Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Butter-Braised Leeks and Tomato Saffron Broth

 

For the leeks, I simmered them in SERIOUSLY a fuckton of butter slowly over very low heat for about 30-40 minutes.
Then I set them aside.

For the broth, I tossed 1lb of grape tomatoes with some olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar and salt and then toasted them in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes.

Then I put them in a skillet with 1.5 cups shellfish stock ( water or chicken stock would be ok too. Bottled clam juice would work too). Bring it to a boil and then simmer, toss in a few capers (abt 1 teaspoon) gently crushing them with a wooden spoon. I let it simmer for a half hour and then strained it through a sieve and crushed the tomatoes to start as much juice as possible.

Then pour the liquid back into a saucepan and simmer. Add some sherry vinegar (abt 1.5 teaspoons), simmer over low heat and let reduce a bit. Soften a pinch of saffron in2 tablespoons of hot water, let sit for 10 minutes then add to the broth. Presto.

The sea bass I just seared in the leftover butter from braising the leeks 3 – 4 min per side.

Cauliflower Gratin with Smoked Gouda and Bacon

 

Break a head of cauliflower into florets and place them in a microwave-safe bowl along with a tablespoon of water. Cook on high for 6 minutes.

Then toss into a food processor with 2 T butter and pulse. Even slightly steamed, cauliflower is super fibrous and takes a long time in the food processor to get it down to a puree. I pour in some heavy cream through the feed tube (prob no more than 1/4 cup in all) until it’s the consistency I like. Pulse for 3 minutes.

Stop and scrape down the sides. Add in some shredded cheese. For this one, I used the brand Yancy’s Fancy smoked gouda with bacon. I also like to add shredded parm. Add a little salt and pepper. Pulse some more until everything is nicely smooth. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Pour into a buttered baking dish (or coated with a cooking spray). Dot with small cubes of butter, and/or sprinkle some more shredded cheese on top. bake in a 425F oven until golden brown and delicious, about 30 minutes or so.

Beef Taco Soup

Brown some ground beef (I use 2.5 oz), toss in chopped green onion (0.15 oz) and green bell pepper (0.8 oz). Let it soften then throw in some chopped cherry tomatoes (1.05 oz). add 2 T salsa, let cook til the tomatoes are mushy, add 1 cup beef broth and some taco seasoning (I make my own). Let simmer a bit, then top with sour cream and cheese.

Roasted Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

These are rough estimates of amounts:

Slice the florets off the stalks of broccoli, reserve the stems (I used 1 large crown, probably had about 2 cups of florets). Season the florets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 425F oven until the tips of the florets are beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Chop the broccoli stems roughly, chop 1 shallot and break off the florets of about 1/8 of a head of cauliflower. Set aside

Brown some bacon ends or chopped bacon until crisp. Set the bacon aside to drain on a plate covered with paper towels.

Deglaze with water or broth, then add 1 T of butter. Saute the broccoli stems, cauliflower and shallot until softened. Add 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup whole milk. Bring almost to a boil, then lower heat, cover and let simmer until the veg is soft, about 15 minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender. Add 1 T boursin cheese and 1 cup shredded cheddar. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add the reserved roasted broccoli florets. Pulse a bit with the immersion blender to break up some of the florets. Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste, and more cheese as needed. Top with bacon and cheese.

Beef Tenderloin Salad

 

The dressing is simple:
3 T fish sauce
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon sugar (or equivalent sweetener – I used a packet of stevia)
thin slice of fresh ginger, smashed (regular ginger, not galangal)
pinch of black pepper
pinch of ground red pepper

Zoodles with Chicken and Spicy Peanut Sauce

 

 

A favorite way to have zucchini noodles, or zoodles, is accompanied by spicy peanut and chicken sauce.

I usually wing the sauce, mixing together crunchy PB, water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili oil, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cayenne. Sometimes I’ll add PB2 powder for a little extra protein, and a splash of sriracha for more flavorful heat. If i have lime juice, I’ll add a squeeze or two of that.

This is a pretty forgiving sauce, and reheats very well.

Chicken Taco Salad (without the taco)

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce shredded butter lettuce
• 2 teaspoons taco seasoning – I make my own, but you can use a mixture of chili powder, garlic powder and oregano
• 3 ounces of chicken breast
• 2 ounces of shredded cheddar
• 2 tablespoons salsa
• 2 tablespoons sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Place the chicken breast on a large square of foil and sprinkle with your taco seasoning. Fold the foil up and crimp the ends together, making a nicely sealed packet.
2. Bake in the oven for 15 – 18 minutes.
3. Remove the breast from the foil packet right away and cut into shreds.
4. Layer over your shredded lettuce and top with cheddar, salsa and sour cream.

Calorie Information:

Ingredients	Weight	Calories
shredded lettuce	1.2 oz	3
salsa	2 T	10
sour cream	2T	60
chicken	3.2 oz	150
shredded cheddar	1.4 oz	160
		383 calories

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder – I use a dried chipotle chili and grind into a powder in a spice grinder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or regular garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno flakes

Directions:

Mix together Store in an air-tight container – I use empty spice jars.

Curried Cauliflower and Chicken Soup

Spicy Beef and Greens

The base recipe for this is something I call Meat and Greens. The basics, saute meat, add some onion and garlic (plus other veg as wanted), let simmer, add a little broth, and then smother with chopped greens (spinach,kale, chard, collard greens) until wilted, season and done.

I’ve made this with ground turkey, gourmet chicken sausage, had Mexican, Cajun, Chinese and Korean flavor profiles. It’s a versatile recipe. And boy, do I love some wilted dark leafy greens.

This is the one I make most often. It’s a spicy Asian-ish dish.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
• 1/2 t ginger paste
• 1/2 t red chili paste
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• water as needed
• splash soy sauce – or coconut aminos, Bragg’s liquid aminos, Maggi seasoning
• 2 cups greens, chopped – this is a densely packed 2 cups, smoosh them down
• cayenne

Directions:

1. Over medium-high heat, saute the beef until brown.
2. Add the chopped onion and cook until it begins to soften.
3. Add the bell pepper, let cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until they’ve released a lot of liquid and are starting to brown up.
5. Add the garlic, ginger paste and chili paste. Stir through, then add the beef stock and a few splashes of soy sauce.
6. Add the chopped greens on top, cover and cook until they are darker green and nicely wilted. You can add more water as needed to help steam.
7. Remove the cover, stir it all up, and add some cayenne and let cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Notes:

• My digital scale has died, so I had to eyeball things and use volume measurement instead of weight. As I have some control freak tendencies, I was on the verge of hyperventilating over it for a few minutes, then got myself together and said, “You can make this in your sleep. Just do it.” Good news is my new scale is on its way. 😀
• I sometimes buy ginger paste and chili paste in a tube for ease of convenience. Also this beef broth concentrate. I don’t always have my homemade beef stock on hand, and a squirt oor two of this stuff is great.

Calorie Breakdown:

Ok, by eyeballing and guessing at the amounts, this is the calorie breakdown for this meal. We’re also assuming that the nutrient breakdown in the Livestrong database is accurate.

After I get my new scale, I’ll make this again, only I’ll weigh everything out to the gram, and re-enter the data, we’ll see how far off the breakdown is.

Spaghetti Squash Aglio e Olio

I don’t have a sweet tooth, I can eschew cookies, cake and candy with minimal effort. I’m more of a savory carb person: Rice, pasta, bread, potatoes etc. Pasta isn’t usually my go-to carb, normally, it’s bread and potatoes which are my main carb craving, my carb desire, my carb Achillies heel.

However, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (garlic and olive oil) would be my #1 favorite pasta indulgence. I even finagled a recipe which took 20 minutes total from dry spaghetti to finished garlicky aglio e olio wonderfulness. It just takes a skillet large enough to hold dry spaghetti. It’s really an amazing way to cook it. No more waiting 30 minutes for your huge pasta pot of water to boil.

But I digress.

I love spaghetti squash as a lower-carb substitute for the pasta, and it really works well in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Cooked spaghetti squash
• 1 T butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• granulated garlic
• red pepper flakes
• grated parm from a can
• fresh shredded parm or romano
• salt
• pepper
• chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the minced garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant, but not browned.
3. Add red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, stirring to incorporate.
4. Toss in the cooked spaghetti squash, stir to coat, turn up the heat, sprinkle some grated parm over, season with salt and pepper, stir through.
5. Serve, topped with fresh shredded cheese and chopped parsley.

Notes:

• Cooking spaghetti squash couldn’t be easier:
  • Preheat oven to 400 F
  • Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy fibers.
  • Place cut side down in a roasting pan and add 1 inch of water.
  • Bake uncovered for 45 min to an hour until the flesh separates easily into strands when pulled with a fork.
• You can easily add in cubed cooked chicken for some protein.
• A chiffonade of fresh basil added to the parsley is also nice.