Asparagus with Almonds and Yogurt Dressing

I need more vegetables in my life, plain and simple.  I miss the days last spring when I could leisurely stroll through a farmer’s market.  Right now, I feel like I am racing to the local produce market between other errands, and it’s left me a bit uninspired.  But I was determined not to miss asparagus season entirely, so I made sure to pick up a bunch this week.  Smitten Kitchen has never steered me wrong when it comes to asparagus (if you need proof, look here and don’t blame me when you eat a whole pizza.)

I decided to try her latest recipe, Asparagus with Almonds and Yogurt Dressing.  Ignore the fact that I used sliced almonds instead of whole, and my yogurt dressing ended up pinkish from the paprika.  Also ignore the fact that I used a patterned plate for this busy dish, making it hard on the eyes.  But don’t ignore the fact that there’s a glass of wine on the table, because it went very well with this delicious salad.  I liked the combination of flavors here, and I only wish that there was more asparagus.  Better buy two bunches next week!

 

Paula Deen’s Sweet Potato Bake

These sweet potatoes are deliciously addictive – we just had to keep going back for one more spoonful!  This Paula Deen recipe also uses basic ingredients: sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, cream, and spices, plus a topping with more butter, sugar, and walnuts.  There was talk of this being a good Thanksgiving side dish, and while I agree, I would almost rather have these when they can be the star of the show.  The dish is rich and decadent, and deserves it’s own holiday!

 

 

 

 

 

Paula Deen’s Vidalia Onion Casserole

Sorry to leave you for a while without a new recipe, it’s been a little hectic.  But my cooking club theme for this month was Paula Deen, and I knew it was going to be blog-worthy!  I made this Vidalia Onion Casserole, which turned out to be just as good as I had hoped.  It’s everything you’d expect from a Paula Deen recipe.  I used real butter, full fat cheddar cheese, full fat evaporated milk, and original Ritz crackers.  Plus, of course, 4 very large Vidalia onions.  The onions are boiled first, and then sauteed with butter, so they have a sweet and mellow flavor in the end.

 

 

I always knew that Paula Deen’s recipes were rich, but I actually didn’t realize that so many of them are fairly simple.  There aren’t a lot of fancy ingredients to find, or complicated steps.  This recipe didn’t even call for any additional spices beyond basic salt and pepper.

Our Paula Deen theme was a lot of fun, and made me remember that butter actually does make things taste better.  Although most of her recipes won’t become part of my regular rotation, they will certainly have a place on special occasions.  I’ll share a few more of the recipes from our dinner with you this week, so stay tuned.

Feta Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

If you like feta cheese and sweet potatoes anywhere near as much as I do, you’ll love these!  I got the idea from this Twice Baked Sweet Potato recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen, but decided the original recipe didn’t have nearly enough cheese.  It was just a little tricky to squeeze the potato out of the skins while a) keeping the skin in one piece and b) not burning my hands, but I was successful with 2 out of 3 skins which isn’t too bad.  And the potatoes were just as good the second day, reheated in the microwave.  I may have to try some other cheese/spice combinations soon!

 

 

 

Feta Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes
1 c. fat free feta
1/4 t coriander
Dash cayenne pepper
2 t Garlic Gold in oil
Smoked paprika

Scrub sweet potatoes, and bake at 350F for 60 minutes, or until very soft. Meanwhile, mix feta, coriander, cayenne pepper, and Garlic Gold in a bowl, and refrigerate.

When potatoes are ready, remove from oven.  Slice potatoes open lengthwise, and using an oven mitt, squeeze potato flesh into a bowl, reserving the skin in one piece.  Add feta mixture to potato and mix well.  Stuff mixture into potato skins.  Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, and garnish with smoked paprika before serving.

-Lightly adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Chicken Tikka Masala

I’ve wanted to make Chicken Tikka Masala for a while now since it’s one of my favorite Indian dishes.  The version you get in restaurants is usually good but often very heavy.   So I started with this lighter recipe from Skinnytaste, and made just a few changes.  I kept the overall combination of spices which created a flavor that seemed authentic to me, and not too spicy.  The combination of tomatoes and spices also gave the dish a rich color.

I really wanted to see if I could prevent the yogurt from curdling, so I let the masala cool for about 5-10 minutes before stirring it in.  The yogurt still curdled a bit, probably from the acidic tomatoes.  It didn’t matter one bit though, I really liked this dish and am happy to enjoy it right at home!

 

 

Chicken Tikka Masala

1 T canola oil
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and diced
1 T garlic ginger paste
1 T cumin
1 T garam masala
1 t turmeric
2 t chili powder
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. skim milk
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
6 oz. plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Saute onion on medium-low heat until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Add garlic ginger paste and stir for 1 minute.  Add spices and stir for 1 minute.  Add tomatoes, water, and milk, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Add chicken pieces, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.  Stir in yogurt and serve.

-Lightly adapted from Skinnytaste

Vegetable Egg Rolls

The last time I posted about egg rolls was over 2 years ago, when I made Hungry Girl’s Sassy Veggie Egg Rolls.  I’ve surely indulged in plenty of egg rolls since then, including some from the Chinese takeout place down the street.  But, I have been meaning to make these Vegetable Egg Rolls from Budget Bytes for ages.  The recipe promises that you can bake the egg rolls right away, or freeze them to bake later.

If you don’t have garlic ginger paste, feel free to substitute freshly minced garlic and ginger.  I found a jar of garlic ginger paste at an ethnic grocery store a while back, and it’s come in handy quite a few times.  I took one other shortcut and bought pre shredded carrots but as someone pointed out, a food processor could do all the dicing and shredding very easily.  After that, you just spend some time at the stove cooking the mixture.  If you’re intimidated by working with the egg roll wrappers, check out Budget Byte’s post with step by step instructions.  She also has some suggestions for turning the egg rolls in the oven to make sure they brown evenly but I threw caution to the wind and mine turned out fine.

I baked about half the egg rolls right away, and froze the other half in small batches to bake later.  Of course, I tried the filling before I made the rolls, so I knew I was going to like them a lot!  The rolls are crispy but not hard to chew, and the filling is quite tasty.  I can’t wait to bake some of the frozen ones to see how they turn out.

 

 

 

Vegetable Egg Rolls

1 T oil
1 T garlic ginger paste
1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced
1 (8 oz.) package mushrooms, diced
1 (8 oz.) package shredded carrot
1 small head cabbage, shredded
2 t cornstarch
1/4 c. soy sauce
20 egg roll wrappers

Heat oil in a large frying pan.  Add garlic ginger paste and scallions.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes.  Add carrots and cabbage.  Cook until mixture is fairly soft, about 20-30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch into soy sauce.  Pour into frying pan and stir well.  Remove pan from heat and allow filling to cool.

Place about 2-3 T of mixture in each wrapper, and roll.  Seal the edges with water.  Place on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes, until lightly brown.

-Lightly adapted from Budget Bytes

 

Dal Nirvana

I was really craving some Chana Masala, but I was out of chickpeas.  However, I had a big bag of lentils and I found this recipe for Dal Nirvana.  I made a few changes in an attempt to reduce the amount of saturated fat without compromising the taste.  I replaced the butter and cream in the original recipe with nonfat Greek yogurt, which helped make the dish creamy.  There was just one aesthetic problem – I added the yogurt when the dal was very hot, and it separated.  This didn’t affect the taste of the dish, but the photo is so horrible I can’t even post it.  I also cut back the cayenne pepper so that it wouldn’t be too spicy, and added a dash of curry powder for a little more Indian flavor.

In the end, I liked this dal but it probably won’t make it into my rotation of Indian dishes.  There are just too many recipes that I like even more, like Chana Masala, Chicken Saagwala, and Red Bean Curry.  Plus, there’s plenty more Indian recipes I’d like to try.  I think Chicken Tikka Masala might be next on the list…..

 

 

Dal Nirvana

1 c. lentils
1″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 t minced garlic
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Dash salt
Dash curry
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) container nonfat plain Greek yogurt
Fresh cilantro

Place lentils in a medium saucepan and cover with water.  Simmer covered for 10-15 minutes, until lentils are tender.  Drain lentils, and return to pan.  Add ginger, garlic, pepper, salt, and curry powder and stir well.  Add tomatoes and 1 cup of water.  Simmer covered for 30 minutes.  Remove cover, and continue to simmer until the mixture is thick.  Remove from heat and allow to cool briefly.  Stir in yogurt and cilantro.  Serve with brown rice or naan.

-Adapted from Budget Bytes

 

No Knead Focaccia Bread

Our cooking club theme for April was originally “Grilling” but with a forecast of 50F and rain, we changed it to Italian.  I had such a hard time deciding what to bring.  With antipasto, sausage stew, eggplant lasagna, meatballs, and tiramisu on the menu, there was only one thing missing – bread!  So I decided to try this No Knead Foccacia recipe from Budget Bytes.

It’s almost embarrassing to admit how little effort it took to make this bread.  The night before, I mixed flour, yeast, salt, and a teaspoon of garlic powder in a bowl and added water as the recipe indicated.  I went to bed, lounged around the next morning, and eventually turned the dough onto a cookie sheet for a second rise.  I brushed the dough with olive oil and herbs, and popped it in the oven.  When the bread was golden brown, I put the flat loaf on a cooling rack and sprinkled freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

That’s it, really!  The focaccia had a lot of flavor and was a nice complement to our meal.  I’ll be sure to make this again soon.

 

 

Lemon Thyme Tuna Burgers

Sometimes I end up running around on weekend days, grabbing snacks here and there, and never really sitting down to an actual meal.  These Lemon Thyme Tuna Burgers from Green Lite Bites took less than 15 minutes to make, and made a balanced meal with some whole grain crackers and grapes.

I modified the original recipe just a bit, adding some diced carrot and using a whole egg instead of just the egg white.  I may have added a little too much lemon juice because the mixture was quite wet.  The burgers fell apart a little in the pan, but still tasted great.  And after a good meal, I was ready to tackle the rest of my day.

 

 

 

Lemon Thyme Tuna Burgers

2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 (5 oz.) can tuna
1/3 c. oats
1 egg
1 T lemon juice
1 t thyme

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Form into 2 patties, and place on a pan coated with cooking spray.  Cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes.  Flip burger carefully, and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side.

-Lightly adapated from Green Lite Bites