Martha Stewart Sundays: Spinach & Goat Cheese Omelet.

Why, yes, I did make a homemade spinach & goat cheese omelet this morning. And it was delicious. I even took a beautiful(-ish) picture of it before attacking it...

One of my goals in life is to make a better omelet. Mine always fall apart when I flip, or I let the eggs cook too long (to avoid the falling-apart), but then the eggs get too tough instead of moist and fluffy... Or I need a live-in French chef to make omelets for me.

*sigh*

Someday.

No recipe for this. Seriously, who can't figure out what goes in an omelet?

I'm having a lazy weekend. I have homework to do today and want to clean out my closet and finally replace my winter clothes with the summer clothes stored under my bed and clean the bathroom. But I also feel the need to just hang out today, go for a walk in the park, get an iced latte from Starbucks...

We'll see how far I get on my to-do list... after coffee.

Martha Stewart Sunday: Williams-Sonoma Roasted Salmon with Thyme Vinaigrette.

I've been super MIA lately because of the craziness at work and school. I'm definitely looking forward to summer and having time to cook, workout, and just hang out with my friends in the city. I just got the Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh & Fast cookbook, and I'm really excited to start trying a bunch of these fresh, seasonal recipes this summer.

This salmon was my first try from this cookbook, and it turned out so well! It was delicious and made for great recipes for the rest of the week (I made it on Saturday afternoon). I doubled the original recipe to make sure I had plenty of extra salmon and vinaigrette for weekday lunches. I'll definitely be doing this again this summer.

Here's the original recipe from Williams-Sonoma, which can easily be doubled or even tripled, depending on the size of your salmon fillet:

Roasted Salmon with Thyme Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. Champagne or white wine vinegar

2-1/2 Tbs. EVOO, plus more as needed

1 Tbs. minced shallot

2 tsp. minced fresh thyme

course Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3/4 lb. salmon fillet (I got the best wild Canadian salmon from Agata & Valentina on 1st Ave.)

3 cups mixed baby lettuces

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, place the mustard. Gradually whisk in EVOO. Mix in the shallot and thyme. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

3. Brush a small baking dish with EVOO (or spray with Pam if you're lazy like me). Place the salmon in the dish, skin side down. Spoon 1/2 of the vinaigrette over the salmon. Let marinate at room temperature for 15-20 min.

4. Roast the salmon until almost cooked through (15-25 min, depending on thickness). Let it rest while preparing the salad.

5. In a bowl, toss the lettuces with the remaining vinaigrette. Divide the salad between two plates. Cut the salmon in half and put one piece alongside the salad on each plate. Serve immediately.

Nutrition info:

Servings per recipe: 2

Calories: 409.2

Total Fat: 19.5 g

Cholesterol: 120.7 mg

Sodium: 240.9 mg

Total Carbs: 7.1 g

Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g

Protein: 45.4 g

Martha Stewart Sundays: Garlic-Orange Chicken.

Today for Martha Stewart Sunday, I made a Garlic-Orange Chicken dish over brown rice. It turned out spicy and fantastic! I didn't use a recipe, but just made things up from a combination of things in my fridge... like chicken... and carrots... and orange juice... and I was thrilled at how it came out! The orange juice kept the chicken super moist and tender, and well, I tend to love anything with chili powder.

No picture this week... I forgot.

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 bag of frozen Bird's Eye Asian Stir-Fry mixed vegetables, thawed and drained of excess liquid (you can sub with 3 cups of whatever variety of frozen/fresh veggies you feel like)
1/2 C. chopped carrots
2 shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp. chili powder, divided
2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 C. orange juice
3 Tbs. lite soy sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Layer vegetables and chopped carrots in a 8x8 square baking dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of chili powder over vegetables.
3. Cube chicken breast into bite sized pieces. Toss chicken pieces in a clean dish with 2 teaspoons of chili powder and 2 teaspoons of ginger to season (more or less to taste, my recipe makes it pretty spicy!), then layer chicken on top of casserole.
4. Pour 3/4 cup of orange juice and 3 tablespoons of soy sauce evenly over casserole dish.
5. Finely dice shallot and mince garlic and sprinkle over casserole dish.
6. Bake for 45 minutes at 375, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

Divide the chicken and veggies between 3 dishes, and pour remaining orange juice sauce over. I suggest serving over brown rice (not counted in nutrition info). This came out pretty sweet & spicy, so you may want to adjust orange juice or chili powder to taste.

Nutrition info:
Servings per recipe: 3
Calories: 290.0
Total fat: 2.7 g
Cholesterol: 91.3 mg
Sodium: 774.8 mg
Total Carbs: 24.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.7 g
Protein: 40.2 g

(Again, I use the recipe calculator on SparkRecipes to calculate the nutritional value of my recipes. I'm obsessed!)

Martha Stewart Sundays: Turkey Chili.

So, one of my goals this year (not a resolution, per se) is to blog more often, and to give this blog a little more structure. Another goal (not resolution... because then I can't break it...) is to cook more often for myself and to experiment with baking and more variety in the things I attempt in my kitch.

Voila, I present Martha Stewart Sundays, when I will share a recipe or adventure in domesticity from the previous week... because hopefully I'll have done something domestic in the previous week! I firmly believe that young people don't cook enough for themselves (myself included!) and would be much healthier and happier if we cooked more and packed our own meals for work.

This week, I'm making a big batch of turkey chili (using leftover frozen turkey breast from Thanksgiving) to take to work for lunch, adapted from the South Beach Diet Turkey Chili recipe.

(Excuse me, please, I'm a terrible food photographer, I know! I swear, this tastes much better than it looks!)

Ingredients:

1 McCormick Original Chili Seasoning Packet
1 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups 99% fat free chicken broth
2-14.5 ounce cans diced, no salt added tomatoes (do not drain)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1-14.5 ounce can cooked beans (do not drain)
1 lb. diced turkey breast meat, skin removed (you could also buy a roasted chicken prepared from the deli section of the grocery store and remove the skin)

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, spice packet, and tomato paste. Partially cover and simmer until it thickens slightly, about 30 minutes.
3. Add diced turkey and beans. Simmer for another 30 minutes.

Divide into 4 servings. Serve hot or cold.

Nutrition info:
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 383.3
Total Fat: 9.8 g
Cholesterol: 48.8 mg
Sodium: 2,491.0 mg
Total Carbs: 34.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 13.9 g
Protein: 30.0 g

(I use the recipe calculator on SparkRecipes to calculate the nutritional value of my recipes. This is a really neat tool, especially when I'm trying to detox a little right now after the fat/carbs/sugar of the holiday season!)

This turned out delicious! I don't love beans, so I loved that this had a 2:1 ratio of tomatoes and turkey to the actual beans. It gives it just enough of the right texture without being overwhelming.