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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Recipe Review from 1/1/11

A new year - a new recipe tally.  My count has slipped the last couple of years - I've become more comfortable making good meals without recipes, I've been repeating recipes more, and I just needed a break. 

2010 - 85
2009 - 92

2008 - 129
2007 - 120
2006 - 103
2005 - 137
2004 - 143
2003 - 154
2002 - 129

Our household is settling into a new routine this year so I'm going to be looking at more soups and stews for lunches because they can be made on Sundays.  These will be predominantly our vegetarian meals.  I'll be searching for more dinners that will stretched for couple three days and when spring and summer roll around, we'll be grilling out and doing more salads. 

So to start of the year, the Husband and I made this:


Chicken Stew with Hominy  (Ckng Lght, Jan/Feb 2010)

Picture from CookingLight.com
 This is outstanding!  I decided I didn't want to putz with peeling 1 1/2 lbs of tomatillo husks so I bought canned, drained them, then just roasted with the anaheim peppers.  They weren't completely blackened, but bubbly warmed and nicely roasted.  Perfect!  While the pepper and tomatillos were under the broiler, veggies chopped, and the Husband had those cooking in no time while I finished prepping the chicken.  I had my doubts about using chicken thighs - they can make things greasy, but this was not the case.  The chicken turned out tender and flavorful, the sauce is not brothy, but not thick either and the whole dish was reminiscent of chicken enchiladas in a green sauce.

Total: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 Anaheim chiles
Cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (I used 3-11 oz cans tomatillos, drained and roasted with the chilies)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 (29-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
Cilantro leaves (optional)

Preparation
1. Preheat broiler to high.

2. Halve, stem, and seed chiles. Place chiles, skin side up, [and tomatillos], on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil for 5 minutes or until charred. Place chiles in a paper bag; seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Arrange tomatillos on prepared baking sheet, and broil 14 minutes or until blackened, turning once. Combine the chiles, tomatillos, 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin, and oregano in a blender. Add 1 cup broth; process until smooth.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Place onion mixture in a large bowl.

4. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken; sauté 3 minutes. Add browned chicken to onion mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and 2 teaspoons oil. Combine remaining 1 cup broth, tomatillo mixture, onion mixture, and hominy in pan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Ladle 1 2/3 cups stew into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.


Tuna Noodle Casserole (Ckng Light Annual 2011)
This is not your grandma's church hotdish.  Made with frozen peas, carrots and a bit of celery (my addition) vacuum packed tuna, egg noodles and a mixture of a milk based sauce and mustard, this tasted fresh and bright.  It was just as good reheated - which was good since it did make three meals for two people.  This does come together very quickly, which I appreciated on a weeknight. 


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

8 ounces wide egg noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup chopped carrot
(1/3 cup chopped celery)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 3/4 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 (5-ounce) cans albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked  (just buy the kind in the vacuum packs)

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and carrot (and celery); cook 6 minutes or until carrot is almost tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk; cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until slightly thick. Stir in cream cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Remove pan from heat. Stir in noodles, peas, 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and tuna. Spoon mixture into a (see note below) shallow broiler-safe 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

**I used an oven safe skillet and just slid under the broiler.  One less dish to wash.


Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca (Ckng Lght Jan/Feb 2011)
This was the cover recipe for the Jan/Feb issue and and I must say it tasted as good as it looked.  It was also super easy to prepare - I did slice the chicken breasts in half to make them thinner, sprinkled with salt, pepper and a bit of ground sage (a sage leaf seemed like too much flavor and I didn't want to buy a whole package for a handful of leaves), and wrapped in proscuitto.  A visit to a hot pan, a wait under a lo broiler and drizzled with the lemony sauce.  Result?  It was reminicient of breakfast sausage but for dinner.  Quick and deliscious.
.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cutlet and 2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients
4 (4-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 fresh sage leaves
2 ounces very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt. Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3. Combine broth, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

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