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Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook

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Asparagus and Poached Eggs over Pasta -- back to top

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We followed the recipe below from Gina's Skinny Taste. We basically followed it except we used whole wheat pasta (though still multi-colored) Also, we steamed the asparagus separately.

This was our first time poaching eggs (we used real eggs) and it worked pretty well. We may have let it cook a bit too long but we didn't want a runny white. We also didn't have a cheese slicer so we used a vegetable peeler.

The meal was not amazing but it was very fast and very easy. Always a nice combination.

Low in points too. Eggs are 2 I think. We weighed out the pasta and used about 3 oz each (1.5 "servings"). We also only used two eggs

Asparagus and Poached Eggs over Pasta (From Gina's Skinny Taste)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1102, 2011-04-01_154557



Black-eyed Peas and Tomatoes with Sautéed Bananas -- back to top

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We made this based off of the recipe below from Whole Foods. The only real change that I remember is that we used pam instead of oil for the main course and we use Olivio instead of butter for the bananas. I do not know if that had an affect, but the bananas we not crispy. Still, they were very good.

I liked how this meal had so few points. It was really just the beans and the fats used (olivio). It was pretty good. It was a while ago, but I think the biggest thing we need to do next time is to mix the ginger better. It was not uniform.

Black-eyed Peas and Tomatoes with Sautéed Bananas (From Whole Foods)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1108, 2011-04-01_235557



Grilled Chicken, Cauliflower and Apples -- back to top

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I largely made up a marinade and I should have written down what I used. I was annoyed that all of the ones on the web had so much oil. This was has very little and by marinading in a bag, I didn't need much. I also used some water to add liquid. If I recall correctly, I put

We grilled the chicken thighs. Thankfully thighs are very forgiving because I am pretty sure we over cooked them. We also had cauliflower with curry powder. We did that in aluminum foil so it got more steamed than anything. It was still good but not like when we roasted them in the past

For dessert, I put apples with cinnamon, splenda, nutmeg and cardamom into aluminum foil and grilled that for a while. They were pretty good too.

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1111, 2011-04-03_115721



Mixed Bean Empanada and Swiss Chard -- back to top

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We made the empanadas much the same we have have in the past with similar ingredients to 2011-01-09 and with the usual dough. However, I used all purpose instead of bread flour. I do not know if that was why, but the dough came together and rolled really nicely.

Meredith made the filling so if there are changes, she should comment. We rolled them a bit thicker and smaller but it was better. Both pictured are the ones Meredith folded. They came out great. Mine looked okay but nowhere near the same caliber.

We made 6 in all. We each ate two and had a leftover for lunch.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1115, 2011-04-05_120936



Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas and Frozen Veggies -- back to top

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Meredith made this because I was home late and it takes some time. Pictured is the leftover made into a burger form for lunch (I forgot to photograph it).

Meredith followed the recipe below but I think she said she added garlic. She also used thyme instead of parsley (strange but good) and used sun-dried tomatoes not in oil. She said it took a while to prep but it probably could have been sped up with some more multitasking and two people.

It smelled really good as it baked. As for taste, it was slightly bland but not overly so. I added spray butter and that really brought out a lot of flavors. It kind of reminded me of stuffing, which given the ingredients, makes sense.

It was moldable and we made it into burgers for lunch. We ate about half for dinner (I was hungry, it could have been more) and used about a quarter for two sandwiches so it seems to be about a dinner and two lunches. Not bad.

Also, not that it is a big deal, but for the frozen vegetable side, I actually used the steamer basket. It was easier and only slightly slower than the microwave

Addendum: Meredith told me her changes

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1120, 2011-04-06_121553



Taco Stew and Broccoli Rabe -- back to top

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We followed the same really good recipe as the previous times however we made a few changes. We didn't have zucchini so we put some potatoes in. I do not really think we made any other changes except hot (Pace) salsa and Jalapeños. I really liked it with the potatoes. They add some calories but not too many. Also, we used Old El Paso taco seasonings instead of McCormick. I think the Old El Paso was better

For the broccoli rabe, we sautéd the stems first then added the leaves. It made a bit more than we expected. It was really good.

You can also see our watching-tv-while-we-eat setup

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1128, 2011-04-08_210849



Lime-Ginger Shrimp and Grilled Potatoes and Zucchini -- back to top

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We made a marinade inspired by the one below but we really one did the marinade part. We used less lime juice (we ran out) and a bit of water. We also added garlic and onion powder and used dried cilantro. Finally, we skipped the shallots.

Overall, the marinade was good. Maybe we let it go too long, but it was a bit too limey in my opinion. Also, we didn't grill at a high enough temperature to get a nice char on the shrimp. It was nice doing something different and it was good to marinade the shrimp because it also served to help defrost it.

For the potato skewers, we microwaved the potato first to start cooking it then we just used salt, pepper and garlic powder. The zucchini was just salt and pepper. They were both really good. I think next time we should definitely do more potatoes like that!

Spicy Lime-Ginger Grilled Shrimp (from Cooks.com)

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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1132, 2011-04-11_093357



Falafel, Tzatziki, Pickled Cabbage and Green Beans -- back to top

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We had quite a variety here. I will start with the Falafel which is from the recipe below. We basically followed it as stated except we used dried cilantro, more red pepper, and I added some additional garlic and onion powder. I used flat leaf parsley but that shouldn't make a difference. Also, I let them cook a bit longer with the last few minutes at a higher temp to try to make them crispier. The falafel was really good. It was not the best I have ever had but considering it was baked and actually surprisingly healthy, I can't really complain.

The Tzatziki was also from the recipe below. Meredith made it and she said she basically followed the recipe except she used non-fat greek yogurt and no Ouzo. Also, we let the food processor grate the cucumber for us. De-seeding it was important as it really makes a difference in having a thicker finished product. We both really liked the recipe and we will use it again. Oh, and we used dried dill.

Meredith did the lightly pickled cabbage. I do not know what recipe she used. I thought it needed to be a bit more pickled but that is personal preference. I will post the recipe or at least a link when I get it. Or, it may be in the comments.

Finally, the green beans. I wanted to avoid salt so I used Trader Joes 21 Seasoning Salute. I think I may have let he seasonings blacked just a bit too much.

We used whole wheat pita bread. Next time, I want to make it myself.

Baked Falafel (From ChowVegan)

(This recipe is now in my Recipe Book with the latest updates)

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1136, 2011-04-13_155524



Sloppy Joe's Stuffed Mushrooms and Green Beans -- back to top

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This was a very long time from writing so I do not remember the details at all. It was basically just the Sloppy Joe filling with stuffed mushrooms. As usual, we did the laughing cow in the mushrooms. I think we used less ketchup (ran out) and some tomato paste.

It was an interesting idea and it worked well enough. No huge rush to do it again but interesting regardless.

The green beans were done with Penzeys Sandwich sprinkle

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1140, 2011-04-14_121704



Grilled Chicken and Zucchini -- back to top

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This was pretty easy. We just put BBQ sauce on the chicken and grilled it. I kept adding it. The chicken was a bit strange. I am still getting used to thighs and I am not sure that I like them. They may be better for some uses but when it is solid chuncks of chicken, I think breast meat is better.

The zucchini was grilled with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1142, 2011-04-20_121752



Shepherds Pie and Steamed Edamame -- back to top

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We didn't do anything revolutionary with the Shepherds pie other than the addition of finely chopped jalapeno peppers. Surprisingly, they didn't add much flavor. Overall, I felt like this was not our best version of it. We were is a rush so we may not have put enough time into the planning and executing this one. It is based on previous times (1,2).

Edamame was a really nice addition. We should do it more often!

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1146, 2011-04-26_122531



Taquitos and Asparagus -- back to top

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This is one of those really hard to duplicate meals. I didn't follow a recipe at all. I looked around the web for information on shredded chicken in the pressure cooker and found a lot of conflicting answers. I will do my best to note what I did/added and I will do it in bullet form to make it easier.

Chicken in the pressure cooker:

I checked the temperature of the chicken to make sure it was fully cooked. The rest, sautéed

After it was well mixed, we put them on the tortillas, added some cheese and rolled them. Sprayed with pam. We cooked them at 365 until they were getting crispy and then for a minute or two with the broiler.

They were so good! I hope we can manage to do them again. There was a nice spice to them as well.

Update: 400°F 15-18 minutes

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1149, 2011-04-27_122840



Spanakopita (ish) thing and Brussel Sprouts -- back to top

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I am writing this way after the fact so I do not remember exactly what was in it but we made a spinach base with spinach, ricotta, dill and probably a few other things. I then rolled out low-fat crescent roll dough and filled it. Meredith did the shaping with the lines and all.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1152, 2011-04-28_120502



Beef Bourguignon -- back to top

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We used the same recipe as Valentine's Day. I am writing this long after the fact so I do not remember too many details. I recall that the beef was a bit overcooked this time but it was all still very good.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1155, 2011-04-29_121100



French Toast, Chocolate-Orange spread and bacon -- back to top

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Again, I am writing this long after the fact so details may be fuzzy. We had leftover multi-grain bread and leftover (lean) bacon from the Beef the night before. Meredith made the french toast. I do not remember what it was at all but it was good. Also, we had some orange liquer and chocolate sauce stuff my grandmother had made a long time ago. Meredith mixed it with fat free ricotta and made a really good spread for the french toast.

The bacon was (supposedly) lean. We cooked it for a long time to render out at much fat as possible. Plus, crispy bacon is better.

Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1164, 2011-04-30_121552