Tonight's Dinner: Low carb, low fat, no sugar... Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Springtime Lemon salad.

Tonight I wanted to make something really easy, due to it being a school night and I started dinner later than usual. A friend had just requested a low carb recipe, so my mind was in that zone when I created tonight's dinner. You can use any recipe you have for tacos, or meals that you need to lay on pasta, rice, or potatoes, just eliminate the carb by replacing them with a lettuce leaf or a bed of field greens. Arugula is a personal favorite of mine; I just love the peppery flavor this green lettuce provides! Tonight, I just used Bibb lettuce because it makes a nice cup, kinda like a healthier taco shell. ;-)Walla, instant low carb meal! Hee...

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Pam (olive oil)

1 Lb. ground chicken

Fresh Ground blk pepper to taste, about ¼ tea.

Salt to taste, about 1/8 tea.

1 C. vertically sliced red onion

Artichoke heart out of an artichoke. Or, buy jarred or canned (about ½ C.) 

Cut off bottom; Boil artichoke on stove (bottom in water --until done; about 20-25 min's):

 Cut up core of artichoke:

1/3 C. large cherry tomatoes or small tomatoes cut in half.

1 Tbl fresh oregano torn off stems.

1 Tbl fresh flat leaf parsley torn off stems.

10 garlic stuffed grn olives cut into about 4 slices. 

3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded in bag if kids are eating; for adults you may want to cube fresh mozzarella cheese.

Squeeze juice out of one large juicy lemon.

Bibb lettuce leaves from one bunch.

Instructions:

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet; coat pan w Pam cooking spray. Add Onion and next 5 ingredients (through olives); cook about 3 min’s.

2. Pour out mixture in a bowl (set aside). Use skillet to cook ground chicken, salt and pepper chicken while in skillet.

3. Cook chicken until no pink is seen and it is crumbled; stirring around often.

4. Add bowl mixture to chicken and heat through (warm up the veggies).

5. Stir in cheese and add lemon juice.

6. Spoon ¼ C. chicken mixture into each of two lettuce leaves.

I just love light springtime salads and this one I literally just threw together; it's so easy! I will try to come up with measurements because I literally just made it up as I went along while posting a picture on FB, chatting with my husband, and tasting my friend’s homemade wine, lol. ;-)

Lemon and Cucumber Springtime Salad

Ingredients:

Garden cucumbers washed and cut lengthwise with a veggie peeler, cheese cutter, or sharp knife into very thin strips. (This will act as your pasta).

1 handful each of Green beans and Sugar snap peas, (about 1/2 C. of each).
Steam for 1 min and 45 sec in microwave.

Place in ice bath imediately to stop cooking.

1 Mango, cut into strips.
Just fyi when deciding whether to use a mango: They get all the sweet flavour from their carbohydrate content. There are many varieties of mangoes, and most of them have a high carbohydrate content. Since the carbohydrates are fruit based, its healthy complex carbohydrates- sucrose (as opposed to simple carbohydrates). Per 100 gms of mangos, there are about 14 gms of carbohydrates. There is almost no fat or protein content in mango. It provides you with more than your daily requirement of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. It also contains fiber, magnesium, iron and antioxidants. So, as you can see mango is overall a nutritious fruit, and like most fruits is low fat and cholesterol free!

The glycemic index of mango ranges between 41-60, so its low. So, mango does not have any significant effect in increase blood sugar levels, so it does not promote fat storage. Due to the medium glycemic index, mangoes are okay for diabetics.

1 Avocado, cut into strips.
In regard to deciding about an avocado: Carb-conscious dieters know that carbohydrates in the form of fiber are not counted as “Net Carbs” – the carbs that interfere with weight control. Half of a Haas avocado has 6 grams of Total Carbohydrate, but the 4.2 grams of fiber brings the Net Carbs down to just 1.7 grams. There are also 1.8 grams of protein, 153 calories and 15 grams of “good” fats. Plus, you’ll gain significant amounts of folate, vitamin A, vitamin E (more than any other fruit), potassium, iron, magnesium, copper, vitamin B6, and riboflavin.

Micro planed /grated lemon peel from one large lemon

Juice of the lemon.

Fresh coarsely ground blk pepper to taste.

Drizzle olive oil around on salad, about 3 circles around, maybe about 2 Tbl's.

Balsamic vinegar, two splashes, maybe about 1 Tbl.

Freshly sliced mint (optional, I did not add tonight, but thought of it... it had become dark outside-- I had already sent my husband out to get the oregano and parsley for the chicken dish, and did not want him to have to venture out again).

Assembly:

1. Place thinly sliced cucumbers into bowl.

2. Add Green beans, Sweet sugar snap peas, Mango, Avocado, and mint (if you use it).

Salad before dressing is added:

3. Drizzle oil on Salad.

4. Squeeze juice over salad, careful to catch seeds.

5. Ground blk pepper over salad, stir ingredients.

6. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over dish.

7. Sprinkle with lemon peel.

 Enjoy ;-)

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Irish Bread for a Traditional St. Patrick's Day

Beef brisket makes corned beef by being salt and pickle cured. Beef brisket can come packed in a brine and with a small pickling spice packet. Remove the thick brine and rinse the brisket. A brisket can be used; however, if you use Corned beef, you will want to add a few extra steps. Corned beef is cured in a salt mixture, so it can be very salty. Bring the corned beef to a boil in plain water, discarding the water; you may want to do this 3 times before proceeding with the Guinness beer to cook it. Serve this dish with horseradish and Irish Soda Bread (*See recipe at the end).

Corned Beef, Cabbage & Irish Bread

Ingredients:

For the Corned Beef:

3 1/2 Lbs Uncooked brisket for corned beef

2 bottles Guinness beer (or any dark beer)

10 whole cloves

1/4 C hot sweet honey mustard

2 Tbl dark brown sugar

1 Tbl pickling spice in a cheeseclothe, end tied

1 onion

1 halved head garlic

2 Bay Leaves

For the Vegetables:1 head cabbage
4 Tbls cooking oil, bacon grease or lard
5 carrots, cut into thick sliced chunks
10 small red potatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley at the end for color

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F.

2.Prepare brisket by washing well as stated above; Insert the cloves into the top of the slab of beef, evenly spaced. Spread the top with the hot sweet honey mustard. Sprinkle 1 Tbls brown sugar over the top of meat.

3. In a large pot, whisk together the beer and the other Tbls brown sugar. Snuggle in the brisket, it should almost be completely covered by the beer. Add the pickling spice cheeseclothe bundle, onion and the garlic.

4. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop, uncovered is best so you can keep an eye on it. Boiled-over beer is no fun to clean.

5. Once it begins simmering, cover the pot and place in oven to roast for 4-6 hours, flipping meat once during halfway point. Remove from oven.

6. Spoon out 2 cups of the corned beef braising liquid to cook the cabbage.

7. While the meat is roasting, cut up the vegetables, cut the cabbage into 8 wedges.

8. In a separate large, wide pot, heat up the lard/bacon drippings/oil on medium-high heat. When hot, swirl the pan around to get the fat to evenly coat the pan.

9. Add the cabbage wedges, carrots and potatoes and cook until browned, about a 3-4 minutes. Turn to brown the other side. Take the cabbage out with tongs and set aside.

10. Pour in the reserved corned beef cooking liquid, bring to a simmer and cover the pot. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 5 minutes. Continue cooking all the vegetables, add the cabbage back in, another 10-15 minutes or cooked though (pierce with fork to check doneness). *Note the cabbage cooks quicker than the carrots and potatoes.

11. Slice up the corned beef against the grain and serve with the cabbage and vegetables. Garnish with a sprinkling of parsley. Pour a bit of the sauce over the corned beef just before serving. Serve the extra sauce on the side with the dish so more can be added, if desired.

Rustic Irish Soda Bread:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour & 2 Cups wheat flour (or you can just use 4 C's all purpose)
• 4 Tbl white sugar
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 Tbl baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c margarine, softened
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 1/4 c buttermilk

 Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

2.     In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

3.     Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Roasted Cauliflower Risotto: Recipe

Due to a few requests for the side dish that went well with the Balsamic Glazed Filet and Radicchio dinner at link: http://lisakramerartlifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/02/reduced-balsamic-glaze-on-beef-filet.html (or it is simply the recipe beneath this one as you scroll down); here is the recipe for the risotto.

The flavors of the radicchio can be described as spicy or bitter, which is why sugar and the sweet acidity of the balsamic made that meat dish pop!

The risotto is a creamy starch that takes on a nutty flavor with the addition of almonds and their crunch. However, what makes this dish pop is that the roasted cauliflower takes on a smoky flavor from the roasting process. This meal is a flavor explosion! You will be dipping for seconds. ;-)

Ingredients:

Risotto can be tricky; it is simply a matter of timing. So, again I stress the need for a kitchen timer. Risotto is not an ingredient you can take shortcuts with; it needs time to absorb each ingredient in a process. This is why some people think only chiefs can cook risotto.  If you follow the steps with a timer, you will be amazed at how creamy this dish can be.—If is not really that difficult; you just have to pay attention to the grain. ;-)

Cauliflower is a very versatile vegetable that once you start using it, you will find it fast becoming a staple side dish to many of your meals. It is perfect for roasting!

1 head cauliflower, florets cut into ½ inch pieces for the topping

3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil

Chopped stems to mix with the risotto on the stove, not to be roasted in the oven with the florets.

Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ C sliced almonds

1 finely chopped large onion

1 ½ C Arborio short-grain Italian rice (or short-grain rice vialone nano or pkg that says risotto)

2 smashed and minced garlic cloves

½ C dry wht wine

3 C’s low-sodium chicken broth

2 Tbl unsalted butter

4 oz. (1 ½ C) grated or finely chopped Italian fontina cheese

½ C roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1.   Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2.   Toss the cauliflower florets with 1 Tbl olive oil on a baking sheet. Spread in a single layer and season pepper and with salt like you would French fries. Roast on upper oven rack, 5-10 min’s, you have to watch it get just a bit browned at edges.

Pictured: a variation of golden and brown raisins can be added to the cauliflower to add a touch of sweet to the roasted mixture. Play and see what your family likes the best.

Pictured: a variation of garlic can be added. Roasted garlic is delish!

3.   Then add the almonds and roast about 5 min’s more, until almonds are roasted, but not burnt, not dark brown. This step is a much watch closely process. I set my timer at the 5 min mark and then watch close; nuts can burn quick.

4.   Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 Tbls olive oil in a Dutch oven (large ovenproof saucepan with a lid) over high heat. Add the onion and cauliflower stems and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 3 min’s.

5.   Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 min’s.

6.   Add the wine and cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 min.

7.   Add 3 C’s broth, 2 C’s water and 1 tsp salt; cover and bring to a boil.

8.   Transfer the pot to the lower oven rack and bake until the rice is tender, about 15 min’s.

9.   Remove the rice from the oven and add the butter, fontina and parsley, stirring vigorously until the risotto is creamy, 1 to 2 min’s. At this point you want to serve immediately; you want the parsley to stay bright green, not over cooked and bland in color.

10. Serve family style in a decorated bowl, or divide among bowls, topping with the roasted cauliflower and almond mixture.

Reduced Balsamic Glaze on Beef Filet with Wilted Radicchio: Recipe.

I made this meal last Thursay and to fullfill requests for the recipe; I am sharing the secret ingredients. ;-) It was served with Roasted Cauliflower Risotto; it turned out to be a great compliment to the dish. I was a bit under the weather today, so a perfect day to do a little typing. I hope your family enjoys this recipe too.

Balsamic Beef:

Beef tenderloin is kinda a "Go-To" meal around here. I am thinking back and I am realizing we use it frequently for dinner parties. ;-)

A rare tenderloin with green beans and a horseradish sauce.

Ingredients:

I recommend investing in a kitchen timer. I use mine all the time because it is too easy to talk with guests and lose track of time and ones' food that is cooking. 

4  -6 oz. beef Filet, or Tenderloin, (I used two large thick filets the last time I made it). A Filet is simply a whole tenderloin that has been cut into pieces. You can substitute eye round steaks, for budget reasons; however, not nearly as tender or tasty.

Sea salt, freshly ground pepper

3 Tbls unsalted butter

1 to 2 tea sugar (basically a pinch to ea. side of the steaks, or tenderloin)

2 smashed and diced garlic cloves

2 heads radicchio, torn into pieces, taking out white core

1/8 C julienne cut or thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes

¼ C aged balsamic vinegar

½ C low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed

½ C fresh sliced basil leaves, plus leaves for topping (do not skimp on the basil)

A hot iron skillet with meat that has a browned crust and a raw center.

Directions:

1.   Heat a large skillet over high heat until it is smoking a bit. You want it to be very hot to seal and brown the outside of the meat, keeping the inside rare.

2.    Season the steaks w salt and pepper. Then sprinkle them w a pinch of sugar.

3.    When the pan is starting to smoke, add 1 Tbl butter to coat pan.  

4.    Add the steaks and sear until golden brown on the bottom (no more than 4 min’s).  You will only turn the steaks once. Flip and cook until golden on the other side (2 min’s). (*Note: a very hot skillet is key to getting a good crust or brown seal on your meat).

5.   Transfer to a cutting board and tent w foil. You do not want to leave it in a hot pan, or warming oven because it will continue to cook, taking you away from rare. The tenting with foil will allow the meet to stay warm without cooking it more.

6.   Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 Tbl butter to the skillet. Add the garlic, cook 20 sec’s. Scrape the meat pieces off the skillet and into the new sauce you're making.

7.  Add the radicchio in batches. Tossing until wilted. Sprinkle with 1 tea sugar and ½ tea of sea salt.

8.   Add the sun-dried tomatoes and vinegar and cook until the vinegar evaporates slightly, (1 minute).

9.   Add the broth and cook until the radicchio is tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the basil. Transfer the radicchio to the platter using tongs.

10. Continue cooking the sauce until it slightly thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbl butter.  Balsamic reduction is about taking out some of the water to make a sweeter and more concentrated sauce (hence, the slightly thicker version). If however, you mistakenly over reduce, by letting it cook to long, losing to much liquid; you can add some chicken broth to bring “back” your sauce.

11.   Thinly slice the steak and lay it out. Drizzle meat down the middle with the sauce and top with fresh basil for garnish and add a bit of “fresh” to the dish.

Serve on a plater with the Balsamic glaze down the center of the meat and the Wilted Radicchio along it's side. Top with fresh basil leaves.

Chicken N Dumpling’s: Recipe

I will tell you, the secret to my comfort soup is all in the stock!

Chicken N Dumpling’s is a well known comfort food. Recently I had a friend ask me to make it for her, like she does whenever she is sick and I had requests for the recipe, so here it is:

Ingredients:

One cheap whole chicken

3 Lg roughly chopped carrots

3 roughly chopped celery sticks

3 Lg roughly chopped onions

2 Leeks, washed well (can have sand in grn part), roughly chopped

4 smashed whole garlic cloves 

1 tsp Blk pepper

1 1/2Tbl Sage

1 Tbl Thyme

2 tsp Poultry Seasoning

3 Bay Leaves

48 oz. Can of Chicken Broth (if not salt-free, don’t add salt until the end of cooking to do it by taste)

More Ingredients for second phase of cooking:

3 lg Skinless Chicken Breasts

12 Skinless Chicken Thighs (w or w/o bone)

Two Lg carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, or I use the very center Heart of the celery that looks yellowish w it’s leaves and all, chopped

Two Lg onions, chopped

One Leek, washed well and chopped

Dumplings (see bottom of this post for recipe) 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Throw top eleven ingredients into a very large stock-pot on the stove-top. Pour water into pot just until the whole chicken is covered w liquid. Put lid on pot and bring to a boil; turn down to simmer and cook for 2-4 hours.

3. Meanwhile, salt and pepper chicken thighs and breasts. Put on a grill drip pan and roast on 450 degrees until done (about 40 min’s). 

4. While chicken cooks, prep your new vegetables by cutting into the size you desire in your soup.

5. Once chicken in the oven is done, take out to cool or use cooking gloves and cut up into bite size pieces, set aside.

6. Pour the drippings that were caught into an oil separator measuring cup (the fat goes to the top), the spout is at the bottom to only get the good drippings, leaving the fat on top to discard. Once the fat has separated, pour the good drippings into the stock pot w the stock-broth, discard the top fat. Or if you choose the freezer method bc you do not have a grease separator: pour the drippings and fat into a glass measuring cup and put it into the freezer, after the fat has separated and moved to the top, use a turkey baster to suck off the top liquid layer of fat and discard. Then add only the good drippings to the stock pot.

7. Take the stock-pot off the stove and ladle some of the stock into a colander over a very large bowl. You are separating the tasteless over-cooked chicken and vegetables from the very tasty stock. The chicken and vegetable flavors are now in the broth. Return stained broth to the stock pot and discard the over-cooked mixture.

8. Put the newly cut up vegetables into the stock-pot w the stock-broth, return lid to pan, and cook until the vegetables are almost done (don’t over-cook them and make them mushy).

9. Once you think the vegetables are about done, turn up the heat to get your broth boiling, then turn heat back to a simmer and add/drop your dumplings into the hot broth, it does not take long to cook the dumplings. Note* My dumplings are floured to keep my broth more like soup, however, if you want a thicker broth, add more flour by really heavily drenching your dumplings in floor at this stage. You can also lightly sprinkle it in careful to stir and not cause lumps.

10. Add the cut-up Chicken Breasts and Thighs to the stock pot and warm the meat up.

11.Taste, add salt according to your families taste. Note, remember if you used salt-free chicken broth. If you did not, there will be a lot of salt in the broth, so add sparingly and to taste. Serve.

Note: For Dumplings:

Use 2 cans of refrigerator biscuits (from the grocery for a short cut), tear them into thirds and flour them or the following recipe:

Dumplings:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter (You can use shortening instead)
1 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, mixing well.

2. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender or a large fork (pastry makers mix in the shortening using their hands - if you want to try, dip your hands in ice cold water for a minute, then dry your hands first; it's important not to melt the butter.)

3. Add cold buttermilk, a few spoons at a time, mixing the dough from the outside in with fork until a soft dough forms (do not over mix - about 2 minutes total). You may need to add a small amount of buttermilk or flour to adjust the consistency of the dough due to flour storage conditions or humidity in the environment. Add liquid if the dough is very dry and crumbly after it has been mixed; add flour if the dough is very sticky.

4. Roll dough out on a work surface which has been lightly sprinkled w flour to prevent sticking. Roll dough out.

5. Cut into rounds like biscuits. Tear round into a third and dip into flour.