• 26Aug

    Vegetable Enchiladas

    It’s finally cooled down enough to use our oven again. I’ve been waiting to try this version of enchiladas made more healthful by a tasty combination of fresh spinach, corn and two kinds of beans (adapted from Sunset Magazine).

    Ingredients:

    1 Tbsp olive oil
    5-6 green onions, chopped (set aside 4-5 Tbsp)
    10-oz pkg fresh baby spinach
    1 cup cooked corn
    16-oz can enchilada sauce
    9 corn tortillas
    1 cup refried beans
    1 (15-oz) can cooked black beans, rinsed
    1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare vegetables.

    2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat; add onion and spinach, stirring as needed, until spinach is mostly wilted. Add corn and heat through. Set aside.

    3. Meanwhile, cut tortillas into quarters – I use an artisan tortilla that is a blend of corn and whole wheat.

    4. In a 9×13″ baking dish (I used two smaller baking dishes and froze one of them), spoon half the enchilada sauce. Top with a third of the tortilla quarters, half the black beans and half the refried beans.

    5. Sprinkle with half the cheese; top with a third of the tortilla quarters and then spread the cooked vegetable mixture evenly over all.

    6. Layer with the last of the tortilla quarters, and drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce over all. Top with remaining cheese.

    7. Place in preheated oven and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions. Eat while warm. Enjoy.

    Filed under: Main Dishes, Vegetable Enchiladas
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  • 01Aug

    Salmon Caesar Salad

    We tend toward a plant-based diet, using seafood and poultry mostly as flavorings. This half portion of salmon on a large bed of lettuce was more than enough to fill us on this summer evening.

    (With braces on for more than a year and very few salads during that time, you can imagine how good this tasted to me.)

    Ingredients:
    1 cup Vegenaise (a more healthful version of mayonnaise, but of course you could use mayo)
    2 Tbsp red cider vinegar
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 tsp Wax Orchards Fruit Sweet
    1 tsp dry mustard
    1/2 tsp salt
    Freshly ground pepper to taste

    1 portion of salmon
    1/2 Tbsp olive oil
    Garlic salt
    Mrs. Dash Table Blend
    Romaine lettuce
    Green olives
    Cherry tomatoes
    Croutons
    Grated Parmesan cheese (I’ve used Monterrey Jack, as well)

    Directions:
    1. To make creamy garlic dressing, combine first seven ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour.

    2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Season salmon with garlic salt and Mrs. Dash seasoning. Saute in skillet until done, 5-8 minutes on each side.

    3. While salmon cooks, cut Romaine lettuce, enough for two people, into 3/4″ pieces crosswise.

    4. In a salad bowl, toss lettuce with dressing. Store excess dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator.

    5.Transfer lettuce to dinner plates; top with cooked salmon and sprinkle with cheese. Arrange tomatoes, olives and croutons on the side. Serve while salmon is still warm.

    Makes 2 generous servings.

    Filed under: Main Dishes, Salads, Salmon Caesar Salad
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  • 30Oct

    Garlic Salmon Linguine

    We were gifted with a couple of pint jars of canned salmon, so were inspired to look for a new recipe – something with pasta in it. This one pleasantly surprised me. It doesn’t call for a sauce (as in alfredo sauce) and yet it was plenty *saucy.* It’s quick to fix – ready in 20 minutes.

    I did make some variations from the original recipe – added spinach, fresh dill, and more garlic. Oh, and a bit of cheese on top. Two thumbs up from hubby, which is all that matters.

    Ingredients:

    6-7 oz whole grain linguine
    2 Tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Spread
    6 garlic cloves, chopped fine
    5-6 oz fresh baby spinach (2 large handfuls), chopped
    1 pint jar (or 1 14.75-oz can) salmon – drained and with bones and skin removed
    3/4 cup chicken broth
    1/2 tsp salt
    2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
    Cheese, grated

    Directions:

    1. Cook linguine according to package directions.

    2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown garlic in buttery spread for 2-3 minutes.

    3. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted – about 4-5 minutes.

    4. Stir in salmon, broth, salt and dill. Cook until heated through.

    5. Drain linguine; add to the salmon mixture and toss to coat.

    6. Stir in 1/4 – 1/2 cup grated cheese. You can also add a small amount of grated cheese to each individual serving.

    Makes 4 hearty servings.

    Filed under: Garlic Salmon Linguine, Main Dishes
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  • 05Mar

    Grilled Salmon Soft Tacos

    I’ve loved fish tacos ever since my first taste in Mexico at a roadside stand. I’ve ordered them a number of times through the years (Longboard Louie’s in our hometown of Bend, Oregon, makes a great fish taco), but I’ve never made them at home.

    Hubby found this grilled salmon taco recipe at EatingWell.com. The only problem is, it came in a four-sheet print-out – one recipe for grilling the salmon, one for the cabbage slaw, one for the citrus salsa and one for the cilantro crema.

    Being a keep-it-simple sort of girl, I combined the slaw, salsa and sauce with a few substitutions into one easy recipe that can be set aside while the salmon grills. You can make this recipe with halibut or tilapia, as well.

    Slaw/Salsa Ingredients:

    1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
    1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
    1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
    1/2 small orange, peeled with membrane removed and coarsely chopped
    3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
    1 Tbsp Vegenaise
    1/2 tsp sea salt
    1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

    Grilling Ingredients:

    1 Tbsp olive oil
    1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
    2 tsp dark chili powder
    1/2 tsp sea salt
    1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
    2 4-oz salmon fillets

    6 6-inch corn tortillas
    Avocado slices

    Directions:

    1. Prepare cabbage, red pepper, red onion and oranges.

    2. Combine vegetables and fruits in a bowl with Vegenaise, salt and pepper. Hubby doesn’t care for the taste of cilantro (I know, I know … who doesn’t like cilantro on Mexican-style dishes?), so I added it separately to my tacos.

    Also, the original recipe calls for 1 tsp seeded and finely chopped serrano chile, but hubby – being the true gringo that he is – nixed that as well. This version of slaw is quite tasty but very mild … so you might want to add some kick.

    3. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice and seasonings.

    4. Cover a flat baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place salmon on foil and spread with half the olive oil/seasoning mix.

    5. Place pan about 4″ from the grill (I used our oven broiler) and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once and spreading the other half of the olive oil/seasoning mix on the fish. Cut each fillet into finger-length pieces.

    6. Meanwhile, as salmon cooks, heat corn tortillas on a non-greased flat cast iron skillet. Keep warm on a plate covered with a kitchen towel.

    7. To serve, place grilled salmon pieces on tortilla and top with Slaw/Salsa mix. Serve with avocado. Makes enough for 2 hungry gringos.

    Filed under: Grilled Salmon Soft Tacos, Main Dishes
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  • 22Jan

    Tomato Basil Fettuccine

    My friend Tracey, mother of seven beautiful children, sent this simple pasta recipe this week – one of their family favorites. Today was the perfect gray day to try it out. I loved the blend of tomatoes and fresh basil and Mozzarella – a new comfort food dish to add to my list of favorites.

    Ingredients:

    1/4 cup olive oil
    3 medium large tomatoes, chopped
    2 cloves of garlic, pressed
    2 Tbsp fresh chopped basil
    1/2 tsp sea salt
    1/8 tsp pepper
    Grated Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese ( I used low-moisture part-skim Mozzarella cheese)
    8 oz spinach or regular fettuccine noodles (I used organic spinach fettuccine made with Jerusalem artichoke flour)

    Directions:

    1. Prep vegetables before starting the pasta: chop the tomatoes and basil, peel the garlic.

    2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss with 2 tsp olive oil.

    3. Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper.

    4. Cook 3-4 minutes.

    5. Serve tomato/basil sauce over fettuccine (Tracey’s recipe instructs to toss the tomato/basil sauce with the cooked fettuccine). Sprinkle with cheese.

    Feeds 2-3 hungry adults.

    Filed under: Main Dishes, Tomato Basil Fettuccine
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  • 14Jan

    Mandarin Ginger Roasted Chicken

    My co-worker ordered a few books for our Cancer Center library this week. One of them was a cookbook by Rebecca Katz entitled The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen.

    It includes a recipe for a roasted chicken, flavored with orange juice, paprika and ginger. I had some tangerines that I wanted to use up, so with just a few tweaks, here’s my version of one of the ultimates in comfort foods – a roasted chicken.

    Ingredients:

    1 4- to 5-lb chicken
    1 tsp paprika
    1/2 tsp cinnamon
    1 tsp sea salt
    3 mandarins, zested (for about 1 tsp of zest) and juiced, rind reserved
    1 tsp grated fresh ginger
    3 slender pieces of fresh peeled ginger, about 1″ in length
    3 garlic cloves
    2 cinnamon sticks

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat bottom of 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil. Pat chicken dry with paper towel and place breast side up in baking dish.

    2. Blend the paprika and cinnamon together. Divide mixture in half, and stir salt into one half.

    3. Rub the salted spice mixture all over the outside of the chicken.

    4. Blend the unsalted spice mixture with the grated ginger and mandarin zest.

    5. Gently lift the skin away from the breast; lightly massage the spice and zest mixture into the meat under the skin.

    6. Place the ginger pieces, garlic, cinnamon sticks and mandarin rinds inside the cavity of the chicken, along with half the juice.

    7. Place chicken in oven. Total roasting time will be approximately 1 hour. Every 20 minutes or so, baste with juices from pan and a few tablespoons at a time of the remaining mandarin juice.

    8. Let chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

    Hubby and I were surprised that the ginger flavor dominated – to the point where we didn’t taste the cinnamon or paprika or garlic. But the bird was delicious and tender … and, of course, half the pleasure of a roasted chicken is the aroma that permeates the house as it roasts.

    I boiled the carcass afterward, curious to discover if the unique blend of flavorings would make a good broth for soup. It did; oh yes, it did.

    Filed under: Main Dishes, Mandarin Ginger Roasted Chicken
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  • 20Dec

    Chicken Divan

    One of our family favorites from years past was a Chicken Divan recipe that called for two cans of cream of chicken soup as a base for the sauce. Now that canned soups are no longer on my grocery list, I experimented to see if I could make a good sauce from scratch. I started with a roux using a healthy butter substitute and whole wheat pastry flour, and made my own chicken broth (boiled the bones of a roasted chicken). It was easy … and good … and didn’t require a can opener.

    Ingredients:

    1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
    1 bunch broccoli, steamed (do not overcook)
    5 Tbsp Earth Balance buttery spread
    5 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
    2 cups chicken broth
    1 cup milk
    2 Tbsp dry sherry
    2 tsp curry powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 cup Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise
    2 tsp Dijon mustard
    1 cup shredded cheese
    Paprika, to taste

    Directions:

    1. To make sauce, melt buttery spread in a large skillet. Stir in flour until well blended. Slowly pour in chicken broth and milk, whisking constantly as sauce thickens. Stir in sherry, curry powder, salt, Vegenaise and mustard.

    2. Meanwhile, layer cooked broccoli on the bottom of a 7×11″ casserole dish (or two smaller casserole dishes, if cooking for two).

    3. Layer cooked chicken on top of broccoli.

    4. Pour sauce evenly over chicken and broccoli. Top with shredded cheese and sprinkle with paprika.

    5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly. Let cool several minutes before serving.

    6. While casserole is baking, prepare brown rice. Serve chicken divan over rice.

    This recipe serves 6-8 people. If it’s just hubby and me for dinner, I’ll assemble it in two smaller casserole dishes and freeze one for later. An old favorite dish with a new favorite sauce.

    Filed under: Chicken Divan, Main Dishes
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