the past two weeks. Zoey and I had high hopes for it. It looked tasty and smelled delicious. Unfortunately, no one liked it. It wasn’t really awful, but the taste did not live up to the aroma. I thought it was ok, but really bland. Maybe some peas or ham or just some different spices could help it. I won’t be making it again though, because everyone asked for something else to eat. 

I know that I have been posting some recipes over here, but I really
want to get into the habit of trying at least one new recipe a week.
With that in mind I put eggplant on our grocery list. I have never had eggplants. At least, not as far as I am aware. The kids and I all thought it would be cool to try something with them. A few months ago, we bought two eggplants with plans of doing something with them. They went bad the next day. It wasn’t pretty.

While this recipe wasn’t super easy to make, it also wasn’t that hard. Just make sure you give yourself about an hour to prepare the meal. You can do most of the work while the eggplants are sweating. The recipe here says to let them drain in a colander. I just laid them out on paper towels and salted them. It did the trick nicely and was more fun to watch.

I also did two other things differently. One because I am lazy and the other because it was healthier. Instead of blanching, peeling, and dicing the tomatoes, I used 2 – 28 oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes. Since they aren’t in season, it didn’t really seem to matter. Plus, the sauce was still pretty tasty.

I didn’t fry the breaded eggplant. Instead I laid them out on a baking sheet, drizzled them with a little olive oil, then baked at 350 for about 15 minutes. Some of the epicurious reviewers said something about skipping the breading altogether and just broiling them. Honestly, I can never broil stuff correctly, so didn’t even attempt it.

Zoey and Greg both agreed with me that it was different but good. Nathan and Allison didn’t even really want to try it. Those two are out of luck though. It seemed relatively healthy and I will probably make it again.

From Epicurious

2 1/2 lb medium eggplants (about 3), cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
3 1/4 teaspoons salt
5 lb plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
3 1/2 cups panko* (Japanese bread crumbs)  – I could not find these at our local stores so just used regular bread crumbs
2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (2/3 cup)
1 lb chilled fresh mozzarella (not unsalted), thinly sliced

Toss eggplant with 2 teaspoons salt in a colander set over a bowl, then let drain 30 minutes.

While eggplant drains, cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp
paring knife and blanch tomatoes together in a 5-quart pot of boiling
water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting
board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from
scored end, with paring knife.

Coarsely chop tomatoes, then
coarsely purée in batches in a blender. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a
5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking,
then add garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds.
Add tomato purée, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and red
pepper flakes and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until
slightly thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.

Stir together flour, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4
teaspoon pepper in a shallow bowl. Lightly beat eggs in a second
shallow bowl, then stir together panko and 1/3 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano in a third shallow bowl.

Working with 1 slice at a time, dredge eggplant in flour, shaking off
excess, then dip in egg, letting excess drip off, and dredge in panko until evenly coated. Transfer eggplant to sheets of wax paper, arranging slices in 1 layer.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 cups oil in a deep 12-inch nonstick skillet over
moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry eggplant 4
slices at a time, turning over once, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes
per batch. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain.

Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of a rectangular 3 1/2-quart (13-
by 11- by 2-inch) baking dish. Arrange about one third of eggplant
slices in 1 layer over sauce, overlapping slightly if necessary. Cover
eggplant with about one third of remaining sauce (about 11/4 cups) and
one third of mozzarella. Continue layering with remaining eggplant,
sauce, and mozzarella. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup
Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and golden and sauce is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

Cooks’ note:
Tomato sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

This is actually more like a beef stroganoff. I made it over the weekend while my dad and his wife were visiting. It’s something we used to have frequently, but I forgot all about it and haven’t made it in a while. Many of our standard meals are like that, it’s like they are on some kind of rotation.

This was liked well enough that my step-mom requested the recipe. Since I had to type it up to email to her, I thought that I may as well post it here also. It’s a meal that I usually just throw together, so I’m just guessing at some of the measurements. You may need to adjust them to suit your tastes.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds top sirloin roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (we use Lawry’s)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup beef bouillon or broth
2 cups sliced mushrooms (or one can if fresh aren’t available)
1 medium onion, quartered and sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon sour cream, room temperature

Cut beef into narrow 2-inch long strips about 1/2-inch thick. Sprinkle meat with both kinds of salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add beef, onions and mushrooms. Cook until meat is done (We like ours still pink but not red in the middle).

Add butter to skillet, when melted stir in flour to form a roux.

Gradually stir in beef broth, stirring and cooking until thickened and smooth.

Add in sour cream and cream of mushroom soup. Cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Heat through but do not boil.

Serve over the rice.

We eat this every January 1st for dinner. Greg and I don’t mind the taste of black-eyed peas, but when I cook it other times throughout the year, I substitute black or pinto beans. It’s not really a favorite meal around here. The kids say, “Not that!”, but they eat it with few complaints.

It super easy to make, but because almost everything is processed (the cheese and the canned foods) it probably isn’t the most healthy dinner around. Especially when you serve it with a dollop of sour cream. It’s a meal in itself, but we like to have it with corn and salad.

2 cups cooked rice
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
1 tbls butter
1 can black-eyed peas
1/4 cup Velveeta cheese (cubed)
1 can Rotel (or diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

Season chicken with chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, saute in butter until chicken is cooked. mix in everything else and simmer until cheese is melted and beans are cooked. 

This has been a staple for a few years. Ever since Amy sent it too me. I also use her suggestion and in a can of cream of mushroom soup with the rice. It really does make for better leftovers.

From Food Network

1 (3-pound) chicken, quartered (to skip a step of deboning I use 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1 pound smoked link sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt (recommended: Lawry’s)
2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
8 cups water
3 cups raw white rice

Slice the sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. In a stockpot, combine the chicken, sausage, onion, butter, seasonings and bay leaves. Add the water, bring to a boil, cover, and cook at a low boil for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly. Pick the meat from the bones, discarding the bones and skin. Add the rice to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring well. Boil for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, and return the chicken to the pot.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

For some reason the boys in our house thought they did not like Fettuccine Alfredo. Maybe because I usually take the short cut and just buy ready made sauce. I’m not really sure why, it’s not difficult to make and the results of homemade are so much better. I made enough thinking to have leftovers for lunches. It looks like I will be having pb&j instead.

Box of Fettuccine – cooked according to package directions

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 tbls butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper

For Chicken:
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet, lightly salt and pepper chicken, then cook on medium heat until sides are browned and chicken is cooked through (no pink). Remove from skillet.*

For Alfredo Sauce:
On Medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter in sauce pan. Add in garlic clove and cook for 1 minute. Stir in heavy cream, cheese and nutmeg. Simmer until sauce is heated through and cheese is melted.

To Serve:
Mix sauce with noodles. Slice chicken diagonally along the width of the breast (will end up with about 6 slices per breast). Place chicken on top of plated noodles. Garnish with lemon wedges.

*I use this skillet with drippings to stir fry frozen peas.