Make-Fast Mondays: Skillet Sausage with Green Apples and Cabbage

What do I love about this meal? Lots of flavor, short shopping list and you only have to wash a couple dishes!

Skillet Sausage with Green Apples and Cabbage 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (dried thyme will work, too)
12 ounces smoked turkey sausage, sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
1 pound shredded green cabbage
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and thyme and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until onions start to soften. Add sausage and apples to pan and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cabbage and water, cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat, stir in the red wine vinegar, and enjoy.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano

I love a good bowl of chili (who doesn’t?) but when I make it at home I tend to use chicken or ground turkey. Time to shake things up with some lamb! This chili is packed with flavor and will keep you nice and toasty when it’s cold outside.

Lamb Chili with White Beans and Oregano 
1 pound ground lamb
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups cooked white beans*
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup fresh oregano, plus extra for garnish
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Crumbled feta (optional)

*A note on the beans: I made my own pot of beans, but if you're going the canned route, two 15-ounce cans will work just fine. 

Brown lamb In a large pot over medium-high heat until meat is thoroughly cooked. Transfer meat to plate or bowl lined with a paper towel.

Add the onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 or 5 minutes. Return lamb to the pot and add beans, broth, oregano and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the lemon juice. Garnish with oregano and feta and enjoy.

Make-Fast Mondays: Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews

Stir-fry dishes are such a great meal when you want something fresh, fast and flavorful. Just chop up some chicken and veggies, whisk together a sauce, toss everything in the pan and a few minutes later you’ve got dinner on the table.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cashews 
For the sauce:
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon agave syrup (honey will also work)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili oil
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon white pepper

For the stir fry:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium zucchini, diced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus extra for garnish
½ cup cashews

Combine broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cornstarch, agave syrup, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, chili oil, oyster sauce, ginger and white pepper in a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large skillet (wok or pan will also work!) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Transfer chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are slightly softened. Add the chicken and cashews to the skillet. Stir in the sauce and let everything simmer for 1-2 minutes, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Garnish with additional red pepper flakes and serve with rice or enjoy as-is!

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven’s Kung Pao Chicken recipe. 

Scalloped Potatoes with Mushrooms and Thyme

I looooove rich, super-cheesy dish scalloped potatoes. What I don’t love is imagining how many miles I’ll need to run to burn off just one helping. The next time you get a hankering for scalloped potatoes, give this recipe a try. My version omits the cheese but is rich in flavor thanks to a low-fat sauce featuring plenty of fresh thyme and garlic. Working mushrooms into the mix also lightens things up a bit by making this dish a little less starchy.

Scalloped Potatoes with Mushrooms and Thyme 
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 ½ cups nonfat milk
¼ cup flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
1 pound white potatoes, sliced thin
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, until fragrant. Whisk in the milk, flour and thyme. Cook sauce, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

In an 8-by-8 square baking dish, arrange ⅓ of the potatoes in the dish, followed by ½ of the mushrooms, a little salt and pepper and a light drizzle of the sauce; repeat once more. Arrange remaining ⅓ potatoes on top and pour remaining sauce over potatoes. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncover for another 10-15 minutes for a total bake time of 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Cabbage Rolls with Sausage and Brown Rice

Have you ever made cabbage rolls? This is something I always wanted to try but kept putting off because I thought it might be messy and laborious. Yes, it does take a little time, but I’m glad I finally got around to it, because it’s a lot of fun and the end result is so tasty and comforting on a chilly fall night.

Cabbage Rolls with Sausage and Brown Rice
1 head savoy cabbage, 12 outer leaves removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
½ cup cooked brown rice
1 large egg, beaten
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
⅓ cup grated Parmesan
1 cup chicken broth, heated
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Put the whole leaves in the pot and boil for 1 minute, then place under cold running water and dry.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, thyme and pinch of salt and pepper. Saute until onion is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the sausage, rice, egg and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. 

Without cutting through the cabbage leaves, pare down the rib on the outside surface so it’s the same thickness as the leaf. Spoon ¼ cup of the mixture into the base of each leaf. Starting from the bottom, roll the leaf one turn, fold the sides in and finish rolling. Place the stuffed leaves, seam side down, in a glass baking dish. Add heated broth to the dish, pour tomatoes over the stuffed leaves and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove from oven, and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from Cooking from the Farmers’ Market by Jodi Liano and Tasha DeSerio

Make-Fast Mondays: Grilled Fish Tacos

The only thing better than welcoming out-of-town visitors is welcoming out-of-town visitors who show up with a cooler full of fish! Our friends Bill and Jamie recently went to Alaska for a fishing trip and came back with a ton of salmon and rockfish, some of which they generously shared with us. The rockfish worked great for these fast, fresh fish tacos.

Grilled Fish Tacos 
1 pound rockfish (or other white fish such as cod or halibut)
1 ½ teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 corn tortillas, warmed*

Suggested garnishes: lime wedges, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced green onion, avocado, hot sauce, cilantro

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in baking dish. Whisk together ancho chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, lime juice and olive oil and pour over fish. Refrigerate and let marinade for at least 15 minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the grill. Grill the fish for 4 minutes and flip it, cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Remove fish from the grill and flake it with a fork. Distribute the fish between the tortillas and top with all your favorite garnishes.

*A note on the tortillas: I’ve warmed my tortillas a couple different ways and have been happy with the results. Depending on your preference, you could try warm them in a frying pan over medium high heat for a couple minutes, or toss them on the grill for a moment once you're done cooking the fish.

The Great Green Smoothie Experiment

I’ve become quite the lean, mean, green smoothie-making machine. Smoothies are no stranger to our breakfast routine, but in the past they’ve been heavy on the fruit. Well, times are a-changing and we’re trying to work more vegetables into the mix. A few days I brought home a cornucopia of produce and started what we’ll call The Great Green Smoothie Experiment -- tossing a different mix of vegetables and fruit into the blender each morning aiming to create something that doesn’t taste like a sippable salad. We’re three weeks in and no epic fails yet!

A few notes about this ongoing quest for green-smoothie greatness:

1. Don’t overthink it or worry about exact measurements when adding your ingredients to the blender. 
2. A little prep work goes a long way. If you’re making smoothies every morning, spend a few minutes cleaning, peeling and chopping your ingredients in advance so all you need to do in the morning is throw some goodies in the blender. 
3. Water is your friend. No need for juice when you’re working with flavorful fresh fruits and vegetables! 
4. Each of the following recipes yields about 32 ounces (enough for two substantial smoothies). 
5. The ingredients for these smoothies vary but the directions remain the same: combine all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. 

Green Smoothie No. 1 
1 ½ cups cold water
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1 cucumber, peeled
1 tablespoon peeled ginger
1 tablespoon flax seeds
2 handfuls green kale
2 handfuls spinach

Green Smoothie No. 2 
1 ½ cups cold water
1 navel orange, peeled
1 banana, peeled
1-2 tablespoons peeled ginger
1 cucumber, peeled
4 handfuls spinach
4 romaine leaves

Green Smoothie No. 3 
2 cups cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 Asian pear, cored and sliced
½ cucumber, peeled
1 carrot, peeled
4 handfuls spinach

Green Smoothie No. 4 
1 cup cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon peeled ginger
Juice of 1 lemon
2 stalks celery
4 handfuls spinach
2 romaine leaves

Green Smoothie No. 5 
1 cup cold water
1 red apple, cored and sliced
1 stalk celery
1 banana, peeled
4 handfuls green kale
1 tablespoon flax seeds
Splash of lemon juice

What goes into your favorite green smoothie?