Thursday, February 19, 2009

Tilapia




Recipe: All Recipes

4 tilapia fillets
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP melted butter
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water & pat dry with paper towels.

Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets. Sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley & pepper. Drizzle butter on top.

Bake in a preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes easily, about 30 mins.

Another fish that is mildly "fishy" and a white fish. I liked it. The seasonings give it a lot of flavor. Easy to prepare. I'll make it again.




















































Saturday, February 14, 2009

Sticky Chocolate Icing





















Recipe: Pioneer Woman

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 TBSP butter

Mix ingredients together in a small saucepan. Melt ingredients over low heat, stirring gently. Spoon icing over cupcakes, stirring icing to smooth after every 3rd cupcake. Allow iced cupcakes to sit for about 10 mins. before serving.

Very good, very rich icing. Perfect for cupcakes!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Cupid's Cups




















Recipe: Taste of Home

Melt 1 square of chocolate or chocolate chips. Spoon into plastic bag and cut off end and pipe designs onto the insides of glass cups. Let chocolate set.
Make small packet of strawberry jello (using boiling water and cold water). Pour in 8 small glasses filling the bottoms. (this will be the 1st layer) Let set up in fridge.

Make another small box of strawberry jello using speed set method. (boiling water, cold water and ice cubes) Add about 1 cup of whipped cream and 2-3 oz. cream cheese (I added this - not in original recipe) to the jello. Pour a 2nd layer over the first layer of jello. Let set up. Original recipe places several red candies on top.

A very simple jello, with a Valentine's Day touch. I liked it.









Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Chilean Sea Bass



Recipe: All Recipes (with a few changes)

Very good. I like sea bass. It's a white fish similar to halibut, so it's one of my favorites. Not fishy at all. Good flavor.

Mix together in small bowl:
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Sprinkle spices over 2 lbs. sea bass on both sides. Put a little olive oil in frying pan and sear over high heat just until spices stick to outside. A few minutes on each side. Put in oven and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, melt 3 TBSP butter with 2 cloves garlic and 1 TBSP parsley. Set aside until fish is cooked. When fish is done (flakes easily with fork) remove from oven and drizzle with butter mixture.









Wednesday, February 4, 2009

All Raw/Natural Granola

I made the granola from the list of recipes, and it was delicious. I just ate it plain - without milk - as a snack. Very good. I think I will make this pretty often.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Beef Stroganoff Casserole with Dumplings



Recipe: Taste of Home

I thought it was good. Mike liked it. But, mushrooms are one of his favorites. The biscuits (or dumplings) are the star of this dish. Without them, you would just be eating mushroom soup. You can make it in a skillet and then just pop it in the oven to finish baking. You don't have to use a lot of dishes. If your handle isn't oven-safe, just wrap it with tin foil. (Rachael Ray trick).

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups raw sirloin stewing meat, cubed
1 small sweet onion, diced
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
1 cup beef broth
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 (10 ounces) cans cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup cooking sherry (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 TBSP butter, melted
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs

In a small bowl, combine the flour and paprika. Coat the meat cubes in the flour mixture and brown the meat and onions in heated olive oil in an oven proof 2 1/2- quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Add the beef broth and mushrooms and simmer while you make the biscuits. (See recipe below)
Add the cream of mushroom soup, optional cooking sherry, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce to the simmering meat. Stir to combine and heat just to boiling. Turn off the heat.
In a separate bowl, add the melted butter to the bread crumbs and mix well. Drop biscuit batter by teaspoonfuls onto the casserole and sprinkle with the buttered bread crumbs. Place the casserole in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked throughout and lightly browned.

Herb Biscuits

1 cup flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp poultry seasoning
½ TBSP dried parsley
½ TBSP celery seed
½ tsp onion powder
½ cup milk
Make the biscuit dough by mixing together the flour, salt, baking powder, poultry seasoning, parsley, celery seed, and onion powder. Add the milk all at once and stir just to combine.











Sunday, January 25, 2009

Chocolate Malt Pudding



Recipe: Prepared Pantry

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup malted milk powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups milk
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine the cornstarch, malted milk powder, half of the sugar with 1/2 cup of the milk. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the egg and egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
2. In a heavy saucepan, cook the remaining 2 cups of milk and the remaining sugar until it boils for several minutes.
3. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the hot milk while whisking the mixture to keep it smooth. Cook until bubbles rise through the liquid but not to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add vanilla.
4. Melt the chocolate chips and the butter in the microwave. Stir the melted chocolate into the hot pudding.
5. Pour the pudding into serving dishes or a casserole dish. Cover the pudding surface with waxed paper placed directly on the pudding. Let cool for one hour and then place in the refrigerator to chill.

We took this out of the fridge after about 4 hours of chilling and it was still pretty runny. It is supposed to taste like an old fashioned malt, which it does. It's very rich with a definite malt flavor. Tastes different than the regular pudding in the box, so if you're looking for a homemade version of Jell-o, this isn't it. Overall, pretty good. If I make it again, I will cut down on the malt powder.