Shut That Tummy Up!

Spinach and chick pea salad with Tahini dressing

Salad:

1. 2 bags of baby spinach ( wash thoroughly)
2. 1 and a half cups of shredded carrots
3. 2 cans of chick peas ( drained and rinsed)
4. 1 small container of alfalfa sprouts

Dressing:

1. 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil
2. 3 cloves garlic, chopped
3. 1/2 cup tahini
4. 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. fresh black pepper (a couple of dashes)
7. juice of 1 lemon
8. 1/2 teaspoon paprika
9. 1/4 cup lightly dried parsley
10. 1/2 cup cold water
    

Directions:

1. For the salad, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside
2. For the dressing, Heat garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small saute pan over low heat for 2 minutes, just until it’s fragrant. Add garlic and all ingredients  in a small mixing bowl and blend until smooth. 
   
3. When the dressing is ready, pour directly on top of the salad and with mixing tongs, fold the dressing into the salad until everything has a light coating of dressing, 2 minutes is a good estimation of how long it will take to mix everything.
4. Serve as a meal or side dish, you’ll have leftovers, they will stay for about 4 days. Enjoy! 

Summer Fruit Salad ( This is by far the best fruit salad I have ever made or tried!)

Salad:

• 1/2 cantaloupe( cubed)
• 2 peaches ( chunks)
• 1 container strawberries ( cut them in quarters) 
• 1 container blueberries
• 5 kiwis (sliced)
• anything else you wish to add

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons honey 
  
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
  
• 1 teaspoon lime zest 
  
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

1. Combine all fruit in a large mixing bowl and set aside
2.  In a small bowl, whisk the honey, lime juice, zest, and mint.
   
3. Right before serving, pour the dressing over the fruit and toss gently to combine.
   

Sesame Tofu and Broccoli 

Ingredients

• 1 one-pound block firm tofu
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 head (about 1 1/4 pounds, stems and florets) broccoli, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Place block of tofu flat on cutting board; slice lengthwise into 4 equal pieces, then down the middle to make 8 squares. Place on baking sheet lined with three layers of paper towels; cover with three more layers. Place another baking sheet and a weight on top. Let tofu drain until towels are soaked, 5 minutes.
2. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate. Press both sides of each tofu square into sesame seeds. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium heat. Cook tofu, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Add the soy sauce; continue cooking, turning tofu, until it has absorbed all the liquid, about 1 minute. Remove from pan. Wipe skillet with a paper towel.
3. Add broccoli, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup water to skillet. Simmer, covered, until broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Divide among 4 serving plates; arrange 2 tofu squares on each. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon sesame oil. Sooooooo yummy :)

Toasted Ravioli

Ingredients
1 bag thawed ravioli ( if you are using the larger size use 2 bags)
2 eggs
Breadcrumbs or cornmeal
1tbs basil
1tbs oregano
1tbs crushed garlic
1tbs onion powder
butter

in a mixing bowl combine eggs and garlic, stir it up until yolks are broken and everything is yellow, then add the ravioli to the bowl. In a separate bowl combine oregano, onion powder, basil and breadcrumbs ( or cornmeal) remove the ravioli from the egg mix and add to the spice mix making sure each side is coated. In a large frying pan heat up the butter, when the butter is completely melted add the ravioli, cook until each side has begun to turn brown. Serve with side of tomato sauce for dipping. Makes a great appetizer or entree. Enjoy!

Corona Marinated Chicken Sandwiches

1 package of boneless chicken ( cubed)
1 Corona ( 12oz )
Dry poultry rub ( recipe to follow)
Potato bread rolls
shredded cheddar cheese

Dry Poultry Rub

In a medium mixing bowl combine:
1 tablespoon garlic powder ( if you choose to use fresh garlic do not add it until you add the beer)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon Adobo
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

When the rub is ready, add the chicken cubes into the bowl and blend in the rub thoroughly until the chicken completely coated in the rub, there should be nothing dry stuck to the bowl. In a large tupperware container or large Ziploc freezer bag combine the chicken, beer and fresh garlic ( if you chose to use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder) put the chicken back in the fridge for no more than 4 hours, if you leave it in longer the beer will start to break down the chicken and it will get mushy. If you are not planning to cook the chicken  on the same day you marinated it, remove the chicken from the beer after the 4 hour mark and pat it dry, seal it up and put it back in the fridge to cook for the next day. When you are ready to cook it up, heat up some butter in a large frying pan, when the butter has melted completely add the chicken and cook for about ten minutes, making sure to flip the chicken cubes so it cooks evenly, always test your chicken before you serve it to make sure it has cooked all the way through! When the chicken is ready serve it up in the rolls and sprinkle the cheese on top, I served the sandwiches with some blue corn chips and of course a nice cold Corona.

I was hoping to post my daily meals, but it’s been so damn hot lately that cooking in my apartment just makes it worse, but I did finally get around to making something delicious so here ya go!

Something Vegetarian

Ingredients

2tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 chopped onion
1 chopped apple( cored)
4 chopped celery stalks
2tbsp Cumin
1tbsp ginger
2tsp paprika
3 cups veggie bouillon
1 can ( small) tomato paste
1 box of extra firm tofu ( cut into cubes)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 can garbanzo beans ( aka chic peas) rinse and drained
4 hard boiled eggs

Heat oil in a large pan, add garlic, onion, apple and celery cook until soft ( about 4 minutes) Add cumin, ginger, and paprika after about one minute add bouillon the add tofu, beans and raisins. Bring to a boil and reduced heat, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, Stir occasionally to make sure the sauces stays smooth. If you want to add rice to the dish as I did, it would be a good time to start it now. Once the rice is ready, shell and quarter the eggs, put everything on the plate and enjoy!

*** THE PICTURE IS FROM MY A CELL PHONE, IT LOOKS BETTER IN REAL LIFE!***

Ok, this dinner is super simple, and it takes less than half an hour to make, I also want to take a minute to clarify that some of the dinners I make, are done with the intention to save some money and to have leftover to last a few days, this is one such meal and can be served as an entree or side dish.

No Bake SPAM* ( yes SPAM) casserole 

Ingredients:
1 Can of SPAM*
2 Boxes of mac-n-cheese
3 1 and a half cup of frozen peas
4 Onion powder

 Directions

Cut the SPAM* into small cubes, in a large frying pan place the cubes in and cook until it has turned light brown ( about 7-10 minutes) ***DO NOT FRY WITH BUTTER OR OIL IT IS NOT NECESSARY***  While the meat is cooking prepare the mac-n-cheese according to direction, once you have the macaroni cooking, put the peas in the microwave ( in a microwave safe bowl of course!) for about 1 and a half minutes or until cooked. In a large bowl combine SPAM*, Peas and onion powder, add mac-n-cheese mix everything until it’s all cheesy, get out some plates and bon-appetite!

* SPAM can be substituted with chicken, tuna, ground beef I actually wouldn’t even recommend using SPAM because it is so terrible for you, I just happened to have a can of it and I was broke, so you know, you do what you gotta do, however if you do decide to use chicken or tuna, you will have to use butter or oil to cook it, it is not necessary to do so with ground beef…happy eating! :) 

***RIGHT NOW THE ONLY PHOTOS I HAVE ARE THROUGH A CELL PHONE CAMERA…I PROMISE THE FOOD LOOKS BETTER IN REAL LIFE!!!*** 

My Not Quite Thai Shrimp with rice

Ingredients

1. 1 can of coconut milk
2. Lemon juice ( 2tbsp)
3. White cooking wine ( 1/2 cup)
4. Crushed red pepper ( 1 tsp or to taste)
5. garlic ( 1 tsp or to taste)
6. black pepper ( 1 tsp or to taste)
7. cinnamon( 1 tsp or to taste)
8. sugar( 1 tsp or to taste)
9. salt( 1 tsp or to taste)
10. 1/2lb shrimp
11. 1 cup frozen peas
12. Rice ( white/brown/yellow/whatever)
13. butter/margarin

Directions:

Prepare rice according to the directions on the box/bag ( usually it’s 1 cup of rice for every 2 cups of water) Start the rice first because it takes about 20 minutes to cook, and the key to getting a hot meal on the table is making sure everything stops cooking at the same time…

Combine coconut milk and seasonings 2-9 in a bowl, detail shrimp and put them in the bowl, set that aside for about 5-10 minutes. Take a large frying pan and melt the butter, once all of it has melted, turn your burner to a medium flame and pour the shrimp mixture into the pan, add peas to the pan. Bring the shrimp to a boil, remove from heat and allow to sit for about five minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Put your rice in a bowl, pour the shrimp and milk broth over it, take out a fork, put food on fork, put fork in your mouth, smile at what a delicious meal you just made!