Magic Green Beans

Natalie, my seven year old daughter, would never eat green beans.  As a matter of fact she used to be a very picky eater up until the age of four, but that has changed.  Aannyway... I used to tell her that my green beans were "Magic".  A five year old that loves Disney Princesses understands that "Magic" food has life altering abilities so she tried them.  They really must be magic as she to this day continues to devour her fair share.  Here's the "magic"....

Two cans of cut green beans

Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot.

Add tap water to cover the beans.

Add one cube of bouillon per two cans of beans.

Crush the cube and spread over the top of the pot.

Add a 1/4 cup of sliced or diced onion.

A shot of Worcestershire sauce.

Salt and Pepper to taste (a lot of pepper)

One Bay leaf per two cans of beans.



Give it all a stir and bring to a boil.

Once boiling reduce to simmer and cover.

Allow to cook as long as you want - at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.

It's MAGICAL how they disappear!



Pan Seared Citrus Halibut

On Wednesday night my bride had to work late.  I was blessed with the opportunity to have dinner with another lovely lady and I jumped at the chance.  So my daughter and I had dinner at the church together.  Later in the evening when my bride called to say she was leaving work, she asked what I had cooked for dinner… uh… well….err….  That’s the way it goes sometimes.

So I decided to make it up to her.  Tonight I prepared a dinner for two. (Natalie was fed earlier in the evening.)  The menu?  Pan-seared citrus halibut, udon noodles with mushrooms, shallots, asparagus and cherry/grape tomatoes with a side salad.  She loves fish… and flowers… I may look stupid.  I may act stupid.  Heck, I probably am stupid, BUT… I know what the best thing to ever happen to me is, so she’s getting fish and flowers.    



A little olive oil and zest from a lemon and orange

So I washed and patted the fish, and prepared the citrus marinade to coat the fillets.  Mixing the zest of a lemon and an orange with some extra light virgin olive oil, I stirred it all in a bowl then applied it to the fillets.  (Lemon and orange zest smells so good)  I also drizzled a little of the juice over the fish as well as salt and pepper. 

All set for the skillet!

Later I heated a skillet over high heat and added a bit of canola oil.  I then seared the fish on each side for a couple of minutes and finished it off by putting it in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for 5-7 minutes.  The citrus zest on the fish allows such a wonderfully fresh aroma throughout the kitchen – not fishy!

 

The udon noodles, were so simple.  Pot of boiling water, add noodles, return to boil for four minutes, drain and rinse with cold water.  I was able to let these sit in the colander until I was ready for them to go back in the skillet.  (just rinse them with cold water every so often to keep them from sticking) 

The vegetables were sliced and chopped and ready for the skillet that was heated to medium high with a little olive oil.  Onions first, then mushrooms, followed by asparagus.  Now add the udon noodles to the skillet to heat and I gave it a shot of soy sauce.  Once heated through, turn off heat and add the sliced grape tomatoes.  You’re ready to plate it!

The salad was simple to fix, and started it as soon as I got home from work. 

Chop and wash the romaine.  ALWAYS wash. 

Simple salad spinner

If you don’t have a salad spinner get one. 

Allowing the lettuce to soak in ice water makes it so crisp on the table and it will keep in the fridge longer.

Chopped all the veggies, then topped with cheese, croutons, and garbanzo beans.  Yum!  (This is a meal in itself when we add a little steak and some avocado)

Once it is all ready, plate and serve!  Oh and make sure you have flowers….  They aren’t much use for anything except… opening the door to the dog house to get you out!

Enjoy.

Mushroom Steak and Rice Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was to be a large dinner salad topped with steak, but I was not feeling much like a salad when it was time to get started.  So it was time for a little “Improv in the Kitchen”. 

Since the steak (thin sliced top sirloin, or breakfast steaks) was already cut into strips and in the fridge marinating, I figured I would rustle up some stuff to go with it.  Hmmm… Opening the fridge to take out the steak I saw the container of baby bella mushrooms, and a half a bell pepper.  This is getting easy fast.

Threw it on the counter and went to the pantry.  I grabbed an onion out of the basket, a can of beef broth, and the rice canister.  I pulled out the rice cooker and got the grains to cooking, then started chopping the onion and pepper. 

In my large skillet, I added some olive oil over medium high heat and then added the veggies and mushrooms. (I love the smell of onions and peppers cooking!)  As the mushrooms started soaking up all the oil I added splashes of the beef broth as well as salt and pepper, and pepper, and pepper…

Once the onions were almost done, I made room in the skillet for the steak and all the marinade (Ken’s Steakhouse balsamic & onion marinade, olive oil, white wine, and soy sauce) and continued cooking.  I also added the rest of the beef broth.  Stir every so often.

Once the meat is cooked, turn down the temp to simmer and add a can of drained garden peas can (frozen is better, but I was out).  At this point I am waiting on the rice to finish.  Once the “warm” light is lit on the rice cooker, I mix a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch and a half cup of water in the leftover pea can. (using the pea can saves on dirty dishes!) Stir this concoction well and add to the skillet.  Now stir the entire mix thoroughly to blend.  This will thicken the beef broth to the desired consistency to make a great gravy.

Put your rice in the bowl and top with your Mushroom Steak mix.

Enjoy!

Italian Chicken Sausage Vegetable Soup

I love Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup, so I decided to play in the kitchen to find something similar on my own and this is what I came up with.  It's no where close to Olive Garden's great soup, but I have come up with a BRIDE pleaser.  She loves it and it is a great way for us to get our veggies in!

5 Member’s Mark Italian Chicken Sausages

---Note--- Quarter sausages lengthwise then dice.
2 medium onions, (chopped)
2 cups  fresh mushroom slices (rough chop half of them)
¼ cup olive oil
Baby Carrots 30 medium (chopped in thirds)
3-4 cups or 1lb Fresh Kale (stems removed, chopped)
3 long stalks Celery (diced)
1 qt. chicken broth- 99% fat free
Water, tap, 2-3 cups
1 tsp. each of Dried Oregano and Thyme
2 tsp. dried Basil
2 cans Cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cans Diced Tomatoes (rinsed and drained)
2 medium russet potatoes- peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions: 

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, add oil over medium high heat.  Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, mushrooms and thyme.  Cook until softened (about 5-10 minutes) stirring often. 

Add everything else and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer.  Simmer for a couple hours or longer.  Before serving remove chunks of potato to a bowl and mash.  Return to the pot and stir (this gives a creamy color to the broth).  Serve topped with parmesan cheese and croutons.

Serves eight and each bowl is about 350 calories.

ENJOY!

Hoppin' John - a South Carolina Tradition

South Carolina has a New Year’s Day tradition that goes back well over 160 years.  The first recorded recipe for Hoppin’ John came in 1847 in The Carolina Housewife, and most epicurean historians credit the Gullah folks in the low country for the dish.  There are many legends of how the dish got its name, but one of the strongest is that the dish was sold in the streets of Charles Towne by a crippled black man named Hoppin’ John.

Although there are many variations to the recipe, the original was rather simple – Ham hock, black eyed peas, rice, onion and greens.  My recipe is one of the slight variations, but not far from the original.

Ingredients:

1 pound bag black eyed peas, dried (rinse and soak for 6-8 hours prior)

2 small smoked ham hocks/ 1 large or ham bone with some meat still on it.

 (I also had some left over ham that I diced and added)

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery finely chopped 

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 quart of chicken broth

3 cups of water

Fresh Kale, chopped fine

2 cups of rice

1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven/pot heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onions, pepper, celery.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until veggies are softened.  Stir often. 

Add chicken broth, water, seasonings, and ham /ham hocks and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  Stir periodically.

After 30-45 minutes, remove ham hocks and pick meat off bones and chop fine – return to pot. Add chopped kale and soaked peas after draining and rinsing.  Cook for another 20-30 minutes, still covered.  Stir periodically.

Now add the two cups of rice, stirring to mix well in the pot.  (Note- you may have to add a little water) Cook for another 20-25 minutes stirring regularly.  (add water as needed)  Today I did not have to add any, but each batch is different. 

Serve in bowls with and garnish with chopped green onion.

Happy New Year and Enjoy!