And on to Food

Monday night I made a recipe I saw on Elly Says Opa: Chicken, Mushroom, Pea and Stuffing Casserole. I was drawn to this because my husband LOVES peas.  Yes, peas.  They would definitely not be one of my favorite veggies, but he loves loves loves them.  So whenever I see a recipe with peas, I try to make it for him.  This was a tasty casserole.  My only problem is I put some of the bread cubes on the bottom of the casserole and they got kind of soggy.  Maybe thats why Elly says to put them on top.  Oops!
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter 
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup strong chicken broth/stock, divided (preferably warm or at room temp)
1/2 cup milk (preferably warm or at room temp)
1/4 cup grated (about 2 oz.) pecorino romano or parmesan cheese
2 Chicken Thighs (maybe 1/2 a pound), chopped into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas
1.5 cups cubed, staled bread (I used day old wheat french bread)
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
scant 1/4 tsp. ground sage
scant 1/4 tsp. ground marjoram
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray a 1.5 – 2 qt casserole dish. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the mushrooms and bay leaf. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and have lost most of their moisture.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in the flour. Cook until the mixture turns a light golden brown.  Slowly add 3/4 cup of chicken broth and the milk.  Whisk out any flour clumps and continue to simmer until the mixture bubbles  slightly and begins to thicken, just coating the back of a spoon.  Stir in the uncooked chicken and the peas, and season to taste with salt and pepper, cook for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into the caserole dish.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of broth with the bread cubes and herbs. Place the mixture on top of the chicken mixture (I also put some on the bottom of the baking pan- don't do that.)  Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

On the side, I made an abridged version of my Leek Soup.  I had Leeks that were about to go bad, so I made some soup.

Ingredients:

 2-3 chopped leeks, white and light green parts only

1 large onion chopped

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 quart chicken stock

bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup milk or cream

 Instructions:

Melt butter in a sauce pan, add leeks and onions and saute until clear, add flour and mix, cook till light brown.  Add cold chicken stock slowly.  Using your blender mix the soup together, then add some milk or cream.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Then on Wednesday, I made Mediterranean Fish Stew inspired by Closet Cooking.  This was spicy and really tasty.  It was almost like a bouillabaisse but probably took 1/3 of the time. This was also the first time I tried fennel.  Gretchen raves about it all the time but how its described- slight licorice taste, made me quite nervous.  It was seriously perfect in this dish!  And I will definitely make it again and use it in future dishes. 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
chili flakes to taste (optional)
1 bulb fennel (sliced)
1 red pepper (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 cup white wine
1 (28 ounce) can diced  tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound fish (I used Trader Joe's Mixed Seafood Blend)

Directions:

Heat the oil in the pan. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 6-10 minutes. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minutes. Add the fennel and red peppers and saute for a few minutes. Add the white wine and simmer for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the seafood and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes.  Serve in a bowl with some bread so you can scoop up the deliciousness!!  Garnish with Kale (of course)!

I served Eggplant and Kale Chips on the side.  I made the Eggplant Chips pretty similar to how I make Kale Chips.  I sliced it real thin, added EVOO, Salt and Pepper and baked in an extremely hot oven until crisp. I think I could live on these two veggies.  Seriously.

Okay, moving.  Last night, I made Teriyaki Pineapple Portobello Mushroom Burgers.  I found this recipe on Whole Foods.  I changed up some stuff but it was pretty much the same.  This was OKAY.  The pineapple kind of dominated and the teriyaki sauce needed to be more prominent, but it was another nice vegetarian meal.  Dave asked if I was turning him into a vegetarian!

Ingridents:
2 (5-inch) portobello mushrooms, stemmed
1/2 (20-ounce) can pineapple rings, juice reserved
1.5 tablespoons soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
1 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1/8 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 whole wheat wheat thins, toasted
Green lettuce
Instructions:
Using a small spoon, delicately scoop out and discard the dark brown gills from the underside of each mushroom. Wipe mushrooms gently with a moist paper towel to remove any remaining debris then transfer to a wide, shallow baking dish along with the pineapple rings. Put 3/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, sugar, garlic in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. In a small bowl, stir together water and cornstarch then whisk into marinade and boil until thickened, about 1 minute more; set aside. Meanwhile, get a grill pan nice and hot.  Once hot (put your hand over it and see if it feels hot), spray non-stick cooking spray and grill the mushrooms and pineapple, gently flipping until until hot throughout and tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to buns, top with lettuce and serve with teriyaki sauce.

I served this meal with Sauteed Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Fries.  Love extra veggie meals! And that's all!  Tonight I am really excited to make Pepperoni Pizza Polenta Bake.  YUM!