Spicy Garlic Lime Tilapia

I don't really love tilapia, but I love it like this!! Also goes well on swai, shrimp, or other plain white fish.

Ingredients:
4 filets Tilapia (about 1.25-1.5 pounds)
3 Tbsp coconut oil or other oil for sautéing
3-5 cloves fresh garlic, crushed and minced

Zest of 1 lime (then slice into quarters and serve with the fish)
2 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 t paprika
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t thyme (dried or ground)
1/2 t onion powder or garlic powder
Shake or two cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

Instructions:
1. Mix zest and spices together in small bowl. You may not need it all.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a nonstick or iron skillet over medium high heat.
3. Coat filets in other Tbsp oil and sprinkle one side with spice mix.
4. Sauté half the garlic for one minute, then add fish, spice side down. Cook about 5 minutes per side depending on thickness. When first side is cooking coat second side with oil, then cover with the rest of the garlic and sprinkle with spice mix. Flip once and cook until done, usually about ten minutes total.
5. Squeeze lime quarter over fish just before serving.

Campbells Santa Fe Chicken Skillet

This came out soupy, which is not what I had imagined. Not sure I'll make it again, and if I do I'll figure out how to reduce the amount of liquid somehow. 

From: http://m.campbellskitchen.com/recipes/santa-fe-chicken-sauté-61220

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons chili powder 
1 teaspoon ground cumin 
1 tablespoon  vegetable oil 
1 3/4 pounds  boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
1 teaspoon minced garlic 
4  green onions, minced (about 1/2 cup) 
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Condensed Tomato Soup 
1/2+ cup  Pace® Picante Sauce 
1/2 cup  water 
1 can (about 15 ounces) low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained 
1 cup  frozen whole kernel corn 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves 

How to Make It

• 1
  Stir the chili powder and cumin together in a small bowl.  Dice the chicken then season with the chili powder mixture, and add salt and pepper to taste.
• 2
  Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes or until browned on both sides.  Add the garlic and onions and cook and stir for 1 minute.
• 3
  Stir in the soup, picante sauce and water and heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Add the beans and corn.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Sprinkle with the cilantro.

Quinoa, Cucumber and Kale Salad

From: http://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/recipe/Quinoa-Cucumber-Kale-Salad/31942?ref=36264&lnk=159&inf_contact_key=b3d5b2000d1a292fe750f0c707dd77fe57fae90f7a147994cbde10174b2df650

Okay, I thought this was a little bland, but served with a flavorful protein it worked quite well! We had it with the spicy garlic lime tilapia and it was great! I adjusted the original amounts to make about 5 servings.

Ingredients
1 medium sized Cucumber, half peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 lbs Kale (about half of a bag of prechopped pre washed)
1/2 tsp Lime Zest (about the zest from one lime)
1 c Quinoa (uncooked)
Juice of one lime
salt to taste   

preparation
1. Cook the quinoa with salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 20 min until quinoa is light, fluffy and tender, or use a rice cooker. Let cool.

2. Chop the kale and steam for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Dice the cucumber and add to the kale and quinoa.

4. Zest the lime, then add the zest and squeeze the lime juice over the other ingredients and mix well. Salt to taste. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Recipes from this week

We are making this as an entree for Dismas House: http://www.food.com/recipe/kielbasa-cabbage-and-onions-low-carb-slow-cooker-crock-pot-323548

We made mojitos for someone's birthday, including homemade mint simple syrup made with raw cane sugar (ZOMG!!!) according to this recipe for making a pitcher of mojitos at a time: http://martieknows.squarespace.com/blog/2011/7/2/cocktails-for-a-crowd-mojitos-made-with-mint-simple-syrup.html

Last weekend we made a dessert of yogurt parfaits with fresh mango, strawberries, pumpkin seed granola, and this fabulous and super simple 3-ingredient strawberry compote: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/43914/supreme-strawberry-topping/

Chicken Tikka Masala Crockpot Recipe

This is one from Anna's coworker, we haven't tried it yet but I think we will!

Ingredients (Serves 6)

2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1½-inch chunks
2 teaspoons salt
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 (28 oz.) can of tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust according to your heat preference)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice of ½ lemon

Directions:
Grease the inside of your Crockpot bowl with a bit of olive oil. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients (except for bay leaves, heavy cream, cornstarch, and lemon juice) in a large bowl. With a large spatula, stir to combine everything, making sure that the chicken is well coated.
Pour the mixture into the slow cooker and place the two bay leaves on top.
Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).
When done, in a small bowl combine heavy cream and cornstarch and gently stir into the mixture. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up.
Finally add lemon juice and gently stir to incorporate.
Serve warm with rice and naan.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Japanese Beef Curry Rice in the slow cooker

I haven't had this dish since I was in Japan in 1997! Time to give it a whirl. With a little baby at home the slow cooker is our friend. They sell the S&B Golden Curry Sauce mix at K&S International market in Nashville, or you can order it on Amazon.

Recipe is from: http://www.acookingmizer.com/2014/09/28/slow-cooker-sunday-savory-japanese-beef-curry/

INGREDIENTS:                                                                            Yields: 8-10 servings

• 3.5 oz (100g) box of S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix (mild, medium or hot – your preference)
• 3-4 Cups of Water
• 1.5 lbs of Cubed Beef
• 1 Large Onion, cubed or sliced
• 3 Large Carrots, peeled & sliced into coins
• 1 large Russet Potato or a handful of small, new potatoes – peeled (if desired) and cut either in half or into bite-size pieces depending on the type of potato you choose
• 1 head of Broccoli, florets cut into bite-size pieces
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Break the Curry Sauce Mix (roux bricks) into pieces and place at the bottom of the slow cooker. Carefully pour the water over the top of the curry sauce mix. Lay the cubed beef over the water and curry roux bricks, ensuring they are covered in water. Nestle the potatoes and carrots in among the beef then sprinkle the onion over the top of everything.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 HOURS then switch to LOW for the next 3-5 HOURS. In the last half and hour, stir the entire mixture well then toss in the broccoli florets. Cover and cook for the remaining half an hour until the broccoli is just tender.

Baked Salmon with Roast Butternut Squash and Sugar Snap Peas

Here's what we had for Sunday dinner/Monday lunches this week.

Sugar Snap Peas were the steam-in-the-bag variety from Publix, microwaved and unseasoned, just perfect with nothing added.

Salmon recipe is adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/baked-salmon-28199

Butternut Squash recipe is from: http://www.paleocupboard.com/baked-butternut-squash.html

 

 

 

Lemon Garlic Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used the stuff in the little yellow bottle in the fridge)
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (didn't really measure this persay)
•  4 salmon fillets (1.35 pounds total cut into 4 pieces), skin removed 

Directions

1. In a small  bowl, prepare marinade by mixing the garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley.
2. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade.
3. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal.
6. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork. 

(Putting a cold glass dish from the fridge into a hot oven makes me nervous, so I moved the salmon to another baking dish covered in tin foil instead, and baked it in that, covered in another layer of tin foil.)

 

Roast Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
- 1 medium/large butternut squash, peeled and diced into 3/4 inch chunks
- 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

dash of cayenne (if you want :)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place butternut squash in bowl and toss to coat with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
3. Dump the squash onto a baking sheet (I covered mine in tin foil, sprayed with cooking spray, for easy cleanup) and arrange into a single layer.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir around/flip pieces with tongs or a spatula
5. Bake for another 10-20 minutes or until soft and browned to your liking. 

 

I forgot about this dish in the oven so it got a little extra browned... not a problem though! It gets caramelized and sweet in the oven, super tasty. Peeling and chopping a butternut squash is a pain in the neck, so if you don't mind the skin you may want to leave it on. I've done it both ways and it's up to your personal taste.