A few weeks back, along with the Stuffed Baked Potatoes, we had Southwest Veggie Nachos, an excellent low fat dish.

6 oz backed tortilla chips
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed/drained
1 diced green pepper
1/2 cup corn
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup sliced black olives
3 tbl pickled jalapeno slices
1-1/2 cups low fat shredded cheese (Mexican blend if available)
4 large plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 sliced avocado

Heat Oven to 425F coat cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread chips. Combine beans, pepper, corn and cumin, spoon over chips, top with olives jalapenos and cheese, bake 5-6 minutes till cheese melts. Combine tomato, onion, cilantro and juice, mix in avocado, serve with salsa.

Note – this dish lends itself to any changes you’d like. Add turkey, chicken, or ground beef if you’d like. Leave out the peppers if you don’t like hot. Have fun, and enjoy! This was served as a main dish, but would make a great appetizer or game day snack in front of the big screen.

written by admin \\ tags: mexican, nachos

This dish takes a bit of skill. Many I’ve talked to just can’t get the sauce right, and it’s a matter of knowing the texture you are looking for. This lends itself to a thought – a couple posts in the future on sauces, especially those that start with a roux. Depending on the interest, I’ll start thinking about an upcoming ‘sauce series.’

Now the cream sauce for today’s dish:

Start with a stick (1/4 lb) of butter and melt in the pan. Slowly add 4-5 tablespoons flour while whisking continuously. Before the roux (this flour/butter mix) starts to brown, add one pint heavy cream, still whisking. Once the cream is incorporated, add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

Serve over poached salmon and shrimp or scallops, whichever you prefer. You can choose among many sidedishes, we prefer to keep it simple, brown rice and steamed carrots.

Any leftover sauce can be the start of a nice mac and cheese for lunch.

Enjoy.

written by admin \\ tags: cream sauce, salmon, shrimp

This is traditionally a main dish made for the Jewish holidays, but as a hearty casserole/stew it makes a great meal when there’s enough time to prepare it.

3-4 lbs beef brisket
5 cups diced (big chunks) carrots
2-3 sweet potatoes cut into 6-8 pcs each
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 lb dried plums (the fruit formerly known as prunes)

Place the brisket in a large pan and cover with water. When water hits boiling, turn down to simmer for about 1 hour.

Put the meat aside, and separately boil the potatoes and carrots in the broth from the pan until each are still a bit hard.

Next, in a smaller saucepan, put about 2 cups broth, the sugar, and dried plums. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, and then for just 5 minutes after.

Last, slice the meat thinly, and against the grain, and put into a large casserole dish. Cover tightly with heavy foil (to hold in moisture) and cook at 350F for one hour. This dish is best when reheated and served the next day, so it makes a great main course when you’d like to get some of the cooking out of the way in advance. Enjoy!

(Note: the meat is underneath the vegetables in the pan. You can also put a recipe of matzo balls in this dish. Just make the mix and put the uncooked matzo balls under all the other ingredients.)

written by admin \\ tags: jewish cooking, passover, recipe, tsimis, tzimis

This week, we’d like to share a recipe for eggplant parmigiana. It makes a nice main dish with pasta and salad, a sandwich, or as a side-dish to chicken or veal cutlets. While we love eggplant, it’s unfortunate that it’s usually fried in oil and turns from an otherwise healthy vegetable* to a high fat, high calorie dish. For this dish, we fixed that problem. Let’s take a look how.

We start with ripe eggplants, and slice them, a bit over 1/4 inch.

Next, dip them in egg (we use fat free eggs, such as egg beaters) and breadcrumbs.

Brown in a non-stick pan sprayed with Pam (a non-stick vegetable oil spray), about 10 minutes each side. You can see that they brown nicely.

A few tablespoons of sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in a preheated 350F oven for about 20-25 minutes until cheese melts and starts to brown.

If you enjoy eggplant dishes in a restaurant but for whatever reason, just haven’t tried it at home, now’s your chance. Let us know if you enjoyed this healthier version.

Happy Thanksgiving.

* I know – Eggplant is technically a fruit not a vegetable. There’s an old expression; Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

written by admin \\ tags: eggplant, italian food, parmigiana, recipe