A Baking Journey

Soy-sauce Grilled Shrimp with Spinach Salad

My mom, as always, decided to invite people over for dinner and tell me the day of. I had less than 7 hours before people were coming, and no dinner menu planned (let alone groceries in the house!) Since it’s summer, which means grilling, I looked around for some easy no-worry recipes that I could get then in a minimal amount of time. Grilled shrimp is both quick, fast, and easy, enjoy :)

Ingredients

Shrimp  

¼ cup soy sauce

• 2 limes, juiced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup canola oil, plus more for brushing
• 12 ounces large (21-24) shrimp, peeled, tail-on, and deveined

Salad

• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• ½ cup chopped salted peanuts

Directions

1. Whisk the soy, lime juice, honey, ginger, garlic and canola oil in a medium bowl until combined. Add the shrimp to the marinade in the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

2. While the shrimp marinates, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, canola and sesame oils, scallions, and cilantro in a small bowl.

3. Heat the grill to high. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, brush with canola oil, and season with salt and pepper. Skewer the shrimp and grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until just cooked through.

4. Toss the spinach with some of the vinaigrette and mound in the center of a serving platter. Arrange shrimp around spinach and spoon over more of the dressing. Scatter the peanuts over the salad and shrimp.

Grilled Portobello Salad

I bake fat but eat thin. Since I’m a vegetarian I have to get my protein from somewhere so I always turn to portobello mushrooms for my fix. Summer has officially started- which means that grilling is a must. This salad is easy to make, delicious, and won’t hurt your waistline :)

Ingredients

• 4 large portobellos
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Essence, recipe follows
• 1 ½ cups extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2/3 cup small diced grilled eggplant
• ½ cup chopped Calamata olives
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• Salt and pepper
• 8 cups fresh spinach, stemmed and cleaned
• Goat Cheese
• 4 Italian Roma tomatoes, split in half and roasted
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the grill. Season the Portobello mushrooms with the olive oil and Essence. Place on the hot grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the grill and slice on the bias.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk the extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar together. Add the garlic, eggplant, olives, and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss spinach with oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
3. Mound the spinach in the center of the platter. Lay mushroom slices across the top of the greens. Crumble the Feta cheese over the mushrooms. Garnish with the roasted tomatoes and parsely.

Essence (Emeril’s Creole Seasoning):

• 1 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried leaf oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme

Chewy Chocolate Almond Cookies

If there’s one thing that I love it’s chocolate. When I saw this recipe I couldn’t resist trying to make it for myself. I made these cookies and brought them into work and they were instantly a hit- one of my co-workers actually got down on the floor and did 50 pushups so that he could eat one! These cookies surely don't disappoint- enjoy :)

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter; room temperature
• ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup blanched slivered almonds; coarsely chopped

Directions
1. Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after the addition of each egg.
3. Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking soda, and salt. Turn  mixer to low and gradually add sifted ingredients; mix until just combined.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
6. Measure the dough using a 1 ½ tablespoon schoop or a rounded tablespoon. Roll the dough in your hands until it forms a uniform ball and place on your lined baking sheet.
7. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly (about 3 minutes) on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mushroom and Swiss Chicken

I’m actually a vegetarian so I always use lots of taste testers when trying out my chicken dishes. I made this dish as a request from one of my mom’s friends who told me “mushrooms. more mushrooms. and cheese” when I asked him what he would like to eat next. Violá, this dish came out, and I had no complaints from my taste testers ;D

Originally this dish doesn’t have a cream sauce, but I made a mushroom cream sauce to put on top of it to make sure the chicken would be extra juicy. The cream sauce also went great on top of pasta (which I had!)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 tbsp cajun-style seasoning
• 1 cup chopped green onion
• 1.5 packets (12 oz) pacages of sliced mushrooms (cremini)
• 2 slices swiss cheese
• ½ cup cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp english mustard
• salt and pepper 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine oil and garlic in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add chicken breasts and coat well with the oil and garlic. Sprinkle with the vinegar and Cajun seasoning.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from oven and cover with green onion and mushrooms; then add a few more sprinkles of oil and vinegar and return dish to oven for 15 to 20 minutes more. 
5. In the meantime prepare the creamy mushroom sauce. In a non-stick frying pan heat up the butter with one clove of diced garlic. After the garlic becomes fragrant, add the mushrooms and leave them there until bottom becomes golden (do not stir them!!). Once the bottoms of the mushrooms are golden, stir them once and leave them there till the other side of the mushrooms are golden. After, add the cream and mustard to the mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook untill the entire mixture reaches a brownish color.
6. Remove from oven and immediately place 1 slice of cheese on top of each chicken breast; cheese will melt. Spoon mushroom cream sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Pepper Salad

I’m trying to eat healthier and have salad at least once a day. I got pretty bored of just eating lettuce everyday so I tried to find a salad recipe that incorporated more veggies, and this is just the salad :)

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ a red onion, cut into a ½-inch dice
• 3 bell peppers, preferably different colors
• 1 cucumber
• 2 handfulls cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼-pound firm feta cheese
• ¼ cup pitted kalmata olives
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the red wine vinegar, water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set aside.

2. Core and seed the bell peppers and chop them into ½-inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

3. By now, your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixture. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. Toss evenly and serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I made this for dinner the other day for my mom and one of her friends. I always get put in charge of cooking for a group of 60+ people each year. Because of this I always look for an inexpensive meat dish that is easy to make in large quantities- and I think this is the perfect recipe for that!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 2 thick slices swiss cheeses
• 2 thick slices pre-cooked ham
• 1 Tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp italian seasoning
• toothpicks 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and oil a baking dish with some pam or oil.
2. Butterfly the chicken breasts and then pound them flat with a mallet to about a ¼" thickness.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken. Place one slice of cheese and one slice of ham on top of the chicken breasts. Roll each of the chicken breasts up and secure them with toothpicks.
4. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and pour out enough breadcrumbs on a plate to coat your chicken with. Season the breadcrumbs with some italian seasoning.
5. Brush your rolled up chicken breasts with the beaten egg and coat them with the seasoned breadcrumbs. Place the chicken in the baking dish and place ½ tbsp of butter on the top of each breast (to prevent the chicken from drying out). Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes or until the juices run clear when cut.

Avocado and Goat Cheese Salad

I wanted a salad that would be quick to make yet healthy at the same time. Usually salads like these have roasted beets on them but since they weren’t in season I had to improvise. The end result ended up tasting great :) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 chopped walnuts
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ½ avocado, peeled and sliced
• 4 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese
• bag of bitter salad greens 

DRESSING

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Whisk the honey and balsamic vinegar together. Slowly add the oil and whisk till combined. Season the vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Arrange the greens on the plate and top with the walnuts, cranberries, and avocado. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over the salad. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top.

(Source: foodnetwork.com)

Great recipe! Tasted super yummy!

To reduce the calories of this dish even more I omitted the olive oil and used cooking spray and cooked it in a non-stick skillet. I added some paprika and lots of salt and pepper to spice up the taste.

chemicalfreeskinny:

RECIPE: Healthy Lunch Tofu Scramble

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Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 block (450g) firm certified organic/non-GMO* tofu
• 1 Tbsp preservative-free, organic/non-GMO* soy sauce
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 organic* tomato, diced
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
• salt and pepper
• diced veggies (mushrooms, green pepper, kale, broccoli, peas, etc)
• herbs and spices (parsley, cilantro, basil, cumin, curry, etc)

Directions
1. Put a frying pan on medium heat and add the olive oil
2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until onion is soft and translucent
3. Using your hands, crumble the tofu into the pan and sprinkle on the turmeric. (At this point the tofu might give up a lot of water. If so, turn up the heat and let the water boil off. This is key to not ending up with a soggy mess.)
4. Add the soy sauce and the remaining veggies and cook until veggies are tender
5. Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast. Mix well.
6. Salt and pepper to taste

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Makes about 3 servings. Per serving: 103 Calories (kcal); 14g Total Fat; 22g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate

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*CRS Institute/ChemicalFreeSkinny.com recommendations

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(Source: Monica Shaw/smartfitter.com)

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Mini Cheesecake Bites 

I made this recipe so that I could have easy to serve dessert at a cocktail party. They turned out marvelously and the raspberry sauce pairs nicely with the lemon flavor in the mini cheesecakes. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 12 vanilla wafers
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 6 oz frozen raspberry
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• ¼ cup water
• Whipping cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.  Line muffin tins with 12 paper baking cups. Place a vanilla wafer in each one.
3. In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4. Fill each baking cup 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on a rack. Top with raspberry sauce (recipe below). Pipe whipped cream or sweetened cream cheese into a rosette on top of each cheesecake just prior to serving, if desired.

RASPBERRY SAUCE

    1. In a saucepan combine raspberries, 1 tablespoon sugar, cornstarch, and water.

    2. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick.

    3. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. 

Banana Crumb Muffins

I decided to make this recipe because I had just purchased a bunch of 5 ripe bananas from the supermarket on sale for a dollar. Not wanting to just make banana bread I searched for a different banana recipe. These muffins came out to be absolutely delicious and served to be my mom’s breakfast for a while. 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 3 bananas, mashed
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.