Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata

For many, the thought of Agaricus Bisporus in one's kitchen is a dreadful one. I shared that view just a few months ago but, this morning, I made a rather tasty frittata with them as a star ingredient.  This will take a bit longer than just whipping up bacon and eggs but, adding some vegetables from the fridge will give you something that is way better.

Here is what you will need on your cutting board (makes four, 3 Weight Watchers points plus servings), plan on 15 minutes to prep and cook this.

• 3 Large Eggs
• 1-1/2 cups Egg Whites
• 1/2 Pound Uncooked Asparagus
• 1/2 Pound Agaricus Bisporus (white button mushrooms)
• 1 Lemon
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Dill
• 1/2 Tablespoon Salt, to Taste
• 1/4 Tablespoon Pepper, to Taste
• Flavorgod 'Everything' Seasoning 

1. PREP WORK: Cut the asparagus into bite sized pieces. Remove the stems from the mushrooms, thinly slice the heads and small dice the mushroom stems. Using a zester, zest the lemon, avoiding the white pith if possible and juice the lemon. Roughly chop the dill into small pieces. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg whites, dill, salt, and pepper until frothy. Set aside.

2. COOK THE VEGGIES: Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and mushrooms and saute, tossing frequently. Season with 'Everything' seasoning and cook about two minutes. Remove the veggies to another bowl and toss with the lemon zest and juice.

3. COOK THE EGGS: Re-coat the skillet used to saute the veggies with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the egg mixture and reduce the heat to medium. If needed, tilt the pan to coat the entire surface evenly with egg and cook for approximately two minutes. Add the veggies to the top of the eggs and cook until the eggs are set, about two or three more minutes (you can either keep tilting the pan to move the uncooked eggs to the sides of the pan or, if using an oven safe pan, you can finish under the broiler).

Once plated, I garnished with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and served with a couple slices of turkey bacon (bringing our total Points Plus value to 7 points). Though I used asparagus and mushrooms, the beauty of this dish is that it will pair with just about any veggie you need to use up in the fridge - so your selections are all up to your own tastes and what you have stocked.

Eat Well My Friends...

  

Marinated Chicken Breast with Garlic Basil Parmesan Couscous and Peas (+ bonus tip)

It all started because I found an unopened bottle of salad dressing that was going to expire in the next couple of weeks.  That pesky bottle of red wine balsamic dressing became the genesis of a marinade that resulted in one of the most succulent pieces of poultry I have ever enjoyed.

Just place your boneless, skinless chicken breast in a large Ziploc bag and pour the entire bottle of dressing into the bag.  Seal and place in the fridge for about six hours. When you go to grill it, you will find that the chicken has absorbed about 3/4 of the liquid in the bag.  Grill as you normally would - be sure to cook to 165 degrees.

Couscous is simple and a completely different texture from rice (I like it better).  Just bring 1-1/4 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 2 Dorot cubes of basil, 2 Dorot cubes of garlic, and the packet of spices to a boil. Once boiling, slowly stir in the couscous, cover and remove from the heat.  Allow to sit five minutes - fluffing with a fork before serving.  Peas are steam simple - I won't insult your intelligence by pretending I did anything special to these.

I promised you a bonus tip and I don't want to disappoint.  To keep your leafy greens and sliced veggies fresher, longer - place into a Ziploc bag with folded paper towel. You can also place into a bowl with a paper towel caught between the lip of the bowl and lid. Store in the fridge upside down for up to five days.  Be sure to replace the paper towel anytime you take product from the container.

Lemon Pepper Tilapia with Brown Rice Asparagus

Lemon Butter Sauce with Garlic and Basil

Since I started the workday at 6:30 am and was on back-to-back calls through 11:30,  I decided to work from home. The bonus of this opportunity was that I decided to grill some turkey burgers for lunch. While flipping the patties, I noticed that some of our lemons were ripe for the picking and was inspired to make lemon pepper tilapia for dinner.

Start by preheating you oven to 375 degrees. Place the tilapia fillets on an oiled baking sheet - I used a foil wrapped ceramic flat (the foil is my fail-over to make the clean-up easy) pan. Slice a lemon into thin strips and place on top of the lightly salted fish.  Take a 1/4 stick of butter and gently melt in a small saute pan. Add pepper, the juice of one lemon (two if you want it really tart), two cloves of finely diced garlic (for which I used two Dorot garlic cubes) and some finely diced basil (also two Dorot cubes in my world). Gently stir over medium-low heat until all the components are mixed together.  Once completed pour over the fish and place it into the oven for 12 minutes.

Easy Prep for a Tasty Meal

I tried something different with the asparagus tonight. I had a some leftover turkey bacon that I decided I wanted to use up so that got diced and thrown into the stir fry pan. Add a 1/4 stick of butter (at least I am consistent on the butter tonight), two cloves of diced garlic (again, in my world that is two Dorot cubes) and asparagus tips. Saute covered for ten minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally until done.  To further jack things up, I added a package of fresh & easy microwave brown rice (don't judge, seriously, three minutes in the microzap - it is kind of hard to screw up rice) to the wok and mix it all up.

Plate the rice and pull the fish from the oven.  Remove lemon slices and pour the baking pan drippings over the top of the fish. In a little less than fifteen minutes you will be enjoying a great dinner. 

Lemon Pepper Tilapia with Brown Rice Asparagus

Balsamic Glazed Salmon with Basil Brown Rice and Asparagus

Simple "Cheats" to Simplify Dinner 

I am working from the North Phoenix office for at least the next week. On a good day, this is a minimum of a 45 minute drive from my home - since I didn't leave until about 5:30 tonight it equaled an hour plus on the wonderful traffic gorged freeways that are the arteries of the Phoenix area. Every fiber of my being wanted me to consider a drive thru experience for sustenance but, I knew what I had waiting for me at home and I was looking forward to cooking. 

Don't Forget to Add the Seasoning

Maybe it is the result of watching Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, maybe it the fact that I haven't really enjoyed a decent piece of Salmon since leaving Alaska in May, likely it is the fact that I found Salmon fillets on sale at fresh & easy over the weekend but, I was bound and determined to have fish tonight.  I get that fish can be scary for some to cook - let's face it, cook it wrong and it just goes wrong on so many levels. Follow these simple steps and you can produce a fresh dinner in roughly 15 minutes...

Boil in Bag Brown Rice - Genius

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees - move rack to center position
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil in large skillet to medium high heat
3. Place boil in bag brown rice (yes, fresh & easy sells it and it is the perfect portion size) into 1 quart of water - add 4 Dorot Basil cubes - bring to boil and let cook for 10 minutes. The basil cubes will break apart in the boiling water and "infuse" the rice - I thought it added a nice layer to offset the earthy taste of 
4. Place Salmon fillets in oil - cook for 2 minutes on each side. Lightly season each side with salt and pepper. Oh, not that I would know from personal experience, but this would be a good time to find your spatter shield...
5. Place a layer of parchment paper on your cooking stone - trust me, you do not want to skip this step. If you do not have a stone - get one!  Seriously, spend the money and get one to at least cook your pizzas (future post) - you will notice a difference in the end result (aka - your food will be more evenly cooked).
6. Remove Salmon to the stone - drizzle with balsamic glaze (you could reduce some balsamic to a glaze or you can buy a bottle from fresh & easy - I opted to buy the bottle, you pick your own path here) - place in oven for 4 minutes on each side.
7. Place your fresh asparagus into the oil recently vacated by the Salmon (hope you still have that spatter shield handy) - reduce the heat to medium - and add 4 Dorot garlic cubes. Sautee for three to four minutes - turning frequently to prevent charring.
8. Remove rice from water, drain and plate - do not be alarmed that much of the basil will remain behind in the water, it has done the job it needed to and the rice is flavored.
9. Plate the asparagus on top of the rice - use tongs to plate - you do not want to get oil from the pan on the plate.
10. Remove Salmon from the oven, plate and enjoy...

No, I Do Not Want to Fix Dinner Tonight...

To say that today was a crappy day would be a bit of a misstatement. It wasn't really that crappy maybe it was just my reaction to it. Better put, today was a "challenging" day - in the end I will be better for it but, in this moment I feel just beat up. It was late (read as 8pm) by the time I could pack it in from my offsite meeting and call Rose to let her know I was finally headed home.  One of her first questions, "do you feel like cooking?" could have, understandably, been answered in the negative.  I surprised myself when I answered with, "yes, I'll cook." I've been on a kick to actually do menu planning for the week. As such, I had pre-planned to grill and the downpour was not going to keep me away.

In the interests of disclosure, Rose helped tonight and preheated the grill and made the potatoes.  We had a couple of large red potatoes that we needed to use up so she sliced them up and tossed into a pot of boiling water. I walked through the door and tossed the mild chicken Italian sausages on the grill and the steamed veggies were another microwave cheat from fresh & easy (green veggie mix with herb butter - three minutes in the box).  You could steam some veggies but, I wasn't in the mood for that stuff so a "cheat" it is (though is it really a cheat if you can pronounce all the ingredients?).

Boys and girls, here's a lesson from your buddy Tim - chicken sausage doesn't cook the same on the grill.  Lower your flame to low-medium and be sure to turn often.  You cannot do the whole "set and forget" like you would with a beef or pork sausage - the fat content is too low and this will just char up into rubberized charcoal.

Plate it all up and you are good to go - bonus points awarded for ending a negative day on a positive note. Besides, a few more beers and it may just not matter, right?

Garlic Basil Chicken with Mediterranean Veggies and Parmesan Potatoes

For tonight think, Chicken Kabobs - minus the skewers. The thing that is going to take the longest time is the potatoes. 

Fire Up the Oven...

Tonight, we used large red potatoes. Slice into 1/8" thick slices. lightly coat with EVOO, sprinkle with salt, and shredded Parmesan cheese. Place into a preheated 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Tim's tip - put down a layer of parchment paper - don't rely on a coating of EVOO on the baking sheet.

The veggies are a fresh & easy cheat - the Mediterranean veggies. The instruction suggest that you grill these but, I was trying to avoid the zillion degree heat so I didn't venture outside to turn on the grill. I stuck them in the 425 degree oven, with the potatoes, for about 10 minutes. They've already seasoned them so, this is a pretty low level involvement dish.

Cooking the Chicken

The chicken was bit of another cheat, I used the shredded chicken breast. You could use a unshredded one but, that would involve some level of cooking on the grill (which I wanted to avoid). I heated some EVOO in a skillet, added two Dorat cubes of garlic and basil. Once you add the chicken and sprinkle poultry seasoning over the chicken breast pieces. Cook until done (165 degrees)...

As alluded to at the start, the end result is something like chicken kabobs (minus the skewer). Bottom line is that this is another 15 minute meal that contains ingredients that you can actually pronounce. Sure you will sweat a bit over a hot stove, but you will enjoy a fresh dinner at the end - and isn't that worth a bit of effort?

The Finished Product...

Breaded Tilapia with Green Veggies and Seasoned Polenta

I've written about Tilapia before - and I will say it again, this is a blank canvas of a fish. If you are one of those that doesn't like fish, then I would suggest that you take a piece of tilapia and prepare it the same way you like your chicken - you might be surprised with the results.

We are still pan frying (3 minutes on each side in EVOO) so let's focus on the breading.  I like to use plain packaged bread crumbs. Pour into a small shallow pan (just enough to cover the bottom). Since bread crumbs are pretty tasteless - I strongly recommend that you add seasoning. At the very least salt and pepper but, you can use just about anything. I mixed in a dash of salt, a bit red pepper, and garlic (not too much) to the bread crumbs. Lightly coat the fish fillets in oil and dredge through your seasoned bread crumbs.

Polenta is a relatively discovery for me and, I feel, another blank canvas. I am sure that there are about a million ways to fix this but, I simply slice it up from the tube it comes in and place into a medium hot pan of oil. Season with pepper and cook until slightly golden brown.  I might try grilling it next time.

Veggies are the simple fresh & easy cheat - simply zap in the microwave for 3 minutes. They package it with a herb butter mix so I only wind up adding a pinch of salt after I plate it.

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

From fridge to plate in 15 minutes...

Maybe like me, the hardest night to cook at home is Monday night. Let's face it, the last thing most of us really want to do after slogging through a, "case of the Mondays (there is your Office Space reference for the evening) is cook dinner. Dinner does not need to be complicated and cooking dinner should not have to take forever. 

Tonight's dinner was fresh and sure, it involved a couple of "cheats" - courtesy of fresh & easy (if you have one near you, I suggest checking them out).  Here's what you will need...

Grilled Seasoned Chicken with Mixed Veggies and Brown Rice

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Poultry seasoning
• Mixed veggies (the cheat, I used one of the "ready to cook" vegetable sides) 
• Brown rice (the cheat, a package of zap in the bag brown rice)

Preheat grill - since I use propane, I do not count the time it takes to do this as part of the 15 minutes it takes to fix this dinner (seriously, it took me longer to type this sentence than it did to turn on the gas and press the ignite button). While your choice of fire is coming up to temperature, lightly coat the chicken with EVOO. Then sprinkle the poultry seasoning on each side.  Place chicken on grill, turning frequently until cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. By the way, if you do not have a digital thermometer, why not.  Go and get one you cheap...

Since I shop at fresh & easy, I opted to use a couple of their store brand "cheats" to create the sides. For my friends outside of their market service areas, I am sure that you can find something similar in a store near you. Just stay away from the frozen section - stick with stuff that you can find in the produce section and that has ingredients listed on the label that you can actually pronounce.  If you want to avoid the "cheats" then factor in time to slice and steam the veggies and cook the brown rice.

I am not going to get into the whole brown versus white rice debate, what I will say is that, once you get used to the mild, nutty flavor, I think you will pick it over white rice just about any day. Other than the taste, the only difference is that the husk of the rice is the only thing that is removed during the milling, With the bran intact, brown rice retains more fiber, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and zinc than white rice. If you need more vitamin E in your diet then you should note that brown rice is the only grain that contains this antioxidant.

There it is, a fifteen minute, fresh, Monday night dinner...

Adobo Seasoned Chicken Breast with Tender Stem Broccoli

Not Your Local KFC

Ok, it has been a while since I posted - been a bit busy lately.  Tonight was the perfect night to change that.

What I wanted was a three piece white meet KFC chicken dinner with all the comfort food sides that come along with it (crappy mac & cheese, what is supposed to pass for biscuits, and overly processed slaw).  Instead, I stuck to my "no drive-thru crap food" pledge and drove past KFC to home.

Chicken is a blank canvas. Tonight I made up a quick little dry rub of adobo seasoning and sweet paprika. Place it on a grill and cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, turning so as not to overly char the flesh.

I have fallen in love with sauteing veggies in brown garlic butter. Tonight star in the pan was tender stem broccoli. I will confess to cheating - I used two Dorot garlic cubes - throw  them in so they dissolve down while the butter melts. Put your veggies in right after turning the chicken the first time.

15 minutes - fridge to plate and way better for you than three piece faux food...

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Couscous Cheese Stuffed Peppers

The great thing about Tilapia is that it is a blank canvas for food...blackening, seasoning, crusting. This tilapia was super easy - fresh fish, pre-packed filets. Simply pan fry in three tablespoons of oil (of course I used EVOO), three minutes on each side. Remember to have the oil hot, otherwise the crusting will stick to the pan and pull off the filet when you flip it.

The peppers were also super easy. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the tops, remove the ribbing and seeds...you might want to trim a bit off the bottom to help them stand upright. For the couscous, bring 1-1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon of butter, some basil (3 dorot cubes), and some garlic (another 3 dorot cubes) to a boil. Stir in one cup of couscous, remove from heat, cover and let sit for five minutes. Now pull out a baking pan add water to cover the bottom 1/2 inch. Spoon the couscous into the peppers, sprinkle shredded cheese on the top, and place upright in the pan. The pan now goes on the center rack of the preheated oven for 10 minutes.

In total, just 15 minutes from cutting board to plate. Enioy...

Lemon Pepper Herb Salmon with Basil Garlic Couscous and Veggies

Fun Cubes of Flavor

Cooking Time:  15 minutes
Clean-Up:  Pot, skillet, and tongs

Call this a "proof-of-concept" meal. Fresh salmon, baby carrots, green beans, and couscous. From fridge to plate in under 15 minutes.  I even used a new "cheat" - which I happened to fall completely in love with.

The Original Minute Rice

I didn't feel like adding the nutty, earthy taste of brown rice to this dish and that is where the couscous comes in.  Couscous is a different mouth feel than rice but, more importantly, it is a completely blank canvas and will be done quicker than brown rice. Earlier in the day I found the chopped basil and crushed garlic in the freezer section of my local fresh & easy market. Toss one of each into the boiling water and butter and it will do wonders for adding flavor to the semolina of the couscous. Once you've added the flavor and let it steep for another minute, stir in the couscous, remove from heat, cover and let sit for five minutes.

Don't Worry - The Black is Normal

Skinless salmon fillets are an easy cook. Crust salmon with herbs of your own choosing and sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning. Gently place in a skillet of medium hot oil and cook two minutes per side. Then place in a 375 degree oven and cook three minutes more per side (it really pays to have a high quality skillet that can go from stove top to oven in a single swoop. If your seasoning forms a black crust then your oil was too hot when you started (yes - mine was). Don't panic if this happens - you will just wind up with a cajun style dish - which didn't bug me too much.

The end result is yummy, healthy, freshness that will never be found in any location that has you using internal combustion to wait in line for faux food. Bon appetit!

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Yup - two containers...that's it.

Cooking Time: 12 minutes
Clean Up: Skillet, tongs, plate
Tim's Additions: Soy Sauce

So you are going to find that I buy a lot of my stuff from fresh and easy markets and tonight's dinner was no exception.

Doesn't look like much now but, smelled great!

Stir fry meat in organic olive oil (the directions just say oil - organic EVOO is all I have in my place). Added a splash of soy sauce to it at about the 4 minute mark (splatter shield would have prevented the mess that I wound up with). Once the meat was cooked simply toss in the veggies - which I would have liked to have had more of - and then stir fry for a few more minutes to soften them up.  One other tip would be to cut down the broccoli florets into smaller pieces (something I didn't do).

There is a sauce packet that you simply cut open and dump in the skillet the last couple of minutes. If I had been more self aware, I would have tried to figure out what exactly was in the packet but, I didn't. I can say, I didn't notice any 16 letter names that belong in a chemistry lab so, I figure we are good to go...the sauce did smell great though. The egg fried rice is a snap - 3 minutes in the microwave.  Once that is done, plate a bed of rice, scoop some of the stir fry mix from the skillet onto the bed of rice (oh, if egg fried rice isn't your thing, just use brown rice).

Enjoy knowing that you pulled this off in twelve minutes and only dirtied your skillet, tongs, and the plate you ate it out of...

Sweet, beefy broccoli yumminess!