I had some left over goat cheese from my Orecchiette with Swiss Chard, Red Peppers and Goat Cheese dish. When I was looking for recipes, I came across this one for Shrimp Tomato Basil Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds from Cooking Light. I had no clue how seafood and goat cheese would be together, but was willing to find out!
The warm days in Philadelphia keep on coming, so I think it’s time to attempt making the summer favorite: gazpacho. I wanted to do an heirloom gazpacho, but I am presently cooking out of Wilmington and the local store does not carry any. Sigh. I used this recipe from Cooking Light and just changed some of the ingredients to fit what I could find in the store.
To begin, prepare all of your ingredients. Peel and seed 2 cucumbers. To learn how to seed a cucumber, check out my post here. Roughly chop the onion and red bell pepper. To peel a tomato, prepare a bowl with ice water and bring another pot of water to a boil.
On the bottom side of the tomatoes, cut an X into the skin.
When the water is boiling, place 2 tomatoes at a time into the water.
Keep in the water for 15 to 20 seconds, remove, and place in the ice water.
Once cooled, use a knife to peel away the skin from the X.
Repeat with remaining tomatoes.
To seed the tomato, cut the tomato in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds and roughly chop the tomatoes.
Prepped Veggies
To make the gazpacho, combine first 9 ingredients (up to the garlic).
Add 1/3 of the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and repeat with the remaining 2/3 vegetable mixture. Cover and chill.
When ready to serve, spoon gazpacho into bowls. Finely chop your yellow and orange peppers and tomatillo. Combine the peppers and tomatillo.
Add 2 tablespoons of the mixture to each bowl. If you’d like, you can also add a piece of garlic bread (or just a crusty piece of day old bread), 1 tablespoon goat cheese, or a teaspoon of sour cream.
This would also be a nice appetizer. Pour the gazpacho into shooter glasses and top with a teaspoon of the pepper tomatillo mixture.
You can also use the gazpacho as a pureed salsa. Prepare garlic bread. Put on a plate with a bowl of gazpacho in the center with a spoon. Guests can spoon gazpacho on top of the bread, or use the bread to dip into the gazpacho.
I wanted to make quesadillas, and it called for salsa. I realized I had all of the ingredients needed to make my own on hand, so I decided to try coming up with my own salsa.
Ingredients:
3 chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic scape, finely chopped (or 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup corn kernels (I just used frozen)
I have no clue why I put olive oil in the pic, sorry
To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.
To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
Dice the tomato.
Chop the scape as finely as possible
Cut the cilantro.
Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.
The corn will defrost in the fridge
There is nothing like fresh salsa. This recipe can be adapted to what makes you happy as well; feel free to add some jalapenos or another hot pepper to add some spice. As I’ve said before, a lot of color in a dish makes me so happy. The red, green and yellow brighten up the whole meal. There is enough flavor in this salsa to serve at a party with some tortilla chips, but I can’t wait to try it with my quesadilla!
To make the salsa, first rinse the chopped onions under very cold water. This will help remove some of the bite associated with raw onions.
To seed the tomatoes, cut off one end of the tomato and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.
Dice the tomato.
Chop the scape as finely as possible
Cut the cilantro.
Combine the onions, garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, corn, and salt. Allow to refrigerate for a few hours to get the best flavor, or overnight.
In the south, collard greens are traditionally made with smoked or salted meats, primarily ham hocks. I looked for a substitute for ham hocks (they kind of freak me out, not going to lie), and found a recipe for Slow Braised Collard Greens that used bacon instead.
Ingredients:
3 slices of applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/3 of an onion)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more for additional heat
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-10 leaves of collard greens, torn with the tough stem removed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
Begin by cooking your bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
Cook until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the pan and allow to cool. While waiting for the bacon to cool, prepare your onion and collard greens. Crumble the bacon once cooled.
Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven.
Cook for two minutes, stirring so that it evenly cooks. Add the pepper, salt, and greens and cook for another two minutes, or until the greens begin to wilt.
Stir in the crumbled bacon, broth, water, wine, and vinegar.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hours or until greens are tender.
I added a 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper instead of a 1/4 teaspoon and found it to be a bit too hot for my liking. However, if you like things spicy, by all means use a 1/2 teaspoon. This side dish has a ton of flavor. An hour is a really long time to cook, but it really lets the flavors meld together. Yum!
I love asparagus. I love risotto. So I thought combining the two would be easy and delicious. I used a recipe from Bon Appétit, just to make sure I knew what I was doing. Well, my poor “asparagus risotto” ended up looking more like asparagus soup with rice. Sigh. It still tasted good though…
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds asparagus
5 cups (about) canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup whipping cream
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)
Begin by prepping your asparagus. Trim off the tough ends from the asparagus and discard. Cut off the asparagus tips and place in a bowl. Cut the stalks into ¾ inch pieces and place in another bowl.
Place 2/3 of stalk pieces, 1 cup broth and 1 cup water in blender (note: I would only use 1 cup broth, no water).
Puree until smooth and set aside. Chop your onion. I used large pieces, but I think the smaller the pieces, the better. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
Add rice and stir for 1 minute.
Add the wine and cook until absorbed, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup broth and the chopped rosemary. Simmer until liquid is absorbed.
Continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes, adding more broth by the ½ cupfuls and allowing liquid to fully absorb before adding more. Stir often.
Add remaining asparagus stalk pieces and reserved asparagus tips and continue cooking rice until it’s tender and creamy, about 10 more minutes. Add extra broth if needed.
Add reserved asparagus puree until absorbed, about 3 minutes. (Note: 3 minutes? Ha. After 12 minutes I just gave up.)
Asparagus soup?
Stir in Parmesan and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with rosemary sprigs if desired.
So, I’m guessing that cutting out the water in the puree may help a bit. I also think it might work to slowly add the puree by the ½ cupfuls versus dumping the whole thing in at once. Despite how ugly it is, it did taste good. If anyone tries this out and manages to make it look aesthetically pleasing, please let me in on your secret!
Korma is an Indian dish that is usually a creamy and somewhat spicy broth over rice with vegetables or meat, primarily chicken or lamb. It’s usually my go to dish in Indian restaurants. Cooking Light had a recipe for Vegetarian Korma in its March 2011 issue, which I used as a base and changed to fit my own taste. The result, Chicken and Vegetable Korma.
The spices in this dish are known to have great benefits. For those with type 2 diabetes, Cinnamon can help lower blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL, and total cholesterol. Cinnamon also has cancer fighting properties and can increase circulation. Tumeric may help impede the growth of cancer cells and can also help reduce swelling. Garlic is also known as a cancer fighter, can stop blood clots from forming, and also has anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiviral effects. Ginger not only helps with stomach ailments (nausea, motion sickness) but it also helps limit swelling due to arthritis and can help prevent blood clots. Cumin is a good source of iron and helps maintain a strong immune system; like ginger, it also helps with digestion and may also have anti-carcinogenic properties. Cayenne pepper has antioxidant properties and is also known to increase metabolism. Cayenne is also thought to help with high blood pressure and contains some cancer fighting properties. Whew!
Ingredients:
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (canyenne pepper)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 baking potato, peeled and diced (I couldn’t find my peeler, so the skin stayed on. Oh well, more nutrients!)
1 cup fat free, lower sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 can light coconut milk
4 pieces of chicken tender strips
3 cups broccoli (original recipe called for cauliflower) florets
2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
Cook rice according to directions. Remember that rice usually doubles in size from uncooked to cooked, so you’ll only need about 1 cup of uncooked rice. I used light coconut milk instead of water to really get the coconut milk flavor into this dish. While rice is cooking, prep your broccoli, ginger, garlic and onions. Also feel free to mix your dry spices together because they will be added to the dish at the same time. Set the rice and your prepped food to the side.
prep work
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and all the dry spices (cumin through cinnamon). Cook for 1 minute stirring.
This is what happens when you try to take a photo while stirring a steaming dish
Stir in edamame and potato. In a bowl, combine chicken broth, flour and milk stirring with a whisk until smooth (if the flour clumps a little, that’s fine). Add the broth mixture to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in the broccoli and simmer for 9 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
While the broth is simmering, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to another sauté pan with 1 tablespoon heated olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side until browned. Add to the large sauté pan to finish cooking within the broth. Serve over white rice.
finished dish
I left the combining of the spices to my boyfriend, which may have led to an over-pouring of the spices. This dish was much spicier than I was prepared for. Not wanting to assume he did add too much of the above spices, I’d cut all the spices maybe in half. It’s nice to have some heat in a dish, but the spiciness of this meal actually took away from the overall dish. Past that, this was really tasty and filling. As a plus, the spiciness probably kept me from overeating!
1 baking potato, peeled and diced (I couldn’t find my peeler, so the skin stayed on. Oh well, more nutrients!)
1 cup fat free, lower sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 can light coconut milk
4 pieces of chicken tender strips
3 cups broccoli (original recipe called for cauliflower) florets
2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
Instructions
Cook rice according to directions. Remember that rice usually doubles in size from uncooked to cooked, so you’ll only need about 1 cup of uncooked rice. I used light coconut milk instead of water to really get the coconut milk flavor into this dish. While rice is cooking, prep your broccoli, ginger, garlic and onions. Also feel free to mix your dry spices together because they will be added to the dish at the same time. Set the rice and your prepped food to the side.
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and all the dry spices (cumin through cinnamon). Cook for 1 minute stirring.
Stir in edamame and potato. In a bowl, combine chicken broth, flour and milk stirring with a whisk until smooth (if the flour clumps a little, that’s fine). Add the broth mixture to the pan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in the broccoli and simmer for 9 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
While the broth is simmering, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to another sauté pan with 1 tablespoon heated olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side until browned. Add to the large sauté pan to finish cooking within the broth. Serve over white rice.
Most sides are a bit of an afterthought. I tend to just whip something up really quick to give my dish more color, or to make me feel like I’m being healthy because there is some green on my plate. But this Wilted Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette side dish is so good, I’d be happy to have just this for dinner. I am not the biggest fan of mustard in general, but the small amount of Dijon mustard really ups this side from good to great.
Ingredients
1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced (or thinly sliced, whatever makes you happy)
6 cups baby spinach leaves
¼ cup sliced red onion
To prepare the vinaigrette, combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl (up to salt) combining with a whisk. Heat the vinaigrette in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add the spinach (it will shrink up a lot!) and toss to combine. Remove from heat when wilted (1-2 minutes).
The spinach ended up stealing the show when I made it (I had a pasta/chicken dish along with it). It was a very quick and easy side; I cannot wait to make this again!
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I need to clean out my fridge to make room for all of the leftovers I plan on hoarding from my relatives. (I love that they end up feeding me for the whole weekend) The best (and tastiest) way to do this is to make tacos for dinner.
Ingredients
Chicken
Taco Seasoning (recipe below)
Yellow Rice
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Onions
Green Pepper
Guacamole (recipe below)
Cheese (I used pepper jack and cheddar)
Taco shells or soft tacos
I usually have most of the above lying around, which is why this is my favorite recipe to get rid of a bunch of ingredients. As a side note: I live alone, so I just buy a bunch of chicken on sale, put the pieces in individual freezer bags, and pull them out the day before to defrost in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the rice according to directions. While the rice is cooking, put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan on medium heat. While that warms up, season the chicken with the taco seasoning.
Taco Seasoning Recipe
Taco Seasoning
4 parts chili powder
4 parts ground cumin
2 parts paprika
2 parts salt
2 parts black pepper
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1 part crushed red pepper flakes
1 part dried oregano
Mix. Store remaining spice mix in an airtight container.
Brown the chicken on both sides and place in the oven for 20 minutes. While the chicken and rice are cooking, chop all vegetables (tomatoes, green peppers, onion and lettuce)
To make the guacamole, cut avocados removing the seed. Put in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add onion, some chopped cilantro, chopped onion, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, a dash of black pepper, and some of the chopped tomato. Mix.
Homemade Guacamole
Make sure to leave yourself enough onion and tomato to have as a topping for your tacos. Once the chicken is finished cooking, cut into bite size pieces and serve.
Not to shabby of a spread!
Each person can build their own taco to their liking. I usually take the leftovers and combine them for lunch the next day too. Yum!
