Recipes

Ingredients
4 to 5 pounds broccoli (I used 4 good-sized bunches)
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons kosher salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon zest (I zested one whole lemon since we love that lemony goodness)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet, stirring until lightly coloured and fragrant)  
¹⁄₃ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, julienned (about 12 leaves)

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cut the broccoli into florets. Place the broccoli florets on one or two sheet pans and spread out to form a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

3. Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

Comments
Again, this picture does not do the broccoli justice, but it does give a glimpse of the brilliant green after roasting.  The recipe is adapted from everyone’s favorite barefoot contessa, Ina Garten.  I got four bunches of beautiful broccoli at the farmer’s market during the weekend and wanted to make something different than what I’ve done in the past.  It has only been recently in my life that I’ve started to explore the wide world of roasted vegetables, and equally recently that I’ve learned you can’t crowd the pan to effectively roast, so I decided to give the technique a go with my beloved broccoli.  

It’s safe to say that this was a success and the star of the meal.  The broccoli was a gorgeous green and extremely flavorful.  I might have a hard time trying new broccoli (recipes in the future because this one was so fantastic.

Shown here with Chicken Dijon.

Internet - Ina Garten

Ingredients
2 teaspoons garlic, minced (I used two cloves)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh basil, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
4 (1-inch thick) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (a.k.a. filet mignon)
Cooking spray

Instructions
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; rub evenly over steaks.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steaks to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Let steaks rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Comments
The picture does not do the food justice; I’m still learning the great art of food photography.  (Photo Updated: 1/28/2012)  This is another recipe from Cooking Light.  It’s nice and simple and yields a tender and flavorful piece of filet mignon.  Thanks to an amazing local butcher, we tend to get filet mignon rather often, and I’m always on the look-out for new ways to prepare it.

Shown here with Disappearing Zucchini Orzo.

Cooking Light

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ pound to 2 pounds of salmon (I used about 1 pound that was cut into 3 pieces)
2 lemons, sliced
12-18 ounces fresh spinach
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
³⁄₄ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried dill, or 2 tablespoons fresh dill  
¹⁄₄ cup white wine

Instructions
1. Use a 5-6 quart slow cooker.  

2. Wash your spinach if necessary and cram it into the slow cooker. It should fill the slow cooker almost to the brim.  Don’t worry, it will cook down.  

3. Place fish onto the bed of spinach, and sprinkle it on each side with the salt, pepper, and dill.

4. Arrange the lemons on top of the fish and then add the wine.

5. Cook on low for 2 hours, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Comments
This is another recipe adapted from A Year of CrockPotting.  I planned this meal when Art thought that he would be gone for work during the week but circumstances changed and he ended up being home.  He was gracious enough to order pizza so that Lance and I could still have salmon.  

I had some trepidation about cooking something as delicate as fish in the crock.  Essentially, this is somewhere between steaming and poaching the fish and it turned out perfectly moist and cooked through.  I used fresh dill from my CSA box and the flavor was spot on.  This was a delicious and easy way to prepare fish, all while watching a movie.  

The salmon shown here had some lemon-pepper marinade on it since the store didn’t have plain salmon.

Internet - A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients
2 bunches Swiss chard, about ³⁄₄ pound
3 ounce pancetta, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Rinse and drain chard; pat dry with paper towels. Trim stalks from chard leaves, reserving stalks and leaves. Coarsely chop stalks to equal 1 cup; discard remaining stalks. Chop leaves.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chard stalks to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add half of the chard leaves to pan; sauté 1 minute or until leaves wilt, stirring frequently. Add remaining chard leaves and pepper to pan, sauté 1 minute or until leaves wilt, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with cheese.

Comments
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I’ve never had chard before and this seemed like a nice and simple recipe to start out with.  The verdict is that chard tastes quite a bit like spinach and this dish was very flavorful thanks to the pancetta, garlic, and red pepper as well.  I have a feeling we’ll be getting quite a bit of chard in the weeks to come and it’s nice to know that all three of us found it to be enjoyable.

The original recipe only called for an ounce of pancetta but 3 ounces came home from the store and, well, pig fat is tasty fat so it all got used.

Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 pound penne
Cooking spray
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (turkey or pork, depending on your preference)
1 large bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
Dash salt
20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces garlic and herb tomato sauce, or similar tomato product
1 bunch arugula or spinach, chopped (optional)
1 ¹⁄₂ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup goat cheese, crumbled
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Stir in arugula.  Spoon pasta mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350*F for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Note: If you’d like to save your dishwasher, make everything in an ovensafe skillet, skip transferring it to a casserole dish, and bake the casserole in the skillet.

Comments
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I had some arugula from my CSA box and decided to toss that in at the end; I imagine that spinach would be an equally tasty addition as well.  I also used a jar of tomatoes that I’d gotten from the farmer’s market last year instead of the tomato sauce the recipe calls for.  

This was really scrumptious and the flavor of the goat cheese shone through nicely.  I can see making this in the future and experimenting with different types of sausage, or perhaps even using cubed chicken.

Cooking Light

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup shallots, chopped
¹⁄₄ cup soy sauce
3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon fresh thyme (having no fresh on hand, i used 1 teaspoon of dried thyme)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 2-pound boneless top round steak trimmed (a.k.a. london broil)
Cooking spray
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag or shallow container with a lid. Pierce steak with a fork. Add steak to bag or container; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes.  (I marinated it for a bit over three hours since Apocalypse Now Redux is a very long movie.) 

2. Preheat broiler.

3. Remove steak from bag; discard marinade. Scrape shallots and garlic from steak; discard shallots and garlic. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle steak evenly with salt and pepper. Broil 4 inches from heat 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting against grain.  

Cook’s Note: I cooked mine for about 10 minutes a side until it reached an internal temperature of 130*F.  This yielded meat that was on the medium side of the medium-rare spectrum.

Comments
This recipe is from Cooking Light’s 2009 Annual.  As you can see from the picture, it turned out pretty much perfect.  Art cut nice slices against the grain, it was tender and flavorful, and it always amazes me what you can do with a cheap cut of beef given the appropriate cooking method.  This was the first time I’d ever made a London Broil and it’s safe to say we’ll be revisiting this meal in the future.

Note for future cooking: Aim for 115*F.

Cooking Light 2009

Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoons spices of choice (I really like McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning.)
3-4 tablespoons all purpose flour

Instructions
1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, nonstick skillet.  

2. Meanwhile, add spices to zip-top bag.  Add chicken to bag, then seal, and shake to coat chicken.  Add flour.  Seal again and shake again to coat.  

3. Saute chicken over medium-high heat, 4 minutes per side or until nicely browned. Cover, reduce heat to low, simmer for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes more.

Comments
This is a recipe from my mom, hence the name.  This is what fried chicken was for me when I was a kid and it was a great day in my life when I finally remembered to ask my mom to show me how to make it.  Now it’s a staple when we want a basic protein to serve with a neat side dish.  It yields tender and moist chicken every time.  

I love this recipe for many reasons.  It’s easy to modify for however many people you’re serving.  It’s easy to tweak the flavor by using different spices - I’m fond of the McCormick Montreal Chicken and Montreal Steak blends.  It’s also easy to change the level of spice by adding more or less as you see fit.  It’s also great for company because, after those first ten minutes, the cooking time is largely unattended which leaves you time to entertain and enjoy time with friends.

I love this recipe.  And my mom too!

Shown here with Garlic Scapes and Pasta Amatriciana.

Person - Mom

Ingredients
5 cups chicken broth
¹⁄₂ cup onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¹⁄₂ cups Arborio rice
¹⁄₂ cup dry white wine
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed briefly with running water
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into ¹⁄₄-inch-wide strips
¹⁄₂ teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions
1. Bring broth to a simmer in a saucepan and keep at a bare simmer, covered.  Or cheat, and heat in the microwave for 5-6 minutes.  

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat and add onions, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring, until wine is completely absorbed.

3. Stir in 1 cup simmering/heated broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering risotto and adding broth, about ¹⁄₂ cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition become absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and creamy but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes (there will probably be leftover broth).

4. Stir in peas, prosciutto, zest, ²⁄₃ cup cheese, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, thin risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately, with remaining ¹⁄₃ cup cheese.

Comments
I have no idea where this recipe originally came from since I’ve been making it for quite some time.  It is probably our favorite risotto recipe and we’ve tried quite a few over the years!

Risotto is one of those dishes that seems harder to prepare than it actually is.  Contrary to what the recipe says, you do not actually have to stir it constantly.  It’s easy to stir every couple of minutes in between prepping the other parts of your meal or setting the table.  

The lemon zest adds a great citrus note to this meal and the peas add good crunch.  I usually make this with white onion, but it works just as well with red onion, shallot, or a mixture of garlic and onion depending on your preferences and what you have in your pantry.  My preference is to mix in the entire cup of cheese instead of reserving some for garnish. 

I recommend using the lowest sodium chicken broth you can find, my preference is Kitchen Basics.  Making your own is also an option, but it’s not one that I take.

Shown here with Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil.

Unknown

Ingredients
3 boneless, skinless breasts
1 cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
²⁄₃ cup white vinegar
¹⁄₄ cup lemon soda
1 teaspoon lime juice

Instructions
1. Add the chicken into your slow cooker. Cover with the brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper. Add the vinegar, soda and lime juice.

2. Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness.  I cooked it for 6 ¹⁄₂ hours and the chicken shredded nicely.  

3. Serve over white rice with a few spoonfuls the sauce.

Comments
This is adapted from the fantastic website A Year of CrockPotting which is a great resource for anyone who enjoys slow cookery.  The original recipe calls for lemon-lime soda but due to the high fructose corn syrup issue, I went with San Pellangrino Lemon soda and added some lime juice.  The recipe called for 6 chicken breasts however the breasts I get are usually freakishly large, so I only used 3.  ²⁰⁄₂₀ hindsight, 6 would have probably worked fine, if not better.  

If you have a sweet tooth, this would be a good recipe for you.  It is very, very sweet and, sadly, was a bit too sweet for any of us to want to rush out and have for dinner again.  

If I get the urge to make this again, I’ll up the chicken to 6 breasts and reduce the brown sugar at least to ¹⁄₂ cup if not ¹⁄₄ of a cup.  I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to try it again!

Internet - A Year of Slow Cooking

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 ¹⁄₂ cups fat-free buttermilk
¹⁄₂ cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs
³⁄₄ cup flaked cereal (such as cornflakes), crushed
³⁄₄ cup sweetened coconut, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon curry powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Instructions
1. Cut chicken into 20 (¹⁄₄-inch-thick) strips. You can cut fewer strips if you prefer them to be larger, but they will require a longer cooking time.  Combine chicken and buttermilk in a shallow dish; cover and chill 1 hour. Drain chicken, discarding liquid. Combine chicken and flour in a medium bowl, tossing to coat.

2. Preheat oven to 475°F. Place baking sheet in oven.

3. Remove chicken from refrigerator. Drain chicken, discarding liquid. Combine chicken and flour in a medium bowl, tossing to coat.

4. Lightly beat both eggs in a small bowl. Combine cereal and next 5 ingredients in a shallow dish.

5. Dip 1 chicken strip into egg mixture; dredge in cereal mixture. Repeat process with remaining chicken, egg mixture and cornflake mixture. Arrange chicken in a single layer on preheated baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 475°F for 6 minutes or until done. Serve immediately.

Comments
This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light’s 2009 Annual.  Art cut the chicken into larger pieces than the recipe was designed for, so they ended up needing to bake for 15 minutes in order to be cooked through.  These were flavorful and crispy.  

The recipe calls for cornflakes.  I always seem to forget how hard it is to find HFCS-free cereal until a recipe calls for it.  I think the three of us spent a good 10 minutes in the cereal aisle trying to find something flake-like that would work in this recipe and didn’t have the dreaded ingredient.  Safeway Organics has Oat Bran Flakes that satisfy my dietary requirements so we decided to give those a go.  Art and I had a hard time not munching all the leftover cereal during meal prep since it’s super tasty.  I served this with a veggie-laden salad and would definitely make this recipe again someday.

Shown here with Cheater Mustard Greens and Buttermilk Drop Biscuits.

Cooking Light 2009