Tag: free recipe

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Caldo Gallego aka Galician White Bean Soup #TuesdayTip

There is nothing more satisfying on a cold winter day than a nice bowl of hearty soup. One of my favorite soups is Caldo Gallego which is a dish from my grandparents’ native Galicia in Spain. Caldo Gallego is a mix of chorizo, ham, beans and greens in a tasty broth. Paired with a nice crusty loaf of bread and some wine and it’s a perfect winter meal. I hope you’ll try out my version which has some additions to the traditional recipe, mostly because I just love carrots! Also, I find turnips too strong in flavor and because of this and to cut carbs, I omit them. They are in the traditional recipe.

Ingredients

    32 oz Chicken Bone Broth
    1 Ham Hock
    1 lb. Ham steak cut into large chunks
    2 chorizo sausages cut into slices
    2 large carrots in large chunks
    1 large onion chopped
    3 medium potatoes in large chunks
    1 lb bag white navy beans (or 2 16 oz cans cannellini beans rinsed)
    4 cups chopped turnip greens/collard greens/Kale
    2 bay leaves

Directions

    Saute the onion in olive oil until soft.
    Add sliced chorizo and chopped ham and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
    Add ham hock, bone broth and bay leaves.
    Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low boil. Cooking at too high a boil will make the broth even cloudier. FYI you can start this with just water or chicken/vegetable broth. I’ve started using bone broth as it contains more protein.
    Simmer for 45 minutes. If you’re using hard unsoaked navy beans, add them now and cook for another 45 minutes before adding the carrots. If you’re using soaked beans, add them when you add the carrots. Cook for 15 minutes and check the beans. If they are almost soft, add the potatoes. If not, cook for another 15 minutes or so, checking the beans to see if they are soft. Once soft, add the potatoes.
    Remove the ham hock and take the meat off the bone. Add the meat back to the pot. Once the potatoes are almost fork tender, add the canned beans and also the chopped greens. Cook until greens are just soft.
    Serve with warm bread, butter and wine!

Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!

Cuban Caldo Gallego – Galician White Bean Soup.
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Pesto Artichoke Pizza- #Tuesday Tip

I’ve had a rollercoaster of weight loss and gain my whole life. The last few years I dropped up to 40 pounds by eliminating carbs, but then put it back on the moment I had any carbs. I love carbs so sticking to that kind of lifestyle was impossible so this time I sought moderation. I’d have carbs, but only occasionally and so far it’s worked. It’s taken longer to lose the weight, but it hasn’t been a hardship and I feel like this is a lifestyle I can maintain.

With that disclaimer, we made pizzas over the weekend and since so many of you asked after seeing them on Facebook, here’s my recipe for a delicious Pesto Artichoke Pizza!

Ingredients

For the Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 cup basil leaves
2/3 cup pistachios (shelled)(you can also use the traditional pine nuts or walnuts)
2 cloves of garlic cut in half

For the Pizza

1 lb pizza dough (makes two 8-9″ individual pies or one big pie)(Bridgeford dough works or check your local supermarket. Most carry fresh dough now)
1 1/2 cups chopped artichoke hearts (I used bottled marinated ones and drained off the oil)
2/3 cup chopped roasted red peppers
2/3 cup caramelized onions
3 sliced cloves of garlic (You can cook these with the onions)
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese sliced
6 slices crisply cooked bacon
Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil your pizza pan and spread out the dough to the edge. Create a little lip to form the edge of the crust.

Once the oven is hot, cook the dough for about 10 minutes until it has a slight crust. While the dough is baking, prepare your pesto sauce.

Place oil, garlic, and basil in blender or food processor and blend on low until it basil is chopped. Add nuts and blend again. If the mixture is too tight/thick, add oil little by little until you can easily spread. Don’t overdo oil though since we do want to keep this a little healthy.

Remove dough from oven after ten minutes and begin to top the pie.

Spread out your pesto sauce all around up until the lip of the crust. Spread out the caramelized onions and garlic. Spread the chopped artichokes next. Then add the roasted peppers. Break the bacon into big chunks and layout all over the other ingredients. Layout the mozzarella cheese. Feel free to break the slices apart to create an artisan look to the pizza. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown along the edges and on the bottom.

Let sit for a few minutes and then slice and serve!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe! Of course, you can vary it yourself. Try sausage instead of pizza. Add capers. Use goat cheese instead of mozzarella. Spice it up with some jalapeños or make up your own combo. That’s the fun of making your own pizza at home!
Pesto_artichoke-pizza

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#FitnessFriday #FoodieFriday – Cashew & Date Caramels

Is there something perverse about working out while watching the Food Network? Seriously? Yep, I do it. Ironic much, but I get lots of ideas for new recipes and ways to make what I’m eating tastier and healthier. I’ve lost 25 pounds so far and it’s been with a balance of sound nutrition and exercise. The thing is, if you feel deprived all the time, you won’t maintain your new lifestyle. I’ve been at it for 6 months with this new regimen and I can honestly say I don’t feel deprived. Anyway, one of the things I came across was vegan caramels. VEGAN! you say. Well, I have tried vegan food recently and found it quite tasty, not that I’m giving up the meat. But variety is nice. Plus, caramels are so fattening but these recipes use mostly three ingredients: dates, cashews, and chocolate. Three tasty things. So take a moment to check out these recipes!

Fitness Friday Foodie Friday

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Stuffed Zucchini Squash – #TuesdayTip

The other day I posted a before and after photo of the stuffed squash I made to take to my sister’s house for Easter. Since a number of you wanted a recipe, here goes!

Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:

    2 cups cooked Farro (cooled)
    2 cups Ricotta (drained)
    1 cup shredded mozzarella
    1 cup shredded provolone
    1/2 cup grated parmesan
    1/4 cup minced fresh basil
    1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
    1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
    1/2 cup finely chopped celery
    1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely chopped
    1 cup finely chopped onions
    8 zucchini squash (or you can do 4 zucchini and 4 yellow squash like I did)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook farro according to package instructions. I used 1 cup of farro, 2 cups water, and some salt and set the mix to boil. Once boiling, I lowered the heat to have a very low boil. It took roughly 20 minutes for the farro to be cooked. Farro is a great ancient grain similar to barley. It’s slightly more al dente than rice and holds up well in a recipe like this where you are going to cook it again. I would actually leave it more al dente so it doesn’t get mushy. Cool the farro.

Saute the mushrooms, bell pepper, carrots, celery and onions in olive oil. I start with the mushrooms at high heat until they are half-done and then add the bell pepper and cook some more. Finally the carrots and celery for a minute or two before adding the onions. Mushrooms have a lot of water and doing them first at high heat helps avoid you steaming the rest of the veggies. Cook until all the vegetables are starting to brown.

Add vegetables to farro. Then add the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the provolone, and the basil. Mix well.

Cut off the ends of the squash. Slice your squash in half the long way. With a teaspoon, scoop out the center to make a little canoe (leave some meat on the ends to keep the filling from spilling out).

With a teaspoon, spoon about 3 to 4 teaspoons of the farro mixture into the scooped out squash canoes and place in an oiled 9 x 13 pan. Top the filled canoes with the rest of the mozzarella and provolone. Dust with the grated parmesan. Add about 1/4 cup water to the bottom of each pan to prevent burning and provide some steam for the initial cooking.

Cover the pans with aluminum foil and bake covered for 20 minutes. Then remove the covers and bake for another twenty minutes uncovered. If the cheese has not toasted at the end of 40 minutes, give it a quick 2 or 3 minutes under the broiler!

And that’s it! Hope you enjoy today’s Tuesday Tip!
stuffed zucchini

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Caridad’s Guacamole on #FoodieFriday

Long before hipsters and others discovered avocado, Latinos were eating them in droves (when you could find them if you didn’t live in an ethnic enclave). Now avocados are ubiquitous, although I still find it hard to find Florida avocados. What’s the difference? Florida avocados are bigger and have smoother skin. They also have significantly less fat, but the fat in avocados is a healthy fat in the form of oleic acid. In general, avocados have lots of fiber, vitamins, can help reduce inflammation, improve good cholesterol . . . I could go on and on, but you get it. Avocados are good in moderation.

So when are avocados ripe? For the Hass ones which are more common (they are the small bumpy skin ones), don’t rely on color! If they’re brownish they are probably way far gone. Just gently press at the top near where the avocado connected to the tree. If it’s a little soft, that’s good and give it another day or so for it to be ripe. If it is ripe and you’re not ready to eat it, put it in the fridge! It will keep for a week or more in the fridge until you’re ready for it.

We always have a simple avocado salad on Christmas Eve, but one of my fav things to do is to make a nice guacamole with them!

Caridad’s Guacomole

Ingredients

    3 ripe avocados, peeled and chopped into big chunks
    1 clove garlic, chopped
    1 10 oz can ROTEL diced tomatoes and green chiles (drained)
    2 tbsp Olive Oil
    2 tbsp apple or white vinegar
    Juice of either 1/2 a lemon or if you have 1 lime
    1 ripe tomato chopped
    1/2 tsp salt
    Pepper to taste
    A few good shots of Cholula hot sauce

Directions

Place your salt and garlic in a mixing bowl. Mash together with a fork until close to a paste. Then add the oil and vinegar and mix. Add the avocado chunks and mash with a fork, but leave some nice chunks in there. You may want to put in half and mash it well, and then add the second half and only partially mash it. Add the Rotel tomatoes and chiles plus and mix. Add the ripe tomatoes and mix. Finish with adding the lemon or lime juice and Cholula. If you like it spicier, add more Cholula or a shot of Tabasco.

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Scrambled Eggs #TuesdayTip

I was walking past one of the local restaurants on the way to work and noticed a morning wrap that seemed appealing. It had scrambled eggs, pastrami, hash browns and of course, the wrap. I started thinking and got rid of the wrap and hash browns since I’m watching my carbs. Come to think of it, I’m not really a fan of pastrami so that went as well leaving me with . . . SCRAMBLED EGGS! Eggs are a fav of mine and they are so good for you! I usually like mine once over medium, but of course that requires bread for dunking or grits for mixing, so scrambled is my next choice for a protein packed breakfast.

But how do you make the PERFECT scrambled egg? Since mine are invariably too hard and on the hard side, I searched the web for you and came up with these possible recipe suggestions. Enjoy!

    • https://www.incredibleegg.org/recipe/basic-scrambled-eggs/
    • http://armagazine.com/2n5aTTL
    • http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe-2107541
    • https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/bas-best-soft-scrambled-eggs

scrambled eggs

P.S. – I bet sexy caterer Carlo from the At the Shore series knows how to make perfect scrambled eggs. Will definitely have to have him make some from Emma when he finally convinces her to spend the night.

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Caponata #TipTuesday #CooksTreat

It’s that time of year when there is a bounty of vegetables available to cook. One of my favorites is eggplant. Whether grilled, a la parmigiana or rollatini, it’s a tasty treat!

Today’s tip is how to make caponata which is a type of eggplant spread. It’s great over crostini or if you want, tossed with pasta.

Caponata

Ingredients:

    1/2 cup olive oil
    1 onion finely chopped
    1 celery stalk finely chopped (I like the inner hearts with the leaves)
    2-3 garlic cloves finely chopped
    1 1/2 pounds eggplant diced into half inch cubes (remove some of the skin to reduce bitterness)
    4-6 Roma tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds and skin if you wish. I normally don’t)
    1 8 oz can tomato sauce
    1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
    2-4 tbsp sugar
    1/2 cup capers (rinsed clean of salt or squeezed to remove vinegar)

Directions:

    Put 1/4 cup olive oil in large skillet and heat.
    Add onion and celery and saute until you they are just starting to get a caramel color.
    Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, and heat.
    Add the eggplant and stir until the eggplant is getting browned.
    Add the apple cider vinegar and deglaze the pan.
    Mix in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, capers and sugar.
    Cook until all the vegetables have melded together. About half an hour.
    Salt and pepper to taste. Also, caponata has a sweet/sour kind of taste to it. Add vinegar/sugar to taste.
    Place in a container or toss some with pasta!
    Caponata will keep for about a week in the fridge.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!

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