Gazpacho

It's been hotter than blazes here in North Carolina and I am loathe to turn on the stove.

In keeping with my newly gained resolve to lose these extra pounds, it seemed fitting to make a batch of this wonderful cold, healthy soup.

Gazpacho
Serves 5

2.5 C tomato juice (you can also use V8 juice for this)
1 C peeled, seeded, finely chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 C finely chopped celery
1/2 C finely chopped cucumber
1/2 C finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 C finely chopped scallions
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (not aluminum!). Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Each serving:

117 cals
2 g protein
13 g carb
6 g fat
690 mgs sodium
0 cholesterol
4 g fiber

Note: If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can substitute a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes. If you do this, eliminate the 1/2 tsp salt.

Enjoy!

Copyright What's Cooking Sunday, 2010

Chicken W / Mushrooms & Swiss Cheese

Wow... it's been a while since my last post. I've been so busy cooking up polymer clay jewelry, that I haven't paid attention to what I'm stuffing down my gullet. I saw myself in some recent photos and thought, "who's that fat girl in the picture?". Imagine my shock and distress as I figured out it was ME! Definitely time to pay attention and get back on the South Beach Diet.

I dusted off the notebook which holds all the recipes I've collected and created for this diet plan. First up: Chicken Breasts With Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese. Yummy: succulent white chicken meat smothered with portabello mushrooms, onions, and a light piece of Swiss. The drizzle of vinegar lowers the glycemic index rating for the dish, and the olive oil adds flavor and gives one the illusion of feeling full. A real winner:

Chicken Breasts With Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese
Serves 4
preheat oven 350 degrees

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 T olive oil
1 T Cajun-style seasoning
1 8-oz package sliced mushrooms (I chopped up some portabello caps)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 T red wine vinegar
1 C chopped green onion
4 slices low-fat Swiss cheese

In a 9 x 13 inch pan, combine oil and garlic. Add chicken breasts, and turn to coat with oil. Sprinkle with the vinegar and Cajun seasoning. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Remove pan from oven, and cover the chicken with the green onions and mushrooms. Add a few more sprinkles of oil and vinegar and return dish to the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and immediately place one slice of the Swiss cheese on top of each breast. Allow cheese to melt, and serve immediately.

~
**Note: I didn't have green onions on hand, so I sliced up a white onion and sauteed it until slightly caramelized. It was delicious.

***Also, in the above photo, the red juices are from the roasted beets I served on the side, NOT poorly cooked chicken.

I hope you'll try this and let me know how you liked it.

Copyright What's Cooking Sunday, 2010

Green Bean and Fennel Salad

We had a pretty delicious Christmas dinner last night: baked ham, sweet potatoes, and this delicate and crunchy green bean salad. With it's fresh ingredients and simple citrus dressing, this would be perfect for an outdoor summer lunch dish.

Green Bean and Fennel Salad
Serves 8-10

1/2 lb fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
2 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (one large)
3/4 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 tablespoon light olive oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoon minced fennel leaves

Wash the beans. Trim the ends, remove the strings and cut the beans in half. Place the beans in a vegetable steamer and place over boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes or until tender-crisp. Drain beans and plunge into cold water. Drain again.

Combine beans, fennel bulb, and bell pepper in a bowl; toss gently and set aside. Combine lemon juice and next 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir well. Pour over vegetables; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with fennel leaves. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tip: extra virgin olive oil is too heavy a flavor for this dish. When you julienne the red pepper try to keep them about the same size as the green beans. Use fresh lemon juice only! You may want to add a bit of grated lemon rind to taste.

copyright 2009 What's Cooking?

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Marble Man and I found ourselves way ahead of the curve this year:

lists have been checked, and double-checked
gifts are wrapped and mailed
the tree is up

Lots of time left over for baking cookies. Marble Man has so many favorites, that I asked him to narrow his choices to two types.

His pick for this year:

Vera's Checkerboard Cookies

Chocolate Crinkles

Chocolate Crinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
makes 52 cookies

2 C plus 2 T all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C butter, room temperature
1+3/4 C granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 squares unsweetened baker's chocolate (1 ounce per square), melted
1/2 C confectioners' sugar

Mix flour baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer until fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time until mixture is pale yellow, then vanilla and chocolate until blended.

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just to blend. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.

Lightly grease cookie sheets. Shape heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into 1.25 inch balls and roll in confectioners' sugar. Place on cookie sheets 1.5 inches apart.

Bake about 12 minutes until tops are puffed and cracked. DON'T overbake! Cookies are quite soft when hot but firm and chewy when cool. Remove to rack to cool.

Per cookie:
80 calories
1 gram protein
12 grams carbs
3 grams fat
20 mgs cholesterol

Enjoy! (Just don't worry about that last part there. ;)

And while you toss some treats together for your family, here's a little Holiday fun to keep you company: Tennessee Ernie Ford singing for a group of children.



His son (sitting next to him) is so into the song that he has to really work to keep from cracking up.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

copyright 2009 Shibori Girl

Bratwurst and Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

This winter, Marble Man and I signed up for a fresh-meat-and-eggs co-op through Fickle Creek Farm, one of the vendors at our local Farmers Market. The meats have been incredibly delicious, and the eggs colorful - brown, blue, green... and also delicious. Every two weeks, we head to the market to pick up our assortment of sausages, roasts, chops, and chickens. This week's sausages were bratwursts, and I think they were the best I've ever had.

I cooked them in beer with lots of onions, and a side dish of sweet and sour red cabbage. *Slurp* So good!

Bratwurst
serves 6

6 large bratwurst
water
1 C sliced onions
1 C beer

Prick each sausage before adding to a large skillet. Pour in enough water to cover the sausages with 1/2 an inch of water. Partially cover the pan and simmer until the water has evaporated. Be sure not to let the water boil - this will cause the bratwursts to burst. Uncover and cook the sausages in the small amount of fat remaining in the pan to brown. Add onions and saute until translucent. Pour in the 1 C of beer and simmer another 5 minutes. Serve with spicy mustard on the side.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
Serves 6

1 head red cabbage, shredded
2 Granny Smith apples, cut in small wedges
4 slices bacon, diced and fried
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar plus same amount sweet pickle juice
Salt and pepper

Fry bacon. Leave fat and bacon in skillet and add remaining ingredients. Cover tightly and get it hot, then turn down heat and cook slowly until tender. May be fixed ahead of time and reheated. This would make a wonderful Christmas Eve dish.

Enjoy!

And I want to thank everyone who weighed in on my new image signatures. I will see what I can do to make them less intrusive.

copyright 2009 Shibori Girl

Bourbon Glazed Pork and Easy Corn Casserole

For this week's post, I've got a twofer. Both recipes are easy, and the pork's savory flavor complements the slightly sweet aspect of the corn casserole. The corn casserole can be made a day ahead to make things even easier.

Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Serves 6
Preheat oven 425 degrees

1/4 cup Kentucky Bourbon (plus a little for the cook. ;) )
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
dash hot sauce
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

In blender or food processor, combine bourbon, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, mustard, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and oil. Pulse until smooth. Remove tenderloins from wrapper and tie together into a roast. Place tenderloin and marinade in a ziploc bag and refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Place tenderloin on a rack in baking pan and roast for 25-35 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

If you want to grill the meat: cook 4 inches from a hot charcoal fire for 15 to 25 minutes or until the pork has reached 165° internally and is no longer pink in the center. Baste occasionally while cooking.

Slice in 1/2-inch thick slices to serve.

~

Easy Corn Casserole
Serves 8
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1/4 C egg substitute
1/4 C canola oil
1 small (8-3/4 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 small (8-3/4 oz) can creamed corn
1 8-1/2 oz package corn muffin mix
1 C plain non-fat yogurt

Combine all ingredients and stir well to combine. Pour into an 8" square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes until set.

Enjoy!

copyright 2009 What's Cooking?

Pear Cobbler

Now that our kitchen is nearly half painted, I've been able to breathe a little and get down to some cool-weather cooking. As a treat for us, I made an old favorite this week. The pears at the market were rock hard when I brought them home, but a day and a half in a bag with a banana did the trick!

Pear Cobbler
Serves 6
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Filling
6 ripe pears: peeled, cored, and sliced
3 T brown sugar, packed
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Crust
1/3 C flour
3 T chopped walnuts
1-1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 C milk
vegetable oil

Combine filling ingredients in a bowl, stirring to coat the pears with the seasonings. Transfer to a casserole dish.

In small bowl, combine the first 4 crust ingredients. Stir in milk and enough oil to moisten. Drop by teaspoonfuls on top of pears. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until browned.

Each serving: 200 calories

copyright 2009 What's Cooking?