In the Kitchen: Salmon Cakes and Brussel Sprouts

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now that you're probably over holiday leftovers I thought I'd share a tasty recipe with you.  I really enjoyed it, and think you will too if you're a salmon person like myself. Here's how you make it. Mix together the following:

• 1 can on salmon ( I like to use Rubinstein's brand)
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbsp of mayo
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 3/4 of a medium red onion chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
• 1 stalk of celery chopped
• a few dashes of hot sauce and worcestershire sauce
• season liberally with blackening seasoning, old bay, salt and pepper
• form mixture into patties and bake on 350 degrees until done.

Dipping Sauce (add ingredients to taste):

• 50/50 mix of mayo and siracha
• little bit of lemon juice
• Old Bay
• cajun mustard
• little bit of worcestershire sauce
• little bit of sugar

Brussel Sprouts:

• rinse and cut brussel sprouts in half
• season with salt and pepper on top of baking sheet
• spray with olive oil
• bake on 350 until slightly brown

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Soft Shell Crab Sandwich Recipe

It's spring, which in Baltimore means the beginning of crab season!!! How could I be a good Baltimore blogger without giving you at least one good crab recipe? So here it is folks....my yummy crab sandwich creation:

• Saute chopped onion in pan on medium heat with butter, and season to taste with coriander and ginger. Add a splash of lemon juice and set aside.
• Cover soft shell crab in fish fry (I like to use ZATARAIN'S), and fry on medium heat in frying pan.
• Toast brioche bun and add cooked crab, onion jam, mustard, mayo, tomato, and lettuce. Sprinkle sandwich with Old Bay to taste (note: Old Bay is critical to sandwich's deliciousness).

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Beet Soup Recipe

Beets are one of those foods you either typically love or hate. As one who previously despised beets, I'm surprised to be sharing with you a recipe I found to be quite savory. Not only did it taste good, but it froze beautifully as well. I'll be using it as one of go-to convenience freezer foods in the future. So here's how you make it:

• Cut into chunks and roast one beet in the oven on 400 degrees, sprinkled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Remove from oven once a fork can easily pierce the beet.
• While beet is roasting boil one large red potato.
• When beet is almost done roasting begin roasting 3 garlic cloves and 3 shallots.
• Dice cooked potato and add to a simmering pot of veggie broth, then add roasted beet, garlic, shallots
• Season soup with thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste
• Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (or more if you'd like) and continue simmering for a few minutes.
• Take cooked soup of stove and puree in blender or with stick blender
• Garnish soup with extra parsley, olive oil, and balsamic. You can also add pieces of goat cheese   if non-vegan.

This pairs well with garlic bread. Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Veggie Burger Recipe

Today I'm excited to post the recipe to the best meal I've ever created. No lie folks, this burger was delicious! So good, I liked it better than a beef burger. I couldn't believe it. The hubs gave it two thumbs up too, and he's a hard one to please. So, without further ado here's how you make it:

• Heat a 50/50 mixture of cooked quinoa and black beans on medium heat in skillet. You can grease skillet with cooking oil or veggie broth. Broth is more healthy, but oil tastes better :-) I like to use avocado oil.
• Season mixture with paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
• Add mixture to toasted brioche buns. 
• Top "burger" with spring mix, tomato, red onion, and chipotle mayo.

Chipotle mayo (this component is critical to the deliciousness of the burger):

• Finely dice canned chipotle peppers with adobe sauce and add to mayo to taste. These are pretty spicy, so you don't need much to add kick.

Enjoy! I absolutely know you will.

In the Kitchen: BBQ and Deviled Eggs with Caviar Recipe

Those of you who follow this blog regularly know I've been trying to clean up my diet. A lot of the dietary changes I've been making include eating more plant-based foods. I still eat animal products occasionally though, and when I do, I try to stick to anti-inflammatory animal products rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Today I'm going to share with you an anti-inflammatory meal I concocted that was very good. It was inspired by some food I had at a Baltimore vegetarian restaurant called LAND OF KUSH. I'd planned to blog about my experience there, but the food was so good I ate it before I could take a picture :-( Ah well, maybe next time. The meal was also inspired by some wonderful deviled eggs prepared for a potluck by one of my neighbors.

So here's how you recreate the meal:

Vegan BBQ:

• Marinade pieces of seitan in BBQ sauce overnight. I use this SEITAN (in traditional) and this VERY DELICIOUS BBQ SAUCE.
• Once seitan is marinated, add 1/2 cup each of green peppers and onions to a skillet and saute with veggie broth on medium heat until tender.
• Next add seitan and desired amount of BBQ sauce to skillet and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook on medium until seitan is heated to desired temperature (note: seitain is precooked, so you only need to heat for warmth)
• I like adding the BBQ to a lightly toasted brioche bun for a sandwich.

Deviled eggs:

• Boil omega-3 enriched eggs
• Cut cooked eggs in half and remove yolks
• Smash yolk with fork and mix 1 tsp of mayo with every yolk. I use Trader Joe's low-fat mayo because it's vegan (though not advertised as such), low calorie, and tastes good.
• Add a small amount of fresh squeezed lemon juice, dill weed, and freshly chopped chives to taste to yolk filling.
• Add yolk filling to eggs whites and top with a scoop of bowfin roe caviar. 

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Peruvian Chicken Recipe

I first started eating Peruvian chicken a few years ago when the hubs would bring home tasty takeout from a restaurant near his old job. Unfortunately, we now live an hour from the restaurant, so we don't get to eat it much. I decided to stop being lazy and finally try to make my own version. According to the hubs it's better than our Peruvian spot's, and on par with chicken he's had while actually visiting Peru........jackpot! Below is how you make it:

Chicken

• Clean, then season whole chicken (also works well with wings) with equal parts oregano, salt, pepper, paprika, and cumin. Make sure chicken is fully covered in spices.

• Cover chicken with fresh squeezed lime juice from two lines. Stuff one half of lime inside chicken cavity.

• Bake on 350 degrees until done (approximately 1:15 mins)

Dipping Sauce

• In a small bowl mix 1 part mayo to 1 part mustard. Use the sauce for dipping the chicken when done.

Sidenote: I'm currently cutting chicken out of my diet, so I use the spice mixture when pan frying salmon in olive oil on medium-low heat, which is also quite tasty.....and anti-inflammatory. If you'd like to try using salmon instead of chicken swap the lime juice for lemon juice in the recipe.

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Fish Taco Recipe

Today I'm posting a wonderful fish taco recipe. The mixture of sweet and spicy in this dish will leave your taste buds thanking you. Here's how you make it:

• Thinly coat pan with olive oil on medium heat
• Begin cooking fish (I use mahi mahi, tilapia works as well) over medium heat and add fresh lemon juice
• Season fish heavily with pre-made blackening season, or make your own using paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper, and chili powder
• heat tortilla in separate skillet over thin layer of olive oil on medium
• when fish and tortilla are done add shredded cabbage, pineapple chunks, raw spinach,  mexican crema, and sriracha sauce

Enjoy! This pairs well with mango juice and black beans and rice. To make this dish vegan, swap fish for black beans.

In the Kitchen: Apple Parmesan Salad

These days almost all my time is spent caring for Baby Z and sleeping. This means I have no time for intricate meals, but that doesn't mean my food shouldn't be tasty. In comes this delicious recipe partially concocted by my mom. It's healthy and soooooo good. Here's what you'll need to create it:

• Spinach
• Diced granny apple marinated in red wine vinaigrette dressing for at least 2 hours
• Shredded parmesan cheese
• Red wine vinaigrette dressing (if this is a little tart add a little extra sugar and some grenadine syrup to it)

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Gourmet Grilled Cheese Recipe

Grilled cheese is one of those dishes that's super easy to make and keeps kids happy.  To kick things up a notch from the standard grilled cheese sandwich, I tried replicating a sandwich I had at UNO'S once upon a time. It was a hit, so I'm passing the recipe along to you.

• Melt 1/2 tbsp of butter in skillet on medium heat
• Sprinkle small amount of shredded parmesan cheese onto butter and  place a slice of fresh country bread on top (if you're local you can get great bread from ATWATER'S bakery)
• Add a mixture of mild cheddar,  romano (optional), and aged cheddar cheeses to bread
• Top with a second slice of bread with one side buttered
• Cook until golden

This pairs well with marinara sauce or tomato soup.

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Chicken and Spinach Lasagna Recipe

For the first time ever I tried my hand at making some chicken and spinach lasagna. To my surprise it ended up being restaurant quality, so I wanted to share it with you. Unfortunately, I didn't follow a strict recipe, but kind of threw things together on the fly. To recreate you'll have to do things to taste, but honestly in my opinion those always end up being the best dishes as they're made especially for your palette. So here's what you'll need to do:

• Heat skillet thinly coated with olive oil on low/medium heat
• Once oil is hot add pieces of chopped chicken breast seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Be sure to cook chicken slow so it retains moisture, then set aside.
• While cooking chicken boil lasagna noodles, and stop cooking them just before they are done (remainder of noodle cooking will take place in oven).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In the same skillet create white sauce using heavy whipping cream, 1 tbsp butter, and seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook on low.
• After sauce begins to simmer slowly add in flour to thicken sauce to desired consistency.
• Lastly add spinach and cooked chicken to sauce and taste for desired flavor.
• Add bottom layer of lasagna noodles to a baking dish and top layer with thin coat of ricotta cheese. Season ricotta lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then add thin layer of shredded parmesan cheese and raw spinach.
• Add layer of sauce, then repeat last two steps.
• Once you have two sauce layers, top dish with mixture of shredded mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano.
• Add dish to oven and cook until top layer of cheese is melted.
• Once melted turn oven to high broil and cook until top layer of cheese is slightly brown.

My apologies for the loose directions. I hope you won't let that deter you from trying this dish out. It was seriously delicious :-) One day I'll update with firm measurements. 

Enjoy!

*** To make this dish vegetarian swap chicken for broccoli***

In the Kitchen: Baked Potato Soup Recipe

These days I don't have a ton of energy, so I've been trying to cook more meals that are simple. One of my go-to's is potato soup. It's quick, cheap, reheats well, and tastes yummy. If you'd like to make some you'll need to:

• boil 2 medium red potatoes

After potatoes are done (check by sticking fork inside to see if they are tender), turn to low heat and:

• add 50/50 mixture of heavy whipping cream and chicken (or vegetable) stock until potatoes are covered
• use a masher to mash ingredients (I like to leave a lot of lumps)
• add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
• 1/2 tbsp of butter
• 1/4 tbsp of bacon grease (optional)
• stir while the soup cooks for 5 mins.
• when done add shredded cheddar cheese (I like Tillamook brand) and chopped green onions to taste

serving size: 1

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Lamb Chops Recipe

The hubs had a birthday the other day and I spoiled him by cooking one of his favorite dishes, lamb chops. These are packed with flavor and very easy to make, so I'm passing along the recipe to you. To recreate you'll need to:

• Cover lamb chops on both sides with moderate equal parts seasoning of rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder, all purpose seasoning, and cayenne (only a dash of cayenne, unless you like spicy)
• Drizzle small amount of olive oil and worcestershire sauce over lamb chops, cover in a dish and let marinade in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (I like to marinade for 24 hours)
• Remove chops from refrigerator and cook on medium to low heat until brown 

Enjoy!

In the Kitchen: Lemon Pound Cake Recipe

Nothing says yummy like a slice of lemon pound cake with a tall glass of milk. The other day I was craving some pound cake and thought I'd take a stab at baking one. Unfortunately, I was feeling a little under the weather and couldn't muster up the energy to cook. The hubs, being the sweetheart that he is, stepped in and volunteered to bake one. It was seriously scrumptious :-) 

Here's how he made it:

• Mix 3 sticks butter (1½ cups)
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 6 eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare bundt or tube pan by coating with shortening or butter and flouring light. Set aside.
2. Let butter, cream cheese, and eggs come to room temperature.
3. Cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar til fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add lemon juice and zest and combine well. Add flour and salt and vanilla.
4. Mix until just well-combined but do not over mix.
5. Pour into prepared bundt or tube pan.
6. Bake until golden brown and skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

In The Kitchen: Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe

When it's cold outside I always like to warm up with a nice bowl of hot soup. An easy one to make at home is broccoli cheddar. To make a bowl you'll need to:

• Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a small pot
• Add 1/2 cup of chopped onion (not sweet) to pot and saute for 5 mins
• Add 3 cups chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil
• Add 1/2 cup of shredded carrots
• Add 12 oz. of broccoli (frozen or fresh) seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to pot and cover for 4 mins
• Add 8 oz of cubed Velvetta cheese and stir
• Lastly, add 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

(serves 4)

Let things cook until soup is your desired temperature. Enjoy!

CALORIES: 200

In the Kitchen: Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Now that I'm more conscious of what I eat, I like to add new fast low calorie snacks to my diet. Here's the recipe to a strawberry salad I've been eating a lot of lately. It's easy to make, plus cheap, which is always a plus. To make it you'll need:

• 3/4 cup of strawberries (diced and marinated in 2 tsp of sugar for at least an hour), make sure they're good and sweet after marinating, feel free to add more sugar if needed.
• 1.5 cups of mixed greens
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinaigrette 
• 3 tbsp goat cheese
• sprinkle with salt and pepper

Enjoy!

CALORIES: 270

In the Kitchen: Sweet Potato Fries

Today I'm sharing a quick and easy recipe a friend shared with me for baked sweet potatoes fries. If you haven't had these before you must try em'. They are healthy and chocked full of flavor. Here's how you make them (serves 1-2):

-Cut one sweet potato into thin fries
-Sprinkle fries with salt, paprika, and a small amount of cayenne (more if you like a lot of spice)
-Place fires inside of plastic bag (I reuse grocery bags that are used to weigh produce) and add 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Then shake contents inside of bag.

Place fries on baking sheet and cook at 450 degrees. Flip fries after 5-7 mins, then cook an additional 5-7 mins or until fries taste done.

I like to dip these in a side of sour cream sometimes, but they taste great alone. Enjoy!

CALORIES:  232 (without sour cream), 264 (with 1 tbsp sour cream)

In the Kitchen: Blackened Chicken Caesar Burrito

Tonight I cooked blackened chicken caesar burritos. I've never made these before, but love the ones from California Tortilla. A trip downtown to pick one up was out of the question so I decided to try to replicate it on my own. 

Here's what I used:

-cut grape tomatoes

-romaine lettuce

-motzerella cheese

-whole foods brand caesar dressing

-a can of black beans seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped onions

-rice

-warmed tortillas

-one chicken breast brushed with olive oil and sprinkled heavily with blackening seasoning ( make your own batch with 1tbsp each of paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder plus 1 tsp each of black and cayenne pepper) baked at 300 degrees

The hubs and I both liked it. I only wish I had thought to make some chips and queso :-( 

Enjoy!