Chicken Marsala or The Things We Do For Others.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Chicken Marsala.

     If you are reading this the odds are good that you are a woman, the odds are also good that you are a wife and/or mother. If you fit into any of these groups you probably know a lot about doing things for others. I'm not going to give you a list of examples but I do want to say that you have my respect. My wife is a wonderful person and she does many things for me , and me being the "mister wonderful" that I try to be, I try to do nice things for her.
     What does all of this have to do with chicken marsala? Stick with me a little longer and I'll explain. In a couple of previous posts I told you about how we like to go to restaurants and how I like chicken parmesan and stuffed grape leaves and how I had to find recipes that let me eat these things and still maintain my diet.
Well, one of Ellen's favorite restaurant dinners is chicken marsala.
The cool thing about doing the dinner planning, shopping, and cooking is that I get to choose what we eat but if I want to do something nice for Ellen I find recipes that reproduce her favorite dinners as accurately as possible and chicken marsala is at the top of her list.
     One of the restaurants that we used to frequent made an excellent chicken marsala and when we went there it was the only thing Ellen would order.
I have made chicken marsala from a box a few times in the past but when I checked the nutritional values they didn't fit into our diets, so what am I to do if I want to do something nice for my wife? I find a chicken marsala recipe that tastes great and works with our diets. I believe that I've found a recipe that does both.
     although I was initially apprehensive because I didn't have a lot of experience at making sauces I quickly found that this is a very easy dinner to make.
Chicken marsala is basically chicken, mushrooms, and a marsala sauce.
Marsala is a sauce made with marsala wine, marsala wine is a fortified wine similar to Port or Sherry and is generally used in cooking although like Port it is occasionally drank as an aperitif. If you are reluctant to try cooking with wine this is a great place to start. Although we are talking about wine you generally won't find marsala in the wine section of your local grocery store. It's usually stocked in the vinegar section with balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and cooking sherry.
     So, now that we've covered all of the basics of chicken marsala, let's take a look at the recipe.


                                        Chicken Marsala

Prep time   15 min.     Cook time   18 min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, four 4 oz. pieces

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup table wine, marsala variety

1-1/4 cups canned beef broth, reduced-sodium, divided

1-1/2 Tbs. cornstarch


Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute' until tender and releasing liquid, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place chicken on a plate and season both sides with thyme, salt and pepper. Move mushrooms to outer edge of skillet once cooked. Place chicken in center of skillet and saute' until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Add wine to skillet; simmer 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of broth and simmer uncovered until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth in a small bowl; add to skillet. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly and incorporating mushrooms into the liquid, about 1 minute. Serve chicken with mushroom sauce spooned over top.

This recipe yields about 3 ounces of chicken and 1/3 cup of sauce per serving.


     Chicken marsala is usually served with a spaghetti type of pasta but if you want to try something different think about serving it with rice. I prefer rice pilaf but you could use white rice, long-grain and wild rice, or even spanish rice.
If you are making this to do something special for someone, serve it with something that they would like.
     Thank you for checking out this dinner and as always if you try this recipe check back here and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Pork Piccata or Eureka.
   

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry or Time For A Change.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry.

     I imagine that we all have a varied diet, especially when we dine out.
There are many different cuisines to choose from, American, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Middle Eastern and so on, but when it comes to cooking at home we tend to stay in our comfort zones. You can probably cook most of the standard fare, probably cook a couple Italian dishes, and maybe you can make a decent taco but how often do you change things up and try to cook something completely different?
I know that I've posted a couple of dinners that are outside your normal cooking routine, today I want to change directions and introduce Chinese cooking into your repertoire.
     You may have tried some of the pre-packaged  La Choy dinners or the new Wanchai Ferry dinners in a bag but that is not what I'm talking about.
I've been stir frying chicken and vegetables over angel hair pasta for twenty years but that also is not what I'm talking about. What I am talking about is real ginger root and soy sauce, high temperature sizzle Chinese cooking.
     I think that the beauty of good food lies in simplicity. Whether it's Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, or Asian most of the really delicious foods that you've eaten where made with only a few ingredients. Beef and broccoli stir fry is a great example of this because beyond the title ingredients it really is only a few more ingredients, cornstarch, soy sauce, and ginger root.
     In this recipe cornstarch may seem odd and unnecessary but don't skip it, it adds a layer of complexity of flavor to the beef that you really should experience.
Soy sauce practically speaks for itself, it's the salt and pepper of Chinese cooking. Ginger root has a wonderful flavor that works well with broccoli and gives the whole dinner an added dimension but make sure you peel off the outer skin.
The one thing you won't find in this recipe or any others that I post is MSG. Mono-sodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer that is used to make bad food taste good, if you follow this recipe you won't need it. If you want a little more flavor try adding a little more soy sauce or ginger root or maybe a dash of pepper.
     A great way to experiment with this dinner is in the way you serve it.
The standard way of serving Chinese food is over white rice, while I like the traditional approach I'd like to suggest that you try it in bibb lettuce as a wrap with or without rice.

     So let's take a look at today's dinner.


                                Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

Prep time   12 min.     Cook time   12 min.     Serves   4

Ingredients

2 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch, divided

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 pound lean trimmed sirloin beef, thinly sliced against the grain

2 tsp canola oil

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

5 cups broccoli florets, about a 12 oz. bag

1 Tbs. ginger root, fresh, minced

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup water


Instructions

On a plate, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch and salt; add beef and toss to coat.

Heat oil in a large nonstick wok or large deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Add beef and stir fry until lightly browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add 1/2 cup broth to same pan; stir to loosen any bits on bottom of pan.
Add broccoli; cover and cook, tossing occasionally and sprinkling with a tablespoon of water if needed, until broccoli is almost crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
Uncover pan and add ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes; stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.

In a cup, stir together soy sauce, remaining 1/2 cup broth, remaining 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, and water until blended; stir into pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Return beef and accumulated juices to pan; toss to coat. Serve over rice or noodles.

This recipe yields about 1 1/4 cups beef and broccoli per serving.


     If you've never made Chinese food from scratch this is a great recipe to start with. If you are a fan of Chinese cooking I will have more recipes in the future.
As always, if you try this dinner, check back here and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Chicken Marsala or The Things We Do For Others.

Crock Pot Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Casserole or A Few of My Favorite Things.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Crock Pot Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Casserole.

    
     A few weeks ago I wrote about my Thursdays and cooking with a crock pot (slow cooker), today I'm writing about another Thursday crock pot dinner.
     One of my favorite things about using a crock pot is that there is very little prep work, you simply cut up your ingredients, measure your herbs and spices and throw it all in, set the time and temperature and leave it. This recipe does have one extra step in that it requires you to brown the chicken thighs before putting them in the crock pot. This is a step that you don't want to skip as the browning process really brings the flavor out of the chicken.
     Another of my favorite things about using a crock pot is that they are portable.
I recently made this dinner and took it to a pot-luck, everyone enjoyed it and I received a lot of compliments. This dinner is a definite winner and is one of my favorite crock pot recipes.
     The last of my favorite things about cooking with a crock pot is the way that it makes the house smell delicious. The one thing I would recommend you do is arrange your day so that you get home before everyone else and watch your family's expressions as they walk through the door. The smell of food cooking in a crock pot will change any one's mood and evoke a Pavlovian response.
     Now that you know about my favorite things about cooking with a crock pot let's take a look at my favorite crock pot dinner.


           Chicken, Mushrooms, and Brown Rice Casserole

Prep time   15 min.     Cook time   426 min.     Serves   8

Ingredients

2 sprays, cooking spray

8 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken thighs, about 2 1/2oz each

2 cups canned chicken broth, reduced sodium

1/2 pound cremini (baby portobella) mushrooms, sliced

1 cup leeks, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1 cup celery, thinly sliced

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice, medium-grain (such as brown Arborio

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper


Instructions

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; warm over medium heat. Add the chicken thighs and brown, turning once, about 6 minutes; set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a 5 to 6 quart crock pot, nestle the chicken thighs in the mixture. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

This recipe yields 1 chicken thigh and about 2/3 cup rice-vegetable mixture per serving.


     This is a delicious, easy to make dinner that will please the whole family and is great as leftovers or lunches the next day. As always, if you try this recipe, check back here and let me know how it turned out.


     Next week - Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry or Time For A Change.
    

Cheesy Chili-Mac or My Chaotic Life Part II

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Cheesy Chili-Mac.

     A few weeks ago I wrote about my chaotic life and how Thursdays tend to have a semblance of normalcy, today I'm going to write about my Mondays and the routine that I have to maintain in order to cook all of these dinners and succeed at my diet. My Mondays start early with a visit to the different venues that I work at to make sure that everything is torn down and put away. After that I go to the office and go over the schedule for the rest of the week. I usually finish around noon and take the rest of the day off to do personal errands.

     Next I run to the store to buy groceries for the week, this usually takes about two hours. After the grocery shopping is done I head home. Next on my schedule is to put the groceries away and clean the kitchen, once that's done I am ready to cook dinner later in the evening. If I have time and energy I will do as much work around the house as possible before Ellen gets home around 4:00. From 4:00 to 5:45 we have together time and get ready for the rest of the evening. At 5:45 we go to our weekly weight loss meeting, we are typically there until 7:00. At this point it is 7:00 pm, we are tired and we are both hungry; this is when I make something quick, easy, and delicious. If you can relate to this you will appreciate today's dinner.

                                      Cheesy Chili-Mac 

Prep time    16 Min.     Cook time    28 Min.     Serves    8

Ingredients

1 spray, cooking oil

2/3 pound uncooked lean ground beef

2 medium uncooked onions, chopped

29 ounces canned stewed tomatoes, mexican-style (undrained)

2-1/2 cups canned tomato juice

4 ounces canned green chili peppers, diced, drained

2 tsp chili powder

1-1/2 servings uncooked macaroni, elbow-size

31 ounces canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Cook beef and onion until meat is browned, stirring and breaking up meat as it cooks, about 10 minutes; drain off fat.

Stir in undrained tomatoes and their juice, tomato juice, chili peppers and chili powder; bring mixture to a boil.

Stir in macaroni and beans; return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until macaroni is tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon chili into bowls and sprinkle with cheese.

This recipe yields about 1 cup of chili and 1 tablespoon cheese per serving.

     This is a great dinner for families, if you have kids they will enjoy this dinner. If you try this recipe check back here, leave a comment, and let me know how it turned out.

   Next week - Crock Pot Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Casserole or A Few of My Favorite Things.

Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Butternut Squash Puree or Facing A Challenge.

     Welcome back and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Butternut Squash Puree. These are actually two recipes that work well together.

     For as long as I can remember I've been making a mess in the kitchen, from the failure of Catchup and mustard with crunchberries to a twenty year experiment to master the perfect barbecue ribs I've never been afraid to put the heat to a bunch of simple ingredients, but I experienced my share of mistakes. At my house I do the large majority of the cooking but for the last decade or so I've really only been opening a bag of ingredients and dumping it into a pan or throwing a steamable bag into the microwave until done. This is not cooking, it's surviving. It leads to a food spiral that ends in a routine of eating the same few things over and over again. Can you see why Ellen and I like restaurants so much? When we started our diets I knew that I was going to have to break the cycle of eating prepared dinners and start to do some real cooking. The challenge that I've had to face over the last three and a half months has been to get into a regular routine and cook, really cook, as often as possible. To date I have cooked 90 dinners this year. The one thing that has saved me through all of this is that I've been able to draw from a large number of diet recipes. The first dinner that I made, going all the way back to January 2nd., was Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Butternut Squash Puree which I'm going to share with you now. So let's look at the recipe.

                             Maple-Mustard Pork Chops

Serves    4

Ingredients

4 (6 ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops

1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

cooking spray

1 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. finely chopped shallots

1/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

2 Tbs. maple syrup

2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Sprinkle both sides of pork with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through , but with a slight blush in the center. Remove from pan; keep warm.

 

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add butter to pan to coat. Add shallots; saute 3 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add broth; bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Stir in mustard, syrup, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick. Return pork to pan. Cook pork 1 minute on each side or until thoroughly heated (be careful not to overcook pork). Serve pork with sauce. Garnish each serving with 1-1/2 tsp parsley.

This recipe yields 1 pork chop and 1 Tbs. sauce per serving.

                                   Butternut Squash Puree 

Serves    4

Ingredients

1/3 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth

2 (12 ounce) packages frozen cooked

1 Tbs. butter

1/2 tsp grated orange rind

1-1/2 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place broth and squash in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Add butter and remaining ingredients; stir until combined. 

This recipe yields 3/4 cup puree per serving.

     These are easy recipes which is why I chose to make them first. The biggest thing to consider is the temperature under the maple-mustard sauce, keep an eye on it as it will burn easily. As always, if you try these recipes check back here and let me know how they turned out.

     Next week - Cheesy Chili-Mac or My Chaotic Life Part II.

Stuffed Grape Leaves or life in a World Without Restaurants Part II.

     Welcome back and thank you for checking out my blog. This week's dinner is Stuffed Grape Leaves.

    

     I wasn't planning to write about this recipe yet but in a nod to how this experiment originally started I leaked a picture on Facebook and received some positive responses. So I'm going to post this one early for you Jenny and Connie, I hope you are doing well.
     Stuffed Grape Leaves or Dolmathes are a Greek dish of almost indescribable flavor, they are literally leaves from a grape vine stuffed with meat, bulgur wheat, and spices. Before making this recipe I had never had homemade stuffed grape leaves, I have only had them in restaurants. My favorite Greek restaurant is a little family run place called Yanni's. Yanni's is very similar to the restaurant, Villa Nova, that I wrote about a few weeks ago in that all of their food seems very simple but is very delicious. Also like Villa Nova I'm convinced that the only seasoning in their kitchen is a jar labeled "Goodness". The problem that I have , again, is that eating at restaurants is not conducive to a successful diet but I was lucky to find a few recipes that are very close to reproducing the deliciousness of the food at Yanni's. This recipe replicates the taste of Yanni's stuffed grape leaves so closely that I don't think I could tell the difference.
     When I first got this recipe I was a little apprehensive about attempting it. The difficulty level is a little higher than most recipes but if you follow the instructions closely you should get predictable results. The first hurdle I had to overcome was finding grape leaves, these are usually stocked in the Mediterranean aisle of the ethnic section of your grocery store. The next hurdle was to find bulgur wheat; look in the health food/organic section, you might have to ask someone where it is but it's worth the effort. The last hurdle I had to overcome was that about five minutes before I was going to start cooking I realized that I didn't know where my steamer basket was. I quickly decided that it would be easier to run to the store and buy a new one than spend an hour going through boxes in the basement. The lesson I learned that day was no matter how confident that I'm ready to start a new recipe make sure that I have everything and know where it is. Also, remember that you are cooking with steam; if your water evaporates off you are no longer cooking, you're burning.
     When you have all of your ingredients and utensils ready the next thing to consider are the grape leaves. Grape leaves generally come packed tightly in a jar and require a little extra patience to get them out without tearing. Once you have them out of the jar, boiled, and rinsed it's a good idea to separate them and try to spread them out as much as possible. When I got to this point I realised that because of the size and shape of the leaves that I had there was no way that I was going to be able to stuff them and wrap them, and have them stay together. My solution was to abandon the idea that I was going to be able to wrap each one of them in only one leaf. Instead I overlapped three leaves in a triangle shape, putting the stuffing on the bottom center of the leaves and wrapping them like cigars. Problem solved.

     Now that we've gone over all of the variables, let's look at today's recipe.


                                                           Stuffed Grape Leaves

Prep time  14 min.   Cook time  51 min.   Serves  6

Ingredients

14-1/2 oz. canned tomatoes, whole

3/4 cup uncooked bulgur wheat

1 tsp ground cumin

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 pound uncooked lean ground beef, (5% or less fat)

3/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 cup parsley, fresh, chopped

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

8-1/8 oz. grape leaves, about 24, rinsed and drained

1 cup water, boiling

1 medium lemon, cut into 6 wedges


Instructions

Place a strainer over a 2-cup measure and drain the tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Chop the tomatoes and transfer to a large bowl.

Add enough water to the liquid to make 2 cups, pour into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the bulgur and cumin; cook, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 18-20 minutes. Add to the tomatoes.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and allspice; cook, stirring frequently to break up the beef until it is no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add the beef mixture, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to the bulgur mixture, and stir to combine.

Place the grape leaves in a pie plate, cover with the boiling water; then drain. Place a grape leaf shiny side down on a cutting board and trim off the stem. Spoon 1/4 cup of the bulgur mixture down the center lower third of the leaf. Tuck in the ends and roll up. Repeat with the remaining grape leaves and bulgur mixture to make a total of 24 stuffed grape leaves. Place a steamer basket in a saucepan and arrange the rolled leaves, seam-side down in the basket. Add 1/2 cup water to the saucepan and steam, covered, until the grape leaves are heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with the lemon wedges.

     This recipe yeilds 4 stuffed grape leaves per serving.


     This recipe is a little more involved than most but if you like Greek food it is definitely worth the effort. I personally plan to make it at least once a month. Also, stuffed grape leaves can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days before steaming. As always, if you try this recipe check back here, leave a comment, and let me know how it worked out.


     Next week - Maple-Mustard Pork Chops with Butternut Squash Puree or Facing a Challenge.

Beef Crostini or Codename: Get Together.

     Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. Today's dinner is Beef Crostini.





    

      Let me take a minute to correct myself, this is actually an appetizer or party snack. On Friday nights my wife(Ellen) and I go to our friend's house for a get together; that's code for we go to our friend's house for a bible study and fellowship. We usually have a bible study that lasts an hour and then we hang out for a couple of hours. When we first started our diets the question came up about how are we going to deal with sitting around a table full of snacks that we shouldn't be eating. Another thing that I considered (although it wasn't necessary) is that two members of our group are chefs and I felt that if I was going to take the time to make diet snacks I should step up my game.

     The solution was that I found some recipes for snacks that were not only delicious but that also fit into our diets. I stumbled across the recipe for Beef Crostini and based on the picture and description I thought I'd try it as a party snack.

     Beef Crostini is a wonderful finger food, the combination of roast beef and horseradish works together and compliments each other well. Pairing roast beef with something spicy (spicy mustard, horseradish) gives it more depth and brings out more of the flavor. This recipe is very easy and has very few ingredients, the trick is to do the assembly like a production line. Get everything together and ready to assemble, put the roast beef on the bread, put the arugula on the roast beef, and put the horseradish mixture on top. If you assemble them one at a time it will take three times longer than necessary. The two ingredients that need some consideration are the roast beef and the arugula. The couple of times that I've made this I used the kind of pre-sliced roast beef that can be found with the sandwich meats. There are many new pre-packaged "carving board" meats in the stores, I suggest that you spend a few extra minutes to look around your meat department and try a couple different varieties. Arugula as we discussed a few weeks ago can be found in the bagged, ready-to -eat salad section. I put three pieces of arugula on each crostini. This recipe can easily be doubled.

     So let's take a look at today's recipe.

                                         Beef Crostini

Prep time     12 min.     Cook time     10 min.     Serves     8

Ingredients

3 sprays olive oil cooking spray

6 oz. french bread, about an 8-inch long thin loaf, cut into 16 slices

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

3 Tbs. uncooked red onion, diced

1 Tbs. store-bought horseradish

1/4 tsp black pepper (plus extra for garnish)

2 cups arugula, baby leaves

8 oz. deli-style roast beef slices, thickly cut into 16 pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325f. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Place bread on  prepared cookie sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes; let cool.

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, onion, horseradish and pepper.

 To assemble crostini, top each piece of toasted bread with beef, a few arugula leaves, 1 tsp horseradish mixture, and garnish with a grind of black pepper.

     This recipe yields 2 crostini per serving.

     This is an easy and delicious recipe that is great as an appetizer or party snack. The next time you are planning a get together, or bible study, consider making Beef Crostini. As always, if you try this recipe please come back here and leave a comment and let me know how it worked out.

     Next week- Stuffed Grape Leaves or Life in a World Without Restaurants Part II.