K. Pinella’s recipes
Sometimes the winter chill can only be warmed by eating a hot bowl of chili. Here is a complete meal in one pot with lots of fiber, vegetables, protein, and grain. I find the best meat to use is shredded beef, which I had pressure cooked the day before making this meal. However, you can use ground beef, turkey, or chicken. Or, even make it vegetarian. Continue reading
This recipe is a pancake and omelet hybrid. I just made it up because I was hungry but didn’t want to go to the grocery store. I looked in the refrigerator and guess what I saw? A bag of Swiss chard, Swiss cheese, milk, and eggs. So, I thought why not create something lovely yet easy and healthy and downright quick?
You can make this dish with leftover chopped or shredded chicken, or chicken sausage (I used Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage with Sundried Tomatoes). I used the latter because I didn’t have time to cook chicken and I had no leftovers.
After you’ve chopped about 3 cups of cooked chicken or 16 oz. of chicken sausage, peel, crush, and chop four cloves of garlic and set aside. Next, skin or peel, chop, and set aside the following: 1 onion, five carrots, a carton of white button mushrooms, and a bunch of fresh broccoli florets (or use a 10 oz. bag of frozen broccoli). Fill a pot with water to boil your pasta (I used a 16 oz. bag of whole wheat penne pasta). Follow the instructions that come with the pasta. Continue reading
Here’s a recipe to top off the month-long celebration of Octoberfest, as we transition over to Halloween (expect more of that theme in the upcoming posts). This is a simple, but tasty and hearty recipe I concocted. Although I usually use ground breakfast sausage for this recipe, I decided to make some changes and they turned out just right. Continue reading
For a refreshing, light, and delicious thirst quencher, here’s a healthy mix I came up on my own. Mix ¼ cup of 100% apple juice with ¾ cup of Trader Joe’s Coconut Milk Unsweetened Beverage. Put in as little of apple juice and as much coconut milk as you wish, depending which flavor you want to win out. I happened to have both beverages in my refrigerator and I was thirsty, but I also wanted something a little sweet. Because apple juice, and other juices for that matter, tend to be very sweet, I thought I’d cut the sweetness by putting in unsweetened coconut milk to give it body and additional vitamins.
Give it a try. It tastes a little like Piña Colada. No alcohol required.
Image contributed by Hymn
Depending on how many shortcuts you take, this can be quite a quick meal to prepare by starting with a 1-lb. bag of fresh dough from Trader Joe’s, or any of your favorite brand. You may also have pre-made your fresh dough by using a bread maker, or simply by hand. In any event, we will prepare this pizza, assuming the dough is already made ahead of time. The amount of dough should be at least 1 lb. in weight since that would be enough to fully line an 8- or 10-inch cast iron skillet. Continue reading
This dish can be made ahead because pre-cooking potatoes and eggs is required. For a meal during the week, you can prep by browning the (1 lb.) ground beef, boiling the potatoes, and eggs and putting them in separate containers for assembly when you are ready to serve later. Continue reading
This ground beef recipe is a filling for egg rolls. Let’s start with the wrappers.
There are different types of egg roll wrappers. There are thick ones made of wheat that tend to overpower the filling and there are paper thin ones like rice paper or lumpia (loom-pyah) wrappers, both of which are found in Asian grocery stores. You can also use phyllo dough if you wish, but you would bake rather than fry them. The one type typically found in regular grocery stores is made of wheat. Whichever you prefer, the ideal taste I find is one with thin wrapper so the filling is the dominant texture and flavor rather than the wrapper. Continue reading
Summer meals tend to be grill heavy, but after burgers and steaks almost every day, one can get weary of the same preparation. How about a change of pace?
Using fresh or frozen kale, take a bunch and chop (if fresh) and set aside; you can also use pre-cut bagged kale too. Peel and chop 5 carrots, 1 onion, and if you happen to have 2 yellow squashes or zucchinis, chop those also, but they’re optional. Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 or 2 plum tomatoes. If you don’t like tomatoes, replace this part with a sprinkle of lemon juice or zest. If you go the lemon route, just add this ingredient after everything is cooked. Continue reading
Our bountiful garden once again allowed us to enjoy a stirringly delicious vegetable stir fry dish. Chop a bunch of fresh kale, three or four small summer squashes, two medium-sized Japanese eggplants (long and thin), two Italian peppers, and one onion.
Image contributed by Moi
Karina Pinella 
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