Kitchen Adventures: Secret Steak

Full Title: Secret Steak & Chips with Garlicky Green Beans = YUM!

Ingredients: Baking Potatoes, Olive Oil, Rosemary, Button Mushrooms, Onion, Heavy Cream, Dijon Mustard, Frozen Green Beans, Flank Steak

We tend to shy away from any recipe that has a cream sauce... Cream sauce never sounds good and is usually unhealthy. This bucks that trend! It is another recipe from Jamie Oliver but this time it is from the Save with Jamie cookbook. It's not that hard to make... bake the "chips" with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Make the cream sauce with diced onion, only 3 tablespoons of heavy cream and the dijon mustard. Cook up the green beans with some olive oil and garlic. Season the steak with salt and pepper then cook it with a little olive oil and rosemary. Super yummy. A large portion will cost you about 549 calories. Pretty good in my book!

Kitchen Adventures: Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops

Full Title: Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops with Sweet Chili Rice and Greens

Ingredients: Basmati Rice, Green Onions, Eggs, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Lemon, Cilantro, Sweet Chili Sauce, Baby Bok Choy, Broccolini, Asparagus, Lime, Scallops, Chinese Five Spice, Garlic, Honey

This was a Jamie Oliver 30-Minute Meal. Delicious! The fried rice was really easy to do. Actually the whole meal was easy... aside from the scallops. It's not hard to cook them but every time I do, I picture Gordon Ramsey throwing the plate on the ground screaming "IT'S STILL RAW!!!!". [Hell's Kitchen Reference] Highly recommend the recipe. It's not going to be in regular rotation but like the Crispy Beef Lettuce Wraps, I'll look forward to when it comes around. :)

Kitchen Adventures: Spicy Cajun Chicken

Full Title: Spicy Cajun Chicken with Smashed Sweet Potato and Fresh Corn Salsa aka... More Okra!!

 

Ingredients: Corn on the cob, Cilantro, Chili, Green Onions, Tomatoes, Limes, Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Breasts, Cajun Seasoning, Polenta, Bacon, Okra, Feta Cheese

 

I like okra. It's weird. It can go slimy if cooked too long. But after this dish, I've decided I only like it if it is sliced up. Whole... Blegh! This is another Jamie Oliver recipe that includes a fresh salsa. It can make any chicken dish taste AMAZING. The fresh crisp corn and tomatoes brighten up the chicken and potatoes. Delicious! 651 calories for a big portion.

 

Kitchen Adventures: Crispy Beef Lettuce Wraps

This was our first Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Cookery Course recipe. Delicious with a capital D.

 

Ingredients: Ground Beef, Ground Pork, Garlic, Red Chilies, Brown Sugar, Fish Sauce, Lime, Green Onions, Gem Lettuce, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Cilantro

 

So very good... I was a little wary because you make a sauce out of sesame oil, fish and soy sauce, cilantro and red chili. I tasted the sauce on its own and it wasn't very good... But once you put a little of the crispy beef in a cold lettuce leaf and drizzle on a small amount of the sauce.... AMAZING. One of the best dishes we have ever made. We paired it with an "easy" fried rice that was chock-full of veggies. I don't have a calorie count for this one since it's a Gordon Ramsey recipe but similar dishes are around 600-800. That would be with a large portion of rice. Something to note... the dish is a little on the rich side... SO much flavor. It won't go into our regular rotation but I can't wait to have it again!

Kitchen Adventures: Holy Spicy Hell

Actual Title: Sizzling Beef Steak with Hoisin Prawn & Noodle Bowls. This is a HOT dish. I had to have it with milk. We made it a second time when Kamber was here and it was just as hot. 

Ingredients: Sesame Seeds, Red Chili, Ginger Root, Spring Onions, Cilantro, Egg Noodles, Garlic, Shrimp, Beansprouts, Hoisin Sauce, Soy Sauce, Limes, Romaine Lettuce, Radishes, Sirloin Steaks, Chinese Five Spice, Sesame Oil, Oyster Mushrooms

We've been eating a lot of red chilies but this dish just seems to double the heat factor. Ian keeps in the seeds when he chops it so it could be less spicy but then how would we get our sinuses to clear so easily? :P The bunny ears below are pieces of romaine heart. These add some crunch to the dish and serve as an attempt to "cool" off your mouth. It doesn't really work but I appreciate their effort! The recipe made good use of our wok and everything cooked pretty quickly. I'm sure we will do this again in the future.. but maybe I can convince my sous chef to cut down the heat.... :) 653 hot and spicy calories.

Kitchen Adventures: Arnold Bennett Frittata

Full Title: Arnold Bennett Frittata with Focaccia & Emmenthal Waldorf Salad. This is a Kitchen Adventures: Brunch Edition!

Ingredients: Smoked Salmon, Bay Leaves, Eggs, Spring Onions, Mint, Frozen Peas, Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese, Apples, Lemon, Fresh Chives, Emmenthal Cheese, Focaccia Bread, Lemon (Walnuts not included)

Before you say anything about the picture below... please keep in mind that it was actually fantastic! It doesn't look like it, but it was tasty and we would definitely do it again. The frittata was light and fluffy.... we used salmon instead of "undyed smoked haddock" which was impossible to find. The little salad it comes with was great; I'm starting to be a big fan of salads that include apples, lemon and olive oil. 569 calories for a small salad, big portion of the frittata and a couple pieces of foccacia bread.

Kitchen Adventures: Orange Mojo Pork Tenderloin

*gasp* This isn't a 15 Minute Meal recipe! :) We're mixing it up and cracked open the William Sonoma Grill Master book. I don't have an ingredients picture for this one since it was a 'marinate in advance' recipe.

Ingredients: Cumin Seeds, Olive Oil, Garlic, Jalapenos, Orange Juice, Cilantro, Oregano, Sherry, Pork Tenderloin, Ground Cumin, Sugar, Ground Coriander

Delicious! We paired it with grilled asparagus, garlic bread (piece of bread with a garlic clove rubbed into it), and our favorite simple salad. 4 out of 5. Unknown calories since it wasn't a 15 Minute Meal... however, I estimated about 700 calories for 4 slices of pork, 3 slices of bread and some asparagus and salad.

Kitchen Adventures: Broccoli Pasta with Chopped Garden Salad

This had us using a pasta we had never heard of - Orecchiette! It's a slightly thick tiny bowl shaped pasta. 

Ingredients: Dried Orecchiette, Basil, Anchovy Fillets, Lemon, Garlic, Dried Red Chili, Parmesan Cheese, Broccoli Head, Sunflower Seeds, Carrots, Avocado, Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Arugula

Sadly, this was a low 3 out of 5. The salad saved it. The pasta wasn't memorable. Maybe it was our fault the way we cooked it... but the broccoli pretty much disintegrated. It also called for pine nuts which Ian can't have. We substituted them with sunflower seeds but it still didn't make the dish exciting. The pasta was really inconsistently cooked. It scored a 3 because the salad was fantastic. Carrots, avocado, mixed color tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and arugula. Yum! 644 calories, mainly because of the pasta. We might do this again... but it's waaaay down the line of good dishes.

Kitchen Adventures Continue!

Kitchen Adventures: Beef Stroganoff

Full Title: Beef Stroganoff with Fluffy Rice, Red Onion & Parsley Pickle. This dish is normally very heavy, creamy and packed full of calories. The version we made still has a ton of flavor without all the calories and cream. 

Ingredients: Basmati Rice, Thyme, Baby Spinach, Red Onions, Gherkins, Flat Leaf Parsley, Mixed Mushrooms, Olive Oil, Garlic, Sirloin Steaks, Sweet Paprika, Lemon, Brandy, Fat Free Yogurt, 2% Milk

4 out of 5. I'm a huge fan of pickles so I was eager to make this. Throughout Kitchen Adventures, we have been doing a lot of spicy dishes. This was one of the few where the spice in the recipe just comes from black pepper. The creamy aspect of the dish is replaced by the fat free yogurt and beef drippings, which really works to make it rich. 625 calories gets you a huge portion of rice and beef stroganoff mixture.

Kitchen Adventures: Asian Fish with Miso Noodles & Crunchy Veg

YES. YES. YES. 5 out of 5. YES.

YES. Lightly, quickly baked Salmon and White Fish (we used Haddock). Salty, slightly spicy noodles. Finely sliced greens with radishes. We couldn't go wrong. This is a TRUE 15 Minute Meal and it's incredibly easy to make. We've had a few dishes out of this book that have just been off the charts. (As Jamie Oliver would say... OFF. THE. CHART!!!) This was so flavorful. The fish bought from Caudle's Catch was fresh - honestly can't say enough good things about Caudle's... having a fish monger right up the street from us has been so great. Their prices aren't half bad, especially for salmon fillets. Who the hell cares how many calories a serving this is? Worth a 1000! (559 calories though.... :D) /HIGHFIVE - Terrible, completely disappointing, blurry/sun bleached photo incoming. :|

Kitchen Adventures: Thai Chicken Laksa

Full Title: Thai Chicken Laksa with Mildly Spiced Noodle Squash Broth. Thai food! Minus the peanuts for my allergic husband!

Ingredients: Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs, Chinese Five Spice, Honey, Sesame Seeds, Red Chili, Chicken Stock Cube, Butternut Squash, Garlic, Ginger Root, Green Onions, Turmeric, Dried Kaffir Lime Leaves, Cilantro, Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, Medium Rice Noodles, Asparagus, Light Coconut Milk, Limes

The recipe called for peanut butter which is off limits for Ian. I don't think it had a big difference in the creation of the laksa. It should have had a nutty flavor and it didn't. I guess that's ok. We loved this dish except for the fact that Turmeric stains EVERYTHING. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese Five Spice but Ian loves it. Chicken Thighs made for a nice break from our standard boneless skinless Chicken Breasts. 656 calories and 4 out of 5 high fives. :P

A close up of the super crispy chicken thighs... 

Kitchen Adventures: Beef Kofta Curry

Full Title: Beef Kofta Curry with Fluffy Rice, Beans and Peas. Curry in a hurry! 

Ingredients: Puy Lentils, Garam Masala, Hamburger, Olive Oil, Tomatoes, Ginger Root, Green Onions, Red Chili, Cilantro, Turmeric, Honey, Patak's Rogan Josh Curry Paste, Light Coconut Milk, Fat Free Yogurt, Lemon, Basmati Rice, Cardamom Pods, Green Beans, Frozen Peas, Pappadums

I never thought that I would like Indian but I am quickly becoming a fan. Beef Kofta is made with hamburger and lentils plus garam masala. The rice was good but I would really suggest NEVER biting into a cardamom pod. The flavor is really intense and not good. It was a nice touch to the rice though. The pappadums are not fried; they are microwaved until they are puffy and crisp. You crumble them up and put them in the curry. Great dish. Great leftovers. 4 out of 5. 706 calories for 2 pieces of kofta, sauce and rice. 

Kitchen Adventures: Prawn Linguine

Full Title: Prawn Linguine with Sicilian Shaved Fennel Salad. Fennel. Hrmph.

Ingredients: Rustic Bread, Garlic, Olive Oil, Dried Linguine, Red Chili, Anchovy Fillets, Cinnamon, Saffron, Prawns (shrimp!), Garlic, Passata, Lemon, Parmesan Cheese, Basil, Fennel, Celery HEART, Mint

I didn't retake the picture... but NO, we did not accidentally use celery root instead of celery heart! Thankfully Ian realized our mistake and we corrected it just in time. This meal made me come to the conclusion that I really don't like fennel. It's too much of a licorice flavor for me... and then put it as the base of a salad - meh. Ian loved it though. The linguine was fantastic. It has cinnamon in the sauce which made for a really interesting flavor. The bread crumbs stole the show. They are meant to add a little crunch to the pasta and they are so yummy. Super garlicky. So simple. 562 calories for a big of serving of the pasta and salad. 4 out of 5 high fives!

Kitchen Adventures: Golden Scallops with Sun Blush Mash and Greens

Scallops. Ian and I were a little scared of cooking scallops mainly because of Gordon Ramsey. If you have ever watched an episode of Hell's Kitchen, you would know that they only cook two things: Beef Wellington and Scallops. He likes to scream at the contestants that the scallops are burnt, rubbery, uncooked, tough, etc. This made us worried that the scallops wouldn't turn out well. But we were mistaken! :)

Ingredients: Potatoes, Cheddar Cheese, Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil, Broccolini, Asparagus, Frozen Peas, Olive Oil, Lemon, Smoked Bacon, Scallops, Fresh Sage Leaves

We cooked the scallops really well... lightly golden and cooked through. The potatoes on the other hand... Hrmph. The recipe specifically says do not over-blend the potatoes or they will become gluey. Guess what happened? It was like eating a thick glue paste. Delicious... but sticky. We have started to give our dishes a high five rating. Some dishes, after one bite, have made us high five. A few dishes have made us repeatedly high five. This dish was 3 out of 5. It might be a 4 but our execution brought it down. We will definitely have it again. 441 calories gets you 3 scallops and hopefully non-gluey potatoes with some greens.

Kitchen Adventures: Seared Asian Tuna

Full Title: Seared Asian Tuna with Coconut Rice and Jiggy Jiggy Greens. There are a few dishes that make us high five after eating. This meal was one of them!

Ingredients: Light Coconut Milk, Basmati Rice, Lime, Yellowfin Tuna Steak, Green Tea Bags, Sesame Seeds, Olive Oil, Pickled Ginger, Green Onions, Red Chili, Grapefruit, Soy Sauce, Cilantro, Bok Choy, Asparagus, Broccolini, Sesame Oil, Garlic, Teriyaki Sauce

Full disclosure... this was not a cheap meal. Yellowfin Tuna Steak = Expensive. But Seared Asian Tuna = Worth Every Penny. I am not a good enough writer to do this dish justice. I'll try but will probably fail miserably. The coconut rice is something we've done before and this time it was still delicious. The Jiggy Jiggy Greens are made from finely slicing the greens, quickly cooking them and dressed with a little teriyaki sauce. And the star of the dish... the Yellowfin Tuna steak is coated in green tea, sesame seeds, salt and pepper, then seared for a minute each side. The shocking part was the dressing on the plate. You lay down some of the pickled ginger, green onions and chili, and squeeze the grapefruit over it. Then arrange small pieces of the tuna and top with a few drops of soy sauce. Again, I'm not a good enough writer to properly describe how delicious this meal was. We high fived quite a few times. :) 648 calories gets you a lot of coconut rice and jiggy jiggy greens, plus 3 pieces of tuna. 

Kitchen Adventures: Ricotta Fritters

Full Title: Ricotta Fritters with Tomato Sauce and Courgette Salad. British people are weird... they call zucchinis "courgettes". Silly!

Ingredients: Porcini Mushrooms, Anchovy Fillets, Dried Red Chili, Garlic, Passata, Basil, Egg, Ricotta Cheese, Nutmeg, Lemon, Parmesan Cheese, Flour, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Zucchini, Red Chili, Mint

Kitchen Adventures has gotten us a few vegetarian dishes to add to our rotation. This one is a keeper! I can't believe Ian was up for this since he hates cheese... or hates cheese in large amounts. But the fritters only had a faint taste of it. The sauce was delicious... the "courgette" salad... not so much. Ian liked it... but I couldn't get over the fact that we were eating raw zucchini. :| The serving size was a little small but it matched the calories - 408 for 2 small fritters, sauce and big portion of salad. 

Kitchen Adventures: Pork Steaks

Full Title: Pork Steaks with Hungarian Pepper Sauce and Rice. Stick to your ribs food for middle of the winter... but still good in Spring! 

Ingredients: Red & Green Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Carrot, Fennel, Apple, Olive Oil, Smoked Paprika, Bay Leaves, Garlic, Balsamic Vinegar, Passata, Pork Fillet, Ground Coriander, Basmati Rice, Arugula, Lemon, Fat Free Yogurt

I'm not a huge fan of pork. We are starting to eat more of it and I think my tastes are changing (kitchen adventures does that to you!). This dish is definitely one to make in the cold months. It's a heavy meal even though it isn't high in calories. The rice was forgettable but the sauce and pork were tasty. 685 calories per serving. 

Kitchen Adventures: Black Bean Burgers

Full title: Black Bean Burgers with Noodles and Pickles Salad. Jamie Oliver calls this "street food". I call this YUMMY. 

Ingredients: Lean Ground Beef, Black Bean Sauce, Olive Oil, Honey, Sesame Seeds, Lime, Chicken Stock Cube, Ginger Root, Egg Noodles, Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, Sugar Snap Peas, Bok Choy, Mixed Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts, Green Onions, Red Chili, Cilantro, Soy Sauce

The burgers are bun-less as you can see... but they end up with a sticky/crispy coating of honey and sesame seeds. The salad was a stretch for me as it was mainly made of water chestnuts. It turned out to be really surprising. Crunchy, fresh and mildly salty from the soy sauce. It crossed that line we have with Kitchen Adventures - we have no idea if we will like it or not. I liked it! I had a little problem with the serving size though. 558 calories gets you 1 burger, some of the water chestnut salad and a ton of the noodles. I would rather have more meat than a lot of noodles. Still an excellent dish that will go into our rotation.

Kitchen Adventures: Moroccan Mussels

Full Title: Moroccan Mussels with Tapenade Toasties and Cucumber Salad. Another trip to Morocco! 

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Garlic, Harissa, Chopped Tomatoes, Cilantro, Preserved Lemons, Saffron, Mussels, Ciabatta Loaf, Round Lettuce, Cucumber, Mint, Lemon, Fat Free Yogurt, Sun Dried Tomato Tapenade

I should warn anyone who would try to make a mussel dish. Make sure you cook the night before your trash goes out. The mussels shells and any meat you didn't eat will smell like DEATH the next day. We lived with it for a couple days... and it still haunts us. *shudder* Aside from this minor hiccup, this was definitely something we would make again. It was interesting and different. The flavor of the sauce that the mussels cook in was unique. A tiny hint of spice. Delicious. The toasties were useful in soaking up the sauce. 549 calories gets you a big piece of bread, a ton of mussels and a small little salad.