Mushroom Stroganoff

Sorry. No picture. We ate it too fast!!! Here's another vegetarian/vegan dinner which I thought turned out terrific! I got it out of the Forks Over Knives vegan cookbook but tweeked it just a little by adding a few extras like the cream cheese and Worchestershire sauce, among other things. You can view the original recipe here: http://www.forksoverknives.com/chef-dels-mushroom-stroganoff/

1 onion, sliced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsp. Thyme (I used dried)
1 tsp. fresh Rosemary, minced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbl. Worchestershire sauce (try and find a vegan variety if you want to)
1 pound baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms (they come in a bag)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup white wine (I just used cooking wine)
1 cup soy sour cream (or you can use the real stuff)
4 oz. soy cream cheese (or you can use the real stuff)
Parmesan cheese as needed (optional - don't use it for a vegan meal)


First thing, boil the water and add the mushrooms so they can soak for about 20-30 minutes (I just did the water in a 2-cup glass measuring cup in the microwave for 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap after you put the mushrooms in to soak). Start chopping everything else while you're waiting! Saute the onions for about 10 minutes, then add the garlic and spices. Cook another minute or so, then add the baby bella mushrooms and keep cooking for 5 more minutes. Add the porcini soaked mushrooms, W-sauce, and the wine. Cook, uncovered, for approximately 20 more minutes (OR you can turn it down to low and let it simmer while you're cooking the pasta and finishing up everything else). Just before serving, add the sour cream and cream cheese. Stir until well combined. Serve over spaghetti, fettucini, or mashed potatoes, or any kind of pasta (I actually used Penne pasta for this one. Serves approximately 4-6 people.

Coconut-Pecan Chicken with Red Pepper Mango Salsa

This was such a yummy dinner! I think I need to improve on my presentation and photographs. But, right now I feel lucky to even put this on this blog! Try it maybe with some coconut rice or something. I was going for a pina colada feel with the coconut, pineapple, mango and banana bread!

2 chicken breasts, sliced into strips

1/2 cup (or more) shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 egg with 1 tsp water, beaten

3 T canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, blend the coconut, salt, and the pecans together. Place in a shallow bowl. Beat the egg and water together and place in a shallow bowl.  Dip the chicken strips in the egg and coat with the coconut pecan. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Place coated chicken strips in the frying pan, brown on both sides and transfer to a glass baking dish and to the oven for approximately 12 minutes.

 1-1/2 cup chopped mango (fresh, frozen, or canned)
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 T chopped cilantro (fresh)
1 T vinegar (rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
1 T honey
1 T lime
1/2 tsp salt

Combine and serve over chicken.

I paired this with fresh pineapple and some banana bread that I had in the freezer.  A couple of other notes:  1) the unsweetened coconut was hard to find. There's plenty of sweetened coconut around. You have to look in the specialty isles.  2) If you don't want to make your own salsa, Costco sells a mango salsa that I think I actually liked better than this one.

Chorizo-Pepper-Potato Frittata

Hahaha! Say that one ten times! 

I tried this recipe from Rachel Ray's magazine and the family decided it needed some changes even though it was VERY good.  I've altered the recipe a little bit.  It also seemed to be lacking a sauce. We thought of three: 1) ketchup, 2) Harry & David's Pepper & Onion Relish (any of their varieties), or 3) Harry & David's Mango Chutney Relish. For calories sake, I would also decrease the amount of whole eggs and substitute more egg whites. I also didn't have a red pepper and used a yellow pepper instead. LOVED the taste, but it would be fun to use a mix of green, red and yellow peppers for color and a little more variety in taste. Just saying. I loved the chorizo, but you could use almost any sausage, bacon, etc. We also added fresh tomatoes to the salad greens - more flavor with them! 

1/4 cup olive oil (or less)

1/2 lb Chorizo

1/2 red onion, cut into small cubes

Salt and Pepper

1 red bell pepper cut into small cubes (yellow, or green, or all of them)

3 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

6 large eggs, beaten (or 4 eggs and 4 egg whites)

1/4 pound mozzarella cheese, low fat, shredded

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 T olive oil

4 oz mixed greens

2 tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 375. In a medium ovenproof skillet (I used a cast iron skillet), heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook until browned. Transfer the chorizo to another bowl. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until softened. Add the pepper and cook until crisp-tender. Add this to the chorizo bowl. Add 2 tsp (or more) back to the skillet and add the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and semi-soft. Stir in the chorizo mixture, eggs and 2/3rds of the cheese. Give it a couple of minutes to set the bottom and then transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the center is set, about 8 minutes. Switch the broiler on and top the frittata with remaining cheese and broil until melted. Let it set for about 5 minutes or more so you don't completely blister your mouth when you bite into it! 

Either top with some kind of sauce as I stated above, or add more cheese than indicated.

Combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar (you might also add a little shaved garlic, salt and pepper for more flavor) and toss with the greens. I served the fresh tomatoes on the side.

Lemon Chicken

Here's the recipe I made for dinner last night. It was SO YUMMY!!!
Footnotes as to what I would do differently to follow:

1 cup lemon curd
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt (I left this out of the curd mixture)
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (you could use firm tofu)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
2 bunches scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces

Batter:

1 cup water

3/4 cup GF flour (I used Pamela's)

2 T GF flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, whisk together the lemon curd and vinegar and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together water, 3/4 cup flour, cornstarch, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. In another bowl, toss chicken pieces with 2 T flour and 1/4 tsp salt. Coat the chicken in the batter and deep-fry in about 2-inches of heated oil for approximately 5 minutes, or until golden brown. (I ended up just dumping the chicken into the batter and mixing it around and then pulling out each piece with tongs and placing it into the oil. It took about 3 batches and I had to turn the pieces over midway through the cooking process.) After the chicken is cooked, add the pepper and scallions to the oil and fry until crisp-tender. Add the veggies to the curd sauce. Arrange the chicken on a platter and pour the lemon sauce over the chicken.  Serve with rice and maybe a side of sugar snap peas sauteed in butter and garlic!

Okay, now, what I would do differently. I  would GRILL the chicken and veggies. I didn't really like the veggies deep-fried. I would prefer them roasted.  I also thought the deep-frying added WAY to many calories and grease to the dish. For a healthier version - go for the grill. Another thing you could do is just dust the chicken in cornstarch and fry it. That would eliminate a few more calories with the batter and still give you the crispy texture.

Spicy Flank Steak

1-1/4 pounds flank steak, sliced thin
6 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup reduced sodium, gluten free, soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 T sugar (or agave)
2 T grated peeled fresh ginger (must be fresh!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp Asian fish sauce
2 tsp chili garlic sauce (also from the Asian section)

If you place the steak in the freezer in advance, remove it to the fridge the day before you want to use it. If it's partially frozen, it will slice easier!

Combine all other ingredients in a large container, or a ziplock bag. Add the steak and marinate for approximately 2 to 4 hours.

If you want kabobs, soak the wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before you put the steak on them. If you don't want kabobs, place the steak directly onto a broiler pan. You can either grill them on the grill or broiler them, either way. Be careful not to overcook them or you'll end up with jerky! (Which actually isn't that bad!)

Take remaining liquid, marinade, and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and allow to reduce and thicken. Stir often. Use as a dip, or put the steak over rice and top with some of the sauce. It's SO yummy!!!

You could either stir fry some veggies, or serve this with rice and a salad.

Vegetable Frittata

7 red potatoes, cubed and boiled for 10 minutes
1/2 of leek, chopped
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic, chopped or grated
1/2 of bunch of asparagus, chopped
1 green zucchini (small)
1 yellow zucchini (small)
8 eggs
2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Thyme
1 cup shredded cheese (your choice)

Place boiled potatoes in buttered 9x13 inch baking dish (I actually used the larger one). Place zucchini on top of potatoes.  Saute the leek, mushrooms, garlic and asparagus in 1 Tlb oil for approximately 7-8 minutes. Combine with potatoes and zucchini.  Blend eggs and milk together with salt and Thyme. Pour over vegetables. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until egg is set. Watch the bottom of the pan, the egg will burn if overcooked. Place cheese on top of cooked frittata and place back in the oven just until the cheese melts.

My FAVORITE thing to top it with is Harry & David's Mango Chutney Relish, or their Pepper and Onion Relish (Original) is my second choice.  http://gifts.harryanddavid.com/search?w=pepper%20and%20onion%20relish

Shrimp Spring Rolls

3 carrots, peeled

2 green onions, slice in half

1/4 cup peanuts

5 medium shrimp

1/2 cucumber, peeled

6 mint leaves

6 basil leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cooked thin rice noodles

6 sheets of rice paper

Sweet Chili Sauce

Place rice noodles in boiling water. Remove from heat immediately and soak until softened. Set aside. Place remaining ingredients (except rice paper) in food processor. Pulse until veggies are chopped fine. Soak rice paper in water until soft. Immediately fill with 1/4 cup of veggies and a few rice noodles. Wrap by rolling and folding ends in. Serve with peanut sauce and sweet chili sauce.

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I recommend you go to a Chinese market to purchase the sauce, rice noodles and rice paper. You get more for your buck! You can get it at most supermarkets as well.

Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1 - 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 - 1/2 cups frozen, thawed, rinsed, squeezed dry

2 Tbl EVOO

1 cup white cooking wine

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 Tbl Agave nectar

1 - 1/2 cups soy sour cream (or the real stuff)

GF Pasta (or the real stuff), cooked

Macaroni or Rigatoni

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (or pine nuts would be good)

Parmesan cheese, grated

Saute onion, mushrooms, garlic in oil for a few minutes. Add spinach and wine. Simmer until wine has reduced to almost gone. Add sour cream and spices and agave. Add cooked pasta. Top with almonds and grated parmesan cheese.

(note: you could use the sauce as a topping.)

Creamed Onion and Artichoke Pasta

1 onion, sliced

1 small can or bottle of non-marinated artichokes, sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup fresh basil, cut up

1 Tbl Olive oil

2 Tbl capers

1 cup cream

2 Tbl Dijon mustard

1/4 cup white cooking wine

1 Tbl butter

Brown Rice Spaghetti Pasta, cooked

Saute onion, artichokes, mushrooms, and basil in oil for 5 minutes or so. Add cooking wine, cream, mustard and butter. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add capers and let heat for a few minutes. Pour over pasta.

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I bought an onion and some mushrooms to put on my pasta and it escalated into this recipe as I found things in my cupboard and refrigerator! It turned out so good! I still think sundried tomatoes and/or garlic sounds good in this as well!