Chicken Adobo - filipino cuisine

I love my job.  I'm an ESOL teacher.  (ESOL - English to Speakers of Other Languages)  No matter our cultural difference, our religious difference, our nationalities, and whatever other differences we have we also have similarities.  One similarity that I share with my students is the fact that we all eat.  It may not be the same types of food but we all eat. 

Many of my students share their favorite foods mom or dad cook from their culture.  Many of my students are "western-ized" and love burgers, fries and pizza.  Yet they all to some degree will tell of their favorite "home-cooked" comfort food. 

Tonight's menu was supplied by a very bright young man. He explained to me that in the Philippines the men do a lot of the cooking and his dad makes the best Chicken Adobo. The following is his favorite meal, and I can add... I know why. It's very good!

Ingredients-

3 lbs chicken thighs and legs (skinless)
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 cloves fresh garlic minced
2 bay leaves
3 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar Splenda blend
Salt and pepper to taste (more pepper than salt as the soy sauce has plenty of sodium)
2 cups chicken broth


How to -

Clean, trim and remove the skin from the chicken.

In a non-reactive bowl, combine all ingredients except chicken broth and mix well.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.

Pour all ingredients in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium high to high heat.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and cover for thirty minutes.

After thirty minutes, remove lid and cook for another 15-20 minutes to reduce liquid and thicken.

Serve with white long grain rice using broth over the rice.

We all really liked this meal.  Natalie had a double helping.  I served pan-seared asparagus and mushrooms as a side.  Natalie loves asparagus too.  A very enjoyable meal thanks to a very bright young student.

ENJOY!



Poached Eggs in Marinara

Going through my new March '12 copy of the magazine COOKING LIGHT, I found on page 112 a recipe that really piqued my interest - eggs poached in tomato sauce with onions and peppers.  I'm an egg lover and have had them many ways, but I had never even contemplated poached in tomato sauce.  It sounded like a challenge. 

Wednesday nights are my nights for kitchen trials as the ladies eat dinner at church.  The food is usually not conducive to my lifestyle changes, so I experiment at home or eat the spicy stuff they will not.  This week I decided to put COOKING LIGHT's recipe to the test.

Of course, I've never been very good at following the rules completely.  I usually do in the spirit of the rules, BUT I almost always step out of bounds at some point.  I did with this recipe too.  I just can't follow one to the letter of the law.  (That's probably why I don't bake much - it has to be precise, where in cooking things are more forgiving)  I had to add MUSHROOMS!  I would probably attempt a mushroom flavored ice cream if I could make it low cal....

Enough blabbering...

Ingredients- (my version)

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large bell pepper (red or green or mix)
1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups marinara sauce ( I used Harris Teeter's Carmelized Onion sauce)
1 tsp dried oregano
4 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
4 mini French bread rolls ( I used the whole wheat take 'n bake from Harris Teeter bakery)
4 tsp. shaved Parmesan cheese
6oz. mushrooms chopped
2-4 tbsp chicken broth (to keep things moist)

What now -

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil to pan and swirl to coat.  Add peppers, onions and mushrooms, cooking for about 6 minutes or so. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring often.

Reduce heat to medium-low.  Stir in marinara sauce and oregano; cooking for 3 more minutes. 

(Here again I deviated from the recipe some as I was cooking for ONE and not four.)  I removed all the sauce except 1/4.  Reserve it for another day! I also only baked ONE French roll and saved the rest to go with the sauce for later)  So the recipe called for making four indentations in the sauce and break 1 egg into each indentation adding salt and pepper to the egg.  Cover and cook for 6 minutes or until the eggs have reached the desired degree of doneness.

Slice the baked French rolls in half and arrange on plates.  Top each with 1/2 cup of sauce and an egg.  Sprinkle each with cheese and ENJOY!

Yes, this is one I will be eating often... who'd a thunk it?  Poached eggs in tomato sauce.

Next time I think I'll put it over a whole wheat English muffin.

Quick and Easy Breakfast Sandwich

When I run into people I haven't seen in a while, the initial remarks are almost the same script - "Oh my! You've lost a lot of weight."  The next few questions range, but once they understand it was from eating right (I don't like the term 'diet') and exercise they almost all come to the following question: "What do you eat for breakfast?" 



Breakfast has always been touted as - the most important meal of the day.  I agree as well.  If I skip breakfast, I am hungry all day and it doesn't matter how much I binge.  If I eat a "bad" breakfast, then I often give up on the day and eat "bad" all day.  Then get mad at myself, resulting in more bad eating habits.  It's a vicious circle of despair.  BUT, if I eat a healthy breakfast and start my day off right... I am at peace with myself.  I have energy for the morning, and feel good about the entire day and will usually eat well all day.  Therefore, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!!!!

Cereal, whether healthy or not does not work for me.  Cereal seems to be a trigger for bad eating habits - it must be mental from back in the day.  For my friends that have seen as many moons as myself will remember that Saturday mornings were the ONLY day for cartoons, and they always had the cereal commercials on then.  Coo coo for Cocoa Puffs, Cap't Crunch, Trix are for kids you silly rabbit..   Remember?   They also always had those irresistable toys on the inside of the box of cereal.  So you would eat several bowls trying to 'find' the toy...  All bad decisions no doubt...  You see why I think I'm mental about cereal??

Healthy cereal?  Yeah... have you ever actually measured out a recommended serving of it?  It looks like a needle in a haystack, and that is supposed to be your start to the day???  I don't thinks so.

I like real food for breakfast, but time is very valuable and scarce in our home.  Therefore, I had to have some quick fixes that would work.  The following is one of my favorite and most common breakfast items.

Ingredients -

1 - Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage pattie (sliced down the middle to make two thin rounds) 
       *60 calories
1 - Thomas English Muffin (multi-grain light)
       *100 calories
1/2 - Roma tomato, sliced
       *8 calories
1 tsp. French's yellow mustard
       *0 calories


How To-

Toast the muffin, heat the sausage in the microwave for 38 seconds, slice the tomatoes.

Put it all together and add mustard!

Now you have a hot breakfast sandwich for 168 calories! 

The sweet tangy mustard, the spices of the sausage, and the cool tomato in the warm muffin make a great combination of flavors and textures.  It's a great way to start the day, well my day any way!

ENJOY!



Black-Eyed Pea Cakes

It’s Meatless Monday!  You folks just don’t know… if my brother were still alive, it would kill him to know that I am creating meals without God’s creatures on the plate. 

I love and miss you Bill.  I think of you often and it would be so fun to torment you with these menus from my Mondays.

Tonight’s dish, Black-Eyed Pea Cakes, is inspired by Cooking Light magazine.  I made a few changes to lighten it up a bit and fit my taste buds.  I replaced quinoa with stone ground grits, and egg whites for whole eggs as well as some other minor changes.

Ingredients –

·         1 - 15oz can of black-eyed peas, divided (rinsed and drained)

·         3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

·         1 cup cooked corn grits

·         2-3 slices of red onion, finely chopped

·         4 fresh egg whites, lightly beaten

·         ¼ cup fat free chicken broth

·         ¾ cup Panko Japanese bread crumbs

·         1 ½ tsp. cumin powder

·         ½ tsp. black pepper

·         ¼ tsp. sea salt

·         ½  tsp. red pepper flakes

·         1 Tbsp. Olive or Canola oil, divided

 

South Carolina Stone Ground Grits in a Rice Cooker

Directions –

Use 1/2 of the drained peas and the chopped garlic placing in a food processor. Blend until paste-like. (I add a little of the chicken broth as needed to blend.)

Put paste mix in a large mixing bowl. Add cooked grits, bread crumbs, onion, the remaining peas, eggs and seasonings blend with your hands or mixing spoon. Don't use beaters.





Pat out mixture into 6 equal patties. Place the patties on wax paper/parchment paper. 

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Once hot add 1/2 the oil and swirl to coat pan. Add three of the patties. Cook on each side about 3 1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel and repeat with the next three patties.



Serve over Collard Greens and a light side salad.  Have a bottle of hot sauce to go with it!

ENJOY!

Nutritional Info - 1 serving equals two patties

• Servings Per Recipe: 3
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 281.2
• Total Fat: 5.3 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 978.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 40.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.2 g
• Protein: 13.7 g

UN-Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

This great meal was sent to me by my friend, and travel agent, Kim on facebook.  The link was to Skinnytaste.com (to which I now follow).  The original recipe is great on it's own, but I made some further changes.  I switched to ground turkey, added mushrooms, sliced my garlic instead of mincing, and used chicken broth instead of water. 

Here is the link to SkinnyTaste:

 http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/01/kalyns-stuffed-cabbage-casserole.html#more

Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 1/2 small to medium heads of cabbage, chopped
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (don't drain)
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup (or more if needed) 99% fat-free chicken broth
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (cooked ahead of time)
• 8oz of fresh mushrooms, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste - I like lots of pepper!
• 8oz package of reduced fat cheddar cheese (or mozzeralla for a different variation)

How to:

 Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and add 1 tsp olive oil put over medium high heat.  Add sliced garlic and thyme and cook for 30 seconds to a minute.  Add ground turkey and cook completely breaking it up as it cooks.  Once cooked remove from the skillet and place in reserve on a plate or bowl.

In the same skillet, add second tsp. olive oil and onions and mushrooms.  Cook these until softened and beginning to brown.  ( I added a touch of chicken broth in here as the mushrooms will aborb..) 

Once the onions are done, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and turkey mix back to the skillet and stir to mix and heat through. 

Meanwhile, spray (PAM or such like spray) and heat a Dutch oven over med. high heat.  Add chopped cabbage then pour in 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Cook cabbage stirring every few minutes to wilt it down.  Cook the cabbage until it is softened but not completely cooked.  

Add the browned rice to the skillet. Add a dash or two of chicken broth to keep moist if necessary.  Heat through then remove from heat.  

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with PAM.  Add half of the cabbage to the dish then top with half of the meat mixture.

Add the remainder of the cabbage followed by the remainder of the meat mixture.  Using your spoon or spatula make sure to even it out and press it down into the dish.  Cook in a 350 degree preheated oven for forty minutes covered with aluminum foil.  

After the forty minutes remove the foil and spread shredded cheese over the top of the casserole.  Return to the oven for another 20 minutes.

Remove and allow to set for 10-15 minutes.  (good time to make some garlic toast)

Divide into 10 equal sections and serve.

  

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10 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		237.3
Total Fat		9.7 g
	Saturated Fat	4.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.7 g
Cholesterol		48.0 mg
Sodium		670.8 mg
Potassium		442.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		22.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	5.4 g
	Sugars	2.9 g
Protein		18.7 g

ENJOY!!

***  You can freeze it too! ***