Tasty Salads...no really!

Well week one of "get back on track" is under way, and so far so good.  We've eaten a lot healthier and have even managed to get in some exercise each day (walking and Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred).  Like for most people watching what they eat, that means consuming a lot of salads.  I wish I could say I was one of those people that would be satiated by some lettuce and raw veggies, but I am not.  I think the biggest killer with salads is the dressing.  While I love a good chunky blue cheese dressing as much as anyone, I prefer to make my own vinaigrettes to control oil/fat contents.  Here are a couple salads we've had this week that have been flavorful and actually filling. 

Healthy, Spicy Chicken Taco Salad:

For the chicken-

1 pound of ground chicken (or chopped up boneless, skinless breasts)

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

1 teaspoon each of dried oregano, cumin, coriander, chili flakes, onion powder, garlic salt, and black pepper

1 tablespoon of chili powder

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  When oil is hot, add in chicken and spices.  Cook until browned and cooked through.

For the salad-

1 pound spicy chicken (from recipe above)

3 cups lettuce (whatever you prefer, we used iceberg)

2 cups thawed, frozen corn

1 avocado (we unfortunately had to omit this because Publix had not one single ripe avocado)

Juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons favorite salsa (we used a spicy salsa verde)

Crumbled goat cheese (amount is up to you!), or any kind of cheese

Mix everything together and enjoy!! Filling would also be good without the lettuce and served inside of a tortilla.

Taco Salad

Fresh Peach (or nectarine) Salad:

4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

1 fresh white peach or nectarine, chopped

2 tablespoons dried cranberries

2 cups mixed greens

Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 oz crumbled blue cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Peach Salad

Mix all together and serve immediately.  Or mix everything but the lettuce and can be kept in the fridge for a few hours until ready to eat.

One Last Hoorah...

So these past few weeks have been an absolute blast, cooking all kinds and types of food that we've never done before.  Unfortunately they have not been so much fun for our waistlines! So starting today, we're going to try to eat healthy, or at least healthier than we have been.  We decided to go out with a bang of sorts last night for dinner.  

During the day yesterday we got to spend some time with family from out of town (and family that lives in town) and it was really nice to see them and introduce Carter to more family members.  For dinner we were inspired by a sense of family and made one of Ryan's mom's classic dishes: fried chicken cutlets and rice.  We also had apple crisp for dessert (I'm sure this was a nutritionist nightmare of a dish).  While it was not the most vegetable-filled (okay, there were none!) dinner, it reminded us of family and made for a nice comfort meal on a rainy Sunday evening.  

Ingredients for the Chicken Cutlets:

1 package (about a pound) of chicken cutlets

1 large egg

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 cup flour

2 cups (plus more if needed) of seasoned panko breadcrumbs

Salt & pepper

Olive oil for frying

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg with a splash of water and the garlic salt.  On one plate, add the flour and season with salt and pepper.  On a different plate, add the breadcrumbs.  This will be your dredging station.  Pat dry with a paper towel your cutlets and then begin coating them: first with the flour, then dip in the egg mixture, and finally the breadcrumbs.  Place on a separate plate when coated.  Repeat this process until all the chicken pieces have been breaded.  You can cook them immediately after breading, but they taste better and the coating adheres better if you let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour.  When you're ready to cook, add olive oil to a large frying pan (enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan) and heat on medium-high.  When oil is ready, add the chicken pieces (probably will have to do two batches).  Cook on the first side for about 5 minutes or until golden brown, and then turn the heat down to medium and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes or so.  When they're done frying, place on a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.  Serve with some buttered rice and you have the most delicious, comfort food ever!

Chicken cutlets frying in olive oil

Ingredients for Apple Crisp:

For apple mixture-

 

4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons of butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of white sugar

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Mix all these ingredients in a bowl and then pour into a baking dish or a ceramic pie dish.

For crisp-

1 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup of quick cooking oats

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, chopped into small pieces

Mix all these ingredients in bowl with your hands until butter has been completely incorporated (should look like wet sand).  Place on top of apple mixture.

Bake crisp at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until apples are bubbly and crisp is crispy!  Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, or in our case if you forgot to buy any of these, just a cold class of milk.

Apple Crisp

Night #10- Mexico

Last night we had tacos in honor of Mexico.  Now granted if we wanted to be really authentic we would have made everything from scratch, but alas I do not have a tortilla press or the desire/time to make homemade tortillas, etc.  With a little help from the store, we made easy and delicious taco and a cool, refreshing aqua fresca to drink.

Ingredients for Meat for Tacos:

1 pound ground chicken (could use beef or turkey)

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a frying pan over medium high heat, heat the oil and add the ground chicken and all the seasonings.  Cook until browned and cooked through.  Turn heat down to the lowest setting and add 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  Stir.  Continue to simmer and stir periodically until ready to eat (add more stock if it gets dry).

Simmering chicken

Chicken tacos with corn & avocado salsa

Serve tacos with your favorite tortilla (I like La Tortilla Factory white corn), avocado and corn salsa (recipe is under Cuban night), crumbled goat cheese (I'm not a big queso blanco fan), and your favorite salsa (we use the jalapeno salsa verde from Taco Bus). 

Ingredients for Aqua Fresca:

3/4 glass full of favorite juice, nectar, or fruit puree (we used 100% peach nectar)

1/4 glass full of soda water

Garnish with fruit slices

peach aqua fresca

**this would be even better with your own fruit puree (just peel and slice favorite and blend, strain into a glass....watermelon, strawberry, peach, etc.)

Night #9- China

Well maybe not technically China, but the Americanized version of Chinese food: chicken fried rice.  According to Ryan, it was the best he's had (and I might have to agree!).  It was pretty simple, most of the time is prepping and chopping.  So here's our version of this popular dish:

Ingredients for Fried Rice:

2 cups room temperature Jasmine Rice (cooked in a rice cooker or on the stovetop; it fried much better if it's slightly cooled)

1 pound chopped uncooked chicken breast (boneless, skinless)

1 large onion, sliced

4 eggs, beaten slightly with a fork

1 cup of thawed frozen peas

Vegetable oil

Salt & Pepper

For the sauce:

4 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

1 teaspoon siracha sauce

1/8 teaspoon cracked pepper

Salt to taste (probably won't need much)

Chicken Fried rice

In a large frying pan oven medium heat, add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and the sliced onions and seasoning.  Cook for 15 minutes or until slightly caramelized.  Take out the onions with a slotted spoon and put them in a large bowl.  In the same pan (add more oil if needed), add the chopped chicken and more seasoning.   Cook until browned on both sides and cooked through (about 10 minutes on the first side and 5 on the second).  Take chicken out with a slotted spoon and add to the same bowl that the onions are in.  Add the beaten eggs to the pan and cooked until scrambled (will take less than a minute).  Take out and add to the bowl of chicken and onions.  Next, turn the heat up on the pan to medium-high and add more oil.  Add the rice and spread out until it's an even layer.  Cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then stir, continue this until all of the rice is slightly fried and browned.  After about 10 minutes, add the sauce and the chicken, eggs, and onions back in.  Turn stove burner off.  When ready to serve, add the peas to the pan and stir to incorporate.  Serve immediately (makes delicious leftovers too).  You can add lime, herbs, or extra siracha, depending on your tastes.

Night #8- Spain

Our culinary travels landed us in Spain last night.  Ryan and I are a fan of tapas, so we decided to make a couple at home.  On the menu for last night was peach sangria, chipotle potatoes, and clams with chorizo. 

Ingredients for Peach Sangria:

2/3 bottle of dry white wine

1 cup peach nectar

1 sliced fresh peach

Club Soda

Peach sangria

In a pitcher, mix together the first three ingredients.  Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to chill and let flavors meld.  Serve over ice and top with a splash of club soda. (Could make into a virgin drink, and just double the peach nectar instead of the white.)

Ingredients for Chipotle Potatoes:

1-2 pounds diced Yukon gold potatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 cup mayo

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

Spicy Potatoes

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a blender, mix together the mayo and peppers.  On a sheet tray, mix together the potatoes, oil, and seasoning; spread into a single layer.  Roast for 15 minutes or until fork tender, then broil until crispy and browned (about 10 minutes).  Mix cooked potatoes and pepper-mayo in a bowl.  Can be serve warm or they are good leftover served cold.  

Ingredients for Clams with Chorizo:

2 small chorizo links (about 4 oz total) chopped into small pieces

1 dozen clams

1/2 small onion minced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 bottle of white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I prefer flat leaf)

In a large frying pan over medium heat, cook the chorizo, oil, and onions for about 15 minutes, or until onion is completely translucent and chorizo is crispy.  Add the garlic, but stir constantly for 1 minute so it doens't burn.  Add the lemon and wine.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Add parsley and clams, and then put a lid on it.  You're ready to eat when clams are all opened (discard any closed clams).  Serve with additonal parsley and crusty bread for dipping. 

Chorizo and onions

Clams steaming in broth

Clams with chorizo & white wine broth

Night #7-Great Britain

In honor of the host city, we had a British-inspired meal last night.  Originally we planned on deep frying fish and "chips," but we decided to make them a teeny bit healthier and baking the potatoes and pan-frying the fish.  They both turned out really great, so well that Ryan claimed it was the best fish he's ever had!

Ingredients for the fish:

2 small cod filets 

The whites of 2 eggs

1/4 cup flour

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges for serving

Start by wisking the egg whites until they have soft peaks.  Next, set up a dredging station, with the flour (seasoned with salt and pepper) on one plate, the egg whites in a bowl, and the panko on an additional plate.  Dredge the fish filets in the flour mixture, then the egg whites, and then the panko.  Let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.  When you're ready to go, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan (just enough the coat the bottom of the pan).  Fry on eat side on medium heat, until golden brown on all sides.  Serve with lemon.

Whipped egg whites

Fish, ready for cooking

Fish, after cooking

Chase version of fish & chips

 Ingredients for potatoes:

4-5 small/medium Yukon gold potatoes

Olive Oil 

Salt & Pepper

Finished potatoes

Potatoes before baking

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Clean potatoes and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.  Toss in a bowl with oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Then broil for another 5-10 until crispy.  Put back in bowl and add more oil or seasoning if needed. 

Night #6-Greece

Last night we took a return trip to Greece for dinner.  While we were running errands in Sarasota, we picked up some feta from Sahara (we are totally spoiled now and won't even buy it from any other place) and some groceries for Publix, and we were set to cook, marinade, and watch Olympics!  The main course was a burger, and we made the same burger as in the past, but this time it was even better (link for recipe: http://andcartermakesthree.blogspot.com/2012/07/best-burger.html).  We also made a Greek-marinated chicken kabobs to use for salads later in the week (marinade- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon each of lemon zest, fresh chopped oregano, and olive oil, salt and pepper), tzatziki sauce, and a Greek salad. 

Chicken kabobs

Marinading chicken

Burgers fresh off of the grill

For dessert we made a peach/blueberry crisp (actually Ryan made that).  Everything else we've posted the recipes for, but I'll fill you in on how Ryan made the dessert.  In my opinion the best part about crisps is that they don't have to be precise measurements like typical baking, so feel free to adjust the amounts to your preference.  

Ingredients for Peach/Blueberry Crisp:

2 1/2 cups peeled, sliced peaches (frozen or fresh)

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup quick cooking oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Before baking

In a bowl, mix together the fruit, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon chopped butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Let sit for at least an hour to macerate.  In another bowl, add the remaining ingredients.  Mix with a stand mixer, or your hands, until it has the consistency of wet sand.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Add fruit mixture into a pie pan or baking dish and top with crisp mixture.  Bake for 1 hour or until crisp is brown and fruit is bubbly.  Let sit for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.  Serve with whipped cream!

Fresh out of the oven