Blackened Fish

Another successful fish recipe!  We had this on Mahi Mahi; but trout, catfish, red snapper, tilapia... any white fish would work.  Originally an allrecipes recipe, and several reviewers there said they used it on salmon and thought it was great as well.  Love fish recipes - they only take like 15 minutes to whip up and are so healthy!



Blackened Fish

1 Tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
fish fillets
butter

Mix dry ingredients.  (I left out the cayenne since the kids and I don't like spicy, and sprinkled some cayenne on Ben's piece before cooking).  Sprinkle the spice mixture onto the fish fillets (lightly for kids, heavily for adults) and press into fish.  Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high until hot, melt a large pat of butter and add fillets.  Cook 2-4 minutes per side until done.

Honey Soy Broiled Salmon

I'm always looking for more fish recipes.  We try to have fish once a week and get tired of the same ones over and over.  This was fast and everyone scarfed it down.  Definitely adding it to the rotation!

1 pound salmon fillet
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Whisk Marinade Together:
1 scallion, minced
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

 Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.

Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray.  Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.)

Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

Stir Fry

Stir Fry

Tonight I made a beef stir fry and remembered back a few years ago when every stir fry I made came out terrible - tough meat and limp, soggy veggies.  YUCK!  I finally found this video which transformed my stir fries.  Now it is a favorite - healthy and quick and a good way to get veggies into the meal without having to make them separately.  If your stir fries need help, watch the video and follow it exactly the first few times (use a watch because 2 minutes feels lots shorter than it is).  Another EXCELLENT video on pan frying in general is here.  Watch them and you will be a much better cook for it!

Instead of a recipe, I'm just going to list a few key tips to keep in mind.  Use any combination of meat and veggies you would like, or what you have on hand.

1.  Prep everything ahead

2.  Get the pan good and hot before adding the oil

3.  DON'T OVERCROWD THE PAN.  You may need to cook your meat in batches of 2 or even more.  Even though it means it will take longer overall, this step is critical.  If you put too much in, your pan's temperature will cool down and your meat will take too long to cook and end up steaming in it's own juices instead of searing - making for tough meat.

4.  Don't move the meat until it has seared well and releases on it's own.  Put it in the pan and leave it alone for several minutes, then give the pan a shake to see if they have released.  If so then you can start to stir it.

5.  It's okay to fill the pan with veggies as the difference in steamed or sauteed doesn't matter as much.  But do keep the heat up so they cook quickly, and whatever you do, don't overcook your veggies.  Add the sauce and meat back to the pan before they are finished, so that way they aren't overcooked by the time everything else comes together.

Quesadillas

Nothing fancy, just an easy light dinner.  Elliot will eat anything he gets to dip

two whole wheat flour tortilla
shredded cheese
filling - could be almost anything - cooked veggies (mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, peppers...),
             avocados, shredded cooked chicken, shrimp, beans, etc.


Heat a large fry pan to medium.  Thinly coat with a pat of butter or oil and place the first flour tortilla in.  Add a little cheese, the filling, and a little more cheese then put the second tortilla on top.  Adjust the heat as needed, until the bottom tortilla is crisp and lightly browned.  Flip, adding a little more oil or butter to the pan if necessary, and cook second side.  Cut into wedges and serve with salsa.

The key is to not put too much filling.  My favorite quesadilla is probably fresh spinach, sauteed mushrooms, and fontina cheese.  The heat is just right to slightly wilt the spinach but still keeps it a beautiful bright green.

Salmon Croquettes

These were fast to make, dirtied only one bowl and one pan, present beautifully, and amazingly delicious.  Ben said they were his new favorite dinner!  A week later I made them for my in-laws and they asked for the recipe.  We've had them at least two other times since then.  Yeah, they are that good :)  The picture doesn't do them justice.  Try them and they just might be your new favorite way to eat fish.  Similar to crabcakes only with salmon - YUM.

This recipe is courtesy of my mom (as most of "my" recipes are) who found it on the back of a pouch of Chicken of the Sea salmon.

Ingredients:

1 (6-oz.) Salmon Pouch  (even better: an 8 oz salmon fillet baked then flaked)
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
3 Tablespoons butter

extra breadcrumbs for rolling

Directions:

In bowl, combine red pepper, green onions, mayonnaise, lemon juice, seasoned salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Stir in Chicken of the Sea® Salmon, egg and breadcrumbs (mixture may be sticky). Divide and form mixture into 4 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining breadcrumbs; flatten into cakes about 1/2-inch thick. In skillet, melt butter over Medium heat. Fry salmon cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Makes four servings.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

This is another Rachel Ray recipe.  It's super fast and one of our favorite ways to eat fish.  This time I used Swai fillets because that's what was on sale.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons paprika
2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture.  Place on baking sheet and bake until fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10-12 minutes.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Best pancakes ever - and they're whole grain!

These pancakes really are amazing.  The mix is super easy to make and from there it only takes a few minutes to mix up a batch of fresh, healthy pancakes.  And the completed pancakes freeze well- I usually make a batch of 30-40 to freeze, then when we want something healthy and fast for breakfast just pop them in the toaster!

4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or additional white whole wheat)
3 1/2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Grind the oats in a food processor.  Combine all dry ingredients in a mixer and mix on low speed.  While the mixer is running, add the oil slowly.  Store mix in freezer.

To make pancakes:  whisk together 1 cup mix, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of orange juice.  Let set 15 minutes.  Cook on 325 degree griddle for a couple minutes per side.  I always add blueberries to mine, or chocolate chips on special occasion. 

 Original recipe from King Arthur Flour

Hummus and Pita chips

Update - I made this for our community group and lots of people commented how good it was and several asked for the recipe.

The first few times I tried hummus I did not see what all the fuss was about.  Then one day at a friend's house they served Sabra brand hummus with wheat thins and we loved it.  I bought some and discovered Elliot loved the stuff.  We were buying it so often that I decided to try making my own since it was $4 for a little tub.  The first few times Elliot wouldn't touch it.  I even tried rinsing out the Sabra container and putting my homemade hummus in but he wasn't fooled  :)  I couldn't blame him though, mine simply lacked flavor.  I looked up lots of recipes and tweaked them until I came up with one we like (and Elliot eats!)

1 can chickpeas (or just over 1 cup if you cook them yourself)
3 teaspoons minced garlic
2-3 Tablespoons tahini (I use three because I like the nutty flavor of tahini, but start with 2 and add more if desired)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 cup water or reserved chickpea liquid
olive oil to drizzle

In a food processor combine first five ingredients.  With processor running, slowly add the water until you get desired consistency.  You might need more than 1/4 cup water.  Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with parsley.  Serve with wheat thins or pita chips.  I got the recipe for pita chips straight from my friend's blog, here.

You can add all sorts of stuff to hummus.  I'd like to try roasted pine nuts.  I've also seen roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and artichoke, lemon juice, paprika and a variety of other spices used.

Canadian Bacon, Egg and Cheese on whole grain English Muffin

My mom told me she had been enjoying these for breakfast so I gave them a try.  They immediately became a favorite - so filling and quick to make.  You can honestly throw this together in five minutes.  I made this one with American cheese, but I also enjoy the sharper taste of cheddar.

Half of a whole wheat English Muffin
1 egg
slice of canadian bacon
cheese

Heat wide skillet on medium high.  Add a little olive oil and cook egg on one third of the pan while heating Canadian bacon and English Muffin in the same skillet.  Assemble with the cheese - YUM

Miso Soup with Asparagus and Broiled Salmon

I'm always looking for new ways to eat fish.  This was a wonderfully light soup, perfect for springtime.  Ben said it was the best soup he's ever had.  I liked that it has some veggies in it that we don't eat very often, like bok choy and sugar snap peas.  It comes together quickly, especially if you have the veggies already chopped.  With some crusty bread it would be a great light Sunday lunch.

I found this recipe in my Sugar Solution cookbook by Prevention, but they have the recipe online too.  I used homemade chicken stock instead of the vegetable broth and included some of the bok choy leaves.  The picture is from Prevention's website.



Ingredients:

4 3-ounce salmon fillets, skinned
2 tablespoons miso paste
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons shao-hsing cooking wine* or dry sherry (optional)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 cups 1/4" slices bok choy (halve stems lengthwise and slice crosswise)
1 cup sugar snap peas
1 cup 1" pieces asparagus
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup diagonally sliced scallions

Directions 

Place the salmon in a pie plate. Mix 1 tablespoon of the miso paste and the soy sauce in a cup and spread over the top of the salmon. Put on broiler pan and set aside.  Preheat broiler.

Place the oil, garlic, and ginger in a heavy large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant.  

Add the shao-hsing or sherry (if using) and vegetable broth, increase the heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the bok choy, peas, asparagus, and carrots. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Add the scallions and remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon miso and cover to keep warm.  

After adding the vegetables to the broth, begin to cook the salmon. Broil the salmon 5" from the heat source for 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned and just opaque in the thickest part.  

Transfer the salmon to soup bowls, ladle the soup on top, and serve immediately

* Shao-hsing cooking wine is found in any Asian grocery and many large supermarkets. It's also inexpensive.