roasted eggplant salad with creole mustard vinaigrette

This would be good with some fresh herbs, goat cheese or feta, roasted red peppers or other veggies, etc., etc. All I had on hand was eggplant, so eggplant it was!

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/8 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for roasting
1 tablespoon creole mustard
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon horseradish

Directions:

1.Sprinkle eggplant with salt, let sit in a large bowl for 1 hour
2. In a mason jar, combine: garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, champagne vinegar, mustard, agave syrup and horseradish, shake well, set aside
3. Preheat oven to 400 F
4. Pat off sweated liquid with paper towel, lightly drizzle oil over eggplant and place on baking sheet
5. Bake eggplant until light brown and tender, about 30 minutes, stir occasionally
6. Mix with vinaigrette and season with pepper, serve

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

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4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 28,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 6 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

chicken tikka masala

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Garam masala
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes

Sauce:

1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Garam masala
1/2 teaspoons salt, to taste
1 1/4 cups tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine marinade ingredients, Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour
2. Preheat broiler, line a baking pan with foil, and skewer marinated chicken
3. Broil chicken until cooked through, about five minutes, remove chicken from skewers and set aside
4. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat
5. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute, add cumin, paprika, Garam masala, cilantro, and salt
6. Turn heat to low, stir in tomato sauce and cream, cook on a very low simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes
7. Add cooked chicken, cook for 10 minutes, season with salt if necessary
8. Garnish with fresh cilantro, serve over basmati rice

quinoa with corn, tomatoes, avocado, and lime

Adapted from http://www.seriouseats.com

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion, from one small onion
1 cup pre-washed quinoa
1 2/3 cups vegetable broth
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1 large handful cilantro, chopped
Juice of two limes
2 small avocados, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat, add onions and cook until soft
2. Add quinoa to onions and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes
3. Add vegetable broth to the quinoa mixture, turn heat to high and bring to a boil, cover pan, reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed
4. Transfer cooked quinoa to mixing bowl and chill in refrigerator
5. When quinoa has cooled, add remaining olive oil, tomatoes, corn, green onions, cilantro, and lime juice
6. Season with salt and pepper
7. Lightly toss in avocados

carne asada

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds thin cut lean steak I used sirloin
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a zip top bag, marinate for at least 1 hour (4 hours has worked for me)
2. Remove steak from marinade, discard marinade
3. Heat grill on high, sear steak on both sides until caramelized, chop and serve on corn tortillas with chopped cilantro and onion

dream burger

Ingredients:

24 ounces fatty chuck steak, cut into 1-inch pieces (makes four 6 oz burgers)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 slices American cheese from deli
4 soft(not too large) white hamburger buns, lightly coated with softened buter and toasted to a light brown, in a nonstick skillet over medium heat

Sauce Ingredients (combine to make sauce):

1/2 cup mayonnaise (full fat)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup dill pickle, minced (Mt. Olive)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Place all of the parts to the grinder in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before grinding
2. Put meat pieces on a large plate and put in the freezer 10 minutes before grinding
3. Meanwhile,line a baking sheet with parchment and prepare your grinder
4. Grind meat onto parchment Using smallest grinding plate (if using kitchen aid like me)
5. Slide the meat into four even piles, avoid picking it up, gently(!) press meat into 4 inch wide, 1/2 inch thick patties (patties should have rough edges and be very loosely formed)
6. Season patties with plenty of salt and pepper, carefully flip with spatula and season the other side (push back together any eat that has fallen off), place in fridge until ready to cook
7. Open windows and doors, turn off smoke alarm and turn vent on high (if you don’t want to smoke up your house, I suggest doing this outside on a gas range
8. Heat vegetable oil In a cast iron pan over high heat until smoking
9. Using a spatula, transfer one patty to the pan and cook without moving the meat for 2 minutes
10. Flip patty and cook for one minute, top with cheese and cook for an additional minute (or longer if you want it past medium),repeat with the remaining burgers
11. Reserve burgers on a warm plate until you are ready to serve (this will prevent buns from being soggy)
12. Put sauce on burger buns, top with burger and eat!

low fat enchiladas

Ingredients:

Enchilada Filling:

8 low carb burrito sized tortillas
2 chicken breasts, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked and chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup non-fat sour cream
1/2 cup medium spicy salsa
1/2 cup shredded low-fat 4 Mexican cheese

Enchilada Sauce:

3/4 cup medium spicy salsa
1/4 cup non-fat sour cream
1/4 cup shredded low-fat 4 Mexican cheese

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a 9×13 inch-baking dish with non-stick spray
3. In a nonstick skillet, spray with non-stick spray, add onion and peppers, lightly season with salt and pepper, cook until onions are golden brown
4. In a large bowl, mix veggies with cup sour cream, chicken, and cheese and salsa
5. Spread 1/4 cup chicken mixture in the middle of each tortilla and roll into a small burrito. Place seam down into baking dish
6. In a small bowl, mix remaining salsa, sour cream, and cheese, spread over the top of the enchiladas
7. Place foil over dish and bake for 20 minutes