Category Archives: Main

Chipotle Chili

Beef, Healthy, Main, Make Ahead, Recipes, Soups, , , , ,

chipotle chili

Chili, is there anything better on a cold winter night than a piping hot bowl of Chili?  I posted my age-old favorite Chili recipe a while ago.  That is my go to Chili recipe but when I saw this one in Bon Appetit’s Fast Easy Fresh, I knew I had to try it.  You see, I LOVE Chipotle Chilis.  Love, love, love them.  I like it hot.  The original recipe had you add 2 Chipotle peppers.  I started with 3 and ended up with 5 :).   I also added the tomato paste and brown sugar as it needed a little sweetness to balance the chilis.  Other than that, I was pretty true to the recipe.  When I served mine I added avocado, low-fat sour cream, a little cheddar cheese, raw red onion and a few big spoons of  hot sauce which Bill found a little perplexing.  I told you I like it hot!  🙂

I have had this cookbook for a while, but recently spent some time going through it again and have about 20 recipes tagged with a stick it note.  The recipes are all meant for quick, healthy weeknight dinners, so you will see more of them here for sure! Continue reading Chipotle Chili →

Balsamic Roasted Chicken

Chicken, Healthy, Main, Recipes, ,

balsamic roasted chicken whole

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simple Italian Food by Mario Batali.  He says it’s one of his favorite things to make on a Sunday for Family dinner and I agree.  There is something so festive about making a whole chicken, it’s just comforting.  By the way, the leftover onions, pan juices and carcass make a kick ass chicken stock like no other.  The pan juices create their own sauce, all you do is strain the fat out of it.  That’s due to the 2 secret weapons, a parmesan rind and bacon.  His recipe has you use a proscuitto rind but I am pretty sure you don’t have one of those sitting in your fridge right now, so the bacon fits the bill.  🙂  Someone once said to me that “Bacon is the duck tape of food”, how perfect is that? Continue reading Balsamic Roasted Chicken →

Braised Pork Roast

Main, Make Ahead, Pork, Recipes, , , , ,

braised pork

I went to a cooking class at Rialto on Sunday.  It was great.  Jody Adams is the chef and she is a very interesting woman, besides being an amazing chef.  The topic was braising and she prepared 3 dishes, then you sit down and enjoy all the dishes with a wine pairing.  Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

So, she made a braised pork belly on a citrus salad that was so amazing, I have been dreaming about it.  No sheeps for me falling asleep this week, pork belly ….pork belly….It will be on the menu for my Fall Dinner party next year.

Yesterday I had a 3 pound pork loin roast (Under $6) and I decided I would braise it.  Braising is such a great way to add flavor to any cut of meat or some veggies (think leeks).  It is a moist cooking method that creates a luscious sauce (ok, now you know why I love braising!).

This the basic method:  Sear the braising subject.  Remove and carmelize braising veg in same pot.  Add liquid (beer, wine, stock, combo), return braising subject to pot.  Add water if needed so liquid comes a third of the way up, cover and finish in oven for hours.  Take out and enjoy the luscious sauce with braising liquid.  You can also finish braise in a crock pot but you must sear the subject and veg first, that is the main flavoring. Continue reading Braised Pork Roast →

Hamersly’s Roasted Chicken with Garlic & Lemon

Chicken, Main, Recipes

Hamersly's roasted garlic chicken This is it.  This the recipe that started my cooking journey.  I had just started dating Bill and I was going to make him dinner.  I can remember it now, I was at the Star Market on Mt. Auburn in Watertown, and In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs caught my eye.  I picked it up, saw the Gordon Hamersley recipe for the Roasted Chicken, bought the ingredients and went to town.

The cook book is great for a beginner, the way it lays out the recipes and there are a lot of pictures, which I love.  I was able to follow the directions and I could not believe the end result.  Not only did it look just like the picture but it tasted like a restaurant quality dish.  Bill was impressed.  I was giddy inside.  He assumed that was no big deal and that is the way I cooked normally (I let him keep thinking that), I got addicted to cooking magazines, cook books and cooking shows.  Fast forward 18 years and I am the author of my own food blog.  All thanks to falling in love!  xo

ps…..Hamersley’s Bistro is a 20-year-old Boston Institution and this recipe is still on the menu.  Yes, it’s that good! Continue reading Hamersly’s Roasted Chicken with Garlic & Lemon →

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken, Main, Pasta, Recipes, , ,

Chicken Cacciatore

I love just about anything braised in my dutch oven.  Especially on a cold winter night, it’s just so comforting.  I’ve always loved Chicken Cacciatore.  Braising the chicken makes it super moist, fall off the bone.  Most recipes call for peppers but I don’t use that in this one, I prefer chicken cacciatore without the peppers.  This recipe is very forgiving.  For the chicken you can use a cut up whole chicken, or just split breast, or just thighs, whatever you have on hand or whatever your favorite.  You could  make this with boneless chicken but the bones add a richness to the sauce that will be missing.

If I am serving this on pasta, I like to shred the chicken (I have spoiled my family!) but you can serve the chicken by itself with pasta on the side (or just skip the pasta if it’s January and you are trying to lose a few pounds!  boo) Continue reading Chicken Cacciatore →

Mongolian Beef

Beef, Healthy, Main, Recipes, , ,

Mongolian Beef

Day 3 of back on track eating, I made this new recipe last night from a Blog called Just a Taste.  It was delicious.  Quick and Healthy!  The only change I made was to use 1/2 cup brown sugar, the sauce was still great.   The recipe says it serves 2 but with a pound of steak, it really is 4 servings.  I had mine with sautéed Baby Bok Choy.  You can find the recipe here.  Mongolian Beef Recipe

 

 

 

Cuban Sandwiches

Main, Pork, Recipes, Sandwiches, , ,

Cuban Sandwich

OMG there is nothing like a great sandwich, especially one with melted cheese and lots of flavor on crispy bread, yum!!!  This is a great sandwich for a football party, you could get them all assembled ahead of time and just finish when you are ready to serve.  Great use of any leftover roasted pork you might have!  Get your Cuban on! Continue reading Cuban Sandwiches →

Chicken with Mustard Sauce

Chicken, Healthy, Recipes, , ,

Chicken with Mustard Sauce Here is another, low cal, delicious chicken dish for your files.  A few tricks that I used here:  First, by slicing each breast in half and pounding thin, you eat half the amount of chicken but it still feels like a full portion.  Reducing the sauce adds a lot of flavor and the little bit of low-fat sour cream gives it a really creamy consistency without using heavy cream.  Second, a light dusting of flour keeps the chicken moist and gives it a little crust.  If you are avoiding flour, just skip this step or you could try an alternative like almond flour.

I served this on roasted Brussel sprouts and cauliflower.  Add the veggies to the plate, put the chicken on top and drizzle with the sauce.  Hard to believe it’s good for you! Continue reading Chicken with Mustard Sauce →

Chicken Roulades with Mushroom Sauce

Chicken, Healthy, Recipes, , , , ,

Chicken Roulade with Mushroom Pan Sauce

After the Holidays I am trying to drop a few pounds and eat lighter (sound fimiliar?).  This is a recipe I found that was pretty light already but I made a few additional tweaks to make it even lighter while keeping all the flavor.  The only way I can eat lighter is to make sure the dishes have a lot of flavor.  I don’t want to eat bland food, life is too short to eat bland food!

The original recipe had you put 2 slices of proscuitto and 2 slices of cheese on each roulade.  I put only 1 of each, kept the flavor but saved those calories.  The original used 3 Tbsp of butter to give a richness to the sauce.  I elimated the butter, added shallots and scallions for flavor and reduced the sauce longer.  These tweaks saved more fat and calories but the end result was really good.  Two thumbs up from Bill so I know it passed the taste test!  I served it with sauteed broccolini to make it a complete meal. Continue reading Chicken Roulades with Mushroom Sauce →