Pasta Free Spaghetti

I've been saying that I was going to write this post since Tuesday when I made some spaghetti squash for dinner. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to it but here we go.

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? If not, you should definitely try it because it is delicious. One of my friends was over and he is a pretty picky eater. So I told a little "white lie" and failed to mention the SQUASH part of the spaghetti. The funny thing about it is that he didn't even notice and after he finished eating it he didn't even believe that it wasn't pasta. Which just supports my developing theory of who needs grains?

If you're interested here is the method I used to cook the spaghetti squash. There are a several other methods.....if you google it then lots of different recipes will pop up.

Spaghetti Squash:

Ingredients

-1 big spaghetti squash

-pasta sauce (whatever kind you like best)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Wash the spaghetti squash.

3. Poke holes all around the squash with a sharp knife or skewer. (very important step if you don't want the squash to explode)

4. Place the squash in a baking pan and bake for an hour or until the squash is soft. *test the squash by squeezing with an oven mitt. It should give easily.

5. Let the squash cool for about 10 minutes. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy portion (this part was hard because it stringy part and seeds got caught in the "meat" of the squash).

6. Scrape the meat of the squash, it should look like noodles. Serve with pasta sauce.

Tip: I recommend using a meat sauce. The next time I make it I will serve it with a tomato sauce that has ground turkey in it.

I will definitely be making spaghetti squash a part of my regular meal plan. The good thing is that my mom said she plans on growing spaghetti squash in her garden this year.

Recipe of the Week: Mini Meatloaf aka Meal for My Future Kids

When I think about the future and the potential of kids I often wonder how our dinners will be. Will we all sit at the table and talk about our day or will we eat on our table trays while being distracted by the TV. We always had at least one meal a week at the table with no TV when I was growing up. I think that it is important, it is a time to catch-up and check in on each other.

I don't really remember that many meals from my childhood, which is surprising because it wasn't THAT long ago. I do remember the few times my mom made meatloaf and I remember that I hated it. Who wants to eat a hunk of meat that looked dry and had some red sauce on top? Not me that's for sure. The funny thing is, my mom is a great cook so her meatloaf was probably good, I just didn't like the idea. Because of this I have never attempted to make meat loaf (until now). I found an extremely easy recipe and decided to just go for it.

It was a hit! My husband loved it and he told me he despised meatloaf (yeah, I made it anyway). Now I have the perfect meal to force my future kids to eat. I can't wait to say the famous line "you can eat this or you can go to bed hungry" LOL. I'm joking....maybe....

Mini Meat Loaves
*Adapted from the Feb 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup purchased pasta sauce (I used tomato sauce and added some Italian seasoning to it)
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 lb lean ground beef (I'm sure you could use turkey if you prefer)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
Italian seasoning or any other seasoning you like

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F. In large bowl combine egg, 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce, bread crumbs and seasonings (I don't know how much seasoning, just sprinkle some in).

2. Add beef and 1/2 cup of cheese; mix well. Divide beef mixture in four equal portions. Shape each portion in a 5 1/2 x 2-inch oval. Place on a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. (The pan I used was slightly smaller 13x9 and it worked just fine)

3. Spoon on remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160F (I used my handy oven probe and it took 20 minutes for it to each 160)

4. Serve with green beans or whatever you favorite veggie is.

5. Enjoy!

Giving Up Jarred Pasta Sauce

This all began the other night when I was making dinner. I didn't really have a specific meal in mind and since I hadn't gone grocery shopping I was going to have to make due with what was already in my pantry/freezer. I had some shrimp and some pasta so I thought, all I need is some spaghetti sauce and I can make shrimp spaghetti. Sadly, I didn't have any of my usual Chunky Ragu sauce in the pantry. What I did have however was the perfect ingredients to make my own spaghetti sauce. I whipped my "homemade" sauce up in no time and after the first spoonful I decided that I was officially giving up store bought spaghetti sauce.

Tonight I made my own sauce again, this time using lean ground beef instead of shrimp and once again it was delicious! It was sooo easy, I really don't know why I wasn't doing this before. I know you are all extremely interested in knowing my recipe, so I will try to appease you. If you know me, you know I'm not the best at explaining how I make something unless I'm following an exact recipe.

Warning: this is not exact but just a rough guide to go by.

Ingredients:

Large Can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes (I like the ones already seasoned with garlic, oregano, and basil)

~4 oz Tomato Paste

Italian Seasoning

Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix the diced tomatoes with the tomato paste. Stir the tomato paste until it dissolves into the juice from the diced tomatoes. *I'd suggest that you add the tomato paste in slowly, you may need more or less.

2. Add seasoning to taste. I never measure my seasoning so I wouldn't even know where to begin as far as amounts are concerned.

3. Enjoy! Yep, it's that simple.

Notes:

-If you like your sauce more "juicy" then you may want to consider adding a little bit of tomato juice or using some crushed tomatoes.

-I'm thinking of trying out adding additional vegetables to the sauce. Maybe one of those bags of italian vegetables.

On another topic....my GoWear Fit came today (yeah I bought it) so be on the lookout for a post about that really soon.

Recipe of the Week: Espresso-Rubbed Steak with Green Chile Pesto

I've made this recipe twice, once with the pesto and once without. I liked it more with the pesto which is actually very easy to make. I was a little intimidated by the thought of making pesto sauce but as long as you have a food processor you won't have any problems.

Ingredients (Steak)

1 1/2 beef flank steak

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt or salt

1 tsp instant espresso coffee powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Ingredients (Pesto Sauce)

2 medium fresh Anaheim or Poblano chile peppers (I used 1 of each)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro (cilantro tastes like soap to me so I used fresh basil)

1/4 crumbled Cotija cheese (I couldn't find this cheese ANYWHERE so I used Parmesan)

2 tbsp pine nuts

2 cloves garlic

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions (Steak)

1. Score both sides of steak by making diagonal cuts in a diamond pattern. In small bowl, combine chili powder, salt, espresso powder, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper. Sprinkle over steak; rub in,.

2. Coat a 12-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot; add steak. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 12 to 14 minutes for medium rare or 14 to 16 for medium, turning once halfway through. Transfer to cutting board. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm while preparing pesto sauce.

3. To serve, thinly slice steak against grain.

Makes 8 servings

Instructions (Pesto)

1. Halve peppers lengthwise; remove stems, seeds and veins. Coarsely chop peppers. In food processor combing peppers, cilantro (or basil), cheese, pine nuts, garlic, red pepper, salt/pepper to taste.

2. Process to finely chop mixture. With processor running, add 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream through feed tube to combine into a coarse paste.

Makes about 1 1/2 cup pesto.

This is a delicious steak and sauce. I will definitely add this to my recipe box (okay I don't really have a recipe box but if I did I'd add this to it).

For all of my non-meat-eating friends, the pesto would also taste good over some pasta or maybe you could pour it over tofu?

ENJOY!!!

Recipe of the Week: Oven-Fried Spicy Chicken

I know it has been a while since I posted a recipe but I honestly hadn't made anything using any new recipes. I decided to get it together this week and try out some of 100s of recipes I have around here.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn flake crumbs (I just crushed up some Special K)

2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp season salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 bone-in chicken thighs (I removed the skin)

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375. Line backing sheet with aluminum foil. (I recommend spraying the foil with cooking spray because mine got stuck to the foil.)

2. In a bowl mix together buttermilk, 1 tsp cayenne pepper and seasoning salt. Place chicken in bowl to soak.

3. Meanwhile, mix corn flakes, chili powder, cumin, salt and rest of cayenne pepper in a large ziploc bag.

4. Remove chicken from bowl and place in bag. Shake until coated with cornflake mixture.

5. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 50-55 minutes or until golden and crispy and internal temperature registers 160. (I just want to say that having a probe hookup in your oven is wonderful.)

Nutritional Information per thigh: 285 calories, 18g fat, 21g protein, 9g carbohydrates

Recipe of the Week: Plum Chicken

This is a recipe that I've made several times and realized I never posted it on my blog so here you go.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder (I don't like this so I use cayenne pepper and seasoning salt)
3 green onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. plum jam (I've also used black cherry jam which was pretty good)
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
1. In bowl, toss thighs with five-spice powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. From dark-green end of onions, finely chop enough to equal 2 tablespoons, reserve for garnish. Cut remainder of onions into 1-inch pieces; set aside.
2. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add thighs and cook 10 minutes or until they're browned and lose their pink color throughout, turning once. Transfer thighs to plate; cover to keep warm.
3. In drippings in skillet, on medium, cook 1-inch onion pieces 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broth, jam and vinegar, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until sauce is syrupy. Return thighs to skillet and turn to coat with sauce.

Suggested sides: green beans and brown rice

Tamara's Take: 9 - This is a quick and easy recipe. I think that I will even branch out and try some different flavors of jam. It is very tasty and great over rice.

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Nuggets (Baked)

I don't have kids but I imagine that these would make for a nice, kid-friendly meal. I served them with oven baked french fries and salad.

Prep Time: 10 minutes plus 15 minutes marinating time Cook Time: 20 minutes

Marinade Ingredients:
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Chicken Nugget Ingredients:
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp of water
1 cup panko (or regular) breadcrumbs (I used panko)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Dipping sauces, such as BBQ and honey mustard

Instructions:
1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat well. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. ( I only did it for 15 min and it was fine)
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Pour flour onto a dinner plate and season with salt and pepper. Have beaten egg ready in small bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese on a shallow plate. Working with one piece of a time, remove chicken from marinade (shaking off excess) and dredge in flour to coat. Dip into egg mixture then coat completely with breadcrumb mixture and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are coated and placed on a sheet. (OK so this was a little too much work from me..call me lazy..so I just put the flour and the breadcrumb mixture into 2 separate bags and put all the chicken pieces in the bags and shook them up instead of doing 1 piece at a time and it worked well and was less messy.)
3. Bake until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes (turn nuggets halfway through to crisp both sides). Serve with dipping sauces.

Tamara's Take: I'd give this around an 8. I don't even know why I rate these things with numbers because it really doesn't mean much to anyone else since they don't know my scale. Anyway, this was easy and delicious. The nuggets were light and crunchy with a nice taste even without the sauce. Next time I think I will add some hot pepper to the mix to add an extra kick to it. If I ever babysit someone's kids and I need to fix a meal I will definitely consider making these for them.

If you try it, I hope you enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Fluffy Pancakes

We did a 10 mile run today and it was a pretty good run. The urban loop is a wonderful route to run especially in the morning when there isn't a lot of traffic. This morning was colder than I expected but after getting warmed up it was nice. After burning off over 1000 calories I figured I deserved some pancakes so I decided to try a pancake recipe I found on-line.

-makes 50 to 60 silver dollar pancakes

Ingredients
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup flour
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoon sugar

Instructions
1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended.
2. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream and sugar, and mix well.
3. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle--just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2 inch round. When a few bubbles form on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly, no longer than 45 seconds.
4. Serve with warm butter and warm syrup. Enjoy!!

*I halved the recipe and it turned out just fine. The pancakes are VERY light and fluffy which made them somewhat difficult to flip but don't worry, they will turn out great.

Recipe of the Week: Curry Grilled Mahimahi

I went for a short run today, ~4 miles. Nothing spectacular to discuss concerning that; it was a nice slow run and I enjoyed being out in the sun with my friends.

Here is a recipe I made last night that I thought I would share. I don't know exactly how long it took to make but it was no longer than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 lb mahimahi, skin removed
salt and pepper to taste (for the fish)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp dried oregano (I didn't actually measure these out when I made mine so I prob used more)
1 c. white rice (I used instant brown rice because that's what I had in the pantry)
2 chipotle chili peppers packed in adobo with sauce, finely chopped (if you are spicy adverse you may want to skip these or use a milder pepper)
1/2 c cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I actually didn't use this because cilantro tastes like soap to me)

Instructions:
1. Season mahimahi lightly with salt and pepper, then rub with oil.
2. In small bowl mix curry powder and oregano. Rub mixture over fish to coat evenly. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours in refrigerator. (I only let mine marinate for 15 minutes because I failed to really read the recipe before starting)
3. Cook rice per package directions. Mix with chipotles and cilantro.
4. Heat skillet over high heat. Cook mahimahi until crispy and medium-rare or medium, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve over rice.

If you want vegetables I suggest green beans; I like to use the Steamfresh kind since it is so quick and easy.

Hope you like it!

Recipe of the Week: Chipotle Steak & Corn Salsa

I have been slacking on my recipe posting....Here is a recipe I got from Good Housekeeping (Sept 2008 issue). Somebody bought a whole buttload of beef so I'll be posting several recipes that have beef in them.

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 corn tortillas
Olive oil nonstick cooking spray (I use the Pam version)
2 green onions
2 c. fresh corn kernels (I actually used frozen and it worked just fine)
1 c. salsa
1/2 to 1 tsp ground chipotle chile pepper (If you can't find this in the store just use chili pepper)
1 tsp ground cumin
4 beef eye round steaks, 3/4in. thick (5 oz each)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. On cookie sheet, spray tortillas with nonstick spray to lightly coat both sides. Toast tortillas on cookie sheet in oven 9 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
2. While tortillas bake, prepare salsa: Thinly slice dark-green and light parts of green onions crosswise, reserving green tops for garnish. Spray 10-inch nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Add light parts of green onions and corn, and cook on medium 5 minutes (longer if you use frozen corn) stirring occasionally. Stir in salsa; cook 3 to 5 minutes to heat through.
3. Meanwhile, heat ridged grill pan on medium (if you don't have a grill pan you can use a skillet, you just may need to cook it a few more minutes) In cup, combine chipotle, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; use to season steaks. Place steaks in grill pan; cook 9 minutes for medium-rare or until desired doneness, turning once.
4. To serve, break tortillas into large pieces and place on 4 dinner plates with steaks and corn salsa; sprinkle with reserved green onions.

*I also made a sauce for the steak by adding some balsamic vinegar and some of the left over onions to the steak droppings left in the skillet. I don't have exact measurements because I kinda just threw that part together but it was good if you like sauce.

Nutritional Information:
About 385 calories, 39 g protein, 38 g carbohydrates, 9 g total fat, 6 g fiber, 62 mg cholesterol, 820 mg sodium

Tamara's Take: 8
It was pretty good, I just don't really like the trouble of preparing steak during the week. It isn't that time consuming but for some reason it feels like a hassle. I also don't really like corn salsa even though this was one of the better ones I've had. I will make this again but probably not on a regular basis.

Recipe of the Week: Southwest Chicken Wraps

I've been slacking on recipe posting...I will try to do better. This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping and is a very good, light recipe. I made some adjustments to the recipe because I just have the hardest time sticking exactly to a recipe.

Time Required:
Active Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients:
*2 tbs. olive oil
*1 lb ground chicken or turkey breast
*1 med. red pepper, chopped
*1 tsp. chili powder
*1 tsp. ground cumin
*1/8 tsp salt (I used seasoning salt)
*1 cup salsa (I used hot but use whatever you like most)
*1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained (the recipe actually called for pinto beans but I think those are gross)
*12 Boston lettuce leaves
*1/2 cup of lowfat sour cream (or plain nonfat Greek yogurt)
*1 tablespoon chipotle peppers, in sauce (optional)

Instructions:
1. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat olive oil on medium 1 minute. Add chicken, red pepper, chili powder, ground cumin, salt and chipotle peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken loses its pink color throughout, about 8 minutes. Stir in salsa and beans; cook 5 minutes to blend flavor and heat through.
2. Arrange 3 lettuce leaves on each dinner plate. Divide chicken mixture evenly among lettuce-leaf cups. Top each lettuce cup with a dollop of sour cream (or yogurt). Fold leaves over mixture and eat wraps out of hand. *this is pretty messy so keep lots of napkins on hand!

Nutritional Info (approximate):
265 calories, 35 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), 8 g fiber

Tamara's Take: Delicious! A healthy alternate to taco night. Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Recipe of the Week: Flank Steak with Red Wine & Oven Fries

Went on a wonderful 6 mile run to day with Amy R. and one of her good friends, the weather was perfect! I just wanted to make that statement for the record.

The other night I made a dinner and it was delicious.

Ingredients:
-3 med russet (baking) potatoes (8 0z each)
-3 tsp olive oil
-1 1/4 lbs. beef flank steak, trimmed of fat
-1/2 tsp dried tarragon
-1 med. shallot, minced
-3/4 c. dry red wine
-1 bag microwave-in-the-bag baby spinach

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Cut each unpeeled potato crosswise in half, then cut each half lengthwise into 8 wedges.
2. Spray 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place potatoes in pan and toss with 2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Roast potatoes in oven 25 minutes or until fork-tender and beginning to brown, stirring once halfway through roasting.
3. Meanwhile, rub steak with tarragon and 1/4 teaspoon salt to season both sides. Heat 12-inch cast-iron or other heavy skillet on medium-high. Add 1 teaspoon oil and steak; cook 12 minutes for medium, turning over once. Transfer steak to cutting board. To same skillet, add shallot and cook 1 minutes, stirring. Add wine and heat to boiling, boil 2 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup.
4. Cook spinach in microwave as label directs. Thinly slice steak and serve with wine sauce, potatoes, and spinach.

Nutritional Info: About 415 calories, 35 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 14 g total fat

Tamara's Tips
- I followed the directions as written and it turned out great. The meat was a little more medium-rare than medium so if you may want to cook it a few more minutes if you don't like it that rare.

Final Verdict: 8.5 - It was delicious, I have been on a roll lately!

Recipe of the Week: Zesty Crab Cakes

Last night I made some delicious crab cakes from a recipe I found in Martha Stewart Living. Say what you will about that woman, she knows how to cook her @ss off!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons unsalted better, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons sour cream (I used light sour cream)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus wedges for serving (I used bottled lemon juice)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (reduce this if you don't like your food spicy)
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over (I used a blend of lump and claw meat, we're in a recession!)
3 hot picked peppers, such as Peppadew, coarsely chopped (I don't know what a Peppadew is so I used habeneros)
3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cornmeal. Whisk next 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Gently mix in crab, peppers and breadcrumbs.
2. For each crab cake, shape 1/3 cup crab mixture into a patty; place on prepared sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook crab cakes in batches, 4 to 5 minutes per side. (It turned out to make 8 crab cakes for me)

Tamara's Tips:
- If you aren't used to very spicy food, you may want to choose a milder pepper.
- I served this with boiled potatoes and coleslaw which made for a delicious meal.


Final Verdict: 9 - I will definitely make this again! It was simple and delicious. I would like to try it with only using lump crab meat but I will have to wait for it to go on sale or for a special occasion because that stuff is over twice the cost of the mixed crab meat.

Recipe of the Week: Spanish Chicken & Rice

My husband picked out this recipe. It's from the Good Housekeeping Magazine.

Ingredients:
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
salt and pepper
1 med green pepper, cut into 1/2-in pieces
1 clove garlic, crushed with press
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp paprika
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup long-grain brown rice
1/2 package frozen peas
1 cup salad olives or coarsely chopped pimento stuffed olives

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In 5-6 quart Dutch oven (or large pan), heat oil on medium-high until hot. Sprinkle chicken all over with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; cook about 6 minutes until lightly browned on each side. Transfer chicken pieces to small roasting pan.
2. Cover roasting pan with foil and bake chicken 30 minutes or until juices run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced with tip of knife.
3. Meanwhile, in same Dutch oven, cook green peppers, garlic, and onion about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in paprika and cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with their juice, broth, water, and rice; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in frozen peas and olives.
4. Grease 2 to 2/12 quart glass or ceramic baking dish. Spoon the rice mixture into baking dish. Carefully tuck thighs into hot rice mixture. Cover and bake 25 minutes or until rice is tender and most of liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice to serve.

Nutritional Info:
About 440 calories, 29g protein, 62g carbohydrates, 8 grams fat

Tamara's Tips:
- If you can find chicken thighs already skinned then do so because taking the skin off was a hassle.
- I forgot to add the peas and I don't like olives so I didn't add them either. I don't think it is a big deal either way.
- I used Rotel hot diced tomatoes to add some extra spice to the dish (careful, these are VERY spicy)
- I had to cook the dish an extra 15 minutes once it was in the oven the second time

Final Opinion of the Dish:
We decided on a 10 point rating system. This dish is gets an 8. The chicken was tender and tasty; it fell right off the bone. The rice was delicious and significantly spicy. It wasn't too labor intensive although I wouldn't prepare it on a work night.

If you try it then let me know what you think....

Recipe of the Week: Salmon Burger and Sweet Potato Fries

I almost didn't make get a chance to make a new recipe this week. I have been busy working out and I just didn't really feel like cooking something that took any effort most nights. Since I decided to take the night off from exercising I had time to make something new. We decided on Salmon Burgers and Spicy Sweet Potato Fries.

Salmon Burger
Ingredients:
1 lb skinless salmon fillet
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp reduced-fat mayo
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp peanut oil (or any other oil that can be heated to high temp)
4 whole wheat buns
4 tomato slices
1 1/2 cups baby greens

Instructions:
1. Remove and discard any bones from the salmon, then cut into 1-inch pieces. In a food processor, pulse salmon just until finely chopped (do not over process). Transfer salmon to a medium bowl. Add mustard, mayo, chives, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper; stir to combine. Form mixture into four 3 1/2-inch patties.
2. Brush peanut oil over bottom of a large nonstick skillet to coat evenly. Place skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 2-3 minutes, reducing heat if necessary. With spatula, gently turn burgers over and cook just until opaque in the center, about 3 minutes.
3. Transfer salmon burgers to buns, and top with tomato slices and greens.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:
1. Adjust oven racks to divide oven into thirds. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch-thick wedges and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Using your hands, toss to coat potatoes evenly.
3. Arrange potatoes in single layers in 2 nonstick jelly-roll pans. Bake 25 minutes, or until browned and tender; turn potatoes over halfway through cooking time and rotate pans. Serve immediately.

Tamara's Tips:
* I used sesame oil to coat the pan instead of peanut oil because I already had it out.
* I added more than a pinch of cayenne pepper although next time I will add even more because it still wasn't spicy.
*Overall it was a pretty good meal. I don't think I'll make the salmon regularly just because I prefer my salmon broiled, however, I will make the sweet potato fries often.

Recipe of the Week: Jammin' Jambalaya

As I mentioned in my last post, I will be posting at least one recipe a week. These are recipes that I have found in various magazines, cookbooks or online. I will focus mainly on healthy recipes but I'm sure some not so healthy ones may sneak in from time to time.

This week I made "Jammin' Jambalaya", I got this recipe from my Women's Health magazine. It turned out pretty well although next time I may try to find a different type of chicken sausage. I didn't use the type that I will list in the recipe because it had pork casing and my husband doesn't eat pork. Note: make sure you add the tomatoes because I failed to do this and I kept thinking "something doesn't seem right about this" and then I realized that I had forgotten to add the tomatoes! Luckily, the jambalaya still had an hour left to cook so it wasn't that big of a deal. My husband really liked it, I thought it was okay but not the greatest thing I've ever had. However, I'm not a big fan of jambalaya in the first place so I'm probably not a great judge.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 medium-size sweet red peppers
1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 c long grain brown rice
1 12 oz package andouille turkey sausage (I used a natural chicken sausage but won't again)
1 tsp hot sauce (I used about 1 tbsp, I like my food spicy!)
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, minced (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 c water
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 lb shrimp, peeled and devined

Instructions:
1. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, rice and sausage in the crockpot in that order.
2. Add hot sauce, thyme, salt, pepper, and water.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. (I cooked mine for 8 hours)
4. One hour before it is finished cooking, add in parsley and shrimp. Stir until well combined adding more water if needed.

Notes:
*I added some red pepper flakes as well to make it even more spicy (it still wasn't TOO spicy)
*I had to add additional water around hour 5, although this may have been due to the fact that I forgot to add the tomatoes so you may not need to do this if you actually follow the instructions, LOL.

If you try it....let me know what you think.