Recipe: Fettuccine with Smoked Salmon

My parents just came back from an amazing trip to Alaska. They enjoyed their one week cruise exploring this beautiful state. I've never been, but that is one place on my list of travels. My parents brought back two gifts for me--nail polish and canned smoked Alaskan Salmon. Guess they thought I could use a little bit of both! The company, Salmon etc., recommends many recipes that may be made from their selections of salmon. I made smoked salmon fettuccine. The salmon is so flavorful that not much else is needed with the pasta. I ate it with a side of steamed broccoli and squash.



Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Total time: 17 minutes

Ingredients:
*6 oz. can of silver lining smoked salmon
*3 T butter
*2 T green onions
*1/2 pint heavy cream
*Juice from half a lemon
*1/2 bunch parsley finely chopped
*Box of fettuccine

Preparation:
1. Cook half of fettuccine according to package directions.
2. Melt butter in skillet.
3. Add green onions and salmon.
4. Cook 2 minutes over low to medium heat.
5. Add the cream and lemon juice. I also added a splash of white wine.
6. Simmer until it thickens. About 8 or so minutes.
7. Pour over fettuccine
8. Serve and Enjoy

Recipe: Roasted pepper stuffed with spiced couscous

The other day, I was at the gym doing my regular workout of weight training and cardio. Usually, between exercises I rest for a minute or two to catch my breathe. During my break, I read the advertisements for health that are posted on the walls. The ads usually cover a myriad of topics including exercises, eating tips, stress relieving ideas, and ways to lead a happier life. A recipe for stuffed peppers caught my eye. So, I logged the recipe in the back of my mind to try at a future date.

The spiced couscous recipe comes from a cookbook entitled Food Made Fast: Vegetarian. I actually bought this book for 5 bucks at Ross!! They had tons of cookbooks by the way. The recipe from the book uses squash instead of peppers. I added a few changes, but the results were delicious. The recipe is simple, healthy, and has wonderful flavors from the cinnamon and ginger. The raisins, apples, and almonds add great texture as well as flavor.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes (or less)

Ingredients:
*2 -4 different colored peppers (I used red and yellow)
*1 T Olive oil
*1 cup vegetable broth (I used chicken broth because that was what I had on hand. If you use vegetable broth, this would truly be a vegetarian meal)
* 3/4 cup couscous
*1/2 t ground cinnamon
*1/4 t ground ginger
*3 T toasted sliced almonds
*2 T dried raisins
*2 green onions finely chopped (white and green parts)
*1/2 golden delicious apple cored and chopped
* 1/2 t Salt
* pepper (to taste)

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350degrees.
2. Cut peppers in half and remove the flesh from the inside. Place on a baking pan, cut side down. Brush with olive oil.
3. Cook the peppers in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes or until tender.
4. Meanwhile, boil the vegetable broth in a small pot. Stir in the couscous, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper. (Hint: The couscous absorbs the broth quickly. So, either stir in the seasonings first and then the couscous or have all of your seasonings pre-measured in a small bowl so that you can dump them in right away).
5. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes (or until all liquid is absorbed).
6. While the couscous sits, toast the almonds in a small saucepan on medium high heat. Stir constantly so that the almonds do not burn. Cook until fragrant.
6. When couscous is ready, stir in the almonds, raisins, onions, and apple into the couscous.
7. Stuff the peppers with couscous. Stick in the oven for an additional 2 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy.

This recipe is so easy and extremely healthy!

Bison Burgers with Parmesan Potatoes

This afternoon I sat down in front of the television to relax. I'm on summer vacation and only have about 4 more days of freedom. So, I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Rachel Ray was on. I love catching her show just to see what she's preparing. It just so happened she was preparing a recipe of burgers and fries. I had the perfect idea for dinner this evening. I already had the ground meat and the mushrooms. Luckily, I live within walking distance of the grocery store. So, within a 15minute trip, I had the other ingredients, too.

For my recipe I used ground bison from the local farmer's market instead of her recommendation of veal and sirloin. Bison meat is very lean, healthy, and flavorful. I wish we had Farmer's markets each day of the week here--I would probably spend all of my money there. If you have a FM nearby, it is worth the trip (and money) to try meat from animals that have not been pumped with hormones and are fed from the grasses of the land. Also, instead of using the Marsala wine, I used leftover Pinot Noir from the night before--yum!

Here is the original recipe from the Rachel Ray website. The parmesan potato recipe is at the bottom of the burger recipe.

Bon Apetit.

Recipe: Vegetable Tart ( with Gruyere )

This recipe is so simple. It's totally amazing that with the small preparation time that it tastes so delicious. The original recipe comes from Martha Stewart's book, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast and is supposed to be an asparagus tart. I went out on a limb here and decided to do a little experimenting. Instead of asparagus I added yellow squash, mushrooms, and red and green peppers. The gruyere cheese is outstanding. You should experiment with the different types of veggies that you include as a topping as well as different cheeses. Unfortunately, on this particular one I didn't add as many veggies as I should have. Next time, I'm going to pile them on.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes (sounds long, but it is totally easy)

Ingredients:
*2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (imported from Switzerland and kinda expensive)
*1 sheet puff pastry ( from frozen dessert aisle and thawed according to package)
*1/2 bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch strips
*1/2 red pepper cut into 1/4 inch strips
*handful of sliced mushrooms (I used the baby bella)
*1 yellow squash thinly sliced
*olive oil
*black pepper

Preparations:
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees (make sure you have thawed the puff pastry according to package)
2.) Roll the pastry to 16 x 10 inch rectangle (or whatever you can manage, it also helps to roll it out with flour) and trim the uneven edges.
3.) Place pastry puff on baking sheet. Score dough 1 inch from edge to make a rectangle. Then poke the inside with a fork at 1/2 inch intervals (if you don't do this, the dough will rise to much and you'll have a burnt pastry)
4.) Bake until golden (about 12 minutes..It also helps to undercook it a little bit because you will cook it a second time)
5.) Remove from oven and sprinkle the grated gruyere cheese on top.
6.) Arrange as much of the vegetables over the cheese. The more the better!
7.) Brush the tops of the vegetables with olive oil and season with black pepper.
8.) Bake until the veggies are tender (about 15 - 20 minutes). The veggies are done when you can pierce them with a fork.
9.) Enjoy with a side salad and a nice glass of wine.

Recipe: Mom's Fantastic Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken, especially my mom's fantastic chicken! But, it is rare that I eat anything fried. I've been on a mission to eat healthy and fried food items don't fit in that category. However, I do make exceptions for my mom's chicken. It's one of my favorite foods that she prepares. And, I rarely eat it because I live on the west coast and my parents live on the east coast. When I come home to visit (which is once or twice a year), she always prepares fried chicken for me. Yum! This is the recipe she uses. It is quite simple--take some chicken, season it, add flour, and throw it in the oil. You can eat it for dinner, lunch, or as a dish for a picnic. (Oh, my mom wanted me to add that she rarely fries chicken these days--she bakes them instead.)

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
*12 chicken wings cut in half
*black pepper
*salt
*garlic salt
*Vegetable oil (or your choice of oil)
*1.5 - 2 cups of flour
*1 gallon size Ziploc storage bag
*Optional: Favorite Hot Sauce such as Frank's or Pete's Red Hot

Preparation:
1.) Wash and pat dry the chicken wings.
2.) Cut each wing in half and place on wax paper.
3.) Sprinkle with black pepper, salt, and garlic salt. Mom says,"use more garlic salt than salt. You want a more garlicy taste rather than a salty taste."
4.) Flip the wings over and repeat step 3.
5.) In a large cooking pan, add oil to fill pan 1/4 - 1/2 inch (enough to fry the chicken but not submerge). Turn the heat to high until oil is "good and hot".
6.) In a gallon size Ziploc bag, add 1.5 cups (or more) of flour.
7.) Add a few pieces of chicken to the bag, close, and toss to coat the chicken.
8.) Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium because "You don't want the chicken cooking fast."
9.) Add the chicken to the oil, cook 20 minutes one the first side, flip over and cook an additional 10 minutes (or cook until golden brown on each side).

Mom says, "The chicken is done when you can put a fork through them."

10.) Put a paper towel on a plate, add the chicken. And, serve.
11.) Optional: Make hot wings by tossing the chicken in your favorite hot sauce!
12.) Enjoy!