My Salad or What I Have Learned.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is My Salad.

     Way back in January 2012 I started a diet. Part of my plan was to find and learn how to cook recipes that are light, healthy and delicious. After working through a few recipes I decided to post some pictures of the food I was making on Facebook.
The pictures led to some of my friends asking for the recipes; I tried to email recipes to everyone that asked for them but I quickly became overwhelmed and realized that there had to be a better solution. The solution that I came up with was to post these dinners on a blog that I could send links to and that you, the reader, could look up and search for dinners that you want to try.
     Several time I have referred to this blog as my experiment. When I started I didn't have a real plan or set parameters for my experiment other than to put it out there and see what happens. So here I am doing my 52nd. post(yes, this marks 1 year) and I'm ready to reveal what I've learned.
     The stats - So far this blog has received 989 page views from people in the United States, Russia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Sweden, China, France, South Africa and Latvia. The top four sites that have referred to this blog are Google.com, Facebook.com, Stumbleupon.com and Pregolom.com.
Google is way out in front with a 4 to 1 ratio over Facebook which really baffles me since Facebook is the only venue through which I promote this blog. The most read posts are Crock Pot Chicken , Mushrooms and Brown Rice; Crock Pot Greek-Style Meatballs; Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken; Grilled Tandoori Chicken and Red Onion Skewers; and Chicken Poppers. Apparently the crock pot and chicken dinners are very popular. On the personal side I learned that writing a weekly blog is not easy. It requires dedication, planning, research and time. It has been a lot of work and there were a few weeks that I didn't think that I would get it posted by the Tuesday deadline and there have been a few weeks where I really couldn't come up with anything interesting to write about but I made it happen and now I have 52 posts behind me.
     Let's switch gears for a little bit. One thing that I haven't written about and the one thing that most of these dinners have in common is My Salad.Unless the dinner I'm making includes a salad in the recipe or it doesn't seem like something I would serve with a salad I always try to have a salad with dinner. My salads are made up of a few basic ingredients and several different add-ons that I change on a daily basis. I like to start my salad with pre-washed salad-in-a -bag; usually something with a large variety of leafy greens and vegetables or occasionally just baby spinach and arugula. Next I'll put fat-free cheddar cheese and croutons on it. To top it off I'll pour on some fat-free salad dressing; a few of my favorites are Kraft Parmesan and Asiago, Thousand Island. and Raspberry vinaigrette. My regular salad add-ons in no particular order are diced tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced onions, diced hard-boiled eggs, broccoli, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. There are other ingredients that I haven't listed but you should get the idea by now. About once every two weeks I will change up my lunch routine and have a salad with either 3 ounces of pre-cooked steak or chicken. The point of all of this is that I try to make salads a part of my daily diet. If you are not a salad person, give it a try. Find the ingredients that you like, get rid of the ingredients that you don't like, and don't be afraid to try new things. The worst that can happen is you make a salad that you don't like and you end up throwing it out. At least you have the rest of your dinner to enjoy.
     So, now that we've reached the one year milestone, what do we do next?
My first thought is that since there are 52 ideas here, I challenge you to make the ones that you haven't tried yet. My second thought is that there is no way I can keep this up, I have to cut back on the amount of time and energy that I put into this blog. With that said I have decided that I am going to take a month off. I will return to this in April with one post at the beginning of each month. I want to thank you for reading this blog and for trying these dinners. I hope that you have been entertained so far and that you now have some delicious dinners that you can make for your family and friends. Now, get in the kitchen and make a mess.

     Next month - Porcini Chicken.

Cashew Chicken or The Things We Do For Others Part II.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Cashew Chicken.

     Way back on May 15, 2012 I put up a post about Chicken Marsala that was sub-titled "The Things We Do For Others". The idea of that post was that although we are dieting, I love my wife very much and I don't want her to have to avoid her favorite dinners. My solution was to find diet recipes that replicate her favorite dinners and learn how to make them. Cashew Chicken is Ellen's favorite Chinese dinner; it doesn't matter which Chinese restaurant we go to or what is on the the menu, she will be having the cashew chicken. When I realized that I was going to have to find healthy versions of Ellen's favorite dinners, this was one of the first ones I looked up.
     Although I've posted a few Chinese/Asian dinners on here, cashew chicken was the first one I ever attempted from scratch. Before I tried this recipe I was apprehensive that I could pull off a Chinese dinner but as I worked through it I realized it was a lot easier than I though it would be. When it was time to eat Ellen was pleasantly surprised to see that familiar favorite; the look on her face when she tasted it let me know that I had made a winner.
     Now that you know my reason for making cashew chicken, let's take a look at the recipe.

                                          Cashew Chicken

Prep time   25 Min.     Cook time   12 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 teaspoons peanut oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1-1/2 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, or more to taste

2 ribs celery, chopped

8 ounce canned bamboo shoots, drained

8 ounce canned water chestnuts, sliced, drained

1-1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups cooked white rice, kept hot

1-3/4 ounces unsalted dry-roasted cashews (about 6 tablespoons)

Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until browned on all sides stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.

Add 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and cashews to chicken and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth; add to skillet and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

To serve, divide rice among 4 shallow dishes. Spoon chicken mixture onto rice. Enjoy.

This recipe yields 4 servings at 1 cup of chicken and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.


     This is an easy to make,delicious dinner that will rival any Chinese restaurant.
If you have family or friends that are fans of cashew chicken try this dinner on them. And if you want to boost the flavor, give it a couple of extra splashes of soy sauce. As always, if you try this dinner check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - My Salad or What I Have Learned.

Grilled Sesame Asparagus or More Asian Goodness.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Grilled Sesame Asparagus.

     Today's dinner is actually a cross-series post that is part of the Asian series and the the Salad and Sides series, it's not so much a dinner as it's on asian side dish. In fact, it could also be part of the Grill series
     Grilled sesame asparagus is a quick and easy side dish that combines the flavors of grilled asparagus and a light soy and ginger based sauce. My hope with the Asian series so far has been to help you understand the ingredients that create asian flavors. This recipe and next weeks recipe should help you to understand how to create asian flavors in a real and applicable way.
     While this is a delicious side dish I believe that a good part of it's appeal lies in it's simplicity. These are basic ingredients that, when combined impart a wonderful, unique flavor.
     So, instead of going on and on about how simple and delicious this side dish is, let's just jump into the recipe.

                                   Grilled Sesame Asparagus

Prep time   10 Min.     Cook time   10 Min.     Serves   6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon ginger root, fresh, minced

2 sprays cooking spray

1 pound uncooked asparagus, ends trimmed

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, honey, garlic and ginger; set aside.

Off heat, coat grill rack with cooking spray; heat to high (or cook on a stovetop grill). Grill asparagus, turning frequently to char all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place asparagus in a shallow serving dish and pour sauce over top; toss to coat and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

This recipe yields 6 servings at 1/6 of asparagus per serving.


     Grilled sesame asparagus goes well with beef and broccoli stir-fry, szechwan pork, cashew chicken or any other asian dinner, give it a try and find out for your self. If you try this recipe check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.

     Next week - Cashew Chicken or The Things We Do For Others Part II.

Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms or Yes, It Is Healthy.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog, today's dinner is
Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms.

     When I was young, growing up in my parents house, my mom used to make huge "Fred Flintstone" steaks. I call them Fred Flintstone steaks because each one was so big that it would cover a plate; if you wanted any side dishes to go with your steak you would have to put them on a separate plate. I know that you are probably thinking that eating steak that way can't be healthy; to be honest it probably wasn't but my point isn't really to debate that yet but to draw a picture. My mom's steaks were delicious and although they only had a pinch of salt and pepper they were so good that they didn't need anything to dress them up. Don't get me wrong, there was always steak sauce on the table but it wasn't needed. Those were truly great steaks.
     Fast forward many years to the present and there are a lot of new ways to prepare steak with all kinds of exotic and interesting ingredients. While I am still a steak purist in the sense that I believe a steak should be able to stand on it's own I'm not opposed to trying new ingredients that blend well with steak. One of the combinations that I like is steak with roquefort cheese and mushrooms.
Steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions is nothing new but when we add blue cheese to the equation we start to approach a sum that is greater than it's parts. The first time I saw blue cheese used this way was on a "Black & Blue" burger at a local restaurant, it seems that the jump to adding blue cheese and mushrooms to a steak would be a logical move.
     The three ingredients that you should consider before you try to make this dinner are roquefort cheese, cremini mushrooms and shallots. Roquefort is a type of blue cheese, if you can't find it in the store you can substitute gorgonzola, stilton or any other blue cheese. Cremini mushrooms should be available in most stores, if you can't find them labeled as "Cremini" mushrooms try looking for "Baby Portobello". Cremini mushrooms are simply portobellos that have been picked before they matured. Shallots belong to the genus Allium which includes onions and garlic, they are similar to onions but different enough that they shouldn't be used interchangeably. If shallots seem familiar it's because we used them when we made Maple-Mustard Pork Chops.
     As far as whether this dinner is healthy or not we will be using lean beef which is a healthy source of protein and fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth instead of butter. This dinner is healthy and flavorful while using a minimum of ingredients.
     So, let's take a look at today's recipe.

                           Steak with Roquefort and Mushrooms

Prep time   12 Min.     Cook time   10 Min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 medium shallots, sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

3 cups cremini mushrooms (1/4 pound), sliced

3 fluid ounces madiera wine

1 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 ounces roquefort cheese, crumbled

16 ounces trimmed beef eye round steak or roast, 4 (4 ounce) pieces

Instructions

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, then add to the skillet. Cook the steak until browned and cooked through, 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the skillet. Cook, stirring frequently until the mushrooms begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the liquid completely evaporates and the mushrooms begin to brown, 3-4 minutes longer. Add the broth and cook about 2 minutes.

Add the cheese, reserved steak, and any steak juice on the plate; cook, stirring frequently until cheese just melts, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and serve at once.

This recipe yields 4 servings at 1 steak and 1/3 cup of mushroom mixture per serving


     This dinner is a great way to have a restaurant style steak without firing up the grill or adding unnecessary fat. If you try this dinner, check back here and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Grilled Sesame Asparagus or More Asian Goodness.