Recipe for Herbed Halibut Steaks over White Beans with Tomatoes

If you'd like to get a healthy, simple, and delicious meal on the table in under 20 minutes, I've got the recipe for you.  Check the source for your fish and be sure it is coming from a sustainable source and if you can't get fresh fish, look for flash frozen sustainable fish at high quality grocery stores in the freezer section.

We loved this simple dinner!

Servings: 2
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 halibut steaks
• 1 can white beans, drained
• 1 can (good quality) chopped tomatoes
• Mixed herb seasoning (I used Kirkland Brand Organic No Salt Seasoning)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh basil, finely chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line a baking pan with parchment.
• Sprinkle olive oil and herb mixture over parchment and over both sides of fish.
• Bake fish for 7-8 minutes, until beginning to flake (don't overcook).
• While fish bakes, heat together the beans and tomatoes, with salt and pepper to taste.
• When beans and tomatoes are heated and ready to serve, stir in basil.
• Serve fish over bean/tomato mix.

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Recipe for Black Bean Salad

This is a great side dish for chicken fajitas. If you don't want to bother roasting the peppers, I've also made this successfully using store bought roasted red peppers.

Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6 servings


Ingredients:

• 2 bell peppers, I used one red and one yellow
• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 1 can organic black beans
• 1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup (or more) chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp cumin
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Preheat broiler.
• Cut peppers in half, remove seeds, and press with hand to flatten
• Toss peppers with canola oil and place on baking sheet.
• Broil peppers for 5 minutes or so per side until charred.
• Remove peppers from tray and place in covered bowl for 5 minutes.
• Carefully remove skin from peppers and chop.
• Rinse and drain beans.
• Combine beans, peppers, avocado, cilantro, cumin, lime juice and zest.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
• Chill briefly before serving.

This keeps really well for a couple of days in the fridge (the avocado will eventually start to brown but the lime juice helps retard that for a while).  Wrapped in a tortilla, it makes a nice veggie lunch and served over scrambled egg whites makes for a tasty breakfast.


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Recipe for Smoky Fried Chickpeas

Hummus is one of those things you'll always find in our fridge.  But other than that, I'm not a big fan of chickpeas.  I have tried them on salads, in casseroles etc. and I'll eat them but they don't wow me.    These smoky fried chickpeas, however, WOW!

I love everything about them-flavor, texture, and ease of preparation.  Just imagine smoky paprika and chipotle flavored with salt and lime. A little crunch and then a nice creamy chew.  Have I sold you yet?  I adapted this recipe slightly from Bon Appetit.




Yield: 6 servings
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 6 TBSP olive oil
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground chipotle chile
• 3 tsp grated lime zest
• Salt (kosher or sea salt)

Method:

• Wash, drain, and pat dry the chickpeas.
• Remove any loose skins from the chickpeas.
• Mix paprika and chipotle together. Set aside.
• Heat 1/2 of olive oil over med-high heat.
• Cook 1/2 of chickpeas for 8-10 minutes until brown. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
• Wipe out any brown bits and add remaining olive oil to pan.  Heat for 1-2 minutes.
• Add remaining chickpeas and cook for 8-10 minutes until brown.  Remove and drain on paper towels.
• Place chickpeas in a bowl, salt liberally and stir in paprika mixture and lime zest.
• Serve with paper napkins to wipe fingers on.

A new appetizer to add in to the repertoire.  Hope you enjoy!


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Original recipe

Recipe for Black Eyed Pea Hummus

This recipe was in the group of "top recipes" for 2011 based on page views.  I posted it after New Years but thought I would re-post again this year before the holiday since it was a popular recipe.  


Growing up in the South, black eyed peas, usually with some greens, were a staple on New Years Day, served to bring us all good luck.  They are also recorded as being served on Rosh Hashana, Jewish New Year, also to bring good luck.  Honestly, I was never a big fan of black eyed peas.  But I love hummus and this one is really delicious.  If it brings us good luck, even more reason to try it!

Here is the original post and recipe:  Black Eyed Pea Hummus


I'm also working on a post recapping some of the other top recipes from 2011.


Have a SAFE and Happy New Year.  See you in 2012!

Recipe for Salsa Turkey Pasta

Mr. ELEB is training for a half marathon and wanted a bit more carbs in some of our meals.  We both like whole grain pasta so I created another baked pasta recipe inspired by my December Secret Recipe Club recipe.

This time, the flavor palette is more in the Mexican/Latin realm and I added in some spinach and black beans to really make it a one pot meal.  This is another really easy, no fail recipe.  I hope you will try it and let me know what you think.


Yield: 6 hearty servings
Time: 30 minutes


Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ lb. ground turkey breast
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 10 oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed in paper towels to remove extra moisture
• 1 ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
• 8 oz. whole grain rotini pasta
• 32 oz. thick and chunky salsa
• 3 TBSP taco seasoning
• 2 tsp olive oil
• Cooking spray

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente.
• Season turkey with taco seasoning and heat olive oil in skillet.
• Cook turkey in hot oil until no longer pink. 
• Stir in the black beans, spinach, and salsa and heat until bubbling.
• Stir in the cooked, drained pasta and ½ of the the cheese.
• Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in the pasta/meat mixture.
• Top with remaining cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until bubbling and cheese is melted.

I hope you have a safe and happy New Year-be safe!

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Recipe for White Bean and Salmon Burgers

The photo didn't turn out very well (they really weren't burned) but this white bean and salmon appetizer did!   I made the bite sized ones for an appetizer to take to a dinner party and then Mr. ELEB and I had "regular" sized patties the following night for dinner.  Great both ways!

Yield: 16 appetizer pieces and 2 meal size patties
Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients:

• 1 large garlic clove
• 8 oz. salmon
• 1 can white beans
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (plus more for sauce)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt
• Creme Fraiche, sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt mixed with additional dill, and lemon slices for serving

Method:

• In a food processor, add 2 oz. of the salmon with 1/2 cup beans and the garlic.
• Pulse until well blended.
• Add remaining salmon, beans, scallions, dill and a sprinkle of salt and pulse until roughly chopped and beginning to come together (but not until mushy).
• Shape into appetizer or meal size patties and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
• To cook, heat enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan over med-high heat.
• Add patties and cook about 3 minutes per side for appetizer size, 5 minutes per side for meal sized ones.  Add additional oil if needed.
• Drain briefly on paper towels and serve with lemon slices, salt and dill sauce.

This is another Bittman recipe from The Food Matters Cookbook, page 378 (a similar recipe here).

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Recipe for Indian Spiced Beans

A few months ago I saw a couple of mentions of the Secret Recipe Club but didn’t really have time to look into exactly what it was all about.  Until now.  How it works in a nutshell is you sign up to join and are assigned a different blog each month (from another participating blogger).  Once you receive your assignment, you choose any recipe to make from that blog.  The secret part is that participating bloggers don’t know who is cooking from their blog or what is being made until the assigned day. 

Today is the day, and I am featuring a recipe from the blog Beantown Baker.  Jen is the author and lives in Boston with her hubby and two cats.  She loves to bake as you could probably guess but also features other recipes on her blog.  Since Mr. ELEB and I are still trying to recover (ie lose the weight we gained) from our (not so) recent SF/NY/Atlanta trip, and because I’m trying to cook more Indian food, I chose this interesting bean recipe rather than one of her delicious sounding desserts.  However, I’d encourage you to check out Jen’s blog for some decadent cupcakes!

Yield: 3 servings

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

• Heat oil in a medium skillet over med-high heat.
• Add onion and sauté until translucent.
• Stir in the minced garlic and garam masala.
• Cook for one minute. 
• Stir in the beans, tomatoes, ginger, and salt.
• Simmer for fifteen minutes. 
• Pour in coconut milk.
• Heat until warmed.
• Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

This is a great, quick recipe for when you want something flavorful but easy to put together, especially if you are on an Indian food kick like I am!  I stayed pretty true to the original recipe.  I used cannellini rather than pinto beans but as Jen noted, any bean will work.  I also omitted the small amount of sugar in the original recipe, used fresh instead of ground ginger, and used light instead of regular coconut milk. 

Check out all the other recipes that were made as part of the Secret Recipe Club.  I can’t wait to see what someone picked to make from Eat Little, Eat Big!  

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Recipe for Ground Turkey, Black Beans and Rice Mexican Casserole

Staring at a package of ground turkey breast, I was pretty uninspired...until I remembered reading about a chicken and black bean casserole Jenny recently posted on her blog, Picky Palate.  I love food bloggers!  I changed things up a pretty good bit and loved the results. 

Time:  45 minutes

Yield:  8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 1 ½ cup chopped red onion
• 1 ¼ lb. ground turkey breast
• 2 TBSP taco seasoning
• 3 cups green enchilada sauce, medium heat
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup light sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup low fat grated 4 cheese Mexican cheese (more if you want it really cheesy)
• Cooking spray
• Hot sauce (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat the canola oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.
• Add onions and brown.
• Push onions to side of pan, add turkey and taco seasoning and stir occasionally until turkey is cooked.
• Remove from heat and stir in the enchilada sauce, black beans, rice, and sour cream.
• Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and hot sauce if using (I didn't).
• Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Pour mixture into casserole dish and top with grated cheese.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Wow, the enchilada sauce with its little hint of heat and the taco seasoning really made this dish full of flavor.  It reheats nicely (about 1 1/2 minutes on 80% power in the microwave).  We loved it and left overs got rave reviews from my son and friends who were here visiting.   Thanks Jenny for the inspiration!

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