Turkey Stroganoff

Believe it or not, I get those occasional cravings for Hamburger Helper. I think we've all gone through the Hamburger Helper phase, and some of us may still be there. Well, you can have the convenience of a one-pot-meal-in-a-box without all of the preservatives and extra fat.

Braised Beef Short Ribs in Barbeque Sauce

This past weekend my husband and I were shopping at Central Market and saw the most gorgeous package of beef short ribs. These brought back memories of the chunky, tomato-y barbeque short ribs my mom used to make in her dutch oven. By the way, a dutch oven is an oven-safe (no plastic or wood handles) pot with a lid. My favorites are made of cast iron with an enamel coating. Make sure to wash cast iron right away and dry it in the oven at a low temperature so as to not allow any rusting to occur.

An Ethiopian Feast

Ethiopian cuisine is characterized by a few spicy dishes on a large sourdough flatbread (called injeera). The meal is supposed to be eaten with your hands only, but I can't give up my fork. I love Ethiopian cuisine because the base of it is, basically, onions and garlic. Yum. This feast is going to take all four burners to make, be warned.

"Good Morning" Egg Muffin Sandwich

Instead of picking up breakfast in a drive-thru lane, try this marvelous creation.

Ingredients
1 whole wheat (HFCS-free) English muffin
2 strips nitrite-free turkey bacon
2 egg whites
1 slice of 2% American cheese

1) Toast the English muffin. 2) Place a slice of cheese on one side of the muffin. 3) Fry up the egg whites; keeping them in a "muffin-sized" patty. Place on top of the cheese. 4) Fry up the bacon to your desired doneness. Fold each in half and place on the eggs. 5) Top with the other half of the English muffin. Voila! You have a home-made breakfast sandwich.

1 serving; approx. 237 calories, 6g fat, 28g carb

Oven Fried Chicken

Fried chicken tastes so incredibly good, but it is almost invariably full of fat. Oven fried chicken is a great alternative to deep frying and this recipe gives you all of the flavor and crispiness you love from traditional fried chicken. Baking on the cooling rack allows the air to flow around the chicken—crisping the coating.

Yellow Cake With Seven-Minute Frosting

I won't kid you, this is purely for a sugar-fix. My version of yellow cake is a little mealy due to the whole wheat flour. If you can find pastry whole wheat flour, I suspect it would fix the mealiness.

Cod with a Lemony Chardonnay Sauce and Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Monday night was "cooking by the seat of my pants." I didn't have much of anything except for a cod fillet, some asparagus, and a bottle of chardonnay in the fridge. It actually turned out pretty good. I do wish I had caramelized the onions prior to putting in the cod and that the flavors had been a bit brighter. The asparagus came out perfectly, on the other hand. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment.

Sloppy Joes

I like my Sloppy Joes open-faced with a layer of decadent, toasted mozzarella cheese with a side of spinach. This comfort food never fails to make my mouth water. Best yet, it's filled to the brim with hidden veggies.

Simple Swedish Chicken with Lingonberries

This dish is an IKEA restaurant staple, but the Swedes have been pairing lingonberry preserves with meat (and everything else) since forever. Lingonberries are a low-bush cranberry with a taste that isn't as intense as a cranberry. The flavor is fantastic and completely unique.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are very satisfying and full of fiber. The suprise ingredient is chickpea (a.k.a. garbanzo) puree—don't worry, you can't taste the beans.

Pita Pizza

With the preceding pita recipe, you can make really great snack or lunch mini-pizzas. There are a ton of great topping combinations out there, feel free to experiment!

New Resource Section!

If you look over to the right side of the blog, you'll see a few resource links. One is my ongoing handy kitchen supply list, another is a basic staple list, and the other is a guide to making your own purees out of my selected vegetables that will be showing up in my recipes.

Tzatziki with Garlic Pita Flatbreads

The best tzatziki I've ever had was at Mykonos Restaurant in Bellingham, WA...that is, until I figured out how to make it myself. There are a ton of tzatziki recipes out there on the internet and in cookbooks, but they never have enough garlic. So, this one goes out to all the garlic lovers out there. Serve it with pita bread (or any kind of flat bread) or make up your own gyro or souvlaki sandwich.