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Orange Cardamom Chocolate Bars

May 3, 2009

I fell in love with cardamom a few years ago when I started drinking chai and have found it’s also lovely in baked goods. While perusing the fridge this weekend for something to satisfy my sweet tooth, I noticed the low-sugar orange marmalade my hubby enjoys and was inspired to make cookies flavored with orange and cardamom!

I’m a huge fan of bar cookies since they come together so quickly and decided to spice a simple sugar cookie dough with orange zest and cardamom. The bars made our place smell so good as they were baking. After they cooled I spread melted orange marmalade on top and then topped that layer with a chocolate ganache. They’re quite tasty and the cardamom really comes through. It you haven’t baked with cardamom before, I’d suggest starting with 1/2 teaspoon for the batch and then adding more if you end up liking it as much as I do! I’m desperately trying to distract myself right now, so I won’t end up eating another one!

Orange Cardamom Chocolate Bars
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup orange marmalade, melted
3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Grease an 8×8-inch square pan. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Mix in egg and vanilla; stir in flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom, and orange zest until soft dough forms. Spread dough in bottom of a greased pan. Bake 20 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Spread melted marmalade evenly over cooled bars. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until marmalade is set.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream uncovered on high 1 minute, stirring once after 30 seconds, until melted. Spread evenly over marmalade layer. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate ganache is set. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Makes 16 bars.

Nutrition: 214 calories, 10.1g fat, 0.9g fiber, 2.1g protein per serving
Cost: $3.75 total

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Coconut Curry Mussels

April 30, 2009

This weekend was lovely in Boston and my hubby and I took full advantage of the unusually warm weather by taking a long walk around our neighborhood. We live within a 5 minute stroll of many shops and restaurants and one of our favorites is a small family-owned meat market called McKinnon’s. They have every cut of meat imaginable and a nice selection of fresh seafood. We always end up with some sort of impulse purchase when we visit, and this weekend was no exception – I picked up a package of mussels! I had never prepared mussels before, so I was a little intimidated, but decided to go for it anyway. There’s nothing worse than ruining an expensive ingredient, but luckily everything went smoothly after I did a little research on the internet and found this site explaining how to properly clean and debeard them.

Coming up with an idea for the sauce was much easier because I knew I wanted to use coconut milk and curry paste. One of our favorite restaurants in Chicago, Opera, used to serve mussels in an amazing coconut curry sauce and we’ve missed this tasty appetizer ever since we moved to Boston! It was nice to enjoy one of our favorite dishes for a fraction of what it would have cost in a restaurant. Mussels will definitely be on our list the next time we go to McKinnon’s!

Coconut Curry Mussels
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 stalk lemongrass
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot and sauté red peppers and greens onions for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft. Add coconut milk, lime juice, red curry paste, lemongrass, ginger, and salt to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Add mussels and boil until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Place the mussels in two serving bowls and continue to simmer the sauce for 5 to 10 minutes or until it reduces and thickens a bit. Remove lemongrass and pour sauce over mussels. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 287 calories, 21.3g fat, 3.0g fiber, 12.7g protein per serving (assuming you finish all the sauce!)
Cost: $3.00 per serving

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Greek Meatball Lasagna with Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini

April 26, 2009

Back in February, our friend Catherine invited us to stay at her family’s house by the Berkshire East Ski Resort. It was only my third time skiing, having grown up in the flat Midwest, and I’m a bit of a klutz, so I was cautiously looking forward to it. Catherine’s boyfriend Jonathan, a skiing phenomenon who just missed making the US Olympic team, gave me a lesson and by the end of the day I could actually get off the ski lift without falling off and make it down all the green runs successfully. It was an amazing experience and now I’ve got a bit of the ski bug and can’t wait to go again next year! Everyone in Catherine’s family was so warm and hospitable and we felt right at home!

After a long day on the slopes, Catherine’s mom served us a fantastic Italian meatball lasagna. I had never had lasagna with meatballs in it before and loved how cute and tasty they were and immediately knew I was going to come up with a version at home. I finally got around to experimenting with this idea and decided to do a twist on her recipe and pack my lasagna with Greek flavors!

Now, this is not a quick and easy weeknight dish. Multiple steps are involved and it takes some time, but I think it is completely worth it! I like to put cooked veggies in my meatballs because I think it helps keep them moist, so I packed the meatballs with onions, red peppers, and garlic, and layered the lasagna with the mini-meatballs, roasted eggplant and zucchini, ricotta, and feta. Yum – it was super tasty and filling and I’ve already looking forward to leftovers!

Greek Meatball Lasagna with Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 zucchinis, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground oregano
1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 15-ounce package part-skim ricotta
5 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Place sliced eggplant and zucchini on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Toss the veggies to make sure they are evenly coated with the oil and bake at 450ºF for 20 to 25 minutes or until roasted.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and sauté chopped onions and red pepper for 5 to 7 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Let cool to room temperature.

Reduce oven heat to 350ºF. Place cooled onion and pepper mixture with ground turkey, 1 egg, breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon oregano in a large bowl and knead until well combined. Roll into 35 small meatballs (will be about 1 1/4-inches in diameter) and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package. Mix the ricotta, remaining egg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl until smooth.

To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of 4 noodles in a greased 13×9-inch pan and top it with half the ricotta mixture, half the roasted veggies, all the meatballs, 3 cups tomato sauce, and 1 cup feta. Top this layer with 4 more noodles, the remaining half of the ricotta mixture, the remaining half of the roasted veggies, 2 cups tomato sauce, and 1 cup feta. Then place the remaining 4 noodles on top and sprinkle evenly with all mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes or until cheese is melted on top. Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition: 442 calories, 21.6g fat, 5.6g fiber, 29.3g protein per serving
Cost: $1.56 per serving

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Citrus Glazed Salmon

April 22, 2009

When I got home from New Orleans this week, I found 3 salmon filets that my hubby had defrosted in the fridge. Apolinaras is a great cook and loves to grill and throw meals together with whatever is laying around. Because he doesn’t ever follow recipes or write things down, he’s never able to quite recreate the same dish twice. But, he has several variations on a theme he routinely makes that are quite good, like pasta with garlic, cheese, and shrimp, and spicy turkey patties with couscous. He’s always very proud when I come home to a delicious dinner he’s prepared that is ready to eat – I know I’m a lucky girl! He has not, however, tackled cooking fish yet, because he’s afraid of over cooking it and drying it out. Whenever I try to show him how easy it is, he tells me I cook it perfectly and makes one of his cute faces that makes me heart melt. He’s wiggled his way out of learning so far, but I am determined to teach him eventually!

Anyway, when I saw the defrosted salmon, I knew it was a present for me. I decided to make a citrus and soy sauce marinade with garlic and ginger. While the salmon finished cooking in the oven, I reduced the marinade to make a thick sauce to spoon over the top of the cooked salmon. I love the variety of frozen veggie mixes at Trader Joe’s and recently discovered one called the Brittany Blend, which is a mix of green beans, wax beans, and baby carrots. I steamed an entire package and served it alongside the salmon. It was a super healthy meal that came together in no time at all.

Citrus Glazed Salmon
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orange juice
Juice of one lemon (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon honey
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 salmon filets (7 ounces each)

Directions:
Whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, honey, and garlic, and marinate salmon filets for 20 minutes to an hour in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the salmon filets on both sides. Bake salmon for 10 min at 350ºF or until no longer raw in the center. Meanwhile, add marinade to the skillet and boil for 10 minutes, or under reduced to desired consistency.

Nutrition: 378 calories, 14.7g fat, 0.4g fiber, 47.5g protein per serving
Cost: $2.71 per serving

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Spicy Black Bean Soup with Turkey Bacon

April 19, 2009

I had gumbo with chicken and Andouille sausage for dinner tonight, followed by hot chocolate and beignets – yep, I’m in New Orleans! I’m here for a scientific conference and walked around the city tonight for a couple hours after my talk this afternoon. I was stressed about the talk (which thankfully, went really well!), so it great to finally blow off some steam!

There’s a music festival in the French Quarter this weekend with over 150 bands playing on 17 different stages, so it was really fun people watching – everyone was dancing and chowing down on food and drinks from the various vendors. I still have “When the Saints Go Marching In” stuck in my head! I had a bowl of gumbo, and then went back and got another because it was so good. I know, I know, I should have sampled something different, but I just couldn’t help myself! I’ll have to check out some other New Orleans’ favorites tomorrow. I’m already looking forward to the extra beignets I snagged for breakfast tomorrow.

After having all that delicious gumbo, I was inspired to post one of my favorite soup recipes. Black bean soup is so flavorful and healthy. It’s definitely not the most beautiful meal out there, but it’s a tasty one pot meal that involves minimal clean up!

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Turkey Bacon
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
8 slices turkey bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 carrots, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups chicken stock
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:
Cook turkey bacon, 4 pieces at a time, in a large stockpot over medium heat. Remove cooked bacon and crumble. Add olive oil to the same pan the bacon was cooked in and sauté carrots and onions until soft. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Add chicken stock, black beans, cumin, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and bacon, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender and puree to desired smoothness (I like to leave mine a tad chunky!). Mix red wine vinegar and corn starch in a small dish, and add to the soup. Simmer another 5 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 344 calories, 9.7g fat, 11.6g fiber, 20.0g protein per serving
Cost: $0.69 per serving

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Chocolate-Filled Plantain Dessert Gnocchi

April 13, 2009

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter! I hit up the candy aisle to see if I could find some Easter candy on sale this weekend and was disappointed that almost everything was already sold out! Only the small regular solid chocolate eggs were left – they just can’t compete with Reese’s peanut butter, Nestle crunch, or Butterfinger eggs! I almost walked away. Regular chocolate eggs didn’t seem too exciting, but then I was struck by their uniformity. Suddenly inspired, I scooped up a pack and raced over to the produce section to pick up some plantains.

You see, I’ve been thinking about gnocchi lately. I fell in love with this recipe for sweet potato gnocchi with a brown butter and sage sauce a few years ago and when I bought plantains last week for my Caramelized Plantain Dessert Quesadillas, I was thinking I should try to make a few into gnocchi. Plantains have a high starch content like potatoes do, so I figured they would also hold together well as gnocchi. I didn’t get around to it, but the thought was still lingering with me when I was looking at the little chocolate Easter eggs, and I was suddenly inspired to stuff them into plantain gnocchi as a dessert! Now, while I was excited about this concept, I didn’t really expect this crazy idea to work – most of my crazy ideas end in a pile of inedible food going down the garbage disposal. So, you can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when everything came together on the first try.

I made the gnocchi with green, yellow, and black-brown plantains, since I wasn’t sure if the starch content would affect the ability of the gnocchi to hold together. The gnocchi cooked up nicely with all three kinds, but the ones from black-brown ones tasted the best since they’re a little sweeter. Then I rolled the dough out, cut it into squares, and sealed each piece around a chocolate egg. They cooked up beautifully and warm chocolate oozed out when I cut them in half. I tossed the chocolate stuffed gnocchi with this delicious strawberry sauce I saw on Meghan’s blog, You’re Gonna Bake It After All. Definitely not your typical dessert, but pretty tasty. I think I’m going to make the gnocchi again without the chocolate and with a savory sauce of some sort!

Chocolate-Filled Plantain Dessert Gnocchi
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 black-brown plantains, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 bag of chocolate Easter eggs
1/2 cup of your favorite fruit sauce

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil the plantains for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from the pan and mash thoroughly in a medium bowl.

After letting mashed plantains cool for 10 minutes, mix in the egg. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms (you may need to add a little more flour, depending on the size of your plantains).

Turn dough out onto floured surface; use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large square and then cut the square into 2×2-inch squares. Place a chocolate egg into the middle of each square of dough and seal the chocolate inside the dough.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until they are tender and float to the top, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix gnocchi with your favorite fruit sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 281 calories, 8.2g fat, 2.5g fiber, 5.3g protein per serving
Cost: $2.68 total

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Pecan Crusted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

April 9, 2009

I’m on the hunt for new chicken recipes. We’ve been eating more poultry than usual lately due to my hubby’s weightlifting diet. While I haven’t joined him in slurping down protein shakes and chowing down on egg whites every morning, I try to keep things interesting for him at dinner by cooking a variety of chicken recipes. His hard work is definitely paying off – his favorite pair of jeans fell off the other day! I’m really proud of him and especially happy that he is now able to give me a bunch of tips in the gym. I’ve been lifting the same way since college and have always wanted to get a personal trainer to teach me some new moves, but now my hubby is knowledgeable enough to customize my workout for me! He helped me modify my squat technique last weekend and I was sore for 3 days. Every step hurt and for once we were both in need of some high-protein chicken!

This is a great chicken dish because it can be thrown together in less than 10 minutes. I just spread a mixture of lemon juice and mustard over the top of the chicken breasts, and then sprinkled a crispy topping of panko, pecans, lemon zest, and thyme on top. It’s super fast and flavorful.

Pecan Crusted Chicken with Lemon and Thyme
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons mustard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup panko
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Zest of one lemon, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Mix lemon juice and mustard in a small dish. Place chicken breasts on a cookie sheet and cover evenly with mustard mixture.

Mix panko, pecans, lemon zest, thyme, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over chicken; press down into the mustard mixture. Bake at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 404 calories, 14.4g fat, 2.1g fiber, 57.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.87 per serving

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Caramelized Plantain Dessert Quesadillas with Nutella

April 5, 2009

I recently read about Sugar High Fridays on Heather’s blog Diary of a Fanatic Foodie. It’s a fun monthly event dreamed up by Jennifer at The Domestic Goddess, where bloggers post an original dessert recipe. When I read Heather’s theme this month was desserts inspired by your favorite travel destinations, I immediately knew I wanted to create a recipe with caramelized plantains. Plantains are used in savory and sweet dishes in the Caribbean and are especially yummy when they are fried and coated with cinnamon and sugar. They are 100x better than caramelized bananas!

I decided to caramelize the plantains in the oven instead of frying them, and then layer them between Nutella and whole wheat tortillas. I brushed the quesadillas with butter and cinnamon and sauted them on both sides, until they turned golden brown and the cinnamon was baked into the tortillas, and then topped them with some chopped strawberry “salsa.” Each bite took me back to the beaches and flavors of the Caribbean! I really enjoyed coming up with this recipe and look forward to future Sugar High Fridays!

Caramelized Plantain Dessert Quesadillas with Nutella
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 black-brown plantains, sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup Nutella
2 whole wheat tortillas
3 strawberries, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small dish. Mix butter and sugar mixture with sliced plantains in an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until plantains are caramelized.

Spread Nutella evenly over tortillas. Top Nutella on one tortilla with caramelized plantains (you will probably have a few extra pieces to enjoy on their own!) and then place the remaining tortilla on top, Nutella side down.

Mix remaining 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small dish. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat one side of the quesadilla. Place the quesadilla, buttered side down, in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, brush remaining butter on the other side of the quesadilla. Flip over and sauté the other side as well. Cool slightly and cut into wedges. Serve with strawberry “salsa,” if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 230 calories, 10.0g fat, 3.6g fiber, 3.8g protein per serving
Cost: $1.88 total

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