Prime Cuts

Now that you’ve indulged throughout the holiday season, it’s time to start off new habits early with healthy eating throughout the New Year (or at least, make a valiant effort).

Two of the easiest ways that I’ve found to ensure that I stay on track eating healthy is (one) to share my meals with good friends sitting around a table and enjoying wonderful company and (two) by starting the day with a healthy first meal. So, allow me to introduce you to my most favorite meal of the entire week: Sunday Brunch.

Sunday brunches are a great opportunity for you to impress friends over egg-cellent healthy and easy dishes. Take for example, the veggie omelet topped with marinara (yes, I throw in marinara sauce where ever I can).

Veggie Omlet with Marinara

Ingredients

* 1 package frozen mixed veggies (I typically go for the carrots/corn/green beans/peas  or three peppers and onions mixture)
* 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/8 teaspoon salt, or as needed
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper, or as needed
* 24 oz (one and a half of the large containers) of egg substitute
* Cooking spray or olive oil spray
* 1 cup of Randazza Marinara Sauce
* 3/4 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Now, this is going to sound a little tricky because it involves a broiler (which used to terrify me), but it’s super easy and your friends will LOVE it.

Preheat broiler.

Place all your veggies and seasoning into a small pot and cook over medium heat until vegetables are hot and water from them evaporates. Probably around 5 minutes. Cover, and remove from heat.

Coat a large nonstick and oven-safe skillet with cooking spray or olive oil. Pour in 1/2 of the egg substitute and cook over medium heat until eggs are partially set (probably 2-3 minutes). Spoon in 1/2 of the veggies and heat until cooked through (probably about 2 minutes).

Using a spatula (which is work the splurge purchase for a nice one) gently fold your omelet in half.   Spread a heaping 1/3 cup of sauce over folded omelet and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Place 4 inches from broiler heat and broil until cheese melts and turns golden (about a minute). Cover to keep warm and set aside. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Cut each omelet in half and serve next to a nice spinach salad tossed in a light vinaigrette and homemade Bloody Mary. Your friends will totally think you’re auditioning for the next television chef! Enjoy!

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Photo Credit: Kasia

Are you looking to make something on the healthier side but that really packs a punch in the flavor category?  Don’t have a lot of time to prepare it?  Sounds pretty much the story of most of our lives huh?  Well, while reading the June 2009 issue of Men’s Health, I came across a quick, easy to prepare, and super healthy spicy pepper shrimp and brown rice recipe that sounded excellent!

Spicy Pepper Shrimp and Rice

Recipe Credit: Men’s Health, June 2009

Ingredients

2 tsp peanut oil
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
1 c bite-sized strips of red and green peppers
1/4 medium onion, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp jarred jalepeno pepper slices
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
10 ounces (about 30) medium precooked frozen shrimp, defrosted, tails removed

Preparation

Heat the oil and pepper flakes in a medium-hot skillet, and then add all the remaining ingredients except the shrimp.  Cook the mixture 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the shrimp and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring frequently.  Serve over brown rice.

See, told you, nice and quick (especially if you cook a batch of brown rice at the beginning of the week and use throughout the week in various recipes).  If you have some extra time, instead of using precooked frozen shrimp, you could always grill some fresh shrimp (pictured above).

Enjoy!

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Photo by: mhaithaca

One of my favorite dishes is rice and beans. Over the years I have created many variations of traditional red rice and beans.  One such variation is created in such a way that it can be a standalone dish or be used as a filling for burritos, fajitas or anything else you can think of.

Healthy Hamburg, Black Bean and Brown Rice Filling

Ingredients

*1lb 80-90% lean ground hamburg or turkey
*1 can black beans, drained
*1-2 cups dry brown rice
*1 small jar taco sauce
*Salt and ground pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients

*Sour cream
*Hot sauce
*Mixed shredded cheese
*Shredded lettuce
*Diced tomatoes
*Diced yellCow onions
*Flour tortillas
*Corn niblets

Preparation

1. Using a 2:1 ratio of water to dry brown rice, combine in a pot.  Bring water and rice to a boil over medium-high heat.  Once rice begins to boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Continue cooking for approximately 40 minutes.  Once rice has finished cooking, fluff with a fork.

2. Brown hamburg in skillet over medium-high heat. Lean hamburg usually takes approximately 8-10 minutes to cook thoroughly.

3. Combine cooked hamburg, black beans, taco sauce and salt and pepper in pot.  Stir together and cook for approximately 3-5 minutes over low heat to allow flavors to properly combine.

There are LOTS of ways that you can customize this dish to your liking with some of the optional ingredients above.

Keep it simple or make it as complicated with different layers of flavor as you want.  That is what I like the most about this dish…you can customize it to create many different dishes, all of which will taste a little different.

This dish is meant to be something quick, besides the time it takes to cook the brown rice, and it will produce leftovers which are quick to reheat and healthy.  I love making a large pot of this and then using it to make several different types of dishes over the course of the week.

Enjoy!

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Photo by: jessicafm

Today, my friend Amber Rae Lambke, takes over Prime Cuts with an insanely delicious recipe for Greek hummus garnished with kalamata olives and toasted pine nuts.  Hummus is a fantastic snack and very healthy!  The funny thing is that a lot of people think it’s really hard.  It’s actually simple to make and if you follow Amber’s recipe below, you’ll be sure to impress everyone the next time you have guests over!

Greek Hummus with Kalamata Olives and Toasted Pine Nuts

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained
1 lemon
1 sprig fresh oregano, leaves chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 rounded tablespoons tahini paste
1/4 cup kalamata olives, well drained, coarsely chopped
2 whole wheat pitas
1/2 zucchini, cut into sticks for dipping
1/4 cup pinenuts
Salt

Preparation

Combine chick peas, juice of 1 lemon and oregano in food processor. Mash garlic into paste with some salt pressing under the flat part of your knife then add garlic to processor along with tahini paste. Process hummus until smooth (add a splash of water if too thick) then transfer to a bowl and stir in olives and toasted pinenuts (bake at 375 for 3 – 5 minutes), reserving a few for garnish. Serve dip with pita crisps (bake pita bread at 375 for 5 – 8 min) and vegetable sticks.

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Photo by: Amber Rae Lambke

Today Joe shares an awesome roasted beet and green apple salad as a healthy addition to our other recipes.

Something that Justin and our readers have been asking me to do for a while now is to post a healthy/lighter fare recipe.   Specifically a recipe that is non-beef or even vegetarian.  While meat is my forte, I do have a few vegetable dishes in my repertoire.  Although I eat a steak or two just about every day, once in a while I have a salad too.

One of my favorite veggies has to be beets.  I hated this vegetable as a child, because until I began working in professional kitchens, I had never had a beet that was fresh or for that matter wasn’t boiled to death.  Beets are especially delicious when roasted, and once they are, the possibilities are virtually limitless.  They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, well a beet a day keeps 10 doctors away.  They are packed full of vitamins and nutrients, which is why they have earned a place among the super vegetables…those few veggies that contain significantly more nutrition than most others and simply put are super good for you.

The following recipe is for a simple salad that is my spin on a salad course that was prepared for me by Caminito predecessor chef, and my personal mentor, Maryann Salcedo.  I have done several variations of this salad in my day, and although this recipe is quite simple, the contrasting flavors and textures are truly complex.

Roasted beet and green apple salad a la Maryann

Ingredients

4 medium beets (racquetball sized) stems, and roots trimmed
2 granny smith apples
4 large mint leaves Chiffonade
Zest and juice of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1 tbsp light olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt
Pepper
(Vegetable oil and coarse salt for roasting beets)

Preparation

1.    Wash beets thoroughly, (do not peel) then rub with vegetable oil.  Place in a single layer in a baking dish and sprinkle with coarse salt.  Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for approx. 2 hours, or until a small paring knife slides in without resistance, be careful not to overcook.  Cool beets to room temp and then chill.  This step can be done a day or two in advance.

2.    Combine zest, juice, olive oil, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, whisk vigorously to combine.

3.    Prep beets by peeling outer skin with a sharp paring knife.  Cut beets into matchstick size, next cut unpeeled apples into the same matchstick size, quickly transfer beets and apples into large bowl with citrus dressing, toss lightly to coat.  The citrus juice will prevent the apples from turning brown.

4.    Transfer salad to serving plates, you will not need to apply any of the excess dressing left in the mixing bowl, whatever clings to the beets and apples will be sufficient for flavoring.

5.    Garnish with chiffonade mint, and possibly a small scoop of plain yogurt if you like.  In the summertime I like to add a few fresh blueberries at the last minute for color and added sweetness.

This is a very refreshing salad that is good for just about any time of year.  All the ingredients are readily available, and inexpensive.  While this combination may seem less than exotic, the proper roasting of the beets, and knife work that goes into producing a uniform matchstick cut, will make this salad stand out.  The matchstick cut creates more surface area on the beets and apples for the dressing to cling to, but you can of course cut yours however you like.

Eat one of these salads a day and your doctor will soon be but a memory.

Enjoy!

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Photo by: Kitty Sonnenschein

Since Justin spent the past few days moving up to Boston, there won’t be an new episode of Prime Cuts TV this week. So, we brought you something even better. Today we have a guest post from Ari Herzog. Ari has been nice enough to share a peanut butter oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Yes, you read that right, tons of yummy goodness in one perfect cookie. Oh yeah, and it’s healthy too. Without further ado….

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The original came from allrecipes.com, but I’ve amended it over the past year.  For instance, the original called for butter which I replaced with apple sauce; and white sugar and brown sugar, which I replaced with just brown sugar.  Making it healthy and low-fat.

The “toppings” (banana, oats, raisins) can be substituted with chocolate chips, nuts, etc. for a different result.

Ingredients

1 cup apple sauce
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky is best)
1 tsp vanilla extract (or Kalhua, if preferred)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 cups instant oats
1/2 cup raisins

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the apple sauce and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the peanut butter and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda, and stir into the mixture. Finally, stir in the oats and raisins.

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an unprepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cookies are lightly toasted on the edges. Remove and cool.

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Are you looking for a quick and healthy meal that you can whip up after a long day at work?  Do you love grilled vegetables, feta cheese and pasta?  Well today we bring you our very first guest recipe here at Prime Cuts.  This recipe is from Yael Beeri.

Ingredients

2 red peppers
2 zucchini
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper
1 pack (500gr) pasta
200 grams feta cheese

Optional: Black olives

Preparation

• Slice the peppers and zucchini into thin strips then cut in 2 (or 3 depending on size) and place in a bowl. Add sliced onion and pressed garlic. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the mustard and the honey, salt and pepper and mix well. Leave the veggies to marinate in the sauce for about 90 minutes, mixing them every now and again.
• Once marinated, spread the veggies in an oven tray and grill for about 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven (350 ºF).
• In the meantime, boil water to cook the pasta and cook the 500gr of pasta (in my opinion this goes especially well with penne, but use whatever pasta you want).
• Take the feta cheese and grate it into a bowl.
• When the veggies are roasted and the pasta is rinsed, place the pasta in a round (or flat) bowl, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on it and some salt. Then pour the grilled veggies on top and mix. Above all that, place the grated feta cheese.

This pasta can be served as a hot dish as well as a cold pasta salad.

Do you have a special recipe that you want to showcase to other fans of Prime Cuts?  If so, send us a message on our Contact page.  We look forward to reading some new and original recipes.

Oh yeah, and if you liked this recipe, please make sure you subscribe to always receive the latest from Prime Cuts.

Photo by: Yael Beeri