Today is Tasty Thursday. Who is pumped? I know I am. I've decided to give a recipe that will prove to be extremely dynamic. What I mean is that this recipe can be used for several different applications which I will describe as I go. I am also going to veer from the usual Italian once more, because it is time I gave some love to other nationality's foods. So to the Mexicans/Spanish of the world, this one is for you!
Chicken Burritos a.k.a. The Versatile Spaniard
Once again, this recipe is geared towards those less adept in the kitchen. It consists of several different parts that can be cooked separately and then combined at the end: 1) Spice Combo; 2) Rice and Beans; 3) Chicken & Vegetables; and 4) Non-Cooked components.
Ingredients:
1) Spice Combo
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
2) Rice and Beans
1 cup of rice (whole grain is great for this also, just allow at least 15 minutes extra time to cook it)
1 cup black beans
Salt
Spice Combo
Due to the fact that rice takes forever to cook (especially brown rice), you must cook this part first. In a medium-sized pot (4 quart capacity), put two quarts of water and put on the stove on high. Let this come to a boil, add salt, and then add your rice. Let the rice cook until it is tender enough to eat. Normal rice takes about 20 minutes, brown rice takes about 35 minutes (taste it to see if it is done, but don't burn yourself). About 5 minutes before your rice is complete, put your beans into a small pan and cook for 5 minutes or until they start sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once both components are done, add the beans to the rice with your Spice Combo and mix thoroughly (you can also add a few diced jalapenos at this point in time for added flavor and spice). Set this aside (we will assume the chicken and vegetables are complete also).
3) Chicken & Vegetables
2 chicken breast halves (Boneless, skinless, butterflied, and washed)
1 tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 red, green, or yellow peppers
3 medium sized onions
1 large tomato
Spice Combo
At about the time you throw the rice into the boiling water, you should start cooking the vegetables: To make the Chicken and Vegetables, start by cutting your peppers, onions, and tomatoes into 1 inch square pieces. In a saute pan (2 quart capacity) on high, put about 1/4 inch water and let come to a quick boil. Add your peppers and onions to this and let steam covered (you can also cook with 2-3 tablespoons of oil, but it takes longer and is less healthy; also, make sure to replenish water if it starts to run out!). While that happens, prepare your chicken with the Steak Seasoning (Notice a pattern with ALL my chicken dishes yet?), rubbed evenly on both sides. Once your vegetables are about cooked (About 10 minutes), put your breast on your George Foreman grill to cook (It should have been pre-heated; You can also cook this in a separate pan with a tbsp of oil on the bottom, medium high heat until tender and no longer pink; if you do this, start it at the time to start cooking your vegetables). At the same time, add your diced tomatoes to the vegetables and let continue cooking until chicken is tender. Once your chicken is cooked, cut it into slices 1/4 inch thick and then in thirds, so your pieces are about 1/4 inch by 1 inch. Add them with the Spice Combo to the vegetables and mix thoroughly. You can set this aside (we will assume the rice and beans are complete also).
4) Non-Cooked components (This is part of the Versatility of the Spaniard because you can add whatever you like; I will tell you several ways to do this, and all will taste fantastic)
Option #1
Large tortillas (burrito sized; put into the oven for a few minutes on 200 degrees to get them prepped to stuff) OR a big handful of Tostitos Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
Cheddar Cheese
Shredded iceberg lettuce
1 large diced tomato
Salsa (About 2 oz or so)
Sour Cream (About 2 oz or so)
Option #2
Large tortillas (burrito sized; put into the oven for a few minutes on 200 degrees to get them prepped to stuff) OR a big handful of Tostitos Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
Cheddar Cheese
Frank's Red Hot Sauce (About 2 oz or so)
All Optional Ingredients
Cheese of any shredded kind
Salsa
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded Lettuce
Frank's Red Hot Sauce
Once your chicken, vegetables, rice and beans are complete, take all your ingredients onto a table. You can make this a self-serve dish and allow your guests to have fun making their own burrito, or you can make it for them (TUTORIAL: How to roll a burrito: Assuming the tortilla is 8 inches in diameter, add about .5 pounds of ingredients to one side of the tortilla. Next, roll one end of the tortilla over the ingredients and let it touch the inside of the tortilla about 2/3 the way in [should be about 2 inches thick]. Stuff any mixture falling out back into the tortilla, fold both ends on top of the bulge and continue rolling until it is all the way over). That may be confusing but after practicing for a while you will get the perfect burrito. If you opted to use Tortilla Chips for the meal, you can either put them on the bottom whole, or crush them on top. Either way put some cheese, some rice mixture, some chicken and vegetables, and then whatever else you want. It also makes a great dip if you add lots of cheese and hot sauce to the rice and chicken/vegetables in a bowl.
These recipes will serve about 4 people. Prep Time: 20 mins; Cook Time: 40 mins.
Now here is the special part about this dish. You can mix and match all the "Optional ingredients" to conform to your taste buds. If you are a vegetarian you can skip the chicken, add a few more peppers and onions and enjoy a great tasting meal anyway. It really is up to you how you make your burritos or tortilla bowl.
I hope you guys enjoy this dish. It is a bit more difficult than some of my others, but it always turns out tasting great and pleasing everyone! Enjoy the rest of your Thursday!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Nutrition and Vegetables
For many years, "nutritionists" have been analyzing the food we eat, determining what is healthy and what is not. I read a book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan (here is a video about him presenting at Google) about two years ago. This book was very enlightening mainly because of its simplicity - Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. These three phrases sum up what I have been telling you in the past few weeks. I will explain them a bit more, so you can understand what they mean (even though they are pretty straight forward):
Eat Food-
This point is the least obvious of the three. According to Pollan, a great trick to knowing what is considered "food" is to think about what your grandmother, or great-grandmother would consider food. Imagine if she had whatever you are considering eating in front of her, what would she do, throw it aside, or eat it? Eat as close to raw food as possible; the less it is processed, the healthier it is for you (I actually read an article regarding this today, though from a marketing perspective). If food has more than 5 ingredients, if you cannot pronounce any words from the ingredients list, or if high fructose corn syrup is an ingredient, chances are, it is not food. These simple points will help you decipher the stuff you put in your body as food or something different;
Not Too Much-
This point is probably the most important (in my opinion). I believe that one reason many people are not healthy is because they eat too much (and in many cases too much of the wrong thing, hence the other two points). A good guide for how much to eat, is using your fist as a measuring tool. If a portion of any separate entity on a plate is bigger than your fist, it is TOO MUCH! Usually two or three fist-sized portions is considered a meal (In the case of my diet, my snacks consist of 1 fist portion, and my meals consist of two or three);
Mostly Plants-
This is pretty clear, less meat, more vegetables (corn and soybean byproducts are not considered vegetables). Eat as many raw, steamed or cooked vegetables as possible. Plants closer to raw are the best alternative. I would like to stress the first word "mostly" because this does not imply becoming a vegetarian (for health reasons anyway). Eating meat is not bad. I eat chicken daily. I stay away from red meat, pork, and other types of meat, because they contain more fat. You don't need meat to stay healthy. Vegetarians are generally healthier than meat-eaters. So, "mostly plants" will derive plenty of nutrients for your diet, minus iron, which can be obtained from other sources.
I have devised a few great ways to intake the proper amount of vegetables on a daily basis. As promised I will tell you about frozen vegetables as a great way to get those much-needed nutrients. I try and eat mixed vegetables daily. I purchase bags of these assorted vegetables whenever I go shopping for a few reasons including:
1) They are cheaper than buying raw vegetables (this is definitely true if you look at the time saved cutting and cleaning in order to cook them);
2) You get a great assortment of different vegetables, some that you would not otherwise buy separately;
3) They last far longer than raw vegetables.
This does not mean that I don't eat raw vegetables as well. Obviously "greens" are a major component of my diet. Sometimes I also eat carrot sticks, or other raw vegetables as snacks.
Back to the frozen vegetables. Here are some types I get from Price Chopper:
Frozen Vegetables: carrots, corn, string beans, and peas.
Szechuan Vegetables: broccoli, shoestring carrots, onion strips, red peppers, mushrooms, pea pods, and water chestnuts.
Italian Blend: zucchini, broccoli, carrots, Italian style string beans, and baby lima beans.
Stir Fry Blend: broccoli, carrots, green beans, onions, pea pods, and red peppers.
There are many more types, California Blend, Peas and Carrots, etc. Choose what you like, mix it up and enjoy! I also like to add more peppers (by cutting up raw peppers), onions, or tomatoes to the dish, or if I specifically buy a separate vegetable I throw that in as well. As long as you get more than 4 vegetables chances are you are getting many of the needed nutrients.
I like to steam these vegetables in a pan, with a small amount of water and covered. I wait until the water has completely evaporated (with the cover on!) and then add things to make these vegetables taste better. Sometimes I will eat them just like this, with some freshly ground peppers on top. I may also eat them without any other additive, on top of a piece of chicken breast.
I like to add a can of sauce after the vegetables are cooked, then a tablespoon of dried onion, and freshly ground pepper. I let this cook on high for another 10 minutes or so, or until a decent amount of water has evaporated from the sauce.
Another alternative to these vegetables is to let them cook until there is no more water, then add some olive oil in order to let the vegetables brown (it adds a great deal of flavor). After they get to a desired "brownness," I either eat them as is, maybe with some chicken, or I add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. I let these vegetables cook for another few minutes and then eat and enjoy! You can also cook some rice on the side, add a bit more soy sauce (remember this is pretty much straight salt) and mix together for a really great meal (but also less healthy).
I want to also state that these methods of cooking vegetables are great for omelets. Use these ideas to stack your eggs with lots of vegetables!
Anyway, that is it for today. I hope you learned a few things about how to eat more healthy food. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for a new recipe!
Eat Food-
This point is the least obvious of the three. According to Pollan, a great trick to knowing what is considered "food" is to think about what your grandmother, or great-grandmother would consider food. Imagine if she had whatever you are considering eating in front of her, what would she do, throw it aside, or eat it? Eat as close to raw food as possible; the less it is processed, the healthier it is for you (I actually read an article regarding this today, though from a marketing perspective). If food has more than 5 ingredients, if you cannot pronounce any words from the ingredients list, or if high fructose corn syrup is an ingredient, chances are, it is not food. These simple points will help you decipher the stuff you put in your body as food or something different;
Not Too Much-
This point is probably the most important (in my opinion). I believe that one reason many people are not healthy is because they eat too much (and in many cases too much of the wrong thing, hence the other two points). A good guide for how much to eat, is using your fist as a measuring tool. If a portion of any separate entity on a plate is bigger than your fist, it is TOO MUCH! Usually two or three fist-sized portions is considered a meal (In the case of my diet, my snacks consist of 1 fist portion, and my meals consist of two or three);
Mostly Plants-
This is pretty clear, less meat, more vegetables (corn and soybean byproducts are not considered vegetables). Eat as many raw, steamed or cooked vegetables as possible. Plants closer to raw are the best alternative. I would like to stress the first word "mostly" because this does not imply becoming a vegetarian (for health reasons anyway). Eating meat is not bad. I eat chicken daily. I stay away from red meat, pork, and other types of meat, because they contain more fat. You don't need meat to stay healthy. Vegetarians are generally healthier than meat-eaters. So, "mostly plants" will derive plenty of nutrients for your diet, minus iron, which can be obtained from other sources.
I have devised a few great ways to intake the proper amount of vegetables on a daily basis. As promised I will tell you about frozen vegetables as a great way to get those much-needed nutrients. I try and eat mixed vegetables daily. I purchase bags of these assorted vegetables whenever I go shopping for a few reasons including:
1) They are cheaper than buying raw vegetables (this is definitely true if you look at the time saved cutting and cleaning in order to cook them);
2) You get a great assortment of different vegetables, some that you would not otherwise buy separately;
3) They last far longer than raw vegetables.
This does not mean that I don't eat raw vegetables as well. Obviously "greens" are a major component of my diet. Sometimes I also eat carrot sticks, or other raw vegetables as snacks.
Back to the frozen vegetables. Here are some types I get from Price Chopper:
Frozen Vegetables: carrots, corn, string beans, and peas.
Szechuan Vegetables: broccoli, shoestring carrots, onion strips, red peppers, mushrooms, pea pods, and water chestnuts.
Italian Blend: zucchini, broccoli, carrots, Italian style string beans, and baby lima beans.
Stir Fry Blend: broccoli, carrots, green beans, onions, pea pods, and red peppers.
There are many more types, California Blend, Peas and Carrots, etc. Choose what you like, mix it up and enjoy! I also like to add more peppers (by cutting up raw peppers), onions, or tomatoes to the dish, or if I specifically buy a separate vegetable I throw that in as well. As long as you get more than 4 vegetables chances are you are getting many of the needed nutrients.
I like to steam these vegetables in a pan, with a small amount of water and covered. I wait until the water has completely evaporated (with the cover on!) and then add things to make these vegetables taste better. Sometimes I will eat them just like this, with some freshly ground peppers on top. I may also eat them without any other additive, on top of a piece of chicken breast.
I like to add a can of sauce after the vegetables are cooked, then a tablespoon of dried onion, and freshly ground pepper. I let this cook on high for another 10 minutes or so, or until a decent amount of water has evaporated from the sauce.
Another alternative to these vegetables is to let them cook until there is no more water, then add some olive oil in order to let the vegetables brown (it adds a great deal of flavor). After they get to a desired "brownness," I either eat them as is, maybe with some chicken, or I add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. I let these vegetables cook for another few minutes and then eat and enjoy! You can also cook some rice on the side, add a bit more soy sauce (remember this is pretty much straight salt) and mix together for a really great meal (but also less healthy).
I want to also state that these methods of cooking vegetables are great for omelets. Use these ideas to stack your eggs with lots of vegetables!
Anyway, that is it for today. I hope you learned a few things about how to eat more healthy food. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for a new recipe!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Project Save the Chickens and Cows (Pigs Too!)
Well, it is that time again! Thirsty Thursdays...um...no...wait, I mean Tasty Thursdays!! I am sober, I promise. This week I have a special recipe and I will tell you why. For one, I promised a vegetarian dish so I will deliver, and two, you can scale this depending on the size of your pot the result of which is food for a week (for 4 people!). I made it for myself and my friends this past Sunday, and I still have about 4 quarts remaining. This recipe is excellent and easy to make (like most of my recipes)! Here goes:
Vegetarian Chili a.k.a Project Save the Chickens and Cows (Pigs Too!)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 large carrots
4 large onions
2 red peppers
2 green peppers
4 large jalapenos (Varies depending on wanted heat)
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. chili powder
3 large (1 lb. 13 oz) cans of beans (I like 1 can pinto, 1 can red kidney, 1 can black)
2 large (1 lb. 13 oz) cans whole plum ripe tomatoes peeled
1 large (1 lb. 13 oz) can tomato sauce
1 large (1 lb. 13 oz) can diced (or petite diced) tomatoes
This dish is more time intensive than anything. It is simple prep work, and easy to cook. It just requires constant attention.
Start with your vegetables (wash/peel where appropriate; you may also add more vegetables if you like, but try and maintain a balance).
Cut your onions (peel) into 1 inch chunks. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Cut your peppers (wash) into 1 inch chunks. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Cut your carrots (peel/wash and cut off ends) into 1/4 inch thick (the thickness of your peppers) slices. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Chop your jalapenos (wash and cut off ends) very finely (use gloves or it may hurt tomorrow). Put into a bowl and set aside.
In a very large pot (somewhere between 6 and 10 quarts), on medium high heat, put your oil. After a minute, add your onions and stir every 30 seconds for about 5 minutes. Next add your peppers and carrots and stir every 30 seconds for about 10 minutes. Don't let the vegetables get brown at all, just let their juices flow. Next add your spices and jalapenos and mix thoroughly.
While you watch your vegetables, open all your cans. Empty most of the juice from all your beans, especially the black beans (the more black bean juice, the more dark color they will add to the dish; likewise, the more bean juice in general, the more this chili will taste like beans, I like a tomato-based chili). When your vegetables have perspired sufficiently, add all your cans and stir. Now it is just a waiting game. It will take between 1 hour and 2 hours to get the chili to the point you want it. You need to stir this concoction ever few minutes to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan (at least that's what happens on a gas stove, it may vary for an electric stove). At any point during the cooking process, you may grab all the whole tomatoes with a spoon and cut them into eights using a scissor (careful for exploding tomatoes!).
Once the chili becomes the desired consistency, remove from the heat and serve! Serving Size: About 8-10 people (maybe more); Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 90 minutes to 150 minutes (varies by desired consistency).
My favorite way to eat this chili is with rice that has been saturated with butter (after it is cooked of course). I also sometimes enjoy cheddar cheese, or any shredded cheese for that matter, plain yogurt, or bread with this dish. It is really up to your how you eat it.
If you aren't a vegetarian and love meat chili, try this anyway, it tastes amazing (When I was first introduced to this dish, I was told that it was better than meat chili, and I refused to believe it. Then we made it, and it was fantastic. I will never swear that meat in chili is necessary again. The beans add the meaty texture and are perfectly sufficient.) But there are those who are stubborn out there so I will make some meat suggestions. You can cook 8 sausage links before the onions, cut them into small pieces, cook some more, and then add your onions and follow the recipe just the same way. You can also cook two pounds of ground turkey, pork, beef or some combination separately and drain the juice, then add when you add your cans for a meat alternative.
You can store it for about 2 weeks without risking death (but don't take my word for it, use your nose as judgment). If you want to reheat you may microwave, but it is healthier and probably just as quick to put into a small pan and get to a boil (stir constantly!).
Enjoy this dish. It always comes out great. This is a no-brainer. Let me know if you have suggestions, if you prefer corn in your chili, or you just want to let me know how the dish came out. Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for more great things to cook!
Vegetarian Chili a.k.a Project Save the Chickens and Cows (Pigs Too!)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 large carrots
4 large onions
2 red peppers
2 green peppers
4 large jalapenos (Varies depending on wanted heat)
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. coriander
1 tbsp. chili powder
3 large (1 lb. 13 oz) cans of beans (I like 1 can pinto, 1 can red kidney, 1 can black)
2 large (1 lb. 13 oz) cans whole plum ripe tomatoes peeled
1 large (1 lb. 13 oz) can tomato sauce
1 large (1 lb. 13 oz) can diced (or petite diced) tomatoes
This dish is more time intensive than anything. It is simple prep work, and easy to cook. It just requires constant attention.
Start with your vegetables (wash/peel where appropriate; you may also add more vegetables if you like, but try and maintain a balance).
Cut your onions (peel) into 1 inch chunks. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Cut your peppers (wash) into 1 inch chunks. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Cut your carrots (peel/wash and cut off ends) into 1/4 inch thick (the thickness of your peppers) slices. Put into a bowl and set aside.
Chop your jalapenos (wash and cut off ends) very finely (use gloves or it may hurt tomorrow). Put into a bowl and set aside.
In a very large pot (somewhere between 6 and 10 quarts), on medium high heat, put your oil. After a minute, add your onions and stir every 30 seconds for about 5 minutes. Next add your peppers and carrots and stir every 30 seconds for about 10 minutes. Don't let the vegetables get brown at all, just let their juices flow. Next add your spices and jalapenos and mix thoroughly.
While you watch your vegetables, open all your cans. Empty most of the juice from all your beans, especially the black beans (the more black bean juice, the more dark color they will add to the dish; likewise, the more bean juice in general, the more this chili will taste like beans, I like a tomato-based chili). When your vegetables have perspired sufficiently, add all your cans and stir. Now it is just a waiting game. It will take between 1 hour and 2 hours to get the chili to the point you want it. You need to stir this concoction ever few minutes to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan (at least that's what happens on a gas stove, it may vary for an electric stove). At any point during the cooking process, you may grab all the whole tomatoes with a spoon and cut them into eights using a scissor (careful for exploding tomatoes!).
Once the chili becomes the desired consistency, remove from the heat and serve! Serving Size: About 8-10 people (maybe more); Prep time: 15 minutes; Cook time: 90 minutes to 150 minutes (varies by desired consistency).
My favorite way to eat this chili is with rice that has been saturated with butter (after it is cooked of course). I also sometimes enjoy cheddar cheese, or any shredded cheese for that matter, plain yogurt, or bread with this dish. It is really up to your how you eat it.
If you aren't a vegetarian and love meat chili, try this anyway, it tastes amazing (When I was first introduced to this dish, I was told that it was better than meat chili, and I refused to believe it. Then we made it, and it was fantastic. I will never swear that meat in chili is necessary again. The beans add the meaty texture and are perfectly sufficient.) But there are those who are stubborn out there so I will make some meat suggestions. You can cook 8 sausage links before the onions, cut them into small pieces, cook some more, and then add your onions and follow the recipe just the same way. You can also cook two pounds of ground turkey, pork, beef or some combination separately and drain the juice, then add when you add your cans for a meat alternative.
You can store it for about 2 weeks without risking death (but don't take my word for it, use your nose as judgment). If you want to reheat you may microwave, but it is healthier and probably just as quick to put into a small pan and get to a boil (stir constantly!).
Enjoy this dish. It always comes out great. This is a no-brainer. Let me know if you have suggestions, if you prefer corn in your chili, or you just want to let me know how the dish came out. Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for more great things to cook!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Let's Eat Salad Every Day!
Last time I posted, I reviewed my daily routine in terms of my diet. I stated that I eat salad, chicken, and vegetables on a daily basis in order to get substantial nutrients while maintaining a low carb, low fat diet. Let me make sure that I state that it is very important to maintain a work out routine while you are utilizing this diet. If you maintain a healthy diet and a workout routine (at least 4 times per week) then you can get the results you are looking for (in my case it is to maintain my weight, lose fat, gain muscle, and become toned).
The purpose of eating six meals per day is to maintain a high metabolism all day long, even while you eat. So to educate my audience today, I will describe several different ways to make salad that take no time at all. In some cases these meals will take less than 10 minutes, with the exception of a few.
I will start by describing the type of salad I prefer to eat daily. Any type of "green" is my salad of choice, meaning any leaf that is not romaine, or iceberg, but usually comes with a name such as "field greens." Also, if I can eat organically I try to, because the less crap (well more crap, less unnatural fertilizers) used, the more healthy food generally is for your body.
With this "green" here are my methods of preparing salads to my delight (each recipe calls for about 2 oz. of lettuce, enough to fill a medium sized bowl):
1) Garlic Salad
Ingredients:
1 small garlic clove
1/2 oz. olive oil
pinch of crushed red pepper
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
Using a garlic crusher, mince your garlic into the bottom of a bowl (it is necessary to crush it completely or else you get less flavor). Add your other ingredients. Mix well. Add your "greens" and mix until all the lettuce is covered thoroughly. Add more oil, pepper, or cheese if desired. Optionally, add thinly sliced peppers, red onion, tomatoes, or any other vegetable to may like (I prefer just the lettuce).
2) Sweet Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. olive oil
1/2 oz. honey
1/4 cup of craisins
1/4 cup of walnuts (halved, raw)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Add your oil and honey to the bottom of a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add your "greens" and mix until well coated. Add the rest of your ingredients and toss. Add more honey or oil depending on your preference.
3) Balsamic Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. Balsamic vinegar
1/4 oz. olive oil
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
pinch of dried oregano
10 croutons
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 can of Albacore tuna (optional)
Add your "greens" to a bowl and throw your first four ingredients on top, and mix with your hand thoroughly (hand is necessary in this dish, wash it first please). Add your croutons and cheese next and toss. If you decide to use tuna, drain the can, add half to a plate to crush with a fork, and the rest in a container to save in the fridge (add a bit of oil to the one you store in order to avoid it getting dry and nasty). Add the tuna you crushed into your salad and mix. Optionally, add thinly sliced peppers, red onion, tomatoes, or any other vegetable to may like (I prefer just the lettuce).
4) Lemon Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. lemon juice (freshly squeezed use 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 oz of olive oil
1 small garlic glove
1 small potato boiled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 can of tuna
1/4 a small red onion sliced thinly
salt and pepper
This is a must-mix-with-your-hands-dish. If you fail to mix it with your hands it will not taste as good. This is my favorite salad. Take your "greens" in a bowl and add all your ingredients (a small pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper). Mix these ingredients with your hands thoroughly. If you need more of anything, feel free to add it. This is a salad made for me by my grandma, she used fresh "greens," potatoes, onions, and garlic. It made my summers special!
5) Chicken Caesar Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 chicken breast grilled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup Caesar dressing
4 oz. romaine lettuce
1/8 cup of Parmesan cheese
Croutons
Mix your lettuce well with the salad dressing in a bowl. Add your croutons, add your Parmesan cheese on top, and finally the chicken breast. Add more Caesar or cheese depending on your preference (I eat this type of salad, or any type of white dressing very rarely, I just wanted to give it as an option). This dish is easy as pie (well....pie is hard, for me anyway)!
Cold Grilled salmon also goes great with any salad dish I just suggested. Grilled chicken breast also tastes great with most of these salads. Get creative. Add vegetables if you want also (just make sure to slice them thinly, or else most vegetables won't fit well with the thin "greens."
One alternative to salad dressing I discovered by accident freshman year of college is marinara sauce. If you add marinara sauce to any salad dish (make sure the sauce is cold or it will wilt your leaves) it will reduce the amount of fat, depending on what you usually put on top of salad.
Enjoy these recipes! They will make sure to keep salad an interesting part of your diet. Make sure not to overdo it with just one recipe or another. Switch off, or else you will get sick of one particular dish and never want it again. Thanks for reading, PLEASE comment if you use any recipes to let me know what you think, or if you think I may have made a mistake. Otherwise good eats until next time.
The purpose of eating six meals per day is to maintain a high metabolism all day long, even while you eat. So to educate my audience today, I will describe several different ways to make salad that take no time at all. In some cases these meals will take less than 10 minutes, with the exception of a few.
I will start by describing the type of salad I prefer to eat daily. Any type of "green" is my salad of choice, meaning any leaf that is not romaine, or iceberg, but usually comes with a name such as "field greens." Also, if I can eat organically I try to, because the less crap (well more crap, less unnatural fertilizers) used, the more healthy food generally is for your body.
With this "green" here are my methods of preparing salads to my delight (each recipe calls for about 2 oz. of lettuce, enough to fill a medium sized bowl):
1) Garlic Salad
Ingredients:
1 small garlic clove
1/2 oz. olive oil
pinch of crushed red pepper
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
Using a garlic crusher, mince your garlic into the bottom of a bowl (it is necessary to crush it completely or else you get less flavor). Add your other ingredients. Mix well. Add your "greens" and mix until all the lettuce is covered thoroughly. Add more oil, pepper, or cheese if desired. Optionally, add thinly sliced peppers, red onion, tomatoes, or any other vegetable to may like (I prefer just the lettuce).
2) Sweet Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. olive oil
1/2 oz. honey
1/4 cup of craisins
1/4 cup of walnuts (halved, raw)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Add your oil and honey to the bottom of a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add your "greens" and mix until well coated. Add the rest of your ingredients and toss. Add more honey or oil depending on your preference.
3) Balsamic Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. Balsamic vinegar
1/4 oz. olive oil
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
pinch of dried oregano
10 croutons
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 can of Albacore tuna (optional)
Add your "greens" to a bowl and throw your first four ingredients on top, and mix with your hand thoroughly (hand is necessary in this dish, wash it first please). Add your croutons and cheese next and toss. If you decide to use tuna, drain the can, add half to a plate to crush with a fork, and the rest in a container to save in the fridge (add a bit of oil to the one you store in order to avoid it getting dry and nasty). Add the tuna you crushed into your salad and mix. Optionally, add thinly sliced peppers, red onion, tomatoes, or any other vegetable to may like (I prefer just the lettuce).
4) Lemon Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 oz. lemon juice (freshly squeezed use 1/2 a lemon)
1/2 oz of olive oil
1 small garlic glove
1 small potato boiled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 can of tuna
1/4 a small red onion sliced thinly
salt and pepper
This is a must-mix-with-your-hands-dish. If you fail to mix it with your hands it will not taste as good. This is my favorite salad. Take your "greens" in a bowl and add all your ingredients (a small pinch of salt and fresh ground black pepper). Mix these ingredients with your hands thoroughly. If you need more of anything, feel free to add it. This is a salad made for me by my grandma, she used fresh "greens," potatoes, onions, and garlic. It made my summers special!
5) Chicken Caesar Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 chicken breast grilled and sliced thinly
1/4 cup Caesar dressing
4 oz. romaine lettuce
1/8 cup of Parmesan cheese
Croutons
Mix your lettuce well with the salad dressing in a bowl. Add your croutons, add your Parmesan cheese on top, and finally the chicken breast. Add more Caesar or cheese depending on your preference (I eat this type of salad, or any type of white dressing very rarely, I just wanted to give it as an option). This dish is easy as pie (well....pie is hard, for me anyway)!
Cold Grilled salmon also goes great with any salad dish I just suggested. Grilled chicken breast also tastes great with most of these salads. Get creative. Add vegetables if you want also (just make sure to slice them thinly, or else most vegetables won't fit well with the thin "greens."
One alternative to salad dressing I discovered by accident freshman year of college is marinara sauce. If you add marinara sauce to any salad dish (make sure the sauce is cold or it will wilt your leaves) it will reduce the amount of fat, depending on what you usually put on top of salad.
Enjoy these recipes! They will make sure to keep salad an interesting part of your diet. Make sure not to overdo it with just one recipe or another. Switch off, or else you will get sick of one particular dish and never want it again. Thanks for reading, PLEASE comment if you use any recipes to let me know what you think, or if you think I may have made a mistake. Otherwise good eats until next time.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
What I Eat
So a week ago (or so) I wrote a post about why chicken can taste wonderful and be healthy for those that are conscious of their bodies. I failed to mention the major components of what I eat on a daily basis, so I will give you a rundown of my diet.
Breakfast:
1) Egg omelets (2 eggs and cheddar cheese) with vegetables (broccoli, peppers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes or anything else you may want to eat;
2) Two eggs, over easy, cheddar cheese underneath, between and on top of the eggs all between two pieces of nut wheat bread (or whatever type of wheat/grain bread I have);
3) Cereal (organic or Wheaties, some kind of flake) with fruit (usually blueberries and strawberries);
or
4) Oatmeal with raisins, strawberries, walnuts, and/or chocolate chips.
I usually eat the carbs heavy dishes less regularly, I stead my vegetables, and I put more fruit than cereal into my dish.
Snack #1:
For snack one, two hours after breakfast, I usually eat a piece of fruit, maybe some yogurt, a fruit smoothie (strawberry, bananas, and milk), or some other breakfast oriented snack.
Lunch:
1) Chicken like I stated previously, in any way that I mentioned
and/or
2) Salad (I will get into salad on another day)
and/or
3) Steamed vegetables (I will get into this on another day as well)
I usually eat fist sized portions of any of these foods, i.e. a quarter chicken breast, 1-2 cups of veggies, or a small bowl of salad, or some combination of these. I usually pick two of the items above.
Snack #2:
For snack 2, two hours after lunch, I usually eat something like nuts or trail mix, yogurt, #2 or 3 in the lunch section or something else I have have on a non-regular day (no carbs, no sweets, keep it to protein, fruits and vegetables).
Dinner:
Depending on what I eat for lunch, I will have the outlying item from that list accompanied by another eaten for the second time in that day, OR:
1) Tuna Salad (onions, celery, lettuce, mayo, and Essence) on top of two slices of bread, maybe with cheese on top;
2) Some sort of chicken dish in my arsenal, Alfredo, Marsala, all depending on how I feel that day; this usually does not happen often but I can't eat the same thing every day.
Snack #3:
For snack three, I may eat a bowl of frozen grapes, a banana, an orange, some other piece of fruit, or an apple with peanut butter; I keep this snack light because it is close to bedtime!
So as you see, I eat about 6 meals per day, spaced out usually as follows: Breakfast between 8 and 9, S#1 at around 11, Lunch at 12:30, S#2 at around 3:30, Dinner at 6, S#3 at around 9 or 10.
In the next couple of posts I will go into detail about salad, and steamed vegetables, in a similar manner to my breakdown of chicken. Both of these foods have many alternatives that will make you never want to eat any other types of food again!
That will be it for tonight, enjoy eating healthy and as always, thanks for reading!
Breakfast:
1) Egg omelets (2 eggs and cheddar cheese) with vegetables (broccoli, peppers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes or anything else you may want to eat;
2) Two eggs, over easy, cheddar cheese underneath, between and on top of the eggs all between two pieces of nut wheat bread (or whatever type of wheat/grain bread I have);
3) Cereal (organic or Wheaties, some kind of flake) with fruit (usually blueberries and strawberries);
or
4) Oatmeal with raisins, strawberries, walnuts, and/or chocolate chips.
I usually eat the carbs heavy dishes less regularly, I stead my vegetables, and I put more fruit than cereal into my dish.
Snack #1:
For snack one, two hours after breakfast, I usually eat a piece of fruit, maybe some yogurt, a fruit smoothie (strawberry, bananas, and milk), or some other breakfast oriented snack.
Lunch:
1) Chicken like I stated previously, in any way that I mentioned
and/or
2) Salad (I will get into salad on another day)
and/or
3) Steamed vegetables (I will get into this on another day as well)
I usually eat fist sized portions of any of these foods, i.e. a quarter chicken breast, 1-2 cups of veggies, or a small bowl of salad, or some combination of these. I usually pick two of the items above.
Snack #2:
For snack 2, two hours after lunch, I usually eat something like nuts or trail mix, yogurt, #2 or 3 in the lunch section or something else I have have on a non-regular day (no carbs, no sweets, keep it to protein, fruits and vegetables).
Dinner:
Depending on what I eat for lunch, I will have the outlying item from that list accompanied by another eaten for the second time in that day, OR:
1) Tuna Salad (onions, celery, lettuce, mayo, and Essence) on top of two slices of bread, maybe with cheese on top;
2) Some sort of chicken dish in my arsenal, Alfredo, Marsala, all depending on how I feel that day; this usually does not happen often but I can't eat the same thing every day.
Snack #3:
For snack three, I may eat a bowl of frozen grapes, a banana, an orange, some other piece of fruit, or an apple with peanut butter; I keep this snack light because it is close to bedtime!
So as you see, I eat about 6 meals per day, spaced out usually as follows: Breakfast between 8 and 9, S#1 at around 11, Lunch at 12:30, S#2 at around 3:30, Dinner at 6, S#3 at around 9 or 10.
In the next couple of posts I will go into detail about salad, and steamed vegetables, in a similar manner to my breakdown of chicken. Both of these foods have many alternatives that will make you never want to eat any other types of food again!
That will be it for tonight, enjoy eating healthy and as always, thanks for reading!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Chicken with God's "Special" Sauce
It is that time again! Tasty Thursdays, the best day of the week.
For my readers today, I have a gift. A recipe that I thought would stay in my mind for all of time. Fortunately, I realized that cooking not only brings happiness to my life, but has the potential to bring that same happiness to others. One might ask, "What is the meaning to life?" Although this is a very incomplete question, I will answer it by saying that being happy and making others happy is MY meaning to life. So with that said, today I am sharing an Italian recipe with my readers (ooooo surprise, I didn't see that one coming!). Don't worry, I will mix it up soon enough. ALSO!!! You get a double whammy today, a side dish to accompany your chicken, and a definite crowd pleaser. Here goes:
Chicken Marsala a.k.a. Chicken with God's "Special" Sauce
This recipe is more time intensive than my other dishes because it requires enough time to allow the Marsala Sauce to obtain enough love from the person cooking it.
Ingredients:
3 chicken breast halves (you should have 6 total pieces once your butterfly and cut in half)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup Essence of Emeril (very important component, maybe more important than the chicken...)
1 medium onion (optional)
2 cans sliced mushrooms (the small cans)
1 cup Marsala wine
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter (this can vary depending on how healthy you want this dish to be, oil can be substituted to cook the chicken, onions, and mushrooms)
To begin this dish, take your flour and Essence and mix them together thoroughly (More Essence means more flavor on the chicken). Coat your chicken thoroughly with this mixture. Put a saute pan (Approx 2-3 quart capacity) on medium high heat with a quarter of your butter in it. When the butter is completely melted place half your chicken in the pan and sear (get the outside golden brown) the outside of it (do not fully cook your chicken here! It is imperative your chicken is raw inside or your meal will be overcooked and dry). Cook the other breasts the same way and set your chicken aside.
Meanwhile, take your onion (optional), and slice it thinly and place it in a bowl. Open your cans of mushrooms and put the juice and all on top of the sliced onion (this allows the onion to absorb the mushroom juices for added flavor). You can use more onions and mushrooms depending on your preference of these vegetables.
Once the chicken is done cooking, put another quarter of your butter into the same saute pan. Empty half the mushroom juice in your bowl into the sink (too much juice here is bad). Once the butter has melted completely (should be very quick because the pan is already hot), put your vegetables in the pan. Let the vegetables cook on the same medium-high heat for a few minutes or until they have caramelized (brown but not burnt) a bit (about 5 minutes). Once your vegetables are a desired color, add your Marsala wine to the pan to deglaze (click the link to learn what that means, otherwise it doesn't affect your cooking). Cook on the same heat for about 5 more minutes. Add the chicken broth at this point in time and mix it thoroughly. NOTE: the more Marsala wine and broth you add, the more flavor you put in the dish, BUT the longer you have to wait for these liquids to evaporate.
After adding the broth, let this simmer for about another 5-8 minutes. This stage allows some of the water to evaporate leaving a wonderfully rich flavor behind. At this point in time, add your chicken and the remaining butter to the pan and let the chicken cook fully, which will take between 10 and 15 minutes depending on the amount of liquid you put initially. Once your Marsala Sauce (the sauce covering your chicken) becomes a desired thickness (same thickness as a typical marinara sauce), you can assume your dish is complete! Check to see if the chicken is cooked thoroughly and serve and enjoy (a quarter chicken breast each, make sure to put the sauce and vegetables on top of each piece individually)! Serving Size: 4-6 adults; Prep time: 10 mins; Cook time: Approx 30-40 mins
Side Dish
Classic Garlic Mashed Potaters
Ingredients:
5 medium sized potatoes
3 cloves garlic minced (optional but necessary)
1 stick butter
Salt
Peel and cut your potatoes into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt to the water, and then your potatoes. Cook your potatoes for about 10 minutes or until fork tender.
Meanwhile melt half a stick of butter with your minced garlic in a microwave.
When your potatoes are cooked, drain and put them in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a fork. Add your garlic butter, the rest of your butter, and a few pinches of salt. At this point in time your can do many things to make the potatoes taste better including adding more salt and butter, or adding cheese (parmigiana, cheddar, any cheese really). You can also bake it with cheese and breadcrumbs on top. There are many methods to make mashed potatoes taste better and become less healthy. Use your imagination! Serving size with Chicken Marsala: 4-6 adults; Serving size alone: 2-3 adults. Prep time: 10 minutes (takes me about 2 because I am the world's fastest potato peeler); Cook time: 15 minutes
I hope these recipes bring you hope. This one is moderately more difficult, but once mastered, the chicken will literally melt in your mouth, similar to the baby back ribs from Chili's. Enjoy your time cooking, involve your kids if you have them, roommates if they are eating your meal, or husband/wife is he/she is sitting on the couch doing nothing. Let it be your bonding time, because after all, cooking is a time to bond! Happy Tasty Thursday!
For my readers today, I have a gift. A recipe that I thought would stay in my mind for all of time. Fortunately, I realized that cooking not only brings happiness to my life, but has the potential to bring that same happiness to others. One might ask, "What is the meaning to life?" Although this is a very incomplete question, I will answer it by saying that being happy and making others happy is MY meaning to life. So with that said, today I am sharing an Italian recipe with my readers (ooooo surprise, I didn't see that one coming!). Don't worry, I will mix it up soon enough. ALSO!!! You get a double whammy today, a side dish to accompany your chicken, and a definite crowd pleaser. Here goes:
Chicken Marsala a.k.a. Chicken with God's "Special" Sauce
This recipe is more time intensive than my other dishes because it requires enough time to allow the Marsala Sauce to obtain enough love from the person cooking it.
Ingredients:
3 chicken breast halves (you should have 6 total pieces once your butterfly and cut in half)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup Essence of Emeril (very important component, maybe more important than the chicken...)
1 medium onion (optional)
2 cans sliced mushrooms (the small cans)
1 cup Marsala wine
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup butter (this can vary depending on how healthy you want this dish to be, oil can be substituted to cook the chicken, onions, and mushrooms)
To begin this dish, take your flour and Essence and mix them together thoroughly (More Essence means more flavor on the chicken). Coat your chicken thoroughly with this mixture. Put a saute pan (Approx 2-3 quart capacity) on medium high heat with a quarter of your butter in it. When the butter is completely melted place half your chicken in the pan and sear (get the outside golden brown) the outside of it (do not fully cook your chicken here! It is imperative your chicken is raw inside or your meal will be overcooked and dry). Cook the other breasts the same way and set your chicken aside.
Meanwhile, take your onion (optional), and slice it thinly and place it in a bowl. Open your cans of mushrooms and put the juice and all on top of the sliced onion (this allows the onion to absorb the mushroom juices for added flavor). You can use more onions and mushrooms depending on your preference of these vegetables.
Once the chicken is done cooking, put another quarter of your butter into the same saute pan. Empty half the mushroom juice in your bowl into the sink (too much juice here is bad). Once the butter has melted completely (should be very quick because the pan is already hot), put your vegetables in the pan. Let the vegetables cook on the same medium-high heat for a few minutes or until they have caramelized (brown but not burnt) a bit (about 5 minutes). Once your vegetables are a desired color, add your Marsala wine to the pan to deglaze (click the link to learn what that means, otherwise it doesn't affect your cooking). Cook on the same heat for about 5 more minutes. Add the chicken broth at this point in time and mix it thoroughly. NOTE: the more Marsala wine and broth you add, the more flavor you put in the dish, BUT the longer you have to wait for these liquids to evaporate.
After adding the broth, let this simmer for about another 5-8 minutes. This stage allows some of the water to evaporate leaving a wonderfully rich flavor behind. At this point in time, add your chicken and the remaining butter to the pan and let the chicken cook fully, which will take between 10 and 15 minutes depending on the amount of liquid you put initially. Once your Marsala Sauce (the sauce covering your chicken) becomes a desired thickness (same thickness as a typical marinara sauce), you can assume your dish is complete! Check to see if the chicken is cooked thoroughly and serve and enjoy (a quarter chicken breast each, make sure to put the sauce and vegetables on top of each piece individually)! Serving Size: 4-6 adults; Prep time: 10 mins; Cook time: Approx 30-40 mins
Side Dish
Classic Garlic Mashed Potaters
Ingredients:
5 medium sized potatoes
3 cloves garlic minced (optional but necessary)
1 stick butter
Salt
Peel and cut your potatoes into 1/2-1 inch cubes. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt to the water, and then your potatoes. Cook your potatoes for about 10 minutes or until fork tender.
Meanwhile melt half a stick of butter with your minced garlic in a microwave.
When your potatoes are cooked, drain and put them in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a fork. Add your garlic butter, the rest of your butter, and a few pinches of salt. At this point in time your can do many things to make the potatoes taste better including adding more salt and butter, or adding cheese (parmigiana, cheddar, any cheese really). You can also bake it with cheese and breadcrumbs on top. There are many methods to make mashed potatoes taste better and become less healthy. Use your imagination! Serving size with Chicken Marsala: 4-6 adults; Serving size alone: 2-3 adults. Prep time: 10 minutes (takes me about 2 because I am the world's fastest potato peeler); Cook time: 15 minutes
I hope these recipes bring you hope. This one is moderately more difficult, but once mastered, the chicken will literally melt in your mouth, similar to the baby back ribs from Chili's. Enjoy your time cooking, involve your kids if you have them, roommates if they are eating your meal, or husband/wife is he/she is sitting on the couch doing nothing. Let it be your bonding time, because after all, cooking is a time to bond! Happy Tasty Thursday!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Chicken is Flexible
Chicken
For my post today, I thought I would visit the topic of nutrition and food for those who are interested in eating well, but remaining healthy in the process. I have often joked about starting a 24 hour health food restaurant (not too bad of an idea eh?). I have about 20 different recipes that fall into this category, healthy and tasty! I also have a plethora of quick simple recipes, such as an alternative to pizza that can be made in any kitchen, in a quarter of the time with 50% more taste. I will admit that I tend to stay away from carbohydrates as often as possible, but I will include those recipes in my posts because let's face it, who doesn't like pasta and bread?
During my creative spurts at which point in time I try a new thing, or create a new meal, I have discovered ways to make the most boring foods taste great! Chicken breast is a great example, so I will begin with that for my post today. Chicken breast can be battered and fried, coated and pan fried, roasted, stewed, grilled, or boiled (there are other ways to cook, but these are the most common, and they also happen to be in order of health. Boiling chicken is one method of cooking breast that I have not attempted up to this point in time, because I far prefer grilling (George Foreman helps me with that).
First, let's get some facts. Chicken breast (skinless, boneless) contains about 220 (varies) calories per half breast when stewed, boiled, or grilled. The major nutrient you receive from chicken breast is protein, which makes it appealing for those who weight train, or want to avoid red meats (which have more fat per serving). East breast half has between 25-30 grams of protein, which is about 50% of the needed protein per day, based on daily values and 2000 calorie diets. In my case, 25 grams of protein is about 25% of the daily protein I want to intake (normal body builders take approximately 1 gram of protein per kilogram of weight). Okay, so with the boring stuff out of the way, lets talk about different methods to eat chicken that are so tasty, and keep your diet.
Obviously frying chicken, or battering and frying chicken are amongst the tastiest ways to eat this awesome meat. Think about chicken fingers, and wings, and other fried foods. Fried foods have been proven to be unhealthy for people because of the higher levels of fat within this food. But there are great alternatives to this.
When I use the George Foreman grill to cook my chicken, I am relying on old Georgie to eliminate some of the fat from my chicken (the juice that drips from the grill is fat and water). I usually always start with either Montreal Steak Seasoning, or some other type of seasoning for this meal. Of course this adds salt to the dish, but since we will eliminate salt in other parts of the diet, this is OKAY (salt dehydrates you, and your muscles). The first step for all these dishes I will be enlightening my readers with, require you to cook your half-breast (please butterfly it to increase its surface area) in whatever way you want, again boiled, roasted, or grilled are the healthiest options.
On top of the breast:
#1 Put cheddar cheese, or your favorite cheese on top of the breast half (about 1/4-1/2 cup). On top of that you can put grilled or steamed vegetables, which gives you dairy, meat, and vegetable servings for a meal.
#2 Put Frank's Red Hot Sauce on top of the breast half, and parmigiana or regiano cheese on top. This makes it have a little kick, and it tastes fantastic.
#3 Put a few scoops of your favorite salsa on top of this breast, adding cheese once again adds flavor (and cholesterol).
Chicken Bowl (By slicing the chicken into 1/4-1/2 inch slices, you can then add ingredients to make the breast taste scrumptious, put the ingredients in a bowl, and stir!):
Add a cheese: parm, cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss (any cheese really, make sure its shredded)
Add some vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, pretty much any vegetable that you like (add as many as your heart desired)(make sure you slice your vegetables very thin so it mixes well with the other ingredients, mixed frozen vegetables that you steam are also a great option, cost affordable and nutrient-rich)
Add a sauce: My mom makes pesto sauce, one of my favorite options; Frank's Red Hot Sauce; marinara sauce; salsa; humus (soooo good) or any sauce you feel would compliment the breast, use your imagination, but keep it healthy, no ranch, mayonnaise or other white sauces (make sure the sauce you use matches well with your cheese and your vegetables)
Optional: put this "Chicken Bowl" between two slices of bread then back on the George Foreman grill for a slammin tasting panini, or add some noodles, pasta or rice to this dish depending on the sauce you decide to use.
You can determine the health of the dish you make, no cheese reduces fat, no Frank's Red Hot reduces the salt amount, no vegetables reduces the nutrients you intake. It really is up to you. There are a hundred different combinations for this dish. I'll supply two examples that I made:
1) Breast, cheddar cheese (1/4 cup), pesto sauce (2 tablespoons), 1 small Italian pepper sliced thin, 1/8 green pepper sliced thin, half a small red onion sliced thin, 1 medium garlic clove sliced thin.
2) Breast, parm cheese (1/8 cup), humus (2 tablespoons), 1 half small red onion sliced thin, 1 tomato diced into 1/2 inch pieces, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, string beans, corn, peas) steamed.
You can really do anything, and get many nutrients, less carbohydrates, less fat, and still make it taste spectacular. Of course if you are trying to eliminate fat and carbs completely, I suggest the breast, and vegetables only, with humus or salsa as your choice sauce. I would like to mention that this should be made immediately after cooking the breast because it lends the heat required to avoid a cold dish (unless that is your thing).
I hope you enjoyed this, because it will allow you to eat grilled chicken breast daily without getting tired of it. I have at least 100 different ways to cook chicken, but I will cover many of them on Tasty Thursdays, and I have already given you a few today. I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you took anything from it, or have more to add please post some comments! We can all learn from each other! Happy Tuesday!
For my post today, I thought I would visit the topic of nutrition and food for those who are interested in eating well, but remaining healthy in the process. I have often joked about starting a 24 hour health food restaurant (not too bad of an idea eh?). I have about 20 different recipes that fall into this category, healthy and tasty! I also have a plethora of quick simple recipes, such as an alternative to pizza that can be made in any kitchen, in a quarter of the time with 50% more taste. I will admit that I tend to stay away from carbohydrates as often as possible, but I will include those recipes in my posts because let's face it, who doesn't like pasta and bread?
During my creative spurts at which point in time I try a new thing, or create a new meal, I have discovered ways to make the most boring foods taste great! Chicken breast is a great example, so I will begin with that for my post today. Chicken breast can be battered and fried, coated and pan fried, roasted, stewed, grilled, or boiled (there are other ways to cook, but these are the most common, and they also happen to be in order of health. Boiling chicken is one method of cooking breast that I have not attempted up to this point in time, because I far prefer grilling (George Foreman helps me with that).
First, let's get some facts. Chicken breast (skinless, boneless) contains about 220 (varies) calories per half breast when stewed, boiled, or grilled. The major nutrient you receive from chicken breast is protein, which makes it appealing for those who weight train, or want to avoid red meats (which have more fat per serving). East breast half has between 25-30 grams of protein, which is about 50% of the needed protein per day, based on daily values and 2000 calorie diets. In my case, 25 grams of protein is about 25% of the daily protein I want to intake (normal body builders take approximately 1 gram of protein per kilogram of weight). Okay, so with the boring stuff out of the way, lets talk about different methods to eat chicken that are so tasty, and keep your diet.
Obviously frying chicken, or battering and frying chicken are amongst the tastiest ways to eat this awesome meat. Think about chicken fingers, and wings, and other fried foods. Fried foods have been proven to be unhealthy for people because of the higher levels of fat within this food. But there are great alternatives to this.
When I use the George Foreman grill to cook my chicken, I am relying on old Georgie to eliminate some of the fat from my chicken (the juice that drips from the grill is fat and water). I usually always start with either Montreal Steak Seasoning, or some other type of seasoning for this meal. Of course this adds salt to the dish, but since we will eliminate salt in other parts of the diet, this is OKAY (salt dehydrates you, and your muscles). The first step for all these dishes I will be enlightening my readers with, require you to cook your half-breast (please butterfly it to increase its surface area) in whatever way you want, again boiled, roasted, or grilled are the healthiest options.
On top of the breast:
#1 Put cheddar cheese, or your favorite cheese on top of the breast half (about 1/4-1/2 cup). On top of that you can put grilled or steamed vegetables, which gives you dairy, meat, and vegetable servings for a meal.
#2 Put Frank's Red Hot Sauce on top of the breast half, and parmigiana or regiano cheese on top. This makes it have a little kick, and it tastes fantastic.
#3 Put a few scoops of your favorite salsa on top of this breast, adding cheese once again adds flavor (and cholesterol).
Chicken Bowl (By slicing the chicken into 1/4-1/2 inch slices, you can then add ingredients to make the breast taste scrumptious, put the ingredients in a bowl, and stir!):
Add a cheese: parm, cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss (any cheese really, make sure its shredded)
Add some vegetables: peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, pretty much any vegetable that you like (add as many as your heart desired)(make sure you slice your vegetables very thin so it mixes well with the other ingredients, mixed frozen vegetables that you steam are also a great option, cost affordable and nutrient-rich)
Add a sauce: My mom makes pesto sauce, one of my favorite options; Frank's Red Hot Sauce; marinara sauce; salsa; humus (soooo good) or any sauce you feel would compliment the breast, use your imagination, but keep it healthy, no ranch, mayonnaise or other white sauces (make sure the sauce you use matches well with your cheese and your vegetables)
Optional: put this "Chicken Bowl" between two slices of bread then back on the George Foreman grill for a slammin tasting panini, or add some noodles, pasta or rice to this dish depending on the sauce you decide to use.
You can determine the health of the dish you make, no cheese reduces fat, no Frank's Red Hot reduces the salt amount, no vegetables reduces the nutrients you intake. It really is up to you. There are a hundred different combinations for this dish. I'll supply two examples that I made:
1) Breast, cheddar cheese (1/4 cup), pesto sauce (2 tablespoons), 1 small Italian pepper sliced thin, 1/8 green pepper sliced thin, half a small red onion sliced thin, 1 medium garlic clove sliced thin.
2) Breast, parm cheese (1/8 cup), humus (2 tablespoons), 1 half small red onion sliced thin, 1 tomato diced into 1/2 inch pieces, 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, string beans, corn, peas) steamed.
You can really do anything, and get many nutrients, less carbohydrates, less fat, and still make it taste spectacular. Of course if you are trying to eliminate fat and carbs completely, I suggest the breast, and vegetables only, with humus or salsa as your choice sauce. I would like to mention that this should be made immediately after cooking the breast because it lends the heat required to avoid a cold dish (unless that is your thing).
I hope you enjoyed this, because it will allow you to eat grilled chicken breast daily without getting tired of it. I have at least 100 different ways to cook chicken, but I will cover many of them on Tasty Thursdays, and I have already given you a few today. I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you took anything from it, or have more to add please post some comments! We can all learn from each other! Happy Tuesday!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Italian Cure
Well, it is that day again, and I have been looking forward to this for a week. Tasty Thursday! I have thought and thought and thought about what I would cook up today and I landed on another Italian classic. This recipe is known to pretty much everybody, and is another simple recipe geared towards college students or those that are less adept at cooking.
Sausage and Peppers a.k.a "The Italian Cure"
This is truly one of my favorite meals. Of course I will probably say that about 90 percent of my meals, but nevertheless, I still love sausage and peppers. This will probably be best with some crispy Italian bread, or served as sausage and pepper grinders. Whatever way you serve it will be fine. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 lbs. sausage (links; sweet or hot; the links should be about 3-5 inches long)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1-2 peppers (any color; 1 or 2 depending on preference, you can scale accordingly to make more servings)
1-2 onions (once again, 1 or 2 depending on preference, you can scale accordingly to make more servings)
1 8 oz. can tomato puree
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
This recipe is a simple one. Like my last recipe, I will split this up into two components, the sausage and the vegetables. You will require one saute pan with the capacity to hold all the ingredients. First step: Put this pan on medium high heat and place your sausage links. Cook the links until just a small amount of pink remains on the inside. Feel free to brown the outside, because it adds flavor to the final dish, but make sure not to burn them. Once they are at this state, cut your sausage into 1/4 inch thick slices. Put them back into the pan and cook until no pink is left. Set the sausage aside.
Meanwhile, cut your vegetables to ½ inch thick pieces. Then, put the same saute pan on medium high heat, and put your oil (you can cook the vegetables by steaming them also, in order to reduce the amount of fat in this dish). After 30 seconds, add the garlic stirring constantly (or else it will burn) for about 30 seconds more. Now add your vegetables and lower the heat to medium. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Next, add the tomato sauce, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Add your sausage and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with pasta or on grinder rolls. Serving Size: 4-6 adults Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Approx. 20 mins
It is as easy as that. Anybody can make this dish. Remember, the better quality sausage the better this dish will taste. I will leave today's post short and sweet. Please comment if you make this dish, and leave comments whether you like it or not, or if you have any suggestions! Thanks for reading once again!
Sausage and Peppers a.k.a "The Italian Cure"
This is truly one of my favorite meals. Of course I will probably say that about 90 percent of my meals, but nevertheless, I still love sausage and peppers. This will probably be best with some crispy Italian bread, or served as sausage and pepper grinders. Whatever way you serve it will be fine. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 lbs. sausage (links; sweet or hot; the links should be about 3-5 inches long)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
1-2 peppers (any color; 1 or 2 depending on preference, you can scale accordingly to make more servings)
1-2 onions (once again, 1 or 2 depending on preference, you can scale accordingly to make more servings)
1 8 oz. can tomato puree
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
This recipe is a simple one. Like my last recipe, I will split this up into two components, the sausage and the vegetables. You will require one saute pan with the capacity to hold all the ingredients. First step: Put this pan on medium high heat and place your sausage links. Cook the links until just a small amount of pink remains on the inside. Feel free to brown the outside, because it adds flavor to the final dish, but make sure not to burn them. Once they are at this state, cut your sausage into 1/4 inch thick slices. Put them back into the pan and cook until no pink is left. Set the sausage aside.
Meanwhile, cut your vegetables to ½ inch thick pieces. Then, put the same saute pan on medium high heat, and put your oil (you can cook the vegetables by steaming them also, in order to reduce the amount of fat in this dish). After 30 seconds, add the garlic stirring constantly (or else it will burn) for about 30 seconds more. Now add your vegetables and lower the heat to medium. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Next, add the tomato sauce, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Add your sausage and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with pasta or on grinder rolls. Serving Size: 4-6 adults Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Approx. 20 mins
It is as easy as that. Anybody can make this dish. Remember, the better quality sausage the better this dish will taste. I will leave today's post short and sweet. Please comment if you make this dish, and leave comments whether you like it or not, or if you have any suggestions! Thanks for reading once again!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Alfredo Love
Okay, so today is Thursday. I have decided that my second post, will contain a recipe of mine. This also means that I have decided that Thursdays will now be "Tasty Thursdays" on my blog. What this means is that I will post a new recipe every Thursday for everybody's cooking pleasure. These recipes I post are geared towards anyone who loves tasty food. More importantly, I have written them with hopes that even the least skilled chef can achieve a visually appealing, and completely satisfying meal. Generally these recipes will also be meant for a certain serving size, but we must realize that I have portioned these according to my eating abilities and those of my roommates and friends. For example, a portion for me may be a portion for two smaller ladies. I would also like to place a disclaimer here: If you try to cook my food, and you get burned in the kitchen, try again! It will be worth it!
So today, I will write down one of my favorite recipes of all time. I actually cooked this recipe last night, and still have leftovers in my fridge. It was amazing! Here goes:
Chicken Broccoli and Penne Alfredo a.k.a "Alfredo Love"
This dish is a very simple dish to make, with the exception of timing. The four major components of the dish are: 1) pasta, 2) broccoli, 3) chicken breast, and 4) Alfredo Sauce.
Ingredients:
1) 2 pound penne wheat pasta (I enjoy wheat, but normal pasta can be used, and I love Barilla)
1 tsp salt
2) 3 medium broccoli florets
3) 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast (approximately 1 whole breast, can vary with broccoli, more broccoli less chicken and vice-versa)
2 tbsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning©
4) 2 tbsp. salted butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (optional, but suggested)
1 pint heavy cream
8 oz of grated Parmesan (my favorite type is Price Chopper brand parm, and I think this makes my Alfredo the best, so use a parm that will taste good!)
Pepper
To being this dish, the first need is to prepare your cook station and ingredients. For this dish, you will need a medium sized pot (broccoli), a large pot (pasta), a saute pan (Alfredo), and a grill (I use a George Foreman grill, chicken).
Start with the broccoli. Wash the broccoli and cut about 1.5 inch pieces out of it. Once this is done, place in a pot with a quarter inch of water on the bottom. Set that on the stove, cover it, and wait to start steaming it.
Next, take the chicken breast and cut off any remaining fat or skin. Butterfly the chicken if it is necessary. The best thickness for the chicken is about half an inch (tenderize if you want).
Wash the chicken with cold water to clean it. Season the chicken with the Steak seasoning, and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
Next, mince your garlic and put it in your saute pan with the butter. Set this on the stove and wait until you need to make your sauce before turning on the heat.
Next, start boiling 4 quarts of water in a 6 quart pot on high. As the water starts to boil, you will need to start cooking your other ingredients. I usually start cooking the broccoli about 5 minutes after the water is put on the heat. The broccoli will steam for about 5 minutes, and once it is fork tender, it is complete. Drain any remaining water and set it aside.
The Alfredo Sauce can be made anytime while the water for the pasta comes to a boil. Take the saute pan with the butter and garlic in it and turn it on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, let the garlic cook for about 1 minute. Once the garlic is finished, add the heavy cream and pepper. Let the sauce cook stirring continuously (I use a whisk for my Alfredo Sauce). After about 4 minutes on medium heat, add the Parmesan cheese and stir. This is now a matter of preference, but if the sauce is not tasty enough, add more cheese. The more cheese, and the higher quality cheese, the better this will taste. This whole process takes about 10 minutes. Set aside when complete.
Once the water starts boiling, add salt to the water to taste. After this, place your pasta into the water. As you place the pasta, start cooking the chicken. Cooking time for the chicken on a George Foreman grill is about 5 minutes (when the grill is preheated), other grills may take longer. Use your discretion. Once the chicken is complete (no longer pink inside), cut it into 1/4 inch thick pieces and set aside.
Make sure to cook the pasta till desired tenderness, or simply till “Al Dente.” Once the pasta is complete, drain it with some sort of pasta strainer. This will take about 15 minutes to complete.
Now to put it all together. Put the pasta back in the pot that it was cooked in. Place the chicken and broccoli into this pot and put the Alfredo sauce on top. Stir this until all the ingredients are saturated in Alfredo Sauce, then serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese (if you want...). Serving size: 4-6 people. Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Approx 25 mins NOTE: For vegetarians, this dish can be made without the chicken, instead with carrots and peppers, or any type of vegetable, all cut to the same thickness. About three vegetables will be sufficient. Just steam the other vegetables with the broccoli. For vegans, you are out of luck, sorry!
Serve and enjoy!
So I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful meal. Again, the hardest part is timing. You can get away with letting the chicken and broccoli go cold while waiting for the Alfredo Sauce and pasta. As long as these ingredients are made last, you are in good shape.
Well, that is my recipe for today!
I would also like to post a useful tool for any business owners out there. If you are designing or building a website, with social networking components, AllForLocal has used a tool called PINAX, an open source project developed to help website developers along their path to creation. The guys making this tool have been very helpful, and I just wanted to give a shout out, because we wouldn't be where we are without their software, so Thanks!
Buon Appetito!
-Joe
So today, I will write down one of my favorite recipes of all time. I actually cooked this recipe last night, and still have leftovers in my fridge. It was amazing! Here goes:
Chicken Broccoli and Penne Alfredo a.k.a "Alfredo Love"
This dish is a very simple dish to make, with the exception of timing. The four major components of the dish are: 1) pasta, 2) broccoli, 3) chicken breast, and 4) Alfredo Sauce.
Ingredients:
1) 2 pound penne wheat pasta (I enjoy wheat, but normal pasta can be used, and I love Barilla)
1 tsp salt
2) 3 medium broccoli florets
3) 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast (approximately 1 whole breast, can vary with broccoli, more broccoli less chicken and vice-versa)
2 tbsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning©
4) 2 tbsp. salted butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (optional, but suggested)
1 pint heavy cream
8 oz of grated Parmesan (my favorite type is Price Chopper brand parm, and I think this makes my Alfredo the best, so use a parm that will taste good!)
Pepper
To being this dish, the first need is to prepare your cook station and ingredients. For this dish, you will need a medium sized pot (broccoli), a large pot (pasta), a saute pan (Alfredo), and a grill (I use a George Foreman grill, chicken).
Start with the broccoli. Wash the broccoli and cut about 1.5 inch pieces out of it. Once this is done, place in a pot with a quarter inch of water on the bottom. Set that on the stove, cover it, and wait to start steaming it.
Next, take the chicken breast and cut off any remaining fat or skin. Butterfly the chicken if it is necessary. The best thickness for the chicken is about half an inch (tenderize if you want).
Wash the chicken with cold water to clean it. Season the chicken with the Steak seasoning, and put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
Next, mince your garlic and put it in your saute pan with the butter. Set this on the stove and wait until you need to make your sauce before turning on the heat.
Next, start boiling 4 quarts of water in a 6 quart pot on high. As the water starts to boil, you will need to start cooking your other ingredients. I usually start cooking the broccoli about 5 minutes after the water is put on the heat. The broccoli will steam for about 5 minutes, and once it is fork tender, it is complete. Drain any remaining water and set it aside.
The Alfredo Sauce can be made anytime while the water for the pasta comes to a boil. Take the saute pan with the butter and garlic in it and turn it on medium heat. Once the butter has melted, let the garlic cook for about 1 minute. Once the garlic is finished, add the heavy cream and pepper. Let the sauce cook stirring continuously (I use a whisk for my Alfredo Sauce). After about 4 minutes on medium heat, add the Parmesan cheese and stir. This is now a matter of preference, but if the sauce is not tasty enough, add more cheese. The more cheese, and the higher quality cheese, the better this will taste. This whole process takes about 10 minutes. Set aside when complete.
Once the water starts boiling, add salt to the water to taste. After this, place your pasta into the water. As you place the pasta, start cooking the chicken. Cooking time for the chicken on a George Foreman grill is about 5 minutes (when the grill is preheated), other grills may take longer. Use your discretion. Once the chicken is complete (no longer pink inside), cut it into 1/4 inch thick pieces and set aside.
Make sure to cook the pasta till desired tenderness, or simply till “Al Dente.” Once the pasta is complete, drain it with some sort of pasta strainer. This will take about 15 minutes to complete.
Now to put it all together. Put the pasta back in the pot that it was cooked in. Place the chicken and broccoli into this pot and put the Alfredo sauce on top. Stir this until all the ingredients are saturated in Alfredo Sauce, then serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese (if you want...). Serving size: 4-6 people. Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: Approx 25 mins NOTE: For vegetarians, this dish can be made without the chicken, instead with carrots and peppers, or any type of vegetable, all cut to the same thickness. About three vegetables will be sufficient. Just steam the other vegetables with the broccoli. For vegans, you are out of luck, sorry!
Serve and enjoy!
So I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful meal. Again, the hardest part is timing. You can get away with letting the chicken and broccoli go cold while waiting for the Alfredo Sauce and pasta. As long as these ingredients are made last, you are in good shape.
Well, that is my recipe for today!
I would also like to post a useful tool for any business owners out there. If you are designing or building a website, with social networking components, AllForLocal has used a tool called PINAX, an open source project developed to help website developers along their path to creation. The guys making this tool have been very helpful, and I just wanted to give a shout out, because we wouldn't be where we are without their software, so Thanks!
Buon Appetito!
-Joe
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