Warm Spinach Salad with Fried Egg

I am not kidding you this is so delicious--for a light supper, lunch or brunch.

I wanted to take advantage of these AWESOME FARM EGGS
we bought on our trip this week to Santa Ynez, CA. We bought them at a roadside organic farm stand up there. I bought them because they were BEAUTIFUL...a light blue-green color shell. The ended up being dark yellow-orange yolky eggs that were sooo good....

Ok, here's the recipe.

Take a bowl full of washed and dried baby spinach--enough for 2 generous salads. Saute some torn up bread in garlic and good olive oil until browned. Take the bread out and now fry up 2 eggs over easy. Salt and pepper them as the cook. remove the eggs and keep warm.



Olive oil from Olive HIll Farm in Los Olivos CA



Now add about 1/3 cup good olive oil, some more garlic (or some chopped shallot) crumbled cooked bacon and about 1/3 cup red wine vinegar. Let this warm up together.

Now toss the salad with the croutons and this dressing. Add a handful of grated parmesan cheese. Toss well, add salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 2 plates and add the fried egg to the top. ENJOY immediately!

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Easy Weeknight Dinner: Oven Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

This is so delicious. Even the non-fish eaters like it. It's hearty, yet light. I buy my salmon at Costco or Sam's and its a huge boneless filet that feeds a crowd-- or a family, with leftovers!

I serve any leftovers, cold, with a remoulade sauce--or if I'm really lazy, just a dollop of plain mayonnaise. Heavenly.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with foil. Put about 3 tablespoons olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the salmon filet in one layer. Cover it with your choice of fresh chopped herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then squeez half a lemon over it. Place the spent lemon halves on the cookie sheet too. Top the salmon with another couple tablespoons of that olive oil. Place in oven and roast for 25 minutes until edges are lightly browned and sizzling, and fish flakes easily.

all dressed and ready for the oven

salsa ingredients...I bought that red pepper at Marukai Japanese Market

Meanwhile, steam green beans with garlic and make salsa: Add 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple, 3
tablespoons fresh cilantro, 1 avocado, cubed and 1 scallion, sliced. Add a tablespoon of fresh lime juice, salt , pepper and hot chili flake to taste. Mix well and keep chilled.



salsa--if you plan on keeping it over an hour, put the avocado pit in the bowl to keep it from turning brown

 Serve the salmon with a wedge of lemon, green beans and the salsa.

flaky, juicy perfection- just out of the oven

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

Chicken and Corn Chowder

Time for another Easy Weeknight Dinner!


This is great when its cold and rainy, as it is here in sunny southern California today. We've had a LOT of rain this winter.

I used fresh Thyme, as it is back in my garden. I love it. But you can use any fresh herb: basil, cilantro, parsley, even a little sage.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

2-3 large boneless chicken breasts, quartered
1 medium yellow onion, diced
olive oil
2 large potatoes, cubed
2 yellow squash, cubed
1 can chicken broth
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and stem discarded
1 16 oz bag frozen corn kernels
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
black pepper
salt


In a 5 1/2 quart dutch oven or heavy soup pot saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent; add the chicken and brown on all sides. Cover with the chicken broth, add 2 thyme sprigs, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper; bring to a simmer and cover. 

Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy saucepan; add flour stirring constantly with a wire whisk. After about 2 minutes, slowly add the milk while whisking to blend. Lower heat and bring to a boil; it should be thick enough to coat a wooden spoon...take off heat and add the rest of the thyme.

Add the potatoes and then the squash to the pot with the chicken and add enough water so that the potatoes are submerged. Cover and again bring to a boil; lower and simmer for 25 minutes. 

After this time, take out the chicken to a board and shred with a fork; it should be tender enough for this. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and add the corn, bring to a boil. Now add the white sauce, whisking it into the soup to blend. Let this simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with warm sourdough bread and butter.

Serves 6

Make it a Great Day!

Ann

Mock Thanksgiving

For an Easy Weeknight Dinner, tonight I did my Mock Thanksgiving.... its basically chicken breasts (instead of turkey--although you certainly can use turkey breast for this)

I basically gather up all the ingredients, and go to town, making all of them at once practically. Its like Rachel Ray gone mad, I tell you! Your kitchen will smell amazing and all the family will come in and want to know: "Mom, Whats for dinner? It smells sooo good!"

First I get my chicken breasts and brine them. This adds extra juiciness and reduces the chances of the dreaded rubbery chicken. Keeps it tender and moist basically.

Step 1 Prep:

Preheat your oven to 400--if convection, use that setting--you'll be cooking all dishes at once

Brined Chicken

Chicken breasts (I used boneless skinless here, but bone-in skin on is great too)
    mix the following in a huge bowl
3 cups water, room temp
3/4 cup salt (I know it sounds horrible, but it will be drained)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning

Put all this stuff in a bowl together and let it sit at least 1 hour and up to overnight in fridge.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

6 yams or sweet potatoes
Wash them, leaving the skins on, pierce them 4-5 times. Place them in a baking dish lined with foil. Put them in the oven while you prep--they will take at least 1 1/2 -2hrs hr to cook fully. (or microwave till soft, 4-5 mins per potato)

Spinach Stuffing

1 pkg boxed stuffing mix (1 bag)
1 cup water
1-2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-3 handfuls fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, chopped

Mix the water, butter and stuffing mix as the package directs, but don't cook it on the stovetop. Pam a small baking dish. Saute the onion in a nonstick pan, then add the spinach and wilt till reduced by half. Now mix everything together, including the egg, and put it all in the Pam'd baking dish. Set aside till ready to cook (put in fridge if more than 1 hr till cooking time)

Cranberry Relish

1 pkg fresh raw cranberries
1 medium navel orange
1/2 cup sugar

Mix the meat and rind of the orange(don't use the white part--its bitter) with cranberries and the sugar in the food processor. Let rest in the fridge till serving time. (If you like spicy you can add a seeded jalapeno to this:delish!)

Step 2 Cook, simultaneously:
I have a convection oven, so I use all 3 racks at the same time. If you don't, you can still cook this entire dinner at the same time--just put your chicken in the middle rack and turn it over once during cooking so all sides get browned.

Chicken

Drain from brine, discard brine.

Place flat on foil-lined baking sheet with the uneven side up--drizzle with soy sauce, garlic powder, and a little drop of honey. Bake in the middle rack for about 45min, then turn, discard any juices, and cook till browned on top-another 15 minutes or so.

Stuffing

Bake in the top or bottom rack for 45min-1 hour or until browned.

Gravy

Use packaged Turkey gravy (or Heinz in the jar---its really good!) prepare according to directions and keep warm on stovetop.

Sweet Potatoes

These should have been cooking the whole timeyou prepped, so check and make sure they are fork-tender. Serve with butter and a sprinkle of brown sugar, if desired. Yum!

Now its time to serve, and enjoy. Let your chicken rest at least 5 minutes before you serve it...keeps it juicy.

Don't forget about your relish. I'm telling you--its almost good as Thanksgiving!

{ Adorable }Hubs diggin in!

Make it a Great Day!

Ann

Cactus Pears: Exotic Fruit

 My fave show right now is Chopped. Last night I saw an episode where one of the ingredients were Cactus Pears.. aka Prickly Pears. I wish the contestants would have done soething more creative with them--they just sliced them and served them as is, but what about a puree...a sorbetto....a drink?

I have an intimate relationship with these guys. My Nani was from Sicily, where cactus pears are an abundant and common fruit. We used to get them (from somewhere-- I guess you can find anything in New York) when I was growing up occassionally, and it was always a treat. Nani would carefully peel them just so, to expose the beautiful, albeit seedy, pulpy fuscia-colored fruit. We kids would reverently watch and then she would dole out the slices. I always remember eating it ice cold, and it was very sweet and juicy with a refreshing watery taste reminicent of watermelon. The numerous seeds are just consumed along with the fruit.

They grow here in California and the Southwest, the fruit of the, yeah, Prickly Pear cactus. Since they are common in Latin-American cuisine as well, they are easy to find. I found mine 7 for 99 cents at my favorite latino grocery, King Ranch (more about that here). They also come in the green variety, and they are good too. But I'm a sucker for any weirdly colored fruit, and that amazing bright pink color gets me every time!

I made a fruit salad, and here's what I did. You have to be careful peeling this fruit--most of the time when you get them in a grocery store, the prickly spines are already taken out. But just to be on the safe side, wear gloves when handling them. Trust me, one little wayward cactus spine in your hand will have you going nuts for a few days. They burrow into your skin and its hard to get the lil suckers out.

I take a sharp knife and cut iff both ends.

Then I slice about 1/4 inch into the skin right along the cuts from end to end.

Then the skin is easily peels off, leaving just the fruity inside.

Slice into medalions, or process whole, as you wish, depending on your recipe.

Here's 2 recipes:

Prickly Pear Fruit Salad with Lime and Chili:

4-5 Prickly Pears, peeled and sliced
1 medium pineapple, in chuncks
1/2 small watermelon, cubed
1 medium cucumber, sliced
2 mangoes, chunked or sliced
jicama, sliced into matchsticks (optional)
juice of 2 limes
red chili powder ( I like ancho or pasilla)
sea salt

Arrange the fruit on a platter or in a pretty bowl. Chill well. Just before serving, sprinkle with the lime juice, then the chili powder and a little sea salt. Serve with chili and salt on the side of your guests want to add more... this can be served in lieu of a salad. Its delicious and refreshing.

Prickly Pear Lemonade

3-4 lemons, juiced

3-4 prickly pears, peeled

2 quarts cold water

sweetner to taste (about 1 cup sugar, or 7-8 Splendas

Ice

Mint, for garnish

Press the prickly pears through a strainer or sieve to extract the juice and remove the seeds, set aside. Add the lemon juice and the sweetner in a large pitcher. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the prickly pear juice and the water, and stir. Add ice to fill pitcher. Serve with a sprig of fresh mint and more ice. YUM!

Make it a Great Day!

Ann
See you at these parties: Make It Yours , Whatever Goes Wednesday, Frugalicious Friday

Greek Chicken Skewers

This is a great lowfat easy meal. I served it with quinoa and rice for my kids. It was very lemony and good. Marinate the chicken up to 3 hours. I did for about 1 hour and it was fine.

(dont you love the elegance that the dixie plate imparts..haha!)

Greek Chicken Skewers


1 (8 ounce) container fat-free plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed dried dill (optional)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large red onion, cut into wedges

1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium zucchini, cut into 2" thick circles

1 cup cherry tomatoes


1.In a large shallow baking dish, mix the yogurt,lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and dill if using. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate 3 hours in the refrigerator.

2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

3.Thread the chicken, onion wedges, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and red bell pepper pieces alternately onto skewers. Discard remaining yogurt mixture.

4.Grill skewers, turning as browned, on the prepared grill until the chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, about 25-40 minutes depending on the heat of the grill.

The red pepper and yellow tomatoes is from my garden...wish I had zucchini growing our of my garden too!

I served this with an arugula, sundried tomato, and feta salad. I make a dressing out of lemon juice, olive oil and salt. You can also serve these over rice or any other grain.

Zucchini Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

These were made on a weekend morning because I wanted something simple, delicious, and did not want to go out to get ingredients. I had zucchini, a butter-pecan cake mix I got at Big Lots the day before, and some cream cheese. They turned out very well! Next time I might add raisins to the batter...maybe even some pecans or walnuts would be good too.

Zucchini Cupcakes

1 box cake mix ( used Butter Pecan, but I am sure yellow or spice cake would be awesome), mixed according to package directions, except for the water- use 1/4 cup LESS liquid
1 cup grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini) squeezed of excess liqiud
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1.4 cup raisons (opt)
1/2 cup walnuts or pecan (opt)

Mix all ingredients together till well incorporated) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill cupcakes about 3/4 full of batter. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until just golden.

Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature for easy blending
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest

Meanwhile, beat all the frosting ingredients with an electric mixer until completely smooth.

Wait till cupcakes are cool (if you can) and frost with a dollop of frosting. Add a tiny pinch of nutmeg to the top of each one. Enjoy!

Grilled Pizzas

Its summertime. My goal is : No hot oven.....minimal cooking...make the most of summer's bounty
One recipe that fit the bill is a grilled pizza. Sounds nuts. Hubs has wanted to do this forever, so when he got his Daddy's Day gift early ( a new tricked out Weber grill) it was time to try it.

We have a big Weber with a thermometer. Hubs lights the coals, puts my Pampered Chef baking stone on the grill (I do not recommend ANY OTHER baking stone brand. We tried this once with another brand and it cracked) Let the grill heat up to at least350 degrees with the lid closed (of course)

Get a pre-made dough, or make your own. Trader Joe's, Fresh and Easy and many markets have them, bagged and refrigerated, ready to go. Please don't use Chef Boy R Dee mix or Pillsbury.

Roll it out thinly. Throw it on the heated stone on the grill. Cover and cook 2-3 mins, then flip and cook again. Now take it off the grill, brush with olive oil,  and top w/ your fave toppings. (Its a good idea to do all the crusts ahead of time, then you can just go one after another with the pizzas..they will go fast!)Put it back on the grill, lid closed, and cook till cheese is bubbly, about 5-8 mins. This would be fun for a party!

Some we made:

Goat cheese, Olive oil, Garlic, and kalamata olives

Sundried tomato, mushroom and Gouda

Tomato sauce and mozzerella with fresh basil

Fresh tomato (from our garden!!) olive oil, and garlic with mozzerella

They were really, really good!They had the taste of a wood-fired oven pizza. Very crispy, yet tender and chewy crust. Really yummy!

Take Care,
Ann

HomeMade Granola

I am sure I have mentioned somewhere that I am lazy. I hate going out "last minute" to get ingredients if I can avoid it. This has led to some cooking disasters (no, olive oil can NOT be substituted for vegetable oil in a cake mix) but some good "aha" moments (melted butter instead of said vegetable oil makes a decadent cake mix cake).

This granola recipe was the result of whatever I happened to have in the pantry today.

I have been toying with the idea of home-made granola for a few reasons: I have a canister of Quick-Cook Rolled Oats that I never use (I tried, but I hate hot slimy oatmeal, sorry), and I don't like the fat/sugar content of most packaged granola. All of the granola recipes I looked at called for oats, but specified "not the quick-cook" ...I kind of wondered why*...and 3 tablespoons to 1 cup (!!!!) of canola oil... I went for the lesser amount. (*I used "quick cook" and it was fine) Also I am trying to cool it with my sugar consumption (more on my sugar detox here), so I used Splenda and some honey to sweeten it up a little.

granola before putting in the oven to bake

here it is after taking out of oven and mixing in cranberries...yummy!

Here is the result and it is very tasty. You can change it up almost anyway you like, using Agave syrup, brown sugar, honey, or even maple syrup for the sweetener instead of the Splenda would probably work great.

Ann's Pantry Sugar-Free Granola Recipe:

3 cups rolled oats*

3/4 cup nuts (whatever you have; I used cashews)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 packets of Splenda

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup dried fruits..I used dried cranberries 'cause that's what I had (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with Pam. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except dried fruit; use your hands its easier.

Spread onto the sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, then toss it so the mixture browns evenly. Bake another 10-15 minutes, or until it is golden. Break up large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Cool completely. Now add the fruit. (You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools.)  Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. It will keep for about 2 weeks.

Makes about 5 cups.

Sugar-Free

I was inspired by a post on Clover Lane--to see if I could quit sugar. Sarah has done a great job with her Sugar-Detoxing Guide.

me. quit. sugar.

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Now, some background: I'm a life-long weight-watcher. Lost 33 lbs 7 years ago, gained a few back, but not bad. I still fit into my goal-size pants. Most of my bad habits, including bingeing, waiting till everyone was asleep to systemactically raid the halloween/easter/valentine's day stash, having zero breakfast and lunch but pigging out at dinner, and hiding food to eat later-- well, those horrible ways(thank goodness) for the most part got banished by WeightWatchers, which is great.

However, I have been known to consider pudding as a it's own food group, and ice cream as a nutritional supplement. I have elevated eating valentine's day see's candy heart to a science, start with the truffles, move on to the fruity-chewies, end with the nuts..begin again.... I had a full-blown celebration when the news broke that dark chocolate is good for you! I told you so!

But.

Lately, I'd been experiencing some strong cravings...for sugary stuff. Not just chocolate, anything sugary. I realized I was like a clock: after breakfast, I wanted something "sweet"..and nothing other than a sugary treat would do. After lunch, same thing. By 4pm, I'd be cooking dinner haphazardly(do you think hubs will notice we're having tacos 3 nights in a row? nah...), while meticulously plotting out what I'd have for dessert afterwards (mmmm....that banana-mocha-cream pie Emeril made doesn't look that complicated) When we attended a party a couple of weeks ago, the host asked us to bring some wine. I brought wine, along with 2 desserts, stashing cookies away for "later". I knew right then I had a problem.

So the very next day, I decided to go sugar free. It has not been without lapse; Saturday night, I had a small slice of apple pie, and I ate some honey and peanut butter on a cracker one night. However, the past 2 weeks' victories were amazing to me: On Mother's Day. which included grandma's birthday, I passed on home-made biscotti and red-velvet birthday cake. Didn't even want any! Huh? On Friday, my daughter brought home 300 chocolate candy bars to sell for a fundraiser. I DID NOT EVEN TASTE ANY. And they are the good ones. And they cost only 1.00 apiece(anyone want to buy a chocolate bar? it's for a good cause) They are sitting on my kitchen counter as we speak, and no, they are not taunting me one bit.

I don't know, maybe it's about me proving to myself that I actually do possess willpower, and I can do anything (just about) that I set my mind to. Also I was worried that I was addicted. I've read accounts of people having migraines, losing sleep, not having an ounce of energy..but honestly, I've been fine. Just this weekend I was a little headachey, but I think it was because of my monthly bill, not because I quit eating sugar.

I'm not planning to be sugar free forever, but I'm glad I am able to stop, if even for a week, a day, 2 weeks! I plan on doing this for as long as I feel I need to, but for at least 21 days which is the magic number of days needed to "break a habit".

So, if you've been thinking about it, give it a try. If I can do it, so can you, trust me. I've ordered the book "Sugar Blues" and will read it and let you know what I think of it.

Ann

Latin Grocery and a Recipe

Due to the boom in latino/hispanic population in this country, there's bound to be a Latin grocery in your town.  Maybe you have never been there. If this is the case, I say: Go Now! It's like taking a vacation without leaving town (that is, if you are crazy like me, who loves to check out grocery stores when on vacation!) Here in my neck of the woods, we have plenty to choose from, from small markets to huge grocery stores that cater to latinos...some that come to mind are: King Ranch, SuperA, Superior, and La Super.

The produce is usually amazingly fresh, and has all the "regular" stuff, like lettuce, tomatoes, corn, et al...but ahhh...there are some great ingredients you must try. Here are some:

 Red bananas or mini bananas: sweet, small, very fun for kids! and the mini ones are so adorable, they come in a "bunch" just like Curious George books!

Mexican Onion (cebollita): like a scallion, but bigger and more flavorful..use these anywhere you'd use a scallion or onion, they are also great rubbed with olive oil, slat and pepper and thrown on the grill!

Yuca: This beastly looking thing is a waxy tuber that is cooked similar to a potato. My mother in law, who is from El Salvador, uses them in soups and they are delicious. Also great deep fried!!

Tomatillo: This odd looking thing looks like there's a paper lantern on it! It is actually related to a tomato, and has a bright fresh flavor. They can be fried, grilled, and are mostly used in salsa...my recipe for Tomatillo Salsa follows....

Their spice sections are usually amazing..you can buy most by weight. I saw fresh nutmeg, every kind of dried chili, you name it.

Panaderia, Tortilleria... basically these grocery stores have an in-house butcher, bakery and usually make their own fresh tortillas IN HOUSE.... when I go there I get my fresh tortillas and they are still warm The chips are also to die for, and are made fresh daily. Buy the store brand...they will be a bit darker in color...that will tell you they are freshly made. There will also be fresh cheeses (Try queso fresco, a mild, delicious cheese with a crumbly texture) by the pound, fresh crema (like sour cream) and fresh salsas.

They also have very European/Gourmet items. Yesterday I saw Quince Paste, fresh in the deli area, all kinds of pastries, and freshly made bolillos (which is a little like a tiny baguette)

Last night we had friends over and had 2 homemade salsas(one is below), fresh corn tortillas from the market, carne asada tacos (freshly bbq'd marinated flank steak, sliced thinly) and for dessert, caramel flan I purchased at King Ranch which was to die for!

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

This is so darn easy and everyone will keep repeating: "You MADE this?" 

It really is good: and different. Try it.

about 1/2 lb fresh tomatillos, outer papery skin peeled and cut into quarters

2-3 cebollitas, or 4-5 scallions, roots removed (use green and white part)

1 small clove garlic, peeled

2-3 key limes, or 1 juicy regular lime--juiced

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small jalapeno (optional)

1 tsp granulated sugar

salt to taste

Place all ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until uniformly blended and forms a saucy consistency but thick. Serve immediately with chips, tacos, anything you use salsa for. Delicioso! This will keep for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

Linking to a special SNS#28 "recipe" feature!!