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KitchenKatalog: Blog 294
Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 10:12 AM
This was a pretty simple meal. I bought frozen teriyaki mahi mahi from whole foods and I baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes. I also did brussel sprouts at 400 for 30-35 minutes (see this post). Overall, it was quick, easy, and healthy. Though the mahi mahi was a bit over-cooked and somewhat fishy. Also, the brussel sprouts came out mushy, but I like them that way. While it was pretty good, it didn't really make very much as much of the weight of the fish was the marinade.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3173, 2013-02-19_101235
Monday, February 18, 2013, 07:57 AM
There wasn't too much (if any) innovation in this meal. I did the lentils like last time except I kept them vegan by using Osem for the broth. I also skipped the vinegar all together. They were pretty good, though I am getting a bit tired of this "recipe." I should look for others
And the normal roasted cabbage. Again, I sliced on 3/16". I quartered them, cut out the stem and then slices with the top going into the blade first (the usual way). I couldn't find a big head so I used two little ones (one here, pictures, and one for lunch made as a separate batch)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3168, 2013-02-18_075758
Saturday, February 16, 2013, 12:56 PM
I made shrimp and grits following the idea from the last time again doing 1/2 cup grits to 1.5 cups almond milk and 0.5 cup water. While it was cooking, I sautéd onions and peppers (including some Birds Eye Chiles) then added them. I also added lots of seasonings including some cayenne garlic powder, and 21 seasoning salute. I then added shrimp towards the end. I also added 2 wedges of laughing cow.
Again, the cheese still didn't add much flavor or creaminess (I think). It may be not worth the extra calories. Oh, and I had
Points plus:
1/2 cup grits...8
6 oz shrimp...3.5
2 wedges of laughing cow...1.5
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13 for a nice sized dinner (plus the edamame)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3165, 2013-02-16_125653
Thursday, February 14, 2013, 09:07 PM
Garlic powder chili powder cumin oregano
I followed the recipe below and I actually did a pretty good job sticking with it. I roughly halved it. I used 2/3 lbs extra lean beef. Rather than use half a bell pepper, I actually used two (as the extra vegetables). I also 5 Birds Eye Chili and one small dried bhut jolokia. THat was all it needed to make the whole apartment nearly toxic. I spent quite a bit of time coughing to it. Instead of salt, I used extra Better Than Bouillon in the broth. For the seasonings, I used chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and oregano. I didn't really measure it but it was probably more than it called for.
I kept adding extra beer as needed to keep it moist. Probably a bit over had a bottle by the end. I cooked it for about 30-40 minutes before adding the tomatoes, beans and 1/2 cup of corn.
It was very, very good. Spicy from the peppers but a lot of flavor. Maybe a bit dry for chili but not really too bad. It made two big bowls (one dinner; one lunch). I would definitely make this again.
I also made roasted eggplant. I cubed a big eggplant, sprinkled it with a bit of olive oils, salt and lots of rosemary. I roasted it for 20 minutes at 400; tossed it and then another 20 but at 425. They were cooked nicely they were pretty good. Maybe a bit dry but that was fine. It was rather easy to make and I would do it again.
Points Plus for the chili:
2/3 lbs extra lean beef...11
1 can beans...8
1/2 cup corn...2
~1/2 beer...3
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24 for two large servings
How To Make a Very Good Chili (From The Kitchn)
Ingredients:
Equipment:
Instructions
1. Brown the meat. If using meat, warm a teaspoon of oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat and brown the meat. Break up ground meat as it browns, leaving pieces as large or small as you like them. If you're using chuck roast, make sure all sides of the beef cubes are seared dark brown. Transfer the browned meat from the pot to a clean dish.
If you're making a vegetarian chili with tofu or other protein, add it along with the beans in Step 6. Reduce the amount of stock and the cooking time by half.
2. Cook the vegetables. In the same pot used to brown the meat, warm a tablespoon of oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the other vegetables and continue to cook until softened, another 5-8 minutes. Clear a space in the middle of the pan and add the garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then stir into the vegetables. It's normal for a dark sticky crust to start forming on the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the seasonings. Add the seasonings and 2 teaspoons of salt to the pan. Stir until the vegetables are coated and the spices are fragrant, another 30 seconds.
4. Deglaze the pan. Pour the beer or wine into the hot pan. Scrape up the dark sticky crust as the liquid bubbles. Continue scraping and stirring until the beer or wine has almost evaporated.
5. Add the broth and simmer. Add the browned meat back into the pan. Pour in the broth. Bring the chili to a simmer and cook for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat has is very tender (cubes of chuck roast may take a bit longer). The chili will still look soupy.
6. Add the tomatoes and beans to the chili. Add the tomatoes, beans, corn (if using), and vegetarian protein (if using) to the pot. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and add more seasonings or salt to taste.
7. Serve with garnishes. Chili is often best the day after it's been cooked. It will also keep for up to a week and freezes well for up to three months. Serve with cheese and other garnishes.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3158, 2013-02-14_210739
Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 08:05 PM
This was a rather boring meal. I cooked Sweet and Sour tilapia (purchased frozen at Whole Foods) in the pan. In the mean time, I steamed asparagus. Finally, I had spinach and arugula salad with fat free french dressing. I didn't calculate the points but it has to be ridiculously low
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3155, 2013-02-12_200501
Monday, February 11, 2013, 08:04 PM
I made dirty (brown) rice in celebration of Mardi Gras this week. I followed this post for pressure cooking the rice (I used 1/2 cup dry rice) with chicken broth. While it was cooking, I sautéed an onion (using the technique where you use a dry pan and add water to deglaze/cool it). I then added sliced gimme lean (half a thing). Once the rice was done, I put sliced carrots and celery in the pressure cooker (since I forgot to add it earlier and let it cook so I needed to cook it faster). I also added lots of Emril's Essence to the vegetables, the rice and the whole combination when it was all done. It was very good but a bit salty. Maybe too much essence.
I also made kale chips using the notes from here except I went with them for only 18-19 minutes. They were extremely good. Also a bit salty, but a nice crisp, and lots of flavor. Kind of reminded me of the seaweed crisps I like to take for lunch but with a bit more mellow flavor.
Points plus for the rice:
1/2 cup dry brown rice...8.5
1/2 thing (3.5 servings) gimme lean...4
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Figure 13 points
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3151, 2013-02-11_200456
Sunday, February 10, 2013, 08:10 PM
I made sloppy joes using the usual recipe. In addition to regular bell peppers, I also used a bunch of peppers that Meredith gave me (I'll add the kind later). They were really small so I just chopped them and let the seeds stay. They were a bit hot and I was constantly coughing while cooking, but the heat wasn't too bad while I was eating it. Not much more to add than that. I let it cook for a while and then topped it with a mass of spinach and arugula.
I also had curry cauliflower. I was careful to watch it so it didn't overcook. As per the usual, it was extremely good. A nice crisp and lots of flavor. It is also really easy and low in points.
Points plus for sloppy joes (all 4):
2/3 lbs extra lean beef...11
3/4 cup ketchup (I went light but I'll keep it)...8
4x Arnolds...10
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29 for 4 so figure 15 for dinner and 14 for lunch.
Update: They were Thai Birds Eye Chili
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3146, 2013-02-10_201034
Friday, February 08, 2013, 06:05 PM
This was Meredith and my 4 year anniversary dinner. We had a big lunch, so we wanted something fancy but light. We started with some North Carolina Oysters. They were very good, or as good as oysters ever are. (I think I like the high-scale and fancy nature of them more than the oysters themselves). It was easier to open them than I remember.
The other part was tuna tataki. We used the recipe that Meredith had used in the past (it is below). We had a big piece of tuna and cut it, though we cut it wrong. We should have cut against the grain so that we could more easily slice it along the grain later. Anyway, it was very good. Meredith said it was on par with Wegmans which is a compliment (though she said it wasn't as good as last time she made it). It is certainly very easy. the sauce (which was very good) was more work than the tuna itself. Just goes to show how super simple it was.
We also made roasted broccoli soup like last time. I used homemade broth from a while ago (but I cannot seem to find the post). I needed to add salt to it,but I added too much. It wasn't so salty you couldn't eat it, but still too much. Luckily, it was really thick so I can add more water later.
(2014-01-07 Note. This was added to My Recipe Book)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3140, 2013-02-08_180553