I love back to school time.  New clothes, new teachers, new friends.  But, back to school also kicks off a myriad of after school activities, sports, car pools, school projects that need craft supplies and who knows what else.  With after school chaos threatening to take over, dinner time becomes a free for all of frozen entrees and fast food.  And sometimes, I even hit the drive through twice an evening to keep everyone fed.  Fortunately, with a little advanced planning, you can stay ahead of the dinner time madness and keep your family well fed.  With that in mind, I’ve put together a short list of tips to help keep your back to school dinner time under control.

1.  Freeze One Entre Each Week Starting NOW   If, starting this week, you double one recipe each week and freeze it, you’ll have at least 6-7 readymade, healthy, wholesome, not chemical laden meals on hand and ready to pop in the oven or microwave for dinner on any hectic night.

2.  Majority Rules   Oh how I wish I’d been a stickler about making my kids eat what’s put in front of them from the get go.  If your family is like mine, one only eats chicken, one won’t eat red meat, nobody likes fish…  If you can’t keep everyone happy with one entree choice, follow the majority rules philosophy and keep three out of four (insert your family size here) happy and make sure side dishes take the oddballs needs into account or let them other eat cereal…or PJ&J.  For example, make Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole and let the one that doesn’t like chicken pick it out.  Or, make Garlic Baked Chicken with a veggie filled quinoa salad/side dish so the vegetarian in your family will get the protein they need and everyone gets vegetables and whole grains.

3.   Two for One – Always plan for leftovers!   I always try to prepare a serving or two more than I need, so there will be leftovers for someone the next night.  This works well for little football boys to eat as a hearty after school snack before practice or hold on to the left over servings for a day or two and make a full family “ala carte” meal out of them.

If you need a few family friendly, freezable entree recipes, I plan to post at least two or three each week as I prepare them for clients to help get you started.  The Chicken and Wild Rice recipe, below, from FoodNetwork.com  is a client favorite!

And, if you’ve got a recipe to share, send it in and I just may post it!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

No cream of mushroom soup required!  And, if you don’t want to use boxed wild rice, you can find unseasoned, un processed wild rice at Whole Foods and season the meal any way you like!

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked, chopped chicken breasts
• 1 package quick cooking wild rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 package frozen French green beans, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cream or milk
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a buttered casserole dish. Combine chicken, cooked rice and green beans. In a saucepan melt butter over medium high heat. Stir in onions and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Whisk in cream or milk and return to a simmer. When sauce has thickened pour over mixture in casserole dish. Sprinkle with parmesan and almonds and bake for 30 minutes

Articles
EatingWell.com Seafood Guide – This fantastic, all inclusive guide list most any kind of fish you might want to eat and includes health concerns, Omega 3 content and harvest notes.  This one’s worth saving!

About.com’s Healthy Ways to Cook Fish – Great article detailing healthy ways to prepare fish.  It also explains the why’s and how’s of each method.

Recipes
I didn’t create any of these recipes, although I did tweak a bit.  With that in mind, I’m going to link into the original recipe and give a few of my thoughts on each.  As always, if you’ve got questions or suggestions about any recipe, please ask!  I love helping my readers prepare successful meals!

Steelhead Trout Poached in Red Wine – Prepared in the pressure cooker, it’s an easy recipe, but does take a bit of time to prepare.  The original recipe calls for salmon, but I’ve made it several times with steelhead trout and it works beautifully.

Grilled Tuna w/Olive Relish – Nutritionally, this one is a real winner:  low in both fat and calories.  That said, I’d double the olive relish to make sure you have enough.  It will add fat and calories, so take that into account, but this recipe is so lean that unless you’re carefully watching your intake you’re probably fine.  Also, when I cook tuna, I watch the side to check for doneness rather than the clock.  If you like your tuna rare for example, watch the edge of the fish and cook until it’s opaque about ¼ inch from each edge.

Cod Fillets in Foil w/Asparagus and Orange – You can make this in foil or parchment.  I find foil easier to use, so I avoid parchment paper for anything other than baking.  Always use fresh orange juice with this kind of recipe.  This recipe, for example, needed the juice of one orange.  Not a big deal and worth every second it took me to squeeze it.  If you’re avoiding butter, you can make this one with a bland olive oil or use slightly less than the recipe calls for.  You can also spray with bottom of the foil with non-stick spray like Pan rather than buttering it.

If you’ve got any great healthy fish recipes send em my way!  I’d love to try them!

When doing my research on healthy ways to cook fish, I was surprised to find that pressure cooking is a healthy way to cook fish because it retains nutrients and doesn’t require extra fat/butter/oil.  I wanted a recipe that had some pizzazz and of course couldn’t find a pressure cooker recipe for Steelhead Trout, so I substituted the trout for the salmon Pamela Rice Hahn’s Red Wine Poached Salmon from The Everything Pressure Cooker Cookbook.

The Recipe

• Ingredients
  1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
  2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
  1 celery stalk, diced
  1 bay leaf
  1/2t dried thyme
  3 1/2c water
  2c dry red wine
  2T balsamic vinegar
  1/2t salt
  1/2t black peppercorns
  1 2 1/2lb center cut salmon roast… I subbed this out for 2 Steelhead Trout filets
  Lemon for serving/garnish

Instructions

Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker except the trout and lemon.  Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes then slow release for 15.  Quick release any remaining pressure

Set the trivet in the pressure cooker and bring the wine mixture to a high simmer

Wrap the trout in cheese cloth, leaving handles on both ends to help insert and lift the fish into the hot pressure cooker.  Use tongs for this.  Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, then slow release pressure for 20 minutes.  Carefully lift salmon out of pressure cooker w/tongs and drain in cheesecloth in a colander

Serve with lemon wedges.

How It Went
My husbands first comment, “This is trout?”  And yes, he loved it as did I!

The recipe in and of itself was easy, but did require several steps.  That said, it was truly a laid back, stress free preparation and left plenty of time to get side dishes ready, set the table, surf the net, etc.

Will I make it again…absolutely! Great meal and because it was prepared in the pressure cooked, clean-up was a breeze. And, if you want to give it a test run, hit my demo at Kathleen’s

Catch in Johns Creek on Sunday, January 29 at 2:00.  Visit www.kathleenscatch.com to reserve your spot.

Recipes
If you’ve been living on carry out and cooking for yourself is a perplexing, angst evoking concept, you’ll want to start with simple, easy to prepare recipes, keeping the steps and ingredients to a minimum and make sure you read and understand the instructions thoroughly up front.  Don’t choose a recipe if with words you don’t know or ingredients you’re not familiar with.  By sticking with what you know, you’ll be able to comfortably prepare the recipe and build the confidence you need to get more complicated in the future.   A few good web sites with newbie recipes are Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food and Real Simple. 

Equipment
Choose your cooking equipment wisely.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people complain about the money wasted on food processors and Kitchen Aid stand mixers because they thought they’d use them and never did.  Before buying cooking equipment, make sure you’ll use it, can lift it or have room on your counter for it.  I tell clients that if they envision a food processor in their future, they should find 5 recipes that use one and prepare them as soon as they buy it.  This will give them a comfort level with their new machine and get them in the habit of using it.  A few good food processor recipes to try include hummus, pesto and pesto-like dishes, soups and salad dressings.

Keeping Everyone Happy
If you’re cooking for yourself, logically you’ll make something you’ll like, but if you’re trying to please your family, it’s best to run your recipe by at least one of the people you’ll be cooking for to make sure they’ll eat it.  There’s nothing worse than putting your time, energy and love into preparing something wonderful that nobody will eat.  I know up front that my daughter won’t eat red meat and my son won’t eat fish.  So on nights that I want to prepare a meal that includes beef or fish, the odd man out eats cereal or side dishes.

Recipe Scaling
There’s nothing more irritating than making a pot of soup that serves 8 to feed a family of 2.  The first night it’s good.  The second it might even be better, but by the third and fourth, you’re probably sick of it and unless it’s stored properly, it may be deteriorating and should probably be tossed.  If you’re not comfortable scaling the recipe down to the number of servings you really need, a smart move is to freeze the extra portions to eat another time.  It’s economical too!  Here’s a handy guide for foods that do and don’t freeze well.

If you’ve got thoughts, questions or ideas on being a successful home cook send ‘em my way!  I might include it in my next post.

Cauliflower Soup

I made this recipe for my family a few weeks back.  It was easy enough to prepare after work and everybody loved it, which is unusual in my house.  Just because I’m a chef doesn’t mean my family is any less picky than yours!    The recipe included Parmesan crusts which were wonderful, but next time I’ll probably skip ‘em and serve the soup with grilled or toasted cheese sandwiches.

Ingredients

Soup:
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crisps:
1 cup shredded Parmesan

Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender* and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, make the Parmesan crisps:

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread the shredded cheese over the foil in 1 even thin layer. Bake about 10 minutes until golden brown and crisps. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Break sheet of crisp cheese into large pieces and garnish each soup bowl with a couple shards and a pinch of fresh chives.

Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is my absolute favorite.   I’m not a fan of scooping hot butternut squash out of its skin and I’m too impatient to wait for it to cool, so next time I’m either going to peel and chop my squash before roasting or hit Whole Foods in Johns Creek for squash that’s already been prepped.  With pre-peeled squash, just bake it as the recipe calls for, checking after 20 minutes or so to see if it’s soft or boil it in the broth as you would with mashed potatoes.  This recipe calls for heavy cream, but if you’re not a fan just leave it out and use a little extra chicken/veggie broth if the soup is too thick.

Ingredients
3 to 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, approximately 2, seeded and quartered
Unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the quartered squash onto a half sheet pan, brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the white pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is soft and tender.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a 6-quart pot. Add the broth, honey and ginger. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth*. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with the remaining salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

If you’ve got favorite fall soup recipes send it my way.  I just might post it!

Stick with clean, unprocessed foods

By cooking with the basics – fresh veggies, fruits, meats, fish, etc., you’ll avoid most of the allergens included in processed foods and will know exactly what you’re getting without having to learn an entirely new vocabulary or rely on often confusing labels to give you the details you’re looking for.

You don’t have to use funky, expensive products

If you’re on a gluten free diet, take the opportunity to try new recipes that omit ingredients you can’t tolerate.  The menu’s I create for my gluten free client include all kinds of interesting recipes – stews, Indian, Thai, Asian, Mediterranean, Italian and more, but they don’t include pastas or other bread ingredients that would need to be replaced by the gluten free variety.

If a recipe calls for an ingredient you can’t have, use a reasonable substitute or skip it

Dairy free means no butter, but you can use olive oil instead.  If the flavor of butter is something you’re not used to having in your food, you won’t miss it.  Same goes for wine.  Just leave it out.  That said, steer clear of recipes that are focused on ingredients that you can’t have.  For example, Fettuccine Alfredo is what it is and there’s really no substitute for cheese and cream in that recipe that will make for a reasonable alternative.

Rely on the experts at stores like Whole Foods in Johns Creek to help if you get confused

How do I make Asian food for a soy free client if I can’t use soy sauce?  The Whole Foods expert led me to a coconut based alternative that I’ve also used to create Worchester sauce, which also traditionally includes soy.  And, if they don’t know the answer, they have computers with online access ready and waiting to find the solutions you need.

With special diets in mind, here’s a fantastic recipe from Bon Appétit that’s gluten free, soy free, dairy free, has no wine and fits into the easy weeknight dinner category…

Chicken with Ginger-Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup salted roasted macadamia nuts
1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
7 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

Instructions

Combine first 5 ingredients in processor. Blend until nuts are finely chopped. Add 6 tablespoons oil and process until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side.

Transfer chicken breasts to plates. Top each with some pesto and serve.

I really only hit the high points here and will add more thoughts another time.  If you’ve got gluten free or other food allergy recipe suggestions send em to leslie@freshfromyourkitchen.com and I may include it in a future post.

Poaching individual portions of fish in wine with a simple sauce makes for an easy, satisfying week night dinner.  This recipe has only 5 ingredients and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, start to finish, leaving plenty of time to steam some veggies or make a nice salad to go along with it.  I served the salmon with green beans and hearty French bread to soak up the extra Mustard Crème.

I used Atlantic salmon, which is farm raised and quite mild.  The sauce included a small amount of whipping cream, which guaranteed richness beyond the limited ingredient list.  This recipe calls for a dry white wine and I’d like to caution you against using “cooking wine” for this or any other recipe.  Kroger and Publix both carry 1 cup sized bottles of decent wine that’s perfect for when you need a small amount for a recipe, but don’t want to pay for or commit to drinking an entire bottle.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think!  And, if you’ve got a recipe to share, email it to leslie@freshfromyourkitchen.com.  I may post it!

Salmon Poached in White Wine with Mustard Creme

Ingredients

1/3 cup dry white wine
1 green onion, chopped
2 6-ounce 1-inch-thick skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Chopped green onion tops

Directions

Bring wine and onion to simmer in heavy large skillet. Add fish, cover and simmer until fish is just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer fish to plates. Tent with foil to keep warm. Add cream to skillet and bring to boil. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Mix in mustard. Spoon sauce over fish. Sprinkle with green onion tops.

What is Lemon Zest?
Lemon zest is outermost, bright yellow layer of the skin of a lemon.  It contains the lemons flavorful oil, and when removed from the lemon properly, meaning with little if any pale yellow lemon flesh, is not in any way bitter or sour. 

When Do I Use Lemon Zest?
Of course when a recipe calls for it, but the purpose is to give the dish a pure, fresh, clean lemon taste.  It is often used in baking, sauces, salad dressings and really anything that needs a little fresh lemon zing. 

Is Lemon the Only Fruit I Can Zest?
No.  All citrus fruits can be zested.  If your recipe calls for the zest of a lime, orange or grapefruit, go forth and zest with abandon!  Each fruit imparts its own unique flavor, so unless you understand the impact of zest flavor of each fruit, stick with the recipe and use what’s called for. 

OK… So How Do I Zest a Lemon?
Zesting is actually one of the simpler how to’s.  Follow the instructions below and you’ll be a zesting maven in no time!

Start with clean scrubbed lemons.  You’ll only be using the outermost layer and that’s the part that gets dirty, so clean it first.  If you’ll be using the juice of the lemon as well, it’s a good idea to roll the lemon on the counter to release its juices before zesting.  You won’t be juicing the lemon until after you’ve zested it, but the outer layer of the lemon you will be removing helps keep the juice intact when you roll the lemon on the counter. 

Next you zest!  You’ll need a tool to do this.  Cutting the zest off with a knife is too aggressive and unless you’re highly skilled, which I’m not, you’ll take off more than the thin outer layer resulting in a bitter flavor. 

Common zesting tools include a zester which will remove long strips of zest from your lemon.  I’ve used an OXO Good Grips Zester effectively for years and can recommend it without question.  You’ll hold the lemon between your forefinger and your thumb with one hand and drag the holes of the zester along the skin of the lemon to remove the zest.   The strips of zest will be quite long, so you’ll want to chop them up a bit before using.

The chef’s on TV generally use a microplane.  You can get a plain Jane get the job done microplane at the hardware store or you can buy a fancy version made specifically for zesting and grating at places like Bed Bath & Beyond.  In my opinion, the only advantage to a fancy microplane is that it generally will have a handle.  You may also be able to find one with large or small holes if you prefer one over the other.

To zest with a microplane, you’ll once again hold onto your lemon in one hand and drag the sharp edges of the microplane over the lemon to remove the zest.  Some of the zest will drop from the microplane onto your work surface, but the majority will catch on the underside of the tool, so you’ll need to wipe it off.  The advantage of a microplane over a zester is that the zest itself will be quite small and generally won’t require additional chopping.  And, because the microplane has more holes, you’ll be able to zest an entire lemon in a less time.

No zestor or microplane?  Try a vegetable peeler.  The peeler will allow you to shave off the zest layer, but the zest will need to be chopped for proper use. 

Now that you’re a zesting pro, you can try the following American Heart Association recipe for Berry Explosion Salad.  And, if you’ve got a recipe that includes lemon zest send it my way.  I just might post it!

Berry Explosion Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced fresh berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
• 1/2 medium mango, cubed
• 4 fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 medium green kiwifruit, peeled and cut crosswise
• 1/2 cup fat-free or light vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/8 cup sliced almonds, dry-roasted

Cooking Instructions

• Put the berries and mango in a large bowl.
• Using a mortar and pestle, combine the mint and brown sugar until the mint is bruised and the flavor is released. Add to the berry mixture. Using two spoons, toss gently to coat.
• Put the kiwifruit in a small bowl. Mash with a fork. Stir in the yogurt and lemon zest.
• To serve, sprinkle the almonds on top of the salad. Spoon the vanilla-yogurt dressing on top or serve on the side.

This salmon recipe is always a winner, particularly among those that are hesitant to try fish.  I’m not sure if it’s the ingredients or the preparation that does it, but kids even eat this one!  The fish taco recipe is unique in that the tartar sauce has some kick to it from chipotle chilies in adobo sauce and the garnishes include orange zest and cilantro which aren’t typical for this dish. 

Like all of my recipes, both were easy to prepare and used fresh, local ingredients.  The fish came from Kathleen’s Catch of course which only sells the best, fresh fish and seafood and the tomatoes and fresh herbs came from the Johns Creek Farmer’s Market where I’d volunteered the day before. 

Since I shared the recipes with demo participants, I’ll share them with you as well!  If you have any thoughts, questions or fish recipes you’d like to share, send em in!

Tuscan Smoked Herbed Salmon
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
  2 teaspoons Colona Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus 2 tablespoons
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
  2 chopped shallots
  2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  2 teaspoons JR’s Favorite Tuscan smoke Herb Blend

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, herb blend, salt and pepper. 
 
Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, on a sheet of foil. Make a “boat” out of the foil to avoid spilling. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed.
 
Place the foil packet on a baking sheet and bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.
 
Red Snapper Fish Taco’s
Serves 8

Ingredients
For the tartar sauce:

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 to 2 chipotles in adobo sauce seeds removed, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 scallion, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the tacos:

• 2 pounds skinless red snapper fillets (or other firm, flaky
  white fish)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  1 teaspoon salt
• teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
• 8 8-inch flour tortillas
• 1 cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded and
  sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cups arugula leaves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• Zest of 2 oranges
• Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation
Combine tartar sauce ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
 
Rinse the fish under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 1-inch pieces and put in a bowl with the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Turn the fish to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 4 hours.
 
Place the flour in a shallow dish and toss the fish pieces in it, a few at a time, until evenly coated. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. (To see if it’s hot enough, place a small piece of bread in the oil; it should sizzle immediately.) Carefully add a few pieces of fish at a time, shaking off excess flour before placing them in the oil. Fry until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
 
Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tortilla and warm for 10 to 20 seconds on each side. Place on a plate and cover with a kitchen towel; repeat with the remaining tortillas.
 
Spread a dollop of the chipotle tartar sauce on a warmed tortilla. Add a few pieces of cucumber and top with 3 or 4 pieces of fish, a few arugula and cilantro leaves and a little orange zest. Serve with lime wedges and more tartar sauce on the side.