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Chicken Fricassee With Tarragon

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Kaitlin

Cold weather always makes me crave comfort food. I tend to really want pasta (and would be perfectly happy eating it every day that drops below 40 degrees) but am always open to healthier comfort food options. BetterEats.com had a lighter recipe for Chicken Fricassee, which is a French stew with chicken, vegetables, white wine, and cream that when paired with some day old bread makes a fantastic comfort food option. Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks) – bone-in, skin removed (I used 1 chicken breast, 1 thigh, 1 leg, and 1 drumstick) 1/4 teaspoon salt pepper, black – to taste 2 tablespoons flour, all-purpose 1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin 1 cup shallots (about 4 large ones) 1 cup wine, dry white 1 1/2 cups broth, chicken, less sodium 1 medium carrot – peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup) 1 pound mushrooms, I used 1/2 lb baby bellas, 1/2 lb button – wiped clean and halved or quartered 4 sprig(s) tarragon, fresh 4 teaspoons tarragon, fresh – chopped 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon water 1/4 cup sour cream, reduced-fat 2 teaspoons mustard, Dijon

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Kaitlin

It’s funny how you can go years, even decades, thinking that you don’t like a certain food only to find you can’t get enough of it when you’re older. Fish tacos is one of those foods for me. They pack a ton of flavor but are a healthier option than other proteins (as long as the fish isn’t fried, that is). I also love how quickly you can cook them up, perfect for a weeknight dinner! Cooking Light always has the best taco recipes so I naturally went in search of a fish taco recipe there. I found this recipe in the myrecipes.com new cookbook: Myrecipes’ America’s Favorite Food Cookbook, which you can win by entering below! Ingredients Crema: 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise 3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream 1 teaspoon grated lime rind (I just used the zest of one lime) 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (I used the juice of one lime) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 garlic clove, minced Tacos: 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1 1/2 … Continue reading →

Almond Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have been looking for dried lavender for the longest time. I understand that a lavender treat is probably more appropriate for a spring day, but I just came across dried lavender this week at the Head Nut in Reading Terminal and couldn’t wait another 6 months! I adapted this recipe from a Taste of Home recipe. The icing comes from a Martha Stewart recipe. Ingredients: 1/2 cup slivered almonds 2 cups sugar, divided 1 cup butter, softened 1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 eggs 1/4 cup evaporated milk 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 20-25 drops each of blue and red food dye 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup honey Additional dried lavender flowers, optional

Quinoa Indian Chicken Curry

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Kaitlin

Although quinoa seems to be a bit of a “new” super food, it has actually been around for thousands of years and was considered one of the most important crops of the Incas. This grainlike seed is really easy to cook (you cook it like rice) but is chock full of nutritional benefits. Quinoa’s high protein content makes it a great choice for vegans and vegetarians. It is also a complete protein which means it contains all the essential amino acids. Quinoa is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin B, folate, and riboflavin. Quinoa is also naturally gluten free, and can be ground into a flour that allows for gluten free baking. Whew. I really didn’t know much about quinoa, or how to use it. So I was excited to be given the chance to review The Complete Idiot’s Guide Quinoa Cookbook to learn more about it. The book is full of quinoa recipes, including breakfast, dinner, and even dessert recipes. I wanted to try one of the more traditional preparations of quinoa, but can’t wait to delve into the more interesting uses for it in future posts (Lemon Poppy … Continue reading →

Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Kaitlin

I have never made a taco recipe from Cooking Light that I didn’t love. Honestly, how do they manage to deliver fantastic recipe after fantastic recipe? This one is no different, although the original recipe was made with red snapper. I’ve been having really bad luck recently coming across the fish I want when I go to the market, so I had to sub in Chilean sea bass instead. Ingredients: 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato, divided 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 garlic cloves, minced 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 pound Chilean sea bass 1 teaspoon grated lime rind 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas To make the chipotle cream, remove one chile from the can and chop. (I had a friend recently mention that when she read a recipe using one chile from a can of chipotle chile in adobo sauce, she incorrectly thought it said to use the whole can, and I can totally see how it would be read … Continue reading →

Cumin-Spiced Fish Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Kaitlin

With Cinco de Mayo this past weekend, I couldn’t stop thinking about making some kind of Mexican-themed meal this weekend. So I was pretty excited when my boyfriend suggested Fish Tacos on Sunday. My trusty Cooking Light obviously had the perfect recipe to fulfill our craving. These Cumin-Spiced Fish Tacos get an extra boost of flavor from toasting the cumin seeds before grinding. If you can’t find cumin seeds, ground cumin will work for the recipe as well, just skip the toasting part. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 pound tilapia fillets 1 tablespoon coconut oil 1 cup sliced peeled avocado 2/3 cup finely chopped peeled ripe mango 1/4 cup chopped green onions 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro the juice of one lime 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper 1/2 can black beans, rinsed 8 oz sour cream 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro the juice and zest of 1/2 a lime 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 2 minutes, shaking the pan frequently. Add the … Continue reading →

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Kaitlin

There are some people who are in your life that just make your days a little bit better. I’m talking about the people you see for maybe just one minute a day: a person at a coffee shop, someone you pass in the hall, or in my case, one of the guys who works at my SEPTA station. I always look forward to a smile and a wave from him. So I was pretty bummed when he told me he was moving to another station. Sigh. I wanted to find a way to thank him for making my day a little bit better, and I honestly don’t know any other way to thank someone besides with food (this is something I may need to work on…) So I decided to make him cupcakes! And who doesn’t like chocolate peanut butter cupcakes? I found this recipe on Food Network and thought it was perfect. It even incorporated coffee into the recipe (one of my favorite tricks) to heighten the chocolately flavor. I decided to try to make my own peanut butter icing though, to make it more my own. Ingredients: 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 2/3 … Continue reading →

Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Kaitlin

We recently had a baby shower for one of my co-workers. She’s a big chocolate fan, so I went in search of a super chocolately cupcake that I could make for the shower. Lauren’s Latest had a great recipe that incorporated dark chocolate and cocoa powder, perfect! I used an altered buttercream recipe from my Guinness Cupcakes so that I could have a white icing that I could dye blue. She is having a boy so I went with a duck theme! Cupcake ingredients: 3/4 cup butter 12 oz dark chocolate 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I used light) 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 cup flour 3 eggs 3/4 cup milk 3/4 cup low fat sour cream 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Buttercream ingredients: 1 stick of butter, softened 3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Milk, as needed to get to desired consistency 4-5 drops blue food dye So I did something that is typically a big no-no in baking. I took Lauren’s recipe and multiplied it by three to make 24 cupcakes. And (thankfully) it turned out a-ok! So feel free to use … Continue reading →

Black Bean Tostadas

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Kaitlin

Tostada normally refers to any meal in which a tortilla is deep fried or toasted. They were originally in response to tortillas that had started to get stale but could still be eaten. The toasted or fried tortilla is topped with beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, onions, salsa and then topped off with chicken or pork. Today, you can find all types of tostadas: seafood, vegetarian, vegan, etc.I found a recipe for a quick tostada in the Cooking Light Fresh Foods Superfast cookbook and altered it a bit to remove most pre-made products (I don’t usually get to supermarkets). The result was still a quick and really delicious weeknight meal. Ingredients: 1 can of black beans 5 tablespoons fresh salsa 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1/8 cup reduced-fat sour cream 1/8 cup chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons water 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 8-inch flour tortillas Cooking spray 3/4 cup shredded Romaine lettuce 1/2 an avocado, sliced Preheat the broiler. Drain and rinse the black beans. Add to a saute pan coated in cooking spray. Heat on medium heat, pressing on the black beans so they mush a bit. Add the salsa. If you do not have time to make your own … Continue reading →

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Kaitlin

I have had quite the hankering for Mexican recently, so I was so happy that the October issue of Cooking Light included a bunch of delicious sounding Mexican inspired vegetarian meals. I decided to go for the Black Bean & Cheese Enchiladas, because they can easily be frozen for future lunches and dinners. I substituted a few of the ingredients for what I already had, but you can find the original recipe here. Ingredients: 2 Cajun peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 cup chopped yellow onion 5 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3 cups chicken broth, divided 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin The juice of 1 lime 1/8 teaspoon cayenne 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 2 cups pre-shredded Mexican-blend cheese, divided 3 thinly sliced green onions, divided Cooking spray 10 (6-inch) corn tortillas 5 tablespoons light sour cream Preheat oven to 400°. Prepare the peppers, onion and garlic cloves. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over high heat. Add onion and cook for 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add the garlic and salt. Cook for 5 minutes, … Continue reading →