“I always cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”
- W.C. Fields
“I always cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”
- W.C. Fields
Why did I start the whatzonmyplate blog? Think of it like this… If you are like me and LOVE cooking magazines, cook books, cooking websites and all things Food Network you might often have the same questions… See if any of the following have run through your mind…
- I wonder if the recipe tastes as good as it looks/ sounds
- I wonder if this recipe is truly as easy as they say it is.
- Is this recipe practical for me and my life style or am I going to spend a ton of money on something that just tastes “okay”
- I wonder what it would taste like if I made ‘this’ revision.
- Etc, etc…???
There my friends is the root of why I started to blog about recipes. As I have stated many times over I love to cook. I love healthy recipes and I especially love EASY and healthy recipes. I was at a point in my life where I had a lot of down time and I was cooking A LOT (can we say thank you to the plummeting housing market?). Instead of just e-mailing my friends bits and pieces of recipes which I had tried successfully OR unsuccesfully (something I had been doing for years) I thought let’s streamline this baby and BLOG. That is one of the preferred mediums of our generation, Right? So there you have it. That’s why I share with you what is literally on my plate.
To my loyal family and friends who have continued to support this endeavor please know that you were, are and continue to be the main reason why I write this “little bloggy thing”.
To those of you whom I do not know but have stumbled upon this blog by accident (or by shameless plugs on facebook!!) Thank you for stopping by. The majority of the recipes on this blog are not original (that wasn’t the point) but what they do represent are tried and tested recipes by someone much like yourself. A normal cook just looking for a little foodie inspiration every now and then.
So please enjoy and cook and comment and share. I always welcome suggestions (Yes, yes, pictures are on their way!!)
Cheers & Bon Appetit & Mangia!
In September 2008 I blogged about the following recipe for Feta Chicken w/ Zucchini. As stated in my entry, this dish is a sure fire “go to” dish for me (especially when I am lacking inspiration). It is tasty not to mention fast and easy. Though I do love the recipe as is, I made a few alterations just to mix it up.
It still gets a happy 4 out of 5 stars for me!
Follow the link below to the original Real Simple recipe.
http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1192200
I am not sure the following is really an ‘original’ recipe as the flavor combination and profile is not original in itself but I threw this soup together and I have to tell you… it is YUMMMMY! I hope you enjoy this hearty, filling and low-fat soup perfect for the chilly weather we’ve been having.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 lb. of ground chicken
1 can diced Italian tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
2- 14 oz. cans reduced sodium organic chicken broth
Generous splash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt, Pepper & garlic powder to taste
Directions
Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute onion, carrot and celery until soft. Remove veggies from pot.
Saute ground chicken in soup pot until cooked through.
Add veggies back to pot with chicken in addition to canned tomatoes (with juice), cannellini beans, frozen spinach, chicken broth and Worcestershire.
Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15- 20 minutes (until beans are cooked through).
Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese or you could use Galaxy Foods Veggie Parmesan topping like I did.
So good!
I found the following recipe in Real Simple served with pork chops. If you are not a fan of pork I do think this sauce would go well with chicken or fish. (BTW, this is not necessarily low fat but you really don’t need THAT much sauce per serving)
Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. fresh tarragon
Directions (Makes enough for 4 servings)
Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and shallots to skillet and saute until tender, stirring often, about 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add the cream and simmer until the sauce just thickens. Stir in the mustard.
Before serving (with whatever protein you desire), toss tarragon into the sauce. And Oila!
For the actual recipe with pork chops copy and paste the following link into your web browser.
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pork-chops-with-mustard-sauce-recipe-00000000021032/index.html
Hey folks! Sorry I have been so negligent about blogging! The reason is mostly because I haven’t been cooking anything new lately. When life is crazy busy (as it has been) I usually stick to my old stand-bys.. most of which I’ve already shared with you!
Well, this week, I pulled out some new recipes for the making and this one was a winner!
This mahi mahi recipe from Bon Appetit was so super simple, low in calories & fat, plus it was flavorful & colorful (looked purty on the plate!!). I did not do anything different than what the recipe called for except I topped the fish with some sliced avocado along with the tomatoes. I served this with couscous but I’m sure brown rice would work just as well. Two thumbs up!
Ingredients
Preparation
Combine cucumber, onions, cilantro, 4 1/2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, and chiles in processor. Using on/off turns, blend mixture until finely chopped. Transfer to bowl. Season with more vinegar, if desired, and salt and black pepper.
Sprinkle fish fillets on both sides with salt, pepper, and cumin. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook 5 minutes. Turn over, cover, and cook until fish is just opaque in center, 4 to 5 minutes.
Divide gazpacho sauce among 4 plates. Top each with 1 fish fillet. Scatter tomatoes atop and around fish and serve.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Seared-Mahi-Mahi-with-Green-Gazpacho-Sauce-354849
The following low calorie and time efficient recipe is from Real Simple. I gave it a go this week and it turned out super yummy! Bulgur wheat is an easy and healthful grain; give it a try and you wont be disappointed. The thing I really liked about this dish is that it was FAST! Dinner was on the table in 30 mins. which is perfect after a long day at work.
Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 15m; Total Time: 30m
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-bulgur-pilaf-00000000006984/index.html
Recipe rating: 3.5. out 5 stars
Popeye had it right! Spinach does a body good! Seriously there are so many limitless health benefits to eating spianch!
Just copy and paste the following link from The World’s Healthiest Foods website into your web browser if you want to read all about them! http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=43&tname=foodspice
I have been adding spinach to everything these days. Who couldn’t use a little more vegetable goodness in their diets? I add fresh baby spinach into my salads, sandwiches and wraps. I have also been putting frozen chopped spinach into almost every meal. I put a generous cup or two into my spaghetti sauce. I also add a hearty helping to the pan when I making ground meat or soy meat tacos. It’s perfect added to an egg scramble. Another easy place to add spinach is in soups (like the Zuppa Osso Buco that I just blogged about!).
So think like our beloved sailor Popeye and eat more spinach mateys!
If you have any spinach tips, please share!