Salmon

Serving size 2
Olive oil for drizzling
2 Tbsp salted butter (optional omit for health purposes if neccessary)
1/4 Tsp Old Bay
1/4 Tsp your favorite fish seasoning
1/4 Tsp garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
2 Cloves garlic slivered
2 Pieces salmon skin on
1/8 Cup water
Foil

Drizzle both sides of salmon with olive oil. Lightly coat non stick pan with oil and turn onto medium heat (add butter here if you want it). Combine all seasonings reserving slivered garlic and dust pink side of salmon. Place fish in pan skin side down and cook for 5 minutes until fish lifts from pan. Flip for 1 minute to slightly brown top. Place fish back skin side down and top with slivered garlic. Pour water in pan in small amounts and loosely cover pan with foil allowing salmon to steam. Cook until desired doneness (trying to achieve crispy skin). Serve with rice and fresh lemon.

Tomatillo Chicken

(I know the pic is unappetizing but it is sooooo tasty)

**This meal can also be made in the crock pot, simply throw everything in the crock pot after you have blended your veggies and cook on low for 8 hours.

Ingredients:
4 pieces bone in chicken
2 Tsp ground coriander seed
2 pinch crushed red pepper flake
1 pinch cayenne (more if you like it hot)
3 cups of chicken stock (won't use it all)
9 tomatillos rough chopped
1 medium yellow onion rough chopped
7 cloves garlic cracked
1 tbsp salt + 1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp pepper + 1 tsp pepper
1-3 pasillo peppers (depending on your heat level)
olive oil
Shredded mozzarella for topping

Season chicken with 1/8 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper, and olive oil. Coat large, deep sauté pan with oil. Cook chicken on medium high heat and flip halfway through. While chicken is cooking dice up onions, garlic and tomatillos and place in food processor or blender with salt, pepper, cayenne, crushed red pepper and coriander. If you need liquid add 1/2 cup of your chicken stock. Blend until ingredients are combined and are about salsa consistency. Turn on broiler, or if you have a gas stove turn that on, and place your peppers on the flame to char the skin, rotating to char all sides. When peppers are charred place them in a paper sack and close it to allow the skin to steam off and loosen. After about 10 minutes remove peppers an scrape most of the char off with the back of a knife. Cut off the tops and dice your peppers (I left the seeds in this is a pretty mild pepper). When chicken is about 2/3 of the way done, remove it from the pan and drain out all oil and fat. Pour in your tomatillo mixture and bring it to a boil. Add chicken back in and cook over medium until chicken is done. If your sauce is too thick add more chicken stock half a cup at a time. As it cooks the sauce will reduce and you will need more chicken stock. Throw in your chopped up peppers and stir. Cook until the juices in the chicken run clear when you cut into it. Top with mozzarella and serve.

I think cooking it in the crock pot would develop the flavor of the tomatillo much better, but if your in a pinch for time doing it this way works great. If you do it in the crock pot add in all 3 cups of your chicken stock as it will reduce down.

(Skip this step for crock pots)

At this point pour all of this, and your chicken in the crock pot. (you will want to prepare your peppers at this point so they can be in the crock pot and flavor your sauce more.)

Chili Suizas Bake

INGREDIENTS
3 large poblano peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 large or 16 medium to small tomatillos, peeled, rinsed and halved
1/4 cup cilantro, a handful
2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons honey
salt
pepper
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup creme fraiche
3 cups lightly crushed tortilla chips
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the broiler to high. Place the poblanos under hot broiler and char until blackened an all sides, 15 to 20 minutes. Leave the door of the oven cracked to allow the steam to escape. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the peppers to cool enough to handle.
2. While peppers char, heat extra-virgin olive oil in a high sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and lightly brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in onions, jalapeno and garlic and cook to soften onions about 5 minutes.
3. While onions cook, place tomatillos and cilantro in the food processor and process until smooth. 4. Pour the tomatillos into the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Stir in chicken stock and honey, season with salt and pepper and simmer chili 10 minutes.
5. When poblano peppers are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and chop, stir into chili. Remove chili pan from heat and stir in lime juice. Add dollops of creme fraiche on top of the chili, placing spoonfuls evenly across the pan. Cover the pan with a layer of crushed chips and top with Swiss and Pepper Jack cheeses.
6. Place under broiler until brown and bubbly. Serve from hot skillet.

Chicken and Asparagus Bundles

INGREDIENTS
12 to 16 thin asparagus spears, trimmed
1/4 cup water
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
4 tsp. chopped fresh herbs (such as basil, rosemary and thyme)
1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup small cubes Smoked Gouda Cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. Place asparagus in a small dish with 1/4 cup water; microwave on HIGH for 1 minute, then drain.
3. Unfold pastry and cut into 4 equal pieces; place on prepared sheet.
4. Top each pastry piece with equal amounts of herbs, chicken, asparagus and cheese, in that order. Fold in 2 points of each pastry bundle and press to seal.
5. Bake for about 16 to 18 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

NOTE: You can substitute the rotisserie chicken for 2 baked chicken breast.

Lime cilantro pork

2 pork small tenderloins
1/4 cup lime juice (fresh is best)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 pinch crushed red pepper flake
5 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup white or yellow onion chopped
Salt and pepper
1/8 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 360. Combine all ingredients (reserve salt) in food storage bag and marinate for about 20 minutes. Remove pork from bag and place on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 40 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle. In small saucepan boil marinade for five minutes and then reduce heat to medium low and allow it to reduce until thickened. At this point you will want to check your marinade for tartness. You may need a little more sugar or a little more lime depending on your taste. Allow pork to rest for about 5 minutes and then carve. Top with sauce and serve.

Sorry I totally forgot to take a picture of it plated, but you get the idea.

Vegetarian Shepards Pie

INGREDIENTS
2 medium/large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium/large white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
green onions

Curried Lentil Filling
3 1/4 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 cup lentils
2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 cup sliced onions
2 cloves garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup yellow or red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 zucchini, cut in rounds
1 cup bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Boil sweet and white potatoes 45 minutes. Strain the potatoes, reserve 2 cups of water. Pour 1 cup back into pot and mash potatoes. Add olive oil and seasoning and completely drain.
3. Meanwhile cook the lentils: Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add the bay leaf, lentils, Cajun seasoning. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat when completely cooked and let cool briefly. Drain out any liquid.
4. Saute onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli and bell peppers in olive oil in large sauce pan until onions are transparent and limp, about 4 minutes.
5. Add the reserved 1 cup of potato water, nutritional yeast, salt and curry powder and stir until everything is blended in. Add to cooked lentils.
6. Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup of water and stir it into the lentil/vegetable mixture. Continue to cook for 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
7. Line the bottom of casserole dish with zucchini rounds. Sprinkle 1/2 bread crumbs on top of zucchini.
8. Spoon out 4 cups of the mashed potatoes and spread across the zucchini rounds. Spoon out 2 cups of the curried lentils and spread over potatoes. Spoon remainder of mashed potatoes and smooth it out on top. Sprinkle the rest of the bread crumbs and scallions or green onions on the top.
9. Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

(I know it might not be the prettiest picture, it was taken as an afterthought.)

Healthy chicken tacos

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken diced
1/2 cup yellow onion diced
5 cloves garlic diced
salt
pepper
3/4 cup salsa verde
flour tortillas
Sliced mozzarella
tomatoes chopped
cilantro chopped
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. If you don't have a taco rack like mine you can fold them over the sides of an oven safe pan. Bake for about 10-15 minutes until crisp. Dice chicken and sauté with 1/4 cup of onions (reserve rest for topping) , garlic, salt and pepper until chicken is cooked. Add 1/2 cup of salsa to chicken and warm through. While salsa is warming, line tortillas with cheese and put under broiler until cheese melts to inside. Top with chicken and another layer of cheese and place back under the broiler long enough for cheese to melt. Top with tomato, onion, sour cream, cilantro, and the remaining salsa.

**FYI I call these healthy because the tortillas are baked not fried, and the chicken is covered in a simple low cal sauce instead of a heavy sauce. You can of course leave out the sour cream or cheese if you want to.

Sweet Balsamic Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ pounds chicken

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

½ teaspoon rosemary

5 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary, and garlic in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.

2. Add the chicken to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the over to 450 degrees.

4. Place the chicken on a baking sheet. Bake until it is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping over half way.

5. Place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (this will kill the bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over medium to low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.

6. Top cooked chicken with the cooked marinade.

Death on toast...errrm I mean Fried egg sammich

I had every intention of making a delicious Croque Madame for my husband this morning. However, I know he hates fork and knife sandwiches, and last time he said it was too messy for his taste. So I made the same thing only all inside the bread. This is a sandwich made with love. This isn't some wonder bread packaged ham sandwich, you have to plan to make this, and want to treat your taste buds!

2 slices fresh sour dough bread
3 slices mozzarella cheese (I had this fresh sliced at the deli)
4 slices Fresh shaved honey ham (you know off the ham that looks like ham, not off the ham that looks like a loaf of pink weirdness)
Mayo
Butter
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
*Yields one sandwich, double this if you want to make two sammies!

Butter the outsides of your bread*. In non stick skillet on medium low, place ham in pan and brown it to develop sugar in it. While your ham is browning slather both inside slices of bread with mayo**. Place one slice of cheese on one piece of bread (I broke mine in half and did it sideways, that isn't two slices). When your ham is done place it on top of the cheese and cover with second layer of cheese. Fry your two eggs keeping yolks soft and gooey inside***. Place both eggs on top of your cheese and top with more cheese. Put your second slice of bread on top with mayo inside. Melt butter in your pan and place your sammich carefully inside to fry on low heat, just enough to melt the cheese and brown up your bread. Carefully flip and brown on the other side. Cut in half and enjoy the gooey goodness!

*Real butter not margarine
**They mayo will not melt inside or turn oily. Before you assume you hate this just try the damn mayo inside, I promise you will love it!
***unless you like em over cooked then whatever do it that way, but it takes the fun out of dunking your sandwich int he broken yolk

See it starting to brown. Notice that is real ham, like actual honey ham off a big ole hunk of ham (I went to the deli counter for this and asked for just enough ham for my sammich, to ensure fresh ham).

A perfectly over easy egg

Seriously aren't you starving now.

Definition of Croque Madam & Croque Monsieur

Lime chipotle chicken

1 cup sliced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
2.5 pounds skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
4 minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with 4 teaspoon sauce from can
5 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chicken broth

Arrange onion, celery and carrots in bottom of slow cooker.
Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and arrange over vegetables.

In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, lime juice, chicken broth, chipotle chiles with sauce, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours

Serve over rice.

Spicy stuffed bell peppers

1.5 pounds Hot Italian sausage
1/2 yellow onion diced
5 cloves garlic diced
1/4 green bell pepper fine diced
5 Cremini or baby portobello mushrooms diced
9 slices mozzarella cheese
3 large red bell peppers
Dash red pepper flakes
1 Tsp pepper
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp grill seasoning
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350. Cut very bottoms of bell peppers off, just enough to make them stand upright on their own. Cut tops off and de-seed. Drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven for 10 minutes. In sauté pan break up sausage and add, onions, garlic, diced bell pepper, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and grill seasoning. When meat is browned add bread crumbs and coat all the meat with them. When bell peppers are done remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to touch. Place one slice of cheese over the top of the bell pepper and then push it down inside to form a bowl shape and coating the entire inside of the pepper. Add enough of your meat to fill half the bell pepper and then add a second layer of cheese (placing the cheese in there in a cup/bowl shape will make it so that your bell pepper is lined with cheese and you get some in each bite, similar to an ice cream drumstick being lined with chocolate). Place remaining meat into pepper and then place last slice of cheese over the top so it hangs over the sides. Place the peppers uncovered in the oven for 10 minutes. The cheese should melt over the top of the pepper and form a cheese lid. Remove and enjoy.

* For the mozzarella you can use either fresh or deli mozzarella. For this recipe I had the deli slice me up exactly how much I wanted. I didn't buy fresh this week simply because I wasn't making anything that would use it, and I wouldn't have been able to finish it before it expired. If you use fresh double the amount you use because the slices will be smaller and you will need to cover the same amount of area as a deli slice would.

** I realize most stuffed bell peppers are made with rice and other stuff. These are my all man meat bell peppers though, with none of the yicky girly rice and froo froo things.

** I also prefer sausage to ground beef because you get far less fat and water in the pan and don't have to do any draining, plus it is already seasoned.

Shitake Mushroom Risotto Cakes

INGREDIENTS
1 box shitake mushroom risotto
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
flour
garlic and herb breadcrumbs
olive oil


DIRECTIONS
1. Make risotto according to directions on box.
2. After it is done, stir cheese and basil into risotto.
3. Refrigerate risotto for about an hour. You want the risotto to be completely chilled, it will make it easier to work with.
4. Form risotto into small patties.


5. Take each patty and coat it with flour, coat with the egg wash, and then coat with breadcrumbs.
6. On medium heat olive oil, and cook each patty until brown on each side, about 2-4 minutes.
7. Cool on paper towel and pat to remove excess oil. Serve. Can be reheated in oven.

Quick gravy (beef)

4 cups water
5 bullion cubes
salt
pepper
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour

In small sauce pan bring water and bullion cubes to a boil. After bullion is dissolved pour into heat safe bowl. In same pan add butter and flour and whisk on high heat until butter and flour are combined and bubbling. Add pepper to taste. Allow color to darken slightly until mixture no longer smells like flour. While still on high heat pour broth back into pan and whisk quickly until sauce combines and begins thickening. Lower heat and stir occasionally until serving time. Sauce should be thick and glossy.

Tip. I pour my broth into a large measuring cup making it easier to pour back into the pan. Only butter works for this not margarine.

Ginger stir fried chicken/vegetables

(please excuse lack of veggies in top pic, my husband only eats veggies sparingly so this is how his dish looks, compared to my dish below with all veggies and no chicken. Also please note I don't have the bean sprouts, mine didn't survive through the weekend)

1 pack boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into small pieces
1 red bell pepper Julienned
2 cups mushroom chopped
2 cups sugar snap peas with ends cut off
5 green onions cut on an angle
1 cup bean sprouts washed
5 cloves garlic slivered
1.5 cups chicken/vegetable broth
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp pepper
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs lemon juice

white rice prepared as instructed on package.

In large skillet brown chicken. Add veggies, black and red pepper. Cook until veggies are tender (or to your liking, I like em crunchy) add chicken stock and soy sauce to deglaze the pan and pick up all the bits from the bottom. Add in seasonings and boil on high until sauce thickens and reduces. Plate rice and cover with veggies and chicken.

For the vegetarian version sauté veggies to your liking and add the stock and seasonings subbing veggie stock for chicken.

If you want more sauce just increase the amount of broth you put in and add more soy sauce to taste. Also sesame seeds would be great in this but I was out.

Mashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower
1.5 cups vegetable broth
pinch salt
pinch pepper
cheddar cheese

Quarter cauliflower and cut off all stem pieces. Cut into chunks and put in pot with stock salt and pepper. Boil for about 15 minutes. Check and when cauliflower is fork tender smash it with a potato masher. If there is too much liquid you can pour some out. Top with cheese.

With out cheese it is about 30 calories for a cup of the mashed cauliflower. You can add butter and what not, I just didn't think it needed it. Also it doesn't need this much cheese but my husband HATES veggies so I had to hide them from him under cheese. I thought these kicked ass and had great flavor. This can also be mixed in with actual mashed potatoes to hide them from kids (although I gave it to my son and told him it was mashed potatoes and he loved it), it can also be mixed into macaroni or other things to help get your kids to eat. I'm sure their are fancier versions out there, but I really enjoy tasting my food and not always tasting a bunch of spice. Some call me boring or bland, but I just really enjoy tasting the actual food I'm cooking!

Spinach

1 bag baby spinach
8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
olive oil
salt
pepper
tbsp lemon juice

In large sauté pan coat bottom with olive oil. Add garlic and let it simmer on low infusing the oil with the garlic. After about 6 minutes add in the spinach, salt and pepper. Toss it frequently in the olive oil until wilted. At the very end add the lemon juice so that it doesn't bitter.