Fried Green Tomatoes

So we inherited a couple of little, shriveled up tomato plants from the previous owners of our home. I didn't think there was much hope for them, but we watered them and tended to them none the less.

Turns out, all they needed was a little love because they have since EXPLODED with tomatoes. Unfortunately we were going to get our first frost this past weekend so we needed to pick some of them before they were ripe.

What's a southern girl to do with a bunch of green tomatoes?

Duh...Fry them.


After I made these I went upstairs and turned on the television only to find the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" playing. Not even kidding. It was meant to be!


Great movie!

I like to think these fried green tomatoes would live up to the ones served at Whistle Stop Cafe.


I really just winged it with the recipe so the measurements aren't precise. Just use whatever proportions and spices you like. It really doesn't matter!


Fried Green Tomatoes
Source: Me

4-6 green tomatoes (mine were small so I used 6), sliced
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or 2 beaten eggs)
canola oil (or oil of choice...but not olive oil because it will burn)

Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Pour enough oil in just to cover the bottom of the pan. Allow oil to heat for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the cornmeal, flour and spices together in a shallow dish. Place the egg in another shallow dish. Dip each tomato slice in the egg to cover completely and then into the cornmeal mixture. Make sure to press each slice well into the cornmeal so it sticks.

Put the coated tomato slices into the hot oil and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side (depending on how hot your oil is) until golden brown on both sides. Don't crowd the tomatoes too much in the pan....you'll probably have to do at least two separate batches.

Place cooked tomatoes on a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with more salt if desired.

Serve tomatoes with ranch dressing, hot sauce, marinara or whatever you like! Or just eat them plain. They don't even need a dip!

Chomp.

A Dinner Worth Sharing

This will be a short and sweet post, but I just have to share tonight's dinner:

Grilled salmon* for me (steak for Hubs), steamed broccoli and twice baked potatoes.

*I know I said last week that we're not fans of salmon, but I actually do like it okay if I'm in the right mood for it. Also, we had a bag of it in the freezer that needed to be eaten.

I seriously loved this meal. It was pretty darn simple to make and totally satisfying. The twice baked potatoes were definitely the star of the show!

I've made twice baked potatoes before, but I was reminded of them recently when reading Yes I Want Cake's post on them.
I made them the same way as she did so check out her blog for the deets. Definitely adding twice baked potatoes back into the regular rotation!

And if you're wondering about the salmon, it was simply seasoned with jerk seasoning and then grilled on a piece of foil (so it doesn't fall through the grate) for about 10 minutes.

Now I'm off to hang out with these two:

Have a great night!

A Meal Made for a 9 Year Old

I made my husband a very happy man last night.

Those of you having dirty thoughts right now, get your minds out of the gutter! :)

It wasn't because of that, it was because I made a meal that would make 9 year olds the world over jump up and down with excitement.

Buffalo Chicken Fingers and....

Mac 'n Cheese

In our house we pretty much swoon over anything buffalo-flavored and anything draped in cheese, so these foods are an obvious hit for us. But I've tried making healthier recipes for both of these items in the past and was totally unimpressed. I either ended up with soggy chicken fingers or not-so-cheesey mac. Not cool.

These recipes, however, totally accomplished the healthy-yet-delicious feat that I was searching for. The chicken tenders were perfectly crispy and tender and the mac was awesomely cheesy and creamy.

The Mac 'n Cheese actually has canned pumpkin in it for added nutrition, but I waited to tell Hubs that until after he tried it and began singing its praises. I'm sneaky like that!

The overall verdict on this meal was that "I can feel free to make this meal every week, or actually every day if you want"....and that is a direct quote from the Hubs.

Lightened-Up Buffalo Chicken Fingers
source: adapted slightly from the Active Foodie

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
• 2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
• 1 cup low fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs
  
• 1/2 cup crushed whole wheat Saltine crackers - about 10 crackers
  
• 8 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)
• 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot

Preparation

1. Whisk together chili-garlic sauce, Frank's, buttermilk, vinegar and salt. Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours or as long as overnight (I only marinated for 2 hours and it still turned out great).
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray.
3. Combine panko, cracker crumbs, flour, paprika, cayenne and salt in a large bowl.
4. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, shake off excess and place on wire rack. Repeat with all chicken pieces.
5. Spray chicken breasts with cooking spray, making sure to hit all parts of the chicken.
6. Cook for 10 minutes. Take out, turn chicken pieces over, spray again, and return to oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until all pieces are golden brown and crispy.
7. When chicken strips are done, brush them with Frank's Red Hot (or just pour it over like I did). Serve immediately after topping them with sauce (otherwise they will get a little soggy).

Note: After I started cooking I realized I didn't have enough panko or whole wheat breadcrumbs, so I crushed up the Saltines to substitute. We ended up really liking the addition of the cracker crumbs, so I'll probably make them that way from now on. But if you don't want to use the cracker crumbs, feel free to just double the amount of breadcrumbs.


Lightened-Up Mac 'n Cheese
Source: adapted from Meals & Moves

Ingredients:

-3 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni
-2 cups broccoli florets (cut into small pieces)
-1.5 cups part-skim ricotta
1/2 cup 1% milk
-1/2 cup canned pumpkin
-a couple dashes of hot sauce
-3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
-1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
-salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil noodles according to package directions and toss in the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain well.

While pasta is cooking, combine ricotta, milk, pumpkin, hot sauce, salt & pepper in a large bowl. Stir well so that the mixture is completely incorporated and smooth.

Add drained pasta and cheese to the sauce and stir to incorporate. Pour the whole mixture into a square 9x9 inch pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking another 10-15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Note: Janetha's original recipe called for cottage cheese (blended until smooth) instead of ricotta, but I didn't have it so I just thinned out ricotta with milk instead. This method saves you from having to clean an extra dish (the blender) and it turned out great. However, I'm still curious to try the cottage cheese blender method sometime soon! Click here to check out her method!

Also, I think the addition of the broccoli was a great way to add some extra veggies in the mix, but feel free to omit that if you'd like. If you don't use the broccoli, you will want to increase the pasta to 4 cups total.

Last but not least, don't worry - you CANNOT taste the pumpkin in this at all. I promise! Even the Hubs says so. :)

Have you tried Quinoa?

Have you tried quinoa yet? Did you know it is pronounced like "keen-wah"?

My answer to both of those questions was "no" up until recently. But now I'm enlightened about the deliciousness of quinoa and the proper pronunciation....yay for education! :)

Quinoa is not only tasty, but also very healthy. According to Livestrong.com:

Quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it contains all the amino acids necessary for our nutritional needs. Complete proteins are rare in the plant world, making quinoa an excellent food for vegetarians and vegans, or for anyone looking for healthy protein source. It's also high in iron and calcium, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as fiber.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/4695-need-health-benefits-quinoa/#ixzz1EeDJClRQ

That's a pretty awesome grain!

The basic way that I cook quinoa is to combine 2 cups of water or chicken broth (I prefer broth for the extra flavor) and 1 cup of quinoa in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Easy peasy!

Basic quinoa is great and can be used for many different things, such as this Parmesan Spinach Quinoa.


This is a great way to spruce up quinoa and add a healthy dose of veggies!

Parmesan & Spinach Quinoa
Source: Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 whole Small Sweet Onion, Diced
• 2 cloves Cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Sliced Mushrooms (omitted)
• ¼ cups Dry White Wine
• 1 bunch Fresh Spinach (I used a few handfuls of bagged baby spinach)
• ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, Fresh Stuff PLEASE

Preparation Instructions

Cook quinoa as directed on the box, but please use chicken broth or stock. It adds a lot more flavor than water.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and the salt, and sauté for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add mushrooms and sauté for an addtional 5 minutes. Add the white wine and turn the heat up to medium-high and let simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Add spinach until wilted down. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the quinoa is cooked through and wine has simmered off the mushroom/onion mixture, add the quinoa to the skillet and toss with the mushroom mixture. Add the parmesan cheese on top.


Side note: This is a very hearty side dish, and could easily be made into a main dish by adding some grilled chicken or tofu!

90 Degree Comfort Food

Tonight's meal was very Fall-ish.

Which kind of feels like blasphemy when the weather outside is still in the 90's everyday.

But, BUT, the weather has recently transitioned in low 90's instead of high 90's (or 100's)!! Here in Texas that's basically Fall. So that called for some Fall-like food.

Pumpkin Chili!!

This recipe was given to me by one of my friends and I knew I wanted to make it immediately. Pumpkin + Chili just sounds comforting.

Pumpkin Chili

Source: unknown

• 2 pounds ground beef (1 lb ground beef & 1 lb ground turkey breast)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
• 1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 cup white sugar

In a large pot over medium heat, cook meat until brown; drain. Stir in onion and bell pepper and cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes and pumpkin puree. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder and sugar. Simmer 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.

We served it with cornbread on the side and topped with cheese, avocado & plain greek yogurt.

Alex's only complaint with this chili was that it wasn't spicy, but he just added hot sauce to his portion and was happy. It makes a TON of chili, so I plan on freezing smaller portions of it for reheating later. Chili is very freezer-friendly!

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Rewind to last night now. Last night's dinner was a recipe I spotted on one of my favorite blogs, Carrots 'n Cake.

Soy Glazed Fish with Sauteed Summer Squash (click link for recipe from Real Simple)

It was pretty good. My only real complaint with it is that the excess sauce on the pan BURNED (badly) while cooking. Next time I know not to dump all the sauce on the fish....just enough to coat it.

Also be sure you follow the directions and only add the sauce in the last 2 minutes of cooking...I ended up cooking my fish for about 4 more minutes after adding the sauce (because it wasn't done) which probably contributed to the burning of the sauce.

OH! And big news: Alex, Mr. I Hate Squash, actually admitted that the squash side dish wasn't half bad. Hellz yeah!

Anyone else watch the premiere of Biggest Loser? What did you think?

Personally I kind of liked the new way they "tested" contestants and made them earn their spots. I thought it weeded out the quitters and cop-outs, which is nice. My current favorite contestant is obviously the military wife...I can't remember her name. We shall see how the season plays out!

P.S. Grrrrrr I am really hating Blogger these days. I don't know WHY it keeps f-ing with my font sizes but it pisses me off! I can't even fix it because it shows up just fine in my window but then I hit "publish" and it freaks out. SO ANNOYING. Anyway, sorry about the randomly changing font sizes...

Obstacles Are Made to Be Overcome

Obstacles aint got NOTHIN' on me.

My plans for a late-summer dinner on the outdoor grill got blown out the window today. (pun intended)

Thanks a lot, Tropical Depression Hermine!

But, being the resilient Army wife that I am, I rolled with the punches and changed my plans.

Indoor grill pan it is!

Then, as I'm lovingly preparing the spice rub for this dish and trying to get the perfect photo of the pretty spices in a bowl, I dropped it. Approximately five seconds after this lovely photo was taken:

You'd never know that disaster was about to strike immediately following snapping this photo!

I was so upset that I dropped the bowl of spices and they went a-flyin' across the kitchen floor that I neglected to snap a photo of the disaster aftermath, but trust me, it was a mess!

So I did what any strong and independent woman would do: yelled a curse word and stomped my feet and then watched as my husband swept it all up for me.

Go me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spice Rubbed Mahi Mahi

Source

For the Fish
2 mahi-mahi fillets
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
sprinkle of salt

1. Mix the coriander, cumin, paprika, onion powder, black pepper, and salt together. Rub the mahi-mahi fillets with a good drizzle of olive oil and the seasoning mix, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Grill fish over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

3. Serve with salsa on top.

For the salsa I used this:

And doctored it up a little with fresh avocado chunks and chopped red onion.

Yum Yum!

Dinner was served with a side of brussel sprouts (see below for recipe) and steamed potato with buttah & salt & pepper.

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Then another obstacle rose up in front of me: The skies were dark and stormy. A.K.A. Not blogger-photo-friendly.

Don't worry though, I got this:

A.K.A. A husband who begrudgingly holds my plate for me as I try to get it at exactly the right angle to get acceptable light in my dungeon of a kitchen. Love him! And doesn't he look so happy to do it for me?!

Obstacle #....4?....of the night: My husband's hatred of brussel sprouts.

I think my husband literally WHIMPERED when he looked in the pan and saw those babies simmering away. For some reason he was CONVINCED that he hated brussel sprouts. Convinced.

So I did what any loving, caring wife would do and made them anyway and told him to suck it up.

And guess what? He LIKED them. He freaking LIKED them!

Apparently the only brussel sprouts he had ever eaten were in a cafeteria setting so that's what he was judging his hatred on. Um....okay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Husband-Friendly Brussel Sprouts with Tomatoes

Source: Me

1 tsp olive oil

2 cups brussel sprouts, ends cut off and sliced in half

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

salt & pepper, to taste

drizzle of rice vinegar

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add brussel sprouts and cook for about 5 minutes until the sprouts start to get browned a bit. Add chicken broth, garlic and tomatoes to the pan and then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let steam/simmer for about 10 minutes, until brussel sprouts are tender and cooked, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper and a drizzle of rice vinegar and serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All this dominating of obstacles made me feel a little anxious, but I overcame that feeling pretty quickly when I poured myself a glass of this:

Yep, that would be a ginormous glass of white wine. Ahhh....much better.

Obstacles are made to be overcome. Bring it on, Army, life, or whatever!

Does your significant other dislike certain foods? Obviously the answer for me is no longer brussel sprouts. I'm still working on getting him to like asparagus though....that one is harder to break!

and

What obstacles have you overcome lately? See above for my answers. :)

Southern Labor Day BBQ Feast

Labor Day meant cooking a barbecue feast in our household! Smoked ribs, roasted sweet potato "chips", ranch-style beans and collard greens....yum, yum!

Alex smoked the ribs for 7 hours while I baked chocolate chip cookies, banana zucchini muffins and made a double batch of chicken enchiladas (one batch to take to our friends who just had a baby and one batch for us to eat for dinner later this week).

At the grocery store this week I was compelled to purchase collard greens and try to make some healthified southern-style greens to accompany our barbecue dinner. I had never made collard greens before and felt like now was as good a time as any to tackle it!

I really had no idea what I was doing to prepare them but they turned out SUPER tasty and we really enjoyed them. Here's what I did (it's really simple....nothing earth shattering):

Simple Southern Collard Greens

Source: Me

1 bunch collard greens

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chicken broth

Remove collard leaves from the stalk and tear into smaller pieces. Toss them into a pot just big enough to hold all of them (they will shrink down as they cook). Turn heat on pot to medium and add chicken stock and garlic slices. Let heat until you hear the liquid starting to boil and then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover the pot and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (ours simmered for closer to 50 minutes). The longer the greens simmer the less tough and bitter they get. You could also add some hot sauce or red pepper flakes to the greens to add some spice.

We'll definitely make these again! Not only are they tasty and simple, but they're also a very healthy side dish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had a banana on it's last leg and a zucchini hanging out in the fridge so I googled "zucchini and banana muffins" and this recipe caught my eye:

Healthy Banana Zucchini Muffins

I'm not sure how "healthy" they are since the recipe calls for a cup of vegetable oil and 1.5 cups of sugar, but whatever. I guess the author considers it healthy because it has fruit and veggies in the recipe. :)

The muffins are tasty though and they fit the bill of what I wanted so I'm not gonna hold the un-healthiness against them. (Libby seemed to really enjoy them when she snatched one off the counter while our backs were turned. Grrrr....bad doggie!!)

As a side note, the recipe calls for white whole wheat flour but I subbed in plain 'ole whole wheat flour and it seemed to work just fine.

Also, I halved the recipe (because I only had one banana) and it made 12 muffins. So if you made the whole recipe it would make 24 muffins. I think they would freeze well though so I kinda wish I did have extras so I could freeze some and pop them in the microwave whenever I want a muffin. :(

How did you spend your holiday? Cook or bake anything interesting?

Mahi and Bone Marrow Donating.

Odd title, no? Keep reading to the end to see why.

Another delicious dinner from the pages of my latest issue of Cooking Light magazine! This was the meal that we were supposed to have yesterday, but ended up postponing until tonight. I'm so glad we got around to making it!

What's for Dinner? 7/28/2010
-MahiMahi with Bacon-Tomato Butter
-Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
-A tiny bit of leftover brown rice

This one caught my eye because it had the words "bacon" and "butter" in the title. I bookmarked that baby faster than you can say "MahiMahi".

And it sure did not disappoint. But when would bacon and butter combined in a dish EVER disappoint?!

Yummmmm.

Although the bacon-tomato butter was AWESOME, I also have to say that I think mahimahi may just be my new favorite fish. It's meaty and not too fishy tasting and also pretty darn cheap {HUGE bonus}!


We made the recipe pretty much exactly how it's written {other than tossing in an extra slice of bacon because we're baconaholics...oops} so I'll just link to the recipe:

Mahimahi with Bacon-Tomato Butter {click the link for the recipe}

The sauteed spinach was delicious and very simple to make as well. Here's a quick rundown of how I did it:

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic & Lemon
Source: me

1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 large bag of baby spinach
Juice from half of a lemon
S&P

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic in the hot oil for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn't burn. Then add in all the spinach {or as much as will fit in the pan and then add the rest later as it starts to wilt} and let cook for a minute or two. Using tongs, toss the spinach so that the leaves at the top get down to the heat. Add the lemon juice and S&P and continue tossing until all the spinach is wilted{about 4 minutes}. Immediately remove the spinach from the pan so it stops cooking and serve.


Now I'm off to pack and finish up laundry! Hubs and I are headed back to my family's ranch tomorrow after work. I'm sooooooooooo ready for some R&R after a crazy couple of weeks!

Although I don't know how relaxing it will actually be, since it will be like a mini family reunion with 35 members of my dad's side of the family.

There will also be one very special guest at the ranch: My 15 year old cousin's bone marrow donor.

My cousin, Thomas, was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was 13. It was an extremely rough road but eventually he was matched with a donor and received a bone marrow transplant. That transplant saved his life and he is now in remission.

This trip will be the first time for all of us (including Thomas) to meet this person who so selflessly donated his marrow to save my cousin's life. It turns out he's a 22 year old college student...I don't know about you but I sure wasn't thinking about donating bone marrow when I was in college!

We feel so blessed that this person came into our lives and we are SO excited to spend a weekend with him, surrounded by the people who care the most for Thomas.

I'm planning on updating from the ranch on occasion but we'll see if that happens! It seems like all my plans always go out the window when we're there.

Question of the Day: Are you in the bone marrow registry? It's the simplest process ever! All you have to do is take a quick swab of the inside of your mouth and then BAM...you're in the registry and could potentially save someone's life.

Scared of the donation part? It's a simple, non-surgical procedure in which patients usually can go home the same day. I admit I don't know that much about it firsthand {from the donor's perspective} but I plan on asking Thomas' donor ALL about it this weekend. I'll be sure to report back. Here's a link that answers a lot of "myths" about donating though so check it out!

Now go order your kit!!! :)

UPDATE: I just realized that my link to the marrow registry website was actually linking to the recipe...OOPS! :) I fixed it now so you should be able to get to the right place.

UPDATE #2: I was also just reading more about the registry and found this regarding U.S. Military personnel (and their dependents) who wish to join the registry:

U.S. military personnel are asked to register for the Be The Match Registry through the Department of Defense (DoD) using one of these options below. Military personnel is defined as active duty U.S. military personnel and their dependents, reservists, retirees, National Guard, Coast Guard and DoD civilian personnel.
Attend a DoD donor drive
Call 1-800-MARROW-3
Visit a walk-in registration center

I work for the DoD (as a civilian) so I signed up when they had a donor drive at my office one day. It was so easy! All I did was walk down the hall, take my swab, fill out a form, and voila!

For more info on military pesonnel who are interested in becoming a donor go here.

Double Duty

What's for Dinner? 7/21/2010
-Asian Salmon
-Sesame Sauteed Snap Peas
-Brown Rice

Sometimes things just work out the way they should.

For example, when you buy too much salmon for just two people on accident and end up stumbling across a recipe that is perfect for freezing.

The problem began when I asked the lady at the seafood counter for 2-3 servings worth of salmon. Somehow that translated into 1.6 pounds and enough for at least 4 servings....uhhhh okay then. Time to figure out something to do with extra salmon!

I knew I wanted to make the salmon Asiany {shut up, spellcheck...it's a word!} but I didn't have a recipe pinned down. When I got home from work I typed "Asian Salmon" into the Googster and a recipe popped up that looked good and required very few ingredients {all of which I had on hand}.

As I started reading over it I realized that not only was it perfect for tonight, but it also was perfect for freezing and eating later. SCORE. This recipe could pull double duty!

Freezer salmon getting ready to be put in the freezer and tonight salmon getting all flavory {also a word}.

Getting ready to go to the oven.


As the salmon baked I cooked some brown rice and sauteed some snap peas for side dishes.


And here's the finished product! Aint she a beaut?!? It tasted great too! Alex and I aren't huge salmon fans so we were a little apprehensive about how we would like this but we both gave it two thumbs up!



Asian Salmon
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures
My changes in purple.

4 salmon fillets, skinless {ours had skins...no biggie} and deboned
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 stalk green onion, sliced for garnish
{I upped the amounts of the dijon, soy sauce, & olive oil a tiny bit so I would have enough for the freezer salmon and the tonight salmon...we like lots of sauce}

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper {we used foil}; set aside.

Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

Place marinated fish on parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes {I baked for closer to 10 minutes and it was still a little on the rare side}. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes. before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour marinade in a quart size freezer bag and add the salmon fillets. Seal and freeze. When ready to prepare, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place salmon on baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes. before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.


Sesame Sauteed Snap Peas
Source: Me

1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cups of fresh snap peas
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Heat sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add snap peas to the pan and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger & soy sauce to the pan and continue to stir fry for about 3 more minutes. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the peas and then remove from heat. Serve.

Weekend Recap

This weekend has been fun but also super busy! But first let's start where we left off:

Thursday night was another Fajita Bowl night because we just weren't feeling up to doing any real cooking and we still had plenty of fajita meat to eat through. I think we're finally almost done with the fajitas though! :)



Friday night Alex's parents came into town to stay with us so we cooked up a nice meal:

-Grilled Mahi Mahi with Basil Lime Butter
-Chickpea Panzanella with Capers
-Whole Wheat Orzo


It was a light and summery meal that we all really enjoyed.

I got inspiration for the fish recipe from this Cooking Light recipe for Grilled Grouper with Basil Lime Pistou. However, we subbed Mahi Mahi for the grouper and also ended up subbing butter for the olive oil because we ran out. The basil lime butter was delicious and added just enough zing to the fish.

Here's the link to the Chickpea Panzanella with Capers salad which was a BIG hit with everyone. The only change we made was to sub baby spinach for arugula, because that's what we had on hand.

Saturday we all headed to Austin for Alex's cousin's wedding. My camera battery was dead {which I didn't realize until I went to turn it on} so I got zero pictures but they served BBQ at the wedding. We all probably drank a bit too much but it was fun night and I enjoyed getting to know some of Alex's family better!

Sunday This morning we had breakfast at one of my favorite Austin restaurants, Kerbey Lane Cafe. If you're ever in Austin I highly recommend you eat at this local haunt. It's nothing fancy, but it's super delicious and open 24 hours. I got the Mushroom, Artichoke & Spinach Omelet with Raspberry Pancakes which were both SO GOOD. I'm totally planning on recreating that omelet at home...mmmm!

Outta the Park Pork

What's for Dinner? 5/24/2010

-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Orange & Red Onion Salsa
-Brown Rice & Black Beans


This dinner was A HOME RUN! There's really no other way to put it!

The pork tenderloin was juicy and flavorful, the orange salsa was fresh and tangy, and the black beans & rice were mild and a perfect compliment to the rest.

This whole dish was a perfect example of how healthy food doesn't have to be bland food. Gotta love that! The recipe hails from Cooking Light, a.k.a. my go-to recipe-finder these days. CL definitely didn't let me down this time!

I highly, highly recommend trying this recipe. If you've not tried a single recipe I've blogged about yet, start with this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

As a side note, can I also just say that I am now a BIG FAN of frozen steamer bag brown rice?!?! I hate, hate, hate cooking rice because it seems to always be such a hassle and it never turns out right for me. HATE IT. Well, frozen steamer bag rice is my new BFF! Sooo much easier and it turned out perfectly.



Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Orange and Red Onion Salsa
Source: Cooking Light

Preparation Time: 40 minutes minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork and about 1/4 cup salsa)

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup coarsely chopped orange sections (about 2 oranges)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add pork to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer pan to oven. Bake at 450° for 17 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 5 minutes; cut across grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

3. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, oranges, and remaining ingredients. Serve salsa with pork.

Rice and beans: Cook 1 (10-ounce) package frozen long-grain brown rice (such as Birds Eye SteamFresh) according to package directions. Combine cooked rice, 1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon chili powder.


CALORIES 220 ; FAT 8.5g (sat 2g,mono 4.1g,poly 1.5g); CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 44mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13.6g; SODIUM 342mg; PROTEIN 23.6g; FIBER 4g; IRON 1.5mg

Cooking Light, APRIL 2009

Lean, Mean, Turkey Burger Machines

What's for Dinner? 5/18/2010

-Simple Turkey Burgers
-Sweet Potato Oven Fries

We really love turkey burgers in this household. Sometimes they get a bad rap as being flavorless and dry, but ours are definitely not! Plus, they are WAY healthier than beef burgers. {We use 99% fat free ground turkey.}

Tonight's dinner was positively scrumptious, and made even better by the fact that Alex did all the cooking AGAIN! Score!


To make the Simple Turkey Burgers we just formed the patties {with no seasoning} and then sprinkled both sides of the patties with garlic salt and black pepper. Then we grilled them on the charcoal grill for about 5 minutes on each side. Melt provolone cheese on top once cooked through.

To make the Sweet Potato Oven Fries we sliced up a sweet potato and then tossed them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Place the potato slices on a rack placed on top of a baking sheet. Then bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Turkey Buggah, Turkey Buggah

What's for Dinner? 4/27/2010
Turkey Burgers!


This dinner was a plate full of deliciousness.

And can I just say that I was SHOCKED to look back at old posts and not find a single turkey burger featured in one of my What's for Dinners?!? How did this happen?! We loooovvveee turkey burgers! Shame on us!

On the side:
-Grilled brocc
-Oven potato & parsnip fries

Yes, I said parsnip fries. Wipe that disgusted look off your face right this instant! I got this idea from the lovely Katie at Health for the Whole Self. As you know, I recently cooked with parsnips for the first time ever and I really enjoyed them. So I figured why not give them a shot as oven fries!

Turns out, they're delicious! {Not that I didn't trust you Katie!!} They reminded us a lot of sweet potato fries, with a slight sweet factor to them. Definitely give them a try. I made them the same way as Katie, by coating them in olive oil, salt & pepper and then roasting in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

And just because I'm really digging the photos I took tonight and can't choose just one, here's a bonus pic of tonight's dinner.

No, that's not two turkey burgers on one bun that you're seeing. Our burgers puffed up while cooking and ended up looking more like giant meatballs so we sliced them in half to better suit the bun.

Alex's Turkey Burgers

-1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
-small palmful of grated parmesan cheese
-1.5 Tbsp Worcestershire
-1.5 tsp Hickory liquid smoke
-1/2 tsp dried minced onion
-1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
-sprinkle of Lawry's Seasoned Salt on the formed patties

Mix all ingredients, except Lawry's, together and form 3 or 4 patties. Then sprinkle the Lawry's on the patties. Grill until internal temp reaches 170 degrees, about 15 minutes. {FYI our patties puffed up and rounded out big time so make them super flat and thin.}