Category Archives: Recipes

Lean Pulled Pork from a Rice Cooker.

Pulled pork is one of my all time favorite foods. Whenever I visit any bbq joint, with no hesitation I order pulled pork. The problem with pulled pork however is that it’s quite high in fat and calories. Once a while it’s ok if I eat a meal like this but even though it is to die for, I would feel bad eating fatty pulled pork on a regular basis. Fortunately I don’t have to feel bad eating my homemade pulled pork. I used trimmed pork loin roast instead of pork shoulder which is a traditional cut used for pulled pork. Fye 3 oz of pork loin have about 180 kcal and 12 g of fat while 3 oz of pork shoulder have about 230 kcal and 18 g of fat. Perhaps it doesn’t seem like a lot but every gram of fat matters when being on a diet or simply like me, trying to eat healthy.

Also a bonus for those of you who do not own a slow cooker (I do not have one). Rice cooker works just fine, just make sure when buying pork that it’s not too large and it will fit inside the cooker. I own a 6 cup rice cooker and 3-3.5 pound pork loin was just about the right size.

 

Ingredients:
(makes 9-10 portions; portion size: 5 oz)
3-3.5 pound boneless pork loin roast
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth + more to add by the end of cooking
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 roughly chopped onion

 

  • Trim off any excess fat from the pork loin. Rub it all over with paprika, smoke paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and garlic.
  • Place in the rice cooker and add broth to cover about 3/4th of the pork.
  • Add chopped onions, worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke.
  • Cover with lid, turn on the heat and let simmer about 4-5 hours or until easily breaks with fork.
  • After about 3rd hour keep checking the liquid, if it evaporates keep adding more broth.
  • If you have a meat thermometer check the temperature of the pork, it should be about 195 degrees F. That;s when it starts falling apart.
  • Shred with 2 forks and top with your favorite bbq sauce.

 

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Not long time ago I had a questionable pleasure of takin a bite of Mcdonalds chicken nuggets. Oh boy, were they nasty. They were crunchy on the outside but on the inside they tasted like a cardboard mixed with an oil frying oil. It was just one bite and probably my last. I read somewhere that Mcdonalds chicken nuggets are made almost all of corn and some other fillings. Chicken itself constitutes merely a tiny percent of a nugget.

You can always buy frozen chicken nuggets but making your own is pretty easy and you know exactly what goes inside. This recipe is perfect for the kids because nuggets prepared by this method are incredibly soft and tender. I ended up having exactly 24 nuggets and I simply placed most of the cooked nuggets into the ziplock bag and froze for later use.

Ingredients (makes 24 nuggets):
1.5 pound cooked chicken breats
2 eggs
10-12 saltine crackers
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Few tablespoons of oil
Salt

  • Start with boiling chicken breast in a salted water for 20-25 min.
  • Meanwhile place saltine crackers to a food processor and process until finely ground. Mix in a bowl with breadcrumbs.
  • When chicken is done remove, let it cool down a bit and place in a food processor.

  • Add 2 eggs, season with salt and process until it starts looking like a very thick paste (not necessarily smooth).

  • Form small, round and slightly flat nuggets. Dip them generously on both sides in breadcrumb mix.

  • You can either fry them on both sides with a few tablespoons of oil or bake until golden brown. If you’ll decide to bake them preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle evenly few tablespoons of oil on both sides of the nuggets and bake about 10-15 min.

Asian Miso Noodles

A while ago I showed here a recipe for a kid friendly Peanut Butter Pasta. This recipe is very similar however I upgraded it slightly by adding miso. Asian people use miso not only to prepare famous miso soup but also as a dressing, marinade and an ingredient in many sauces. Miso paste is not only very tasty but also very healthy. It is made from fermented rice or soybeans and the fermentation process is what makes it so healthy. During fermentation millions of gut friendly bacteria are able to grow inside and when we consume fermented food, those little guys travel to our intestines where they work by improving our digestion, boosting our immunity and produce some very important for our health vitamins (biotin and vit K).

That is exactly why we should consume more fermented foods and consuming miso completely raw, uncooked is even better because cooking process kills those friendly bacteria and we do not get any benefit.

Ingredients (2 servings):
2 bunches Asian wheat or Soba noodles
1 cup favorite frozen stir-fry mix vegetables
2 Tbsp miso paste (I used white miso)
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp peanut butter (Tahini works great too)
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp chopped peanuts
2 sliced scallions
 
  • Cook noodles according to a package instructions.
  • During last 2 min of cooking, add frozen stir-fry vegetables, bring to a boil and blanch for 1 min.
  • Drain pasta and vegetables and cool under cold running water.
  • In a bowl mix together miso, soy sauce, peanut butter and water.
  • Place noodles in a big bowl. Pour sauce and mix so it is distributed evenly.
  • Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and scallions.
  • Serve cold (great to take in a lunchbox)

Nigella’s Nutella Cake (Gluten Free)

Yesterday was my boyfriend’s birthday so I decided to make this fantastic, rich nutella cake. I found the recipe few months ago on the cooking godess Nigella Lawson’s page and I was just waiting for a perfect opportunity to make it. I’m guessing birthday is a quite good opportunity :)

They cake is very rich with a strong chocolate flavor and even though it is gluten free (flourless), it’s far from healthy. But cakes are not supposed to be healthy and once a while everyone needs to indulge a bit. I know some nutritionists are very strict about the diet but I am not. I won’t say “no” to a piece of cake on an occasion.

The cake was great and I followed Nigella’s recipe however I did some adjustments. Nigella only uses unsweetened dark chocolate and no sugar at all (except already sweet Nutella of course), but to me it was way too bitter with a pure dark chocolate (I had to add a lot of sugar) so I recommend using semi-sweet chocolate instead and don’t worry about possible bitterness.

Another thing is that I was not able to use the whole frosting, only half of it. I’m giving here amounts from Nigella’s original recipe but you’ll probably be fine if you’ll cut ingredients for the glaze in half. Also the cooking time is 40 min but it took me 50-55 min for the cake to be done so rather than sticking to exactly 40 min, check doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out dry and the cake starts sticking out from the edges, it should be ready.

Ingredients:
Cake:
6 large eggs, separated
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup softened, unsalted butter
1 x 13 oz Nutella jar
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
4 oz melted semi-sweet chocolate
9 inch round cake tin
Topping:
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup hazelnuts

 

  • Start with separating the eggs. Beat the softened butter with the egg yolks, nutella and cooled melted chocolate.
  • Mix in ground hazelnuts.
  • In a separate clean bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.
  • Gently beat in (in parts) the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.
  • Pour into buttered 9 inch round cake tin and bake 40-50 min in the oven preheated to 350 degrees F. Check doneness with a toothpick inserted in the middle. Dry toothpick means the cake is ready.
  • Gently remove from the tin and let it cool. The top of the cake will fall a little bit.
  • Now prepare the topping. Roast whole hazelnuts on a dry skillet. Make sure not to burn them. Wrap hot hazelnuts in a clean kitchen cloth and rub them vigorously to peel the skin.
  • Now heat heavy cream in a pot and melt chocolate in it.
  • When both cake and glaze have cooled a bit, pour glaze all over the top of the cake. Decorate with cooled, roasted hazelnuts.

 

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

 

Happy 4th of July!!! What are your plans for today? I am going to have some barbeque with my boyfriend’s and his family. Can’t wait, I haven’t been to a bbq party in a while.

This recipe has nothing to do with 4th of July, unless of course you’re going to throw some chicken on the grill and will have a lot of chicken leftovers. In case you do have some leftover chicken and no idea what to do with it, I may suggest, stuff baked potatoes with it. I adore sweet potatoes and that is what I used but russet potatoes might work as well in this recipe. Also it doesn’t really matter what kind of bbq sauce will you use. As long as you the flavor, it should work.

I love this recipe because it only uses 4 ingredients and is much healthier that pulled chicken sandwiches. Sweet potato is a real nutrient factory. One large sweet potato has only 160 kcal, 6 g of fiber, tons of vit A and good amounts of other nutrients, especially potassium. I try to eat sweet potato at least one day a week and just discovered a great way to eat it.

 

Ingredients:
(makes 4 sweet potato halves)
2 large sweet potatoes
2 cups shredded leftover chicken
Few Tbs favorite barbeque sauce
4 oz cheddar cheese

 

  • Prick sweet potatoes few times with a fork. Bake 1-1.15 hour in the oven preheated to 400 degrees F.
  • Let it cool slightly and cut lengthwise in half.
  • Remove the middle portion of the sweet potato leaving about 1/2 inch width inside.
  • Mix shredded cooked chicken with bbq sauce and place about half a cup in each potato half.
  • Top with each half with 1 oz cheddar cheese and bake additional 15 min until the cheese is melted.

 

Salmon with Dijon and Soy Sauce Glaze

Today I am the happiest girl in the world. After being away for a long time in Georgia, working towards my B.S. in Nutrition, I am finally done with school (at least temporarily) and am back to Miami. That also means that once again I have access to my boyfriend’s awesome camera, Canon Rebel T1i. What a difference a good camera makes. Incredible. I was so excited taking pictures of my meal today. No more lousy camera that takes poor pictures. So expect my return to regular blogging and regular posting of recipes.

My today’s dish is Ina Garten’s (Barefoot Contessa) invention. I used the ingredients from her show but modified the amount used according to my needs and used different cooking methods. Ina grilled her salmon steaks, I baked them in the oven since that is my preferred way of making salmon. Also I preferred to use marinade as a glaze, so I did not remove excess before baking. I must say however that the flavors were outstanding and it might become one of my favorite salmon recipes. And just look at those deep golden-brown colors. Perfection.

Ingredients:  Serves 2


2 x 5-6 oz salmon filets

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil

 

  • Mix all of the marinade ingredients until emulsified.
  • Spray baking dish with a cooking oil.
  • Place salmon filets in a baking dish skin side down. Pour marinade and spread evenly on a top of the filets. Let stand 10-15 min.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Do not remove the marinade. Put baking dish with a salmon as it is into a hot oven. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes.

 

 

Healthier Lasagna with Turkey, Mushrooms and Eggplant

Lasagna usually isn’t regarded as a healthy food but I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t try to make it healthy so I used lean ground turkey instead of beef, low fat ricotta cheese which has half of the calories of regular ricotta and plenty of vegetables such as eggplant and mushrooms. I didn’t skimp on cheese though, in the end I’m a cheesy girl and eat cheese with everything. Other than cheese you won’t find fat in my lasagna but it doesn’t mean that it has no flavor. Oh no, it’s as flavorful as typical bolognese lasagna. And in just one portion you get full serving of vegetables. Isn’t that just fabulous? :)

Ingredients:

(makes 8 regular portions or 6 for very hungry and greedy like me)

1 standard size lasagna pan
1 box of lasagna sheets
1 pound of lean ground turkey
1 medium sized eggplant
8 oz mushrooms (I used baby bella)
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
15 oz box of low fat ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
24 oz jar of marinara sauce
1 cup + 1/4 cup of parmesan to sprinkle on a top
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup if you want to make it extremely low fat)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

 

  • Start with peeling the eggplant and slicing it into rounds. Place on a kitchen towels, sprinkle with salt and let ir rest for 30 min to get rid of the bitter flavor.
  • Meanwhile chop the onion, garlic and slice the mushrooms.
  • Mix ricotta cheese with 1 egg, 1 cup parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper.
  • After 30 min wash the eggplant of the excess salt, dry it with kitchen towels and chop into small cubes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Boil lasagna noodles for roughly 2-3 min. I used boil free noodles but I don’t believe in boil-free so I boiled it a little bit. Just make sure that they wont stick especially after you’ll drain them under cold running water in the colander. Don’t let them just sit in the colander, separate them right away or they will stick together and you won’t be able to separate them (yes that happened to me). Also even though it might seem like a lot, it’s better to use whole box just in case.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet, add onion, garlic, mushrooms and eggplant. Season with salt and Italian seasoning and let it cook on a medium heat for 10 min stirring occasionally.
  • Add turkey and separate with the fork to prevent large clumps of meat. We don’t want turkey meatballs.
  • Cook turkey just until no longer pink and add whole jar of marinara sauce. You can also add half cup water to thin the sauce as I did. Let it cook 2 min more.
  • Spread about 1/2 cup of  the sauce on the bottom of the lasagna pan. Place the noodles. Evenly spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture on the top and follow with 1/3 of the sauce.
  • Cover with lasagna noodles and again spread the remaining half of the ricotta mixture. Follow with another 1/3 of the sauce and top with lasagna noodles.
  • On the top part just spread the remaining 1/3 of the sauce, sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly and top with remaining 1/4 cup of the parmesan.
  • Cover with aluminum foil and bake 30 min. After 30 min remove the aluminum foil and bake additional 15 min.
  • Take out of the oven and let it rest about 15 min before cutting and serving.

And that’s how it looked when it came out of the oven.

Miso Glazed Cod

Here’s something I’ve been wanting to try for many, many months. Miso glazed fish. I have no idea why I never made it before but I’m glad I finally did. I must say it was delicious, healthy and very filling. Plus very easy to make and impossible to ruin even if cooking is not your strength. It works great with any firm whitefish or salmon. Yes, next time I definitely will make it with salmon. Such a fantastic way to add more flavor to fish without adding fat.

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Halloween Recipe – Bloody Mary Chicken

Bloody Mary is one of my favorite drinks ever. Whenever I don’t feel like drinking sweet cocktails I go for Bloody Mary. Plus it’s probably a drink most commonly ordered during Halloween. Bloody Mary’s spicy and savory flavor could also be great in any other savory dish . My inspiration for the recipe were barbeque wings which are as messy as my chicken. Of course the flavor is different but in both cases you have to lick your fingers and wipe your chin with a napkin from a red sauce. Very messy. I am using chicken drumsticks but chicken breast, whole thighs or wings could work as well in the recipe. I also added a shot of vodka but it’s not really necessary, it doesn’t add as much flavor to the sauce.

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Cream of Pumpkin with Roasted Garlic and Sage

There’s a lot of pumpkin soup recipes out there and it’s really hard to chose which one to make. I guess that depends on your taste bud preferences. I never was big on sweet taste that’s why my soup is rather savory with garlic and sage and just slight undertones of sweetness coming from pumpkin itself.

I’m using whole bulb of garlic but remember that first of all roasted garlic loses its sharpness and becomes much more mellow and gentle, second you don’t have to use whole bulb. You add garlic to the blender as you go according to your likeness.

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