Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

I'm addicted to the Haymarket Farmer's Market.  Yes, you Bostonians know which one I am talking about.  The one near Fanueil Hall that trashes up the streets and brings that dead fish smell to the city.  Yes, that one.  Now that my typical grocery trip is comprised primarily of produce, I am at an advantage having this market so close to both my work and home.  This market has a reputation for having some less than desirable produce.  In fact, in past experience, I myself have fallen victim to cutting open moldy bell peppers and having produce go bad the very next day.

But I am telling you folks, it's hella cheap.  Insanely cheap.  Out of your mind, are you Shaw's folks fricken' kidding me cheap. 

I have gotten less than desirable produce from Shaw's as well.  And paying $4 for eggplant is hot damn ludacris.

Anyways, long story short.  I grabbed a $20 from the ATM and headed over to Haymarket last Friday.  I left the market with two dollars and about four bags of groceries.  Everything from red/yellow/green peppers to more basil than you can handle to 2 pounds of tomatoes to rosemary to portobello mushrooms and scallions to onions and more.  At Shaw's this loot would have easily run you $30+.  Conservatively.  I love a good deal.  And because I am more familiar with produce now, I can easily spot the good stuff, over the stuff about to expire. 

Haymarket, I love you.

I took those portobellos and whipped up a stroganoff.  Because the real recipe is loaded with butter and sour cream, I adapted it to be less calories.  I barely noticed the difference.

Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff (All recipes.com)

• 1 tbsp butter or EVOO
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3/4 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced (About two large)
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 16 ounces plain yogurt
• 4 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 8 ounces egg noodle, or other swirly noodle. 

 

Fire up a salted pot of water and get your pasta going.  Once that's going, heat 1 tbsp of butter or EVOO and start sauteing your onions.  Go about five minutes and add in your sliced mushrooms.  Saute until soft, remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.

Add your vegetable broth to the pan and be sure to scrap up all of those scrumptious brown bits from the pan.  Bring this to a boil and let it reduce by about 1/3.

Add back in your onion and mushroom mixture.

 

In a side bowl, mix your yogurt and flour well.  Add to broth mixture.

 

Allow mixture to thicken slightly over a medium to medium low heat.  This should just take a few minutes.  Add in chopped parsley and salt and pepper to your tasting. 

Serve over noodles and presto - dinner is served. 

 

 

 

Asian Cucumber Salad

I'm in Thailand now, but leading up to my trip, I've a)been watching what I eat and b) been feeling very inspired by anything to do with Asia.  Here's a recipe that I cheffed up out of the Food & Wine Cookbook.  It made a lot of cucumbers and I portioned them out for weekday snacks.  It's actually Joann Chang's recipe, so I knew it had to be good!

Asian Cucumber Salad

• 2 cucumbers, sliced
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 4 scallions

See food porn - 2011 F&W cookbook..... yum.

Start by chopping up your cucumbers.  The recipe calls for spears, just like pickles, but I like cucumbers that are thin and sliced on the horizontal. I also put my cucumbers in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm them up a bit.  The recipe suggested it and I didn't think it was a bad idea.  ??

Mix the sesame oil and rice vinegar together in a bowl.  Whisk well.  Taste test.  This will be a matter of preference.  I preferred mine to have a bit of a tangy, vinegar-y flavor, so I added a bit more rice vinegar.  If you like it sweet, you could also mix in a bit of sugar to balance out the tangy vinegar.  Toss the dressing in the bowl with the cucumbers.

In a food processor, mix salt, sesame seeds and red pepper.  Process until fine.  I have to admit, next time I would skip this step.  My seeds were tiny and it didn't really process like it should have.  Nor did I think it really affected it at all in the end.

Add mixture to cucumbers.  Add in a bit at a time, so you don't overwhelm the cucumbers.  I think I only ended up using half of mine or so.

Top with scallions and serve!  I portioned mine out into fours for a quick roughly 100 calorie snack at work!

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl

I'm SO excited to be going to Thailand in just a few short days here.  In fact, I haven't felt this amount of anticipation and excitement since the Christmas mornings of my youth.  Anyone else remember waking up at an ungodly hour (4:45 am) and laying there in bed waiting sosososo patiently for your parents to hurry up and get up?  There are PRESENTS to be had here people!  Get to gettin'.

Either way, my excitement lead me to prep a Thai shrimp noodle bowl from Cooking Light's October 2010 issue.

Spicy Shrimp Noodle Bowl as adapted

• 1 pd tail on shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups water
• 2.5 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 8 ounce bottle of clam juice (if you can't find this, I just subbed in equal amounts chicken broth)
• 2 1/4 in slices peeled ginger
• Olive oil
• 1 sliced red bell pepper
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3/4 cup sugar snap peas
• 2.5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 ounces uncooked rice sticks
• cilantro
• lime wedges

The biggest pain in the neck on this recipe was the shrimp.  I had purchased what I thought was a stellar deal on shrimp from whole foods, but let me tell you, there's certain a price for convenience.  Ever time I use these shrimp, I have to spend a painstaking amount of time shelling them and then deveining them.  Total buzz kill.

Here we go!  Start with ripping all the tails of of your shrimp and chopping up a few medallions of ginger.  You dont' need alot - but both of these ingredients are going to add to the richness of the broth you are going to create.

And add in your broth, water and clam juice (if you found at the store).  Bring to a boil and them simmmmmeerrr on low for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Once the broth is going, start slicing up all your veggies, if you haven't done so already.  Throw the onion and peppers into a sauce pan with a bit of heated EVOO and start sauteing.  Keep the heat low as you don't want your onions to burn, you just want to soften them.



Before Saute

After Saute

Once those are nicely sauted, add in the broth mixture (be sure to scoop out the tails and the ginger medallions first!), your shrimp, sugar snap peas and the rice noodles.  Allow to simmer until the shrimp are fully cooked and the noodles are soft.  When it's ready to serve, add in the chili garlic sauce (more if you like it HOT, HOT, HOT).   

Sprinkle with a bit of cilantro and give yourself a pat on the back.  This is incredibly low cal, fresh and filling.   

I hope every meal I eat in Thailand is 5 times better than this - but obviously, it's nice to be able to create at home!

Crock Pot Wild Rice & Ham Soup

I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that I'm still obsessed with soups. :) This recipe is delicious and low in calories.

This recipe is modified from another Betty Crocker soup magazine.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups diced ham
3/4 cup wild rice
1 medium or large white onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, julienned
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups of water
1 can of cream of celery soup (about 10.75 oz)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup cashews, halved
2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Start by greasing your 4-quart slow cooker with oil or cooking spray. Toss in the ham, rice, carrot pieces, chicken broth, water, cream of celery soup, and pepper. Cook covered on low for 7-8 hours.

Mix in the half and half, cashews, sherry, and parsley. Turn up the heat to high, and let these ingredients blend for 15 more minutes.Serve!

I will definitely be making this again.

Marinated Pork with Mango Salsa

I posted this as a guest blogger for Meghan over at Travel, Eat, Love, while she traveled Ireland with her husband.  Check out my post here.

I don't reserve my best cooking for the weekends, I love to find easy to prepare, healthy dishes on the weekdays too.  There's something so satisfying about coming home and cheffing something from scratch, rather than having to rely on leftovers.  I came across this Caribbean Pork with Mango Salsa in Real Simple's January 2011 issue.  Amidst a ton of other pork recipes, this one called my name for it's simplicity and it's inclusion of Mango Salsa.

I know, I know.  Mango salsa isn't entirely in season right now.  But amidst all the winter kale and squashes and over kill of pumpkin and peppermint from the holidays, it feels so good to go against the grain.  So fresh.  So summer-y.  Wouldn't you like a taste of summer right now?

Caribbean Pork with Mango Salsa (as adapted from Real Simple)

• 1 mango, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt for tasting
• 1 pound of pork tenderloin, or chops
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• salt to taste

 As usual, I was hestitant to think the Mango Salsa was going to have any flavor as the ingredients seemed too simple.  For some reason, I can't get over it in my head that sometimes less ingredients really can blow your socks off.  It's true though.

These simple, simple ingredients came together to make one of the most refreshing mango salsa's I have had.  I love the flavor and was ready to just eat a bowl of it straight up.  I know it's wrong, but sometimes a girl can't help herself.   

As for the pork, it's easy to throw together.  The recipe calls for broiling, but I am huge on pan searing lately.  So, at nearly room temperature, I patted my chops dry and seasoned as the recipe called for.  I heated 2 pans on medium high and added a bit of EVOO. (I don't have a pan large enough for two porkchops without crowding. If you crowd, you could lose the chance for them to get a sear.)  Once fired up and heated, I tossed the porkchops into the pans. 

You'll be tempted to touch.  To peek.  To check.  Resist.  Resist harder.  Have faith that four to five minutes untouched on each side with create a delicious sear.  Once they were seared, I tossed them into the oven at 450 degrees and cooked futher another 10 minutes or so, until the middle was no longer pink.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before slicing to preserve the juices in the meat.  If you slice too soon, they juices all run out and you lose some of the moisture.  Just say no to dried out meat.  Especially pork.  Pork gets a bad rap for being boring, but I think when it's done right, it's amazing.

Slice pork and top with Mango Salsa.  Serve with a freshly made salad, side of roasted veggies or some brown rice.  Dive in.  There's so reason you can't have a freshly made, healthy meal on busy weekdays!

Black Bean Salmon Tostadas

The holiday celebrations are behind us and like many other people, I tried not to gain 15 pounds this season.  It's hard, with the Winter Warmer beers and the turkey and the pumpkin everything and sweets are far as the eye can see.  So while I am not out making merriment with my friends, it's nice to have a nice light meal at home.  Something fresh tasting, healthy, yet filling and satisfying.  I came across the following recipe from Eating Well and decided to give it a shot.

Black Bean and Salmon Tostadas from EatingWell:

• 8 6-inch corn tortillas
• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1 6- to 7-ounce can boneless, skinless wild Alaskan salmon, drained
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeños, plus 2 tablespoons pickling juice from the jar, divided
• 2 cups coleslaw mix (see Tip) or shredded cabbage
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons prepared salsa
• 2 scallions, chopped
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 and line your tortillas on a cookie or baking sheet.  Spray each side with baking spray (like Pam) and sprinkle with sea salt.  Toss into the oven and bake until crisp - flipping halfway through.  These will be chip-like when they are done.  

Process black beans, salsa, sour cream and scallions in a food processor until mostly smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and microwave on  high until warm.  It doesn't look pretty, but trust me.   Actually, it looks really gross, but go with it.

In another bowl, combine avocado, salmon, jalapeño.  Regarding the canned salmon, I put my faith in the recipe and gave it a try.  It certainly wasn't bad, but I thought the salmon was more tuna-like than salmon-like. I might omit it all together next time, or use real flaked salmon.

And finally, mix cabbage, cilantro and juice from the jalapeños in a bowl.

At this point, I started to get nervous.  This was quite the random assortment of ingredients and I wasn't quite imagining how they would come together.  I promised my dinner guest that if this turned out gross that we would be heading out onto the Hill for dinner.

From here it gets easy.  I'll let the pictures do the talking:

And in the end, I had nothing to worry about this.  These were phenomenal.  Light, healthy, very flavorful.  I topped each of them with some freshly squeezed lime juice and then I wolfed them down in about six seconds.  The End.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers

Looking for the world's easiest, yet impressive, appetizer to bring to your upcoming events?  Or possibly an easy weekday, vegetarian meal?  Or something to bring to a summer picnic?  Oh, AND, it's healthy and gorgeously colorful?

The solution:

Roasted Stuffed Peppers from Epicurious:
4 red bell peppers
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
3 garlic cloves
about 3 tablespoons olive oil

Start with halfing and seeding your peppers:

And Slicing and Dicing the remaining ingredients into a bowl:

Give it a good mix up and use this mixture to stuff each pepper.

Toss into the over at 475 for about 20 minutes.  If you're bringing them to a party, cook for 10 minutes at home, cover and finish baking at the party.  I couldn't help myself - I ate one of them halfway cooked and it was just as awesome as after they were cooked.  These could be eaten raw or warm or chilled - whatever you prefer. 

After these were done in the oven, I did turn them slightly to drain as they got very juicy. 

Serve as is, or sprinkle with feta. 

CROWD PLEASER!

** recipe discovery, manual labor and ingredients bought by a certain French Sous Chef

Inside Out Lasagna

Lasagna can be such a pain the butt to make.  It's a worth while dish in the end, but when you're in a hurry, sometimes you want all the flavors without the prep.

And sometimes you want it to be healthy too.  Lasagna isn't exactly a light dinner.  As you can see, a majority of my posts are lower calories recipes - it's because I am a self proclaimed CALORIE COUNTER.  Obsessed?  Maybe.  But I have also lost 11 pounds, am thinner than I have been in 10 years and I feel FABULOUS.  So I am not in any hurry to run out and ruin that.  After all, if you're going to have a major life change, it's important to look on the bright side.  In this case, it's that I lost weight.  Silver lining.

Inside out Lasagna:

8 ounces whole-wheat rotini or fusilli

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves cloves garlic, sliced

8 ounces sliced white mushrooms (about 3 1/2 cups)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs

8 cups baby spinach

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Substitutions:  I added scallions because I am on scallions kick lately.

Cook pasta as directed on the package.

Heat up the oil in a pan on high heat, add the chopped onions, mushrooms, garlic and scallions.  Sauté up until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are opaque-ish in color.  Make sure you take some long, deep breaths.  Your kitchen will smell amazing.

Why hasn't Yankee Candle come out with a sauted vegetable scented candle?  They make every other flavor.  Is that gross? Again, I am Quirky and okay with it.

Transfer to a sauce pan and add in your tomatoes and spinach.  I also added a few dashes of dried basil and oregano.  The recipe doesn't call for it, but I add these two to all my sauces to give it a nice flavor - less tomato-y.  Add as much red pepper flakes as your little heart desires.  Mine desired a kick.

Give it a good stir, incorporating the spinach into the tomatoes.  Keep stirring - you want the spinach to wilt down and you don't want the sauce to burn.

Should look like this.... once the spinach had wilted down, I turned down the heat to low and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

All set!  Pour generously over the pasta and add a few dollops of ricotta cheese on the top.  Give it a solid mix up and Enjoy!  This is a solid, no bake, tastes like lasagna recipe without the layering and without the calories.

Pad Thai

My love for Pad Thai dates back to my dates of living in Sydney (which is hands down one of the greatest cities on this planet).  I was far, far away from the land of hot dish and green bean cassarole and I was ready for a tastebud adventure.  I can't remember which of my fabulous friends introduced me to this very basic thai noodle dish, but I can remember it was love at first site.  Peanuts, scallions, delicious noodles.... hello lover.

About a year ago, I found a recipe on eatingwell.com for pad thai and decided that I had to make it.  I went to the Kam Man in Quincy to stock up on all the strange ingredients required to chef up such exoticness.  I remember being appalled financially when I got to the register, but these ingredients have lasted a very long time and have come in handy for many other dishes. 

So let's get to it.  This recipe requires the ability to move quickly.  So I suggest you get your ingredients prepped and ready to go.  

Pad Thai (from eatingwell.com)

4 ounces dried rice noodles
2 teaspoons peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces small shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup sliced scallion greens
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts

Lots of ingredients needed for Pad Thai.

Substitutions:

 I chose to sub in wheat angel hair vs the rice noodles.  I didn't like the rice noodles I did last time, so I decided to play it safe this time around.  If you go rice noodles, soak for 20 minutes in hot water until softened.  If you go pasta noodles, boil water and cook as directed.  

I also chose to sub in chicken vs shrimp for budget reasons.  Shrimp doesn't have to be cooked beforehand, but obviously the chicken would need to be chopped and cooked before adding.

(Side note:  you're about to notice my cooking vessel is a frying pan.  I had a wok, which was amazing, but was left behind in the move.  You make due with what ya got.  let's all pour one out for things that were once had and are no longer. :( )

Once you have the noodles ready, start your engines.  it's go time.  And it's fast.

Heat your peanut oil on medium high until hot.  Add garlic and let brown quickly.  This takes a matter of 30 seconds.  

Next, your lightly beaten egg needed to be scrambled. Scramble around until cooked.

Once your egg is lightly scrambled, add in the shrimp first, stir frying until pink and then the noodles, stir frying until soft.  If you go my route, I threw them in at the same time and stir frying around until warm.

Next add in your scallions and bean sprouts and remaining ingredients.  The bean sprouts in this recipe are a filler.  You use less noodles, add in bean sprouts and VIOLA! instantaneously healthy.  No flavor lost.  Stir fry around.  You see I am struggling here with my tiny tiny little frying pan.  With a wok this was way easier to mix around the flavors and stir fry - I made a sick mess of my stove trying to do so with this pan. 

 Perfection.  Healthy, homemade Pad Thai.

Cry for me!  The pitfalls of cooking for one are clearly evidenced above.  This clean up was brutal.

Don't forget to add your smushed up peanuts as a topper.  I clearly used a can of soup to smash my peanuts.  Yum.  So good.


Calories count: 325, servings, 4.
(Disclaimer, mine only last two servings.)