Servin' With Ervin » Tips and Tricks

Italian Wedding Soup

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:40:25 +0000

My wife and I really enjoyed the taste. My wife thought I could have cut back on the spinach but I really enjoyed the way it was.

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1 lb spinach (frozen)
1/2 lb lean ground beef
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon onion herb mix (or just use onion powder)
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta (broken into small pieces)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

Directions:

In a medium pot put the broth and spinach on low heat to thaw.
Mix the breadcrumbs, parmesean cheese, basil and spices in a bowls.
Mix in the ground beef
Ball up the mix into various sizes about the size of you thumbnail
Turn the heat up until all the spinach is thawed and broth is at a rolling boil
Put the meat balls and pasta into broth
When the broth comes back to a boil turn down the heat to slow boil and cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked all the way.

Nutrition Information:

Servings:	4
Calories	283
Calories from Fat	82 (29%)
Amount Per Serving	%DV
Total Fat 9.2g	14%
Saturated Fat 3.3g	16%
Monounsaturated Fat 3.6g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1g
Trans Fat 0.4g
Cholesterol 37mg	12%
Sodium 1353mg	56%
Potassium 1225mg	35%
Total Carbohydrate 25.1g	8%
Dietary Fiber 3.2g	12%
Sugars 2.6g
Protein 26.0g	51%

Notes:

If you use low sodium broth make sure to sample the soup before you serve it. Sometimes you really need some salt to bring out the flavor of the food.

What makes Marinades?

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:51 +0000

What is a ‘Marinade’? Wikipedia defines a marinade as “the process of soaking foods in a seasoned liquid before cooking.” Marinades originally were meant as a way to preserve and tenderize lower grades of meat. Now we mainly use marinades to add flavor to a dish.

What makes up a marinade? A marinade is always a combination of at least two of the following base ingredients:

Acid (lemon, lime, vinegar, wine, beer)
Oil (olive oil is a favorite)
Aromatic Vegetables and Spices (celery, carrots, sage, thyme)

The marinading process breaks down the proteins in the meat tissue into a simpler form. This is called denaturalization. We denature foods all the time when cooking with heat, dry aging meat, and ,as in this case, chemically. Since you are chemically breaking down the structure if you leave your meat in the marinade for move the 24 hours you’re most likely going to have gelatin left when you get to using the meat.

The marinade process also allows you to force out the tasteless moisture in the meat and replace it with your newly created flavorful liquid. If you marinade fish and seafood, the tissue will actually get tougher in the process.

Here is a quick look at some the ingredients in a couple of marinades:

Angelyn’s Marinade

soy sauce(acid and flavor enhancer from salt), white wine (acid), sesame oil (oil), garlic (spice), ginger root (spice), cilantro (aromatic)

Full Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Angelyns-Marinade/Detail.aspx

Mexican Ceviche:

limes (acid), tomatoes (acid), green pepper (aromatic), chopped parsley or chopped cilantro (aromatic), salt (flavor enhancer), pepper (spice), oregano (aromatic), jalapeno peppers (spice and acid), white vinegar (acid), onion (aromatic), cilantro (aromatic), Tabasco sauce (acid)

Full Recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Mexican-Ceviche-8899

Poblano Pepper Sloppy Joes

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:36:20 +0000

I love this low calorie sloppy joes. While you’re making this recipe check the heat in your pepper. Poblano peppers are usually quite mild but I have ran into some that will rival any jalapeno pepper. If your pepper is too hot for your taste then cut the poblano pepper in half and substitute the rest with a small green pepper.

Don’t substitute canned corn! You need the firmness and full flavor of frozen corn. If you use canned corn you’ll have sweet mush when you’re done.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1 poblano pepper (diced)
1/2 cup corn (frozen)
2 garlic cloves (diced)
1 red potatoes (diced)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried chipotle powder
1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
1 teaspoon oregano (ground)
1 lb ground turkey
3/4 cup ketchup
4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
8 whole grain buns

Directions

In a dutch oven or 12″ heavy skillet put in your oil and set your stove to medium-low heat.
Add the Red Skin Potatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. You want the potatoes warm and slightly softened.
Put in the rest of the vegetables and the salt and cook for 5-10 minutes or until most of moisture has cooked out of the corn. This should be a gentle cooking time so reduce heat to were you just hear the sizzle.
Add the rest of the spices and let it cook for just a minute or two more to help integrate the flavors. If you don’t have a Dried Chipotle Powder mix try the Southwest Chipotle Seasoning (recipe #162886) found on RecipeZaar.
Remove the vegetables and set aside. Remember they’re hot, so use an appropriate storage vessel.
Brown the meat and drain off any fat or extra juice and discard the liquid.
Bring back the vegetables to the pan and add the rest of the ingredients.
Cook for 10-15 covered or until the potatoes are tender.