Mussels in White Wine broth

Tags

mussels, pasta, white wine

When I first started to cook for myself, I fell madly in love with Fresh Direct. And quite often, they would have amazing deals on fresh mussels. Mussel night became the ritual whenever I ordered from fresh direct. I would steam these babies after a good cleaning and then serve them with my favorite marinara sauce. I forget what happened to my little ritual but I gave mussels a good long break…

And then last week, my old reliable Fresh Direct, moved mussels up in my “Faves” list. So I bought some fresh mussels.

But I wasn’t going to have these babies with marinara. I had tons of garlic and a half a bottle of white wine to get rid of. I needed a simple sauce that was flavorful and balanced and not too rich.  I used this recipe from Simply Recipes and cooked them the way I knew how.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed clean under running water

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 Tbsp butter I used unsalted butter

1/4 cup minced shallots onions

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 teaspoons flour (optional, omit for gluten-free version)

1/4 cup minced parsley

2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning

Directions:

I set up a large pot and sautéed the onions in butter for 3 minutes over medium heat. When the onions were fragrant and translucent, I added the garlic. I sauteed  until the the onion and garlic started to brown. Finally I deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and scraping up all the delicious oniony bits. I simmered the sauce for 10 minutes over low heat. Then I threw in the mussels. Covered with a lid and allowed to steam inside the pot for an additional 8-10 minutes.

The mussels are done when they are open. Give the mussels a good stir to allow the broth to cover all of the mussels. Discard any unopened mussels.

I decided to serve over some spaghetti and tossed the spaghetti in the mussels broth. Sprinkled with italian seasoning and serve.

We enjoyed it with the rest of the white wine.

So good!

I love Mussels! And I especially love mussels covered in delicious broth!

CLM: Asian Marinated Steak with cucumber and Radish Salad

Tags

cooking light magazine, dinner, healthy, recipes

Every month, the new and crisp issue of Cooking Light Magazine makes its way into my mailbox. And when it comes in, I cozy up in the couch with a pen, paper and bookmarking tabs and get inspired. For some reason, an issue went missing and I never got to tab the hell out of it. While doing an intense spring cleaning, I found a crisp April edition of Cooking Light and when I was through with the issue, I was out of tabs!

BR shares a love of asian marinades with me. One of the first dinners I ever made for him was an asian marinated chicken with rice and its still one of his favorites. This recipe for an asian marinated steak was right up his alley and kismet since the ingredients were already on hand. The rich marinade did wonders for this dish and I now have a new appreciation for what rice vinegar and soy sauce can do to some plain old cucumbers!

Ingredients: (serves 2-3 ppl)

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sesame oil

1 T soy sauce

1 cup cucumber, sliced

1 cup radishes, sliced

2 flank steaks (I had top sirloin- so I used that)

3 T hoisin sauce

1 t fish sauce

1 t fresh ginger, grated

1 t garlic, minced

Optional: cooked white Rice

Directions:

1. Heat a stove top grill pan (lightly sprayed with oil), over a medium-low heat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. Add the radishes and cucumbers to the bowl, toss to coat and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, combine hoisin, fish sauce, ginger and garlic and brush on to the steak. Turn heat up to medium. Place the steak, sauce side down and cook uninterrupted for 5 minutes. Spread the hoisin sauce mixture onto the other side of the steak and then turn over and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Remove steak from the grill and place on a cutting board and allow to rest for 7-10 minutes. When ready to serve, slice the meat against the grain and serve with cucumber radish salad.

White rice is optional, I prefer it as it really rounds out the meal…especially if you are feeding greedy people.

This was amazing. The salad really complimented the steak. The salad was like a mild pickling to the cucumbers- I pretty much loved every thing about this!

This is definitely going into the rotation.

Turkey cheeseburger salad

Tags

dinner, healthy, lunch, recipes, salad

Behold! A very delicious and unphotogenic salad. All the elements of a burger  and fries but on a bed iceberg lettuce.

Wanting to satisfy a burger craving, I decided to follow a lead via the Weight Watchers website on a turkey burger salad.  This salad was satisfying and tasty. I surely enjoyed leftover for lunch and felt guilt-less enjoying such a hearty “burger”.

Ingredients: serves 4

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

1 small onion, diced

salt

8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced

4 ounces reduced fat cheddar cheese

2 large red potatoes, baked

8 cups iceberg lettuce

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over a medium flame and saute the onions until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Then, add the mushrooms and cook through, about 3-4 minutes. Set the mushrooms and onions aside and add ground turkey to the skillet, season with salt to taste. Break up with spoon as you cook to make crumbles.

When the turkey is cooked, serve on a bed of lettuce, sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Add 1/2 a baked potato (roughly chopped) to the plate and add onions and mushrooms. I drizzled the potatoes with some ketchup and viola. The recipe this was inspired by called for balsamic vinegar but I wanted this to remind me of a real burger (minus the bun) and this was great.

I might have had two servings.

No, I definitely had two servings.

Turkey Bacon and Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Tags

bacon, burger, dinner, onion, recipes

So now that I am officially a comfy cozy girl in a healthy relationship, the boo and I stay in quite a bit. Not because we don’t want to see anyone or because we hate going out, but after a full week of work, our favorite thing to do on a friday after work is relax. And I must confess that as I get older, I find myself falling asleep earlier and earlier each night without a care. Last friday, I was asleep by 10 pm. TEN. P.M!!!! The time most young adults are on their way out for a night of fun.

I digress. After a week of clean eating and a heavy veggie and fish week, I decided to pick up some lean ground beef. I didn’t have an immediate plan for it, but having it around provided some leeway for that spontaneous moment where I could be reckless and plan dinner as I’m making it. That’s my opinion of reckless.

With a sudden leftover supply of bacon, I suddenly craved burgers.

with Caramelized onions.

Bacon.

and a soft and fluffy potato bun.

Ingredients: serves 4

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp worcestshire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1 large spanish onion, sliced

4 slices of crispy bacon

4 oz cheese (I chose extra sharp cheddar)

1.  In a large skillet, heat a tsp of oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until browned or caramelized, about 8- 10 minutes. When onions are done, set aside.

2. Combine the ground beef with worcestshire sauce. Make 4, 4 oz, patties out of the beef. Sprinkle each patty with salt and pepper. Prepare a cast iron skillet with a tsp of oil. When the pan is screaming hot, place heat on lower setting. Add burgers and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, or to desired internal temps. For burgers, I like mine with a little pink inside.

3.  Add cheese to cooked burger patties and assemble with onions and bacon. (also a good option: smashed avocado!)

4. Affix on bun of choice (Mine is potato bun). Serve with baked fries or a healthy side salad.

A simply seasoned burger is the best burger. The addition of the sides just made this a great texture party! It was nice to change things up a bit. We tore these babies up.

Meat Free Monday: Slow Cooker Snobby Joe

Tags

dinner, lentil, meat free, recipes, slow cooker, snobby joe, vegan, vegetarian

A few years ago, I discovered a love for lentils. I discovered my lentil love when I attempted a lentil sloppy joe recipe. Aside from not having any meat in it, it really tasted like those delicious and oh so messy joes from the middle school cafeteria. Only these were lean and healthy (but just as, if not more, messy).

I’ve made this recipe before but to save time, I decided to use the slow cooker. It worked out really well!

Ingredients (serves 6-8 ppl)

1 cup of dry lentils (+ 4 cups of water to boil)

1 bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup of tomato paste

1 tsp mustard

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

3 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tsp salt

Optional: kaiser rolls

1. Prepare all the ingredients the night before and set in the fridge. In the morning, set the slow cooker on low and allow to cook for 8-10 hrs or 5 hrs on high. (the night before trick is helpful as the soaking of the lentils allows them to be tender and fully cooked at the end of the 10 hrs)

When ready to serve, lightly toast a kaiser roll and place a cup of snobby joe mix onto roll.

I served with oven fries.

These were great. They were quite messy as one would imagine. They were also really flavorful. I might have been a tad sneaky by not telling BR these were meatless. But he loves lentils and loved this dish. The lentils are very filling so a little bit goes a long way. I ate the leftovers chili style with bread for dipping and sopping.

This freezes well too!

Clean Spinach and tuna Pasta Salad

Tags

clean, fail, healthy, recipes

We really hit the ground running with that awesome Salad in a Jar and felt like pressing on in the quest of clean eating… until we ate this. Tuna + spinach+ pasta sounds great doesn’t it?

I hated this.

BR hated this.

We did not finish it.

We ordered pizza shortly after.

The reviews and the pics on the clean eating diet website made this look like a huge winner. But personally, this was not my cup of tea. Since we had tuna leftover from the Salad in a jar, this felt like the perfect recipe to use up the remaining tuna.

So pretty, right?

I am posting the recipe in case this lemony pasta is something you might like. I just didn’t like it.

Ingredients

• 12 oz  tri-color pasta (I used farfalle)
• 15 oz  no-salt-added sold white albacore tuna
• 8 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained
• 1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup chopped pepperoncini
• ½ cup chopped fresh basil
• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
• 1 lemon, zested and juice
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add the pasta and stir. Cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving ¼ cup (60 ml) of the cooking water. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Add reserved cooking water, and toss to combine. Can be served warm, at room temperature or cold.

We both hated this. I think I prefer my salads a little more creamy. It was too acidic for my taste and too lemony.

The pizza was way better.

Tuna Nicoise Salad in a “Jar”

Tags

clean, healthy, lunch, recipes, salad

I have an obsession with my jars. I have been collecting jars and using them for leftovers or making things specifically to store in jars. One of my fave things on Pinterest lately are the salads in a jar! So gorgeous. And seems so revolutionary in salad storage! Call me a dork but I shied away from packing salads over the years because I packed my salad dressing and protein in separate containers making my salad heavier than a salad should be… so I stopped.

And while eating clean, a hearty healthy salad (in a jar) had to happen. But then as I was filling my jar, I realized that all the extras would take away from all the crispy crunchy lettuce leaves in the salad. And leaving that out is stupid.

I’m pretty sure I am not the first person to think of out the jar here and assemble the salad the same way, just in a bigger vessel. But why have I been so ignorant? How did I not know how to do this?

I made 4 salads. Two for me, two for BR. Two days of lunch. Boom.

From memory, I assembled our bomb ass salads:

Ingredients:

8 cups of romaine lettuce

2 cans of solid albacore tuna in water, drained

1 large tomato

2 hardboiled eggs

2 cups of green beans

2 small baked potatoes

1/2 cup honey mustard vinaigrette (not the traditional one used in nicoise salads but this is our fave)

To assemble one salad “jar”:

layer One: 2 Tbsp honey Mustard Dressing

Layer Two: 1/2 cup green beans

Layer Three: 1/4 of tomato

Layer Four: 1/2 hard boiled egg, sliced

Layer Five: 1/2 baked potato, roughly chopped

Layer Six: Half a can of tuna

Layer Seven: 2 cups of lettuce

When you are ready to eat, turn it upside down for a few minutes to let the dressing trickle down through the entire salad. This salad is hearty, filling, and delicious.

I am really excited to be jumping back on the salad bandwagon… now? I just need to find the perfect jar for it.

Slow Cooker: Clean Beef Stew

Tags

beef, beef stew, clean, dinner, healthy, recipes, slow cooker, stew

At times eating right can be a challenge. With all the foods out there that taste so damn amazing, getting back to the basics can feel like a challenge. Like, what did people eat before white rice? Have you ever sat down to that steaming bowl of white fluffy rice and craved something else instead? I know I don’t. And when I make the decision to use brown rice or some other whole grain, it feels like a chore because nothing beats that bleached starchy goodness.

And when I sit down and over think it, I decide to challenge myself. I started looking up paleo recipes and clean recipes and realized that its not all that different from the foods I love, minus a few things. There is nothing like lean protein with tons of hearty root vegetables. The beef stew that I fell in love with was an autumn stew, but comfort like this knows no specific season. So, there.

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

• 1 lb / 454 g extra lean stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
• ¼ lb / 113 g low-sodium turkey bacon
• 1 cup / 240 ml chopped onion
• 2 cups / 480 ml low-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups / 480 ml apple cider
• 1 lb / 454 g diced white potatoes
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 1½ cups / 360 ml diced rutabaga
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp / 2.5 ml dried rosemary, crumbled
• ½ tsp / 2.5 ml freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp / 15 ml freshly chopped parsley or dried parsley flakes (optional)
• 2 Tbsp / 30 ml whole wheat flour

Preparation

Cook beef, turkey bacon and onions in a large skillet on medium heat until the beef is browned and bacon is cooked.

Place in the slow cooker: beef, onions, bacon, onions, broth, apple cider, potatoes, carrots, celery, rutabaga, bay leaf, rosemary, pepper and parsley, if using. Cover and cook 7-9 hours on low.

Combine flour with 2 Tbsp / 30 ml cold water to form a smooth mixture. Stir into mixture in slow cooker and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Serve.

I served this over some garlicky quinoa and ripe slices of avocado. This was amazing. I was a little unsure about cider in a beef stew but it really worked and gave the sauce a nice depth of flavor. As for the quinoa, it really didn’t hold up in the stew like rice, but I love the texture of quinoa so it was still tasty. And, avocado? always a win.

Meat Free Monday: Vegetarian Chili

Tags

meat free, slow cooker, vegetarian

Whoa! Has it really been that long since my last post?!?

While enjoying a nice happy hour over some wings on Friday night, my coworker Dan told me I was slacking on the posts. He was right. I have been slacking. Sorry!

I recently took the Graduate Record Exam as part of the application process to grad school. As an undergrad, I graduated with honors and thought this standardized test would be a piece of cake. I studied with my Kaplan guides and took lots of practice exams. The practice exams were going well and on the day of the exam, I flopped. Like flopped it. I was so upset. And after so many days with my nose in the books, I felt so unprepared. But, I still have a chance at grad school and I have faith that I will make it in!

Sometimes BR gives me some ideas for the menu planning. I mean, considering that we now live together (surprise!) he gets to put his two cents in every now and then. He had the brilliant idea of incorporating more veggie dinners into our plans. With a  slight chill in the air these days, I felt like making a chili.

One of the best veggie chilis that I have had contains zero soy and is super filling comes from Hungry Girl. Dan Good Chili. A chili that can be thrown together in an instant or in a slow cooker. Its healthy, its filling, and its delicious.

4 1/4 cups canned tomato sauce
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with green chilies
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup canned jalapeno slices, chopped
1 cup canned sweet corn kernels, drained
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 3/4 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Optional: salt

Directions

Place the tomato sauce, tomatoes, jalapenos, chili powder, and cumin in a large pot slow cooker. Stir over low heat. Once the mixture is heated, stir in the garlic and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
Add carrots and continue to cook over low heat. Meanwhile, over medium heat, cook onions, peppers, and mushrooms for 3 to 5 minutes in a large pan with just 1/2 cup of water (and some salt if desired). The onions and peppers should still be a little crunchy. Using a slotted spoon to drain any excess water, and the veggies to the pot.
Add beans, corn, and Worcestershire sauce to the pot. Mix Well. Everything should now be in the pot.
Cook on low heat for about 2 8 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. Chili is done when carrots have lost their crunch.
Makes 10 servings.

Each 1 cup serving is 147 calories, That’s a hell of a bargain. I served this over fluffy white rice and topped with sour cream and shredded cheddar.

A great freezer friendly meal, and nearly effortless to put together.

We liked the meat free night… but we are true carnivores!

Creole Shrimp and cheesy Grits

Tags

cheddar, cream cheese, dinner, grits, quick dinner, shrimp

I remember the first time I tried grits. It was a waffle house in Atlanta 8 years ago. Back then, I thought those were some legit grits. They were delicious covered with a thick slice of American cheese but since that first love affair with grits, I have come to love the grits I make myself. I have discovered a whole new love for grits with cream cheese and cheddar.

So while stockpiling my freezer with several pounds of shrimp, I thought shrimp and grits would be a nice change of pace instead of the regular stir fries I normally do with shrimp.

I found this recipe on MyRecipes.com for Quick Shrimp and grits, submitted by a reader.

• cooking spray
• 2 cups green bell peppers, chopped (1 large green bell pepper)
• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil Fire roasted tomatoes
• 4 slices cooked bacon, crisped and crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used medium shrimp)
• 1 2/3 cups fat-free milk half and half
• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cups uncooked quick-cooking grits
• 1 tablespoons light butter
• 3/4 cups light cream cheese
• (plus some shredded sharp cheddar cheese for garnishing grits) – optional

Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chopped pepper; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, crumbled bacon, and Creole seasoning; cook 5 minutes. Add shrimp, and cook 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are done.

Combine half and half and broth in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in grits; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer; uncovered, 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in butter and cream cheese until melted.  Add cheddar cheese. Serve shrimp mixture over grits.

We had intended for there to be lots of leftovers. But there weren’t. Granted, grits are very filling, we could not get enough of the creole shrimp. The spicy shrimp and sauce combined with the creamy semi sweet, semi sharp grits was addicting. It made a fantastic and simple dinner to assemble and an even better lunch the following day.

You can imagine the jealousy when we took out a hearty bowlful of shrimp and grits for lunch, right?

Note to self: get more shrimp.