delicious – Urban Suburban Mommy

Interstellar Lasagna from Micaela Cook Karlsen

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Urban Suburban Mommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

A Plant Based Life Cookbook Author Micaela Cook Karlsen shares her delicious and nutritious recipe for lasagna with Urban Suburban Mommy. Read our full interview with Micaela here.

Interstellar Lasagna

“I finished perfecting this recipe the week that NASA’s Kepler Mission found a new Earth-like planet, 452b, so I named it in honor of the discovery,” she said.

Ingredients:

Layer 1: 1 medium onion, 1 16-ounce package firm tofu (drained), 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons white miso , 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup packed fresh basil leaves

Layer 2: 1 medium onion, 1 10-ounce package cremini mushrooms (stems trimmed), ½ cup frozen spinach, ¼ cup pine nuts, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, salt to taste

Additional components: 1 10-ounce box whole-grain lasagna noodles and 3 to 4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce (or try Chef AJ’s Quick Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara)

Toppings: 1 medium tomato, sliced thinly, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, Salt to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Make layer 1: Place the onion in a food processor, and pulse until it is finely chopped. Add the tofu, garlic powder, miso, and nutritional yeast and blend until everything is evenly mixed. At this point the mixture will be like a dry puree—grainy and not too wet. Add the basil leaves and pulse until the basil is chopped into small bits and evenly distributed in the mixture. Transfer the contents of layer 1 to a medium bowl.

Make layer 2: Place the onion in a food process and pulse until it is finely chopped. Add the mushrooms, spinach, pine nuts, Italian seasoning, and salt and blend until everything is evenly mixed.

Assemble the lasagna: Divide your noodles into three equal piles, to correspond with the three noodle layers in the final dish. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13–inch glass pan with ¾ cup tomato sauce and ½ cup water. Use a spoon to mix the two and evenly distribute the liquefied sauce. Place one layer of lasagna noodles on top of the sauce-water mixture. Cover the noodles with 1 to 1 ½ cups tomato sauce, using a spoon to evenly distribute it. Add the mixture for Layer 1 to the pan. Cover layer 1 with the second layer of noodles. Add the mixture for Layer 2 to the pan. Cover Layer 2 with the third/top layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups tomato sauce using a spoon to evenly distribute it.

Add the toppings: Place tomato slices on top of the sauce evenly around the pan. Sprinkle each slice with a bit of salt for added flavor, if desired, then sprinkle the nutritional yeast evenly on top of the tomatoes.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes, then remove cover and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until the top surface has developed a skin. Serves 6-8.

Micaela Karlsen

MICAELA COOK KARLSEN is a founding employee and former Executive Director of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. A contributor to the New York Times bestseller Forks Over Knives and the creator of www.PlantBasedResearch.org, a free online database of research on plant-based nutrition, she holds an MSPH in Human Nutrition from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and is a PhD candidate in Nutritional Epidemiology at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is the author of A Plant-Based life: Your Complete guide to Great Food, Radiant Health, Boundless Energy, and a Better Body (AMACOM). She lives in Boston.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Plant-Based-Research-303384226459892/

Blog: http://micaelakarlsen.com/blog/

Website: http://plantbasedresearch.org/

Let them eat lobster

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Urban Suburban Mommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

It’s expensive, it’s a delicacy, it’s butter-laden and indulgent, and you’re probably thinking I’m crazy when I say “Let them eat lobster.”

But hear me out: 15 minutes from start to finish. Yes, dinner ready in 15 minutes!

Plus, lobster is perfect for our 30 days of wellness. Lobster is actually really good for you. Yes, this luxurious indulgence is quite healthy – it’s known to be one of the healthiest sources of protein around (a 6 oz serving has about 30 grams of protein, no carbs and less than 2 grams of fat).

What you need:

– 1-2 pounds of lobster or a few claws and a few tails
– salt
– butter
– garlic

What you do:

Set the oven to broil and put a ramekin half full of butter into the oven to melt. While the oven is heating, place the lobsters or pieces of lobster on a broiling pan. Get out a cracker or sharp knife. If you have tails, slit the shell in half and expose the meat. If you have claws, make slits or cracks in each segment of the shell. I am not going to explain how to kill the lobster – Google it. I panicked and had the fish market kill and prep it for me.

Place all the pieces on the broiler pan

Put cracks or slits into each piece and open the shell

After 5 minutes, take the butter out of the oven now that it’s melted and add some garlic (I used powdered but you can also use fresh, just put it to the garlic press and add it to the butter), and add a bit of salt. Brush all of the lobster meat with the butter and put it into the oven to broil – for about 10 minutes.

Could be 8 minutes for small pieces, or up to 12 or 13 minutes for bigger, thicker pieces. If you have a 4 pound lobster it will be more like 15 or 16 minutes. It’s done when the flesh is opaque white and just ever-so-slightly starting to brown.

Take it out of the oven and serve with the melted butter for dipping.

Done!

So. Good.

Yes, it can be expensive, but it’s not an everyday meal. You need to mix up the dinner routine and you need a treat once in a while. Splurge on lobster. You may find it’s actually not as expensive as you think, depending on how close to the ocean you are and what time of year it is. Frozen tails are also another option.

Funny story – the reason I’m even writing this all started when we went to a steakhouse last week for my husband’s birthday. I ordered lobster. The boys tried it – and loved it. They ate half my dinner. A few nights later my 6 year old asked for lobster for dinner. I said no. His response? He grumbled “That’s preposterous!” as he walked away.

But he didn’t give up asking, so a couple of days later we went to the fish market to buy some.

If we’d gotten there early I could have just asked them to steam the lobster for me, but we were too late. As we tried to select our dinner in the big tank, I realized I… just… couldn’t.

Instead, the guy laughed at me and came out from the back with a tray of 4 claws and 2 tails. At $20, it was a steal.

So go for it, let them eat lobster, and feel good about it.

photo: Tom Thai

Chicken Zucchini Poppers

Posted on April 5, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

We love when Nicole cooks. It always looks as good as it tastes with this fabulous photographer, and we think the things she tries out are just amazing. She’s creative in the kitchen and we’d love to take a page out of this mama’s book! If you liked her Beet Chip Massacre and her Baked Butternut Zig Zag Blackbean Taquitos, you’re going to loooooove the Chicken Zucchini Poppers! But let her tell you herself:

If you’re like me, you TRY to get your kids to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Now I admit, my kids are actually pretty good about this however I do know some who are not. I am ALL about packing in anything extra that I can though, because well it certainly can not hurt right? When a recipe also works out so that making extra and freezing it for nights that are hectic (hello, baseball season is upon us – between practices, games and my daughter’s ballet classes I am all for quick and easy dinners).

I have even crazy things like lightly sautéing freshly chopped spinach and tossing that in too. Like I said, I am all for tossing veggies in where ever I can! This is totally a Pinterest find (Adapted from http://www.onelovelylife.com/chicken-zucchini-poppers-gf-df/) that I actually made, and daresay improved upon if for no other reason then I sort of combined it with another recipe I have for sausage balls.

To make ahead for those crazy nights I double the recipe.

What you need:

-1lb Chicken breast
-2 medium zucchinis (grated, peel on)
-2-3 green onions sliced or 1 small onion finely diced
-1-3 tbls Taco seasoning (this is to taste, or you can use just about any seasoning that is a favorite in your family)
-1 clove minced garlic or 1tbs garlic powder
-4oz ricotta cheese (or you can use cream cheese)

Optional: Toss in a tablespoon or so of Milled flaxseed not only does it work well to help “bind” but it’s full of healthy nutrients kids and adults need!

What you do:

Preheat your oven to 400°. Mix the ingredients all together, scoop into meatballs and place onto greased pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Depending on the seasonings you use – kiddos of all ages can dip these into ketchup, salsa, sour cream (my daughter’s choice, regardless of seasoning), guacamole or even barbecue sauce. Really you can take this in any direction you want!

To freeze and reheat: cool and place in a Ziploc bag and toss in the freezer. Depending on your microwave, I typically heat 4 at a time for roughly 1:30.

Barbecued ginger salmon

Posted on March 22, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

My boys love fish. Actually, if I ask my 7 year old what he wants for dinner, he’ll usually say “sea creatures.” I think he’s secretly holding out for blowfish, but he’ll try any type of seafood, and he’s open to most any flavours when it comes to fish. I was at the market and they had the most beautiful bright pink organic Irish salmon – I had to grab a few fillets for dinner.

Needless to say, my boy was thrilled. He insisted on cutting the lemon.

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to prepare it when I was at the market. Dill. Blood orange juice. Lime and lemongrass. Honey and soy – salmon is so versatile. But when I got home I had a ginger craving, and my kids love ginger. (My husband, not so much. Actually, he’s not into fish at all. I picked up a thick, juicy rib steak for him when I was at the market.)

What you need:

-salmon fillets
-salt
-cracked pepper
-powdered ginger
-fresh lemon, sliced into thin circles
-2-3 tablespoons melted butter

(and a rib steak for the husband, prepared like this)

What you do:

Brush a light coat of melted butter over the fillets (you can also use olive oil). Salt and pepper them to taste. Dust them with ginger. I use a fair bit, we love the strong flavour of ginger, but if you want to go mild, it’s great as a hint of ginger too.

Heat the barbecue. Drop the temperature to medium and put the fillets on, skin side down. Layer lemons on top of the fish. Close the lid and grill 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Flip so that the fillet is sitting skin side up, but atop the lemon slices for another 5 to 10 minutes. My fillets were very thick so I went closer to 10. The lemons will char but the fish will stay juicy and tender. Fish should be very flakey, cooked through.

This one is great with sauteed mushrooms, French green beans or a zesty vinaigrette salad. If you’ve got leftovers, ginger salmon is great cold, tossed with greens.

Enjoy!

Oooey gooey chewy chocolate chip cookies

Posted on February 23, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

For years my cookies were light and fluffy – and either undercooked or crunchy. Every time I’d try someone else’s soft little flat cookies I’d die a little inside. That’s all I wanted from my chocolate chip cookie – maybe a little flat, maybe a little crispy around the edges.

Then I discovered that it was time to step away from the stand mixer and get into it by hand. Yup, good old fashioned hand mixing with a spatula. Turns out I had a serious case of overmixing. The secret to soft, flat melt-in-yer-mouth, ohhhhhh-so-good, oooey, gooey, chewy chocolate chip cookies is no electric beating and minimal cooking time.

What you need:

-2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
–1 teaspoon of baking soda
-big pinch of salt
-1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup packed brown or golden sugar
-1 cup white sugar
-1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Put the room-temperature soft butter in a bow and mush it around with your spatula. Now add sugars and keep mixing. add vanilla and eggs and again, keep mixing and mushing. You want it to be well mixed – but you’ll still see little lumps of butter. By the time you’re done mixing they’re the size of coarse bread crumbs in your mixture. Now add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Throw in the chocolate chips and give a final mixing until everything is even.

Drop one-inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and keep them about an inch and a half apart.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, making sure to take them out just as they brown. If you’re a fan of crunchy, let them cook a little longer and the edges will crisp up.

These won’t rise. They may be a bit puffy, but basically flat. And gooey. And delicious. Grab a glass of milk and enjoy some before the kids eat every last one, you deserve it.

And, just so you get your cookies to your version of perfection, LifeHacker.com has this handy dandy chart for tweaking your cookie recipe to your personal preference:

LifeHacker.com: Know what to tweak to get the best chocolate chip cookies

The beet chip massacre

Posted on February 9, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

I love making kale chips, veggie chips – root chips are the best. So when I saw this picture in my Facebook feed, I had to ask my friend Nicole, from Lincoln, California, for the recipe.

Beet chips are delicious, good for you, and a whole lot of mess to leave and scare the pants off of the rest of the family!

What you need:

-Beets

What you do:

Nicole says:

No seasoning but I did learn – PEEL THEM.

Literally all I did was slice them (implement of destruction obvious) thin, and because my oven has a dehydrate option stuck them in the oven till they were crispy (turning about 1/2 way through). They can be made in a dehydrator too – will probably just take longer than 30ish minutes per side.

You can also make them in the oven. I have seen recipes that call for 375° for15 to 20 minutes. You have to watch them carefully so they crisp and don’t burn.

photo: star5112

Superfast seafood delight

Posted on February 2, 2016 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

You either like seafood or you don’t. My boys and I love almost anything out of the ocean – but my husband won’t have any of it. (Unless it’s battered, fried and served with chips and vinegar. So, basically, no seafood.)

Since the boys and I love seafood, I make this dish when the hubby is working late and we’re short on time. It’s so easy, fast and flexible on the variation of flavours you can create.

What you need:

– 1 pound of frozen mixed seafood (premixed bags available in the freezer section)
– 3 tablespoons butter
– salt and pepper
– 1 clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– rice (here’s our fool-proof rice)

What you do:

Prepare rice and set aside. You can use plain rice or take this up a notch by making lemongrass rice, ginger rice or even curry rice. It’s easy to flavour rice, just add a teaspoon or two of your favourite spice to the water when you cook your rice. Or, if you prefer, toss the cooked rice with some soy.

In a frying pan over high heat, melt the butter and add salt, pepper and garlic. When it’s melted, add the mixed seafood. Most grocery stores carry bags of frozen mixed seafood. I always keep a bag in the freezer for this meal. Our mix has shrimp, mussels, calamari and octopus. Yes, my boys love all of these. You can pick your favourite mix.

There will be some water coming off of the frozen seafood. Let the seafood boil in it until the liquid boils off. You may want to turn down the heat when it’s almost boiled off, or watch carefully and keep tossing to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Top off rice with mixed seafood and serve.

This recipe is very basic, garlic goes with most seafood, but try different flavours:

Coconut curry: Substitute butter for coconut oil and add a heaping teaspoon of curry paste or curry powder to the mix.

Jerk seafood: I have a great jerk spice mix and add a heaping tablespoon to the mix. Note that frying cayenne can cause burning eyes and hurts to breath in, so watch carefully and don’t burn the mixture. I add the jerk seasoning when the liquid is almost boiled off and toss for 20 seconds before removing from heat and serving.

Blackbean garlic sauce: If you’re a fan of blackbean garlic sauce, then you know the jar and have one in the fridge for just such an occasion. When the liquid is reducing, turn down the heat to medium and add two heaping tablespoons to the pan and mix well.

I think I’m going to look for a Spanish Paella version next. Give it a try and let us know what your fave is!

Garlic shrimp pasta with hearts of palm

Posted on November 10, 2015 by urbansuburbanmommy Posted in Delicious Dishes .

I literally made up this dish tonight because I didn’t feel like cooking and really didn’t have time to cook. I even cut a few corners because I did had some leftover spaghetti in the fridge, so this even qualifies as a great leftover meal. But, of course, you can boil your pasta and give it a go. The dish turned out pretty tasty. It may just be added into the rotation.

What you need:

-Pasta – whatever type you choose – I used spaghetti (cooked)
-A bag of frozen cooked shrimp (freezer section of the grocery store – usually about 30-40 pieces)
-Can of hearts of palm
-Tomato sauce
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2-3 tablespoons garlic, chopped (I stock the readymade kind)
-3-4 tablespoons margarine or butter
-Salt & pepper to taste
-Italian seasoning

What you do:

Take your cooked pasta out of the fridge (or make a fresh batch). Portion is up to you, I based this dish for about 2 people but I had leftovers.
Open your bag of frozen shrimp and place into a bowl of lukewarm water.
Chop up your hearts of palm (quantity is up to you).
Take a saucepan, heat to medium, pour in olive oil and spoon in garlic.
Let the garlic cook for about a minute or so.
Drain the shrimp. Add to the saucepan.
Spoon in the margarine.
Add your salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
Cover with a lid and let cook for about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat.

To serve:

Plate your pasta.
Spoon some shrimp and liquid onto your pasta.
Add hearts of palm.
Add a couple tablespoons of tomato sauce.
Toss and enjoy.

This dish took me 10 minutes to make. Enjoy!