What we ate last week

It was a hard week for me, as those on twitter can tell, but when I am having a hard time and I’m not able to bury myself in a book, I lose myself in cooking because otherwise I might just be hysterical. Okay, sometimes I’m still a little hysterical. It was a good week for cooking.

 Linguine with Clam sauce

This was amazing, and actually really quick! I started the sautéed items before my aerobics class, and then when I came home I heated it back up, simmered the clams open and cooked up some linguine. Voila! I used chicken broth instead of clam juice because my husband doesn’t like food that’s too fishy and I didn’t know how it would be. I also subbed a couple Tbs Greek yogurt for the heavy cream thinned out a little with pasta water, for a health consideration (next time I wouldn’t thin it out). And whole wheat linguine, because that’s almost always what we use.

No-Butter Butter Chicken

Sarah suggested this recipe, and I meant to make it last week but we had a second “breakfast for dinner” instead, so I moved it to this week. So glad I did! We all really liked it, except Henry who doesn’t like anything. I didn’t use nearly as much chili flakes and it was still kicky, and I used ground cumin instead of cumin seeds, but I was happy I had everything else in my (fairly well stocked) cupboard. Tumeric, Garam Masala. Fresh ginger (in the freezer, skinned and cut in cubes). It was very yummy. Served over brown rice with steamed broccoli.

Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Couscous Salad

So I misread this recipe (also from Sarah) and thought it was for grilled avocado, which I had never heard about but was all for. When I realized what it was, I still decided to go for it, and I added shrimp. I cut my avocado into quarters, brushed w olive oil and seasoned w salt and pepper (same way I did the shrimp), and threw it all on the grill. I got a box of Far East whole wheat couscous and did it w onions like the recipe, but then I made my dressing with lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a touch of ground oregano and salt. Served all over greens and it was fan-freaking-tastic.

Quick Beef Stroganoff

Here’s where I say I barely followed this recipe at all. First of all, whenever I cook very thin steak it’s super tough if cooked more than a minute, so I have a completely different technique (that I learned from the back of some stir fry packet). I get the pan super duper hot. Then I throw the strips of thin steak in. Cook for NO MORE than a minute – the steak should be brown on the edges but still red or pink in the middle. Remove from pan, do all the rest of the cooking. When you’re about a minute from finishing, add in the steak (and juices). I also used more paprika and Greek yogurt for the sour cream, and baby bella mushrooms for the exotics. Half the flour which I actually cooked in a sauce pan with the 1 tbs of butter instead of just mixing because uncooked flour in a recipe is not my best friend, then added the broth to that for thickening before adding to the sauce, along with a little Worcestershire. No additional water. Whole wheat egg noodles. But a good starting point! I think I’ll make it again with a little more salt and Worcestershire. My favorite beef stroganoff recipe previously included three cans of cream of mushroom soup, a tub of full fat sour cream and a bunch of catsup, so I can guarantee this is a healthier recipe (what? That’s the way my mom always made it!)

White Bean Chicken and Poblano Chili

This is one of my very favorite chili recipes. I follow it pretty exact except I’ve been making it so long that I don’t use the recipe so sometimes I stray just because I don’t remember. One point though – there is no note to salt. For the love of God, salt your chicken. Liberally. Otherwise, it’s a perfect recipe. I think I use less chicken (I keep my chicken frozen in two breasts to a bag, so I just grab a bag. Same can be said for any recipe that calls for chicken. I think it’s usually just over a pound). Oh, and “white beans” is vague, but I use cannelloni beans and they make me happy. (I took no photos because I was rushed. Plus I’ve made it so many times I really didn’t feel like I needed a picture. I forgot about this post)

Cod with Tomato Cream Sauce

I had full intentions of following this recipe pretty exactly, but then I realized too late that I gave all my cans of diced tomatoes to the food shelter before Christmas. I had already sent C out to get wine, texted him for tomatoes and he didn’t see it so I wasn’t going to send him out again. I diced up half a pint of yellow grape tomatoes and used that instead of the canned tomatoes, lowered the wine to ½ a cup (because I used so much less tomatoes) and used a couple scoops of Greek yogurt instead of the cream. Served with brown rice and roasted brussel sprouts. It was pretty tasty, but the best thing I can say about this dish is that my children ate all of it. They were rewarded with cookies – I know I shouldn’t, but they eat their dinner so infrequently sometimes I have to.