Shrimp Romaine Stirfry

Every now and then I see a recipe that gives me pause. The other day I saw this Mark Bittman recipe and I wondered, really? Well, folks I made it and it was fabulous! Go for it if it sounds good to you!

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• ¼ cup chopped scallion, plus more for garnish
• 1 large head romaine, sliced
•       1pound medium shrimp, shelled, cleaned and deveined
•  Salt
•  freshly ground black pepper

Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and mix well; set aside.

1. Put a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil, swirl it around and immediately add garlic. Cook for 15 seconds, stirring, then add scallion and lettuce. Raise heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until lettuce just softens, about 2 to 3 minutes; transfer everything to a plate and set aside.
2. Turn the heat down to medium, add remaining tablespoon of oil, let it get hot, add shrimp and sprinkle with salt and pepper; raise heat to high, continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp turn pink and are no longer translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Turn heat down to medium, return lettuce to pan, and toss once or twice. Stir sauce to make sure cornstarch and sugar are well blended and add to pan. Cook until everything is warmed through and sauce thickens. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.

Pork and Eggplant Picadillo

I had some leftover pork tenderloin as well as a nice fat eggplant in the fridge, so I cooked up some tasty Picadillo! This dish can be made with lots of different ingredients.

Leftover pork tenderloin, cut into small cubes
1 eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 onion chopped
2 hot red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 cup water
2 T cider vinegar
Handful of raisins
8 large green olives, sliced
Cinnamon
Garlic powder
Oregano
Salt and pepper

In large skillet, sauté the onion, eggplant and red peppers in olive oil. Add the meat, stir and add all the rest of the ingredients, stir bring to boil then turn down to a simmer with lid on for 30 minutes.

Serve over rice with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Spatchcock Chicken

Did the title grab your attention? A spatchcocked chicken is one that has had its backbone removed so you can flatten the chicken and cook it faster. I had read about this procedure and it seemed like way too much work for the likes of me. However, wouldn't you know I happened to see one of these cute little birds in the Arbor Farms meat case all ready semi-deboned and ready to cook? Had to try it and it was DELISH!

1 semiboneless chicken- the brand I bought was Bell & Evans.
Salt, pepper
1 large onion in wedges
Vegetable oil

1. Sear the chicken: Heat the oven to 400°F. Heat the cast iron pan over medium heat until hot, about five minutes, then add the vegetable oil and swirl to coat the pan. Lay the chicken in the pan skin side down and let it sear for four minutes, or until the skin is crisp and brown. Gently flip the chicken skin side up - the skin should release from the pan if it is browned properly; if it sticks in spots, use a metal spatula to gently scrape it loose from the pan. Add the onion wedges.
2. Roast the chicken: Slide the pan into the oven. (If you have one, insert a probe thermometer into the deepest part of the breast.) Roast the chicken until it reaches 160°F to 165°F in the breast, and 170°F or higher in the joint between the thigh and the drumstick, about 40 minutes.
3. Let the chicken rest for ten minutes before carving.

Mustard-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

I like pork tenderloin a lot because it's lean and mild. You can use many different spices and sauces to change up the taste! Here's a good one from the NYT.

1 pkg pork tenderloins
3 T brown sugar
2 T grainy mustard
2 t minced rosemary
2 T dry sherry
Mix all the ingredients and marinate the meat for several hours or overnight.

In large cast iron skillet, sauté the tenderloins over medium high heat, turning every 4 minutes and basting with marinade for about 25 minutes or so. Then let the meat rest tented with foil about ten minutes.

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

Kind of like potatoes au gratin, but with squash!

1 spaghetti squash
1 small onion, sliced thinly
2 hot red peppers, seeded and sliced
2 T butter
1 t thyme
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar

• DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds. Place in a covered dish with a ¼ inch of water and microwave for 10 -12 minutes. I have trouble cutting squash so I usually punch some holes in it and microwave it for ten minutes then it's easier to proceed.
2. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and thyme and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl.
4. Combine the squash, onions, sour cream and half the cheese together and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
5. Place into a 375º for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

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Mississippi Pot Roast

I read about this on the New York Times Cooking site and it sounded interesting. Supposedly it has been a Pinterest recipe darling for some time but I guess I missed the hype? The original recipe calls for some processed ingredients and that has been changed in this rendition. I have to say it was exceedingly simple and quite delicious. You could serve it over mashed potatoes, noddles or as a hot sandwich filling as I did.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 boneless chuck roast or top or bottom round roast, 3 to 4 pounds
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 to 12 pepperoncini
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon dried dill
• ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika

• PREPARATION

  1. Place roast on a cutting board and rub the salt and pepper all over it. Sprinkle the flour all over the seasoned meat and massage it into the flesh.
  2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan set over high heat until it is shimmering and about to smoke. Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes a side, to create a crust. Remove roast from pan and place it in the bowl of a slow cooker. Add the butter and the pepperoncini to the meat. Put the lid on the slow cooker, and set the machine to low.
  3. As the roast heats, make a ranch dressing. Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, dill and paprika in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify.  Remove the lid from the slow cooker and add the dressing. Replace the top and allow to continue cooking, undisturbed, for 8 hours, or until you can shred the meat easily using 2 forks. Mix the meat with the gravy surrounding it. Garnish with parsley, and serve with egg noodles or roast potatoes, or pile on sandwich rolls, however you like.
  
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Good Veggie Combo

I'm always trying put different vegetables to roast. Tonight's combo was carrot, turnip, red pepper tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary. I took a "before" picture and forgot to take the after! They were delicious though!

Southern Fried Cabbage with Sausage

This is a really simple quick dinner and it always hits the spot.  Sorry that that picture is of a mostly empty skillet--almost forget to take a photo!

3 T olive oil
1 small green cabbage, sliced
1/2 onion chopped
1 lb chorizo chicken sausage, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Tony Chachere's Seasoning to taste

In a large skillet, brown the sausage. Remove, and melt butter in skillet and add cabbage and onions and cook for 5 minutes or so. Add remaining ingredients and then add the sausage back in. Cover the skillet and cook for about ten minutes. Uncover, and finish cooking until cabbage is desired tenderness and most of the liquid has been reduced.

Quick Pasta Salad

We eat a lot of sandwiches for lunch and it's nice to have a little side dish to accompany. This is easy and keeps well in the fridge for several days.

8 oz whole wheat spirals
1 bag of broccoli florets, steamed
1 red pepper diced
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
Greek Salad Dressing
feta cheese

Mix it all up and serve.

Roast Squash and Apple Salad

Sometimes I see a recipe with ingredients that I wouldn't necessarily pair together and it intrigues me. This salad is an example. Glad I took the risk as it was delicious.

– INGREDIENTS –

1 pkg cubed butternut squash                                                                                                          2 tablespoons olive oil Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 2 cups chopped romaine 2 cups chopped spinach 1 cup chopped cabbage 1 small apple, cored and diced 1 small cucumber, diced 3 tablespoons raw walnuts, chopped 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 large scallion, thinly sliced Juice of 1 large orange 2 tablespoons tahini 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest Step 1:Preheat oven to 400°F. Step 2:Toss the squash with the olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the squash is fork tender. Step 3:Remove the squash from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes.  Add the romaine, spinach, cabbage, apple, cucumber, walnuts, cilantro and scallion. Step 4:In a small bowl, whisk the orange juice and tahini until it creates a creamy dressing consistency. Drizzle this dressing over the squash and greens mixture. Add sea salt and pepper and orange zest and serve warm.

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

Sometimes you just want a grilled cheese so why not jazz it up a bit?

smoked ham
sharp cheddar cheese
hot tomato chutney
whole wheat bread

Grill it up and enjoy!

Fish Taco Bowl

This is so easy and so good! I get a lot of my frozen fish at Costco. Recently I got a box of panko crusted tilapia and it makes a really good fish taco bowl. Just cook the fish, and then break into bite size pieces. Layer a bowl with some rice, chopped cabbage, tomatoes, avocados, the fish and some crema and a drizzle of hot sauce and you're good to go!

Crema recipe:    5 T Greek yogurt, 1/2 t cumin, 1 small clove garlic minced, 1 small lime juiced, hot sauce and salt. Mix it all up in small processor.