Lives to Eat

This is another Smitten Kitchen recipe that I'm smitten with. I made it several times this summer to use up an overabundance of various veggies from the CSA. I love this recipe because it's got so much flexibility... you can put in whatever veggies you have on hand and feel like slicing and it'll come out great. In this version, I used eggplant, summer squash, red onion, and red and green bell peppers.

Smitten Kitchen Ratatouille Tart

Before cooking. Look at the pretty colors!



After baking. Yum!

I cooked this recipe exactly as I found it online, so rather than re-type, I'll just link you to the recipe. It was delish!



Savory Sweet Life Caramelized Onion Tart

I found this recipe in one of my issues of Food Network Magazine and thought it just sounded delicious and easy! After a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up the ingredients, I was on my way to dinner deliciousness. At first, I was a little skeptical of the onion-mushroom "slaw" on top of these burgers. I figured I should just give it a try and decided it was totally delicious! If you don't care for onion and mushroom though, I'm sure you could do some other type of Asian-style slaw. I served the burger with a green salad with a bottled Asian sesame-ginger-soy dressing. Perfect dinner and healthy to boot!




Asian Chicken Burgers
Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Burgers
1 lb ground chicken
1 small carrot, grated
1/2 small red onion, grated
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 TBSP hoisin sauce
1 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp hot Asian chili sauce (sambal oelek)
Cooking spray
4 sesame buns

Onion-Mushroom Slaw
1/2 small red onion
8 oz mushrooms
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime

Sauce
2 TBSP hoisin sauce
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Mix the first 8 burger ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Form the burger mix into 4 patties and place on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake patties in preheated oven until cooked through, approximately 20-25 minutes.
5. While the burgers are cooking, thinly slice the remaining half of the red onion and the mushrooms. Toss the onion and mushrooms with the sesame oil, soy sauce, and lime juice in a medium bowl.
6. Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
7. Toast the sesame buns.
8. Serve the burgers on the toasted buns topped with some of the onion-mushroom slaw and a drizzle of the sauce.

This is another favorite recipe of mine. It's simple to cook and super healthy, since there's really nothing but veggies in it. It would probably also be good for someone who eats gluten-free, and trust me, you won't miss the pasta one bit!



Spaghetti Squash
Inspired by Allrecipes

1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance.
3. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
5. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
6. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

I found this recipe on Food TV's website and it sounded appealing because of the short list of ingredients, most of which I already had on hand, and the slow cooker method. I've had all of the ingredients in my fridge ready to go, but never got around to actually prepping everything and getting it in the slow cooker. I needed something tasty, warm, and quick for dinner last night, so decided to give this recipe a go on the stovetop instead. It turned out beautifully. Although it's not a traditional gumbo in the truest sense of the word (cooked all day, starts with a roux, etc), it was still delicious and made for a hearty dinner. The leftovers also reheated well for lunch the next day and I suspect they will also freeze fine (without the rice).

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Inspired by Food TV

2 TBSP vegetable oil
2 TBSP butter
1 cup chopped onions
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 links andouille sausage, diced
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 10 oz. package frozen okra
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups tomato juice
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice for serving

1. Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat until the butter has melted.
2. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper and saute until onions are translucent.
3. Add sausage and chicken and stir until combined. Cook just until chicken begins to turn white on the outside.
4. Add okra and corn and stir until combined.
5. Add broth, tomato juice, and all spices. Stir well. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until meat and veggies are cooked and liquid has thickened.
6. Serve gumbo over rice.

The recipe says that it will serve 4-6. I think the gumbo might make 6-7 servings, but you'll definitely have to make more rice to go with it. It's better to make the rice fresh anyway!

This is another recipe I happened across in my RSS feed. I did a replay last week of the butternut squash and caramelized onion galette, which is one of my most favorite uses for butternut squash. But I still had about 3.5 lbs of squash left that needed to be used. I was originally going to make this for the vegetarian main at Thanksgiving, but ran out of time and energy after prepping and cooking the rest of the meal. So, I made it on one of the snowy December days we had. It was good, but if I make it again I would leave out the hazelnuts and/or substitute in some type of ground, browned Italian sausage (probably hot, since I like the sweet/spicy combo).

I actually followed the Epicurious recipe exactly, so I'll just link you to the recipe itself: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Butternut-Squash-and-Hazelnut-Lasagne-105911

This dinner was inspired by a dinner I've eaten twice at a restaurant in San Antonio, TX. I loved it so much there that I searched high and low to find the recipes I needed to make it at home. I also learned an important lesson tonight:

DO NOT PUT COCONUT IN THE TOASTER OVEN AND WALK AWAY!

This was the result of my lesson:



I set the toaster, and almost the rest of the kitchen, on fire. I was surprised at how quickly it went up in flames... less than 5 minutes. I also learned that you should probably always know where the fire extinguisher is, just in case. It's not that easy to carry a flaming pan of coconut from the toaster to the sink! Finally, if the toaster is on fire, keep the door SHUT until you figure out your plan of attack. Fire likes oxygen (duh!) and opening the door adds oxygen. Anyway, lesson learned.

I did try it again in the regular oven and stirring every two minutes and had a LOT more success!



Now that lesson time is over, let's get to the recipe!

Jerk Chicken with Coconut Pineapple Rice
2-3 tsp jerk seasoning
Juice from 1/2 lime
2 chicken thigh fillets
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 cup jasmine rice
2 stalks lemongrass
2 1/4 cups light coconut milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
2 TBSP toasted coconut

1. Heat oven to 350*F.
2. Mix the lime juice and jerk seasoning into a thin paste. You may need more seasoning, depending on how juicy your lime is.
3. Spread the seasoning paste evenly on both sides of the chicken thighs.
4. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Add chicken to skillet and sear, about 4-5 minutes per side.



5. Transfer chicken in skillet to oven to finish and/or keep warm until serving time.
6. Smash the lemongrass stalks with a rolling pin or other heavy kitchen tool. Put lemongrass into a large pot.
7. Add rice, coconut milk, and water to the pot with lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
8. Take rice off the heat. Remove lemongrass, fluff with a fork, and stir in the pineapple.



9. Remove chicken from the oven when it is done cooking.
10. Serve rice topped with toasted coconut and chicken.



I absolutely LOVED the rice and it was the perfect match for the spicy chicken. The chicken got a delicious color and cooked perfectly.