Clean Eating Enchiladas (one of a billion backlog posts!)

Although it has been a few days (11 days to be exact) since I have posted a new recipe… I have been a cooking mad man! Steve helped too! We’ve been on the up and up with eating better for about two whole weeks now – and I think it shows!

Now negligently, I have not recorded said delicious recipes since – well we have a dang wedding to finish up planning and constructing! And it’s been very busy in our miniature household!

So, I know I’ve made this delicious recipe, twice now, and haven’t posted it… So it’s about time this amazing dish got the credit (and historical privilege) on this blog! My favorite Clean Eating Blog, the Gracious Pantry, crafted this one up and it is just decadent, but not in a heavy-oh-my-god-what-did-i-just-do way…  It hits just the right balance of filling, satisfying and good for you! What else can you ask for… now, ladies and germs, Clean Eating Enchiladas!

Steve made this the most recent time and did an AMAZING job. This is delicious for days , or if you want to freeze a few for a rainy day – there is literally nothing I would add or subtract to this… its honestly delicious! 

A cure for the soggy jog: Veal Scaloppini with Artichokes and Red Pepper Aioli

Today was my first attempt ever at preparing fresh artichokes! For no particular reason, while looking at recipes in my newest cookbook: Clean Food, I decided we were going to eat Veal Scaloppini with Artichokes and Red Pepper Aioli. Perfect for an unsuspecting Wednesday… What a delightful decision! Light, filling, full of flavor! 

Thankfully the artichokes weren’t as much of a pain in the rump as I keep hearing - and they are just SO CUTE! Snip Snip Chop – Boil – Rinse – Scoopie doop – Marinate - Sear! 

Veal was a synch too! Egg – Flour – Bake! 

And Aioli is possibly the most simple thing EVER to spice up any meal – literally throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and SHABAM!

I first trimmed, boiled and marinated the artichokes and then woooooooooosh-splash! We were out the door for a rainy run! We harnessed Chili up in his new workout gear, threw on some good sweat wicking spandex and just skipped over the puddles. It was actually a nice change of pace, being cooled off instead of burnt up! Victorious for sure! Tomorrow we will go farther – I can feel it!

We came home and I took to the stove! And 30 minutes later our meal was on the fold out tables and we were into it! All I can say is I am in love with the light, delicate flavors and the presentation… I mean who doesn’t like good looking FOOD!!? I hope you love it too J

Clean Eating Pizza "Dough"

You know those days that you just need pizza? For me, this is an everyday craving… I can’t get enough of the cheesy, oozing, bready, pepperoni-covered goodness! But, as one would expect.. something that tasty sounding isn’t always that good for you.

Lucky for me there are pioneers like Tiffany at the Gracious Pantry who came up with a fabulous dough recipe for moments just like this! It’s delicious! Granted, I would literally eat anything masquerading as pizza, this is a home run! I didn’t feel like grinding up flax seeds so I excluded them in my version and also halved the garlic powder… I want to talk to people tomorrow!!

Everything tastes like rosemary: Rosemary and Thyme Pita Bread

Music: Mumford & Sons (still...)

Drink: H2ooooooooooHHH!

So after my super easy dinner, emptying the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, cleaning up around the apartment… I found myself slightly motivated (although Mumford & Sons was still blaring :P).. So I decided to take a swing at the Gracious Pantry’s Rosemary Pita Bread… Looks simple enough I said to myself…

Until I had committed to the thought with less than 3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour on hand…

I thought to myself “Self! You were engineering major! You can handle math!” and decided to take on conversions…

I learned today: As good as you are at math, you can’t make more flour appear in your pantry L

Not Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

So I found this on my favoritest of favorite cooking websites: www.smittenkitchen.com This woman is a genius and she’s funny! But I seriously have never eaten something from this site that has been less than stellar.  If you were smart, which I assume you are, you would frequent her website often.

This recipe is good for a Sunday and amazing to reheat throughout the week. Its shockingly filling and will fill the house with the most heavenly flavors one can imagine. It takes about one and a half to two hours to prep and cook this fantastic soup. And the first time it will be a little tricky, but trust you me, it is well worth your patience.

 Not Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (1.5-2 hours)

Ingredients

×          1 ounce dried mushrooms (porcini, morels, or shitakes)

×          1/2 cup olive oil

×          2 sprigs of rosemary

×          4 sprigs of sage

×          1 large yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

×          3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

×          1 1/2 teaspoons salt

×          1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper

×          1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

×          1 pound shitake mushrooms stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced

×          3 cups beef stock

×          3 cups vegetable stock

×          1 cup heavy cream

×          2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

1.       Soak the dry mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 20 to 30 minutes, until plump.

2.       Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove grit and reserve, along with the reconstituted mushrooms, until needed.

3.       Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium flame. Bundle the rosemary and sage together and tie with kitchen twine (I use a ‘sachet’ bag to make sure all the little needles don’t run away) When the oil is hot, add the herb bundle and sizzle for a few minutes on both sides to infuse the oil.

4.       Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent but not brown.

5.       Turn the flame to high and add the white mushrooms and shitakes. Alter the heat if you think it is too hot, just turn it down!

6.       Cook for 10 minutes, during which the mushrooms will give off their liquid (which should evaporate quickly due to the high heat) and deflate significantly. Stir occasionally.

7.       Add the chicken stock and the dried mushrooms along with the soaking water.

8.       Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the herbs, then add the cream and butter. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and keep at a very low simmer until ready to serve.