Portobello-Herb Pasta

Rachel Ray made a parsley mushroom sauce on her show this week, which inspired me to make my own, so here it is. This easy blend of fresh ingredients is easy and amazingly good!
Ingredients:
-2 cups vegetable broth
-5 medium chopped Portobello mushrooms
-1 tbs butter, 2 tbs smart balance or olive oil
-3 chopped shallots
-2/3 cup chopped parsley
-1/3 cup chopped basil
-1 cup dry white wine (not cooking wine, as in doesn't have much flavor)
-1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1 lb Fresh pasta

Directions:
In a large pan simmer chopped Portobello mushrooms in vegetable broth for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Turn on large pot of water for pasta to boil.
In a medium sauce pan melt butter and smart balance and add chopped shallots - cook on medium heat for about 8 minutes. Stir in parley, basil, and white wine. Remove mushrooms from the stock, chop into even smaller pieces, and add to parsley butter. Add stock, avoiding the grit on the bottom. Cook down sauce for a few minutes.
Toss sauce with pasta, and a cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Biggest Loser Recipe: Chicken Cacciatore

I got this recipe from Curtis Stone on the Biggest Loser last Tuesday. I made it today, and it is fabulous! The only alteration I made was I added a little salt.


Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
Four 4 ounce pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, cut into medium dice
2 cups button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1/4 cup red wine
2 cups Muir Glen diced fire roasted tomatoes (sodium free)
1 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
5 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 cup steamed brown rice to serve


Directions:
* Heat a large saucepot over medium high heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan.

* Season the chicken with pepper and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

* Remove the chicken to a plate and add the remaining oil to the pan.

* Saute the onions for 3 minutes stirring constantly, then add the garlic and bell peppers.

* Cook the garlic and peppers for 2 minutes and add the mushrooms.

* Cook the mushrooms for 4 minutes stirring often.

* Add the red wine and allow to reduce until almost dry.

* Add the tomatoes to the pot and stir well.

* Add the thyme, salt, bay leaf and oregano.

* Bring to the simmer and reduce heat to low.

* Add the chicken back to the sauce and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.

* Stir in all but one pinch of the parsley.

* To serve, spoon 1/4 cup of brown rice onto the center of a serving plate.

* Place one portion of chicken on top of the rice and spoon some of the sauce and vegetables over the chicken, repeat with remaining plates.

* Sprinkle a little of the chopped olives and remaining parsley over each plate of chicken and serve.

Nutrient Analysis - per serving

Calories 300
Fat calories 60
Total Fat 7g
Sat Fat 1.5g
Chol 65mg
Sodium (not sure since I added a little extra)
Total Carb 25g
Fiber 4g
Sugars 8g
Protein 30g

Celebrate a New You with a New Stew

I started my triathlon training today by swimming laps in the pool. So I thought I deserved something really good for dinner. If your new years resolution was to exercise more you should definitely try my stew - you deserve it! My dad has thought me the secret to a tender and delicious stew: salad dressing! Hope you enjoy this recipe.
Ingredients:
-2 pounds stew meat
-6 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes
-3 cloves minced garlic
-1/3 cup flour
-Salt
-4 tablespoons olive oil
-2 chopped onions
-5 carrots cut in half
-1 1/2 cups red wine
-3 cups beef broth (Better than Bouillon)
-3/4 cup Italian dressing
-Pepper
Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Saute onions and garlic in 2 tbs olive oil in dutch oven over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile coat chunks of stew meat in flour. Cook stew meat until lightly brown in two batches over medium heat in the remaining olive oil with a little salt. Add potatoes and peeled carrots to dutch oven. Place stew meat on top of the veggies. Pour broth, wine, and salad pressing on top -add black pepper to taste. Cook stew on bake for 2 1/2 hours.
Enjoy the comforts of winter!

Mom's Köttfärs Sås (Swedish Spaghetti Sauce)

This is one of the first recipes my mom taught me how to make! It's easy, and very good! Great for when your feeding a lot of your friends. I am going to try this with boca crumbles to see if it is good, would cut down on the fat, and be a super healthy vegan dish!

Ingredients:
-1 onion chopped
-2+1 tablespoons olive oil
-1 lb lean ground beef
-2 cans diced tomatoes
-3 tablespoons tomato paste
-2 cloves minced fresh garlic
-3 small mushrooms cut into very small pieces (opional)
-4 tabelspoons oregano
-2 tablesoons basil
-salt and pepper to taste
-freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Chop onions into small pieces and saute in a large, deep frying pan for a few minutes until slightly tender. Add minced garlic and saute another minute. Add ground beef, make into small pieces with a spatuala and fry until browned. Add herbs and spices to meat and keep frying for a few minutes while you fry mushrooms in a another little frying pan. Add sauted mushrooms into meat sauce, and stir in the cans of diced tomatoes along with the tomato paste. Bring sauce to a boil, and turn heat down to medium. Let meat sauce cook for about 8 minutes then put on a big pot of boiling water for pasta (whole wheat is great!). By the time your pasta is cooked al dente, the sauce will be ready too! Top with fresh parmesan and enjoy.

Vegetarian Mushroom Barley Soup!

This soup is probably my FAVORITE soup ever! My husband who is a meat and cheese kinda guy also loves it, and often requests to have it for dinner! It has almost not fat, tons of vegetables, and is very filling. Were going snowboarding tomorrow, and thought it would be great to warm us up after a few hours on the mountain. If your on a diet for the new year, or just love great soup, try this! P.S recently I have been trying more vegan recipes, and this old favorite it a great one!

Vegetarian Mushroom Barley Soup
Serves 12

1lb Mushrooms, sliced 1 teaspoon salt
1 cup pearl barley 1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup carrots, chopped ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup celery, chopped 1 teaspoon thyme
1 ½ cups onion, chopped 2 teaspoons dill
3 quarts vegetable broth 2 tablespoons parsley
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter 2 teaspoons minced garlic

Melt the olive oil in a large stockpot. Cut up the veggies into very small chopped pieces. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sauté until veggies are tender, for about 1/2 hour. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Add broth, barley, and the seasonings until the pot is boiling. Simmer until barely becomes tender (about two hours) Stir in dill just before serving.

Health Tip!
Tips: Use a good vegetable broth, like Better Than Bouillon, which is MSG free and all natural.

MSG over stimulates the glutamine receptors of the brain, which means that it heightens the salty and sweet tastes of the dish containing MSG, while at the same time, it dampens the bitter and sour tastes, often causing you to eat more. Broths with MSG signal the pancreas to produce insulin causing your blood sugar to drop, and making you feel hungry after you've already eaten a big meal. It also tricks your body into thinking that the food your eating is healthy, because it tastes like your getting protein when your not.

Snickerdoodles meet Chocolate and Chai!

I got the urge to use my kitchen aid tonight, as I often do late at night! I went to one of my favorite bloggers, www.annasfood.blogspot.com! She has lots of great recipes you should check out. I found a great recipe on there for Chai Chocolate Snickerdoodles. I modified it a little from the original, as I often do so I don't have to run to the grocery store :). They were delicious! I'm thinking about making just chocolate snickerdoodles next time, I think that would be great too!

Makes

5 dl sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp crushed cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp white pepper
225 butter, softened
1 dl cocoa powder
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla sugar is fine too)
5 dl flour
1,5 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 350°F. Put baking paper on two cookie sheets.

Mix the sugar and all the spices in a large bowl (could be the bowl of your kitchen-aid, if you use one) and reserve 1 dl for later. Add the butter and beat with the sugar mix until very pale and fluffy.

Add the cocoa powder, and beat until completely mixed in. Add the eggs and the vanilla, keep on beating. Finally stir in the flour and the baking powder.

Roll balls, about walnut-size, and dip them in the reserved sugar-spice-mix. Place on a cookie sheet, and flatten slightly with your hand.
Bake for about 13 minutes, remove and let cool on a rack.