Lentil-Spinach Stew

This recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens Vegetarian Recipes Cooking for Today cookbook.

1 cup dry lentils
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups water
4 tsp instant vegetable or chicken bouillon granules  (I substituted chicken broth for the water and bouillon)
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed  (I used 1/4 tsp ground thyme and it was fine)
1/4 tsp fennel seed, crushed
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 medium carrots, chopped (1 cup)
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach
1 Tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
hot sauce to taste


Rinse lentils; set aside.  In a large saucepan cook onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Stir in lentils, water and bouillon (or broth), tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, fennel seed, pepper and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Add carrots and frozen spinach.  Bring to a boil, breaking up spinach with a fork; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes more until lentils and carrots are tender.  Stir in vinegar.  Discard bay leaf.  Add hot sauce as desired.

Broccoli Tofu Stir Fry

The recipe for dinner tonight was from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook.  I added carrots and mushrooms and omitted chile from the original recipe.

Broccoli-Tofu Stir-Fry (Moosewood)
Sauce
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce (purchased in Chinese food aisle)
2/3 cup water
3 Tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce or Tamari if you are gluten free
1 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour

3-4 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 small fresh chile, seeded and minced (we omitted this)
1 1/2 cakes tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes ( I bought one package of already cubed extra firm tofu and it worked great)
1 large head broccoli, cut into 1 inch florets
1 carrrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 small mushrooms, sliced (we used baby portabellas)
1/3 cup dry sherry (I used cooking sherry found near the balsamic vinegar in the grocery aisle_
1 bunch scallions, died
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
unsalted peanuts (optional)

Combine sauce ingredients in small bowl.  Prepare the vegetables and have all ingredients at hand before cooking.
In wok or large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium-high heat.  Add garlic and chile and stir fry 30 seconds.  Add tofu and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, until tofu is lightly browned.  Remove the tofu and set it aside.  Add another tablespoon of oil and heat, add broccoli and carrots.  Stir-fry for a minute and pour in sherry.  Stir-fry for 3 minutes.  If broccoli begins to scorch, add a tablespoon of water.  Add scallions and bell pepper, continue to stir-fry for a minute.  Add tofu and sauce, stir and bring to simmer.  Simmer 3-4 minutes - sauce will thicken.  Top with peanuts and serve over brown rice. 
*Because Paul can not eat grains, he omits the brown rice.


I totally forgot about taking a picture until we were finished - I did get a pic of Katy's plate...

Roasted turnips, carrots and leeks

We had a pound of turnips in our house and not much else so we had to eat them.  It isn't that I hate turnips, they are just not something I rush out to buy at the grocery store.  We got them in our coop and it was time to eat them.  In the past I have roasted the turnips by cutting them into pieces, tossing in olive oil and sea salt and baking until tender.  I like them that way with greens and beans.  I didn't have any greens on hand and am trying to stretch my food budget - i.e. I know a trip to the grocery store will likely cost me at least $50 even if I only go for greens (how does that happen anyway?)  I also had some leeks from coop, so I found this recipe at premeditatedleftovers.com and adjusted it a bit with what I had on hand.  The girls were not really impressed, but they ate the carrots and a few turnips - so not a complete failure.  We were going to an oscar party later so they were "saving room for party food" :)

Some recipes I use are not "outstanding" but I classify them as "good enough".  As in, "it is turnips and this isn't a bad way to eat them".  Sorry to all the die-hard turnip lovers out there.  For me, if I can kind of enjoy them that is "good enough" for me.  This recipe fit the bill.

Roasted Turnips, carrots and leeks

1 lb turnips (4 large or 6 small)
2-3 carrots
1 leek
1/2 cup apple juice
2 TBSP honey

Peel and cut the turnips and carrots into 1 inch pieces.  Thinly slice the leek (I use the white and most of the green parts).  Combine in baking dish and cover with mixture of apple juice and honey.  Bake at 400 for 40 minutes, stirring occassionally.

We also had some roasted acorn squash.  I feel kind of the same about acorn squash as I do about turnips - I love butternut squash and sweet potatoes, but acorn is not my favorite.  I do not like them with butter and maple syrup/brown sugar - the way I think most people prepare them.  I cut them into slices, tossed them in olive oil, sprinkled with parmesan cheese (Paul uses a veggie parmesan cheese substitute that we get near the tofu at Schnucks), and roasted them at 400 for 20 minutes.  They were "good enough" that way - I even took the leftovers for lunch.

Grated Carrot and Raw Beet Salad

We often have salads for lunch.  We keep a salad spinner bowl full of mixed greens, already washed and ready to use.  Today we had mixed baby greens and on top of it this grated carrot and raw beet salad taken from food.com.  I never was a big fan of cooked beets - but raw beets...I like them!

Grated Carrot and Raw Beet Salad

2-3 carrots
2-3 uncooked beets
optional - 1/2 head cabbage
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar 
1 tsp Dijon mustard 
sea salt and pepper

optional: tabasco or hot sauce,  other add-ins such as seeds (sesame, sunflower), other fresh or dried herbs, toasted nuts,  fruit (raisins, chopped apples)


1.  Trim, peel and grate the carrots and beets (you definitely want to use a food processor grating function for this).  Be careful - the beet juice will stain!
2.  Place the garlic, oil, vinegar, mustard and salt and pepper in large salad bowl and combine.  Add the carrots and beats - toss until well combined.
3.  Add any desired add-ins and toss
4. Let stand for 30 minutes and serve

We like this on top of greens as a salad topper but can be eaten as a slaw/salad by itself too.       
The original recipe did not call for cabbage but when I made it this time, I had a 1/2 head of cabbage that needed to be used, so I added it and thought it was even better!

Breakfast

Breakfast

Friends are often asking us for meal plans - ideas and lists of what we eat, so I thought I would make this post about breakfast.  As many of you know, Paul was a big bagel eater prior to our diet change.  He stopped every day at St. Louis Bread Company (Panera) for a coffee and blueberry bagel.  Well, the diet plan did NOT include bagels, so he had a big adjustment to make.  After some searching, he found a replacement....apples with almond butter.

He LOVES apples and almond butter.  He slices the apples and smears delicious Trader Joe's raw unsalted almond butter on the slices and eats them just about every morning. 
When he doesn't eat apples or *gasp* we are OUT of almond butter, he generally eats fruit:  grapefruit and cantaloupe are his favorite breakfast fruits.  When he eats fruit he will often have a Larabar (found in most grocery stores in the energy bar section) as a mid morning snack.  Larabars are made of fruit and nuts - that's all - there is a wide range of flavors.  Some we like, some we don't.  Our favs are cashew, lemon, and apple.

I am not completely dairy or grain free - but I do limit them greatly and choose only low fat dairy and whole grain options.  I will often have greek yogurt and granola in the morning when I am not having fruit or apples and almond butter. 

Occasionally we have poached or hard boiled eggs in the morning.  When we first started the new diet, we had eggs more frequently - I still think having some hard boiled eggs ready to go is a great option for breakfast or a mid morning snack.

Salmon on Baby Arugula

Broiled Salmon on Baby Arugula

The arugula salad in this meal is taken from epicurious.com

Salmon
1.5 lbs of salmon fillets - I have it cut into 4 fillets
1.5 Tbsp lemon juice
1.5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
dried rosemary
salt and pepper

Combine lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper into a glass baking dish or other shallow pan.  Place salmon fillets, skin side up on top of lemon mixture to marinate for 15-20 minutes (don't let it marinate too long or the lemon will start to cook the salmon)


Turn broiler on and let heat up.  On rimmed cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil place salmon fillets skin side down.  Sprinkle with dried rosemary and broil.  Broilers cook at different speeds depending on how hot it is and how close the fish is to it.  Keep a close eye on the salmon, checking every few minutes.  Ours took about 10-12 minutes to cook.

Arugula salad
3 cups baby arugula leaves
2/3 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

Combine arugula, tomatoes and onion in bowl.  Just before serving, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with combined oil and vinegar.  Toss well.


Serve with salmon on top of salad.

We had this meal with roasted sweet potatoes.  To roast sweet potatoes, peel and dice sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Toss with olive oil and sea salt - place on rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan and cook at 400 for 30 - 45  minutes.


This is Miss Elsa's favorite meal.  She loves "Samson" as she calls it.  Make sure you have extra lemon - both my girls love their fish with lots of lemon juice squeezed on it at the table!
Both Katy and Elsa loved the arugula salad (minus the onions).  So did their neighbor friend who ate with us that night!

Acorn Squash Quesadillas

Acorn Squash Quesadillas - from smittenkitchen.com

We also had acorn squash in our coop basket this week.  This recipe went perfectly with the Tomatillo Chicken Stew.  Paul does not eat flour tortillas or cheese, but these looked so good, he had to take a bite to try them.  Katy and Elsa both ate them up!

1 small/medium acorn squash
oil for roasting
3 Tbsp diced white or yellow onion
1 Tbsp minced jalapeno
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
10 inch flour tortillas
shredded mexican cheese

First, roast the acorn squash.  Preheat the oven to 400 and lightly oil a baking sheet.  Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut into half-inch slices (they will be crescent shaped).  Lay them on the baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes until soft but not cooked to mush.

When cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove skin.  Chop the squash and put in a bowl.

Saute onions, garlic and jalapeno in oil until translucent.  Add squash and cook 5-10 minutes until squash is tender.  Season with salt and pepper.

Spread a few tablespoons of cooked squash onto 1/2 of flour tortilla and sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of cheese.  Fold over and place in a hot pan or griddle and cook until crispy.  Cut into 4 wedges..

These are delicious dipped in the left over tomatilla sauce from the tomatillo chicken stew.  If you do not have any - you can certainly dip them in homemade or store bought salsa verde - yummy!

NOTE:  I am always looking for ways to adapt recipes to Paul's diet needs (no grains, no dairy).  The squash mixture is delicious before you make the quesadillas.  The squash would make a yummy meal served with black beans!

Tomatillo Chicken Stew

Tomatillo Chicken Stew and Acorn Squash Quesadillas

Tonight's dinner was inspired by the fact that I bought 2lbs of tomatillos from our community produce coop and needed to do something with them!  The recipe was taken from simplyrecipes.com - with a few adjustments for our taste.

Tomatillo Sauce
2 lbs tomatillos
1 - 2 jalapeno chile peppers (include seeds if you want heat, remove them for mild flavor).  We used 1 jalapeno, no seeds and it was very mild
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lime juice
pinch of sugar


Stew
1 - 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces ( I used 2 of the frozen chicken breasts)
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups of tomatillo sauce
1 tsp dry oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh, chopped
advocado or guacamole - optional
sour cream - optional
tortilla chips - optional
Cilantro *** the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup cilantro - I think this is too much... plus I have a cilantro hater in the family, so none on ours.  I had some on hand to add at the table, but I liked it without it.  If you love cilantro, you may want to add some at very end of cooking time.


Method:
1 Make the tomatillo sauce.  Remove the papery husks from tomatillos and rinse will.  Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut side down on aluminum foil lined rimmed cookie sheet.  Broil 7 minutes - skin will be blackened in spots.  Let cool to handle.  Place them along with any juice they released, jalapenos, garlic, salt, lime juice and sugar in a blender and pulse until well blended.  Refrigerate until ready to use (if made ahead of time).

2.  Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot on medium -high heat until very hot.  Pat dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place chicken pieces into hot oil - don't let the chicken pieces touch - you want to brown them, not steam them).  You will probably have to do this in batches, adding olive oil as needed.  Let pieces brown on one side, then turn them over and let them brown on other side.  The chicken will not be done - just browned.  When they are browned, remove them to a bowl.

3 Turn heat down to medium.  Add onions to the pan, picking up the browned bits from the chicken that are sticking to bottom of pan.  Add cumin and coriander and cook a few minutes, stirring and getting all the browned bits up.  Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.

4.  Add browned chicken, tomatillo sauce, chicken stock, kidney beans and oregano to pan.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

5. Enjoy!  This may be served over rice since the soup is quite thin.  Because Paul and I do not eat many grains, we add avocado or guacamole at the table to make soup creamier.  You may also add sour cream , cilantro, and tortilla chips.  ( I also bet corn would be delicious in this soup, but Paul can not have corn, so we haven't tried it that way).

You will have leftover tomatillo sauce - it is a delicious salsa verde and can be eaten with chips or on top of heuvos rancheros, beans, burritos, enchiladas, chicken....gosh I think you could add this to just about anything it is so good!

Our daughters - ages 9 and 6 had Acorn Cheese Quesadillas with their stew.  See the next post for that recipe!

Introducing.....the Emily Family Meal Blog
Almost 2 years ago, our family changed the way we eat and since then we have had many friends and family ask us about our diet.  I always intend to share recipes and meal plans when asked, but I haven't been too good on following through with that.  So....I decided to start a blog.  I will log meals and recipes that we enjoy and if you are interested, you can follow along :)
As an added benefit, I will have a place to look for my own recipes!  Every week as I sit making out our menu and grocery list, my husband, Paul and I look at each other and say "what do we eat?"  Not sure if you have this same issue, but meal planning is the hardest part of cooking.  I hope this blog helps you as much as I think it will help us!