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CREOLE SHRIMP PANCAKES
February 1, 2010 at 8:04 am (cajun recipe, creole recipe, fish recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sugar recipe, southern recipe, spicy recipe)
Tags: cajun, creole recipe, healthy recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, pancakes, savory pancakes, seafood recipe, shrimp cocktail, shrimp recipe, spicy recipe
Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention, as was the case with this recipe. It was originally going to be "shrimp balls" but fate decided otherwise…and saved me having to come up with a better name! There are two pieces to this recipe, the sauce being completely optional.
Shrimp Pancakes
- 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and tailed
- 2 cups cook brown rice
- ½ cup oatmeal
- 2 eggs
- ½-1 chopped onion (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon "Creole Seasoning"
- 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
Side "Cocktail" Sauce (option 1)
- 1 cup tomato ketchup
- 2 tablespoons lemon sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons horseradish sauce (adjust for taste/spiciness)
Side "Cocktail" Sauce (option 2)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons horseradish sauce (adjust for taste/spiciness)
Prepare the sauce in advance…I’ve provided two options because, depending on what you’ve got laying around the kitchen, option 1 (using ketchup) is a bit easier.
- Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk or fork. Adjust the horseradish to suit your taste (it’s okay to taste while working on this
- Redrigerate when you’re done.
Now the pancakes!
- Put all the ingredients into a blender and mix well. Use a rubber scraper to scrapes the sides into the mixture periodically (be sure to turn the blender off when doing so).
- The mixture will be like lumpy oatmeal and sticky, but not able to hold it’s shape.
- Heat a non-stick pan over a medium-high heat. If you do not have a non-stick pan, use a little olive oil.
- When the pan is heated, put about ¼ cup of the mixture into the pan. Press down with a spatula. This first pancake should be your "experimental" one. Use it to adjust the heat under the pan. It will start to brown fairly quickly, but don’t let it burn.
- After about a minute, flip it over with a spatula and press gently again.
- Continue flipping until it’s cooked through.
- Remove it from the heat and cut / taste to ensure it’s cooked.
- Now, use the rest of the shrimp pancake mix to make additional pancakes. You can cook several at once if the pan allows it.
- When done, serve with the cocktail sauce on the side.
You could also cook the pancakes in the oven, on a cookie sheet, turning each periodically to ensure cooking through.
Be sure that the shrimp is cooked properly.
JD’S LEFTOVER BEANS
January 28, 2010 at 8:08 am (24 hour recipe, crock-pot (slow cooker), low carb recipe, low fat recipe, side dishes, southern recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: baked beans, beans, black beans, bourbon, jack daniels, lima beans, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, southern recipe, vegetarian recipe
This is a useful recipe when you’ve got various beans left over from other recipes. I’ve used it with black beans, lima beans, kidney beans, all mixed up 
I’ve based the quantities on 4 cups of cooked beans. You can adjust accordingly.
- 4 cups cooked beans (without sauce)
- 1 large can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tamato paste
- 1 tablespoon tumeric
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- water
Where did you think "JD" came from?
- Put everything into a crock pot and mix. There should be enough liquid to just cover the beans. Use water as necessary.
- Bring the heat to "high" and simmer, stirring frequently.
- Turn to "low" and cook for at least 4 hours.
- Turn off the heat and refrigerate overnight.
- Warm and serve the following day.
SOUTHWESTERN SPAGHETTI SQUASH
January 21, 2010 at 6:08 am (low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, low sugar recipe, side dishes, southern recipe, southwestern recipe, spicy recipe, vegan recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: healthy recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sugar recipe, southwestern recipe, spaghetti squash, spicy recipe, vegan recipe, vegetarian recipe
I use the term "southwestern" rather loosely. It’s got black beans and some spices…hey, you come up with a better name . This is a good side dish to complement a spicy entree such as "BLACKENED SALMON PATTIES".
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can corn
- 1 chopped tomato
- 1 mild chili pepper (such as Anaheim), cleaned and chopped
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup dried cilantro leaves
- a dash of salt (optional)
- olive oil
- water
The squash needs a little preparation, but the rest of the recipe is quick and easy. To reduce the sodium content, I’ve made the salt optional. Also, ensure you rinse the black beans well.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place face down in a casserole dish.
- Add enough water to the casserole dish to fill it half-way.
- Cook for about an hour or until the squash is slightly browned on top and soft to the touch.
- Remove and allow to cool.
- When sufficiently cool, remove the out skin and seeds.
- Use a fork to separate the strands and set aside.
You can do that first step earlier in the day.
- In large a pan over medium-high heat, cook the fresh chili in olive oil until tender.
- Add the tomato, cilantro and chili powder, stirring continually.
- Add the corn, black beans and vinegar. Mix well.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and mix in the squash.
- Add just enough water (½ a cup or so) to prevent burning.
- Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If you don’t want to use chili powder, you could try chipotle or another such seasoning.
“BLACKENED” SALMON PATTIES
January 21, 2010 at 5:49 am (cajun recipe, fish recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sugar recipe, southern recipe, spicy recipe)
Tags: blackened recipe, easy recipe, fish recipe, healthy recipe, low carb recipe, low far recipe, oatmeal recipe, salmon recipe, spicy recipe
If I may say so myself, these are to die for! I’ll bet even kids will eat their fish, it tastes so good! Even though it’s "blackened" the feedback I’ve had is that it’s not overly spicy.
Now, they’re hardly cholesterol free due to the eggs…but you try and get these things to stick together any other way
- 2 salmon fillets, skinned
- 1.5 cups oatmeal (such as Quaker Oats)
- 2 eggs
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
- 1 tablespoon "Blackened Seasoning"
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Olive oil
This does require a food processor to get the needed consistency and blend things properly.
- Cut the salmon into slices.
- Put all the ingredients (except olive oil) into a food processor and pulse until well blended, scraping the sides with a rubber spatula. The resulting mixture should be very sticky – fun fun fun!
- Make several 1-½ inch balls of the paste.
- Put enough olive oil into a pan to cover the bottom.
- Over a medium-high heat, put several balls into the pan, pressing down gently with a spatula to form a patty.
- Cook the patties, turning frequently until dark brown and crispy. I found that a couple of minutes was sufficient.
A couple of things to point out. Should the blended salmon be too fluid to make the patties, you can compensate with additional oatmeal. Also, any larger than 1 to 1½ inches and you run the risk of not cooking the fish (and eggs) all the way through or burning the outside in order to do so.
This goes very well with "SOUTHWESTERN SPAGHETTI SQUASH".
Voila!
TOFU TIKKA MASALA
January 20, 2010 at 1:17 pm (24 hour recipe, curry, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, low sugar recipe, meat substitutes, spicy recipe, tofu, vegan recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: chicken tikka masala, easy recipe, indian recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, spicy recipe, tofu recipe, tofu tikka masala, vegetarian recipe
A variation of the popular "Chicken Tikka Masala". Getting this version right is about ensuring your tofu is prepared properly. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same properties as chicken, so you’re going to have to be a little careful, but the results…
This is one of those recipes that needs to be prepared over two days because the tofu needs to be marinated.
Day 1
- 1 package firm tofu prepared in the "dry-fried" method (click here for link)
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 3 teaspoons fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1 cup water
Do no avoid the tofu preparation steps! Also, you’ll notice that we’re using water. This is because tofu soaks up marinade much more than meat, so we need to increase the quantity of marinade to compensate. Also, simply "coating" the tofu won’t work. The marinade has to penentrate it.
- Dice the tofu.
- In a blender, mix the other ingredients until you well blended.
- Put the tofu and marinade into a freezer bag or container, making sure the tofu if covered.
- Refrigerate overnight.
Day 2
- 1 fresh mild chilli pepper (such as Anaheim)
- ½ a diced onion
- 1 diced tomato
- 1 diced red or orange pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- a pinch of black pepper (optional)
- ½ cup soy milk
- olive oil
Note the use of two pans…
- In a pan over a medium-high heat, cook the onion and pepper in a little olive oil until soft.
- Add in the spices and tomato, stirring continually.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and add the soy mild. Stir well.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
- In a second pan, over a medium-high heat, cook the marinated tofu in a little olive oil.
- Keep turning the tofu pieces to ensure they’re cooked on all sides.
Okay, now we bring them together…
- Add the simmering sauce to the cooked tofu.
- Stir for a minute or two.
- Remove from the heat and serve.
EGGPLANT CURRY
January 20, 2010 at 9:02 am (curry, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sugar recipe, side dishes, spicy recipe, vegan recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: aubergine curry, easy recipe, eggplant curry, indian recipe, indian vegetarian, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sugar recipe, quick recipe, soy recipe, spicy recipe, vegan curry, vegetarian curry
So simple yet so amazingly tasty!
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup onion, finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon chopped garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon ground tumeric powder
- 1 tomato, diced
- ½-1 cup soy milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
I don’t like adding salt to recipes, but in this one I think you need it.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees and put the eggplant on a backing tray or casserole dish inside.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes. The skin should “prune” a little.
- Remove from the oven and allow the eggplant to cool.
- Peel the skin and discard the ends. It should peel quite easily.
- Chop up the eggplant.
Okay, that was pretty much all prep work (other than chopping the onion and tomato).
- In a saucepan over a medium-high heat, sautee the onions and garlic in the olive oil until tender.
- Add all the spices and stir. Watch out for burning!
- Add the eggplant and tomato, stirring continually until the eggplant is cooked..
- Add the soy milk. You need enough to make a good sauce but not so much that your "drown" the other items.
- Stirring continually, bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
This makes a great side dish to complement many different Indian-style foods. If you want to play with the "heat" of the curry, you can add or decrease the pepper content. For even hotter, consider using crushed red pepper as well or instead of black pepper.
FOUR-BEAN CHILI CROCK-POT
January 15, 2010 at 7:09 am (24 hour recipe, crock-pot (slow cooker), low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, low sugar recipe, meat substitutes, southern recipe, spicy recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: black beans, chili recipe, healthy recipe, kidney beans, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, pinto beans, vegetarian chili recipe, vegetarian recipe
Who said you couldn’t make a decent chili without meat?
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1½ cups dark red kidney kidney beans (cooked)
- 1 cup light red kidney beans (cooked)
- 1 cup pinto beans (cooked)
- 1 cup black beans (cooked)
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 onion (chopped fine)
- 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1-2 tablespoons chili powder (taste preference)
- ½-1 tablespoon black pepper (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon "Chipotle" seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- olive oil
- water
The honey is a sugar substitute in this case and helps bring out the flavor of the tomatoes. You could use more salt, but I’m trying to keep it reasonable. Besides, canned tomatoes usually have sodium in them, so consider the salt optional for this recipe.
This Chipotle seasoning is quite optional too. I add it to my chili for that "authentic southwestern flavor"
- In a pan over medium heat, cook the onion and bell pepper in some olive oil until it becomes a little tender.
- Add the garlic and Chipotle seasoning and stir in until it sizzles. Avoid burning. Set aside.
- Put all the remaining ingredients except ½ cup of the dark red kidney beans and bay leaves into crock-pot (slow cooker).
- Add enough water to bring up to the same height as the beans.
- Set the crock-pot temperature to "hight" and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Using a hand blender or potato masher, grind the chili up until it’s like a thick, chunky sauce.
- When you’re done blending, add the onion/pepper mix from the pan and the remaining kidney beans.
- Stir well.
- Cover, turn the heat to "e;low" (not warm) and cook for at least 6 hours.
- Remove the bay leaves before serving.
For the best results, allow to cool and refrigerate overnight and reheat it the next day. The flavors really percolate well if you do this, but when hunger calls…
ADAMS HOPPIN’ JOHN
January 12, 2010 at 3:27 pm (creole recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, low sugar recipe, side dishes, southern recipe, vegetarian recipe)
Tags: black eyed peas, healthy recipe, low carb recipe, low fat recipe, low sodium recipe, low sugar recipe, side dish, southern recipe, spicy recipe, vegetarian recipe
This is a good recipe that works as a side dish for most spicy foods. I based my variation on a recipe I found on vegweb.com, so kudos really belongs to them.
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 2 cups cooked black-eyed peas
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes (not tomato sauce)
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper (depends on taste)
- 1 teaspoon "hot" sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
When I say "big" pan, I’m not kidding…
- In a large pan, heat the oil and add the onions and garlic. Cook until soft.
- Add the tomatoes and herbs and bring to a gentle simmer stirring constantly.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Turn heat to low and stir until everything is well mixed and heated. Be careful not to "grind up" or mash the vegetables. Add water if the mixture is too thick.
- Adjust the pepper (and hot sauce) according to your tastes.
Enjoy!
