Heathy weeknight meals

Turkey and mushroom burgers. 

I got some dark turkey meat at Whole Foods and mixed in some sauteed, roughly chopped mushrooms and chopped onions sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with herbs De Provence, (both cooled off before mixing in to the turkey).  Seasoned the whole mix with salt and pepper, formed them into patties and seared them off in a non-stick skillet.  I marinated some sliced tomatoes with a thyme pesto that I simply made with fresh thyme, 1/2 garlic clove, salt, pepper and olive oil in a mortar and pestle, for about 2 hours at room temperature, below.... (this added lots of flavor).  I used these thin buns from Whole Foods in their bakery department that are very tasty.  I spread a thin layer of mayonnaise, some arugula, alfalfa sprouts and the marinated tomatoes.  Very flavorful, loved it!  Note, I got a pound of ground turkey and after mixing the onions and mushrooms in I was able to make 6 portions, so four went in the freezer for another time.

Thyme pesto marinated sliced tomatoes.

Zucchini and quinoa pasta topped with meat sauce, Parmesan and parsley.

I found this quinoa pasta that I thought I'd try, turns out it was very good.  I julienned two zucchini's and put them into a bowl with a coating of olive oil, herbs De Provence, salt and pepper.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the pasta.  About 2-3 minutes before the pasta is done heat a non-stick skillet and add the olive oil coated zucchini and cook just a couple minutes, then add the pasta to the zucchini and combine, coating the pasta with the juices that come out of the zucchini.  Toss together for a minute and plate.  I had some meatballs in the freezer and while reheating it, it turned into a meat sauce (still very tasty) a little Parmesan and parsley and your done.  I like the idea of this because you really bulk up the portion with the zucchini which is tricking you to eat less calories.  Next time I might do 3 or 4 zucchini for the same amount of pasta, we loved the texture of the zucchini mixed with the pasta.

Tender poached whole chicken over brown rice with braised carrots and parsnips.

I poached a whole chicken as if I was making a chicken soup or stock by putting a whole chicken in a big pot along with onions, garlic, celery, carrots, bay leaf, peppercorns, parsley stems and a pinch of salt.  Fill it to cover the chicken completely with cold water and bring to a boil then simmer covered for 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let it sit covered for 45 minutes.  Remove it from the stock and once it's cool enough to handle pull of the tender pieces of chicken.



Savory french toast

I wasn't sure about this but I dreamed it up one morning while working and there is only one way to find out if it's a good idea, and that's to make it.... I found out and it was delicious!!  To make the french toast I got this sourdough bread at whole foods.  Its Nashoba Brook brand, it says on the package that it's made from natural yeast from homegrown concord grapes (who knew).  I soaked the bread slices in eggs, milk, saracha, maple syrup, salt and pepper.  I cooked them until golden in a little butter.  I topped them with sauteed mushrooms seasoned with fresh thyme and deglazed with Madeira wine.  On the mushrooms I put a dollop of Formage Blanc (which is completely fat free, and tastes like fat free Greek yogurt), I mixed a little maple syrup and fresh thyme in the Formage Blanc.  I cooked a few pieces of prosciutto in a skillet until crisp and put that over the Formage Blanc.  I sprinkled some chopped scallions over the whole thing.  I served a salad on the side of watercress, alfalfa and clover sprouts with tomatoes and in a homemade honey-mustard-balsamic dressing.

Baked potato slices in chicken stock with Emmenthaler cheese.

I had to use up some potatoes that were growing so many eyes I felt like they were watching my every move.  I made this the day I poached the whole chicken and I just used the poaching liquid in this.  I sliced the potatoes thin with a mandolin and layered potato then salt, a light sprinkling of cheese and about 1-2 tsp of butter.  Once I layered all the potatoes in I poured the stock up the side slowly until just under the top of the potatoes.  I don't know how long I cooked it, I had it covered for the first 30 minutes of so but then I let it bake uncovered for maybe 60-90 minutes longer and the oven was set at 350.  So good.



Salmon with the baked potato slices (above) and sauteed red pepper, onion and zucchini.



Homemade apple sauce layered with non-fat Greek yogurt and sliced strawberries.



Icy water with fresh mint and lemon juice.  I thought this looked so pretty I had to show you.  Refreshing too!

Mujer Verde

Tony made this for me one night, it has gin, lime juice, agave, chartreuse and a lime twist for garnish.  It was quite good!