Showing posts with label fresh food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fresh food. Show all posts

Friday, February 11, 2011

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

I wanted a Tuscan Bean Soup. Google that.  Go ahead.  I bet you come up with about 500 soup recipes.  I was baffled so I sat on the floor with my ever increasing collection of cookbooks surrounding me and began my quest the old fashioned way…
Thank you Ellie Kreiger for your cookbook The Food You Crave
DSC_0149
Tuscan Vegetable Soup (adapted from Ellie Kreiger’s The Food You Crave)

Ingredients

  • 2 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.
Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.
**This was a quick and delicious week night meal  I had some whole wheat macaroni left over in the fridge that I also threw in the pot.  A quick and versatile meal?  You know I’ll be making this again and again…
signature

Friday, August 6, 2010

Grilled Pizza for dinner…

The first time I tried grilling pizza was when we were in Toronto visiting my family.  It was something we had all wanted to try but had just never gotten around to doing it. So out I went and bought some grocery store pizza dough (divide it into 4 servings when you get it home) and some fresh and yummy toppings and into the world of pizza grilling we dove!

DSC_0312 Mine was simply olive oil, fresh garlic, mozzarella, fresh tomato and basil…

DSC_0318

Our biggest concern was that the dough would drip through the grill plates but it cooks up so quickly that there is no real worry to it.  You need to have your grill heated up to about 350F to crisp it quickly.

The trick, I think, to this is to have all of your toppings ready to go on and to not overload the pizza.  You do need to work fast once the bottom which becomes the top is grilled nice and crispy.  We did individual ones for ease of preparation and they worked perfect.  No problem flipping etc…

The second time we made them was here at home and I used my bread machine pizza dough recipe.  We divided this one into 4 to make 4 individual pizzas for us.  This worked perfectly as well and was a bit easier to stretch and shape then the grocery store one…

DSC_0203 This one was topped with garlic and herbed olive oil, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano and some homemade arugula pesto…simply delicious!

signature

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Really fast Tilapia in Parchment…

DSC_0151-1

Okay, I could have gotten really fancy there and told you that I made Tilapia en Papilotte, which I did but I really want you to try this and figure this title might not intimidate you and you could see how truly easy this recipe is!

I am submitting this recipe to Marye at The Restless Chipotle who is helping to change the way people think about fast food.  It DOES NOT need to come from a box to be fast food!  To see what she is trying to do and to check out all of the the wonderful entries from her last round of Real Food….. Real Quick up head to her site!

In total I think this took me about 5 minutes to pull together and that included going outside and cutting the herbs for it.

DSC_0139-1

Tilapia in Parchment adapted from and inspired by Heart homecooked

4 Tilapia fillets
4 sprigs each of thyme, oregano (1 sprig of each for each pouch)
1/4 cup packed basil leaves, thinly sliced
8 slices of thinly sliced lemon, 2 for each pouch
4 tsp of butter, 1 tsp for each pouch
coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • Wash fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper.
  • Place fillets on top of cut parchment paper (ehow.com and latimes.com have excellent "en papillote" step by step instructions) and top with butter, lemon wheel and herbs. Seal the pouch and cook for 10 minutes.

***you can skip the butter if you are watching your weight.  I added about 1 tsp of olive oil to mine instead of the butter and it is a 4 Point recipe based on a 6 oz. piece of fish.

 

signature

Monday, April 12, 2010

In a hurry? Homemade Baked Chicken Fingers

P1020089-1

So you all know by now that we are a pretty busy household right?  Between ice skating lessons, karate classes and BMX races and practices you must wonder how we do all of that stuff and still eat home cooked, real food meals, right? 

This recipe for baked chicken fingers is one of my favorite go to recipes for a busy weeknight.  From start to finish it takes just 15 minutes for me to bread them and bake them and have them on the table for the kids.  Almost as fast as going to McDonald’s and getting the chicken nuggets and bringing them home for dinner…

Baked Chicken Fingers

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup AP Flour
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 400F
  • Cut chicken breasts into thin strips, about one inch wide.
  • Longer sections can be cut in half to have uniform pieces.
  • Mix flour and seasonings (garlic, salt, and pepper) well in a bowl.
  • Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture. then egg mixture, and then finally in the Italian breadcrumbs.
  • Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. 6
  • Bake at for 9-11 minutes, until crispy on outside and lightly browned.

***The girls like these dipped in Ranch Dressing, ketchup, BBQ Sauce or even Honey Mustard.

****To have these ready in 15 minutes I have to cut the chicken into thin strips earlier in the day.  Another time saver is to bread them and refrigerate them until ready to use and then just plop them in a preheated oven.  See you can eat well even when as busy as we are!!!

signature

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Dinner from Sunday.

Corn on the Cob and Baby Bok Choy ready for dinner!

I haven't been talking much about my CSA box this year and I am not sure why. I guess the main reason is that by the time I get home after picking it up it is pretty much dark and I don't have a whole bunch of light left. I did get one picture I took of this weeks delivery but it was kinda small. I did complain about it and they have promised to rectify it. Still the quality, variety and the flavor of the produce is beyond belief.

Cilantro, avocado, scallion, green pepper, carrots, baby bok choy, corn, lettuce, cabbage and Asian Spinach!

This brings me to Sunday night's dinner. I haven't been very organized about planning meals and it's been too hot to eat soup very much but I did take a couple of steaks out to thaw. I knew I wanted corn and I had seen a post of Jaden's site The Steamy Kitchen that had stir fried baby bok choy and had book marked that. Dinner came together nicely despite a football game and my husband blaring in the background!

We take grass fed Chuck Roast (Whole Foods) and cut them into steaks and freeze them individually. Almost looks like a New York Strip doesn't it?

I didn't get any pictures of the Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy but you can find the recipe here and I highly recommend it. It was delicious!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Monday, May 5, 2008

Not your normal pasta dish!

The pictures didn't turn out real well (just imagine how happy everyone is seeing me run off with their dinner again!) and it looks real heavy but it isn't. That is all herbs, vegetables and a small bit of feta mixed in. I guess I should have tossed it first!

We were trying to pigeon hole the pasta dish that we had last night and there was no way we could do it. It has some Mexican, Italian, and Greek flavors but none of them were the predominant feature of the dish. When I first looked that the recipe I was pretty skeptical and I really don't use a recipe for past dishes, but I thought this one sounded pretty interesting and it was full of fresh ingredients so I knew it had to be good. Also a major plus was that I didn't have to go out and buy anything. I had it all on hand!

I found the recipe in Simply Organic: A Cookbook for Sustainable, Seasonal, and Local Ingredients by Jesse Ziff Cool. This is a great cookbook for anyone who is interested in eating around the seasons.

Of course I added and changed around some things based on what I wanted to get rid of in my fridge.

Last-Of-The-Summer Fettuccine (Adapted from Simply Organic)

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh fettuccine (we used a good quality Fusilli)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (I used 1/2 a green pepper)
2 lg garlic cloves, minced (we used 4-what can I say-we like garlic!)
1/2 shallot, finely chopped (not called for but we had it on hand)
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced
1 lg portabello mushroom, diced (not called for but I had it and wanted to get rid of it!)
1/4 cup tequila (they say it's optional, I say it's a must)
2 lg tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp
chopped fresh oregano
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and chopped
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
  • Cook the pasta according to the package directions.Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
  • Meanwhile heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, shallots, jalapeño, mushroom, and tequila and cook for about 1 minute.
  • Add the tomatoes, cilantro, and oregano and cook for 3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft.
  • Stir the cheese and avocado into the sauce.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add the sauce to the pasta and toss well.
As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com






Monday, April 7, 2008

Where did the weekend go???


Wow...come Friday last week I couldn't believe that the week was finished and we were starting into the weekend and now that isn't Monday I can't believe that the weekend is over. Is this just me or is everyone feeling like this???????

Nothing really spectacular on the food front. Friday night I made a new recipe but it sucked so I ended up having to take everyone for ice cream to help fill those empty tummies. Saturday night T made Eggplant Parmesan but I have already posted that numerous times!!! Last night all we had was leftover Eggplant Parmesan (always better the next day!) and a nice beautiful summer salad!

One thing though that I have been meaning to post forever is a meal that T. aunt made and emailed me about a while ago. Sorry Aunt Janet things take me forever to get to!!!

This is the email that came with the pictures and it looked so great!!! Thanks again Aunt Janet and can't wait to see everyone this summer!!!




Judy!
I had to share this with you. Struggling with what to do for dinner today (we don't do Sunday soup), I decided to try your PASTA WITH FRESH TOMATO & BASIL. Since I had not planned this meal, I had to work with what I had. I used your recipe to come up with this. G. called it a Tuscan, style dinner. I had no plum tomatoes, so I used something even better than the farmers market. Tomatoes from our own garden. I had them in the freezer. I had never done the garlic in the oven, so that was a real treat for me. I wish I had taken a picture of that, it was soooo beautiful. G. is a meat man, so I roasted a chicken, rubbed with sea salt & garlic powder in the oven. I also had it covered with my garden tomatoes. After it cooked, I added the juice to my tomato basil sauce. What a treat!!!!! It was so different than most tomato sauces that I make. G. & T. couldn't get enough!!!

You have no idea how great this email was for me! I inspired someone how is a really, really good cook to try something new! What a great feeling and if you have never cooked a chicken in tomato sauce you haven't really lived!!! Anyway onto the pics...

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearnentertaining.com

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Peter's Churrasco Chicken and Francie's Rice


Sounds like I don't have any original ideas huh? I do, really but with so many great recipes that I see on other blogs every day I don't really have to come up with original things all the time! Also I am a busy Mom with 2 crazy kids in 2 different schools with laundry, errands, and the job of finding the very best local produce for this crazy family which doesn't leave a whole lot of extra time for being creative. At least not during the week! What with skating and karate eating up all the spare time!

I found the Churrasco Chicken recipe on Kalofagas-Greek Food & Beyond by Peter Minakis. I saw the recipe and loved the idea of the ground bay leaves, onions, lemons and whiskey all together. The only problem was that Peter had used a whole chicken with skin on and I had 2 boneless, skinless breasts and 4 skinless thighs! I figure it would still work okay and I was right. This was such a delicious dish I urge you to try it. I can't wait to try it again but this time with a whole chicken!!!

With the chicken I made some Arroz Verde con Poblanos. I had gotten this recipe from Francie's blog - Ramblings of a Frantic Home Cook. I had made this a couple of weeks ago and T. was asking for it every night! I thought that it would go good with this chicken and a nice fresh salad!
I was right again! This rice is fresh tasting and very quick to make. I had to use brown rice this time and it was delicious like that as well!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

What to post, what to post?

Soft Tacos with Pico de Gallo and Oven Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

I have been so busy lately - yup all my own doing - trying to get all of the things that I wanted to do for the end of the month challenges. For the Daring Bakers I made Dorie Greenspan’s Party Cake and for the Royal Foodie Joust I made Fresh Coconut Fried Shrimp. Aside from that we still ate some really great meals over the weekend and I just couldn't decide what to post. Then I downloaded all of the pictures and I knew I had a winner!

As most of you know I am sadly on the hunt for a new Farmer's Market to go to. The Worden Farm Farmer's Market is done for the year and won't be back again until November???!!! On Saturday I thought I had found my replacement but as we pulled up I saw the great big huge tractor trailer unloading boxes of produce. There were several things there that they did grow themselves and it is a small family run business but I really do want something that is local if not organic. We did buy some tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, tomatillos, and some limes...Can you guess what we were having for dinner???

We made tacos with fresh Pico de Gallo and Oven Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde. I love fresh tasting food and this certainly fit the bill! The taco meat was pretty normal. Ground beef with taco seasoning. But the toppings are what made it incredible!


Pico de Gallo

1 bunch of cilantro (cleaned, stems removed and rough chopped)
2 tomatoes (seeded and diced)
2 jalapeños (seeds and membrane removed, finely chopped)
1 large onion (chopped)
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and allow to sit for about 30 minutes before serving.

Oven Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

1 quart basket of tomatillos
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1 bunch of cilantro (cleaned and picked)
juice from 1 lime
1/4 tsp sugar
2 jalapeños (seeds and membrane removed and chopped)
salt to taste
  • Remove the papery husk from the tomatillos and rinse well. Cut each one in half and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Broil for about 5-7 minutes or until the skin is lightly blackened.
  • Place the blackened tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, jalapeños, and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season with the salt to taste.
  • Allow to cool in the fridge before serving.
These fresh ingredients made for a great, fresh tasting dinner. Even the girls liked this one (with lots of water!)

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Thursday, March 20, 2008

My Favorite Pasta Dish!

Linguine with tomatoes, basil and roasted garlic!

I know, I know...I just posted this last week but for me a recipe is sometimes like getting a simple song stuck in my head. I crave it and the flavors and this is one recipe that I absolutely love the way that that the flavors and the aromas all come together in a perfect summery blast! I know where most of you are summer is still a ways off and please don't try this with crappy tomatoes. It is truly disappointing then...exercise patience. It is so worth it!


Another reason though that I wanted to try this recipe is that I have been getting some great fresh garlic from my local U-Pick. It is not dry and papery on the outside but soft. Almost like an onion. I was very curious to see how it would roast up...Wonderfully I now know!!!

I also got my hands on some beautiful red scallions that I thought would go very nice with this pasta.


Archer Farms ( Target exclusive) has some really great pastas and spices. If you haven't checked out a Super Target give it a try. I don't generally do too much grocery shopping but I was out of oil and had to pick some things up anyway so I wandered over to the grocery part of the store. Man, was I ever blown away by what they had!!! The herbs and spices were incredible they had just about everything that you can imagine. Asian, Indian, Italian and all of the Spanish spices and herbs all together in one place!!! Huge array of organic as well as regular ones and at decent prices to boot! As I wandered deeper in I hit the pasta aisle. Incredible. I bought one bag and will be going back for more. This tastes every bit as good as the Italian pastsa that I get from my local Italian market!!! Next time you need something from Target do yourself a favor and go the estra distance to a Super Target. Well worth the trip!


Pasta With Fresh Tomato and Basil

1 head of garlic and 2 Tbsp olive oil
3 ripe plum tomatoes (I just use whatever is tasting good right them)
1/3 C fresh basil (chopped)
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of long thin pasta (angel hair, linguine, spaghetti)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Peel of most of the paper from around the garlic head. Slice off the pointy top of the garlic. This should expose all of the cloves a bit. Place in an oven proof pan (I use a pie plate). Top with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and coarse salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool then remove the cloves and mash with a fork.
  • Dice the tomatoes (if the have a ton of seeds squeeze them out).
  • Add the garlic, basil, capers, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  • Let stand for at least 20 minutes.
  • Cook pasta.
  • Mix sauce with pasta and serve warm or at room temperature. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Update on the lizard - The freaking lizard from yesterday haunted me all yesterday and today. I live in a 2000+ SF home. How can he be everywhere??? Anyway the last time I saw him in the office he was looking a little pale and not moving quite as fast. So I was able to grab him and put him outside. Now we are both sooooo much happier!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Pasta with Fresh Tomato and Basil ...and Squash Blossoms!

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes, Basil and Roasted Garlic

This is one of my most favorite dishes ever and I have no idea why I haven't posted it before now??? It is fast, fresh tasting and simple!

Garlic ready to be covered for roasting

Pasta With Fresh Tomato and Basil

1 head of garlic and 2 Tbsp olive oil
3 ripe plum tomatoes (I just use whatever is tasting good right them)
1/3 C fresh basil (chopped)
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 box of long thin pasta (angel hair, linguine, spaghetti)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Peel of most of the paper from around the garlic head. Slice off the pointy top of the garlic. This should expose all of the cloves a bit. Place in an oven proof pan (I use a pie plate). Top with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and coarse salt. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Allow to cool then remove the cloves and mash with a fork.
  • Dice the tomatoes (if the have a ton of seeds squeeze them out).
  • Add the garlic, basil, capers, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
  • Let stand for at least 20 minutes.
  • Cook pasta.
  • Mix sauce with pasta and serve warm or at room temperature. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This thing that I love the most about this is that it is incredible served at room temperature so I can concentrate on other things while this is sitting.

I also decided that we were going to have the squash blossoms because I know (I think) they have to be used right away. I found some great recipes for stuffing them but I really wanted to keep this meal simple and fresh tasting so I opted to batter them and fry them. Yeah, I guess that isn't that light is it? Any way they turned out to be incredible tasting. They even still tasted like squash!!! I found the recipe in my absolute favorite cookbook by How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food (How to Cook Everything) by Mark Bittman. This book has proven to be my best resource for all of the fresh produce I am bringing home. If you were to have one cookbook and one cookbook only this is the one I would tell you to buy!

Anyway I found a beer batter recipe (Batter, European Style) and this worked perfect for the nice delicate flowers!
Squash Blossoms

Deep Fried Squash Blossoms (recipe by Mark Bittman-How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)

Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy bottomed pot to at least 350 degrees.

1 Cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 Cup for dredging
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
3/4 Cup beer or sparkling water (I stole T.'s beer for this one)
Coarse salt for finishing
  • While the oil is heating mix the batter ingredients until just combined. This batter should be the consistency of pancake batter.
  • Dredge each blossom lightly in the plain flour and then dip into the batter and place gently in the oil. Do not crowd the blossoms in the oil, you may have to cook in batches. Cook turning once until a nice golden brown.
  • Drain on a rack or paper towels and serve immediately
Squash Blossoms fried to a nice golden brown!

You can use this versatile batter for frying other vegetables but the cooking time will vary. I love it because it was a nice light batter that still allowed for the delicate flavor of the squash blossom to come through!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Farmer's Market Leftovers...and what I made!

Dinner! Grilled radicchio, sauted shitake mushrooms, sauteed dandelion greens and swiss chard

It seems like so long ago that I went to the Farmer's Market and came back with bags (earth friendly reusable - of course) of fresh veggies and boat shrimp. But it has really been less than a week. I went through the refrigerator yesterday and got out all of the food that remaining from last Wednesday's trip and knew that was about to be dinner!
Sauteed dandelion and swiss chard

Organic Shitake Mushrooms
We had some dandelion greens and swiss chard that I sauteed with olive oil and garlic, shitake mushrooms that I sauteed in butter, tomato and mozzarella (fresh from Paesano's), and a head of radicchio which T. grilled and we ate with balsamic vinegar. Mozzarella and Tomato Salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fancy olives

The radicchio was my absolute favorite. I love the flavor anyway but once it was grilled it seemed not quite so bitter but still with the crunchy, sharp taste! If you haven't tried it before I would have to say it is a must try!!!

My fridge is now empty and just waiting for my next visit to the market!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Saturday, January 5, 2008

It sure looks like summer!


This picture makes me think of the hot, dog days of summer. Lucky for us though it was taken today. We went to our local farmer's market this morning and got some really wonderful looking stuff. Florida Strawberries are ripe now as are our tomatoes. I hope not too much was hurt by the freeze we had last week! We got home and all the girl's wanted for lunch was fruit salad and who could blame them. Fresh strawberries, blueberries (unfortunately imported) and local carambola. Sure made for a pretty picture!

Also don't forget to vote for my entry in the Royal Foodie Joust. Voting only goes until the 7th!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com