A Two-Fer! Traveling Tuesdays...Portugal and Peru

I decided to group these two recipes together even though they are waaaay different...except for the pepper paste/sauce for each of these recipes. Pretty similar and both VERY good! The first recipe I got from our awesome neighbor who was across the street from us in Leavenworth. She lent me her book on Portuguese cooking, called Portuguese Homestyle Cooking by Ana Patuleia Ortins, and I was able to copy some recipes that sounded great! Here's one of many:

BEEF PORTUGUESE STYLE
Serves 6 (great for leftovers, I put the meat in a yummy salad...and also great for a Maggie dog)

Ingredients

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Sweet Red Pepper Paste (recipe to follow)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus another 2 for later
2 teaspoons paprika
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3 1/2 lb chuck roast or bottom round roast
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper (optional!)
1 cup red wine
1 to 2 cups water, as needed
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
6 large new potatoes, peeled and quartered (I used red potatoes)
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

This recipe for the Sweet Red Pepper Paste is awesome! It takes some time...but it's well worth it. I believe you may be able to find it stores, but it's not complicated at all. The recipe for this WAS in the book that our neighbor lent me, but silly me was soooo excited that I wasn't paying attention to the "look on page 166" direction.  So I found this one online and it's so tasty.

SWEET RED PEPPER PASTE
Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients

8 medium (or 4 large) sweet red peppers, washed, cored, seeded and cut lengthwise into about 1in wide strips
2 tablespoons course or kosher salt
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/3 cup olive oil (approx.)

First...how to make the paste! Take your red peppers and wash, core, and seed them. Then cut them lengthwise. Put these strips into a bowl, salting the strips in layers. I took each pepper, cut it, and when I placed it into the bowl sprinkled salt on it. That way each pepper cut got an equal amount of salt. The salt will draw out any extra water.

After all of the strips are salted and placed in the bowl, set the bowl somewhere on your counter, and leave it there for about 24 hours. The strips will be flimsy and sad. But don't fret! They are about to be amazingly happy and tasty!

After the 24 hours, pour off the salty water and take your strips, place them in a 250 degree preheated oven and leave them alone. Don't even touch them for 2 hours. When they are done, they will be soft and slippery and ready to peel.

It takes a little work, but if the skins are slippery enough, they should come off pretty easy! See? Once they are peeled, place them in a blender or food processor along with the minced garlic and start blending. Pour in the olive oil as it's going until the paste is a creamy, deliciousness. Now your ready to cook the beef!

First you take the garlic and mash it as best you can. If you have a pestle and mortar, use it. I did not. I just used my knife; blade AWAY from you though! Combine the garlic with the parsley, paprika, and bay leaves. Mix well and drizzle in the olive oil. Rub this mixture on the meat and place it into a Dutch oven (I used a large pot because I don't have one...surprisingly!) along with the onions and crushed red pepper (if you're using it). Mix the water and the wine together and fill your pot up until the liquid is up 1/3 of the meat. You may have to add water to get this. If you are wanting to marinate the meat overnight or for a few hours, now would be the time to do that.

Place your tomatoes in the pot as well along with the parsley around the meat, cover with a lid, and bring everything to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Add the carrots and potatoes after the 1 1/2 hours and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the beef and veggies are done. Remove the meat and veggies to a serving platter and reduce the liquid by half. Pour this over everything and garnish with some parsley! It was really tasty. I think I will marinate it next time to be honest. But overall it was great!

I'm not sure of the calorie count; however, similar recipes fell between 200-300 calories. The ingredients are all super fresh and simple. There isn't a lot of stuff going on with the meat besides the red pepper paste that's made with olive oil (which is a healthy fat!). So I feel it's a pretty healthy meal. Of course, it's all about portion control!! I served this meal with a....SALAD! How could you guess?!?

Here is the website for the Sweet Red Pepper Paste. And since the recipe for the actual dish is on a copied piece of paper sitting next to me, if you are interested feel free to email me if you know it or leave a comment and I can send you a pdf of the recipe! Now..onto the next!!

ANTICUCHOS WITH ROASTED YELLOW PEPPER SAUCE (aka...Peruvian Beef Kebabs!)
Serves 4-6 (depending on how much meat)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons hot paprika or aji amarillo
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (Note: this WILL stain things yellow!)
Cooking Spray

FIERY RUB
3 tablespoons fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon hot paprika or aji amarillo
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

ROASTED YELLOW PEPPER SAUCE

1-1 1/2 yellow bell peppers
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot paprika or aji amarillo
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced 

First you want to cut your meat into 1/2 inch pieces and put them into a bowl along with the following six ingredients, which are the red wine vinegar, hot paprika (I used 1/2 teaspoon regular paprika and 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper for a little heat since I couldn't find the hot paprika), salt, pepper, cumin, and turmeric. Mix well, cover, and chill in the frig for a good 3 hours.

While that was chilling I made the Roasted Yellow Pepper sauce and the fiery rub. To make the sauce, preheat your broiler and slice the yellow bell peppers into strips. Put them onto a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for about 15 minutes. Remember to leave the door cracked!!!


 

After they are done, take them out and put them into a zip lock plastic bag. This will allow the skins to come off easier. Leave them in the bag for another 15 minutes or so.

Peel the skins off and put them into a blender or food processor. Blend in the remaining ingredients (green onions, vinegar, olive oil, water, lemon juice, cumin, hot paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, and garlic) until everything is smooth.

Like this! And once you are done with that set it aside and make your fiery rub. Which is super easy.

Combine all ingredients for the fiery rub and set it aside until the meat is ready. And once the meat is ready, thread everything onto about 6 skewers. I ended up having about 12 pieces on each skewer, but it definitely depends on the size of the meat and how big you cut the pieces.




After threading the meat, rub the fiery rub onto it and then you are ready to cook it up!!! Personally the rub wasn't too spicy. I read on the reviews that you can substitute the hot paprika for regular paprika or even 1/2 regular 1/2 smoked paprika. It's up to you!

Grill the meat for about 6 minutes, turning only once, until the meat is done the way you prefer. I also covered the meat while it was cooking with some foil to trap the heat and make the meat more tender.







I served the meat with the Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce as well as the Sweet Red Pepper Paste/Sauce from the Portuguese recipe. Both tasted GREAT!!! with the meat. I also served hot white rice and a salad which included the other 1/2 of one of the bell peppers so it was super crunchy and yummy!!

The recipe calorie count (which includes the sauce!) is 188 calories per serving. It was super tasty. I know I do a lot of kebabs, but they are just so easy and experimenting with the different flavors of all around the world is a lot of fun!!! I really enjoyed this recipe and I hope you are able to make it and enjoy it too!!

Here are the links:
Anticuchos with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce
Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

And here's a rainbow that appeared while I was making dinner after a little afternoon shower. It was really pretty! I'll leave you with that! :) Have a great day!!!!

BONUS Traveling Tuesdays...England and Job Hunting

So I said a while back that I was going to be posting a great Fish and Chips recipe that I made ohhh back in March I think? And it's baked!! Of course I'll post about the yummy "trip" we took this past Tuesday, but for now...onto England!

BAKED FISH AND CHIPS
Serves 4

Ingredients

Olive oil cooking spray
1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges
4 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning, divided (I used Creole)
2 cups cornflakes
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 pound Cod or haddock, cut into 4 pieces* (I used haddock)

*Note: This is from the Eating Well website in regards to the fish. "Overfishing and trawling have drastically reduced the number of cod in the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic Ocean and destroyed its sea floor. For sustainably fished cod, choose U.S. Pacific cod or Atlantic cod from Iceland and the northeast Arctic. For more information, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch at seafoodwatch.org."

First things to do are set your oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Then preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with the cooking spray, as well as a wire rack which is set on another baking sheet.

Next thing is to wash your potatoes in a colander. Pay dry and cut into the wedges.

Once in wedges, toss the potatoes in the canola oil and 3/4 teaspoons of the Cajun or Creole seasoning in a large bowl until coated. Spread them out on the baking sheet and pop them into the oven on the lower rack, turning every 10 minutes for a total of 30-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, coarsely grind the cornflakes in a food processor or even crush in a sealed plastic bag. Transfer this to a shallow bowl.

In another bowl, place the flour, the other 3/4 teaspoons of the Cajun or Creole seasoning, and the salt. And finally in a third bowl, place your beaten egg whites. I did a little assembly line! Dredge your fish in the flour, dip it in the egg whites, and finally coat all sides evenly with the cornflakes. Then place the fish on the wire rack. And repeat!



Coat the fish with more cooking spray and pop it into the oven on the upper rack for about 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

I've never had fish and chips from England, but this recipe was AMAZING!! Matt, who isn't a big fan of fish (I'm working on him!), LOVED IT! It's was super crispy and very tasty. I know I will make it again.

Per serving it was 325 calories! Not bad in my book. I, of course, served it with a salad and had tartar sauce and ketchup for it as well.

Here's the recipe: Oven Fried Fish and Chips

Things are coming along here at the house for the most part. I am still trying to get used to where everything is, etc. There are still a lot of boxes in the basement to go through, but we plan to do that a few weekends or so at a time. Not too stressed about it. We bought some flowers this past weekend and I was able to plant them today! I am really excited to be adding some color and can't wait until our yard is normal again because there's a flower box in the front that is screaming for flowers! :) We bought snapdragons, petunias, and marigolds for the flower boxes that sit on the deck. And then for the hanging baskets we bought dahlias (I think?) in yellow and pink. Here's hoping they stay alive!! I want to plant an herb garden down in the back yard under one of the trees and try my hand at some vegetables. I'm thinking tomatoes at first. Then maybe something else. Right now my mind has been focused on finding a job. I've applied for quite a few and haven't heard back. It's really frustrating especially with absolutely no connections here. I feel over qualified for everything that I've looked at, but all I want is a job that I feel good about doing. No matter what it is. Too often in the past I've felt not appreciated and like I wasn't making a difference. I don't want to get caught in that rut again. Simply because I have a hard time giving up on something. I always stick it out, no matter how hard it is. Unfortunately this isn't always the best choice. I know there has to be something out there for me, but it's hard to see what that is! So that's where I am job wise...no where. :-/ Hopefully I have better luck soon!! Pray that the right job comes along for me! I really would appreciate it!

Traveling Tuesday...errr Wednesday...

Whew! What a week. Our house is about 95% done...well as far as setting everything up goes. We still have a few pictures to hang...some plants to buy. And of course there's always the sprinkler system getting fixed and ohhh yesss that's right...actual grass to put down. But that's all being taken care of by the realtor/landlord. We did have a guy come out to assess the sprinklers and it was really funny watching how messed up they are. At one point a sprinkler in the flower bed started shooting up like a geyser. The guy at that point was telling us how messed up the system was when that happened and he made the comment along the lines of "point proven." :) Oh well. We also have made purchases such as a desk, bookcase, two rugs, a computer chair (big..nice..leather), and just yesterday an accent chair for our master bedroom. I'll take pics as soon as I can. It's really comfy.

On Wednesday we got to meet some neighbors. Our neighbor next door invited us to come with her to a BBQ for the 4th of July down at the corner of the street. It was so much fun and our neighbors are so incredibly nice. Matt and I are really pleased with the neighborhood and how friendly everyone is. Pretty good for picking a house out on the internet! :) Anyway, since Wednesday was the 4th of July I decided to be super American and make hamburgers for our traveling cuisine. Of course, we didn't "travel" far, but you can't celebrate the 4th without something yummy and American! So I made Inside Out Cheeseburgers and oven fries! Delish!!

OVEN FRIES
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into wedges*
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (optional..but I'd go for it!)

 Note: I used red potatoes due to the fact that I couldn't find but one Yukon Gold potato. And there were people standing in front of the potatoes...that wouldn't move. :-/

Inside Out Cheeseburgers
Serves 4

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 pound 90% lean ground beef*
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika*
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Added:
1 clove garlic
~1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Note: I used the 96% lean ground beef. And I also used smoked paprika.

Preheat your oven to 450. Not 400 like me. Apparently it was not my day. I was in a hurry because I wanted to get us down to the BBQ with the neighbors since it was a bring your own stuff to grill kind of thing.

The first thing I did was wash and cut the potatoes into wedges. And placed them on a baking sheet. I covered the baking sheet with foil...I wouldn't so this again. We didn't eat any foil per say, but it definitely stuck to it.

I then sprinkled the potatoes with the salt and thyme and poured the olive oil over it. Using my hands I tossed them around to coat. I stuck them in the oven. And they cook for about 20 minutes total. Half way through you need to turn them with a spatula.

Next thing I did while the potatoes were baking away was mix the meat together with the smoked paprika, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Set it aside and mixed together the cheddar and Gruyere. This recipe is super versatile as far as the cheeses go. You can pretty much do whichever cheeses you want. After I finished with the cheese, I made the patties. I divided the bowl into eight.

Pile your cheese on! Yummyyyy. Then take the other four patties without cheese and lay them on each of the cheese patties.

Squish the sides together to make sure nothing falls out! And voila! Then you just need a grill!! They turned out really tasty. I served it with the oven fries and had cut up tomatoes, onions, and had some lettuce for Matt. All on a whole wheat bun. I just had mine without the bun.

I know this looks appetizing...haha! I took the picture with my phone since I didn't want my neighbors thinking I was weird taking pictures of my food. :) Anyway...CALORIE COUNT! The hamburgers were 264 calories and then the oven fries were 102 per serving! :) Pretty good for Independence Day! Well I think that's about it! Now that things have calmed down, I'll definitely be blogging on time from now on! :) Until next time!





Here are the recipe links:
Oven Fries
Inside Out Cheeseburgers

Traveling Tuesdays...errr Thursday and Moving Update!

Well we are definitely officially in Colorado now and surprisingly somewhat settled in! The movers with our stuff got here on Tuesday bright and early at about 8:05am and left about 12:30pm. Pretty efficient. Once they left Matt and I ate lunch and got to work unpacking. We blew through the dining room, kitchen, and living room by about 10:00pm that night because I was determined. And then the Master bedroom, bathroom, and the other two rooms upstairs were done by Wednesday night. And so far we've only found one thing broken. Which was one of our glass inserts in the china cabinet...not cool. We have been hanging up pictures and figuring out decor and such since then. We also bought two chairs which are now in our sitting room that will also house two bookshelves to make kind of a reading nook type thing. The house is great. The weather is amazing. Despite it being really hot the first day or two we were here, it's been great since. Right now I have the back patio open (with the screen of course since we have two very daring and curious kitties) and the wind is blowing in that awesome Colorado air! We have been in the midst of the fires going on here as well. Not near our house of course, don't panic! But we've been watching it and getting a lot of the smoke if the wind shifts. It's been crazy and sad watching everything unfold and I'm glad that they have it about 50% contained now. Matt and I have gone to the Fort Carson pool a few times since getting here. It's nice to relax. Friday was Matt's birthday so since this week was crazy I decided to make our worldly cuisine dish on Thursday in honor of his birthday. It's a dish from Hawaii! Since he was born there and all. The original recipe calls for it to be baby back ribs, but substitutes chicken for a lower fat and calorie option.

CHICKEN CHAR SIU
Serves 4 (recipe says 9, but I adapted it for Matt and I)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger*
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced*
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 18 strips*
Cooking spray
Skewers

Note: I used the crystallized ginger...it's still haunting me. I also used about 3 cloves of garlic because I like garlic. And lastly, I used boneless skinless chicken breasts since that's what I had! :)

Let's get cookin'! 

First thing you do is combine all of the ingredients except for the cooking spray and skewers (obviously), cut up the chicken, and marinate the strips in the mixture for a minimum of two hours.

After the two hours is up (or however long you marinate it), you take each strip and thread it onto the skewers in a zig zag kind of motion. Reserve your marinade. Preheat the broiler. I at first had it on High, but the oven started smoking and I had flashbacks to high school when I was using the broiler for something I was making for dinner and it caught on fire. I called my mom when she was at work while trying to figure out how best to get the animals outside since I was pretty sure the oven was going to blow up...turns out...you just turn the broiler off. :) I say all this to remind you to keep your oven cracked and open a bit while cooking since this too could happen to you!

Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray and put the skewers onto it. Pop everything into the oven and cook about 6-7 minutes then flip the skewers and brush the chicken with the reserved marinade. Put the chicken back into the oven for another 6-7 minutes or until done. Toss out your marinade.



I made a salad and rice while waiting. As well as cleaned up the kitchen a bit, and opened some wine! I love the name of this wine and the picture. :) It was really good too!! It was also about $5 and a screw top. But I will be getting it again. :) Oh and I also made some fresh marinade to use as a sauce if needed.

Pretty tasty in my opinion and it was 108 calories for two skewers! Bargain! :) Matt really liked it and I was happy that I made a tasty Hawaiian dish for him.

This picture has nothing to do with the food, but it made me laugh. Tiggie was sniffing the camera. :) She's silly. And the cutest kitty ever in my opinion.






Here's the recipe link before I forget! Chicken Char Siu

Our last night in Leavenworth

For Matt's birthday we went to On the Border at his request for dinner. We shared fajitas and I had a skinny margarita and he had a big daddy one. We then got ready and went to play pool at the Phantom Brewing Company. It was really fun and I actually beat him fair and square once. :) Saturday we went to an Irish place on the same street as the pool place. They weren't playing Irish music, but some DJ was there and there were dudes break dancing?? Yea. It was interesting. And we saw a guy in a kilt. We decided to go somewhere else and went across the street to this "club" type place and stayed there until we decided to go home. It was pretty fun! And today we bummed around, hung some pictures up, and signed up at a gym that is literally right down the street from us. It's called Villa Sport. Click and tour the gym if you want! Apparently there's also another one in The Woodlands in Texas. It's pretty posh!! We decided to go with it because I have really enjoyed the Les Mills classes and they offer them at great times during the day so when I get a job, I can still keep on my schedule. We looked at the Air Force base, but they didn't really have much and Fort Carson, while the facility is really nice, is too far for working out before work, etc. We are excited though and I will be attending RPM tomorrow morning. I've missed it this past week. We've been just running. Which was a little easier than I thought considering the elevation and stuff. The other day after running two miles, I did feel kind of blek though. So I stopped for a bit and worked out with some weights and went back into running. In any case, I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike and weights for my classes! :) We still have a few things to work on here at the house such as buying some stuff...a desk and chair for the office, bookshelves, and some other things. But it's coming along quite fast! I don't remember it being this fast in Leavenworth. Which I guess is good! :) And we are here for about 2-3 years and not 11 months. Yessssss. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our house. I'm posting more on Facebook soon.

Kitchen

Patio

China cabinet/DR

DR

Entry way

DR looking from kitchen

Kitchen

My vines and such

Entry way looking towards office and LR

Kitchen

LR looking from upstairs

Guest bath upstairs

Master bath

My closet with creepy Maggie

1/2 bath

Meow!

Sitting room

Millie

Chinese Maggie

Maggie on the window sill in sitting room

Well hope you enjoyed the little tease of pics! Can't wait to show you more! I better be going. We are lifting the TV to mount it and it's reallllllyyyyyyy heavy. BODY PUMP!!! Matt says that every time I lift things now since I'm so stronggggg!! haha...anyway...good night!