Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)

In an attempt to plan my week lunches and dinners, I decided this recipe will suffice and would freeze real well. It was a last minute decision to make this and boy am I glad I did.

I followed the recipe exactly - which you know I don't do. And I would recommend doing that if you make it. There's something about the combination of ingredients that really make these delicious.

One ingredient was a bit challenging to find and quite frankly very expensive for 2 tsp - Red miso paste. I'm not sure it really added flavor, but then again I've never had it so who knows. I know it's not close of a substitution, but I'd consider using red curry paste when I make these again.

Tsukune (Japanese Chicken Meatballs)

Photo from MyRecipes.com

Recipe from MyRecipes.com

Serves 6
Makes 36 1" meatballs (it only made 30 for me)

Meatballs:

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

4 ounces sliced shiitake mushroom caps

1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided

2 tablespoons dry sherry

2 teaspoons red miso (soybean paste)

1 1/2 pounds ground chicken

1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  

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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt  

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2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 large egg white  

 

Sauce:

3 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce  

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1 tablespoon dark brown sugar  

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2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

1 serrano chile, thinly sliced (um yah I didn't have this)

Remaining ingredients:

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 

To prepare meatballs, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, and 1 tablespoon garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add sherry; cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat; cool. Place mushroom mixture and miso in a mini chopper; pulse 10 times or until very finely chopped.

Combine mushroom mixture, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, chicken, and next 6 ingredients (through egg white) in a bowl. Shape mixture into 36 (1-inch) meatballs. Thread 3 meatballs onto each of 12 (6-inch) flat bamboo skewers. Chill for 30 minutes.

To prepare sauce, combine mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in juice, 2 teaspoons grated ginger, and serrano. Reserve 2 tablespoons sauce.

Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 6 skewers in pan; cook 9 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan; brush half of sauce over meatballs. Repeat procedure with remaining 6 skewers and sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds; serve with reserved 2 tablespoons sauce.

Grilled Lemon Chicken

My sister was up for the weekend and we're both trying to eat healthy. We have a habit of enabling each other to NOT eat healthy so I figured if I planned on making us dinner, we'd be better at not eating bad stuff.

I made this grilled lemon chicken. And while it was very flavorful, I forgot one BIG thing with chicken and lemon...the smaller the pieces, the more weird the texture when lemons involved.

Generally when I marinade chicken I cut it into chunks to marinade. More marinade per bite in my mind. I did the same with this recipe. I only let it sit for 30 minutes because I know lemon can "cook" the chicken if it's in too long. The texture was gross to me. Blech. The sister loved it, so I sent the entire vat of left overs with her.

I'd make this again but use full chicken breasts (or thighs) instead of smaller pieces.

Its 161 calories for 1 breast - 29 grams of protein. Not too bad.

Grilled Lemon Chicken
Recipe from Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Serves 4

1 garlic clove, peeled (yah right, I used 3)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp grated lemon zest
3 T lemon juice
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano (somehow I left this out)
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 (5oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts

With side of large knife, mash garlic with salt until it forms a paste.

To make marinade, combine everything in a zip loc bag. Squeeze out any air and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grill chicken until done.

Easy!

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Last nights Sunday dinner (which was the annual Saturday Sunday dinner) I decided to make flank steak and chimichurri sauce. I'm a big fan of chimichurri sauce and every time I have it I think I should make it more.

Super simple and super tasty. You can put this on any beef product you want. If you've got a New York Strip you're dying to grill instead...do it. I seasoned my flank steak simply by using McCormicks Montreal Grill Seasoning. I didn't follow the rub in the recipe.

I'm only putting the portion of the recipe for the chimichurri sauce. If you want the entire recipe, go here.

Chimichurri Sauce

Photo from ME.

Recipe from SkinnyTaste.com


2 packed T parsley, finely chopped (no stems)
2 packed T cilantro, finely chopped (no stems)
2 T red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (I didn't include this for some reason)

For the chimichurri, combine the red onion, vinegar, salt and olive oil and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix all ingredients together.

Note: I did this like I do my pesto. Everything in the food processor and drizzle in the olive oil. I probably used more than 2 T, but it turned out fantastic.

Sweet Corn and Bacon Saute

My friend Sara mad this dish for me and another friend a couple of weeks ago. I like corn. This made me LOVE corn. Such an easy recipe and oh so flavorful. I actually followed the recipe word for word and made no changes. It was so good that there's no need. 

The corn saute recipe on MyRecipe goes with salmon. Sara made this entire recipe and both the corn and salmon was fantastic.

Sweet Corn and Bacon Saute

Recipe from MyRecipes.com

Photo from MyRecipe.com

Serves: I doubled the recipe for 6 people and had about a serving left

2 center cut bacon slices, chopped

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated

2 T dry white wine

1 T apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 10oz package frozen corn

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Add shallot and white parts of onions; sauté 2 minutes. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in vinegar, corn, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 4 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in green parts of onions.