Do you shop at Aldi? If not, drop everything and run there now. Questionable to some, but an opportunity for me, they sell frozen mussels for $2.99 with three different flavors--one with natural juices, another with white wine and garlic sauce, and another with a tomato sauce.
Today, after a small breakfast, I got hungry rather quickly and the time came to finally use the last box of frozen mussels in my freezer. I'd been wanting to make a mussel stew for a few days so I got down to business. It came together in about 15 minutes and was super yummy!
Quickie Mussel Stew
Serves 2
1 14 oz box frozen mussels in their natural juices
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes with juices
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 t dried italian seasoning
1 t minced garlic
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 t dried shallots
1/4 cup red cooking wine
1 T chili-infused olive oil
dash salt and pepper
~ Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning, dried shallots, and give a few stirs.
~Add in the tomatoes and spinach, stirring to coat with the oil and seasonings. Add wine, salt and pepper, stir, then add mussels.
~Turn the heat to high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover, then reduce heat to low, and cook 5 more minutes. Remove lid, stir, and cook 2 minutes.
~Divide immediately between 2 shallow bowls. If desired, serve with crusty bread. We didn't have any bread, as we are on Atkins, but I am sure it would be great with this stew!
Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy. Show all posts
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Quick Comfort-English Muffins and Shrimp and Zucchini Tomato Soup
How time flies. August 20th was my last entry. Days pass by, weeks pass by, and I fear life is passing me by. As I sit here tonight with all my going-ons, listening to Marc Anthony's Mended album on Spotify, I am relieved I can take just a little moment to share my newest baking accomplishment, making English muffins. I think I forget how trying new recipes comforts me. The past few days have not been great. Family issues continue to burden me, and I was thrilled that all the stirring, rolling, cutting, and baking could release some of my pent-up energy.
In no way did I come up with this recipe myself. I googled recipes for Whole Wheat English muffins. Something I have noticed about myself is that I like to have options. I don't have just one mac and cheese recipe, I have several. I don't have one set of measuring cups and spoons, I have three of each. As I peruse the clearance pages of websites like Anchor Hocking and Sur la Table, I am slowly but surely adding to my collection of dish towels, measuring cups, glass dishes, and so on...so, in the same fashion, I printed out two versions of whole wheat english muffins. For my first attempt I chose the simpler, quicker recipe. In this one, the dough doesn't rise for an hour.
I would much rather post the pictures of what I did. I will include the link to the recipe. There isn't anything particular creative that I added or did to this recipe. I just feel really proud that I made it. Thanks Savory Simple!
http://www.savorysimple.net/whole-wheat-english-muffins/
On a side note, for dinner I did make a soup I'd like to share the recipe for. I made a soup similar to this ages ago, but could not find my copy of the recipe. It was by Rocco DiSpirito and I think it was called Shrimp and Red Pepper Soup or something, but for the life of me I couldn't find it, even when I tried googling and searching on Food Network. So this is my version:
In no way did I come up with this recipe myself. I googled recipes for Whole Wheat English muffins. Something I have noticed about myself is that I like to have options. I don't have just one mac and cheese recipe, I have several. I don't have one set of measuring cups and spoons, I have three of each. As I peruse the clearance pages of websites like Anchor Hocking and Sur la Table, I am slowly but surely adding to my collection of dish towels, measuring cups, glass dishes, and so on...so, in the same fashion, I printed out two versions of whole wheat english muffins. For my first attempt I chose the simpler, quicker recipe. In this one, the dough doesn't rise for an hour.
I would much rather post the pictures of what I did. I will include the link to the recipe. There isn't anything particular creative that I added or did to this recipe. I just feel really proud that I made it. Thanks Savory Simple!
http://www.savorysimple.net/whole-wheat-english-muffins/
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| This was a blend of 50/50 whole wheat flour and all purpose flour. I am sure the taste will lean toward whole wheat, it tends to dominate. The all purpose flour will just soften it a bit. |
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| This was my lightly floured board. I actually found that I had to add quite a bit of extra flour as needed because the dough would stick. |
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| Rolled out to an inch thick! |
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| There's my pretty... |
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| After cutting the muffins out of the dough, they rest on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Who knew that this is how they got their cornmeal-y crust! Ahhhh!!! Amazing! |
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| I don't have biscuit cutters, but this circular ramekin did the job! I actually rolled and re-rolled the remaining dough about two or three more times until I had a tiny sliver of dough left. Amazing! |
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| The little guys left to rise for 20 minutes. |
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| They have risen...lol |
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| Cooked on medium-low instead of low heat for 5 minutes each side til golden brown and crispy. This was the second batch, these look like the real thing! |
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| According to the recipe, these bad boys stay fresh for 2 weeks at room temp in an airtight container. Hope so! I will be using them to make mini pizzas, as a breakfast vehicle for butter, peanut butter, or honey, and maybe breakfast sandwiches. The possibilities are endless when you have 17 English muffins to work with! |
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| Shrimp and Zucchini Tomato Soup. Yum! |
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Miscellaneous
Dinner tonight is easy-peasy. I have some hotdogs, so of course we all know what comes of hotdogs, buns, and the random contents of the fridge---culinary artistry! :-p
So instead of going through the usual dinner prep, I will share a couple of my latest culinary adventures. I am sitting in the living room and the patio door is open. I can smell the breeze as it shyly seeps into the room. It really smells like Summer-to-be, even though Winter is still here. So odd. I can only imagine how it will feel in April and March. Ahhhhh. :-)
But... I digress--(said Sophia-style from Golden Girls). Tuesday I had the extraordinary pleasure of making fajitas, Steven Raichlen style. If you've never heard of him, he has a cookbook entitled Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin American Cooking. There are a number of different recipes, from Tres Leches to Tamales to Chimichurri to Arroz con Gandulez to Garlic Plantain Puree to Paella to Lamb Fricasse! I am loving it. I always feel proud when I can add recipes to my arsenal that are exclusively of my Boriquen heritage. And even more than that, I love diversity--in my neighborhoods, my jobs, and in my food, so I appreciate the vast array of regions the recipes are drawn from.
Que Dios te bendiga...que tengan salute buena y bien aprovecho!
:-)
Chicken Fajitas
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup Mojo marinade or all of the marinade in the recipe that follows:
Marinade:
3 tbsp orange juice
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 small onion, quartered
1 jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and chopped (or leave the seeds in if you like your food spicy!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Toppings:
1 small avocado, chopped and drizzled with extra lime juice
1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat sour cream
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 11/2 cups salsa of your choice
Roasted Veggies:
2 poblano peppers, roasted, seeded, and sliced
2 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted, seeded, and sliced
2 medium onions, sliced thin and roasted
10 scallions, roasted
8 fat-free flour tortillas (we used Mission Artisan Style: Ancient Grains and they were the bomb!)
Place the chicken in a glass dish or bowl large enough to accomodate it. Blend or process the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or overnight, like I did. If you do not want to make your own marinade, you can buy Mojo Criollo, located in the Latin aisle of most supermarkets. This was what I had on hand.
Preheat a grill pan (or skillet) and broiler. The original recipe calls for grilling/broiling the different vegetables at different times, but I found the easiest thing to do was to use the broiler and add all of the vegetables to a baking sheet.
Roast veggies about 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally until the peppers are nicely charred and the scallions are charred and wilted. Carefully slice the peppers, seeding the bells and seeding the poblanos only if you don't want the extra heat. Return sliced peppers to pan.
While the veggies are roasting, cook chicken on hot grill for 3-4 minutes per side til no pink is left in the center and juices run clear. Slice against the grain (in the same direction the fibers of the chicken run in) on cutting board and keep warm.
Serve fajitas with toppings listed above, or get creative and come up with your own.
To get really authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. Place cooked chicken and vegetables in the skillet (you will hear sizzling), and serve at table. Be careful not to touch the skillet with your hands!
Enjoy!
Smoky Chicken-Tomato Soup
2-4 canned chipotle peppers ( de-seed if you don't like your food spicy)
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp lard or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 scallions, finely chopped
1 lb bonless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces ( I always opt for a little larger)
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups chicen stock
2 sprigs epazote
Salt and pepper
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Grill the tomatoes until nicely charred. Carefully remove the burnt skin and quarter the tomatoes. Place chipotle peppers and tomatoes in blender or processor and process until smooth.
Heat oil in a large pot. I used my braiser. Oooooo, I love, love, love my braiser. I am actually disappointed when I can't use it to cook!
Add onions, garlic, and most of scallions to pot. Cook, stirring often, till veggies are soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato mixture. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until thick and fragrant. Stir in chicken, chickpeas, stock, and epazote. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Re-season with salt and pepper if desired.
You can't see too much of the yumminess in the picture, but trust me, it's wonderful.
Garnish with remaining scallions and sip to your heart's content. :-)
So instead of going through the usual dinner prep, I will share a couple of my latest culinary adventures. I am sitting in the living room and the patio door is open. I can smell the breeze as it shyly seeps into the room. It really smells like Summer-to-be, even though Winter is still here. So odd. I can only imagine how it will feel in April and March. Ahhhhh. :-)
But... I digress--(said Sophia-style from Golden Girls). Tuesday I had the extraordinary pleasure of making fajitas, Steven Raichlen style. If you've never heard of him, he has a cookbook entitled Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin American Cooking. There are a number of different recipes, from Tres Leches to Tamales to Chimichurri to Arroz con Gandulez to Garlic Plantain Puree to Paella to Lamb Fricasse! I am loving it. I always feel proud when I can add recipes to my arsenal that are exclusively of my Boriquen heritage. And even more than that, I love diversity--in my neighborhoods, my jobs, and in my food, so I appreciate the vast array of regions the recipes are drawn from.
Que Dios te bendiga...que tengan salute buena y bien aprovecho!
:-)
Chicken Fajitas
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup Mojo marinade or all of the marinade in the recipe that follows:
Marinade:
3 tbsp orange juice
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 small onion, quartered
1 jalapeno chili pepper, seeded and chopped (or leave the seeds in if you like your food spicy!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Toppings:
1 small avocado, chopped and drizzled with extra lime juice
1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat sour cream
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 11/2 cups salsa of your choice
Roasted Veggies:
2 poblano peppers, roasted, seeded, and sliced
2 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted, seeded, and sliced
2 medium onions, sliced thin and roasted
10 scallions, roasted
8 fat-free flour tortillas (we used Mission Artisan Style: Ancient Grains and they were the bomb!)
Place the chicken in a glass dish or bowl large enough to accomodate it. Blend or process the marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or overnight, like I did. If you do not want to make your own marinade, you can buy Mojo Criollo, located in the Latin aisle of most supermarkets. This was what I had on hand.
Preheat a grill pan (or skillet) and broiler. The original recipe calls for grilling/broiling the different vegetables at different times, but I found the easiest thing to do was to use the broiler and add all of the vegetables to a baking sheet.
Roast veggies about 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally until the peppers are nicely charred and the scallions are charred and wilted. Carefully slice the peppers, seeding the bells and seeding the poblanos only if you don't want the extra heat. Return sliced peppers to pan.
While the veggies are roasting, cook chicken on hot grill for 3-4 minutes per side til no pink is left in the center and juices run clear. Slice against the grain (in the same direction the fibers of the chicken run in) on cutting board and keep warm.
Serve fajitas with toppings listed above, or get creative and come up with your own.
To get really authentic, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. Place cooked chicken and vegetables in the skillet (you will hear sizzling), and serve at table. Be careful not to touch the skillet with your hands!
Enjoy!
Smoky Chicken-Tomato Soup
2-4 canned chipotle peppers ( de-seed if you don't like your food spicy)
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 tbsp lard or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 scallions, finely chopped
1 lb bonless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces ( I always opt for a little larger)
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups chicen stock
2 sprigs epazote
Salt and pepper
Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Grill the tomatoes until nicely charred. Carefully remove the burnt skin and quarter the tomatoes. Place chipotle peppers and tomatoes in blender or processor and process until smooth.
Heat oil in a large pot. I used my braiser. Oooooo, I love, love, love my braiser. I am actually disappointed when I can't use it to cook!
Add onions, garlic, and most of scallions to pot. Cook, stirring often, till veggies are soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato mixture. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until thick and fragrant. Stir in chicken, chickpeas, stock, and epazote. Season with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Re-season with salt and pepper if desired.
You can't see too much of the yumminess in the picture, but trust me, it's wonderful.
Garnish with remaining scallions and sip to your heart's content. :-)
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