Grilled greek salad with chicken

Okay, Okay...so I'm getting a bit repetitive gushing about the wonderful salad recipes in Ellie's Cookbook Weeknight Wonders, but, it's true. Her salads are so good and this one was no exception. Really good!

I'll give you that there are more than 1 million google recipes for a grilled greek salad but that doesn't make it less good, right? I seem to recall one of the Iron Chef's ridiculing the notion of grilling romaine lettuce (Flay?) but it really adds interest and a diversity of texture to the salad. Grilled lemon is fun too. This salad really rocked and was a complete meal! Props to EK for making it good and making it healthy.

The only thing we considered changing next time is a pinch more salt at the end -- Julie added it and said it made all the difference.

Mozzarella,, tHomato, and peach salad

Another great salad from EK. No shock there. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the book is the worth the price for the salads alone! 5 Stars, 10 on 10, awesome...you get the message. It was super easy to make and only 270 calories. Clean-up a breeze too.

We used a mango instead of a peach (seasonal thing) and the mango delivered enough sweetness to make the salad work. I might suggest a variation to this recipe. (Good chance to see if Ellie actually reads this blog).

Instead of tossing the greens in oil and vinegar, I suggest whisking the oil and vinegar with some finely minced rosemary and an equal part of maple syrup. It'll impact a nice rosemary taste and really work to cut the bitterness of the arugula too. I've made a similar salad before and it's really good.

Thai vegetable curry with tofu

We had time to make dinner last night -- just no time to blog about it. First, credit goes to Julie for cooking this meal from A to Z. She even did the grocery shopping! Thanks sweetheart. This dish started out with an incredible disadvantage. Having had the orange-seseame chicken stir-fry with snow peas the night before, well, it's a little like following Lea Michelle in a talent competition -- it never had a chance!

That said, and given that it was a vegetarian dish, this recipe fought hard to make an impact and it mostly succeeded. We rate it as pretty darned good though maybe a bit bland. I think on the next go-around I'll double the amount of red curry a paste to amp it up a bit.

At 260 calories it was a nice meal to be sure. It took less than 30 minutes and the clean-up was a breeze. If I am ever charged with cooking vegetarian for friends I'd proudly serve this dish (taking full credit for the recipe)!

Orange-sesame chicken stir-fry with snow peas

WOW! This was excellent. One thing about Ellie Krieger -- her salads and her stir-frys are incredible and this one was no exception. Truly and excellent dish and only 370 calories with none of the hidden nasties that so often come with restaurant stir-frys.

My favorite Sous Chef (Julie) handled the wok tonight for dinner - it's her biannual tradition - and she did an outstanding job. I managed the ingredients and prep work but she sautéed the chicken and then managed the wet ingredients. Such a pretty girl in the kitchen or out!. We made no modifications to this recipe although we did zest the orange into thin strips using a zester and left them in the dish. Served with whole-grain rice. Fabulous.

Thanks EK for the great recipe. Thanks too for your sense of humor when I posted the following to twitter.

Ellie Krieger (James) Bearded

Mediterranean Chopped Salad AND Lamb Kabobs with Pomegranate Sauce

Tonight we went with a Mediterranean theme -- pretty darned good! Ellie's salad once again failed to disappoint. I'll tell you what - people that toss a bunch of iceberg lettuce into a bowl before covering it with nasty 'ol store bought dressing are really missing out! I'd buy this book just for the salads.

The Mediterranean Chopped Salad was absolutely delicious and refreshing. I chilled it for a bit before serving it and I also shook the tHomato pieces in a colander to get rid of the pulpy membrane. So good - Julie, myself and the giant all loved it! The Lamb Kabobs with Pomegranate Sauce were less good but that's really not the fault of the recipe -- I overcooked the kabobs to just short of well done. A couple of things about this recipe: 1.) It's a messy time with balsamic reductions, 2.) there will certainly be nasty/sticky dishes to clean up, 3.) I cooked it on a range-top grill pan -- next time I'll use the outdoor grill, 4.) I could not find a pomegranate to seed so we omitted that from the recipe.

So...the bottom-line is simple. Awesome food in 30 minutes or less. Really well conceived and executed recipe by Ellie Krieger. Or should I say JAMES BEARD NOMINATED ELLIE KRIEGER!

Chinese Vegetable Soup with Pork

Been away for a while...sick for a few weeks, traveling for a few, getting ready to move... the blog suffered (but we tried to maintain a healthy diet nonetheless). For lunch today we got back "into" the whole Ellie Krieger adventure (we missed you EK) and made some pretty tasty soup. Julie summed it up best as tasting "super-healthful" and as "good trending to very good". I thought it lacked punch! so I added some hot sauce to the soup to kick it up a notch!

The recipe was quick and really easy to follow. I do think there was a slight error in the recipe because it did not fully instruct when to add the pork back to the soup pot. I added it with the baby bok choy, etc. It's a one-pot recipe (love) and I used two cutting boards (raw pork) but the clean-up was easy. The yield was substantial....you get a ton of soup to enjoy -- we struggled to finish our bowls full! Thanks for the recipe EK!

Spinach, herb and goat cheese frittata

Been a while since I've been able to cook from this cookbook. I've missed it.

I made the spinach, herb and goat cheese frittata for dinner this evening and served it with sliced tomatoes drizzled with Italian herb-infused olive oil and a slice of crusty whole-wheat bread. It was a delicious and beautiful way to get back into the habit of cooking from this wonderful cookbook. My photo doesn't really match the book photo but I attribute that to my lame-a$$ electric broiler. Other than that the recipe was fast, easy and earthy delicious. I was concerned I would leave the meal feeling hungry but not at all the case. All I need to know; If real men don't eat quiche; do they eat frittatas?

Meatballs with simple marinara

Been laid up with a bad cold since Thursday so my blogging came to a screeching halt. I made this dish for dinner this past Wednesday night for my teenage giant and myself.

You know, my favorite spaghetti recipe of all-time happens to be an Ellie Krieger recipe from one of her other cookbooks. It's so delicious that I make it for company from time to time. Needless to say, I expected that this recipe would be just as good! Sadly no...

Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with this recipe. Easy and fast to make (like all the recipes in this book). The problem I had was with the flavor and I readily admit that my taste buds might have been compromised by my upcoming cold. I would liken the meatballs to more like meatloaf than meatballs. I think adding onions to the recipe might be a good idea. Broiling them until browned before plopping them in the sauce would also be a good idea. Might even consider adding some moisture-free chopped spinach to the meat. As they were, they just lacked interest and pop. I'll have to try this recipe once more to give it a better chance without a cold.

Back to cooking healthy this week upcoming. Cold is getting close to gone.

Ancho chicken salad with jícama, orange, and avocado

Right off the bat, write down the ingredients for the chicken rub and use it all over the place -- awesome! As a whole, this was another great Ellie Krieger salad. Her salads all rock!

We did a fair amount of substituting with this recipe. To begin, I used New Mexico pepper instead of ancho chile powder because I didn't have ancho powder and I wanted to use the New Mexico powder I had on hand. A relatively minor sub. The second substitution was yacón for jícama. They are pretty similar and not being able to find jícama made it a no-brainer. The third substitution did affect the flavor of the dish -- substituted grapefruit for the orange slices. (I really thought I had an orange!)

Even with my two minor substitutions, and the one major substitution, the dish was really enjoyable. I definitely think it would be better with the orange slices contrasting against the rubbed chicken -- but it was awesome as prepared. One thing is for sure - Ellie's salad recipes are going into my standard cooking rotation once I have cooked my way through the book. Thanks EK!

Note: I used a paillard of chicken for more predictable grilling and maximum flavor.

Pistachio-crusted tilapia AND Orange-balsamic green beans with basil

Starting with the Pistachio-crusted tilapia I find it interesting that the facing page to this recipe is last night's dinner! Let's just call these two facing pages "Night and Day". The tilapia was delicious although difficult to make. Getting the nut mixture to adhere to the sides of the fish fillets was nearly impossible. Also, I still wonder why the recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of fish? That seems like an awful lot of protein. I'm sure Ellie Krieger knows what she's doing, but it did make me wonder. Cooking it in the pan and then transferring it to the oven did create a nice outside texture while preserving it in the oven made the fish flaky and moist -- five stars.

The Orange-balsamic green beans with basil was also just wonderful. I was fortunate to have some olive oil infused with blood orange so I got a major (welcomed) overdose of orange with my preparation. Sneakily, I scraped a few of the cooked pistachios that dislodged from the fish while cooking into the final product (post-photo) to add a bit of crunch. The shallots cooked down nicely and added a great element. The basil, added very little in my view -- it just sort of wilted away to nothing. All said, Ellie Krieger proves once again that her sides and her salads are always SUPERIOR.

Creamy asparagus soup

I suppose it's a safe bet that asparagus soup is generally a pretty healthy and low-calorie item in most recipes. In fact, taking a look at epicurious.com I see a version for half as many calories though not as much nutrition. The Ellie Krieger soup we made was just 180 calories (epicurious was 93) though the Weeknight Wonders version had twice the fiber and 50% more protein. Hey, it's not just about calories after all.

As for the taste...really nice. The lemon added at the end with the yogurt really lends a lot of flavor to the dish. It's easy to make even though EK seems hell-bent on making me wash my food processor on a daily basis! Grrr..... It was really good with the whole-wheat baguette. I rate this as very good!

Pasta in creamy tuna sauce with arugula

Admittedly, I like Ellie Krieger. We share a tweet here, and share a tweet there, and it's all good fun. I also like her approach to cooking, her credentials, and in general, her sweet disposition and quick mind. She's all good! Because of that, I have always wondered how I'd handle a review for a recipe I truly did not like. I guess the answer is: 1.) shower her with praise, 2.) write an honest review. Here goes...apologies to Ellie Krieger.

On the plus side, this dish is one of the easier dishes to cook in the book. You basically whip some fish with oil and capers, toss it with arugula and pasta, and done! That's good that it's so easy. On the negative side was the texture and the general taste. As I ate it, I just kept thinking to myself how mayonnaise was really missing. It was pasty and didn't smell overly good. It was also pretty darned bland.

I'm not Ellie Krieger, nor am I a trained chef or dietician. I am sure there are ways to make this better that stay loosely within the overall rules of good nutrition. I doubt mayo is one of them though, so...I won't be recommending this recipe to the people that have connected with me, but, if something like this sounds good to you, go for it. My palette is far from definitive.

This weeks menu (Feb 10 - Feb 14)

Monday Lunch
(Leftover) Savory Carrot-Cashew Soup

Monday Dinner
Pasta in creamy tuna sauce with arugula (page 208)

Tuesday Lunch
Whole-grain baguette
Creamy asparagus soup (page 62)

Tuesday Dinner
Orange-balsamic green beans with basil (page 244)
Pistachio-crusted Tilapia (page 209)

Wednesday Lunch
Ancho chicken salad with jicama, orange and avocado (page 56)

Wednesday Dinner
Celery, radish, and herb salad (page 34)
Meatballs with simple marinara (page 107)

Thursday Lunch
Penne with grape tomatoes, spinach, and toasted garlic (page 224)

Thursday Dinner
Individual tri-color salad pizzas (page 216)

Friday Lunch
Whole-grain bread
Mozzarella, tHomato and peach salad (page 42)

Friday Dinner
Chipotle beef-stuffed portobello mushrooms (page 105)

Beef and scallion "negimaki" stir-fry AND Parsley Potatoes

My sister beat me to making this one so we had high hopes. WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!

The Beef and scallion "negimaki" stir-fry was incredibly flavorful We used portabello mushrooms instead of shiitake which was just lovely. The mushrooms were the tastiest part of the beef dish -- soaked up all that broth goodness and exploded in our mouths with flavor. All-in-all a really traditional recipe but who says traditional can't be delicious and healthy too!

The Parsley Potatoes were also simple to make and probably a pretty standard type of recipe too. I suspect the temptation to slather butter on them might be hard to resist for some people but we stuck with the plan. I have lost 13 pounds in the last three weeks by eating from this cookbook -- why fight it? Besides, they were just as good without the extra salt and butter.

If you need further proof that this meal was incredibly delicious, I'll quote from the teenage giant, "Is there more?"

Blog Viewership

I'm absolutely stunned by the reach of this humble little blog. Here is the list of countries this far:

• US
• India
• United Kingdom
• Kuwait
• Russia
• South Africa
• Germany
• Malaysia
• Canada
• Hong Kong
• Nepal
• Australia
• Russia
• Japan
• India
• Jamaica
• Ireland
• Cyprus
• Turkey
• United Arab Emirates
• Kuwait
• Belgium
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Ukraine
• Puerto Rico
• Portugal
• Poland
• Philippines
• Oman
• Norway
• Nigeria
• Namibia
• Malta
• Egypt

I wonder how many people have bought the book or at least googled the recipes? It's been a really fun experience. I've lost over 13 pounds and have now cooked 28% of the recipes in the book. I'll compile and share a list of our favorites at some point in time -- might wait until the very end.

Happy, healthy eating!

"Falafel" salad

Admittedly, when I first leafed through the book the "falafel" salad was not one of the recipes that sprang forth declaring, "try me, try me"! Let's chock that up to my own lack of adventure? This salad, like all of Ellie Krieger's salad recipes, was rock-on good -- even great!

The recipe was infused with all the major healthy spices (cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper) which served as a dressing with toasted pita bread, tHomatoes, cucumbers and chickpeas. There are other ingredients too but these are the main ingredients. The one thing probably not found in most US pantries is tahini (sort of a peanut butter made from sesame seeds?). Anyway, the recipe was easy. Chop, whisk, toast and go. A full meal by itself and a perfect lunch entree.

Julie, the teenage giant, and I all raved about this one. A real keeper and such a bonus to get outside of the normal taste palette we've eaten for so long. Awesome job EK.

Wok-charred lettuce and spinach noodle with shrimp

All snowed-in in Portland (I know, right!) so we had plenty of time to prepare and enjoy this wonderful dish. I made portions for 4 (Julie and I plus the teenage giant [ double servings ] ) and found the recipe to be easy to follow for sure. We all rated it "very good" and really had no complaints.

I was lucky enough to find some fresh-made spinach fettuccine which was delightful. Oregon fresh shrimp were also amazing - so juicy in this preparation they were something to truly look forward to eating. If you want it spicier you can always add more sriracha, either as part of the preparation, or just dashed on top. We didn't. There was enough of an undercurrent of heat by following the recipe closely. This dish was really good - will definitely make it again and again.

Guinness and beef skillet stew (THom's FHavorite)

We thought this was a good stew. It wasn't "awesome" but it was delicious and only 430 calories. Julie is not a huge fan of pearl onions so that was the source of her angst; I thought it wasn't quite thick enough so I'll make a note to cook it down a bit before adding the carrots, potatoes and onions.

This was very easy to make and took all of the 30 minutes. Reviewing the nutrition this dish is seriously healthy. I was able to knock out the dishes while the stew simmered which made clean-up after dinner a breeze --- that's a bonus! One suggestion, weigh the ingredients to keep the flavor balance in check. After all, Mrs. Krieger has gone to a lot of trouble to keep us healthy and happy. ;-)

Pumpkin seed pesto wraps

Not quite sure how Ellie came up with this recipe? Whipping pumpkin seeds in a food processor with other savory ingredients? Well, it mostly worked.

For us, it needed a bit more kick or something to make it special. It was certainly good, but it was crying out for something extra -- hot sauce maybe? extra tomatoes? more salt? Not quite sure. It was definitely easy to make (even though messing up my food processor is always low on my priority list) and it was certainly unique. I'd make it again and serve it with a bowl of soup. I have a feeling I am going to be hungry in a few hours

Final note: I bought red lettuce but couldn't find it. It's probably rolling around in the back of my car somewhere. We substituted romaine lettuce leaves. I bet the crunch and flavor of the cabbage would elevate this recipe to a higher level

Amaretti-Peach Parfait

I'd eat this on Thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie! Unbelievably good and only 260 calories? WOW! WOW! WOW! We couldn't locate Amaretti cookies so we substituted "Newman's Own Vanilla Alphabet Cookies" in the recipe. Of course, that might affect the calorie count but at only 140 calories total for this recipe for 4, I doubt it

This was so good it defies description. BY FAR the best dessert recipe we've had from the book. Thanks Ellie