J's Custom Carrot Cake

I know I have touched on this a couple of times, but I really do have the best neighbour ever. And she has birthdays and everything. This year I figured I would make her something very specific to her, as she has a couple of food sensitivities. Also, food opinions, which I think is very important, in that she digs whole grains and natural as much as possible. The cake turned out to be completely rich and luscious! Here's what I came up with; I think next time I will switch out some butter for applesauce and do the calorie count. Happy birthday, J!

Friday: Summer Coq Au Vin

I love classic Coq au Vin, so I was pretty excited to find a recipe that could be easily adjusted for lower calories and also doesn't have the fussiness of the traditional version. I am also using white wine instead of the usual red, so now we're gonna call it summery.

You will need:

2 lbs chicken, breast, thighs or whatever you got ( I used both)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped or sliced, whaddeveryalike
1/2 lb mushrooms (I am using 1 c dried shiitake mushrooms, because I don't know what else to do with them)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 c good white wine (who's off their meds?? Yay!!) - you can also substitute chicken stock for half if you don't want to intoxicate minors in your care. You know, TOO much
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
Black pepper
Salt
1 bay leaf
3 green onions

First, brown yer chicken. Heat the oil in a wide saucepan (NOT non-stick) salt and pepper your chicken and brown the chicken in batches, until golden. Set aside in a bowl. Pour off most of the leftover fat and reserve.

Toss the carrots, onions and sliced mushrooms into the saucepan, cook at medium low heat for 3 or so minutes until the onions start to soften. Add in the garlic and cook for one more minute. Just one!! Dump all these veggies in the bowl with the chicken.

Pour the reserved fat back in the pan (should be about 1 1/2 Tbsp, add a little bit more as required) and add the flour. Scrape the bottom (all flavour!!) and stir until the flour takes on a bit of colour, a minute or two. Less than that and your pan is too hot. Turn it down, soldier!

Slowly add the wine, scraping as you go. Add the chicken and vegetables back in as well as more salt and pepper, the thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour.

Sprinkle with the sliced green onions and serve without the bay leaf. I separated this into 6 servings at 400 calories per. It is on the high side, calories-wise, but it is for a special occasion. I am serving it with some steamed broccoli and calling it a week, yay!

Enjoy!

Beef & Beer Stew

I love this stew because it only takes an hour to make, start to finish, and I am a big fan of anything that can easily incorporate green veggies into the mix.

You will need:

12 oz lean beef (find a cheap cut or stewing beef)

1 medium onion

1 green pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 medium potatoes

8 oz carrots, so either 24 baby carrots or 2 large

16 oz fat-free beef broth

8 oz beer

1/4 c evaporated skim milk or 2 Tbsp homo milk, if you don't have an open can

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp paprika

Salt

Pepper

Thyme leaves

First, prep! Cut your beef and potatoes into bite-size chunks. You could also use stewing beef and / or these adorable little mini potatoes, about 375g worth. Is that helpful? Almost a pound. They cost more but you would only have to cut them in half or quarters, depending on the size of your chompers. I would recommend red potatoes. Always season your meat with salt and pepper before cooking!

Cut your carrots into coins, or if using baby-cut carrots, cut in half. Chop your onions and green pepper into small pieces and mince your garlic. Done!

Spray a non-stick pot with oil, heat and add the beef, onion and green peppers. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the garlic for one minute. Just one! 

Well, as browned as it can be in a non-stick pan with hardly any fat. Maillard would be weeping

Dump in your potatoes, carrots, broth and beer; bring to a boil and reduce heat. Season with salt, pepper and thyme, cover and let cook simmer for about 30 minutes.

 Mix the milk with the cornstarch and paprika, stir into the stew. Cook for about 5 minutes more, until thick and bubbly. Stir and let simmer for another couple of minutes. 

I made this into 4 portions and came up with a calorie count of 293 per serving. I am going to add a salad with dressing, half a whole wheat bun, some milk and here we are under 500 calories. Yay us!

Enjoy!

Friday: Orange Beef with Noodles

I may have fibbed a little to my husband and told him this is almost exactly like ginger beef (it's totally not) but it is a nice asian-ish meal. I've read other versions of this that require tangerine peels and being as I have a hard time getting anything more exotic than your basic navel orange, I am going to go in that direction. Should you have access to tangerine peels, have at 'er!

You will need:

1 lb lean beef ( I like to use flank steak as it is very lean and cuts perfectly for strips. It is crazy expensive these days, so get it on sale and freeze it if you can)

Zest and the juice of one orange

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

1 inch piece ginger

1 large carrot, cut into 2 inch strips

2 green onions

First, start your marinade. Cut your beef into strips across the grain:

I find it easier if I cut it in half first

Then cut each piece cross ways

Place the beef in a bowl and sprinkle with the orange juice and zest. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. 

While you are waiting, prep your veggies. You will want to cut your carrots julienne, which just means in little matchstick shapes. 

First cut into two-inch chunks

Then each piece into slices, then each slice into littler shapes until they look like this. Ish.

They don't have to be perfect, the most important thing about cutting things julienne is that you want all the pieces to be relatively the same size. Then they will cook evenly! In theory.

Do 'em all!

Chop your ginger finely and your green onions thinly. Back to the beef!

Drain the meat, reserve the liquid, then mix in the soy sauce, cornstarch and ginger. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and stir-fry the beef for one minute. 

Add the carrot and cook for another couple of minutes.

Stir in the reserved marinade and green onions and cook, stirring until boiling and a bit thickened. 

This would be a good time to add in a little extra orange juice, if you have some and you like your  dishes a little saucier

Serve over egg noodles or brown rice. I have been a-ricing it up all week, so I am going with noodles. I portioned this into 3 servings and came up with 277 calories per. I really meant to do it in 4 servings but I got ahead of myself. I added noodles and salad and steamed veggies and called it a meal. Done!

Enjoy!

Crockpot Beef

I would call this crockpot roast beef, but that would be misleading, as there is no roasting involved. Just simmering. In wine. Yay! Even though I am home today, I have to cook this roast I took out a couple three days ago. I was planning to do a vegetarian dish later, but this will satisfy even the meatiest of meatatarians.

You will need:

2.5 - 3 lbs cheap roast. I am using a good cut that was on sale
1/2 c all purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 large Spanish (aka red, purple) onion, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1 1/2 c baby-cut carrots, cut in half, or 2 large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 c white wine
1 Tbsp tomato paste

To lightly smash garlic, use your biggest knife, lay the garlic underneath it and whack it gently with the heel of your hand

Spread the flour on a dinner plate, salt and pepper your roast and dredge in the flour.

Um, fairly self-explanatory

I also like to use pie pans for dipping and breading, but since not much action is required, a dinner plate is poifect.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan (like old faithful here) at medium high, brown each side (including the top and bottom), about 5 minutes per side. NOTE: when browning, always wait until the meat comes easily off the pan before turning. If it is sticking, it's not done browning yet. Leave it!

Patience, grasshopper

Place the browned roast in the crockpot, dump the onions in the heated pan and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Just one!

The onions and garlic into the slowcooker on top of the meat, pour the wine into the hot pan. Boil for 2 minutes, until it doesn't smell quite so wine-y, scraping up all the good bits on the bottom of the pan.

I love flat spoons for this

Put the carrots in the crockpot and pour the wine from the pan on top of everything.

Ready!

Cook for 6-8 hours on the lowest setting. Stir in the tomato paste and let cook for another 10 minutes.