Braised Short Ribs with Cheddar Polenta

Hello Friends!  I hope all of you are well since I last posted.  I had knee surgery last Monday and am starting to heal up nicely.  I am still in pain and walking on crutches but started physical therapy today so I am hoping that things will continue to go smoothly and my knee will heal.  I am anxious to get back to my active lifestyle!  Anyway, last week my mom came to stay and help me out and this week her best friend, whom I call Auntie Raven, is here!  


Last week, while restricted to my bed, I was watching the Today Show and Melissa d'Arabian was on making  braised short ribs with polenta.  I had never made short ribs before and they looked really intriguing.  Even more intriguing was that she said the entire meal was only $10!   I went online and printed the recipe and Auntie Raven and I decided to make it for dinner tonight! Instead of serving the ribs with Melissa d'Arabian's recipe for polenta, I made my polenta, but used a mixture of cheddar and parmesan to change things up a bit!  If you are not a fan of polenta you can serve this dish over rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, even bread or biscuits!  Being me, of course, I made a few minor changes to the ribs.  Here is the original recipe.  Here is what Raven and I did:






Braised Short Ribs

• 6 lbs bone in country style pork ribs (about 8 large ribs)
• 2 tbsp. granulated garlic
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 carrots, chopped (if you want, you can use baby carrots, I would probably double this next time I made it because I am a carrot fan)
• 1 large onion, or 2 medium onions chopped (to save time you could use a bag of frozen chopped onions)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small can tomato paste (6 oz.)
• 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Trim the fat from the meat.  Pat ribs dry and season with granulated garlic and pepper.  

Heat oil and butter in a large dutch oven or heavy duty stock pot that is OVEN SAFE.  Brown the meat on both sides, in batches if necessary, and set aside.  Add the chopped vegetables, except the garlic, and saute about 5 minutes or until onions are soft.  

Add the minced garlic and saute another two minutes stirring frequently.  Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until well combined with the vegetables, about 1 minute. 

 Add the vinegar to the pan, and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom (this is called deglazing).  Add the red pepper flakes and bay leaves.  Place the meat back in the pot on top of the vegetables.  

Pour in the chicken stock until it is halfway up the pot (you may not use all of the chicken stock).  You don't need to cover all of the meat.  Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.  Once it simmers, place the pot, cover on, in the oven.  Allow to braise in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Remove the cover and continue to cook for an additional 2 and a half hours, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half.  This will allow the meat to become tender and liquid to reduce in volume. Remove the bay leaves after cooking.

Remove from the oven, and serve meat with sauce over a bed of polenta, or  your favorite side.  This meal freezes easily.  The leftover meat is also excellent served on sandwiches, hot or cold!

This meal takes a long time to make, but it is easy because it is made in one pot.  The prep time is about 20 minutes and then the cooking time is fairly hands off.  Not only is the dish easy to prepare, it is also VERY kid  and budget friendly, thus WORTH THE EFFORT!  I highly recommend it.  I am going to give this recipe the "Daniel Favorite" rating because Daniel ate it up and asked for "MO MO PORK"  not once but TWICE!

New Griddle For Christmas = French Toast

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I love to make a big weekend breakfast and French Toast has to be my all time favorite breakfast!  For the longest time, I couldn't make it properly at home because I didn't have a griddle.  That all changed when David got me a FABULOUS electric reversible griddle for Christmas!  It is a griddle on one side and a grill on the other! You cannot believe the excitement!  You can cut these into sticks for your kids and give pure maple syrup on the side for dipping.  I also freeze the leftovers for future breakfasts!


Family Breakfast French Toast

• 1 Brioche Loaf (this recipe is for apple cinnamon brioche, you can omit the applesauce to make it just plain- or you can use store bought brioche, challah, or Texas Toast), sliced into 3/4 inch thick slices
• 8 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. orange extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey
• butter for greasing the griddle (even if your griddle is non stick, you still need to butter it generously)

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, extracts, and honey in a medium bowl.  Arrange the brioche slices in a large flat dish (such as a baking dish).  Pour the egg mixture over and turn the slices to coat.  Allow to soak in egg mixture for 5 minutes, turning occasionally.  Set griddle to medium high heat (or place on stove over medium high heat) and grease generously with butter.  Place as many brioche slices on the griddle as will fit without crowding and cook on each side approximately 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Flip and cook on the other side the same amount of time.  Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or fresh fruit!

Oatmeal with Dried Fruit

Oatmeal is one of my breakfast favorites.  It is easy to prepare, inexpensive, and so versatile.    I use whatever dried fruit I have on hand (which is usually apricots, dried cherries, and raisins) and sometimes I toss in some chopped pecans for good measure. I usually make up a huge pan of oatmeal and then store it in the fridge during the week for a quick breakfast. I am lucky because Daniel LOVES, LOVES oatmeal!  He calls it "eelmeel." I make oatmeal for breakfast in the fall and winter because it makes me feel all warm and cozy, and that is definitely a plus here in the midwest.

Oatmeal with Dried Fruit

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 4 cups water
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup dried fruit (I use whatever I have on hand, today it was chopped apricots and raisins, but sometimes I use dried cherries and apricots, or crasins and apricots)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (if desired)
• milk for serving

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the oats, butter, honey, fruit, and cinnamon.  Simmer, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes or until the oatmeal has thickened and the dried fruit has reconstituted.  Add in the pecans if using.  I like to serve this with a little bit of milk.

You can also substitute steel cut oats for the rolled oats and do this in the crock pot.  

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Slow Cooker "Baked" Potato Soup

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My Slow Cooker "Baked" Potato Soup is one of Daniel's FAVORITES!  It combines all the flavors of a big baked potato into a soup.  I use shredded potatoes (or you could even use frozen hash-brown potatoes if you wanted) which make this soup thick and hearty as they cook in the crock pot.  This soup has great flavor and the leftovers are even better for lunch the next day!  Unfortunately this soup does not freeze well, but don't worry, it will be gone as quickly as you make it, so you don't need to worry about saving it!

Slow Cooker "Baked" Potato Soup

• 4 cups shredded potatoes (about 4 large baking potatoes, but you can use whatever potatoes you have on hand- or to make it easier you can use a frozen package of hash brown potatoes.  To shred the potatoes I use my food processor with the cheese grater attachment, you can also just use a cheese grater or a micro plane).
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I like to use my garlic press for this - also from PC)
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped (I like to use my PC food chopper for this, it makes finely chopping easier)
• 6 slices turkey bacon (or regular bacon), cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup flour (I like to use Wondra but you can use all purpose)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (plus more for serving if desired)
• 1 cup frozen peas (Daniel likes peas but if you don't then leave them out).

Place potatoes, onions, celery, garlic, and chicken stock in the crock of your slow cooker.  Set to cook for 8 hours on low.  After 8 hours, whisk the milk and the flour together until the flour is dissolved in the milk.  Add the milk mixture, the bacon, and the peas to the slow cooker and stir to combine.  Set slow cooker to high and cook for another 30 minutes.  Add the sour cream and the cheese, and stir well until mixed in.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese, and your favorite crackers if desired.

Happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Individual Pizza Pot Pies

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I love this recipe, it is a great one for fall, really easy, and budget friendly!  I love to cut the crust into pumpkin shapes for Halloween, or other fun shapes at other times of the year! Kids like this meal because they get their own individual portion made especially for them!  Daniel LOVES this meal!  You can also make one large pot pie instead of individual if that works better for you!



Individual Pizza Pot Pies

• 1/2 recipe crescent dough
• 1 lb bulk italian turkey sausage or ground turkey
• 1-2 ounces pepperoni, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, any color you like, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce 
• 1 cup mozzarella
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 tsp. italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic or 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil + 1 tsp. olive oil

Spray 4 ramekins generously with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large, deep sided skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the sausage, bell pepper, herbs, garlic, and onion.  Saute 5-10 minutes stirring frequently until sausage is cooked through and onions are translucent.  Add the sauce and pepperoni and cook until heated through.  Spoon mixture into ramekins, fill to 3/4 of the way full.  Top with cheeses.  Roll out the crescent dough and cut into circles or fun shapes like pumpkins.  Layer the dough on top of the ramekins to form the crust. Brush the crust with olive oil.   Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Enjoy!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

The Best Zucchini Bread I Have EVER Eaten!

We have gotten so much zucchini from Abbe Hills that I have been making zucchini EVERYTHING.  I found this recipe for zucchini bread awhile back, I can't remember where, and then filed it away and forgot about it.  I came across it again when looking for something unique to do with my bazillion zucchini.  I changed it a little bit by adding some shredded apple and the flavor was AMAZING.  This bread is so moist and flavorful you will have a hard time believing it is made of zucchini (even if you love zucchini like I do).  Daniel calls it "cake."    Do not drain the zucchini, make sure you shred it and leave it as is, that is what makes it so moist.  This zucchini bread also freezes really well, so I have already made several loaves that I can just pull out of the freezer when I need something to bring to a function or have an unexpected visitor for tea!

Absolutely Gorgeous Zucchini Bread

• 1 large (or two medium) zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups-DO NOT DRAIN)
• 1 large apple, shredded
• 3 cups flour
• 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two loaf pans generously with cooking spray and set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, soda, powder, and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl) beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla until well combined.  Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix on medium speed until well combined.  Add the zucchini, apple, and raisins and mix on medium speed until well combined.  Pour the batter into the loaf pans, half of the batter into each.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan then carefully remove loaves from pans and allow them to cool for 30 minutes on wire racks. Slice and serve (I like to spread some soft butter on my slice, yummmm!)

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Meatloaf and Another Rant

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Tonight, I have a recipe and two rants.  The first rant is a small one.  I was at the grocery store earlier today and there was a lady there passing out samples of a salad made from corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  When I walked up, she asked me if I would like to try some, I told her I wasn't hungry but Daniel might like to try it.  Her response to me was "oh, I don't think he'll like it, it has cucumbers in it."  What???  This woman had never met me or Daniel in our lives and she just assumes that Daniel won't like cucumbers!!!  So I replied, "oh, he loves vegetables," and I gave him a big bite of the salad to which she replied, "oh  my goodness, that is so rare for that age!  I don't believe I have EVER seen a toddler eat cucumbers before!"  So to that I say, WHY is this the mindset in our culture?  WHY DOES EVERYONE  JUST ASSUME THAT CHILDREN WILL NOT EAT VEGETABLES!  IT DRIVES ME INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  This is the problem, parents just ASSUME their kids won't eat it and feed their kids processed GARBAGE instead!  Come on everyone, join my challenge and let's change this!

Ok, now onto tonight's topic which brings me to my second rant, but we will get to that in just a second.  Tonight's meatloaf recipe is one that I adapted from Jessica Seinfeld's meatloaf in her book "Deceptively Delicious."  That being said, The Foodie Mommie DOES NOT APPROVE of Jessica Seinfeld's, however well intentioned but misguided, book "Deceptively Delicious. "  I got this book a few years back as a gift from a very well intentioned friend who thought I would like it because she knows how much I like to include extra veggies in everything.  I thanked her of course, and with one look through the book I knew it wasn't for me.  Then one day, my BFF Heather, who is also a total Foodie and shares the same food beliefs as me (and who is not the friend who gave me the book) called me up and told me she tried the meatloaf recipe and it was actually decent.  I pulled the book back out and decided to give it a try.  Before I get onto my version of this meatloaf, let me take a moment to share with you why I do not approve of this book. Though I feel that Jessica Seinfeld had good intentions when writing this book, I have to say that she is very misguided in her beliefs about food.  First of all a grand majority of the recipes call for ingredients made in labs, charged with chemicals and are highly processed.  For example, many of her recipes call for margarine instead of butter.  Contrary to what we have had pounded into our heads in this country, BUTTER IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN MARGARINE!  It comes from a natural source and is minimally processed.  Even if the margarine says "trans-fat free" that does not mean it is good for you or free of chemicals!  Many recipes also call for low fat or fat free ingredients which usually send up red flags for me too.  With the exception of sour cream and milk, I DO NOT approve of anything that says fat free, reduced fat, or low fat, and you shouldn't either.  Usually those are indicators that the nutrients have been taken out of the product and replaced with chemically produced processed ingredients made in a lab, namely High Fructose Corn Syrup, and other ingredients that are very bad for us.  It is my belief that we should eat the way our grandparents and great grandparents ate.  They were a healthier generation, and that has been proven over and over again.  

Another reason why I do not approve of Deceptively Delicious is that I do not believe it is right for us to deceive our children, or anyone for that matter, about what they are eating.  How are our kids supposed to learn good eating habits if we lie to them about what they are eating?  We need to change this mindset that things that are good for us do not taste good and that things that are good for us come from unnatural sources, made in labs, with chemicals.  How are we supposed to teach our children to appreciate the bounty of nature if they do not know what they are eating, where it came from, and how it was made?  Yes, I DO put pureed vegetables in my dishes, but everyone ALWAYS knows that I have included them, and I add them to either give us a boost of nutrition or to give the food a boost of flavor.  I am NEVER deceitful.  It my opinion, it is NEVER ok to lie to our kids about food.  In addition, children will not starve themselves.  I have always said that I am not a short order cook, if my family doesn't want to eat something I've made, they don't get to eat, case closed.  That may sound harsh, but we cater too much to the culture of processed foods and that needs to stop in my opinion.  

All of that being said, the meatloaf recipe is a good baseline recipe, so here is my version:

Meatloaf- The Foodie Mommie Way

• 2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I make my own, very easy!)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp. butter or olive oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 lb ground turkey or beef
• 1 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce (homemade or tonight I used Newman's Own)
• 1/2 cup pureed carrot
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic
• 2 eggs

Spray a 13X9 inch baking dish generously with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl, soak half of the breadcrumbs in the buttermilk for about 5 minutes.  Saute the onion and celery in the butter for about 5 minutes or until translucent and fragrant.  In a bowl, mix the ground meat with the granulated garlic, the eggs, the onion and celery, all of the breadcrumbs (dry and soaked) half of the parmesan, the carrot,  and 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce until completely combined.  Place in the 13X9 inch dish and form into the shape of a loaf.  Pour over remaining spaghetti sauce and top with remaining cheese.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until set and meat is fully cooked.  Enjoy!  

Before I sign off, just a little disclaimer - these are my own opinions, nobody asked me to review anything, I am just all fired up right now about this topic and needed to get it off my chest!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING - naturally!

Et a tous mes compatriotes - BONNE FETE NATIONALE!

Apple Cinnamon French Toast Sticks

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I am always very happy to take recipe requests from my readers.  I recently received a request from a mom who said that her son LOVES French Toast Sticks and was wondering if I had a recipe for them.  French Toast happens to be one of my favorite breakfast foods, but I never make it because I do not have a griddle.  As I got to thinking about how I could get around this, I thought maybe it would be possible to do French Toast in the oven.  So I set to work, and this is what came out of my brain.  I hate to toot my own horn, but these are INCREDIBLE!  They take a little time to make if you make them the way I did, but it is well worth it.  For those of you who want something a little quicker, I am providing some time saving tips.  They freeze really well too.  To reheat I just pop them in the toaster oven or the microwave straight from the freezer!  Just a warning, these are laden with butter (especially if you make the brioche from scratch) so if you are watching your calorie and fat intake, this is not the recipe for you!  I can guarantee you, however, that there are no "yucky no-no" ingredients in these French Toast Sticks!  Nope, nothing processed about these!

Apple  Cinnamon French Toast

• 1 recipe apple cinnamon brioche (see below) or any thick sliced bread like Texas Toast (or you could use a store bought French loaf, anything that can be sliced fairly thick)
• 1/2 recipe cinnamon applesauce (see below) or 1 1/2 cups store bought applesauce with cinnamon
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 sticks butter, melted

Slice the bread about 3/4 inch thick and then cut each slice into thirds.  In a large bowl (and I mean LARGE), whisk together the eggs, the buttermilk, the applesauce, the vanilla, and the sugar.  CAREFULLY place the bread in the egg mixture and turn to coat, being very careful not to tear the bread.  Allow the bread to soak in the mixture for about 20-30 minutes.  Spray 2 large cookie sheets generously with cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Carefully remove the bread (it will be very fragile) from the egg mixture and place it on the cookie sheets, leaving about 1/4 inch between each bread stick.  Drizzle the sticks with half of the butter.  Bake for 1 hour in the oven.  Halfway through baking, remove the sticks, turn them over, and drizzle the other side with the rest of the butter (see, told you there was a lot of butter, I feel like Paula Deen with this recipe)!   You will know they are ready to be flipped when the underside is golden brown.  Serve with maple syrup or just by themselves they are really good!

To freeze for later - flash freeze on cookie sheet then place them in ziplock bags.  This will prevent them from sticking.  To reheat, simply microwave them for 30 seconds to 1 minute or place them in the toaster oven for 2 minutes.  

Apple Cinnamon Brioche - 

The basic Brioche Recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa but I have adapted it in many different ways because I make Brioche so often.  

• 3 large eggs
• 1 stick butter at room temperature
• 1/8 cup applesauce from applesauce recipe (or store bought applesauce with cinnamon)
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. yeast
• 1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp. milk for egg wash

Place all ingredients (except the egg and milk for egg wash) in the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer and set to dough cycle.  When dough is finished, scrape dough into a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in the fridge overnight.  The next day, allow the dough to sit at room temperature for one hour.  Place a small amount of flour on your countertop.  Lightly knead the dough and then shape into a 6 X 8 inch rectangle.  Tightly roll up the dough and tuck the sides under and then roll lightly to smooth out.  You should have a cylindrical shape.  Spray a loaf pan generously with cooking spray and place the brioche dough cylinder inside.  Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush the top of the brioche dough with the egg wash.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap the top.  Allow to cool completely before slicing.  

Easy Peasy Applesauce

• 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced (any variety, whatever you have on hand is fine, I used Fuji apples)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. butter

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Saute over high heat for 1 minute or until the apples start to sweat, the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.  Turn down to low, cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally for about an hour until the apples are very soft.  Puree in a food processor or using an immersion blender.  Allow to cool completely.  This makes about 2 cups of applesauce.  

To cut corners and save time, use store bought bread and applesauce instead of homemade.  I made this after Daniel went to bed, then stuck it in the freezer for him to have for breakfast the next morning...of course, it made my house smell like absolute HEAVEN so David came sniffing up the stairs and said "I want French Toast for my evening snack!"  David is not usually one for sweet foods but he told me this was the best French Toast he had ever eaten, which is a really lovely compliment from him.  Please let me know if you try it, and what you think!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING (even if this meal is full of butter!)

Baked Turkey (or chicken) Chimichangas

Hello Dear Readers!  So before I talk about tonight's recipe, I have to share a little story.  I am SO proud of myself!  Tonight during dinner prep, things were very hectic, Daniel was in a mood because he was hungry, crying and saying "eat! eat!"  So of course, it is at that moment when my garbage disposal decided to die.  Panicking, I didn't want David to come home after a long day at work and have to fix the garbage disposal so I put on my thinking cap, took a deep breath, and made the decision to try and figure out what was wrong with it myself.  I pulled up the service manual online, called the company, and they told me how to fix it.  I found the right tools in David's toolbox, and got under the sink, praying that it didn't break further.  Guess what?  I was able to fix it!  Yay!  Go me!


Now onto tonight's recipe.  This is one I have been making forever.  It is such a great throw together meal for a busy evening, and the leftovers make for a perfect lunch the next day.  As much as I don't like the deli counter, I do happen to make this dish with deli turkey, however you can just as easily make it with a grocery store rotisserie chicken.  If you are buying turkey from the deli, be sure to ask them to cut it fresh for you, that way you can avoid all the yucky stuff that grows on turkey that has been sitting out.  Tonight I served it with broccoli, but sometimes I make a side salad to go with it, it just depends on what I have on hand.  


Baked Turkey Chimichangas

• 1/2 lb deli turkey or rotisserie chicken
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 2 cups shredded cabbage (you could use coleslaw cabbage)
• 1 (8 oz) jar of salsa
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 (6 oz) can diced green chilies
• 1/8 cup olive oil (you probably won't use all of this)
• 6 large flour tortillas (I used jalapeno cheddar wraps tonight)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Spray generously with cooking spray and set aside.  In a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil and the tortillas.  Place a heaping mound of filling into the middle of one tortilla.  Fold in the sides and then roll up and tuck the ends under.  Place seam side down on the cookie sheet.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.  Brush tops of chimichangas with the olive oil (this will help them brown up in the oven).  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until brown and crispy on top.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Chicken Stir Fry

We have been getting TONS of stir fry vegetables from Abbe Hills.  My mom used to make a recipe really similar to this one when I was growing up.  It was so yummy.  The vegetables my mom added were onions, peppers, and carrots.  I added additional veggies because I had so many on hand.  The result was super yummy.  The walnuts give this a little something extra.  I prefer to serve this over brown rice, but you could serve it over noodles as well.  Give it a try, I am positive you will like it!

Chicken Stir Fry

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size chunks
• Any variety of stir fry veggies you like- onions, sliced bell peppers, broccoli florets, sugar snap or snow peas, carrots, chopped bok choi, sliced kohlrabi, sliced diakon radishes, minced garlic (I used garlic scapes tonight) etc. 
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, microplaned
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or stock
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• juice of 1/2 orange
• 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

In a large wok or deep sided skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Cook the chicken until starting to brown on the outside, about 5 minutes.  Add the veggies and cook another 5 minutes until tender crisp, stirring occasionally.  Add the ginger. While chicken and veggies are cooking, mix together the chicken broth, the soy sauce, the orange juice, and the corn starch.  Add to the skillet and mix in with the veggies and chicken.  Turn heat to low and cover the skillet.  Simmer for another 5-7 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through.  Add the walnuts.  Serve over rice or noodles. 

That's all for now!  Until next time everyone, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

Ooh...Sockeye!

I am really excited tonight because I FINALLY managed to find some quality Sockeye here in the Midwest.  I think Sockeye is one of the things I  miss most about Northwest summers.  Salmon is so important in the Northwest that the Sockeye season commences every year with a Salmon Days festival.  Oh how I miss Sockeye.  Oh how I miss eating salmon that is red and not light pink or white.  Oh how I miss walking outside and peering down into a creek and seeing hundreds of thousands of salmon spawning.  Oh how I miss salmon.  But I digress, I was at Sam's Club of all places and they had a special fish guy there (who knew!) who told me that the Sockeye was shipped fresh every Friday from Seattle.  Oh how excited that made me!  Even more exciting was that this past weekend it was only $8.99 a pound!  Oh yes, I had to buy some.  I was a little skeptical, especially after my Sockeye incident from last week, but it didn't have any odor and it seemed fresh, so that was encouraging.  So tonight I prepared the Sockeye, and oh boy was it yummy!  I have to tell you, I am a salmon snob, and even though it wasn't as good as if I had purchased it at Pike Place in downtown Seattle, it was still very worth it! Back home there are two ways I would prepare the Sockeye, the first is with lemon juice, rock salt, and brown sugar.  Marinate that overnight, remove the rock salt, and grill (this is the best way).  The second way would be very simply with lemon juice, garlic and dill, and the Cedar Plank it on the grill.  Tonight, I made a soy ginger glaze and I served this up with a nice rice pilaf and some broccoli that came from Abbe Hills Farm.  What a beautiful summer meal!


Tonight's Sockeye with a Soy Ginger Glaze

 

This is the color salmon should be!  RED!  BEAUTIFUL!

• 1-2 lbs fresh Sockeye fillets
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp. fresh ginger root, micro-planed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1/8 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with cooking spray.  Place the salmon on the foil.  In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together and pour over the salmon.  Place butter cubes over the top of the salmon.  Fold the foil into a little packet to tent the salmon.  

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the salmon flakes when a fork is inserted into the middle.  Enjoy!

The leftover fish is quite delicious served cold the next day on a salad, with crackers, or just by itself!

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!