Healthy Eating: Mediterranean Couscous w/Shrimp & Arugula

SO easy, SO good. I got this idea from another recipe I read in Cooking Light, but I decided to give it my own twist. I've recently started sautéing small tomatoes, and I love the way they turn out, tart but sweet and full of that 'tomato' flavor.  This one is a must try, no excuses!

Mediterranean Couscous w/Shrimp & Arugula

Serves 4

3/4 lb shrimp, pealed & deveined

4 oz. feta, crumbled

1 c. kalamata olives, chopped

1 - 1.5 c of grape tomatoes, halved

2 tbsp scallions, chopped

1 box couscous, I prefer Near East Whole Grain Wheat, Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Preheat oven to 400*. 

Rinse shrimp and place in bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, season w/salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

 

Spread shrimp onto ungreased baking sheet and place in oven for 10 - 12 minutes until pink and cooked throughout, turning once at 6 minutes.

While shrimp bakes, cook couscous according to the package directions. While couscous is cooking, slice grape tomatoes in half and saute w/1 tbsp of olive oil until they become soft and start to break down, about 7 minutes.

While tomatoes, couscous and shrimp are cooking, chop kalamata olives and scallions and set aside. Once all are done, combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, folding in arugula last.  Serve immediately.

Cheers!

Claud

DIY: Stir-Fried Noodles w/Beef & Vegetables

This week I've decided to challenge myself with a few recipes that "intimidate" me.  I love Asian food of all kinds, but whenever I read the recipes, I have to admit, I'm intimidated.  There are just so many ingredients I'm not familiar with that I just sort of glaze over and turn the page.  Not this week.  Nope. I've come across one too many recipes that requires rice vinegar, fish sauce, or sesame oil so, here we go... 

First up: Stir-Fried Noodles w/Beef & Vegetables

Seriously friends, this could not have been easier! The whole production took less than an hour, and that includes eating time.  I will definitely be making this again, and the great thing is, you can easily swap out meats and veggies to change it up.  

Notes:

• Drizzle a little sriracha sauce on top (and maybe a squeeze of lime) for an extra burst of flavor.
• Timing is very important with this recipe, make sure you read it all the way through before starting.
• The 3 oz. of noodles doesn't seem like a lot, so I used 5 oz and it ended up being more than enough, aka - 3 oz. was probably fine.  Once you throw everything in, it really becomes quite a bit of food.  
• Be generous when adding the sauce ingredients, although I probably only needed a bit more because of the extra noodles used.  
• You could go for 3/4 lb of meat, but not completely necessary.  Speaking of, consider upgrading from flank steak to something a bit higher quality.  I wasn't too impressed with flank, but it did the job just fine. 

Next up: Thai-Style Stir-Fried Chicken & Basil

Cheers!

Claud

P.S. I think I have a new love for sesame oil. If you have any fav recipes that use it, please pass them along!

Make it Your Own: Grilled Mozzarella & Spinach BLT's

I came across this fabulous recipe in one of my most recent issues of Fine Cooking.  It's kind of ironic, because displayed quite prominently on the cover is "100+ Healthy Recipes," but the cover image is of a Grilled Mozzarella and Spinach BLT.  I like to think that that illusion was the reason I let myself make this one :) I'm thinking it probably shouldn't be categorized as a "healthy" recipe.

I'm calling this one "Make it Your Own," because I made one seemingly minor change, and it made the absolute world of difference in this sandwich.  Arugula. Wow - talk about awesome!  Although the recipe calls for spinach, I had a mix of the two and I decided to improvise, really glad I did.  I might even write in to the magazine... 

Grilled Mozzarella and Spinach (and Arugula!) BLT's

Notes:

• I honestly don't know the difference between sliced mozzarella and the "good" stuff that you usually get in Caprese sandwiches.  This recipe called for the latter judging by the picture, and maybe by the use of the word "fresh," but I just had some thick slices cut at the deli of what I'll call the "regular" mozzarella, and it worked great.  If you do this, make sure that the cheese is the appropriate size, I ended up trimming it down.  Originally, I had thought the more cheese the better, but honestly that coupled with the bacon, greens and tomato, makes less OK here.
• Two pieces of bacon, as opposed to 3, works just fine here. (Hey - gotta try to make it "healthier" if it's going to be in the healthy issue!)
• Use yogurt-based margarine instead of butter or olive oil. It gives that buttery taste without all the calories!
• Per sandwich, you'll use one generous handful of greens, as they reduce down quite a bit when they're cooked.
• If you don't have a panini press, you'll survive.

Cheers!

Claud

Treasured Recipes: Couscous-Stuffed Chicken w/Feta, Sun-Dried Tomato & Kalamata Olives

If you're a food lover and bride-to-be, then listen up!  Some of my most treasured wedding gifts were recipes from my family and friends.  Back in October, I was fortunate enough to be given a gorgeous bridal shower by a wonderful group of ladies, and each invitation was accompanied by a recipe card.  Guests filled out the cards with one (or sometimes two!) of their favorites, and brought them to the shower to be placed in a recipe card box next to the guest book.  I just loved it!

The recipe below is from my long-time family friends, neighbors and Israel natives, the Zreik's.  Growing up, I was close friends with their daughter, Maya, and spent many an evening at their house for dinner.  It was their that I was introduced to pita bread, couscous, grape leaves, Greek yogurt, and tabbouleh.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

So needless to say, I was especially excited about this one because not only do I have fond memories of eating with the Zreik's, but both Matt and I love every ingredient in this recipe (his favorite food is "olives").  I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did! It's a keeper for sure.

Couscous-Stuffed Chicken w/Feta, Sun-Dried Tomato & Kalamata Olives

For the Couscous:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. kalamata olives, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. chicken stock

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if desired)

1- 10 oz. box of couscous

4 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes, drained & chopped

1/2 lb. crumbled feta

For the Chicken:

4 - 6oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt

fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter

For the Sauce: 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. white wine

1/2 c. lemon juice

6 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes

4 tbsp. kalamata olives, chopped

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

Couscous

In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic & red pepper flakes.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more.  Add olives and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add the box of couscous, turn ff heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes.  Fluff with fork and season with salt and pepper.  Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 lb. feta and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken.  

Chicken

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Trim chicken w/ a boning knife, if needed.  Start at top of breast and carefully make a length-wise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast.  When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket.  Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands.  Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.  

Heat olive oil and butter in the saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken.  Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 min.  While chicken is baking, make the sauce.  

Sauce

In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic.  Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice.  Reduce by 1/3.  Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 min.  Add the olives, turn off heat, add the butter, stir to combine.  

To serve, place warmed couscous on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over.  

The only thing I forgot to do was season the chicken! It still turned out great, but I'd recommend adding the salt and pepper. 

Cheers!

Claud

Healthy Eating: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

Matt and I have crazy work hours and often eat dinner late, so I'm always looking for healthy, light recipes to make.  One of my favorite finds is a cookbook by Ellie Krieger called The Food You Crave. It has tons of easy, healthy recipes, that still have a lot of depth.  A lot of times we think of eating healthy as boring or not as satisfying, but it doesn't have to be! 

There are a lot of things you can do with vegetables or fresh herbs to make a dish both tasty and healthy.  For example, roasting.  This particular dish calls for roasted tomatoes and garlic, which is something I'd never tried. The flavors change so much through roasting and it could not be easier.  The sweet, tart flavor of the tomatoes, with the texture of the beans and strong, but somehow still subtle taste of garlic was an amazing combination. 

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans: Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

3 large ripe tomatoes 

6 large garlic cloves, papery outermost skin removed, but left unpeeled

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste 

Freshly ground black pepper

Once 15.5 ounce can cannellini or other white beans, preferably low-sodium (C: I used navy beans)

1/2 box (8 oz.) penne pasta (C: I use whole wheat)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/3 c. fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (C: I used Kraft blend from my last post)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds.  Put the tomato wedges and garlic in a 9x13-inch roasting pan, toss with 2 tbsp of the oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and a few turns of the pepper.  

Roast, uncovered, until the tomatoes lose their shape and become slightly charred. 35 to 40 minutes. C: Start checking them at about 30 minutes

Drain the beans in a large colander in the sink. C: helps reduce the sodium

Cook the pasta according to the package direction.  Drain the pasta in the colander containing the beans, so that the hot pata water warms the beans.  Return the drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.  

When the tomatoes are done, carefully pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl, and mash with a fork.  add the lemon juice, the remaining 1 tbsp pil and 1/4 tsp salt, and a pinch of pepper, and stir to combine.  Transfer the roasted tomatoes to the pasta pot, add the garlic lemon mixture and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss to combine. Serve with the Parmesan. 

 

Serves 4

Serving Size: 1.5 cups

Per Serving

476 calories

14.5g fat

A couple of notes:

• Although this is pasta dish, a lot of the calories usually come from the sauce, so since this doesn't have any, its still pretty healthy. However, the above nutrition facts may vary based on what kind of pasta you use. 
• Watch the tomatoes and garlic closely while roasting.  Mine were a little overdone, but I only roasted them for 35 minutes. 
• Go easy on the salt. There are a lot of strong flavors in this dish, and it's not really needed.

Cheers!

Claud

Quick Dinner Fav: Italian Turkey Sausage & Sun-dried Tomato Rigatoni

I've made this for dinner a couple of times now, and I have to say that its become one of our favorites.  Sometimes the best recipes come from the days you're rummaging through your pantry just trying to throw something together. This is definitely one of those recipes.

Turkey Sausage & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

Half a box of Whole Wheat Rigatoni Pasta

3 Italian Turkey Sausage Links

12 oz. Pasta Sauce 

• (My Fav: Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic, by Classico)

1/2 c. Sun-Dried Tomatoes, chopped

4 oz. Black Olives, sliced

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tbsp Basil, chopped

1/4 c. Shredded Cheese 

• (I used Kraft's Shredded Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago)

1. Bring 4 cups of lightly-salted water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Add a 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and pasta to water and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

2. Remove sausage from casing and cook until lightly browned, breaking up into small pieces.

3. Warm pasta sauce, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes in a small saucepan until heated throughout. 

4. Drain cooked pasta, toss in medium sized bowl with remaining olive oil.

5. Add sauce to pasta, top with ground turkey sausage, and toss until combined. 

Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and enjoy!

Cheers!

Claud

Sooo Worth It - Simple Chicken Curry

Hello friends! It's been too long! Things have been crazy lately, but trust me, our kitchen has NOT been lonely. I've got pictures upon pictures and many a recipe to share, so here goes...

So in an attempt to venture outside of my kitchen comfort zone, I hesitantly asked my friend Sheena if she had any simple Indian food recipes she could share.  Now I say hesitantly because the thought of cooking something I'd really only eaten maybe 2 times in my life, was a little intimidating!  But Sheena assured me that I could do it.  So I gave it a shot, and not only was it a huge success, but I got to use my rice cooker for the first time ever!

Sheena's Chicken Curry

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts C: I also added a half a pound of shrimp.

2 tsp Cumin Seeds C: I used about 1 tsp, but might cut it out next time. Cumin can be very strong, so it's just a personal preference.

2 tsp Coriander Seeds C: Fun fact - Did you know that coriander is the seed to the cilantro plant?

2 tsp Black Peppercorns (or however much you'd like)

1 Whole dry red chili (this can be substituted with chili powder) CN: I used 2 and would consider using a 3rd. I like it spicy!

1 peeled, 2 inch piece of fresh ginger

5 Garlic cloves

3-4 tbsp. of Olive Oil

1/2 c water

1 Onion, chopped

4 Large Tomatoes C: When you're cutting the tomatoes, it seems like A LOT, but add all 4! I only added 3, but they reduce quite a bit, so I wish I would've added the 4th.

1. Heat pan and dry roast the coriander, cumin and peppercorns. After a few minutes, grind to a coarse powder. C: I didn't have peppercorns or cumin seeds so I roasted the powder which seemed to work.

  

2. Grind/grate red chilies, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. C: I didn't have a food processor or a coffee grinder for the seeds, so I tried putting it all in a blender (be sure to cut ginger into small pieces). It didn't work out so well at first, everything was flying to the side and nothing was being ground.  I added a little olive oil and water to bring everything together, and that seemed to do the trick.

3. Heat oil in a shallow pot, add onion and saute until lightly browned.  Add the dry powders and the paste and continue to saute for 3-4 minutes. 

 

4. Add chopped tomatoes and salt and continue to saute until the tomatoes become soft.

5. Add chicken/shrimp, water and stir. 

6. Cover and cook on medium heat until the meat is cooked throughout. Add cilantro leaves and serve with rice or naan. 

 

Absolutely delicious!!

Cheers!

Claud

 

DIY: Not-Your-Average Pizza

So let me tell you about me and pizza.  I really can't say that I have a favorite food (it's too hard to pick!), but if I had to narrow it down, pizza would definitely be on the list.  I just can't turn it down - the sauce... the cheese...mmmm!  Now don't ask me New York or Chicago - I love both, but since I don't live in either city, and it isn't exactly a healthy meal, I learned how to make my own, and let me tell you, it definitely satisfies the craving.


You can put just about anything on a pizza, so I'll tell you the basics, my favorite ingredients, and you can go from there!  


Ingredients
1 pre-made pizza crust (thin crust works best, and if making a personal sized pie, pita bread is the way to go)
1 jar of your favorite 'spaghetti' sauce (you can use marinara, it has the most consistent texture, but I prefer sauces with a little added flavor like garlic, herb and fire-roasted tomato) 
1-15 oz can of reduced sodium, fire-roasted tomatoes (I LOVE chunks of tomato, and canned is the definitely the best for pizza)
1 package of Italian (or Mozzarella) shredded cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Roasted red bell pepper, chopped (you can roast a bell pepper ahead of time in the oven or on a comal/cast iron skillet)
Fresh basil, thinly sliced
1-4 oz. can of sliced black olives


Directions
First pre-heat the oven to 425 (if the directions on the crust packaging states a different temperature, go with it).  Next, brush the pizza crust lightly with olive oil and place in pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly toasted.  Remove crust and layer generously with tomato sauce (1 full sized pizza takes about 1/3 -1/2 a jar of tomato sauce).  Add vegetables and basil:

Cover with shredded cheese. I've found that if you put the vegetables under the cheese it keeps them from over cooking. When they're on top (especially the basil) they tend to cook faster than the time it takes to melt the cheese and heat the pizza throughout.  You can also layer the veggies and cheese for a more cheesy pizza, just make sure the cheese is on top and veggies underneath. 

Remove from oven and enjoy!

My other favorite, Pesto Chicken, follows the same directions but with the following ingredients:
1 pre-made pizza crust (or pita for personal pies)
1 small jar of pesto (or make your own!)
2-3 cooked chicken breasts, sliced (use light seasoning, you don't want the flavors to compete with the pesto)
1-4oz. can of sliced black olives
1/2 cup of chopped jarred artichokes 
1 small container of goat cheese crumbles
1 package of Italian (or Mozzarella) shredded cheese


Spread pesto on lightly toasted crust.  Add sliced chicken, olives, artichokes and top with shredded and crumbled goat cheese.  Again, you can layer alternating ingredients for a more cheesy taste, just make sure a layer of cheese is on top.

Aside from being one of my favorite things to make (and one of my most requested recipes), this elegant twist on pizza makes for an amazing dinner date.  The whole experience is fun, affordable and something you and your significant other can easily do together.  My husband Matt and I made these for Valentine's day one year, and it was so fun!  Just top it off with a glass of pinot noir, and that's what I call the perfect evening. 

Give it a try, I promise you'll love 'em. 

Cheers!
Claud

"Healthy" Stromboli?

...Well, not quite.  Let me back up...  Making "healthy" decisions has always been important to me, but last year I set out to make better decisions and get in better shape.  I  became much more aware of what I was eating, and after many hours at the gym, I trimmed off 23 pounds (totally thought that was impossible when I started!).  Ever since then, I've been making an effort to keep it off (although I could probably be doing a better job) by watching what I eat and trying to make healthier meals.


In the midst of all of this, I picked up the Better Homes and Gardens "Dieter's Cookbook," and tonight was the first time I actually used it.  I'm a pizza lover, I mean serious pizza looooover, so of course "Quick Stromboli" seemed perfect for me.   


Better Homes & Garden's "Quick Stromboli"
1 16-ounce loaf frozen wheat or white bread dough, thawed
8 ounces lean ham, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pitted ripe olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp reduced-fat milk
1 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (optional)


1. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil. Set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll bread dough to a 15x8 inch rectangle. (If dough is difficult to roll out, cover and let rest a few minutes.)  Top dough rectangle with ham within 1/2 inch of the edges.

Top ham with olives, mozzarella, and crushed red pepper flakes. Brush edges with water

*The cheese was left out of the pic...


2. Starting with a long end, roll into a spiral, pinching edges to seal.  Pinch ends and tuck under.  Place, seam side down, on prepared baking pan.  Brush surface with milk. Using a sharp knife, make shallow cuts diagonally a 2-inch intervals along the top to allow steam to escape.  If deisred, sprinkle with Parmesan.

3. Bake in a 375 oven for 25-30 minutes or until brown.  (If necessary, cover loosely with foil after 20 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning.)

Overall it turned out pretty good, but here's a couple of things I noted:


1. Don't forget to make the cuts in the dough. I forgot to do this and after 30 minutes the inside was still uncooked.  I then cut it into slices, covered it in foil and baked it for another 15 minutes, that did the trick.


2. Brush the stromboli with whisked egg whites to give it a golden coat.


3. If you grew up eating Pillsbury biscuits like I did, think twice about using Pillsbury pizza dough.  It worked fine, but to me, it tasted just a little too much like biscuits. If anyone knows a good pizza dough brand, let me know.


4. Serve with marinara - duh!


5. And finally - The recipe which was only 206 calories per serving said it made 16 slices at 2 slices per serving.  I only got about 8, 1-inch slices out of mine (which seems to be about the same size of the picture in the book), and still ate two and a half, so yeah, you do the math. Doesn't seem so healthy after all.... 


Enjoy!
Claud