Meals of Late
I got all of these recipes from one of my cookbooks, The Colorado Colore. I've had the cookbook for several years, but this is the first time I've really made anything out of it. Most of it is pretty darn easy, and so far I only have good reviews. :)
Lemon Chicken with Rosemary Orzo
Ingredients
2 medium zuchinni, chopped
3 tomatoes, quartered and sliced
1T olive oil
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips
1 t. paprika
1 1/3 c. orzo
1 large shallot, minced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2/3 c. dry white wine
2 T lemon juice
2 T. capers
1 1/2 T chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. salt
paprika to taste
Directions
heat olive oil in a large skillet (or pan) over medium hih heat. at the chicken and 1 t. paprika, mix well. stir frly 3-4 min or until the chicken is brown. stir in the orzo, shallot and garlic. stir fry for 1 minute or until light brown. stir in the broth and cover. bring to a boil and reduce heat. simmer for 5 to 8 min or until orzo is al dente. fold in zuchinni, tomatoes, bell pepper and wine. simmer covered for 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender and crisp and pasta is tender. stir in lemon juice, capers, rosemary and salt. sprinkle with paprika to taste just before serving.
I had to make several amendments to this based on lacking some ingredients. The main one was I didn't have paprika... as I thought I did, so I used a little bit of cayanne pepper - it made it a little spicy, but I really like a spicy kick, so I would probably still use cayanne pepper again if I made this again (which I very well may). The one thing that I would give a heads up about this is the chicken gets overcooked. I'm really sensitive to overcooked chicken, so that may not bother others as much as it bothered me. It was very filling, and felt good that I was eating a pretty darn healthy, well balanced meal. It was also really easy.
Multicolor Southwest Tomato Salad
Ingredients
3 lbs ripe cherry tomatoes or teardrop tomatoes (multi colored if possible)
10 medium tomatillos, husks removed, cored, thinly sliced
1 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1/4 c lightly packed fresh cilantro
1/4 c. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
lime wedges
Directions
Cut any larger tomatoes down to bite size. Combine the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl and mix gently. season wtih salt and pepper. serve with lime wedges.
I found that I liked this salad better as leftovers... the flavors really meshed well after sitting and marinating a while. I used regular on the vine tomatoes (because it's what I had, and what was most cost effective), and sliced them into bite size chunks. I will definitely make this again. Very good.
Beef and Pepper Bundles
Ingredients
1 c. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2lbs beef tenderloin, trimmed
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 scallions
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2t. olive oil
Directions
Whisk soy sauce and sugar in a bowl until the brown sugar dissolves. cut beef crosswise into 1/4" slices, trimming excess fat and connective tissue, place the beef between two sheets of plastic wrap, pound beef into 1/8" thick rectangle with meat mallet. Marinate beef in soy sauce / brown sugar.
Cut green tops of the scallions into 3" lengths, and cut each lengthwise into 2 strips, cut the scallion bulbs into slices and separate into rings.
To assemble arrange 2 strips of scallion and 1 strip of each color of pepper on the beef, roll the beef around the vegetables, and secure with a toothpick.
brush broiler rack with olive oil place the beef bundles on the pan and broil 2-4 minutes or until beef is medium rare.
Pour remaining marinade into saucepan and bring to boil for 3-5 minutes, add scallions, and use as a dipping sauce for the bundles.
This was really really good. The recipe is actually an appetizer. I increased the serving size to make it a meal. I cut my beef a little larger, and added more bell pepper strips to the middle. i also didn't use tenderloin (also because of cost). I used the cheapest piece of beef I could. It would definitely be better with a good piece of meat, but c'est la vi. I also didn't have brown sugar for the marinade so I used honey. Still worked really well.
Tonight I'm making Thai Shrimp Curry on
tulipchica's recommendation. Hooray for fellow foodies!
Lemon Chicken with Rosemary Orzo
Ingredients
2 medium zuchinni, chopped
3 tomatoes, quartered and sliced
1T olive oil
1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips
1 t. paprika
1 1/3 c. orzo
1 large shallot, minced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2/3 c. dry white wine
2 T lemon juice
2 T. capers
1 1/2 T chopped fresh rosemary or 1 1/2 t. dried rosemary
1/2 t. salt
paprika to taste
Directions
heat olive oil in a large skillet (or pan) over medium hih heat. at the chicken and 1 t. paprika, mix well. stir frly 3-4 min or until the chicken is brown. stir in the orzo, shallot and garlic. stir fry for 1 minute or until light brown. stir in the broth and cover. bring to a boil and reduce heat. simmer for 5 to 8 min or until orzo is al dente. fold in zuchinni, tomatoes, bell pepper and wine. simmer covered for 5 minutes or until the veggies are tender and crisp and pasta is tender. stir in lemon juice, capers, rosemary and salt. sprinkle with paprika to taste just before serving.
I had to make several amendments to this based on lacking some ingredients. The main one was I didn't have paprika... as I thought I did, so I used a little bit of cayanne pepper - it made it a little spicy, but I really like a spicy kick, so I would probably still use cayanne pepper again if I made this again (which I very well may). The one thing that I would give a heads up about this is the chicken gets overcooked. I'm really sensitive to overcooked chicken, so that may not bother others as much as it bothered me. It was very filling, and felt good that I was eating a pretty darn healthy, well balanced meal. It was also really easy.
Multicolor Southwest Tomato Salad
Ingredients
3 lbs ripe cherry tomatoes or teardrop tomatoes (multi colored if possible)
10 medium tomatillos, husks removed, cored, thinly sliced
1 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1/4 c lightly packed fresh cilantro
1/4 c. lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
lime wedges
Directions
Cut any larger tomatoes down to bite size. Combine the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl and mix gently. season wtih salt and pepper. serve with lime wedges.
I found that I liked this salad better as leftovers... the flavors really meshed well after sitting and marinating a while. I used regular on the vine tomatoes (because it's what I had, and what was most cost effective), and sliced them into bite size chunks. I will definitely make this again. Very good.
Beef and Pepper Bundles
Ingredients
1 c. reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2lbs beef tenderloin, trimmed
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 scallions
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
2t. olive oil
Directions
Whisk soy sauce and sugar in a bowl until the brown sugar dissolves. cut beef crosswise into 1/4" slices, trimming excess fat and connective tissue, place the beef between two sheets of plastic wrap, pound beef into 1/8" thick rectangle with meat mallet. Marinate beef in soy sauce / brown sugar.
Cut green tops of the scallions into 3" lengths, and cut each lengthwise into 2 strips, cut the scallion bulbs into slices and separate into rings.
To assemble arrange 2 strips of scallion and 1 strip of each color of pepper on the beef, roll the beef around the vegetables, and secure with a toothpick.
brush broiler rack with olive oil place the beef bundles on the pan and broil 2-4 minutes or until beef is medium rare.
Pour remaining marinade into saucepan and bring to boil for 3-5 minutes, add scallions, and use as a dipping sauce for the bundles.
This was really really good. The recipe is actually an appetizer. I increased the serving size to make it a meal. I cut my beef a little larger, and added more bell pepper strips to the middle. i also didn't use tenderloin (also because of cost). I used the cheapest piece of beef I could. It would definitely be better with a good piece of meat, but c'est la vi. I also didn't have brown sugar for the marinade so I used honey. Still worked really well.
Tonight I'm making Thai Shrimp Curry on
tulipchica's recommendation. Hooray for fellow foodies!