Orange, Avocado, and Apple Salad with Orange Vinaigrette Dressing

This is a great summertime first course, or could even be a main dish. If you're an evil meat eater, I bet a grilled chicken breast would be great on top.

Dressing:
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Salad:
2 large navel oranges
8 cups mixed greens
1/2 apple thinly sliced
1 avocado diced
3 tablespoons almond slivers

Whisk dressing ingredients in small bowl to blend. Whisk in olive oil; season to taste with freshly ground pepper.

Using small knife, cut off peel and white pith from oranges. Working over large bowl, cut between membranes to release orange segments into bowl. Add greens and endive to bowl with oranges. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken Stir Fry

I modified this from the American Diabetes Association. Their recipe called for honey and different veggies as well as cooking it differently. We haven't eaten it yet-we will as soon as Todd gets home. If it's nasty, I'll delete this ;)

So this is my version, with a sauce similiar to theirs.

2 tbs peanut oil
boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut up
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 cup snow peas
1 cup brocolli crowns
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 can bamboo shoots
3-4 green onions, diced
1 tbs corn starch
3/4 cup orange juice
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs ginger, grated

Place oil in wok and add chicken and garlic. Cook on high heat til chicken is white, stirring frequently. Add in brocolli, carrots and celery. Cover and steam 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. In a bowl, mix OJ, soy sauce, ginger and cornstarch and stir to dissolve corn starch. Pour in to pan over chicken and veggies, and add snow peas, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onion and cashews. Cover and simmer on medium til sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Serve. If you can have rice (I shouldn't) I'd serve it with that.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken

One of the things people should know about me is that I'm not *usually* a recipe cook. I either cook recipes that I know by heart from childhood, or I experiment. The behaviour of trying and following recipes (for cooking anyway--baking is a different story) is actually rather new for me.

So tonight was another Jen creation. I think it was pretty good.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken
Ingredients
4-6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, fileted and pounded with a meat tenderizer
1 tsp butter
pepper
1/4 chopped onion
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary

1. Filet the chicken breasts and cut the 2 halves apart. Pound with a meat tenderizer.
2. Mix garlic and butter together and distribute evenly between the 4 chicken pieces.
3. Tear up rosemary and distribute over chicken breasts.
4. Sprinkle onion over top.
5. Top with pepper.
6. Roll up and skewer to hold together.
7. Place in baking pan with a couple tablespoons of water or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle more pepper, rosemary, garlic and onion over top if you wish.
8. Cover and bake at 350 for half an hour. Remove cover, brush tops with butter to brown. Bake another half an hour. Remove and serve.

Pasta a la ???

I'm not sure what to call the dish I made tonight. My husband suggested Pasta a la Fern but I'm not that vain. I am thinking Red, Green and White Fusili? Suggestion for a name are welcome.

1 medium yellow onion, sliced into 1/8 inch thin slices
2 small red bell peppers, sliced into 1/8 inch thin slices
2 cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 Tbs. butter
1 cup sun dried tomato pesto
1 cup milk (anything other than non-fat)
2 Tbs. flour
8 oz whole wheat fusili pasta
Salt to taste

1. Saute onion in 1 Tablespoon butter over medium high heat until onions are soft and transparent (8 minutes). Add bell peppers and saute for 3 minutes. Set aside in seperate bowl.

2. While onions and bell peppers are sauteeing, steam broccoli for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Add broccoli to bowl with onions and bell peppers.

3. Using water from steaming broccoli, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

4. While pasta is cooking, in same pan used to sautee onions and bell peppers, melt 1 Tablespoon butter. When butter is completely melted, sprinkly flour evenly around pan. Whisk butter and flour to make a roux. Add milk to pan and stir constantly until boiling. Immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in sun dried tomato pesto. Add salt to taste.

4. Combine all ingredients in pan used to cook pasta and toss well. Serve.

Serves 4.

Barbequed Tri Tip

This is one our favorite things to enjoy.

1 small onion, chopped
7 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (2 pound) tri-tip steak

1. Place onion, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, rosemary, mustard, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Place steak in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over steaks, seal, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (I usually marinate it for about 24 hours).

2. Preheat the grill for high heat.

3. Brush grill grate with oil. Discard marinade, and place steak on the prepared grill. Cook for 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Lowfat Refried Black Beans

Here is a divinely tasting side dish that is a great compliment to Mexican main courses.

4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1 (18-oz) can black beans, including liquid
Pinch of cayenne and cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook garlic in oil in a skillet over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add beans with their liquid and mash with the back of a wooden spoon. Add cayenne and cumin

2. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is correct consistency (5-7 minutes). Stir in enough of water to thin to a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm, sprinkled with shredded cheese.

Serves 4.

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

I usually make this on Shabbat because I can put the ingredients in the crock pot and forget about it. It is very fulfilling and if you leave off the cheese and sour cream (or use low fat versions) pretty good for you too.

2 onions, chopped (half inch pieces)
2 red bell peppers, chopped (half inch pieces)
6 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
3 16-ounce cans black beans, drained, 1 can's liquid reserved
1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
Sour cream
Grated Monterey Jack cheese

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell peppers; sauté until onions soften, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir until fragrant (about one minute).

2. Add beans, tomato sauce, reserved liquid and spices to crockpot and stir. Mix in onions and bell peppers. Turn on crockpot and set it to low heat. Cook for 2-4 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Ladle chili into bowls. Top with grated cheese and sour cream.

Serves 4.

Lasagna Spirals

This is one of my favorite recipes even though it's been awhile since I last made it. One thing I particularly like is that you can can control how many servings you make. With a regular lasagna, you have to make a whole baking dish's worth. But because this recipe calls for rolling up the lasagna noodles instead of layering them, you can make exactly the right amount, which is great for when you are only cooking for two people or for a picky eater who wants his meal prepared differently.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
10 oz baby spinach
1 lb ricotta (preferably fresh)
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 oz)
8 dried lasagne noodles (not no-boil; 8 oz)
1 jar tomato sauce

1. Set oven temperature to 350°F.

2. While sauce is simmering, cook spinach in a 3- to 4-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, 1 minute, then drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze any excess water from spinach and coarsely chop. Stir together garlic, ricotta, yolk, spinach, parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until combined well.

4. Cook lasagne noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water , stirring occasionally, until tender. Drain noodles in a colander and rinse under cold running water.

5. Spoon 2 cups tomato sauce into a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish (or other 3-quart shallow baking dish). Lay out 4 lasagne noodles on a work surface, then spread 1/3 cup filling evenly over each noodle. Roll up each and arrange spirals, seam sides down and without touching, over sauce in dish, then make 4 more rolls and arrange in dish. Brush noodles with water, then spoon some sauce down middle of rolls and cover dish tightly with foil.

6. Bake in middle of oven until heated through, about 20 minutes. Heat remaining tomato sauce and serve on the side.

Serves 4.

Chinese Chicken Salad

This is one our favorite summer time meals.

Salad Dressing:
2tbs hoisin sauce (available in the asian foods aisle)
1 tbs sesame oil
2tbs oil (I use grapseed because it's light)
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs plum sauce
3 tbs rice vinegar
lots of fresh minced garlic
lots of fresh ginger, grated

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or bottle and mix well. If you've never worked with ginger before, you need to slice off the brown skin and then you can either grate the meaty part (you don't want the threads though) or if you've a strong grip, you can push it through a garlic press.

If you need to store the sauce, make sure you cover it so that its flavors don't mix with anything else and nothing mixes with it. This dressing is best served cold.

Salad:
Green Leaf Lettuce
Cilantro
Green Onions
Carrots
Bean Sprouts
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
chicken breasts-boiled or grilled and shredded
rice noodles.

Toss veggies together. Serve up salad and top with chicken, oranges dressing and noodles.