Blushing Pomegranate Chicken

Step 1: Give your mother-in-law a pomegranate tree for Christmas.

Step 2: Wait a few years because it takes awhile for the tree to start producing.

Step 3: (VERY important, do not skip this step!) Move to the same city as mother-in-law.

Step 4: Gratefully accept pound after pound after pound of pomegranates. (Most of the time she had already peeled them for us, too.)

Step 5: After you've had your fill of eating pomegranates on your cereal, your salad, your ice cream, juiced, or just plain, try this recipe, because even though you aren't getting tired of them, it is fun to try them in new ways.

I like the combination of sweet and savory, but no one else was very excited about it. I prefer my own roasted sweet potatoes instead of this kind, but still good.

Now that pomegranate season is over, I'll have to wait until next year...

Turkey Curry

My mother spent a few years living in Japan, once in high school and once in college. Although it has been a long time, she has always been somewhat obsessed (I mean that in a nice way). She still speaks Japanese, decorated her living room in Japanese block prints and sculptures, has shoji screens as her window coverings, plays the koto (although come to think of it I haven't heard her play in many years), cooks Japanese food, keeps in touch with her host families and friends in Japan, and always manages to have some local Japanese friends at any given time. In fact, growing up it was part of our family tradition to have a handful of Japanese people at our Thanksgiving dinners. Usually they were families from Japan living here that my mom somehow met and befriended, and since they didn't have any of their own Thanksgiving traditions they would spend the day with us. And usually bring a dish to share. The first time I tasted sushi (and real sushi, not the rolled kind you can get anywhere) was at Thanksgiving.



When I was in high school, my school started offering a Japanese class. Being a teenager, I thought ho-hum. My mom was of course excited, and offered to send me on a trip to Japan if I took the class. Still, I thought ho-hum. Now I think WHAT AN IDIOT!!! but unfortunately there is no going back. One of the things I regret from my teenage years. Don't worry, there aren't too many and that was the most interesting one.



So, that was a tangent, but it gives you some context for why I consider Japanese curry a comfort food even though I'm a white girl married to a Mexican. I grew up eating several Japanese dishes, but I only learned how to make a few, and this is the only one I still make. I always make it after Thanksgiving because it is great with turkey, although you can also use chicken. (Actually, today I made it a little too thin, so I used the leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving, too, to thicken it up a little bit.) It is one of those meals that sticks to your ribs.

As always the measurements are approximate.

1 T butter
1 onion, sliced
4 carrots, sliced
5 potatoes, peeled and diced
2-3 cups turkey, cooked and diced
1 box curry sauce mix (the one I get--actually I stole it from my mom's pantry--is called S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix, medium hot), broken into pieces
rice (get an asian sticky kind to be authentic, short-grain or jasmine)

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Saute onion for a few minutes, add carrot. Saute for a few more minutes, add water (enough to cover once all the ingredients are added). Add potatoes, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until everything is tender. Add turkey and sauce mix, simmer and stir for about 5 minutes. If there are still visible chunks of the sauce mix, just keep stirring, it will dissolve. Serve over rice.

7yo looked at it and said, "This looks familiar, do I like it?" YES. And whaddaya know I was right. 5yo and 2yo just ate rice.

Paella

I say it is paella, but it really isn't. It is a rice/seafood/vegetable skillet meal that might make you think of paella, but I know it would never really fool anyone. But it is simple to make and doesn't require saffron which a few threads of costs more than all the other ingredients combined. I quite enjoyed it. This recipe was given to me by my friend Stephanie who I was telling I'd only ever eaten paella in Spain and had never dared attempt it.

2 c chicken broth
1 10 oz bag yellow rice mix
3 oz. chorizo, chopped (or other sausage, linguisa, or pepperoni)
1 c bell pepper, chopped (I used red, it is my fav)
1 lb cooked shrimp
3 lb scallops (I think I used half this amount)
1 c frozen peas
In a 10 inch frying pan over high heat, bring broth to a boil. Stir in rice mix, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small frying pan over medium heat, stir chorizo and pepper until well browned, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for about 4 minutes, remove from heat.
Stir shrimp mixture, scallops, and peas into rice mixture and cook over medium heat, covered, until scallops are no longer translucent, about 4 minutes.

Tostadas and Ceviche

Since I'm doing very little cooking these days, this was a very easy throw together meal. I bought those pre-made tostadas (that are just tortillas fried up crisp), and then warmed up a can of refried beans, grated some cheese, and made ceviche. I should have had other toppings like lettuce/tomatoes/avocados/etc. but didn't have them on hand. When 7yo saw the tostadas he got really excited and said, "This is a Giovanni special!!!" Giovanni is his friend from school, who apparently makes his own special tostada to bring in his lunch. I think if I offered more toppings, that the kids might come up with their own specials, but this was good enough for tonight.

I have been thinking about ceviche lately for two reasons. First, I went to a birthday party that had a gargantuan bowl of ceviche that was really delicious. Second, a couple months back I bought 3 bags of shrimp because I had coupons. It isn't usually exactly a staple for me but I've had to find some recipes to use them. And now I want them to be a staple. I need more coupons.

I looked online to learn about ceviche and was a little bit horrified to find that traditionally the shrimp (or salmon or other seafood) is raw, but when soaked in lemon or lime juice its proteins are chemically changed to appear cooked. Made me a little squeamish, even though I know that raw seafood is a delicacy in many cultures. I kept looking around and finally found a website with cooked ceviche, they cited the reason for cooking was that the heat kills bacteria that the lemon juice method can't, and that a fairly recent cholera outbreak in South America motivated the change. (Thank you, cholera.) I usually buy the precooked shrimp anyway, but I did have one bag of raw and decided to use it for this. Otherwise, you can just save yourself that step.

1 lb. shrimp

cucumber, chopped

green onions, chopped (or red onion)

cilantro, chopped

lime juice, few tablespoons

hot pepper, chopped, to taste (different recipes specified different types, all I had was a dried red chile, it worked)

salt, to taste

Boil the shrimp for about 3 minutes, drain and remove whatever tails or shells they may have. Combine all the ingredients and refrigerate. This would have been even more awesome if I'd had an avocado to chop in there.

Garlic Soup

I made this soup just for me. I didn't expect anyone else to even try it. Good thing, because once I tasted it I didn't want to share it.

Everyone knows Violet Beauregard in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She turns into a blueberry. But right before she does, she is chewing gum that tastes just like real food, she could even feel it going down her throat. That is what I thought as I was eating this soup. It is so full-flavored, it feels like you are eating something you need to chew.

You will find the recipe here.

I omitted the bay leaf (just because I'm not a fan). I substituted some very sharp cheddar for the parmesan, because I had just used the last of the parmesan in the quinoa risotto (oops). My soup ended up looking a little curdled, I'm not sure if that is how it is, or if it was because of the substitution, or if I just wasn't scientific enough when I tempered the eggs. So being the sloppy cook I am, I probably wouldn't serve this to guests, but it tasted wonderful. I recommend it for anyone who is sick as it will clear those sinuses right up, and for anyone who is healthy, too.

Quilters Soup

I'm not sure why it is called quilters. I don't quilt so I couldn't tell you. My friend who gave me this recipe said she likes it because you can make the whole thing from your food storage. I changed a couple things because of what I had around, but it was easy and very very filling.

2 cans Italian Stewed crushed tomatoes

2 cans water

1 can corn, drained (I used some frozen)

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I don't like kidney beans much, so I just used extra black beans)

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans chicken, drained (I used some leftover chicken I had)

1 pkg. Chicken Taco Seasoning Mix (McCormick) (I used some chili powder, thyme, and oregano)

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 45 minutes. Or cook on low in the crockpot all day. Then go make a quilt. She said serve with corn chips, but I knew the kids would eat only the chips, so I made cornbread instead.

Shrimp and Quinoa Risotto

The cupboards are getting bare. With 2yo in a cast, grocery shopping is challenging. He can't walk and he can't fit in the cart. I can push him around in the stroller, but one-handed around corners doesn't work too well, so that doesn't leave many options for where to put the groceries I want to buy. Basically, our shopping trips have been reduced to restocking milk, bread, and bananas. (My family can't live without bananas.)

But, a neighbor just told me a secret. Safeway has free delivery. I'm going to have to look into that. And really many friends have offered to help out, so I shouldn't complain. The problem I keep having is that for a friend to help out I need to plan ahead and schedule a convenient time. Although my friends are very generous, I don't think I should just show up on their doorstep every time I run out of milk.

Anyway, that didn't help me last night as I was looking through the freezer hoping to find something useful. I only had a little chicken and some shrimp. I remembered that Poor Girl frequently uses shrimp, so I took a look and found many tasty sounding options, but the one that I had the ingredients for was this one. Well, most of the ingredients. I don't usually have wine around, so when cooking I substitute broth. But since this recipe calls for wine and broth, I decided to find something that had a little sweetness in it. What could I come up with? After some scrounging, pineapple juice. Since it was a small amount, the end product didn't taste pineapple-y at all, so I guess it worked. I also only had one lonely vegetable alongside my bag of carrots in the fridge, and it wasn't asparagus as the recipe calls for. So my last zucchini made it in. The results were fantastic and filling, but unsurprisingly not too popular with the picky eaters. 7yo picked out the shrimp and left the rest, and I bet I could have sold more people on the quinoa if it didn't have other things mixed in.

Sesame Noodles

My dietician friend pointed me to this recipe which was so so easy and yummy. The kids ate plain pasta, but my husband and brother both liked it.

I also used almond butter like she said just because I had some. I used the vegetables from the original recipe, not the ones she used, but I'm sure any vegetables would be good.

Ok, I know I'm not really very cultured, but I had never had sesame noodles before. I thought that eating this cold would be weird. But it was really good, just think of it as an asian pasta salad.

Salmon Loaf

My mom used to make this when I was little. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I think it is a little gross. But it is soooooo easy to make. These days I'm not cooking as much as I used to due to 2yo breaking his leg, so it came in handy.

(*measuring is completely optional*)

15 oz can salmon
1 1/2 c grated cheese
1 egg
salt
1 c bread crumbs (I just put a couple slices of bread in the blender)

Carefully drain and remove bones from salmon (this is the gross part). Mix all ingredients together and press into an 8x8 square pan. Bake for 35 minutes at 350.

Chinese Chicken Salad

I went to a church meeting where they served us this salad for dinner. I've had salad like this before with cabbage and ramen noodles, so this one was a little different. I liked it--especially with an alternative to the ramen. The cilantro in it was my favorite part.

Dressing:
4 Tbs. Heinz Vinegar
4 Tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
4 Tbs. Salad Oil

Salad:

2 Chicken breasts

3-4 Green Onions

Cilantro

1 Head of Lettuce

½ pkg. Mai Fun Noodles

½ Cup Chopped Peanuts or Sliced Almonds

Boil chicken and shred into bite size pieces.
Fry Mai Fun noodles in hot oil. Keep in plastic bag to keep from getting soggy and stale.
Finely chop the head of lettuce
Chop peanuts. . . .we like lots of peanuts / or used sliced almonds.
Chop green onions and add cilantro if you wish, or leave cilantro in large twigs so people can pull them out.

Serve it fresh. . .
Mix together lettuce, chicken, green onions and cilantro. Mix salad dressing and pour it over the first four ingredients, mix in the noodles and nuts last. Serve immediately.

Split Pea Soup

Nothing says Happy Birthday like split pea soup. My mother-in-law invited the family over for dinner for my birthday and she asked me what I wanted her to make. When she cooks, she goes all out, and it is always delicious. But she also just about kills herself doing it. I didn't want to take advantage of her generosity so I told her I love her salads. (She never just makes a simple salad. They are awesome.) So she made salad. It had chicken, spinach, nuts, blueberries, raspberries, all with a homemade dressing. And she made salmon. Smothered in some kind of spinach and mushroom saute. And rice pilaf, french bread, fruit salad, a squash casserole, and split pea soup. I was in heaven. And she sent us home with all the leftovers.

The split pea soup had a turnip in it which gave it a little kick. I love soup, especially when it has something unique to give it a special flavor.

3 medium shallots or 1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
3/4 medium parsnip or turnip, diced
1 t butter
1 c dry split peas, yellow or green
2 t rosemary, chopped
4 c chicken broth
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper

In a saucepan, stir together shallots, carrots, turnip and butter. Cook over medium low heat, stirring often, until vegetables begin to color. Stir in split peas, rosemary, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until peas are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season to taste.

(You can tell this recipe is from someone else, when I make it those measurements will get muddied! 3/4 turnip? What will you do with the leftover 1/4?)

Lemon Shrimp and Spinach

This is so fast to make. Turn on the rice cooker quick because this will be done before the rice is.

1 lb shrimp

1 lb spinach leaves, chopped

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 c lemon juice

1 t lemon zest

salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet. Add garlic cloves and saute for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomato and shrimp and cook for 5 minutes, just until shrimp are pink (if using raw shrimp). Pour in lemon juice and lemon zest, add spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until spinach leaves are wilted. Serve over rice.

Opinions: Fruits and Vegetables

Everyone knows that you SHOULD eat your veggies. Every mom has had this argument with her kids. I personally enjoy eating vegetables, but like 'em or not, vegetables are maybe the most important food group in your diet. I can't very intelligently explain all the health benefits that come from vegetables, so I won't. But you know I'm right.

Pop quiz: How many servings of vegetables should you have per day? You'll hear 4-5 as a common suggestion. (I've already mentioned my opinion about the government's food guide pyramid. A good starting place, but watered down.) You really should aim for more like 9. That might seem like a lot but just try it. Add a serving here and there. You can do it. A serving is about 1/2 to 1 cup depending on what kind, so if you have half a plateful of vegetables (like you should) that is probably 3 or 4 servings. Do that at a couple meals and grab some for snacks and you've got your 9.

So how are you doing? As I'm writing this I'm realizing I'm not doing as well as I used to. I need to take some of my own advice here to increase my veggie intake:

• Ok, so I haven't mentioned fruit yet except in the title. Two reasons, 1) you should eat more vegetables than fruit and 2) my kids inhale fruit. I always try to have plenty around, and when I do they voluntarily choose it when they get the munchies, so I don't have any trouble with that one.
• Make a giant salad to keep in your fridge. Eat some with every lunch and dinner. When you run out, make another one. If it is already made, you are more likely to eat it.
• Add vegetables to sauces, casseroles, anything you can. Grated carrots or zucchini, or spinach can easily be slipped into sauces, soups, lasagnas or rice without significantly changing the flavor. Not to hide them, no need to be ashamed of vegetables. Just a way to get an extra serving or two. Or to improve flavor, add onions, garlic, or peppers. (Do you want to know something crazy? I add spinach to my smoothies. A handful or two. If you don't add too much, you can't even taste it. Although you can definitely see the difference.)
• At mealtimes, eat your vegetables first. Then you don't fill up before you get to them.
• Try dipping your vegetables in healthy dips like salsa, hummus, or fat free cottage cheese or sour cream mixed with a little of your favorite salad dressing.
• Two words: FARMERS MARKET. For many reasons. The fresher the produce, not only does it retain more nutrients but it really does taste better and you're more likely to eat it. And if it is fresh, a simple steaming or blanching is all the preparation it needs. You can also find something new or unusual, and my kids are often intrigued enough by purple cauliflower or romanesco that looks like a castle to give it a try. Buy something new even if you don't know what you're going to do with it, you'll figure it out. If you are a regular and are nice to them, they will start to recognize you and give you good deals. Usually if I ask them about how to prepare something or how it tastes, they hand me some for free. If you go towards closing time they will sometimes knock down their prices, too, although there may not be as much selection.
• And just fyi--"veggie" crackers, chips, or pasta do not have more than just a sprinkling of vegetable powder for color. They are NOT a source of vegetables. And while I'm at it, same goes for fruit snacks and juice (even 100% juice). (Ok, I guess you can have one serving of fruit per day from 100% juice. I just think it is easier to not have juice around than to try and convince my kids to limit it.) These so-called fruit and vegetable products are really just vehicles for extra fat, salt, and sugar.

In my ideal life I would also have a bullet point that says "Plant a garden and/or fruit trees." If you are like me and have a nice shady postage stamp for a yard, then make friends with people who have gardens and trees. They sometimes need help harvesting and isn't that what friends are for?

Spaghetti and Meatballs

5yo is definitely the pickiest eater. (Closely followed by her father.) So when we read Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban I think she could relate. When I got it at the library, I just grabbed it because I remembered reading Frances books when I was little, but I didn't know it was about a picky eater. Frances is a girl (raccoon or something) who ate only bread and jam until she was so sick of it she begged for spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite part is when Frances, who is always making up songs, sings, "I know how a jam jar feels, FULL....OF......JAM!"

So after reading this book, I asked 5yo if she would like to have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner sometime. She said she would. And today as I was making the meatballs, I asked her if she'd like to help. She said she would. And while she was rolling meatballs with me, I asked her if she was going to try them. She said she would.

She didn't.

But saying she would is progress. Really it is. And by the time she actually tries them, maybe I'll have perfected the recipe.

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t sage
pepper
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Mix all the ingredients, form into meatballs. I like them small so it made 25 meatballs. Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes. Or broil for ten minutes, turn, and broil ten minutes on the other side.

They were a little tough in texture, so I think I'm going to experiment. But not by using less lean beef, which is probably the easiest solution. A few recipes I looked at called for bread crumbs and water, which might help the texture, and next time I will definitely broil instead of bake so they aren't sitting in the gummy, yucky runoff while they bake.

My favorite part of these (which considering I don't like ground beef I was surprised how much I liked them) was the sage. I was the lucky winner of a potted herb garden several months ago at a church activity, and I love having tasty fresh herbs on hand. Amazingly, my little pot is (mostly) still alive, and the fresh herbs were great in the meatballs.

Kung Pao Chicken

Nine years ago my husband had a summer internship in Beijing. (I had voted for the other internship offer just down the road.) It was an amazing experience even thought it was challenging in many ways. One of the challenges was not surprisingly the language barrier. We were with a group of other American interns, some of whom spoke Chinese. When we were with them, we easily got to where we were going and got what we needed. Most of the time, however, we were not with them. A friend made me a little "cheat sheet" of phrases that even though I couldn't read or pronounce them, I could point to them. But then of course I couldn't understand the response.

We figured out the basics and were able to get around. Our apartment didn't have a very well-equipped kitchen, and it is extremely cheap there, so we ate out almost every meal. Since we were limited in our vocabulary, we were also limited in our menu. We ate lots of great stuff, and lots of unusual stuff. I learned how to say one of my favorite dishes, gong bao ji ding. (It makes it a little easier to remember because it rhymes with kung pao.) So we ate it frequently. A little too frequently. I haven't eaten it since.

I came across a recipe for kung pao chicken, and I remembered how much I enjoyed it long ago. I gave it a try. It didn't taste like kung pao chicken at all. Just chicken with a little soy sauce flavor and some peanuts. It didn't taste bad, it was just a disappointment. But now I've got it in my head that I want some good kung pao. I need a good recipe. Anybody got one?

Dollar Store (?!?) fish

This is a little gross maybe. But I was intrigued when I stumbled across frozen tilapia at the dollar store. It was a small portion (one serving), but when can you get a fish dinner for $1? I got the orange and ginger flavor, and then tonight when my husband was out of town I popped it into the toaster oven for 10 minutes. (The kids ate pancakes.) I thought it was quite tasty, with the sweet and spicy sauce. It would have been great in a stir-fry with rice or noodles. I should have eaten it with a salad or something. but since the only good thing about husband being gone is that I don't have to put any effort into dinner I didn't want to work too hard. I thought it was pretty good as long as I don't think too much about what corners had to be cut to make it cost a dollar.

Fettuccine Alfredo

I have two variations for this. Neither one is "real" alfredo, both are much healthier than "real" alfredo. The first one is lower fat, but the second one is closer to the creamy texture of real alfredo. (The fat in #2 is from cashews, which is unsaturated better for you fats, while real alfredo uses butter and cream, which are saturated fats, not so good for you.)

I usually serve this with chicken, and often I'll stir in broccoli or spinach.

#1. Fettuccine Alfredo Lite

12 oz. fettuccine

1 1/2 T margarine

3 cloves garlic

1/8 t nutmeg

pepper to taste

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 t basil

1 can evaporated skim milk

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Cook fettuccine and drain. Return to pan, stir in margarine and garlic, mixing gently to coat pasta. Add milk, cheese, basil, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until just thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper and parsley.

#2. Cashew Alfredo

My dietician friend has a vegetarian recipe blog that she and some friends do together. You can see this recipe here and be sure to check out the other recipes. I've found several great recipes there.

You'll notice he says it needs salt, and it does. In fact, I think it needs CHEESE. (He didn't because he was making it vegan.) I added grated parmesan instead of adding salt.

No surprise that 5-yo doesn't eat it, but I just make sure to leave some plain pasta for her. The other kids like it, as long as I go easy on the pepper.

Hawaiian Toast

I doubt this is actually Hawaiian. An old roommate of mine had a recipe, but I don't know what the actual measurements are anymore. Very simple to make. Unfortunately, this recipe isn't really healthy but it is very tasty (even though it sounds weird).

Crumbled bacon
1 can crushed pineapple, drained very well
grated cheddar cheese
plain yogurt (her recipe called for mayo)
Buttered toast
Lettuce
Sliced tomatoes

Combine bacon, pineapple, cheese, and yogurt. Spread on toast, top with lettuce and tomato.

Honeybaked Chicken

I liked this recipe, but I think I need to tweak it a little. It would be nice to reduce the amount of butter, or substitute with oil. I also thought the curry flavor was really strong, I'd reduce it by half at least next time.

1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c honey
1/4 c mustard
1 t curry powder
Salt and pepper
4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first four ingredients together. Cut chicken into strips and place on rimmed baking sheet. Pour honey sauce over chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20 minutes, or until no longer pink.

My friend who gave me the recipes says to serve with baked potatoes and broccoli. I never really realized it before, but broccoli and curry go really well together.

Lemon-Mustard/Pepper-Lime Chicken

I made this recipe by accident once because I thought it was a different recipe, but my husband liked it, so I make it pretty often. Then since I was a little bored of it, I tried one of the recipe variations, and he like that one too. So here are two recipes for the price of one.

2 to 2 1/2 lbs. chicken (I've done just about every kind, bone-in, boneless, whatever)

Lemon-Mustard Glaze:
2 T cooking oil
1 T Dijon-style mustard (I usually use spicy brown)
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t lemon pepper
1 t oregano or basil
1/4 t onion salt
1/8 t ground red pepper

OR:
Pepper-Lime Glaze
1/2 t lime peel (I think I left this out because I didn't have any)
1/4 c lime juice
1 T oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t coursely ground black pepper
1 t thyme or basil
1/4 t salt

Rinse chicken, pat dry. Broil chicken on a broiler pan about 4-5 inches from heat for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir together the ingredients for one of the above glazes. Brush chicken with glaze, broil for about 5 more minutes. Turn, brush again with glaze, and cook 5-15 more minutes until no longer pink.

Elaine's Chicken Enchiladas

Several years ago when I lived in Oregon, I had a friend named Elaine Rasmussen. I'll tell you about her after I share the recipe. I know that everyone has their own favorite recipe for chicken enchiladas, and everyone swears theirs is the best. Even if you already have a recipe that you love, try this one. It is different and very tasty.

1 c mild green salsa
1/4 c fresh cilantro
1/4 c fresh parsley
1 T lime juice
2 cloves garlic
2 c chopped, cooked chicken
3/4 c shredded mozzarella (or more, I don't measure)
6 tortillas (I prefer corn)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 11x7 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place salsa, cilantro, parsley, lime juice, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth (I like leaving it a little bit chunky). Reserve half the mixture. Mix remaining mixture, chicken, and 1/4 c cheese. Spoon about 1/4 c chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Roll tortilla around filling, place seam side down on baking dish. Pour reserved sauce mixture over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered for 20-25 minutes.

First of all, I always double this recipe. Second, sometimes for the green salsa (especially if I can only find medium heat) I drain a small can of tomatillos and put that in for half the salsa. Also, once a friend of mine whose grandmother was from Mexico made some enchiladas for me and when she served them she just cut them and served them in squares, not as individual rolled enchiladas because that is how her grandmother always did it. So now I use that as my excuse that this authentic Mexican grandmother didn't bother with individual rolled enchiladas, I just layer everything in the pan--so much faster! (Never mind that my authentic Mexican mother-in-law serves the individual rolled enchiladas.)

And now about Elaine. I moved from Oregon about five years ago, but during the time that I lived there I loved talking to her, we shared so many common interests, and I always felt like she really understood me. Sometimes I felt like she was the only one who understood me. Definitely someone Anne Shirley would call a kindred spirit. The interesting thing about all this is she is probably thirty years older than me. I'm not sure exactly what it was about her that made me think of her as a peer instead of my grandma, but it was probably because she just cared so much about people that she could relate to them even if they were young and silly. Unfortunately I'm really bad about keeping in touch with people and haven't heard from her for about three years. But I think of her every time I make her enchiladas.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Mango, and Edamame Salad

Another recipe from Poor Girl Eats Well. No one even tried it but me, but it was so tasty.

http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2009/05/recipe-roasted-sweet-potato-mango-and.html

I loved the dressing, very simple but addicting.

A tip about cheap produce, go to those small Mexican grocery stores. Especially for something like mangos. I prefer the freshness of farmers markets, but you can't find unlocal things (like mangos) or unseasonal things there. Supermarket produce is of course convenient, but doesn't taste as good.

Opinions: Whole Grain Sides

I know that most people don't appreciate my nutrition opinions, my husband being the first in line. But he just got the results from blood tests from the doctor (luckily he is healthy, this was just a check-up) and the doctor says they need to keep an eye on his cholesterol, and please follow the attached guidelines. He read the guidelines out loud to me, and I just laughed and laughed. Because they are exactly what I try to tell him all the time that he thinks are "too extreme." So even though I do want to reiterate that my nutrition training is very informal and should be taken with a grain of salt, I'm not completely crazy if doctors are mailing very similar information to their patients. And since my husband doesn't listen to me much, this will be very interesting to see if he listens to the doctor.

So, building on what I wrote about proportion control, I wanted to talk about that one small portion (1/4 of your plate) that is grains. At least half of your grains should be whole, and since I figure I get plenty of white flour here and there throughout the day, I try to do whole as much as possible. But some meals just need white, like stir fry or other asian style food just isn't the same with brown rice, or a meal that needs potatoes for a side. Don't want to be "too extreme" ya know. If it isn't every day, it is still a good balance.

Here are some of the things that we do:

Brown rice--takes much longer to cook, but you can freeze leftovers in a ziplock bag and next time it is ready in a flash.

Quinoa--be sure to rinse well because it has a bitter coating

Whole Wheat Couscous--I cooked couscous for the first time a few years ago. I had no idea it was "instant!" (The kids love it, but they make a mess with it.)

Millet--kind of like couscous, although not instant

Barilla Plus Pasta--This is a brand (and the Safeway Eating Right brand equivalent) we have found that is multigrain, but still pretty similar taste/texture to regular pasta. Some of the whole grain pasta is grainy and tough, but I'm sure there are other good brands.

Whole grain bread--make sure the first ingredient is whole grain (unbleached, enriched, or wheat without the "whole" are NOT the same thing) and it is best to avoid high fructose corn syrup, or make your own. There are also other bread products like pitas (my kids like them toasted into chips), bagels, etc.

Crepes--we sometimes eat these with fruit or applesauce, but once I used some leftover chicken and vegetables and it was very tasty. My friend Emily has a recipe she calls Whole Wheat Flat Pancakes that I use (although they take some practice to flip them if you aren't used to making crepes):

3 eggs

3/4 c whole wheat flour

1/2 t salt

1 1/4 c milk

1 T sugar

1 T oil

Beat eggs until thick. Stir in milk. Add dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Pour 1/4 c of batter in hot, oiled pan, lifting and tipping pan to spread batter around. Turn when bottom is slightly brown. Serve with sweet or savory filling.

Tortillas--again, read the ingredients. First ingredient should be whole. Avoid hydrogenated oils, shortening, and lard. I shop around until I find a brand I like, there are a few at Trader Joes that meet all my criteria. Corn is a whole grain as long as it isn't degermed, so corn tortillas are also a good option.

Slow-Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

Super easy. From my friend Kathi's website, but I couldn't figure out how to make it link there, so I'll just copy/paste. Sorry Kathi. I tried the turkey like she suggested, but I'm not sure they worked very well. Probably beef works better. I used spinach (and added it at the end) instead of escarole. What I had.

"I might add a little less pasta because it expands like crazy. You could use ground turkey in place of beef if you would like."

Slow-Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 pound lean ground beef

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3 large carrots, chopped

1 small head escarole, washed, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch strips

1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1-3/4 cups acini di pepe pasta

Directions:1. In a large bowl, stir together egg, beef, onion, bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon Parmesan, 1 tablespoon parsley and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Form into 1-inch meatballs and place on baking sheet; refrigerate while preparing soup.

2. Combine broth, carrots, escarole and oregano in slow cooker. Gently add meatballs. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Stir in pasta for last 20 minutes of cook time. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle each serving with remaining parsley and Parmesan cheese and serve.

Pasta Primavera

1 1/2 c chicken or other broth
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt
1/2 c peeled and diced carrot
1 c asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c diced zucchini
1/2 c peas (I use frozen)
1/2 lb. pasta
1 T olive oil or butter
pepper
1 c Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. While it is cooking, bring stock to a boil in a medium skillet, add thyme and salt. Add carrot, cook for 3 minutes. Add asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for 2 minutes. Add peas and cook until all the vegetables are tender. Add the oil and toss. Drain pasta and add to cooked vegetables and broth. Top with pepper and parmesan.

(I usually add much more vegetables, and freely substitute whatever vegetables I have around.)

As long as I cook extra pasta to leave plain, everyone is happy.

Sole Filet

I usually use the same basic ingredients in any kind of fish I make: olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, lemon, and parsley. But I bought a package of Dover Sole Filet and decided to do something different, since really not all fish are created equal. I read several recipes online, and kind of got a general consensus about what to do with sole.

Sole filets, or other fish
1 T butter, melted
1/2 small onion, finely diced (or green onion)
dill to taste

Coat the fish in the butter and place in pan. Sprinkle with onions and dill. Bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until fish flakes with a fork.

A very different flavor, it was a nice change from the same old, same old.

Opinions: Proportion Control

I originally started this blog to help me plan meals for my family and keep track of the recipes. I'm thinking of trying something a little different now because 1. I'm quickly running out of meal ideas and 2. I'm being faced with a new challenge now.

My husband is by far the pickiest eater in the family. He says he wants to eat healthy, but when he is served a healthy meal he often turns up his nose. After some lengthy discussion (in Spanish the word discutir can mean discuss or argue, so lets just say we discussed in Spanish) he has conceded that he needs to learn about nutrition in order to appreciate the healthy meals, and I conceded that there is some room to consider individual tastes.

For now, I'll continue to post recipes, but I'll also give unsolicited advice about healthy eating habits. For the last six or seven years I have gradually (but apparently not gradually enough) made small changes to how our family eats as I have learned about nutrition from a variety of sources. My little brother has a t-shirt that says "Everything I say is fully substantiated by my own opinion," and I would say that is the best description for what I am about to embark on. I have no authority or formal training for anything I say, but if you want to save yourself six or seven years of figuring this out for yourself, you are welcome to my random nutritional thoughts.

Here is the first thing I'm teaching my husband: proportions. We went to www.mypyramid.gov and plugged in his info and it spit out his daily and weekly nutrition needs. I personally consider this website to be very dummied down, but since he was resisting other things I was doing, I thought it would be a good place to start. It is not just whether or not something is healthy, it is how much of it you eat. He loves his meat, and of course he'll dutifully eat his vegetables, but his proportions were flipped. It reminds me of restaurant proportions (let's not even mention restaurant portions...) which are usually huge amounts of meat and simple carbs, with maybe a spoonful of vegetables. Drowned in butter or salad dressing.

What your proportions should be (roughly) are half your dinner plate full of vegetables. I try to serve a salad and cooked vegetable every dinner to get us there. One quarter of your plate should be a whole grain. One quarter of your plate should be lean protein.

Of course if you have a casserole or wraps or something, you won't actually divide the food this way, but as you are making the casserole, you should adjust the amounts of the ingredients to these proportions.

And since we have many sizes of people in our family, you can adjust the size of the dinner plate, but the proportions should be roughly the same no matter the age.

If you don't believe me, check out mypyramid for yourself.

White Bean and Kale Soup

If the name of this recipe turns you off, stop reading. There are only a few other ingredients besides the white beans and kale. I thought it was very good, even though I wasn't sure about the texture of the kale. Next time I think I'll put the kale in at the same time as the broth so it can get a little softer. Or use a different kind of greens, like maybe chard? Would that work better, or would it be about the same? I will also double the rosemary and the beans next time.

http://vegetarianation.blogspot.com/2009/03/kale-and-white-bean-soup.html

I didn't even offer it to anyone else in the family. (I think I'm feeling a little bitter lately at some people's uncooperativeness...) My sister was over and she had some. 2yo saw me eating it and asked for some, and he liked it, although I was afraid he'd choke on the kale so I steered around it except for the smallest pieces. I'm excited to eat the leftovers for lunch all week.

Black bean-smothered sweet potatoes

I can't remember where I got this recipe. I haven't made it in a long time because no one really liked it except me. But guess what folks, we're having it for dinner tonight because 1. it is easy, very very easy, and 2. there ain't much left in the fridge and I'm not going shopping.

This is a good meal to make in the summer because you can do the whole thing in the microwave.


2 medium sweet potatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 medium tomato, diced
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places. Microwave on high until tender all the way to the center, 12 to 15 minutes.(Alternatively, place in a baking dish and bake at 425 degrees untiltender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.)

Meanwhile, in a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine beans, tomato, oil, cumin, coriander and salt; microwave on high until just heatedthrough, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.)

When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise,press open to make a well in the center and spoon bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Eggplant Parmesan

I bought an eggplant, but then didn't know what to do with it. So I went online, and just so you know there are WAY too many eggplant options. Most often is was as an addition to some kind of veggie dish, like pasta and vegetables, but where it stood on it's own was as eggplant parmesan. So that narrowed it down somewhat, but there are still about 49 bizillion versions of that. So I read several, then tried something to combine simplicity and healthiness. It wasn't bad.

1 eggplant, peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 slices bread


Optional step: Salt the eggplant to draw out moisture and bitterness. Salt both sides of eggplant slices and let sit in a colander for 20 min.-2 hours. Rinse and pat dry.


Spray a pie plate or 8" square pan with nonstick spray. Spoon a couple spoonfuls of sauce on bottom of pan. Layer eggplant, sauce, and cheeses until gone. (You can cut up some of the slices to fit in between gaps.) Put bread slices in the blender and pulse until it is all crumbs. Sprinkle on top. Bake covered at 350 for 20 minutes, then uncover for 20 minutes more, until bubbly and bread crumbs are toasted.

I am disliking jarred spaghetti sauce these days. The kind I used for this wasn't the best, and that basically ruined the whole thing for me. It tastes so processed and fake. I just like simple fresh sauces, with lots of garlic. That would have been way yummier, even if an extra step. Also, for any recipe that calls for bread crumbs, I keep the heels of the bread that no one will eat in a bag in the freezer. When a recipe calls for bread crumbs, I pop a couple in the blender.

Toasted Cumin Chicken with Broccoli and Curried Cashews

This is another recipe from Poor Girl Eats Well. It turned out so good, although next time I'd make a couple modifications.

http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2009/03/recipe-toasted-cumin-chicken-with.html

I didn't have whole cumin, so I used ground. I'm sure it would be even better with the toasted cumin seed.

There were like three different spice combinations, one for the cashews, one for the chicken, and one for the sauce, but then you mix everything together and they don't hold their own flavor separately. I am never one to go to a lot of extra effort, especially considering my picky audience, so I think that you could simplify the steps (and end up with less bowls to wash) if you just put all the spices in one, like the sauce. Everything else gets covered in the sauce, so I don't think it would make a huge difference in the taste. Also, she says to mix the sauce with the pan juices from the chicken, I think I would prefer to drain the juices and have a thicker sauce.

For the recipe, I wouldn't bother spicing the cashews separately, but I think I might make the cashews just for a fun snack to have around. I put the 1/4 cup in the recipe as directed, and the next time I turned around, my 6yo had eaten the rest of them off the cookie sheet. They were really tasty. She definitely knows how to mix her spices, I never would have thought that nutmeg would go in these.

Chilied Pork and Cilantro Sauce

This is another recipe from my sister's cookbook. It reminds me of the flavor of Turkey and Hominy, but it is really very different. I don't know why, but I almost always overcook pork, so I'll either have to exercise restraint when I make this, or use chicken as my sister suggests.

1 lb. pasta (I use Barilla Plus or the store brand equivalent--multigrain and healthier than regular pasta)
2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb. boneless pork chop, in 1 inch cubes
3/4 t cumin
1/2 t coriander
1 t chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c diced tomato, canned or fresh
3 T chopped cilantro

Cook pasta according to package directions. While it is cooking, heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and pork and cook for about 5 minutes. Add spices and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomato and cook for 1 minute. Add cilantro and simmer for 1 minute. Toss with pasta.

Black Beans and Sausage (Feijoada)

I cook with beans often enough, but to be honest I don't have much variety with what I do with my beans. They all kind of end up some version of latin flavors and usually end up in a tortilla, so this recipe caught my eye because of the orange. Although still latin, it definitely has a different flavor and it went over well with the adults and the kids.

I found the recipe in one of my cookbooks, "How to Cook Everything," by Mark Bittman (a very nice cookbook to have around). He says it is a liberal adaptation of Brazilian feijoada, which I'm not familiar with, but contains things like tongue and pig's feet. His version has friendlier types of meat, but after making his version I would adapt it even more. So here is my version, by now perhaps it doesn't even resemble the original dish, but we enjoyed it. By the way, this is a giant recipe. He says eight servings, I say at least 10 or 12.

3 1/2 c dried black beans (or 8 c drained cooked beans)
2 c bean cooking liquid, or broth
1 T cumin
salt and pepper
1 orange
1 lb. Italian sausage, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 large onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, preferably red or yellow, chopped
2 T garlic, minced
1 1/2 c orange juice, divided
cilantro, minced

Put the beans in a large pot with plenty of water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until soft. Drain, reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid if using. Return the beans and cooking liquid to the pot over warm heat. Add cumin, salt and pepper. Zest the orange and add to the beans, then peel and dice the orange, set aside. Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until browned on all sides. Add to the beans. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add to beans. Turn the heat under the skillet to high and add 1 cup of the orange juice. Cook, stirring and scraping to deglaze the pan for about 5 minutes. Add to the beans with the remaining 1/2 cup of orange juice. Garnish with cilantro and chopped orange pieces. Serve with brown rice.

Chicken Satay with Orange-scented Jasmine Rice

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and steps, but it is still pretty simple. And of course it could be simplified if you are in a hurry.

3 3/4 c water
2 oranges, zested
2 c jasmine rice, rinsed
2 T canola oil
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, sliced on an angle into bite-size pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 c shredded carrots
6 scallions, cut on an angle into 2 inch pieces
1 c snow peas

Satay sauce:

4 rounded T chunky peanut butter
3 T soy sauce
3 T honey
1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced (the rest of the root keeps indefinitely in your freezer, btw)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t red pepper flakes
1/2 orange, juiced


Garnish:

1/4 c chopped peanuts
3 T cilantro, chopped
3 T fresh basil, chopped

Bring the water and orange zest to a boil, add rice. Simmer covered for about 18 minutes. Fluff with fork. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add chicken and garlic, cook for about 3 minutes. Add vegetables, and cook for about 5 minutes more. For sauce, mix all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. Pour sauce over vegetables and toss to mix. Sprinkle with the garnishes. Serve the satay over the rice.

This one is hard to sell to the kids, although my husband will eat it. I've tried keeping the sauce separate, but that doesn't seem to help the kids eat the chicken or vegetables. They eat the rice though. This time, I used somewhat less chicken, and then added some frozen edamame when I added the vegetables.

Yogurt

Don't worry, we did not eat yogurt for dinner. I pretty much want to use this blog to keep track of recipes since I can never remember what we've eaten or how to make it or where the recipe came from, and this is one of those recipes that I used to know and then forgot. I used to make my own yogurt when my husband was in grad school because it is cheaper. Someone with a yogurt maker taught me how to make it, but since I don't have a yogurt maker I didn't bother trying. Then I read a recipe in a book that didn't use a yogurt maker, and I tried it a couple times but mostly ended up scalding the milk so it tasted burnt. It also had specific temperatures and procedures that were kind of annoying. Then our neighbor from India taught me how she makes it, with practically no equipment or special anything and it is so easy. That was a few years ago, so then I forgot. But now I have a blog, so I figured it out again and now I'm writing it down so I'll never forget again!

4 cups milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt

(It is best to use all natural yogurt, steer away from kinds with gelatin because it doesn't work quite as well.)

Heat the milk in the microwave until it bubbles a little and has a skin on the top. (It can't scald in the microwave. Hooray!) It does not need to boil. (For my microwave it was about 10 minutes.) Let it cool so it doesn't kill the cultures in the yogurt, about 20-30 minutes. Whisk in the yogurt, cover and wrap in a towel, and put it someplace where it can be warmish and undisturbed. (I just put it in a cupboard. Inside the oven turned off or on top of the fridge tends to be a couple degrees warmer than the room also.) After six hours, tip the bowl slightly to see if it is yogurt. If not, leave it six more hours. Once it is yogurt, refrigerate. (Homemade yogurt tends to be runnier than store bought, especially if you use skim milk.)

I think most store bought yogurt is overly sweet, so it is nice to be able to control how much sweetener I add. I added about 1/2 cup sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla since that is my kids' favorite. I'd be interested in trying (real) maple syrup or honey since they are less refined than sugar. I love molasses, but I'm not sure how that would taste in yogurt. I've also tried mixing a spoonful of jam into individual servings. (Just don't use jam with high fructose corn syrup please. Sorry, just my opinion.) If you are going to want to make another batch sometime soon, be sure to reserve 1/2 cup plain before you mix other stuff in!

Coming soon: I also have about 8 other recipes that I need to post. I start to write them and never finish, so they may start popping up randomly if I ever get to them!

Potato Tomato Chicken

This is a really simple recipe that I saw Martha Stewart make a few years ago on TV. I'm pretty sure she called it something else. I made it tonight to take to a friend who just had a baby because I like to take dinners in those disposable tins but I don't really like casseroles. (Believe me, it is part of the gift to not have them have to clean and keep track of and return the dishes. I still have a blue pyrex bowl that I'm not sure who it belongs to, but it was given to me with a meal when the 6yo was born. We've moved to three different states since then so I think they are never getting it back.)

4 plum tomatoes
4 yukon gold potatoes (I don't peel)
1/4 c chopped fresh oregano (or a couple tablespoons dried)
salt and pepper
3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut in pieces (or any chicken pieces) (I usually take the skin off because ew)
1/4 c olive oil

Cube the tomatoes and potatoes. Then toss it all together in a roasting pan. Arrange the chicken skin side up (or where the skin used to be). Roast for 45 minutes at 450.

Yellow Dal and Baked Pita Chips

A friend served me some yellow dal from a Trader Joe's prepackaged meal when I was at her house for lunch. I hadn't ever had it before, and it was yum. So I decided to figure out how to make it myself. I learned that dal (or daal, or dahl) is a very generic term, like saying "soup", and can be whatever you have or want. So I will not apologize that this recipe is not authentic, since it is whatever I want. (But I'm sure it is not authentic.)

Serve it over rice. I made 3 cups (uncooked) of brown basmati rice according to package instructions, which was about the right proportions for the dal, however the older kids ate only rice, so probably 2 cups is really the right amount.

2 c. yellow lentils or yellow split peas (although some recipes said to use different colors)
6 c. broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t turmeric
2 t cumin
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped

Mix all but tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, adding the tomatoes halfway through cooking time. Stir frequently during last half of cooking time. Stir in cilantro.

I think I prefer lentils to split peas (which was how I tried it this time), although it was still delicious and very filling. The recipe I found said to put the tomatoes in with everything else, but I thought they were just boiled to death, so next time I'll try adding them halfway through to preserve their flavor a little bit. You could probably use canned as well.

Here is the conversation I had with my 2yo at dinner:

Him: Mom, dis?
Me: This is dal.
Him: Oh, dal. Like it dal.

Me too.

To win the other kids over, I made pita chips. I get the whole wheat pitas (cheapest at Trader Joe's), split them open, and tear into pieces. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, put the pieces on it, salt and spray again. Bake about 7 minutes at 425. Watch them closely at the end, they burn quickly!

Spicy Lentil Tacos

I found this recipe online, and all the comments on it were things like, "It tastes just like meat!" or "My husband couldn't even tell the difference!" Yeah, right. People who say that are people who don't eat meat, so they don't have a point of comparison. That said, I thought this was a tasty substitute for taco meat. But it doesn't taste like meat, and my husband could most definitely tell the difference.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
tortillas and your typical taco toppings

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly. Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture on each tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.

I did find this a little bit too salty. I don't know if I should reduce the chili powder, broth, or salsa, all possible suspects of saltiness. Or maybe a little of all three.

Turkey and Hominy

I have a love/hate relationship with this meal. Sometimes I love it, sometimes it sounds so gross. But it is easy and filling, and sometimes tasty. I guess I have to be in the mood for it.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 t garlic, minced
2 cans (15 oz. each) diced tomatoes
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t mustard
1/2 t thyme
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t pepper
2 cans (15 0z each) hominy, drained and rinsed

Brown the turkey, onion, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until the meat is cooked through and the onion is soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until warmed through.

Serve over rice. I usually opt for brown.

My husband said it was really good. Probably because he was starving, and I haven't made it in a year or two. 2yo loved it, especially the hominy. I must have been in the mood this time because it was pretty tasty.

Oven-fried chicken

I've had a draft of this recipe saved for a couple months, since my niece was born, because I made it when I was tending my two nephews while my brother-in-law went to pick up my sister at the hospital. When they came to pick them up I sent them home with dinner, and since my brother-in-law thinks I'm even crazier than my husband does I was amazed when he gave this chicken the thumbs up. And my sister just called me and asked me how to make it, so I will finally post it.

I frequently swap out ingredients that I don't have on hand, but I'll list my favorite first, then the others are alternatives. Also, I don't really measure. I get as much chicken as I want to cook, then keep adding more bread crumbs (that is usually what I run out of first) until I'm done.

Oven-fried Chicken

3 slices bread, pulsed in blender until crumbs (or 1/2 c bread crumbs, 3 c cornflakes crushed to 1 c crumbs)
1 t oregano (or basil, italian seasoning, thyme, sage, etc.)
2-3 lbs. chicken, boneless skinless breasts cut into strips (or any kind of chicken pieces, I always take the skin off because it grosses me out)
1/2 c plain yogurt (or beaten egg, or egg white, or melted butter, or milk)

(I like to use pie plates for each step, the sides keep it a little neater, but for easy clean-up, use paper plates)

Mix the bread crumbs and oregano, set aside. Rinse chicken, pat dry, and lightly salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the yogurt, then bread crumbs, then arrange on a baking sheet so the pieces are not touching (but they can be very close together because it shrinks while cooking). Bake in 375 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and bread crumbs are golden brown. Do not turn.

Miso Soup

So of course nobody liked this, except me and my brother who came over to eat. But it was soooooooo easy to make, I think it may be the easiest thing in the world to make. And since part of the difficulty of cooking is having the right ingredients on hand when that moment comes to make dinner, it helps that miso keeps indefinitely in the fridge (according to multiple websites). And you don't have to really measure.

3 T miso paste
3 oz. tofu, in 1/2 inch cubes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
sliced mushrooms
couple inches of konbu (dried kelp), cut into small slivers (it expands a lot), or hon dashi (some sort of fish powder, actually I think it might be a powdered form of konbu?)
4 c. water

Bring miso, konbu, and water to a boil, remove from heat. Add everything else.

Easy enough for you?

Pork Medallions with Potato Pancakes from Poor Girl Eats Well

I found this blog http://poorgirleatswell.blogspot.com that features food that is cheap (as the name suggests), but it is also healthy and simple. This is the first time I have found a recipe blog that does all that. Usually, the healthy ones have you searching for unusual sometimes expensive ingredients, the simple ones call for processed unhealthy ingredients thrown in, and I just found an "eat cheap" one that had a recipe for tater tot casserole. No thank you. So far I really like this Poor Girl blog, I hope she adds many more recipes like this pork one I made last night. I used pork chops instead of loin (so I didn't have cute medallions), and I used frozen hash browns because I had some and didn't have potatoes. The glaze was delicious (although I got kind of confused as the recipe wasn't clear on what to do with it, deglaze the pan with half of it and then what? And drizzle it on top, but what do you do with the other half?) I really liked it with cilantro on top. Even my husband liked it, and as you know that doesn't happen very often. The kids liked the "pancakes," but will probably take a few more times before they are adventurous enough to try the meat. A delicious meal, and I'm excited to try more things from her blog.

Apparently her website is having trouble at the moment, so I can't get the link, but go to her blog (when it is working) and look for Pork Medallions and Balsamic Honey Glaze and Potato Pancakes.

Three Leaf Salad

So this recipe comes from my sister, who likes to start conversations and emails like it was the middle. She gave me a cute little recipe book for Christmas made by a group of her friends. I love those kinds of recipe books, although they inevitably have recipes with my forbidden ingredients. Ok, they are not forbidden, I just really dislike them and I choose not to cook with them. Like cream of chicken soup. It is not even good for you. If you like those kinds of dishes, try giving it up for awhile, and then go back and taste it. You'll see. But once you skip over recipes that call for cream of fill in the blank soups, ranch dressing used as a base instead of a condiment, boxed cake/stuffing/biscuit mix, and other unpleasant things like shortening and Karo syrup, you are left with tried and true simple recipes made by real human beings, not professional chefs with years of culinary training, every kitchen accessory ever invented, and a back kitchen staff at their disposal.

Salad recipes of course have highly-interchangable ingredients, so really this is mostly for the dressing. The onion gives it a very hearty flavor, so you don't feel like you are just nibbling on greens for dinner. And it gives it a pretty pink color. Everyone except me ate it with other dressing though. Their loss. I read in a magazine somewhere that you should always mix your greens for best flavor and nutrition, so I like that this recipe has three different kinds of lettuce.

My sister suggests using chicken instead of bacon, which is what I did (in the crockpot), since bacon is almost forbidden. I'm sure edamame would be a good substitution too, especially since it cooks in 3 minutes. She also says you can candy the almonds by frying or baking with 1/4 c. sugar, but the dressing is so sweet, I wouldn't. In fact, the original recipe called for 1 cup sugar, but I experimented and found it just as tasty with 1/2 cup. I toasted the almonds, but not necessary.

1 head red leaf lettuce, shredded
1 head green leaf lettuce, shredded
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
8 oz. shredded parmesan
1 lb. bacon, crumbled
8 oz. craisins
1 pkg (vague measurement...) almonds, sliced or slivered

Dressing:
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 1/2 t salt
2 t mustard
1 c vegetable oil (I used canola)

Mix first 5 ingredients (all but oil) in blender. Add oil and mix again.

Toss all ingredients together, at least as much will be eaten since it doesn't store well mixed, although separate ingredients do. (It also helps keep everyone happy to assemble their own.)Extra dressing will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

I made some cornbread to go with it, and even though some people only ate chicken and cheese, I thought it was delicious. 6YO and 2YO both ate a few mouthfuls of greens though, how often does that happen?

Now I'm going to go eat some leftover salad for lunch.

New developments: I now have made this salad three times, and it is MAGIC. When my sister gave me the recipe, her husband piped right up to tell me how good it is, and I thought, weird, boys don't usually rave about salads. They eat them sure, but salads are kind of girl stuff. Then my brother came over to babysit, and he ate some--and raved. Then my cousin came to visit, and he said he couldn't finish his enchiladas because he ate so much salad, and he doesn't even like salad. Ok, three boys who love it, this is not your typical salad.