Monthly Archives: February 2015

Feb23

Lightly Crusted Flounder With Lemon Butter

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Lightly Crusted Flounder With Lemon Butter

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We’ve been eating a lot of fish lately and baking it, while delicious, can get a little old. So I mixed it up this week by putting a light crust on these filets and finishing them with a little lemon butter and dill. If you have rice flour, I recommend using it because it gives a light and crispy crust that you can’t get with regular flour, not to mention gluten free if you’re into that sorta thing. But if you don’t, regular flour works just fine.

Ingredients:
Flounder filets (I did 2 lbs)
Olive oil
1 T butter
Flour
Dill weed (optional but great addition)
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Season both sides of your filet with salt and pepper. Then using your hands, sprinkle a light dusting of flour on both sides as well.

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2. Pour a couple of tablespoons into a skillet on medium high heat. Then put your filets is for a few minutes each side. Leave it 2-3 minutes before flipping it over do it gets a nice crust and is easy to flip. Don’t overcrowd your pan and work in batches, pouring more oil in later if needed.

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3. Set your fish aside on your serving platter once it’s all done cooking. Then add 1 T butter and the juice of a lemon to your pan and stir around about a minute. Then pour lemon butter over flounder filets.

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4. Finally, sprinkle some fresh or dried herbs over your fish before serving. I love the taste of dill sprinkled over mine! White wine is fab with this dish 😄

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Feb20

Acorn Squash

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Acorn Squash

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If you’re anything like me, acorn squash is probably a bit foreign. I know the first time I decided to try one, I had no idea how hard they were to cut into and that I should’ve sharpened my knife first. I didn’t know what it would taste like and wasn’t sure if I would like it because I know I don’t care for butternut squash. But boy, was I surprised at how delicious it was! Do you like Yukon gold potatoes? If so, you’ll love acorn squash. Do you love mashed potatoes or baked potatoes? That’s how I want you to think of acorn squash. Not that horrible cauliflower substitution for mashed potatoes, but a deliciously creamy and healthy substitution for a potato obsession. This recipe will be like healthy mashed potatoes, but feel free to change it up and serve with cheese and a little sour cream for a “baked potato” version!

Ingredients:
Acorn squash
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Pepper
1 T butter

1. First and most important, sharpen your biggest kitchen knife. If you have a dull knife, you won’t cut through this bad boy, trust me on that.

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2. Now you’re going to scoop out the seeds. I love my grapefruit spoon for this, but a regular spoon will work too if you don’t have one.

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3. Now put your acorn halves on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil on both sides.

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4. Now bake on your center rack in a 400 degree oven for about an hour. You’ll know it’s done when you can easily stick a knife in it just like a baked potato.

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5. Now scoop out the inside of the squash into a mixing bowl. Add garlic salt and pepper to taste and your tablespoon of butter.

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6. Mix together and serve just like mashed potatoes! Soooo good!

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Feb14

Sweet Chili Glazed Salmon

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Ok y’all, if you’re searching for the best salmon ever recipe, you can rest now because this is it! I had seen a recipe using sweet chili Asian sauce and orange marmalade on salmon and thought “Well there’s a cool idea!” and came up with this delicious concoction. It was so yummy my husband had me go back up to the store today and buy four more pounds of salmon to keep in our freezer for me to make this recipe again soon!

*  I have since revised this recipe so that it uses less sauce and it is just as delicious! *

Ingredients:
2 lbs salmon cut into filets about 8 oz a piece
1/4 c sweet chili sauce (found on the Asain isle – I love the Grama’s Sweet Chili Glaze) 
1 T apricot preserves
1 T soy sauce
1 T chopped green onions
1 garlic clove minced
Salt and pepper

1. In a small mixing bowl pour in your sweet chili sauce, apricot preserves, green onions, garlic, and soy sauce and whisk together.

IMG_2391 2. Cover a sheet pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray and lay salmon skin side down on the sheet. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, then pour sauce over the top of the salmon and allow it to marinate that way for about 30 minutes.

  

3. Once it’s done marinating place the salmon near the top of your oven under the broiler for approximately 15 minutes. You’ll want the sauce to caramelize on top of the fish and don’t worry if you see the sauce burning that slid off the fish and is stuck to the foil. 

*This is a picture from my original post, but you’ll get the idea of what the fish will look like when it’s done.

  
It’s now ready to eat and so yummy! My husband likes to pour a little extra sweet chili glaze on the side to dip his in. Yum! 😍

Feb7

Confetti Quinoa

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Confetti Quinoa

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I get asked a lot about how I cook quinoa. The answer is: any way and every way you cook rice. It’s versatile and delicious, and very good for you. If there was a such thing as “the perfect food for you,” this would be it. This recipe is great for side dishes, or served as the main dish with some added grilled chicken or stuffed into acorn squash. I’ll give you my other favorite way to eat it at the bottom.

Ingredients:

1 sweet onion
1 bell pepper or a handful of those sweet tri-colored peppers
2 garlic cloves
3-4 kale leaves (or Swiss chard)
1 10.8 ounce frozen bag of mixed vegetables
1 1/2 c quinoa (any kind – I used rainbow quinoa)
Salt, pepper, cumin powder, Knorr chicken bouillon cube
Olive oil
3 c water

1. Drizzle some olive oil into a pot or Dutch oven and sauté chopped onion and peppers in there about 10 minutes over medium to high heat.

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2. Add the frozen vegetables and chopped garlic cloves and season everything with salt, pepper, and a few healthy dashes of cumin powder.

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3. Chop up your greens and add to your pot.

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4. Add your 1 1/2 c quinoa, 3 c water, and crumble up your chicken bullion cube and turn your heat up to bring everything to a boil.

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5. Put a lid on your pot and turn the heat down to simmer. Allow it to cook just like rice – about 20 minutes. My son loves his with cut cherry tomatoes served on top.

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Mexican Quinoa – add a chopped jalapeño with the sweet peppers and omit kale/spinach. After it’s done cooking add fresh chopped cilantro and 1 can of drained black beans.