Southwestern "eggrolls"

I'm sure everyone encounters the same issue I do once a week-- What in the world am I going to make for dinner every night? Most of the time, I can look through my Cooking Light, Health, or Martha Stewart and figure out something for at least 5 days of a week. But there are times when I am absolutely stumped. What do I do when I completely lack inspiration? I ask my husband.

So this week, I had no idea what to make again. Typically, when I ask for Scott's input, I get something, well, normal, like hamburgers. This time in particular, though, I get "Chili's Southwestern eggrolls."

Excuse me??

So I searched the internet (how in the world did anyone ever cook anything without the internet?) to find a reasonable recipe. I found one recipe that contained about 40 (not exaggerating) ingredients, and I just couldn't go there. I ended up combining several recipes I found to make something simple and tasty with the southwestern flair.

Obviously, deep fried eggrolls are not on my diet. So, I made Scott 5 rolls, and then used the rest of the filling as a topping for some grilled chicken. I served it with sour cream, but next time, I will make an avocado ranch dip (because it just feels right. And no, I don't have a recipe... I'll make one up later). A salad would be an amazing accompaniment.

The amounts of ingredients are a ballpark figure. If you really like corn, but don't so much like red bell pepper, put more corn. If you don't want the filling quite as spicy, cut down on the jalapeno. It's all flexible.

Southwestern Chicken Topping
This recipe makes 6 small eggrolls and leaves enough filling to cover one large chicken breast.

• 2 chicken breasts (one will go into the filling/topping, the other will be topped)
• 1 Tbsp oil, or a long press on the cooking spray nozzle
• 4 Tbsp minced red bell pepper
  
• 4 Tbsp minced green onion
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained
• 4 Tbsp frozen spinach, thawed & drained
• 2 Tbsp diced canned (pickled) jalapenos
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• large pinch of salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 3/4-1 cup Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack cheese
• (optional) eggroll wrappers

1. Salt & pepper chicken breasts. grill until done, 4-6 minutes per side. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, dice one breast. You can go ahead and plate the other.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil (or long spritz of cooking spray) in a medium skillet over medium heat.
3. Saute bell pepper and green onions until tender, about 4 minutes.
4. Add cooked, diced chicken back to skillet. Add corn, beans, spinach, jalapenos, cumin, chili powder, salt & cayenne to skillet. Cook about 4 minutes, until all elements are hot. Stir well to ensure all elements are evently distributed (watch carefully the spinach... it tends to clump)
5. Remove skillet from heat and add cheese. Stir well until melted.

**at this point, you can use completely as a topping on the chicken breast. For eggrolls, continue.

6. Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a sauce pan, or use a deep fryer if you have one. I don't. Oil should be about 350°, or crackling when you flick water from your fingers into the oil.
7. While oil is heating, wrap filling into eggroll wrappers. I use the "envelope" method... meaning this: A. lay eggroll wrapper in a diamond shape in front of you. Add a nice log of filling in the very middle (4-5 Tbsp of filling). Fold bottom point up over filling. Fold in both sides over folded bottom point, sealing both sides with a little water on the edges. Fold top point down over roll, again sealing with a little water.
8. Drop eggrolls, in batches if necessary, into oil and fry each side for 2-3 minutes, until well browned. Be sure to flip them over or the bottom side will burn.

Alternative to deep frying: You could easily pan fry these in less oil. Also, I know of many people who bake rolls. Preheat the oven to 350°, spray both sides of the rolls with cooking spray. Cook until top is browned, then flip over to brown the other side. I will be honest and say I have no idea how long this should take.

Serve with sour cream, or avocado ranch dip (if you get a recipe for this before I make one sometime in the future, please share!).

Carb options
First and foremost, by choosing to make fried eggrolls, you'll have a carb for your meal. Secondly, some sort of Spanish or Mexican rice could be good with this, but I don't think it would be necessary. My husband is a carb-o-holic and he didn't seem to want anything besides the rolls.

Hello again! It's time for shrimp vindaloo!

wow, it's been a long time! Thanks for hanging in there with me this summer. I had an amazing time living in New York City for June and July and I finally feel like I'm settled back in at home, and I've started cooking again! Tonight I'm actually roasting a chicken (my easy go to dinner when I'm lost) but today I'm going to share with you my husband's favorite thing I make. In fact, the first time I ever cooked for him, this was the dinner we had!

It's a delicious Indian dish that does not use curry. So if you want to try some more ethnic flavors, but don't particularly like curries, here's your ticket! I devoured mine on a bed of fresh spinach and I do not regret losing the rice! For those who don't cook seafood often, remember that shrimp will cook completely in only about 3-4 minutes! As soon as they are curled up and pink, they're done. It's really easy to leave them for just 30 seconds more and they end up being chewy and tough.

Welcome back, and enjoy!

Shrimp vindaloo

• 2 tsp minced ginger (use this amount in step 1)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4-1/2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne) depending on the heat level you want
• 1/5 tsp cinnamon (trust me!)
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves (again, trust me!)
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (yes, ginger is in the list twice. This instance is for step 2)
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp golden raisins
• 1 pound shrimp, deveined, and without shells (you can leave the tail cause it looks cute)

1. Combine first 9 ingredients (ginger through cloves) in a small bowl. Add vinegar to form paste.
2. heat oil in large skillet at medium high heat (about a 6 on a scale of 1-10). Stir in 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger and all garlic for 20 seconds.
3. Add spice paste to skillet, stir constantly for 30 seconds.
4. stir in brother and raisins.
5. simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
6 Add shrimp and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until shrimp is curled and looks pink.

Carb options
As with any good Indian food, jasmine/basmati rice and naan are delicious for soaking up sauces. A crisp, sweet white wine like a riesling or Gewürztraminer pairs perfectly with the Indian spiciness.

General Update on Me and why I'm not posting so much

So, in the cooking realm, I'm in a bit of a rut. I've been reusing many of my recipes lately, and not cooking as much for many different reasons. Scott and I have been extra busy lately; we've both traveled a lot since mid-April and I'm gearing up for a big trip (more on that in a few paragraphs). I have tried a few new recipes, but to be honest, I didn't really like most of them enough to endorse them on the site. I do have a few recipes in the wings that were good enough to share, but the time to post has been fleeting. However, the main reason for the rut, though, is that I'm a big bogged down in the whole diet thing. Since Christmas I've had many many issues staying on Dr. Malone's diet, even though I'm on State 3. My sugar cravings have been ridiculous and I haven't quite had the willpower to say no a lot of the time. I haven't posted some of the recipes I've used in the past month because a lot of them have been more on the cheating side than I'm willing to share. So I'm working hard at getting myself back on track so I can have more great food to introduce to you all. I'm 30 pounds down since October (55 overall) and I still have another 30 to go. Usually summer is an easier time to eat fresh produce and be active (especially after experiencing my first NY winter!!), so I'm hoping to get a good jump start as the months go on.

To speak about coming months, my summer is going to be a bit different. I am actually "moving" to New York City for 2 months for work. My husband will be staying here in Saratoga, while I'm in the City nannying. My clients are producing a film that is being shot just north of the City in June and July (and maybe some of August) and I am going with them to keep their son. While there, I seriously doubt I'll be doing a lot of interesting cooking. However, I'm hoping that will give me some time to catch up with some recipes I just haven't gotten around to posting yet. But be prepared for an official hiatus (as opposed to my disappearence for the month of May so far. sorry).

And finally, another call for recipe suggestions. It's getting harder and harder to find interesting meal ideas that don't take 4 hours of prep time and taste good that are adaptable to the diet. So any ideas anyone has is hugely welcome.

Thanks, and have a great week!

Maximizing money spent on organic foods

When I was a junior at Berry College, I had a friend tell me she was switching to "all organic" foods. If I'm honest with myself, I definitely scoffed and thought "how pretentious!" (Sorry if you read this ME!). But over the past few years, as I've learned about the U.S. agricultural system and generally how food is produced and shipped globally, I've become more and more interested in not only eating organically grown produce and organically raised animal products, but I'm also beginning to commit to eating locally produced items as well. I must admit that this is slightly easier to do in Upstate New York where we are surrounded with wonderful farms, and in addition to having a twice weekly Farmer's Market available year-round, we also have two grocery stores which have a wide selection of organic and locally produce products. A commitment to this type of eating is not as easy in other places of the country-- like Alabama and Georgia (sorry to the people I know there!).

So why is this so important? Recently, many food scientists have come out saying that even small doses of pesticides and chemicals used on mass market farms can/could cause lasting damage to human health, particularly during fetal development and early childhood. As Scott and I begin thinking and planning about a pregnancy in the not-so-distant future, I've started thinking even more about what type of foods I'm putting into my body. Washing and peeling vegetables and fruits will, of course, help cut down on the pesticides, but there are still penetrating pesticides AND most of the nutrients in many fruits and vegetables are found in the skin.

But it's SO EXPENSIVE!! This is SO true. While some prices are coming down, and aren't too much expensive (just 50 cents more for 2 lbs of organic carrots compared to the un-organic carrots), when you combine all the produce a couple or family consumes on a balanced diet, it will really add up. And this isn't even including the prices of organic meat. We haven't quite gotten to the point where we can afford organic meat and eggs, but we're working on it. The Environmental Working Group (found at www.foodnews.org) has put together a "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides." This ranks the "dirty dozen" or the top 12 fruits and vegetables to always buy organic, and then the "Clean 15," which are 15 fruits and vegetables that are lowest in pesticides. Now, as you plan your meals and snacks for the week, you can know where you money is best spent on organic produce.

The Dirty Dozen (buy these organic) in order of highest concentrations on pesticides:
1. peach
2. apple
3. bell pepper
4. celery
5. nectarine
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. grapes (imported)
11. carrot
12. pear

the Clean 15 (lowest in pesticides):
1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet peas
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon
13. broccoli
14. tomato
15. sweet potato

Notice that the dirty dozen items all have thin skins and traditionally are known to have bug and worm problems! Majority of the Clean 15 are much heartier plants.

Of course, we could all avoid this debate and cost if we just grew our own food in our backyard. As soon as I get a backyard... I'm already planning my garden!

Organic Carrot Soup

** just so you know, I apparently typed this all up on April 15 and then somehow didn't hit the "publish" button. My bad, yo. Enjoy!!**

As a few of you know, Scott and I hosted our first holiday dinner last weekend! We travel so much over Christmas and Thanksgiving, that we've decided to make Easter Dinner at our house an annual event. Last Sunday was the first ever! Our menu was: glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, minted peas, corn muffins, and this delicious carrot soup. The original recipe from Martha Stewart included garlic and parsnips, but I left those out because I wanted to really taste carrot! And I forgot parsnips at the store. They weren't very important, anyway. The parsnips were just chopped, sauteed and placed in the bottom of the bowl. I didn't have time to plate up everyone, so we had a buffet style, and this soup worked just great without parsnips and carrots in the bottom of the bowl!

This soup is delicious at room temperature for a refreshing spring vegetable. I suggest anyone make it with a lean ham or turkey. Just pick your favorite green vegetable and you're ready to go!

A side note about organic cooking. I've been doing a lot of reading about how to maximize money spent on organic foods, and which foods are worth spending money on organic versions because of the amount of pesticides and other contaminants used in mass production. Carrots were on the top 10 list of produce to always buy organically. I will post the entire list with more information later. I just wanted to inform people why I used organic soup. If eating organically is not something you are interested in, regular carrots will do fine.

Organic Carrot Soup

• 3 Tbsp butter or butter substitute (olive oil, butter spread, etc)
• 2 lbs organic carrots, cut in 1/2 inch thick slices on the diagonal
• 1/4 c. diced onion
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, or 1/4 tsp dry ground ginger
• pinch of sugar/Splenda
• salt
• pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth (can use vegetable broth if you want to go vegetarian)
• 3/4 cups milk
  

1. melt butter (or substitute) in a medium saucepan. Add carrots, onion, ginger, sugar, 2 tsp salt and pepper. Stir. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until carrots are tender, 10-15 minutes. If you forget about them and, say, start wandering around your apartment picking up things before people come over for Easter dinner, and they cook for about 20 minutes, it's ok.
2. Add broth and milk. season with salt and pepper.
3. Blend until most of the carrots are smooth. Leave some chunks for texture. I used an immersion blender, and it was awesome. But if you don't have one, CAREFULLY pour soup in batches into a food processor or blender.

Carb Options
This soup would be delicious with some corn muffins on the side. Jiffy corn mix is completely delicious, and there is no reason to spent all the time and money making them from scratch!

Chicken Tikka Masala

I've just returned from a 5 day trip to New York City! What a place to be. There's an unmatchable energy there, and you can't help but lose a few pounds walking around just taking in the sights, sounds and people who are there.

One of the greatest things, in my opinion, about the City is the food! Any thing at all you can imagine can be delivered right to your door almost any hour of the day. There's delivery sushi, ice cream, bar-b-que, and the topic of the night-- Indian food. As most of you have (hopefully) learned while being on a diet, cutting out carbs and fat does NOT mean cutting out flavor! Some of the greatest spices in the world have no calories at all, but create such a flavor in food, I can't imagine not using them. Tikka Masala is one of my most favorite Indian dishes. In restaurants, it will be made with heavy cream and lots of butter; however, here is a lightened version for anyone who wants to close their eyes and imagine being in New York City or Mumbai.

Of course, most people would eat this on top of rice and with a thick peice of white flour naan bread. I actually REALLY enjoy my tikka on a bed of fresh baby spinach! It gives a crisp texture to your bite that rice can't fulfill. Unfortunately, we're all out of luck for the naan right now! There's just nothing that can replace it!

Chicken Tikka Masala
marinade

• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cayenne (or less, according to taste)
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp minced (or grated) fresh ginger
• few pinches of salt, to taste
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

sauce

• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• salt, to taste (about 1/4 tsp)
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 cup lite cream or 1% or 2% milk (I don't recommend skim because it would take a long time to thicken up)

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and few pinches of salt. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but can do overnight or while at work.

2. Cook chicken until done. This can be done on a grill after skewering meat on a bamboo skewer OR by sauteing in a large skillet. I usually saute after draining most of the marinade off the chicken bits. No need to rinse chicken before cooking

3. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, paprika, and 3 teaspoons salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream or milk. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes (more if using milk), stirring occassionally and making sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet. Add cooked chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Carb options
As mentioned before, most Indian food is served with rice and naan. Plus, if you can find real Indian chutney, and can handle the high sugar content, it is a delicious appetizer with naan or papadam.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole is a staple in Southern cooking. Not only is it creamy and delicious, but it just makes you dream of a time when life was much simpler and easy. The traditional version of this casserole is VERY un-good for you. With full fat mayo, creamy mushroom soup, loads of cheese and breadcrumbs and butter on top you can feel the hips getting larger with every bite (not that it doesn't feel worth it sometimes!) I have developed this version recently by blending together elements from many different recipes, including the one my mom has always used to make her Chicken Divine. I use the 98% fat free version of the cream of mushroom soup, because it is easier. However, because of this, I must include a disclaimer that this dish isn't PERFECTLY on Dr. Malone's diet. The soup has 10 grams of carbs, which comes from flour used as a thickening agent in the soup. There IS an alternative to using the soup. Instead of the soup, use a can of evaporated milk and a thickening agent of your choice (there are a variety of non-wheat flours available to those on Stage 3 of the diet, plus anything you have found that works for you. If you have a good non-flour, non-starch thickening agent, PLEASE SHARE!). You will need to thicken this up in a saucepan before adding it to the rest of the sauce ingredients.

This recipe also makes a big change in the cheese typically used in the chicken and broccoli casserole. Usually, there is full fat cheddar all through and on top of the casserole. I have replaced the cheddar within the white sauce with low-fat Parmesan cheese, and have retained a little orangey cheddar for the top to make it still seem like home.

As far as what to serve with this delicious casserole, a good green salad full of spinach and dark greens is perfect!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

• 3 quarts water
• 1 12oz package of broccoli florets (you can buy the cheaper broccoli crowns and chop yourself)
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup fat free mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
• 1 10.75oz can of 98% fat free, low sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp curry powder (optional)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup low fat cheddar cheese, grated
  

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Bring water to boil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium high heat. Add broccoli. Cook 5 minutes, or until crisp tender. Transfer broccoli to colander with a slotted spoon. Leave water in the pot. Return water to a boil. Add bite sized chicken pieces to water. Cook until done, about 6 minutes. Remove chicken into same colander with broccoli with slotted spoon.
3. In another bowl, mix mayo, sour cream, mushroom soup,1/2 cup of Parmesan, salt, pepper and curry (if using) and lemon juice (if using).
4. Add broccoli and chicken to the mayo mixture, stirring until well coated.
5. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheddar.
6. Bake at 400° degrees until casserole bubbles around the edges and cheese begins to brown, about 45 minutes.

Carb options
Many people like to serve this over rice, or if you're in the Gilliland family, over a baked potato. Delicious.

Scotty and I are headed to Manhattan to celebrate his birthday and do a few other things. I won't be back until Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend, and hopefully I'll come back with some delicious new recipe ideas!!