Salmon with chive-tarragon sauce

From FISH - the complete  guide to buying and cooking

1Tbsp olive oil
4 salmon steaks, 1/2 pound each
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup minced fresh chives
3 sprigs fresh tarragon
2 Tbsp butter
2 fresh meaty plum tomatoes, seeded and minced
1/2 lemon

Preheat a 10-  or 12-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat until it is quite hot, about 5 minutes.  Preheat the oven to about 200 degrees.  Add the oil, turn the heat to high, and cook the steaks 3-4 minutes per side, depending on their thickness; season them as they cook. They should be nicely browed, but not cooked through. Remove the steaks to a platter and place the platter in the oven.


Add the wine, reduce the heat slightly, and let it bubble away for 1 minute or so. Add the herbs and butter and stir. When the butter has melted, add the tomatoes and cook for another 30 seconds. Taste for seasoning. If the sauce is flat after you've added salt and pepper, add a few drops of lemon juice.

Spoon the sauce over the salmon steaks and garnish with chives.

Chicken with oven-roasted grapes

From Healthy 1-2-3...

Chicken with Oven-roasted Grapes

1.5 pounds seedless grapes, a mixture of red and green
3.5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
4 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Wash grapes and remove from stems. Set aside half of the red and green grapes. Place remaining grapes on a baking sheet and bake for 1.5 hours, shaking pan frequently. Remove from oven and set aside.

Place uncooked grapes in a blender and puree until very smooth.  Strain through a coarse-mesh sieve, pressing down hard on the skins. You will have about 3/4 cup juice.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Season chicken with kosher salt and ground black pepper.  Add to pan and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side, until golden.

Add grape juice and cook for 5 minutes longer, or until chicken is done, and is just firm to the touch. Be careful not to overcook. The grape juices will darken into a mahogany-colored sauce. Transfer breasts to a platter.

Add remaining 1.5 Tbsp butter to pan and cook over high heat for 1 minute.  Add oven-dried grapes and cook for 1 minute longer.  Add salt and pepper to taste and pour sauce over chicken. Serve immediately.

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

By popular demand, here is the recipe, thanks to http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/12/fresh-food-friday-20-tried-and-true.html, and, more specifically http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/06/chicken-parmesan-meatloaf.html. It was AWESOME!

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

1 lb ground chicken (or ground turkey)
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion (or dried onion)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta sauce
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Mix chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, basil, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and Parmesan in a large bowl with your hands. Place the mixture in a greased loaf pan. Top with pasta sauce.

At this point, I froze the meatloaf, and thawed it the night before we were going to cook it.

To cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until cooked. Top with shredded Italian cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

Oatmeal "muffins"

I found the recipe for these oatmeal "muffins" on pinterest. The original recipe is from http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/personal-sized-baked-oatmeal-with-individual-toppings-gluten-free-diabetic-friendly/ and copied here:

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 banana, mashed
• 6 packets of Sweetleaf Stevia or 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder or use 1/2 cup honey
• 5 cups, Old Fashioned rolled oats { I used Bob’s Red Mill}
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal*
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups milk (I used 1%)
• Optional toppings: raisins, walnuts, chocolate chips

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, banana and Stevia together in a bowl.
3. Add in oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients.
4. Finally pour in milk and combine.
5. Spray a 12 and 6 capacity muffin tin with cooking spray or use cupcake liners.
6. Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups.
7. If using toppings add them onto the tops of muffins now. If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter.
8. Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.

But here's what I did, cutting the recipe in half and substituting for the banana:

My version:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• 3 Tbsp stick butter, softened
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2.5 cups Old Fashioned rolled oats
• 1/8 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/8 cups milk 
• Optional toppings: I used toasted pecans, craisins, and dried blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, vanilla, applesauce, butter and honey together in a bowl.
3. Add in oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and mix well with wet ingredients.
4. Finally pour in milk and combine.
5. Spray a 12 capacity muffin tin with cooking spray or use cupcake liners.
6. Pour mixture evenly into muffin tin cups.
7. If using toppings add them onto the tops of muffins now. If using fresh or frozen fruit, drop it right into the batter.
8. Bake 30 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool and enjoy or freeze them in gallon freezer bags.

Lemon Frittata with Leeks and Goat Cheese

Here is the original recipe (which I totally stole from somewhere on Pinterest), but this is not quite what I did. I'll include my version below.

Lemon Frittata with Leeks and Goat Cheese

7 eggs
1 Meyer lemon, zested
3 ounces goat cheese
olive oil
2 Large leeks, cut lengthwise and rinsed
1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until slightly bubbly and well mixed, then stir in the lemon zest. Crumble in the goat cheese.

Heat about a Tbsp of olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. It can be cast iron or another metal; just make sure it can go in the oven. Trim the leeks of any dry or browned edges on the green tops, then slice the remaining stalk into half moons. Toss into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the leeks are softened. Stir in the parsley and cook just until wilted. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool for a minute or two, then pour the cooked leeks into the bowl with the eggs and stir.

Put the skillet back on the heat and film lightly with a bit more olive oil. Pour the egg and leek mixture in and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the frittata has mostly set. Use a spatula to lift up the edges and make sure it's cooking evenly, letting the uncooked eggs run down into the bottom of the pan.

When the frittata has set, put under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and slightly puffy.  Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Flip out onto a platter and serve immediately.

My edits

5 eggs

1 lemon, zested

2 ounces goat cheese

Butter

1 Large leek, cut lengthwise and rinsed

1/3 cup Italian parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until slightly bubbly and well mixed, then stir in the lemon zest. Crumble in the goat cheese.

Heat about a Tbsp of butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. It can be cast iron or another metal; just make sure it can go in the oven. Trim the leeks of any dry or browned edges on the green tops, then slice the remaining stalk into half moons. Toss into the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the leeks are softened. Stir in the parsley and cook just until wilted. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool for a minute or two, then pour the cooked leeks into the bowl with the eggs and stir.

Put the skillet back on the heat and film lightly with a bit more butter. Pour the egg and leek mixture in and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes or until the edges of the frittata have set. Place the frittata in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until it has mostly set.

When the frittata has set, put under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and slightly puffy.  Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes. Flip out onto a platter and serve immediately.

Low-Carb Thanksgiving, addendum

Slow Cooker Turkey

7 pound or less turkey breast (I used a half turkey breast and 2 thighs)
1/2 stick butter, cut into lots of pieces
olive oil

Rub:
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder (or dried onion)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp poultry seasoning

1.  Mix together your rub and cut up your butter.

2. Spray the slow cooker with no-stick cooking spray.

3. Wash your turkey pieces and pay dry, and then place into the slow cooker.

4.  Rub it down with olive oil and the sprinkle with the rub.

5.  Place butter squares all over the turkey.

6. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 5 hours.

7. If you want, make your gravy out of the drippings (or make a sauce for your turkey).

Obviously I haven't had this yet, but it's cooking and it's starting to smell really yummy in here!

Low-carb Thanksgiving

Trying to plan a meal that is traditionally high in carbs (cranberry sauce, bread, pie, potatoes, etc) for a low-carb family is a bit of a challenge. It seems less challenging this year than last year.  This year's menu is:

Roasted turkey with cranberry-orange sauce
Cranberry-almond quinoa
Twice-baked cauliflower
Whole berry cranberry sauce
Tossed salad

Cranberry-almond quinoa (from 30 minute meals for Diabetes):

1 cup uncooked red quinoa
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup coarsely chopped baking apple
1.5 cups veggie or chicken stock
1/2 cup OJ
almonds (or pine nuts or whatever your favorite is)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly by placing in a fine-mesh strainer and holding under cold running water until water runs clear, about 2 minutes; drain well

2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, apple, and quinoa. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in veggie stock and OJ. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes (I find it actually takes longer) or until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is tender.

4. Meanwhile, toast nuts if desired.

5.  Fluff quinoa with fork. Stir in cranberries, nuts, cheese and salt. Sprinkle with parsley.

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Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

I essentially follow the usual directions on the bag of cranberries, but this year I used Splenda in place of the sugar, and I always add some orange zest.

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Twice-Baked Cauliflower

I chop up the cauliflower and put it in a microwave-safe casserole dish with 1/4 cup water. Microwave for 12-14 minutes.  Drain the cauliflower.  Use a potato-masher to mash the cauliflower.  Add in 2 Tbsp butter, 1/4 cup cream cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream and mix well. Stir in bacon bits and a handful of shredded cheese.  Return to the microwave-safe casserole dish. Top with more cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and hot.