Sweet Ginger Soy Chicken

My husband trains like a bodybuilder and when he cracks down that means his diet gets really lean and methodical. This makes for some fun new inventions in the kitchen! I love helping him eat clean (I mean, heck, who’s really benefiting here? *wink*)

This took 15 minutes 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 (2.3 lbs) pkg chicken, sliced
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 2-3 tsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic (use 1 heaping tbsp ready minced, its faster prep)
• 1 heaping tbsp minced ginger
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey or sucanat
• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame  (rinse in cold water in colander and set aside) OR  1 can green peas, drained

Directions

1. Heat sesame oil in pan on medium heat
2. Add onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes, then add 3 cloves garlic and cook additional 2-3 minutes or until onion is translucent
3. Add chicken and ginger
4. Stir in broth, soy and honey. Then add edamame/peas and cook until tender

Sorry, no picture as of yet!…it was gone before I could get a good pic! Ah, well…

Garage Chili

Brown the meat

Season while browning

• 2 lbs 96% lean sirloin or 99% ground turkey or chicken
• 1 tsp ground onion
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

Meanwhile…

Fire it up

Throw the following in the slow cooker (or do this stove top on low to medium low)

• 4 (15 oz) cans beans, strained (Organics tri-bean blend, garbanzo, kidney, black, white northern, porkNbeans, or Ranch style pinto beans)
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, strained
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, strained
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 tsp Garam Masala (this is a blend of coriander, pepper, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon)
• 1 Tbsp high quality chili powder
• 1/2 tsp Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 cup crumbled bacon

Strain the browned meat and stir in to chili mixture and it will be ready to eat in 30 minutes, BUT it will taste best if you let it simmer for 2-4 hours *wink*

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Jamie Eason shared this recipe on Bodybulding.com

Watch the video tutorial!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry yellow mustard
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.

1. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.

1. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.

1. Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Serving Size:
Women: 2 muffins
Men: 4 muffins

Western Churkey Burger

picture forthcoming!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground “Churkey” (1/2 lb extra lean ground turkey + 1/2 lb ground chicken breast)
• 1/4 C chopped cilantro
• 2 Tbsp salsa (I used homemade salsa, so it was very chunky, not so pureed)
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp chopped onion

Directions

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Pan-fry, grill, or even bake these puppies. Serve them on whole wheat buns, pita thins, corn tortillas or chopped over a fresh salad.

Tip:

To create great flavors, mix several kinds of meats!  Extra lean ground pork+ground sirloin+extra lean turkey is a tasty combo as well. I use this method in many styles

I made a double batch and shaped them into either 1/2 pounder patties (man size) or 1/4 pounders.  Wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and put them all into a ziploc so I could pull them out for a quick meal depending on who I will be serving.

Slow-Cooker Brisket Sandwiches

I prepped this the night before and let the meat marinate overnight.  Then first thing in the morning I turned the slow-cooker on.  Ready just in time for lunch!

The brisket falls apart in your mouth! The picture shown above doesn’t have sauce drizzled across it, but dipping or drizzling the sauce would add pow to this already juicy meat.

Coleslaw or sauerkraut or even simple lettuce/tomato/mayo/mustard would be delicious with these babies.

My brother tried this over Jasmine rice, how very Filipino of him 🙂

Click here for the recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Easy, But Fabulous Veal Parmesan

Veal Parmesan is already a pretty easy dish, but you can make it as easy or as complicated as you want – it is VERY forgiving! So have fun with it!

Ingredients

• Canola Oil
• 2 Veal steaks
• 1/4-1/2 C bread crumbs (seasoned or unseasoned)
• Rosemary
• Roasted garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Sea salt (or any kind of salt)
• Cracked pepper (or regular ground black pepper)
• Mozzarella (shredded or slices)
• Marinara (I love to make mine from scratch, but you can easily get a jar of yummy spaghetti sauce)
• Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

1. Drizzle oil in skillet and heat pan to medium
2. Coat veal steaks in bread crumbs then place in pan
3. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on one side, season with rosemary and roasted garlic
4. Flip steaks and cook for another 3 minutes (or until steaks are no longer pink), season with Italian seasoning and salt
5. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese (or lay a slice on each steak), drizzle with marinara and then turn off the heat
6. Decorate with Parmesan cheese, cracked pepper and olive oil and serve 🙂

Keep this dinner simple by steaming broccoli or other vegetables (in the microwave, on the stove, or in the steamer), so it does all the work for you while you concentrate on your veal steaks.

Mighty Meaty Meatloaf

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, originally appearing in Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Family, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2004

Prep Time:  20 min

Cook Time:  1 hr 20 min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• *1 1/2 teaspoons roasted garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• *1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• *1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef —I used 1.25lb ground sirloin
• 1/2 pound ground pork —I used extra lean ground turkey
• 1/2 pound ground veal —I used .75lb ground veal
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Baby Bam, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2/3 cup fine dried bread crumbs

*items added to Emeril’s recipe by Faith Keith

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Emeril’s Hot Sauce or other red hot sauce, optional

Directions

Position rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, salt, basil, thyme, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, pork, and veal with a wooden spoon or with clean hands. Be sure to wash up afterward.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, ketchup, Baby Bam, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce, and whisk to combine. Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture along with the cooled vegetables and bread crumbs. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. Using your fingers or the back of the wooden spoon, smooth the top into a rounded loaf shape. Wash hands again.

To make the glaze, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, if desired, in a small bowl. Stir to blend. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the meatloaf. Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Using oven mitts or pot holders, carefully tilt the pan away from you and drain off the excess grease from the pan, An adult should help you here. Be careful, hot grease can really burn. Slice to serve.

Baby Bam:

• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well to combine, using a wooden spoon.

Baja Fish Tacos

Total Active time approx 20-30 minutes

This is a recipe inspired by the Fish taco recipe in the June 2010 Food Network magazine. I “cleaned” it up a little, but it is virtually the same recipe.

Directions

1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 Cups)
1/2 C fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime (or approx 3 Tbsp of lime juice)
2 Tbsp honey (or agave nectar)
1/2 C Plain Greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt will do, Greek yogurt is just chunkier so it resembles the mayo that is normally used for slaw)
Kosher salt
Toss the above ingredients to make the slaw
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10-12 Corn Tortillas (we used white corn and wheat blend tortillas)
1 Hass avocado, sliced
1/2 C fresh salsa

Fish

I used the ready breaded frozen fillets and then seasoned them with chili powder. Baked for 12 minutes on one side then flipped for a remaining 7 minutes.

To bread your own you need about 1.25 lbs skinless halibut, 3/4 cup flour, chili powder, garlic salt and ground peppercorn.

Tortillas were warmed on a skillet as needed so we always got them hot off the griddle.
Served with steamed corn on the cob – yummmm my favorite!

Papa’s in the Kitchen

Today we had so much fun getting our fresh produce for tonight’s dinner [well…I had a blast]. It is “Husband-Cooks Sunday”!

He decided to make chili mac from scratch. Using a extra-stout Guinness and adding garlic salt threw the punch into the recipe.

Recipe for Chili Mac

Luke's Chili Mac

Quicky-bread for Spaghetti Night, Family

Spaghetti madness needs a sidekick. Preheat to 350 and pop these babies in – yum, easy, and a fun twist to the usual. In my family, this MIGHT serve 3 people. 🙂

8 Hamburger buns
Butter (I can’t believe its not butter)
Garlic salt
Parsley
*optional: 4 swiss cheese slices
Split open the hamburger buns, cut side up. Spread/spray butter over each cut side. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parsley.
Optional: cut the cheese slices diagonally so that you now have 8 triangles. Place one on each bun.
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Toast in the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until golden.

[Recipe source: the urge to not waste leftover hamburger buns]