Love to Cook: Jul 5, 2011

Remove the dough from the bag and let it sit on a floured counter for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a pizza tray with cooking spray and a bit of corn meal sprinkled all over the top of the tray.

Place the leftover chicken on a cutting board and drizzle with barbecue sauce; chop the chicken and mix well with the barbecue sauce so it's evenly coated on the chicken.

Flatten the pizza dough onto the prepared pizza tray. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the top of the dough then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Top the cheese with the barbecue chicken, red onions, and feta cheese.

Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Top the pizza with diced tomato and green onions. Enjoy.

Baked Halibut Topped with Zucchini, Tomato, Dill, and Feta (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of halibut, cut into three portions
1 tsp olive oil
1 large zucchini, diced
1/4 small sweet yellow onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
3-4 roma tomatoes, diced
1-2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
4 tbsp feta cheese
Sea salt and freshly cracked lemon pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion to the hot skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes then add the zucchini, cook for an additional 2 minutes; add the minced garlic and sauté, stirring constantly for 45 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool.

Gently mix the tomato, 3 tablespoons of feta cheese, and fresh dill in a small bowl. Add the zucchini mixture and mix. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked lemon pepper, to taste.

Cut the halibut into three pieces then season with sea salt and freshly cracked lemon pepper on both sides. Place the halibut in the baking dish then spoon the tomato mixture over the top of each piece of fish. Sprinkle the last tablespoon of feta cheese equally over the fish.

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

Shredded Beef Soft Tacos (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

Shredded Beef:

1-2 tsp olive oil
2 lb lean chuck roast (trim most of the outside fat off)
Cumin, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Coriander, to taste
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 cups of beef broth (plus more if needed)
1 7 oz can of whole green chiles
1 jalapeño, seeded, de-veined, and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Trim the outside fat off of the chuck roast. Season the chuck roast evenly with cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, coriander, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper on both sides of the roast. Place them beef in the hot Dutch oven for 2-3 minutes on each side to sear the meat. Add the beef broth, whole green chiles, jalapeno, cilantro, and minced garlic. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and place into the oven for 2-3 hours making sure to check each hour to make sure you don't need to add more broth. The beef is done when the meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork. Carefully, remove any fat that you see in the beef then shred the beef using a fork.

Other Ingredients:

Small flour tortillas
Refried beans, warmed
Lettuce, shredded
Extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Grape tomatoes, halved
Green onions
Cilantro
Roasted tomato salsa
Guacamole

Heat the refried beans. Place the tortillas in a damp cloth and microwave for 20 seconds to warm up. Spread a bit of refried beans down the center of the tortilla then add some shredded beef followed by lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Serve with salsa and guacamole. Enjoy!

Coconut Shrimp Curry (The Open Pantry)

This recipe is from http://theopenpantry.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Shrimp, shelled, cleaned and tails removed
1/2 cup Red or Green Belle pepper, diced
1 cup Red Onion, diced
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Oil
1 can Coconut milk
1-2 tsp Curry Powder
1/4 cup Fischer Wieser-Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce
Garlic Chili Paste, optional- (add if you want more heat!!!)
1/2 tsp dried Basil or 1 Tbsp fresh basil, minced
1-2 Tbsp Soy Sauce, or Wasabi Soy Dipping Sauce, to taste
1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch, optional . . . add if you want a thicker sauce
Salt
Pepper

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes, then add the green pepper to the onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder and basil to the onion and peppers and cook for one minute.
2. Slowly stir in the coconut milk, mango habanero sauce or hot sauce, and soy sauce. Bring coconut milk to a simmer and add the shrimp. Cook until shrimp begin to turn pink. Whisk in the cornstarch and allow to thicken for another minute or two, taste and season if needed. Remove from heat and serve over rice. Enjoy!

Southwestern Roasted Chicken (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

1 4-5 lb free range chicken
Onion powder
Chili powder
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Oregano
Cumin
Garlic powder
1/2 sweet yellow onion, quartered
1 lime
6 cloves of garlic
Handful of fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Clean chicken and pat dry. Squeeze half the lime juice on the outside of the bird and the other half inside the cavity. Sprinkle all of the seasonings evenly over the entire bird. I season the back first then flip it over and season the breast side. Place onion and garlic inside the cavity along with the cilantro and used lime halves.

Place chicken on a roasting tray in a tinfoil lined baking dish. Place the meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, making sure not to touch bone. Roast uncovered for 3 1/2 - 4 hours or until the meat thermometer reads 180 degrees. I start basting my bird after 2 hours and repeat every 1/2 an hour after that. My chicken turns out sticky and slightly crispy. If you want crispy skin then don't baste for the last hour and turn the heat up to 350 degrees for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove from the oven and let the bird rest for AT LEAST 10 minutes before carving. Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

3 Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of brown sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into bite size cubes and place in the baking dish. Melt butter in the microwave and pour over the potatoes along with the olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Add more sugar or cinnamon if desired. Toss to coat evenly.

Bake in the oven for 60 minutes. Stir the sweet potatoes once or twice during roasting. Enjoy.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

9-10 small baby Dutch yellow potatoes
3-4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
Garlic powder, to taste
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a large pot of water and boil the potatoes for 4-5 minutes. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled, slice into quarters and combine with olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt and black pepper as well as the Parmesan. Mix thoroughly and place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Place into the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and taste, re season with sea salt, cracked pepper, or garlic powder if needed. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy.

Turkey, Swiss and Vegetable Sandwich (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

2 pieces of good whole wheat bread
3 thick slices of roasted turkey breast
Roma tomato slices
Cucumber slices
Avocado slices
Handful of sprouts
Handful of baby spinach leaves
Thin slices of red onion
1 piece of low fat Swiss cheese
Low fat mayonnaise
Deli mustard (optional)
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Add the mayonnaise and mustard to the slices of bread. Add the turkey, spinach, tomato, sprouts, cucumber, red onion, Swiss cheese and avocado. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Cups (For the Love of Cooking)

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 tube of refrigerator biscuits (I used reduced fat Grands)
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese, diced or shredded
Turkey pepperoni slices
Parmesan Cheese, shredded
Dried Basil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cut each biscuit in half then press the dough into of the bottom and sides of the muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining dough. Spoon sauce into each cup. Place some diced (or shredded) mozzarella cheese into the cups followed by a few slices of pepperoni.