Don's Famous Fish Taco's

We have a local fish market that is AMAZING. Just about any seafood you could want is available and ready for you to select. You can pick the size fillet you want, you can get entire fish whole or dressed, you can get some of the food steamed if you'd like. We don't visit the fish market as often as we should, but weeks we do, we usually have 3 or more meals of fish. We went to the market after getting back from our trip to Europe and bought a ton of fish. We bought salmon, mahi, and basa-a type of catfish, We'd made plans to have fish tacos one night. Don makes them and they are amazing. He went out of town and before risking the fish going bad, I tried my hands at them. They are very easy to make and taste delicious.

Directions:
1 filet of white fish per person (I used basa this time, but we've used mahi in the past)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs (I used panko crumbs)
Oil for pan frying
1/2 bag of preshreded coleslaw mix with carrots
3-4 T of Kraft Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Taco sized flour tortillas
Avocado slices (optional)
Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Cut the fish into small cubes or slices about 1 inch large, try to keep them consistent sizes. Heat oil over medium heat in pan. Dredge the fish in egg and then coat with bread crumbs. Place fish in oil and cook until bread crumbs are brown 2-3 minutes per side. Prepare coleslaw mix by combining cabbage mixture and poppyseed dressing. Make tacos by adding coleslaw, fish, avocado, cilantro, and any other addition you wish to the tortilla. Eat and enjoy!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

I found this recipe here from Pinterest. Frankly it is amazingly simple and genius! 4 ingredients and a crockpot and viola, a meal.

1 bottle Target's Archer Farms Hawaiian Style Barbecue Sauce
Frozen chicken breasts. Original recipe called for 4-6. I probably had a few more.
1 20 oz can chunked pineapple, drained
Rice prepared as directed

Throw everything but the rice in the crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours, low for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken and coat in sauce then serve over rice.

Easy peasy! Warning though, this bbq sauce is deceptively spicy! If I make it again I'll probably try and cut the heat with either some of the pineapple sauce or some sugar. However, Target makes several other sauces like this that I'm curious to try now.

Cheesy Baked Quinoa

So this recipe was billed as 'Cheesy Quinoa Mac & Cheese' and it had a lot of complaints that it wasn't quite as cheesy or creamy as Mac & Cheese. So a more apt name is Cheesy Baked Quinoa. Regardless of the name, it tastes good and is full of healthy ingredients. I also like that you can add pretty much whatever you want to it.

The ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
Sauteed veggies (optional, we used broccoli)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 large eggs
1 pinch of salt
1 cup milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for top)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Panko or regular bread crumbs for topping
Any other ingredients you think would be tasty or need to be used!

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
3. Saute any vegetables you would like to use.
4. Mix eggs, milk, garlic, and salt in large bowl. Fold in quinoa and vegetables and any other additives.
5. Place in greased 9" x 13" pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.
6. Cook until top is golden brown and cheese has melted, approximately 30 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

Comments: As I mentioned before we added broccoli. We had about 1 cup of frozen broccoli that we sauteed with some seasoning salt. Next time I would add more. We also added some leftover tricolor couscous. I don't think this affected the taste or texture at all, it was just a way to use up some leftovers. Besides, we only had about a 1/2 cup.
 

Others really liked the 'crunch' of the panko bread crumbs. I may not have put enough on to notice, but I feel the quinoa gives it enough heartiness. Next time I might put more panko crumbs...I only put enough to lightly cover the top of the pan.

Sweet Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

So I just recently learned about Pinterest Fail blogs and pins...hilarious! Thankfully I have yet to succumb to such a fate. Actually I have been pleasantly surprised with how things have turned out. This next Pinterest copy cat is no different.

You can see I just served it with some salad. It was amazing, better than I had expected. 

*Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:
Pork:
2 pounds boneless pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced or crushed (I use minced garlic and probably put a tablespoon in, we like garlic)
1/2 cup water

Glaze: 
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, combine the sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub the spices all over the roast. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and pour in the 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Near the end of the cooking time for the roast, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.

Remove the pork from the slow cooker, shred and place on a platter or plate. Drizzle the glaze over the pork and serve.

 

I only slightly adapted this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, so please give her the love.

Meatless Tuesday

Yesterday ended up being meatless Tuesday for DH and I. Our meat consumption isn't usually something we  pay much attention to, but I noticed that our FANTASTIC dinner last night was completely vegetarian. Then I remembered that they were out of grilled chicken for my salad at lunch and I don't usually have meat with breakfast. So, meatless Tuesday.

This past weekend DH and I went wandering around one of the local farmer's markets. It's not my favorite farmer's market, but its ok. I think its growing and will continue to do better. Anyway while there I noticed several people who were selling eggplant. Now what is the first thing that comes to mind when I see eggplant? Ratatouille! So we went in search of some zucchini too. Well that was Saturday, we ended up having Girls/Boys night out and had dinner out. Sunday for lunch we tried Texas Roadhouse (for the first time!) and after filling up on appetizers we hardly ate any of our entrees. So we actually had enough for dinner that night too. Monday night DH was working late so I was left to fend for myself and I didn't want to (nor know how to) make the ratatouille. So that left last night.

I noticed last night as I got home that the new issue of Food Magazine came. I always enjoy looking through that magazine though I don't know that I've actually made anything from it. Things just don't seem to grab me and we participate in emeals so I don't really have to meal plan anymore. Anyway last night they not only had a 50 milkshake recipes (did I mention I have a sweet tooth) they also had a recipe for french fries that looked amazing! So I made them and they turned out great.

Emeril Lagasse's Oven-Crispy French Fries with paprika-parmesan salt.
2 large baking potatoes (1.5 lbs) scrubbed well
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon emeril's original essence seasoning or creaole seasoning (I used cajun seasoning)
Kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used sore bought Parmesan)
1 Tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (mine ran out part way through so it wasn't this much)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1. Preheat over in 425
2. Pat the potatoes dry and cut them lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices. Turn each slice flat and slice again lengthwise into even 1/2 inch thick fries. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well to combine then transfer the fries to a large baking sheet and arrange them in one even layer so that they are not touching. Roast, scraping the potatoes from the baking sheet with a metal spatula and turning them over halfway through, until golden brown and crispy, about 30 minutes.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, combine the cheese, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl and stir to blend. When the potatoes are crisp and brown, sprinkle with the paprika-parmesan salt. Serve hot.