A Savory Polenta Pie

This is one of my favorite dishes to make. I start with pre-made Polenta from Trader Joes. It comes in a tube sausage looking thing. I slice it up and cook it in the microwave with a little bit of water to soften it up. About 2 min. Then I mash it into the pie pan with a buttered spatula

Bacon is a fab ingredient and makes everything just taste better. This also has a bit of sweet onion, and Shiitake mushrooms

I pre-cooked the broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The butternut squash, sweet potatoes and wild rice where cooked the previous day for lunch. Leftover veggies are great for this dish

And for some more deliciousness, I added Havarti cheese to the bottom of the pie

and some to the top. Baked at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. It's an easy one dish meal!

"Love and Lemons": a fun new food blog discovery!

I am eating almost exclusively plant-based these days and therefore am frequently trolling the internet for inspiration.  This will be a helpful resource for me since I live right "down the road" from Austin in San Antonio.  That means that she will be cooking with the same things that are fresh for me.

I found this post today and loved the blog so much I decided to share it.  Please stop over to the Love and Lemons website to check out all the great recipes she creates using fresh food.

This recipe really grabbed my attention.  I love that it can be adjusted in a variety of ways, vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore:

VEGGIE TACOS WITH AVOCADO-TOMATILLO SALSA

GLUTEN FREE / VEGAN-OPTION

I know – another taco recipe already? Well, I like tacos. I’m sure you do too because you are here after all. In all honesty, these were originally going to become enchiladas until I stopped short. Which is why they’re in a baking pan. Plus, it was a convenient way to get floppy tacos to stand up for the photo.

The plan was to make something similar to this creamy poblano enchilada sauce, but using avocados, pepitas, spinach and tomatillo salsa instead. The end result? I couldn’t stop eating this awesome sauce straight from the food processor with a spoon.

It’s so fresh and bright and I knew I’d wreck it if I tried to cook it. So taco night it was – with extra green sauce on the side.

I roasted patty pan squash, eggplant, a red pepper, and cherry tomatoes. But you can roast whatever vegetables you have – anything goes. If you’re craving fall foods, roasted sweet potatoes would be delicious here instead. I stuffed my tacos with black beans and topped them with serrano slices and a little cotija cheese. Skip the cheese if you’re vegan, (it’s not all that necessary).

This taco recipe serves about two with lots of extra sauce – double your taco count to serve four. Or save the leftover sauce and eat it yourself the next day.

Easy Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry

Dice one sweet onion, and cook, stirring occasionally in about 3T of Olive oil

One bag of Crimini mushrooms, pre-sliced, that you will add to the onions, when the tips are golden brown.  Add a touch more Olive oil

Pre-cut veggies

Chicken - cut into small strips.  I did about half the package.

Here are the onions and mushrooms, cooking.  After done, take out of this pan and set aside in a bowl.  Add more Olive oil and cook the chicken strips, till done all of the way through. It should only take about 10 minutes.

Add the onions, mushroom, and veggies to the chicken.  You can always microwave the veggies ahead of time, to save time.  Saute, so that the veggies are tender.

Add some stir fry sauce.  I like Trader Joe's General Tsao's Stir Fry Sauce.  You can also add in some teriyaki sauce to this sauce for a thinner sauce.  

Serve over your favorite rice or noodles and you've got dinner!

Roasted Carrots

Roasting carrots.  As part of my eat more veggies campaign, I decided to roast 2 packages of carrots and eat them when I feel hungry, instead of reaching for something that I should not eat.  Wash and peel the outer layer of each carrot.  Cut in half, and in some cases, depending on the thickness of the carrot, cut in half lengthwise.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss in a bowl with a touch of olive oil.  Make sure that all of the carrots are coated with the oil.

Spoon the carrots onto a baking sheet.  This one is dedicated to this process and has some wear and tear on it.  Lay the carrots out on the baking sheet, and sprinkle Kosher salt over the carrots.

Set the timer for 10 minutes, and then move the carrots around on the tray, so they don't get too brown on one side.  Set the timer for another 10 minutes, and repeat.  It should take about 25-30 minutes to cook the carrots all of the way through, to tender, yummy joy.  Store in the frig.

Roasted Salmon, Vegetables, and bacon-wrapped jalapenos with cheese

Roasted golden beets, kolrabi, carrots, and leeks plated with

bacon-wrapped jalapenos and roasted salmon with sliced almonds

Bacon-wrapped jalapenos:

jalepenos, stemmed, seeds removed, sliced in half lengthwise

pork sausage

bacon

cream cheese

Put small, quarter-size round of sausage in jalapeno half, top with cream cheese, wrap with half-slice of bacon.

Place on roasting pan.

Roast at 425 degrees for 20-35 minutes, depending on how crisp you want the bacon.

Vegetables:

Scrub and slice beets and leeks, using care to assure there is no dirt in the center of the leeks.

Scrub the exterior of the carrots and leave small ones whole.  I remove the top of the beets.

Toss in olive oil and spread on roasting pan.

Roast at 350 for 35-40 minutes, check for tenderness. 

Roast Salmon filet (skin on) with sliced almonds

Choose a filet of salmon, preferably wild-caught, that is firm, deep pink in color and smells like the sea.

Place on roasting pan, skin down.  

Use a dry rub, or simply salt and pepper.  Drizzle a small amount of olive or grapeseed oil down the center of the filet.  Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Roast at 350 for approximately 12-14 minutes, depending on size.  Salmon should be just barely cooked through for best flavor.  Avoid the temptation to over-cook!

Remove from oven and serve immediately.  

Steak Dinner Leftovers Stir Fry

We often have a steak dinner on the weekends, and if we have leftovers, I am always looking for ways to use them.  I begin with a sweet onion chopped and saute in a swig of olive oil, just enough to coat the pan and onions.

2 already baked potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside

From the frig, I added 2 cups of pre cooked broccoli and one zucchini, but into bite size pieces

The potatoes are ready to throw in.  and if you have any tomatoes on hand, cut it up and add it to the pan.  Lightly salt and pepper the ingredients in the stir fry pan

I had some carrots too that I had pre-cooked, so they weren't hard - add them to the pan.  You might have to throw in some more olive oil to keep the ingredients moistened so they really cook and meld with the oil

At the end, I added the other half of my steak, chopped into bite size pieces - cook to heat through.

a nice steak and veggie stir fry for a quick dinner.  You could add rice or noodles to this dish too.

Leftovers stored in an air tight container  in the frig for lunch next week

Easy Side Dish for a Steak Dinner

The steak dinner with a filet, half baked potato and side dish; one sweet onion, chopped; a bunch of asparagus, diced, and one container of sliced mushrooms.

saute onions in a swig of olive oil over a medium heat till they are transparent

Chopped asparagus cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes - still crisp - add to pan after the mushrooms have been cooking with the onions

container of sliced mushrooms; add to pan when the onions reach the transparent look with a little bit more of olive oil just to moisten the pan; after you can see some shrinkage in the mushrooms, add the asparagus and cook till hot.

Mediterranean Calabacita

Tonight's dinner came together as the result of a happy accident:  I pulled a pound of ground lamb out of the freezer thinking I had ground beef.  Once I discovered my error, I altered my plans for the meal.  We ended up, rather than the traditional Hispanic calabacita dish, having a lamb-version with a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern flair.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground lamb, browned in a tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 mild roasted green chilies (or one can mild green chilies) chopped
pinch saffron, optional
1-2 Tablespoons curry spice mix
1 tsp freshly ground allspice (or purchased ground allspice)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 squash, sliced crosswise (I used 1 zuchini and 1 pattypan squash)

Heat olive oil in pan, then toss in the chopped garlic.  Saute until aromatic, then add the ground lamb.
Once the lamb is mostly browned, add chopped onions and cook until onion is translucent.  Grate allspice over mixture with a zester, or add previously milled allspice, along with mixed curry spices and saffron threads, if using.  Salt and pepper.  Add squash and cook until tender.  Add chilies and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes on low.

zesting the allspice using a carpenter's rasp (a wonderful kitchen tool!) over the browning lamb

chopping the two types squash

chopped green chilies

add the onion

add spices, including saffron threads (pictured between my fingers)

squash and tomatoes are added

The meal included reheated corn tortillas leftover from last night's meal,

goat cheese (served in the tortilla with the lamb mixture, eaten like a soft taco)

Italian cucumbers seasoned with rice vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, 

and Natalie's kale, sauteed with chopped garlic and fresh lemon juice.

This meal got a big thumbs-up from the family.  Super easy to prepare, and the leftovers will be oh-so-good tomorrow for my lunch!  Enjoy!  Try it and let me know what you think!

Note:  I may have mentioned this before, but if not, now is a good time to talk about the freshness of spices in your pantry.  How long has it been since you changed out your spices?  Huh?  If you don't know the answer, it is time to get rid of all your spices and purchase small amounts of fresh spice.

My advice is to stop buying spice in bottles in the spice section of the store and find someplace that carries spice in bulk containers. Places with bulk spices turn over their merchandise rapidly.  Therefore, the spices are much fresher, and you are able to purchase smaller quantities more frequently.  I was reminded of this while cooking dinner because my cardamom had practically no aromatic quality when I opened the container.  Time to get fresher spice!  It makes SO MUCH difference in the outcome of your food.

You can buy a small packet of spice for pennies.  Find a merchant with bulk spice, and your food will taste so much better.

FIsh Tacos with Mediterranean slaw and corn tortillas

This meal is super simple to construct, and it is VERY satisfying!
I'm not a "coleslaw" person.  At all.  I shiver every time I think about that old midwest-style slaw, drowning in that runny white "dressing".  Yech.  This is not your grandma's coleslaw.

First I want to put in a little pitch for my dry curry recipe.  It was previously published, but it is so good I'm going to post it again.  It is what makes this coleslaw recipe so darn delicious.

Make your own Curry spice mixture

Add caption

here is the mixture before grinding in a mini food-processor

Curry Powder:

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon cardamom seeds

1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns

2 dried red chiles, broken in pieces, seeds discarded

1 tablespoon turmeric

Toast the whole spices (coriander, cumin, fennel, cloves, mustard, cardamom and peppercorns) and the chiles in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, shaking the pan often to prevent them from burning. Toast for a couple of minutes until the spices smell fragrant. In a clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together to a fine powder. Add the turmeric and give it another quick buzz to combine. Use the spice blend immediately, or store in a sealed jar for as long as 1 month.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

* I made this about 6 months ago and it is still really good.

Fish Tacos

I bought a box of tortilla crusted tilapia filets at Costco.  They are delicious!  If you don't want to use these you can certainly sautee fresh fish, or use whatever else you have on hand.  I like to keep these fish filets in the freezer for times when I forget to thaw anything for dinner.  Cook as directed.

Tortillas

I live in San Antonio where the possibility of acquiring freshly prepared corn tortillas is very easy.  I have been told by a friend that Costco is now carrying corn tortillas that simply need to be pan-heated to finish, and they are quite delicious.  Wherever you get your tortillas, corn or flour, please PLEASE heat them in a pan, flipping at least once, to cook them.  DO NOT microwave them as this turns them into rubber discs.  Pan heating on high takes very little time, and they are 100% better this way.  If you can't get fresh tortillas, this is the next best option.  After heating, place them in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Coleslaw, or as my husband says, "Curslaw":

Ingredients:

one package of presliced slaw, found in any grocer case in the veggie aisle (don't use the liquid stuff!) Just get it for the veggies

5-6 thinly sliced radishes

curry mix

1/2 tsp turmeric (in addition to what is in the curry mix)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

handful craisins

approx 1/4 cup mayo

salt and pepper to taste

I'm guessing on the amounts of these ingredients because I almost never measure.  I "eyeball" it.  You can do the same.

dump the vegetables into a bowl

thinly slice radishes, then cut the slices in half

scatter in the veggie mix.  

You might be wondering why I'm putting radishes in the mixture.  Trust me!

Even if you aren't a radish fan, you will love them in this recipe!  They don't significantly spice up the mixture, but they add color and a lovely crunchy texture.  Just do it!

add mayo and curry mix, paprika, and turmeric

toss in craisins (raisins would work, too)

here's what is left of my curry mix.

I guess it is time to make more!

Place the fish filet on the tortilla, then top with the "curslaw".

Serve.  Delicious!

I hope you try this slaw recipe with fish tacos.  It is so deliciously satisfying.  Let me know what you think of them!