Eat your veggies!

I saw a pretty winter salad on my weekly email from Splendid Table and I realized that I had some of the ingredients on hand, but not all. I did have, however, some worthy substitutions so I just made up my own take on this very healthful, yummy slaw.

• 1/2 small green cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 4 radishes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 cup (150 g) shelled frozen edamame

For the Lemony Avocado Dressing

• 1 small avocado
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Shred all the vegetables either by hand or using a food processor fitted with the shredding blade.

2. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook the edamame in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Strain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking process.

3. Combine all the shredded vegetables in a large bowl along with the edamame.

4. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until silky smooth.

5. Add the lemony avocado dressing to the vegetables and toss well.

Word to the wise, if you are only serving a couple people you should cut this in half and only put dressing on what you are going to eat. Once it's in the dressing for a while the salad loses its crunch and gets soggy--not that appetizing!  

Stuffed Peppers

Here's a different take on stuffed peppers using ground turkey and white beans. Roasting the peppers first before stuffing was nice, too.

4 large red peppers
1 lb ground turkey
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can white beans, rinsed
2 T tomato paste
6 large green olives, chopped
some mozzarella cheese

preheat oven 400

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. Grease a baking dish and fit the peppers into the dish upright and bake for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil, brown the turkey, add the spices, tomatoes, olives, tomato paste, and beans and then simmer. When peppers are done, fill with turkey mixture, sprinkle on some cheese and bake for ten minutes.

I served with broccoli that I roasted right along with the peppers.

Kale-Smothered Pork Chops

This is a really easy tasty dish and once you get all your chopping done it really comes together quite easily. Since it simmers at the end you have time to grab yourself a glass of wine before dinner is served :-) I served this with a side of roasted cauliflower.

The recipe comes from the NYT with, of course, a few tweaks.

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4 heads kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
•  Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
• 4 pork chops, 3/4 inch thick

       PREPARATION

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes longer. Mix in the kale, the garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the chicken broth, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the pork chops and sear until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Place the pork chops on top of the kale mixture. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Divide the pork chops among 4 plates and spoon the kale mixture over them. Serve immediately.

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Bowl Dinner!

Moroccan Pork & Quinoa Bowl

SERVINGS: 6

1½ c quinoa
2 c shredded carrots (about 6 med)
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1" pieces
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp crushed red-pepper flakes (optional)
2 Tbsp safflower oil
1 lg onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ c raisins
Chopped raw almonds (optional)

1. COOK quinoa per package directions with carrots and set aside.
2. TOSS pork and spices in large bowl until well coated. Season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, add pork and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer to plate.
3. HEAT remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes (with juice), chickpeas, raisins, and ½ cup water. Simmer, partially covered, until stew thickens-- 8 to 10 minutes. Return pork to pot and cook until heated through and still tender, 7 or 8 minutes.

Bang Bang Chicken

With a name like that,  how could you resist? This is a really tasty salad from the New York Times. I would suggest making double the sauce though. It was fine as is, but we really wanted just a bit more and it keeps in the fridge so you can save the leftovers for a later dish. The sauce is so good you could pretty much just eat it with a spoon :-)

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
1 cucumber in slivers
2 scallions in slivers

Sauce
2 T peanut oil
2 t sesame oil
2 T Chinese chili-beans sauce
1 T soy sauce
3 T creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sugar
2 T cold water

Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Will keep in fridge.

To assemble:  Mix about 4 T of sauce with the chicken. Arrange the lettuce, herbs, cuke and onion in bowls, drizzle with sauce. Add chicken--drizzle with more sauce.