Salmon 3 Ways: Salad, Stuffed Tomatoes & a Sandwich





First and foremost, a huge congratulations to the three winners of my Balance Bar giveaway last week!
                Melissa C.
                Jordan
                “G” (I could not find an email address, G, so you have until tomorrow at 3pm EST to contact me
with your mailing address)

Thank you so much, everyone, for participating! I wish I could have given everyone a box just for entering. Winners have 24 hours to claim their prize before new winners will be selected (also via random.org).


Now that March is ending, I can’t deny any longer that it’s Spring. Everywhere I turn, there’s another reminder: the horrifyingly large bee standing guard at my car yesterday, daring me to come closer; the bin of scarves and gloves that I brought back to my parent’s house because I surely won’t need them at school anymore; the buttercups and crocuses peppering my backyard with color; and the buzz of Spring cleaning coming over both myself and the people around me.

In addition to the Spring cleaning I’ve been initiating throughout my room at home and my apartment at school, I’ve started another, much more daunting “Spring cleaning” task: sorting through the literally thousands of recipes that I have bookmarked. After several solid weeks, I finally eliminated all broken/dead links. Now, I’m moving back through my collection to figure out if I really, truly need every single one of these recipes after all, and recategorizing them to make it easier to search for recipes as I need them. I know that I have a lot of unnecessary recipes saved because so many of them are just minor alterations of others. A cinnamon sugar baked doughnut sitting next to a cinnamon sugar baked doughnut muffin. Twenty different ways to make a roasted tomato salsa. And dozens upon dozens of “recipes” that I really don’t need a recipe to rely on in order to make to begin with.

Recently, I bought a can of salmon as my main protein source for the week, and unearthed three “different” recipes to make using that one can. The first was called a “Wild salmon salad over greens,” and I paired it with a ginger dressing. The second was called “salmon stuffed tomatoes,” and I bulked the meal up a little (since it was really intended to be an appetizer) with a side of plain almonds.  And the third was a recipe for salmon burgers, which I slid into a wrap along with some greens and grated ginger. They sound like very unique recipes, don’t they? In truth, they might as well be the same darn thing, except one is plopped on top of mixed greens , another is spooned into a hollowed out tomato, and the last is shaped into patties and sautéed. These are the kinds of recipes I’m targeting with my Spring cleaning – it isn’t that they aren’t wonderful on their own or that I think one is less worthy; it’s just that I don’t need all of them taking up space in my bookmarks, when we really get down to it. Similarly, I couldn’t really justify taking up your time three times by splitting these recipes apart. Instead, I’m going to blend them together, marrying their flavors for you, and encourage you to try them as a salad, a stuffed tomato, or a sandwich – whichever you prefer. The filling is the base; how you present it to your guests is what makes it special.

 

Healthy Salmon Salad, adapted from FoodieTots and Mother Rimmy
Yield: 3-4 main dish servings, 12 appetizer servings

The Ingredients
7.5 ounces wild Alaskan salmon, drained, bones removed, and flaked
¼ cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
¼ cup (heaping) chopped celery
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
1-2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons rosemary
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice

The Method
Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes (up to a day) before serving.

Serving Suggestions:
           (1) Pile salad on top of mixed greens and drizzle with ginger dressing
        (2) Halve and hollow out 6 campari or 3-4 regular tomatoes. Divide the salad evenly amongst tomato halves before refrigerating.
         (3) Replace all of the yogurt with 1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon soy sauce and, rather than refrigerating, form into patties and sauté in olive oil. Serve as burgers or wraps with arugula, red pepper slices & grated fresh ginger.








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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Sauteed Broccoli Rabe






(There’s still 1 more day left in my Balance Bar giveaway! Head over to the giveaway post to enter before 12noon EST tomorrow!)

I don’t often shy away from bitter foods. In fact, one of my favorite vegetables is a well-prepared Brussels sprout, and you don’t get much more notoriously bitter than that. Broccoli rabe, though, has been a more difficult vegetable for me to embrace. This recipe by Rachael Ray certainly helped. The bitterness isn’t totally masked by the other ingredients, so this certainly isn’t for everyone, but I did like it. You could increase the number of raisins or, do what I did with the leftovers, and stir in some applesauce or diced fresh apples to sweeten it up. It’s a simple recipe, and if you’re a fan of broccoli rabe then I highly recommend it. If you’re still a reluctant broccoli rabe consumer, this is a good stepping stone along the path toward bitter green acceptance, but know that it probably won’t be revolutionary. It helps to pair this with a sweeter or at least more neutral meal. I ate it alongside the Fauxtalian Grilled Cheese that I wrote about last week, and that was flavorful enough that made it work. Do consider trying it, but if you don’t fall head over heels for broccoli rabe after making this recipe, don’t give up just yet. I know I won’t.

 

Sauteed Broccoli Rabe, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ small onion, chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 ½ - 2 pounds fresh broccoli rabe, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 cups no sodium added chicken broth
1 cup no sugar added applesauce (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

The Method
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium. Add the onion when the pan is hot and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in the raisins and broccoli rabe, followed by the broth, and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the broccoli rabe has become tender and has lost most of its bitterness, approximately 12 minutes. Uncover and cook the liquid down by half, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the applesauce, sprinkle with cinnamon, and transfer to a serving platter.



 


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Berry Coffee Oatmeal



(Psst! Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a free box of Blueberry Acai Balance Bars! Giveaway open until Friday at 12noon EST.)

The path that led to this oatmeal recipe is actually fairly long, and perhaps even a little twisted. It began months ago, at a 50’s style diner where L and I took my parents as a holiday gift. This diner is known for many things, one of them being their milkshakes. So, although we were decidedly stuffed by the time we finished our meals, we each ordered one of their special shakes to go, to eat later, once our stomachs had recovered from the ridiculously delicious but very, very caloric meal we had just consumed. Now, their milkshake menu is extensive – it has every single flavor you could possibly imagine. And if that weren’t enough for you, you can combine any of those single flavors to create this personalized, fantasty mega shake. I went with a Chocolate-Cherry & Almond combo, which was really good, except the cherry tasted a little artificial and ultimately left me disappointed. L on the other hand ordered a coffee almond combination that was one of the most fantastic flavor combinations I’ve experienced. It was delicate, subtle, sweet – really, really good. And from the moment I took a sip of his shake, I knew I needed to recreate that flavor combination in other food (I also tried secretly plotting ways to switch our shakes so that I could have more of his, but we won’t tell him that).

I made a mental note of the combination, but it wasn’t until I found myself with an overwhelming amount of leftover oatmeal from an event that my Student Dietetic Association had organized that I was actually able to turn it into a dish. I needed a creative way of using the oatmeal up, because the thought of eating the same thing over and over again for a week straight is definitely not appealing. If you’re not careful, breakfast can so easily fall into a boring routine of eating the same thing day in and day out, and as much as I love my breakfast staples, a full week of leftover oatmeal was just too much. So I eyed this container of leftover oatmeal, and then my eyes wandered to two other items in my fridge: almond milk and instant decaf coffee. It didn’t take long for that light bulb to go off!

That is how this Coffee Berry Oatmeal was born, and I have to say, it was all that I had imagined. The almond milk and berries round out the slight bitter edge from the coffee. It’s creamy, but substantial. And the colors are definitely pleasing to the eye. I ate it cold, but you could just as easily cook ⅓ cup dry oats in the almond milk-coffee granule mixture to serve it hot if that’s more your style. One thing I like about cold oats or oatmeal is that it lends a sweetness that I think gets muted by heat (in general, I tend to find flavors stronger when a food has cooled), but it shouldn't make a very big difference. Either way, this is a perfect breakfast monotony breaker and a real treat.


Berry Coffee Oatmeal
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
⅔ cup leftover oatmeal, cooled
⅔ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
⅔ teaspoon decaf instant coffee
⅔ - 1 cup frozen mixed berries, thawed

The Method
Heat the almond milk and instant coffee until the latter has dissolved, then gently mix in the leftover oatmeal (off of the heat). Top with thawed berries, and enjoy!


 



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Blueberry Acai Balance Bar Product Review and....GIVEAWAY!!!

If you had told me a year ago – heck, even six months ago – that I would be writing not one, but two overall positive reviews about protein bars, I probably would have laughed. I certainly wouldn’t have believed you. However, Balance Bar has proceeded to edge me out of my anti-protein bar shell little by little, first with my modest acceptance of its Nimble line, and now with its Bare line. In fact, I liked the Bare bar that I sampled so much that I even asked them to provide a box to not one, not two, but in fact three of my fantastic readers and followers! So if you’re interested, definitely keep reading, and look into the details of entering at the bottom of this post.

The Balance Bar that I’m reviewing and will be giving away is a new Bare product, a Blueberry Acai flavor that is officially the best protein bar I have ever had. The blueberry flavor is strong, unlike those “peanut butter chocolate” or “s’mores” protein bars that you so often buy because they sound fantastic, only to realize upon first bite that they’re nothing more than a brick of chemicals – no peanut butter, chocolate, or marshmallow flavors in sight (or should I say, in taste?). The Acai is a much more subtle component of the bar, though that’s to be expected – Acai is one of those expensive ingredients that is often added in as a minimal extra. I don’t view this as a negative of the bar, as it imparts a slightly more complex flavor than the bar would have if it had been blueberry alone. The other truly fantastic thing to note about the flavor of this bar is that there is no after taste! None. Whatsoever. And I closed my eyes and focused really hard to try to find one. It’s something of a miracle, from my experience with most protein bars.


Now, the Blueberry Acai Bare Balance Bar (phew! Try saying that 5 times fast!) is not all rainbows and sunshine. The ever-present cynic in me naturally found some less-than-ideal characteristics of the bar, and to be fair, I have to mention them. First – sugar is both the second and third ingredient. Granted, due to it being a Bare bar and therefore a more natural alternative to protein bars, there’s nary a drop of high fructose corn syrup to be found, but the sugar level is a little on the high side (I aim for 6g or less in my non-protein breakfast bars, which is really all I have to compare it to). To be fair to Balance Bar, they also give you a whopping 15g of protein and 4g unsaturated fat to help slow that blood sugar spike, making the extra sugar much less of a concern (in fact, that’s exactly one of their motives behind the ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins), but it is something to consider. I was also a little turned off by the palm kernel oil and caramel color in the ingredients list – for a bar that boasts its natural qualities, those aren’t the kinds of ingredients I personally want to see. They’re in very small amounts, and as you can see they aren’t stopping me from grabbing a bar every now and then or encouraging you to try them – just one more piece of the puzzle to think about. The only other “drawback,” which I don’t really mind at all, is that you definitely should still keep a bottle or glass of water by your side when you eat the bar. If you concentrate really hard you might get a little bit of that powdery taste to it (but it’s negligible at best), and all protein bars are inherently dense, so the water just helps wash all of those nutrients down.

Bottom line? Like I said, this is the best protein bar I’ve ever tasted. It definitely has some areas in which I think it could improve, but overall, protein bars aren’t supposed to be the kind of thing you eat day in and day out, anyway. They’re meant for the occasional pre- or post-workout snack, or the bail-you-out-of-an-empty-stomach, bad-food-environment crisis. These aren’t the kind of snacks you much mindlessly during your favorite tv show – they have calories, they have fat, they’re full-on meals in one compact little package. Treat yourself to them on occasion, in the appropriate context, and these little nutrition powerhouses will work hard for you. Just recognize them for what they are, and I can assure you, Balance Bar will not disappoint.


 So how about it? Do you want to try this new Balance Bar flavor out for yourself? Do you want to experience first-hand the revolutionary achievements Balance Bar has made with its Bare line (in my very humble opinion)? Well, you can! The new Blueberry Acai Bare bar can be found at various retail stores across the country, as well as online at Balance Bar’s website. So you could definitely buy your own, or you could enter to be one of three lucky people to win a box!

THE GIVEAWAY!


Here’s the low-down on entering the giveaway:
1)      Leave a comment on this post telling me a little bit about your experience with protein bars. Are you a lover? A skeptic? I’d love to hear your opinion! Make sure you provide your email in the appropriate comment field so I know who to contact if you win, too!
2)      The giveaway will run from Monday, March 26th until Friday, March 30th at 12noon.
3)      Three winners will be selected, as some people say heartlessly, by a random number generator.
4)      Winners will have 24 hours from the time they’ve been notified (via email) to respond with their address, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Earn additional entries by doing any of the following (and leaving a separate comment letting me know you’ve done each!):
1)      1. Follow Balance Bar on Twitter
2)      2.  Like Balance Bar on Facebook
3)      3.  Follow Floptimism on Facebook

Good luck to everyone, and happy protein-ing!




The opinions expressed and images shared in this review are entirely my own. Although Balance Bar donated the bars for me to sample and give away, no further compensation or incentive was given. I am not affiliated in any way with Balance Bar or its subsidiaries.






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Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding - Pure Bliss



When I bought my package of chia seeds, I had no idea that they would be the basis for my new favorite recipe to make. I thought that I would buy them, use them, enjoy them, and then maybe buy them again once in a blue moon. Now, I don’t know how I ever lived without them! I enjoyed the peanut butter & banana chia pudding I made for my first foray, though my heavy-handedness with the rum extract may have detracted a little from my potential satisfaction. I also happily make my Omelet of Champions a few times each month. But what truly stole my heart and crossed me over to the wonderful world of chia seed infatuation was this recipe for Chocolate Chia Pudding.

If you are looking for a healthy, nutrient-packed way to satisfy your chocolate cravings, this is it. It’s not low-fat, so much like an avocado chocolate pudding it’s healthier but not necessarily lower calorie than its traditional, non-chia version. But seriously, this is not one of those healthy “chocolate” recipes that kind of leaves you satisfied, but a little part of you is still saying, “that wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for,” either. No, this is all that and a bag of (chocolate covered) chips. I throw in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to make a full on meal of it (350calories), but if you’re looking for a dessert or a snack, feel free to reduce or eliminate the peanut butter (but if you’re a peanut butter fan, I really have to urge you to try it with the peanut butter just once, because it’s truly nothing short of heaven). 1 tablespoon of peanut butter will put the recipe at around 260 calories, and eliminating it completely will actually knock it down to 170 – how’s that for a little bowl of chocolate bliss to curb your cravings without sparking any guilt? It’s rich with just the perfect amount of sweetness to counter it, creamy with the occasional crunch from the seed…this recipe is a winner, that’s all there is to it.


Chocolate (Peanut Butter) Chia Pudding, adapted from Eat-Spin-Run-Repeat
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 packet stevia
½ teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter (optional)
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk

The Method
Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl or dish (preferably one with a lid). Be sure to stir well so that all of the ingredients are blended and no chia seeds are stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Place in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Your pudding is ready when it has thickened up and is pretty much the consistency of regular pudding!



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Thirty Minute Thursdays: Meal Planning + a Fauxtalian Grilled Cheese Sandwich





I’m a very careful spender. I don’t often impulse buy, and it’s rare that I waste things – especially food. Every Thursday or Friday, I sit down with my laptop and my Rachael Ray cookbook, and I plan out a menu for the following week. This process used to be painstaking. I would sit for hours going back and forth between hundreds of recipe combinations to find one that worked to maximize the value of what I spent and minimize waste. Now, I’m able to do it much more quickly. When I’m done, I write up a grocery list, pop it into my phone, and go grocery shopping to pick up only what I have on that list. I spend, on average, $20 a week to feed myself, with maybe 1 week each month going up to $40 if I need to replenish the essentials like yogurts, grains, cereals, etc.  There isn’t a single item of highly processed, stereotypical “convenience” food in my cart. (And no, I don’t even use coupons.) I’d say that’s pretty good. Granted, sometimes I’ll pilfer my parent’s kitchen when I’m home, a luxury that most people don’t have, but the bottom line is – I eat a healthy diet without really breaking the bank or going to huge extremes to cut costs.

The one sacrifice I do often make is in ingredients that a recipe calls for. I won’t buy 3 types of cheese in one week just because one recipe calls for ½ cup of mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of parmesan and another calls for 8 ounces of feta. Instead, I tweak the recipes to use similar ingredients (or I just look for another recipe that works better with what I already have). This is often why you see adapted recipes on Floptimism, particularly on Thirty Minute Thursdays – the recipe likely called for an ingredient that was close but not exactly the same as another ingredient I already had on my grocery list, so I just substituted. That’s the beauty of cooking: you may not wind up with the same dish in the end, but you can adapt recipes to your heart’s content.

This recipe was supposed to be an Italian grilled cheese sandwich, but I already had smoked cheddar on my list for a recipe earlier in the week. I didn’t want to buy provolone when I was already buying the cheddar in quantities greater than the one recipe called for, so I just changed it. (Alternatively, I could have gone to my deli counter and simply asked for 3 slices of provolone, and frozen the extra cheddar for future weeks – this is a great way to save on cheeses and lunch meats.) It was supposed to be made on Italian bread, but earlier in the semester I bought a Costco-size package of whole grain sandwich thins and put them in the freezer, so I used one of those for bread instead. My mom had bought a large container of campari tomatoes and wasn’t going to use all of them before they went bad, so I sliced some of those instead of buying regular tomatoes at the store. I didn’t have to buy the basil because I bought a pot at the grocery store for $2.99 at the beginning of the year and have been watering it every day since – it’s still going strong! All of these factors came together to, yes, change the meal to the point where I probably can’t call it an Italian grilled cheese sandwich, but it fit easily into my budget. And did it prevent the sandwich from being the best gosh darn grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten? No, it most certainly did not!

So you see, the less confined you feel by a recipe or a set of ingredients, the easier it is to incorporate healthful foods and delicious meals into your diet. I believe that cooking should be a freeing experience, and it doesn’t take a lot of expertise to get there. It just takes a little bit of patience, practice, and planning.


“Fauxtalian” Grilled Cheese Sandwich, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 2 servings

The Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
2 whole grain sandwich thins
6 (ish) slices smoked cheddar cheese
4 camperi tomatoes, halved1
8 fresh basil leaves, torn

The Method
Heat the oil and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the sandwich thins to the pan to soak up the garlic oil, then remove the thins from the pan. Open the sandwich thins and set the two top halves aside. Layer each bottom half with ¼ of the cheese, then 4 tomato halves, then the remaining cheese. Place the top halves on top to complete the sandwich and return the sandwiches to the skillet to cook until the cheese has melted, flipping once to brown both sides.

Notes:
1It’s easier if you also slice off the rounded edges of the tomatoes just a little bit to make flat slices for the sandwich.




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Choose Your Own (Kitchen) Adventure: Homemade Arugula Ravioli or Lasagna






Ever since my last (and first!) run-in with wonton-based homemade ravioli, I’ve wanted to prove that I had what it takes to make them without them falling apart. When L came for the weekend a little while back, I knew it was the perfect excuse – in fact, when he found out that I was planning to make these arugula ravioli for dinner on Sunday, he decided to extend his stay to make sure he was there for them.

As it turns out, they were really easy to make this time and the whole meal came together well! I think the trick to cooking with wonton wrappers, and perhaps with ravioli dough as well, is to limit the amount of time that you keep them in the boiling water. I overboiled them last time and the ravioli came completely undone in the water; this time, I was more vigilant, and they stayed intact.

In terms of taste, these ravioli are knock outs. The arugula gives a really nice, spicy bite, and the colors are definitely vibrant and appealing. I’d say that wonton wrapper ravioli don’t look as pretty as store-bought or restaurant-made ravioli do, but once you cover them in a zesty tomato sauce and add a little parmesan cheese garnish, that’s not too much of an issue. Pair this with a side salad or as a bed for some grilled chicken and you have yourself a stellar meal, though L and I certainly liked it just fine all by itself.

Another idea is to turn this meal into personal lasagnas. I had some leftover filling and sauce, but didn’t feel like laboring over the ravioli assembly. I simply dropped some wrappers into boiling water to cook them, and then layered them in a ramekin with the filling, sauce, and cheese. Pop them in the oven if the filling wasn’t just made and it needs a little rewarming, and you have yourself an even less labor-intensive meal that still captures the same amazing flavors as the ravioli. In fact, if I’m being perfectly honest, I liked it even better this way! If I had thought to take pictures of this version of the recipe I probably wouldn’t even mention the traditional ravioli but, alas, hindsight certainly is 20/20.


 One Year Ago: Curried Chickpea Salad (one of the most searched-for recipes on Floptimism!)

Arugula Ravioli, adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Yield: 4-5 servings

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces arugula, washed, dried and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons (whole grain, homemade) breadcrumbs
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, yolk and white separated
20 wonton wrappers
1 – 1 ½ cups marinara sauce1

The Method
Set a large pot of water to boil over high heat, covered. Place the oil in a separate, large sauté pan over medium heat, and add the shallots and garlic once heated; sauté 7-10 minutes, or until the shallots have become translucent but not brown. Stir in the arugula until it has cooked down and the water has mostly evaporated, 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Mix in the breadcrumbs and cheese, season with pepper, and stir in the egg yolk.

Meanwhile, set your marinara sauce on to start warming over low heat. If the large pot of water is boiling, reduce the heat to a steady simmer.

Begin assembling the ravioli: lay out all of the wonton wrappers on a flat surface and coat with the egg white. Add 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling to the center of each wonton, then fold them diagonally in half to create a filled triangle. Press firmly along the edges to seal well.2 Add the ravioli to the large pot of water, working in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding, and cook for just 2 minutes (when the ravioli rise to the surface, they’re done). Top the ravioli with the sauce and garnish, optionally, with extra parmesan before serving.

Notes:
1I used leftover sauce from the margherita pizza I had made earlier in the weekend.
2Alternatively, you could double the amount of wontons needed (or cut the serving size in half, though that might look a little sad on someone’s plate), and instead of folding the wrappers over, simply top them with a second wrapper (also brushed with egg whites) to create a square ravioli. I’ve never done this before, but think they might wind up looking a little prettier.


blog hop button March Blog Hop: Favorite Spring Recipes and Giveaway






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Red Hot Tex-Mex French Toast Dinner





One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to put a new twist on a classic or traditional recipe. Most recently, I took a standard breakfast dish – French toast and eggs – and amped it up to be truly worthy of dinner. I don’t even know if this can even be classified as brinner anymore. I swapped the regular stale bread with a slightly dry and sturdy jalapeno cornbread, used the egg white wash from the bread to create a flavorful omelet to pair with it, and drenched it all in an easy, homemade and healthy enchilada sauce (yes, I’m finally giving you the recipe for the red enchilada sauce that I’ve been referencing in other recipes for the past few weeks). The cornbread has a cool-hot jalapeno flavor rather than a burning-hot one thanks to removing the seeds from the peppers, but the sauce is spicy enough for the heat-lovers out there to accept the slightly more demure corn bread beneath it. The sauce also does an excellent job moistening up the meal, as the cornbread, as I mentioned, is on the drier side on its own. The egg was really good – full of flavor and a perfect companion to the French toast. Some sautéed spinach would add a nice extra pop of color, but aside from that, I don’t think that I would change a thing.


Red-Hot Tex-Mex French Toast Dinner
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
1 batch jalapeno cornbread (recipe below)
1 – 1 ½ cups egg whites
2 tablespoons (low-fat) milk
½ batch red enchilada sauce (recipe below)

The Method
Using a serrated knife, slice the cornbread horizontally into 4 long and thin planks, and then halve each plank to create 8 equal squares; set aside.

Whisk the egg whites with the milk in a shallow dish such as a pie plate and pour half into a second shallow dish in order to work with all 4 servings simultaneously. Add 4 cornbread squares to each dish and let the cornbread soak up the egg mixture for at least 2 minutes. Flip the squares over and continue soaking the opposite side for another 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, head a large skillet over medium heat and coat lightly with nonstick spray. Heat another frying pan with a dash of oil or more spray over medium heat. When the large skillet is hot, add as many cornbread squares as possible without overcrowding; cook 3-4 minutes per side, flipping once. After you flip the squares, add the leftover egg mixture to the heated frying pan and scramble the eggs.

Place 2 cornbread squares on a plate, top with ¼ of the scrambled eggs, and pour ¼ - ⅓ cup of enchilada sauce over the entire thing. Repeat for the remaining 3 servings.



Jalapeno Cornbread, adapted from Closet Cooking
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
1 cup (low-fat) milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely diced

The Method
Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Combine the milk and lemon juice to make homemade buttermilk; set aside for 2-3 minutes.

Whisk the oil and eggs into the buttermilk and set aside.

Mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a large bowl. Fold in the buttermilk mixture until barely combined, then mix in the jalapeno peppers to be well distributed.

Pour the cornbread mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool completely.


Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce, adapted from Family, Stamping & Food!
Yield: approximately 2 cups

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup water
2 teaspoons (no salt added) chicken bouillon
1 cup (no salt added) crushed tomatoes
pinch of salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

The Method
Add the oil to a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and chili powder once the oil has heated, 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the cilantro, and bring to a boil. Whisk occasionally, cooking for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Serve warm in recipes.





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30 Minute Thursdays: Chicken Cazador, a spicy Mexican take on Chicken Cacciatore




Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I follow Rachael Ray’s recipes to a T. More often than not, though, these 30 Minute Thursday posts become competitions with myself to see how far I can twist a meal and still call it a 30 Minute Thursday dish. If I’m being honest here, I think this one just about takes the cake. What was once a Chicken Cacciatore Sub is now Chicken Cazador, a low-carb, Mexican-inspired dish of spices and flavor. No Italian influence, no sandwich bread – chicken is just about the only ingredient I left alone in this. I should also mention that “cazador” is the term a quick google search unearthed for “hunter” in Spanish, and since Chicken Cacciatore refers to the Italian for Hunter’s Chicken, I thought it would be appropriate. As always, please do not bludgeon me for any brutalization of the language I may have created (but if you do know Spanish and do happen to know that I butchered it, I’m definitely open to be educated).

Now, about this meal – this really good, really spicy meal. It’s easy – it can even be a one pot dinner, though I added a second pan to sauté up some spinach to serve as a bed for it. It’s also ridiculously delicious, with hot enchilada sauce, plenty of vegetables, and slices of really well-cooked, actually juicy chicken breasts. This would also taste fantastic rolled up into a tortilla, if low-carb isn’t something you go for – I would just reduce the sauce a smidge if you plan to eat it that way (or just bring lots of napkins to the table). Other additions like greek yogurt/sour cream would be delicious, too. I mean really, the sky is the limit – if I could take a chicken cacciatore sub and transform it so drastically and still have it be wonderful, then you can certainly make small changes here or there to suit your preferences, too. I’m all about mixing it up and making a recipe your own, so take the bull by the horns, and go!

Chicken Cazador, adapted from Rachael Ray’s Classic 30 Minute Meals
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 ¼ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
chili powder, to taste
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
8 white mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
½ - 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
⅓ pound cheese of your choice
8 cups baby spinach

The Method
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a sauté pan set over medium-high. Meanwhile, rub the chicken breasts with the chili powder, as much or as little as you like depending on your heat preference. Cook the chicken in the pan, 6 minutes per side, then set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan you just used for the chicken. Once hot, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and oregano. Season with pepper and sauté 5 minutes before stirring in the enchilada sauce and lowering the heat to medium. Be sure to scrape up the bits at the bottom of the pan.

Slice the chicken breasts and arrange atop the sauce and vegetable mixture. Allow to heat through, then sprinkle with cilantro and the cheese. Cook until the cheese has melted (you can cover the pan to hasten this process if you like, or even place the pan under the broiler to get a more golden-brown finish). While you wait for the cheese to melt, wash the spinach and just barely squeeze dry. Add to a large pan coated with non-stick spray, and cook, covered, over medium heat until just wilted. Serve the chicken and sauce mixture on top of the spinach.





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A Happy Salad for a Happy National RD Day!




Sadly enough, I don’t have a pie recipe to share today in honor of Pi Day. I don’t even have a recipe for something that could be stretched and twisted to somewhat fit the “pie” category – no pizzas, no savory pies, not even a breakfast pastry. I apologize for that. I also don’t have anything festive lined up for St. Patrick’s Day – I know, I know, I’m really slacking with these food-related holidays. I’ll try to get my act together.

Today is also National Registered Dietitian Day, though, and I can stretch and twist this “Happy Salad” to fit that holiday. I mean, just look at the title of the recipe – what RD wouldn’t love a salad that is described as “happy?” It also happens to taste great, and I think that even regular people – not just us uppity dietitians/dietitians-to-be – would love it. It’s simple, and the flavors are clean and distinguishable. The cilantro is bold, and the tomatoes would have shined if I had made this dish in a more seasonable month (as in, not the dead of winter when I really shouldn’t even be buying tomatoes at all unless they’re canned). I replaced the quinoa with millet, another fantastic grain, and it imparted a slightly chewier texture to the meal that quinoa wouldn’t have, and I liked that. Two ingredients you shouldn’t be shy with – the spinach, and the olive oil drizzled over at the end. The olive oil in particular adds this rich depth – the bites with the oil drizzle were definitely the best, in my opinion.

I want to keep this short because you know I’ll be back knocking on your virtual blog feed door tomorrow with a 30 Minute Thursday post, but I hope that wherever you are, the weather is gorgeous, your day is enjoyable, and you’re treating yourself to something at least as delicious as this salad.

Pie Recipes, since I didn’t make one special for you today: Blondie Brownie Candy Pie, Chicken, Artichoke & Sundried Tomato Pie

Jenna’s Happy Salad, adapted from Aggie’s Kitchen
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
1 cup uncooked millet
15 ounces black beans (drained and rinsed if canned)
4-6 cups fresh spinach leaves
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro
lemon juice and olive oil, for drizzling

The Method
Place the millet along with 4 cups water in a sauce pot and cover to bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 25 minutes, until the millet has absorbed virtually all of the water. Add the black beans to the pot for the last 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and, optionally, allow to cool to room temperature.

Assemble the salad by layering the spinach, millet and bean mixture, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cilantro. Drizzle the plate with lemon juice and olive oil, to taste, and serve.






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Grapefruit-Avocado Egg White Omelet





I may have been a little hasty the other day in announcing that I would be switching to WordPress. In the research I’ve been doing to try to make a smooth transition, I came to the realization that it’s not the right move for me at this time. I will, eventually, want to purchase my own domain name and move my blog over to my own hosting site, but until then, I’m going to happily stick to Blogger. It hasn’t let me down yet!

To pay homage to my haste, here is a recipe that’s perfect for those rushed or poorly-planned-out nights. Eggs, as you may have noticed, are my saving grace in the kitchen; they’re perfect, easy, and inexpensive for any time of day. They’re such a great option for high quality, lean protein meals for those times when your other dinner plans implode on you, or you just plum forget or don’t have time to make more labor intensive, thought out plans.

This egg white omelet – well, it’s really not about the egg whites at all. It’s about the salsa perched on top of the egg whites, which is a really refreshing alternative to a traditional tomato-based salsa. The use of avocados and grapefruit make the dish pop with color, for one thing, and you get a unique combination of all kinds of textures and flavors. It’s spicy, crunchy-but-smooth, and very citrus-y, if we can pretend for a moment that’s a word. The lime and red pepper balance out the bitter tones of the grapefruit so that you hardly even notice that bitterness at all. And with how easy it is to throw this meal together, it’s the perfect choice to save you from having to dial up the local pizza joint when life gets the better of you and your time.

Two Years Ago: Crepes

Egg White Omelet with Avocado-Grapefruit Salsa
Yield: 1 serving

The Ingredients
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ - ½ cup egg whites

The Method
Prepare the salsa as directed. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a non-stick frying or omelet pan, then add the egg whites once the pan is hot. Cook the egg whites, lifting up the sides as they set to allow the runnier parts to come into contact with the pan to cook. When the omelet is mostly set, loosen the entire omelet and (using 2 spatulas or a plate to help if necessary), flip the omelet to the other side and turn off the heat. Allow the other side to cook for approximately one minute, if that, and then transfer to a plate and top with the reserved salsa.

Notes:
1The original recipe for the salsa comes from a recipe on Confections of a Foodie Bride for fish tacos. Simply follow Step 1 in the instructions on her page to prepare the salsa, making sure to divide the ingredient measurements in half for a single serving. Alternatively, click on the “printable recipe” on this post, where the full egg white omelet and salsa recipe can be found, together. 





 
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"Perfecto" Classic Pizza for a very, very belated National Pizza Pie Day





Before deciding which recipe to write about next, I like to consult my trusty Food Holiday Calendar, the website that tells me when to celebrate ingenius “holidays” like “National Peanut Butter Day” or “National Apple Pie Day.” If an upcoming update falls around a holiday that I have a recipe for, I try to coordinate the two. Imagine my excitement when I quickly scanned over the website and read that today was National Pizza Pie Day, and lo and behold, I do in fact have a delicious pizza recipe that I’ve been waiting to share! It was fate, clearly.

It was fat, at least, until I realized that today is not, in fact, National Pizza Pie Day. February 10th is National Pizza Pie Day – today is actually Blueberry Popover Day and that, my friends, is a holiday for which I have no recipe. If you don’t mind, let’s just pretend that today is National Pizza Pie Day all over again, since I missed it the first time around and since, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want a second chance to celebrate a holiday like this one?

So today, I have to tell you about the best pizza I have ever made. I made it for two reasons: (1) I desperately need to empty out my freezer (as I mentioned in my last post how precariously it’s currently stuffed) and I happened to have two personal-sized pizza dough rounds in there, and (2) L was coming to visit and I often go into panic mode over what to feed him. He isn’t a picky eater, and bless him for all of the crazy things he’ll try because I made them, but he is challenged by the food I tend to keep in stock. Pizza is my go-to solution for him, which up until recently I felt somewhat guilty about because although he likes a good cheesy, tomato pie, he doesn’t go nuts over it. Yet here I am, shoveling slices down his pie hole like there’s no tomorrow. Fortunately, I mentioned this predicament to him and all he had to say, a slice of this very pizza in hand, was “but the pizzas you make are so good!”

So there you have it. The boy’s not a die-hard pizza fan, but this recipe won him over perhaps even more quickly than I did nearly six years ago. The sauce was incredible, the cheese was bursting with flavor (though you can certainly use less – this, too, was a freezer occupant that I was trying to use up), and the dough was thin and crisp. I don’t know about you, but I sit on the fence when it comes to pizza doughs – I know some people are adamant that the dough should be thick and fluffy, while others swear by the thin and crispy, but I’m a girl who likes it both ways. And for all of you other fence sitters or thin and crispy lovers, this dough is for you. The only downside is that the recipe is fairly salty; I didn’t taste the salt with every bite, but found myself practically chugging water for the rest of the night. It’s just something to consider, but overall, the recipe turned out perfecto.

 

Pizza Margherita, adapted from Yahoo! Shine
Yield: 4 servings

The Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
5-6 fresh basil leaves
15 ounces (no salt added) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ tablespoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups grated parmesan cheese2
balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

The Method
Prepare the dough according to the recipe. After last rising, when ready to bake, divide the dough into quarters and spread each quarter into a very thin (as thin as it will go without breaking) personal pizza rounds.

Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit and brush all four dough rounds liberally with olive oil (using more than the 1 tablespoon if necessary).

Mince 3-4 basil leaves and combine in a bowl with the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, and garlic cloves. Divide evenly amongst the four pizza rounds, approximately ¼ cup per round. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Add the cheese to the pizzas and return to the oven to finish cooking, until the crust has become a deep, golden brown and the cheese has melted completely. Chiffonade the remaining basil leaves, sprinkle over the finished pizzas, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.

Notes:
1I use white whole wheat flour and less salt when I make this dough.
2I did not measure this. For 2 people I used a good 1/3-1/2 wedge of parmesan and estimate that it was about ½ - ¾ cup per pizza, but I really just grated a whole lot and then covered the pizza with it. You could probably err on the lower end of ½ cup (or have more of a tomato pie and just sprinkle with ¼ cup or less cheese) and still have a tasty meal.






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