Sometimes You Just Have To EAT!

In the beginning, when you first start "dieting" or "eating healthy" or whatever else you call it, do you have the same issue as me?  I never feel like I get to lift my fork to my mouth enough times!  By the end of the first week, I'm ready to eat, I mean really eat!  I want to keep putting food in my mouth until my tummy says stop, not only until my teeny tiny portion runs out.

That feeling led me to the discovery of this amazing salad!  Boy oh boy did it do the trick!  I was able to lift my fork as many times as I could and when I was done, I was really done eating.  Completely satisfied all the way to my toes!

Salsa Verde Chicken & Shrimp Salad

1 tbsp cilantro, dried

1 cup sour cream, fat free
3 tbsp Salsa Verde
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
13 oz raw chicken breast, diced
8 oz raw shrimp, small
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
6 cups Italian Lettuce mix
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 oz) can Green Giant Steam Crisp corn, drained

Mix the first six ingredients until well blended.  Set aside while preparing the salad in order for the flavors to blend.  Season chicken and shrimp generously with Old Bay.  Spray a medium skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken and shrimp on medium high heat until chicken is no longer pink.  Drain any liquid.  In a large bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, black beans and corn.  Add cooked chicken and shrimp and mix well.  Pour dressing into salad mixture and toss to completely cover every morsel!

Each serving of 2 cups is only 7 points plus on WW and will completely fill you up!  This recipe will serve at least 6 people, more if they are small eaters.

I have finally found a "diet" recipe that I can literally eat until I'm ready to stop!  Oh, by the way, I don't consider slurping soup "eating".  I want to chew, chomp, taste and savor when I get in this mood!  Now it's on to the next discovery until the urge hits again!

New Discoveries

Fall comes and so does comfort food!  Warm, cozy comfort food! 

My comfort food tends to be mashed potatoes and warm biscuits.  Chowders can do the trick if they're not too complicated in flavors - a good creamy potato chowder can definitely make that slow easy smile come across my face!

With my daughters, Mac n' Cheese tends to be the go-to comfort food.  Bad day at school?  Warm Mac n' Cheese after school brings that slow smile to their faces.  Boyfriend problems?  Mac n' Cheese makes them disappear for just a moment while they smile through the cheesy goodness.  For me, that's not the case.  I could never eat Mac n' Cheese again and be completely content - until now!

I found an alternative that meets all the criteria of comfort food for me (and maybe you too)!

Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese (serves 6)
1 recipe French Gnocchi
http://choppedstar2be.blogspot.com/2012/11/bucket-list.html
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp spicy mustard
1/4 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375F.  Coat a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and add mustard.  Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Combine Gruyere and Gouda then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful.  Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.  Arrange gnocchi in prepared baking dish in one layer.  Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle Parmesan over top.  Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes.  Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

The flavors are subtle and smooth while the texture of the gnocchi gives it a melt-in-your-mouth warm goodness!  Although this may not replace the girls' mac n' cheese fixer-upper, it's definitely been added to the Comfort Food section of the cookbook!

Bucket List

There are a few things in cooking that I feel I have to try before I retire my pans and let someone else do the cooking for me!  I'm not talking about using liquid nitrogen or some weird slimy ingredients, just some foods that look yummy that I haven't made before.

I've always been fascinated by Gnocchi...  I think it's because of the way it's spelled!  It's delicious, creamy texture in soups and other dishes also entices me but I think it mostly that darned spelling.  After all, I make my own pasta so I'm sure it's not the challenge that has Gnocchi on my bucket list, it's that darned double "c" in there!

Time to get that bucket out and take a shovel full of Gnocchi out of it!!  But first, I needed to discover the correct pronunciation so off to Google I went!  I discovered a whole lot of arguments from Italians and French, chefs and experts, men and women!  I came away with the conclusion that I'm left to pronounce it however I want!  Some say gnawkee (kind of like in onion) and some say no-key...  I say "yummy"!

French Gnocchi (makes 6 servings)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
3-4 eggs

Boil butter, water, milk, salt and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat.  Just as mixture begins to boil, stir in flour; beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball around the spoon.  Reduce heat to low, beating dough 1-2 minutes to dry it.  (A film will form on the bottom and sides of the saucepan.)  Rest dough 10 minutes, then with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, beat cheese, basil and parsley into dough just until combined.  Heat water in a saute pan to 160-175F.  Meanwhile, add first 3 eggs, one at a time, beating on medium speed after each addition until blended.  Lift dough with spoon to test consistency.  If it drips off the spoon and forms a V shape, it's ready.  If not, beat the remaining egg and add a portion of it to dough, beat, and test again.  Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a medium straight tip (or freezer bag with corner snipped off).  Pipe dough in batches into steaming water in 1 inch pieces, slicing off at the piping tip with a paring knife or scissors.  The gnocchi fall to bottom of pan but float as they poach.  Poach 3-5 minutes; remove from water with a slotted spoon.  Transfer gnocchi to parchment lined baking sheet; spread into a single layer.  Use gnocchi immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

This was so easy and so rewarding!  As I gazed at all my little gnocchi on the parchment I couldn't help but wonder why I'd waited so long to try something that is so versatile and simple to make.  Now let's try all kinds of new creations with these little doughy dumplings!

Tropics in the Fall

I'm back!  It feels so good!

Now it's time to get back in the kitchen and create!  This week will be spent on all the wonderful food and treats for the Dia De Los Muertos Halloween Party but I thought I'd jump on here real quick and jot something down and share a recipe just to get back in the swing of things.

Typically, when I make a meal, everything has the same ethnic or cultural background.  When I saw the idea for a Hungry Hawaiian Burger I knew it was time for a Tropical BBQ, complete with Hawaiian Pasta Salad!  As I glance up outside and see the fall colors and the misty sky, and I feel the coldness on my bare toes, I think it's time, once again, for a Tropical BBQ!

Hungry Hawaiian Burgers
2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
6 large mushrooms, sliced
1 pineapple, cored and sliced
1 recipe (below) homemade teriyaki sauce
6 slices Havarti cheese
6 Kings Hawaiian hamburger buns
Romaine lettuce
Salt/Pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter

Season the ground beef with salt and pepper.  The homemade teriyaki sauce and grilled pineapple are the flavors here so don't over do the seasonings.  Shape the ground beef into thick patties and set aside at room temperature.  Saute the mushrooms in butter, adding a pinch of salt and pepper while cooking.  Don't overcook them, cook them just until soft.  Remove from heat and set aside.  We'll be grilling the beef patties and pineapple slices until nice grill marks appear and burgers are at the proper temperature as soon as the teriyaki sauce is done!

Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice of 2 fresh orange wedges
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water
Dash of ground ginger

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce in a small saucepan.  Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until it starts to reach a boil.  Remove from heat and stir again.  Set aside while you grill the burgers and pineapple slices (I lightly grill the buns too, they look pretty and they stand up to all the dripping just a little bit better).

Assemble the burgers:  Open bun, place burger on the bottom half of the bun, add a slice of the Havarti cheese, a few mushroom slices on that and then a grilled pineapple slice.  Spoon some sweet aromatic teriyaki sauce over that beautiful stack, add some Romaine lettuce and the top of the bun and enjoy!

My mouth is watering!  Time to make the grocery list and include these ingredients.  Oh, by the way, when I was in Hawaii at the Dole Plantation I learned to pick a fresh pineapple - the only way to know if it's perfect on the inside is to look at the eyes on the outside - they must all be the same size.  Don't worry about color and definitely not the smell (too ripe if you can smell it), just go by the size of the eyes.  And also, always rinse the pineapple in cold water before serving or grilling and it won't "burn" your mouth!

Aloha!

Sweetly Re-Done

Haystacks

During this time of the year, when you see that word it brings to mind the sweet crunchy treat made with butterscotch chips and crispy Chinese noodles.  My grandmother would make both chocolate and butterscotch "Haystacks" and I always wondered where the brown hay came from!

As with every other tradition, I made the butterscotch Haystacks every year.  They were usually the last thing left on the goody trays and were eaten as a last resort.  Something about them just didn't appeal to this new generation of sweet eaters.  Time to re-think and re-do those Haystacks!  Don't worry, they're just as easy as before!

Butterscotch Drops

1 pkg (11 oz) butterscotch flavored morsels

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

5 1/2 cups Special K Vanilla Nut cereal

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside.

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butterscotch morsels, uncovered, on medium-high, for 1 minute.  Adjust time accordingly until morsels are just melted.

Stir in peanut butter until smooth.  Add cereal and stir until coated.

Drop by rounded tablespoons (or use small cookie scoop) onto prepared baking sheets.  Refrigerate until firm.

See, they're just as easy as before!  Actually even easier because you don't need to chop any nuts! 

Let's see what else I can come up with today!  I get to pretty much stay in the kitchen again all day so I can get the goody trays made up.  So far today there's the smell of Blondies, Sweet & Savory Chex Mix and Nut Clusters.  Okay, Nut Clusters don't smell much but they sure are pretty!

Old Favorites

I can't remember the first time I made Toffee.  I know I was a child because the first time I made it I used the cookbook I got for my 7th birthday!  Although I've streamlined that recipe and made it as simple as it can be I remember standing on a step stool over the stove to stir it continuously while it boiled.

Now I only manage to make it around the holidays and every time I do I wonder why I don't make it as a special treat throughout the year.  I always have the ingredients on hand, it just never enters my mind.  Maybe now with the picture flashing by in the corner of my blog I'll provide a special treat more often.

Toffee
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Butter a square pan, 9x9x2 inches.  Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the bottom.

Heat the sugar and butter to boiling in a 1 quart saucepan, stirring constantly.  Boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 7 minutes.  Immediately spread mixture over pecans in prepared pan.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot mixture and place a cookie sheet over the pan until the chips are melted.  Spread the melted chocolate over the candy.

Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm then break into desired size pieces.

What I've learned over the years:  don't substitute anything for the butter; boil for exactly 7 minutes and not a second or two longer; once it starts boiling and you're on medium heat don't turn it up or down during the 7 minutes; run water in the pan immediately to prevent a hard and laborious cleanup; use a light weight wooden spoon to stir, you'd be surprised how heavy that spoon gets after 5 minutes!

Although simple in ingredients and preparation it seems that something invariably goes wrong with at least two batches a year! Not bad when I make anywhere from 10-15 batches! So far this year I've made five and only one had a little snafu. Not sure what happened but the sugar crystallized and it became soft toffee! Every morsel of that soft old favorite was eaten!

Special Requests

Writing this blog is like my food journal.  I started it for two reasons:  1) putting my recipes in a place where they won't get lost and 2) giving my friends access to some of my favorite recipes.  When a friend asks for a specific recipe it sure does validate that second reason!

Barry put on his facebook status today something about having Salisbury Steak for lunch.  That was dinner last night and I usually make sure I make enough so he has leftovers the next day for lunch.  Especially when it's a "Man Dinner" like Salisbury Steak!

Not only is Barry smiling with a satisfied tummy, I'm smiling because a friend has asked for a specific recipe!  This one's for you Kim!

Salisbury Steak and Potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 lbs ground beef (96/4)

2 garlic bulbs

4 slices turkey bacon, crumbled

2 tsp steak seasoning

3 pkgs brown gravy mix, prepared

7 medium russet potatoes

1/2 cup cream cheese, fat free

1/2 cup half & half, fat free

2 tbsp butter

 

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Slice the top off the garlic bulbs so every clove is exposed.  Place on a small square of foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Fold edges of foil together making a sealed bundle.  Bake 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the bulb.  When cool enough to handle remove the cloves by gently squeezing the bulb.

Add 2 tsp of olive oil to a skillet on medium-high heat.  Once hot, add the chopped onion and cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Set aside.
Peel and boil potatoes.  When soft, drain and add cream cheese, half & half and butter.  Mash until creamy.  Cover and keep warm.

Combine the ground beef, bacon bits, onion, roasted garlic and seasonings.  Form into oval shaped patties.  Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet.  Once hot, add the patties and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Place in a warm oven while preparing gravy.

Add 2 tsp olive oil to the skillet.  Add the mushrooms and let them sit, without stirring or flipping, for 3-4 minutes.  Flip the mushrooms and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.  Add the prepared gravy.

There are also some little tricks and ideas that I do different depending on my mood.  For instance, if I have some red wine on hand I'll deglaze the skillet after browning the mushrooms...  what am I talking about, I always have red wine on hand!!  Of course if I haven't been to the grocery store specifically for this recipe I make the gravy from scratch (1/2 cup flour to the mushroom pan, add some beef stock, a little worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and the red wine).  Not to mention the order of the recipe...  it's hard to put it into recipe form but really you have to do all of it all at the same time!  While the potatoes are boiling make the patties and start cooking them and while they're cooking you drain the potatoes and while those are draining....  aw heck, you get the idea!

Any other special requests?