Tilapia in a Mustard Sauce with Roasted Broccoli - from Ina Garten!!!

Thanks to a great friend of mine Sharon, I now know a little about the "Barefoot Contessa", otherwise known as Ina Garten.  On a walk one day in the neighborhood during the visit with my family who lives in Florida, my sister, niece and I stopped by her house to visit, and a cookbook caught my eye.  I didn't know much about Ina, and Sharon was sweet enough to let me borrow it.  Finally 2 months later, I tried two of the recipes in there and both were quite tasty!

Mustard-Roasted Fish

Believe it or not, I followed the recipe exactly, so you can just go to the link to get all the information.  The only difference was that I *thought* I bought whole grain mustard, but it was actually whole grain garlic mustard.  But I love garlic, and it actually added a tasty flavor to the overall dish.  It was totally fine in an ovenproof baking dish (that I did coat with cooking spray) and I used tilapia which is such a light, easy to work with fish.  It picks up whatever flavors you give it and my family and I thought it was a huge success.

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli

I followed this one to a tee as well - it was a recipe to make 6 servings, so I did cut it back quite a bit to serve our family of 3.  Her tip to toast the pine nuts is to sautee them in a dry sautee pan on low heat, and it worked.  You definitely want to serve it while it's piping hot and soaks in all the flavors from the other ingredients!  Another tasty, interesting dish!

Since I was making two dishes basically from scratch, I made the other side dishes a little easier on myself.  I used organic rotini and after it was cooked and drained, I simply mixed it with pesto sauce and topped with parmesan cheese.  And my faves...those No Sugar Ruby Red Grapefruit slices.  They are a bit pricey, but they ensure that I'm getting my Vitamin C without a lot of added stuff.

And here's my plated meal that was delicious and nutritious!  Topping a small amount of pasta with the broccoli made for a veggie heavy meal!

It's always fun to find new chefs and recipes, so if you have any favorites, let me know!  I still owe a post from a Chicken Chili that I made Saturday night from the Hungry Girl Cookbook.  But no one is going to know what to do with the TWO posts I put up tonight!!!  Things have just been kind of crazy, and sometimes I'm playing Pandora on my phone and forget to take pictures - and can't imagine a food blog without pics.  So...tomorrow night is a Roasted Shrimp Cocktail from Ina's cookbook that looks quite tasty!  See you soon :)

I'm Back! And Happy to Be Here :) And YUMMY Fish Tacos!

It's amazing that I let another 10 days go by...but we FINALLY got the fifth fridge part installed last Thursday so I scoured some recipe books over the weekend, did a huge grocery store run on Saturday and I am back in the saddle again!

When we last left our she-ra (that would be me!), I mentioned wanting to try some recipes from Hungry Girl.  I did take Michele's advice about watching out for processed food - and found enough items that appealed to me so that I can fix Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (trivia night is Wednesday!).

I'll give some scoop on today's breakfast and lunch in another post, but the focus for today is on our DELICIOUS dinner tonight - see recipe below including some tweaks I made.  If you want the original, click on the link below.  I also incorporated some items from my friend Mary's fish taco recipe that she just shared with me!  Lastly, I doubled it b/c I was feeding a family of 3 - and we have leftovers! 

This got a two thumbs up from the hubby and a "this is really good Mom" from my 15 year old daughter!  Paired it with brown rice and ruby red grapefruit segments.  I only had one taco and it was very filling!  Perhaps because I was still relatively full from our awesome lunch (see next post)...though we also went for a fabulous 90 minute walk.  The air is cooling off with the arrival of fall, and even though the temps are still warm, the slight breeze helps to keep us cooler.

Grilled Go Fish! Soft Tacos
PER SERVING (2 tacos, 1/2 of recipe): 273 calories, 5.75g fat, 330mg sodium, 30g carbs, 5g fiber, 5g sugars, 27g protein -- PointsPlus® value 7*







Ingredients:
For Tacos
4 tbsp. lime juice
2  tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Four 4-oz. raw tilapia fillets (or other flaky white fish)
Eight 6-inch corn tortillas
For Avocado Coleslaw 
4 tbsp. mashed avocado
4 tbsp. fat-free sour cream
2 tbsp. low fat mayonnaise
Chopped cilantro
1 tsp. lime juice
Chopped red onion
Dash garlic powder, or more to taste
Dash salt, or more to taste
2 cups shredded cabbage or dry coleslaw mix
Optional
1/2 cup chopped tomato
Directions:

Combine lime juice and spices for the tacos in a large bowl, and mix well. Add fillets and evenly cover both sides of each with seasoned lime juice. If it's a little "limey", add some more of the garlic powder.  Let marinate in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for avocado coleslaw in a small bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.  I didn't feel like grilling, so I baked the fish instead,  It probably took a good 15-20 minutes total at 350 degrees.  Once it was fully cooked, I broke it into pieces and put in a warming oven.

Spray sautee pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat tortillas until warm and just slightly toasted, about 1 minute per side.  Be careful that they don't get crispy or they won't fold!

Plate and spread the tortilla evenly with avocado coleslaw. Divide fish evenly divide among tortillas. Top with chopped tomatoes;  fold and enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

I cheated and used some "boil in a bag" brown rice (love that extra fiber!) and a jar of "fresh" ruby red grapefruit segments as side items.

Tasty Tilapia with Lentil Quinoa Salad!

Again, Melissa D'Arabian has provided a delicious recipe for an awesome grainy side dish!  I was a bit apprehensive as I have not had lentils in a LONG time, but it was delicious!  The tilapia was not *as* healthy as I usually cook, but still a lot better than fried food for sure!

Melissa's Lentil Quinoa Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 lime, zested (I only used half of this)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Put the quinoa in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a large microwave-proof bowl with a cover, add the rinsed quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water. Cover and microwave on high for 9 minutes. Let it sit for 2 minutes then stir. Quinoa should be tender enough to eat, but with a little "pop" upon biting.

Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse in cold water. In a saucepan, simmer the lentils in 2 cups water until the lentils are tender, but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool.
In a small bowl, whisk the mustard and vinegar together, and drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Add the garlic powder, lime zest, and salt, and pepper, to taste.  I also added in a tsp of sugar b/c the dressing tasted a bit better for me.

To assemble the salad: In a medium salad bowl, mix the quinoa, lentils, green onions, and chopped cilantro. Top the salad with the dressing, toss to coat and serve.

Tilapia was super easy.  I simply used some pre-made scampi sauce and sauteed the fish for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Again, I know there are healthier ways to make it, but I was just craving that buttery, garlicy richness and it definitely delivered!

Rounded out the meal with SteamFresh broccoli - as close to fresh as you can get :)  I have learned to only microwave it for 4 and 1/2 minutes so that it keeps its crunchiness; cooking it more seems to make it mushy.

Even though we were both a little under the weather today, hubby and I still ventured out on a walk - one that took about 90 minutes and was extremely hot and humid.  We were both feeling quite ready for the walk to end by the time we got home!  This was AFTER picking up my race packet, which included an AWESOME shirt and a number I know I will not be wearing.  Though part of me was sad, I also know for sure it is the right decision.  I already found a 5K in early October that is also super nearby so I would have a month to train and train well.  And then look for a 10K and move towards that!

Really glad tomorrow is another day to sleep in!  Just kinda feeling icky, so it will be an early night!  Glad my daughter comes back tomorrow!  Missing her bigtime but know she is having fun...

Sunday Salmon...and a New Creation!

Have you ever had a recipe that you have wanted to try for SO LONG but you just never got to it?  Well, I finally tackled something in the vegetable arena and I have to say, it was DELISH.  Lemme just say, I LOVE me some carbs, mashed potatoes in particular, but I can do without all of the actual carbs.  So I kept reading about how to make cauliflower taste "like" mashed potatoes, but had my doubts.  Let's just say that I am now a believer and this will become a regular in my rotation of sides.

Veggies...I really do love them, but I'll be honest.  For the most part, I kinda cheat.  The Steamfresh microwave in the bag kinds are just so good - the closest you can come to fresh without being fresh and our faves have always been broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and corn.  By starting this blog, I think I've become a bit more self conscious about making real "homemade" food, so tonight, I decided to make the cauliflower "potatoes".  And my next challenge (as you read more) will be to make "real" veggies.

Looking at the big ol' head of cauliflower was a little overwhelming.  Confession time - I have never really made fresh cauliflower.  I've always wanted to, but the thought of cutting it all has always been a little daunting.  So I took it on tonight, chopping and trimming...from left picture to right picture:

From there, I gathered up the ingredients that the Food Network recipe included.  For the garlic (not shown here and I guess I forgot to take a picture of the roasted end result) I decided to try roasting it, basically just drizzling a bit of olive oil and cooking in a 375 oven for 10 minutes or so.  It gave it a "toasted" look and though I'm sure fresh garlic is always optimal, I still go for the jars of minced garlic until someone can convince me that fresh garlic is a million times superior. 

Anyways, I boiled the chopped cauliflower for 8 minutes or so, then drained it well, using paper towels to get rid of all moisture.  Next was putting it and all above ingredients (except for chives) into a food processor.   About 1 tbsp of cream cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp of butter and it called for 1/8 tsp straight chicken base - I had none so I just drizzled some chicken broth in there and crossed my fingers.  I also used my new secret ingredient - about 1 - 2 tbsp of Crema, used in last night's recipe.

Here is the finished result, topped with some chives.  Best part - you can go back for seconds without feeling guilty!

While I was doing the cauliflower "potatoes", I was also in the process of making the salmon.  This is a "tried and true" recipe that is a bit of a "cheat" but sometimes I have to ask, why re-create the wheel?  Typically, I would grill the salmon, but with the flaming scare on the grill the other night, I am still a little apprehensive about the grill, so I decided to bake it instead.

The exceptional ingredient - Soy Vey teriyaki sauce.  All I do is marinate the salmon in this delicious, delectable sauce full of flavors and it does everything I need for the salmon to take on an amazing taste.  Here are the before and after pictures.

Of course, we also needed a green veggie, but here is where I did "cheat".  I can't help but love the Steamfresh microwave in a bag vegetables.  So to get some greenery on the table, I nuked a pouch and added a touch of sea salt for a delicious side dish.

To round it off, I just cut a baguette into small circles and baked, and then each of us got a dish with olive oil to add either black pepper or seasoning into it for dipping.

So here is the overall dinner - Baked Salmon, Cauliflower Garlic Mashed "Potatoes", Green Beans, and Toasted Bread with Dipping Sauce.  Enjoy!

Mari