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Posts Tagged ‘healthy’

Skirt Steak Tacos with Spicy Corn Salsa & Chipotle Sour Cream

Posted in Dinner, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on March 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Skirt Steak Tacos with Spicy Corn Salsa & Chipotle Sour Cream


(serves 2)

4 oz. skirt steak
4  corn tortillas

Marinade:

2 tbsp chipotle sauce*
¼ cup lime juice (about 4 limes)
¼ cup water
2 tbsp oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp scallions, sliced
1 tsp cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder

Spicy Corn Salsa

1 ½ cups corn (frozen or fresh)
¼ cup red onion, diced
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp lime juice
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar (or honey or agave)
1/8 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp jalapeno, diced (modify based on heat preference)

Chipotle Sour Cream

¼ cup sour cream (low fat or non fat)
1 tbsp adobo sauce

Directions:

  1. Make marinade:  Combine all ingredients in large plastic make, zip well and shake to combine.  Add skirt steak and, making sure steak is completely covered, marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24.
  2. Make salsa:  Combine corn, red onion and pepper in mixing bowl.  In a smaller mixing bowl combine the oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, sugar, salt and jalapeno.  Pour over corn mixture.
  3. Make chipotle sour cream: Combine sour cream and adobo sauce and mix well (if more heat is desired, stir in1 tsp chili powder)
  4. Cook skirt steak:  The steak can either be cooked in your oven’s broiler or in the oven or on the grill.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit .  Place steak on broiling pan (or baking sheet) and cook for 8 minutes on one side.  Flip steak over and continue cooking on the other side for 5 minutes for medium rare.  Remove steak from oven and let cool.
  5. Warm tortillas:  Place tortillas in the oven for about 5 minutes or until warm and pliable.
  6. Slice steak into quarter inch strips.
  7. Serve tortillas with sliced steak, corn salsa, mixed greens and chipotle sour cream.

Once you enjoy these steak tacos, check out Examiner.com to learn how to can maximize this recipe’s ingredients.

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Pan Roasted Cod & Vegetables Over Pasta

Posted in Dinner, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on April 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Have you ever seen an ad for one of those health spa getaways?  You know, where you go off to some gorgeous ranch in the middle of nowhere and 22 hours of your day are spent exercising & the remaining two hours meditating.  And of course all they give you after all that exercise is some boring, albeit healthy, ‘spa food’.  Who has ever thought such a trip actually qualifies as a ‘getaway’.

Don’t get me wrong, I eat healthy, do yoga and for the most try to keep my mind zen-like.   But if I am going to pay for an expensive vacation, give me some darn cupcakes & comfort food!

That said, when cooking in my own kitchen for any of my regular weeknight meals, sometimes keeping it light really is what I strive for and in this case, a healthy & light dish is exactly what I got.

Heck, if they put this dish in the ad, maybe I’d think about going.

Maybe.
8 oz. Cod filet (or other light, white fish)*
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon zest
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp marjoram (or oregano)
Salt
Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Splash of white wine (water or a little stock will do if there is no wine)
1/2 cup eggplant, cubed
Handful of green beans
1 cup penne pasta

Cook pasta according to directions.

In a bowl, place the cod and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add lemon zest, garlic, marjoram, pinch of salt and pepper.  Roll fish around so that it is fully coated.

Place 2 tsp olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat.  Once the olive oil is heated (about 1-2 minutes)  add the cod.  Cook 2 minutes and flip over.  Cook another 2 minutes before adding lemon juice and wine, scraping the bottom of the pan as it simmers.  Cook another minute before removing from the heat.

Season the green beans and eggplant lightly with salt and pepper.  Steam until the eggplant is tender and the green beans are still slightly crisp, about 10 -15 minutes (over low heat).

In the bottom of a bowl, place pasta, then vegetables and finally the fish on top.  Pour sauce over the dish.  Garnish with lemon zest and parsley.

* Serving in the photo is about 5oz.  I have special plans for the rest – stay tuned!

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Spicy Shrimp Saute

Posted in Dinner, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Add some spice to your night with this quicker than takeout meal.  Even better, the marinaded shrimp also are great on the grill when cooking for a crowd

1 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sambal oelek
1 1/2 tsp agave nectar or honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger (ground works too if you don’t have fresh)
1 tsp sesame oil
6 large shrimp
1 cup green beans
Olive oil

In a bowl, mix together the first 6 ingredients.  Add the shrimp and let marinade for at least 10-15 minutes prior to cooking.

Place a skillet over medium heat and warm the olive oil.  Once heated, add green beans and saute for 3-4 minutes (normally you’d want to blanch the green beans first but I was just too lazy and didn’t want to deal with any extra dishes to do!)

After 3-4 minutes,  remove the shrimp from the marinade and place them in the skillet. Cook for 1 -2 minutes on the first side until pink then flip and cook for another minute before adding the marinade to the skillet.  Continue cooking for another 2 minutes.  Remove and serve!

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Pizza, Pizza!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Pizza get’s a bad rap.  Dough & cheese, can’t be healthy right?

While it should not be a daily indulgence, pizza can certainly be a part of your healthy weekly menu especially if it’s homemade. And if you have the dough already made, your pizza will be ready in less time than it would be if you called your local pizza shop.

With all of the possible toppings, you’ll never have the same pizza twice!

Thursday’s dinner was all about the pizza.  Instead of just sauce and cheese, I made two types, mushroom with goat cheese and ham & cheese.  Both were so good but seriously, the ham and cheese version tasted just like a grilled cheese sandwich! Served with a side of green veggies, this meal was nutritionally complete, satisfying and very tasty.

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pizza
Ham & Cheese Pizza

The best thing about homemade pizza is that there really is no recipe, you can create whatever you want using whatever happens to be in the fridge!  That being true,  below is how these two pies came together.

16 oz whole wheat pizza dough
Flour
Olive Oil

Mushroom & Goat Cheese Pizza

3/4 cup Weeknight Marinara Sauce
4 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Divide pizza dough in half and roll out to desired thickness.  Spread on sauce leaving a small border around the edges (you can drizzle the crust with some olive oil and salt too).  In a small skillet heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add slices mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, turning over at least once.  Place mushrooms on the pizza and sprinkle with goat cheese.  Place in oven for 20 – 25 minutes.

Ham & Cheese Pizza

3/4 cups Weeknight Marinara Sauce
2 slices Canadian Bacon (deli ham is good too), cubed
1 1/2 oz. cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out the second half of the pizza dough.  Spread on sauce leaving a small border around the edges (you can drizzle the crust with some olive oil and salt too).  Arrange bacon and then cheese on top of pizza.  Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

I ate 2 slices of the ham & cheese pizza (pictured with a bite missing!) and then went back for a small slice of mushroom and goat cheese.  All served with some greens, of course. Another good thing about pizza, it reheats well for lunch the next day (or is good cold!)

Tips & Tricks

On buying vs. making pizza dough

Homemade pizza dough is definitely fun to make and I suggest you make a few big batches and freeze to have on hand.  However, in case you don’t have any homemade on hand during the week, Trader Joe’s makes a great whole wheat dough that only costs $.99 so stock up while you are there!

** Sorry about the late post (this was from last week).

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Weeknight Tomato Sauce & Raviolis

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on February 23, 2010 | 6 Comments »

Don’t be fooled by the name of this sauce.  While it’s certainly possible to whip up during the week, it’s best when made ahead of time.  Refrigerate or freeze the sauce  and use it when you need it most.  Having this on hand makes weeknight dinners super fast while keeping all of the flavor you want.

Weeknight Marinara

(more…)

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What’s For Dinner?

Posted in Dinner, Uncategorized, tagged , , on February 18, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Recently, a friend gave me some helpful feedback on my blog & the possible directions I could take it in.  As another 20-something-year-old living the city life and trying to balance work and friends, she admitted that weeknight dinners often are neglected.  More specifically, healthy & quick weeknight dinners for only one person seemed impossible to produce.

Thinking about it for a minute, I realized she was right.  Almost all of the recipes out there, even most of those on my site, are intended for at least 2 people.  That’s not to say that one can’t make these recipes and simply save the leftovers for lunch or another dinner, but with hectic work schedules & late nights, many of us don’t feel like coming home and making an elaborate meal.

I knew that this was something I could help fix and at the very least prove  – anyone can make healthy & quick weeknight meals!  And although it may not be as glamorous as a roasted chicken or braised short ribs, healthy weeknight meals for one force you to be creative which makes cooking fun.

So, I plan on bringing you my daily weeknight dinners along with any tips and tricks I think you’ll find helpful when it comes to cooking for one. And of course none of this would be realistic if it wasn’t done on a budget.  I don’t have a specific number in mind but will keep everyone in the loop on what I buy each week at the grocery store .  Typically, I spend between $20-$30 a week but the foodie in me sometimes splurges here and there!

Now a couple of disclaimers:

  • I am not a registered dietitian nor do I have any type of degree in nutrition.  I am, however, very interested in the nutritional benefits food provides  & I strive to eat a balanced diet without deprivation.
  • As I do have a special person in my life, my meals are not always for one and sometimes I do make a double recipe either to use later in the week or freeze for another time.  Unless noted, though these meals are for one.
  • There will still be plenty of not-so healthy and not so quick recipes posted here on Blissful Bites.   Because, honestly, life is just too short not to eat blue cheese burgers & crumb cake.

I hope some of you reading this will find this helpful (there are people reading this out there, aren’t there!?) and as always, if there is anything you would like to see featured or if you have any questions please let me know at link.kristen1@gmail.com.

Happy Eating!

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Goat Cheese & Vegetable Flatbread Pizza

Posted in Dinner, tagged , , , , on May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Goat Cheese & Vegetable PizzaWith long work days and over an hour long commute home, I often don’t have time to make extravagant meals during the week. Instead I rely on a handful or so of quick & healthy meals that I can be sitting down to enjoy in less than 30 minutes and can modify depending on what I’m craving or what’s in the fridge.

To cut back on baking time this flatbread pizza actually uses whole wheat tortillas, an item you can almost always find in my kitchen. Feel free to use pizza dough if you have more time (or patience!). The vegetables are also easily interchangeable depending on what is in season, what you like or just what’s in the fridge.

1 cup Portobello mushrooms, cubed
1/2 cup zucchini, cubed
1/2 cup red bell pepper, cubed
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup red wine
1 whole wheat tortilla/wrap (I used Food for Life Ezekiel Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Flourless Tortillas)
1 tbs goat cheese (I have also made this with 1 Laughing Cow spreadable Swiss Cheese wedge – it’s equally good!)
1 tbs Parmigiana Reggiano Cheese
1 tsp Olive Oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Red chili flakes (optional)

In a small pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions & red bell peppers. Cook 2-3 minutes until softened and add zucchini & mushroom. Add salt and pepper to season. Cook another 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute. If using, add red chili flakes. Pour wine in and scrap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook 1-2 minutes

On a baking sheet lay out the tortilla. Spread goat cheese on tortilla, leaving about a half inch border.

Remove pan from stove and let cool 1 minute. Pour vegetables onto tortilla, covering the goat cheese. Sprinkle Parmigiana cheese on top. Place in broiler for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and edges are crispy.

Note: I like a lot of veggies on mine so sometimes it’s messy to eat. You can cut back on the amount of veggies if you wish.

Enjoy!!

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