Friday, March 26, 2010

Brazilian-Style Shrimp With Coconut Milk


Here's another of our favorite recipes found online. The note below is from the people who put uploaded the recipe on the site below:

http://www.mygourmetconnection.com/recipes/entrees/fish-and-shellfish/brazilian-style-shrimp-coconut-milk.php

This dish is our version of one we recently sampled at the 2009 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was being served at the Rio de Janiero booth and was called Shrimp Stew with Coconut and Lime. A little online research indicates that this is an adaptation of an authentic Brazilian dish called Vatapá. While not quite the authentic version, this turned out to be quite delicious as well as quick and easy and a fairly close replication of the Epcot version.

Brazilian-Style Shrimp With Coconut Milk

Ingredients ~
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 or 4 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
White rice

Preparation ~
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and red bell pepper and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the salt, cayenne and black pepper. Stir in the tomato and cook for an additional minute.

Stir in the coconut milk and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until bubbly and beginning to thicken. Stir in the shrimp and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes until the shrimp is pink and cooked through.

Add the lime juice and green onions and cook for about 1 minute more, until the onions start to soften. Stir in the cilantro. Serve over steamed white rice.

Makes 4 servings

Recipe Notes ~
Feel free to adjust the cayenne pepper to suit your taste for heat. The quantity we call for in the recipe is pretty mellow. All you need to complete a meal is a green salad with a simple vinaigrette.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Chili with Wheat Berries

We were looking for a recipe to use up veggies in the fridge, and this turned out to be a great one! It comes from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/zesty_wheat_berry_black_bean_chili.html.

6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
  • 2 14-ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced (see Tip)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 2 cups Cooked Wheat Berries, (recipe follows)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

  1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, chipotle to taste, broth and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
  2. Stir in cooked wheat berries and heat through, about 5 minutes more. (If using frozen wheat berries, cook until thoroughly heated.) Remove from the heat. Stir in lime juice. Garnish each bowl with avocado and cilantro.

Tips & Notes

  • Tip: Canned chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeños) in adobo sauce add heat and a smoky flavor. Look for the small cans with other Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Per serving: 386 calories; 11 g fat (1 g sat, 7 g mono); 61 g carbohydrates; 14 g protein; 15 g fiber; 703 mg sodium; 311 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin C (130% daily value), Fiber (72% dv), Folate (48% dv), Iron & Vitamin A (25% dv).

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 very-lean meat, 2 fat

Sunday, March 7, 2010

SUPER FAST Sunday Dinner

Sausage and Spinach Soup
Well, down in Provo it was fast day today (as I hear it was up north). And we get out of church at 5:00, which makes it tough to know what to do for dinner. Today we had a really fast, really satisfying, fairly healthy dinner tonight that I thought I'd share with you! It comes from

Sausage and Spinach Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 10 ounce sweet turkey Italian sausage (I'm sure any sausage would be delish.)
  • Cooking spray (or not)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained (such as Muir Glen)
  • 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups baby spinach (We had grown up spinach and it worked out fine :))
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (Hate to say we didn't have fresh herbs with this meal)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 2 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese (We also skipped out on the cheese and didn't notice a lack, although I'm sure it's great with Romano or Parm)
  • I also think you'd be fine to 1/2 the sausage and double the spinach, or play around with those quantities. It's kind of a lot of sausage.

Preparation

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil, and oregano. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls, and sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.