Sauteed Fennel and Carrots

Fennel was our "veggie of the day" that we tried the other night. It was very, very good. This is one that will become a regular in our dinner rotation.

1/2 bag matchstick carrots
1 large fennel bulb (white part only)
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp olive oil
cooking spray

cut a slice off fennel bulb base. trim stalks to within 1 inch of bulb. discard stalks. cut bulb vertically into thin slices, and cut slices into this strips.

heat oil in a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. add fennel and carrots, and saute 8 minutes until lightly browned. add wine and remaining ingredients. bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. uncover and cook 3 minuts or until almost all liquid evaporates.

Grilled Ham Steaks with Pineapple

So, I drug out our George Foreman Grill the other night to whip this up! It was delish!

1 package ham steaks (I used extra-lean ham slices...there were 5 in the package, so they were quite thick)
1 can pineapple rings
Teriyaki marinade (I used Tastefully Simple Honey Teriyaki sauce, but Kikkoman also has a good one)

Brush one side of the ham with teriyaki marinade and place on indoor grill. Place a pineapple ring on the upside of the ham and brush with marinade. Since my ham steaks were pre-cooked, I just grilled them until they browned a little. Careful not to burn the pineapple.

I brushed the remaining pineapple rings with teriyaki and grilled them also.

Spinach salad

I served this salad with the soup we had last night. Yum!

8oz baby spinach
1 can mandarin oranges (drained)
1 small red onion sliced
1/4 cup honey roasted almonds (Almond Accents-usually found in produce dept)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp soy sauce

Combine first three ingredients in salad bowl. Combine OJ, ginger, oil, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Pour over spinach. Sprinkle with almonds.

Cream of Mushroom and Leek soup

This turned out to be such a good bowl of soup! (well, either that or we were all starving) I'm trying to venture out and try new veggies, hence the leeks. When I make this next time, I'm going to puree it in the food processor. Bryce didn't care for the sliced mushrooms.

2 packages pre-sliced mushrooms
3 sliced leeks (white parts only)
1 pkg country gravy mix in packet
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 cup milk

Coat pot with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms and leeks about 5-6 minutes (until liquid from mushrooms cook out). Add gravy mix. Slowly stir in milk. Add chicken broth and stir until well mixed. Soup will thicken up pretty quick. Serve immediately.