challenge two- wrap up

challenge two - wrap up

chosen ingredients: tuna, celery, mushrooms, pepper (any kind), lime

featuring:

*tuna avocado
*portabella tuna melt
*greekish tuna packets
*zesty tuna skewers with sweet and sour celery and brown rice

Tuna Avocado Salad

I dig tuna salad because it's simple. The two ingredients I added to the five previously chosen were avocado and the whole wheat pita. Basically, I just dumped the avocado, tuna, chopped celery, chopped mushroom, one chopped chili pepper, and the juice from one lime in a bowl and mixed it all together. It was a variation on the tuna/avocado salad I made in March. I gotta say, I think the chili pepper and the lime juice improved it, though it needed salt (which I did add, as this is allowed in the challenge) and probably could have been improved by Worcestershire sauce, which I wasn't allowed to add. But it was stilll VERY yummy.

Zesty Tuna Skewers with Sweet and Sour Celery and Brown Rice

I was really scared I wouldn't be able to incorporate the celery into this dish, but it really worked out! It may sound strange, but really the celery was delicious!

Zesty Tuna Skewers With Sweet and Sour Celery P1

1 pound tuna steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
Bell peppers (any color) cut into large cubes
Mushrooms
2 Limes
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Celery (about 4 large stalks)
2 tbsp Splenda

Preheat your grill over very high heat.
Mix together the juice of one lime, salt and pepper, and 3 tbsp oil.
Thread the tuna onto a skewer, and thread the veggies on another one or two. Sprinkle the tuna well with pepper.
Place the veggie skewers on the grill. Baste them with the lime mixture. Grill over high heat for 5 minutes, and then turn them. Cook another 5 minutes.
Now put the tuna skewers on, and baste them with the lime mixture. Grill over high heat for 3 minutes, turn and cook another 3 minutes. Remove to platter.
Serve on a bed of brown rice and Sweet & Sour Celery!


For the celery:
Slice the celery on the bias into ½ inch thick slices. Sauté them in 1 tbsp olive oil for 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Add the juice of the other and Splenda, and stir well to mix. Cook another couple minutes to begin to caramelize the celery.

portabella tuna melt

portabella tuna melt

second 5:4 challenge, done and done!

4 portabella mushrooms lids
1 can of unsalted tuna (i use Whole Foods 365)
1/2 stalk celery, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. soy mayonaisse (i use Nayonaisse)
half of a lime, room temperature
salt, fresh ground pepper

Preheat broiler.
Broil mushrooms until half-way cooked.
Meanwhile, combine tuna, celery, green pepper, nutritional yeast, Nayo.
Spoon mixture into each top, and broil until lightly browned and mushrooms are cooked through.
Top with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, sprinkling each with lime juice.

Greekish Tuna Packets P1

4 tuna steaks, rinsed and patted dry.

Marinade:
2 to 3 TAB fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper to taste
5 to 6 TAB olive oil
2 TAB lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Filling:
one small can of chopped portabella mushrooms (drained)
1TAB fresh cilantro, chopped
3 TAB roasted red bell pepper, diced (from jar)
approximately 1.5 to 2 TAB feta cheese, crumbled
1 to 1.5 tsp minced garlic
a drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions: rinse and pat dry 4 Tuna steaks. Mix marinade in small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, mix filing ingredients with fork or hand mixer until blended but still chunky in texture.

Make a little slit in each raw tuna steak to create a little pocket. Fill the pickets with the filling mixture and place on a heavy duty sheet of foil.If you have left over filling or you don't want to make pockets topping the tuna with the filling mixture would be fine. After all four steaks are stuffed or topped with cheese mixture, drizzle marinade over each steak, equally (using all of it). Roll up foil and create little foil pockets/ pouches. I placed these on the grill but I'm sure you could cook them in a grill pan or oven (350 degrees). Cook approximately 25 to 30 mins til tuna is easy to flake and desired doneness. let cool a tiny bit as the foil will be hot - unwrap and serve!
submitted by Nau-Dee

challenge one - wrap up

challenge one is complete!

chosen ingredients: chicken, breadcrumbs, bell pepper, eggplant, milk.

featuring:

*smothered chicken parmesan "sandwich"
*fried chicken with pepper eggplant saute
*chicken smothered in roasted red pepper and eggplant sauce
*eggplant and chicken with pepper cream sauce

Smothered Chicken Parmesan "Sandwich"

Chicken breasts
Whole wheat bread crumbs
Milk
Eggplant
Olive oil
Mozzarella cheese
Red pepper
Tomato/marinara/pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Use milk to coat chicken breasts in whole wheat bread crumbs. Bake chicken in the oven for about an hour. While chicken is cooking, saute some red pepper (or roast it if you're really awesome). Skin and slice eggplant and then dip slices in olive oil. Also, warm tomato sauce of choice up in pan. Once chicken is finished, cover with some aluminum foil to keep warm while you broil the eggplant slices until golden brown. Then, place each chicken breast between two slices of eggplant. Top with tomato sauce and cheese.

Fried Chicken with Pepper Eggplant Saute P2
Submitted by: Nau-Dee


Chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
Whole grain bread
Parmesan cheese, shredded (ground should work well too)
Fresh oregano leaves chopped
Olive oil
Milk
Salt and pepper (to taste)

1.) With scissors or knife cut or chop fresh oregano leaves into bits.

2.) Take approx 3 to 4 slices of whole grain bread and pulsate it in food processor til crumbly. (I left the bread softened and this still worked well).

3.) Put bread crumbs in dish and add salt, pepper, approx 1/2 to 1 cup of parmesan, and about 1/2 to 1 cup fresh chopped oregano... This is where I taste it and added more or less of any thing.

4.) Heat non stick skillet with a few TAB olive oil.

5.) Mix approximately 1 cup of milk and a few table spoons of olive oil in a dish for dipping the chicken in.

6.) Dip chicken in milk/oil mixture (egg mixture is always good but I didn't have that in my ingredient list to use) and then into the bread mixture. Make sure you get a good coating of the bread mixture on the chicken and place in the heated skillet. Cook til chicken is cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and then place on a serving dish.

7.) While your chicken is frying, clean and chop red bell peppers. Skin the egg plant and dice into small chunks and place in non stick sauce pan or skillet. Cook on med heat with a few table spoons of olive oil. Add some salt, pepper and a few table spoons of fresh chopped oregano. When veggies are tendar place in food processor or blender (I reserved about 1/4 cup for garnish but this is optional). Puree or blend for a few seconds desired consistency. Pour over cooked chicken, top with reserved pepper and eggplant chunks and sprinkle with a little bread crumb and serve.

chicken smothered in roasted red pepper and eggplant sauce

chicken smothered in roasted red pepper and eggplant sauce

the first installment of 5:4 (see link at right for variations), this recipe combines a clever array of ingredients to make one fantastic dish. for vegan variation, the sauce can be served on tofu, pasta... anything.

4 chicken breasts
1 medium eggplant, chopped in approximate 1 inch. cubes
1 medium red pepper, cut lengthwise in four equal pieces
soymilk (amount will vary)
thyme, garlic powder, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
olive oil
four slices of gluten free bread

preheat broiler.
arrange on a broiling pan the eggplant and red peppers. sprinkle with seasonings, brush with olive oil, and broil until well roasted.
remove from heat, and toast bread (if, like most gluten-free bread, it is frozen)

change oven temperature to 350F.

in a food processer, combine eggplant, peppers, and seasonings. add soymilk whilst mixing to create desired sauce consistency.

pour small amount of sauce in bottom of baking dish, then arrange chicken on top. pour remaining sauce over top.

in food processor, grind bread to bread crumbs, adding spices if desired.
top the chicken with breadcrumbs.

bake at 350, with lid on, for approximately one hour.

Eggplant and Chicken with Pepper Cream Sauce

My installment in this first challenge was a difficult one to conceive. I love Eggplant Parmesan and Chicken Parmesan, but wanted to do something different. The milk ingredient suggestion was merely questioning if it was allowed, however my fellow chefs-in-house embraced it! Therein came the major obstacle- how to incorporate such an antagonistic, yet simple item into this meal. I hope I have risen to this experiment!

Eggplant and Chicken with Pepper Cream Sauce

1 Japanese or other small eggplant, sliced ¼ inch thick lengthwise
2 small bell peppers, I used one purple and one green, seeded and chopped
2 ¼ cups milk (it must have some fat, I used whole)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-cup WW breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan, bring the 2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, pepper, and the chopped peppers to a simmer, then lower the heat and cover to steep.
In two dishes, place the ¼ cup milk in one and the breadcrumbs in the other. Sprinkle remaining garlic powder into the breadcrumbs, along with some salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Dip the eggplant into the milk, then the crumbs pushing to coat. Set them aside and repeat with the chicken.
In a heavy sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat until hot. Fry the eggplant slices for 3 minutes on the first side, then flip and fry 2 more minutes. Remove them to paper towels to drain. Place the slices on a baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese. Place the baking sheet in the oven while you finish.
Wipe out the sauté pan and add remaining oil. Fry the chicken in the same manner, 6 minutes on the first side then flip and cook 5 minutes on the second side. Strain the milk/peppers over the chicken, sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the chicken is done and the sauce thickens.
Serve over the eggplant slices.

I would recommend peeling the eggplant. I didn’t and it was a bit crispy!

welcome

bringing delicious meals from our minds to your kitchen, we are fourchefs who have conspired together on a project dubbed as 5:4.

five ingredients, four chefs.

rules.
1. we choose five random ingredients.
2. leavening, oil, salt, and pepper are freebies.
3. two additional ingredients are chosen per individual, and a third optional herb or spice.
4. foods involved must be easily accessible and relatively economical.

providing four different recipes for everyday fare, it's here to encourage a venture in new foods and tastes using the simplest of ingredients.

photos, recipes and comments will be posted per recipe by each chef.



welcome.