a love/hate relationship (with fruit salad)

Fruit salad is one of those things that I love to eat, but hate to make. It takes an eternity (yes, really) to cut up all the fruit, and by the time you're done you're too tired to eat it anyway.

While I'd love a huge salad of mixed fruit any day of the week, lately I've been choosing one or two fruits, and making single serving portions salad with whatever we have around the apartment - one for each of us. This morning in the fridge we had bananas, 8 strawberries, and two peaches. In no time at all not only did we have banana pancakes and simple fruit salad, but I'd squeezed three servings of fruit into our day before 10 am!

As always, a simple fruit salad is considerably more budget friendly. The container of strawberries at Whole Foods was $2.99, and the two peaches were under a dollar. $4? That is after5chef budget friendly for sure.

Tonight we have a reservation at the Ivy Restaurant for dinner. While this is NOT typically in the a5c budget, J bought one of last weeks groupons. Haven't seen groupon.com yet? It's a great way to stretch the budget a bit. This particular deal is $15 for $30 worth of food. Haven't seen groupon.com yet? You've got to check it out: www.groupon.com.

I'll be back with a picture or two of dinner. In the meantime .... start putting together that fruit salad, it's almost time for lunch!


enjoy!

here's to new beginnings (and eating your vegetables)

In the last six months I've ... gotten engaged, planned a wedding, started a (fabulous) new job and moved into a new apartment. It's been a busy spring! Now that we're finally settled in our new apartment and wedding plans are well underway, I'm back at the after5chef blog. It's been awhile, and I've got a stockpile of recipes and ideas to send your way.

This new kitchen of ours comes with learning curve. The stove is not only gas, but it's the light-it-yourself kind ... and it's tiny! We've only been here a week, so I haven't done all that much cooking (we've been eating out a lot, as much as this after5chef is ashameed to admit) but I do have one quick tip for the night:



Asparagus is one of the ugly step children of the vegetable family. It's not that great raw (unless it's drowned in ranch dressing maybe) and more often than not it's found swimming in cheese sauce, which for this lactose intolerant a5c is less than ideal. The good news? You CAN eat asparagus! Try this beyond basic recipe:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Spread the asparagus (washed, of course) on the baking sheet and brush very lightly with oil. Sprinkle with salt (garlic, pepper ... whatever you'd like!) and roast for 10 to 12 minutes.

I threw a few sliced red peppers on my baking sheet last night too, and what I didn't eat for dinner I put on the salad I packed for work this morning (along with lettuce, sprouts, and sliced turkey!)

A quick easy way to squeeze in one more vegetable, this recipe is worth giving a try. You could, believe it or not, actually LIKE asparagus. J can attest, he was a non-believer... and now he actually suggests it as a side dish!


enjoy!

Italia in Central Square

okay, so it's probably not all that authentic, but we love chicken parm! I'm still on a little bit of a comfort food kick (I swear, we'll get back to the gym soon....) but it poured all day in Boston, and I couldn't stop thinking about coming home and putting together this simple comfort food dish! We rounded out the indulgent meal with some garlic bread and a simple salad.


Chicken Parm

1 large chicken breast, pounded out very thin
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c floup
1/4 c bread crumbs
3 tbsps veg. oil
pasta of your choice (J prefers penne!)
sauce (I cheated this time and used the store-bought kind)
parmesean cheese


Put the egg, flour, and bread crumbs in separate dishes. Dip the chicken in the egg, flour, and then bread crumbs (covering evenly each time). Add the oil to a frying pan, and heat until it just barely begins to smoke. Turn the heat down just a little, and place the chicken in the skillet. Cook 5-8 minutes on each side, though this will depend on the thickness of the chicken breast.

Serve with the pasta, smothered in sauce and cheese.

enjoy!

probably not a first date food ...

All I can say is, it's a good thing we both love garlic!

This week's Sunday Night Dinner is simple, satisfying comfort food. Garlic Roasted Chicken, Stuffing, and Cranberry. Okay, okay, so we haven't been on a health kick lately, but it's been cold here in Boston, and nothing beats a big, hot meal on a chilly Sunday night!

Garlic Roasted Chicken

3 cloves garlic
2 tbsps garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano


mince the garlic as finely as you can. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and set aside. Cut a 2" slit in each chicken breast, and spread about a half of teaspoon inside. Coat the rest of the chicken with the remaining mixture. Bake at 400 for about half an hour.


enjoy!

warm up with soup and a panini

WARNING: Not for those with a 2010 diet resolution!

I'm trying to do a better job this year of planning menus around what's in the cupboard, rather than what I've seen on the food network during the week. Tonight was my first adventure with the "everything but the kitchen sink" method. That is, throwing what I have into a sauce pan, and calling it dinner. The result? Well...dinner! Here's what we had:

Saturday Night: Baked Potato Soup and Turkey, Vermont Cheddar, Bacon, and Apple Panini

Baked Potato Soup:

4 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
2 cans condensed potato soup
1 cup milk
2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
1 tstp all-season salt
pepper, to taste
bay leaf
sour cream and crumbled bacon, to garnish.

In a sauce pan, combine sour cream and butter until liquid. Add cream of potato soup, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Add milk, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and mix in. Place the bay leaf on top, cover, and simmer at least 30 minutes (if you have time, a little longer to give the flavors time to combine). Remove bay leaf, and ladle into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream and crumbled bacon.


Turkey, Vermont Cheddar, Bacon, and Apple Panini

Sourdough Bread
Sliced Turkey
Brown Mustard
Apple, sliced very thinly
Vermont Cheddar

Layer all your sandwhich ingredients, and grill lightly in a panini press (we used a George Foreman Grill!)




enjoy!

Beth

helllooooo 2010!

The holiday rush is over, and we're finally starting to settle into 2010. My first piece of advice for the new decade? Run (don't walk) to your nearest magazine stand, and pick up a copy of the Januaray issue of Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. I always love the ideas in this magazine, but this month's issue is particularly packed with fabulous recipes and clever tips. We've tried a few so far, but one of my favorites was the honey ginger stir-fry on page 88. I'm posting it here so you can try it, but you've got to read this magazine cover to cover!

stir-fried honey-ginger chicken with peppers
(from Everyday Food, January/February 2010)

1/4 c. honey
2 tbsps rice vinegar
2 tbsps soy sauce
2 tbsps veg. oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, in 1/4 in. strips
3/4 c. minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper (all peppers thinly sliced)
cooked rice (for serving)


In a small bowl, mix the honey, vinegar and soy sauce, and set aside. Heat a large skillet, and add 1 tbsp oil. Cook the chicken until it's almost done (about 3 minutes). Transfer to a plate. Add 1 tbsp oil, ginger, and garlic to the skillet and stir until fragrant (30 seconds or so). Add peppers, and cook about 2 minutes. Now, add the soy mixture and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and toss until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice.

enjoy!

Beth

"everything you need you know, you learned in kindergarten"

My Mom has always used this phrase, and I found out this week that it applies to after5chef cooking, too! Continuing with the weird schedule and eating dinner at my desk in my office, I thought I'd try something classic this week: peanut butter and jelly, chips (just a serving size), fruit, and a brownie ... exactly what I used to find in the lunches my Mom packed when I was little. I'll admit, it's not the most nutritious meal I've ever put together, but it is quick and satisfying. The key to this one is really the serving sizes. Seriously - read the back of the chip bag. It might say "low calorie!" on the front, but how many chips equal low calorie? It's definately not the whole bag. And take a grown-up approach to your pb&j - multi-grain bread, organic peanut butter, and fruit jam that isn't dorwning in high fructose corn syrip ... just a little food for thought.

enjoy!

Beth