Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts with Organic Bacon

Ingredients:
3 cups brussel sprouts cut in half, outer leaves removed
1.5 tablespoons of grape oil
1.5 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
2-3 pieces of bacon (I used Applegate Organic)

Preheat oven with empty oven proof dish in it at highest possible temperature. I used my Breville Smart Convection Oven which I am completely obsessed with. In case you are interested, this is what it looks like.

It's highest temperature is 450.  If not, obviously a regular oven totally fine.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, toss brussel sprouts w oil.

Once oven preheated, carefully remove dish, add your brussels. Reduce temperature to 425. Roast about 1/2 hour. I usually remove some smaller ones earlier so they don't burn.

Cook bacon till crisp. Drain on paper towels. Cut into small buts, set aside.

Once brussels are well roasted, toss with balsamic (if you removed any brussels, add them back). Roast another 2 minutes. Add bacon.

Serve and enjoy.

Roasted Peach Salad with Burrata, Freekeh and Red Onions

It was one of those workweek nights were I realized that I forgot to defrost anything for dinner. Since I try to avoid take out during the week, I needed something I could make that was meatless.

Though it's not officially spring yet, a big salad fit the bill nicely and I was able to pick up what's needed on my way home and had other things already in my fridge.

You can really wing it with this kind of salad but what I had and used were the following:

1 head red leave lettuce
1/4 medium red onion sliced thin
1 cut cherry tomatoes
1 ball of burrata (you can substitute fresh mozzarella or goat cheese here)
1 cut of freekeh (grain similar to wheatberries or ferro so any of these would work here)
3 peaches
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 pieces of organic bacon cooked till crisp and cut up into bits which I mixed with freekeh

For dressing:
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Wisk all of these together. If the honey does not dissolve, nuke for about 10 seconds.

Preheat oven to 400. Wash and dry peaches. Cut in half, remove pit. Roast about 1/2 hour, add brown sugar and roast another 5 minutes.

Wash and spin dry lettuce. Add tomatoes and onions. Dress. Plate. Top with peaches, freekeh/bacon mixture and burrata.

I already had cooked freekeh but if you are making from scratch, you need 1 cup uncooked freekeh to 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring to boil and simmer covered till water absorbed, about 20 minutes.

This served 2. It was filling and we avoided take out, yeay!

Challah French Toast with Fresh Berry Sauce

Love love French toast and yet I never make it. Not sure why. Until now that is. It was a big big hit even with my picky younger daughter. 

Recipe adapted from Gourmet 2001 and Epicurious.

Ingredients:

1 load of challah bread sliced into 1/2 inch slices, ends disguarded 
3 large eggs
1 cup of milk ( I used 1 %)
1 tablespoon brown sugar or 1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
about a half a stick of butter
Garnish: confection sugar for dusting --I did not have so I omitted it.

For Berry Sauce:
2-3 cups of berries fresh or frozen
Sugar to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whist together eggs, milk, sugar and salt.  Pour into a large baking pan. Soak for 4 minutes, flip over and soak for another 4 minutes.

In the meantime, wash berries, and them to a pan and simmer. You want the berries to be soft and dissolve into a thick sauce. Add sugar to taste. I mashed a bit with a potato masher as well. If you want your sauce smooth, you can puree it but I did not bother.

Once your challah is soaked, you are ready to cook it. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter into a heavy skillet over high heat until foam subsides. Cook 4 soaked slices at a time till golden brown, about a minute per side, might be a bit longer for the first batch and shorted for next batches. Add more butter as needed for each batch. Transfer to a clean shallow baking pan with a clean spatula. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes till center cooked through.

Serve with berry sauce. I also added fresh berries. If you have confection sugar, dust all over. I did not have it so I omitted that. 

Stuffed Zucchini/ Zucchini Boats

A few months ago, I made a delicious zucchini lasagna, this has a similar taste but a bit lighter. The original recipe is from www.skinnytaste.com which I modified slightly.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups quick marinara sauce
I used Barilla Marinara Sauce
4 medium zucchini
1 tsp canola oil
1 shallot finely diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 diced red bell pepper
Approximately 2/3 pounds sweet sausage casting removed
My links were small, I used 4 of them
1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella (Polly-O)
8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil. A wide pot worked well for this.

Wash and pat dry your zucchinis. Cut them in half lengthwise and school out the flesh, I used a teaspoon for this and it worked perfectly. Leave about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the flesh into small pieces and set aside.

Once your water boils, add your zucchini halves and cook for about a minute. Remove from water.

To a 9x12 baking dish, add about 1/2 cup of marinara. Place zucchinis half side up.

Preheat your oven to 400°.

In the meantime, in a large pan, brown your sausage, crumbling into small pieces. Cook till brown. Set aside.

If the pan is dry, add a bit of oil. Add and add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 2-3 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add chopped zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook about 2-3 minutes. Combine with sausage and cook a few more minutes.

Using a spoon, fill each hollowed zucchini with 1/3 cup cooked sausage, pressing firmly. Top each with 2 tablespoons each of sauce, 1 tablespoon each of shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon each of parmesan cheese. I personally had some of the mixture left, maybe my zucchinis were too small. I reserved the mixture and ate it over quinoa for lunch the next day.

Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.

Remove the foil and bake another 5-7 minutes to brown the cheese a bit.

Soy Balsamic Roasted Chicken Drumsticks w Rosemary

Saw this recipe in Real Simple Magazine
April 2013 edition. think it called for cut up while chicken but I used drumsticks only.

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Shallots peeled
10 or so chicken drumsticks

Heat oven to 425.

In a baking dish, combine balsamic, soy sauce, honey, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Add chicken, turn to coat in mixture.
Place into dish. Toss shallots w olive oil and place on top of chicken.

Roast for 30 minutes. Turn over and roast another 15 minutes or so. Baste occasionally.

Note this makes lots of sauce. If you wish, use a bit less of each liquid but keep proportions the same.

Pork Chops with Fried Sage and Garlic

This recipe was adapted from http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/2004/10/pan_roasted_pro.html

Ingredients:
3 pork bone in pork chops, about ½ inch thick
20 sage leaves washed and dry
Juice of 1 lemon (I used Meyer)
5 garlic cloves
Salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons of oil, I used grape

Heat oil in skillet till hot. Drop in sage leaves and let sizzle till crisp, about 30 seconds per side. Remove from oil. Divide into 2 piles—bigger and smaller.

To the same skillet, add garlic. Cook till golden, about 2 minutes. Remove to another place.

To the sage and garlic infused oil, add your chops. If there is not enough oil, add another splash and heat for a minute.
Add you chops. Cook 3-5 minutes per side till brownish and caramelized looking, depending on how thick your pork is and how well you like it done.

Once you determine pork is done, add lemon juice, garlic and larger pile of sage back to pan. Swirl together. Serve immediately topping with remaining fried sage leaves.

I served with roasted brussel sprouts though some roasted potatoes would have been nice as well.

Baked Asian Style Chicken Drumsticks (Honey, Lemon Soy Sauce)

Chicken drumsticks are great! Inexpensive and delicious at the same time. A little asian fusion twist made these a big hit. They were juicy and sweet/ savory at the same time. If your family likes thighs, this recipe would work great as well. 

I did not make enough--my gang was begging for more so will definitely double this recipe next time.  This recipe is for about 5 drumsticks. If you want more, double up on the sauce ingredients

I served this with sauteed string beans, sauteed mushrooms/shallots and a lovely heat and eat wild rice (with cherries, pistachios and squash) from Fresh Direct (which is a home delivery service I swear by). 

INGREDIENTS:
5 drumsticks 
Whole wheat flour (a few tablespoons)
Juice of one lemon (I used Meyer lemon)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I always use low sodium)
3 tablespoons of honey
1 large ziploc bag

1) Preheat oven to 350. 
I use my Breville convection oven which I can't say enough great things about. If not, regular oven will do just fine. Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ

2) Add flour to a galon size ziploc bag. Add  clean washed and dry drumsticks. Zip the bag and toss them around in there till well coated.  You may wish to do this in batches. 
Remove chicken, dump out the remaining flour.  Reserve empty bag.

3) In a microwavable bowl, combine soy sauce, lemon juice and honey. Mix well.  If your honey is too thick, you may want to microwave the mixture for about 20 seconds to get it to thin out and them mix again. Pour into bag, add chicken. Toss to coat. Add chicken to oiled baking dish.  I adore this one Le Creuset Stoneware 1-1/2-Quart 9-Inch Square Baking Dish, Cherry. Pour remaining sauce over it.

4) Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, flipping the drumsticks over a few times (about every 15 minutes).

Baked Beef Ricotta Meatballs

Made these meatballs the other night. Even my picky eater gobbled one up fresh out of the over! 

Freshly baked meatballs

Recipe adapted from http://thelemonbowl.com/2013/01/beef-and-ricotta-meatballs.html though mine were not gluten free.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound of ground beef
3/4 cup ricotta
some chopped parsley
1 clove minced garlic
pinch of salt
pinch  nutmeg
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup panko

Combine the first 7 ingredients in  a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat an egg and add to your mixture. Mix well but don't over mix.

Add panko to a plate. I use Ian's Whole Wheat Panko found on amazon.
Make into meatballs of ~2 inches in diameter.  Roll in panko.

Preheat oven to 400.  Cover baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray.
Bake about 1/2 hour.

I served mine over whole wheat angel hair with some tomato sauce.
The next day I served them over salad for a yummy use of leftovers.

Meatballs Over Angelhair with a side of pureed butternut squash (by Bird Eye)

Served the next day over butter lettuce with shaved carrots, shaved parmesan and roasted tomatos 

Baked Whole Wheat Panko Crusted Potato Croquettes with Tomato Basil Dipping Sauce

Made some potato skins the other night. Post to follow on that but in the meantime, of course I had all these potato insides left that I needed to use up.
Decided to make potato croquettes and baked ones to boot. These were made for a very nice lazy Sunday lunch, will definitely be making these again. Also, a great use of leftover potatoes. Wonder if this would work w sweet potatoes as well... Will have to explore that one.

INGREDIENTS FOR CROQUETTES:
4-5 Russet Potatoes
2 tablespoons of shopped chives
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 cup shredded cheese (I used part skim mozzarella)
4 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 chopped red onion (regular onion or whole shallot fine too)
1 cup whole wheat panko (regular panko or bread crumbs would also work)
2 eggs
salt to taste

FOR DIPPING SAUCE
1 4 oz can of tomato paste
6-8 leaves of fresh basil
1 clove of garlic minced

FOR SALAD
2 cups of butter lettuce mix (any lettuce ok)
1/4 cup pine nuts toasted on pan
about 1 ounce of aged parmesan shaved
For Dressing: 2 tablespoons aged vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey

If you are starting from scratch, peel and wash potatoes. Cut into thick slices and boil in salted water till can easily piece with a knife. Basically same like when you are making mashed potatoes. It should take about 20 minutes. My potatoes were already cooked so I skipped this step.

In the meantime, in a bowl, combine chives, onion, melted butter, cream cheese and salt.

Once potatoes are cooked, mash them. 

Add cheese and the cream cheese mixture from the step above. 

Beat an egg and fold into your mixture. At this point, if the mixture is too sticky, add some flour.

Preheat oven to 450. Place parchment paper over your baking sheet. Brush it with oil. I used grape

Roll your mixture into balls. Mine were about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Try to keep size consistent.

Add panko to a plate. Add your second egg to a bowl. One at at time, dip the balls into egg and then into panko.  Add to your baking sheet. Allow a bit of space in between.

Bake about 15 minutes, flip over and bake another 15. They should be nice and crunchy on the inside. Soft and cheesy on the inside.

I served mine with tomato sauce-- heated up some tomato paste, add a bit of minced garlic and basil leaves.

These were very nice with a salad. All I used for this one was about 2 cups of butter lettuce mix, 1/4 cup pan toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesean cheese.

For dressing, I used 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey and 2 tablespoons aged vinegar.

Recipe adapted from http://www.aflockinthecity.com/

Warm Farro Salad with Mushrooms, Shallots and Lentils

Another nice variation on faro salad.
When we had this for dinner, we ate it warm, but it’s just as good if not better cold.
Flexible in terms of ingredients, I was really just looking to use up what was already in my fridge.
This recipe assumes that you already have cooked lentils, if you don’t instructions are below.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon grape oil
1 cup faro
3 cups water (plus a few more for soaking faro)
1 cup kale washed, ripped by hand and dried
1 box baby portabella mushrooms (white or any other is fine)
2 finely chopped shallots
1 cup cooked lentils
Fresh mozzarella cubed (or feta would work well)
Sage leaves (optional)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Dressing
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon white balsamic
1 teaspoon honey


Preparation for Salad:

1) Soak farro in cold water for about 25 minutes. Rinse and drain.
2) Add 3 cups of water to 1 cups of farro. Bring to boil. Cook on low flame for about 1/2 hour.
3) Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
4) Preheat 1 tablespoon of grape oil, add shallots. Cook about 3 minutes till begin to soften. Add mushrooms, cooked lentils and sage leaves. Cook about 5 minutes. Add farro and heat till warm. Throw in kale, toss and turn off flame. This will result in kale wilting but not being fully cooked.
5) Remove into a large bowl. Allow to cool a bit, toss in dressing and fresh mozzarella cubes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.


To cook lentils:
1 cup of lentils to 2 cups of water.

Rinse under running water. Remove soil and rocks. Add lentils and water to pot with a cover, bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer with a slightly open lid. Add water if none left and lentils still not tender. The lentils cook in about 40-45 minutes. They are done when tender and can easily be mashed with a fork.
Add salt to taste. I like to keep lentils for adding to rice, quinoa, etc for a complete meal.