Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Millet with Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts and Feta

The last time I made millet I overcooked it and it was mushy. This time I really paid attention to the cooking time and took it off the heat so it didn't continue to cook until we were ready to eat it. It had a much better texture this time and tasted great heated up the next day for lunch! The chimichurri sauce was a nice addition to the steak.

Steak

1 flat iron steak

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 large garlic clove

1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro

1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 /4 cups distilled white vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp cayenne

Preheat broiler. Stir together salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture on both sides of steak. Broil steak about 4 inches from heat about 4-6 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, add garlic to food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro, parsley, vinegar, oil, cayenne and remaining 1/2 tsp salt, then pulse until herbs are finely chopped.

Slice steak and serve with sauce. (this recipes comes from epicurious.com)

Millet with Swiss Chard

1 cup millet (cooked according to package- I used chicken broth instead of just water)- can buy this at Whole Foods in grain section

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 small yellow onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped separately, divided kosher salt and ground black pepper 2 tbsp chicken broth, vegetable broth or water 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or 1 tomato, cored and chopped 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Uncover, add chard leaves, salt, pepper and broth and cook, covered, until chard leaves are bright green and tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat and gently stir in tomatoes. Put millet on plates and put swiss chard mixture on top. Then scatter cheese and pine nuts over the top. (adapted from Whole Foods recipe)

Valentine's Dinner..

Endive and avocado salad with warm walnut dressing

Children's meal: homemade beet pasta, pork and avocado

Pernil- Mark Bittman slow cooked pork recipe

Pork served with homemade beet ravioli with truffle butter sauce

OK, BEST. DINNER. EVER.

Will post recipes tomorrow .... still in shock at how smoothly I was able to prepare this dinner and it still be absolutely delicious!!! Recipes are fairly simple and the results were incredible... if I must say so myself!! :-) Happy Valentine's Day!!

Dinner Rolls & Kisses- Valentine's Day Style!!

Both of these recipes have been given to me from my family. The rolls (recipe comes from my mother in law) are so easy to make and whenever I make soup or pasta and think we need bread but don't feel like dragging three kids to the store just for a fresh loaf of bread I make these. Last night my kids helped me roll out the dough and we used our heart cookie cutter to make them into Valentine's Day rolls. We had them with spaghetti squash, pasta sauce and meatballs (that were in my freezer made by wonderful mother). Sorry I don't have a picture of the whole dish... it was really good!! I have posted in the past how to make spaghetti squash so you can look that up if you want the recipe.

The kisses come from my grandmother who only makes them at Christmas time. And if you ask her to make more she will say, "You will have to wait until next year!!" Well, lucky for me, I have the recipe!!! So what is better than a pink kiss for valentine's day!!! By adding a touch of red food coloring we turned this Christmas tradition into a Valentine's day treat!

Dinner Rolls

1/2 cup butter (unsalted if you have it)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1 package yeast

1 egg

3 cups flour ( I always use whole wheat flour but the recipe calls for all-purpose white flour)

Cream butter and sugar then add boiling water. In another cup, add yeast, 1/2 cup luke warm water and a pinch of sugar.

Let boiling water cool, then add egg, yeast mixture, and 3 cups of flour. Mix until sticky. Put a handful of flour on dough, pat it smooth and into a ball and coat the dough with the flour. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it sit for 30 minutes to rise. Roll it out and pinch off pieces to make rolls or use cookie cutters.

Kisses

Preheat oven to 375.

Beat 3 egg whites until they hold soft peaks. SLOWLY, add 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 6 oz. of chocolate chips. (And red food coloring if you want).

On parchment lined cookie sheets, drop kisses by spoonful. Turn off oven and put them in for 1 hour or longer.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Salmon with Chickpea Ragu

I got this recipe from the Today Show. It is a recipe from Ellie Krieger’s Heart healthy dishes. My kids loved it, I wish I had bought more salmon!! I prepared the chickpea mixture ahead of time and just added the basil and reheated it right before serving. It was so colorful and fresh tasting! I used a basil garlic olive oil that I had but any regular olive oil will work great on the salmon.

olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large zucchini, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups chicken broth

One 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons, plus more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 salmon fillets (but you can use more, depending on how many mouths you are feeding)

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, zucchini, garlic, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the carrots are firm-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stirring to incorporate completely. Add the chicken broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, until the liquid thickens slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat, add 1 cup of the basil and stir to incorporate. Cover to keep warm while you cook the salmon.

Preheat the broiler. Rub olive oil over the salmon and then season it with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Broil the salmon for 8 to 10 minutes per inch thickness.

To serve, spoon 1 1/2 cups of the chickpea ragu into a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Top with a fillet of salmon and garnish with ribbons of basil.

Lentil Chili and Socca

Who knew chickpea flour could create a simple yet delicious dish (and my husband's new favorite thing!!) Who knew there was such a thing as chickpea flour!! I just discovered it and went to "the head nut" (a local place to buy nuts, candy, coffee, spices and everything else in between) to buy it since I couldn't find it at Whole Foods. Chickpea flour, water, salt and pepper are the basis for this dish called a socca, and it basically looks like a large pancake that you bake for about 20 minutes. I will definitely try to make some variations of this in the near future since it is Ben's new favorite dish!

The lentil chili was also very easy to put together.. I used a mixture of different types of lentils but the recipe from Whole Foods website said brown lentils hold their shape best so if you are buying a certain type I would look for those. And if you live in the area.. it makes A LOT so if you want some let me know... I have WAY to many lentils for us to eat!! :-)

Lentil Chili

7 cups chicken broth 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 large red bell pepper, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced 4 teaspoons chili powder

dash of ground cumin 1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups lentils) 2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a large heavy pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat to medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until onion is translucent and pepper is tender. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add lentils, tomatoes and 7 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Socca

1 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon, at least, ground black pepper
4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1 tsp dried rosemary (I used dried)

extra kosher salt or Fleur de Sel type of sea salt)

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a well-seasoned or nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or cast-iron skillet in oven. Sift chickpea flour into a bowl; add salt and pepper; then slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover, and let sit while oven heats, or as long as 12 hours.
2. If using rosemary, stir it into batter. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into heated pan, and swirl to cover pan evenly. Pour in batter, and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until pancake is firm and edges set. Heat broiler, and brush top of socca with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil if it looks dry.
3. Set socca a few inches away from broiler for a few minutes, just long enough to brown it spottily. Cut it into wedges, and serve hot, or at least warm.

Super Healthy Pasta with Brussel Sprouts

I found a similar recipe on Epicurious.com and thought it sounded easy and delicious so I decided to give it a try. It was both! There are only a few ingredients in this dish but has lots of flavor! Brussel sprouts are not typically a favorite in most households or eaten by most kids, but somehow I managed to get a good response from all in my house!

3/4 pound Brussel sprouts, with stems cut off

1 package of Ezekiel spaghetti (any pasta will do but this brand is a very healthy grain pasta)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp pine nuts (beware- these are very expensive lately so go to Whole Foods and only get what you need of them from the big bins!)

Slice Brussel sprouts in a food processor fitted with slicing disk.

Preheat oven to 350 and place pine nuts in a glass pie dish. Bake 10 minutes (should be perfectly toasted and lightly browned). Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta-cooking water.

Meanwhile, heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat until butter is fully melted, then add Brussel sprouts, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp ground pepper. Saute over medium heat until tender and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add pine nuts and mix together. When pasta is done cooking, add to skillet and toss with enough of the reserved cooking water to moisten. Toss well with Brussel sprouts and serve with grated Parmigian cheese.

Turkey Meatloaf

This recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa. I made it earlier in the day and put it in the fridge on the baking sheet then took it out right before I had to cook it. It was served with steamed broccoli and roasted carrots.

2 lb. ground turkey (bought 1 package of breast meat and 1 of thighs)

1 small onion

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 chicken broth

1 fresh thyme sprig

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp tomato paste

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup ketchup

Preheat oven 325. In a saute pan, cook onions, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper until onions are translucent but not browned. Add worcestershire, chicken broth, tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well (hands work best) and shape into a loaf on a ungreased baking sheet. Spread ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1- 1 1/2 hour until internal temp is 160.