Beef Daube Provencal

This is an old Cooking Light recipe that I finally got around to trying now that it's technically fall outside.  In Houston, you wouldn't know it, because it's still 90 degrees during the day, but we're getting closer.  This dish is served over egg noodles, and I paired it with a simple mixed green salad with champagne vinaigrette and goat cheese.

BEEF DAUBE PROVENCAL

Recipe Notes

The recipe calls for the beef mixture to be cooked on HIGH for 5 hours or until beef is tender.  If you want to throw this in the Crock Pot first thing in the morning and want it to be ready after work, you can alternatively cook it on LOW for 8-9 hours as well.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 6)

367 calories - 12.8 g. fat - 33.4 g. carbs - 3.9 g. fiber - 29.1 g. protein

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into small cubes
• 1-1/4 tsp. salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper, divided
• 1 c. red wine
• 2 c. chopped carrot
• 1-1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 c. beef broth
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• Dash of ground cloves
• 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 c. cooked medium egg noodles

Instructions

1.  Heat a Dutch oven or large skillet over low heat.  Add oil to pan and swirl to coat.  Add garlic and cook five minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Remove garlic and set aside.

2.  Increase heat to medium high.  Add beef and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.

3.  Cook 5 minutes or until browned on all sides.

4.  Remove beef from pan.

5.  Add wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen any browned bits.

6.  Add reserved garlic, beef, remaining salt, remaining pepper, carrots, onions, beef broth, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, cloves, diced tomatoes, and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil.

7.  Place beef mixture in a Crock Pot or other electric slow cooker.  Cover and cook on HIGH for 5 hours or until beef is tender.

Grilled Shrimp with Mango & Red Onion Relish

I adapted this recipe from an old Cooking Light recipe.  I like a mango relish without tomato, so I left that part out and it came out fantastically.  The below recipe includes Cooking Light's nutritional information, but my recipe modifications.  Because I only omitted vegetables, the information should generally be the same.

GRILLED SHRIMP WITH MANGO & RED ONION RELISH

Recipe Notes

If you would like to add tomatoes to the relish, the original recipe includes 2 c. of seeded, chopped tomatoes.  It is very easy to halve or quarter this recipe for a smaller crowd.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 12)

210 calories - 2.8 g. fat - 31.5 g. protein - 13.7 g. carbohydrates - 1.6 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 3 c. diced, peeled mango
• 2-1/4 tsp. salt (divided)
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. grated lime rind
• 2 minced serrano chiles (I used one jalapeno instead)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 4 lb. extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

Instructions

1.  Prepare grill.

2.  Lightly coat onion slices with cooking spray.  Grill 4 minutes on each side.  Cool and chop.

3.  Combine onion, mango, 1 tsp. salt, cilantro, vinegar, sugar, grated lime rind, and chiles in a large bowl.

4.  Combine oregano, remaining salt, pepper, shrimp, and garlic in a large bowl.  Toss well.

5.  Thread shrimp onto skewers.

6.  Place skewers on grill rack coated with cooking spray.

7.  Grill 2 minutes on each side or until done.

8.  Serve shrimp skewers with relish.

Tomato Salad with Caesar Breadcrumbs

This Cooking Light recipe was a nice little twist on fresh tomatoes.  

TOMATO SALAD WITH CAESAR BREADCRUMBS

Recipe Notes

I tossed the arugula in a small amount of Wishbone balsamic vinaigrette instead of making my own as the recipe recommends.  It was faster, and I also generally think that bottled vinaigrettes are superior to those that I can make myself, anyway.  I also skipped the anchovy paste in this recipe.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 4)

95 calories - 7.2 g. fat

Ingredients

• 6 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 cups arugula
• 1-1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/8 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

1.  Heat 4 tsp. olive oil, garlic, and anchovy paste in a skillet over medium heat (1 minute).

2.  Add fresh breadcrumbs and cook for 1-1/2 minutes.

3.  Combine remaining olive oil, arugula, and balsamic vinegar (or substitute bottled vinaigrette for the vinegar and oil).

4.  Top arugula with sliced tomatoes.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs and kosher salt over tomatoes.

Creamed Corn

This Southern Living recipe for creamed corn was easy and really good.  I halved the recipe (13 ears of corn is a LOT of corn!) and still had plenty to spare.

CREAMED CORN

Recipe Notes

This recipe uses a corn reamer.  I would recommend buying one because it makes recipe assembly MUCH easier.  They are not expensive, either.  Mine was less than $10.

Ingredients

• 13 ears of fresh corn, husked
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• Minced chives for garnish

Instructions

1.  Cut kernels off cobs using a corn reamer.  Discard cobs.

2.  Cook kernels in a small Dutch oven over low heat, stirring often, for approximately 30 minutes or until corn is tender.  (Add water as needed, one tbsp. at a time, to keep corn from drying out during cooking.)

3.  Stir in cream and butter.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until mixture reaches desired consistency.

4.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Garnish with chives.

Baked Zucchini Chips

This Southern Living recipe made for a great, crunchy side.  And my kids could help cook because they were able to dunk the zucchini in panko!

BAKED ZUCCHINI CHIPS

Recipe Notes

I had a good amount of panko/basil/cheese mixture left over after coating the zucchini.  This recipe generally uses one large zucchini.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1/4 c. loosely-packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 c. shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb. zucchini, sliced thinly into rounds
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Cooking spray

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.  Process panko, basil, salt, and cheese in a food processor for 10-15 seconds or until finely-ground.

3.  Pour panko mixture into a medium bowl.

4.  Toss zucchini rounds in olive oil.  

5.  Dredge zucchini pieces, one at a time, in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere.

6.  Place rounds in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.

7.  Bake 30 minutes or until browned and crispy.  Serve hot.

Zucchini & Onion Gratin

This Cooking Light side was easy and delicious and really good for you.  I had at least seconds and maybe thirds.

ZUCCHINI & ONION GRATIN

Recipe Notes

I really, really love tomato paste in recipes, so I doubled the tomato paste from the original recipe.  I used a mandoline slicer to get my onions really thin.

Nutritional Information (per serving - serves 6)

92 calories - 6.3 g. fat - 4 g. protein - 7 g. carbohydrates - 2 g. fiber

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. grated lemon rind
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1-1/2 lb. zuccini, diagonally-sliced thin
• 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated (about 1/4 cup)

Instructions

1.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 tbsp. oil to pan and swirl to coat.

2.  Add onion and cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.

4.  Stir in lemon rind, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Cook two minutes more, stirring occasionally.

5.  Preheat broiler to high.

6.  Combine zucchini slices and 1 tbsp. olive oil.  Toss gently to coat.

7.  Arrange zucchini on a jelly roll pan lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with Pam.

8.  Broil for 7 minutes or until lightly charred.  Sprinkle with approx. 1/4 tsp. salt.

9.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

10.  Spread onion mixture into the bottom of a 2 qt. oven-safe dish coated with cooking spray.

11.  Arrange zucchini over onion mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

12.  Cover and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

13.  Remove from oven and preheat broiler to high once more.

14.  Uncover zucchini mixture and broil approx. 1 minute more or until lightly browned.

Creamy Rice Casserole

I adapted this rice from a recipe that Aaron Sanchez published called "Zarela's Famous Creamy Rice".  I made my version healthier and also took out the poblano chiles, which saved some time.  If you want the original recipe, it can be found here.

CREAMY RICE CASSEROLE

Recipe Notes

This dish is great with grilled chicken and a big salad.  It's Mexican-inspired with the rice, corn, and cilantro flavors, so it will go well with Mexican dishes and just about anything grilled.

Ingredients

• 2 c. uncooked basmati rice
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 c. light sour cream
• 3/4 c. onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cob
• 4 oz. shredded white cheddar cheese

Instructions

1.  Cook rice according to package directions either on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.  Set aside to cool.

2.  Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with cooking spray.  Saute corn with 1 tbsp. butter until charred, stirring occasionally.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Wipe out skillet and heat with 1 tbsp. vegetable oil.  Add onion and minced garlic and saute until soft and fragrant.

4.  Combine cooked and cooled rice, cooled corn, and onion/garlic mixture.  Fold in sour cream, grated white cheddar cheese, and cilantro.

5.  Turn rice and corn mixture out into a 9x13 glass baking dish sprayed with Pam.

6.  Bake for approx. 30 minutes at 350 degrees until heated through.

7.  Serve immediately.