Deep Fried...Something

Healthy Orange Chicken

Our CSA haul this week included green beans, carrots, onions, and oranges (among other things).  I immediately thought that I wanted to make orange chicken and serve it with some stir fried veggies, but I decided to go looking for a healthier recipe than the one I've used in the past (which I just realized I haven't posted here, so maybe I'll make it later this week).  I found this recipe and decided it looked promising, so I went with it and only made a few minor changes.  It came out much better than I expected, and it's definitely healthier than the version I've made in the past.  This one goes in the keeper pile!

Healthy Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast about 4 oz each cubed into bite sized pieces
• 1 egg white
• Salt and pepper

Sauce:

• ¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• Salt and pepper

Other Ingredients:

• 2 stalks scallions
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon ginger minced
• 2 whole red chilis
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1 Tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

1. Mix the chicken, egg white, and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until browned.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
2. Add canola oil to skillet.  Add ginger and garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
3. Add scallions and red chilis and cook for 15-20 seconds, stirring constantly.
4. Add the chicken and zest and stir until combined.  Add the sauce and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens up.
5. Serve!

Notes:
I served this with sticky rice and sauteed vegetables.  I was a little obsessed with the idea of making the sticky rice after making this soup, so decided to make a batch of it today.  The link I got the recipe from served it with spaghetti noodles and mushrooms. 

Hamantaschen

I don't make cookies very often, but when my mom sent me this recipe for Hamantaschen, I couldn't resist.  These bring back great memories of being a kid, making cookies with my mom, and eating way way WAY too many of them.  The dough only takes a few minutes to make and tastes amazing.  Happy Purim, and enjoy these delicious cookies!

Hamentaschen

Ingredients:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons orange juice
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Filling of choice: solo brand, jams or homemade

Directions:

1. Cream softened butter and orange rind together.
2. Gradually add sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add egg and orange juice. Beat well. 
4. Sift dry ingredients together. Add to egg mixture and mix until well combined.  You will have a soft dough.
5. Wrap in saran wrap and chill until cold, preferably overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 400°F.
7. Roll dough out on floured surface until about 1/8" thick. 
8. Cut into circles with cookie cutters or drinking glass. 
9. Fill with about 1 Tablespoon filling and fold, pinching into a triangular cookie.
10. Bake for 10 minutes or until browned.

Notes:
I was in a hurry when I got the filling, so I just went with blackberry and raspberry jams.  Apricot and poppy seed are two other favorites.

Quinoa with Roasted Root Vegetables

Another CSA week is coming to a close, and we had a lot of potatoes and onions left over, along with some parsnips and beets.  I decided to go simple: chop everything, add a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast it up along with some garlic I still had left over.  While the veggies were roasting, I cooked a pot of quinoa with vegetable broth and a little bit of Tabasco chipotle sauce and added a can of diced tomatoes.  Once the veggies were done roasting, I dumped them in, mixed it all together, and voila!  Dinner is served.  Between this and the beet soup that Sarah made this weekend, we actually ate all of the beets we got last week from the CSA.  I never thought I'd say this, but...I actually like them.  Crazy?  Possibly.

Anyway, no real recipe for this one beyond what I said above.  I used about 10 small potatoes, 5 small onions, 2 beets, 2 parsnips, 10ish cloves of garlic, 2 cups of quinoa, 4 cups of water, and a little bit of vegetable "Better than Bouillion".

 

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

After my last healthy mac and cheese recipe left me a little disappointed, I decided I had to try again.  I went looking for another recipe and found this one through Tastespotting.  I made a few changes of my own, some to make it healthier and some just because I wanted a different kind of cheese.  The result was possibly the best mac and cheese I've ever made, and it's pretty healthy too!

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash, split in half and seeded
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1½  cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup low-fat or skim milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup Colby jack cheese, shredded
• ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup Asiago cheese, shredded
• ½ cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Bake squash on a sheet of parchment for about one hour, until soft.  Scoop out squash flesh and set aside. 
3. Decrease oven temperature to 375°F.  Grease a large casserole dish or several small bowls (at least 6 dessert bowls). 
4. Boil water and cook pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a large pot place stock, milk, squash and spices on a medium simmer.  Cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. Using an immersion blender (or use your cuisinart), blend until pretty smooth, with a few lumps of squash intact if you like.
7. Place all cheeses, except a little Asiago (save in a bowl for topping) in a large mixing bowl.  Stir to combine. 
8. Pour the stock/squash mixture into this bowl and stir.  Cheese will melt and become gooey and delicious smelling. 
9. When pasta is done, throw back into the large pot and pour in cheese/squash mixture.  Mix well, then pour into small bowls or one large casserole pan. 
10. Sprinkle on breadcrumbs and remainder of Asiago cheese.  Cover in tin foil and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and cook 10-15 minutes more, until the top layer looks crusty.  Broil for the final 1-2 minutes.

Notes:
I really don't have much to add.  Using Greek yogurt instead of ricotta made it healthier without sacrificing any flavor at all.  I used fiber-enriched macaroni noodles, but I'm sure it would be good with whole wheat pasta as well.

Curried Carrot Soup

Two weeks ago, our early bird CSA from Breezy Willow Farm started.  Sarah's been writing a bit about it over here, including some great pictures of the food we're getting.  This week's pickup day rolled around and we needed to make some room for the next batch of produce.  We had two carrots, some potatoes, some apples, and some garlic left over from the first week.  Let me back up.  I say we had two carrots, but these were not normal carrots.  These were the biggest carrots I've ever seen in my life.  Here's a picture from my phone of our son holding the carrots:

Like I said, big carrots.  Anyway, I decided to take almost everything we had left and make soup out of it.  The results were pretty dang good, especially considering I was just throwing things together and hoping they'd taste good.

Curried Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds carrots
• 4 small potatoes
• 3 stalks celery
• 3 small apples
• 7 cloves garlic
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 10 cups water
• Fat-free Greek yogurt (for garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat curry powder in a large pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, until curry powder gets fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
2. Put curry powder in a small bowl and add enough water to make a paste.  Mix and set aside.
3. Chop all of the vegetables (and fruit!) except for the garlic.
4. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute carrots, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the curry paste, and stir well to mix. 
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are soft.
7. Remove from heat and blend until smooth.
8. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Notes:
This would be good with a wide variety of other vegetables too.  I'm sure I'll make it again, it's a great "CSA Leftovers" recipe.