Category Archives: Dinner’s Ready

Post-Thanksgiving Feast, No Turkey in Sight!

Posted on by
Reply

When a friend calls and invites you down to her husband’s commercial fishing boat, the answer should be a resounding YES!  Grab an insulated bag and your camera and head down to the dock.  Gig Harbor‘s roots are in fishing and a fleet of commercial fishing boats are based in our Harbor.  Our Annual Maritime weekend includes a blessing of the fleet.

gig harbor blessing of the fleet

Commercial fishing boats lined up in Gig Harbor for the annual blessing of the fleet.

This was my first invitation to one of the fishing boats and I was not going to miss it!

How much of a fish did I want?  I don’t even know how much fish an entire fish entails.  How about enough for six people for the day after Thanksgiving dinner?  I think that came to about a third or maybe half of the fish.  All I knew is that the steaks looked beautiful and I couldn’t wait ’til the day after Thanksgiving to enjoy them.

fresh salmon

Cut from freshly-caught fish.

With a houseful of people and a fridge full of leftover side dishes, an easy grilled salmon and a serve-yourself buffet of reheated sides was the perfect meal after a long, rainy day at the Children’s Museum.

grilled salmon steaks

Grilled wild salmon steaks with a miso glaze.

Super-easy, here’s the recipe.  You’ll have to find your own fishing boat connection though.

Miso-Glazed Salmon with Wilted Spinach, courtesy of Cooking Light

ingredients

  • Fish:
  • 1 tablespoon white miso paste
  • 2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
  • Spinach:
  • 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
  • 1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach
  • 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

Preparation

  1. Preheat broiler.
  2. To prepare fish, combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, and brush evenly over fish. Arrange fish on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil for 8 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  3. To prepare spinach, while fish broils, heat sesame oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and spinach to skillet; cook 30 seconds or until spinach just begins to wilt, tossing mixture constantly. Stir in 2 teaspoons soy sauce.

I cooked mine on the grill, it turned out fine.

 

Tex Mex Lasagna for Meatless Monday

Posted on by
Reply

I firmly believe in child labor- especially in the kitchen.  The kid that helps to make dinner is  far more inclined to actually eat it too.  This lasagna dish goes together quickly with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry and freezer.  I’ll often make two at a time and drop one off to a friend in need of a break from making dinner.

From Cooking Light (again, I know, I love their recipes) comes Tex Mex Lasagna.  Very few tweaks on my end- I use the frozen roasted corn (and don’t bother thawing it) and the no-boil noodles from Trader Joe’s.  Some of the recipe reviews call for using corn tortillas instead.  Maybe one day I’ll try that too.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup bottled salsa
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt-added diced tomatoes
  • 1 (8-ounce) can no salt-added tomato sauce
  • Cooking spray
  • 6 precooked lasagna noodles
  • 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) pre-shredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 450°.

    prep

    Lots of tasks for little hands.

  2. Combine first 4 ingredients; spread 2/3 cup sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1/2 cup corn and half of beans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese; top with 2/3 cup sauce. Repeat layers once; top with remaining 2 noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
    spreading sauce

    Luke Skywalker here enjoyed wielding a spatula in place of the usual light saber.

    layering lasagna

    Layering the lasagna correctly involves reading AND paying attention to the directions- good practice for a Jedi.

    no-boil noodles

    No-boil noodles are key to putting this together quickly.

  3. Cover and bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with onions.
    tex mex lasagna

    Dinner in under an hour. You can also assemble it a day or so ahead and pop it in the oven to bake while you make a salad.

    tex mex lasagna

    Served with cornbread, Spanish rice and tortilla chips & guacamole. Leftovers are rare.

 

 

Mini Pizzas for Everyone!

Posted on by
1

In full accordance with the “Meanest Mom Ever” title I hold proudly, I do not make a separate meal for the kid who suddenly doesn’t like what we’re having for dinner.  I do try though to make meals that are modular so the kid that doesn’t like red sauce can have pesto and the kid that likes pineapple doesn’t impose it on the one that claims not to like it (though I suspect he’s never actually tried it).  Mini pizzas are a great way to satisfy everyone, especially when hosting other kids for a sleepover.  Plus, kids are much more inclined to eat something they made (shhhhh don’t tell them!)

My basic pizza dough recipe is adapted from Cooking Light’s All-Purpose Pizza Dough recipe (which is fine on it’s own, but of course I have tweaked it!)

Ingredients

  • 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
  • 3 cups (360 grams) flour* (plus additional for dusting the rolling surface)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 TBSP honey
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • Cooking spray

* the recipe calls for all-purpose.  I use white-wheat or half AP and half whole wheat.

Preparation

  1. Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife (or weigh). Add 1 cup flour, salt and olive oil to yeast mixture, and stir well. Stir in 2 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes), and add enough flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).  (DISCLOSURE: Once the yeast has proofed, I dump everything into my stand mixer, turn in on, walk away, check facebook and when I come back it’s pizza dough.  You can also skip this step entirely and buy pre-made dough at Trader Joe’s for 99 cents.  I will not judge you).
  2. Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
  3. Heat oven to 450 degrees (if you have a baking or pizza stone, put it into the oven to heat up).

Now for the fun part!

dividing the dough

One recipe above makes enough dough to make four adult-sized-servings. Sometimes I get obsessive and weigh them to make sure they’re equal (and will cook at the same rate). With kids, I make smaller portions.

topping bar

Lots of different topping allow for the pickiest of eaters to be happy.

 

topping their pizzas

Kids really like to roll out and shape their own dough.

par-baked

I like to top mine with parm cheese and brush with olive oil (a few lonely roasted red peppers I found in a jar in the fridge also made their way onto the crust).

 

topped with salad

Once the crust is baked, I top it with arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle on pine nuts (and pomegranate seeds if I have them).

mini pizzas

Your possibilities are endless.

4.  I roll out and shape the pizzas on parchment paper (which CostCo now carries!).  Once topped, use a pizza peel if you have one to slide onto the heated baking stone (keep pizzas on paper).  If you don’t, bake on a cookie sheet on parchment paper or covered with foil and sprinkled with cornmeal.  Check the bottom of the crust to make sure it’s not burning.

5.  Bake at 450 for about 8 minutes.  Cooking time will vary based on your own oven, size of pizza and cookie sheet vs baking stone.

homemade lunchable

Extra dough? Bake up a few plain crusts and use to make your own version of Pizza Lunchables.

 

Mini Pot Pies

Posted on by
Reply

1) Use up stuff in the fridge.

2) Goes together quickly.

3) Kids actually excited to help AND eat.

Score!!!!

This ingenious recipe from Kiwi Magazine uses egg roll wrappers instead of crust, saving both time and calories.  I make it even quicker by saving a few cooked chicken breasts in the fridge from a previous night’s dinner and skip the chicken cooking step.

Active time: 40 minutes

CHICKEN POTPIE BUNDLES

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1 cup all natural chicken broth
  • 4 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3/4 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
  • 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
  • 12 egg-roll wrappers

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add second tablespoon of olive oil and garlic, and cook 1 minute more.

    mire poix

    If someone in your house eats one of the chicken breasts you had planned to use in this recipe, some chopped steamed potato works well too. (Yes, the chili covered mango and dark chocolate is an essential snack while making dinner).

  4. Add chicken, tarragon, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  5. In a bowl, whisk chicken broth and cornstarch until well combined. Add to skillet, along with peas and corn, and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer and stir gently until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
  6. To prepare the bundles, use a nonstick muffin pan with 12 medium-size cups. Gently place 1 egg-roll wrapper into each cup, letting it extend over the sides.
  7. Place a generous 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture into each wrapper.

    egg roll wrapper with filling

    Fill, top with parm cheese, then twist closed.

  8. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly on top.
  9. Bring the corners up and over the top of the filling, pressing and folding to seal the edges together (it doesn’t have to be perfect!).

    ready for the oven

    Ready for the oven.

  10. Brush the remaining oil on top of each bundle. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

    finished pies

    These are a HUGE hit in my house. Whatever is left over from dinner goes to school in lunches the next day or is gobbled up as an after school snack.

Serves 6Per serving (2 bundles): calories 380, fat 9g, protein 24g, carbohydrate 48g, fiber 4g, sodium 650mg

Soup’s On

Posted on by
Reply

You know it’s fall in the Pacific NorthWest when I haul out my bright-orange dutch oven and start making soup. Albóndigas (Mexican meatball) soup has been in my regular rotation since discovering it in a Cooking Light cookbook years ago.  You could speed up the prep time significantly by tossing in a bag of Trader Joe’s turkey meatballs or even make a vegetarian version with their tofurky meatballs from the freezer section. Add a loaf of Beer-Cheese bread and you have a dinner to warm even the dampest PNW evening, plus your house will smell amazing.

Low-Fat Albóndigas Soup

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cooked long-grain rice
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 8 ounces ground turkey
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large egg white*
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion**
  • 1 cup chopped seeded peeled tomato***
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 (15.75-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth or 1 32oz box
  • 2 cups sliced celery**
  • 2 cups sliced carrot**
  • 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed and drained****
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • Chopped avocado for garnish

* I use the whole egg.  I am far too lazy to separate it.

** I use the food processor and chop the onion, celery and carrots small enough that that kids can’t pick them out.

*** Does this really say to peel the tomato?  I have never done that and I am not about to start.  I do seed it though unless I use cherry tomatoes.

**** I use the roasted corn from Trader Joe’s and have never thawed/drained it.

Preparation

  1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a bowl, and shape the mixture into 24 (3/4-inch) meatballs.
    making meatballs

    Yes, I am wearing gloves and don’t care if you mock me. I am not touching raw egg AND raw meat at the same time!

    meatball size

    Don’t make them too big. They need to cook all the way through.

    ready for the pot

    All ready for the soup pot.

  2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomato, water, and broth; bring to a boil. Add celery, carrot, corn, and cumin, if desired.

    mise en place

    Mise en place.

  3. Return to a boil; drop meatballs into pot. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and meatballs are cooked. Stir in 3 tablespoons cilantro and garnish with avocado if desired.
albondigas soup

Albondigas soup.

Cooking Light
JANUARY 2001

It’s Pronounced Keen-Wa

Posted on by
6

Quinoa…it’s a nutritional powerhouse, a complete protein, a whole grain that satisfies like a starch and cooks up faster than rice.  Yep, I’m in love with it.  And this is one of my favorite recipes for it from the Real Simple magazine.

Zucchini with Quinoa Stuffing

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 20m| Total Time: 55m

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400° F. In a large saucepan, combine the quinoa and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Arrange in a large baking dish, cut-side up.

zucchini scooped

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Fluff the quinoa and fold in the beans, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, ½ cup of the Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons of the oil.

Quinoa Mix

4.  Spoon the mixture into the zucchini. Top with the remaining tablespoon of oil and ¼ cup Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until the zucchini is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

stuffed zukesout of oven zukes