Tag: healthy food
Moroccan Style Chicken with Couscous with Harissa Yogurt
1 pound chicken breast
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon groud cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 14 ounces chopped tomatoes
½ cup dried apricots, sliced
1 14 ounces can chickpeas, washed and drained
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
1 cup chicken stock
Salt
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
Mix the cinnamon, ground cumin, ground ginger and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the spice mixture and let stand for 2 hours.
Heat a wide saucepan with olive oil and brown the chicken breasts on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Take out of the pan and keep aside. Reheat the pan and add the onion and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add apricots, chickpeas, honey and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer and cover with lid and cook for 45 minutes, checking every 15 minutes. In the meantime, slice the browned, uncooked chicken into slices. Take the lid off and add the chicken. Cook on medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes till the chicken is cooked through. Check for seasonings and add salt as needed. Garnish with cilantro and parsley. Serve with couscous and yogurt sauce.
Pine Nut Couscous
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1½ cup chicken stock
- 1½ cup couscous
- 1/3 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
Heat a medium saucepan with the oil. Add the ground cinnamon, cumin, pine nuts and salt. Saute on medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock and cover with lid and bring to a boil. Add the couscous, turn heat off and cover with lid. Cook for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, check seasonings and garnish with parsley and cilantro.
Harissa Yogurt Sauce
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons harissa sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of half a lemon
Mix all the ingredients and serve with the chicken and couscous.
Grilled Cheese with Sautéed Shiitake Mushrooms
A delicious recipe for Meatless Monday!!
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- Salt
- Pepper
Heat a frying pan with the olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes till mushrooms are golden brown. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes and keep aside.
- Loaf of Italian bread, sliced
- Butter, room temperature
- Sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- Mozzarella cheese, grated
Butter one side of each of the two slices. Put the two slices butter side down onto a frying pan. Add both the cheeses, top with mushrooms. Cook the grilled cheese and serve with tomato soup.
Shrimp Bowl with Peruvian Style Sauce
This recipe is a combination of my love of Asian food and a Peruvian style sauce. I saw this sauce recipe in the New York Times- one of my favorite sites to find things to cook. I changed it up a bit and came up with a delicious rice bowl…
Sauce
(Taken from the NYT)
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- Juice of one lime
- ¼ cup basil
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Add all the ingredients into a powerful blender. Blend till a smooth sauce is formed. Take out and keep aside. Will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks. Can be used as a condiment for a variety of things.
Fried Rice
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 2 cups water
Heat a saucepan with the butter. Add the rice and sauté on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Simmer on a medium heat with the pan partly covered till all the water is cooked off. Cover fully with lid, turn the heat down to low and cook for another 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, take out into a cookie sheet and spread with the fork and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- ½ cup pancetta, chopped
- 3 spring onions, chopped with whites and greens separated
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Salt
Heat a wok like pan with the peanut oil. Add the pancetta and cook on medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or till the pancetta is golden brown. Add the whites of the spring onions and garlic. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cooled rice and sauté on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sauces and mix well. Check for seasonings, add salt if necessary. Garnish with green parts of the spring onions.
Sauteed Greens
- 3 to 4 packs of baby bok choy or any other green
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt
Heat a wide frying pan with the peanut oil. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 minutes on medium heat. Add the greens and sauté on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or till the greens are wilted. Add salt and turn heat off.
Sauteed Shrimp
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and deveined
- Salt
Heat a wide frying pan with the peanut oil. Add the shrimp and cook on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, turning them once. Add salt to taste and cook till just done- do not over cook.
Assemble the bowls with fried rice, bok choy, shrimp and a drizzle of the Peruvian sauce.
Shrimp Enchilada with Tomatillo Sauce
My husband’s favorite thing to order at a Mexican restaurant is shrimp enchiladas.. and typically it is served with some refried beans, etc. Well, I decided to recreate it at home as we all know, one can’t beat homemade food.. so here it is…. very yummy!
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Heat a medium frying pan with the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt and smoke paprika. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes till the shrimp are almost done. Turn heat off and drizzle with lemon juice.
Tomatillo Sauce
- 4 to 5 tomatillos, cut in half
- 1 medium onion, cut in half with skin on
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves, with skin on
- 1 poblano pepper, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the tomatillos, onion, garlic and poblano pepper on the sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in oven for 45 minutes till the vegetables are soft. Place into a blender with the water, cilantro and salt. Blend till smooth, taste for seasonings and keep aside.
- 6 to 8 flour tortillas
- 1 to 1½ cups shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Transfer the tomatillo sauce in a flat platter. Dip each tortilla in the sauce. Place the tortilla on a cutting board, add 3 to 4 shrimp with the onions, top with a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Roll the tortilla and add to an oven-proof platter seam side down. Repeat the process with all the tortillas. Top with the remaining shredded cheese and cover with aluminum foil, bake for 40 minutes. Take out and serve with refried beans and guacamole.
Quick Brown Fried Rice
- 2 cups cooked & cooled brown rice, store bought or made at home
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
- 2 cups shredded carrots and broccoli stalks (I buy it packaged from Trader Joes)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 to 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce (regular soy sauce can be used, you will need to use more)
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup green onions, chopped
Heat a wok like pan with the oils. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the shredded vegetables and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beaten eggs and mix well with the spatula. Add the cooked rice and mix well and stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes on high heat. Add the soy sauce and continue to stir fry. Check for seasonings and add salt if necessary. Garnish with cilantro and green onions.
Baby Kale Orange Salad with Cranberry Dressing
This is a perfect salad to make for the holidays. I have been using baby kale more and more. I added delicious oranges, which are so reminiscent of winter. I also made a delicious dressing with dried cranberries. This recipe makes quite a bit of the dressing- which can be kept in the fridge and reused for other salads…
Cranberry Dressing
- ½ cup dried sweetened cranberries
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Add the cranberries, red wine vinegar and orange juice into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes or till the cranberries are soft and reconstituted. Add to a blender and blend till smooth. Add the mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend again till the dressing is emulsified. Check for seasonings and refrigerate.
- 4 cups baby kale
- 4 to 5 navel oranges, segmented
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- Salt
- Pepper
Add the baby kale, orange segments and almonds into a salad bowl. Add about 1/3 cup of the dressing and toss. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.
Shrimp Cauliflower and Mushroom Stir Fry
I had lunch with a friend and we shared a stir fry which included small shrimps, broccoli, mushrooms and carrots. It was delicious and I thought a great combination.. so I replicated it at home a few days. I used cauliflower instead of broccoli. I used shrimp, mushrooms and carrots. I made a simple sauce to complement the veggies. I served the delicious stir fry with brown rice but I had it on its own- which was great.. I didn’t feel I was missing any rice. Try this one- it is delicious!!
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