Quinoa Bibimbop Bowls

So before I start on what is a really good meal, I have a pet peeve.
What is it with Cooking Light giving out portion sizes like 12 oz ground beef.  What store sells ground beef in less than 1 pound packages?  And really, why am I going to do with 4 oz.  Yes, I can put it in the freezer where it will fall between a freezer burnt bag of open peas, and that 2oz of sausage I put in there from another recipe, only to never be seen again.  OK, rant over.

So I found this recipe either in the Cooking Light that is in the bed or the Cooking Light that is on the coffee table.  Either way, I dog-eared the page, and remembered there may be a recipe in there that I was interested in.  D and I were lazy about making a grocery list on Saturday, which meant I had about 5 hours to make one on Sunday while he was at work.  This recipe got added on, as I made the list both on the couch and right before taking a nap.

Anyway...
So we had this last night.  We had decided against frozen green beans because we didn't see why they were needed. D figured it out last night...it was because cooking fresh ones involves another pot (versus the microwave), and a lot of bowls were already used. Still fresh green beans are a keeper.

The taste was very good.  I'm reading now about the heat from the jalapeno... I must not have taste buds.  There was heat to the dish?    I loved the egg yolk over everything.

Definitely would have again.  (I did do the dishes).  For lunch I had it sans egg.  It was still tasty. I forgot to bring Asian Hot Sauce to add.

Quinoa Bibimbop Bowls

Photo by ALB (with and without the egg)

Bibimbop is a Korean dish that means "mixed rice." For this version, we took a hearty grain like quinoa and served it with crunchy vegetables and a fried egg. Jalapeño seeds add heat to the spicy-sweet beef mixture; remove the seeds and membranes before mincing for sensitive palates. Let the family build their own bowls, so this way, everyone's happy.

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 large carrot, cut into 3-in. julienne strips
1 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
4 radishes, very thinly sliced
1 (8-oz.) pkg. microwave-in-bag haricots verts (French green beans) (used fresh green beans)
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided (used 1tsp)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeño, minced
12 ounces 90% lean ground sirloin (used 1lb)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
4 large eggs

Preparation
1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 12 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork. Stir in salt.

2. Bring rice vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add carrot; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in onion and radishes. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. Drain.

3. Heat beans according to package directions. Combine beans, 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon oil in a bowl, and toss to coat.

4. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño; sauté 1 minute. Add beef; cook 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Stir in remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce and sugar; cook 1 minute. Place beef mixture in a bowl.

5. Return pan to medium-high heat. Crack eggs into pan; cook 2 minutes. Cover and cook 1 1/2 minutes. Spoon 2/3 cup quinoa into each of 4 bowls; top each with 1/3 cup beef mixture, 1/2 cup carrot mixture, 1/4 cup beans, and 1 egg.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 472; Fat: 19.5 g; Sat fat: 5.8 g; Mono fat: 8.7 g; Poly fat: 3.1 g; Protein: 32 g; Carbohydrate: 42 g; Fiber: 6 g; Cholesterol: 241 mg; Iron: 6 mg; Sodium: 670 mg; Calcium: 106 mg; Sugars: 10 g; Est. Added Sugars: 3 g

12 Smart Points (with my additions/subtractions)

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2016

Fried Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

So D knows I love Soft-Shells.  You can pretty much get them frozen all year round but frozen makes for tiny little suckers.  However, they are cleaned for you.

So our freezer is full, and we were trying to make room, and saw we had 4 more servings of crab. D found this recipe.  He always broils them with hot sauce for me, but I agreed to have them fried this time, except not really. He replaced the 2 Cups of oil with 2 TBSP of oil.

If you are trying to figure out the Nutritional Information, you will be left with about half the flour and half the panko.

So they weren't deep fried but they were very good. A good crunch and flavorful.

Would have again.  We were going to have with a salad, but the lettuce was iffy, so we had with fries.

Fried Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

Photo by ALB

4 Servings
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
Sauce 
¼ cup mayonnaise (Hellman's Light)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
¼ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (for once in our lives we didn't have Old Bay, so Creole Seasoning was used)
Slaw
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 Fresno chile, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (we have a 3 lb bag of jalapenos so 1 was used).
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Crab And Assembly
Vegetable oil (for frying; about 2 cups) (used 2 TBSP)
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning, divided (for once in our lives we didn't have Old Bay, so Creole Seasoning was used)
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
1¼ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
4 soft-shell crabs, cleaned
4 soft buns, warmed

Preparation
Sauce
Whisk mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, and Old Bay seasoning in small bowl.
DO AHEAD: Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Slaw
Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Add cabbage and chile and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.

Crab and Assembly
Pour oil into a large skillet, preferably cast iron, to a depth of 1/2" and heat over medium-high heat until oil bubbles immediately when a pinch of flour is added. (use 2 TBSP...use your skills or google to learn how to pan-fry, not deep fry).

Meanwhile, whisk flour, cayenne, and 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning in a shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper. Place eggs into another shallow bowl. Whisk panko and remaining 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning in a third shallow bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Dredge crabs in flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in egg, letting excess drip back into bowl. Coat in panko mixture.

Working in 2 batches, place crabs, shell side down, in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 (2 minutes) minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Season with salt.

Build sandwiches with buns, sauce, crabs, and slaw.

Gyro Meat Loaf with Tzatziki Sauce

I have been wanting meat loaf for a few weeks, and found this recipe.  D said he would make it.
It was supposed to be made with store-bought Tzatziki Sauce, but it was quicker to just make it then go hunt however many stores to find it.

It was lamb with spinach and cheese.  How could it be bad?  We had it with Greek Potatoes (2 baking potatoes, sauteed with Greek Seasoning, salt, and pepper, and some vinegar.

We will have again.

Gyro Meat Loaf with Tzatziki Sauce

A spin on a classic meat loaf, I love this because I can sneak spinach in on my meat-and-potatoes family. Serve it with Greek-style potatoes or a Greek salad. I also get to make a whole other meal the next night with the leftovers—gyros.

Photo by ALB

Adapted from A Taste of Home
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 55 min. + standing
MAKES: 8 servings

Ingredients

Sauce:
Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt
1 cucumbers - peeled, seeded and diced
1 tablespoons olive oil
3 TBSP lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
6 cloves garlic, peeled

Adapted from A Taste of Home
Meat Loaf
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pounds ground lamb
1 pounds ground beef, 90/10
1 cup refrigerated tzatziki sauce

Directions 
In a food processor or blender, combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, dill and garlic. Process until well-combined. Transfer to a separate dish, cover and refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine the first (meat loaf) eight ingredients. Crumble lamb/beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, 55-60 minutes or until no pink remains and a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with tzatziki sauce.

Freeze option: Securely wrap and freeze cooled meat loaf in plastic wrap and foil. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Unwrap meat loaf; reheat on a greased shallow baking pan in a preheated 350° oven until a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°. Yield: 8 servings.

Paleasagna

So my friend C posted this recipe on Pinterest.  I looked at it in passing, and thought it looked good, but I didn't really have a plan to have it.  Then my friend L mentioned she had to go on the London Diet for medical reasons, which is rather restrictive.   I remembered the recipe and passed it on to L, but felt bad to give her an untested recipe so D and I decided to test it out for her.

So a few may take exception to the name since there is no pasta (it's like my pizza versus shit-on-bread if there is no red sauce on the crust).  Is this lasana or a casserole since there is no pasta?  Either way, I liked it.  D wasn't so much a fan, but he isn't a fan of goat cheese, and he was unsure of the Greek Yogurt (very tangy).  But he looked at different ways to make it better which is good.
Suggestions were using Ricotta, taking out the Italian Seasoning and Goat Cheese and replacing with Greek Seasoning and Feta.  Other suggestions were replacing the zucchini with egg plant.

Paleasagna

Photo by ALB

From What Runs Lori
Servings: 6 Huge servings

Ingredients
1 white onion, diced
1 pound of 90% ground sirloin
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, low sodium
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp Italian spice blend
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound of zucchini and/or yellow squash, cut into medallion rounds
1/2 cup raw goat cheese, shredded
2 cups Greek yogurt
Add 1 C of Mozzarella
1 head broccoli, roughly chopped
1 egg

Directions
In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the diced onions. Sautee on medium-high until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, canned tomato and tomato paste, spices, salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Continue to cook all ingredients until the turkey is cooked through. Set aside when done.

In a medium bowl, combine raw goat cheese, Greek yogurt, (mozzarella cheese), broccoli pieces, and egg. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 13 x 9 Pyrex glass baking dish. Place a layer of zucchini and squash rounds evenly across the bottom, making a sort of liner.

Add a layer of turkey-tomato sauce on top of the zucchini. Top that with some of the broccoli and yogurt mixture, as shown above. Continue with this layering process until you have used all of your ingredients.

Top the entire dish with more shredded goat cheese, if desired.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy

This was in my "Tried" section of Pinterest, but for whatever reason I didn't write a review.  I remembered liking it, but that the gravy was on the thin side.  It's been getting colder in the house (we haven't turned on the heat yet), so comfort food and Sunday Dinner was what I wanted.  D looked at the recipe and said ok.

He said it was pretty easy to make.  We had with Oven-Roasted Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes.

Would have again.

Rustic Chicken with Garlic Gravy 

Photo by ALB

A delicious one ­pan meal that is delicious served with mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta, to make the most of the delicious gravy. To save yourself the chore of separating and peeling all that garlic, look for pre-­separated/peeled garlic cloves in the produce section of your grocery store.

Adapted from Jennifer at Seasons and Suppers
Recipe type: Main Course
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. cooking oil (used PAM)
6-­8 chicken thighs, skin on (used 4.5 pounds of chicken)
Salt and freshly ­ground black pepper
20­-22 cloves of garlic (D used 1 head), separated and peeled
2 Tbsp. flour
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth (used Fat-Free...use less if you want a thicker gravy)
1 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (or about 3/4 tsp. dried leaves)
2 Tbsp. butter (used 3 TBSP because D always uses butter in comfort dishes)

Instructions
1. Heat the oven to 400° F with rack in center of oven.

2. In a oven-­safe Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat the oil (used PAM) over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces well by patting them with a paper towel. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with a bit of salt and the pepper. Cook the chicken until well browned, turning regularly, for about 8 minutes in all then remove chicken to a plate. You can remove some of the fat in the pan if you have lots, but do leave enough to cook the garlic in the next step.

3. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, until it is starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre­-heated 400° oven. (If you pot or skillet doesn't have a lid, you can tightly cover the top with tinfoil instead.)

4. Remove the pot from the oven and put it on a burner. Be careful not to touch the hot pot! Remove the chicken pieces from the pot to a clean plate. Over medium-high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, thyme and a bit more salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until sauce thickens. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper (you won't need more salt, I promise), if it needs it. Add the chicken back to the pot to re­-warm with the sauce. Serve spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.

10 Smart Points (with my additions/subtractions)

Recipe by Seasons and Suppers at http://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/rustic­chicken­garlic­gravy/

GREEN CHILE FRITO PIE

D and I went to the local Hatch Chile Festival this past weekend. I found this recipe and D made it. It needs a little tweaking but overall was good.

We'll have again.

GREEN CHILE FRITO PIE

Photo by ALB

Adapted from Lisa Fain, Homesick Texan
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients for the green chile salsa:
12 fresh Hatch or Anaheim green chiles
2 jalapeño chiles
1/2 pound ground beef, preferably coarsely ground (used 1 lb)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (use 1 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (use 1 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (use 1 tsp)

Ingredients for the Frito pies:
4 cups Fritos (used 4oz)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack or Muenster (used 1/2 C)
1/4 cup diced onions
1 jalapeño, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream, for serving (Used 1/4 Cup)

Instructions:
If using fresh green chiles, roast the Hatch and jalapeño chiles under the broiler until blackened, about 5 minutes per side. Place the chiles in a paper sack or plastic food-storage bag, close it tight and let the chiles steam for 20 minutes. After the chiles have steamed, remove from the bag and rub off the skin. Remove the stems and seeds from both the chiles and finely chop.

In a Dutch oven on medium-low heat, add the ground beef, salt, and pepper. While occasionally stirring, cook until the beef has browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onions and tomatoes, and while occasionally stirring continue to cook until the onions have softened and the tomatoes are beginning to release some juices, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Stir in the diced chiles, water, salt, cumin, and oregano, turn the heat down to low, then while occasionally stirring cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings (I usually add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt).

To assemble the green chile Frito pies, evenly divide the Fritos among 4 to 8 bowls, then top with the green chile salsa, cheese, onion, and sliced jalapeños. Serve with sour cream on the side.

Notes: If you don’t have access to fresh green chiles, you may substitute 16 ounces canned green chiles or 2 cups frozen green chiles, thawed. Drain and rinse them before using and be careful when adding salt since they may already have been salted, too.

Vietnamese Pork Salad

We've had this twice.  It is very good.  Lots of flavor, and the dressing has a good heat in it.

Vietnamese Pork Salad

Photo by ALB

Think of this impressive salad as a deconstructed version of a spring roll.

Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups) (we got 4 servings)

Ingredients
2 ounces uncooked rice vermicelli noodles (used angel hair Pasta)
12 ounces ground pork (used 1 lb lean)
7 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
4 teaspoons fish sauce, divided
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons chopped unsalted peanuts
2 tablespoons sliced green onions
2 teaspoons Sriracha
4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diagonally cut seeded cucumber
1 cup diagonally cut carrot
1/2 cup diagonally cut yellow squash
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (have used mint and have subbed basil)

Preparation
1. Cook rice vermicelli according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Drain.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring to crumble. Combine 1 tablespoon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, and oil in a bowl; add to pan. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat.

3. Combine remaining 6 tablespoons juice, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons fish sauce, peanuts, green onions, and Sriracha in a bowl. Arrange lettuce, cucumber, carrot, and squash on a large platter. Top with noodles, pork mixture, cilantro, and mint. Drizzle juice mixture over top.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 268; Fat: 16 g; Sat fat: 5.1 g; Monofat: 7.2 g; Polyfat: 2.4 g; Protein: 12 g; Carbohydrate: 19 g; Fiber: 2 g; Cholesterol: 41 mg; Iron: 1 mg; Sodium: 337 mg; Calcium: 38 mg; Sugars: 8 g; Est. Added Sugars: 5 g

13 Smart Points (with my additions/subtractions)

Cooking Light, JUNE 2016