Veggie Stir Fry

This is a version of a recipe I found on vegetariantimes.com. I has great vegetables and a really nice home-made stir fry sauce. I like to use a lot of vegetables with different color and serve it over brown rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 medium red onion, halved, cut into wedges
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup raw nuts of your choice (I’ve used peanuts and almonds)
• 1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
• 8 oz. sugar snap peas
• 8 oz. snow peas
• 8 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat vegetable oil in wok over high heat.
3. Add onion, bell peppers, nuts, and ginger, and stir-fry 2-3 minutes.
4. Add snap peas and stir-fry 1 minute.
5. Add snow peas and green onions, and stir-fry another 2-3 minutes.
6. Add soy sauce mixture and cook 1-2 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

 

An estimate of nutrition information is as follows. This is also based on upping the number of peppers to about 4.

	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Per Serving (4 total):	348	22	28	8	367	8

Grilled Corn Salad

I love love love a good corn salad. Actually, just corn in general. I am looking forward to the spring/summer for when we can get some good corn into our diet. Whether its fresh corn, or just using frozen, there’s something about the flavor and the crunch that I just love. Here is a corn salad recipe that I haven’t made in a long time, but I just found it sitting in my favorites, so I”ll post it here. Looking forward to making it in the next month or so (and then I can post some pictures).

Ingredients:

• 6 ears fresh corn, husked
• 2 Tbs oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 4 scallions finely chopped
• 2 cups packed arugula
• Dressing:
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and ground black pepper
  • BBQ seasoning: 1/4 cup paprika, 1/8 cup sugar, 2/3 Tbs. onion powder

Directions:

1. Preheat grill or broiler to medium heat.
2. Rub corn with some oil and season with salt/pepper.
3. Grill or broil corn for about 7 min or until ears are lightly browned.
4. Allow the corn to cool and remove kernels from the cob. Place them in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add cherry tomatoes, red pepper, scallions, and arugula.
6. In a small bowl make the dressing with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and the BBQ seasoning (to taste).
7. Toss salad with dressing and serve.

 

Quick and Easy Chili

Here is a really quick and easy chili that I’ve made a few times. It is with ground turkey, instead of beef (but I guess you could use any ground meat you want).

 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo, coarsley chopped, with 1 Tbs of the sauce that comes with it in the cane
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 12-ounce Mexican lager-style beer
• 14.5 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
• 15.5 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• scallions, cilantro, avocado, sour cream, cheese (or whatever else you want to garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, salt, chili powder, and oregano; cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and chipotle chile and sauce, cook for about 1 more minute.
4. Add the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and cook until the meat is not pink anymore.
5. Add the beer and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 8 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes, crushing them through your fingers as you put them into the skillet, along with the juices and beans. Bring to a boil.
7. Cook, uncovered, until thick, about 10 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale

Since Kale is the new healthy item of choice, I wanted to experiment with it a little bit. I’ve heard some negative things about kale (i.e. bitterness), but have been successful! This is a great, and pretty easy recipe, that I got from foodnetwork.com — Giada De Laurentiis.

 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
• 1.5 lbs green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1 in. pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 bunch kale (1/2 lb), rinsed, stemmed, and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 Tbs finely grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Warm olive oil in a large heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 4 min.
3. Add the mushrooms, green beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.
4. Add the wine and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the red pepper flakes and kale, cook for about 4-5 min, or until kale has wilted.
6. Add the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese.

 

YUM!