Tag Archives: recipes

Healthy and Delicious Quick Veggies

2 Jul

I love food.  WAY too much for my waistline.  I find it hard to eat healthy since I always feel like I’m missing out on food.  I try to make good decisions (whole grains rather than white starches, portion control, avoiding fried foods and being aware of the hidden calories in things like juice and salad dressing) but usually I don’t want to have to trade my hearty, rich, favorite meals for anything else. 

When I come home from a good workout at the gym, however, it’s usually late and I don’t want to eat too heavy or totally kill my hard work on the treadmill.  Tonight I wanted something with good flavors that would leave me satisfied, though I wasn’t overly hungry.  I planned to sautee some zucchini in olive oil, garlic, and shallots (if you don’t cook with shallots, start now), however, upon entering the supermarket and seeing a lovely rack of grape tomatoes, I decided it couldn’t be that hard to make blistered tomatoes (I hoped).  Turned out there are few things easier.  It turned out absolutely delicious and my calculations tell me the recipe is only about 300 calories (and I could only eat half! That’s less than 20 minutes on the treadmill!). 

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Sauteed Zucchini and Blistered Tomatoes

  • Slice zucchini into halved 1/8 inch slices, small mince 2 shallots, wash tomatoes, and mince garlic (or substitute with garlic powder) to prep
  • Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet
  • Add garlic to pan and cook until tender but not brown
  • Place sliced pieces of zucchini in pan and let cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Place shallots into pan and mix with zucchini
  • Add tomatoes to pan and cook until tomatoes begin to blister, about 6 minutes
  • Salt to taste

Happy Nomming!

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Market Fresh Cooking

26 Jun

I love Markets.  Farmer’s Markets are my favorite and I’ve always loved Chelsea Market.  I like walking into a place having no idea what I’ll cook and selecting my dinner based on what looks the best that day.  The only problem I have with NYC markets is that they’re crowded and it can sometimes be very annoying to have to push through everyone.  Nothing in Union Square Market was calling out to me, especially not enough to go through the crowd any more, so Mike and I made our way to Chelsea Market for the fish at The Lobster Place.

I felt overwhelmed at the fish counter, however, I wound up selecting the Turbot.  Why? I have no idea.  It just called out to me (and perhaps had the word “buttery” on the description) and was something I had never tried.  The sign also mentioned that it resembled halibut, so when struggling to find a yummy sounding turbot recipe, we looked into how to cook halibut and found an easy butter/shallot sauce that sounded good (so much for eating healthy with fish)!  We added the homemade pasta bought from the Italian market and made our favorite brussel sprouts recipe once again.  The scallops also looked great, and are always a favorite, so we cooked some of those up for an app (just a touch of egg, then flour, then pan seared).  It was a hearty and rich meal that we thoroughly enjoyed.  We also picked up some of my favorite Fat Witch brownies for dessert.  YUM!


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Shallot Butter Sauce

·         Pound Butter — softened

·         2 Shallots — chopped

·         1 Cup White Wine

·         1/2 Cup White Wine Vinegar

·         1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (we went without)

·         Salt And Pepper — to taste

Directions 

Saute shallots with the wine & vinegar. Reduce the liquid for 10 minutes until the pan is dry, and only shallots remain. Whisk in butter. After butter is totally melted, add remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Remove from heat, keep warm. 

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Rack of Lamb and Creamed Spinach Gratin

29 Apr

A lovely sale at Fresh Direct on Frenched Australian Rack of Lamb inspired Mike and I to cook another thing we had never cooked before.  I searched for recipes and found one that sounded tasty.  Mike suggested we make a creamed spinach, and I found one that sounded a little fancy and delicious. 

The meal turned out ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.  One of the best in our cooking history if I do say so myself.



The leftover spinach made for a FABULOUS brunch the next day when paired with an omelet and bacon.  The whole meal was easy every step along the way.

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Rack of Lamb for Two

2 tablespoons coarsely ground cornmeal1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves1 clove garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher) saltFreshly ground black pepper, to taste1 rack of lamb for two (8 or 9 chops), cut in half1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard


1.Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2.Combine the cornmeal, rosemary, garlic, coarse salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and mix well.
3.Lightly brush the fat side of the racks with the mustard. Then coat the mustard with the cornmeal mixture.
4.Arrange the racks on a baking sheet, and cook 25 minutes for medium-rare. Slice the chops apart and serve immediately.
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Creamed Spinach Gratin

From “Real Simple Magazine” Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Serves 6 to 8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish1 clove garlic, halved5 shallots, thinly sliced crosswise 5 10-ounce boxes frozen spinach, thawed (it’s a whole lotta spinach, be prepared)8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk1 cup grated Gruyère or Swiss cheese 1 teaspoon kosher salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Heat oven to 375°F. Rub the sides and bottom of a buttered 8-inch baking dish with the garlic; discard garlic. In a skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside. Squeeze the spinach to remove any excess liquid. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, cream cheese, heavy cream, milk, Gruyère or Swiss cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and shallots. Transfer to dish. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling and lightly golden, about 25 minutes.
Tip: To make the gratin ahead of time, assemble it but do not bake it. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat as directed, allowing an extra 30 minutes of baking time.
NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 362(76% from fat); FAT 31g (sat 19g); PROTEIN 15mg; CHOLESTEROL 97mg; SODIUM 425mg; FIBER 6g; CARBOHYDRATE 12g

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