Monday, March 23, 2009

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.

Monday, March 16, 2009

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.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

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.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

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.

Monday, March 2, 2009

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.