Caldo de Albongigas

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lbs ground turkey
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
3-4 red potatoes, cubed
1 (9oz) can tomato sauce
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Lime wedges

Directions:

1. Mix ground turkey with rice, cumin, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roll meat mixture into 1-1/2 inch meatballs.
2. Bring 2 and 1/2 quarts of water to boil. Gently place meatballs into the boiling water. Add onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, and tomato sauce. Cover and reduce heat to low and boil for about 1 hour until vegetables are soft and rice in meatballs are tender.
3. Serve hot garnished with cilantro and wedge of lime. Torillas optional.

Peach Pork Picante

I've been training for the El Tour de Tucson. Last week I did 31 miles and throughout the week have been doing weight training and running to keep my legs strong. All this workout has turned me into a carnivore. I've been craving red meat. Yesterday, I craved pork. I looked through recipes and crossed upon this one on allrecipes.com. Fabulous dish. I love it. Serve it with some rice and it's a satisfying, low calorie meal.

Ingredients:

Salsa
14 oz canned diced tomato, half drained
1 jalepeno, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro, diced
lime juice
salt

Pork
1 lb pork loin, boneless, cubed
1oz taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
4 tbsp peach preserves (or apricot)

Directions:

Salsa:

1. Combine all the ingredient into a bowl and mash together.

Pork.
1. Season pork with taco seasoning in a zip lock bag.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add seasoned pork and saute until browned, 5-7 minutes.

3. Add salsa and peach preserves and mix well. Cover skillet and reduce heat. Let simmer gently for 10 minutes and serve.

Lemon Quinoa Salad

Finally after month of one tragic event after another, I've finally found myself returning back to normal. I don't know what clicked, but I've been motivated to exercise regularly and cook again. Cooking has always made me happy. Food has always made me happy.  But without my soul being at peace I realized that I couldn't enjoy food. I'm glad to be back again from the dark phase in life. :)

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa, uncooked
2 cups Chicken Broth, low fat reduced sodium
Lemon Juice
4tsp Butter
4tsp Garliced, minced
2 Zucchini, cute into small pieces
1/2 Red Onion, sliced
Arugula

Direction:

1. Add quinoa and chicken broth to a medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked. Add lemon juice and fluff.

2. On a saucepan melt butter. Add zucchini and garlic. Sautee until zucchini is cooked through but remains crisp. Set aside and let cool.

3. Add quinoa and zucchini. Toss in a bowl together. After both quinoa and zucchini have cooled to room temperature, add red onion and arugula. Serve chilled

French-Style Shrimp Salad

Vinaigrette

6 garlic cloves, halved
2/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp extravirgin olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt

Direction
1. To prepare vinaigrette, drop garlic through food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Add broth and next 8 ingredients and process until well blended.

Salad
2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 small red potatoes
1/2 lb green beans or snap peas
5 cups gourmet salad greens
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 cup slices red bell pepper
cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (14 oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 tbsp capers

Direction
1. To prepare salad, combine 2 tbsp vinaigrette and shrimp in a large ziploc bag; seal. Marinated in refrigerator for 20 minutes, turning bag occasionally to coat shrimp.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 8 minutes. Add peas/beans to pan; cook 2 minutes or until they are crisp-tender and potatoes are tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices; set aside.
3. Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove the shrimp from bag; discard marinade. Add shrimp to pan. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.
4. Combine red potatoes, peas/beans, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and red pepper in a large bowl. Add the remaining vinagrette, tossing gently to coat. Place lettuce on a serving plate. Arrange vegetables and shrimp over lettuce. Sprinkle capers. Serve.

Mushroom Stuffed w Spinach Artichoke Dip

About a month ago, the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy hosted a Top Chef competition. It was a great event. Although I didn't win, I thought that my appetizer did a great job among it's competitors.

Ingredients

2 packages (10 oz) Frozen chopped spinach, drain & squeezed dry
1 package Knorr's leek or vegetable soup mix
2/3 cup Light mayo
1/2 package (4 oz) Fat-free sour cream
8 oz Water chestnuts, chopped
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, chopped
1 tsp Sundried tomatoes, minced
1 cup Parmesan, grated
Dash Worcesteshire sauce

26 large portabella mushrooms, cleaned with stems and gills removed

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon a tablespoon of dip onto the mushrooms. Place on muffin baking sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Curry Chicken Salad

It's only the first week of May and it's getting up into the 90's here in Arizona. On top of everything else the winds are blowing and amplifying my allergies! Hate it. I hate it! The heat kills my appetite and the allergies kill my sense of taste and smell. Enough complaining. This dish has helped me overcome the obstacles that Arizona's spring has thrown at me. Light and cool chicken salad plus spicy curry to liven my appetite and taste buds. :)

Ingredients
2 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
Handful of red grapes, halved
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
3 tsps of curry powder
(May add some 1 tsp dijon mustard and sliced almonds if preferred)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the chicken, celery, mayonnaise, and curry. Add the grapes to the mixture last. Serve on top of greens as a salad with whole wheat Wasa crispy flatbread or as a sandwich. ENJOY!

Spring Roll with Peanut Sauce

Have you ever tried Vietnamese food? OHH OHH OHHH... So fresh and so delicious. My favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Tucson has to be Miss Saigon. I love so many of their dishes but the one that is absolutely my favorite is the spring roll. I made this once with Blake but the important element that we were missing was mastering the peanut sauce. We once asked Miss Saigon for the recipe but they said that it was a secret. But after about half a year, I think I am close to unlocking the secret. ;)

Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup Peanut butter
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp Garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp Chili sauce (optional if you like spicy)
1 Lime, juiced
Water

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Add water to thin the sauce.

Spring Roll
1 Cucumber, sliced into thin strips
1 Carrot, sliced into thin strips
Cilantro
Basil
Lettuce
Your choice of:
Shrimp (halved), Imitation crab, Deli chicken
Rice paper

1. Boil water. Remove from heat. Briefly dip the the rice paper in the hot water. Remove from water and place on a flat surface.

2. Carefully arrange the other ingredients onto the rice paper leaving an inch around to roll the paper. (It take a lot of patience and practice)

3. Dip with peanut sauce and enjoy.

Ratatouille with Tofu

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 cups diced eggplant
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup chopped plum tomato
1 cup parsley leaves
1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with olive oil. Add carrots to pan; saute 6 minutes. Add onions, basil, and garlic; saute 4 minutes. Add tofu, eggplant, and zucchini; saute 4 minutes.
2. Combine parsley, basil, green onions, and olive oil in food processor.
3. Add pesto and tomato sauce to ratatouille.
4. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir salt and pepper.