Cherry Salsa with Goat Cheese

My mid-morning snack:

I can't do too much in the kitchen these days, but I can tell I am feeling better because I actually got inspired this morning to get creative in the kitchen and make an easy snack.

Every morning I have a snack, and it's usually fresh fruit of some kind (because that's easy and healthy), but this morning I came across a recipe on one of my favorite websites that got my taste buds tingling. I took a quick inventory of ingredients (by memory; I pretty much know what I stocked up on in the fridge before surgery) and realized that what I didn't have EXACTLY, I had ingredients I could easily substitute. And then, of course, I added my own touches.

So, I rolled on out to the kitchen and began the journey that ended with me exhausted, but with a delicious snack that includes the fresh sweet cherries that are in season right now, crunchy and aromatic celery, low fat dairy, and whole grains. What great fuel for a healing body, delicious and (for a two-footed person), takes about 10 minutes to make!

Cherry Salsa with Goat Cheese

1 cup of chopped sweet cherries
1/2 cup diced celery
1 scallion, very thinly sliced white and green parts
Splash of red wine vinegar (not too much, maybe 1 tsp.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle of hot pepper flakes (optional, but I like it)

Honey for drizzling

Crisply toasted crostini slices, whole grain toast, or crackers

1/3 cup soft goat cheese

1/3 cup fat free cottage cheese

Combine the cherries, celery, scallion, vinegar, S&P, and hot pepper flakes. Stir to combine and taste for seasoning. (Depending on your preference, you may want to add more salt, pepper, or hot pepper flakes.)

In a small bowl, use the back of a spoon to mash together the cheeses. Spread desired toast or crackers with cheese and top with cherry relish. Drizzle with honey and serve.

Note: If you make this quantity, you can get 4 or 5 servings on regular toast. It will probably top 18 or so small crostini or crackers for party food. I think the salsa would be good served with grilled chicken breasts, too. 1/4 of this recipe is only 78 calories, 4 grams fat, 6 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, and a generous 6 grams of protein. It's a bit over the 30% calories from fat guideline, but in this case I think it's worth the trade off for so much fresh flavor and protein. I think you will, too!

Baked Chicken Meatballs, a Tasty & Healthy Alternative to Chicken Nuggets

Lots of kids love chicken nuggets, and lots of parents love the convenience, but why not make a healthier version? This recipe for chicken meatballs uses convenient ground chicken (find it next to the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the poultry section of your supermarket) and is baked instead of fried, eliminating lots of fat. The meatballs freeze great, too, making it convenient for quick suppers on busy days. The Spicy Italian Tomato Sauce from my last blog post makes a great sauce for these meatballs, and you can put more garlic and oregano in the mixture to turn them into delicious Italian style meatballs. Just be sure to simmer them a bit in the sauce after they are baked. Yum! These freeze great, too, making this a convenient and healthy choice for quick suppers on busy days.

Baked Chicken Meatballs
(Based on an old recipe from Gourmet Magazine)
Serves 4
Difficulty: Super Easy
Prep Time: About 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Ingredients:

3 slices whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons low sodium chicken broth
3 ounces lean ham (from the deli)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely minced red bell pepper (opt.)
1 large egg or equivalent amount of egg substitute
1 pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet cake pan with foil and spray it with vegetable spray.
• Soak bread in broth until softened, just a couple of minutes, and squeeze out broth, reserving bread. (Discard the broth.)
• In a medium saute pan sprayed with vegetable oil spray, cook ham, onion, bell pepper, and garlic with the 1-2 tablespoons chicken broth till onion softens a bit. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon EACH of salt and pepper. Set aside to cool a bit.
• Lightly beat egg in large bowl, then add chicken, ham and onion mixture, bread, parsley and tomato paste.
• Form 12 meatballs and arrange on foil-covered sheet pan.
• Bake in uppper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
• Cool and freeze, or serve hot

Note:

For children or hors d'oeuvre: serve meatballs with honey mustard, barbecue sauce, honey, or other favorite "dipping" sauce.

For everyone:
Stuff meatballs into split whole wheat pita bread along with diced onion and tomato and shredded lettuce. Create Tsatsiki sauce by combining non-fat yogurt (Greek is grea!), minced onion, garlic, cucumber, and lemon juice. Serve Tsatsiki sauce with chicken meatball pitas.

To freeze:
Cool and portion into zip lock or Foodsaver bags and freeze for easy meals. Reheat in microwave or in 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe for Fresh Italian - Style Spaghetti Squash

I was looking for a budget-friendly vegetable side dish to make today. I'm on Phase 1 of South Beach, and I tend to get very bored with the vegetable/protein thing. I'm hungry for pasta so I decided to give spaghetti squash another try.

Understand that I've tried spaghetti squash before and just was not impressed. No way was it even close to tasting like pasta. Just as that mashed cauliflower stuff that is supposed to replace mashed potatoes doesn't come anywhere near the flavor/texture profile of good mashed potatoes.

After my wine tasting in Charlotte last evening, I wheeled into Harris Teeter (one of our really nice grocery stores in Charlotte) and browsed the produce department, hoping to get some ideas. I picked up the spaghetti squash, found fresh tomatoes (reduced because they were a bit over-ripe) and grabbed the rest of the ingredients I usually put into good Italian tomato sauce. Here 's the result, and I've got to tell you that it is delicious! I think it is the fresh herbs that I used. They are expensive to buy in the produce department of grocery stores, so plant some in pots and put them outside your kitchen door so you can use them all spring, summer and fall. You'll be amazed at the difference fresh herbs make in your culinary creations!

Fresh Italian Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 c. chopped tomatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
Handful of mixed fresh herbs (I used basil, oregano, and chives)
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to taste

Wash squash; pierce several times with sharp knife and microwave on high power for 15 minutes or so until it's soft when you press on it. Remove from the oven to cool slightly. Cut squash in half and using a clean kitchen towel to protect your hand, hold the squash half. Using a spoon, scoop out seeds. Take a fork and pull the spaghetti-like strands of flesh away from the skin and into a bowl. Repeat with the other half and set aside.

Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tsps. olive oil and add onion and green pepper. Season with salt and sauté until just getting tender. Add minced garlic and continue to sauté for about two minutes. Add tomatoes and stir until tomatoes are heated through. Empty bowl of squash into the pan with the vegetables and fold into mixture until everything is heated through. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Lastly, toss in fresh herbs and scatter shredded cheese over top. Serve and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

A Budget-Saving Recipe for Easy Salmon Salad

I've never been wild about salmon salad because I am just not wild about fishy tasting cold food. (Well, I do love tuna salad, so I guess that is the exception.)

I roasted some salmon fillets for supper the other night and, as I usually always do with meats, poultry, and seafood, I throw in some extra servings for quick meals in the days to come. I had one 6-oz. serving of salmon left over and created a great salad that I just loved because the taste of the salmon was offset by the briny olives and capers. Lots of freshness, too, with the vegetables, and that final shot of lemon juice just took it over the top!

A bonus to this salad is that you can stretch a 6-oz. piece of cooked salmon to feed 4 people generous servings. So, the next time you cook salmon fillets, make an extra serving to use for this delicious salad for lunch or dinner the next day.

Easy Salmon Salad

Serves 4

6 oz. cooked salmon, skin and bones removed and flaked into bite-size pieces
1/2 lb. grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 c. celery, sliced
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled, quartered and sliced cross-wise
1 tablespoon rinsed and drained capers
1/4 - 1/2 c. sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
Olive juice to taste
Good quality mayonnaise to taste
Juice of one lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste
Leaf lettuce

Combine all ingredients except salmon and lettuce in large bowl. Stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and olive oil and lemon juice until it's perfect for your taste. Gently fold in salmon just until incoporated, keeping chunks of fish intact. Chill well.

Serve cold on a bed of lettuce with lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

A Day's Work for a Personal Chef

My cookday really begins the week before when I design the menu for my clients. I know what they like to eat and also their nutritional needs, so I put the menu together based on those things and email it to them for approval. Sometimes I get an email back requesting a special dish that they've enjoyed in the past and I make that change.

I usually make five separate meals of four servings each, and I package this food according to the size of the family. The meals in the picture above were prepared for a bachelor client who is losing weight and getting fit, so I do mostly low-glycemic index, low fat foods for him, and package everything in single servings. What you see will feed him for a month...20 meals to enjoy on weeknights!

The day before my client's "cookday," I print out a menu of all the food I will be making so that I can leave that on the kitchen counter and they'll know what's in their fridge and freezer. I also print out the recipes I'll be using, labels for the containers, and my shopping list. I load my trusty Forester with my Rubbermaid bin full of pots and pans, one that contains my pantry items, such as flour, spices, etc., my soft-sided cooler, and a few other essentials. I have a Stanley tool box that I keep my kitchen tools in: favorite knives, bamboo scrapers and spoons, measuring spoons, instant read thermometer, etc. Everything I will need I take with me.

I love to start my cookday in bed with a cup of coffee and the news, and so I wake up around 6:00 so I can have an hour to enjoy before jumping into the shower. Since my car's already loaded, it's a snap to grab my purse, portfolio with all the printed materials, and my phone. Sometimes I take my iPod or a portable radio. I'm always excited about being able to spend the day cooking. (Yes, the whole day! This is why I do what I do!)

First stop is the grocery store, and sometimes it's more than one store to find everything I need. It all depends on where my client-for-the-day lives. Some days I'm cooking in the country and other days in the city, and by now I know my way around all the grocery stores! I love to shop and I've made friends with the meat and fish guys and the produce managers, so I can call ahead and they'll have special cuts of meat ready for me to pick up, and the produce managers will even order unusual fruits and veggies for me. They are my best friends in the morning on a cookday!

I pull into my client's driveway usually between 9:00 & 10:00 a.m. and unload, put some music on, and I'm cooking by 10:30. I take a break at noon while something is simmering and something else is roasting, and I snarf down a quick cup of yogurt to keep me going. I have to force myself to drink water because I get busy and forget, but dehydration eventually drains one of energy, and I still have four hours to go!

I quick-cool the hot food in ice water baths and immediately package and apply labels and get them in the fridge or freezer. One by one I check off each recipe and then clean up, pack up, sweep the kitchen floor and load up my car. I stick the menu on the fridge or leave it on the counter. The house smells heavenly from all my home cooking and I know my clients will be looking forward to coming home after a long day and having their supper ready and waiting!

I like to do extra things for my clients, too. Sometimes I'll set the table and leave a small vase of flowers. If there are children in the family, from time to time I'll bake some cookies for a treat. Often I'll make a fresh fruit or veggie salad. I really appreciate their business!

I'm usually on the road heading home by 4:00 or 4:30. Another delightful day of cooking for appreciative clients at an end, and this is when I really appreciate what I do as I drive by all the offices still full of people trapped behind desks and in cubes!

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie

Chicken Stewed with Chiles

Fat is full of flavor. That is a fact, and when we try to cut fat from our foods we need to replace that satisfying flavor with something else, and the bold flavors of chile peppers are a really great way to do that.

If you've never cooked with dried chiles, try this recipe. First of all, dried chiles are easily found at almost any grocery store...even at Wal-Mart...and they are dirt cheap. I like to buy them at the Latin food markets because they sell them loose and I can pick up just the amount that I need, but if you can only find them bagged, buy them that way and they will keep almost forever.

Pasilla and Guajillo chiles are what I used in this recipe for Chicken Stewed with Chiles. They are considered to be mild (as chile peppers go) but their heat can vary from one to the next, so be sure to taste them so you can adjust the heat in your stew to suit your taste. The stew will not be as hot the second day as it is the first because the flavors have a chance to balance.

Most recipes using dried chiles begin by roasting the chiles, and this recipe that I've created is very traditional, so get out your cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan and roast your chiles as I did in the above photo. Then, while they are cooling, in a non-stick skillet brown the chicken breasts. They should be nice and brown, as this one is below.

After the chiles are roasted and cooled enough for you to handle, slice the stem off, slit the side and remove the seeds. Discard those. Then slice the peppers into thin slices, as I did in the photo below.

Toss all the vegetables and the dried chile slices together in a non-stick pan and saute until they start to soften. (Above) Add the wine and reduce by half, then stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken breasts back into the stew and continue simmering for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. (Below) It should be nice and thick and will smell unbelievably good. You can eat it now, but it's so much better if you wait one more day.

This serves 6 people and here's the approximate nutritional breakdown:

360 Calories; 6g Fat (17.0% calories from fat); 53g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 138mg Cholesterol; 718mg Sodium.

Stewed Chicken with Chiles

3 pounds chicken breast, no skin, no bone, R-T-C
1 1/2 cups sliced green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups sliced red bell pepper
2 cups onions, chopped
2 each pasilla peppers
2 each guajillo peppers
6 cloves garlic, sliced
14 1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine, sauvignon blanc
1 cup chicken stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Place dried peppers flat in pan. Roast until heated and fragrant (do not burn), then turn and warm other side. They will be soft and pliable. Remove to cutting board and allow to cool till you can handle them. Slit side of each pepper and remove seeds. Slice off stem and then slice pepper cross-wise into 1/4 inch slices. Set aside.

2. Rinse, dry, and trim fat from chicken breasts. Heat nonstick pan sprayed with cooking oil spray over medium-high heat until hot, then lay breasts onto hot pan. Season with salt and pepper and allow to brown without turning on the first side, then repeat on the second side. Remove to platter.

3. In same non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking oil spray, saute bell peppers, onion, garlic, and dried peppers till vegetables begin to soften. Add wine and simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Add undrained canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Simmer rapidly, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Nestle the chicken breasts into the stewed vegetables (pour any juices from the plate into the stew, too), reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 - 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Cool and refrigerate overnight. (This allows all the bold flavors to learn how to cooperate with each other!)

4. When ready to serve, gently heat the chicken in the stewed sauce over medium heat on the stove. Remove chicken pieces; slice, and serve by themselves or on a bed of rice and topped with a generous spoonful of the stewed vegetables.

Bon Appétit!
Chef Debbie