Healthy Halloween dinner

It's November already!  I thought I'd share a quick post today before this post became too outdated.

My goal this Halloween was to make a high protein, low sugar, healthy dinner to fuel my kids before the onslaught of post trick-or-treating sugar.  I had help from a Pillsbury Halloween magazine I picked up a few years ago.  Fortunately, they included all of the nutritional information on the recipes.  So many of those magazines don't.

Twice baked mummies

These were baked potatoes, cut in half with their insides scraped out.  I filled the cavity with cooked turkey meatball that had simmered in pizza sauce, laid mozzarella "bandages" over the meatballs, popped them back into the oven for a minute or two so the cheese could melt slightly, and then added green olives for the eyes and pickle slices for feet.

Jack o' lantern smoothies

This was a smoothie made with nonfat greek yogurt, orange juice concentrate, mandarin oranges, nonfat milk, and banana.  I added orange food coloring to really make it orange.  The faces were made with melted chocolate chips and were spread inside the glass.  I then chilled the glasses to set the chocolate faces before filling.

"Garbage" dip

This was a dip made with nonfat greek yogurt, cream cheese and a whole bunch of veggies.  I served this with a plate full of raw veggies.  The kids loved the "hand" sticking out of the dip.

Fueling up before heading out.

An Irish Feast for the non-Irish Joie

I do not have a lick of Irish in me, but I love the food and festivities associated with the day.
Even if you are like me and lack the Irish gene, St. Patrick's day is a day where we can all be Irish.  So lift your glass of Guinness high and get cooking!

On the menu:

Guinness braised corned beef
Whole wheat Irish soda bread with butter
Colcannon
Steamed carrots with butter
Guinness


Guinness braised corned beef by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

1 corned beef roast
the spice packet that comes with your corned beef
1 bottle of Guinness

Directions:

1.  Place your corned beef in the insert of your crock pot.
2.  Open the spice packet that came with the corned beef and sprinkle on top of the beef.
3.  Pour the bottle of Guinness over the corned beef.
4.  Cover the crock pot and set on LOW for 8-10 hours.
5.  Remove the corned beef from the crock pot.  Trim off all of the external fat and slice the roast into pieces going against the grain of the meat.

Colcannon by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-2 inch chunks.
1 bunch of scallions (about 8), white part only, sliced thinly
1 small head of green cabbage, cored and sliced thinly
2 Tbls. butter
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 scant tsp. salt
black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  In a tall soup pot, place the potatoes and add cool water until the potatoes are just covered.
2.  Sprinkle the scallions on top of the potatoes
3.  Layer the shredded cabbage on top of the scallions
4.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
5.  Drain the contents in a colander and return them to the pot.
6.  Add butter, milk, salt and pepper and mash with a potato masher until potato chunks are thoroughly mashed.

Mashed Potatoes with Mustard and Crunchy Shallots

When cooking for guests, I tend to try new recipes.  I know this is risky, but I guess I love the hunt of the new recipe and having guests over is a perfect excuse to go on a hunt.  This recipe was made for this Sunday's lunch with guests, and was adapted from the cookbook Simple to Spectacular by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman.  This is the same cookbook from which I adapted the Raspberry Sorbet with Thai Chili and Lemon.  These potatoes are another winning recipe from the book and my favorite part of Sunday's lunch.  The mustard in the dish gives the potatoes a lovely tang and the crunchy shallots make a nice contrast of textures against the smooth mashed potatoes.  I was also able to time this recipe to be finished with the other dishes by keeping the boiled mashed potatoes in their boiling water on the stove for 20 minutes while the other dishes were cooking.  When the other dishes were finished, it was quick work to drain the potatoes and mash them.  That way, everything was hot and finished at the same time.  The fried shallots may make this dish a bit heavy for warmer weather, but if you are looking for an upscale potato dish for Easter next week, this is your dish.

Mashed Potatoes with Mustard and Crunchy Shallots adapted extensively from Simple to Spectacular

Ingredients:

4 oz. shallots, peeled

Canola oil

6 Russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. milk

4 Tbls. unsalted butter

2 Tbls. Dijon mustard

Directions:

1.  Heat the oil over medium high heat in a skillet.  

2.  While your oil is warming, slice your shallots using a thin setting on a mandoline or in a food processor using the smallest slicing disk

3.  When the oil is heated, add the shallots to the oil, stirring constantly until browned.  Do not leave them as they will burn quickly.  When browned well, remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel.  This step can be done several hours beforehand.

4.  In the meantime, place the potatoes in a big pot and cover with water.  Salt the water and potatoes generously.  Bring the water to a boil and boil the potatoes until soft, around 20 minutes.  If you are not ready to assemble the potatoes, you may leave the potatoes in the warm water (off of the heat) for up to 20 minutes.

5.  Drain the potatoes and place them back into the pot.  Add the milk and butter and mash.  Add the mustard and mix well.  Adjust the salt and pepper.

6.  Place the mashed potatoes in a serving bowl and top with the crunchy shallots.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes

Oh yeah, you go ahead and drool, this was totally drool-worthy!  I am a big fan of braising meat, smelling those wonderful aromas as tough cuts of meat break down until they are falling off of the bone they are so tender.  A few weeks ago, I noticed lamb shanks in the freezer section of my wonderful local butcher.  I had never seen them there before, and as everything is always so fresh and good from there, I didn't even hesitate over the thought about how to cook them before snatching them up.  The woman helping me actually gave me a photocopied recipe that I used as inspiration here.  Braising the lamb shanks does take a few hours, but they are so delicious, it is time well spent.  This would be a fabulous dish to serve for Easter dinner.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

4 Tbls. olive oil

4 lbs. lamb shanks (2 big shanks)

2 medium onions, peeled and diced

5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 c. dry white wine

1 c. chopped tomatoes, drained

1/4 c. orange juice

about 1 quart chicken stock

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

4 small waxy potatoes, quartered and placed in cold water to cover

Directions:

1.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Brown the lamb shanks on all sides and set aside.  

3.  Add a little more olive oil to the Dutch oven if necessary and add the chopped onions.  Cook until softened and starting to brown a little.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring.  

4.  Add the white wine, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Stir in all the ingredients EXCEPT the lamb, salt and pepper, and the potatoes.  Taste the sauce and adjust the salt and pepper.  Add the lamb.  If needed, add water or more chicken stock to cover the lamb shanks.  

5.  Bring to a simmer, cover with the lid, and place the Dutch oven into the pre-heated oven for 1 hour.

6.  After an hour, drain the potatoes and add them to the Dutch oven stirring a little so they are covered with the sauce. 

7.  Place the Dutch oven back into the oven and cook for an additional 2-3 hours until the meat on the lamb shank is falling off the bone and the potatoes are cooked through.

8.  Remove the Dutch oven from the oven.  Place the lamb shanks and the potatoes to a plate and set aside.  Remove the bay leaves from the sauce, then use an immersion blender to puree the rest of the sauce.  Serve this sauce as an accompaniment to the lamb and potatoes.

Baked Chicken and Potato Salad

Potato Salad adapted from Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, last week you may have received a very cryptic tweet from me saying "About to make dinner with my 3 year old, pray for me!"  In order to get my three year old to eat food I prepare without complaining, I tried buying a picture cookbook for him last week and let him pick out a dinner to help me make.  He was so excited to help, had been wound up throughout the day, and was very excited when I told him that it was almost time to cook, I just had to clean up the kitchen first.  He settled into the couch to play a game while he waited for me to clean up the lunch dishes.  Within two minutes, I look over at his very still body, he had fallen asleep!  Ah well, so much for good intentions.  We're going to try again tonight, but here is the recipe he picked out.  I really liked the potato salad, it tasted reminiscent of summer with the mint leaves in there, and the chicken legs were just downright good value at about $0.50 a piece.  

Potato Salad adapted from Kids' Fun and Healthy Cookbook

Ingredients:

14 oz. small white skinned potatoes, scrubbed

2 green onions, finely chopped

8 cherry tomatoes, halved

3 Tbls. chopped fresh mint

2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbls. lemon juice

Directions:

1.  I have a potato setting on my microwave, so after pricking the potatoes all over with a fork, I put the potatoes into a small pyrex dish, and set the microwave button.  If yours does not have this setting, find some way to cook the potatoes, boil, broil, microwave, whatever.

2.  Let the potatoes cool and cut them into quarters.  Place the quartered potatoes into a bowl and add the chopped green onion, the chopped mint, and the halved tomatoes.

3.  Mix the extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice together with a fork, drizzle mixture over the potato mixture and stir to coat everything.  Set aside until the chicken is done so that the flavors meld a little.  The leftovers were fabulous the next day after a night in the refrigerator.

Baked Chicken Legs

Ingredients:

5 chicken legs

2 scant Tbls. Ethiopian berbere spice mix (or use something milder like paprika if desired)

3 Tbls. olive oil

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Place the chicken legs, spices, and the olive oil into a gallon sized ziplock bag.  Remove as much of the air as possible, seal the bag, mix the legs around so that they are fully surrounded by oil/spice mix, and leave on the counter for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to overnight.

3.  Place the chicken legs in a small Pyrex baking dish.  Pour the oil/spice mixture over the legs.

4.  Place the chicken legs into the oven and bake for 40 minutes flipping them over halfway through.

Baked Chicken Legs with Berbere Spice

Tuscan Style Chickpea Soup

As a result of trying to eat more "French" I have been eating my main meal at lunch with a smaller dinner in the evening.  Sunday afternoon, I made a very gooey macaroni and cheese for lunch and the whole wheat pane di como from yesterday's post with this simple soup for dinner.  I have to say, this was one of the best soups I have had in a while (If I do say so myself).  I'm submitting this one to Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday event.  Enjoy!

Tuscan Style Chickpea Soup by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

8 c. chicken stock, plus 1 c. water (or 9 c. chicken stock, I just had 2 quarts on hand)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 lb. small potatoes cut into bite sized pieces

10 oz. bag pre-washed spinach leaves

1 lb. cooked polish sausage cut into soup sized chunks

salt and pepper.

Directions:

1.  Drain the chickpeas, place in a large pot, cover with fresh water, place over high heat and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to low, cover the pot partially, and simmer the beans for 1 hour until cooked.

2.  Place the chicken stock and water into a large soup pot.  Add the cooked chickpeas, potatoes and the olive oil.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked.  

3.  Add the spinach and the polish sausage and cook for 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.