Whole Wheat Rosemary Buns

I took this recipe directly from here. It's one of the first bread recipes I ever tried making when I started baking bread.  The only (recent) changes I made were to use all 100% whole wheat flour, and I added 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten.  You can leave it in a loaf and bake it.  Tonight, since I was making turkey burgers, I decided to divide the dough up and make individual buns.  I made 8 medium-large buns.

Whole Wheat Rosemary Buns
Taken from this recipe.
Makes 8 medium-large buns or 12 dinner rolls.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1.5 teaspoons white sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread seasoning (or any Italian seasoning)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast
• cooking spray

Directions:

• Place ingredients into bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select the "dough" function.
• Once the machine has completed the "dough" function, remove the pan and turn the dough out onto a smooth surface.
• Punch down the dough and knead for a few minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.
• Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and roll them into balls.  Flatten them out with your hands, until they are about 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.
• Place dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray.
• Loosely cover with a kitchen towel and let rest in a warm location to rise until double in volume.
• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove kitchen towel. Brush tops with milk or egg wash (optional).  Bake in pre-heated oven for 12-13 minutes, until tops are golden brown.

Sauteed Mushrooms and Chard

One of my favorite ways to eat mushrooms is sautéed in garlic and butter.  Here is a spin on that.  I also had a bunch of red chard on hand so I tossed it in for some dark leafy green goodness.  You can use any kind of shrooms you like, I just happened to have shiitakes and trumpets today.

Sautéed Mushrooms and Chard

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 container (8 oz?) shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 container (8 oz?) trumpet mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1/4 cup water 
• 1 large bunch red chard, washed and chopped (hard central rib removed)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• In a skillet, heat butter on medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds.  Add the mushrooms and water and toss for a couple of minutes until the shrooms soften. 
• Add chard by the handful and cook, tossing occasionally, until the chard is softened, 4-5 minutes.  Season with TSSS to taste.
• Serve while hot.

Pork Chops with Roasted Apple and Fennel

I'm loving my weekly FFTY organic CSA boxes because I'm receiving items I've never bought before and learning how to cook with them.  I recently got a beautiful fennel bulb.  I know what fennel is and have seen it in stores and on food shows, but I've never cooked with it before.  I love roasted veggies in general, so when I came across this recipe I thought it would be a good way to introduce myself to cooking fennel.  It was indeed very yummy.

Pork Chops with Roasted Apple and Fennel
Adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 Braeburn apples, cut into medium slices
• 1 bulb fennel, trimmed, cored and cut into medium slices
• 1 red onion, cut into medium slices
• olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 4 medium pork chops (approx. 1.5 pounds), all visible fat removed
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• chopped fennel fronds for garnish

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss apples, fennel and onion in a tablespoon of olive oil and a few dashes of TSSS.  Spread onto a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until tender.
• In the meantime, sprinkle TSSS over both sides of pork chops.
• Sear pork chops on one side in a couple tablespoons olive oil in an oven-proof skillet.  Turn the chops over to the other side, then place skillet in oven.  Roast until barely pink inside, about 12 - 15 minutes (internal pork temperature should read 145 degrees F).
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
• While pork is resting, immediately deglaze the skillet with apple cider vinegar.  Add the roasted veggies into the skillet and toss.
• Plate the pork chops and top with the veggie mix.  Garnish with some chopped fennel fronds if desired.

Deglazing the pan at the end with apple cider vinegar is KEY to the sauce.  SO GOOD!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

So much yummier (and healthier) than the canned condensed stuff.

I like to use a combination of white button and baby bella mushrooms.  Keep in mind, though, that if you use baby bellas, your soup will be light brown in color, and not white like the traditional cream of mushroom soups.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Smart Balance
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 8oz. containers of sliced mushrooms (I used 1 white button and 2 baby bellas tonight)
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 carton (4 cups) chicken broth
• 1 can (12 oz.) fat-free evaporated milk
• couple tablespoons of whole wheat flour

Directions:

• In a large pot, sauté the minced shallot in melted Smart Balance for a minute until fragrant.
• Add the sliced mushrooms and stir for a couple of minutes.  Season with TSSS and thyme.
• Add in the carton of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the mushrooms are soft, 15 - 20 minutes.
• Use an immersion blender for a few seconds to puree the soup; I like to leave it somewhat chunky.
• In a small bowl, whisk the evaporated milk with a couple tablespoons of whole wheat flour.  Add to the soup, increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat again and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Serve while hot.

Oven-Fried Chicken Strips

Having lived for many years in the South (Tennessee & Alabama), I've always loved me some fried chicken.  I just don't love what it does to my hips and thighs.  So I've learned to enjoy the alternative: oven-fried chicken.  Not the same thing, I know, but still delicious and I don't need to toss my jeans the next morning.  ;-)

This is my boneless, skinless chicken strip recipe.  Of course you can modify it with bone-on pieces, just remember to adjust baking times accordingly. 

This recipe is adapted from a compilation of many traditional fried chicken recipes I'd picked up during my residency down south.  I just modified it to be baked.

Oven-Fried Chicken Strips















Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken tenders or breasts cut into strips
• 2 cups nonfat or reduced-fat buttermilk
• couple dashes of paprika
• couple dashes of Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or salt & pepper)
• cooking spray
• 3 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs
• few dashes of paprika
• few dashes of Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt (or salt & pepper)
• few dashes of Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic (or garlic powder)
• few dashes of Tastefully Simple Onion Onion (or onion powder)

Directions:

• In an airtight container, combine chicken, buttermilk, paprika and TSSS.  Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.  I like to do it overnight so I don't have to think about it.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, paprika, TSSS, TSGG and TSOO.
• Remove chicken strips from marinade.  Shake off excess marinade.
• Dredge chicken strips in seasoned bread crumbs.  Place on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 - 30 minutes.

Mustard-Dill Meatloaf Patties with Pomegranate Sauce

I decided to make the meatloaf into patties because let's face it, there's no way this family will go through an entire loaf.  Besides, it's just easier to portion control this way.  Also, I'm not a big fan of the typical tomato-based meatloaf, so I was thrilled when I found this recipe for a mustard-dill one.  It's scrumptious.

Not only do I not like tomato-based meatloaf, I loathe ketchup on meatloaf.  I don't particularly like ketchup in general, so I came up with this pomegranate sauce for the meatloaf, only because I had some leftover POM juice sitting in my fridge.  It turned out pretty good, the tartness of the pomegranate sauce goes well with the mustard-dill flavors of the meatloaf.  Note: the sauce is not SBD-friendly because it's made from juice.  Try a simple balsamic reduction sauce (see recipe at the bottom of this post) if you want to be 100% SBD-compliant.

Mustard-Dill Meatloaf Patties with Pomegranate Sauce
Meatloaf adapted from this recipe.

Ingredients for meatloaf:

• cooking spray
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (only b/c I don't keep beef broth on hand)
• 1 pound lean ground sirloin
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons dry dill
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Ingredients for pomegranate sauce:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions for meatloaf:

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine rolled oats and chicken broth.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the rest of the meatloaf ingredients.  Add in the oats and combine.
• Divide the meat mixture into 4 portions and form patties.  Place onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

Directions for pomegranate sauce:

• While the meatloaf is cooking, drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil into a small heated saucier.
• Add minced shallot and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes until soft and translucent.
• Whisk in the Dijon mustard.  Then add the pomegranate juice and a couple dashes of TSSS.
• Bring to a boil and continue to cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
• About 5 minutes before the meatloaf patties are done, spoon half the sauce over the patties and continue to bake the patties.
• Once the meatloaf patties are done, spoon the rest of the sauce over them just before serving.

ETA 6/6/12: Recipe for simple balsamic reduction
Ingredients:

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed

Directions:

• Place the balsamic vinegar and garlic into a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until the sauce has reduced by half.  Spoon over the meatloaf patties.

Chicken Stuffed with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Chicken Stuffed with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

 

Ingredients:

• crumbled feta cheese (approx. 1 oz. per chicken breast)
• a couple tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, thinly sliced
• boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
• In a small bowl, combine feta cheese and sliced sun-dried tomatoes.
• Butterfly the chicken breasts.  Stuff with feta-tomato mixture.
• Brush both sides of stuffed breasts with a little bit of oil from the sun-dried tomatoes.  Sprinkle with TSSS.
• Place in baking dish in a single layer and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until cooked through.

ETA on 3/3/11: I did a goat cheese and spinach stuffing.  YUM!

Garlic Green Beans

One of my favorite ways to prepare green beans (or the thinner French haricots verts) is to sauté it in olive oil with garlic.  It's quick, simple and yummy.

Garlic Green Beans

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• green beans, stemmed and washed
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• a couple cloves of garlic, minced (or Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)

Directions:

• If using large green beans, I like to nuke them for a minute (or blanche them in boiling water) before sautéing, just to soften them up a tad.  If using thinner green beans, or haricots verts, I skip this step.
• In a sauté pan, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
• Toss in the green beans and sauté for a minute or two.
• Add TSSS and minced garlic.  Toss for a few more minutes until the green beans are slightly soft but still crunchy.
• Serve immediately.

Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

This is a basic bread recipe that I normally use to make loaves in my bread machine.  Today I decided to just use the machine's "dough" function, and then take it out and make individual rolls baked in the oven.  They turned out nice and chewy, very different than the texture of the machine loaves.

Most wheat bread recipes use a combination of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, which yields a lighter, fluffier end product.  This recipe uses 100% whole wheat flour, so the rolls are a little denser and chewier than the traditional dinner roll.  If you're not used to eating 100% whole wheat bread, it may take a little getting used to, but I, personally, love it.

Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Makes a 2-pound loaf, or 18 - 24 dinner rolls.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• 2.25 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast

Directions:

• Place ingredients into bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
• Select the "dough" function.
• Once the machine has completed the "dough" function, remove the pan and turn the dough out onto a smooth surface.
• Punch down the dough and knead for a few minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.
• Divide dough into 18 equal pieces and roll them into balls.
• Place dough balls into muffin pans lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray.
• Loosely cover muffin pans with plastic wrap, then lay a kitchen towel over the top.  Let rest in a warm location to rise for 30 - 45 minutes, until double in volume.
• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove kitchen towel and plastic wrap. Brush tops lightly with milk or egg wash (optional).  Bake in pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes, until tops are golden brown.

Salmon with Balsamic Vinegar

Normally I'd make a balsamic vinegar reduction on the stove top first, and then glaze the salmon with it before baking.  However, with a toddler and a newborn in the house, I just didn't have the time to make the glaze (go figure), so I just drizzled everything directly onto the fillets.  If you have the time, combine the TSSS, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook until reduced by half, then pour over the salmon fillets before baking.  The flavor of the glaze is much more robust.

Eat more fish!

Salmon with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• wild salmon fillets in individual portions, skinned and de-boned
• balsamic vinegar
• lemon juice
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl, combine about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, juice of 1/2 lemon, and TSSS to taste.
• Coat both sides of the fillets with the seasoned mixture and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
• Drizzle with additional balsamic vinegar before serving if desired.