Less meat, more filling
Thu May 01, 2008 at 02:31:07 PM PDT
My husband is from a red-meat loving family; its not dinner unless it bled on the way there. I myself was raised by very omnivorous folks, we can throw down BBQ with the best of them, but beans and rice were also a staple. The first time I served dear hubby our favorite summer-time supper; big garden salad with chopped boiled eggs and a sprinkiling of Baco-s with chewy whole grain bread, he ate it up! And then asked what was for dinner.
Our lives together have developed some areas of compromise. He has stopped going to McDonald's for supper on Fridays during Lent. He has given all hope of ham for dinner. I have learned to eat the occasional steak again after years of red-meat phobia.
But the plain truth is we would both be a lot healthier if we just ate less meat. Right? There is a history of heart disease on hubby's side and a history of cancer on my side. We both need to make veggies front and center in our diets.
So recently I have been collecting and creating recipes that actually contain less meat. I've been sneaking in some vegetarian options that he will tolerate and amping up the vegetables in general.
With that in mind I present some of my new favorites and beg for you, oh wise and learned Mother Talkers to do the same thing. We all need whatever tricks we have in our arsenal to make food both healthy AND enjoyable.
Puffy Chicken -- made this last night, awesome!
One layer of puff pastry from the freezer section, one large boneless skinless chicken breast, "Aloutte" garlic and herb cheese, mushrooms, salt and pepper, egg for an egg wash (milk optional).
Defrost puff pastry, unfold and cut into quarters. Pound chicken breast into even thickness and salt and pepper it. Cut breast into quarters, place one piece on each piece of pastry, Top chicken with some sliced mushrooms and one tablespoon (or less) of cheese. Seal pastry into little squares and pinch shut seams. Brush each packet with egg wash made from egg and milk (or just egg). Bake at 400 degrees until pastry is golden and puffy!
I served it with some steamed green beans and a salad. I did not tell my husband how much chicken was in the puff and he only ate one piece! (My husband's affectionate nickname is "I-Could-Eat"!!!) I believe the mouth feel from the cheese and pastry helped him feel full faster.
Now, I get that puff pastry and cheese are probably not gold standards for health, but I filled his plate with vegetables and he ate them all. The delectablness of the pastry was nicely balanced by the relative austerity of simple steamed green beans and a mixed salad with vinagrette.
My other favorite thing to do is "rubber chicken" for which there are a million and one recipes. My personal favorite is to roast the chicken with veggies day one, mix the leftover meat with black beans and onions and cumin for burritos day two, and then the carcass and the veggies hit the stock pot day three for soup. My family loves this particular sequence, especially in the winter time.
Looking forward to your favorite recipes, tricks and tips!
