ahaha!" and I'll get the usual "Oh no! Not Meatless Monday!" Yet he has never turned down a dish. Not even Asparagus Pizza. I knew I loved this man from the first time I made him participate in Meatless Monday.
Here is the newest find that I created tonight. Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili (the stovetop version). Say whatever you want, this is by far, hands down, the best chili I have ever tasted. And the real judge, Justin, agrees! In fact, I think he described it as phenomenal.
Regardless of how many meals I've made this man, he is always surprised that a meal with out meat can actually be tasty, and even something he might prefer over a meatier version. Every meal is followed with "wow! This is actually really good." Um, would you expect anything else?
I don't mean to brag (okay, maybe a little), but I'm a pretty awesome recipe follower. I know how to follow a recipe with the best of 'em. When people hear that one of my favorite things to do is cook a nice, healthy meal for other people, they often ask "what's your favorite thing to cook" as if they might be challenging me to a cook-off. Well, here's my answer. I don't play favorites with recipes. I have way too many good ones in my arsenal...and each one came from my only source of great recipes. My secret is a little magazine (and website) called EatingWell.
Back in 2002 I was entering my second year of college and had an apartment of my own near campus. I was visiting my Grandparents before I left for college, and as I always did, I sat down and dug through the pile of cooking magazines to find some inspiration to take back to my very own (vegetarian) kitchen. I came across what looked to be a good magazine, called EatingWell, and Grandma mentioned that it was her favorite magazine because it offered a ton of flavorful, healthy meal choices, and there was no advertising...just recipes! I guess the magazine had taken a 3 year hiatus and just started publishing again earlier in '02. I was hooked. Because I was a poor college student, I requested a subscription to EatingWell for Christmas, and from then on it would become my main source of information and recipes. The magazine was only published 4 times a year at the time. I found plenty of time to work my way through each and every (vegetarian) recipe. I have recently stopped purchasing these magazines because they are now loaded up with advertising and the FREE website categorizes each and every recipe they have published.
Even though I no longer receive EatingWell in the mail, I do utilize the website for all my recipes. Every few months they release "A Week of Meals for $50." I won't usually take the time to plan all meals for a week, rather, I just stop at the grocery store if I don't have ingredients for what I want to cook each night. This gets old. I like the idea of taking the magazine to the store with me and following their grocery list. This ensures that we 1) don't eat out and 2) we eat healthy. It helps me avoid the last minute lets-just-order-pizza nights.
I remember always being interested in cooking and creating healthy & tasty dishes. I remember perfecting an apple pie at the age of 10, baking 3 cheesecakes until they were flawless at the age of 12, deciding to become a vegetarian at the age of 15, which I enjoyed through the age of 20 (a goat cheese stuffed burger turned me and I never looked back), and spending my college years shopping at a tiny local organic food shop and where I was introduced to carob. My impressionable years in the kitchen were spent being a vegetarian. So many of my favorite dishes are vegetarian. I honestly had to teach myself how to cook meat once I started eating it again. During those V years, I found a love for "odd" foods that I probably would've never tried. I discovered some of my favorite things...goat cheese, sprouted breads, asparagus, quinoa, eggplant, tofu and capers. I learned that you don't need to add fat for food to taste good. With EatingWell as my food bible I didn't need butter or fatty oils to make me satisfied.
Here are a few of my more recent favorite main dish recipes. This is only a small list since I usually make a new dish most of the time. I suggest you try one or two, or all.
-Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Plums and Rosemary - I've made this only a dozen times or so in the last 6 years. It's my go-to dish for dinner parties because it's sooo easy to make and has a stunning presentation. Not to mention it's amazing.
- Chicken Breasts with Roasted Lemons - This is a healthy version of Chicken Picatta with edible lemons...need I say more
- Skillet-Roasted Skirt Steaks with Pebre Sauce & Avocados - The first dish I ever made for Justin. I'm pretty sure this is how I hooked him. We've made it at least 4 times since. I also made this for my super-picky, meat and potato only parents. They loved it!
- Grilled Fish Tacos - I love fish tacos and this is the best recipe I've found.
- Oven Poached Salmon Fillets - These are ready in 30 minutes or less and so delicious.
- Roast Chicken & Sweet Potatoes - Another great recipe that takes little time to prepare and is a great fall meal.
One of my favorite things is creating a soup as a main dish. This is a good one:
- Pasta & Chick Pea Soup - One of the first soups I remember making. I still make it these days. I love how the whipped chick peas make this soup creamy.
What are your favorite recipes? Do you still use recipe books? What is your main source for finding dishes to make?
Mary
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