Baked Kerala Chicken Cutlet, by Diane

I stumbled across this recipe on tastespotting and thought it was a typo. Chicken cut-LETS are breaded and fried pieces of chicken in America, but in India a chicken cut-LET is a delicious snack you have with tea in the afternoon. It consists of cooked chicken that is ground with chiles, ginger, onions, and curry and then mixed with mashed potatoes, formed into a patty, breaded and fried. These sounded amazing, but I wanted to make them healthier so I found a recipe to bake them instead.

Fried recipe here: http://www.collaborativecurry.com/2011/03/i-cannot-ignore-what-is-happening-in.html?showComment=1392489330891#uds-search-results

Baked recipe (beef version but you can cook the chicken ones the same as I did) here: http://blessingsfrommykitchen.blogspot.com/2012/08/baked-beef-cutlets.html

I liked these a LOT and it's hard to stick to just one. They are a bit labor intensive to make though, especially if you fry them, so be warned. They pack a major anti-inflammatory hit with all the spices, and are great for a meal if you eat a couple. Traditionally they are served with ketchup, but I couldn't get the hang of this and experimented with different sauces (so far tamarind sauce wins). Also, I found that mine needed a lot of salt (the recipe calls for very little), so make sure to taste the patties before you bread them.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast - 3 (About 1 Lbs)
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch piece
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 4
Potato - ½ lbs
Onions - 2 big (chopped fine)
Ginger - 2 inch piece (chopped fine)
Garlic - 4 pods (chopped fine)
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Green Chilies - 8 (chopped fine) (reduce if it’s too hot for your taste)
Eggs - 2
Bread crumbs - ½ cup
Flour - ½ cup
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil - 1 Tbspn + enough for deep frying


Directions:

1. Cut the chicken breast into big chunks. In a deep pan, cook the chicken with ¼ cup of water, ½ tsp salt, 2 green chilies cut, 1 garlic pod, about 1 tbsp of the chopped onions, whole cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom. Cook till all the water is completely drained and chicken is cooked through. Set this aside to cool. Once cool, pick out the cinnamon stick and grind the remaining in your food processor until it resembles a coarse nut meal.
2. Simultaneously, steam/cook the potatoes until soft.
3. Heat oil in a pan and sauté finely chopped onions till translucent. Add finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and curry leaves and sauté till the garlic and ginger gives off the cooked aroma.
4. Once the potato cools, powder it using a fork. Mix all the cooked, boiled and sauteed ingredients together. Check for salt and adjust according to taste. Form small balls of equal size, press it on a spoon to form oval shapes.
5. Preheat oven to 375°. Coat 2 9X5 baking trays with cooking spray.
6. Take flour and bread crumbs in two separate plates. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl big enough to dip each of the cutlets. Take each shaped cutlet, roll in flour, dip in egg, roll in bread crumbs and place them on the baking sheet.
7. Spray tops of cutlets with a final coat of nonstick cooking spray. Bake in oven for 18 minutes when edges are crisp and tops are golden brown. Rotate baking trays halfway through.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Kale Salad, by Diane

I created this recipe with ingredients in my fridge, and it was a delicious and protein-packed lunch for me all week! It's simple to toss together, all ingredients (except the dressing) can be steamed or roasted as well.


Ingredients:

EVOO
1 butternut squash, cubed
1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sundried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large head kale, chopped and deveined
1/4 cup fresh parsley
4 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp tomato sauce (plain)
Sea salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp each: chili powder, cumin, turmeric

Directions:

1. Heat medium sized pot over medium high heat and add ingredients through garlic. Saute until browned, then add beans and mix until heated through. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Add the kale and saute with a bit more EVOO until wilted. Mix with squash mixture.

3. While the kale cooks, combine remaining ingredients in a food processor until well blended, and toss all ingredients together. 

Baked Egg in an Avocado, by Cheryl

Um, yum! This was a fantastic breakfast! The idea is to cut an avocado in half, scoop out enough to fit an egg, then bake it until it's set the way you like. The warm and creamy avocado mixed with the runny yolk and crisp bacon make this a heavenly healthy dish! Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 an avocado
1 egg
1-2 strips bacon (I used turkey)
toast (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425

2) Scoop out enough of the avocado where it would fit an egg. Then fill it with an egg.

3) Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. 15 minutes would set the egg completely and 10 would make it very runny.

4) Cook the bacon and set aside.

5) Season the avocado with salt and pepper. Crumble the bacon over the avocado. Enjoy with a spoon or on toast!

Slow Cooker Chicken Saag, by Diane

Indian is one of my favorite types of food, and usually I get some sort of saag (spinach). I decided to try it out at home, and the result could not have been easier. It took me less than 10 minutes to throw this together! I was pleasantly surprised to find that this dish did not contain cream or butter, which most saags tend to use, and instead used coconut milk to thicken it up. I picked a lite coconut milk to lower the fat content and it came out perfectly.

This dish is a major hit of the anti-inflammatory foods, including ginger, onion, garlic, turmeric, curry, cayenne, cumin, and spinach. It's great for the digestive tract and for warming the body which in the wintertime = less energy output. This dish does pack some heat though, and if you're not a fan eliminate the cayenne and cut down on the garlic and ginger.

The only changes I made were to drain the liquid from the tomatoes and substitute a small 6-8 oz can of tomato sauce because I like it to be thick and creamy, and I know from experience that tomato juice and coconut milk produce a watery dish (if you look at the recipe photo from the website compared to mine you'll see the difference). I also used a mix of half fresh half frozen spinach for consistency, because restaurant saag is usually chopped finely like frozen chopped spinach is (ain't nobody got time for that). 

Recipe from: http://aarongoulette.com/bingethinking/slow-cooker-chicken-saag/


Ingredients (my version):

2.5 lbs chicken, cubed
1 tsp each turmeric, cumin, and cayenne
1.5 tbsp each curry, coriander, and garam masala
1 tsp salt
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 inches ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can lite coconut milk
1 6 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz each fresh and frozen spinach

Directions:

Place chicken in the bottom of the crockpot, cover with spices, and stir to coat well. Add in remaining ingredients in order with spinach last on top. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high, stirring once about halfway. Stir once more and turn heat down to low to cook for 1 more hour. Remove from heat and let sauce thicken. Add more salt to taste.

bottom of the slow cooker, topped it with all of the ground spices. In a food processor, I chopped the onion, garlic and ginger to a minced consi - See more at: http://aarongoulette.com/bingethinking/slow-cooker-chicken-saag/#sthash.aAPYBVlJ.dpuf

2.5lbs chicken breast – cubed to bite size

15oz fresh spinach (or frozen if you’re lazy) – I used baby spinach – less stems, etc.

1 large onion, diced

Ginger, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1tsp Turmeric

1tsp Cumin

1tsp Cayenne pepper

1.5tbs Coriander

1.5tbs Garam Masala

1.5tbs Curry

1 can coconut milk (richens the sauce)

1 can diced tomoatos

- See more at: http://aarongoulette.com/bingethinking/slow-cooker-chicken-saag/#sthash.aAPYBVlJ.dpuf

2.5lbs chicken breast – cubed to bite size

15oz fresh spinach (or frozen if you’re lazy) – I used baby spinach – less stems, etc.

1 large onion, diced

Ginger, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1tsp Turmeric

1tsp Cumin

1tsp Cayenne pepper

1.5tbs Coriander

1.5tbs Garam Masala

1.5tbs Curry

1 can coconut milk (richens the sauce)

1 can diced tomoatos

- See more at: http://aarongoulette.com/bingethinking/slow-cooker-chicken-saag/#sthash.aAPYBVlJ.dpuf

Shakshuka, by Cheryl

Lots of steam!

A few weeks ago we went over to our Israeli friends' house for dinner. They made a traditional Israeli dish called shakshuka. I was so impressed by this dish as it was so good, easy to make, and healthy! I love learning about different cuisines and was so excited to make this! At first the idea of eggs in tomato sauce doesn't sound too appealing, but trust me when I say that the taste is VERY appealing! Yum!

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 (14oz) can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of fresh Italian tomato sauce
2 shallots, chopped
1-2 jalapeños, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
parsley
pita bread

Directions:

1) Saute the shallots, garlic, and jalapeños over medium heat with some olive oil. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika and mix.

2) Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper according to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Crack eggs over sauce so that eggs are evenly distributed across sauce's surface. Cover saucepan and cook until yolks are just set, about 7-8 minutes. Using a spoon, baste the whites of the eggs with tomato mixture.

4) Spoon two eggs with sauce onto each plate. Sprinkle with some feta cheese and parsley. Serve with pita bread.

Asian-Style Meatloaf, by Diane (UPDATED!)

This is a Cooking Light inspired recipe, and was very different from the regular American version of meatloaf. There's a lot going on in this dish that makes it healthy and anti-inflammatory: the garlic, ginger, and onions, the rice crackers instead of traditional bread crumbs, the ground turkey and pork over the usual red meat, and the hoisin sauce which does contain sugar but unlike ketchup it also contains fermented ingredients and good immunity spices.

This recipe was SO GOOD. It came out juicy as you can see, and tasted like a Chinese dumpling dipped in sauce. I have made it without fail at LEAST once a month, and it is always a hit. Yum!


Recipe from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asian-style-meat-loaves-10000001160603/


Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2-ounce) package plain rice crackers (such as ka-me)
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 pound lean ground pork
1 cup chopped green onions
3/4 cup hoisin sauce, divided
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place crackers in a food processor; process until finely chopped.
3. Combine cracker crumbs, turkey, pork, green onions, 1/2 cup hoisin, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.
4. Shape mixture into an even loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread remaining hoisin sauce over the top of the meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Let stand 5 minutes.