Chicken Pot Pie - Oh My!

So good and relatively fast if you prep the chicken ahead of time. This recipe is from my sister, which is funny because she's on the no food diet so I doubt she has even tried it.

1 c. potatoes, peeled and diced (basically one small-medium potato)
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1/2 c. peas (optional, but I love them)
1/3 c. melted butter (for sauteing)
1/2 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. half and half
salt and pepper to taste
4 c. chicken, cooked and chopped/shredded
2 ready pie crusts

To prep the chicken: Boil three skinless breasts with ribs for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, pull the breasts out and let them cool (I usually set them in a strainer). Once they are cool enough to touch, pull all the meat off. This will give you about 4 cups of chicken. Reserve two cups of liquid for the required broth. You can strain it through a fine sieve if you want. (You will still have a lot of extra broth, so if you are feeling industrious you can also make soup.)

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute onion, celery, carrots, potatoes in butter for about 10 minutes on medium low heat. If you are using frozen peas, which I do, take them out and let them thaw a little while you are preparing the other vegetables. Add them when you have about 3-4 minutes left on the sauteing.

Sift the flour into the vegetable mixture a little at a time and stir well. Let this cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.

Combine the broth and half and half. Gradually stir it into the vegetable mixture. Increase the heat to medium and stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Stir in the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart casserole/pie dish. Cover with both, yes both, pie crusts. I don't have a 2 quart circular dish, so I have to do some slicing and dicing to make them rectangular. Cut slits in the crusts to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. I usually put a cookie sheet underneath, just in case it boils over. I hate cleaning ovens.

This will serve at least 8 people. It reheats really well, too.

Baked Shrimp in Tomato Feta Sauce

This is another fantastic recipe from SimplyRecipes (linked above). This is one of those great 30-minute, one pan, low-fat, low-calorie, high nutrition meals. We eat it over crusty Italian bread with a fresh side salad.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes (flavored or plain)

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (or a little less dried parsley)

1 tsp dried dill

1 -1.5 pounds medium shrimp (41/50s), peeled and deveined

3 ounces of reduced fat feta (or regular if you aren't worried about fat)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large oven-proof skillet. Add the onions and saute until soft - about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant - about 30 seconds.

2. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes until the juices thicken.

3. Remove from heat and add spices, shrimp, and cheese. Place the whole pan in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Pan-Fried Tofu with Spicy Peanut Sauce Over Greens and Rice

I was looking for some yummy tofu variations when I stumbled across this sauce recipe on www.recipezaar.com. I decided to combine it with a new tofu recipe and some stuff we had to make a compelte meal. Chris said it tasted and looked like it should cost $20 a plate, which is a good thing coming from a meat lover.

I prepped the tofu using the "tofu for meat eaters who hate tofu" method (linked above). Basically, you freeze it for at least 24 hours then throw it in a pot of boiling water (still in the package) for 25-30 minutes. Then you take it out of the package, slice it up, and press it for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

1 package of extra firm tofu, prepped as described above

cornstarch

oil for frying (I used peanut oil, but I'm sure canola would work,too.)

2 tbsp peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, your choice)

6 tbsp coconut milk, soy milk, or skim milk (I used coconut.)

2 tsp garlic powder

3-4 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp chili sauce (or ketchup if you hate spicy stuff more than us.)

1-2 tsp lime juice

2 green onions, chopped

a bunch of greens (turnip, kale, spinach, etc.)

Get the rice cooking as directed on the package. We used sushi rice, but I'm sure it would be fine with brown, jasmine, etc.

Cut the prepped tofu into cubes and toss it with cornstarch. Heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan (medium heat). Fry the tofu cubes until they are lightly browned and crispy. Set them aside on a cloth or paper towel to drain some excess oil. Reduce the heat to medium low and toss the greens into the skillet . Let them cook down while you make the sauce.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk. Then add the peanut butter and stir well. Add all the other seasonings and stir.

Put rice on the plates, then greens, tofu, and peanut sauce. Top with the chopped green onions.

Asparagus Stir-Fry

I found this on www.101cookbooks.com, which is a great website with lots of healthy delicious recipes. Plus, the author, Heidi Swanson, seems like one of the coolest chics around. 

The trick to this recipe is to make sure you have all your ingredients

prepped and ready to go before you start actually stir-frying.

Ingredients

• toasted sesame oil
  
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into slices thick as a pencil
  
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  
• scant 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (peeled)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (the actual recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon, but we don't like spicy food. If you do, then go for it!)
  
• 1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• a couple big pinches of fine-grain sea salt
  
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 big handful of toasted cashews, chopped up a bit
  
• a few handfuls of spinach, or chopped kale, or chopped chard
  
• zest and juice of one lime
  
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  
• 1 small handful fresh mint, slivered
  
• 1 small handful fresh basil, slivered
  

Heat a splash of sesame oil in a large pan (or a wok if you're fancy) over medium high heat. If you prefer dry-fry tofu that will work, too. When the oil is hot add the tofu and cook. 

We prefer crispy tofu so I pressed it first and let it get a little past golden, more towards brown. The bottom line is cook the tofu in sesame oil the way you like it. If you are a tofu novice there are links at the top of the page explaining some tofu basics. Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.

Add another few tablespoons of oil to the pan and, as soon as it is hot, add the onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, asparagus, and salt. Stir fry for a minute or so, then add the garlic, cashews, and spinach and stir-fry for another minute, or until the spinach wilts. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime zest and juice and the hoisin sauce. Cook for another 10-20 seconds, stirring all the while.

Remove from heat and stir in the mint and basil. Taste and add a bit more salt if needed.

Chimichurri

I marinated a steak in this stuff for Chris and he loved it. I think it would be great on grilled tofu or seafood. You could probably use it as a spread for good crusty bread, too.

• 1 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, trimmed of thick stems
  
• 3-4 garlic cloves
  
• 2 Tbsps fresh oregano leaves (can sub 2 teaspoons dried oregano)
  
• 1/2 cup olive oil
  
• 2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  

Finely chop the parsley, fresh oregano, and garlic (or process in a food processor if you want to make life easier) and dump it in a small bowl. Stir in the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. You can add more or less red pepper depending on your affinity for spicy food.

I basically soaked the steaks in this stuff and then grilled them over low heat. I imagine you would do the same for tofu or seafood. You can also refrigerate any unused portion. It will keep for a day or two - after that the herbs will turn brown.

I saw some variations that used lemon juice and other herbs. As far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with garlic and olive oil as the base.

Eating around the world!

I started a Wordpress page here: http://grandprixeats.wordpress.com/

I am going to research and cook something authentic from each F1 location this year. Should be fun!