DASH Diet: Broccoli Cheddar Bake (slightly modified)

I like the DASH Diet because of its sensibility. Because my husband has hypertension, it’s very important for us to eat sensible meals. However, because we loooove food that tastes good, it’s also important for us to eat yummy foods in moderation. We don’t obsess over being healthy, but we like to integrate healthiness into our meals as often as we can.

The DASH Diet is an interesting dietary concept. When I first heard about it, it was presented to me as a hypertension-friendly diet. When I attended the Five Day Comprehensive Diabetes and Management Program (for medical professionals) at the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute (an *EXCELLENT* program about diabetes management for medical professionals from all levels of patient care—outpatient, inpatient, home health, you name it… well worth the time and money you invest into it, if you’re looking for a great and useful CEU program to take), it was also mentioned as a great well-rounded dietary practice.

The Mayo Clinic has a DASH Diet recipe collection online that we love to peruse every once in awhile. The recipes are not only delicious: they’re easy and affordable to make, which means they make a great addition to any busy family’s arsenal of homemade meals.

One favorite is the broccoli cheddar bake. My parents love it so much that sometimes they leave the ingredients out on the kitchen table for me to see whenever we visit—their not-so-subtle way of suggesting I make it while I’m at their house (then again, they were never known for being subtle… haha!).

We modify it from time to time by adding cauliflower to the mix (and substituting it for half of the broccoli). We also tend to make it with more broccoli than called for.

Broccoli Cheddar Bake

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli (we often do 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 cauliflower if you want to mix it up)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups egg substitute (or substitute 6 eggs)
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray.

In a nonstick skillet, combine the broccoli, onion and water. Saute over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Keep adding water to prevent the vegetables from drying out, but use as little water as possible. Drain and set aside when the broccoli is done.

In a bowl, combine the egg substitute, milk and 3/4 cup cheese. Add in the broccoli mixture and pepper. Stir to mix well.

Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Set the baking dish into a large pan filled with about 1 inch of water. Bake uncovered until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Chicken

Our attempt at adapting and merging a couple of recipes for our crock pot dinner... With C as my lovely assistant and J in tow.

Recipe to come soon in an update. ;)

Beef Stroganoff :)

In nostalgia of meals at Mitchell Hall during my time at the academy, I like to make beef stroganoff from time to time. My husband grew up eating it on rice while I went through "college" eating it on egg noodles. Either way is good... although I have to admit the rice soaks up the thick and creamy sauce very, very well.

Here's the recipe... I believe you can substitute ground beef to make poor man's stroganoff; however, keep your eyes open on the weekly grocery ads for sales on chuck roast. We got ours for more than half off, so it came out to be fairly cheap anyways. :)

Ingredients

2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into thin strips (not too long)
salt + pepper as desired
1/3+ cup cooking wine (either white or red, depending on preference or craving)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

some butter (appr. 4oz)
8oz mushrooms
1 small brown onion, diced

1-2 cans condensed beef broth (depending on how thick you want the sauce)
4 tbsp all-purpose flour or cornstarch (or combo of both)

1tsp mustard
1tbsp worcestershire (sp?) sauce

1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cream cheese

Instructions

STEP 1: Marinate the beef! The original recommendation was to just marinate it in cooking wine. I rubbed it in salt, pepper, and garlic and added a touch of beef broth so everything was covered... and then I let it sit, covered in the fridge for a couple of hours.


STEP 2: Heat a large skillet to medium heat and coat it with butter for cooking... I'm sure cooking oil is fine, too. I then added the mushrooms first, out of habit, since I like to cook mushrooms first when I add them to my food. Once the mushrooms reach a desired level of "cooked-ness," just separate them (away from heat) in another bowl and hold onto them until later.


STEP 3: Now add the diced onion to the pan and let it cook in the juices already there. Some people like to brown the onions slightly, but I like to cook them for awhile (at least 5 minutes)... just a habit I have, too.

STEP 4: NOW add the beef strips to the pan and brown them quickly. Since there are a lot of strips, there's a lot to brown. Just take your time with it. ;)


STEP 5: (You can do this while the beef is browning or even before you start frying) I find this helpful to do if I'm using flour or cornstarch to make a thick sauce from scratch. Basically, set aside a tiny amount of beef broth and pre-mix the flour and/or cornstarch so it's already pretty much liquefied. This way they mix fairly smoothly and flawlessly when you add it to the rest of the broth and food that's cooking. It's difficult to do this in a pot or pan full of other stuff.. it gets gunky and cakes on top of items in the pot/pan.

STEP 6: Pour in the broth/flour mix and the remaining broth into the pan. Bring the food to a boil (stirring constantly) and then lower the heat slightly. Stir in the mustard and the worcestershire sauce.


STEP 7: Cover and let it simmer for 60 minutes (or until the meat is tender).

STEP 8: Five minutes before serving/finishing, stir in the sour cream, cream cheese, and mushrooms. If desired, you can also add a little extra cooking wine for taste... but it shouldn't be necessary since you already marinated the meat in the wine earlier.


Enjoy. :)

Mmmmmusubi!

Mmmm... Musubi. I love spam musubi. I first had it when my cousin returned from a 1-year hiatus to Hawaii, and I've loved it ever since. Most people cringe at the mention of Spam, but mention it in almost any Filipino household (I'd say 99%... you have the rare ones who join the "dark side" of the vegetarian and vegan movement), and you're sure to make some mouths water.


I like to marinate my spam before frying it for my musubi. I base my marinade on a recipe from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that I found online a long time ago. It's always changing and always done to taste... and it goes a little something like this:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated/minced ginger
1/8 - 1/4 cup tonkatsu sauce
1/8 - 1/4 cup korean barbecue sauce
1/8 - 1/4 cup brown sugar
* sometimes I add something spicy, too... like Sriracha Hot Sauce

I always adjust it based on what sauce is available at home... and what else I feel like adding at the time.

I made these in celebration of the first surf session I had with my brand new 5'8" Rusty Pirhana, which my husband bought at an AMAZING price at the Mira Mesa Rusty Warehouse. The board is *AMAZING* and fun.


My husband completed the package with some Future Fins that he thought would complement my surfing style (haha... as if I were good enough to have one) and weight... the John Johns! :)


I can't wait to take it out more often.. especially as the weather gets warmer down here.

Mmmm... Brownies... and Breakfast Sausage... and then some... :D

It's difficult to pass up super cheap brownie mixes at the supermarket when they're on sale... they're like an insta-dessert you can easily make at home (and that it's practically impossible to bake wrong... even though I admit to fudging them up a couple of times in the past). Besides, brownie mix gives me more time to enjoy being around my family WHILE enjoying the brownies... and it's kinda fun making them without having to think too hard about it, too. :)



Mmmm... easy, tasty yumminess. :)

On another note, I used my three day weekend as an excuse to eat well while also eating easily.. which gave me an excuse to buy some Jimmy Dean maple-flavored breakfast sausages and make little breakfast sandwiches with English muffins, over-easy eggs, cheese, and tomato. The tomato was an excellent added touch that my husband came up with at the last minute:


And an added bonus: the valentines day rosebuds finally bloomed. Too bad they didn't last as long as we were hoping...

Healthier Filipino?

With aging family and their accompanying health issues, it's always a challenge finding new ways to enhance their diets while respecting the lifestyle and habits they're used to. Let's face it: it's difficult to ask someone who's lived for so long to make drastic changes to the way they've lived for so many years. I mean, they gotten by okay this far, right? Besides, I need to find ways to make the food I love enjoyable for my little one, too.



One of my favorite things to do is find ways to make some of the dishes I've grown up with slightly healthier. Yes, it does change the way they taste slightly... but you got to give a little if you're going to take a little. Take adobo, for example. I can't help but wonder if the original dish started similarly because it's hard to believe that people consumed so much MEAT in an island country without throwing in veggies to supplement. Haha!

Then again, I do remember an old college friend of mine confessing to me, after eating adobo for the first time, "Karm... I actually ate a chunk of fat... and you know what? I tasted GOOD! I wanted to eat all of the fat on the meat." Take that, health freaks! ;)

When I make the adobo, I often use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. To cut on cost at times (when I have the time to spare, of couse), I will buy the bone-in skin-on thighs and de-bone/de-skin them myself... and I trim off a bit of the fat. An old roommate of mine used to only use chicken breast, but I find chicken breast dry and uninviting. While dark meat is fatty, chicken thighs tend to be more economical as chicken breast... and just about as "healthy." Besides, they're one of the recommended meats in the hypertension-battling DASH diet.

When I cook the adobo, I tend to brown the chicken first and then proceed to cook the rest like a stew... and then I add all kinds of veggies, including (ta-da) zucchini! It gets very colorful and tasty... and I'm sure that there are other variations of veggies I can add, especially if I have to take the beans away (for my father's gout... poor guy!).



Anyhow, the end-product is still delicious and wrought with much vinegar-soaked glory. My husband is happy with the addition of veggies (since he's very health-conscious), and it gets my son to chomp down on veggies happily... AND, at the very least, my parents happily tolerate it when they have to eat it. ;)

On another note, my son (in his pickiness) also loooooooves SPAM with a passion. Luckily, I tricked him into eating the low sodium stuff. While most white people cringe at the thought of him eating "ham in a can," I don't mind it at all, since it gives me an excuse to make some, too! Besides, it's fun and easy to present it in a cute little package.



I can't wait until he's big enough to manage a Spam Musubi on his own. :)

(Modified) Pineapple Curry With Shrimp

This is a very easy favorite of mine that I make when I'm low on time to prepare a decent dinner. The key thing about this recipe is the Pineapple Curry. The shrimp is usually just extra in the end, as the super-yummy pineapple curry can honestly be used as a tart-and-spicy sauce on just about anything (we've used it in pork chops and chicken most recently). I usually serve these with green tea soba noodles that we purchase at the local Japanese market. :)

I got the original recipe from an impulse-buy cookbook I picked up randomly one day called Quick & Easy Thai Cuisine Lemon Grass Cookbook (from Joie, inc). I highly doubt that the recipes are 100% authentic to the very last detail, but the book gives very simple & basic instructions for making wonderful meals that are just about as good as the real thing. It serves its purpose, especially since I like to modify recipes to my taste anyways... and it has pictures not only of the finished product: it provides pictures of the ingredients AND of various steps in making the dishes. Great resource for someone who doesn't want to deal with super-complicated recipes but also wants room to be creative.

Okay... here's the recipe!

Ingredients

14 oz. (400g) coconut milke (I always use coconut CREAM instead..)
1c crushed canned pineapple
2T red curry paste (if you want a milder flavor, try green curry paste instead)
1/4c fish sauce
1 1/2T sugar
2T lemon juice

1/2lb (225g) shrimp, shelled and deveined*

(optional) garnish: fresh lime leaves

*I use coconut cream instead of the originally suggested coconut milk because I prefer the thick creaminess of coconut cream. The curry sauce ends up having a thick texture. Coconut milk is perfectly acceptible if cream isn't available.
**I actually used 1lb of shrimp, being the carnivore I am. ;)

The almost TOO simple directions :)

1. Combine all ingredients except shrimp and bring to a boil.
2. Add shrimp and cook until done.

Yes, that's it! All you need to do is mix it all up, boil it, add the shrimp (and cook it), and you're finished! Better yet-- don't add the shrimp... just use the sauce to coat some grilled pork chops or chicken. It tastes great all the same!

A very rough pic just for your enjoyment (the book has a way better picture with the lime leaves for a garnish and a super cool-looking pot... so you'll have to deal with what I ate):



We ate this with a very simple side cucumber & tomato salad... and used the leftover pineapple curry sauce over pork chops the next day with some stir-fry veggies on the side & rice. :)

Chicken Jalfrezi... slightly modified ^_-

While trying to find something a little exotic to cook for dinner (we had burgers with the guys last night), I finally decided to make something I found awhile back on Allrecipes that didn't require much traveling (outside of Carmel Valley, which practically has as un-ethnic a variety of stores as you can imagine) in order get a satisfactory amount of the ingredients necessary for creating the meal: Chicken Jalfrezi. Because I'm not altogether familiar with how to get the basic ingredients needed for Pakistani food, I'm not much of a judge on how close my version of the recipe comes to the original, and I have no idea how to get my hands on ghee, which appears to be a very important part of South Asian cooking... however, someday I hope to become more familiar with the South Asian happenings of San Diego so I can explore that region's cuisine more thoroughly (especially in my kitchen).

Chicken Jalfrezi

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic
1 onion

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut in half)

3 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1.5 teaspoons salt

1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Note: Instead of ghee, I ended up using creamy butter... which always seems to work out, flavor-wise, to the un-discerning (aka "ignorant") tongue's taste buds.



Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt.
4. Fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.

5. Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
6. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.

7. Add the ghee, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes.
8. Serve the chicken pieces with sauce spooned over the top.



Additional Notes

Some good accompanying starches are basmati rice, chapati, or naan. My husband loves the naan you can buy Trader Joe's, so we usually eat it with that.

Additionally, many of the reviewers on Allrecipes noted that the traditional way of cooking this dish is by letting all of the spices cook in the oil FIRST. This is the only way I've tried cooking it, and the taste of the spices is very strong (which I like)... I haven't tried it in the order listed above.

Lastly, I added cayenne pepper to this recipe to give it a little "kick" (I *looooooooooove* spicy food). ;)