Tag Archives: garlic

Delicious Creole Gumbo

On May 4, 2009 the world became a lot less funny. Comedic genius and actor Dom DeLuise passed away at the age of 75. I don’t know of anyone who can’t name at least one favorite Dom  DeLuise movie. One of my faves is “Fatso”. The food in this movie was incredible and you got hungry just watching it. Especially the scene with the huge pot of sauce and meatballs. He dunks a little Italian bread into to taste it and it’s all down hill from there. Funny. He was one of my favorite actors and you always smiled when you watched him. Smiled or laughed hysterically.

Dom was not a skinny man by any means but over the years he realized he had to do something. I bought his first cookbook “Eat This…It’ll Make You Feel Better!” back in 1988. It was full of funny and wonderful stories of his family and friends. It was and still is an awesome cookbook. When I got married my father wouldn’t let me leave the house with the copy I had so I had to go and buy another one to take with me! The book is full of his mother’s Italian home cooking as well as recipes from his family and friends. It’s actually my “go to” Italian cookbook.  As the years went on and Dom got larger and larger he decided to start eating better and came out with a second book in 1997. Another hit. This one is called “Eat This Too!”. It’s a low-fat cookbook of all his favorites along with more pics and stories of his family and friends. I will never part with either cookbook. All of the recipes are delicious.

Dom & Julia on Good Morning America in 1984

Today’s recipe is from “Eat This Too!” Gumbo can be very fattening but his version is loaded with vegetables and a seafood. Serve it over brown rice instead of the usual white rice.  Don’t be afraid of the long list of ingredients either. It’s not too scary, really! It will take longer to cut up and prep all of the veggies (where’s that private sous chef when you need one?) than to cook so be brave! You won’t be disappointed!

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds shrimp/scallops, lobster, or other seafood, shelled, cleaned

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz can tomatoes

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 red pepper and 1 green pepper, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

10 mushrooms, sliced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

12 fresh okra, sliced

2 zucchini, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

3 tablespoons flour mixed with ½ cup cold water

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil, until golden brown. Add the remaining ingredients except the seafood.

2. Cook over medium-low heat until flavors intermingle, about 30 minutes. Add the shrimp/scallops or other seafood. Cook just a few minutes until seafood is just done. Serve while still tender.

Serves 8-12

Quinoa with Spinach and Feta Cheese

Lately I’ve read many recipes with couscous and quinoa (keen-wa). I found one today that is very easy to make and sounds really good. I am going to try and make it tonight and I will report back on it. The recipe calls for fresh spinach but if you don’t have fresh on hand use frozen, just make sure you thaw it good and squeeze out the extra liquid. You can also add chopped tomato (regular or even sun-dried!). Be brave, experiment. Remember, it’s your kitchen! (Got that from the Next Food Network Star finale last night. Yay Aarti!) I will also be using light or fat-free feta cheese in this recipe but as always feel free to use regular if you wish. This is a great side dish in the summer, it’s simple and not so heavy, and it’s full of protein from the quinoa! All good! So give it a try and as always, let me know if you try it and how it turns out!

Quinoa, cooked

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup uncooked quinoa

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced very thin

1 cup fresh spinach (or frozen, thawed and squeezed dry)

½ cup crumbled light or fat-free feta cheese

Quinoa with spinach and feta

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse the quinoa in a strainer. In a small saucepan, add the quinoa and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and reduce heat to simmer until water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and garlic. Cook the garlic in the oil until the garlic turns light brown. Be careful not to let it burn.Lower the heat if necessary. When the quinoa is done cooking add it to the skillet along with the spinach. Stir together until the spinach wilts or is heated through if using frozen. Add the crumbled feta cheese and stir to combine.

Makes 2-4 servings

Quinoa with spinach and feta & garlic soy pork chop

Pesto #5: Arugula Pesto

Just like basil pesto and spinach pesto, arugula pesto is a vibrant green color. Full of flavor with a little bit of a bite to it.  This is another perfect sauce for pasta. Make sure that you wash the arugula extremely well though. Change the water at least two times because it takes a while to remove all the soil and grit. Nobody likes a gritty pesto!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, cleaned extremely well!

1 garlic clove

½ cup olive oil

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor blend the arugula and garlic until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, processing until well blended.

2. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup and can be made 2 days ahead.

Pesto #4: Mushroom Pesto

As we’ve seen this week, pesto comes in all colors. Green is the most popular color and red is a newcomer with its own distinct flavor. Mushroom pesto adds another. I don’t want to say brown but it’s the color of mushrooms.  This recipe uses both dried and fresh mushrooms. They both bring their own unique flavor and texture to the sauce. Dried porcini mushrooms are usually easy to find all year-round. They aren’t usually too cheap but if you can find them on sale they will keep for a while in your pantry. I even keep small cans of porcini and shiitake mushrooms in my pantry for any occasion as well. Try using them if you can’t find dried! This sauce is great on pasta but also just as good on toasted crostini (toasted bread slices)

INGREDIENTS:

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered

1½ cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

½ cup toasted walnuts

2 garlic cloves

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the porcini mushrooms, press to submerge. Let stand until the mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the soaking liquid from the mushrooms and discard.

2. In a bowl of the food processor add the porcini mushrooms, button mushrooms, parsley, toasted walnuts, and garlic. With the machine still running, gradually add the oil, blending just until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup and can be made 2 days ahead.

Pesto #2: Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

Sun-dried tomato pesto is not your usual pesto sauce. It’s great for topping sautéed or grilled fish and can be eaten hot or cold! It can also be used as a sauce on penne pasta. However you want to use it will be great! Using sun-dried tomatoes makes this pesto a sauce you can make all year-long as sun-dried tomatoes have a long pantry life and are great for so many recipes they won’t go to waste.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8.5 ounce) jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil*

1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves

2 garlic cloves

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon salt, more to taste

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil with the basil and garlic just until the tomatoes are finely chopped.

2. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese and salt and pepper. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Makes about 1 cup and will last for 1 week if stored in an airtight container.

* If you can’t find oil-packed tomatoes, then soak dry sun-dried tomatoes in extra-virgin olive oil for 12 hours.

Pesto #1: Basil Pesto

Basil pesto is the most basic and traditional pesto. It is what most people think of when you mention pesto. The basil-based pesto was invented in Genoa, Italy. It is also sometimes called a Genovese sauce. It should be a beautiful bright green and the aroma is almost intoxicating. Just remember when adding the oil, add it slowly. This is so that the sauce is fully emulsified, meaning all the ingredients blend together in a thick, uniform consistency. There are also many types of basil out there in the markets today so be adventurous and try a few of them for their different flavors! And remember you will be using quite a bit in the recipe so if it’s on sale all the better!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves

¼ cup toasted pine nuts (pignoli)*

1-2 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon salt, plus a little more to taste

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus a little more to taste

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper until finely chopped.

2. With the processor or blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 cup. The pesto can be made up to 2 days ahead.

*To toast pine nuts for pesto, bake them on a cookie sheet at 400ºF for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just keep an eye on them because they can burn very quickly!

**TIP** If using the pesto as a pasta sauce it must be the right consistency. So when your pasta is just about ready you can add a little bit of the pasta cooking liquid to the pest to get it a little thinner so it will coat the pasta. Just be careful you don’t add too much and make it a pesto soup!

Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is my all time favorite go to dressing. Ever since I tasted Hidden Valley Ranch years ago I was hooked (still think they make the best bottled Ranch ever!). I have tried over the years to make my own and finally found a recipe that is pretty darn good! I have made my own dressings for a while now. I know exactly what is in them and I can watch the fat, sugar and so on. Granted they don’t last as long as bottled dressings but then again they aren’t full of preservatives either. Ranch dressing is one of the best-selling dressings out there! It is used on everything from chicken wings (though I still prefer blue cheese for this) to pizza! This is a super easy recipe and your body will thank you for it! It’s also a low-calorie version so it’s even better for you! In one tablespoon there is only 25 calories and 2 grams of fat! That is great! So give it a try! Let me know on here if you do try this and how you liked it!

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup reduced-fat buttermilk

½ cup light or fat-free sour cream

½ cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped chives (1 tablespoon dried)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (1 tablespoon dried)

1 garlic clove, crushed/minced

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Coarsely ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk well! That’s it you are done!

Makes about 1½ cups.

Per (1 tablespoon) serving: 25 calories, 2 grams fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 1 gram protein, 1 gram carbs, 0 grams fiber, 50 mg sodium, 1 point for Weight Watchers


Mock Fried Rice (revisited)

Hi everyone! This is a repost of a recipe that I had pretty much forgotten was sooo incredibly awesome. I made it again the other night and had it leftover for lunch two days in a row. And yes I know some of you are going, ewww… cauliflower. Stop it! Give this recipe a try. Honestly it tastes nothing like cauliflower and it certainly doesn’t look like it. That is the first step. Your brain sees fried rice so it convinces you it’s fried rice. But it is so much healthier for you! I made it this past week with chopped up chicken sausage. So it was sort of like pork fried rice, but with chicken sausage. Either way it was delicious. I had been making smashed cauliflower alot and was tired of it. I also grated the cauliflower by hand this time with a hand box grater. No more. Next time it’s back to the food processor. I managed to grate my finger as well. Not fun. I had the cauliflower in the fridge for about a week or more and I figured I’d better make it soon. So when I went to cut it up it started to crumble a bit so this recipe was perfect. And of course once again, I left out the green pepper. I hate green peppers.  So try it this weekend, this week, soon! It’s a great meal or side dish. 

**

Ok everyone who loves fried rice stand up! Stay standing if you love or even like cauliflower! And stay standing if you hate cauliflower! This recipe will make you question your taste buds! I am not joking. I found this recipe in George Stella’s “Livin’ Low Carb” cookbook. I of course tweaked it to my liking. He calls for diced green bell peppers in it but for all of you who know me, I hate bell peppers of any color! I know, I know, what kind of Italian doesn’t like bell peppers? Me! Anyway, this recipe is incredible. We make it quite a bit now too. If you weren’t told what it was you would think it was fried rice for sure. I also add either chopped shrimp, chicken or pork to it to make it even better. Usually about  ½ cup of whichever you choose is great. Cooked shrimp, cooked chicken or cooked pork. I am actually making it tonight and I have to improvise again. There are scallions in the recipe and I’m out of them! Which never happens because John loves scallions. But I do have red onion which he also loves so I am going to try that with it today. We shall see what happens. Also the recipe calls for you to grate the cauliflower. Use a food processor with a grating blade if you have one. This makes it soooo easy. I tried it the first time with a hand grater on the largest holes and needless to say I was sorry! It’s so hard to grasp the cauliflower when it gets smaller. Use a food processor or be careful with the grater!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups raw cauliflower

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

2 tablespoons finely diced green bell peppers (ewww….)

4 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions (green and white parts)

½ cup cooked chopped shrimp, chicken or pork (or leave it out if you want to go vegetarian)

¼ teaspoon minced fresh garlic

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

3 large eggs, beaten (I have used 2 and it seems fine also)

salt to taste if needed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grate the cauliflower using a food processor!!! Use the grating blade. Take my word for it!

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pepper and 3 tablespoons of the green onions and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add the cauliflower, shrimp, chicken or pork, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender

4. Add the soy sauce and stir. (Looking more like fried rice now isn’t it!) Add the eggs to one corner of the pan but don’t stir for 1 minute. This allows the eggs to cook for a bit, which will prevent them from completely breaking up and disappearing into the mix.

5. As soon as the eggs are soft-cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and gently fold the eggs into the mixture. Add salt or more soy sauce to taste. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon scallions and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Summer Shrimp Salad

Shrimp salad always reminds me of summertime, the seashore, the beach and a quick easy salad that is delicious. This version adds a little twist, the twist being avocado. It is also a salad without all the mayonnaise, and that means fewer calories. A great light summer delight for lunch or a light dinner with a sandwich or even cup of chowder! This recipe serves 6 but if you want to make it for less people cut it in half. Avocados are so good for us with their good fats and along with the rest of the salad we’re eating much healthier, which is a good thing!


INGREDIENTS:

1 pound large cooked shrimp, peeled

1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved

2 avocados, cut into cubes

1 shallot, finely chopped

¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Grated peel of 1 lemon, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, tomatoes, avocados, shallot and basil.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the lemon peel, lemon juice, garlic and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Slowly pour in the olive oil whisking constantly until combined. Pour the dressing over the shrimp and serve.

Serves 6

Grilled Lemon Dill Chicken

I am always looking for quick and delicious meals for dinner. Also meals that are a better choice for us as well. Chicken is usually one of those meals. Full of protein and when cooked the right way not loaded with calories. This recipe is basically for the grill. I actually made it on my little George Foreman grill. It took half the time and I didn’t have to start the grill for a few chicken breasts! I served it with mixed veggies and we had a meal in minutes! Actually the whole meal took less than 10 minutes to cook. Prep work is minimal. (I used mixed frozen vegetables)

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1¼ lbs total)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (about ½ teaspoon dried)

¼ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1 Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. (Or if using an indoor electric grill I set mine to medium)

2. In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, dill and salt.

3. Place the chicken in a medium bowl and pour wet ingredients over and mix it all up, making sure it’s covered with coating all over. Grill for 6-7 minutes per side if using outdoor grill. I grilled mine for 5 minutes total on my George Foreman grill. Juices will run clear when done.

Serve with any side dish you prefer!

Serves 4

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