midweek dericiousness

(sorry, kids...i've been slacking on the blogging. i know, i know. i'll be better, i promise!)

i was very disappointed to learn that there was no new lost this past week, but this was NO reason to not have a delicious midweek meal. jim was coming over for dinner, so it of course had to be something uber healthy. kiran was eating too, though, so it had to be something deceptively healthy. my solution?

turkey burger paninis & grilled asparagus

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 lb ground turkey (i used 99% lean for jimbo)

1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts

1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 whole garlic loaf (or any loaf of bread), sliced into 16 slices

8 slices muenster cheese, each slice cut in half

1 bunch asparagus

4 tbsp olive oil

nonstick spray

1 lemon

put 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan over medium low heat. warm the oil for a minute, then place the onion in the pan. sweat them and toss around in the pan occasionally until all the slices are covered in the oil, then pop a tightly fitting lid on it and lower the flame. allow it to caramelize while preparing the turkey meat, checking on it occasionally and stirring. when the onions are soft and a light brownish color (about 15 minutes), add the balsamic vinegar and pepper to taste and stir into the onions. set aside.

preheat a grill pan over a medium high flame. combine the turkey meat, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, dijon mustard, and some salt & pepper. score the meat with your hand into 4 equal sections, then divide each section into 2 for 8 small patties. spray your grill pan with nonstick spray. form each patty to fit the shape of your sliced loaf and place on the grill. since they are small, they will only take about 2 minutes per side. in the meantime, set up an assembly line with your slices of bread, cheese on each piece and caramelized onion on each sandwich. once the turkey patties are cooked through, your assembly should look like this:

bread

1/2 slice muenster cheese

caramelized onion

turkey patty

1/2 slice muenster cheese

bread

use one side of the grill pan to grill and press the sandwiches to melt the cheese and toast the bread while you prepare the asparagus on the other side (or use a panini press and use the grill for the asparagus). the bread should have nice grill marks on both sides and the cheese should be slightly melty to bind the whole sandwich together.

while you're grilling the sandwiches, prepare the asparagus. toss with the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper and throw them on the grill for about 5-6 minutes while you grill the sandwiches on one half. when they're done grilling, squeeze the lemon juice on top and there you go...the perfect side dish to a healthy sandwich!

man, risotto is needy

there are many things that i have yet to make. most of these things are either labor intensive or take way too long. examples: a whole turkey, fresh pasta, and until last night, risotto.

i bought a pack of arborio rice at the store about a month ago, thinking that i would take a stab at it one night when i had some extra time. unfortunately, i didn't get that extra time until a month after it was purchased, but no matter. it was all good. i still had some leftover homemade stock, so i decided that this would be a great way to use it. since i'm still on my "don't be a fatass" plan, i was looking for a way to make it with minimal amounts of (read: no) cheese. also, i didn't have any cheese left in my place and was too lazy to go to the store to get any.

surprisingly, the risotto didn't even need the cheese! it still turned out super creamy and delicious. i added lots of pepper and some lemon juice to cut the extra richness of it and came up with something that i will definitely make again. it's even healthy, so you don't have to feel guilty eating it! guilt free risotto - i think my life is complete. if you decide to make this (which i recommend), just make sure you have a good book to read while you're stirring, because you will be hovering above your stove for at least 30 minutes making sure your risotto is cooked just right. (it sounds like a nightmare boyfriend.)


i've named this risotto in honor of the book i was reading:

harry potter's risotto of secrets (and by secrets, i mean it has no cheese!!!)
4-6 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of arborio rice
1 bundle of asparagus, tough stems removed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can of artichoke hearts, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 lemon
salt & pepper

pour the stock into a pot and bring it up to a low simmer. keep it heated throughout the process, but don't let it go crazy boiling.

in a deep pan (i used my deep skillet), heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. add the garlic and onions and sweat them, being careful so they don't start browning. if they do, knock back the heat. when the onions are translucent, add the rice and coat in the oil. cook for 1-2 minutes, until the rice is lightly toasted.

once the rice is toasted, add 1/2 a cup of the heated stock. stir the stock into the rice and continue stirring until the stock is absorbed. when all the liquid has been absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of stock and the asparagus. remember the stir the rice frequently. (if you don't...i'm not sure what will happen, but i bet it won't be as good as mine. so listen!) once the liquid is absorbed, add another 1/2 cup of stock. repeat until the risotto is a nice, creamy consistency. it will take between 30-45 minutes. about halfway through the process, add the artichoke hearts & season the mixture with salt & a good amount of pepper. when the risotto is about ready, add the carrots and zest & juice of the lemon. test the seasonings and see if it needs more salt & pepper.

enjoy the healthy, creamy goodness!!

fiesta in a bowl!

our good friends asion and jason decided to take over heroes/dinner party night. asion made the one thing he says he makes well: cheesy chicken empanadas, courtesy of paula deen. jason, who never disappoints, made some awesome mushroom dip stuff. kiran made some bombin' 7 layer dip (actually, 6 layers because she omitted the beans). i was brainstorming at work (because i think about food ALL day) and realized that i still had a ton of homemade chicken stock to use up from my roasted chicken last week. what makes more sense that chicken tortilla soup? nothing, i say!

this was my first attempt at making chicken tortilla soup. i browsed a few recipes and this is what i came up with based on what i had in my kitchen on monday. it was slightly spicy with a nice consistency that was a bit thicker than broth (but not too much) and had the tasty sweet pop of corn and roasted red peppers going throughout the soup. sooooo good!


chicken tortilla soup
2 tbsp olive oil
3 chicken breasts, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded & minced
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp coriander
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 cup corn (frozen or canned - i used frozen)
1 can black beans
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
crushed tortilla chips
chopped cilantro, chopped red onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese for garnish

heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. after a minute, add the diced chicken and brown. after about 5 minutes, add in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno and cook the veggies with the meat for about 4 minutes, until the onions start to get translucent. add in all the spices and the tomato paste and mix in until the spices and paste are fragrant (about 2 minutes). then add in the chicken stock and the tomatoes, with their juices. break the tomatoes apart with a wooden spoon in the pot. allow it to come up to a boil, then knock it back to a nice simmer. (SIMMA DOWN NOW!) add in the corn, black beans, and roasted red peppers. be sure to get all the starchy bean juices out of the can and into the pot as well. this will help the soup thicken up a little bit. simmer the soup for an additional 6-7 minutes.

put some crushed tortilla chips at the bottom of a bowl and ladle the soup on top. serve with any of the garnishes listed above, and you have yourself a mighty tasty bowl o' soup!

makeover!

as you can see, it looks a little bit different around here. thanks, cmoore! in honor of the new look, i'm dedicating a song to her by one of my favorite groups ever - flight of the conchords!

this is for you, cmoore!

chicken showdown

our monday night heroes sessions has turned into a weekly potluck party. with the addition of my friends asion and jason (chocolate!), we've been able to make our pre-heroes meal a scrump-diddly-upmtious spread. with so many people, i decided the easiest main course would be roast chicken. being the good korean girl i am, i made 2 roast chickens since running out of food is the worst thing that can happen in a host(ess)'s night.

zuni's style on the left, same-day prep on the right

for one of the chickens, i prepared it the same day - rinsed, dried, then rubbed down with oil and herbs. for the other chicken, i was excited to prepare it in a way i had read about on smitten kitchen. for this one, i had to season the chicken a couple days before and let it hang out in the fridge until monday, when i roasted it. between the two, the one i salted 2 days before was definitely tastier. the skin was super crisp and golden brown, and the meat was incredibly moist. on smitten kitchen, they advise you to use a smaller bird (3 to 3 1/2 lbs), but i used a 4 1/2 lb bird and it was fine (i just had to cook it a little bit longer). the same-day prep was still really good, but the clear winner in this battle of the pre-prepped (zuni style - that's the restaurant it came from) chicken. extra bonus? you don't need to use any additional oil in the zuni-style chicken, so all the flavor comes from the chicken itself. oh snap!

i've included simplified versions of each recipe below. super easy, i promise!

zuni's style chicken (2 days before prep)

zuni's style chicken (simplified)
1 roast chicken, between 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 lbs
salt & pepper
4 sprigs of rosemary
baby red potatoes

start your prep at least 2 days before you roast the bird. rinse the bird, inside and out, and dry it very well. this will probably be the part that takes you the longest because that bad boy likes to hide water all over the place. drying it well is extremely important in this preparation, so make sure you do it well!

after the bird is dried, season the outside all over with salt & pepper, seasoning the thicker parts of the bird more liberally than the skinny parts such as the ankles. season the cavity of the bird a bit, but you don't have to go crazy. take the sprigs of rosemary and put one each between the skin and meat of the bird on the thickest part of the thigh and on the breasts. to do this, just slip your finger between the skin and meat and loosen it so you can put the herb in. then cover the bird on a platter and stick it in the fridge.

on game day, take the chicken out of the fridge. preheat the oven to 475. over a medium flame, preheat a large skillet until it is nice and hot. dry the bird off again, then put into the skillet, breast side up. it should sizzle when you put it in. once it's in the pan, put it in the oven and let it go for about 25 minutes. it should be browning already. at this point, flip the bird over (it shouldn't stick if you preheated the skillet and dried the chicken) and put some potatoes in around the side of the skillet so they can roast in the chicken drippings. oooooh yeah.

let the chicken cook for another 30-35 minutes, until the leg moves easily when you wiggle it around. flip over the bird one more time during the last 5 minutes of cooking. take the chicken out and let it rest on a cutting board for 10-15 minutes before you cut it up. serve with the potatoes. YUUUUMMMM!!!

close-up of zuni's style chicken

same-day prep bird

procrastination bird (or same-day prepped bird)
1 roast chicken, between 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 lbs
salt & pepper
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
4 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
baby red potatoes
2 small onions (or 1 large onion), chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 lemon

preheat oven to 475. rinse the chicken, inside and out, and dry thoroughly. cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the whole chicken. season the bird (inside and out) with salt and pepper and the chopped rosemary. drizzle the oil over the bird and rub it down.

put the juiced lemon halves inside the bird. stuff the bird with a mixture of the celery, carrots, and onions (as much will fit). you can scatter the remainder in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan along with the potatoes. nestle the chicken on top of the veggies and roast in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. flip the chicken over and roast an additional 25 minutes, then flip over for the last 5 minutes of cooking to re-crisp the skin. let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes, then cut it up and serve with the roast veggies. oh yeeeeeeah.

close-up of same-day prep

oscar night and tacos!

a few weeks ago, my friends sarah and tony decided to invite themselves over to my place for the oscars. i had also made a promise to my friend travis that i would invite him over for tacos at some point, so i decided to kill two birds with one stone and have a small oscars get-together with tacos! sarah and tony thought ahead and brought oscar ballots so we could play along. unfortunately, most of us got our asses handed to us by leila, who predicted the majority of the oscar winners correctly. [sidenote: how awesome was hugh jackman? give me him in a tux (or wolverine gear) any day. mmmm hmmmmm. okay, moving on...]

my goal was to make dericious (yes, i'm spelling it like that - it's so much more fun to say!) and healthy tacos. i think it turned out pretty well, and it gave me an excuse to make my guac again. :)


errrca's award winning (someday) tacos - ayayayayaya!!!

2 lbs. ground turkey
1 yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded & finely chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 yellow squash, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely diced
1 bell pepper, finely diced (any color works)
1 tbsp chipotle chili powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
couple pinches cayenne
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

6 avocados
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
4 limes
1 cup sour cream
corn tortillas
salsa
shredded sharp cheddar cheese

preheat the oven to 400. heat up the olive oil in a large deep skillet. when the oil is hot, add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. while the turkey is browning, you can make the guacamole. combine the avocados, tomatoes, red onion, half the jalapeno, juice of 3 limes, and half the cilantro. mash everything together, leaving it a bit chunky (i use my hand, but that's because i like playing with my food). salt & pepper to taste.

when the meat is browned, add the yellow onion, garlic, the remainder of the jalapeno, and crushed red pepper. stir and cook for a few minutes, then add the squash, zucchini, and bell pepper. cook for another few minutes until they just start to get tender. then add all the spices (chipotle chili powder through cayenne) and stir into the meat mixture. cook for another 2-3 minutes so the spices get distributed through the mixture. then add the honey and the chicken stock and allow to simmer until the liquid has mostly evaporated.

while the turkey mixture is working, combine the sour cream, juice of 1 lime, pinch of cumin, and a small handful of the cilantro. mix together and set aside. wrap the tortillas in foil and put in the oven to warm.

when the stock in the turkey mixture is mostly evaporated, fold the remainder of the cilantro in. serve the tacos with the warmed tortillas, meat, sour cream mixture, cheese, salsa, and guacamole.

OLE!

protein overload

in an effort to make the most of my dieting nonsense, i've been incorporating more protein into my daily caloric intake. i've come across a goldmine that's helping me accomplish this:

[enter SHIRATAKI NOODLES] (cue heaven music)

these bad boys are made from soybean and yams. they're only 40 calories per serving and can be used as a substitute for regular noodles in just about any dish. that includes stir-fries, pasta dishes...you name it! i ended up making the most protein-licious dish ever with these.

protein-o-rama stir-fry

16 oz. shirataki noodles, fettucine style
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sriracha (or more; i like it spicy!) - i call this cock sauce, but it's the asian hot sauce with a green top
1 block firm tofu, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 inch ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup broccoli, cut into florets
1/2 cup frozen corn

in a large, deep nonstick pan or wok, heat up the vegetable oil over high heat. while the oil is heating, drain the noodles in a colander and rinse with hot water. allow it to drain while you're preparing the rest of the dish. when the oil is hot, carefully put in the tofu in a single layer. do not disturb the tofu for at least 2 minutes - allow it to develop the oh-sooo-yummy golden crust. it generally takes about 5-7 minutes to get most of the sides nice and golden brown.

while the tofu is cooking, make your sauce. mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha until combined. set aside.

when the tofu is golden on most sides, put in the crushed red pepper, garlic, and ginger. increase the flame to high again. cook for a minute. put in the onions and peppers and move them toward the bottom of the pan. allow them to sit undisturbed for a minute so they caramelize. put in the rest of the veggies and stir frequently. cook the veggies for about 2-3 minutes, then add the drained noodles. cook the noodles for a minute, then turn off the heat and add the peanut sauce. incorporate the sauce through the noodles and veggies thoroughly. serve and feel buff!

*update: i've been told that this is actually a vegan dish! look at how inclusive i am.