Week of No Red Meat

Monday:
Chicken Kabobs and white rice with spinach.
Rice: Garlic and green onion sauteed in olive oil and butter with a splash of white wine.  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.
Kabobs: Chicken marinated in Italian dressing and garlic and onion powder.  Grilled with 1/2 a large Portobello mushroom cap, 1/2 a green pepper and 1/4 of a white onion.

Tuesday:
Salmon with Lemon-Dressed Vegetables from Rachel Ray Magazine.
It was very simple to make.  I added some carrots and a small Walla Walla sweet onion from my garden to the roasted veggies. We did not have a red potato in the house so I used some fresh fingerling potatoes instead and they were great!  I also drizzled some honey over the salmon after taking it out of the oven as the "maximize it" section in the magazine suggested.  If you like or love salmon I would suggest you add this recipe to your favorites.  It was a very light, fresh meal.

Wednesday:
Jennie-O Turkey Burgers with oven baked french fries.
The burgers were topped with sauteed Portobello mushrooms, white onions and Munster cheese.  I prefer these convenient store bought turkey burgers over buying ground turkey and making my own.  They are fast and very flavorful.  The turkey burgers I have tried to make from scratch have been dry and flavorless....(if you have a good one send it my way and I will give it another shot).

To make the fries.  Cut wedges out of 3-4 medium potatoes (about 4 wedges per half of potato).  Drizzle the bottom of a non-stick baking pan with olive oil.  Place the wedges in the pan, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Bake at 425 until golden and cooked all the way thru, about 20 mins depending on the thickness of the wedges. This recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks: Potato 

Thursday:
Baked Silver Salmon with cream cheese pasta and sauteed veggies.
The salmon was seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic powder, a dash of dill weed and baked with lemon rings on top.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until done.  I used the trick from Monday to drizzle honey over the fish after it is pulled from the oven. The silver salmon came from a client who just got back from a fishing trip to Alaska.  I was surprised to find the fish a little bland.  It may have been due to the thickness of the fillet and I would recommend seasoning it before hand and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours to marinate in the seasonings.  We still have one more fillet so I am going to try that on the next one.

To make the pasta: melt a Tbsp of butter in a sauce pan.  Add minced garlic and cook for a minute.  Add a Tbsp of flour to the butter and garlic and cook for a minute.  Whisk in a cup of milk and allow the rue to thicken.  Add 4 oz of cream cheese to the rue and melt, whisking occasionally to a smooth sauce.  Add 2 Tbsp pepperoncini juice to the sauce (optional) and whisk.  Cook to desired thickness and add pasta to sauce.  I used angel hair pasta.

The sauteed veggies were: Sweet Italian chilies (out of my garden), yellow Crookneck squash, Walla Walla sweet onion (out of my garden), green onions, mushrooms and 3 Juliet Hybrid tomatoes (out of my garden).  All sauteed in olive oil and butter, with a splash of white wine.

Friday:
Friday turned into one of those nights no one wanted to cook as we both got home late and weren't really that hungry.  C did end up going out and picking up some Mexican take-out later that night but no red meat was eaten.....

All-in-all, a great week of food.  I have to say I didn't even miss the red meat.  I think we are going to keep doing this.  It is not only probably a more healthy diet but it also pushes us to try some of those recipes just sitting on the self just waiting to impart their flavor.   My favorites for the week: Monday and Tuesday.  Give them a try!  Happy Eating.

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