Healthy Eating Part Duex

So with an upcoming wedding on the horizon, I'm trying to get on track with this healthy living lifestyle.  Now this should be easy to get on board with but for me for whatever reason its seems to be easier said that done.  I guess because I like to cook I find myself eating a lot testing and trying out new things, unfortunately the things I tend to come up with tend to be laden with butter and cheeses, so I'm making a conscious effort to try and eat healthier.  It probably wont be everyday because I love cheese and butter and cream, but I'll endeavor to try to eat healthy for at least 4 days out of the week.  Fortunately for me I like fish and fish is an easy way to start eating healthier, so you may see a lot of fish and seafood dishes coming on the blog at least initially, but I promise to start incorporating other proteins for my non seafood lovers but also for your convenience any of these seafood dishes can be easily substituted with another meat.  So I, like most of you I assume eat with my eyes first so not only do I want my meal to taste good it needs to be visually appealing to me especially if I'm taking out all the good stuff.  You don't have to do much to a burger and fries to make it look tempting but you have to put a little more work into making fish and veggies look like more than a bland blob on the plate. And I think that this recipe that I am going to share with you all fits the bill.  I delivers not only on the healthy aspect, but also in terms of taste and visual appeal.  The flavors  in this meal are bright and rich without being heavy.  I'm still able to get some of the creaminess and rich flavors that I enjoy without all the butter and fat that is usually needed to create those flavors. So without further adieu here's my recipe for coconut curry tilapia with broccolini and cilantro rice.  Hope you enjoy( and remember if you don't like fish take it out of the recipe and add chicken or whatever meat you like).

Coconut Curry Tilapia w/ Broccolini & Cilantro Rice

Ingredients:

For the Tilapia:

·         2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

·         2-3 tbsp chopped garlic

·         1 cup halved grape tomatoes 

·         1/2 cup chopped green onions 

·         ½ cup diced red onion

·         1 teaspoon curry powder

·         2 teaspoons red curry paste

·         1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

·         4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce 

·         1 tablespoon brown sugar 

·         1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 

·         4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets 

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       For the Broccolini:

4 bunches(1 1/2 pound) of broccolini

4 tbsp chapped garlic

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp olive oil

For the Rice:

2 cups basmati rice

2 cups of water

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil.  

While water is boiling start on the rice by adding rice, water, chicken broth, and cilantro to a pan.  Cook on high heat until it starts to boil, then turn heat to low, cover and cook for 20 mins.

Meanwhile, season fish liberally with salt and pepper, place to the side.  In a large saute pan heat 2-3 tbsp oil over medium high heat.  Once oil is hot add fish to the pan, cook for 3-4 mins on each side or until fish becomes opaque and starts to brown slightly on each side.  Remove fish from pan and set aside.  Add oil back into the pan then add garlic, ginger, red onions to pan, cook for 3- 4min until fragrant then add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 mins.  Add remaining ingredients stir and add fish back to pan.  Simmer on low for 10-15 mins.

Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.  Add the broccolini 2 bunches at a time into the boiling water and cook for 2 mins remove and immediately add to ice water, repeat with the second bunch until all the broccolini has been cooked and added to ice water.  Strain through a colander and place broccolini on a dish towel to drain off excess water.  Place chopped garlic on cutting board add salt on top of it and using the back of a spoon smash into garlic until a paste is created. Heat a large saute pan with the oil add the garlic paste cook for 1 min then add the broccolini , season lightly with salt and pepper cook for 5- 10 mins until just heated through(do not over cook until it becomes mushy).

Place all ingredients on a plate and DIG IN!!!

Hope You ENJOY and Keep SIMPLY COOKING!!!!!

Soup and Sammies Night

OK,  so for the most part I really enjoy cooking, it relaxes me, it make me happy, and I overall just enjoy the creative process.  However, during the summer months, it is 1) just too damn hot for me to be standing over the stove cooking, and 2) too many things going on that I don't want to spend the time in the kitchen when I can be out having a good time.  So the summer for me includes a lot of quick easy to make meals that don't require a lot of prep or cook time. I also don't want to eat anything to heavy that will inevitably lead me into a the dreaded food coma. Whenever I think of something quick and easy to eat that I can make at home I usually have a sandwich.  Normally my sandwich consist of a few slices or turkey and cheese between two slice of wonder bread, but every now and a again I like to jazz it up a bit.  For me personally I like a lot of add ins (onions, peppers, spread, etc) on my sandwich, but hey if your not a fan you can easily omit those ingredients.  That's the good thing about a sandwich there's no strict recipe to adhere to, you have the freedom to make it your own by adding as little or as much as you like.  This recipe that I am sharing today is my take on a Cuban sandwich.  Now let me put out a disclaimer......If you are a Cuban sandwich purist, this is not the sandwich for you.  I looooovvvvvve the traditional Cuban sandwich, I wanted to try something a little different so this is my take on a Cuban style sandwich.  The first deviation from the traditional you'll notice is that I have taken out the roast pork and replaced it with turkey, I also add a tomato relish, but trust me this sandwich is just as good, different, but just as good as the original.  I add a soup to the sandwich to round out the meal, being that this is a summer meal I didn't want a hot soup so I served it with a gazpacho, which is a chilled soup.  If cold soup is not your thing you can easily heat the soup or opt not to have soup with your sammie.  Hope you enjoy.

Turkey Cuban w/ Tomato Gazpacho

Ingredients:
Turkey Cuban:
1 loaf of cuban, french, italian, or cibatta bread
8 slices deli turkey
6 slices thinly sliced deli ham
4-6 slices B&G sandwich topper pickles(New York Deli Style) 
8 slices thinly sliced Swiss cheese
1/4 cup  Hellman's Dijonnaise
1 small tomato seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion diced
1/2-1 jalapeno diced(depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp oil oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp chopped garlic
salt and pepper

Ingredients:
Tomato Gazpacho:
3-4 large tomatoes cut in half
2-3 cups crusty bread, crust removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
1 red bell pepper diced
1 cup English cumber diced
1 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup water

Directions:                                                                                                                                                   Turkey Cuban:

Slice bread in half lengthwise, spread dijonnaise evenly on both sides of the bread. Layer the turkey, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickle slices on the bread in that order.  Place tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil in food processor and pulse until just combined. Spread tomato mixture over top of sandwich and top sandwich with other slice of bread. Heat griddle pan or large frying pan with butter or olive oil. Place sandwich in pan cook until it browns on one side ( you can weigh sandwich down with another pan or grill press) once browned flip to other side and cooked until browned on that side.  Remove from pan and slice into thirds or fourths.

Directions:
Gazpacho:

Gently squeeze tomatoes over a bowl to remove seeds and juice. Strain removed seeds and juice to separate juice from seeds, discard the seeds. Chop tomatoes and transfer the chopped tomatoes,tomato juices and remaining ingredients except for water into a blender or food processor. Puree gazpacho adding water in batches until smooth.  Strain gazpacho through a strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Season with salt and pepper and serve cold or room temperature.  Garnish with a little sour cream if you like.

 Hope You Enjoy and Keep SIMPLY COOKING !!!