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Archive for November, 2009

Pumpkin Soup

Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , on November 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

So, first I want to apologize that I’m posting all these pumpkin recipes mid a pumpkin shortage.  Well, let me rephrase, mid a CANNED pumpkin shortage.  I’m not saying I have the balls to make my own puree, but please do feel free to send some to me!  Below is my homemade pumpkin soup recipe that came from the leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin muffins.  It’s just a hodgepodge of different recipes that I’ve read, plus a little bit of my own flair.  I’m lucky enough to live with a gentleman who collects dried chillies like I collect cookie sheets.  So, I already had the below fun chillies.  You are more than welcome to substitute them with whatever dried chilli powder you have in your house, just taste often and add slowly!

I ate this for lunch and dinner 3 days in a row.  It gave me a wonderful “I-ate-too-much-sodium, so my neck is the size of a grapefruit”, but it was worth it.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups Pumpkin Puree
  • 3 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
  • 2 Teaspoons Ginger (Add one teaspoon at a time and taste.  Different people have different sensitivities to ginger.)
  • 1 Cup Light Cream
  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar
  • 4 Teaspoons Onion Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Chipotle Chile Powder (If you don’t have these chillies, feel free to substitute whatever you want, just add slowly and taste often!!)
  • 1/8 Teaspoon Dried Habanero Chile Powder
  • Pinch Cinnamon (if desired, a little goes a LONG way)

Mix all the above in a large pot over low heat.   Be sure to add the ginger and chillies in parts, tasting as you go to test for your tastes.  Heat until a simmer, then serve.  If you use light cream, you get 6 (1 cup), 120 calorie servings.  If you use heavy cream, you get 6 (1 cup), 170 calorie servings.  Choose wisely!

Just a preview of Thanksgiving recipes to come.  I’m still too full to write about it.

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Pumpkin Muffins

Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on November 26, 2009 | 3 Comments »

Something about being a parent amazes me.  I’ve put my parents through the ringer–first my heavy metal music preference, then my interest in men who listen to/play heavy metal, my choice to go to NYU in the “scariest of cities” to my attitude and sarcastic nature.  Yet still, they love me.  They love me this much:   Yes, for early Hannukkah, my loving parents bought me a stand mixer.  And not just any mixer, my coveted, RED, Kitchen Aid mixer.  I almost cried.  Make that I cried, but didn’t want to admit it.  It was like falling in love with Miley all over again. Now with such a gift, I decided to dabble somewhere I have never ever dabbled before.  MUFFINS.  Fall Style.   

   

Gently stolen from: 
http://www.acozykitchen.com/pumpkin-muffins/
  

Ingredients:     

  • 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (from a 15ounce can)
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1-¼ cups sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Place muffin liners inside 12 muffin cups. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.     

   This mixer makes me a better person.   

  

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Mix together pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Then mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full).  Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from the pan to the rack and cool to warm or room temperature. Each muffin costs you around 200 calories.   Makes 12 Muffins. 

  

   A little off topic, (Who’s surprised?) I really want to see Couple’s Retreat.  Only because it would add more ticket sales to a movie that isn’t the abomination of terrible girl-crap Twilight.  I’m sorry, I have thought skulls and vampires were cool since whenever, however back then I was “crazy and weird”.  Now they are cool.  You all are copy cats.                

        

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Spicy Honey Balsamic Chicken

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged on November 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Recently, I’ve been searching for more and more quick and healthy hot dinner recipes, so that my dinner making doesn’t impede on my Xbox 360 Lego Starwars time.  This recipe is just a mosh of things I had in the fridge/pantry and is easily put together between levels of the game.  Plus, the chicken is super juicy and pretty awesome.

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts (Mine were around 5 ounces each.)
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • Olive oil Pam

Picture 004

I try to keep away from my Xbox if I know I have busy weeks coming up.  One time during college, I didn’t leave my apartment for 24 hours, as I proceeded to live on Ritz crackers and peanut butter, while I beat the Harry Potter video game.  Yup.  Exactly.

Mix the mustard, honey and balsamic vinegar together.  Marinate the chicken in this mixture for at least 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Spray an oven proof pan with Pam, and place the chicken breasts, shaking off the extra marinade, into the pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.  Each chicken breast will end up costing around 215 calories.

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Chocolate Cranberry Pistachio Chameleons

Posted in Desserts (For The High Cal Right Brain), tagged , , , on November 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »

::Throws dust on fire::

and now for the tale of the transforming chocolates……

OK, PLEASE tell me at least one of you have seen Are You Afraid of the Dark?  For all of you non-watchers, it was a show on Nickelodeon that still haunts me to this day.  Basically, a bunch of kids would sit around a campfire, tell a “tale” about something scary, and once the story started, it would cut to terrible actors acting out the scenes. 

Now what does this have to do with chocolate, you may ask?  Well the following is a recipe that can be made into both a bark and clusters, what I like to call a “chameleon”.  This brought back the memories of the SCARIEST episode of the show, with Tia and Tamara from Sister Sister, the only episode without a happy ending.

I hope you all can still sleep tonight.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup (about 4 ½ ounces) unsalted, shelled pistachios
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 ½ pounds dark chocolate or candy melts**

    •   

    Wanna know what’s not fun?  Buying shell-on pistachios by mistake when baking cookies and having to shell them all.  This is why I need a kid.  They are perfect for entertainment, chores, and especially peeling pistachios.

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread pistachios out on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Toast for about 5 to 7 minutes, watching carefully.  They burn easily.  You can tell when the nuts are toasted because they will brown slightly and you will begin to smell them.  Remove from oven and let cool. 

    This little mixture is NOT safe around me.  Not at all.

    Combine nuts and cranberries in bowl; set aside.  Line cookie sheet(s) with waxed paper.  Temper chocolate or melt candy melts.  Combine chocolate and nut/cranberry mixture. 

    These are the clusters BEFORE they have hardened.  Resist the urge to steal a chocolate covered pistachio.  Resist!

    For clusters: drop by rounded teaspoonful onto cookie sheets.  Continue until you use up all of chocolate mixture. You will need several cookie sheets.  Refrigerate until set, about 25 minutes. 

    When the chocolate is still wet, it is slightly reminiscent of sludge.  Just saying.

    For bark: spread mixture onto one cookie sheet.  Tap cookie sheet against counter to spread chocolate out into a thin, even layer. Refrigerate until set, about 25 minutes.  Break candy into irregular-shaped pieces.  Store bark and clusters in an airtight container at room temperature.  Makes about 2 pounds.

    **Chocolate melting wafers, also known as candy melts and confectionery coating, are a very easy to use chocolate substitute. I prefer the Merckens’ brand and it is available in many candy and craft stores.

     Oooohhh Shiny.  See now this is when I DON’T want kids.  Because then I would have to share.  And be pregnant.

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    Colonel Mustard, In The Kitchen, With The Pork Chops

    Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged on November 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »

    I love Fresh Direct.  I love how the food is always fresh, it shows up at my door when I want it, and how reasonable the prices are.  What I love even more is being part of the Chef’s Table, a club that gives giant discounts on something different every week or two.  This week?  Pork.  I have this weird emotional connection to pork chops.  They are cheap, tasty, and usually absorb everything you throw on them quite well.  Also, I’ve always thought that a good woman should know how to make a good pork chop.  It’s right up there with a good steak.   However, a steak tastes good as a steak, a pork chop–you gotta dress right.  And let me tell you, these chops are styled.

    pork_chop

     

    I included broccoli in the original recipe, but it absorbed wayyyy too much marinade.  Don’t do it, it’s like Campbell’s high sodium soup and an old broccoli plant are trying to camp out in your mouth.

    Ingredients:

    • 4 boneless pork chops, about an inch thick
    • 6 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium, please!)
    • 2 tablespoons water
    • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
    • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
    • 1 small onion, sliced
    • Olive oil Pam

    Picture 001

    Everyone has their own little trick on how to slice an onion without crying.  My way?  Close my eyes.  It’s really safe, and makes it much more of a game than just slicing an onion.  Or, you can just run the onion under cold water first.  Either or.

    Whisk together the soy sauce, water, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  Marinate the pork chops for about 15 minutes to a half hour.  Heat up a high sided skillet with some Pam. 

    Picture 003

    I am going to take this searing interlude to ask if I am the only person who is sick of Lindsay Lohan?  Yes, she’s a drug addict.  Yes, she looks like she’s 400 years old.  But come on people, am I the only person who saw these sudden breakdowns coming?  Trust me, if I was a child star with crazy parents I would pull one of these phases too.  Then when I got better, I would pull a Britney comeback and make a boatload.  And get to be Britney.  But I digress.

    Sear the pork chops for about 2 minutes on each side.  Add the mushrooms and onion and let cook for about 3 minutes.  Pour in the rest of the marinade.  Bring the marinade to a boil, cover and lower the heat to a simmer.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pork and veggies are cooked through.  Each 4 ounce chop is around 180 calories.

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    Sweet Potato Hash

    Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , on November 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

    Let’s talk sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes are the older, soccer-playing, grilled chicken-eating brother of the white potato world.  They are supremely healthier than any other form of potato and full of vitamins.  Although still high calorie, they are worth throwing into your diet every so often.  I have a habit of cutting them in half (or for the huge ones, in thirds), so I get a 100-150 calorie serving of potato.  I had a hankering last night for home fries and luckily had half a sweet potato in my house.  This recipe is not so bad for you, quite filling, and great with eggs.

    Picture 002

    I suggest opening the windows when making these.  After setting off the fire alarm for the 3rd time, I realized that no bus noises outdoors were worth avoiding for a million firemen in my apartment.  I don’t know what it’s like in the suburbs, but NYC fire alarms don’t have a ringing noise.  Most of them say “Fire, Fire” in the most calm, British voice ever heard.  If my home was on fire, I’d rather not be woken up by Keira Knightly and her frighteningly large teeth.

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 a sweet potato (mine was 100 grams), diced into small pieces,  1/2 inch to 1/4 inch squares
    • 1 very small, or half of a medium sized onion, diced
    • 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
    • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Pam

    Heat a pan with Pam until hot.  Saute the onions, spraying liberally with Pam until they become translucent, tossing them every so often.  Set aside.  Throw the potatoes into the pan and cook for about five minutes, tossing often, until soft on the inside and crunchy on the edges.  Throw back in the onions and add the paprika, Worcestershire, salt and pepper.  Toss a few times, plate and serve!

    Makes one serving at around 100-125 calories (without the egg).

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    Herb Roast Chicken

    Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), Main Dishes(For the High Cal Right Brain), tagged , , on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

    Cooking chicken is easily the root of all issues related to living with a member of the opposite sex.  In my home, as well as in my parents’ home (with my mom and dad), or any time I have cooked for a man, I have found the same problem.  I want white meat, skinless, and sometimes on the bone–obviously only for health and caloric reasons.  Men want dark meat, skin on, and as crispy as possible.  I’ve come to the point of ordering bone in chicken breasts (and taking off the skin) and bone in, skin on thighs and drumsticks and trying to find a way to cook them together.  I came up with this recipe as I was walking home from work.  It will satisfy both sides, keep your waistline trim (if you’re watching it) and both sets of taste buds full.

    Picture 003

    When I was looking at chicken recipes for ideas about roasting times, I came across a chicken recipe called “Cheating on Your Boyfriend Chicken”.  It was basically fried chicken covered in cheese, and it’s supposed to help you find someone to cheat on your boyfriend with.  I think I would just leave my boyfriend for the chicken.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 chicken, split up into breasts, thighs and drumsticks, leaving skin on where preferred
    • 1/4 cup light butter, melted (Mine is 45 calories per tablespoon, therefore around 180 altogether.)
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 pinch dried rosemary, ground up between your fingers
    • 1 pinch dried thyme, ground up between your fingers
    • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt  (If you don’t have garlic salt, just use an extra 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt)
    • Freshly ground black pepper

    Whisk together butter, olive oil, and all the herbs and spices.  Dip each of the chicken pieces in the mixture, coat well, and place into a well greased high sides pan (NOT a flat cookie sheet).  Let sit for at least an hour, or overnight in the fridge.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grind black pepper over the chicken, making sure the skin side is up and there’s a little space between each piece of chicken.  Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees.  Let cook for at least another 10 minutes (or until at an internal temperature of 170 degrees).  Turn the broiler on high for 5 minutes to let things crisp a little.  Remove from the oven and let sit, covered in aluminum foil, for at least 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

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    Pot Steamed Artichokes

    Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , on November 7, 2009 | 6 Comments »

    Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had my dad’s voice playing like a record in my head saying, ”It might have choked Artie, but it will never choke me!”  I have no idea what this comes from, or why he ALWAYS said it, but when I was visiting my parents in Westchester over my nice little first work vacation, I decided I would make him one.  I have never really cooked an artichoke before, so I didn’t know how easy, yet how vicious these little buggers are.  They are simple to cook, take a little bit of prep, and are COVERED with these thorns that are only programmed to stick into your fingers.  Follow the directions below, just watch your extremities!

    DSCN0614

    They look so harmless.  They are like vegetable-style Hulks–with sharp, pointy things.

    Ingredients:

    • 3 artichokes
    • Deep pot with 1 inch of water
    • Sharp knife and sharp scissor

    DSCN0617

    Cut about an inch of the top of each artichoke.  With scissors, cut the sharp tips off of each leaf.  This is pretty important, no one wants to eat a thorn.

    DSCN0616

    Cut off base so they will sit flat in the pot.  Remove a few of the outer tough leaves.

    DSCN0619

    Bring the water to a boil, and insert the artichokes in tips up.  Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 25-45 minutes depending on the size of the choke.  Mine took about 25 minutes.

    DSCN0620DSCN0623

    You will know when it’s done when it looks as above (second picture) and a knife pierces easily into base of stem.  The outer leaves should pull off pretty easily.

    DSCN0625

    Pull out the chokes, and turn them upside down to drain for a minute or so.

    DSCN0628

    Honestly, I was really afraid of making these, but it was so easy.  I know I’m afraid of a lot of things (clowns, people in costume at Disney, bananas) but these really are approachable compared to everything else.

    Each artichoke was at most 50 calories.  Choose something low cal to dip them in (I went for just some balsamic vinegar.) and enjoy.

    DSCN0626

    Oh, and this is how you get such a pretty picture.  Don’t try this at home.  You might end up with a very angry Little Mommies.  Especially when you post the “before” picture.

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    Ruta-Wha?

    Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on November 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

    rutabagajivaro_shrunken_head

    Yes, meet the rutabaga.  I have no idea why my mom and I decided to pick up a shrunken head look-a-like to cook for dinner when I was back at my parent’s house on vacation, but it worked.  This is the UGLIEST vegetable I have ever seen in my life.  It looks just like a shrunken head!!  Plus, it’s a giant weight that smells like cabbage mixed with carrots, yet somehow transforms into something delicious.  It’s like the swan of the vegetable family.  The Christina Ricci of children (sans forehead).  Follow along, and watch the magic of the rutabaga.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 rutabaga
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in your hands
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • Olive oil Pam

    rurabagcutpeel

    You need a good knife for this one.  I prefer heavier knives; it makes the job a lot easier.  Just cut off the top and bottom, and slowly guide the knife under the skin.

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel the rutabaga until all the hard skin has been removed.

    rutabagadice

    Look how much prettier that is now!  I feel a little bad for knocking on the rutabaga.  I know what it’s like to go through an awkward phase.  I feel like I should apologize the next time we meet, with butter, salt and unhealthy things to slather it in when I’m not blogging.

    Grease the pan well with Pam.  Toss all the seasonings in with the cubed Rutabaga and spread out on the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes until it starts to carmelize and is knife tender.  One rutabaga, around 210 grams cooked, is 100 calories.

    donerutabaga

    I like the kinda tie dyed look of the inside of the vegetable.  Reminds me of middle school when I would wear tie dyed shirts and 100 butterfly clips in my hair like a headband because I thought I was hot.  I still wonder to this day why no one just shook some sense into me.  I also wore a plastic blazer for God’s sake.

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    One Fish, Two Fish

    Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged on November 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »

    I want to get a few things on the table before I write this post, because I think they are important for you to know before you read this.

    1. My mom made this, not me.  However, I have eaten it many times.
    2. My father doesn’t like most fish recipes, yet loves this.
    3. I am not allowed to cook fish in my apartment, because Rico says so.
    4. Miley Cyrus deleted her twitter.
    5. This is best made with your favorite tomato sauce, our’s being Rao’s Sicilian with Eggplant
    6. Miley Cyrus ACTUALLY deleted her twitter.
    7. We used flounder because it’s a cheap fish.
    8. Miley Cyrus freakin’ deleted her twitter!!!

    Honestly, how can Miley do this?  How?  What am I supposed to read on my Blackberry in the morning to laugh at teenage angst displayed in the mainstream as a role model for young children?  Where do I go now?!!  See Miley, you led me to writing about fish I didn’t even cook.  Look what you’ve done now.

    Ok, so the main reason I’m letting my mother cook for me is because Rico and I have been packing up for a nice move to a larger apartment.  Fine by me, but I have no idea where my kitchen is located at this moment and I am going through pan withdrawal.  Do you even understand what its like to try to cook pasta, green beans, and mushrooms in just one pot?  Who the hell sautees mushrooms in a pot?  Well enjoy this recipe–and my pain.  Each serving is around 170 calories for 4 ounces of fish and a 1/4 of a cup of sauce (sauce being 160 calories per cup).

    done2

    When I was younger, my dad told my friend Katie and I that he loved Parmesan cheese on everything.  So then we would progress to the classic “Everything?  Even Cake?  Soda?”  I was an obnoxious child.  Too bad I didn’t have twitter back then, Miley and I could have complained about everything together.

    The fish is seared to give it a slightly crisp crust that can hold up to the moisture from the tomato sauce. Use a heavy, oven-proof skillet that can go from stove top to oven.

    Ingredients:

    • 4 (4 ounces each) filet of sole fillets**
    • Olive oil Pam
    • 1 cup bottled tomato sauce (Choose a sauce that has no more than 70-80 calories per ½ cup.)

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oven-proof skillet over high heat and spray with Pam.  Place fish in pan and sear for two minutes.  Turn fish over; top each fillet with ¼ cup tomato sauce. Transfer skillet to oven.  Bake 8 minutes or until fish is done and flakes easily when tested with fork.  For a few extra calories, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.  Makes 2 to 4 servings.

    **Grouper, halibut and flounder also work well in this recipe. Cooking times may vary depending upon thickness of the fish. You may use larger fillets, just increase cooking time if needed and more sauce may be desired.

    yes'You know what, I bet I know why Miley is so angsty.  If I took dance classes as a kid and had to dress up in funny costumes, I probably would have been angsty too.  Oh wait, I DID have to dress up in the above costume.  Look how happy I am.  Nothing like gold lame to make a mid-pubescent girl in her awkward phase happy.

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