Midnight Snack - Mushrooms with Sage

This is my first personal recipe ever. And it was really yummy! I'm on a super diet for the next few weeks, trying to get in shape, and got a midnight hunger craving. Thankfully, I've stocked my fridge with only healthy fare. So here's my concoction....

Ingredients:
8 oz. button mushrooms (or mixed mushrooms) - anything will work
20 sage leaves, coursely chopped
1/4 cup Sherry
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Dash of Emeril's Original Essence
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the olive oil and butter and add the mushrooms and the Essence of Emiril. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the sage, cook for additional 2 minutes and turn the skillet up a notch - wait until the natural juices start to absorb back into the mushrooms and then add the sherry. Stir constantly..the sherry will deglaze the pan and absorb into the shrooms as well. Add salt & pepper to taste.

I ate half tonight and plan to eat the other half atop a chicken breast with cheese tomorrow for lunch. :-)

Chang-Mai Salmon and Orzo Pasta

A friend recommended I try making salmon this way and it's my favorite preparation style now. Simply buy some "Chang-Mai Fish & Foul" seasoning - I get mine in the bulk spice section at Central Market, and rub a generous amount on top of the dry fish. No oil necessary. Bake the fish in the oven at 400 degrees until done, about 20-30 minutes.

I remember seeing this orzo pasta recipe on the food network years ago but I can't remember who's show it was on. I also don't have the exact ingredient amounts so I usually just "wing it." The combination of the garlic and mint is a wonderful surprise.

2 cups hot cooked orzo pasta
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
about 20 fresh mint leaves, torn in pieces

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss the onions in and stir until they start to become a tad translucent, then add in the garlic and zucchini. Cook for a few more minutes until the zucchini starts to soften. Then, dump the orzo in and mix everything together. Add the mint last. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Healthy Veggie Soup

Today's spring-like weather made me realize that bikini season is right around the corner. Whenever I feel the need to trim up or just eat a bit healthier, I make this soup. It is low-cal, low-carb, high-fiber and no-fat. It's an old Weight Watcher favorite and I've been making it for years. It makes a big batch so I like to break it into small tupperware containers that are easy to grab.

Ingredients:
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic
6 cups lower sodium chicken broth
1/2 cabbage, chopped
1/2 pound frozen green beans (I use fresh beans)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I like sun dried tomato paste but any variety works)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray or use a little olive oil and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the green beans are tender. Add the zucchini and squash and cook until tender. Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Dip

I saw this dip on Rachel Ray and it looked like a healthy, yummy treat so I had to try it. I was pleasantly surprised! And the roasted carrots were so good I wanted to eat them up instead of putting them in the dip. :-)

Ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup non-fat Greek-style yogurt, depending on how creamy you want it
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Toss the carrots on a cookie sheet with a little EVOO and salt & pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven until they're tender and start to brown a little, about 20-25 minutes. The natural sugars come out and they are delicious!

Throw the carrots in a food processor and chop them up as fine as you can. Blend the carrots into the yogurt, add the lemon juice and zest, and you're done! Serve with assorted veggies for dipping, such as celery, bell pepper and zucchini spears.

Curried Cashew Chicken

I love curry dishes. So I was excited when I found a relatively healthy version of it a special addition of Cooking Light Magazine. The preparation takes a little time, but the cooking is all done in the same pan, so cleanup is a snap. I thought it was really yummy and I'm looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. I can't wait for the day I'm no longer cooking for one!!! :-)

Sauce:
1/3 cup fat free-less sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Remaining Ingredients:
1 lb bonesless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 3-inch strips accross the grain
2 tablespoons canola oil
1.5 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 small dried red chiles, broken in half
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup dry roasted salted cashews, chopped
2 cups cooked short-grain rice
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Yields 3-4 serviings
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-start cooking rice
-Prepare sauce by combining first 5 ingredients in a bowl
-Heat a wok or non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes and remove to a plate.
-Addremaining oil to the wok, then add the sliced onion and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute.
-When fragrant and the onions are translucent, add curry powder and chiles, heat for a couple minutes until warmed through. Thicken the sauce with a couple tablespoons of flour mixed with water if you like a thicker sauce.
-Remove the red chiles and spoon onto a bed of rice and garnish with cilantro and cashews.

~For less heat, leave the red chiles whole instead of breaking them in half.

Enjoy! Let me know how you like it.

Roasted Chicken and Sausages with Balsamic Drizzle

This recipe is super easy to prepare and makes the house smell wonderful. You can throw in any seasonal veggies you like. It's a beautiful meal to serve family style and tastes just as good as it looks!

Ingredients
4 pieces bone-in chicken thighs with legs attached
1 pound Italian sweet sausages
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, 2 finely chopped
7 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme, 4 finely chopped
12 baby potatoes halved, such as baby Yukon gold
8 shallots, halved through root and peeled
1 pound bunch black seedless grapes, removed from stems
Balsamic drizzle, to garnish

Yields: Serves 4

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Preparation
Preheat oven to 425˚F.
In a large, shallow roasting pan, dress chicken and sausages with about 1 tablespoon of EVOO. Season with chopped rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
Toss the potatoes, shallots and black grapes with remaining EVOO, salt and pepper and add to the roasting pan. Bundle the rosemary and thyme sprigs and toss them in the pan as well. Roast 45-50 minutes until the meat juices run clear and the chicken skin and sausage casings are crispy.
To serve, arrange meat, sausage, potatoes, shallots and grapes on dinner plates and garnish with pan juices and balsamic drizzle.

Balsamic drizzle can be made by putting 1/2 cup of balsamic vinagrette in a saucepan over medium heat with a couple tablespoons of dark brown sugar and simmer until it thickens up.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

It was a cold and rainy day so I decided to try this recipe I had seen on Rachel Ray because it looked comforting. She used pumpkin but I prefer butternut squash. I listened to jazz music and took my time preparing the meal while enjoying a glass of cabernet. The dish turned out to be amazing, my favorite part was the roasted butternut squash, which I would eat plain.

Ingredients
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
A few sprigs fresh sage, very thinly sliced (or dried sage from the pantry)
2 bundles farm fresh spinach trimmed and washed or 3/4 pound bagged spinach, stemmed
1 pound good quality fresh gnocchi (Central Market makes a version I like)
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for topping

Yields: Serves 4 -6


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Preparation
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
On a baking sheet, toss squash with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes, turning once. Remove squash, turn off oven and place a large platter in the oven to warm for a few minutes.

When the squash has been in the oven about 15 minutes, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat a skillet or pot with butter over med-low heat. Add garlic and cook gently 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine and stir 1 minute, then add cream and bring to a bubble. Add the sage and nutmeg. Reduce heat to keep cream at a rolling simmer and let reduce 7-8 minutes, until cream coats the back of spoon.

When the water comes to a boil, add salt and, working in batches, add spinach and wilt for 30 seconds. Remove to a plate with spider or tongs and drain. To the same pot of water, add gnocchi and cook until they float and are hot through, about 3 minutes.

Remove warm platter from oven. Arrange most of the roast squash and spinach on the platter. Then, toss drained gnocchi with sauce and arrange on top of the squash and spinach. Garnish with remaining squash and spinach and lots of freshly grated cheese.