Chinese Chicken Salad Delighter

Do you ever get confused watching a cooking show or hearing a foodie talking about drizzled this and carmelized that? I don't know about you, but it gives me a headache! And even if I want to attempt a dish that looks good, it sounds exhaustive. And although I am a Foodie at heart and love to try different ingredients, recipes, etc. - I want to make good food without a lot of fuss (most of the time). Simple, fast and delicious recipes is my style for the most part. And this dish fits into that category. I've made several versions of this dish, but as I was putting this one together for a Barbeque tonight at a friends, I just had to share it because it is soooooooooooo good and it looks so delightful - hence the name. And of course, it's easy. Here goes...

Chinese Chicken Salad Delighter

(serves two)

1/2 head of cabbage

2-3 carrots

a bunch of green onions

1 cup of sliced, cooked chicken

10 Won Ton Square Wraps - most grocery stores have these. I use Azumaya Square Wraps

1/4 c vegatable oil (to fry wraps)

Dressing

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 seasoned rice vinegar (the brand I use is Mitsukan)

splash of red wine vinegar (or balsamic)

tiny splash of seasame oil

splash of soy sauce

1 tsp of freshly ground garlic

1 tsp of grated fresh ginger

1tbls of chopped green onions

• In small sauce pan heat about an inch of oil.
  
• Once heated to medium drop one or two of the won ton skins in the oil. The skins will quickly start to bubble and lightly brown. It really only takes seconds. Then flip and do the same on the other side and remove immediately. Place on large plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.


• Slice cabbage very thinly so that it has a shredded appearance. Then wash and spin to dry.


• Cut large carrots into thirds and then slice each piece in half lengthwise. Now slice littel slivers lengthwise. You should have nice little, thin slices.


• Prepare the dressing by simple shaking together the ingredients above.


• Now, in a large bowl - toss the cabbage, carrots and green onion with about half the dressing until all moist. Oh - make sure to taste the dressing and adjust to your taste. For example, if you like it less tart and more sweet, add more Seasoned Rice Vinegar. Or you can even add a little sugar. I like it when it's a little tart and salty with a touch of sweetness.


• Now you can get a shallow serving bowl/dish. Lay the wonton skins in a nice pattern around the edges of the dish. You can even lay some on the bottom.


• Place the chicken next to the skins (almost like a layer).


• Add the cabbage mixture in the center so that the wonton skins are like a crust sticking out of the edges.


• Now you can drizzle the remainder of the dressing on the chicken and over the top of you like.


• Sprinke some green onion slices on the top and you're done!
  

Now just wait for the praises. ; )

On-the-Go Breakfast Wrap

I'm not a huge fan of filling breakfasts, but my kids are. Especially my daughter Jasmine. And on top of that, she's a carb-lover. Anything with a tortilla, pasta bread or potatoes - she loves, which is why she really likes this for breakfast. Anyway, I can't tell you how many times I sent her out the door to school with a breakfast burrito/wrap, knowing that it will keep her satisfied for hours.

On-the-Go Breakfast Wrap

Recipe for two:
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
6 beaten eggs
2 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 c shredded or sliced sharp cheddar cheese
a couple splashes olive oil
a little butter
garlic/onion powder
a little Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
*optional - cooked bacon, sausage, ham, zucchini, onion - anything you want. ; )

• Heat olive oil in medium pan and then add potatoes
• Cook for about 5-10 minutes, adding a bit of salt and pepper
• When they start to brown a little, add a little water and cover. Then cook on low until tender.
• In another pan, on medium heat - add a little butter. Add the eggs (before the butter starts to brown).
• After a couple minutes add the potatoes and the cheese. I like the eggs to be almost scrambled before I add the potatoes so that it doesn't get all mushed together.
• If you want to add pieces of sausage, ham or bacon, etc., toss that in with the potatoes as well. Of course they should be cooked prior to adding them.
• Now you're ready to wrap in a steamed tortilla. TRICK for steaming: Pour a couple inches of water in a small pot. Cover top with tin foil and then poke tiny little holes in it with a knife or fork. Boil the water and the steam should come through the holes. Now just lay the tortilla on top of the foil - about 30 seconds on each side. This is a great trick for wrapping anything with a tortilla as it warms them and also makes them moist so they don't tear when you're wrapping.
• Next, just spoon the egg and potatoe mixture in the center of the torilla and fold one side over the top. Then fold the bottom up toward the middle. Now roll the folded half toward the unfolded until it's wrapped.
• I like to take a piece of tin foil and wrap the bottom - especially for kids - so that it doesn't unravel.

Serving suggestion: This is a meal in itself, so just take it with you and eat it!

Nina's Dinner Pie

I went running this morning and aferward, I had that rare (and great) feeling to continue to exercise because it felt so good. So I went into the gym where I live to ride the stationary bike and the TV was tuned into a cooking show - I wish I knew which one, but I didn't recognize it. The woman was making a Greek version of a meat pie with Phyllo dough. I didn't write anything down (as I was in the middle of a work-out), but it looked so yummy that later that day I made my own version - of course with a Sicilian spin. I'm calling it Beef and Spinach Pie. It was so beautiful that I only had to take a couple pictures to find one that looked gorgeous.

Nina's Beef and Spinach Pie

1 lb ground beef
about 1/2 c olive oil
4 beaten eggs
1 chopped onion
about 3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 c shredded or grated romano or parmesan cheeze - as usual I prefer pecorino parmesan
2 tbls crushed fresh garlic
a bunch of chopped italian parsley (the flat kind)
kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste
optional: a couple splashes of wine

• Coat medium to large fry pan with olive oil and cook onions on medium heat until translucent.
• Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds- don't let it burn.
• Add ground beef and parsley (and turn up heat a little) and cook until brown.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. If you'd like to add a little wine, now's a good time to do it.
• When the mixture is cooked enough that the flavors have merged, add the spinach and it won't take very long before the leaves reduce and blend in nicely with everything.
• Now set aside and let cool.
• You are going to need about 10 sheets of ready-to-use Phyllo dough. Please don't let that scare you - it's so easy to use.
• Brush each piece with olive oil and layer them this way: put a few horizontal to start and then start putting the others vertical and diagonal, using the horizontal pieces as the center. It really doesn't have to be perfect as you are just going to end up folding it all into the middle.
• OK, now put the whole crust over the top of the baking dish and push the center part down into the bottom of the dish with the other layers hanging over the sides.
• Back to the meat mixture...Add some parmesan cheese to the beaten eggs and add that to the meat mixture. Mix together well.
• Pour half the mixture over the phyllocrust in the baking dish. Add half the mozzarella cheese and then repeat until everthing's in the baking dish.
• Now simply fold all the Phyllo layers toward the middle to cover the mixture.
• Bake at 350 until golden brown- about 30 - 40 minutes. Let cool a bit before slicing.

Serving suggestion: You can have this hot or cold. I think it works best as a side dish or hor doeuveres.

Enjoy!

Nina's Breakfast Mess

I don't know about you, but traditional breakfasts bore me. I'm the type that craves cold pizza in the morning - or even leftover Chinese food. But I do enjoy eggs, and by now you may know that I love greens, oh - and tons of garlic. So it wasn't a stretch for me to come up with this breakfast (or anytime) concoction that you might like too. It's very filling, it's flexible, and it's packed with protein. Try it out - or add one or two of your favorite ingredients and make your own "mess!"

Nina's Breakfast Mess (for two)

4 eggs
1/2 pound of ground beef
1 tbls crushed fresh garlic
1/2 c chopped onion
a couple handfuls of fresh baby spinach
2 tbls chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

• Coat bottom of medium fry pan with a couple tbls of olive oil and place on medium heat.
• Add onion and cook until a little translucent
• Add garlic and after about one minute add the ground beef, then the parsley and cook until the meat is browned throughout.
• Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
• Now add the spinach - you'll be surprised how quickly in shrinks down and blends right in with the mixture. Just cook for a minute or so.
• Now you're ready for the eggs. Push the meat mixture to one side in the pan and add a little more olive oil on the empty side.
• Add the eggs and let them cook a bit before you start stirring into the meat mixture.
• Just give it a couple nice tosses and you're done.

You can serve this with toast. Of course I recommend whole grain artisan bread with a little butter. I always spoon the "mess" on top of my toast and eat it like that. Also, you can sprinkle parmesan cheeze on the top or toss into the mixture when you're cooking.

Either way, it's a yummy and quick dish - and I hope you like it. Feel free to let me know your ideas about your flavor of mess!

Italian Sausage and Mustard Greens

Did I mention that I was laid off from a great job back in June? Well, there are some advantages to that. Really. One of the advantages is that you actually get a little time off. Well, in some cases you do. My friend Jan didn't really have the luxury of looking for a couple months, she only got two weeks pay for her severance package.

It's funny, for the most part I've felt very positive and excited about the new change in my life - knowing that when God closes one door, He opens others. But today, I just allowed myself to feel a little melancholy about it. And I think that's OK.

In any case, I've had a little more time to cook, clean and hang out with my favorite people. Speaking of hanging out with favorite people, one of my closest friends, Monika enjoys my cooking (and I love hers as well). And every time she visits I make her a dish my Mom used to make. I'd never heard of it or seen it anywhere else, but it's different, simple and delicious! Especially if you love greens. So here goes:

Italian Sausage and Mustard Greens

2 bunches of fresh mustard greens
about 6 Italian sausage
a few tablespoons of olive oil
about 1/2 c of Pecorino Parmesan cheese (or any parmesan cheese)
1-2 lemons

*optional - a couple tbls crushed fresh garlic

• Chop the mustard greens, rinse thorougly and set aside.


• Brown Italian Sausage (the good stuff, like from a specialty shop or Whole Foods) in a large fry pan on medium high. Keep turning the sausage so that they have a nice, brownish color. Don't worry that they are not cooking all the way through because they will cook some more in the next few steps.


• With the pan still hot and the sausage browned, just dump the greens on top of the sausage. They will probably fill up the pan, but just start pushing them down and around.
  They will start to reduce immediately. If you want to add garlic (for me, there's never a question) do it after the sausage is browned and before you add the greens. Just toss the garlic in for about 30 seconds before the greens are added.


• Now pour about a cup (start with a 1/2 cup) of water into the pan (it should sizzle as it starts to pick up all the flavors at the bottom of the pan).


• Now cover the pan and reduce the heat.


• Cook for about 20 minutes until the sausages are cooked thorougly and the greens have softened and picked up the flavors and juices in the pan. If you want to make sure the greens are cooked only slightly, just cook the sausage longer before you add the greens.


• While everything's still steeping hot, sprinkle lemon and the parmesan cheese over the top.

Serving suggestion: I like to serve this in a very shallow soup/pasta dish. I cut the sausage in big chunks so that they are just scattered through the greens. It's just so rich and delicious that the dish doesn't really need anything but a nice, fresh baguette.

I hope you love it as much as Monika (and I) love it!!

Nutty and Sweet Smoothie

Do you ever wake up and feel like crawling back under the covers because you just feel crappy? It doesn't happen to me too often, but when it does, I know exactly what the problem is. I've been eating too many of the foods I know I should be avoiding. I'm a fairly healthy eater and I get a lot of exercise, but depending on what's going on in my life, I get out of whack.

When that happens I know that I need to eliminate the foods that are getting me down: sugar, fried foods, most dairy, processed foods, red meat, etc. I typicaly fast a couple times a year for cleansing/detox purposes. I'm so not an expert at this - I usally follow the expert's advice - like Dr. Elson Haas (http://www.elsonhaas.com/).

I don't go crazy and fast for weeks - it usually takes me between 3-5 days to feel like my energy is restored. After that, I just start eating mostly whole foods, drinking lots of water and keeping those crappy foods out of my life. It's amazing how much better I feel when I'm eating healthy. Everything's better! If you want some good guidance, a good place to start is http://www.elsonhaas.com/detoxcleansing.html

I'm not going there today, I'm just committing to 30 days of eating only whole foods - nothing processed (OK, maybe a hard cheese shredded in one of my salads). But I'll share my recipes and how I feel along the way.

This morning I'm starting with one of my special smoothies:

Nutty and Sweet Smoothie

1 Frozen banana - cut in pieces (I cut up and freeze very ripe bananas just for smoothies)

1 - 2 cups of rice milk (depending on how thick you like it)

1 handful of raw or roasted almonds

1 tbls protein powder

Place all ingredients in blender. Sometimes you have to turn power off to move things around a bit so that it's all blending equally.

This is so sweet, healthy and satisfying. Sometimes I add a few drops of sesame oil or sesame seeds for an extra nutty taste!

Here's to feeling good!

Jazzy Pumpkin Seeds

Ever since I was little I always seemed to love anything green. I can remember asking my Grandma to make dandelion greens. My brothers would go straight for the cookies, but I'd ask for the greens. She'd make them with garlic and olive oil and serve them kind of soupy. I thought it was the best thing in the world. And of course I also love her cracked, green Sicilian olives, pesto, etc. I remember discovering green "pepitas" one day in a store and my Mom bought them for me. I was in love with the crunchy, little salty GREEN seeds.

Lately I've been roasting my own with just a little olive oil and salt. But a couple days ago I decided to jazz 'em up. I loved them and wanted to share the recipe with you. Here goes...


heat oven to 400 degrees
2 cups of raw, hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
about 2 tbls olive oil
about 2 teaspoons of salt
Mexican fruit spice - the one I used is called "Tajin." Here's what's in it if you don't have access to market that sells Mexican spices: chile peppers. salt, dehydrated lime juice)

Reminder - I don't measure, so these amounts are estimates, but very simple to adjust to your tastes.

By the way, this is soooooooo easy. Just rub some olive oil on the bottom of a cookie sheet. Spread a full layer of pumpkin seeds on the pan and rub them around so there's a light covering of oil on the seeds. Then sprinkle with a little sea salt and the fruit spice.

Put uncovered in hot oven and after about 6 minutes you'll need to move the seeds around and flip them (especially the seeds that were on the sides of the pan). This will prevent them from burning and help them roast evenly. Put the pan back in the oven for about another 6 minutes or until you start to hear them pop and you can smell and nice nutty aroma.

Then just let them cool. I put them in an airtight jar and whenever I feel like a salty little snack, I grab a handful. They are also great in salads.

For other green lovers, enjoy! More green recipes to come!