Getting Back on Track: Part I

This is going to be a long post, mostly because I missed posting last week, therefore this week will be two weeks combined. Lots of great eats happened in the last two weeks. I discovered a new appreciation for co-op vegetables, found a new glaze for my favorite lean pork tenderloins (which apparently I can't find the recipe for again!), and fell madly in love with a vegetarian dish. Read on for more details!

Chicken Stir Fry Wraps

I have done a lot of stir fry in my days, but for this one I challenged my love of brown rice with them. A nice head of Boston lettuce helped ease me away from carbs and increased my veggie count for the night. I would suggest making sure your Boston is a good size, and you might need two since the leaves get pretty small and unusable as cups in the middle. If you are on a budge you could substitute a head of iceberg, or some green leaf.

I think if you have a talent for tofu this recipe could be easily modified to a vegetarian dish.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• 12 to 16 Boston lettuce leaves (about 2 heads)

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook, stirring constantly, until opaque throughout, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
2. Add remaining tablespoon oil to pan, along with the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender and golden, about 4 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
3. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, ginger, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, and cornstarch mixture; remove from heat. Add chicken and any accumulated juices; toss to coat. Serve in lettuce cups.

Penne with Creamy Pumpkin Sauce 

This dish was pretty interesting. It almost was like putting pumpkin paste on top of pasta. While tasty, the texture was a little off-putting. I would recommend perhaps adding a bit of cream to thin the consistency and add fat to the dish. The fried Rosemary was to die for! Who would have thought!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne rigate (ridged), or other short pasta
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Reserve 2 cups pasta water; drain pasta and set aside.
2. In pasta pot, heat oil over medium. Add rosemary and fry, stirring, until starting to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rosemary to a paper towel, leaving oil in pot.
3. Carefully (oil is hot and will spatter) add pumpkin puree, garlic, half-and-half, Parmesan, vinegar, red-pepper flakes, and 1 cup reserved pasta water to pot. Stir sauce until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add pasta to sauce, and toss to coat. If sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water. Season generously with salt. Serve pasta sprinkled with fried rosemary and, if desired, more red-pepper flakes.

Citrus Spark Salmon Steaks

I would add a picture for this one, unfortunately the one on the site looks nothing like the finished product, so we will just breeze that. This was an interesting dish, however I would definitely make sure you get salmon without the skin. I had them skin up and it pretty much blocked all the flavor from getting to the fish. This is probably a "duh" moment for most people, but for those of you like me, just a warning.

 INGREDIENTS

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 4 6-ounce salmon steaks or fillets, rinsed and blotted dry
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger root, grated
• 1 large lime, thinly sliced
• 1 large lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste
• Springs of fresh cilantro and lemon wedges, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Coat stoneware with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the salmon tightly in the bottom; tucking end of fillets under themselves to even out thickness of the fish.
2. In a small saucepan, combine water, orange juice, jalapeno pepper, and ginger; heat to boil over medium-high heat. Pour evenly around fish.
3. Arrange sliced lime and lemon evenly over fish. Drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cover; cook on High until the salmon is opaque and firm to the touch (about 1½ to 2 hours).
5. Turn off heat, and carefully lift fish out of stoneware and place on serving platter. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and lemon wedges. Serve immediately. 

 Jamaican Chicken Curry

So I didn't have any Jamaican Curry powder on hand so I basically did this like a regular chicken curry. I considered adding potatoes to it, but in the end decided it didn't need the extra starch. Overall pretty tasty, basic curry.

 I did slow cook this for several hours just to give the chicken more time to slow cook, and the spices to simmer. Overall it was juicy and flavorful.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 bone-in, skinless chicken breast halves (10 to 12 ounces each), halved crosswise
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons curry powder (preferably Jamaican)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• Cooked white rice, for serving

Directions

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Working in two batches, brown chicken, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic, cumin, curry, thyme, and 1/2 cup water and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add carrots, coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, and chicken with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover partially, and cook until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peas. Serve curry over rice.

 Roasted Yam Halves

 I am going to go ahead and blow over the pork chops with red-wine/dried fruit sauce. It wasn't my favorite and I think it needed a dash of balsamic vinegar to make it work, however until I try it out, I am not going to write about it.

These yams on the other hand were pretty great. I would recommend cooking them nearly an hour if your spuds are large. With the recommended cook time they were still a bit rooty in the middle.

I am beginning to believe that anything with fresh herbs on it is pretty spectacular.

 

Ingredients

• 2 yams or sweet potatoes (about 1 pound each)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Halve yams, and place, cut side up, in a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown and very tender, 35 to 45 minutes.

 Gluten Free Applesauce Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Unfortunately my bundt looked nothing like this one, however it was moist (maybe too moist?) and flavorful. I would recommend spraying and flouring even a non-stick pan, as the consistency of this cake is pretty wet. If I make this again I think I might reduce the pumpkin puree by half or so and add pumpkin spice as I have done in other recipes involving canned pumpkin.

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs
• 2 cups Sugar (see note above)
• 2 cups cooked/canned pure Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup unsweetened, natural Applesauce
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cups any Gluten-Free Flour Mix (see note above)
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Baking Powder (corn-free; Hain Pure Foods is great)
• 2 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy.
3. Blend in sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, and oil by hand or with a mixer on low just until combined. Do NOT overmix!
4. Add all dry ingredients, one at a time, blending together.
5. Pour batter into a large, greased bundt pan and bake for 1 hour.
6. Check with a toothpick/knife to make sure it’s cooked through. If cake sticks to the utensil, bake 5 more minutes and test again.
7. When done, cool, and enjoy!

Notes

Freeze left-overs, wrapping in parchment paper before storing.
Do NOT try to make this cake in any regular pan. Because of its moisture level, it will only cook normally in a bundt pan.

And now I am sleepy, will do part two tomorrow!!

<3 Tait