back on track

I've spent the last two hours trying to get myself back on track...the last few weeks have been so crazy with visitors, a family wedding we kind of got off track with eating well which not only has blown our healthy eating out of the water, but has also really taken a bite out of our budget (get it? a bite out...ha!)

So I'm going to post our menu for the week now and during Max's afternoon nap, I'll add the recipes.

Grilled Kilbasa, stuffed tomatoes and zucchini & corn fritters
Lasagna roll-ups, green salad
Beer-butt chicken, potato & corn salad
Sausage and Mushroom pizza and grilled peaches
Grilled NY strips and orzo salad

Stuffed tomatoes (or Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice ala Giada De Laurentiis)
1 cup Arborio rice (we used a multi-blend rice and it turned out just fine...maybe a nuttier taste!)
6 ripe but firm large tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the rice according to packaged directions ( pull it a few minutes shy of done since the tomatoes will be baked once stuffed).

Preheat oven to 350* F.

Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice off the top of each tomato; reserve the tomato tops. Cut and scoop the seeds, pulp and juice from each tomato into a small bowl (I use a melon baller or small ice cream scoop). Reserve 1/4 cup of the tomato juice and pulp.

Oil the bottom of a 8x8 baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Place the hollowed tomatoes in the prepared dish.

Toss the rice with the reserved tomato juice and pulp. Add garlic, the herbs, cheese and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Don't taste too much like I did...it was so darn good, I had to remind myself to only taste and not devour the bowl of rice! Spoon the rice mixture into the tomatoes. Drizzle entire dish with olive oil, place the tops back on the tomatoes. Bake until the rice is heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

Zucchini and Corn Fritters (adapted from the August 2007 Parents Magazine)
1/3 cup shredded carrot (I don't love cooked carrots so I just doubled the shredded zucchini in this recipe)
1/2 cup all-purpose baking mix (aka Bisquick)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup cooked corn, cut from the cob
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
Oil for frying

Microwave shredded carrot for 30 seconds to soften, then set aside. In medium bowl, mix baking mix, cornmeal, and sugar. Stir in milk and egg and mix well. Stir in corn, zucchini and carrot.

In skillet, heat 1/3-inch of oil to 375*F. Gently spoon dollops of fritter mixture into oil, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, serve warm.

Lasagna Roll-ups (from www.cooks.com)

I don't follow this recipe very closely...I just use it as guidance for the cheese filling part and baking instructions...I've posted the recipe as is and will leave notes to explain what I do...

8 pieces curly edged lasagna
1 package (10 oz) chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 (6 oz.) pkg mozzarella cheese slices
1 jar (15 3/4 oz.) spaghetti sauce or use 2 c. tomato sauce

Cook lasagna noodles as directed on package, drain. Rinse with cold water, drain and lay flat on paper towels in a single layer until needed.

Drain spinach and squeeze out any excess liquid. Mix spinach with ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, egg and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese.

Cut cheese in half lengthwise and place on slice on each noodle making sure the cheese runs the length of the noodle. Spread with about 1/3 cup of the spinach mixture. Starting at one end, roll up noodles. Pour about 3/4 of the sauce into a 13x9 inch baking dish. Next place roll ups in sauce and top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining parmesean cheese. Cover and bake a 350 for 35 minutes until hot and bubbly. Makes 4 hearty servings.

Jill's way...substitute spinach for mixture of browned ground beef or Italian sausage and chopped mushrooms. Cover with a cream sauce...the next morning add about 30 minutes to your regular workout to make up for this dish!

Refrigerator Pickles

I love these pickles during the summer...

6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
3 small onions, chopped
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp. salt
1 cup vinegar

Combine cucumber slices and onion in glass bowl. Mix sugar, salt and vinegar. Pour over cucumbers. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate. Pickles will be ready to eat in 3 hours, but improve in taste overnight. Pickles will keep in refrigerator 2-3 months.

Enchiladas Suiza

1 1/2 lb. bone-in skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic
5 peppercorns
1 lb tomatillos (about 8), husked
2 serrano chiles
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup non-fat sour cream
8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 1/2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese shredded

Time-saving tip...use a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of poaching the bone-in chicken breasts.

Poach the chicken breasts in 6 cups water, 1 tsp salt and 2 of the garlic cloves and peppercorns. Heat to a boil and then reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Remove chicken from liquid. Pull meat from bones and shred, set aside.

Place quartered tomatillos and chiles in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and boil over medium-high heat about 8 minutes. Drain reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Transfer tomatillo and chiles to blender. Add cilantro and remaining 2 cloves garlic; blend until smooth, adding reserved liquid if necessary. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add puree; reduce heat to medium. Simmer, stirring constantly or until sauce reduces to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, add sour cream and remaining 1 tsp salt. Stir about 1 minute. Set aside. Heat oven to 350*. Divide shredded chicken evenly among tortillas; add small amount of tomatillo mixture; roll-up. Spread 1/3 of the sauce in a 9 inch baking dish. Arrange enchiladas in a layer, seam side down. Cover with remaining sauce, sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese starts to brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chicken Basil

Chicken Basil - Gai Pad Gra Pow
2 Servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4-7 Thai chili pepper, minced

1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 packages holy basil

1/2 lb ground chicken
1 tablespoon garlic, minced

3 tablespoons fish sauce

Tips and substitutions
You can substitute ground turkey or pork for ground chicken. Some people like the meat cut up in bite size pieces rather than ground.

In Thai restaurants in America, Sweet basil or Thai basil is usually used for this dish. While an acceptable substitute, it is not quite the same.


Directions
Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick gra-pow leaves from their stem. It may appear like a lot of leaves, but the leaves will shrink when cooked and this dish's flavor comes from the leaves.

Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When the garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out. Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes. Add sugar and fish sauce. Then add Thai basil. Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the fire and put the gai pad gra pow in the serving plate or dishes. Serve hot with rice.

Mission Completion!

So...my recipes have been completely unorganized, strewn all over my desk, kitchen counters, and even stuck in a corner in our dining room...and today I finally tackled the masses of torn out magazine pages, printed recipes from various websites and handouts from cooking classes. I created two main binders. One for "new recipes" and one for the tried-and-true recipes. Once we try a new recipe (depending on the success of the dish) I will transfer it to the other binder. During my weekly meal planning, I'll look though my new recipe binder and come up with a few dinners of new recipes, but also fill the week in with a favorite meal. I have a third binder with a handful of recipes for 'baby food.' I am not sure how much longer I'll need to refer to those recipes as I pretty much steam and puree the heck out of any veggie I make for Max and he's really starting to eat food that doesn't need to be pureed.

So that's the news for today!

Oh...and dinner tonight is BALT (Bacon, Avacado, Lettuce & Tomato) wraps and Sweet Potato Fries...with some Turnip Fries on the side.

B.A.L.T.

Bacon slices, cooked crispy
Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes, sliced thick
Light Mayo
Ground pepper and coarse salt
Avocado slices, if you have them

On a large lettuce leaf, spread a little light mayo. Layer large slices of tomato on top. Generously douse with fresh ground pepper and coarse sea salt. Place a few slices of crispy bacon on top, then some avocado slices. Finish with one more lettuce leaf. Wrap the entire thing in a fresh tortilla...or put on toasted bread...or if you're doing the low carb thing...wrap in the lettuce and eat!

Out on a limb

I got my first box of goodies from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm we joined this summer. There are lots of unfamiliar veggies inside including turnips, radishes and a ton of greens...

Here's what we're going to attempt this week:

CRISPY TURNIP FRIES

8 med. turnips
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. ground paprika

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Pare and cut turnips into 2 1/2 x 1/2 inch sticks.

In gallon-size sealable plastic bag, combine cheese, onion powder and paprika. Add turnips; seal bag, squeezing out air; toss to coat turnips. Place turnips on baking sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or until turnips are tender and golden. Makes 8 servings.

(Each serving provides: 1 V, 15 C. Per serving: 31 cal, 2 g pro, 1 g fat, 5 g car, 90 mg sod, 2 mg. chol.).



Pickled Radishes

2 cups
Prep: 20 minutes
Chill: 8 hours

Ingredients

* 2 cups sliced radishes (8 oz.)
* 1 small onion, cut into thin wedges and separated
* 1/2 cup white vinegar
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Slice radishes by hand or use the slicing blade of a food processor. Place radish slices and onions in a large bowl or crock. In another bowl stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt until sugar is dissolved. Pour over radish mixture.

2. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. (Radish mixture will have a very pungent aroma.) Makes 2 cups.


Still in desperate search of a recipe for the greens...I'll post reviews once we test these recipes...