Looks like we're on a bit of a seafood kick this week, huh? I promise, it's not all we eat...although I do try to throw down something that swims a couple times a week. Why not? It's healthy, we both love it, and it's usually pretty easy! Like this one...it caught my eye immediately for meeting my 5 ingredients or less requirement (not counting the olive oil and balsamic because I always have those on hand).

 

Can we talk about these scissors before I go all crazytown? These were supposed to really make my life easier...herb cutters to snip herbs (and green onions in this case) into perfectly sized morsels to deliver their flavor to any amazing dish just as they should. Except all the perfectly sized morsels get stuck in the scissors and I'm sticking knives in to release them rather than continuing on with my wonderous meal. I hate kitchen gadgets that don't work....BAH!! Also tried using them to do the bacon. Not a good plan. Anyway, if you get the notion, do not jump at the chance to purchase these shears when you stumble across them on Pinterest. K, thanks...

 

 

Now let's talk about something happy. Like oil and vinegar. What could be happier than that? I would drink the stuff if it was socially acceptable and diet approved. Alas, I'll settle for cooking with it and dunking the occasional loaf of crusty bread that falls in my lap into a mixture of it. This stuff was purchased on our Galena, IL trip recently and I will most certainly be ordering more from their website when I begin to even imagine I'm running low. Pomegranite balsamic, whaaaaaaa? Oh, I picked up some jalapeno balsamic that was just as whaaaaaaaa as well. You want yoself some.

 

OK, now that I've gone and told you what to buy and what not to buy like a good bossy blogger...let's get started with this simple but elegant fishy fish dindin. Here's what you need:

Two 5 oz cod fillets
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions (I used green onions as you can see above)
2 slices reduced fat bacon or turkey bacon, snipped into tiny pieces
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 t balsamic vinegar
2 t olive oil

Grease your baking dish and throw your fishies in there. Pile high with all the other ingredients before baking at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes (or until fish flakes with a fork).

Boomsauce. Awesometown. Yummynation. You get it...

I served with a side of steamed asparagus with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese topping it, per usual in our household. Asparagus is in season now so instead of it being $3.99 per bundle it runs your more like $1.99 per bundle. I'm always down for a discount :) We could eat asparagus till the cows come home...not that we really have cows. Although Main Man would have cows if I would let him. He also wants chickens. Horrible little creatures, chickens are. His most recent plan involves growing grapes to sell to wineries. He woke up from a nap with this idea and did some online research. We'll see if it comes to fruition (doubtful), but I do love his creative investment ideas, especially when they center around wine grapes. I hope your weekend brings you some great nap ideas as well...happy Friday, all!

Shrimp stir fry

Stir fry is one of the easiest ways to get yoself a ton of veggies and protein in a decently low calorie meal that tastes like fat kid food. I'm not sure why? Maybe because takeout is usually so greasy, it seems like the fakeout stuff should be bad for you as well? Either way...I love to throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and cover it with this sauce:

 

 

I've tried a lot of sauces, and this one is only 20 calories per 2 tablespoons and has (by far) the best flavor with a little kick in the pants to boot...and you know how I like my pants kicked. I should really watch my statements like that if I don't want to get a boot to the tush in the grocery store or something. Although that would be a pretty funny story, wouldn't it?! If you can't tell, the ho hum 'tude I had yesterday has been obliterated and we are in full force of a great week in my world. And let's be honest, my world is all that matters here!

 

Another great find that makes your life easier than a finger snap is these little packages of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. I love the Whole Grain or the Long Grain and Wild but there are also Asian and Mexican variations that are wonderful for different recipes...we went with Whole Grain this time to try to keep this as healthy as possible.

 

From here on out, you can freestyle this recipe! Plus you will only dirty one skillet...don't you love solo dish nights? I used 1 pound shrimp that I had cleaned and deveined the night before so they were ready to go, but you could use a couple chicken breasts, or even a flank steak cut into strips if you would like. Whatever takes you to Smiletown. I used:

1 cup fresh snow peas
2 cans water chestnuts, sliced
1 cup shelled edamame
2 cups fresh mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups chopped kale

Spray your largest skillet or wok with non-fat cooking spray and add all your veggies to begin cooking. Stir continuously for 5 minutes and add shrimp. Stir continuously for 5 minutes until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Add 6 T of the Szecuan Spicy Stirfry sauce as well as 2 bags of cooked (90 seconds in the microwave) Uncle Ben's Ready Rice (flavor of  your choosing...Teriyaki would be great in this).

Dish yourself a heaping helping like I did, top with low sodium soy sauce and you've got yourself some skinny kid food that feels like fat kid food. Love when I get to feel indulgent without ruining the day's workout! Oh, and don't be fooled. I'm not cool enough to eat stir fry with chopsticks. I rock them with sushi but this stuff was shoveled in by the forkful...

I have this recipe figured at 300 calories per cup basing the portions off my My Fitness Pal account. I've been doing well using it to track my intake the last couple weeks. It's a pain sometimes but keeps me very accountable, and is easier to do with the mobile app I have on my phone. How is everyone coming on the Tuff Butt April challenge? I fell a little behind this weekend and had to finish days 7 and 9 before I allowed myself to blog for you guys...luckily day 8 was a rest day or I would've been in big trouble! That means I have to throw down days 10 and 11 tomorrow and I'll be all caught up...which may be tough with kickboxing tonight and a quick turnaround to morning power sculpt hot yoga so I can have dinner with a friends and her little ladies tomorrow night. I'll let you know if I can walk to my car after work to get to said dinner....

Marinated tuna steaks with cucumber sauce

You know how some days you're just not in the mood for life? Like if I could've pulled the covers over my head and made the world disappear this morning, it would've happened instantly. Not sure why...the rain on the roof makes it exceptionally hard to get out of bed, but besides that it's just a normal Tuesday. That I would like to skip. Usually a good workout will cure that, so I'm hoping the Kosama plyo day will take care of it for me this evening. Although, by that time the day is almost over anyway so it's a moot point. My only real cure for a day like this is to smile. Try it. If you make your face smile and make yourself look like a goon for no reason, your mood has no choice but to improve. I've told my mom this before....and it works. I'm doing it now and it makes me giggle. Something about the muscles activated to form a smile being directly connected to your mood elevation...either way, I'm telling you, it works. All better...now we can get to the fun stuff.

 

I've been loving me some seafood lately. It always sounds good, and I know it's good for me, so it usually wins the debate when we're talking about what we want for dinner the following week. Yeah, we discuss our menu on the weekend so I can get to the store and do prep work beforehand...then it's smooth sailing through the week with no one getting stressed about what's for dinner. It's poifect. This was a great one to start the week with, as I could marinate the tuna steaks, thaw the sweet corn, and have the cucumber sauce made...so the only thing needed to do was start the grill!

 

If you've never had tuna steak before, you better hop on this train. It's so dense, like a steak. But so light, like fish. Great taste and very lean too. You know what that means? Nom. Nom.

 

For the tuna:

 

3 T lime juice

2 T chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic

1/4 t salt

1 lb tuna steaks

 

For the sauce:

 

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

1/4 cup greek yogurt

2 T fresh cilantro

1 T olive oil mayo

 

Mix all the tuna ingredients up (besides the tuna) and pour the drizzle over the top to marinate overnight.

 

Mix all the sauce ingredients up and refrigerate.

When ready to cook, heat a grill pan, Griddler, or your outdoor grill to a high heat. Spray with non-fat cooking spray to prevent sticking. Pour the excess marinade on top of the tuna after you add it to the pan. Sear for 3-5 minutes on each side, removing when the tuna is cooked almost through. There should be pink in the middle, but the tuna should flake easily with a fork. Remove from heat, dallop with cucumber sauce, and serve!

Told ya. You can't get much easier than that for a weeknight meal. And if you can, invite me over for dinner and show me how. I could use the tips. I'm steadily working toward a world where all I have to do is put my fork in my mouth for dinner at night....and I'm getting closer and closer each day :)

Tuna melts

Well, my little poopies (isn't that from The Little Mermaid? If it's not, then I apologize)...we made it. It's officially Friday and I couldn't be happier. I'm not sure the week you get back from vacation and are trying to get back in the swing of your routine and get caught up on sleep and everything else that you put off while you were gone actually feels longer than the week before vacation when you're getting everything ready to go and are so excited about packing and leaving....but it sure feels like it to me. I'm happy to have hit the weekend, and pretty proud of myself for not dropping the ball on my workouts this week or last, even with a 5 day hiatus in the middle. I've still gotten my minimum 3 days in per week and am actually going to hit my normal goal of 4 this week! That's a win in my book...and a needed win after the 3,000 calorie daiquiris I consumed on vacation unknowingly until asking about the health facts. Talk about a blow to the gut! Oh well, that's what vacation is for...back on track!

 

This was a meal we had before vacation...something easy that I used to prepare a lot when I was in college. Tuna's cheap, ya'll! And it takes literally 5 minutes to throw these together. Quick and cost-friendly? That's a college student's best friend right there...

 

This mustard makes the sammy, I'm telling you. It's the only mustard we use in our house, I'm not a yellow mustard fan. But recently I discovered that Woeber's also makes a horseradish mustard (in the cupboard, have yet to try) and a jalapeno mustard (holy eff bombs, that stuff is the ish). So if you haven't tried this brand yet, make like the Easter bunny and hop to it. Moving on...

 

2 cans white albacore tuna in water, drained (I like this because it's not oily or ugly and just tastes more fresh than the normal oil in can tuna...costs a little more but it's worth it)

4 slices wheat bread

2 slices 2% pepperjack cheese

1 T mayo (I used to use fat free but now use the olive oil mayo, its great for you even with calories added)

1 T Woeber's hot and spicy mustard

cracked pepper to taste

crushed red pepper to taste

Chalula hot sauce dashes if you likey...and I do likey

 

Mix all but the bread and cheese (obviously) up in a bowl with a fork. Spread the mixture on the bread, split between two sandwiches.

 

I used my Griddler to make those perdy grill marks on the bread this time, but before I lived in Griddler ownership, I would broil them in the oven to get the bread toasted and then heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese completely (the broiler WILL burn your bread if you leave it in there too long). Keep an eye on it if you do it that way, these things are known to go from zero to housefire in the span of 30 seconds! The Griddler works perfectly though..worth the investment, friendys.

These sammies are so versatile! We actually layered some banana pepper slices on them this time. You can go less spicy and add tomato slices too, if that's your bag. Either way, these are always filling and satisfying. Main Man had actually requested them because I hadn't made them for him since we started dating. Surprised he remembered the meals we had that far back, but glad he liked them then too! Served with the standard szecuan green beans made with our stock of frozen green beans from the garden last summer and everyone was happy, happy, happy!

In other news...I'm going to try to do an exercise in accountability and have started using MyFitnessPal again in order to knock some of the Winter (and vacation) weight off the scale. If you are a user and want to add me, and comment when I have too many glasses of wine, skip a workout, or throw in a late night popsicle, my username is abbystensland and I will gladly take as many people judging me on as possible! Also, I'm planning to begin April on Sunday with this "Tuff Butt" workout and use it as a boost to my normal routine each day. We'll see how that goes...again with the accountability...ask me if I forget to post about it! And join me if you  would like to have a little booty in your swimsuit this summer rather than a daiquiri booty. Come oooooon, it'll be fun! OK, that's a lie, but misery does love company so...perdy please?! Heading out for a lunch run on this gorgeous Spring Friday...ta-ta for now!

Pesto shrimp and gnocchi

I'm not sure if I'll ever give up trying to make Main Man like pesto. "Is that the plant-y stuff again?" "Oh, no it's different this time, you'll like it." Aaaaaand he eats a leftover pork chop. There's a lot of things I will gladly give up for my dude, but pesto ain't one that I'm having an easy time parting with. I guess as long as I have a back up for him, I don't even feel bad, so it's really not going to stop. Maybe someday he'll cave?? This was a throw-together meal if there ever was one...I mean I had an idea of what I wanted to do with the ingredients the night before but hadn't really planned it out yet. And it all just came together...

1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 lb shrimp, cleaned
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 cups fresh spinach
1 jar pre-made pesto
1 package whole wheat gnocchi
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 T crushed red pepper

Add all that to a skillet and cook. Seriously. I'm not sure what happened at Kosama that night, but it was like a pop quiz...with kettlebells. I haven't been that sore since I first started going, and was juuuuuust famished when I got home! I don't think I had any oxygen getting to my brain yet so I literally just dumped everything into one skillet and stirred for 20 minutes until it was all cooked (shrimp cooked through and pink, gnocchi fork tender, spinach all wilted, and tomatoes busting open with all their lovely juices joining the party). Luckily, I had cleaned the shrimp and had everything all ready to go or I'm not sure what would've happened...scary thought.

If you want to make your own pesto (which I do in the summer when I've got an endless supply of fresh basil at my fingertips)...here is the recipe I use:


1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Coarse salt and ground pepper                                      
8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 

It's Martha Stewert's so it has to be a good thing, right?!

 

That's it for today, folks...

Potato thyme crusted cod

I know there's a few more Fridays to go for Lent season, so if you're looking for a tasty non-heathen meal this week...I've got your back! Have I mentioned that I won the husband jackpot? Oh, I have? And its getting really annoying? OK, I'll stop....after today.

Picture this: I get home late from Kosama and sit at the kitchen table pounding green bell peppers in hummus to catch my blood sugar up from the recent tuckas-whooping plyometrics day just handed me. I don't feel like standing much to cook, let alone unloading the dishwasher and all that jazz. I must've looked like a hot mess (emphasis on the mess, not the hot) with my hair all sweated back and all the mixins for dinner laying out, but sitting untouched. Main Man walks in, takes one look, and says "What's for dinner? I'll make it tonight." And then the clouds parted and my angel floated in from above (or outside) and made me fish for dinner. The end.

He just knows when he needs to step in and help a chica out...because usually it takes a lot for me to sit back and watch him cook, and he knows that. Cooking dinner time is my relaxing, end of the day, wind down period that I actually love. Who knows if that will ever wear off...but I do have my days where I would rather go hungry than cook dinner. And I'm thankful that I have a partner who picks up the slack on those rare occasions...sorry, folks, I'm not sharing him!

All you need:

*3/4 cup buttermilk (we used skim milk)
2 T grated lemon peel (we used 1 t lemon juice as a substitute)
1 t Dijon mustard
*1 cup instant potato flakes (we used garlic flavored)
1 t dried thyme
*6 cod fillets
*3 T olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees while you work on the cod. We actually altered the recipe and used 1/3 of some of the amounts called for since we only did two fillets of fish (the items we took down by a third are starred in the recipe above, the rest we left the same as the recipe for 6 fillets called for). In a shallow dish, combine buttermilk, lemon peel, and mustard. In a separate shallow dish combine potato flakes, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Dip fillets into milk mixture and then into potato flakes, pressing to coat completely.

 

In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add fillets and cook 2 minutes per side or until golden, turning only once.

 

Transfer to a greased baking dish and bake fillets 10-12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. This was seriously good, people. We're very used to baking fish, but throwing it in with some olive oil beforehand was key. Awesome flava flav in that crust too...and the whole process really didn't take long at all, even if this pile of sweaty gym clothes and hair wasn't too motivated to get it started. We had leftover twice baked cauliflower, which is a favorite in our joint, to serve as a ready made side dish...and all was right with the world. A little couch time with the hubs after dinner and I was ready to hit the gym and the kitchen the next day...

This recipe was one I found on Hy-Vee's website so it had fat stats listed...love when I have this info provided and have quite a few good ones printed to try from them in the future.

Fat stats (per cod fillet):
Calories: 267
Carbs: 6 g
Cholesterol: 59 mg
Fat: 9 g
Protein: 39 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Sodium: 229 mg

Apparently Main Man should be having under 200 mg of cholesterol per day to lower his numbers (normal numbered people can have 300 mg per day although the average American male consumes 337 mg per day and average American female takes in 217 mg per day)...so this meal fits just fine with the rest of his daily diet. The olive oil used also contains good fat to raise his HDL numbers. We're learning as we go over here, people...hopefully you are learning from our journey too!

Shrimp and shitake quinoa bowls

Today didn't really start out as expected. The huge-normous snowstorm we were supposed to get last week duped us and was just waiting for this week. It's been snowing since 7-ish yesterday morning, with periods where it stops for a bit, but at least it's not coming down too hard. We had 7 inches last I heard, and are supposed to get another couple before all is said and done. Oh and another possible snowstorm the beginning of next week...which I'm not griping about because we sure do need to moisture up in this drought...but if Mama Nature could space these things out a bit so they can clean up the one before it first, that would be nice of her. Too bad she can be a coooold B sometimes.

 

So I didn't try to make the trek (usually a 35 minute commute, but yesterday it was an hour and 15 minutes) in to work today until a couple hours later than normal, to give the road crews a chance to get down and dirty on that ice and snow with their salt layers and plow monsters. I'm glad I did...I saw 5 cars in the ditch in one mile stretch of highway...not a good start to the work day, my fellow commuters, I feel for ya. Instead, I made Main Man an egg white sammich, got some house cleanup checked off the list, and threw in a 30 minute (that's how long it took me anyway) Crossfit workout I found on Pinterest. You guys. I thought this was going to be easy...4 exercises, 10 times...piece of cake. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm planning on being sore from this. I do all those exercises in Kosama, so I'm not sure why this was so difficult, maybe the no breaks?? Either way, it's a perfectly intense workout for times when you don't have more than a half hour to throw a little gym time in, and can be completed with nothing but your own body weight, and in your own living room for that matter. Give it a shot and let me know what you think of it...

This recipe also didn't come out as planned.  First, I started subbing things (spinach for snow peas, quinoa for rice) but then things got dicey. I've been looking for oyster sauce everywhere, people...well, one place actually, but it was Whole Foods so I thought it would be an easy one to find there. Well it wasn't. And I had this McCormick Cajun seafood sauce in the cupboard looking at me and jumping up and down and raising it's hand like it knew the answer to the question in class....so I caved. Then I didn't have any eggs (this was supposed to be like a fried rice deal), so I just threw caution to the wind and wung it (wang it? winged it?) to throw this meal together.

 

And it worked. Oh, boy, did it work. Let me tell you what I did use, since you don't have access to the ripped out page of Cooking Light's magazine where they tried this out in the test kitchen and made it the best way possible. I'm sure it's lovely that way...and once I find me some oyster sauce, I shall compare.

1 lb large cleaned and deveined shrimp
1 bottle McCormick Cajun seafood sauce
3 cups fresh spinach
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T crushed red pepper

Standard drill with the quinoa, ladies and gents...rinse that shizz, put your chicken broth in the skillet and bring to a boil before adding the quinoa. When all the liquid is absorbed, it's done! I chopped my veggies while stirring randomly and it all worked out perfectly in the kitchen of bliss...that night at least, a lot of times when I try to multi-task we've got things boiling over and fingers being sliced...but let's focus on that night when everything under the sun went smoothly as possible.

After the quinoa has cooked all the liquid down, add all the other ingredients. Continue to stir while cooking on medium heat, until the shrimp is pink and cooked throughout. Your veggies should be perfectly done in the same amount of time it takes the shrimpies to get pinkified. The sauce will have plenty of time to meld with the other lovely flavors in that window of minutes as well. This dish works.

Oh, and if you've never bought seafood out of a freezer truck at a gas station in Iowa...I suggest you do so. This shrimp has been the most amazingly fresh stuff we've gotten from any grocer in town (and its even been frozen for a good couple months).

Check that big guy out in the picture below...he wants to be in your mouth. That wasn't intended to be as pervy as it ended up sounding...but really, with it being Lent season and all, put this recipe together on a Friday and you won't be disappointed. I added a splash of soy sauce and crushed red pepper when chowing, and it made all my dreams of shrimp and shitake bowls come true, even if this was an improv performance. Happy snowstorm to all, and to all a good humpday!

Jerk spiced tilapia

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day yesterday! I had a sick Main Man on my hands but he still managed to get me some gorgeous yellow tulips that are just getting ready to open up and bloom their bloominess to me, aaaaaand the meat grinder attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer that I've been eyeing...doesn't sound very romantic to most ladies but the dude sure knows his wifey well :) We ate his first full meal since Monday night together and that was an accomplishment, I think he's finally kicked this thing!

 

First Friday of Lent post, so it has to be fish, right?? We actually aren't Catholic so we don't practice Lent in our home, but I do like to eat a good amount of seafood so I will try to keep you Catholics in the know on our best seafood dishes throughout the next few weeks. Here are a few of our favorites (read: constant repeats in the rotation) for you to work your way through...

 

Seafood risotto

Linguine in clam sauce

Salmon apple BLT's

Spicy tuna baguette

Pan seared tilapia with jalapeno lime butter

Tilapia with mango salsa

Caribbean shrimp and asparagus quinoa

Five cheese brussel sprouts and crab mac and cheese

Bangin' grilled shrimp skewers

Pesto shrimp angel hair

Bay scallop scampi

 

That list was meant to be a few items long but I kept seeing new ones..."OMG I forgot about that one! I'll have to make that soon, it has to be on the Lent list!"  I tried to start with my favorites but they got jumbled up after a bit...but I will say the top two are probably still my top two that I've made lately. So. Flipping. Good. And both are super easy although they sound super fancy...and that's a pretty stellar combo. Anyway, there are a bunch more seafood options under the "Seafood" tab if you look at the list to the right of the page. Go check 'em out if none of the above struck your fancy!

 

Since we were in St. Thomas and Main Man had the jerk chicken, anything with the jerk spice has been on my radar...this one set off the "we have to do this...now" alarm. So we did this...now. And it was everything I dreamed it would be. I think tilapia might be the most prepared fish in our home, as Main Man isn't a fan of salmon (which is an issue for me because I love the stuff and want to eat it once a week). But tilapia is a favorite of both of us, so it's a staple round here. So, let's get this Lent party started!!!

 

1 t thyme

1 t chili powder

2 cloves garlic

1 g ground ginger

1/2 nutmeg

1/2 t cinnamon (I might leave that out next time, or just use a dash)

1 jalapeno pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

1 t freshly ground black pepper

pinch of sea salt

1 T olive oil

1/2 t ground cloves (I omitted this as I didn't have it on hand)

4 tilapia filets

 

Combine the herbs and spices in a small bowl and mix well. Coat tilapia filets with olive oil and pat both sides with spices. The recipe calls to saute each filet until just cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side. But I like to bake my fish rather than pan fry it, most of the time. So I threw mine into a baking dish and cooked for 20 minutes at 375 degrees until the fish flaked easily. Do not overcook or it will be terribly dry! 

 

 

 

 

And this is your end result...not a bad way to start the season of giving up meat on Fridays. What else are you giving up this year?

 

 

Fat Stats: (per filet)
Calories: 160
Protein: 20 g
Carbs: 0 g
Fiber: 1 g
Fat: 8 g

Spicy fish taco bowls

Since Lent is upon us, I thought I could give you all a new twist on your standard fish dishes for the first week of no meatness. I wish I knew what Main Man's aversion to seafood themed Mexican dishes is. For some reason, the seafood enchiladas I came up with a couple years ago creeped him out (although he did end up liking them) and he won't allow me to make fish tacos when I've mentioned them (quite a few times) in the past. So I sort of snuck this one past him...you can't even see the fish, can you!? I had this recipe from Pinch of Yum on my mind for quite a while before I got around to making it...who doesn't love a rice bowl with fresh veggies? Add some spiced up tilapia in there and you've sold me. We all know I like some heat in my life...particularly in the mouth area of my life.

 

I thought this would be an easy throw together meal for a night when we had the newly engaged Calvin and Rachel over for dinner to talking wedding details, and it was quick. Too quick for Main Man to get home in time for it so it sat...and sat...and sat on the stove for an hour until he walked in the door from his errands. I tasted it when it was first done and it was right up my alley, but it was a bit dried out by the time he got home so I would recommend serving this immediately, even if your hubs has to eat by his lonesome later. But don't tell him I said that :)

 

1 T chili powder

1 T cumin

1 t cayenne pepper powder

4 tilapia filets

1 T olive oil

2-3 cloves minced garlic

1 cup fresh sweet corn kernels (I used a can of shoepeg corn)

1 red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 can black beans

4 cups cooked brown rice (I used 2 packages of the Uncle Ben's Spanish Style Ready rice)

*I used greek yogurt and chalula hot sauce for topping but you could top with shredded cheese, cilantro, pico de gallo, salsa, avocado, sour cream, etc

 

Mix the spices together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the fish filets. Add salt and pepper to taste. Throw the fish filets in an oven heated to 400 degrees in a Pam'd up baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes apart easily.

 

In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add corn, red peppers, and onions to the pan and heat over high heat for several minutes until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add the black beans and heat through.

 

Cook the rice in the microwave and add it to the skillet, along with the flaked fish. Top with desired toppings and serve...see the yumminess below for inspiration. This is a low calorie meal with high levels of taste and a very filling finish...I ate the leftovers for lunches and was surprised at how well it reheated. Add a little chicken broth before microwaving if your rice is a little dry. And don't tell your kids or hubs there is fish in this dish if you think they will turn their nose up, I would venture an educated guess that they will love it if they give it a shot! Happy hump day, all!

 

 

Seafood risotto

You guys. I know it's only Tuesday, so it's tough to get excited. But if ever you were excited about something I've posted, it should be this. Brudder Ben and Main Man were both whining about dinner when I told them what we were having but were oooohhhhh-ing and aaaahhhhhh-ing between forkfulls when it was put it front of them. Booyah. I was born in the 80's, I can use words like booyah.

Do you watch Chopped? It's a cooking show where 4 chefs start out to compete on a 3 course meal prepared using mystery ingredients that are only provided to them seconds before they start. One chef is chopped after each course, so they are frantically trying to beat the clock, get all the mystery ingredients incorporated, and make a visually appealing, taste bud conquering dish to present the judges. They get 30  minutes for each course, and I've seen the judges get superbly nervous when someone attempts a risotto, and even watched chefs get chopped because of that choice. So I was scurred to make it at home. It's an intimidating dish, but it's not complicated, just time consuming. I'm telling you right now, buck up and do this or you will be sorry. If you can stir for 30 minutes, you can make restaurant worthy risotto. Let's throw another BOOYAH in here for emphasis!

Risotto is a class of Italian rice dishes cooked in broth to a creamy consistency, and is actually one of the most common ways to prepare rice in Italy (according to the all knowing Wikipedia, that is). You must use a high starch, short grain white rice to achieve the perfect consistency, as the rice needs to release starch and absorb liquids. Most commonly, risotto recipes call for arborio rice, and that's what I used. I get a monthly newsletter from Waterfront (our local fresh seafood market that I signed up for when getting fresh fish for sushi at home one night). I have since made a handful of the recipes that are printed in the back, and have never been disappointed in the least. I should really dig the archives out and try more of them after experiencing the euphoria I did from this dish...

Here's what you need to play the game:

1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
salt
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups seafood stock (I used chicken stock because I had it on hand)
1 t minced garlic (I used more like 1T)
1 lb arborio rice
2 lbs assorted shellfish and seafood (I used 1 lb of scallops, 1 lb of shrimp)
1 T butter
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
3 T chopped green onion
2 T parsley

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onions. Season with salt and pper to taste, and cook while stirring. Saute until the onions are slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 6 minutes. Add the rice and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring constantly.

Clean and trim the shellfish and seafood you're using. Season the seafood with salt and pepper. Add the seafood to the skillet. Stir in the butter, cream , cheese, parsley, and green onions. Continue to cook and stir for 6-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and spoon the risotto onto your plate, and into  your mouth. I served this with our favorite veggie, the roasted brussel sprouts. Can I get another BOOYAH!?

Crab bruschetta

If you like rainy days, today would be a great day for you in Iowa. If you like snowy days, today would be a great day for you in Iowa. This year, Old Man Winter or Mother Nature (whichever one of them is behind this) has been finicky and persnickety at best. It was in the 50's while we were on our honeymoon, when we got back there were 40 mph wind gusts and below zero windchills. It's been warmish and rainy the past couple days, but we're supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow with some nice wind tonight, and on Thursday the high is 1. Yeah, that's right. The high is 1. Which means if you include the windchill, we're supposed to be negative 20 something. I'm not complaining, I grew up in Iowa, I'm used to this shizz. But I will say that it's a little harder to remember what -25 feels like when we didn't even hit zero last year. Whether it's global warming or whatever, I would be fine with the temperature shift we've experienced in the past year...this -25 business is for the birds...and they're not even here!

 

This recipe was very much a throw-together that I made at the very last second for the Wid party we had this Fall at my place. I had a recipe laying around somewhere for crab bruschetta so I had all the ingredients, but I couldn't find my printout, so I just wung it (winged it, wang it?) and this was the result. I had people ask me for the recipe so I guess that meant it was good...I never did get a chance to snag a piece, so I will have to trust my guests and their taste buds.

 

One thing I would have done normally, but failed to do so because guests started walking in, was brush the bread with olive oil and bake it for 5 minutes at 400 degrees to give it that telltale bruschetta crunch...but these did disappear just the way they were so if you would like to, I think you can get away with skipping that step.

 

1 baguette, thinly sliced

1 lb jumbo lump meat crab

3-4 roma tomatoes, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 T lemon juice

2 t basil

2 t oregano

2 T olive oil

cracked black pepper to taste

 

Combine all ingredients besides the bread, and mix thoroughly. Pile the bread slices with the mix and bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees. If you want to have crispier bread as mentioned above, brush each slice with olive oil and bake before the toppings are added, then add toppings and bake as directed.

 

Main Man is under the weather this week so we've been having a comfort food marathon, which means I will have some great recipes to share with you soon...think crockpot chicken cordon bleu! Stay tuned for sick week postings...comfort foods to make anyone feel better!

Linguine in clam sauce

Here it is, folks! There's been a little controversy around the Casa Del Stensland about what is the best meal we've had lately. Main Man's vote was this Brussel sprouts and crab mac and cheese, but my vote counts more (the lady of the house's always does) and I double vote for this linguine in clam sauce from Iowa Girl Eats. We don't have to go over my obsession with her again...we all know it's a little ridonkulous...but man this girl makes my mouth water on a daily basis!  I used to think my favorite recipe from her blog was the caprese lasagna, with the skinny meatball subs coming in at a close second. But ah do ba-leev I have found zee best recipe on her blog eva!

 

I've never actually had linguine in clam sauce so I have no comparison to give you, not sure if this is a traditional recipe or a little different from the standard you would get in a restaurant...I can tell you I will be trying this sometime if I ever see it on the menu at an Italian place. I really don't quite get how you can get such flavor with so few ingredients, and I predicted it was going to be pretty dry (I'm a saucy girl) but it really wasn't at all! I devoured my whole plate...if there had been leftovers I would have had more. Probably a good thing there weren't any. I did go buy the ingredients to have on hand to make this two more times...I liked it so much I wanted to be able to make it anytime the craving hit me. The best part is, the ingredients can be kept on hand and pulled out at any time to make a phenomenal dinner at the drop of a hat. I can't wait to impress someone with this meal...."Oh yeah, I suppose I could throw something together for dinner tonight if you want to come over"...and then BOOM, you get hit in the face with this stuff! I'm super excited just thinking about it :)

 

8 oz dried linguine

1 T olive oil

1 large shallot (I subbed 3 green onions, didn't have shallots on hand)

3-6.5 ounce cans clams, drained, with 3/4 cup juice reserved

juice of 1 lemon (I used 1 T of lemon juice I had in the fridge)

1 t red pepper flakes (or to taste, you know I like my red pepper so I used more)

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (I added this...can't have Italian without garlic)

 

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and shallot (or green onion) and saute until very soft and tender, about 5 minutes. Add clams and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add reserved clam jice, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

 

Toss pasta in the skillet with the sauce. adjusting red pepper flakes to taste. The recipe says to divide among 4 plates and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese on top. I divided it into two servings and wouldn't have wanted any less of a portion. This was the perfect amount for two people...and that's seriously hard to do, people. I'm always trying to make dinners that won't result in tons of leftovers and it rarely works out...so that was a cherry on top (except I could've nibbled on that stuff all night after dinner, it was so good).

I served with garlic bread and cleaned my plate...might've licked it clean...can't remember, don't care. That's not what's important. What's important is that you get yourself these ingredients and throw a restaurant quality dinner together for yourself lickity split (Main man even commented "It's done already" when I started plating). I'll admit that it doesn't look like much, so don't be taken aback at the flavor punch that is going to hit your tongue when you devour this...I warned you. Fair and square.

I'm glad this meal turned out so well as it was prepared in celebration of our one month anniversary of being married. Don't worry, we're not going to be one of those ridiculous couples who celebrate each and every month, but I saved the cakeballs from the top of the wedding cake and froze them for us to have a special night with each other after all the hubbub from the wedding was over. Dessert is served! Red wine for her, milk for him :) 

Have a great Friday, all! It's all downhill to the weekend...