Tilapia with Mustard Cream Sauce

A quick and easy way to make tilapia.   You can substitute spinach or tomatoes for the mushrooms.  Any white fish (or even chicken!) can substitute the tilapia.

I got this from CookingLight.com (pic is from there too since I forgot to take a picture before Abe dug in).

I served it with white rice and buttered spaghetti squash.

Enjoy!


Tilapia with Mustard Cream Sauce
Serves 4

4  (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2  teaspoon  chopped fresh thyme
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
1/4  teaspoon  salt
Cooking spray
3/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
6  ounce  portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
2  tablespoons  whipping cream
2  tablespoons  Dijon mustard

Sprinkle fish with thyme, pepper, and salt. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish; cook 1 minute on each side. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, uncovered, 1 minute or until mushrooms are tender. Remove fish from pan; keep warm.

Add cream and mustard to pan; stir with a whisk until well combined. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve sauce over fish.

Pad Thai

 

I love Thai.  Spicy, tangy, noodles... what's not to like?   It's pretty simple to make, so you can have a great Thai dish whenever you want it!

This recipe is the vegetarian version; the real version has fish sauce in it.  You can add chicken or tofu to it if you want to get a little protein in it.

It's spicy, so if you don't care for the spice, decrease the amount of chili sauce or omit it completely.  You can find mung sprouts in the produce section with the Asian noodles.

Make sure the noodles soak long enough to be white.  If they seem like they aren't soft enough after adding to the wok, add a teaspoon of water to let them soften a bit more.  The noodles should be el dente, but not hard.

I got this from The Big Book of Vegetarian.

Enjoy!

Pad Thai
Serves 4

8 ounces dried rice noodles
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoon hot chile sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger (bottled fresh is ok)
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into narrow strips
8 to 10 green onions, halved lengthwise and then cut into 2-inch lengths
1 cup mung bean sprouts
2 tablespoons chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 egg, scrambled (optional)
1 lime, sliced (optional)

In a large bowl, soak the rice noodles in warm water to cover until limp and white, about 25-30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, tamari, brown sugar, chile sauce and 1 tablespoon water.

In a wok or deep skillet over high heat, heat the oil.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Add the carrot and green onions and stir-fry for 1 minute.  Stir in the lime juice-tamari mixture.

Drain the noodles and add to the wok, tossing with tongs until softened and curled, about 1 minute.  Add the sprouts and toss to mix.  Divide the mixture among 4 serving plates, sprinkle with peanuts and garnish with cilantro, egg and slices of lime, if desired.

Beer Battered Fish

Today was the first day of Lent and to bring it in with a bang, I made Abe beer battered fish.  I'm not big on frying foods, but he's been asking for this for a while.  So I gave it a go.   And with much success!

I would suggest using either peanut oil or vegetable oil for this recipe, as olive oil doesn't get hot enough to fry without smoking terribly.  Plus, I think you need the clean taste that the lighter oils give you.

The recipe calls for using a dutch oven, but if you're like me and can't quite swallow paying $100+ for one (I can dream though), a large frying pan works just as well.  And if you have a Fry Daddy, you're even more golden.

Serve this recipe with french fries or oven fries, with lemon wedges and tarter sauce.

I got this recipe from FoodNetwork.com.

Beer Battered Fish
Serves 4 (or 2 hungry people)

1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, skinned with bones removed, and fish cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide strips (5 to 6-inches long)

In a large bowl, pour in 1 bottle of beer. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour into the bowl, whisking in gently until just combined, stir in House Seasoning. Pat fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper and coat the fish in the beer batter. Dredge the pieces of fish in 1/2 cup of remaining flour and slide into oil as coated. Fry fish, turning over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Fry remaining fish in batches, returning oil to 375 degrees F between batches.

Enjoy!

Butter Chicken (Chicken Tikka Masala)

I finally ventured over to a website that's been pretty hot lately on my message board and with some friends.... The Pioneer Woman.  Apparently, it's a blog created by a woman who is both an excellent cook and a great photographer.  All while staying at home with her kids and homeschooling them.  Shoot, I'm lucky if I get a load of laundry in the wash and dinner on the table. 

This recipe was raved on my parenting board, so I thought I'd make it for Abe before he gives up meat for lent (yes, there will be a ton of fish and vegetarian recipes coming in the next month).  He LOVED it.   I'm surprised he didn't lick the plate.

It's super simple to make, too.  I served it with rice and steamed broccoli.

As mentioned, I got this from PioneerWoman.com.

Butter Chicken (Chicken Tikka Masala)
Serves 4

4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
5 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander
¼ teaspoons Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cardamom
1 whole Lime, Juiced
1 whole Onion, Diced
¼ cups Butter
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 pint Whipping Cream
1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste
2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (or light cream or half-and-half) and cilantro just before serving over rice.

 Enjoy!

Cuban Picadillo Sandwich (Cuban Sloppy Joes)

This was a bit of a departure from recipes that I normally pick out for Abe because of the raisins and olives.  But I'm glad I did.  Murmurs of "MmmmmmM!" were uttered throughout his 3 (three!) sandwiches.

This recipe originally called for ground pork, but I had trouble finding that in the store, so I went with ground turkey.  The raisins and olives play off of each other, while the pumpkin pie spice gives it depth of flavor.

I found this recipe on CookingLight.com.

Enjoy!

Cuban Picadillo Sandwiches (Cuban Sloppy Joes)


1 1/2  cups  chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1  teaspoon  minced garlic
1  pound  lean ground pork
1/2  cup  golden raisins
1  tablespoon  chili powder
2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
1  teaspoon  pumpkin pie spice
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1  (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4  cup  sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
8  (1 1/2-ounce) whole wheat hamburger buns, toasted

Cook onion, garlic, and pork in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain and return mixture to pan. Stir in raisins and next 5 ingredients (through tomatoes). Reduce heat, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in olives. Spread about 2/3 cup picadillo mixture on bottom half of each bun; cover with top half of bun.

Balsamic-Glazed Tuna

We're trying to get more fish into our diet.... ok, Abe's diet since I'm a vegetarian.  I'm not used to cooking fish, but found this recipe so easy to make.  And Abe LOVED it.  Can't beat that combo. Not to mention it's so healthy.

If you don't have a grill pan, a skillet on medium high heat will work well.  Just make sure that the pan is screaming hot and that you don't over cook the fish; it should be pink in the middle.

I got this from CookingLight.com.  I served it with herb rice and garlic spinach.

Balsamic-Glazed Tuna
Serves 4

1 1/4  teaspoons  coarsely ground black pepper
1/4  teaspoon  salt
4  (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)
1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1  tablespoon  balsamic vinegar
4  teaspoons  dark brown sugar
1  tablespoon  low-sodium soy sauce
1/2  teaspoon  cornstarch
1/4  cup  diagonally sliced green onions

Place a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Sprinkle pepper and salt over fish. Place fish in grill pan; cook 3 minutes on each side until medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat.
Combine broth, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon glaze over fish; top with green onions.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

I wanted to try something a little different with the pork chops I had found on sale.  This fit the bill.  While I think Abe and Jimi were a bit apprehensive in trying something called "country gravy", they both liked it.  It was SO easy to make.

I served it with homemade mashed potatoes, corn and green salad.

I got this from Cookinglight.com.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4

3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
4  (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1 inch thick)
1  teaspoon  butter
1 1/3  cups  1% low-fat milk
3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
1/4  teaspoon  poultry seasoning (or steak seasoning for an extra kick)
1/4  teaspoon  black pepper

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt evenly over both sides of pork. Add 1 teaspoon butter to pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the pork to pan, and cook pork for 3 minutes on each side. Remove pork from pan, and keep warm.
Combine low-fat milk and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add the milk mixture to pan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, poultry seasoning, and black pepper. Return pork to pan. Cover; reduce heat, and simmer for 7 minutes or until gravy is thick and pork is done.

Serve with either homemade or store-bought mashed potatoes.

Calories: 322 (29% from fat)
Fat: 10.5g (sat 3.7g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.5g)
Protein: 26.7g