low-carb turkey tacos

mood: dissectional
listening to: russian circles :: enter/new macabre

the slacker in me took over again, although this time, it wasn't completely my fault! this work thing keeps getting in the way and it removes every ounce of motivation or energy that i normally have and pushes me in the direction of the kitchen. also, i hadn't found anything that sounded the least bit exciting and i couldn't come up with any alterations of old favorites and so the blog went unattended.

but... i had a stroke of genius this weekend with the extra time off. initially, this was to be a low-carb version of tacos, but as the recipe began to take shape, it began to resemble more of a mexican version of chinese lettuce wraps. either way, they are good and this is a meal that could be a dinner or a tangy appetizer.

Ingredients: canola oil ginger, minced lg garlic clove, diced cracked peppercorns 4 green onions, chopped 2 jalapenos, chopped red pepper, chopped turmeric, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp 1 lb ground turkey

taco seasoning ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp 1 cup water 3 tbsp worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp white vinegar splashes of hot sauce lettuce guacamole salsa

Preparation:
- in large pan, add canola oil and sauteé ginger, garlic, onions, both peppers, turmeric and paprika for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat
- remove and set aside
- cook ground turkey till meat is whitish color
- add seasoning, coriander, garam masala, worcestershire sauce and vinegar
- add water and hot sauce to desired preference, so that all seasoning is mixed thoroughly
- peel layers off lettuce head and cut to desired size
- add meat, guacamole and salsa

i don't know which one sounds more appealing, but if you have a thought... let me know, i'm open to changing up titles

"balls to the walls" pesto chicken pasta

mood: mystified
listening to: flying lotus :: beginners falafel/melt!/gng bng

first off... i cannot take credit for the name of this recipe. i was experimenting in the kitchen, throwing some ingredients together, and when it was finished, i had a hard time coming up with a name. one person suggested 'balsamic pesto chicken pasta', which is great, but someone else blurted out this name which was too good to be true and there is the etymology of the dish name.

this is relatively easy dish to make, which came out very tangy and the marinade held quite well in the chicken. you may want to use more pesto than i did. i purposely used less, because it can get overwhelming and the amount i used was perfect for me.

one note: because it's warm out here, i was able to use the grill. if you live in a cold weather climate, the possibility of this may be less likely.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
balsamic vinegar
garlic powder, sprinkle
worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
green onions, sliced
1 small jar of pesto
artichoke hearts
whole grain rotini pasta

Preparation:
- in a bowl, marinate chicken in worcesteshire and balsamic mixture with garlic powder sprinkled over top, overnight
- once marination is complete, cook on grill till you have some good grill lines on chicken
- in a large pot, bring water to a boil and add in pasta on medium heat
- in a saucepan, add garlic cloves and green onions and cook till slightly brown
- add in pesto sauce and artichoke hearts
- when chicken is done, cut into pieces and add to pesto mixture
- serve mixture over top of pasta

you could just as easily marinate it in italian dressing as well.

breakfast burrito

mood: dauntless
listening to: mudvayne :: closer/heard it all before

happy new year to all! one of my resolutions was to attempt some more easy and difficult recipes, so we'll see how close i come to carrying that out.

not sure what your situations were on new year's day, but this guy was quite hungover and in need of something delicious to put me back to sleep/remove the hangover. i decided to make a simple, yet tasty little morning treat to get my 2010 off to the right start. this is a healthier, non-mcdonalds based dish that anyone can make!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
splash of milk
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 ham steak
pinch, paprika
pinch, cumin
pinch, garlic powder
shredded cheddar cheese
hot sauce
tortilla
light sour cream

Preparation:
- crack eggs, add milk, onion, ham, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and mix
- grease a nonstick pan and pour mixture in over medium-high heat
- cook eggs until slightly brown
- on a tortilla, add small layer of sour cream and cover with eggs
- add cheese and hot sauce on top, roll closed... and enjoy!

there are a lot of things that could've been added to make this even more of a masterpiece, but as i said... i was looking for something quick and delicious to douse my hungover a final blow.

christmas omelette

mood: intransigent
listening to: frank sinatra :: young at heart/in the wee small hours of the morning

merry christmas to all and what better way to celebrate the season than with... a christmas omelette! there is nothing "christmasy" about this recipe other than it's got greens and reds in it, but i did make this on christmas morning and it was delicious. who doesn't like a good omelette! it's simple and easy to make. i wanted to put more things into this, but it would've ended up more like a quiche so i had to dial it back just a bit.

Ingredients:
1 can of egg of substitute (or 2 eggs)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1/4 ham steak
pinch of paprika
pinch of ground coriander
provolone cheese
salsa
wheat bread
margarine

Preparation:
- mix egg substitute with pepper, onion, ham, paprika and coriander
- grease a nonstick pan and pour mixture in over medium-high heat
- raise edges occasionally as egg cooks
- when egg mixture remains slightly runny on top, put in provolone cheese and fold over
- make toast with butter
- when cheese starts to run slightly, serve on top of bread and cover with salsa

happy holidays!

roasted red pepper bisque

mood: satiated
listening to: isis :: hall of the dead/ghost key

it's cold outside and what's better on a cold afternoon or evening than soup! i've been feeling inspired to find a soup to make for the past 2 weeks, but nothing sounded intriguing. i didn't want to make something that you could pour out of a campbell's can, but also didn't want to make something that would take forever and a day... i mean, come on... it's soup! i came across this recipe and realized the alteration opportunities that i had to make this even more magnificent. the original called for chicken broth, which i've never found to be that tasty, so i substituted tomato paste and heavy whipping cream. this one is easy for all y'all that are being blanketed by snow.

Ingredients:
2 16 oz. jars of roasted red peppers
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
2 large garlic cloves
ginger
salt
dried basil
dried oregano
cumin ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparation:
- drain red peppers and put in food processor or blender
- blend until smooth, add in garlic and ginger
- in a large saucepan, mix red pepper mixture with tomato paste and heavy whipping cream
- add in salt, pepper, basil and oregano to taste

if you want to add in shrimp or other vegetables, you can add them in here and serve it with some french bread

eggplant parmesan

mood: feisty
listening to: greymachine :: wolf at the door/sweatshop

tis the season for me to be a slacker... and a slacker is what i've been. i've actually made a few dishes here and there, but they haven't quite been up to snuff and therefore, the long delay between posts. finally, i feel somewhat comfortable in posting this as it took a few iterations for me to get it right, but it's at a place that i feel like i can share this. jenn hoyt, here's a veggie dish finally!

Ingredients: 2 eggplants, peeled and sliced italian breadcrumbs 2 eggs 1 tbsp white horseradish balsamic vinegar 4 garlic cloves, minced salt yellow pepper, sliced green pepper, sliced 4 green onions, sliced	ginger black peppercorn fennel seed canola oil dried basil dried oregano 2 cans, plain spaghetti sauce mozzarella cheese parmesan cheese cheddar cheese

Preparation:
- preheat oven to 350°
- peel and slice eggplant; dip eggplant slices in egg and into italian breadcrumbs
- bake slices for 5-10 minutes or until light brown
- in a sauce pan, heat canola oil
- add garlic, ginger, fennel and peppercorns
- stir in green onion and yellow and green peppers
- add in white horseradish, balsamic vinegar and salt to taste
- stir in spaghetti sauce, basil and oregano
- heat mixture until slightly bubbling
- grease a casserole pan and put layer of spaghetti mixture on bottom of pan
- place layer of baked eggplant slices on top
- coat with mixture of parmesan, mozzarella and cheddar cheese
- repeat spaghetti sauce, eggplant and cheese until all ingredients are used
- cover with foil and heat in oven for 40-45 minutes

serve with a nice salad and bread and you're good to go

grilled salmon and asparagus with horseradish sauce

mood: lethargic
listening to: dj krush :: transitions/四極 (japan extra track 2)

after months and months of dancing around it, i finally mustered up the courage to cook some salmon. it's been a long time coming and it was mostly due to the fact that i couldn't think of anything that i wanted to make with it. i wasn't enthused about just laying a salmon fillet on top of buttered rice or anything like that, but recipe intrigued me, mostly because of the sauce that accompanies the salmon. i added in some grilled asparagus for some added variety. i think you'll enjoy this one.

Ingredients: 3 salmon fillets non stick vegetable spray 3 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp white horseradish 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce 2 garlic cloves, minced salt lemon juice louisiana hot sauce asparagus spears garlic salt	Horseradish Sauce: 3/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 tbsp white horseradish 2 tbsp basil 1 tbsp oregano 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp soy sauce louisiana hot sauce

Preparation:
- to create the horseradish sauce, combine all elements and mix thoroughly
- coat grill rack with nonstick spray and start grill on medium heat
- in separate bowl, mix oil, horseradish, soy sauce, worcestershire, minced garlic, salt, lemon juice and louisiana hot sauce
- coat salmon fillets with marinade, then place on grill
- grill salmon for about 5-7 minutes per side or until the center becomes desired color
- remove salmon fillets and lay asparagus spears on grill
- occasionally turn the asparagus and coat with garlic salt and sprinkle worcestershire sauce
- cook for about 8-10 minutes and remove from grill
- serve with horseradish sauce