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More Red Snapper with Sweated Onions and Bok Choy

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Remember the Mustard Roasted Snapper?  Well, I got more of that beautiful fish and try as I might to make something different, that gorgeous mustard sauce with the little crunch of shallot was just screaming my name. I had some baby bok choy and some beautiful farm fresh spring onions so I thought I’d combine them. During cooking, everything that can go wrong, did go wrong, but in the end it was still delicious.

Follow the recipe for the mustard sauce, cover and set aside.

Slice 4 large onions thinly into rounds.  Heat a large dutch oven on med. heat – add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter in the pan and when it’s hot, add the onions and a big pinch of salt and begin to sweat.  My idea was to caramelize the onions, but there was so much moisture in them, that they were just never going to get brown. I decided that we love soft onions and moved on.

onion bok choy 3 More Red Snapper with Sweated Onions and Bok Choy

While the onion was cooking, I cleaned and chopped the bok choy.  Preheat the oven to 425 and prepare the snapper.  The last time I made this, my husband felt that there was too much sauce and it didn’t let the fish flavor shine through.  I disagreed completely, but decided to try it his way.  I brushed the fish lightly with the sauce, careful not to cross contaminate, and set the rest aside for spooning over the meal.

I put the fish in the oven and this wound up cooking for almost 25 minutes until it was cooked through.  I usually only cook snapper for 10-12 minutes, so make sure to check yours.  When it’s white and flakey it’s done.

When you put the snapper in the oven, add the bok choy to the onion.  Toss and cook for a minute or two and then shut off the flame.

onion bok choy 2 More Red Snapper with Sweated Onions and Bok Choy

If the fish takes longer than expected, you can always cover the veggies to keep them hot.

onion bok choy 1 More Red Snapper with Sweated Onions and Bok Choy

Pile your plate with onion and bok choy, lay a piece of fish on top and serve.  I love this mustard sauce and contend that I like it better smothered, but my husband prefers it this way.

Let me know what you think. Which way do you prefer it?



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

February 15, 2012 By 2 Comments

Trying to eat low carb can really be a challenge when you’re a die hard pasta freak, but it helps to keep things interesting with fresh vegetables tossed with delightful sauces.  This one is super fast and easy and it tasted like you’re doing something bad.

  • six boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • three heads of broccoli, florets only
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • dijon mustard
  • whole grain mustard
  • 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • safflower oil

Preheat the oven to 400 – heat a saute pan on medium heat.  Add about a tablespoon of safflower oil and when it ribbons, add the chicken, breast side down.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, until you’ve got a golden brown crust of sorts. Flip and do the same on the other side.  Do this in batches if necessary, don’t overcrowd the pan.

roast chicken broccoli shallot sauce 4 Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

Meanwhile, on a sheetpan, place the broccoli florets, the chopped garlic a big pinch of salt and a big glub of olive oil onto the pan.  Using clean hands, toss the broccoli, garlic, salt and oil.  Set aside.

When the chicken has been browned on both sides, put the breasts on a foil lined baking sheet and put the chicken and the broccoli in the oven.  Set your time for 20 minutes.

When there’s about 5 minutes left, heat your saute pan back up.  When it’s hot, add the shallots and saute for a minute or two until softened.

roast chicken broccoli shallot sauce 2 Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

Add the white balsamic vinegar and cook and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pan.  When the vinegar reduces slightly, add a big spoonful of the dijon mustard, a big spoonful of the whole grain mustard and the butter

roast chicken broccoli shallot sauce 5 Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

Whisk until it combines, then take  the pan off the heat

Take the broccoli and the chicken out of the oven

roast chicken broccoli shallot sauce 3 Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

Plate a piece of chicken and a generous serving of broccoli and then spoon the sauce over everything.

roast chicken broccoli shallot sauce 1 Roasted Chicken Breast and Broccoli with a White Balsamic Mustard Sauce

Tangy and sweet with the earthy broccoli and the almost crusted chicken.  You can’t believe this is low carb and ready in less than 40 minutes, including prep time!

Serves six.

 



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Grilled Flank Steak with Wilted Oriental Lettuce in a Ginger, Garlic, Soy Sauce

February 13, 2012 By 6 Comments

Last week I got a pound of oriental lettuce from the co-op.  I had never heard of it, and had no idea what to expect.  When I picked it up, I took a leaf and ate it, right out of the bag and really wasn’t sure that I wanted to eat a salad made of it.  It’s a little tough to eat raw, but I wasn’t sure that it would hold up to heat. I put off making it as long as I could, but last night I was making grilled flank steak (local, pasture raised, no chemical) and a salad and I thought I’d try wilting the lettuce. If it was awful, we’d still have the tossed salad to enjoy, right?

Anyway – this stuff was a pain. I soaked it, then rinsed it and there was really quite a bit of it. So I had to cook it in batches. Here’s what we did:

  • 8 cloves of garlic, divided
  • about 2 table spoons of freshly grated ginger
  • soy sauce
  • rice wine vinegar
  • hoisin
  • honey
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • safflower, vegetable, or any light, neutral oil
  • lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber and anything else you like, salad
  • steak
  • about a lb. of oriental lettuce (or whatever green you like), washed, but don’t dry it – the water that’s left will help to steam it

In a small bowl, combine about 1/3 cup of vinegar with 2/3 cup oil, a little bit of the garlic and ginger, a big squeeze of honey, the lemon juice and about a tablespoon of hoisin sauce, whisk to combine.  The measurements here aren’t that important. Experiment with it and find your perfect recipe. Mine changes every time I make it. Set aside.

Coat your grill pan with oil, or cooking spray and preheat it. When it’s hot, add the steak and let it cook to your desired temperature.  I like mine rare to medium rare – I turn it a couple of times during the cooking to get those beautiful grill marks.

oriental lettuce 4 Grilled Flank Steak with Wilted Oriental Lettuce in a Ginger, Garlic, Soy Sauce

Heat a large pot – I should have used the pasta pot, I wouldn’t have had to cook it in bunches… Add about 2 tablespoons of oil, when that ribbons add the rest of the garlic and ginger and saute for a minute.

oriental lettuce 3 Grilled Flank Steak with Wilted Oriental Lettuce in a Ginger, Garlic, Soy Sauce

Add as many of the greens as will fit, drizzle soy sauce over the top to taste and then cover to steam.

oriental lettuce 2 Grilled Flank Steak with Wilted Oriental Lettuce in a Ginger, Garlic, Soy Sauce

After about 5 minutes, check it to see if they’re wilted enough.  You don’t want to cook these as long as collards, as they’re more tender, so when they just start to wilt, transfer them to a bowl and cover with foil – they’ll continue to cook and free you up to get the rest of the meal ready (or to cook the second batch of greens if you didn’t use a big enough pot like me)

I put a little of the greens, a piece of steak, and a pile of salad on the plate, drizzled the dressing all over it and then proceeded to devour the whole thing.

oriental lettuce 1 Grilled Flank Steak with Wilted Oriental Lettuce in a Ginger, Garlic, Soy Sauce

I didn’t have much hope for the greens, they resembled lettuce in a way that I didn’t think would stand up to the heat, but I have to say, they were delicious. Next time, I think i’ll chop them before cooking and add some sort of heat, either with red pepper flakes or fresh pepper. The steak was absolutely wonderful.  This local bred, local fed, farm produces the best steaks I’ve ever had.  We’re eating less red meat because the cost is higher, but it’s worth every penny and the salad was sweet and crunchy and a perfect balance to the greens.



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Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So, I went to get my fish for the weekend and my eggs and my co-op share and I wanted to make something like this recipe for mustard roasted fish from Ina Garten, but I also had broccoli greens and I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with them.  I searched for some ideas and found and this recipe for roasting broccoli greens.

Of course, I wanted them to tie together somehow, so this is what I did:

  • 2 large red snapper filets
  • Broccoli greens (or any kind of greens, I think I had 1.5 lbs.)
  • about 3 tablespoons of dijon mustard
  • about 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • about 3 tablespoons of sour cream – I had no creme fraiche and didn’t feel like going out.
  • soy sauce
  • sesame oil
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 large shallot, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic chopped

Preheat the oven to 425.  Wash your greens thouroghly.  These can be really dirty, so I soak, then rinse each leaf seperately to make sure they’re clean. Lay them out in a roasting dish – I needed two.

roasted red snapper and broccoli greens 1 Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

Sprinkle the garlic over the greens, then drizzle them with sesame oil and then a healthy glub of olive oil and soy sauce.  I didn’t really toss them, but I did move some of the leaves around so that the oil and garlic could drip down.

Put them in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

roasted red snapper and broccoli greens 2 Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

On a foil lined sheet pan, layout the fish.

roasted red snapper and broccoli greens 3 Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

Liberally salt and pepper the filets.

Combine the mustards, about a tablespoon of soy sauce, and the shallot, stir to combine and then spoon over the fish making sure to cover it really well.

roasted red snapper and broccoli greens 4 Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

Check on the greens and if they’re starting to look cooked and even crunchy, put the fish in and cook for about 10-12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily in the thickest part of the filet.

Plate a pile of the greens and lay a half of each filet on top.

roasted red snapper and broccoli greens 5 Mustard Roasted Snapper and Oven Roasted Broccoli Greens

The fish was so good that by the time I took this picture, my children had almost finished theirs!  They were so excited about how tasty it was.  Each bite was perfect… the tangy mustards, the sour cream and the little bite of shallot was so satisfying and delicious!

We’re still working on the love for greens in my house.  These were interesting.  Some were almost like chips, and others tasted like collards. I think I would chop them instead of leaving the leaves whole next time.  Really quite tasty, but definitely a bitter green – I was expecting more of a spring green. We’re going to work on the greens a bit, but I know we’re going to eat this mustard roasted fish quite often!

Serves 4.



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

February 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

We got our first order of grass fed, hormone free, pasture raised beef and I was so excited, but a little bit nervous about getting my family used to the difference in taste. When you grow up eating one thing, sometimes the thing that’s better for you is a bit of an acquired taste.  I did find the beef to be leaner and therefore a little bit drier, but tasty – I think next time I do this, I’ll cut the pieces a bit smaller.

  • 2 lbs stew meat
  • 1 heart of celery chopped
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • about 6 carrots, really roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce – or more if you like
  • strained tomatoes – I used a 28.6 oz. box of Pomi – more or less is fine.
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 pint mushrooms
  • 1 package dried black beans
  • 2 heads cauliflower, florets

The night before, soak your beans according to package directions. When you get up in the morning, drain them, refill the pot with fresh water and simmer on low for 1.5-2 hours until tender and done – I learned a trick recently to check from the four poles of the pot.  One bean each from North, East, South and West of the pot.  If they’re all tender, you’re done!

beef and black bean stew 9 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

Drain again, set aside in an air tight container. Refrigerate if it makes you feel better.  I left it out – we’re still alive. =)

When you put the beans up to simmer, take a large dutch oven, or the insert of your crock if it’s stove top safe. Heat on med/high heat.

Admire your grass fed, no hormone, pasture raised beef…

beef and black bean stew 10 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

Add them to the heated pot and brown – this is where I ran into my first issue.  There was a lot of liquid and the meat wasn’t browning like I wanted.  I removed all beef from the pot, drained the liquid and put the meat back in – it started to brown immediately.  You may not have this issue, but I wanted to share my experience in case you did.

beef and black bean stew 8 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

While the meat is browning, chop all your veggies and put in a bowl.  I added my spices here too, because I like to toast spices like cumin and chili powder, so why not do it all together?

beef and black bean stew 7 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

Transfer the meat to a plate, put the veggies and spices in the pot, or slow cooker insert, add a big pinch of salt and brown them for a little bit, tossing occasionally.

beef and black bean stew 6 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

Add the meat back in and cover with the tomatoes, Worcestershire, and stock.  Transfer to the crockpot, stir, cover and set on low to cook for 8 hours.

beef and black bean stew 5 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

About an hour before eating, add the black beans and mushrooms, stir and cover. Preheat the oven to 400, cut up 2 heads of cauliflower, put on a sheet pan, toss with a little olive oil and kosher salt

beef and black bean stew 2 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

and roast for 40 minutes to an hour, until golden.

Put a bed of the roasted cauliflower in the bowl, and spoon some stew on top, making sure that you get a little bit of everything.

beef and black bean stew 1 Beef and Black Bean Stew on a Bed of Roasted Cauliflower

Soooo good! And you can feel so good about feeding this meal to your family!  If you’re not carb conscious like we’re being for a while, you could add potatoes, or serve this on a bed of egg noodles. Stick to your ribs, delish.



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Filed Under: All, Crockpot, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

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