Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

Meatloaf. 

It sounds so boring. So plain. Some meat. In a loaf form. Woo. 

But I love meatloaf. It never sounds exciting, but I everytime I find myself shoveling forkfuls into my mouth (in a most lady-like manner, of course), scooping up all the crumbs I've dropped on the table (and the floor, in the most lady-like fashion). 

The thing about meatloaf is it's really not that healthy. You've got a bunch of meat- usually a mixture of beef and fatty pork, traditionally topped with a bunch of bacon, loaded with bread crumbs, topped with some form of ketchup/ sugar combo.  

So I 'healthified' it. I skipped bacon. In place of regular 'ole beef I used grassfed beef (85% lean). In place of pork I used ground turkey.  And in place of bread crumbs I used crushed almonds. Add in a bunch of healthy veggies like kale, carrots, peppers, and even apple, and there you have it- my version of a healthier meatloaf. 

The kale I added had already been sauteed in garlic with tomatoes (the acid in tomatoes will cut the bitterness in kale- I almost always add tomatoes when making kale). I added the apple for a little sweetness to further combat the bitter kale (The Fiance sure does hate kale). I threw in every other veggie I could find in the fridge, which admittedly, wasn't much. To hold the meatloaf together, I pulsed some almonds in a food processor until ground but not powder to replace the bread crumbs/bread. It worked out well- the almonds added a bit of crunch, though it is a more delicate meatloaf than one made with bread crumbs.  Definitely let cool 10 minutes before you attempt to slice or it'll fall apart. Use the sharpest knife you have to slice. 

Funny story. The Fiance is all like 'what can I do to help?!'  (This means he wants me to say 'nothing, sit down, have a beer')  I say ' Peel these carrots'.  

'I don't know how to do that!' says The Fiance.  I cock my eyebrow.  'Just use this peeler and peel it!'

I continue on tornado-ing around the kitchen, flinging random sauces at walls and throwing crumbs on the floor. I look over at him.  He's peeled the carrot. And kept on peeling until all he's got is shaved carrot. 'I thought you wanted Juliet carrots!' he says to me.  JULIET CARROTS. Not julienne. I almost died. 

I took over the peeling from there. 

So take caution if asking your hubby for help in this recipe, it can get a little sketchy :)

Veggie Loaded Meatloaf

Meatloaf:

1 lb grass-fed beef (I used 85% lean)

1 lb turkey sausage

3 carrots, peeled and shredded with a shredder

3 stalks celery, diced small

1 bell pepper of your choice (I used half yellow pepper, half orange- what I had on hand)

4 shallots, peeled and minced

1/4 apple, diced

1/2 cup cooked kale

1 egg

1 cup whole almonds, placed in food processor to make 3/4 cup almond crumbs.

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Caramelized Onion Topping:

1/4 cup caramelized onions

1/2 cup ketchup

6 tbsp raw honey

1 tsp dijon

2 tsp sriacha or hot sauce of choice (increase or decrease based on your preference)

Preheat oven to 325. 

1. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the bell peppers. Saute 10 minutes, until beginning to soften. Add the shallots.  Saute another 10-15 minutes, until peppers are mostly soft.  Remove from heat and let cool. 

2. Add the meat to a large bowl, and add the carrots, celery, cooled peppers, apple, kale, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper. Use your hands (clean hands) to mix well. Get in there, don't be shy! Form into a loaf, Using your hands to 'smack it' into a loaf form.  Place on baking sheet, and throw in oven.  It will bake for about an hour, until internal temp reaches about 155 to 160 degrees. 

3. In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup, raw honey, dijon, and sriacha.  Divide this mixture into two small bowls. Into one bowl, add the caramelized onions. Pour the ketchup/caramelized onion mixture onto the meatloaf in the oven.  About 15 minutes before the meatloaf is done, pour half of the remaining ketchup mixture on top. 

4. When meatloaf is done, let cool 10-20 minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining ketchup sauce. 

Healthier Sweet Potato Casserole

One of my favorite things in the world is sweet potato casserole.  Probably due to the insane amounts of sugar that are added to this side dish.  Brown sugar is usually mixed in and some sort of candy coating goes on top- often marshmallows (made with sucralose and gelatin- gelatin is made from animal hooves and bones) and more sugar.

 So I've made a healthier, less sweet version. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet (duh), so I don't see a reason to load up on added sugar.  I added 1 tsp of honey to 2 cups mashed sweet potato, and then added a granola topping mixed with a bit of turbino sugar (also called muscavado sugar- a brown sugar made by adding mollasses to white sugar). Turbino sugar gives a nice sugary crunch. 

Sweet potatoes are also considered one of the world's healthiest foods, so don't wait until Thanksgiving to eat! They give you a big dose of beta-carotene, are high in vitamin B6, vitamin C, and also contain vitamin D, vitamin A, iron, fiber, potassium  and magnesium- the 'relaxation and anti-stress' mineral- necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function. Read more about sweet potatoes health benefits here.  

It may not be Thanksgiving but I'm enjoying sweet potatoes year round.  If it WAS Thanksgiving, this is a nice make-ahead dish.  You can add the sweet potato mixture to a glass baking dish and store in refrigerator a day or two.  Just add the granola topping right before you pop in the oven or it'll get soggy in the fridge. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potatoes
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

Granola Topping
1 1/2 cups granola 
2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup turbino sugar (can also use brown sugar if you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 325.

1. Lightly beat egg. Add all sweet potato ingredients to bowl and mix well. Pour into 8 x 8 glass baking dish.

2. Toss all granola ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of sweet potatoes. 

3. Bake 45 min to an hour, until granola topping a light brown in color. 

Copper River Salmon on Seared Garlic Greens with Herbed Oil, Sicilian Orange and Fennel Salad

Have you heard of Copper River Salmon?

Wild and sustainably caught, Copper River Salmon is one of the most sought after salmon in the world. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game monitors Copper River Salmon weekly to ensure that an abundant number of salmon reach their spawning grounds, ensuring a long-term replenishing supply of Copper River Salmon in the future.

Copper River is a 300 mile river in Alaska, the 10th longest river in the United States. It's quite a hike for these local, wild salmon to swim this long stretch of river to reach their spawning grounds, requiring the salmon to store up on those healthy omega-3 fatty acids to make the journey.

Wild Alaskan Salmon is super healthy- high in protein, more vitamin D than a glass of milk (in a 3.5 oz filet).  And those omega-3's...  they are likely to have a role in:

• Lowering chance of sudden cardiac death, risk of a first heart attack, and the chance of having a second heart attack.
• Stabilization of abnormal heart rhythms
• Reducing chance of developing degenerative conditions like Alzheimer's
• Reducing chance of development and severity of varied severe mental disorders
• Stabilization and regression of plaques (deposits that clog arteries) that could fatally rupture.
• Optimum development of the brain and eye in the womb and in young children (when integrated into pregnant womens' diets)
• and many other health benefits as well!***

What does that mean in relation to the taste of the fish?  It means Copper River Salmon is succulent.  The extra omega-3's combat the fishy flavor, making for a 'meatier' fillet of salmon (almost like cutting a steak!) This salmon is a deep red in color, and when preparing this fish, I opt for simplicity- let the quality and taste of this fish shine through. 

I simply pan seared it with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  I had a bunch of greens I had harvested myself when working on a CSA (community supported agriculture farm), so I sauteed them all up together with some bacon and a bunch of garlic- fresh spinach, swiss chard, kale, mizuna, and the leaves from radishes and turnips (yes, you can eat those too!) Added a squeeze of lemon juice towards the end and seasoned with salt and pepper.  So good The Boyfriend even liked them.. and he hates cooked dark greens. You should have seen his face when I told him what I was making. 'I hate spinach' he said.  He didn't know what anything else was.  :)   If you know someone that doesn't like dark greens, saute them in bacon. Sure, it's not the healthiest way of preparations, but if you want all those vitamins and nutrients in your loved one's diet- bacon will do the trick.

A simple and fresh Sicilian Orange Fennel Salad accompanied the salmon and greens.  This is one of my favorite summertime side dishes- use blood oranges if you can find them, but whatever you can find will suffice. To slice the fennel thinly, use a vegetable peeler! It's so much easier and provides really thin slices of fennel, making for a delicate presentation. This makes for a great picnic/BBQ salad, by the way. 

Black olives are often added to this salad- the salty, briny olives complement the oranges really nicely. 
The Boyfriend would have left me if I tried to serve him olives, so I skipped them.

You can find Copper River Salmon at most supermarkets.  It's usually advertised heavily when it's available (mid-May to mid-June-ish).  It generally runs about $14.99/lb, and is worth the price.  

Copper River Salmon on Seared Garlic Greens,

 Sicilian Orange Fennel Salad, Herb Oil

 Serves 2

Two 7 ounce Copper River Salmon fillets 

(makes two just-over-5 ounce servings)

1 lb Fresh spinach, kale, or mixture of dark leafy greens on hand, washed and dried, stems removed

2 slices of bacon

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 oranges, peeled, segmented, and pith removed- INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOW

1/2 large fennel bulb, sliced thinly (or vegetable peeled into thin slices)

1/2 cup red onion, very thinly sliced

About 2 tbsp fresh basil (chiffonade- cut thinly)

One lemon

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper
Herb Oil Recipe follows

1. Make the Sicilian Orange Fennel Salad.  In a bowl, gently toss together the oranges, fennel slices, red onion, basil, a pinch of salt (omit of adding olives), and drizzle with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 
2. Make the Salmon. Brush salmon with olive oil until coated and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot (about 3 minutes).  Add the salmon to the skillet, meat side down and the skin up. Cook for 3- 4 minutes, checking to make sure salmon is not sticking to the pan and until golden in color. Flip the salmon, skin side down, and continue cooking until the salmon flakes easily with a fork- about 5-7 minutes, depending on thickness of your fillet. Slice a couple slices of lemon and serve on top of the salmon.
3. Make the Seared Garlic Greens. Add the bacon to a large, cold skillet. Turn heat on medium.  Cook bacon until crispy, flipping once. Remove bacon and set aside. Add half the greens, stirring to coat in bacon grease. Saute for a minute or two, until beginning to wilt. Add the rest of the greens and the garlic. Stir to coat. Saute another 2 minutes, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of 1/4 of a lemon.

Herb Oil:
Super simple-  Add 1/4 cup oil to a small pot, and throw in a handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, parsley, and a bit of oregano. Heat oil over medium low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring with a rosemary sprig. 

Use rosemary spring to brush the herb oil over the salmon.  

How to segment and remove pith from an orange:

1. Cut the top and bottom off of the orange.
2. Peel the orange.
3. Use a paring knife to slice the pith (the skin) off each orange segment. Do this gently to maintain the orange slices. Try not to break them in half. 
4. Reserve any orange juice that leaks out and add to the Sicilian Salad. 

***Information on Omega-3 fatty acids gathered here 

No-Fuss Blackened Chicken

I made some most delicious blackened chicken.  

I also made cat shaped polenta.  But that's not really relevant.

This is super easy and pretty fast.  Just rub the seasoning on, and bake. The longer you leave the rub on, the more the flavors will permeate the chicken.  Rub it on the night before for big flavor.

I didn't plan ahead for that myself, just rubbed it on and threw it in the oven. 

It was finger-lickin good.  Just a bit spicy, but not too hot.  You can adjust the heat by adjusting the cayenne.  The chicken was so moist, the skin nice and crispy. Just simple, healthy, and delicious!

For summertime this would be awesome grilled! It would make a great addition to a BBQ or picnic. :)

Blackened Chicken

Serves 2

1 lb chicken parts, skin on (I used drumsticks and thighs)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Blackened Seasoning:

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme) 

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried oregano)

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

Mix all the spices together to make the blackened seasoning.  Rub on the chicken.  Place in fridge to marinate, if desired.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle the chicken with the olive oil, and place skin side down on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over, and bake another 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Zucchini Pasta Primavera with Creamy Basil Pesto

Yesterday it was 80 degrees in Colorado.

Tomorrow it'll be in the low 30's and snowing.  Again.

See if I care! I'm making summer meals- fresh and light- snow or not. 

Take that.

One of my favorite things to do in the summertime is make zucchini pasta.  In fact, I posted a Zucchini Spaghetti recipe last year that's pretty darn close to this one.  

But this one is tossed in a creamy basil pesto.  

Yum!

This is a 15 minute quick and easy recipe, no fuss required.

This just so happens to be a vegetarian, dairy free, gluten free, paleo recipe. 

It's so good, and so good for you.  You get some protein from the pine nuts in the pesto. I used what veggies I had on hand, though you could add pretty much anything.  I would've liked to add some spinach or kale, but it was quite filling as is.

If you want a more traditional primavera (aside from using actual pasta, lol) add parmigiana to the pesto- about 1/4 cup) and top the primavera with added parmigiana.  

I'll be honest, I didn't miss the cheese, and I thought I was going to.  

The basil pesto gives it tons of flavor.  I had extra pesto leftover- froze it in ice cube trays, and then removed to a ziploc bag in the freezer.  Now I can add basil pesto to pasta dishes in the future, or top some grilled fish or chicken with it. 

You will need a julienne peeler to make the zucchini spaghetti.  If you don't have one, they can be found at any kitchen store, or even Walmart and Target.  They're great to have, I peel carrots and other vegetables with them for a pretty look.

Zucchini Pasta Primavera with Creamy Basil Pesto

Serves 2

4 Zucchini

5 ounces grape tomatoes (about 1/2 of a 10 ounce container)

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup coconut milk

For the pesto:

3 cups packed fresh basil

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Prepare the veggies.  Peel and julienne the zucchini. Place in a colander, sprinkle with a tsp of salt, and toss.  Let sit in sink (this draws the moisture out so zucchini spaghetti stays crisp and doesn't get all soggy). 

2. Heat a few swirls of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute until the onion is beginning to soften, turn translucent. Add the peppers. Saute until peppers are almost done and soft (about 10 minutes).  Add the grape tomatoes. Cook for a minute or so, and add the zucchini. Toss to incorporate, and cook until zucchini is just barely softening, about 5 minutes. 

2. While cooking the onion and peppers, prepare the pesto. Simply add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and about half of the oil to a food processor. Pulse to combine.  With the food processor running, drizzle in the remaining oil until the desired consistency is achieved. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Add a cup of the pesto to the cooking zucchini and vegetables.  Toss to combine.  Cook about 2 minutes to get the zucchini to soak up the pesto, and add the coconut milk.  Stir, and cook another 2 or 3 minutes.  

Plate and enjoy!

A couple more posts to enjoy:
Sweet Summer Squash Pudding
Molasses Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pineapple-Papaya Salsa
Gorgonzola Sage Popovers

A Healthier Honeycake

I've been delving into a bit of Paleo eating habits.  

Paleo is the 'caveman' diet- you eat only what cavemen could've gotten their hands on- nothing processsed.  That means no dairy, flour, rice, corn, legumes, beans, sugar, etc.

I think this diet has some merit in getting people to eat healthier, to be more aware of eating whole versus processed food.  Though I see nothing wrong in eating super-healthy quinoa, brown rice, and forbidden legumes.

However, I think particularly in the baking arena, this diet is a healthier way of eating.

Baking using the paleo principle means no processed sugar, no white flour, and no butter.  In this recipe, honey (while technically not paleo) replaces white sugar. Coconut milk replaces butter. And almond flour replaces while flour.

The almond flour alone works wonders for your health.  It has higher protein and more vitamins than white flour.  Which makes you feel more full.  Which is great news for those of us with no self-control in eating baked goods (surely I'm not speaking of myself here...)  While I could eat close to a dozen mini cupcakes myself, there's no way I could eat that many of these honeycakes.  

They satisfy the sweet tooth, but are so filling you won't be able to eat tons of them.

That's what I need in a baked good. 

I served these honeycakes with a coffee creme-anglais (made with coconut milk, egg whites, and coffee grounds). They are quite good with some tea or coffee on their own as well.

A Healthier Honeycake

Makes 24 mini-cupcakes

Modified from Elana's Pantry Honeycake Recipe

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup honey (I used raw organic honey)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (organic, nothing added but apples!)
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Combine almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves.
2. In a separate bowl, combine honey, applesauce, coconut oil, and eggs.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.
4. Grease and flour a 24 count mini-muffin tin.
5. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Herbed Shrimp Risotto with Balsamic Tomato

Is there anything better in this world?

This dinner received another 'restaurant quality' rating from The Boyfriend. 

We both had seconds, and had no leftovers. 

These pictures are a bit fuzzy from the steam, but it was so good we had to eat it immediately.  

So I apologize for picture quality!

This is a warm, comforting risotto with a deep seafood flavor, chunks of shrimp, topped with a bit of dill and chive tomato salad.

Risotto gets all it's flavor from the stock you use.  I highly recommend making your own seafood stock for this dish.  It may sound hard and labor intensive (for those of you that have never made seafood stock) but it's really quite easy.  You just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. That's pretty much it.

If you don't have the time or energy to make your own stock and are purchasing store-bought chicken stock, do yourself two favors:  

1. Buy low sodium (store bought stocks are SO SALTY!)  
2. Simmer the stock in a saucepot with some fresh herbs (thyme rosemary, sage, etc) and some chopped onion, carrot and celery.  It'll make store-bought taste more like homemade. 

Herbed Shrimp Risotto 

with Balsamic Tomato

Shrimp:

1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, deveined, shells and tails removed and reserved for seafood stock

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp fresh finely chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Risotto:

1 cup arborio rice

2 shallots, minced

1 tsp finely chopped dill

1 tsp finely chopped chives

1 tsp salt

Zest of one lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

About 1 quart shrimp stock, fish stock, or chicken stock

Balsamic Tomatoes:

4 plum tomatoes, diced

1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp basil chiffonade

1/2 tsp chopped chives

fresh pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for garnish)

For Balsamic Tomatoes:
Combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk. Toss together the tomatoes, basil, chives, and pepper. Dress with olive oil mixture. Refrigerate until ready.

For Shrimp:

In a bowl, add the shrimp and all the remaining ingredients for shrimp. Toss well to coat the shrimp in the olive oil/herb mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat a skillet over medium high heat with a few drizzles of olive oil. Add the shrimp.  Cook a few minutes until shrimp start to look golden.  Flip, and continue cooking about 2 more minutes until golden on both sides.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Once cool, roughly chop the shrimp into chunks, leaving 6 shrimps whole to place on top of risotto. 

For Risotto:
In a large skillet, heat about 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Add the shallot, and saute a few minutes until starting to soften. Add the arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is fully coated with olive oil (1-2 minutes). Add 1/2 cup fish stock and cook, stirring often,  until the liquid is almost completely absorbed (4-5 minutes). Add another 1/4 cup shrimp stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed (~8-10 minutes).  This step is important- to cook arborio rice correctly, you must add the chicken stock in small increments.  Once absorbed, add another 1/4 cup, waiting for that to be absorbed, and continue adding 1/4 cups of stock until rice is creamy looking but still al dente, about 30-40 minutes. You may have leftover stock.  If you run out of stock, use water. 

Add the dill, chives, salt, lemon zest, and chopped shrimp to the risotto. Stir, and cook just a few minutes longer, adding a bit more stock if risotto is looking dry. 

To assemble:
Mound risotto of plate.  Top with a spoonful of balsamic tomato salad and whole shrimp.  Sprinkle with Parmesan if desired. 

Persian Turkey Kofte Kebabs with Shirazi Salad

I love Middle Eastern flavors.  The spices, the flavor, the simplicity of the preparation.  This is one of my favorite meals, and it also happens to be a healthy, gluten free, paleo, low fat recipe. 

Popular in Iran, Turkey, Armenia, and other Middle Eastern countries, kofte kebabs are typically made with ground lamb meat and herbs like parsley and mint. These ground meat 'meatballs' are skewered and grilled.  There are endless amounts of variations in meats and herbs, and lentil and potato kofte can be made with no meat at all.

These kebabs are traditionally heavily seasoned with spices like coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, and allspice.  I used ground turkey to make them healthier, and spiced them up to disguise that they are not lamb or beef.  

I served these with my favorite Persian Shirazi Salad, which sounds fancy but is really a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and mint. The cold shirazi salad is a perfect cooling complement to the spiced kebabs. 

Add plain rice and some grilled (or in my case broiled) green peppers, and you've got an exotic, healthy meal. 

Persian Turkey Kofte Kebabs with Shirazi Salad

1 lb ground turkey
4 cloves garlic, peeled, mashed with the flat side of knife, and minced
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp grated onion
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire 
1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
fresh ground black pepper
Olive Oil
skewers - if using wood skewers, soak first. 
1 Green Pepper, seeds removed and cut into 6 large pieces

Shirazi Salad recipe follows.

Place everything except olive oil and green pepper (and skewers obviously) in a bowl and mix together. Let meat marinate in the fridge for an hour or all day if you have time. 

Form into 6 inch 'sausages.' If using metal skewers, coat in the skewers in olive oil so meat doesn't stick. Thread two sausages to a skewer through the two sausage ends.  You may need to adjust the sizes of your sausages according to the size of your skewers,  Keep them all the same size though. Throw the green pepper on the same pan if there's room, or a separate pan will do.

Broil on Hi for about 15-20 minutes, turning skewers and green peppers occasionally.  They are done when juices run clear, there is no pink, and outsides are evenly charred.

Shirazi Salad:
2 English Cucumbers
4 round tomatoes
1 medium red onion
1 tbsp dry mint or parsley (try to use mint if you have it)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp olive oil

Dice tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions in a uniform small cube size.

Mix olive oil, lime juice, and dried mint (or parsley) in a bowl.
Pour over the vegetables.  Can be consumed immediately, but best if refrigerated for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Serve with plain rice.  You can cook the plain rice in chicken or vegetable stock instead of water for extra flavor.  

Red Chili Honey Butter Shrimp on Crispy Polenta Cakes

Red. Chili. Honey. Butter. Shrimp. 

Yum. 

This recipe was created very much by ingredients I happened to have on hand, which is the case of most of my recipes.  

The Boyfriend rated this meal 'pretty good,' which may not sound like a compliment but is actually the highest ranking on his scale, depending on the tone of his voice and facial expressions when he says it.  

The base of the dish is a simple roasted red pepper puree, topped with a spinach and basil salad. Crispy polenta cakes are placed on top, still hot, warming the spinach salad below, and it's all topped off with shrimp drizzled with the red chili honey butter sauce.  

I tried to get a bit of each flavor in every bite.  It's one of those dishes where you're mixing a bite of polenta in the red pepper puree, grabbing a piece of spinach soaked in the slightly spicy butter sauce.  And the shrimp.  Don't forget the shrimp!

This recipe was easy to make, and pretty fast (if you don't count the refrigeration time needed for the polenta- if you're looking to make this tonight, read through whole recipe!)

It's something I sort of whipped together  and when finished and I saw it on a plate, I thought to myself that this dish is worthy of a special occasion dinner. I thought I'd hurry up and share it with you, with Valentine's Day being tomorrow!  If you don't have a dinner planned yet, and you'll be working and want something you don't have to slave over but is still impressive.. here you go.  This is it. 

The list of ingredients seems long, but it's really just redundant since I've split up the four components of the dish.  You'll probably find most of these ingredients in your house already (as I did!).  

Red Chili Honey Butter Shrimp on 

Crispy Polenta Cakes

For the Shrimp:
24 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp honey
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsl chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbls unsalted butter
salt and pepper

For the Spinach Salad:
Fresh spinach, tough stems removed
Fresh basil, leaves only
1 piece of cooked thick sliced bacon, diced (or use pancetta or prosciutto)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

For Basic Polenta:
2 cups water
3/4 cup polenta (yellow cornmeal) **Make sure it's gluten free if needed
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

For the Roasted Red Pepper Puree:
1 Red pepper
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:


Spinach Salad:
Rough chop the spinach and basil together.  Toss together and add bacon.  In a separate bowl, combine olive oil and red wine vinegar.  Pour over salad and toss when ready to serve. 

Roasted Red Pepper Puree:
Broil the red pepper until all sides are black and charred.  Let cool until easy to handle, and peel the black skin off the pepper.  Remove the seeds and stem, and place pepper in a blender or food processor.  Puree.  Gradually drizzle a but of olive oil in and puree again.  Continue until puree reaches your desired consistency. I usually keep mine pretty thick.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

Polenta:
In a saucepot, heat water until boiling.  Add the salt, and gradually the polenta. Reduce heat to low, whisking often, and cook until polenta is tender (about 15 minutes). Turn off heat, add butter, and stir until melted.  

Polenta is ready to eat!  To continue on for crispy polenta, spread the polenta flat in a small pan or tray.  For this amount of polenta, I spread mine into a loaf pan (about 4 x 12).  Refrigerate until firm.  Once firm, remove from fridge and cut out desired sized circles with a cookie cutter.

Heat oil in a saute pan, and sauce the polenta cakes until golden crispy on all sides. 

Shrimp:
Toss the shrimp in a bit of salt and pepper.  Heat a few drizzles of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add the shrimp.  Saute for a minute and add 1 tbsp of the butter.  Saute for a few minutes longer until shrimp is golden on both sides.  Reduce heat to medium and add the red pepper flakes, parsley, and garlic. Stir to coat. Pour in the wine and allow to reduce by half.  Remove the shrimp to serving platter, leaving the sauce in pan. Add the remaining 2 tbsp butter to the pan and the honey.  Stir until butter is melted.  Pour sauce over shrimp, allowing it to drizzle a bit on the polenta and spinach. 

To Assemble:
Spread roasted red pepper puree on base of plate.  Place handfuls of spinach salad in the middle, allowing the puree to hold the spinach in place. Place polenta cakes directly on top of spinach, and top with shrimp and Red Chili Honey Butter Sauce.  Enjoy!

A couple other favorite recipes:
Chicken Salad with Pecans, Grape, and Green Pepper

Wensleydale Apple Cranberry Tartlets with Thyme Shortbread Crust and Bourbon Glaze

Baci Di Dama

Baci di Dama are an Italian cookie, otherwise known as ladie's kisses.  They are a super cute little hazelnut cookie.

 I like them because they are not overly sweet, and I enjoy eating them for breakfast with coffee (real healthy right?) And for a lot of snacks throughout the day.  

They are addicting, I must warn you. 
And did I mention they are gluten free?

I'm always pleased to find cookie recipes that are gluten-free.  I don't have a gluten allergy, but The Step-dad does, and I'm always looking for recipes I can serve when he's around.

It's not just about being able to serve him good food.

It's about serving good food while no one even notices that it's all gluten free.  

That's the challenge. 

These little bites of heaven stand up to that challenge.  They are soft and crumbly, slightly sweet and nutty.

This is a simple recipe.  Easy, limited ingredients.  And the perfect small sized cookie that you can pop in your mouth in one bite.  And eat for breakfast, midmorning snack, mid afternoon snack, pre dinner snack, after dinner snack.  :)

Alternatively to sandwiching the cookies, you could just dip half in chocolate if you so desired. 

Baci di Dama 

Teressa Murphy's recipe

1 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned

1 cup rice flour (can sub 1 cup all purpose flour, but note cookies will not be gluten free)

3 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temp

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until very fine- should be the consistency of coarse polenta.  Pour into a large bowl and add the rice flour.  Mix and add the butter.  Use your hands to mix together.  Don't be afraid to squish the dough with your hands so the butter holds the flour together. The dough will be smooth and hold together.  If it doesn't, knead until it does.

The dough will still be a bit crumbly and a little hard to handle.  Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope about an inch thick.  Try to make the rope smooth, no cracks.  If it's too difficult to handle, Divide the rope in half again, making 6 one inch thick ropes.  Wrap each rope in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one log from the fridge.  Do not remove all of them, you need them to be cold to be easy to handle and to cook properly.  (Letting the sit at room temp allows butter to soften to much- the cookie will cook into a flat pancake shape versus the half round shape in the pictures).

Use a knife to cut a small sliver of dough.  Press into a ball about the size of a marble. You can try rolling the dough into a marble, but I found dough too crumbly.  Pressing it worked better for me.

Continue pressing dough into same size marbles and place on baking sheet about an inch apart.  When done with that log, remove next log from fridge and continue.

Bake 10-14 minutes, until tops of cookies are lightly golden. Rotate cookie sheets halfway through baking for even cooking.   Let cookies cool completely.

In a skillet, add water until one inch deep.  Bring water to a simmer. Place a heat safe bowl in the skillet, and add the chocolate.  Melt until smooth.  Use a butter knife to gather a little melted chocolate and place on the bottom of one cookie.  Take another cookie and sandwich them together.  

If you're having a hard time keeping the chocolate from drizzling all over the cookie, try dunking one cookie in the chocolate, just until the base is coated, and then sandwiching them together.  Start the process with any unattractive cookies (any that may have melted into pancakes).  No use wasted you're prettiest cookies trying to figure out how to control chocolate drizzle :)

Set the cookies sideways on a wire rack and let the chocolate harden until firm.

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops with Fennel Orange Puree, Truffled Sweet Potato Matchsticks, Charred Brussel Sprouts

Sounds so fancy right?

Well it can be whipped up in a jiffy.

Probably one of the fastest dinners I've prepared

(have you seen my chili post?! I'm not good at whipping up quick meals!)

The porkchops are lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and rubbed with a bit of sage.  The Fennel Orange Puree is what really does it for these chops- the deep, caramelized flavor of the fennel, the freshness from the acidity in the OJ.. works really well here.

And who's gonna turn down crispy Truffled Sweet Potato Matchsticks- which by the way, all you do is cut and throw in the oven. Do buy a julienne peeler if you haven't already.  I can't imagine trying to cut sweet potatoes into uniform size by hand.  Eek. The julienne peeler works like a vegetable peeler, only instead of peeling skin off, it peels spaghetti-sized perfectly uniform 'matchsticks.'  If you don't have truffle oil, don't sweat it.  Some salt and these will still be delicious.

A weeknight meal to impress or a weekend dinner you don't have to slave over.

Either way, you win.

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops with Fennel Orange Puree, Truffled Sweet Potato Matchsticks, Charred Brussel Sprouts

2 pork chops, trimmed of excessive fat (leave some fat for flavor!)
1 tbsp fresh minced sage leaves (about 5 or 6 leaves)
1 sweet potato
1 lb brussel sprouts
1 small bulb of fennel, trimed, cored, and thinnly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp white truffle oil
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinger
salt and pepper

Make the Fennel Orange Puree
In a small pot, heat a few drizzles of olive oil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and add the shallot and fennel.  Saute about 15 minutes, until fennel is very tender. Place the mixture in a blender and season with salt and pepper. Pour in 1 tbsp of olive oil and puree.  With blender still running, slowly pour in the orange juice.  Check the taste and consistency of your puree- add more salt and pepper if needed, or add more olive oil if too thick for your tastes.  Alternatively you can substitute the olive oil for milk or cream if desired for a different flavor.

Truffled Sweet Potatoes Matchsticks
Preheat oven to 400. Cut the sweet potato in half and use a julienne peeler to cut into matchsticks. Drizzle the matchsticks with a bit of olive oil and season with a few shakes of a salt and pepper shaker.  Lay the sweet potato matchsticks out on two baking sheets.  If you use one baking sheet it will be to crowded, and the sweet potatoes will steam, leaving you with soggy matchsticks.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until tender and crisp. When ready, drizzle with white truffle oil, toss to combine, and serve.

Charred Brussel Sprouts
Cut the ends off of sprouts and remove loose outer leaves.  Cut each one in half lengthwise (cutting through the stem).  Heat a large DRY skillet over medium high heat with NO olive oil.  Once hot, place the brussel sprouts in pan cut side down.  Let sit and cook until the sprouts begin to blacken on the bottom.  Once they do, give them a quick stir, pour in two tbsp of olive oil, and give another stir.  Let cook about 5 minutes, season generously with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Pour in a couple dashes of balsamic vinegar (maybe a half a tbsp).  Cook about 5 more minutes or until brussel sprouts are tender but still just a bit crisp. 

Pork Chops
In a small bowl, mix together a tsp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and the sage.  Rub this mixture on the pork chops, coating both sides.  Heat a few generous drizzles medium high heat.  Once hot, add the pork chops.  Cook about 4 minutes per side, until chops have a nice dark golden color and are thoroughly cooked. Remove and let rest for a few minutes.

To serve, arrange pork chops on plate.  Spoon Fennel Orange puree over top and garnish with a few fennel fronds or parsley.  Arrange Sweet Potato Matchsticks next to pork chops, and enjoy!