{Dinner} Monday and Tuesday

I have made two really yummy dinners the past two nights.  Both of them are from the Trader Joe's Dinner's Done Cookbook.  It is available on Amazon.com and it is my favorite!  There are so many wonderful and easy recipes.  Since having my food allergies diagnosed it reduced the amount of recipes that I can make from the book...but there are still plenty I can make.  If you do not already have this book you should get it!  The chicken recipe is very flavorful.  I used boneless thighs and drumsticks to mix it up.  I had to cook the chicken in the pan a little longer than suggested as well.  The fish recipe below is SO good!  My favorite thing is that you can get any white fish you want, so if something is on sale you can get it...the relish you put over the top is what makes this dish delicious!

Chicken in White Wine Sauce

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

1 (8-oz) pkg crimini mushrooms, sliced or 1 (10-oz) pkg Sliced Crimini Mushrooms

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus extra for garnish

4 tbsp lemon juice or juice of 1 lemon

1 Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in skillet over high heat and brown chicken for 1 minute on each side.  Remove chicken breasts and set aside.

2 In the same pan, sauté mushrooms for 2 minutes.  Add chicken back to pan.  Add wine, broth, garlic, rosemary and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and allow alcohol to burn off for 2-3 minutes, stirring garlic into sauce.  Turn heat to low and cover pan with lid, allowing chicken to simmer for 8 minutes, or until cooked through.

3 Transfer chicken to plates.  To thicken sauce, reduce it by simmering with lid off for a few extra minutes or stir in 1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water.  Remove rosemary sprigs and pour sauce over chicken.  Garnish with fresh rosemary if desired.

Serves 4

Mediterranean Baked Fish

1 lb (4 fillets) white fish such as cod, sole or snapper, thawed if frozen.  (I used tilapia)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or chopped Roma tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives

1/2 small onion, chopped or 1/2 cup refrigerated Diced Onions

2 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup white wine (I accidentally used 1/2 cup and it was fine...there was plenty of juice to pour over cooked fish)

1/2 tsp salt

1 Pre heat oven to 375

2 Place fish in a single layer on an 8X10-inch baking dish

3 In a bowl, mix tomatoes, olives, onions, garlic and parsley.  Spoon mixture evenly over fish

4 Whisk oil, wine and salt.  Pour evenly over entire dish.  It won't seem like enough liquid, but more juices will be released during cooking

5 Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily

Serves 4

A few {new} recipes

Tempeh Tacos

This was just a little something I whipped up for Mondays dinner.  It didn't come out of a cookbook...just out of my head!  What I did was take tempeh (from Trader Joe's in the section where you find the meatless foods in the cold case).  It is already cooked but I chopped it up into chunks and sautéed it until a little brown.  Then I added some Trader Joe's taco seasoning, a little tomato sauce and some chicken stock to moisten things up a bit.  Then I put the tempeh on lettuce wedges and topped with onion, tomato, guacamole and my homemade salsa.  These were delicious!  Fresh and crisp...and very filling!  

Macadamia-Crusted Mahi Mahi with Quinoa

This recipe is to of the TJ's Dinner's Done cookbook.  I have to be honest I am not sure if I have ever had Mahi Mahi...and I know I have never cooked it...and this was a super easy recipe for my first time! It turned out awesome...and I will definitely be cooking this one again!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb mahi mahi, fresh or frozen (thaw if frozen)

Pinch each salt and black pepper

1 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely

1 egg

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped finely

1 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup refrigerated Fire Roasted Papaya and Mango Salsa

Extra parsley for garnish (optional)

1 Pat fish dry using paper towels.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on each fillet.  If using salted nuts, omit or adjust salt.  Rub parsley onto fillets.

2 Beat egg in a small bowl.  Place chopped nuts on a plate.  Dip each fillet into beaten egg then press both sides into nuts.

3 Place skillet over high heat and add oil and butter.  When hot, add fish and lower heat to medium-high, cooking each fillet about 2 minutes on each side, until fish is opaque and flakes easily.  Take care not to overcook, as magi magi becomes tough and rubbery when overcooked.  If fillets are very thick, preheat oven to 375 degrees and finish cooking fillets in oven until they are flakey.  (If you cook the fish on the stovetop for longer than indicated, the nut coating may burn).

4 Top each fillet with 2 Tbsp salsa and extra parsley

Serves 4

Miso Noodle Soup

I made this for lunch yesterday and it was really good...I actually ate the leftovers for lunch again today and it was just as good!  I use brown rice spaghetti and it worked nicely.  I am not a fan of brown rice spaghetti because it just becomes a clumpy, sticky mess...but for this recipe it is great.  The soup keeps the noodles a great consistency.  This recipe also comes from the TJ's Dinner's Done Cookbook...if you haven't bought it yet...BUY IT!  

Here's the recipe:

8 oz (1/2 package) spaghetti, udon or soba noodles

2 packets Instant Miso Soup

2 cloves garlic, crushed or 2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic

1 cup shredded carrots

1 (3.5-oz) package fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced, or 1 (0.88-oz) bag Mixed Wild Mushroom medley, hydrated per instructions

1-2 green onions, sliced lengthwise into strips or chopped

1 boil noodles according to package instructions, omitting salt in the boiling water (the miso soup is already seasoned).  Drain, rinse and set aside.  (I took my pasta straight from the water to my bowl because I used brown rice pasta)

2 Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, empty contents of miso soup packets into 4 cups of water.  Add garlic and bring to a simmer.

3 Add carrots and mushrooms.  Simmer for a few minutes until mushrooms look tender and cooked.

4 Divide noodles between bowls, ladle soup over noodles, and top with green onions.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

What's for Dinner {Sunday}

Herbed Cirtus Shrimp with Quinoa and Goat Cheese (no cheese for me)

This might be my new favorite dish!  It is light, flavorful and pretty easy to make.  I hope you are enjoying all these recipes because I really enjoy sharing them with you!  Finding out that I had food allergies has turned out to be one of the best things that has happened to me.  I have been introduced to a whole new world!  At first I was pretty worried, to be honest, about what this new diet would be like.  I was focused on all the things that I couldn't have that I was missing out on everything that I CAN have.  I enjoy cooking and trying new things and am having a good time with it all!

This recipe is from the Cooking With Trader Joe's Cookbook- Dinner's Done

1 lemon

1 orange

1 lime

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp each chopped fresh mint and parsley, divided

1 lb large uncooked shrimp (peeled and tail off), thawed if frozen

1 cup quinoa

2 oz goat cheese, broken into small chunks or Crumbled Goat Cheese

2 Tbsp fresh basil, cut into ribbons

1 Zest orange, lemon and lime, and then juice each.  In a large bowl, whisk together citrus juices, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and 1 Tbsp each parsley and mint.  Reserve 2 Tbsp of this marinade for adding to finished dish.  Add shrimp to juice mixture and allow to marinate for 15 minutes.

2 Meanwhile, rinse quinoa and cook according to packaging instructions.

3 In a skillet over high heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil.  Using a slotted spoon, remove shrimp from marinade and place in pan.  Discard used marinade.  Cook 1 minute per side, until shrimp is opaque and firm.  Do not overcook shrimp.

4 Toss shrimp with cooked quinoa and add remaining fresh mint and parsley.  Drizzle with reserved marinade.  and goat cheese and toss to combine.  Garnish with basil ribbons and sprinkle with citrus zest mixture.

Serves 4

What's for Dinner {Tuesday}

Lentil Haystacks

This recipe is from the Cooking With Trader Joe's Cookbook Dinner's Done.  I cannot tell you how AWESOME this cookbook is!  Unfortunately there are quite a few recipes I can no longer make due to my food allergies...but it is still a favorite for me.  You can get the cookbooks on Amazon and there are several different ones to chose from.  Keep in mind the way these recipes are written are with Trader Joe's products, so they know how TJ's packages their products etc...you can by all means buy the ingredients elsewhere just make sure the amounts are the same.

My favorite thing about this dish is you get to dress it up just the way you want it.  And if everyone wants different toppings that's ok too...to each their own.  Tonight I topped ours with tomato, lettuce, avocado, chunk chicken, persian cucumbers, lemon juice and EVOO...yum!

Here's the recipe:

1 (17.6-oz) package refrigerated Steamed Lentils

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped, or 1 1/2 cups refrigerated Diced Onions

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1-2 cubes frozen Crushed Garlic

1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup marinara cause or tomato sauce (I use tomato sauce)

2 pouches frozen Organic Brown Rice, or 4 cups cooked brown rice

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Suggested toppings:

Feta Cheese

Avocado Chunks

Greek Olives

Chopped Lettuce

Persian cucumbers

Salsa

1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Saute' onion and garlic until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.  Prepare rice while onion is cooking.

2.  Add lentils, broth and marinara to skillet.  Cook until lentils are heated through and sauce is combined.

3.  Assemble haystacks by putting brown rice in bottom of each bowl.  Top with lentils and your choice of toppings.

4.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

ps.  I am still full from eating at 5:30...enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Scones {yum}

Chocolate Chip Scones

This in one of my favorite new recipes.  One of the things that I am missing in the evening is a little dessert or snack once the kids have gone to bed.  Gil and I use to eat popcorn while watching TV and drink hot coco or apple cider...all of these things are now out due to my food allergies or at least until I find a substitute.  These scones are from my Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook and they definitely hit the spot...I usually have one with some strawberries.

Here's the recipe:

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 large eggs

1 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.  in a medium bowl, whisk together grapeseed oil, agave nectar and eggs.  Stir wet ingredients into almond flour mixture until thoroughly combined, then fold in the chocolate.  Drop the batter, in scant 1/4 cups 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake 12 to 17 minutes, until golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.  Let the scones cool for 30 minutes on the baking sheets, then serve.

Here are my variations to this recipe...I have used chocolate chips and not chopped them up...I mean chocolate is chocolate, no matter how you chop it :)  I also put the batter in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes to an hour before I scoop it onto the baking sheet.  The first time I made these I thought I had chocolate chips (but Rosco had eaten them) so I put the batter in the fridge and went to the store to get some.  they baked really good and looked just like the ones in the above picture.  I made these last week and didn't put them in the refrigerator and they smoothed out and looked like big cookies...they tasted the same, but didn't have the look as my first batch.  This time I put the batter in the refrigerator and got the same look as the first batch.  Also I have gotten about 8 scones total, so I have only needed one baking sheet...maybe do one at a time so you don't waste the parchment paper.

Enjoy!

{Sides}

I haven't made anything different lately so that's why I have not posted the past few days.  I wanted to share a few sides that I did make over the weekend.  

Paleo Dirty Rice

This is so good!  It isn't actually rice...it is grated cauliflower with bell pepper, onion and spices (I will link the recipe).  I made this last week with shrimp and it was more a meal than a side.  It has amazing flavor and goes with everything!  It is even good cold :)  The most time consuming part is grating up the cauliflower...you can either use a box grater or a food processor...I have used the box grater because I am worried the food processor will make it mushy...little more work using the grater but I really like the end result.  I have to omit the celery but it definitely isn't lacking any flavor!

Link to recipe: www.elanaspantry.com/paleo-dirty-rice/

Roasted Asparagus

Honestly I have never had roasted asparagus...until now, we have either steamed or grilled it.  Roasting it is so easy and the flavor is AMAZING!  And it is so easy...just a little Olive Oil and sea salt...that's it!  I even ate some of the leftovers, cold, yesterday and it was super yummy!  

Link to recipe: http://www.elanaspantry.com/roasted-asparagus/

I hope you are trying some of these recipes out...they are so easy and so yummy!  

Enjoy!

Baking, baking and more baking!

Since I have started my new diet it is opening up lots of doors for me.  I am cooking more than I have before, using lots of fresh ingredients, shopping more frequently and baking more too!  I thought I would share some of my recent baked goods...

Yesterday I made Blueberry Muffins...and they turned out really good.  I didn't have a sifter so I am not sure how much of a difference that made...and the consistency of the muffins were different-but still good.  Gilbert ate 2 of them so to me that is a good sign!

Muffins baking away!

I was pretty proud of myself because I felt like the muffins were 'rising' pretty well...cooking with these different ingredients is taking some getting use to.

Finished product!  

Link to recipe: www.elanaspantry.com/blueberry-muffins/

I just made Breakfast bars for the second time and they are good!  The first time I didn't have an 8x8 pan so I think they cooked unevenly...but this time I used the right size pan and they are looking good!  

Here's what they look like before they are baked...

If you make these...just a little heads up...they seem like they have a ton of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, raisins and coconut- but once it is baked they don't at all!  They have GREAT flavor!  My first batch was really crumbly.  Not sure if it is because the pan size was wrong or if I hadn't let them cool long enough- none the less they were really good to snack on.  I put them in individual baggies so I could quickly grab them on the run!

And this is the finished product (fresh out of the oven)!

Yum yum yum!

Link to recipe: www.elanaspantry.com/breakfast-bars/

Enjoy!