Toasty Halibut

I call this halibut toasty because it has a breadcrumb topping. I find recipes in the oddest places. I saw this dish on a site from a fishery in Alaska and how did I end up there you might wonder? Darned if I know! This is the kind of thing that happens when you might have a little too much time on your hands! Nevertheless, it was passable--I wouldn't say great but certainly edible. Why bother to post an average tasting dish? Because I love the fish dish I prepared it in--so there.

2 halibut filets
dijon mustard
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 crumbled feta cheese
1 T olive oil

preheat oven 400

Spread filets with dijon
In small bowl combine crumbs, oil, garlic and feta and top the fish with that mixture.
Bake uncovered 20 minutes

Egg Roll in a Bowl

Okay, so I'm a little lazy. Here's an easy way to get something that sort of reminds you of the insides of an egg roll but you don't have to fiddle with the egg roll wrapper!

1 lb hot sausage
1 bag slaw mix
1/2 onion diced
1 garlic clove minced

Sauce
4 T soy sauce
1 T creamy peanut butter
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1 T sirracha

In wok, brown the sausage. Add the onion and garlic and stir fry a bit. Add the slaw mix and stir.

Heat the sauce ingredients in microwave to melt peanut butter. Stir well and add to the meat mixture.
Toss together and divide into bowls.

Cod with Leeks and Tomatoes

This is a Martha Stewart recipe and it's pretty tasty. I often buy bags of frozen cod at Costco. Cod is pretty mild so I try to find ways to jazz it up a bit. Good served with brown rice.

• 
  
• 2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced, rinsed well, and patted dry 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 3 sprigs thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cod fillets  3/4 to 1 inch thick
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss together leeks, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover with foil, and bake until leeks just begin to soften, 8 to 10 minutes. 
• Remove baking dish from oven. Add tomatoes, and toss to combine. Season both sides of cod fillets with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables. 
• Cover dish and bake until fish is opaque throughout, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
  
  
  

  
  

Chicken Marbella

This dish is an oldie but a goodie. It comes (with a little tweaking) from the renowned Silver Palate Cookbook that was wildly popular back in the day......long before the Food Network and Food Bloggers! This dish is a bit of a riff on the original but yummy nevertheless.

pkg of bone in chicken thighs
1 cup pitted , sliced fresh dates
1/2 cup sliced garlic green olives
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T capers

Preheat oven 400
Salt and pepper the chicken well and brown about 3 to 4 minutes on each side in ovenproof skillet. Add the rest of the ingredients and put the skillet in oven to bake for 30 min.

Spinach Feta Frittata

I love having breakfast for dinner! This frittata tasted great with a side of turkey bacon, bleu cheese slaw and Motown multigrain toast.

6 eggs, whisked
1/2 bag of spinach
1/2 coat crumbed feta cheese
4 scallions, chopped
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
1 tomato thinly sliced
butter

preheat oven 425

In oven proof skillet, melt a T of butter, add the green onion and stir around, then add the spinach and wilt. To the whisked eggs add salt, pepper and red pepper. Pour egg mixture over spinach and cook lifting edges to allow liquid to run under until top is wet but not runny. Cover with tomato slices and sprinkle with cheese. Put into oven for 12 to 15 minutes. let sit for at least 5minutes before cutting.

Cabbage Two Ways

I love all things cabbage. Seriously, cabbage can do no wrong in my book. Below I offer two good ways to use this poor, often maligned vegetable....as in "my poor little cabbage." Forget that-- hold your (cabbage) head up high cause you are one delish dish.

I wanted to make a cabbage side dish and these wedges turned out great. I forgot to take a picture after I added the cream, but you can take my word for it: this dish was delicious.

four cabbage wedges
3 T butter
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of heavy cream

Brown the cabbage wedges in the butter about 6 minutes on each side. Salt and pepper. Then add the cream and turn the heat down and simmer with the lid on about 40 minutes.

If you ever want to make a delicious easy quick slaw, this dish is for you. However, if you don't like bleu cheese, read someone else's blog! Ha

1/2 head cabbage, sliced thinly
1 carrot, in thin strip
1/4 onion, sliced
1/2 cup Marzetti bleu cheese dressing
1/2 lemon, juiced

Mix all together and refrigerate for several hours for flavors to develop.

Picadillo Stuffed Peppers

I had leftover picadillo and figured that they'd make great stuffed peppers and I was right! The thing I didn't know was that making them in the crockpot would work so well.

4 red peppers, tops sliced off and chop up the tops
Leftover picadillo
cheddar cheese

Mix chopped up red pepper into leftover picadillo and stuff peppers. Put them in crockpot with a cup of water in the bottom. Cook on high for 3 hours. Turn to low for a half hour and the last 15 minutes add some cheese.

Turkey Picadillo

I know that ground turkey is supposed to be better for you than ground beef but many times it just looks too pale to be appetizing. I use ground turkey quite a bit but usually in dishes like this one where I can spice it up and give it some color. This fits the bill. Good served over brown rice.

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 large onion, diced 
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1/2 cup raisins 
1 large jalapeño diced 
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced green olives 
2 T tomato paste
1 can beef broth
4 t chili powder
2 t oregano
1/2 cup scallions chopped
2 t ground cumin

Sauté the turkey, onions, turnips until the meat is browned and veggies are starting to get tender. Add the spices, jalapeno, and garlic-stir well. Add everything else except the scallions, combine and raise heat to high and cook for five minutes, then cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. Remove lid, raise heat again and cook until it reaches desired thickness—I like it with some juice, as it was very tasty juice. Garnish with scallions.

Baked Greek Shrimp

Recently, I bought some really big frozen shrimp at Costco. They were perfect for this dish. The dish is juicy so plan to have some rice or pasta as a bed to catch all the goodness.

1 lb large shrimp
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1/2 bag fresh spinach
dried oregano
salt and pepper
olive oli
2 shallot sliced
4 cloves garlic minced
dried red pepper flakes
feta cheese
chopped parsley

preheat oven 400

In medium skillet, sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil--add salt, pepper and red pepper. Dump in can of tomatoes and break whole tomatoes up. Simmer the sauce for ten minutes. Meanwhile, add some olive oil, salt and pepper and lemon juice to the shrimp. Put a bed of spinach down in the shallow baking dish, top with tomato sauce, then lay the shrimp on top. Sprinkle with oregano and feta cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Let dish sit for five minutes. top with parsley and serve.

Balsamic Baked Chicken

I just love a one pan dish! There are so many variations you can make with this. You can change up the vegetables and the sauce. I used chicken breasts but it would have been just as tasty with chicken thighs or legs.

1 pkg boneless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 pkg of brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 pkf mushrooms cleaned and halved
1 onion cut in large chunks
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 T Dijon mustard
1 T oregano
salt and pepper
olive oil

preheat oven 350

In large oven proof skillet, brown the chicken breasts about 4 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Add the veggies, salt and pepper and more olive oil if needed. Cook and stir around just a few minutes to give everything a bit of color--season with salt and pepper.

In small bowl mix the vinegar, water, mustard and oregano.

Add the chicken back and pour liquid over all.

Bake 30 minutes.

Leftover Chicken?

Recently I made a nice little, but plump, chicken in the crockpot. It's easy peasy: Rub a little chicken all over with a bunch of spices and place it on a bed of chopped onion, turn on high for 5 hours and there you have it. We had a nice dinner using just the thighs and legs plus veggies. That evening, I put all the bones and carcass back in the crockpot, added a few celery stocks and filled it with water and let it cook all night on low. In the morning I strained the broth and then had a pot of broth and the chicken from two breasts.  With these leftovers I decided to make a version of chicken and noodles as well as Thai Lettuce Wraps.

For Chicken and Noodles, sauté some chopped onion, carrot and celery in some olive oil in Dutch oven. Add salt and pepper, ground thyme, turmeric and then dump in that broth. Bring to a boil and add a bag of pasta and cook however long your pasta needs. When it's done to your liking, stir in some chopped cooked chicken and maybe any leftover veggies you might have hanging around: I had broccoli.

Next day, I made the lettuce wraps. You'll need some big romaine leaves and some chopped chicken as well as a bag of broccoli slaw. In a wok, heat a little peanut oil and then add the chicken and slaw and stir fry a bit. Then make this sauce in a little bowl:  2 T smooth peanut butter, 2 T hot water, 2 T rice wine vinegar, 1 T Thai chili paste, 4 t soy sauce, and 2 t agave. Stir well and add to the chicken mixture. Pretty yummy!

Baby, it's cold outside!

When I saw the weather forecast for today (high of 12) I just knew I had to make something cozy for dinner. As I searched on my own a blog I was horrified to find that I had no recipe for beef bourguignon! How could that be? This is a good one from Ina Garten and especially yummy served with the traditional boiled potatoes bathed in butter and parsley. I had to modify her recipe a bit to accommodate what I had on hand.

1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1/2 bottle of bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound fresh mushrooms thickly sliced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.
Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.
Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the1/2  bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 3 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.
Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Leftover Salmon

I really like the large pieces of salmon that you can get at Costco but they are really big if you're just feeding two. Recently, I made good use of our leftovers by adding a big piece of salmon to a large green dinner salad and also making salmon salad for sandwiches. The salmon salad was super easy: some chopped celery, chopped onion, salt, pepper and Greek yogurt to bind it together. Good on toasted whole wheat bread.

Chicken with Artichokes and Olives

Ok this recipe is really good. It's a Melissa Clark dish from the NYT and I didn't have exactly all the right ingredients (when has that ever stopped me?) but it it turned out great and yes you should make it!

1 pkg chicken legs ( or thighs would be fine)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
Salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic minced
Zest from one lemon
1 bag artichoke hearts, thawed
Ten big garlic olives, halved
Red pepper flakes
Rosemary
3/4 cup white wine
Olive oil

Preheat oven 375

In a large oven proof skillet with lid, salt and pepper chicken legs and brown for about 4 minutes on each side. Remove to plate. In skillet add some olive oil and then add artichoke hearts and garlic-- stir around a bit and then add olives, tomatoes, rosemary, red pepper flakes, zest and wine. Stir well and then add chicken legs back in and cover with lid and bake in oven for 35 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle with Parmesan and juice of half a lemon. Serve with bread for sauce-- total yum!

Happy New Year- eat your cabbage!

Growing up there was a hard and fast rule in our house: you must have cabbage in some form to guarantee happiness and good luck in the new year. Usually in our house this meant sauerkraut and pork. I always try to honor my mother's admonition and we have cabbage prepared in some way--possibly kraut or slaw or whatever. This year I found a dandy dish of sautéed cabbage with diced bacon. Very tasty indeed. Pretty sure my mom would approve. Good luck to you and yours!

1 small head of cabbage, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper
1/4 lb of thick bacon, diced
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup broth
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 sliced scallions
2 T minced fresh dill

In large skillet, brown the diced bacon. Remove to plate. Add cabbage to bacon fat and cook for 5 minutes-add salt and pepper. Add wine, broth, vinegar, and cream- stir well and cover and simmer. When ready to serve garnish with scallions, bacon and dill.