Soft-Boiled Eggs over Lentil Salad

I just watched an episode of Top Chef about trends that were overused and needed to be stopped.  Just guess what made the short list.  Well, I'm not ready to give up putting eggs on top of dishes, Top Chef.  Don't you try to take it away from me.  Because let's face it - the more meals in which I can eat eggs, the better.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups Dried Lentils
6 Eggs
3 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
Salt + Pepper
1 Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 cup Green Onions, diced
4 stalks Celery, diced
8 cups Baby Arugula

1. Place eggs in a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, and let stand for 5 minutes 30 seconds.  Remove eggs from pot and place immediately into ice water.   Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and peel.

2. Place lentils in a pot and cover with 3 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain and place lentils in a large bowl.

3. Dice bell pepper, green onions and celery and add them to the lentils.

4. Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar,  mustard, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk.  Add to lentil mixture.

5. Place a single serving of lentil mixture over a single serving of arugula, and add egg on top.  When ready to eat, slice egg in half.

Oh my god soft boiled eggs.

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Original Recipe:

Cooking Light

Chorizo, Chard + Chive Quiche

The 3 C's were a great flavor combo in this recipe, but the base was way too dry.  Not a great recipe - it was originally for a frittata, which probably explains the dryness after baking.  I think I'll stick to my tried and true Trader Joe's quiche recipe as a base, and use the fun ingredients from this recipe.

Here's the recipe as it should be next time:

Makes 1 Quiche

Ingredients:

3 Eggs (2 Whites and 1 Yolk), beaten
1 small container Cottage Cheese
1 cup Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese, grated
1 frozen Pie Crust
1 Chorizo link, quartered
1 small bundle Chard, chopped
1/2 bundle Chives, sliced
Salt + Pepper, to taste

Exclude the frozen hash browns even if trying the frittata - they made the texture weird and everything too dry.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop the chard and chorizo.  Slice the chives.

3. Wilt the chard in a large pan over high heat until reduced, 2-3 minutes.  Stir in the chorizo, then take off heat after 1 minute.

Should have added in the chorizo afterwards, as I say above - cooking it together took some of the juice out of the sausage.

4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Combine them with the shredded cheese and cottage cheese, and add salt + pepper to taste.

I made two quiches, hence the number of eggs in the picture.

5. Combine all ingredients in the bowl, and spoon into the pie crust.  Bake for 1 hour.

That should do it.

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Original Recipe:

Eating Well

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This was great - filling, but super light and healthy.  The leftovers keep for days and days in the fridge, too, and are good cold.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp Fish Sauce
3 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Coconut Oil (or Grapeseed or Peanut)
1 Onion, diced
1 bundle Green Onions, chopped
2 inches Ginger, peeled + grated
4 Garlic Cloved, minced
1 package Lean Ground Chicken (or Turkey)
1 tbsp Chile Powder
1 Jalapeno, seeded + diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1/3 cup Cilantro (or Basil), diced
1 head Lettuce, washed

I added a red bell pepper for some crunch, which was a good call - this could use celery or something else crunchy too.  Also - use hearty lettuce or the wrap falls apart easily.. I made the mistake of not doing that.

1. In a small bowl, whisk brown sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.  Set aside.

2. Heat coconut oil in a large pan and add onion and white parts of the green onion (save the green parts for later).  Cook for 1 minute, then add garlic, ginger and jalapeno.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add ground chicken and use a spoon or spatula to break it up into little pieces.  It will start out mushy, but as it cooks, it becomes easy to separate. Cook meat until brown, for approximately 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the sauce thoroughly and cook down for 1 minute.  Take off the heat, and stir in the red bell pepper, the rest of the green onions and the cilantro.

5. Wash lettuce and spoon mixture in! Serve hot or cold.

Don't break up the lettuce like I did - the more to wrap around the filling, the better it will stay together. Mine totally fell all over the plate.

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Original Recipe:

Aida Mollenkamp

Mongolian Beef + Peppers

This recipe is a combination of two - one for the sauce and one for the peppers added in.

I made it quite spicy, so cut back on the chile paste and garlic proportions if you don't like spice.  Also, it calls for some fancy ingredients, but you can find most of them in the token "Asian" aisle in the supermarket.  And they stay good forever, so it's a worthwhile investment.

This definitely only serves two, so double for leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 tsbp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Cornstarch
2 tsp Sherry
2 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Chile Paste (like Sambal Oelek)
1 tsp Peanut oil
1 tbsp Ginger, grated
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 package/pound Steak, thinly sliced
16 Green Onion (one bundle), chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped

I added in the bell pepper, to make the recipe more of a one-stop meal.  It's a nice balance to the heaviness of the beef too.

1. Combine first 8 ingredients (through the chile paste) in a small bowl.

2. Chop bell peppers, green onions, and garlic. Peel and grate ginger. Slice beef if necessary.

3. Heat peanut oil in pan, and add beef, garlic and ginger.  Cook for 1 minute on each side, or until beef has browned.  Remove all from pan and set aside.

4. Add bell pepper to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add beef mixture back in, as well as green onions.  Stir together and cook for 1 minute.

5. Pour sauce onto pan and mix.  Remove from heat.

SO GOOD. I ate this over rice - soaks up the sauce well.  Only wish I had made more!

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Original Recipes:

My Recipes - Cooking Light (Mongolian Beef - for Sauce)

My Recipes - Cooking Light (Spicy Beef + Pepper Stir Fry)

Salmon Croquettes

These are absolutely delicious.  Think crab cakes, but with cheap, super easy canned salmon.  I was skeptical of canned salmon at first, but it's great - and right next to the canned tuna.  Who knew.

I wish that I hadn't blended everything so finely - that was a mistake of putting the vegetables into the blender too soon. It would have been better with little pieces of pepper and green onion mixed into the salmon blend.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped
4 tbsp Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Ground Red Pepper
2 14 oz Canned Salmon
1 Egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup Panko (Japanese Breadcrumbs)
1 tbsp Canola Oil

Panko is lighter than regular breadcrumbs, which is why I like it.  I also subbed in Greek yogurt for the original mayo and upped the amounts of salmon and veggies.  The more, the merrier.  Keep in mind, though - this was for a dinner party of 8 people.  So it makes a lot.

Oh and the ingredients in the pic aren't quite right - no egg, and some of them were for the recommended mustard sauce.  I used Tzatziki Sauce instead, which was delicious.  Post forthcoming.

1. Combine the first ten ingredients (through the egg) and process in a blender.  Add the red bell pepper and green onion last, so that they stay in diced-size pieces.

2. Add in the panko and toss.  Shape into patties (on the smaller side).  Line them up on a baking sheet with wax paper covering it, so they don't stick.  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, or overnight, so that the patties don't fall apart when you cook them.

3. Heat oil in a large pan.  Cook the patties, 5 minutes on each side or until browned.

Voila! This made 16 small croquettes, enough to feed a dinner party of 8.  Halve the recipe and freeze the leftovers if it's a regular night.


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Original Recipe:

MyRecipes

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 305
• Fat: 19.3g
• Saturated fat: 2.6g
• Monounsaturated fat: 6g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 9.7g
• Protein: 18.8g
• Carbohydrate: 12.6g
• Fiber: 1g
• Cholesterol: 88mg
• Iron: 1mg
• Sodium: 801mg
• Calcium: 16mg

Gazpacho

Nothing says summer liked chilled gazpacho soup. The original recipe makes A LOT of gazpacho though - and you can only eat so much of it at one time.  So I've cut the recipe down.

Ingredients:

1.5 Cups Tomato Juice (1 can)
1/4 Red Onion, chopped
1/4 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/4 Cucumber, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 Green Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 Tsp. Red or White Wine Vinegar
1 Tsp. Tarragon (dried)
1 Tsp. Basil (dried)
1 Tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp. Parsley, chopped

These were the original ingredients, so don't be fooled by the plentitude of tomatoes and juice.

1. Put all ingredients into blender and blend until combined, but still chunky.  Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.

Serve in shot glasses, not in larger ones as pictured below.  A little really does go a long way.

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Original Recipe:

AllRecipes.com

Nutrition

• Calories
• 39 kcal
• 2%

• Carbohydrates
• 9.2 g
• 3%

• Cholesterol
• 0 mg
• 0%

• Fat
• 0.2 g
• < 1%

• Fiber
• 1.6 g
• 6%

• Protein
• 1.6 g
• 3%

Chicken and Cashews

Just tried this meal tonight, from Cooking Light's 100 Easy Chicken Recipes. Completely delicious - hearty, flavorful, healthy, and actually tasted like good Chinese food, not like the pale imitations that I've tried before.  Alright, Cooking Light, I see you.


Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Soy Sauce, divided
2 tablespoons Dry Sherry
4 teaspoons Cornstarch, divided
1 pound Chicken Breast, cubed
1 cup Broth OR 1 cup Water + 1/2 Bouillon Cube
2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Honey
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil, divided
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
3-inch Ginger Root, peeled + grated
2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2-3 Green Onion shoots, diced
1/4 cup raw Cashews

Here are all of the ingredients.  Oh, but minus the red bell pepper.  And the garlic.  Off to a great start.  Just reference the ingredient list - what, you mean that you can't tell that the tupperware is full of sesame oil?

Great thing is, all of the fancy things like sherry and oyster sauce stay good FOREVER.  I mean it.  Just stow them in the back of your pantry and you'll be pleasantly surprised when you discover them a year later after you get a craving for this recipe.

1. In a large bowl, add chicken (1 pound chopped), sherry (2 tbsp), soy sauce (1 tbsp) and cornstarch (2 tsp) and mix well.

Mmm. Raw meat.

2. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce (2 tbsp), cornstarch (2 tsp), broth (1 cup), honey (1 tbsp), oyster sauce (2 tbsp).

I actually use bouillon cubes, since I never remember to buy more chicken broth, and the remaining half a box inevitably goes bad in my fridge when I do.  1/2 cube to one cup of water, and voila. I also use more than the original recipe, since I wanted more sauce.

3. Add sesame oil (1 tsp) and chicken mix to a non-stick pan and cook for 2-3 minutes (medium-high heat) until slightly browned.  Remove from pan and place back in bowl.

4. Add more sesame oil to pan as needed (1 tsp) and onion (1 medium, chopped), celery (2-3 stalks, chopped), red bell pepper (1, chopped), garlic (2-3 cloves, minced), and ginger (3-inch root, peeled + grated).  Cook for 1 minute.

The chopping is the only part that takes a little time. If only I had a chopping fairy.  Ginger, actually, is my favorite - super easy, though it looks intimidating in the grocery store. The skin peels off easily, and then use a cheese grater to shred it.

5. Add chicken back into pan and cook for 1 minute.  Add sauce from small bowl and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook for 1 more minute.

Not great photography, I know.  I'll work on it.

6. Turn off the heat, and stir in green onions (2-3 shoots, diced) and raw cashews (1/4 cup).

And presto! Chicken with cashews.  No need for extra salt or any other seasoning, and I had it over rice pilaf (from a box, don't get too excited).

So, just 99 more easy chickens to go. Bring it on.

Serving Size: 4

Prep Time: 30 minutes (plus 15 to cook)

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Original Recipe:

Cooking Light's 100 Easy Chicken Recipes

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 257
• Fat: 9g
• Saturated fat: 1.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.2g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.3g
• Protein: 26g
• Carbohydrate: 17g
• Fiber: 1.9g
• Cholesterol: 63mg
• Iron: 2mg
• Sodium: 584mg
• Calcium: 45mg