Dirty risotto (2)

I love risotto but I don't make it too often because I try to limit my intake of "whites" and, well, I'm pretty sure that whole grain risotto doesn't exist. Even if it did, it would be an abomination! I've been wanting to try Giada's dirty risotto for a while now because it's a very hearty risotto, fit for a main course serving. Since it has a protein, veggies and a starch it's pretty much a meal in itself...but I did pair our dinner tonight with a baby spinach salad.

I did adapt the recipe (of course). I bulked up the veggies and the sausage a little bit, but used chicken sausage to lighten it up. I'm pretty certain you can find leaner chicken sausage but the spicy Italian from Trader Joe's I had on hand (which is SO good) was 190 calories a link. I added garlic, too (a Giada recipe without garlic? Almost as preposterous as an Elly recipe without it!). I was a little nervous about adding this into SparkPeople. Even with my modifications I thought it was going to be a calorie bomb. But, it's really not that bad at around 450 calories. It is slightly high in fat, but you can modify that by using leaner sausage, something in place of the pancetta, etc.

Tom and I both really liked this dish. I mean, what's not to like about a creamy, comforting meal like this? Definitely one to make again.

Dirty Risotto
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 2

2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. butter
1 link (4 oz.) spicy Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
1 oz. pancetta, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pecorino romano

Add the chicken broth to a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer. Keep it on the stove, simmering, as you prepare the risotto.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chicken sausage, crumbling it as you stir it in, and the pancetta and cook for a few minutes until browned. Add the onions, red pepper and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes before adding the minced garlic. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the rice and stir to coat, "toasting" it a little. Add the wine and cook it off until it's almost completely evaporated.

Add a ladel of the simmering chicken broth to the pan and stir continiously until almost absorbed. Continue adding chicken broth by the ladel, every time the rice has nearly absorbed it, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite. Remove from heat and stir in the romano.

Dirty risotto

Nutritional Information, Per Serving, using Trader Joe's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage: Calories: 451.5 / Fat: 19.5g / Carbs: 39.5g /  Dietary Fiber: 2g / Protein: 24.8g

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Healthy berry muffins (3)

Every time I think of muffins, I think of Elaine Benes. ;)

I make muffins a lot. I love having something quick to grab in the morning, if necessary, but mostly I just like eating one with a few egg whites. Between the protein from the eggs and the complex carbs in the muffin, I stay satisfied for quite a while. But if I made muffins with cups of oil and butter, like most (delicious) muffin recipes call for, I'd balloon. So, instead, I am always making new versions of healthy muffins, and here's another to add to the list.

It's no secret I love Trader Joe's.  One of my favorite things there are frozen whole/pitted cherries, way cheaper than you can buy them fresh. But, the last time I was there, I picked up a triple berry frozen mix of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries instead. When I came home today, I realized I had some buttermilk to use up, thought of these berries and voila, another healthy muffin (but tasty!) was born.

I entered these on SparkRecipes (a great tool for those who don't know about it) and got the nutritional information listed below.

Healthy berry muffins (5)

Healthy Triple Berry Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. citrus zest (I used lime...anything would be good really, and certain citrus pairs better with certain berries)
2/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
1.5 cups berries of your choice, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat and all purpose flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a second bowl, beat the egg with the sugar until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, oil, zest, applesauce and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold the berries into the mixture. Don't overmix the batter. Your muffins could become tough and the batter may start turning colors from overworking the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Healthy berry muffins (4)

Nutritional Information Per Serving (12 Servings): Calories: 130.7 / Fat: 3.2g / Carbs: 23.5g / Fiber: 1.9g / Protein: 2.9g / Sugar: 11.2g

Healthy berry muffins

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

The Trader Joe's by my apartment is really, really small and I go there all the time. Yet, somehow I always manage to find something that I've never seen before. My lastest love: frozen red, yellow and green bell pepper strips.

This is so great because when cooking for two, it's rare I will use a whole pepper in a recipe (unless I am stuffing them of course). Plus, red and yellow peppers are an astronomical $3.99 per lb. at my grocery store. This one pound bag of peppers I don't even have to slice and will keep in my freezer longer than the red pepper will keep in the fridge crisper drawer I always forget about, anyway? $1.99.

Peppers

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

DSC03114

A while back, I read on Julie's blog that she liked a truffle cheese from Trader Joe's. It sounded delicious, so I looked for that cheese every time I went to TJ's for the last couple months--always to no avail. I finally found some on my last trip. It is seriously delicious!

I decided to make au gratin potatoes with it and I also think it would be great in risotto. But, it would be just as good on a burger or...well, pretty much everywhere :)

Potato and Truffle Cheese Gratin
Serves 2 

2 small potatoes, sliced thin
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. flour
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded truffle cheese

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a small casserole dish (or individual gratin dishes) with some cooking oil.

Layer the potatoes in the casserole dish, sprinkling each layer with a little salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Cook the onion until translucent and then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.

Stir in the flour and cook to get rid of rawness, a minute or two. Pour in milk and continue to heat until the mixture thickens.

Stir in cheese, except for a couple tablespoons, until melted. Season to taste.

Pour cheese mixture over the sliced potatoes. Top with the remaining cheese. Cover and bake about 30 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 5-10, or put the potatoes under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown.

DSC03116

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

DSC02646

Tonight was pretty easy as far as dinner goes, thanks to the box of burger patties in my freezer. The last time I was at Trader Joe's I picked up some chile lime chicken burgers that my friend Julie recommended. I don't usually get pre-mixed/seasoned things like that but at about $3.50/box (there are 4 1/4 lb. patties) it was actually cheaper than buying ground chicken and making the patties myself.

Originally my plan was to grill the burgers and then wrap them completely in a whole wheat tortilla with some cheese, and then grill that whole thing. Shamefully, this is an idea I totally ripped off fromTaco Bell (grilled, TO GO!). But, I didn't realize the patties were so wide and they definitely didn't fit in my tortillas that way, so I ended up halving them after I cooked them, and just using them as a taco filling. So, they aren't quite as pretty, but they tasted good :) I added cheese, salsa verde and tomatoes, but this would definitely benefit from some avacado/guacamole or sour cream, neither of which I had on hand.

We had this with a corn salad. I absolutely love corn salad, and the grilling in this salad makes it even more flavorful.  

Grilled corn salad with cumin-lime vinaigrette

4 ears corn, husked/cleaned
1 red pepper
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley or cilantro
Canola or olive oil, for grilling
salt and pepper

3 Tbsp. lime juice
1.5 Tbsp. olive or canola oil
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
small pinch of sugar
1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
salt and pepper to taste

Make vinaigrette by combining the last 5 ingredients.

Boil corn for approximately 2-3 minutes (as a sidenote, I usually flavor my water with both salt and sugar when I am boiling corn on the cob). When it's cool enough to handle, rub it with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Rub pepper and tomatoes with oil and salt/pepper. If you are doing this on an outdoor grill, skewer the tomatoes so they don't fall through the grates.

Grill corn, peppers and tomatoes until they get char marks. Set aside to cool slightly.

Once cool, cut corn off cob and slice red pepper.

Toss corn, red pepper, tomatoes, green onion, black beans, cilantro/parsley with the vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

A long time ago, I went grocery shopping with my friend Joelen to Trader Joe's. While I was there, I spotted some brown rice pasta and decided to pick it up, to see if it was any different from whole wheat pasta (for the record, I love whole wheat pasta but I am all about trying new things). When I got home, Tom said, "Please don't buy any more pasta." I looked at our cabinets, and sure enough we had about 8 or 9 lbs. of pasta. Oops. So, it goes without saying that the brown rice pasta made its way to the back of the pasta shelf, until today.

I actually wasn't planning on making dinner tonight, but my plans changed mid-day. I had nothing thawed and no groceries since I have been living out of a suitcase all month. But, I had dinner with Joelen last night and she asked me if I had tried the brown rice pasta yet. I was getting pretty sick of saying "no" every time she asked and was feeling like a bit of a culinary bum, so when I discovered I would be making myself dinner tonight, I had to try it.

Verdict on the brown rice pasta? Tastes pretty much like whole wheat pasta. It has a slightly different taste, maybe a little nuttier, and more of a bite to it. Nutritionally speaking, it is pretty similar in terms of calories and fat (it actually has no fat), but it's low in dietary fiber (1g) so I think I will stick to whole wheat pasta. If you eat gluten-free, though, this is a great option for your pasta fix!

DSC02485

I don't like eating pasta without a protein, but like I said I had nothing thawed. I used mushrooms for some meatiness but I don't think the serving (my typical pasta serving is 2oz) is quite big enough unless a protein is added, to get a little more full. So if I made this again, I would definitely add some chicken. And probably some asparagus, too :)

To play on what I presumed would be a nutty tasting dish, I decided to use some earthy flavors like thyme, bay, sherry and shrooms (well, nuts, too). This is not a saucy pasta. If you want it to be creamier, I would add about 1/2 cup or so of heavy cream at the end. I obviously did not have this.

Mushroom Pasta with Goat Cheese
Serves 2-4

8 oz. pasta, cooked
3/4 lb. mushrooms (I used crimini and oyster)
1/3 cup onions, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs of thyme or a pinch or two dried
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup sherry
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 oz. soft or semisoft goat cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper

Heat butter in a large saute pan over low-medium heat. Add the onions, mushroom, bay, thyme, and a couple pinches of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have evaporated all or most of their moisture, about 10 minutes.

Stir in garlic and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant (Note: this is a good time to drop the pasta in the water).

Add sherry to saute pan. Increase heat to medium-high and cook sherry to reduce down by a little more than half, around 7 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss pasta and peas with mushroom mixture until peas are heated through. Top with goat cheese and toasted pine nuts.

DSC02489

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Often times when you are specifically cooking for two, you don't end up with leftover meals but you do end up with leftover ingredients. That's what happened to me today, so I decided to throw them all into one thing and call it a day.

This is part marinara, part cacciatore, part sausage and peppers. Completely healthy :) This is what went into the clean-out-yer-fridge chicken dish.

- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 links chicken sausage (I used mushroom asiago), sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1/2 zucchini, diced
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- a handful or two of baby spinach
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 can (a little less than a cup) diced tomatoes with their juice
- basil and oregano
- salt and pepper
- one cup hot cooked brown rice

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken sausage slices and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon.

To the pan, add the diced onion and green pepper and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the mushrooms and zucchini, and a pinch of salt, and cook until tender.

Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Stir in diced tomatoes, spinach, salt and pepper, basil and oregano to taste. Add chicken sausage back to pan and simmer on low to warm through and mesh flavors.

Serve over brown rice.

Go grocery shopping again.

DSC02167

Nutritional info per serving, including the rice (may be off by a calorie or two because I threw out the original packaging of the chicken sausage but by using the packaging of a different flavor of the sausage and my memory I think it's pretty accurate): Calories: 400 / Fat: 14g / Carbs: 45g / Dietary Fiber: 4.5g / Protein: 21g

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

DSC02146

This pizza was inspired by many things, including the following:

1. Julie's individual goat cheese pizzas

2. My love for goat cheese

3. A balsamic steak and caramalized onion pizza Tiffany made a week or two ago

4. My favorite salad which is baby spinach, steak, roasted red peppers, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette

5. My love for goat cheese

There are people in this world who do not like pizza, and I just cannot understand this. There are 1809430 ways to make a pizza and, really, pizza is just amazing. I have come to the conclusion that maybe these people have only eaten pizza at Domino's or their school cafeteria. This is the only reasoning I have. They have not made their *perfect* pizza.

This pizza started out with half a package of Trader Joe's refrigerated whole wheat pizza dough. I made two flatbread-esque individual pieces from that. I prebaked the dough for about 5 minutes this time because the last couple times I have used this dough it has taken longer to crisp up than I had hoped/wanted. This worked out well.

Each pizza was topped with the following:

- 1 oz of goat cheese
- 2 Tbsp mozzarella
- some fresh herbs and ground pepper
- about half of a roasted red pepper
- 1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
- a handful of baby spinach
- 3 oz. of cooked flank steak, marinated in balsamic vinegar, a splash of soy sauce, a little olive oil, a sprig of rosemary and a couple smashed garlic cloves

We just ate this with some grape tomatoes and fresh basil drizzled with balsamic vinegar (hey, I had to get those antioxidants somewhere, since this pizza remained sauceless :)

DSC02158

Apparently the lighting in my kitchen has somehow gotten worse so I apologize for the dark pics as of late.

Per serving (the ingredients above plus 2 servings of the TJ's dough): Calories: 500 Fat: 19g / Carbs: 35g / Dietary Fiber: 9g / Protein: 34g

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Tonight I decided to go ahead and do my LiveStrong Taste of Yellow dish, which is referred to in an earlier blog post of mine. I encourage everyone with a food blog to do the same!

Yellow foods provide excellent benefits, like supplying carotenoids, which can improve your eye health as well as protect against cardiovascual disease and some cancers. When I really think about it, I don't eat enough yellow foods, so I will definitely try to add these to my diet more often!

Typically when I make stuffed peppers, I make the standard "gemista" I grew up on, which are basically ground beef, tomatoes, rice and seasonings stuffed into a green pepper. Today I decided to make stuffed yellow peppers, and I made them sort of Mexican/southwestern in flavor. I have to say, they were delicious!

I also wanted to make sure they were very nutritious. I used chicken sausage (TJ's chipotle flavored) instead of pork, brown rice instead of white, and salsa and chicken broth have basically no calories. So there is a good protein, a complex carb, and some veggies!

DSC01618

Stuffed Yellow Peppers

4-6 yellow peppers
EVOO
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 links chipotle chicken sausage, or other Mexican-style or spicy sausage, casings removed
3/4 cup salsa (I used a chunky version, use less if you are using a smoother/more liquid type)
1/2 cup chicken broth
cumin/chili powder/salt & pepper to taste (this will depend on how flavorful your sausage already is)
1/2 cup rice, cooked or par-cooked
1 cup cheddar/Mexican/manchengo/whatever kind of cheese you want

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut lids off peppers. Remove core, and place on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan sprayed with oil. Spray peppers lightly, too.

Heat EVOO in a skillet. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and sausage. Crumble and brown sausage.

Stir in salsa, chicken broth and seasonings. Add rice and simmer for a couple minutes, absorbing some of the liquid. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Fill peppers with mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

DSC01619

For a side, I made some black beans. I have to say that only in the past couple of years have I really started eating beans. I used to dislike them (or think I disliked them) but I have slowly introduced them into my diet and I really enjoy them. However, I tend to throw beans in something, as opposed to making them a side of their own. Tonight I went for a side dish and I think this is probably my new favorite way to eat black beans.

Black Beans

olive oil or canola oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup chicken broth
squeeze of fresh lime juice (optional)

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the oil to a shimmer. Stir in the onions and cook until tender. Add garlic and tomato paste and saute an additional minute. Add half the beans and mash them slightly, with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher.

Add remaining beans, chicken broth, bay leaf, cumin, chili powder and oregano. Simmer 15 minutes. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top.

You'll have to excuse the terrible picture of this. It's not the prettiest looking thing but it tastes great. 

DSC01605

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I had to do a little Easter shopping after work today so I knew I wouldn't want to make a dinner that took a while when I got home. I remembered I had half of my pizza dough from TJ's frozen, so I decided to thaw it and make a stromboli.

I used half a package of TJ's whole wheat pizza dough, rolled it out and topped it with about 1/2 cup shredded lowfat mozzarella, 1/4 cup smoked gouda (which I always have on hand but for some reason never thought to use in a pizza until I read canarygirl's blog), a link of spicy chicken sausage that I browned in a little EVOO with a clove of garlic and fresh rosemary, and prosciutto. Rolled it into a log with the ends tucked in, brushed it with an egg wash and baked at 425 for about 20-25 minutes.

DSC01486

With the stromboli, I made some zucchini sticks. Basically, zucchini dipped in a beaten egg then in some breadcrumbs that I seasoned. Normally I would add parmesan cheese to the bread crumbs but I already had enough cheese in the stromboli. I then placed the sticks on a sprayed cookie sheet, sprayed the tops with a little more oil, and stuck them in the oven for the same time as the stromboli. Served both with a marinara dipping sauce.

DSC01481

Read and post comments | Send to a friend