Thai Fried Rice

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
8 oz.  firm tofu, cubed
1 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 medium  red pepper, cut into strips (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (1-inch) green onion pieces
2-2/3 cups  cooked brown rice, chilled
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
1/2 cup  peanuts, chopped

Pour teriyaki sauce over tofu in shallow dish. Refrigerate 5 to 10 minutes to marinate. Drain tofu; reserve teriyaki sauce. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add tofu; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown on all sides, stirring occasionally. Remove from skillet. Ad red pepper to skillet; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add green onion; cook and stir 1 minute. Add rice and pineapple; mix lightly. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently. Add tofu, peanuts and reserved teriyaki sauce; mix lightly. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.

My Favorite Guacamole

I have always thought that God made avocados just for me. I mean, they are literally my favorite thing to eat! I can’t wait to get to heaven. I plan to have more than one avocado trees!

My Favorite Guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• The juice from 1/2 a lime or to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocados with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and serve immediately!

Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms

These little bites are soooo yummy! This recipe is super easy enough to prepare for everyday and decadent enough for special occasions! I like to grate some fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top before baking.

Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms

12 large whole fresh mushrooms (or 24 smaller mushrooms)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.

When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Middle Eastern Hummus

This is one of my favorite dips for pitas or chips.  It is buttery and melts in your mouth.  I’ve discovered that you can play with the ingredients to get a taste that you like, but the most important thing is to blend it until its creamy.  This is a healthy snack that is an easy way to sneak beans into your child’s diet.

Hummus

1 can garbonzo beans (chick peas) (or 1 cup dried, pre-soak overnight and then cook until tender)

1/4 cup Tahini (sesame paste)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic peeled (or you can roast it until tender to make more neutral flavor)

1/4 t. salt (add more to taste if using dried beans)

1/4 +/- water

10 kalamata olives pitted (or your favorite Mediterranean olive)

2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Blend all ingredients (but olive oil) in a blender for at least 2 minuets.  Add more water if needed.  Mixture should look like the texture and consistency of a thick  milkshake (Wendy’s Frosty).  Keep adding small amounts of water until the mixture is creamy.  Serve drizzled with olive oil.

(Optional ingredients.  Roasted Red Peppers and nutritional yeast flakes, or fresh basil, or cumin, chili powder and paprika. )

Healthy alternative to Burgers and Fries!

Who among us doesn’t LOVE French fries, but HATE how their made?  I honestly refuse to give up this terrible fast food, but have given in to eating in moderation.  A burger and fries just seems like the best summertime food, so I”ll post my favorite recipes for the meal pictured below. I have learned a tip or two here and there about how to make this meal “healthy”, and decided to give it a try. Here is the result of my labors.

Fast and easy whole wheat burger buns.  I can take no credit here, but LOVE how fast and easy these are!  This lady’s got some great advise for cooking dairy free.  I used this recipe and used egg replacer (ener-g brand) and they turned out fine.  My friend made them without any egg replacer and said they did well too.  I added fresh crushed garlic and Italian seasonings.  These do freeze well, but they are BEST right out of the oven, nice and crusty, so if reheating them, pop into a hot oven for a few minuets.  This recipe makes 8 buns.

Meaty Oat burger.  I love a frozen soy burger, but these are cheaper and better for you, without tasting like cardboard.  This recipe is for about 16 burgers.

Oven Baked French Fries.

Preheat oven to 400

4 potatoes, scrubbed or peeled

Olive oil

Salt

Herbs of choice (I like basil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, parsley)

Cut potatoes into thick fries and toss in a few tablespoons of olive oil and your favorite spices.  Place on a cookie sheet so they are not overlapping.  Bake for 30 min.  Serve with your favorite condiments.  (If you noticed that my fries are a little well done its because I got distracted after the timer went off. )  This makes enough for 2 hungry adults and 1 hungry 3 year old.

**Variety**  Try using a sweet potato and serve with a horseradish sauce.

Garlic Cheese Butter

1 cup Butter, softened
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
2tsp Lemon juice
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1 c Cheddar, shredded
1/8 tsp Pepper

Beat butter and seasoning until fluffy. Blend in cheese and lemon juice. Form a log and refrigerate.

Use to make garlic toast.

Carrot Rice

1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 tablespoon margarine
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced
3/4 cup grated carrots
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid, and allow to steam until tender, about 20 minutes.
While rice is cooking, pulverize peanuts in a blender and set aside. Melt margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until golden brown. Stir in ginger, carrots, and salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cover to steam 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper and peanuts. When rice is done, add it to skillet and stir gently to combine with other ingredients. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Freezer Slaw

This recipe was submitted to us by Carolyn.
Freezer Slaw with Cabbage and Cucumbers

1 gallon chopped cabbage
1 tablespoon salt
4 small onion
4 cucumber
2 carrots
2 small peppers
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water

Mix cabbage and salt. Let stand 30 minutes, then drain. Chop the onions, cucumbers, carrots, and peppers. Add to the cabbage, along with the celery seed. Set aside. Boil the sugar, vinegar, and water for 1 minute. When cold pour over the cabbage mixture, mixing well. Let stand 5 minutes before putting into containers to freeze.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter, Rosemary and Caramelized Onions

I made these delicious sweet potatoes the other night, and wow they were good! Usually, when I make sweet potatoes I either make them into a sweet casserole with a marshmallow or pecan topping or I will serve them baked with butter and brown sugar. I love either of those dishes! But this was such a yummy change!

Okay, so I baked my sweet potatoes the day before while I was baking another dish. I don’t especially like peeling really hot potatoes so this way, they were totally cool when I peeled them the following day. But, you could do this all in the same day.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter, Rosemary, and Caramelized Onions

4 cups peeled and mashed sweet potatoes
1 stick butter
1 onion diced
1 tsp. dried rosemary

In a pot, melt butter and add onions. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft and beginning to brown and butter is browned. Add rosemary and cook for a couple of minutes to infuse butter with rosemary flavor. Add mashed sweet potatoes and combine well. Stir constantly until potatoes are reheated and steaming. Turn off pot and cover until ready to serve. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled!

Freezer Method: Add 2 tbsp. orange juice juice to the mashed sweet potatoes to prevent darkening. Pack into freezer bags and freeze for later use. Perfect for make ahead Thanksgiving preparations!

Mediterranean Feast

I love cooking this meal! After the first time my husband brought me home a box of Fantastic Foods Falafel Mix, I knew I needed to find a way to make my own delicious falafels from scratch! I played around with the ingredients until I feel I have come up with the perfect falafel. Now, you can find other falafel recipes on the internet – I tried several of them. But this recipe is my own version and I think it’s the best!

I like to serve falafels with tahini sauce for dipping and hummus on the side along with pita bread and perhaps some tabouli salad or other veggie. Its simple and tastes so good! This meal has become a staple in our house!

Falafel

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro (or more if you are like me!)
1 tsp. salt
a pinch of cayenne
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. baking powder
4-6 Tbsp. besan (chickpea) flour or all-purpose flour
Oil for frying
Pita bread

Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, then drain. (You can use canned beans, but they are not as good.) Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. Turn out into a bowl. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the besan 0r flour, and pulse. You want to add enough besan or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.

Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Note: To serve could stuff half a pita with falafel balls, chopped tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and drizzle with tahini sauce, or simply serve with the tahini on the side for dipping.

Note: Egyptians omit the cilantro and substitute fava beans for the chickpeas. You can also use half chickpeas and half fava beans.

Note: Besan is ground chickpea flour and can be found in your local Middle Eastern Market. I keep mine in a nice jar on my kitchen counter:

Tahini Sauce

1 cup tahini (you can purchase this at your local grocery store or health food store or make your own – recipe below!)
Fresh lemon juice
Salt

Add tahini to your food processor. Add water, a little at a time, until the sauce has the consistency of thick cream. Add lemon juice until the sauce is pleasantly tangy and season with salt if desired (I usually skip the salt. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)

Tahini is one of my favorite ingredients used in Meditterreanean cooking. You can purchase it at the grocery store or your local health food store, but why not make your own? It is used in the recipe above as well as other recipes such as hummus.

5 cups sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350. Toast sesame seeds for 5-10 minutes, shaking the seeds frequently with a spatula. Do not allow to brown. Cool for 20 minutes. Pour sesame seeds into food processor and add oil. Tahini should be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. It will keep for up to 3 months.

Hummus

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled until very soft or 1 15-oz. can of chickpeas
2 – 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
juice of 2 medium lemons
3/4 cup tahini
1/4 packed cup finely minced fresh parsley
black pepper to taste (optional)
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Throw everything into a food processor and blend until it has a smooth consistency, adjust flavors to taste.

Note: There is no need to wash your food processor if you made the Tahini Sauce before the Hummus or vice versa!

This post is linked to Kitchen Tip Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.