I took a long hiatus from the blogosphere over the holidays. Sometimes you just need to recharge your battery. It was hard not to feel guilty about not blogging everyday or even every other day but allowing myself the break was the best thing for my body and mind. After a two week vacation, I got back into the kitchen this week and it felt great!
Since my boyfriend is traveling this week, I had free reign of the kitchen so with a fully-stocked fridge, I ventured into trying some new recipes:
The first was a simple Heart Healthy Cod and Broccoli-Quinoa Pilaf that I found in the December issue of Real Simple. The other recipe was one I stumbled on in Bethenny Frankel’s book Skinnygirl Dish. She’s a big fan of using what you have and so am I so that’s exactly what I did for her Game-Time Zesty Baked Chicken Wings. I knew I had evening commitments Monday through Wednesday this week so I cooked up a storm on Sunday so I would have easy, no-fuss lunches and dinners to start my week.
Heart Healthy Cod with Broccoli-Quinoa Pilaf
3 Tsps Olive Oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
Kosher salt (I use Sea Salt) and black pepper
1 c. quinoa, soaked and rinsed
2 c. chopped broccoli
1/4. raisins
1/2 c roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, sliced
2 6-oz pieces skinless cod, halibut or striped bass filet
1/2 teaspoon paprika
In a medium saucepan, sautee the onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil and season with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to brown.
Add the quinoa and 1-1/2 c. water and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently until almost all the water has evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes. Fold in the broccoli and raisins, cover and cook until the quinoa and broccoli are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove from heat and fold in the almonds, scallions, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tsps of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cod with paprika and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the pilaf.
Note: I used what I had (or rather, didn’t have) all over this recipe. There were no raisins, almonds or scallions to be found so I left them out. I used a shallot in place of onion, chili powder in place of paprika and coconut oil in place of olive oil. The result was still delish!
Game-Time Zesty Baked Chicken Wings (w/ Use What You Have Substitutions)
3 Tbsps olive oil
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (I used spicy Chinese mustard)
1Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
16 ckicken wings (I used a 16 oz block of firm tofu but recommend extra firm, drained and dried and cut into triangles)
1-1/2 c whole wheat bread crumbs (I used the rest of a box of Late July saltines leftover from my recent bout of the stomach flu, crumbled)
1 c freshly grated Parmesean cheese (I left this out)
6 Tbsps chopped fresh parsley (used 3 Tbsps dried rosemary and thyme combo)
Dash of cayenne
Dip Ingredients
1 c. fat free yogurt (I used Nayonaise + 1 Tbsp water)
1/2 tsp chopped fresh parsley (I used 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I used tamari)
Combine olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl.
Place the tofu on a resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over. Close the bags and marinate the tofu in the refrigerator for 1-4 hrs.
Pre-heat the oven to 425. Line a baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan (if using it) and parsley (or other herbs). Dip each piece of tofu in the mixture to coat and place it in the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the tofu (or wings)over after 20 minutes.
Combine all dip ingredients into a small bowl and serve with the warm tofu.
I ate this for lunch with a big green salad!
Leave a Reply