{IHCC} October Chef – Ellie Krieger

This month’s featured chef for I Heart Cooking Clubs was Ellie Krieger.  Over the last five years or so I have made a lot of Ellie Krieger’s recipes.  I started with Craving Ellie in my Belly.  By the time it was over I was with Eating with Ellie with three of my foodie friends.  IHCC  featured Ellie for 6 months from October 5th 2015 to April 3rd 2016.  That’s a lot of Ellie.  I don’t think I will ever get tired of cooking with Ellie.

I needed something quick and tasty the other night since I was completely out of sweet treats. Last fall Eating with Ellie made mini pumpkin ‘jar cakes’ and I missed out on it.  Every one said it was good so I wanted to try them.

The first one I made wasn’t sweet enough.  I didn’t want to up the calorie count {Ellie would be upset if I did!} so I added a tad of stevia to the next one.  Better!  The extra sweetness brought out the spices and pumpkin flavors.

Topped with a little whipped cream it was the perfect sweet treat.

The recipe is on page 291 of Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders.  {Or find it HERE}

For more Ellie – I Heart Cooking Clubs.

 

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{EwE} One Fish, Two Fish…

Red Fish

Blue Fish

This week’s EwE theme was FISH!  But I guess you had figured that out already!

For some reason I had Dr. Seuss in my head the week I was supposed to come up with a theme and this one just popped into my head.  Could have been worse, I could have been thinking of Green Eggs and Ham or The Lorax or The Cat in the Hat.  I don’t think any of them would have made a good meal.  But fish – that’s a different story.

What about  broiled spicy salmon on a pita bread with spicy onions and sliced cukes? Yes?

Good answer!

open-face mediterranean salmon sandwiches

The whole dish contains tumeric, coriander, cumin, and cayenne. which are mixed with EVOO then spread over the fish before it is broiled.  The rest is heated in a sauce pan to cook the onions and garlic.  So.  Much.  Flavor!

Long slices of cucumber on a Pita bread {I used a whole grain one.} topped with sauteed onions topped with the salmon.

There is also a sauce made with plain yogurt, scallions, and lemon.  It was supposed to be OVER the fish but I really didn’t like it after it was made so I just put a little container of it one the side for the pictures.

I thought it might be dry with the sauce but the salmon wasn’t overcooked and the cucumbers added just enough moisture.  This was REALLY good!  Definitely a repeat.

The recipe is from Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders page 81 so it took less than 30 minutes to put together.

Want more fish dishes – Check out Eating with Ellie this week.  You’ll be glad you did.

And if you want to join us the themes are posted  Just cook, blog, and leave a comment on the theme page.  Love to have you.

 

{EwE} Corn and Quinoa Salad with Sausage

Who says a salad has to be made with leafy greans? Or pasta? Why not try one with quinoa instead? Like this one from Ellie Krieger.

Mixing some cooked quinoa with chicken sausage, corn, zucchini, and lots of spices is a great way to make salad. It is full of flavor, good ingredients, and, as always with Elie’s recipes, good for you.

I could have just eaten all the vegetables by themselves before adding the sausage and quinoa.  Doesn’t it look wonderful?

I couldn’t find a salad I was really in the mood for my cookbooks so I went on line and this one caught my eye immediately.   After I made it I realized we had originally made a similar recipe in Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders  {Corn and Quinoa with Sausage}   but it wasn’t listed as a salad. It is basically the same ingredients but with different flavors (Cumin and parsley) and the zucchini thrown in. Bingo!!

One small change I made – the recipe called for adding the diced red pepper at the end.  I assumed she meant raw and I don’t like raw pepper so I threw the diced red pepper in with the onions to cook.   And I think next time I will add a little more cumin.

And it was great.  Definitely one to enjoy regularly.

You can find the recipe on Ellie’s website.  

Find out what Gaye made for her salad by clicking on over to Eating with Ellie.  I’m sure it will be good.

 

{EwE} chinese vegetable soup with pork

The summer is coming on quickly so I am getting into my ‘all about simple’ mode of cooking. Less time n the kitchen, more time outside. And even tho’ I am not a big fan of soup in the summer this one from Ellie Krieger is definitely in the ‘all about simple’ category.

There is a ton of good stuff in this simple clear broth soup: bok choy, mushrooms, green onions, ginger, snow peas, bamboo shoots. And long thin pieces of browned pork. So many veggies in one small bowl. And a tasty soup it was.

Ellie suggested serving it with Sesame Quinoa, so I did!.

The quinoa on the side was a great hep in making sure EVERY drop of soup was GONE!!

The group I was not sure what to do with the pork as Ellie doesn’t mention it again after it is cooked so I polled the group and came up with different answers – in the soup, on the side – I ended up just adding the pork to the soup. For me, that was the right answer.

The recipe is on page 74 of Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders The Sesame Quinoa is on page 260. It is also super simple.

Please visit the other Eaters on our website and find their reactions to the soup.

 

{EWE} Asian Chicken and Vegetable in Foil Packets

My pick this week. Asian sounded good. And y’all know I do love the flavors of Asian (and Indian, and Mediterranean and Italian cuisine). This chicken is cooked in a foil pouch with sweet peppers, green onions and carrot for a mere 12 minutes so it is a very quick meal

and also very tender. Steamed in a sauce made from soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar then sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds it is full of flavor as well.

You can find the recipe on page 144 of Ellie’s Weeknight Wonders. I also found it on Caroline’s site.

I hope the other Eaters liked my pick. Check them out on he Eating with Ellie website.