Chipotle Chicken Meatballs

I got the idea for this recipe from a Rachel Ray recipe.  But the recipe was actually really poorly written and possibly missing some steps.   It is unfortunate that some recipes are poorly written and therefore either confusing or creates an awful meal.  The more you read recipes, the more you cook, the more likely you will be able to identify errors in the recipe.


So I took matters into my own hands and came up with this recipe, which is full of good mexican flavors.  You can make it as spicy as you want it.  The main spice is from the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (usually found in the cultural/Mexican/Spanish food isle at the store).  You can cut the peppers and use that, you can also use the sauce it is in.  The peppers have lots of seeds, which is where most of the heat is.  If you want more heat- keep the seeds.  If you want less heat, cut the pepper, and discard the seeds.  You can always test the spiciness of the meatball by pinching off a small amount of the mixture and quickly cooking it on the stove stop.  Let it cool, and taste it.  Remember, you can always add in more spice, but you can't take it out.



I roasted corn in the oven to give it an extra sweet taste.  All you have to do is lightly coat the peeled ears of corn, sprinkle with salt and pepper; then wrap with foil and roast at 400*.

Chipotle Chicken Meatballs

What you'll need:
- 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp adobo sauce, plus more for the yogurt sauce
- 1 finely chopped chipotle pepper
- 3 tsp cilantro paste, or 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/8 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp pepper, plus more for the corn
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more for the corn
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 ear corn
- 1/2 tsp canola oil
- 1 cups shredded cabbage
- 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 or 5  small (4 1/2" diameter) tortillas

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 400*F.  Lightly coat corn with canola oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap in foil and roast in over for 15 - 17 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool about 5 minutes.  When cooled, stand the corn vertically and cut the kernels off with a knife cutting downwards.

2.  Mix together yogurt, and 2 tsp adobo sauce.

3.  Saute onion and garlic in olive oil.  In a large bowl mix together the adobo sauce and the next 8 ingredients (through lime juice).  Add in cooked onion mixture.  Form into meatballs.  Makes 12 - 15 meatballs.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Cook meatballs 400* for 8 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350* and flip over the meatballs.

Top  three meatballs on 1 tortilla, with roasted corn, cabbage, and chipotle yogurt dressing.

Nutrition Information (per "taco" with 3 meatballs)
323 calories, 31g carbs, 3g fiber, 34g protein, 8g total fat, 2g saturated fat

Zucchini Bites

These zucchini bites are similar to zucchini fritters or zucchini pancakes, just made in miniature size and baked in muffin tins.  It is made by grating zucchini, which leaves the zucchini very moist.  The idea then is to remove some of the liquid by squeezing the shredded zucchini.  However, when you do this, you may notice that the water being squeezed out is tinted green, which means you are also squeezing out vitamins and minerals.  I squeeze out some of the liquid, but not all of it.  This creates an almost soggy exterior to the zucchini bites when you remove them from the muffin tin.  All you have to do is put them back in the oven at a lower temperature for about 10 more minutes.  Does this absolutely ensure that I have more vitamins in my zucchini bites? Possibly not, but I do it anyway.

Zucchini Bites

What you'll need:
- 2 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 egg
- 1 slice cheddar cheese, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 400*F.  Spray mini cupcake tin with nonstick cooking spray.  Dust the bottom with a pinch of flour each to prevent zucchini bites from sticking.

2. After grating the zucchini, place in a strainer and press to squeeze out the water.  Mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Use a spoon to scoop mixture into cupcake tin.

3.  Bake 18 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 275*.  Let zucchini bites cool for 5 minutes; remove from tin.  Place bites on a cookie sheet and return to oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  Makes 12 bites.  Serving size is 3 bites; have with a fruit for a well-balanced breakfast.

Nutrition Information:   Serving Size 3 bites
198 calories, 12g carbs, 2g fiber, 8g protein, 13g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 211mg sodium.

Caramelized Onion and Spinach Bread

Homemade breads can be a good way to get in some veggies in the morning.  This bread has many healthy aspects to it.  It is made partly with whole wheat flour instead of all white flour.  This adds fiber and protein to help keep you full all morning.  It is made with olive oil instead of butter, which has lots of healthy unsaturated fats.  It has no sugar in it.  The sweetness comes from the caramelized onions.  The spinach adds in lots of vitamins and minerals and more fiber.

To make it, first cut the onion in half through the root, cut off the root, then cut thing slices.  Heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat; add onion.  Saute 10 minutes, the turn to low and saute 5 more minutes.  Then add garlic, and saute 10 minutes.  Add spinach, saute 2 minutes, turn off heat.

The onion starts off white

After 10 minutes- starting to barely brown

This is the color the onions are when they are caramelized

In a bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on low for ~ 2 minutes. Beat in cream cheese and milk.  Place flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, lightly mix in egg mixture, olive oil, and goat cheese.  Then mix in spinach and onion.

Spray a bread loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Sprinkle a little flour all over the inside of the pan so that it is lightly covered.  Pour dough in pan.  Bake at 350*F for 35 - 40 minutes.

What you'll need:
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2/3 cup olive oil (plus 1/2 tbsp for onion)
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 3/4 cup skim milk
- 1 tbsp cream cheese

Strawberry Butter Spread

I have always loved apple butter, but I never thought about  making strawberry butter.  This is a healthier version of strawberry butter.  Instead of butter I used a buttery spread with less saturated fat.  I also used less butter and added in plain nonfat Greek yogurt.  The yogurt makes it a little more liquidy, so you need to make sure you really thicken the strawberry puree.

You can spread this over whole wheat toast or bagel thin, or add a scoop to some plain oatmeal.

Strawberry Butter Spread

What you'll need:
- 2 cups frozen whole strawberries (stems removed)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp agave nectar syrup
- 1/3 cup buttery spread, softened
- 4 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt

What to do:
1.  Thaw strawberries.  Use a blender or food processor to puree.  Pour mixture into a saucepan on medium heat.  Add in lemon juice and agave syrup; bring to a boil.  Stir constantly while boiling for 4 - 5 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.

2.  Beat together butter and yogurt.  Mix in raspberry mixture.  Let cool for at least 4 hours.  Makes about 2 cups.

Nutrition Info (per 2 tbsp)
48 calories, 4g carbs, <1g fiber, 1g protein, 3g total fat, 1g saturated fat

Refrigerated Oatmeal

This can be really refreshing on these hot summer days.  It's very easy to make.  first add in the oatmeal, add the milk, add the yogurt, add any sweetener, and the fruit.  Then mix it up and refrigerate overnight.

Apple Cinnamon Cold Oatmeal

What you'll need:
- 1 tbsp buttery spread
- 1 apple
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3 cup steel oats
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 1/3 plus 1 tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tbsp sugar

What to do:
1. Cut apple in 1/3"  slices, then cut slices in half crosswise.  Heat buttery spread in medium saute pan, add apples and cook over medium-low heat until apple softens, about 5 - 8 minutes.  Add cinnamon, saute for 5 more minutes.  Let cool.

2.  In a container such as a mason jar, pour in the oats, milk, yogurt, apple butter, sugar, and apple pieces.   Close container and shake to mix up.  Refrigerate overnight.  Recipe makes 4 servings.

Cold Raspberry Almond Oatmeal

What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup  steel oats
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 3 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
- 1/3 cup frozen raspberries, thawed, plus juice

What to do:
 Mix together all of the ingredients in a jar or container and shake to mix up.  Raspberries can sometimes be more sour than sweet. Taste the mixture to see if it is sweet enough

A different kind of breakfast

Breakfast does not need to be something typical.  It doesn't have to be cereal, or bagels, or bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, or muffins.  All you need is a little creativity.  Here are some ideas for a healthy, but different kind of breakfast.

Try refrigerated oatmeal.  Combine all the ingredients in a container in the evening, let it sit in the fridge over night, then it is ready to eat in the morning.  Letting the oats sit in milk and yogurt overnight soften them.  They don't have the same texture as those cooked in hot liquid, but are still good.  You can create many different flavors: cinnamon apple, almond raspberry, mango, and so many more.

This is really easy: make 1/3" slices of apple crosswise, then spread the top with peanut butter.  You can also top with granola or nuts.

You can stuff crepes with fruit or vegetables.  Or you can make one of each to help get in all you fruits and veggies for the day. You can make a few crepes in one evening and use them up over the new few days.  Saute some spinach and onions in a large batch and use up over the days as well.  You can spread some low-fat cream cheese on the crepe and top with fresh raspberries, then roll.

Make your own healthier version of strawberry butter and spread over toasted whole grain bread.

Make a bread with lots of fiber from veggies and whole wheat flour, and with healthy fats from oils instead of butter.  This is a caramelized onion and spinach bread.

Spread hummus over a whole wheat pita and top with sliced tomato and slices of onion, or  turkey slices.

Make some zucchini bites a head of time and grab a few on your way out the door.  These are somewhere between zucchini bread and zucchini fritters.

These are just a few out of the ordinary ideas for breakfast.  If you want more ideas, just let me know! Recipes to follow.

Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers with Avocado

I saw a recipe similar to this and thought "I have no plans for that half of a sweet potato in the fridge...this would be a good way to use it up."  I wasn't really sure what to expect of this meal.  I have never combined sweet potato and avocado before, so I wasn't sure if they would go well together.  But this veggie burger was delicious!  It is also super healthy: lots of vitamin A from the sweet potato, fiber and protein from the beans, and lots of healthy fats from the avocado.

They are pretty easy to make.  Depending on what equipment you have around the house, you can use a potato masher, a ricer, or fork and spoon to mash up the potato and beans.  Most recipes call for more breadcrumbs or flour to dry out the burgers a little, which makes them easier to handle.  But I say its going to get messy any way, might as well leave out the unnecessary flour and breadcrumbs.

The burger patties are creamy, a little sweet from the potato and agave syrup and also a bit spicy from the cajun seasoning.  Then it is topped with creamy avocado and sharp dijon mustard.  It was delicious!  I would absolutely make these again!

Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers with Avocado

What you'll need:
For the burger:
- 1/2 a large sweet potato
- 3/4 cup white cannellini beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed
- 2 tsp agave syrup
- 1/2 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (more if you like it REALLY spicy)
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- pinch of pepper
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs

- canola or vegetable oil
- thinly sliced onion
- slices of tomato
- Romaine lettuce
- 3 whole wheat burger buns
- Dijon mustard
- 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced; sprinkle with salt and pepper

What to do:
1.  Preheat oven to 400*F.  Lightly coat potato in olive oil, salt and pepper; wrap in aluminum foil.  Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until tender.  Let cool.  Remove skin.

2. Mash together potato and rinsed beans.  Add in tahini, agave syrup, cajun seasoning, garlic, a pinch of pepper, and the breadcrumbs.  Form into 3 patties.  Make patties slightly smaller than the size of the bun as they will squish as you eat the burger.

3.  Heat enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of a pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the burger patties.  Reduce to medium-low heat.  Brown each side- ~ 1 1/2 - 2 minutes each.

4.  Top your burger patty with avocado, onion, tomato, and lettuce.  Spread a bit of dijon mustard (~1tsp) on the bun and enjoy!  Recipe makes 3 servings.

If you like this recipe, the next time you make it, you can double it and freeze a couple patties individually.

Nutrition Info:
524 calories, 70g  carbs*, 15g fiber, 17g protein, 21g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 905mg sodium

*For a lower carb option, use flatbread buns.

Fish Taco Salad

Fish is an important ingredient to a healthy lifestyle.  Lean fish, such as sole, flounder, and halibut, are a great source of protein.  Fatty fish, such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel, are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Omega 3s have many beneficial effects including reducing the risk of heart disease.

Fish Taco Salad

What you'll need:
- 2 Sole (or flounder) filets
- Spice rub:

   -- 1/8 tsp paprika

   -- pinch of chili powder

   -- pinch of cayenne

   -- 1/8 tsp salt

   -- 1/8 tsp dried oregano

   -- 1/8 tsp cumin

   -- 1 tsp lime zest

- 1 tbsp canola oil

- 1 avocado, sliced

- 1/4 cup sliced white onion

- 3 1/2 cups romain lettuce, chopped

- 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)

For the dressing:

- 1/2 cup plain, fat-free Greek yogurt

- 2 tbsp lime juice

- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

- 1 garlic clove, finely minced

- 1/8 tsp black pepper

- 1/8 tsp salt

What to do:

1.  Mix together all the ingredients of the spice rub.  Spread over both side of each fish fillet.  Let sit.

2.  Mix together the ingredients for the dressing.  Let sit in the refrigerator.

3.  Heat oil in a medium skillet.  When oil is hot, add fillets.  Cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes each side.  Outside should be slightly crispy and lightly browned, but not flakey.

4.  Evenly divide lettuce, onion, and avocado into two separate serving bowls.  Top each with fish and cilantro dressing.

Nutrition Information:

294 calories, 31g protein, 10g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 419mg sodium

Pomegranate Hummus Pizza

This is more like an open-faced wrap than a pizza, but I'm going to call it a pizza.  The bottom is round dough, it has a sauce, and it has toppings, so I say it can be called a pizza.  This particular pizza is much healthier than the typical Italian pizza.  Typical pizza is made with white dough (not whole grain), and lots of cheese (which is high in saturated fat and sodium).  In once slice of a 14" Pizza Hut cheese slice there are 320 calories, 13.5g protein, 35g carbs, 3g fiber, 13.5g total fat, 6g saturated fat, 4.5g monounsaturated fat, 2g polyunsaturated fat, 835mg sodium.  But does anyone stop at just one slice?

This "pizza" is not meant to be a healthier version of cheese pizza.  It is meant to be a new type of pizza.  It is made with whole grains and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.  It is also made with fruits and vegetables to add fiber.  It is creamy from the hummus, sweet from the pomegranates, and has a bite from the red onions, and a bit peppery from the arugula.  This "pizza" is very filling so you won't need more than one!

Pomegranate Hummus Pizza

What you'll need:
- 1 whole wheat pita (~6" in diameter)
- 3 tbsp plain hummus
- 1/8 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 cup baby arugula
- 1/4 cup shredded chicken
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- pinch of pepper
- 1/2 tbsp feta cheese

What to do:
1.  Spread hummus over the pita
2.  In a bowl, mix together the onion, pomegranate, arugula, chicken, lemon juice, pepper.  Add mixture on top of the hummus.
3.  Top with feta cheese.

Nutrition information
380 calories, 17g protein, 53g carbs, 9g fiber, 12g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 731mg sodium

Spaghetti Carbonara

There are a couple ingredients of this recipe that make it high in saturated fat: bacon, cream, and cheese.  There are also a few healthy ingredients missing in this recipe, such as vegetables.  So I changed the recipe a little bit to make it a little healthier, but keep in mind this is still not a low calorie item.  Instead of using all cream,  I used part skim-milk and part cream.  I use lean center cut bacon, but you can also use lean turkey bacon.  I cut back on the amount of parmesan cheese.  I also added a bit of paprika to the sauce for a bit of sweet peppery flavor.  I use Barilla Plus spaghetti because it is higher in protein and fiber compared to regular pasta and has a better taste and texture than whole wheat pasta.

Paprika Carbonara

What you'll need:
- 2 slices center cut bacon, cooked until very crispy and crumbled
- half an onion, finely chopped
- 4 oz Barilla Plus spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp cream
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil


What to do:
1. Saute spinach in olive oil until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes; remove and set aside
2. Saute onion about 3 - 4 minutes, then reduce heat to low.
3. In a bowl, mix together the egg, milk, cream, and paprika.  Add egg mixture, bacon, parsley, salt, and pepper, and pasta to the pan with the onion.  Stir together until mixture thickens. Be careful not to overcook. Serve over a bed of spinach.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

Pita Stuffed with Lamb Meatballs and Tzatziki Sauce

Cucumber yogurt sauce is very common in Middle Eastern food, especially with kabobs.  This dish is somewhere between Middle Easter lamb kabobs and Greek lamb souvlaki.  Whatever you want to call it- this was delicious!

One ingredient I used is called Labneh.  Labneh is basically strained yogurt, so it is very thick.  There may be other processes involved so thicken more and make it creamier.  It is similar to Greek yogurt that you find in The States, but a little thicker higher in fat.  If you cannot find Labneh, plain Greek yogurt is a good substitute.  You could also use a mixture of Greek yogurt and cream cheese.  I use dill in the meatballs and sauce, but you can substitute mint.

Pita Stuffed with Lamb Meatballs and Tzatziki Sauce

What you'll need:
For the meatballs:
- 3/4 pound lean minced lamb
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp bread crumbs
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (or mint)
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- pinch of salt and pepper

For the sauce:
- 1/2 cup light Labneh (or Greek Yogurt)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill (or mint)
-pinch of salt and pepper

- 4 whole wheat pitas, sliced in half and opened
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced green pepper and red onion (optional)
- 4 tomato slices (optional)
- shredded lettuce (optional)

What to do:
1.  Use 1 tsp olive oil to saute shallots and red chili.  After about 3 minutes, turn off heat and add parsley and dill.  Let cool slightly.  Mix meat, egg, bread crumbs, shallot mixture, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Let rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

2.  Deseed the cucumber.  Depending on how chunky you want your sauce, you can either finely chop the cucumber by hand or use a food processor to mince it.  When finished, mix with the Labneh (or yogurt), garlic, dill, salt, and pepper.

3.  In a large, flat saute pan, heat the remaining olive oil.  When hot, add the meatballs.  Let the meatballs brown on each side, then lower the heat to allow the meat to cook on the inside.

4.  Stuff each pita half with 2 tbsp shredded lettuce, a few slices of green pepper and red onion, and a slice of tomato if desired; 2 meatballs, and 2 - 3 tbsp Tzatziki sauce.

A Healthy Breakfast: Getting Some Veggies in the AM

Why does everyone say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?  A common comparison is that you can't start driving a car without any fuel in the gas tank.  This somewhat makes sense, until you think about all your friends that don't eat breakfast and they get up and go to work and start their day just fine.  So some people can function without breakfast, while others cannot.  I personally must eat something within 45 minutes of being awake or I will feel like I am starving.  Others do not feeling hungry until noon.  Why is that?  It all has to do with metabolism.  Your metabolism tells your body how many calories to burn per day.  There are many things that can slow your metabolism, including skipping out on breakfast.  If you don't consume calories, your body will start to burn fewer calories.

Ok there's my lecture about the importance of breakfast, but the point of this post is to emphasize that what you eat is also important.  A good breakfast should fill you up and keep you full.  A glass of orange juice is not a good breakfast because it will never keep you full.  Things that keep you full all morning are protein and fiber.  You can get protein from eggs, nuts, meats, dairy.  You can get fiber from whole grains, fruits, vegetables.  But who really eats vegetables in the morning?  The only breakfast food I eat vegetables in are omelets; and who has time to make omelets in the morning?  So here are some super easy ways to get some veggies in the morning, without having to make an omelet.

Baked Egg-Stuffed Bread

What you'll need:
- 1/4 cup chipped zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 3 tbsp skim milk
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- small bread loaf, cut in half length-wise

What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 350*F.  In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the bread.

2. Keeping all the sides intact and bottom intact, remove bread from the inside of the loaf.  Bake the loaf for ~ 5 - 8 minutes until toasted.

3.  Pour the egg mixture into the bread loaf, careful not to spill over the sides.  Return to oven and bake for ~15 - 18 minutes, or until the egg is set.  Recipe makes 2 servings.  Enjoy with a side of fruit or yogurt.  For best results, reheat in the oven.

Coffee Mug Scrambled Eggs

What you'll need:
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp skim milk
- 1 tbsp chopped red pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped green pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped onion
- 1 tsp paprika
- a pinch of salt and pepper

What to do:
 Mix everything together in a coffee mug.  Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until egg is cooked all the way through.  The egg will puff up; don't worry that is normal.  Enjoy with a side of fruit.  Recipe makes 1 serving.


Nutrition Notes:
I can feel the questions about eggs coming, so I'll try to go ahead and answer them now.  Why do eggs have a bad reputation?  Early research on heart disease correlated the amount of  dietary cholesterol in a person's diet to the amount of cholesterol in the blood stream.  Eggs have a fair amount of cholesterol in them, but studies are showing it is less compared to 20 years ago.  Research in the past decade has also been showing that the cholesterol in your blood stream is linked to the amount of saturated fat in your diet, not the amount of dietary cholesterol.  Egg yolks have 5 - 6grams of total fat (depending on the size of eggs); of that only 2grams are saturated.  Egg whites have 0grams of fat.  Most people need no more than 15grams of saturated fat per day.  So having 1 egg or less per day will not add a significant amount of saturated fat to your diet.  However, if you are topping it with cheese, or having a side of bacon and/or sausage, that is another story.

Steak Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

This recipe requires a good balsamic vinegar.  By reducing balsamic, you increase the sweetness and decrease the tanginess.  If you have never reduced vinegar before, be warned that you cannot stand right over it and keep your eyes open, or even breathe well for that matter.  The vapor is quite intolerable.  Reducing balsamic is easy.  You just pour some in a pan, turn up the heat on the stove, stir occasionally, and take it off heat a little before it is the thickened consistency you want (it thickens a little more as it cools).  Some people put in a little sugar to increase the sweetness even more, but if you have a good balsamic vinegar you do not need the sugar.  A balsamic reduction is a healthy addition to a salad because it adds a lot of flavor without the calories.  It can also be used in meat dishes, on bruschetta, or as decoration on the plate.

Steak Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

Balsamic Reduction
Heat 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (optional: add 2 tsp sugar) in a small pan over medium-low heat.  Let the balsamic simmer slightly, but never boil.  Stir occasionally. When vinegar has reduced almost by half, take off heat.

For the salad
What you'll need:
- 2 (4oz) tenderloin steaks, fat trimmed off
- 1/4 cup sliced red onion
- 1/3 cup chopped tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese (can substitute feta)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper

What to do:
1.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on each side of the steaks.  Heat a skillet or grill pan on medium-high heat.  Add ~1/2 tbsp olive oil.  When pan is very hot, add steaks.  Steaks should immediately sizzle.  Flip after ~ 3 minutes, or until browned.  Cook another 3 minutes on the other side.  Decrease heat and cook until preferred doneness.

2.  In a small bowl, mix the remaining olive oil, cider vinegar, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Set aside.

3.  Place all vegetables in a large bowl, add oil mixture and toss.  Divide into two portions.  Top each with blue cheese, and slices of steak.  With a small spoon, drizzle the balsamic reduction over the salad and steak.  Recipe makes 2 servings.

Egg Salads

Egg salad can be unhealthy because of the amount of mayonnaise used.  Mayonnaise can be made with healthy fat or less healthy fat, but you can pretty much guarantee the restaurant, or cafe or wherever, is using the unhealthy mayonnaise.

I made mayo with canola oil, which has a very low percentage of saturated fat.  Making mayo is simple, but requires some hard work.  To make mayo, mix 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tbsp white vinegar, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper.  Slowly add in vegetable oil as you whisk really hard and really fast.  Do not whisk unless you are adding oil, or it may turn green.  You may need 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup oil depending on how good your whisking skills are.  Pay attention to the consistency. Mayo should be thick enough to spread.

So I just wanted to make a  couple different kinds of egg salads for an Easter afternoon snack.  Ben says 'ew' every time I say 'egg salad' so I also wanted to see if I could make one that he likes.

Egg Salad
Mix together:
-1 hardboiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 2 1/2 tbsp mayo
- pinch of salt and pepper
-1 tsp paprika


Egg Salad with Sweet Pickles
Mix together:
- 1 hardboiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 2 1/2 tbsp mayo
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 6 sweet pickles, chopped

Dill Egg Salad
Mix together:
- 1 hardboiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 2 1/2 tbsp low-fat plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp low-fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- pinch of salt and pepper

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is another one of my all time favorite recipes.  If I were on that show 'The best thing I've ever made' this recipe and the green bean casserole would be on my top 5 list.  The green bean casserole I have only made once from scratch.  Risotto is something I have been making for many many.

When I went to college and I invited people over for risotto and their response was 'wow you can make that?' I was very confused because to me it seems simple.  I grew up with my mom making risotto fairly often. I don't mean every week, or even every single month, but over the years it adds up.  I wasn't so much trying to learn how to cook it, but just helping out in the kitchen.  From years of doing that I learned the proper technique.  I loved the taste of it, so of course I has my mother give me the recipe when I went off to college.


We usually ate it plain because I used to not like vegetables.  Once I started eating more vegetables, my mom started putting zucchini and yellow squash in it.  Years later, I started loving butternut squash soup.  I can't even pinpoint how exactly I decided to mix butternut squash puree with risotto.  I know I was living in Connecticut at the time...maybe one of my roommates gave me the idea.  All I know is I often made risotto and I often made butternut squash soup, and then one day I combined the ideas and now butternut squash risotto is my favorite kind of risotto!  It is so creamy and has a great sweet and savory combination.  It just melts in your mouth.  Though I shouldn't, I could eat it every day.

Butternut Squash Risotto

What you'll need:
-1 butternut squash (you will not need the whole squash)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-1 cup arborio rice
- 4 1/4 - 4 3/4 cups chicken stock, low sodium, heated
- 1 tsp pepper
- a pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

What to do:
1.  Heat the oven to 375*F.  To prepare the squash, carefully cut in half lengthwise.  Then spoon out the seeds.  Pour enough water into the sided baking pan so the water is ~ 1/4" deep.   Lay one half of the squash on a sided baking pan with the hard skin facing up.  When the oven is ready, put the pan in the oven. Cook until the skin bubbles and starts browning, which should take about 30 - 40 minutes.  Remove and let cool when done.

2. Heat oil in a large tall-sided skillet or risotto pan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and saute for ~ 5 minutes; do not color the onions or garlic.  Add rice and stir for ~3 minutes.  Add in 1 cup hot stock and stir often.  Do not boil, but keep at a low simmer.  When the liquid is mostly absorbed into the rice, add 1/2 cup stock.  Continue this process until most of the liquid is gone and you have tasted the rice for doneness (there should be no crunch or hardness).

3. Remove the skin from the squash.  The skin should easily peel off with your hands or using a fork to get between the skin and the squash.  Then mash squash with a fork or puree in a machine.  Add 1 1/2 cups squash puree to the risotto mixture, reduce head to low, and stir in completely.  Add cheese, pepper and salt.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Recipe makes 4 - 6 portions.


Nutrition remarks:
Arborio rice is a white, short-grain rice.  It is high in carbohydrates, low in fiber, low in fat, and fairly low in protein.  Unless it is enriched, it does not provide much vitamins or minerals.  Even when it is enriched, the amounts are still pretty low. So by itself, it is not the healthiest food nor is it the most unhealthy food.  When you add high-sodium  stock to it, its a little less healthy because of the large amount of stock you use.  That is why I recommend using low-sodium stock.  When you add in some vegetables, then you are getting more fiber, vitamins, and minerals.  So a big plate of plain risotto is not a nutritious meal, but it can be a component of one.

Green Bean Casserole

Green bean casserole has become my favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner and one of my favorite dishes ever.  My family has started serving it with Christmas dinner, Easter dinner, and birthday dinners because there are a couple of us who just love it so much!

Cream of mushroom soup was one of the first soups I learned to make when I started culinary school.  It was delicious!  I was surprised by how little cream we used in the soup.  You actually get the creamy color from the addition of flour early on in the cooking process.  You get the creamy consistency partly from pureeing the food, and partly because of the flour.  The cream is the last thing you add, so the amount can be altered or left out depending on your preference.

My recipe is a little different than the one we made at school only because I have limited supplies and equipment.  So I will tell you what I did, and how it differed from the recipe we learned at school.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

What you'll need:
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped (~2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup chopped leek
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 (8oz) container white button mushrooms
- 1/2 (8oz) container Shitake mushrooms
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

What to do:
1.  Heat oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat; add onion, leek, and garlic and stir.  Be careful not to color or burn this mixture.
2.  While the onion mixture is cooking, prepare the mushrooms.  Remove the stems and discard.  Use a damp paper towel to clean the top and bottom of the mushrooms.  Never rinse mushrooms because they will get soggy.  Then chop them up.  When the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and stir for ~3 minutes.
3.  Add the flour and stir it into the mushrooms mixture completely.  Remove from heat and let cool for ~ 5 minutes.  While this is cool, heat the stock on the stove.  When the mushroom mixture has cooled slightly and the stock is hot, slowly pour the stock into the mushroom pan while stirring continuously.  Add seasonings.
4.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer 15 - 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool slightly.  Add heavy cream and stir.  Taste and adjust seasonings. Use an immersion blender, blender, or Cuisinart  to blend the soup until it is fully pureed. (I do not have any of those in Dubai, so my recipe is more chunky than pureed).  Pass the mixture through a strainer into a casserole dish.

Green Bean Casserole

What you'll need:
- Emily's mushroom soup
-2 (12oz) cans green beans, drained and rinsed (fresh can be used but in Dubai the fresh green beans are terrible!)
-1/2 cup onion slices
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

What to do:
1.  Make the mushroom soup recipe
2.  Heat the oil in a very small sauce pan so that oil reaches ~ 1/2 inch high on the wall of the pan (use more oil if necessary).  Wait until this oil is very very hot.  Test the oil by adding in 1 slice of onion.  If it does not immediately sizzle, then the oil is not hot enough.
3.  When the oil is hot enough, add in the onion slices and fry until golden brown.  When done, remove from oil and lay on a paper towel.
4.  Mix the green beans with the mushroom soup in the casserole dish.  Top with fried onions.  Recipe makes 5 servings.


How this is different from the recipe in my school book:  1- they used butter instead of olive oil to cook the onion and leek; 2- they also cooked celery with the onion and leek; 3- they did not use garlic; 4- instead of all the spices I listed, they use a 'bouquet garni' which is thyme, bay leaf, pepper, and parsley sprigs wrapped in a leak leaf and soaked in the mixture and removed before pureeing.  Both recipes were delicious and easy to make, so take your pick.


Nutrition remarks:
When making this recipe with canned cream of mushroom soup, the sodium content is much higher as well as the saturated fat content.  Adding the fried onions also does not help.  My recipe, even with the cream, is much lower in saturated fat and sodium compared to the Campbell's recipe.  I didn't bother trying to make a large amount of fried onions because they were not very likely to come out the way they are supposed to.  But the recipe was so delicious without it.  So the recipe I made is fairly healthy, especially when you leave out the cream.  This recipe would also be a good alternative to the Campbells recipe because it is on the healthier side, but not too far from the original product.

Lean red meat

How do you know if the meat is lean or not?  Don't bother memorizing the different cuts, just use your eyes and knowledge of colors and portions.

First ask, do I see red?  If not, then you are not looking at a red meat, so find something else.

Do I see white/yellow/creamy white shades in or around the meat?  These parts are the fat, saturated fat to be specific.  Fat around the edge can be trimmed off, but the marbling (inside) cannot.

Do I see more white/yellow/creamy white that I do red?  If yes- it is very fatty.  Bacon and pepperoni certainly fit under this category.

Ribs

Some pretty fatty bacon

Do I see mostly red and very little fat?  If yes- then you have found your lean meat.

Flank steak

Beef tenderloin

The beef here is from Australia and it always looks great.  I usually don't eat much red meat, but I have been eating my share of sirloin and tenderloin here in Dubai.  Here are two very easy dishes I made:

Steak Stir Fry

See how lean and red the sirloin is

What you'll need:
- 2 (4oz) beef sirloin
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup cabbage cut into strips
- 1/2 cup baby corn, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
- 3/4 cup cooked rice
- salt and pepper
- Asian seasoning or sauce

What to do:
- Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add veggies and about 1 tbsp sauce and stir.  When cooked, remove food from pan, and return pan to the stove.
- Slice the meat very thin- about 1/4 inch.  The pan should be very hot before adding the meat. When you add the meat, stir constantly and quickly to make sure all sides are browned.  Once all sides are browned, the meat is done.  Add 1 tbsp of sauce to the meat and serve with veggies and rice.  Recipe serves 2.

I used a pre-made sauce instead of making something because I don't want to buy a bunch of ingredients that I will have to use up in only 2 months.  So the ingredients in the sauce I used are: water, sugar, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, salt, sesame seeds, garlic, chili, and ginger.

Steak and Potatoes

What you'll need:

- 2 (4oz) beef sirloin

- 6 to 8 new potatoes, quartered

- 10oz green beans, ends chopped off

- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided

- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, divided

For the marinade:

- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- pinch of salt and pepper

- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped or pressed

What to do:

- Marinate steak for 20 minutes

- Heat a medium skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil; add the potatoes, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and stir.

- In a separate medium skillet heat 1 tbsp olive oil; add green beans, 1 chopped garlic clove, salt and pepper, and stir.  When green beans are almost done, add potatoes.

- Reheat the empty skillet used for the potatoes.  When hot, add the steak.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side depending on how thick the steak is and how you like your steak cooked.  Recipe serves 2.

Fish. Super easy. Super healthy.

The argument that 'I just don't have time to make something healthy for dinner' will never cease to exist, unfortunately.  I will continue to try to prove to the world how lame that excuse is.  There are so many dishes that take minimal time and are nutritious and delicious.

When planning out a healthy meal, first plan for what needs to be on the plate.  There should be some sort of low-fat protein source like chicken, fish, or lean meat.  There should definitely be lots of veggies.  There should be a fruit.  You may or may not have a starch, but try to make it whole grain most of the time.  You may also have some dairy, but try to make it low-fat most of the time.  This general idea has formed the 'new food pyramid' which is now a picture of a plate.

This plate helps you form a healthy meal, but now you have to think about what is easy and takes little time to prepare.  Let's start with the protein foods.  Do you know how long it takes to steam shrimp?  It will depend on the size, but it is likely going to be less than 3 minutes.  If you buy them deveined and without the tail- then there is no prep time, only cooking time.  Really skinny fish might take about 5 minutes to be pan-fried on the stove.  Thick fish like salmon will take closer to 10 minutes.  Thin chicken (bought or prepared that way) will take around 8 - 10 minutes; thicker chicken around 12 - 15 minutes.  Depending on how you like your red meat cooked, it may take 8 - 12 minute for cuts like tenderloin; it will take longer for larger pieces like a flank steak.  What will take a long time to cook?  A whole chicken; large cuts of beef that are made for roasting;  tough cuts of beef that are made for stewing.  There is little prep work with protein foods unless you need to cut it up a certain way.

  

Veggie steamer

Ok let's move on to the veggies.  Salads generally have only prep time and no cooking time.  Depending on the salad ingredients, it may take a while to do all the chopping.  Still,  it is likely you will not spend 20+ minutes cutting up veggies.  Green beans or thin asparagus can be cooked in 10 minutes: 5 minutes steaming, 5 minutes sautéed in olive oil.  Zucchini and squash may take a little longer depending on how you cut them up and how you cook them.  Onions can take only 3 minutes if you are just trying to cook them until they are translucent.  But if you want caramelized onions,expect to spend a good 20 - 25 minutes stirring.  Most things you make in the oven, such as roasted cauliflower, is going to take longer than something cooked on the stove top.  Artichokes, no matter how you cook them, will take a while because there is quite a bit of prep work and very little edible portion inside the artichoke.

Now let's talk about fruit.  There are quite a few bite-sized fruits that you can just set on the table and pick at throughout the meal: berries, grapes, cherries.  This means that washing in the only preparation step.  There are some fruits you can eat whole, but would most likely cut up for the dinner table: apple, pear, peach slices. So you would need to spend time washing and cutting. Then there are foods that you cannot eat the outside: pineapple, cantaloupe, watermelon, mango.  Some of these you may just cut up and serve with the rind still on it; others you may need to separate the fruit from the outside layer.  In the case of mangos, you have to separate the fruit from the outside skin and the inside pit.  Mangos can take quite a bit of effort to prepare. No matter what fruit you use, you are likely to eat it raw, so there is no cooking time.

Grains are one food that may take a while to prepare and/or cook.  If you are making pasta, you have to wait a while for the water to boil (unless you have Justin and Julie's amazing stove), then wait for the pasta to cook.  Same deal with the rice.  If you are making potatoes- you may need to peel or cut, and you absolutely have to wait for them to cook.  This may take 20 - 25 minutes to cook new (small) potatoes on the skillet, or 30 - 45 minutes in the oven;  it would take longer for a larger potato to bake in the oven.  The time for corn depends on if you are boiling or grilling.  Peas... well I hate peas and we're all older than 5 so let's just move passed that food.  Winter squashes are going to take some time to cook because they have such a thick outside layer.

So here are some easy combinations:

-Heat up the skillet and heat a saucepan filled with a little water.  Start cooking a chicken breast; then chop some zucchini; steam zucchini for 5 minutes; cut apple and pear slices while food is cooking; flip chicken; saute zucchini in olive oil for 5 - 8 minutes. Total time: ~17 - 20 minutes

-Start heating water for rice; chop red and green bell peppers, then saute; heat a skillet; add rice to hot water; cook steak on skillet; chop pineapple (take off the skin).  Total time: ~25 - 28 minutes

-Heat water in saucepan with a veggie steamer inside; heat a skillet; add asparagus to saucepan; add fish to skillet; remove asparagus and saute in a skillet; flip fish; wash grapes. Total time: ~ 12 - 14 minutes

The last one is similar to a meal I made recently.  Earlier that day we had made and eaten a lot of fried food at school, so I wanted to make something healthy.  I was also tired from a long day, so I wanted to make something fast.  So here is what I made:

Pan-fried salmon with asparagus, and a side of chopped mango

What you'll need:

- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided

- 1 salmon filet

- 4 oz thin asparagus

- salt and pepper

- 1 lemon slice

What to do:

- Heat a small sauce pan fill with ~ 1/2 inch of water; place a veggie steamer inside.  When the water comes to a low boil, add in asparagus and cover.

- Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt a pepper on the top of the salmon.  When pan is hot, add salmon with the top facing down on the pan. After about 3 to 4 minutes, flip.  If the bottom of the salmon does not have the skin still attached, turn the heat down to medium-low.

- Take the asparagus and the steamer out of the pan, and empty all the water. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil, and add asparagus back in. Stir frequently.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper and stir some more.

- The salmon should be cooked about 4 to 5 minutes on the bottom side. Fish is done when it flakes easily when using a fork.  The asparagus should be tender, but still have a little bit of crunch.

-  After plating the food, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the salmon and asparagus.  Serve with any kind of fruit.

You may wonder how this will take since there is very little seasoning added to the food.  Salmon and asparagus are both very strongly flavored foods.  If you like the flavor of these foods, you don't need a seasoning to cover up those flavors.  If there was one seasoning I would add, it would be dill.  Dill goes very well with both.  However, Dubai does not have any dill in any grocery store I have been to. but I think this meal without the dill was perfect and delicious.

Hollandaise Sauce

I have now had eggs benedict 3 times in my life.  Once was made (I believe) with home-made hollandaise sauce, and another with a store bought powder mixture.  And once was a interesting twist on the original that I made here at our apartment  in Dubai.

At school we of course are required to learn how to make hollandaise sauce.  It is a tricky, and very tiring process.  It is easy to mess up.  But if you know the steps, and have good arm muscles, you can absolutely make it at home.  It's a weekend food; definitely not something you try to make before work on Monday morning.

Hollandaise sauce is also not something to eat on a daily basis for health reasons.  The main component of the sauce is butter, which is made of saturated fats.  So it's really not the healthiest food to slather all over your eggs or asparagus.  At school, we make it the official way.  At my apartment, I do not keep butter.  I only keep buttery spreads because they are much lower in saturated fat.  So this was a bit of an experiment to see if it would work.  So I'll give you the official step by step method, and then let you know what I did differently.  This is more than a recipe because it is so detailed.  Just reading and using a recipe for hollandaise leaves room for so much error!

First, take about 10 tablespoons of butter and melt over the stove on medium-low heat.  You want to make sure it doesn't boil, but you also want to allow the impurities (white foamy stuff is the technical term) to rise to the top.  When that happens, you can take it off heat.  Then take off all the foamy white stuff using a spoon.  This is known as clarifying the butter.  What you are left with should be at least 80ml (yes I only really know the metric amounts since that is what we do in school) of clarified butter. Keep it off hot heat but keep it warm.

Next, you need to pour about 2 tbsp white vinegar into a small saute pan.  Add in 3 whole peppercorns, 1-2 bay leaves, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of cayenne to the vinegar.  Put the saute pan on the stove over medium-high heat and let the vinegar reduce by half.  Take the vinegar off the heat and add in about 1/2 to 3/4 tbsp of cold water (to stop the reduction).

Then,  separate one egg so the yolk is in one bowl and discard the egg white (or use it for something else). Strain the vinegar mixture into the egg yolk.

Heat a medium sauce pan filled about half way with water and bring to a low simmer.  Reduce heat slightly.  Now comes the painful part.  Hold the bowl of egg and vinegar over the sauce pan without letting the bowl touch the water and while letting steam escape from the pan.  With your other hand, whisk whisk whisk!!!!!!  Use all your strength and then some to whisk the egg.  And try to ignore the logical thought of taking your other hand away from the heat.

You must whisk until the egg reaches a 'sabayon.'  This just means the egg mixture should thicken a little before you can stop whisking and take it off the heat.  Once you do that, then it is time for more whisking!  It helps if you have another person around for this next step.  You will need to slowly pour in the clarified butter with one hand while whisking with the other, and somehow manage to keep your bowl stable.  So you can hold the bowl and whisk while the other person slowly pours in the butter.   It is also nice to have someone else there so you can take turns whisking after your muscles get tired.  If you are super talented or feeling really independent- try it by yourself.  Whisk in the clarified butter until the sauce has a creamy thickness.  You should be able to pour it from a spoon, but it should definitely stick to the back of the spoon.  Hollandaise is for spreading and pouring, so it can be thicker than most sauces.  When it is done, add a teaspoon of lemon juice.  And you're done!!  Put over eggs benedict or asparagus.

After typing this up, it doesn't really sound like the most ideal thing to try at home.  But if you like a challenge- here it is!

So the healthier (and low-on-supplies-method) used buttery spread instead of  butter; thyme instead of bay leaf; apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar; no cayenne pepper.  I tried melting the butter in the microwave, but it never got liquidy.  So it did not require much butter to thicken my sabayon.  So it turned out fairly healthy considering my recipe created multiple portions.

For the eggs benedict:
toast half of an English muffin, poach an egg, and crisp a piece of canadian bacon in a saute pan.  Then top it with the hollandaise

To store or not to store?  It is recommended not to keep hollandaise for more than 2 hours.  There are a couple reasons.  One- reheating too fast or at too high a heat will cook the eggs too much and they were harden.  Another, involves food safety.  Did we even cook the egg?  So the reason hollandaise works (meaning you are not scrambling eggs in a Bain marie) is because of the vinegar.  Vinegar reduces the temperature at which eggs cook.  So you can bring eggs to about 140*F or higher without cooking them.  But you have reached a high enough temperature to kill most of the bacteria.   If I had a thermometer here in Dubai, I would have monitored the temperature of the sabayon.  But if you decide to make it- you can definitely do that.  The more vinegar you add, the higher the cooking temperature of eggs (but also the more you have to whisk to reach a sabayon).  For reheating- make sure the temperature is fairly low and you heat it up slowly.  Also, watch the temperature and make sure it does not go too high but does not stay too low.  It is best to reach 170*F for reheating food, though this may be slightly too high for an egg product.

Recipe Contest

Hello all!  I'd like to ask for your help in a recipe competition I entered.  For the contest I have to create a dish using Sadia chicken.  Then, submit the recipe and a picture.  This is an online contest- so no one will be tasting my recipe in front of me.  Here is the website for the contest if you are interested: http://sadia-life.com/challenge/english/

I am quite sure the recipe looks good on paper.  Now I need to make sure the food looks good in a picture.  I have made the food and tested it and took a bazillion pictures!  I need help deciding what is the best picture!  So here are the top pictures.  Just let me know which one you like best! Thanks!  Oh did I mention the top prize is a free trip to Paris!?  So please, be critical and do not say 'they all look great' or 'they all look the same.' =)   Thanks everyone!! I appreciate your help!!  Also,  I will later post the recipe to go with it.

Picture #1: No mushrooms on the plate

Picture #2: With mushrooms on the plate

Picture #3: More focus on the chicken

Picture #4: With parmesan cheese sprinkled on top

Keep in mind when voting: the competition is for chicken (not risotto), so whatever angle and lighting make the chicken look good and the picture great as a whole would be the best.  I really appreciate your help!  Please vote by tomorrow Wed March 14.  Thanks!