Kheer-Style Oatmeal

For those of you who are unfamiliar (I was, until recently) "kheer" is an Indian rice pudding, perfectly sweetened and delicately spiced.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, I am not a woman who will ever stand over a pot of boiling milk and rice for an hour to ever enjoy this treat from my own kitchen.  I couldn't fight the craving, however, so I settled on a compromise.  Since oatmeal is easily the most boring food in the world, I attempted to marry East and West in a flavorful breakfast dish inspired by this Indian dessert.

And it was a complete success.

Kheer-style Oatmeal

What you'll need (for 2 servings):

3/4 cup steel-cut quick oats

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla coconut milk

4 tsp. coconut sugar (plus more for garnish)

Unsalted pistachio meats

Slivered almonds

1 tsp. cardamom powder (plus more for garnish)

What to do:

1. Over medium heat, add milk, sugar, and cardamom to a saucepan.  Sprinkle in some pistachios and almonds (maybe a tablespoon each, but add as much or as little as you'd like).
2. When the milk begins to boil, add the oats.  Reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally until the oats are done (7-8 minutes).
3. Divide your oatmeal between two bowls and garnish with more pistachios, almonds, sugar, and cardamom powder.  
4. Omnomnom.....

   

You won't regret this change of pace, I promise you.  My fiance has been clamoring for it ever since I served it.  Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

Ah, Super Bowl.  The day we celebrate athletic prowess by eating two day's worth of calories in one sitting.  Here's a healthier and more convenient way to enjoy some buffalo chicken without committing to wings.  (These also travel a lot easier than hauling a crockpot of buffalo chicken dip to someone else's party.)

Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

Ingredients:

3 10-inch flour tortillas

1 8 oz. package light cream cheese

4 scallions

1 tsp. celery seeds

1 12.5 oz. can of premium white meat chicken

Frank's Red Hot

Directions:

1. Add thinly sliced scallions and celery seeds to softened cream cheese.
2. Add Frank's Red Hot (to taste) to the chicken and mix well.
3. Spread 1/3 cream cheese mixture on a tortilla.  Spread 1/3 chicken on top of cream cheese.  Repeat for the other two tortillas.
4. Tightly roll tortillas and put in the refrigerator to chill for an an hour.
5. Once chilled, slice pinwheels into inch-thick slices.
6. Chill until ready to serve. 

Go, Sportsball!!!!     

  

Instant Casserole

I'm too fat to fit into most of my pants, but it's too icy and snowy outside to reasonably expect myself to eat a salad after a workout.  In a fit of culinary madness, I took a look around my kitchen and developed "Instant Casserole".  It's stick-to-your-ribs satisfying, but not crazy on the calories and carbs.  You don't get a picture.  It's ugly.  Like a casserole.
 
What you need:

One bag of steamable broccoli and cauliflower
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 13 oz. can of fat free chicken breast
1/4 c skim milk
a handful of bacon bits
a generous sprinkling of parmesan (the green can stuff is fine)
garlic salt
crushed red pepper flakes

What you do:

1) Pop the vegetables in the microwave and start them cooking for 5 minutes
2) Add the soup, milk, and bacon bits to your pan.  Stir until smooth.
3) Add the canned chicken.
4) Add spices to taste.
5) When the veggies beep, dump them right into your pan.
6) Serve with sprinkled parmesan.

Seriously, less than ten minutes from start to finish.  And a giant serving (I served this as two portions) is about 400 calories.  You're welcome.

Flash in the Pan-Seared Scallops

When you can get your hands on big, beautiful scallops, you do it.  No questions asked.  I wanted to prepare these in a way that didn't detract from the sweet, subtle flavor that makes scallops one of my very favorite foods.  This is what I tried, and it went over well.

Flash in the Pan-Seared Scallops

Here's what you'll need:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 shallot
6 cloves of garlic
2 Tbsp bacon bits
1 lb fresh scallops
2 Tbs cooking sherry

• Rinse scallops in a colander.  
• Heat the olive oil and bacon bits in a saute pan.  
• Add minced garlic and shallot to the pan.  Cook until tender.  
• Push everything to the perimeter of the pan.  Turn heat to high, wait a few moments, and add the scallops to the pan.  DO NOT MOVE THE SCALLOPS once you've laid them in the pan.  This gives them the sear and color that makes this dish what it is.  
• After 3-4 minutes, flip the scallops.  Again, don't disturb them.  Wait another 3-4 minutes and add the sherry to the pan.  
• Plate the scallops, then make sure the bits left in the pan are well-mixed.   

I served these with a side of asparagus (a steam-fresh bag--don't judge me) and topped the asparagus with the bacon/garlic/shallot mixture from the pan.  This "pan relish" ended up being the star of the meal, so feel free to use this in any way you'd like.  That's it!  I'm not sure I've ever cooked a better dinner in under fifteen minutes.  Enjoy!    

BBQ Bacon Burger Bites, Pesto Salad, and White Berry Sangria.

I thought, in honor of this beautiful Labor Day, I would put together a warm-weather menu that demanded very little effort.  Here is a plan to keep you out of the heat and in the kitchen as little as possible.

Labor Day Special: BBQ Bacon Burger Bites, Pesto Salad, and White Berry Sangria.

 
Here is your shopping list:

For the White Berry Sangria:
Two bottles white wine of your choice (and don't feel pressured to go fancy here--when you adulterate wine with soda and fruit, you're allowed to be cheap about it)
Frozen mixed berries
Clear soda (today, I chose Sprite Zero)

For the Pesto Salad: 

Fresh cherry tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella balls

1 jar of basil pesto

For the BBQ Bacon Burger Bites: 

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1/2 cup (plus more for serving) Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (any flavor)

1 jar of Hormel Real Bacon Bits

1 onion (any size)

See, you can still use the express lane.  Add 30 minutes to the timer and……GO!

First, the sangria.  Making a batch like this will not only keep you from having to mix drinks all day, but it will keep your hosting costs down.  Add the frozen fruit to a large pitcher.  Pour in both bottles of chilled wine and top it off with soda.  Put the pitcher in the fridge to let all the flavors meld while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Now, the salad.  Cut your tomatoes in half and add to a mixing bowl.  Do the same to the mozzarella balls.  Add about three heaping tablespoons of pesto and gently fold it into the tomatoes and cheese.  Adding "too much" pesto isn't truly possible, but be mindful of the olive oil that will pool in the bottom of the bowl if you do.  Throw your salad in the fridge next to your sangria.

And, finally, the BBQ Bacon Burger Bites.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put your ground beef in a mixing bowl.  Add half the jar of bacon bits and about a half cup of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce.  Don't be shy, now--get your hands in there and squish!  You can either roll the beef into 1-1.5 inch balls or use a mini-muffin tin.  I was able to make 22 mini-muffin sized bites.  Pop these into the oven.  Now slice your onion and reserve the innermost rings for serving.  The bites should be done in about 12 minutes, depending on your oven.

When the burgers are done, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the grease.  Top with small slices of onion and serve with toothpicks and more BBQ sauce for dipping.  Now, pour yourself a glass of sangria and take it easy.  It's Labor Day, after all.

Sleazy Seafood Risotto

Why's it sleazy?  'Cause it's cheap and easy, baby!  This was a total shot-in-the-dark experiment, and I'm pleased to report it was a total success.  This week's cooking challenge: learn how to make something edible with canned clams and canned smoked oysters.  Ew, right?  Challenge: accepted.  And what is the perfect blank canvas to use when you aren't sure if some potentially bold flavors are going to play well with others?  Risotto.

Let's talk about risotto for a second.  A lot of people are afraid of it and think it's difficult to do.  I'm here to tell you, it absolutely isn't, and it's an inexpensive way to make a classy, delicious dinner you can feel free to serve to guests.  And for me, it's an excellent way to get a little Italian flavor in my life that is naturally gluten-free.  I will walk you through the basics here, and you'll be a risotto pro in no time.

Here's what you need for Sleazy Seafood Risotto (I didn't even take detailed pictures this time because I was so certain this wouldn't be worth posting--next time I'll have more faith!):

1 c Arborio rice
1 Tbs butter
1/2 c diced sweet onion
3 diced cloves of garlic
1/4 c cooking Sherry
1 3 oz. can smoked oysters in olive oil (drained and rinsed)
1 6.5 oz can whole clams
1 small lemon
2 oz. cheddar cheese
salt (to taste)
dried dill (to taste)
Water

1. Melt butter in a warm pan and add onion.  Cook until translucent, then add garlic.  When you can really smell the garlic, add the dry Arborio rice right into the pan.  Toast the rice for a couple minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the Sherry.  Prepare a glass of warm water (I get mine from the tap, but you can use filtered as long as you don't pull it right out of the fridge).

2.  Finely chop your rinsed clams and oysters.  (These are so ugly, I can't believe someone ever thought, "hmm…I should eat this."  But I'm very glad they did.)  Stir these into the rice and add just enough water to float the ingredients.  Bring to a simmer.

*PAUSE.  Here is the crux of the whole risotto success vs. failure thing.  Risotto requires love and attention.  You do NOT want to dump in all the water and wait for it to cook down like you would any other rice.  It's kind of like making instant oatmeal--you initially add enough water to make it too soupy to eat as is, but you don't add so much that you think it'll be soupy coming out.  Same approach with risotto.  You add 1/2 to 1 cup of water at a time, just to get things loose and buoyant, and then you let almost all of the moisture cook out of it again.  You want to nurse the starch out of it to make your dish velvety.  You do this every few minutes, until the rice is soft and fluffy (which you find out by TASTING it.  No magic powers here, folks). RESUME*

3.  Add the juice of half the lemon, about a half teaspoon of dill, and a few pinches of salt as you continue to cook your risotto.

4.  When the rice is done, turn off the heat and add the cheese.  Stir, stir, stir.

And there you have it!  A surprisingly balanced, smooth and creamy seafood risotto.  Who knew?      

Lying Cheating Shrimp and Grits

Lying?  Well…at least stretching the truth.  I LOVE grits, and I make some mean ones, but the fact of the matter is they're a pain to clean up after, especially after you've added the cheese to them required for this dish.  And if you haven't made grits before, they can be a little intimidating, so let's keep it simple, shall we?  Enter Polenta.  Polenta is just Italian grits, really.  And they come conveniently packaged like this:

When I realized this could be a nice gluten-free carb to build a meal around, I started to get creative.  This is not the last polenta recipe you will see here, I assure you.  But let's get down to business.

Here's what you'll need: medium cooked shrimp (I use frozen, thawed), canned diced tomatoes, polenta, sharp white cheddar cheese, cajun seasoning, garlic salt, and green onions.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Slice the polenta into 8 equal slices and arrange on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with slices of sharp cheddar cheese.  Pop these puppies in the oven.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet.  Add shrimp to hot oil and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning and garlic salt.  Add green onions and sauté for a few seconds.  Then add drained canned tomatoes.  Reduce to a simmer.

When the cheese on the polenta looks melty, remove them from the oven.  Plate two slices on a plate, top with shrimp, and garnish with fresh green onion.

Here are the stats:

Cals      = 588

Fat        = 14g

Carb     = 26g

Fiber     = 3g

Protein  = 35g

Enjoy...with a sauvignon blanc.