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Category Archives: Starch
Dinner Tonight: Giant Salad
Thursdays are free lunch day in my office. It’s a fantastic perk, but sometimes it means that I just eat too much during lunch. Today’s lunch was a favorite: steak tips and macaroni and cheese that we get catered from Max and Dillon’s in Charlestown. It’s one of my favorites because somehow they manage to cook their steak tips perfectly even though they’re cooked in a large batch and then delivered. The macaroni and cheese is excellent as well.
My giant salad.
So, tonight, I just ate a huge salad for dinner. I love salad. It’s filling and healthy and there are so many fresh flavors and interesting textures. It’s really sad that salad gets a bad rap as something people eat in misery while dieting. My salad tonight was a mix of romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, thinly sliced red onion, tomato, mushrooms, chick peas, and hard boiled eggs topped with homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I was a little bummed that I didn’t have any feta or goat cheese in the house — that would have made this salad just a teeny bit better than it already was.
I also tried a new recipe that my sister found on Pinterest for Honey Roasted Chickpeas. She asked me to make them last weekend, but I spent too much time making bagels and pecan bars that I didn’t get around to it. We are attending a board game event on Saturday and wanted to pack some snacks — so I thought it would be a great time to make them.
Even though I still need to experiment with these -- they are a very tasty snack.
The recipe was…ok. For some reason, the chickpeas did not all cook uniformly, so there are some delicious, crunchy chickpeas and some that still have a little softness to them. I think next time I should stir the chickpeas more as they are cooking to help even out the cooking. Overall, the flavor is good though, so I will try again. Fortunately, chickpeas are cheap so I can experiment a bunch to get it right.
Posted in Beans, Healthy, Starch, Vegetarian
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Dinner Tonight: Red Lentil and Sausage Soup
I’ve been really into the crock-pot recently. It’s so nice to come home and know that dinner is ready with just a little preparation the evening before. Plus, it’s one pot so it makes clean up a snap (for Sean since I rarely do dishes.)
We’ve also been trying to pare down our pantry and use ingredients we already have. In this case, we had a bunch of lentils and a bunch of potatoes, carrots, and kale from our Boston Organics boxes. And we recently stocked up on spices at Penzey’s so we had plenty of flavor agents. We only needed to purchase chicken stock, canned tomatoes, and sausage for this super healthy, filling, and tasty meal.
In my experience, you just never know how something will actually turn out in a crock-pot. It’s a bit of a roll of the dice (did I put in enough liquid? too much liquid? will everything disintegrate to mush? will the beans still be crunchy?) This recipe came out awesome! On a scale of 1-10, I gave it an 8 1/2; Sean gave it an 8. The lentils broke down during the cooking which made the consistency super creamy; the potato and carrot were perfectly tender without being mushy and the sausage kept its integrity and flavor. Coming home after our 2 mile walk with the dogs to a huge bowl of this soup made the end of the day a happy one.
Red Lentil and Sausage Soup
Serves 6-8
Comfort food that's *really* good for you!
1 medium onion, diced small
2 large carrots, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 small potatoes, diced small
1/2 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage.
1 bunch of kale, cleaned, stemmed, and chopped
2 cups dried red lentils
1, 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1, 28 oz. can water
1 quart chicken stock
2 tbsp. smoked Spanish paprika
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried thyme
Salt, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste
In a large crock-pot, combine the onion, carrots, garlic, lentils, potato, and kale. Make mini-meatballs out of the ground sausage. I was able to purchase bulk sausage, but if I couldn’t find that, I would remove the casing of sausage links and make that into meatballs. Add the meatballs to the crock-pot. Add the tomatoes, water, and chicken stock. Add the paprika, basil, and thyme. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Taste and add salt to your liking. Serve in large bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper.
This Week’s Lunch: Crock-Pot Jambalaya
It is going to take me forever to fill in that green background!
This weekend was one of the laziest weekends I’ve had in a long time.
Friday, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Chrissy — an extraordinarily crafty friend and a brand-new blogger. We hung out and watched some bad TV and did some crafting. She’s working on a very cool/geeky Klingon baby hat (no, really — check it out.) I worked on the cross stitch bird that I found on MarthaStewart.com (via Pinterest.) I’ve got a big art project planned for my bedroom wall and this is just one little piece of it. Considering how long it’s taking me — I might be finished in 2015…
Look close and you can see Barley's cute snow beard.
We had our first very snowy day on Saturday and I used that as an excuse to stay home. Sean and I took Barley on a cold, snowy walk. I worked on my cross stitch. I baked fresh Italian sub rolls and almond sugar cookies. I watched a whole bunch of Psych. I did not change out of my pajamas all day. It was fantastic.
Is there any smell better than fresh baked bread?
Sunday followed suit though I did change into real clothes briefly to do some grocery shopping. And we went to the gym. But, otherwise, it was another restful day without any real plans. I did manage to make our weekly lunches; I enlisted the crock-pot to help me create this lazy man’s jambalaya.
Crock-Pot Jambalaya
Made 9 Lunches
So, so easy in the crock-pot!
1 large onion, diced small
3 medium green bell peppers, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into medium chunks
1, 14 oz. can diced tomato
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 lb. 41-50 count shrimp, cleaned and peeled
1, 40 oz. can kidney beans, drained
9 cups white rice, cooked
Mix the onions, peppers, garlic, sausage, chicken thighs, tomatoes, chicken stock, and Cajun seasoning in a large crock-pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the shrimp and kidney beans. Serve on top of white rice.
Dinner Tonight: Cream of Mushroom Soup with Elbows
Sean’s at a work outing tonight which means I’m on my own. I don’t have any problems cooking for myself, but when I thought about what I really wanted, it was clear: cream of mushroom soup with elbows, please.
While technically this dish is “cooking” — it’s not more than boiling some pasta and heating up that classic can of Campbell’s soup. You might think, “Really, Kerry? You can do better than that!” Sometimes, you just have to go with a classic. And, this dish…is a classic.
It’s classic dad food. It was one of the several dishes (including chili dogs and kielbasa) he’d throw together on nights when my mother wasn’t home. These dad classics were all foods she did not like, so when she was out, they were in.
To me, there’s something so comforting in a big bowl of cream of mushroom soup with elbows (bow ties are also acceptable.) It’s warm, creamy, and when topped with a hefty sprinkle of black pepper, nicely spicy. And it reminds me of being a kid.
Cream of Mushroom Soup with Elbows
Makes 1 very large bowl, but probably reasonable to split into 2 if you want to share
Thanks, Dad!
1 10 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 10 oz. can water
3 oz. elbow pasta (or bow ties), boiled and drained
Black pepper, to taste (I like lots!)
In a medium pot, stir together the soup and a can of water. Whisk together until combined. Bring to a boil. Toss with pasta. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste. Ladle into a bowl. Be happy.
Posted in Comfort Food, Cuisine, Main Dish, Pasta, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Side Dish, Soup, Starch, Vegetarian
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This Week’s Lunch: Sweet & Spicy Chicken and Green Beans
I’ve been making a lot of Mexican and Tex-Mex flavored dishes for lunches lately — burritos, enchiladas, chili — so this week, I decided it was probably time to change it up a bit. I was inspired by one of our favorite Chinese take-out dishes: spicy string beans.
In this case, I added some chicken and made the dish sweet and spicy. It took forever to process the green beans, but otherwise it was quick to throw together. This dish hits all of the same flavors that I like when we order Chinese while remaining very healthy. Knowing this is in my lunch box will help getting back to work tomorrow after this long weekend much easier.
Sweet & Spicy Chicken and Green Beans
Makes 8 lunch portions
Lunch assembly line.
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. corn starch
24 oz. green beans, stems picked off and cut in half
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
24 oz. chicken breast, cut into medium cubes
8 cups white rice, cooked
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce, water, garlic powder, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes and corn starch. Whisk together until well combined and the corn starch is mixed in without any lumps. Set the sauce aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big handful of salt. Add the green beans and boil for 3 minutes. Drain into a colander filled with ice. Set aside.
In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the onion and saute until it gets soft and starts to brown. Add the chicken and saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring often so that all sides get browned. Add the green beans and the sauce (whisk it together one more time before adding to help redistribute the corn starch.) Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
Cook covered over medium high heat for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened.
Serve over white rice.
Posted in Asian, Chicken, Cuisine, Green Beans, Main Dish, Meat, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Rice, Starch, Vegetables
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Dinner Tonight: Asian Chicken Salad
What a great weekend. On Friday, I decided to bake some cupcakes — my friends on Facebook helped me choose between lime and coconut or lemon with raspberry icing. Lime and coconut won the Facebook vote. I was leaning that way anyway because I’m getting excited for our trip to St. Martin in March where I expect to drink lots and lots of limey, coconut-y rum drinks! I spent the rest of the night watching Pretty in Pink and Project Runway. Love lazy Fridays!
This is my dessert tonight!
On Saturday, we went to a belated holiday party where we took part in a Yankee swap — I lucked up and ended up with a great scarf from Ecolissa. Sean got the new hot game among our friends, Quelf. It’s a pretty silly party game. He broke it out at the party. I sat out and still had a great time just watching. It was HILARIOUS!
Today, we met up with Ana & Jesse for dim sum. They just got back from Brazil where they got engaged! It was great to see them for some congratulatory dumplings. It was Jesse’s first time going to dim sum. I hope he liked it so we can do it more often.
We spent the rest of the weekend working on a project that we’ve been wanting to accomplish for a long time. We are creating a media library using an external media storage drive. Turns out it takes a long time to rip CDs into MP3s — after many hours, we’re still probably not even near half way done. But, it’s a good project to continue through the winter. I’m excited to finally have easy access to all of our music — and to be able to box up our CDs and move them to the basement so they aren’t taking up space.
Before we headed to the party on Saturday, I wanted to fill up on something that was filling and healthy. Like everyone else in the universe, I’m trying to eat healthier after the holidays. I didn’t want to get to the party and eat a bunch of junk. We had half a head of cabbage in the fridge, so I used that as inspiration to make this salad. It’s super fresh, flavorful, and filling. The salad base gets an extra punch from the cilantro and green onions mixed in.
This recipe makes a ton, so we had these for dinner last night and tonight. Plus we have leftover salad mix which we’ll use later in the week for something else (stay tuned!)
Asian Chicken Salad
Makes 6 HUGE Salads
GIANT, delicious salad.
Salad
1/2 medium head of cabbage, thinly shredded
1 head romaine lettuce, thinly shredded
2 large carrots, cut julienne
5 green onions/scallions, chopped
1 medium bunch of cilantro, remove the bottom couple of inches of the stem and then roughly chop the bunch
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached, cooled, and shredded
1 14oz. package of fettuccine style rice noodles, cooked and cooled (found these at Whole Foods — you could really use any noodles you like.)
3/4 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
Toss all of these ingredients together. If you are going to split this up over multiple meals, hold out the almonds and use them to garnish before each meal.
Dressing
6 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. soy sauce
3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
3 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. granulated garlic/garlic powder
1 tsp. sesame oil
Whisk all of these ingredients in a bowl. Or put all of them in a plastic container with a tight fitting lid and shake, shake, shake until everything is well combined (this makes for easy storage for leftovers!)
Dinner Tonight: Tomato & Squash Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp
I am in love with this unseasonably warm weather. I am not into winter sports and I’m very clumsy which makes icy sidewalks my nemesis all winter.
Sean and I have been taking advantage by taking lots and lots of walks instead of going to the gym which is fantastic this time of year when the gym gets super crowded.
Tonight we took the 2 mile loop around the neighborhood with Barley and it was so warm I had to stuff my gloves and hat in my pocket! I wonder if I could bribe Mother Nature with some cupcakes to keep this weather coming.
Barley is confused why we are stopping to take a picture.
After our walk, I whipped up this pasta. If you know me at all, you know I’m my own worst critic — so you know that this pasta is delicious when I tell you that after three bites I started to get sad knowing my bowl would be empty soon!
Tomato & Squash Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp
All that's left in this bowl now are my tears...
Salt
Pepper
1/2 lb. medium-to-large shrimp, cleaned and shells removed
2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 large red pepper, diced medium
2 small summer squashes, diced medium
6 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced medium
1/2 lb. dried spaghetti, cooked al dente and drained
Parmesan Cheese, to taste
Heat 1 tsp. of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper. Once the oil gets hot, saute the shrimp for 2-3 minutes until the shrimp get pink and just cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
Add the rest of the olive oil and the butter to the saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat until the butter is almost melted. Add the garlic. Cook for about 2-minutes stirring to make sure that the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the red pepper, summer squash, red pepper flakes, and basil. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the squash and red pepper start to cook through stirring to distribute the heat. Add the tomatoes.
Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. The tomatoes will start to break down creating a bit of a sauce and the summer squash will be cooked through. Toss in the spaghetti and stir to combine (I find stirring with tongs helps distribute all of the vegetables into the spaghetti.)
Serve in large bowls and top with the sauteed shrimp. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste.
Posted in Cuisine, Italian, Main Dish, Pasta, Peppers, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Squash, Starch, Vegetables
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Red Bean and Rice Cakes
It’s been awhile. I know. I get so behind with blog posts. There have been lots of dishes cooked and places visited since my last post. But for now, here’s a recipe that I created for a dinner that I cooked for our friends Josh and Melissa. They watched our dog when we went to New Orleans in March and asked us only to repay them in food. Great deal for us!
Since we were in the Big Easy, I was inspired to create these red bean and rice cakes. They combine everything good about red beans and rice in a compact little package. Because Melissa is vegetarian, I used a soy sausage, but meat eaters can certainly substitute a good andouille sausage.
Red Bean and Rice Cakes
Serves 4
3 tbsp. olive oil
½ large onion, chopped small
1 large green pepper, chopped small
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning*
6 oz. soy smoked sausage (andouille preferable, but I could only find soy chorizo), crumbled
1 can, red beans, drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup bread crumbes
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Cook on medium to medium-low heat until soft, but don’t let the mixture get brown, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste, Cajun seasoning, and sausage. Cook for 2-3 minutes longer. Add red beans to the pan and stir to combine.
Put half of this mixture into a food processor and process until it’s a smooth paste. Return to pan and stir to combine with the remained, unprocessed mixture.
Stir in brown rice and bread crumbs.
Let this mixture cool in the refrigerator for about an hour. Portion into 8 servings and create round cakes out of each portion
Set up a breading station with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Cover each cake in a thin layer of flour then egg then bread crumbs.
Add about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to a deep sided pan. Heat to about 350 degrees. Shallow fry each cake by cooking to golden brown on each side. Drain on a rack with paper towels below. Serve with remoulade sauce.
* I like Joe’s Stuff cajun seasoning mix, but there are tons of different mixes out there. Just use your favorite. Joe’s Stuff has less salt than other cajun seasoning mixes, so if you have a salty one, use half of the seasoning listed in the recipe and add more to taste if needed.
Remoulade Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Whiz all of this up in a food processor or whisk together in a bowl (make sure you chop the parsley fine if you use this method.)
Posted in Appetizer, Cajun, Comfort Food, Cuisine, Healthy, Main Dish, Recipe, Rice, Starch, Vegetarian
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Parmesan Pasta with Peas
Sean and I were driving home from Albany the other night and we were hungry. Of course, I had to make a pit stop at the one rest area on the Mass Pike that only had McDonalds. So, instead, we got some Chex Mix to tide us over. By the time we got home, there was only time to throw together something quick and this did it. It was super easy to make with basic pantry items — and it was super delicious. Just what we needed after a long drive.
Sidebar: I love frozen peas. As a kid I always hated peas — I grew up with canned peas and I hated the mushy mouthfeel. Imagine my surprise when I tried fresh peas for the first time as an adult. They were so delicious. I find that frozen peas taste closer to fresh peas than canned peas. They are easy to always keep on hand, cheap, and good to toss into everything from rice to soup to pasta. An easy, peasy way of getting some veggies, too.
Parmesan Pasta with Peas
Serves 2
6 oz. pasta of your choice*
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of salt and the dried pasta. When the pasta is about 1-minute from al dente, toss in the peas. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the shallots and cook 2 minutes or until soft. Toss in the cooked pasta and peas. Add parmesan cheese, parsley, and pine nuts. Stir to combine. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
* I used a combination of angel hair and pasta shaped like little snails because that’s what I had. Anything tubular or shell shaped works particularly well with this because it gives the peas a place to settle so you get peas with every bite. However, in a pinch, any pasta will work.
Posted in Comfort Food, Cuisine, Healthy, Main Dish, Pasta, Peas, Recipe, Side Dish, Starch, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
I love sweet potatoes. They seem to be one of those “wonder” foods. They’re full of vitamins, fiber, and they’re really tasty! Last night I made these with dry rubbed pork chops — a really good fall meal.
Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. chipotle in adobo, chopped fine
1 tbsp. butter
1 oz. apple cider, warmed
salt and pepper, to taste
Steam the sweet potato until it’s fork tender (mashable). Toss into a bowl and add the other ingredients. Mash away. You might want to add more chipotle or adobo sauce if you can handle the heat.
Next time I make these I might also add a pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground ginger. Yum!
Posted in Comfort Food, Cuisine, Healthy, Potatoes, Recipe, Side Dish, Starch, Sweet Potato, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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