(my version of) Beef Vegetable Stew / Minestrone

It became very clear to me tonight that I have no idea how to cook for just two people! We have enough beef veggie stew to last us through next week!

After chopping all of my vegetables, I seasoned the sirloin with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little bit of steak rub. I sauteed just enough to brown all sides, and removed the meat from the pan.

I added the onion, celery and carrots to the mix, and let them start sweating before adding the potatoes.

A few minutes later, I added one can of stewed tomatoes, a whole serrano pepper, some mini-penne pasta, one bay leaf, a regular sized carton of low sodium beef broth and a couple of cups of water.

I didn't time how long I let all of this cook (I should have for remake purposes), but it was enough to get the potatoes and pasta tender. When I figured I only had about 10-15 minutes left, I added the sirloin, zucchini, kidney beans and mushrooms.

Here is my finished product:

I thought it turned out great, and hubby had two servings. I'll definitely keep this in the rotation for Fall / Winter, it's perfect for a chilly movie night!

Chicken Scallopini with Mushrooms and Capers

Georgia and I were pretty exhausted after our jog tonight. Too bad I didn't get to relax like she did!

I seasoned the very thin chicken breasts with sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and sauteed them in extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic.

Once the breasts were almost cooked all of the way through, I added some chicken broth, capers, sliced mushrooms and fresh lemon juice.

I served the chicken on top of a fresh bed of spinach, and alongside some of hubby's favorite mushroom agnilotti.

Seared Scallops with Spinach and Agnilotti

Delicious scallops tonight!

Ingredients:

Tamarind sauce, ,honey, rice or white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Accompaniments:

Seared scallops, sauteed spinach and wild mushroom agnilotti (hubby's most favorite store bought pasta).

Wonderful little dinner for two on our outdoor patio. We were trying to figure out if the Stella Artois or the Sauvignon Blanc were better paired with the scallops...they were both complimentary and well-balanced.

A teaser dessert to share =)

Ruggles Cafe Bakery

We had the most amazing desserts at Ruggles the other night!

Carrot Cake

Order a dessert, or five, and accompany with a cappuccino. Enjoy!

White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Ruggles Cafe Bakery

2365-A Rice Blvd
Houston, TX 77005
Phone: (713) 520-6662

Jambalaya

I lost the recipe that I used for jambalaya, but I figured the pics would work for now. The ingredients I used are up above, all except for the chicken thighs, shrimp and sausage.

I'm not generally a fan of chicken thighs, but hubby likes them. They have much better flavor for jambalaya, and I tried my best to use just the meat.

The cook time involved wasn't too long. I spent a lot more time prepping and cleaning than I did cooking.

Overall a nice finished product, but next time I'll lay off a little on the cayenne pepper!

Grilled Salmon with Chard

Here some shots of our dinner tonight:

After a thorough cleaning, I separated the stems from the leaves, and roughly chopped up some chard. I sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. I also sliced some white onion and garlic, and heated some extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan.

While the saute pan was heating up, I lightly coated the salmon with EVOO, sesame oil, Tamari sauce and pepper.

I brought the grill to high heat, and placed the salmon face down for about 4-5 minutes.

While the salmon was cooking on the first side, I added the Swiss chard to the onions and garlic and covered.

Make sure you don't overcook them. You want to maintain that bright green, fresh color.

While the chard was finishing up, I went outside and carefully flipped the salmon so that the skin side would be on the grill. Keeping your grill at a high heat helps sear the fish with the nice grill marks, and it also makes it quite a bit easier to peel and flip.

We found this amazing avocado vinaigrette in Colorado at the Vail Food and Wine Festival over Labor Day weekend. The dressing is so tasty and fresh, and the man selling it to me assured me it will last 9 -12 months. If you're a fan of avocados and vinaigrette, then visit the website and get ya some! http://www.alpineavocado.com

Here was my finished product! I served the salmon and chard with a zucchini corn cake from Whole Foods and a spinach salad.

Miso-Ginger-Jalapeno Cod with Fixings

Dinner last night was fantastic. I came up with my own little poaching method for the fresh Cod I bought at Whole Foods, and served some sauteed spinach and baked sweet potatoes on the side.

(Finished product)



My main ingredients for the Cod were fresh ginger, half of a fresh jalapeno pepper, vegetable broth and red miso. I bought the ginger root and fresh jalapenos at a farmer's market in Hempstead last weekend. The jalapenos are fire hot, and we worked up a good sweat from the heat.

I seasoned the Cod with a little bit of pepper, garlic powder and ground ginger, and just a touch of sea salt. Cod is very lean, very mild, very light... similar to Halibut or Sea Bass (but not as oily as SB).

I brought my brothy concoction to a slow boil, and poached the Cod for about 6 or 8 minutes, until it started flaking.

There's nothing like a cold Duvel... our favortie Belgian brew!

My favorite side dish: sauteed spinach! So fast, simple, tasty and healthy! Little bit of EVOO, some minced garlic, little bit of salt and pepper, a few minutes on the stove, and Voila!

I'll definitely put this into the rotation, was really tasty!