Lightened-Up Seafood Chowder

I've always enjoyed a bowl of chowder but the restaurant version is more indulgent than I want. Here is a healthier version that's rich in favor - not in fat.

Adapted from Fine Cooking, One-Pot Meals

Ingredients: *Serves 4
4 slices center cut bacon, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 tbs. butter
1 large shallot, diced
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 tbs. all-purpose flour
1 6oz. can chopped clams
2 8oz. bottles clam juice
1 c. non-fat milk
8 oz. red potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbs. fresh parsley, finely chopped
3/4 lb. skinless cod fillets
8 oz. peeled and deveined cooked shrimp
S&P to taste

Directions:
Before cutting bacon, put in freezer for 3-5 minutes for easier cutting. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat for 8 minutes or until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel lined plate. Discard bacon grease. Reserve half of bacon for garnish.

Add oil, butter, shallot and jalapeno to pot. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, almost toasting contents of pan.

Using whisk, stir in clam juice - bottles and juice from can. Add milk, potatoes, bacon, thyme and parsley and bring to simmer. Continue to stir occasionally. Reduce heat to medium to maintain simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.

Season cod fillets with salt and pepper. Add to pot and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in clams and cooked shrimp, cooking for another 2 minutes.

Serve in warmed bowls, garnishing with fresh parsley and bacon. Enjoy!

Peanut Shrimp Noodle Bowl

I often save the recipe pages from Health Magazine with plans of trying them at a later date. Over a year later, I've finally gotten around to a recipe from Dave Lieberman. I adapted the peanut sauce and added veggies and shrimp to make it a full meal.

Ingredients: * Serves 4
2 tbs. canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbs. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
3 tbs. rice wine vinegar
3 tbs. creamy peanut butter
3/4 c. chicken broth, divided
juice from half of lime
6 oz whole-wheat spaghetti
1 broccoli floret, cut
3/4 lb. shrimp
1 medium carrot, cut julienne
1/8 red onion, cut julienne
1/4 c. scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook spaghetti as directed by packaging. Cut vegetables as directed above.

In small saucepan, heat canola oil on medium low . Add garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Do not burn. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, peanut butter, broth and lime juice. Stir with whisk regularly. Stir and cook until smooth and slightly thickened.

At the same time, cook broccoli in large saucepan with 1/4 cup chicken broth on medium heat. Approximately 6 minutes. Remove broccoli from pan.
Spray large saucepan with cooking spray and add shrimp. Sautee on medium heat on both sides until cooked through. Reduce heat. Add carrot, red onion and broccoli to pan. Let cook for 2 minutes. Add pasta to saucepan. Add peanut sauce and mix thoroughly. Garnish with scallions and red pepper (if desired).

Serve hot and enjoy!

Omega 3s

In an effort to get those nutritious Omegas, I made salmon for dinner. I actually quite like salmon but my husband is not a fan. Because of this, almost never do I prepare it at home. But I had a tasting for it recently and decided to make salmon for me and halibut for him. This way, both of our appetites were satisfied.

On the menu: Pan seared salmon (or halibut), steamed broccoli and lemon pepper couscous

Fish fry ...

Well, not exactly a fish fry in the way a Midwesterner might imagine but certainly a lighter version of a fish dinner was served. I am partial to preparing fish as my quick and healthy option for cooking at home during the work week. So much so that fish dinners show up in my menu planning on a weekly basis.

On the menu: Pan seared halibut with pistachio pesto and sautéed vegetables

A cereal kind of weekend …

So it seems that cereal was my favorite ingredient this cooking weekend. My menu pairing was definitely not planned and ended up being pretty amusing in its pattern. Cereal made its first appearance in the dinner menu with a healthier version of fried fish. I ‘oven fried’ cod filets for a crunchy and healthy dinner. I used my trusty food processor to blend up a batter of Corn Flakes, garlic powder, dill, lemon, cracked pepper and season salt. I especially loved the crunch!

Then, what should follow a healthy dinner? A small treat to satisfy my hubby’s insatiable sweet tooth! I whipped up a batch of Rice Krispie treats – black & white cookie style. I made one batch and lathered half of the pan with melted dark chocolate atop. I’ve now sampled both the regular and the dark chocolate krispie treats. I can’t decide which I like better. Maybe another would help me decide?

Spice indulgence

Saffron... It has an amazing impact on a dish both in flavor and in color. I was fortunate enough to come along a big (and shockingly affordable) container of saffron threads when on my honeymoon. While I bought several containers for gifts, only that which was in my carry-on bag made it home after Customs inspected my suitcase. Those Customs workers must have been foodies too. Back to cooking in my kitchen... I made a grilled saffron shrimp and rice dish with a yogurt dill sauce that was as appetizing as it was colorful. Cheers to dinner dates at home.