The Kitchen Accomplice

Welcome to The Kitchen Accomplice

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 06:50:00 +0000

Do you wish preparing meals at home would be

less time consuming and more enjoyable?

Let The Kitchen Accomplice help you track down your kitchen frustration, get you organized and set up with all the tools and knowledge you need to start cooking simple yet delicious and healthy meals for you and your family - even on a small budget.

• Get organized – de-clutter your cabinets and drawers, set up work stations, get the right tools, and drastically reduce time spent in the kitchen
• Save time and money – spend less time and money planning and shopping for groceries and more time with your family
• Start cooking – a fridge stocked with staple foods that suit your family and simple and variable recipes and techniques will make it easy to prepare dinner in minutes
• Eat better – take charge of what you and your family eat and cook delicious and nutritious meals

We've all been there: dinner is just a couple hours away and you have no idea what to prepare – may it be just for yourself or for your family. You may come home hungry after a long day at work, thumb through a few magazines, find a recipe that you like, head out to the store with your list and purchase all the ingredients (some of them you may never use again), get back home and start cooking only to find out that by the time you chopped all the vegetables with that dull knife its already to late to eat and you have not even turned on the stove yet . . . sound familiar? I hear that same story (with slight variations) all the time, but help is just a phone call away.

Click here to contact The Kitchen Accomplice -Today!

FoodSavers - luxury, essential, or necessity?

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:08:00 +0000

FoodSaver - get one at a fraction of the cost from Craigslist.

Just to be clear I am not one to hoard kitchen appliances. Even though a have a few in my name I will only commit after having done extensive research on the item: first, it must be multi purpose and of excellent quality and second, is the price right?

Today I am telling you about my FoodSaver. I have played with the idea of buying one for a couple of years, but spending about $100 for the base model + expensive bags just was not in my budget. But, after repeatedly throwing away freezer burned organic chicken and ice encrusted mystery meat I finally had it. There is nothing more frivolous to me than throwing away food. I researched all the different models at online stores and Amazon.com just to come to the conclusion that I did not want to spent that much money until I thought of checking my local Craigslist. After a few days of looking I found a base-model, including a vacuum seal container and 3 rolls of bags, all NIB, for only $35 - SCORE!

Pre-marinted chicken - ready for the freezer - properly labeled and dated.

I have used my new FoodSaver several time now and looking back over how much frozen food I have thrown away over the last 12 months it has already payed for itself - a few times over. I like to buy whole, organic chickens and larger cuts of grass-fed beef, which are both very expensive, and freeze smaller portions ready for use.

I also like to marinade cuts of meat, vacuum-pack them, keep them in the fridge for 24 hours to give the marinade a chance to penetrate, and then freeze them - labeled appropriately of course! Also, frozen meats should be used within 6 months and please, when you defrost them only do so by either placing them in the fridge for 24 hours or under cold, running water.

Would I consider my $35 FoodSaver a luxury, essential, or necessity? At $35 you can't really call it a luxury; not so much an essential if you are not much into freezing your foods; but an absolute necessity if you do like to freeze foods and find yourself throwing them away frequently.

So, next time you are considering that expensive new kitchen gadget give your local Craigslist a chance and saver yourself $$.

Marinated Chicken Recipe for FoodSaver

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 06:07:00 +0000

Rosemary and lemon marinated chicken.

I have wanted a FoodSaver for the longest time, but shied away from buying one, because they are just a little out of my budget for a kitchen appliance that is not used on a daily base. So, I found one NIB on Craigslist for $35 including 3 new rolls of bags - DEAL!

I like to toss my chicken pieces in the marinade, vacuum-pack them, keep them in the fridge for 24 hours so the marinade can do its job, and then freeze them, but not before properly labeling each bag with the name and date so you'll never come across any mystery meat.

I usually buy a whole, organic chicken and remove the breast, leg and thigh - it is so much more cost effective. You can keep the skin on or remove it. I like to keep it on because it adds flavor and keeps the meat moist during cooking. I also keep the carcass and wings for making chicken stock and if I'm not ready to use them immediately I simply put the carcass and wings into a Ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer.

Ingredients for Rosemary-Lemon Marinade:
fresh rosemary, chopped*, or sage, thyme, etc
olive oil
clove of garlic, minced
little lemon juice
lemon zest
kosher salt
black pepper

It is important to use fresh rosemary rather than dried. Not only has dried rosemary less flavor, but you will always 'chew' on those little woody pieces, which I think is rather unpleasant.

Use just enough olive oil to coat the chicken and combine with the other ingredients. Coat the pieces well and let them sit in the marinade for a few hours (fridge).

Vacuum-pack as many pieces as you will use for a meal, label the bags and return them to the fridge for another 24 hours for the marinade to penetrate the meat and do its magic. Now they are ready to be put in the freezer.

When you are ready to use the chicken simply defrost it (either overnight in the fridge or under cold, running water), cut open the bag and put it directly into a hot pan - ready to use and home made.

You can use any kind of marinade - home-made or store bought.

Enjoy!

Braised Rosemary-Lemon Chicken with Tomatoes.

Pureed Vegetable Soup Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:09:00 +0000

Pureed Asparagus Soup

I recently received a gift from my two best friends: a Breville Juice & Blend. The juicer and blender 'attachments' share one powerful motorized base. I've only had it for a few weeks, but I have made numerous pureed vegetables soups that are not only low in calories, but absolutely delicious, inexpensive and easy to prepare. If you don't have a blender you can also use an immersion blender.

I'm not giving you exact measurements for these recipes, but rather ratios that will work for many kinds of vegetables like carrots, broccoli with stems, frozen peas, corn, cauliflower, potato, asparagus, etc. For every 1 LB of vegetables use 1/2 onion - this amount is usually enough for 2 generous servings.

Ingredients for 2 servings:
1 LB vegetables, cut into small pieces
1/2 yellow onion, small dice
cold water
2T olive oil
kosher salt,
black pepper
lemon juice
(heavy cream)

In a heavy bottom sauce pan heat about 2T olive oil, add the onions, sprinkle with a little salt and sweat the onions for a few minutes until they turn transparent - do not let them brown!

Add the vegetables and add as much cold water as it takes to barely cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until they vegetables are tender - do not overcook them!

Let the vegetables cool off before adding them to the blender. Blend/puree to the desired consistency. If the consistency is too thick simply add a little bit of water. I like pureed vegetable soups really silky so I make sure the blend them well. Also, if you are using corn or asparagus you want to be sure to get all the little 'woody' pieces well incorporated.

Pour the pureed soup back in the sauce pan, gently heat and season to taste with kosher salt, black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice to bring out the flavor.

You can also add a little heavy cream to the soup to give it more of a 'cream soup' feel if you will.

Enjoy!

Guacamole Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:49:00 +0000

'Burrito' on a plate - with Guacamole.

This is my favorite guacamole recipe my far.

Ingredients for 2 Servings:
1 large or 2 small, ripe avocados, mashed
1/2 tomato, small dice
1/4 yellow onion, small dice
1/2 serrano chile, minced
lime juice
cilantro, chopped
kosher salt
black pepper

Combine all ingredients, mix well, and season to taste.

Make sure to cover the surface of the guacamole with plastic wrap before putting it in the refrigerator to avoid it turning brown.

Enjoy!

Asparagus and Pear Salad with Roquefort Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:19:00 +0000

Asparagus and Pear Salad with Roquefort Cheese

This is a great salad - full of flavor and 'bite'. Of course you can replace the mustard greens and dandelion with mixed greens or any other type of lettuce, but I think their distinct flavor really complement the crisp, sweet pears and sharp cheese.

Ingredients for 1 Serving:
3-4 asparagus spears
1 mustard leaf, large
1 cup dandelion greens
1/4 cup watercress
(but any mixed greens can be used)
1/2 small pear, sliced
little lemon juice
little red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbs Roquefort cheese, crumbled
walnuts to sprinkle
oil
salt
pepper

Dressing
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs (Alessi) white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 pinch herbs de province
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Mix all dressing ingredients vigorously with a whisk or fork to create an emulsion; set aside.

Slice the pears and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent oxidation; set aside.

Snap off the woody part of the asparagus and cut 1.5 in pieces on an angle. Blanche the pieces in boiling salted water; heads about 20 sec.; stalks about 35 sec. Shock in ice water to start cooking process; drain; pat dry and set aside.

Wash and spin dry mustard greens, dandelion greens and watercress. Remove rib in mustard green and cut 1/2 in strips. cut dandelion greens in to 1 1/2 in pieces. Combine all in a bowl and set aside.

Crumble the roquefort cheese; set aside and keep refrigerated.

Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Add asparagus pieces and toss in the pan with the pit of salt and pepper just to get a bit of color and finish the cooking process; about 30-40 sec.

Assembly
Toss the greens and red onion with about 2/3 of the dressing - you may not need all the dressing. Take care not to add too much dressing; plate. Toss the pears in the remaining dressing and place on the greens. Place the asparagus on top of the greens, sprinkle with walnuts and the Roquefort cheese.

Enjoy!

Trout with White Wine Butter Sauce and Marble Potatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 02:10:00 +0000

Trout with White Wine Butter Sauce and Marble Potatoes

Chicken Salad with Beets

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:27:00 +0000

Chicken Salad with Beets

Chicken Breast with Tomato Salad and Swiss Chard

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:13:00 +0000

Chicken with Tomato Salad and Swiss Chard

Pork with Honey Glazed Carrots and Swiss Chard

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:42:00 +0000

Pork with Honey Glazed Carrots and Swiss Chard

Farm Fresh Eggs with Potato Pancakes and Chard

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:53:00 +0000

Farm Fresh Eggs with Potato Pancakes and Chard

Ingredients for Eggs: eggs, salt

Ingredients for Potato Pancakes: potato, egg white, olive oil, salt, pepper

Ingredients for Chard: bacon, red onion, red pepper, chard, olive oil, salt, pepper,

Eat Breakfast like a Queen

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Steel-cut oats with fresh berries and Kefir.

Oxygen Magazine 5/2010 p. 83

Finally - someone recognizes that what I eat for breakfast is not just 'animal feed' (as I was hold once), but a breakfast fit for a queen. I was just about jumping up and own when I saw the article 'Eat Breakfast like a Queen' on page 83 of Oxygen's May 2010 issue.

I used to travel a lot for business and bring my own breakfast supplies with me. On one of my trips a coworker asked me during breakfast: 'What are you eating?!' I could hear the disgust in his voice and see it in his face. I'd agree that to someone that is stops at the local 7-11 for breakfast for popcorn and Mountain Dew my daily concoctions may be a little strange, but are the ever healthy and delicious.

Ingredients for a healthy breakfast.

This is what you need:
- 1/4 C or so plain (greek) yogurt or kefir
- 1/2 C or so milk
- 2-3 types of fresh fruit (1/2 banana, 1/2 apple, 2-3 strawberries, hand full blueberries, etc) cut into small pieces
- 1/3 C oats (rolled, sett-cut, raw or cooked to your liking)
- sprinkle of nuts (sliced almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, etc)
- 2 T milled flax seeds
- squeeze of honey or other sweetener

Simply combine all the ingredients and stir.

For me variety is key: try mixing in all kinds of different fruit like kiwi, grapefruit, melon, pear, mineolas, pineapple, plum - whatever you like, as long as you love it.

Rolled oats with kiwi, oranges, banana and Kefir.

Steel-cut oats with blueberries, pineapple, banana and Kefir.

Spicy Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Alex) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:42:00 +0000

Spicy Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

I had this delicious soup at a restaurant in upstate NY while there was a crazy storm outside. Back at home I just put it together from memory and it turned out even better. On a cold day this is the best soup you could wish for.

Ingredients: Spicy Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup

1 lb (or less) raw spicy or sweet Italian turkey sausage
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 carrot medium, diced small
2 stalks of celery, diced small
1-2 cloves of garlic, mince
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
4 cups of vegetable broth
8 oz can White Great Northern beans or Navy beans, drained/rinsed
4 tbs Orzo (optional)
olive oil
real salt
black pepper
hot pepper flakes

Garnishes:

1-2 slices toasted bread
2-3 tbs grated Parmesan
parsley for garnish

Directions:
I personally like to prepare all ingredients before I start cooking. This way, nothing will burn or overcook while I scramble to get ingredients ready.

In a large pan heat 1-2 tbs of olive oil. Remove sausages from casings, add them the hot pan and flatten them a bit. Cook sausages over medium heat until they start to brown, turning once. Do not overcook, insides can still be pink. Remove from pan and let cool on a cutting board.

In large heavy pot heat 1-2 tbs of olive oil. Saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic until they are translucent and start to brown.

In the meantime chop the sausage into small, bite size pieces and return to the pot when the veggies are done. Add the parsley, stock and white beans.

Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low for about 45 - 60 minutes.

You can also add 1 tbs of Orzo per serving. If you only serve half of the soup, consider dividing it before adding Orzo. It takes 8-10 minutes to cook.

When ready to serve pop a slice of bread in the toaster, cut into bite size pieces and add to the soup. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and a bit of parsley.

Enjoy!