Quick Cabbage "Rolls"

Okay, I think we all know by now that I'm not really into "precise" cooking. This recipe was perfect! I made this on a weeknight after work. I took an old time favorite and made it a little healthier.

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey
1 chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 small head of cabbage
1 large can tomato soup
1 cup brown rice
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Smoked paprika, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook rice.
Boil cabbage leaves until tender. Drain and set aside on paper towels to dry.
Preheat oven to 450.
Sauté onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Add ground turkey and brown. Drain. Return to pan.
Add Worcestershire sauce to beef mixture. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper.
Mix rice into beef mixture.
In a 9x13 greased casserole dish, place one layer of cabbage leaves on the bottom.
Pour beef mixture on top and layer with remaining cabbage leaves.
Pour tomato soup on top and bake for about 30 minutes.
ENJOY!

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Location:East Hartford, CT

Country Chicken Cobbler

I found this recipe from Good Housekeeping at http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/country-chicken-cobbler-1627.  It's a tasty casserole to make in the fall or winter. 



Ingredients:

16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 can of condensed cream of potato soup

3/4 cup milk

Meat from one rotisserie chicken

1 pkg of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, each biscuit cut into quarters

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

* Ground thyme

* Ground sage



* This recipe is great as it is.  But I made this on a particularly chilly evening after an extremely cold day where temps topped out at 5 degrees!  So I wanted something that tasted a bit more...hearty.  When I added the salt and pepper to taste, I also sprinkled in a little bit of thyme and some sage. 



I bought a rotisserie chicken at the store and pulled off all the meat into pieces.  This was plenty of chicken for this recipe.



1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet, combine the frozen vegetables, potato soup, milk

and pepper.  Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the vegetables are no longer frozen.  Add the chicken and stir.  At this point, I sprinkled in the thyme and sage.

2.  Pour entire mixture into a 9" x 13" glass casserole dish.  Top with the quartered biscuit pieces, evenly spaced.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.



The leftovers taste fantastic! This meal is Markus approved!

Location:East Hartford, CT

Chickpea Salad...So Refreshing!

One 7-oz. can of chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
6-7 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
2 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2. Place chickpeas, tomatoes, basil, parsley, and feta in a bowl.
3. Squeeze juice of lemon over the salad, drizzle in olive oil, add a pinch of salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

This was filling and delicious enough on its own but I decided to serve it over a bed of fresh baby spinach.

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Location:East Hartford, CT

Baked Tilapia with Homemade Tomato and Avocado Salsa with Roasted Asparagus

I seasoned the asparagus with a little bit of lemon infused olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. For the tilapia, I sprayed the bottom of a baking sheet with cooking spray and seasoned with some salt, pepper, minced garlic, parmesan cheese and lemon juice. I baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. After it was done cooking, I topped it with salsa made with chopped tomatoes, avocado, lemon juice, garlic salt, fresh black pepper and drive parsley flakes. It was so good!


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Location:East Hartford, CT

Chicken Stir-Fry

I had Gavin help me make this super easy dinner tonight.



I cut up some red and green bell pepper and onions and steamed them in the vegetable steamer that goes on top of my rice cooker. I love that thing. It's so easy and steaming vegetables is such a better alternative to frying.

We sprayed the frying pan with non-stick cooking spray instead of using cooking oil and then added the chicken strips. When they were done cooking on one side, we flipped them over and then added soy sauce and a little toasted sesame oil. When the chicken was done, we took the steamed vegetables and tossed them with the chicken and sauce. We played up the food. Gavin had soy sauce on his rice but I used rice seasoning instead. In total, dinner took us 20 minutes and it was delicious!

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Toasted Quinoa Salad!

Toasted Quinoa Salad with Shrimp and Snow Peas!

Originally from www.eatingwell.com.  Their recipe called for scallops and I just substituted shrimp.
Ingredients:
12 oz dry sea scallops, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, or dry bay scallops (again, I used 12 oz of shrimp here
4 tsp soy sauce or tamari, divided
4 tbsp plus 2 tsp canola oil, divided
1-1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well (I was able to purchase pre-rinsed quinoa at the store)
2 tsp grated or minced garlic
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 cup trimmed and diagonally sliced snow peas (1/2-inch thick)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 cup thinly sliced scallion (green onions)
1/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (for garnish, optional)
Preparation:
1.  Toss scallops with 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
2.  Place a large, high-sided skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat.  Add 1 tbsp canola oil and quinoa.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the quinoa begins begins to color, 6-8 minutes.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrantm about 1 minute more.  Add water and salt and bring to a boil.  Stir once, cove and cook over medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.  (Do not stir).  Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Stir in snow peas, cover and let stand for 5 minutes more.
3.  Meanwhile, whisk 3 tbsp canola oil, the remaining 2 tsp soy sauce or tamari, rice vinegar, and sesame oil in a large bowl.  Add the quinoa and snow peas, scallions and bell pepper; toss to combine. 
4.  Remove the scallops (or shrimp) from the marinade and pat dry.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water upon contact.  Add the remaining 2 tsp canola oil and cook the scallops or shrimp, turning once, until golden and just firm, about 2 minutes total.  Gently stir the scallops into the quinoa salad.  Serve garnished with cilantro, if desired.
Per Serving (with scallops):
326 Calories, 15 g Fat, 1 g Sat, 8 g Mono, 19 mg Cholesterol, 2 g Carbohydrates, 16 g Protein, 4 g Fiber, 713 mg Sodium, 511 mg Potassium.
Notes:
If using scallops, be sure to buy "dry" scallops which are scallops that have not been treated with sodium tripolyphosphate or STP.  Scallops that have been treated with STP have been subjected to a chemical bath and are mushy, less flavorful and won't brown properly.