Saturday, August 25, 2007

last week's salads

Herby Potato Salad (i serve it with grilled chicken for a complete meal)
ingredients:
1 lb new potatoes
salt and pepper
16 vine ripened cherry tomatoes, halved
generous 3/8 cup black olives, pittled and coarsely chopped (i omitted this b/c i forgot to buy them)
4 scallions, finely sliced
2 tbspn chopped fresh parsely
2 tbspn chopped fresh mint
2 tbspn chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbspn olive oil

cook potatoes in pan of lightly salted boiling water for 15 minutes until tender. drain, let cool s lightly before peeling off the skinds (i didn't peel the skins, i left them on). cut into halves of fourths,(i cut them before i boiled them). then combine with the tomatoes, olives, scallions, and herbs in a salad bowl.

mix the lemon juice and oil together in a small bowl and pour over the potato salad. season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. yum!! i love this one!!!



Walnut, pear, and crispy bacon salad

ingredients:
1/2 lb bacon (i used turkey)
generous 5/8 cup walnuts halves
2 pears, cored and sliced lengthwise
1 tbspn lemon juice
spring mix salad

dressing:
3 tbspn olive oil
2 tbspn lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon
salt and pepper

preheat broiler to high. arrange bacon on foil lined broiler pan and cook under the broiler until well browned and crips. let cool then cut into 1/2 inch pieces *** i used turkey bacon and pan fried it instead of using the broiler b/c it makes my kitchen too hot to work in. i put a little olive oil in a pan and then added the pre-sliced up turkey bacon to make it crispier. i fried it until crisp****
meanwhile, heat a dry skillet over medium heat and lightly toast the walnuts, shaking the skillet frequently for 3 minutes until lightly browned, let cool.

toss the pears in the lmeon juice to prevent discoloration. pu the salad mix, walnuts, pears, and bacon into a salad bowl.

to make the dressing, whisk the oil, lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl. season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour ovver the salad. toss to combine.

this one was really yummy too. a little lighter so i bought some fresh bread and some spreadable herbed goat cheese and we had that with it too.

i'll try that pizza next time i got to the grocery store. i went to the farmer's market this moring and bought a bunch of fresh veggies and a chicken marinade so we'll probably have that this week (plus i am working 4 12 hour shifts this week and don't have time to make dinner!!)

have a schwell week!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

ham and mozarella panini

1 loaf italian bread uncut
1 chunk fresh mozarella (the kind with the water in it)
ham for sandwiches
baby spinach

cut the bread lengthwise
put a layer of cheese sliced then spinach then ham then cheese again.

spread some olive oil on a baking sheet. put the sandwich on top. brush the top with more olive oil. put another baking sheet on top. heat oven to 450 and put it in for 20-25 min. squish it down a couple of times while cooking.

Monday, August 13, 2007

menu and recipes

Mediterranean Hummus Pizza

(gonna try this one tonight, so I'll let you know if it is good)

1 Pizza crust
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pressed garlic clove

toppings:
2 plum tomatoes
1/4 medium red onion
1 2 inch piece of cucumber
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 (7 oz) container hummus spread
2 (6oz) jars quartered marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1/3 cup mediterranean seasoned feta cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 425 and roll your dough out onto a baking sheet/stone. combine garlic and oil and brush evenly over dough. bake for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown

slice tomatoes in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds and then dice. thinly slice onion. slice cucumber into slices and then quarters. coarsely chop olives with food chopper.

remove pizza crust from oven and spread hummus evenly over the crust. arrange tomatoes, onion, cucumber, olives and artichokes over hummus. sprinkle with cheese. cut into squares.


BABY SPINACH SALAD WITH TUNA

2 Tbsp plain low fat yogurt
1-2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
coarse salt and ground pepper
baby spinach
1/2 cups seedless red grapes halved lengthwise
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 can tuna
flat bread (optional) I am going to use spinach wraps and make it into a wrap

In a small bowl whisk together yogurt, dijon, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. place dressing in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container. place spinach grapes, and onion in another container. just before serving, drain tuna and add to sald and toss with dressing.

FLOUNDER WITH TOMATO-ONION RAGOUT

( I used Tilapia bc I couldn't find flounder)
olive oil
red onion thinly sliced
cherry or grape tomatoes halved
white-wine vinegar
coarse salt
pepper
fish fillets
parsley

in a non stick skillet heat oil over medium add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. add tomatoes and cook stirring occasionally until slightly collapsed.
remove skillet from heat. add vinegar; stir to combine. season with salt and pepper ( I didn't have white wine vinegar so I used white wine and rice vinegar and just put a splash of each in there. it was good)
remove to a bowl and cover and keep warm
wipe clean with paper towels your skillet. put a little more oil in an dheat over medium high. season fish with salt and pepper, place in skillet. cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. with a wide metal spatula; carefully turn fish over. cook until opaque throughout; about 1 minute. transfer fish to a dinner plate. spoon tomato-onion ragout over fish; serve with couscous or rice. (I used seasoned wild rice. it was very tasty) Darin said he wanted it put into heavy rotation on the menu. he even ate the tomatoes!!! Sprinkle parsley on top.

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped shallots
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp flour
3 pounds asparagus trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
coarse salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

In a large (4qt) saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme; cook unitl shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. add flour, cook until incorporated stirring constantly, about 1 min.

add asparagus and 6 cups water; season generously with salt. cover and bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer, until asparagus is a bright green and just tender, 2-4 minutes

working in small batches, puree soup in a blender until very smooth. to prevent splattering, fill blender only half way, allow heat to escape. remove cap from hole in lid and cover lid with a dishtowel. if serving right away, stir in cream and lemon juice. to freeze, leave out the cream and lemon juice. cool to room temp before dividing among airtight containers leaving 1 inch of space at the top. freeze for up to 2 months. defrost overnight in refrigerator; reheat over low heat. sit in cream and lemon juice just before serving.