Food Friday - Rice Is Nice

from Kris B.

When I was a kid we did not eat out very often.  My mom fixed dinner every night - usually meat, potatoes or rice, and a vegetable or two.  I know exactly what is meant by the restaurants who advertise that they serve homestyle cooking.  The side affect to my culinary upbringing is that we never ate ethnic food.  The  phrase “Let’s get Chinese take-out” was never uttered a our house.  The only Chinese food I knew was La Choy chow mein that came in the double stacked cans that were taped together.  How many of you remember those?  The only Mexican food I knew was Taco Bell and  I think I was in high school before I even knew about that.  Then I moved to Texas and the world of ethnic food opened up for me.   Tacos, and nachos, and burritos..oh my!

I quickly discovered that I really love Tex-Mex.  Well, what I really love are tortillas and rice.  Going back to my childhood, the only rice I knew was Minute rice.  I’ll admit it.  I loved that too.  When I realized that every Tex-Mex meal is served with rice, and usually tortillas, I became a very happy “Texan.”  The bad thing about Tex-Mex though is that it does not rate well when it comes to daily recommended servings of vegetables.  One can only eat so much salsa and call it a serving of vegetables.  

Over the thirty years that I have now lived in Texas, I have progressed beyond Taco Bell in my choice of Mexican restaurants and have learned to make many of my favorite Tex-Mex dishes.  (The one that I will never master is tamales.  The best tamales can only be  made by an abuela.  Rice, however, can be made by just about anyone.  LOL!

Unlike traditional Spanish rice, which is not hot at all, the Green Chile Rice recipe that I am sharing with you this week has a nice kick to it thanks to the jalapeño and two poblano chile peppers that it uses.  (This recipe is based on the recipe by the same name in The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain.)

As my age has increased, so has my tolerance and fondness for spicy hot food.

INGREDIENTS

2 poblano peppers

1 jalapeño

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup cilantro

2 TBS lime juice

1 1/2 TBS vegetable oil

2 cups uncooked white rice

2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

1/2 cup water

The first step is to roast the poblano peppers.  Place them in a shallow baking dish.  Broil them for approximately five minutes on each side.  The skins will turn black.  

Remove them from the oven a place them in either a paper back or a plastic zipper bag for twenty minutes. Take them from the bag and “rub” the skin off.  It should slide or peel off easily.  Admittedly, the poor peppers are rather sad looking at this point in the process. 

They sort of resemble a troll whose feet are in serious need of a spa treatment.  Don’t let that be a deterrent to trying this recipe:-)

Remove the stems and seeds and rough chop both the poblano and jalapeño peppers.  It is the seeds that pack the most heat, so if you are not a fan of super hot food, makes sure to remove all of the seeds!

Place the peppers, garlic, cumin, cilantro, lime juice and a tablespoon of water in a food processor or blender.  Process until you have a thick green paste.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pot on medium low heat.  Add the rice and sauté for thirty seconds. Add the chile puree. Cook for another minute while continuously stirring.  Then add the broth and 1/2 of water.  (The original recipe calls for chicken stock.  To accommodate our resident vegetarian, I use vegetable stock.)  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Cover.  Turn the heat to low and cook for twenty minutes more.  Remove from heat and let the rice sit covered for ten more minutes.  Add salt to taste.  Stir.

This rice is tasty as a side with almost anything.  

If you really don’t like the heat from the peppers, you can omit them and still have a tasty cilantro-lime rice.  If you do this, increase the amount of cilantro to a cup and add a little more lime juice.

Enjoy!

from Tracey G.

I have been through so many rice pudding recipes, all pretty good too - but for some reason I settled on this one as my go-to recipe. I think it's because it's super easy, and takes so little time to make - the longest part of it is the 30 minute wait after it comes off the stove. I came to making rice pudding kind of late, maybe just started about 10 years ago. Just always seemed like it would be something really difficult to do - it's not, but I guess I just had that stuck in head that it would be, lol. Once I tried making it, I began the search for one that was both easy and yummy, it took awhile - and few recipes later, I stumbled upon this one - it was from Minute Rice of all places, lol. Now, I've had rice pudding recipes with both instant rice and regular rice (even arborio for one recipe) and I can say I like both. I was unsure about the instant rice for texture purposes, but it's fine when it's all said and done. ;-)

The ingredients couldn't be simpler, instant rice, vanilla, sugar, salt, milk and eggs. I usually have all the stuff around all the time anyway, so it's a snap when I want to make something quick and last-minute for dessert. 

First, you combine the rice, sugar, salt and milk in a medium saucepan. 

Next, you bring it to a boil stirring constantly - once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 6 minutes stirring occasionally. 

While the milk-rice mixture is simmering, whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small to medium sized bowl. I used a small one and my small whisk, usually works pretty well.

When the 6 minute cook time is up, stir a small amount of the hot milk-rice mixture into the eggs and vanilla - thereby tempering the eggs so you don't end up with scrambled eggs when you add them to the hot milk-rice mixture, lol, not a good thing! :-D

Once you temper the egg-vanilla mixture, add that slowly back into the pan with the hot milk-rice mixture. Now you cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute or until thickened. DO NOT BOIL.

Last step is to remove from heat and let stand for 30 min, and then serve warm! I've also noticed that if I let it sit a little longer before serving or eat the next day, it will dry out a bit. So, I just add some milk until I get it back to as creamy as I'd like. :-) You can serve with cinnamon on top - Harry likes it that way, but, I like it without, lol. Just plain for me thanks :-) And I suppose you could add raisins if that's what you'd like, lol, but you won't see me with them in or on mine, lol!

Here's the recipe:

Easy Rice Pudding

3 c milk

1 c instant rice

1/4 c sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla (a lot of times I add one more tsp and make it a tbsp ;-) )

1) Combine milk, rice, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 6 minutes stirring occasionally.

2) Beat eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir in a small amount of hot mixture into eggs. Stirring constantly, slowly pour egg mixture back into hot rice mixture. Stirring constantly, cook on low heat 1 minute until thickened. DO NOT BOIL.

Remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes, serve warm.  

Food Friday - It's Italian

by Tracey G

I guess it's kind of fitting, a Primavera-style dish on the first day of Spring! And as if to celebrate, I heard my first chipmunk talking outside today ;-) Yay! Warmer weather is coming...just a little more patience is needed and the spring peepers will be next - best sound ever!

Still on my quest to keep on eating more healthfully, this one is pretty good in keeping with that theme, especially when you use a chicken broth that is virtually fat free - the brand I used had a mere 5 calories per cup! That's a pretty good base for some lighter fare I think. ;-) I once again found this recipe in my Taste Of Home magazine, and the sheer simplicity of it first caught my attention, then the potential for it being a recipe that would fit into what I'm trying to accomplish in the healthy department. I did however  make a couple changes, (of course, lol, because I can't leave anything alone ;-) ) - I didn't add as much of the julienned carrots as it called for - and even what I did add, I still feel was too much. I added about 3/4 of what it called for, next time will just do half or less. I feel that it came out too "carroty" tasting, but that's an easy thing to fix by using less, lol. But hey, if you like a more carroty tasting broth, by all means stick with the original amounts! :-D The other thing I did was add a couple teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder to bolster the flavor up a bit and add a bit of salt without adding just salt - I remembered that's what Ina Garten does in her chicken pot pie recipe that I use, so I used that technique for this.

This recipe is so simple. It's going to be one of those I can see I'd turn to when I need something fast for dinner, as I usually have everything on hand between the cupboard and freezer - the only thing not usually on hand are the tortellini, but that can be something easy to keep around as well, they can be frozen for up to a month or so. And it's done in one pot - can't go wrong with that! I told Harry this is even something he could make since it's just open some packages and combine, lol.

Start with 8 cups of your brand of choice chicken broth (or homemade if you have it!), which for me was 2, 32oz. each, containers of broth.

Place in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. 

I kind of deviated here from the directions and instead of adding the peas, carrots and tortellini all at once, I added the carrots first and let them cook for a bit because I knew if they were crisp-tender, Harry would turn up his nose at the "crisp" part. I let them cook for a bit, then tested them, checking for the point when they were just at the crisp-tender stage, THEN I added the peas.....

...and the tortellini and pepper. 

Once I got the tortellini and pepper in, I then let it cook until the tortellini were done. All that's left to do is serve! LOL I served it with a nice crusty Italian bread. 

I can see there's lots of possibilities for this as far as adding different vegetables or even some cooked chicken. The recipe also calls for some thinly sliced fresh basil leaves to garnish with, I didn't have any to use, but once there's decent basil available (mostly out of my garden!) I will be adding it ;-)

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Taste Of Home :

Tortellini Primavera Soup

2 cartons, 32 oz. each, chicken broth

1 package, 10 oz., julienned carrots

1 package, 9 oz., cheese tortellini

1 cup frozen peas, about 4 oz.

1/4 tsp pepper

Thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add carrots, peas, tortellini and pepper; return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, 7-9 minutes or until pasta is tender. Top servings with basil.

You can also freeze the leftovers. To use partially thaw overnight in refrigerator. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Happy eating all ;-)

Tracey 

xoxo 


by Kris B.

While many around the world are eating corned beef and cabbage or a little coddle and champ perhaps with a little Irish soda bread on the side in honor of St. Paddy’s Day, Tracey and I seemed to be in an Italian mood.  This week we were both trying to get back into the regular weekly routine , Tracey after being sick much of last week and me after spending my spring break in Delaware working on estate stuff.  In emails that crossed one another, we independently came up with this week’s Italian-themed recipes.  This was another of those odd little synchronicities that often occurs with us.

As I write, a gentle spring rain is falling here in Texas.  It is definitely gray outside, but it is not the dark gray of winter.  It is starting to feel like spring, perhaps the gray feels less dreary because I noticed last evening that my first iris of the year has bloomed!

I just had to share this photo as a beacon of hope for all those who are still experiencing cold and snow.

Back to food…

I have been remarkably good with my quest to eat more intentionally, even in Delaware last week when we were forced to eat most of our meals out.  We had some nice meals, but we also ate a few in airports and on airplanes.  (I am a sucker for the soft pretzels in Terminal F at the Philadelphia airport…but, I planned for them into my WW daily points!)  My contribution to this week’s post, though it sounds somewhat healthy, is a killer to the point count!  That realization truly hurts my heart because pesto meatballs with couscous is one of my all-time favorite meals.  The pesto is what ups the fat, calories, and WW point value.  It is also the pesto that gives the meatballs the delicious flavor.  Dilemmas, dilemmas.

I consulted with my daughter who is a trained pastry chef and a fabulous cook.  Such a consultation turned out to be a big mistake on my part.  Pastry chefs love fat, there is no such thing as too much butter in their world.  My daughter is also a vegetarian so asking her anything about how to cook meat was me stupidly barking up the wrong tree; however, we did finally meet in the middle and seriously discuss the matter of my pesto problem.  

Brooke and I agreed that the pesto definitely added fat to the meatballs.  She asked me if I added fat when I made other kinds of meatballs or meatloaf.  I don’t.  We decided that I could just season the ground beef with basil, garlic, and a little parmesan cheese and cut the olive oil that is an integral ingredient of the pesto.  Next came a discussion about proportions.  After we’d figured out how much basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese I should use with my pound and a half of lean ground beef, I asked the all important question, “So, do you think I should try the meatballs this way?”  her response without any hesitation, “No.  If you like them the way you’ve always made them then make them that way and enjoy the meal.”  Out of the mouth of babes…

So, you are getting the full calorie, and more importantly, full goodness of this recipe.  I plan to enjoy every bite of my meal without worrying or feeling guilty about the indulgence.  My rule of life, and I think that Tracey has said this as well, is “everything in moderation.”  The key to a healthy life, both physically and emotionally, is balance.  One somewhat indulgent meal a week is not going to upset that balance.

One of the reasons that I have always loved this recipe is that it is super simple to prepare, yet doesn't taste that way.  The ingredients are either pantry staples or packaged and easy to find at the grocery store.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds of ground beef   (I use the leanest that I can get.)

1/2 cup of crushed saltine crackers

1/2 cup of commercial pesto    (I make my own pesto over the summer and freeze it, but by         this time of year, that supply is depleted.  Either works just fine.)

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp black pepper

1 box commercially packaged couscous     (I usually use the Parmesan flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush baking sheets with olive oil.  I go fairly light on the olive oil and have had no problems with the meatballs sticking.

Combine the ground beef, pesto, cracker crumbs, egg, salt and pepper.  I have to say that this works best when you do it with your hands.

Form 12 meatballs and place on the cookie sheet.  Using a cookie scoop yields nicely shaped and uniformly sized meatballs.

Bake the meatballs for 25 minutes, turning once after about 15 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, prepare the couscous according to the package directions.

To serve, spoon the couscous on the plate.  Top with three meatballs.  If you are feeling decadent, you can drizzle a little pesto over the meatballs and then top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Served with a side of freshly steamed broccoli or a green salad, this makes an easy weekday dinner or a great meal to serve guests.

One of my many weird quirks is that I love paper and pens and I thoroughly enjoy hand writing.  I would much rather sit with a pen and a yellow legal pad than in front of the computer.  I mention this because I copied this recipe by hand into my notebook of collected recipes.  I made the notation that the original recipe is from a Real Simple magazine, but I failed to indicate the issue or date of the exact publication.  

Happy Spring!!!

Food Friday - Guilt Free Eating

from Tracey G

Orzo Pasta Salad

Still trying to stay in the better-for-me mindset. And this recipe covers that pretty well. Yes, there's fat involved but it's olive oil, a good-for-you fat. This is just one of those things that came into my mind by being pulled from a few different recipes using orzo as the basic inspiration when I was needing some recipes that were flavorful but not too hard on the heart and body. I twisted it and turned it a little bit until I got it the way I wanted it :-) It couldn't be simpler, and is always fresh tasting - never heavy like a traditionally dressed pasta salad. 

I think it's the clean combination of fresh lemon juice (and it has to be fresh, it's the only way to go! :-) ) and the olive oil that keeps it bright. And with the using of the lemon juice, a lot less salt can be used - even none if you so desire, making it even a little bit better for your heart along with the olive oil. ;-) But for the salt addition, the only salt I use is kosher - the flat flakes allow you to use less, as the flavor is spread out over the flake, instead of in salt granule therefore you get the salt flavor without all the salt. When I was taking care of my mom, between the renal diet and the CHF heart diet she was on, I learned to use very little to no salt when I cook, so when I cook my pastas, I never add salt to the water. I'd rather save the salt flavor for somewhere I can taste it - not on a pasta that's buried under a sauce etc... Lemon juice is a wonderful alternative to salt, and lemons became a staple in the house for her to squeeze onto her foods instead of salt and it worked really well. There's something to the sharp brightness of the lemon juice that can mimic that salt experience without the salt. 

The Greek in me also adds some Kalamata olives occasionally (as the above garnished photo shows ;-) ) and feta cheese. The feta makes a wonderful addition, the flavors all work together. Shoot, even red bell pepper would be great in it if you don't want the tomatoes, and you still get that bit of red to liven it up - or really get crazy and use both red pepper AND tomatoes! LOL 

Once again, my "recipe" is more of a method, fully customizable to your tastes, don't be afraid to add your own twist to it! 

This pretty much sums up the ingredients, minus the olive oil and salt :-) Summertime makes this salad even better with all the fresh veggies that are out there and in season!

After the orzo gets cooked, drained, rinsed in cold water and then while it's draining again from the cold water rins, I get my dressing put together. The lemons can be temperamental, as I was reminded of again today - instead of it taking the usual 2 lemons to get my 1/2 cup of juice, it took close to 3, just had some not-so-great lemons today. Glad I bought extra just in case! And I do like to combine my seasonings with the acid first - even when making a vinaigrette or a marinade, the seasonings get mixed/dissolved into the acid, be it vinegar or lemon juice. Things combine much better when I do it that way, then add the oil/fat of choice. Adding in the fat before the seasonings doesn't allow them to mix in very well as they won't dissolve in oil. ;-) So, whisk the salt and garlic into the lemon juice, when well combined, whisk in the olive oil. When I'm making my dressing, I like mine to be more lemony so I usually only use about 1/3 cup of oil to the 1/2 cup of lemon juice - this is another thing to do as to your tastes - if you want it less tart/lemony, use a bit more oil etc. It does mellow out the following day, so that's just something to keep in mind ;-)

I like to use my Microplane grater for the garlic. I used to use my press, but this seems faster somehow and I know it's easier to clean, lol. I prefer though to have the garlic this way, instead of minced - either grated or pressed, that way you don't bite into a good sized piece of garlic, because even a smallish minced piece can pack a big a garlicky punch, lol. Alternatively, if you don't have either a grater or press, you can use a knife - mince your garlic well, sprinkle with a little kosher salt (the salt also seems to mellow the flavor of the garlic) and then mash with the back of your knife until you have worked it into a paste. 

I make sure I get my orzo into a bowl large enough for easy mixing, there's nothing worse than mixing and having things jumping out of your bowl, lol. At this point I, I mix my dressing into my orzo, then add the vegetables.

Once I add in the vegetables in, I then mix them up well until they're combined fairly evenly and are coated well with the dressing. 

That's it! I then usually transfer to a smaller bowl for storage, cover it well and pop it in the fridge if I don't use it right away. :-)

And here's the "recipe" (again, I had to write it as I went along since this was one of those things trapped in my head only! LOL)

Orzo Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

16 oz pkg orzo pasta

1 English cucumber, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 of a red onion, chopped

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, left whole or halved

Dressing:

1 garlic clove, grated or pressed through a garlic press (alternatively could be minced and mashed with the back of a knife and a little kosher salt)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt (optional)

1 1/2 - 2 lemons, juiced to equal approximately 1/2 c juice

1/3 - 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Cool orzo according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and allowed to drain again. 

While the orzo is draining, combine the dressing ingredients: mix the lemon juice, garlic and kosher salt, until salt is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil. 

Put the orzo in a big enough bowl for easy mixing/combining of ingredients. Pour the dressing over top, then add the cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Stir well to coat. Refrigerate or serve immediately. After being refrigerated, stir before serving.

from Kris B.

I am in the midst of week two in my quest towards a smaller butt.  And, I am happy to say, it is going well...so far.  I hope that all of you don't mind a few weeks of lower calorie recipes as Tracey and I strive to drop a few extra pounds.

As I confessed last week, I am a serious carbohydrate addict, so any eating plan that avoids carbs completely is never going to work for me.  As a compromise, I have to work to find meals and snacks that still allow for my carb fix but don't send the scale tipping in the wrong direction.  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; it is not just sweet carbohydrates that I love, though they are mighty tasty, but also crackers, beans, rice, noodles…and so on…

As far as ethnic cuisines go, Asian is my favorite, because, well, it contains lots of rice and noodles.  Generally, I don't cook a lot of Asian food;  it is much easier and tastes much better when we go out to eat.  But, we all know that eating out can be a major stumbling block when we are trying to carefully monitor all that we put into our bodies.  I have been on a search to find a simple make-at-home, but still-tastes-good, healthy Asian noodle recipe.  I have tried several that have been OK, but I think now I have found THE ONE!  And as a bonus... It is actually a Weight Watchers recipe!!!  Needless to say, I am one happy eater right now.

This recipe is all about "hitting the bottles" in the pantry and fridge to make a flavorful sesame sauce...

...and then adding it to a few fresh ingredients.  

Sesame Noodles with Chicken are quick, easy, and, best of all, really good!

Weight Watchers Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs cooked and cut into thinly sliced strips

8 oz whole wheat udon noodles (In a pinch you can use whole wheat spaghetti.)

1/2 Cup chopped scallions

Shredded carrot

Chopped cilantro for garnish

2 tsp sesame seeds

For the sauce:

3 TBS rice vinegar

3 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS hoison sauce

1 TBS dark sesame oil

2 tsp chili sauce with garlic

1 1/2 tsp honey

Cook the noodles as directed on the package.  Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid and then drain the noodles.

Place the noodles, cooked chicken, and scallions into a large bowl. Mix gently.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved water from the noodles, vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oil, chili sauce, and honey.  Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and chicken.  Gently toss until the noodles are coated.

If desired, mix in some shredded carrot to add a little color.  Top with sesame seeds and cilantro.  (You may notice no carrots.  I forgot to add them before I took the photos:-))

Sesame Noodles with Chicken can be enjoyed as either a hot or a cold dish.

There is no question about which of the two of us is the better food photographer.  It has quite the learning curve, at least for me.  And though I obviously still have much room for improvement, I have actually learned a few things in the past six weeks since we began Pixels, Plates, and LOLS!.  Since at my core I am a teacher and my job is to impart knowledge and perhaps a little wisdom, I am going to take this opportunity to share what I have learned thus far:

• The better your camera (and your ability to use it), the dirtier your kitchen seems to be.  An odd correlation, but oh so true!  It is amazing how those crumbs and spots appear.

• Don’t try to photograph the dinner that you are making at the end of a very long work day when you are already hungry and ready to eat before you even start the process.  This is the method to madness, frustration…and inadvertently omitted ingredients.

• There is no good angle or light that will make raw meat photograph well.  There just isn’t.  Cooked meat is only marginally better, in my opinion.

• A surprising amount of food and its ingredients are brown.

• Kitchen tools and appliances are rather fascinating through a macro lens.

• I never thought that noodles would be so interesting to photograph.

• Bad food photography is the worst kind of bad photography.

That’s where I am right now.  I know that there is so much more for me to learn!

Have a great and healthy week.  
We'll see you in March!