Tag: new years resolutions
Healthy Chicken & Broccoli
Here is another healthy dinner for you to make. I have made chicken and broccoli before but this version is a bit quicker and healthier. I used frozen broccoli instead of fresh- you can use either one. I happen not to find fresh broccoli so I used the frozen.
I drizzled a bit of oil on the broccoli and roasted it to get rid of excess moisture.
In the meantime I mixed up a quick sauce and instead of my usual chicken thighs, I used chicken breast. I sliced the breast pieces really thin and marinated them. Obviously chicken breast has less fat and is healthier than thighs. Personally I prefer the taste of dark meat but to be healthy- I used the breast.
Overall the dish was delicious and I served it with brown rice- enjoy!!!
read more …
Indian Style Sauteed Mushrooms and Peas
I love mushrooms- I can eat them three times a day, seven days a week. My daughter is the same way- she especially loves mushrooms on her pizza. She is very particular about the kind of mushroom on the pizza, though- they can be canned ones. She wants the fresh ones- I don’t blame her.
Anyway, this is a great side dish to make with any entree with chicken, fish or pork.
It is very easy to make. I sauteed the mushrooms with onions, garlic and cumin seeds. Once the mushrooms are cooked down and all the water is evaporated, I added the peas. They add great color and a yummy sweetness to the dish.
We had it with some sauteed chicken sausages but this concoction will be delicious on top of pizza as well. Try this mushrooms and peas dish- you will love it…
read more …
Healthy Indian Style Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions and Zucchini served with Sweet Potato Fries
Once in a while I come up with a fabulous meal- it is tasty, healthy and very good looking. This is one of them. One of my favorite things to eat is a good hamburger- especially at our local pub. Since watching Food Inc, I have been off hamburgers especially at restaurants.
So, I decided to make turkey burgers but with a twist. I love ground turkey for a lot of things but when I have a regular turkey burger I always compare it to a beef burger and it just doesn’t stand up to it’s competitor. To avoid the comparison I decided to use my seekh kebab mix. It is extremely flavorful loaded with aromatics- perfect for a juicy burger. Now, what about the toppings? I didn’t want to use mayo since it is loaded with calories. I had cilantro chutney in the fridge that I normally serve with seekh kebabs- perfect. I also thought of the delicious tomato chutney from Trader Joes- that would pair up really well with the cilantro chutney. I needed to incorporate vegetables in this meal and so I decided to caramelize onions and saute up some zucchini and use them as toppings for the healthy burgers. Of course, I bought the soft whole-wheat hamburger buns from Trader Joes and while I was there, I also picked up sweet potatoes. They are super healthy and I wanted to incorporate them into the meal as well- I cut them up into wedges and made oven fries- they were delicious- especially paired with garlic powder and smoked paprika. The sweetness in this orange vegetable was wonderful with the savory garlic powder and smoky paprika.
Overall it was a fabulous meal- I did an article about this healthy, delicious meal on the New York Times, The Local.
Try the healthy Indian style hamburgers with the veggies and sweet potatoes next time you want to eat a hamburger.
read more …
Coconut Rum Flan
Flan is my all time favorite dessert. I grew up eating it and love everything about it. My Mom would serve it to us with a drizzle of fresh cream. It was the most glorious dessert ever.
Over the years I have tried making it- but have not been very successful. The flan usually doesn’t invert well and breaks apart. The reason is not enough eggs- I don’t like the custard dessert too rich so I don’t end up adding too many eggs. So my solution is to have my Mom make it for us every time she comes to visit. She doesn’t have a set recipe for me to follow and I have never watched her make it.
Last year I modified a recipe and tried it- no luck- it broke apart. Finally the other day while I was cooking for some friends, I decided to make flan. I was watching food television and saw someone make coconut rum flan. That is all I needed to get inspired. I tweaked the recipe to my taste and came up with this recipe.
I am thrilled with it. The texture is perfect- soft yet firm. It is not too sweet- exactly the way I like it. Everyone enjoyed it a lot. I also like it because I can make it with low fat milk and although it has quite a few eggs- at least the dessert has protein.
For caramel
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from the side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber.
Pour into the glass dish and swirl so caramel coats the bottom.
For flan
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 (14 ounce) low-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
You will need a round 9-inch glass dish and a large roasting pan.
Heat the milk and coconut milk with the sugar until the mixture simmers. Whisk the eggs, add the rum, salt and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add ½ cup of hot milk mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add the tempered egg mixture into the milk mixture mixing well. Strain the entire mixture before pouring it into the glass dish.
Place the glass dish into the roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with hot water- about ½ inch high. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes until just set but still wobbly in center. Refrigerate over night or at least 2-3 hours.
Top with the coconut and serve chilled.