Shrimp and Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos

I love chile rellenos and will order them whenever I spot one on a menu. But, they aren't exactly the healthiest since they are battered and deep fried with lots of cheese and sometimes fatty chorizo (oh so good). This is a healthy make-at-home spin on my favorite. I use fresh veggies and whole grains and bake them in a smoky tomato and roasted red pepper sauce.  You could use any veggies your have in the fridge or any leftover whole grains from a dinner early in the week.  Also, you could always skip the shrimp and do chicken or lean ground beef.

Ingredients:

-5-6 poblano peppers

-2 cups of cooked quinoa or other whole grain

-1 cup corn (thawed from frozen or canned)

-1 cup white onion, chopped

-1 cup zucchini, chopped

-1 cup tomato, chopped 

-1 cup cooked shrimp

-handful cilantro, roughly chopped

-1/2 cup cotija or other white cheese

-1 can fire roasted tomatoes
-1/2 jar roasted red peppers, drained

Spicy Carrot Ginger Soup

I first had a version of this soup at a friend's house. They purchased the prepared soup at Whole Foods. It was delicious! A perfect way to start a meal.  I figured I had to make it myself so I found a recipe and tweaked it a bit. I also added some fun garnishes because I think not only do they make the soup more visually appealing, but they add more flavor and substance. 

Ingredients: 

-1 large yellow onion (or two small)

-8 cups of vegetable broth

-6 cloves of garlic

-2 lbs of carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

-2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

-3 Tbsp of freshly grated ginger

-1 Tbsp. cumin

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-2 tsp. jalepeno powder (optional)

-2 Tbsp salt

-3 Tbsp sugar

-2 tsp lemon juice

Sicilian Calamari with Italian "Mother Sauce" from Luca D'Italia

This recipe comes from Frank Bonanno's Luca D'Italia iCookbook.  The restaurant has been a local Italian favorite in Denver for years, so Frank picked his favorite recipes for the home cook and added pictures and videos to the interactive cookbook. I was recently invited to the restaurant with a few other food bloggers to taste some of the recipes and this was a favorite. It starts by making the "Mother Sauce", a wonderful red sauce simmered with a full bottle of chianti wine...yes please.  The sauce has unlimited uses but here it is ladled on top of calamari rings with capers and toasted bread crumbs. Much fancier than your fried calamari. 

Mother Sauce Ingredients:

-1 large onion

-1/2 stalk of celery

-1 bulb fennel

-1/2 lb carrots

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1/2 tsp chili flakes

-1 cup extra virgin olive oil

-6 cloves of garlic

-1 (750 ml) bottle of good quality chianti

-3 sprigs of basil

-2 sprigs of oregano

-1 sprig of parsley

-2 (16 ounce) cans San Marzano tomatoes

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

Sicilian Calamari Ingredients:

-1 lb calamari (I used tubes and tentacles)

-5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

-2 cloves garlic

-1 Tbsp crushed red chili

-3 Tbsp capers

-1/2 cup white wine

-1 cup Mother Sauce (ingredients above, or other good Marinara)

-1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

-2 Tbsp butter

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

-1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs

-8 caper berries for garnish (optional)

Healthy Bang Bang Shrimp

If you've been to Bonefish Grill — a seafood chain — you've most likely had their Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer.  My mom and her friends love the starter but I think I broke her heart when I told her it is battered, deep fried and tossed in mayonnaise.  Here, I've re-created the restaurant favorite by pan frying the shrimp in just 2 Tbsp of coconut oil and then tossing in a spicy creamy sauce made of pureed tofu instead of mayo.  I know it sounds odd, but even Blake liked the dish! Also, at Bonefish the shrimp is served on a bed of lettuce that is quickly wilted and often ignored.  I served the shrimp on a healthy serving of Red Cabbage Asian Slaw. Bonus: this recipe makes a lot of leftover sauce which means a dipping sauce for Healthy Chicken Nuggets or slathered on Turkey Burger Sliders!

Here's a great source to order all natural wild shrimp online that will be overnighted to your doorstep. They are beautiful shrimp!

Ingredients:

-3/4-1 lb. raw shrimp (about 31-40 count per pound or larger)
-2 tsp cornstarch
-2 Tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
-14 ounces tofu
-1/3 cup sweet red chili sauce - found in asian aisle of most supermarkets
-3-5 Tbsp sriracha sauce (depending on your heat tolerance)
-3 Tbsp lemon juice
-2 green onions, sliced for garnish
-salt and pepper for seasoning

Soy Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

This takes four minutes to blend together — I'm serious. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are invading every coffeeshop..even beyond the typical Starbucks.  Even Delight and CoffeeMate have made their own variations of the make-at-home creamers to add to your coffee.  The problem is they are loaded with artificial flavorings.  The inspiration for this recipe came from this recipe but instead of using cream and milk I opted for organic soy milk. Blend these few ingredients together for the perfect fall addition to your cup of jo each morning.

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups soy milk (plain flavor)
-3-4 Tbsp pure maple syrup
-1 tsp pure vanilla extract
-4 Tbsp pumpkin puree
-1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
-1 tsp cinnamon

Caramelized Red Onion and Goat Cheese Crostini

Blake and I were at a wedding in Crested Butte a few weekends ago.  The food was amazing! In particular the rehearsal dinner had this little appetizer that we all couldn't get enough of.  They were perfect little finger foods for nibbling on while enjoying a glass of wine. I think they paired especially well with a hefty glass of red wine! I asked the cocktail waitress what was on the crostini and my guess was almost spot on.  Not only caramelized onions, but caramelized red onions which I've never made.  The white creamy spread was nothing but my favorite, goat cheese!  I have a whole post on Caramelized Onions that will help you folks that have never done it.  It's not hard, just takes a little time that is well worth it!

Ingredients:

-1 long loaf French bread

-2 medium red onions

-2 (5.3 ounce) pyramids of spreadable goat cheese (make sure not to get the crumbles)

-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

-1/8 cup olive oil for brushing, or olive oil spray

-microgreens or fresh thyme sprigs for garnish

-salt and pepper to taste

Fresh Tuna Tower

So when I lived in Dallas we would search out our favorite sushi spots based on our favorite "tuna towers".  They are basically an appetizer of tuna tar tar (raw tuna), avocado, sushi rice and sometimes roe and crab salad.  It's embarrassing to say the all of us girls would go to sushi sometimes 3-4 times a week and order a tuna tower EVERY TIME.  This is super easy, just a few fresh ingredients.  

More specifically, sushi grade tuna is the key.  Don't use anything that is of less quality.  My favorite place to get sushi-grade fish is Chef's Fresh Fish...they deliver fish to my door. 

Ingredients:

-1/4 lb. sushi-grade yellowfin tuna

-1 cup sushi rice

-1 avocado

-1/8 cup soy sauce

-1 Tbsp powdered wasabi

-1 Tbsp sesame seeds

-1/2 tsp ginger paste or grated fresh ginger

-juice 1/2 lemon

-1 Tbsp rice vinegar

-1 sheet roasted nori snacks (optional)

Asian Marinated Cucumbers

The sushi restaurant behind my house, Japon, has these wonderful little marinated cucumbers that they serve only if you're sitting at the sushi bar.  I know they couldn't be that hard to make so I tried re-creating them from some recipes I found on the web and ingredients in my pantry.  They are a great little Asian appetizer that gets better each day it marinates.

Ingredients:

-1 English Cucumber (or 2 Japanese cucumbers)
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-2 Tbsp sesame oil
-1-2 Tbsp salt
-1 tsp sugar
-pinch - 2 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how much kick you want)

Japanese Onion Soup

When I grew up, one of my favorite dinner spots was our local Japanese Steakhouse.  You know, the place where they cook in front of you, throw knives around and you try to catch shrimp in your mouth.  One of my favorite courses was the very first one, the Japanese Onion Soup.  It was always so clean, clear but flavorful. I finally found a recipe from Meemo's Kitchen for a re-creation of this famous recipe.  I've never really fried anything but these little onion slice were easy as pie.  I imagine you could use the canned fried onions, such as French's.

Ingredients:


-4 cups chicken broth
-2 cups water
-1 white onion
-1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
-1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
-1/2 tsp salt
-6 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
-4 green onion, chopped
-1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
-1 cup milk
-1 cup flour

Endives with Goat Cheese, Mandarin Oranges and Almonds

This is one of my first restaurant re-creations, which has become my new favorite thing to do.  It's somewhat of a challenge to guess the ingredients and see if I can recreate it.  This was an easy recipe to start with considering the menu basically listed the ingredients for me.  Each quarter we have meetings at our headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland and end up at Jaleo at least once per visit, which then turns out to be around 4-6 times a year and I'm not complaining; it's fabulous!

Ingredients:


-2 Belgium endives (found in most grocery stores near the lettuce..just ask someone)
-1 can mandarin oranges (reserve liquid)
-1 (5.3 oz) Chavrie goat's cheese
-1 small pkg sliced almonds
-2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
-sea salt and pepper to taste