Blackened Titlapia with a Tropical Salsa

A friend made mango salsa and brought it to work for all of us once. It was wonderful, but I wanted to put my own spin on it, and serve it as something other than a snack. I decided on Cajun or blackened fish topped with the salsa. I made it a few different times, tweaking the salsa ingredients every time until it was right. I would make it with grouper. I haven't made it in a couple years though, and thought of it after seeing a picture of something similar online. To the store I went!

2 tilapia fillets (because grouper got friggin expensive!)

2 Tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 Tbsp onion powder

1  Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp thyme

2 tsp parsley

1 tsp black pepper

Pinch of salt

Salsa:

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1/2 large pineapple, diced

1-2 avocado, diced

1/2 papaya, diced

1 mango, diced (seeing a pattern?)

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 large jalapeno, diced (remove the seeds for mild, leave them in for nice and spicy!)

Prepare the salsa first, preferably a couple hours ahead so the ingredients have time to meld and get happy and yummy! Combine the fruits, onion, avocado, and lime juice first and taste. Add some of the jalapeno and taste again, then add more or even the seeds if it's not hot enough. Add the cilantro, cover, and set aside.

Get a pan and some butter nice and hot on about medium high heat. Combine the spices in a small bowl, then rub all over the fish. Cook the fish, flipping once, for about 5 minutes or so total, or until completely cooked. Plate the fish topped with the salsa and sprig of cilantro and enjoy!



As American As...

Today was Memorial Day. A day for remembering those that have died fighting to defend our freedom. Thank you to all that have served.

On a day to be particularly proud to be an American, what better dessert than apple pie? This was my first attempt at making a pie. I vividly remember making apple pie with my Mom as a kid. I remember sitting on the counter eating apple peels and sugar and cinnamon coated apple slices. I knew what my goal was taste wise, and I knew a few tricks (Thanks Momma!), so to the store I went!

3 Granny Smith
3 Golden Delicious
3 Braeburn

1 Cup of sugar (roughly)
1 Tbsp of ground cinnamon (roughly)
1 tsp of ground nutmeg (roughly)
1/2 tsp of ground clove (roughly)
2 Tbsp of lemon juice
1 Tbsp of flour
Coarse granulated sugar

Pre-made pie crust (unless you're feeling froggy and want to make your own!)


Set out the pre-made pie crusts to start warming to room temperature. Meanwhile, peel, core and slice your apples. In a small bowl, combine everything but the coarse sugar and lemon juice. Toss the mixture with the apples until well combined, then add the lemon juice.

Roll out the pie crusts. I like a lattice top on my pie. I couldn't find a pastry wheel anywhere, but my pizza wheel worked just fine! I made my strips about 1/2 and inch wide. Put the bottom crust in, add the apples, brush the exposed edges of crust with egg, then create your lattice on top! Once it's done, cut off all the extra dough, and crimp or fork the crust edge. Brush the entire top with egg, sprinkle with some granulated sugar, and bake! Don't forget a foil ring to protect the edges until shortly before it's done.

Let it rest to set and cool down for about 30 minutes after it's done. Top with ice cream or whipped cream, or both, and enjoy!! While I didn't put as many apples in as I could have, which DH made sure to poke fun at, it was still quite yummy!!

Chicken Fried Steak With Gravy

One of my favorite easy and quick standbys is chicken fried steak. Now, it's not the fanciest thing I've ever made, nor is it anywhere on the diet, BUT, it's yummy and it's cheap too! The gravy was something new for me. I know how to make a roux, I know how to make brown gravy. Can't be that hard right? It wasn't  exactly a blue ribbon winner, but it was still pretty good!

4 Cube Steaks

Flour Coating:

2 Cups of flour

1 Tbsp of paprika

2 tsp of garlic powder

2 tsp of onion powder

1 tsp of parsley

Cayenne pepper powder, salt and black pepper to taste

Egg Wash:

1 Egg

2 Cups of milk

Corn Meal For Second Coating

Gravy:

3 Tbsp of butter

4 Tbsp of flour

1 1/2 Cup of milk

1/2 Cup of cream

Salt

Pepper

Start getting a pan, preferably cast iron, and some oil nice and hot. Coat the steaks in the flour coating mixture, followed by the milk and egg wash, followed by the corn meal. Fry. Once they're done, melt the butter in the same pan. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two, but don't brown it. We're going for white gravy, not Gumbo. Plus, the lighter your roux, the more powerful a thickener it will be. Add the milk, cream, salt and pepper, and stir while reheating. If it gets too thick, add more milk. The gravy will pick up all the little left over cooking bits and add more yum-factor to your gravy! Serve with your favorite carb-based and veggie sides. Tonight was corn and a new boxed pasta salad I wanted to try, however will not again. Lesson learned. Hope y'all enjoy!!

Kale Chips

And now for the simple!

I discovered kale, more specifically kale chips, while looking for healthy crunchy snack alternatives. It sounded pretty ok, and I've had other veggie chips before, so I gave it a shot!

To Google I go:

Kale

Olive oil

Salt

Really? That's it? Well that's right up my alley! I picked up two bunches of kale and headed to my kitchen.

I preheated the oven to 275(f), then cut the leaves off the stem, tossed them in olive oil, and laid them out on a baking sheet and sprinkled with salt. They take about 10-20 minutes per side, but keep a close eye on them, because burned, or browned kale is nasty! I took them out as each one started to feel crispy. I got to know what that looked like after a few singed finger tips. They are a bit of an acquired taste, but they fulfill the snack attack need for something crunchy and salty! Hope you enjoy!

Multigrain Pizza

Publix sells various types of pre-made pizza dough's. On one of those "I only came in to buy 3 things, but now my cart is full!" trips, I discovered a multigrain dough. Pizza didn't sound like an awful idea at the time, so I picked up:

Pizza Dough

Roma Tomatoes

Green Bell Pepper

Baby Bella Mushrooms

White Onion

Turkey Italian Sausage

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast

Pizza Sauce (Jarred. I cheated.)

Ball of fresh Mozzarella Cheese

I grilled the chicken breast, then chopped it. The sausage was cooked in a pan and sliced thin. I sliced the tomatoes thin and layered them between paper towels to dry out some, and sliced the pepper, onion, and mushrooms. I tossed and stretched the dough, then spread on some sauce, added the tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, pepper, sausage, chicken, and mozzarella cheese. Bake until the crust is golden. I heated some olive oil and minced garlic on the stove to make garlic oil, which I brushed onto the crust right after I took it out of the oven.

The crust was crunchy and chewy, the toppings were plentiful, and the garlic oil? oh my goodness!! Like the moon in the sky....

Coconut Creamtini

We were having coconut cream pie for dessert one night, and wanted a beverage to go with it, but something that would echo the dessert. I ended up with a coconut creamtini!

Coconut rum

Coconut Cream

Toasted Coconut

Heavy Cream

Graham Crackers

Whip the cream to medium peaks. (Or cheat and us the pre-made. I prefer to make it so I can control how sweet and firm it is.) Crush one sheet of graham crackers, rim a martini glass with some coconut cream, then dip into the crushed graham. I put 2 shots of the rum, roughly 4 shots worth of the coconut cream, and ice into a shaker. Pour the contents into the glass, with or without the ice. Put a dollop of whipped cream in the center, an top with toasted coconut and a pinch of the crushed graham. Add a small whole piece of graham cracker to garnish. Enjoy!! (And drink responsibly!)

Standing Rib Roast

Two Words: Rib Roast. Now go get yourself a napkin to mop that drool up.

This was inspired quite simply by seeing the roast on sale at Publix. A little walk around the produce section led to the idea of a simple crust of salt, garlic and rosemary. Sides to be steamed asparagus and mashed purple potatoes.

1 Standing Rib Roast

Olive Oil

Coarse Salt

3-4 Garlic Cloves Minced

2-3 Rosemary Stems Finely Chopped

I started by rubbing the roast with the olive oil, followed by a good coating of the salt, rosemary and garlic. I patted the entire thing for good measure to make sure it all stuck. I put the roast in a roasting pan (whoda thought?) and covered it with foil. Then it was off to a hot oven! While the roast got to roasting, I put beef stock, a stem of rosemary and a pinch of salt in a sauce pan to simmer and reduce a bit. Roughly ten degrees before the roast was done, I removed the foil to let it brown and get nice and crispy crunchy!

Once the roast had reached temperature, somewhere around medium rare, I took it out and removed it from the pan to rest. The hot pan was then deglazed with the reduced beef stock, which was strained and served as a jus.

The salt, rosemary and garlic had formed a lovely crust! It was perfectly juicy, and the jus was awesome! I served it with steamed asparagus and mashed purple potatoes.

Layers and Layers of Eggplant Lasagna!

I have learned to very much enjoy eggplant. It started as a curiosity as a potential pasta or chicken replacement for certain dishes, and after a few different tries, evolved into a new found liking. This time around was lasagna. I had tried it once before and it was a miserable failure... Soupy lasagna... Epic fail... This time I was prepared with my lessons learned from last time.

Layers:
4 eggplant
2 large packs of shredded mozzarella
2 large tubs of ricotta
1 Parmesan wedge
Fresh basil, chiffonade

Sauce:
2 large cans of tomato sauce
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
1 little can of tomato paste
1 large white onion, diced
4 garlic gloves, minced or sliced paper thin
Fresh basil and oregano, diced
Salt, Pepper, and sugar to taste

Dice and sweat the onions in a large pot in olive oil, add the garlic for a moment, then add the tomatoes, sauce, paste, basil, oregano, and salt, pepper and sugar (depending on how acidic it is). Let the magic happen for a few hours.

When the sauce is ready, slice the eggplant (and mandolin makes quick work of this) to about 1/8 of an inch. Layer the slices in between paper towels to dry for about 10 minutes or until they seem a bit dry.

Assembly:
Using a slotted spoon, ladle a couple scoops of the sauce into the bottom of a large deep dish. (I used the gigando Reynolds Wrap roast pan. The slotted spoon allows for more liquid to drain, resulting in a non-soupy lasagna!) Add a layer of egg plant, sprinkle with some basil, top with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and more sauce. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat, until your out of eggplant. Top the last layer of egg plant with sauce, and bake at 400 for about an hour or so. When it' s done, top with mozzarella and bake again until brown. Remove and let it rest for 10-20 minutes or until it sets. Slice, serve, and enjoy!! I know we did!!

An Ode To Creme Brulee

Creme brulee, how do I love thee....

I love, love, love, love, LOVE creme brulee!!! Yes, it's about 9,000 calories per serving, but it's a rare treat, so I'll allow it! I of course googled around for ideas, and settled on this:

3 Cups Heavy cream
1 Egg
3 Egg Yolks
2 Vanilla beans
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tbs Orange Liqueur

The recipe I found made several servings, but I only wanted one. I reduced everything by a quarter, which made the one egg interesting. Heat the milk until hot, but not boiling. Meanwhile, I combined the eggs and sugar (1 egg yolk and roughly a quarter of the white, and 1/8 Cup of sugar). I tempered the eggs with the cream, then added the rest, before adding the contents of half of one vanilla bean and the orange liqueur. I then poured the mix into a ramekin, put that into a pie pan, put it all in the oven, then filled the pie pan half way with hot water. Bake for about 45 min at 300f, or until the center still jiggles some. Remove, cool, and chill until set.... Or remove an put in the freezer. I'm not a patient woman for desserts!

While it cools, whip up some whipped cream from the leftover heavy cream for added yummy!

When it's cold, sprinkle sugar all over the top. About 1 tsp worth. Time for the fun part: Get your handy kitchen blowtorch (use your head! Follow the product instructions! I'm not responsible for any fires!) and brown the sugar. Chill again until it's re-set. The sugar on top will be hard. Top with whipped cream, and a fancy cut strawberry or your favorite fruit, an dig in!! This was my third time making this, and let me tell you, third time was sooo the charm!!!! Try it out! You're welcome.

Turkey Braciole

So as per my usual, I was browsing the grocery store the other day and found thin turkey breast cutlets. In my opinion, when one sees thinly sliced meats, one should think of wrapping said meat around cheese. Anything else is just foolishness. So I'm thinking cheese and spinach. (I try to watch what I eat, so the spinach and the turkey, in my book, out-weigh any amount of cheese calories!)

Cut to a few days and a few melted ice crystal later, and my mind begins to form dinner: cheese.... Spinach.... Ok.... Sauce.... Tomato? Yes..... Hmmm... Almost like a braciole! Google.

I found a few recipes and pooled together the best ingredient ideas. Foundation: Check.

Here's what I came up with:

1 Jar of  marinara (yes, I cheated.)

1 Small Package Of dried porcini mushrooms

1 Romano wedge

1 Provolone wedge

1 Frozen spinach

8 Turkey breast cutlets

3 Cups of chicken stock (because I couldn't find turkey, and well close enough!)

1 Cup of red wine

I poured the sauce in my big heavy pan, added the mushrooms, stock and wine and let it simmer for, meh, about 30 minutes. (Most of my measurements and times are good guesstimates. Unless I'm baking. There you MUST be exact, or you get some mess that should have been cinnamon rolls.) I shredded the cheeses, about a cup worth of each, and combined with the spinach which had been strained dry. The turkey cutlets were pounded thin and stuffed with about 2Tbs of the cheese and spinach, rolled and seared in a hot pan with olive oil. They were then added to the pan of sauce to finish cooking for a few more minutes. Plating was, well, rushed. Two hungry kids, and hungry husband, and a hungry me! Get it on the plate!!! The man thought the spinach was a little over powering, but other than that, pretty darn yummy!! Will definitely being adding this to the repertoire!

Lamb Chop Pops

A few days ago I was feeling the urge to cook something completely new to me. I headed for the meat counter, and a few lamb chops sat all by themselves. I had never made lamb, and my husband had been begging me to make it for months, so... Now for sides... Salad... Ok, what kind? Romaine? No... Ice b- hell no... Water cress?? Uhh, sure! Starch... Potatoes? No... Cauliflower mash? I think I can do that! Ok done. A nice complete meal, and I have never prepared any of it!

Chops:
6 Lamb Chops
2 Stems of fresh rosemary
2 Cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper

Salad:
Watercress greens
Red onion, thinly sliced
Vinaigrette

Mash:
1 Head of cauliflower, steamed
Milk
Butter, salt and pepper to taste


I googled lamb chop recipes to get an idea of what I was in for beyond my most basic of ideas, and came up with fresh rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Sear in a nice hot pan. Meanwhile, steam the cauliflower, and thinly slice some red onion. A put the cauliflower in the blender, added milk until I got the consistency I wanted, butter, salt and pepper, and out came some awesome mash!! Plating: a couple spoons of the mash and arrange the chops against it. Add a little pile of watercress topped with the onion, and serve!

My husband took a bite and closed his eyes as he slowly chewed. Yup, I did good!

No homemade dessert this time. That came from the bakery section.

Pot Roast With a Lava Cake Chaser!

I'm a Mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a Paramedic. I'm also a wanna-be chef. I LOVE trying and creating new recipes. "What's for dinner" is usually inspired by browsing through the pantry to see what's on hand, or a stroll through the grocery store. Sometimes something as simple as a yellow squash can inspire something fabulous! Not every dish turns out wonderful, and I have a tendency to under salt, but I learn lessons from my mistakes and try again!

Tonight was pot roast with molten lava cake for dessert, and let me tell you, I am sufficiently safasified!!! I seared the roast, put it in the crock pot, and de-glazed the pan with a nice red wine. I added the veggies (green onion, carrots, red potatoes, celery, and zucchini) to the crock pot, poured in the wine and yummy pan bits, added some beef stock, and let the magic begin. I let it simmer for nearly 6 hours, and it smelled A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! My picky 5 year old even seemed interested! The meat was absolutely falling apart when I plated! I poured the broth into a small pot to reduce. I added broth a flour I had whisked separately to thicken, and voila! Gravy was born.

Time for something sweet!! I found a molten cake recipe online (my favorite source for new ideas!). It said it would make 6 small cakes, however being that it was only for me and my husband, I cut it all in thirds. Thankfully it called for 3 eggs! A little double boiler action for the chocolate, four, sugar, an egg and a yolk, vanilla, aaaaand orange liqueur, in the over at 425 for ten minutes! I whipped up some whipped cream while I impatiently waited. One small burn from brushing against an oven rack later, and they were ready! Plate, dollop some whip cream, and to be fancy a sprig of mint! I died and went to heaven! The orange liqueur added an amazing brightness to it, and balanced beautifully with the depth chocolate!!

Tomorrow I'll be making my pumpkin pancakes to take to work for breakfast! I've been out for weeks, and I miss my pancakes!! I'm salivating just thinking about them! Although it could be a fond memory of the molten cake!