Monday, 23 January 2012

New Year's Eve Dinner

                                                 Ahh, another supper dish.

My family had this awesome meal for New Year's
The best part?
I don't need to tell you :)
IT'S HEALTHY!
Chicken Parmesan and Zucchini Pasta
Sauce
1 can peeled whole plum tomatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 c. cauliflower
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Garlic salt
Chicken
2 chicken breasts
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)
1 lightly beaten egg
olive oil
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
Zucchini Pasta
2 small zucchini
For the sauce: Blend the tomatoes, celery and cauliflower in a magic bullet/blender until mostly smooth. Pour into a large sauce pan on high med-heat. Add garlic, basil and oregano. Shake garlic salt to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally.
For the "pasta" wash the zucchini and peel length-wise. You want long, thin strips. Stop when you reach the center on the zucchini (you'll know it's the center when the strips become grainy) Set aside.
Reduce the sauce to medium heat.
Chicken: Laying the breasts flat, slice in half horizontally. The end result should be four thin slices about a 1/4 inch thick, but still the size of your palm. By making the breasts thinner, you cut down of cooking time and amount of meat needed.
Fry the zucchini on med-high in 2 tsp of olive oil for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Mix together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a large, shallow bowl. Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, then breadcrumb mixture. Place onto a grill pan (it's a ridged baking pan used for oven grilling)
Broil for 3-5 minutes each side until done.
To serve, place 1 chicken breast with a serving of zucchini on the side. Add a Tbsp of ricotta to the side and spoon a generous amount of sauce over the dish.  

Monday, 9 January 2012

Baked Fudge

                                                                    Fudge.

                                                                 Is soooo good.

                                                 Even better when it's good for you.
This recipe requires no candy thermometers, no fancy ingredients. Just black beans.
You read that right.
Baked Black Bean Fudge (say that ten times fast!)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
2 spotted bananas
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. cocoa
1-2 tsp maple extract (you can sub vanilla)
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/4-1/2 c. unsweetened coconut
1/4 c. brown sugar (if needed)
Blender-ize the black beans, bananas and honey until smooth. Pour into a medium-sized bowl, add maple extract, rolled oats and coconut. Give it a taste-test :) If there's too much bean flavor, add a Tbsp of brown sugar. If you're still not happy with the taste, keep adding small amounts of brown sugar, but don't go over 1/4 cup. Pour the mixture into a 9x9 baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes @ 350F. Wait about 20 minutes before cutting, 'cause the fudge needs time to set.