Kat's Kitchen

Braun Hand Blender

I got this Braun hand blender in 2004 as a Christmas gift - one I asked for. (this link goes to the product page on Amazon because the Braun site isn't link friendly) I absolutely love it.

I had a Ronson Can-do (no longer avaliable) for years. It was fabulous. My mother had one and she gave me one when I got married. It had a can opener (thus the name), a knife sharpener, a mixer/blender, a whpper and a potato masher that made excellent mashed potatoes - the best.

Anyway, after giving me almost 30 years of service, it died (may it rest in peace in appliance heaven). I was using it daily to blend my Spiru-tein shakes (an entry for another day), so when it went, I had nothing to use except my big blender - much overkill.

I did some online research and found this Braun model - MR430HC - a 200 watt powerhouse. I'm back to happily blending my protein drinks again, but I'm also chopping up a storm. This thing is great for nuts, herbs, shallots, opins. Anything that will fit in the chopper container that comes with it. I no longer have to drag my food processor out for every little thing.

The Braun model MR430HC hand blender is available for $24 from Amazon, but there are any number of other on line stores that also feature it.

I'm giving this product 4 forks up!

Teriyaki-style Marinade

I adapted this recipe from the "Let the Flames Begin" cookbook. When I first made it, I was missing some of the ingredients so I improvised!

This is great with beef or pork, and one of these days I will make it for chicken as well. This recipe makes enough marinade for about 1 1/2 lbs of meat.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Coriander seeds cracked (I do this by putting them in a small Zip-Lock bag and bashing at them with a meat mallet)
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger (you can use powdered, but I prefer the taste of fresh)
1 Tablespoon dry powdered mustard
1/2 cup of Soy Sauce (the less sodium kind)
1/4 cup of Dry Marsala or Dry Sherry
3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 Teaspoons McCormick Szechuen Pepper Blend spice
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (I use the Splenda blend)
1 1/2 Tablespoons of chopped garlic (I use the kind in the jar - less work)

Put all the dry ingredients in a mortar and pestle and mash together. Put all the wet ingredients to a large Zip-lock bag, add the dry ingredients and your meat. Marinate for at least 2 hours.

Dill Shrimp Salad

I love dill, so I was glad to find this recipe in the South Beach Diet Book - the original one. I've made a few modifications - I can never stop tinkering with a recipe - so I'm presenting my version here. Once again, this is for 1 portion.

Ingredients:
5 medium shrimp (16-20 count), peeled and de-veined.
3-4 leaves of Romaine Lettuce
5-8 Grape tomatoes
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced Red Onion

Dressing Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon dried dill (you can use fresh, but I most often have the dried)
1 Teaspoon dried basil
1 Teaspoon of Grey Poupon Country Dijon mustard
1 Teaspoon chopped garlic

Directions
Cook the shrimp and remove the tails. Break up the Romaine and put it on a nice salad plate (I like the glass ones). Place the cucumbers in the center, top with tomatoes. Place the shrimp in a circle around that, then sprinkle the red onion over the top.

Salmon Salad

I've been on a salmon kick lately. I didn't eat salmon for years because my mother always made canned salmon with mayo like she did with tuna - yuck! (not the tuna, just the salmon.

A couple of years ago, I had a salad from the Whole Foods Market salad bar that was yummy. It was made of salmon, bow tie pasta, red onion and caper berries. Since I'm doing the South Beach diet, I tried to make a substitute that didn't include the pasta so that it's phase 1 compatible.

This is for 1 serving.

Put about 3 leaves of Romaine lettuce (broken into pieces) on a plate.
Put a single serve piece of salmon on top.
Put thinly sliced red onion on top of the salmon
Top with a tablespoon of capers (I really like capers)
Add some of the juice from the bottle.
Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Enjoy!

Meatloaf

I frequently check out the Simply Recipes blog to get new ideas> The author usually has some great recipes to offer. A couple of days ago - I think - she or one of the blogs she links to had a recipe for meatloaf. Since my husband is a meatloaf junkie, I checked it out. Like most meatloaf recipes this one was made in a loaf pan. I never understood the thought process behind cooking a meatloaf this way. The meat kind of sits in the fat the whole time it's cooking - yuck! My mother always made meatloaf in her dark-enameled, oval roasting pan - the same one she used to cook roast beef or chicken.

When I first got married, I tried making meatloaf this way without much success. I'm not sure when I first hit on the recipe I use now, but my husband and I both love it. I shape it more like a loaf or rye, pumpernickel or artisan bread and cook it on a rack in a Corningware^TM pie pan.

Here is the recipe, which will be included in my Cookbook shortly ...

Approximately 1 ½ lbs meatloaf mix (pork, veal, beef)
Approximately 1 ½ lbs extra lean ground beef (97%)
1/2 cup Egg Beaters or any egg substitute - you can also use 2 eggs.
Approximately 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Approximately 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Approximately 1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet sauce
Approximately 2 teaspoons Paprika
Approximately 1 teaspoons Superior Touch Better than Bouillon beef base
1 package Lipton's Onion Soup
Approximately 1 cup of Progresso Italian flavored bread crumbs
Approximately ½ cup of water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350º. Put the beef and meatloaf mix in a large bowl. Add bread crumbs and onion soup. In another bowl combine Eggbeaters, Dijon Mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, Paprika, beef base, salt and pepper. Mix with a hand-blender or wisk. Pour into bowl with the meat mixture. Add water to empty bowl swirl around to get any mixture clinging to the bowl and add to large bowl. Mix with your hands untill all ingrtedients are blended. Turn onto counter or other washable flat surface (hint: put a little water down first so the meat doesn't stick) form into loaf. Place on a rack in a shallow pan big enough to hold both the rack and the meatloaf. Roast in a 350º oven for about 1 ½ hours - check center with meat thermometer for well done. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil for about 15 minutes, slice and enjoy.

Cinnamon toast

I really like something sweet to eat for breakfast on weekend morning - not exactly South Beach diet friendly. I have finally found something that works for my sweet tooth and my diet - SBD cinnamon toast. Since I really, really love cinnamon, this is a natural. Don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

Toast whole wheat bread, spray on "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray, sprinkle with about a 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon of Splenda and cinnamon to taste (I use a lot!).

A friend of mine likes chocolate toast - made the same way except substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for the cinnamon. This would also work for SBD since you are allowed the cocoa powder.

Chicken with Red peppers and Mushrooms

This is a South Beach friendly lunch I've been whipping up during the colder months and since that time is almost on us, I thought I'd post it.

Ingredients
1 boneless chicken breast cut into chunks (or you can use those stir fry strips)
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or more if you're not watching your weight)
1 half med-large red pepper cut into strips
1 small Portobello mushroom or several Baby Bellas/Crimini mushrooms sliced
Several slices or balls of fresh mozzarella cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat a non-stick pan and put the oil in, then the chicken. Let the chicken brown a little, then add the peppers, mushrooms, salt and pepper (to taste). Stir fry over medium heat until the chicken is done - about 15 minutes depending on how small you cut the chicken. Add the mozzarella cheese and heat until it starts to melt and your done.

Serves 2 for lunch - dinner if you add a salad.

First Kitchen Blog entry

I've just set up this page as a blog so that I can comment easily about food and recipes. As I mentioned in my intro about, I've been following the South Beach Diet and have been quite successful - even with some cheating. I recently made some great chicken salad that is very SBD friendly.

I took a chicken breast that I had previously grilled using extra-virgin olive oil, then coated with herbs (parsley, dill, tarragon, salt and pepper). After a chilling overnight in the fridge, I diced it into large chunks. I added low fat mayonnaise, about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, chopped scallions/green onions and red bell pepper. Yum! Very tasty. Look for this recipe soon under the South Beach section of my cook book.