Garlic Creamed Spinach

I love this classic road house side dish with steak and a baked potato. The problem is that it's typically made with lots of cream and butter and that's the last thing you need when you're already having steak and potato. I make this creamed spinach dish with only 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup 1% milk. The key to this dish is to make sure you squeeze as much moisture out of the cooked spinach as possible.



Available at Costco



Ingredients:

3 lbs. fresh spinach

2 to 3 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons Wondra brand flour

1 cup 1% milk

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

In a 12" sauté pan cook down all the spinach a handful at a time. When all the spinach is cooked let cool in a colander. When cool take some paper towels and squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible, set a side

Mix the 1/2 cup milk with the flour and set a side. I like to use a shaker bottle to ensure all the flour is incorporated.

In a 12" sauté pan add the butter and crushed garlic cloves and cooked the garlic for about a minute.

Add the milk flour mixture to the garlic butter stirring constantly and this will thicken up to the consistency of peanut butter. Add the cooked spinach, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix and heat until cheese is melted. You can serve at this point or put into a baking dish.

This recipe serves 6.

Garlic Shrimp and Grits

There's something special about this dish, so simple and so darn good. The key is to not over cook the shrimp. The shrimp cooks in just a few minutes and when cooked properly will be tender and juicy. Secondly, you want the consistency of the grits to be like thick pancake batter. As the grits begin to cool on the plate they will thicken up.

Ingredients:

1 pound U15 shrimp, about 15 shrimp per pound

3 cloves crushed garlic

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup uncooked grits

1 cup water
2 cups low fat milk
1 tablespoon butter

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Chopped Italian parsley
 

Preparation:
Peel and devein the shrimp. Rinse the shrimp in cold water, lay on some paper towels to dry and then place in a medium glass bowl. Add the crushed garlic and olive oil and mix in with the shrimp and let marinate while you preparing the rest of the meal.
 

Take a medium large sauce pan and heat to medium high and add the water, milk, salt and grits. Cook the grits until somewhat firm, like corn bread batter. When cooked add 1 tablespoon butter and the parmesan cheese.

Take a large 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. The reason we're using a 12" sauté pan is because we just want one layer of shrimp across the bottom of the pan for even cooking. Add the butter and marinated garlic shrimp and cook the shrimp for 5 minutes, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. This is a nice easy gentle cooking process leaving tender juicy shrimp. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, place a generous amount of grits on a serving plate or shallow bowl. Pace the shrimp on the grits. Garnish the dish with chopped Italian parsley.

The Bacon Cheeseburger

 

The bacon cheese burger, sometimes you just got to go for it!

Ingredients:
1/3 pound Ground beef 93/7 grind per patty
Cheddar cheese
Bacon
Lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
Mayonnaise / thousand island dressing
Stone ground mustard
Sesame seed bun

Preparation:

Make your hamburger patty at least 10 - 15 percent bigger than the bun and about 1/2" thick. By doing this the hamburger ends up the same size as the bun when it's cooked. Grill the burger over a hot grill for about 3 minutes per side. Right at the end put on a slice of cheese on the patty and set on a plate to rest while you prepare the bun.

Here's how I stack it up. Place some mayo or thousand island dressing on the bottom half of the bun and then add the lettuce. Next add the cheeseburger patty, bacon, tomato, red onion and lastly spread some stone ground mustard on the top bun and you're done.



Pho Beef Udon Noodle Soup

I've made this a few times a now and I have to say, this meal is an experience, it's that good! 
 

Ingredients:

Beef stock; Swanson's 50% less sodium beef stock

1 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Fresh ginger; 1" x 1" peeled

Jalapeño chili; 1/2" piece seeded and cut in half lengthwise

1 glove peeled garlic

1/2 lb. sirloin steak cut into bit size pieces
Firm tofu, cubed

6 medium thick sliced Crimini mushrooms

1/8 Red bell pepper, chopped

4 - 6 diced green onions

1/2 bunch cilantro

1/2 lb. Japanese Udon wheat noodles

Preparation:

Boil water and cook the Japanese noodles for 4 minutes, drain, rinse and a side.

Bring the beef stock, water, soy sauce, ginger, jalapeño and garlic to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and dispose the ginger, jalapeño and garlic clove from the broth. Add the sirloin steak, tofu, chopped bell pepper, mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes and the soup is done.

To serve, add a generous amount of noodles to a large bowl. Add soup to cover the noodles and top with a generous amount of green onions, cilantro, crushed nuts and Sriracha.

Grilled Tofu with Crimini Mushroom Ragu

This is such a tasty dish. What I like about tofu is that you can make it so many ways. When I grill tofu I use a indoor grill pan. The key to grilled tofu is to remove the moisture from the tofu and use a little spray canola oil to keep the tofu from sticking to the grill. Secondly, always season the tofu with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce after grilling the tofu, otherwise the tofu will end up burnt from the sugar in the soy and teriyaki.
 

Ingredients:

1 package firm tofu

1/2 lb crimini muschrooms

1 cup white short grain rice

1 bunch green onions

Red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chicken stock

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Couple of drops of sesame oil

1 teaspoon Corn starch

Preparation:

Sliced the crimini mushroom thin and saute in a little olive oil. When cooked down add the shiitake mushrooms. Combine the chicken stock, soy sauce and sesame oil and cornstarch in a small bowl and mix. Add the mixture to the mushrooms and cook until the sauce thickens up like a thick glaze.

Cut the block of tofu lengthwise and then into triangles so you should end up with 8 triangle pieces. Grill the tofu pieces on a really hot well oiled indoor grill for about 5 minutes on each side. When done brush on a coating of soy or teriyaki sauce.

In a rice cooker, add 1 cup basmati rice, 2 cups water and some salt.

To plate, add some rice to a plate or shallow bowl and toss on some green onions. Top the rice with a 2 pieces of tofu and then with the shitaki mushroom ragu. Finish the dish by sprinkling on more green onions, some minced red bell pepper and drizzel some teriyaki sauce over the plate.

Buffalo Chicken Ranch Salad

Well, I have to say I love Franks red hot wings sauce because it's so yummy. The ranch dressing and blue cheese do a great job balancing out the heat, but I don't really think it's all that hot though. The key to this dish is to grill the chicken over a really hot fire and get the crispy burnt edges on the chicken thighs.
 

Ingredients:

Roman lettuce

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Franks red hot wings sauce

Boathouse Farms classic ranch yogurt dressing
Crumbled blue cheese

Preparation:

 Marinate the chicken thighs in plenty of Franks Red Hot Wings sauce for

couple of hours or more. Grill the chicken over very hot grill to char the

chicken on both sides. When cooked, let the chicken rest a few minutes then slice into bite size pieces.

Put the cut, cleaned and dried roman lettuce into a large salad bowl and toss lightly with Boathouse Farms classic ranch yogurt dressing. Place a serving size amount onto a large plate and top with the sliced chicken and top with blue cheese. Lastly, drizzle a little more non fat ranch dressing on top of the salad.

Poached Chicken on Rice with Adobo Sour Cream Sauce

I wanted to make a dish using chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but the peppers were so hot that all I could use was just a tablespoon of the adobo sauce, which I combined with the chicken juices and a little sour cream. This isn't what I was intending to make, but this is so good that if you like Mexican then you've got to try this....

Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Adobo sauce
White rice
Green onion
Cilantro

Preparation:

When I'm making a dish like this I prefer to poach the chicken. Take a 12" sauté pan and just a little olive oil. Place a lid on the sauté pan and cook the chicken on low for 15 minutes. When the chicken is done you'll have as much as a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of chicken juice in the pan. Remove the chicken and set a side covered loosely in aluminum foil.

To make the sauce, mix together 1/4 cup lite sour cream, 2 teaspoons flour, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce and add to the chicken juice. Bring up to a boil and the sauce should thicken up nicely. Check the seasoning and add salt and or pepper to taste.

Slice the chicken breasts and place on a bed of rice. Add the sauce and top with diced green onions and chopped cilantro.

Crunchy Grilled Chicken Tacos

This is my version of a simple crunchy grilled chicken taco. It consists of traditional Mexican ingredients that taste great together, such as green onion and cilantro, yumm! I'm not going to go into the preparation of the chicken, black beans or guacamole, but you can search my blog for the recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Grilled chicken breast
Black beans
shredded green leaf lettuce
Shredded cheese
Green onions
Cilantro
Guacamole
Hot sauce, Tapitio or other.
Trader Joes Stone Ground Taco Shells

Preparation:

Place the taco shell into to a taco holder. Add a tablespoon of black beans, some grilled chicken, a little shredded lettuce tot he taco shell. Next add green onion and cilantro and top with guacamole and hot sauce.