Special Ingredient: Citrus Tapenade with Chilean Sea Bass by Heather

This month, Rachel and I decided on citrus as the special ingredient since they're in season and help brighten a cold winter night.  This recipe combines lemons, limes and oranges.  You could put this tapenade on chicken or any other white fish, but I chose to use Chilean Sea Bass since it's a nice sturdy white fish.



Ingredients:

Citrus Tapenade:
2/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 tbs. capers, drained
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 anchovy, chopped (optional)
2 tbs. orange juice
juice of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1 lime
2 tbs. zest of an orange
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lime
segments of 1 orange, chopped (I used a Cara Cara orange but you could use any kind)
2 tbs. olive oil
sprinkle of red pepper flakes

2 6-8 oz. filets of chilean sea bass (or your protein of choice)
1 cup uncooked quinoa

Pork Loin Cutlets with Sage and Lemon Breadcrumbs by Heather

This is a really easy weeknight dish.  All things said and done, you can have this ready in about 25-30 minutes.  I serve this dish with a side of broccolini, which I've cut into 1 inch size pieces, and steamed in a bowl with a lid in the microwave for two minutes.  It doesn't get any easier than this.



Ingredients:

6 thin cut pork loin cutlets, trimmed of any fat around the edges
3 tbs. sage, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz. jar tomato sauce (I like using Muir Glen)

Cauliflower Risotto Cakes by Rachel

Having ordered too many vegetables all at once, rather than letting them go bad, I had to find creative ways to make use of them.  Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies, but, unfortunately, my fiancé isn't crazy about it, so I had to find a way to work it into a dish that would be more appealing to him.

One thing that we both really love is risotto, which is where my idea started.  Inspired by polenta cakes, I thought that adding cauliflower to some risotto and shaping it into cakes would make hold together like polenta does and I was right!

While I love to fry things, I wanted to make a healthier dish, so I baked them and they were delicious and crispy.  With some fresh tomato sauce on the top, they were perfect.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup risotto
2 tbsp cornmeal
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cauliflower, chopped finely
salt and pepper to taste

To batter:
1 egg
1 cup italian bread crumbs

Hot and Sour Soup by Heather

I went to a really great yoga class tonight, and was craving a warm, healthy soup afterwards, and this soup did the trick.



Ingredients:
1 carton low sodium organic vegetable broth
4 cups water
3.5 oz (1 carton) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3.5 oz. beech or enoki mushrooms
white parts of 3 green onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs. ginger, grated
2 heads baby bok choy, stalks diced
1/2 package firm tofu, diced
1 cup chinese cooking wine
3/4 cup to 1 cup rice vinegar (depends on your preference; I added 1 cup)
2-3 tbs. hot chili sauce
4-5 tbs. soy sauce (taste as you go and add more as needed)

Garnish:
1/2 carrot, julienne
leaves of the baby bok choy
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
green parts of the green onions, sliced
lime wedges
sriracha

Shrimp Pad Thai by Heather

Here's a healthy and quick version of one of my favorite takeout dishes, Pad Thai.  Admittedly, when I was making this dish, I didn't take a ton of pictures, but the recipe is easy to follow.  I used linguine instead of rice noodles, mostly because I don't like the texture of rice noodles, but you could use either.

Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 green onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
bean sprouts (if you can find them; I never can!)
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
6 oz. linguine or rice noodles
lime wedges
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 block of firm tofu, diced (you can skip this if you want to just stick with shrimp)
2 tbs. canola oil

sauce:
3 tbs. soy sauce
3 tbs. tomato paste
1 tbs. honey
juice of one lime
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tbs. almond or peanut butter

Chicken Pot Pie by Rachel

While I can appreciate a person size pot pie, I think pot pie is a great thing to make family style.  You can really put anything you want in a pot pie, but the most common ingredients that most people would use are probably chicken and veggies.  

Chicken pot pie is a crowd pleaser and really easy to make (don't be intimidated by pie crust)!  If you have a potluck coming up, I would recommend making a pot pie- it's just the kind of food that gives your tummy a nice, warm hug in this cold winter weather.

so crispy and delicious!

I like to make my crust from scratch, but you can use store bought pie crust if you want. 

Crust

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp cold water

Egg wash

1 egg

1 tbsp water

Sicilian Shrimp Pasta by Heather

I'm trying to channel the warm, sunny weather of Sicily with dish.  It was another cold, snowy day in New York and I'm definitely looking forward to spring!  This dish is light and spicy, and comes together in about 20 minutes.



Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp, deveined, and peeled
3 garlic cloves
1 shallot
1/2 cup wine
6 tbs. toasted almond slivers
7-8 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 box whole wheat rigatoni
3/4 cup parsley, chopped

Smokey Beet Burgers by Heather

I made these last weekend and they were a huge hit with Brandon.  The combination of walnuts, lentils, and beets give this a nice meaty texture.



Ingredients:
1 cup cooked beets, grated
1 cup cooked green lentils
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
2 eggs
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 cup walnuts, toasted
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs. olive oil

For the feta spread:
8 oz. feta, crumbled into cubes
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

Garnishes:
arugula micro greens
mesquite BBQ or sriracha
avocado, sliced

Soy Ginger Scallion Fish by Rachel

One of the easiest things to make is steamed fish with soy sauce, ginger, and scallions.  Growing up, I used to watch my mom make this all the time, but for some reason, I never really took note of how she did it.  Well now I know and it couldn't be easier.  It's really just a few steps!

Ingredients

1 whole fish about 1lb, cleaned with head and tail on (make sure its scales are removed also)- I used branzino

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh ginger, diced

2 tbsp fresh scallions, shredded

1/4 cup oil, canola or olive

1/4 tsp white pepper

4 tbsp soy sauce