Monday, March 25, 2013

Jambalaya

Trying to get back on a healthy track, I recently pulled out one of my healthy eating cookbooks.  Rocco DiSpirito's "Now Eat This!" tauts "150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories."  Now I usually find some way to make a healthy recipe unhealthy, but this book at least helps me get a good start. 


I have always been a shrimp lover. The family joke goes that on Christmas Day each year they used to buy two shrimp trays -- one for the family, and one for me.  This recipe for Jambalaya, adapted from Rocco's book, pairs my love for shrimp with my desire to make a healthy meal.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon paprika
3/4 cup long-grain brown rice
Salt
2 sweet Italian sausage links, cut up (Rocco's recipe obviously calls for andouille, but I had Italian and it worked just fine!)
14.5 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp

Here's how to make it:

Chop onion, green pepper and garlic.  Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray.  Add onion, green pepper and garlic.  Sauté about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add chicken broth, paprika and rice.  Season with a few shakes of salt.  Cover and heat on medium heat for a few minutes, then switch to low.  Cook on low for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown the sausage.  You don't have to cook it all the way through, since it will be cooking in the pot for awhile in the next step.

Stir in sausage and tomatoes.  Continue to cook on low about 30 minutes more.  This really lets the rice and meat soak up the flavor.


Bring small pot of water to a boil.  Add shrimp and boil until they are a light pink color.

Season shrimp with salt and stir into rice mixture.  Cook covered 10 more minutes or until liquid is absorbed.




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Classic Goulash

As winter bears on (that groundhog clearly didn’t know what he was talking about), I was in the mood for a cold weather meal.  OK, maybe not sticking to our healthy eating plan for the moment, but sometimes you just need to indulge.  (Spring is just around the corner, right?)


This recipe for Classic Goulash, adapted from Allrecipes, really warms the heart.  I love this mixture of flavors and textures, the classic “American” way to make this Hungarian dish.  Next time, I’m going to try Smitten Kitchen’s version -- there seem to be lots of variations on goulash. 

The key I’ve learned (with lots of dishes) is to experiment with seasonings and find what you like. Below I’ve listed the ingredients and amounts that I use, but feel free to make it your own way and find the flavor that works for you. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

1 pound ground beef
½ chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ cups water
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 ½ tablespoons  soy sauce
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning
Few dashes dried basil leaves
Dash of seasoned salt
Couple good shakes of dried oregano leaves
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni 

Here’s how to make it: 

In a large Dutch oven, brown the ground beef.  While it’s browning, chop the onion and “zoom” the garlic.  When beef is almost browned, add in the onion and garlic.  Cook 10 minutes more, until onion and garlic are fragrant and look delicious. 

Stir in water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, and whatever seasonings you like.  Bring to a boil, and then cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in macaroni.  Cover and simmer on low heat again, for another 25 minutes.  Continue to stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and serve.

Makes plenty, and tastes even better warmed up the next day.  Save it to get you through the rest of this never-ending winter!