Queen City Quisine

Impromptu Kebabs with Couscous and Asparagus

2013-04-24T12:41:00.000-04:00

What you're seeing on the side was left over grilled polenta from another meal we did recently.

Pistachio Shrimp Stir Fry

2013-04-02T11:53:00.003-04:00

I found this tasty recipe via the Cookin Canuck. Find her recipe here.

Basic ingredients: Snap peas, shrimp, shallots, pistachios and lemon zest.

Cook the shrimp. We used our electric wok.

Set the shrimp aside.

Add in the shallots and peas and saute.

Chiffonade the basil.

Add the shrimp back in with the lemon zest, pistachios and basil.

Hit it with some Sriracha and serve over rice!

Salmon Cakes

2013-03-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

I really don't like canned tuna. It's stinky and doesn't taste anything like the delicious fresh tuna steaks that I make sure I get my fill of when we go on vacation to the Outer Banks every year. For that reason, I automatically ruled out canned salmon. This recipe has made me a believer in canned salmon. Now like canned tuna, canned salmon does not reflect the taste of fresh salmon, but it's a lot less offensive than canned tuna in my opinion.

Unfortunately we didn't get any photos of the process but I will post the link to the recipe below.

One thing I did not do that next time, I definitely will is to form the cakes in advance. Maybe a full day in advance that way they will stick together much better. These ones fell apart quite easily.

This aioli (just a combo of mayo and srichacha) is awesome! I may just make a batch to have on hand at all times.

These really were just delicious. Pretty easy to make too.

You should definitely give these a try. Recipe here.

Meat Loaf

2013-03-26T11:39:00.002-04:00

Extra lean ground beef + portabella mushrooms + other meatloaf staples = tasty but somewhat healthy meatloaf!

Put the ground beef in a large bowl.

I prepped my side dish of brussel sprouts, potatoes and onions before I started the meatloaf.

Add some oats.

Saute some chopped portabella mushrooms.

Add crushed tomatoes

When the mushrooms are done cooking, add those in and mix it all up.

Put into a loaf pan.

Coat with ketchup.

Put it in the oven for about 45-50 minutes.

Mix the potatoes, sprouts and onions together in a bowl with a tsp. of EVOO.

Put them in a foil pack and put them in the oven for about 30 minutes.

The meatloaf shrunk and generated a lot of liquid. I quickly drained it and sliced up the meatloaf.

Yum!

We served with our side dish.

Both the meatloaf and the side dish were Hungry Girl recipes. Find the meatloaf recipe here. Find the side dish recipe here.

Corned Beef & Cabbage/ Corned Beef Hash

2013-03-22T12:51:00.006-04:00

Corned beef and cabbage - one of the many things I look forward to on St. Patrick's Day. This recipe is an age old family recipe and it's my favorite way to have corned beef.

Since it was just the two of us, I thought a 3 lb. corned beef brisket would be plenty. It was just enough to have a couple sandwiches and then use the leftovers for corned beef hash.

The corned beef brisket cooks down a lot during cooking. If you are making it for a large group of people, you may want to at the very least double the recipe, if not triple it.

Mandatory bottle of Guinness.

Place the brisket in a large pot. Pour the packet of pickling spices over top of the brisket.

Pour in the bottle of Guinness (or any other beer really).

Then fill the pot with water so that it covers the brisket by a good 2-3". Bring to a boil and let the brisket simmer for 2.5 - 3 hours. When it's done simmering, take out the brisket and refrigerate in a casserole dish overnight. Save the cooking liquid for the next day as well.

The next day, warm up the cooking liquid on the stove. Throw some cabbage, red potatoes and carrots into the pot and boil until tender (about 30-40 minutes).

Once the veggies are tender, they can be strained out of the pot and served hot.

Slice up the corned beef and place back in the casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, mix up the mustard and brown sugar.

Drizzle glaze over top of the corned beef slices.

Put in a 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes. Once the corned beef was done, we took a couple slices and put them on some rye bread and had some killer sandwiches. Now on to the corned beef hash!!

The next morning, I chopped up about 2 cups of leftover corned beef

Melted some butter in a cast iron skillet.

Then, I added the chopped up corned beef, some grated yellow onion and some chopped baby red potatoes (the ones we cooked in the beer).

I thoroughly mixed them, added some fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Then, I let it cook without disturbing it for a good 8-10 minutes. I like my hash crispy so I didn't disturb it in order to achieve that. I stirred it up a bit and let it cook again for another 8-10 minutes until I decided it was crispy enough.

I topped with fresh parsley and it was ready to serve.

We scrambled some eggs and served them with the hash. It was divine and a perfect base to go out and celebrate St. Patty's Day!

Head on over to my cousin's blog for the corned beef family recipe: gourmetandglitter.com

Soy Chorizo & Chicken Enchilladas (A QCQ Original)

2013-03-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

A few months ago while on a shopping trip at Trader Joe's, we were lucky enough to sample some of their soy chorizo queso dip. For being meatless, their soy chorizo is fab and we were immediately hooked. We've been brainstorming many ways to use soy chorizo in as many applications as possible. Using it in enchiladas was quite the logical application.

I started by poaching the chicken in some water. I added some fresh jalapenos as well as some cumin,chili powder and salt to the chicken.

I then poured enough water over the chicken to cover it by an inch. I brought the water to a boil, let it simmer partially covered for 10 minutes and then turned the heat off, covered the chicken and let it sit for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Once it was done poaching, I removed the chicken breasts and let them cool.

Then, I shredded the chicken.

I used about 1 lb. of chicken to make the enchilada filling.

Chopped up some yellow onion.

Diced some fresh jalapeno.

The delicious soy chorizo!

Chopped some garlic.

I used about 5 oz. of the soy chorizo to use in the enchilada filling.

Sauteed garlic, onion and jalapeno in a tsp. of olive oil until they became soft.

I then added the soy chorizo and let that heat through a bit. Then I added the chicken and mixed it all together.

Got my tortillas ready to go.

I put 1/3 cup of the filling onto each tortilla. You could do more or less based on how stuffed you want your enchiladas.

I then topped the filling with 1 tbsp. of Trader Joe's queso dip for some added moisture.

Rolled up the tortillas and put them into a baking pan (sprayed with cooking spray).

I poured about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over top of the enchiladas.

Then, I drizzled with a couple more tablespoons of the queso dip.

Topped them with cheese and put them in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Cheese is melted, edges were a little crisp.

Ah, they were tasty!

Ingredients:

2 jalapeno peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

2 tsp. chili powder, divided.

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1 lb. chicken breast

1 tsp. olive oil

5 oz. soy chorizo, crumbled out of casing.

8 tortillas

16 tbsp. Trader Joe's Queso Dip

1/2 cup red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup Sargento reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican blend shredded cheese

Directions:
Slice 1 jalapeno. Place chicken breasts in a pan deep enough to be covered by 1" of water. Top chicken with 1 tsp. each of chili powder and cumin and 1/2 tsp, salt. Place the jalapeno slices on top of the chicken. Cover chicken with water. Water should cover chicken by an 1". Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, partially cover the pan and turn heat to low to simmer the chicken for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, fully cover the chicken and let sit for 10-15 more minutes. Remove chicken from the water and shred. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dice 1 jalapeno. Heat a skillet with 1 tsp. of olive oil. Add jalapeno, onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add 1 tsp. of chili powder and stir to coat. Add soy chorizo and heat through. Mix in shredded chicken and stir to combine. Remove mixture from heat.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the mixture onto 8 tortilla shells (or more if you have some leftover). Top the mixture on each tortilla with 1 tbsp. of the queso dip. Roll up each tortilla and place in a baking pan (seam sided down), sprayed with cooking spray. Coat the enchiladas with 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Drizzle the remaining queso dip on top of the enchiladas as well. Top with 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 25 minutes. Cheese will have melted and edges will be a little crisp. Serve with your favorite Mexican condiments and side dishes.

Skinnytaste's Slow Cooker Chicken and Black Bean Tacos

2013-03-12T12:25:00.004-04:00

This recipe is quick and simple to put together. Let it cook all day and that's it.

Add a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles into the crock pot.

Then add black beans.

Add some cumin and chili powder.

Then chicken breast.

Season the chicken breast with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, a little more chili powder and cumin.

After they cook all day, they will come out looking like this.

Shred the chicken and add back into the crock pot.

Stir it all up and it's ready to serve.

The finished product! We whipped up a quick cabbage slaw as was in the recipe.

Click here to see the recipe on Skinnytaste.

Provencal Style Salmon Bake (Live Better America)

2013-03-11T13:38:00.002-04:00

This was a really delicious preparation of salmon, especially with the accompanying roasted veggies.

To save time, instead of cutting up a potato, I used frozen seasoned potato wedges from Alexia. I placed them in a baking dish with halved white mushrooms.

Added some sliced zucchini.

Then some chopped red bell pepper.

Placed the salmon on top and added seasonings.

Topped the mixture with fat free Italian dressing.

Put them in the oven to roast, take out half way and stir.

Add kalamata olives and put back in the oven.

Serve and top with fresh parsley. So yummy!

Hungry Girl Chicken Parm

2013-03-06T09:35:00.002-05:00

Fiber one original bran serial ground into a breadcrumb consistency.

Chicken cutlets pounded very thin.

Dip chicken in egg beaters, shake off excess.

Coat in the Fiber One crumbs.

Tofu Shirataki Fettucine as our side dish. Great substitute for carb-heavy pasta and low cal too.

Place the chicken cutlets in a hot pan. Cook for about 4 minutes per side.

Flip over and cook for an additional 4 minutes. These are pounded so thin that they cook quick.

Mixed up the noodles with some marinara sauce.

Top the cutlets with marinara and a little bit of reduced-fat shredded mozzarella.

Hungry girl calls for a little bit of reduced-fat shredded parmesan cheese but I didn't have any so I just omitted.

Marinara

Chicken parm with pasta and a lite caesar salad. This whole dish was tasty and much lower in fat and calories than the real thing! Boathouse Farms makes a yogurt based Caesar dressing that is only 45 calories per 2 tbsp. That is much better than any other lite Caesar I've found. It also tastes great!

See Hungry Girl's recipe here.

Chunky Chicken and Vegetable Soup (A QCQ original)

2013-03-05T14:38:00.001-05:00

Start by cleaning leeks. I slice them first and then soak them in a bowl of water.

Chopped carrots, celery, parsnips and garlic.

Drain the leeks.

Saute some garlic in a dutch oven.

Add leeks.

Then celery.

Then carrots.

Cook until soft.

Add salt and pepper.

Add a can of diced tomatoes.

Add chicken broth.

Add parsnips.

Bring to a boil.

I then chopped some chicken breast into bite size chunks and added them into the soup while it was boiling. I simmered for about 20 minutes.

I added some cannellini beans and then let simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup leeks, sliced

1 1/4 cups celery, chopped

1 1/4 cups carrots, chopped

1 cup parsnips, chopped

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3 - 14.5 oz cans chicken broth

1 - 14.5 oz can cannellini beans

1 1b. chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces.

1 tsp. Umami paste (optional)

1 bay leaf

Directions:

Heat a little olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pot. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add leeks and cook about 2 minutes more. Add celery and carrots and cook until vegetables are starting to get soft (about 8 minutes). While veggies are cooking, strip the thyme leaves from the sprigs and mix into the veggies. Add some salt and pepper as well. Add the can of diced tomatoes and stir. Add chicken broth, parsnips and bay leaf. Bring soup to a boil.

While the soup is coming to a boil, cut chicken breasts into bit size pieces. Add into soup once it's boiling. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add cannellini beans and umami paste. Simmer for 20 more minutes. Chicken should be cooked through and vegetables should be tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This recipe should make about 8 - 1 cup portions.

Valentine's Day Shrimp Stew (Three Many Cooks)

2013-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

So this post is a little late since Valentine's Day was almost 3 weeks ago, but it was delicious enough that it deserved to be posted.

Chop onion into chunks (about 1 inch).

Prep the fennel.

Beautiful Vday flowers :-)

Place onions and fennel into a casserole and add tomatoes.

Then add potatoes.

Pour some wine in and some herbs. Roast for about 30 minutes.

Add shrimp once veggies are roasted.

Let the shrimp roast for about 10 minutes.

Pull it out of the oven and it's done!

Top with fennel fronds and serve.

See the recipe from Three Many Cooks here.

Mediterranean Shrimp with Bulgur (Live Better America)

2013-03-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Prepping the zucchini as a side dish.

Saute some onion.

Prep and clean shrimp.

Chop parsley.

Measure out bulgur wheat.

Added some white wine to the onions, then added the can of diced tomatoes.

Stir and add some spices.

Add capers.

Add parsley.

Add shrimp.

We cooked our zucchini in the grill pan to get some nice marking.

Cooked bulgur wheat.

Voila! Bulgur wheat in the bottom of the bowl topped with the shrimp mixture.

Skillet Cajun Spiced Flounder with Tomatoes (Skinnytaste)

2013-02-28T10:06:00.002-05:00

Skillet Cajun Spiced Flounder with Tomatoes (Skinnytaste)

Chop some garlic.

Chop some tomatoes.

Saute some onions and garlic.

Chop some parsley.

Add the tomatoes and green peppers to the pan.

Add the cajun spices and let it cook down a little bit so the tomatoes render some juices.

Lay the fish right on top. Cover and cook until fish is cooked through.

Stir it up. The fish will break up into chunks at this point.

Add some parsley.

Serve. We put some brown rice down in the bowl first and then topped it with the fish mixture.

We added a little more parsley for garnish and some hot sauce.

Head over to Skinnytaste's blog for the recipe.

Sloppy Joes (Hungry Girl)

2013-02-27T13:36:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, we never seem to remember to take pictures of our process when we throw stuff together in the crock-pot. This recipe was super fast and of course we threw it together in a rush on our way out the door one morning.

This is a crock-pot version of Hungry Girl's Sloppy Janes. We made the stove top ones a few weeks ago (post here) and those were so easy as well. The crock-pot version is slightly different but easy and tasty nonetheless.

We didn't have much time to sit down together for dinner that night so to have everything all ready when we walked in the door from work gave us more of a chance to eat together. We served the Sloppy Janes with some steamed veggies - an easy, filling and tasty meal.

Find Hungry Girl's Crock-Pot Sloppy Jane recipe here.

Moroccan Lentil and Turkey Meatball Soup (A QCQ Original!)

2013-02-26T11:30:00.002-05:00

A Queen City Quisine original recipe for Moroccan red lentil and turkey meatball soup.

Chopped garlic

Saute in a little olive oil.

Chopped onion

Add onions, carrots and celery.

Let the veggies cook until soft.

Dried red lentils

Found this blend at a local spice store. Smelled it and thought it would be perfect to season some Moroccan lentil soup.

Add the spices.

I also added a little bit of ground ginger and turmeric to add to the flavor. Mix up the spices and veggies and let them cook for a few minutes.

Add the dried lentils and toast for a few more minutes.

Add a can of diced tomatoes (I used 28 oz.).

Then add the vegetable broth and water.

Bring to a boil. While waiting for the soup to boil, make the meatballs.

Mix ground turkey with a teaspoon of egg beaters, 2 tablespoons of whole wheat breadcrumbs and a tablespoon of assorted herbs (I used a Moroccan herb blend I found at a local spice store).

Roll out the meatballs and throw into the soup.

I was able to get 20 meatballs out of 13 oz. of ground turkey.

Let the soup simmer until lentils are tender and meatballs are cooked through. This took no more than 30 minutes.

I added a teaspoon of Umami paste for additional flavor.

I plugged the ingredients and quantities into livestrong.com's recipe calculator and came out with 149 calories per 1 cup (incl. 2 meatballs). This recipe should make about 10 cups of soup.

Ingredients:

2 cups onions (diced)

1 cup carrots (chopped)

1 cup celery (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp Moroccan seasoning blend* (Try Penzey's or a local spice store to find such a blend)

1 cup dried red lentils

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable broth

2.5 cups water

13 oz. ground turkey (93/7)

2 tbsp. whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 tsp. egg beaters

1 tbsp. Moroccan herb blend*

1 tsp. Umami paste (optional)

Directions:

Heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, carrots and celery and cook until soft (about 5-7 minutes). Add Moroccan seasoning blend and stir to coat the vegetables. Let cook for another 2 minutes. Add the dried lentils and stir. Let the lentils toast for about a minute. Add the can of diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and water. Bring to a boil.

While waiting for the soup to come to a boil, in a bowl mix the ground turkey with the bread crumbs, egg beaters, and Moroccan herb blend. Roll the mixture into 20 small meatballs. Once the soup is boiling, add the meatballs. Gently stir. Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are tender and meatballs are cooked through.

*If you are unable to find a Moroccan seasoning blend or Moroccan herb blend at a store, you can make your own out of spices you probably have in your pantry. For the seasoning, you can mix ground turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, etc... For the herb blend, you can mix dried parsley, mint, and cilantro.

UPDATED - Crock Pot Picadillo (Skinnytaste)

2013-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

We have more pics, but will have to get them in a later post. This all basically went into a crock pot and cooked for hours. it was fantastic. Served with brown rice and veggies.

Salmon Bake (Weight Watchers Magazine) - Corrected

2013-02-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

This was another easy and delicious recipe, courtesy of Weight Watchers.

Clearly we did ours with Brussel Sprouts, but you can serve it any way you like

Seasoned up.

Sauce mixture.

baked

The finished product

Chicken Tortilla Casserole (Homesick Texan) - Corrected

2013-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Really great, quick and easy recipe (Pick it up here) flavorful and tasty. Great stuff.

Start in the dutch oven

Take it to a casserole and bake it.

Do it up with salsa if you like. Great stuff.

Crock Pot Coq Au Vin (Hungry Girl)

2013-02-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Unreal, seriously. Takes me right back to my wedding (Coq Au Vin is what we served)

Chicken and Waffles (Hungry Girl)

2013-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Stop whatever you're doing, and MAKE THIS. Unreal. wow.

We made this for dinner on Sunday, it was so good, I stopped the presses to bring it to you. Make this. The hungry girl has outdone herself this time. In the words of Jem and the Holograms, it's truly outrageous.

Pound the chicken.

Bread it with Original Fiber One, Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper blended to a powder.

use an egg beaters mixture to coat the chicken first.

Additional S&P on the chicken first if you're so inclined.

Pre cooking.

ready to go.

Hit them in the pan.

Until they look like this.

we served with a low fat Eggo.

And hit that mofo with low cal/low sugar syrup and franks. Unreal.

Enjoy!

Wahoo Bayou Fish Packet (Hungry Girl)

2013-02-15T13:58:00.000-05:00

Really nice; easy meal that's very tasty.

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs (Hungry Girl)

2013-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

This was delicious; as we found out the freshness/ripeness of your squash will play a big part in the texture you get on the other side. Because ours was a touch fresh, it was a little crispier than normal pasta texture. Just so you know.

Roast spaghetti squash for about 45 minutes.

Mix together spices and ground beef.

Form meatballs.

Bake meatballs while the squash is roasting.

Shred the squash.

Make the sauce.

Add the meatballs to heat through.

Serve sauce and meatballs over the squash.

Find Hungry Girl's recipe here.

Spicy Corn & Chicken Chili (Whole Foods)

2013-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously awesome Chili; good kick and a little sweetness. It basically needed nothing.

Garlic

White onions

Spray the dutch oven with cooking spray.

(all the ingredients)

Add the ground chicken

The finished product. Voila!

WINGS!

2013-02-12T10:42:00.002-05:00

Baked chicken wings from our Superbowl party a few weeks ago.

We made 2 kinds. We wanted to try and use as little oil or butter in the sauces as possible. The above photos show the hot wing sauce we found the recipe for here.

This sauce we found on the Steamy Kitchen blog. It's actually Momofuku's Octo Vinaigrette.

See the recipe here.

We baked them for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven. They turned out pretty well. Next time though, I think we may throw them on the grill to finish them off. Hopefully to achieve a crispier skin.

Shrimp Salsa from Skinnytaste

2013-02-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

This riff/recipe is an old standard we use for parties sometimes.

Allow the onions and tomatoes to marinate in lime juice for a few minutes.

Dice up some jalepenos.

Mix the shrimp and jalapenos in with the tomatoes and onions.

Needed a little more lime.

This is a great salsa. Find the recipe here.