Easy Peasy Halibut

Yesterday, I saw this recipe on Ann Arbor.com from one of my favorite local blogger/cooks, Peggy Lampman. She mentioned that this was so easy because you make one vinaigrette and then use it for the potatoes, the fish and then the salad and I like easy! I'm here to tell you that this recipe is GOOD! I made a few tiny tweaks to her recipe but it's pretty much just as she said how to do it. If you've been wanting to try halibut give this a go--it is quite yummy!

Halibut with Sherry Vinegar Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 t smoked paprika
1 T sherry vinegar (found some at Whole Foods)
1 t minced garlic
1 t agave nectar
2 halibut fillets 6 oz each
1 orange, sectioned
12 oz baby fingerling potatoes, sliced in half
4 cups lettuce

Preheat oven to 400
Zest the orange to get one full t of zest. Peel orange, section and reserve
Combine olive oil, paprika, garlic, zest, vinegar, and agave-add salt and pepper. Reserve.
Toss potatoes with 1 T of vinaigrette plus some more S and P and place cut side down on foil-lined baking sheet.
Roast for 10 minutes.
Put a t of vinaigrette on halibut as well as S and P and add it to baking sheet and put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
Toss the rest of the vinaigrette with the lettuce and reserved orange sections. I reserved a bit of the vinaigrette and drizzled it over the potatoes and the fish right before serving.

Easy clean up too :-)

Happy as a clam!

Clam and Shrimp Linguine

6 1/2 ounces minced clams (canned)
water
1/2 lb medium shrimp
8 ounces whole wheat linguine
1 tablespoon sherry
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons parsley minced
salt

1. Open clams, drain water and save, set clams aside. Let water stand to settle and sand or debris, then carefully pour into a measuring cup. Discard sand. Add water to liquid to give you 1 cup of liquid. Put aside.

2. Cook linguine as per instructions on package; drain. Return to pot and keep warm.

3. In the meantime, in a large frying pan, sauté shrimp in some of the butter—as soon as they are pink, remove from pan. Add some butter and olive oil and sauté the garlic, add the clam liquid and the sherry and cook for a few minutes. Add the shrimp back in and taste for seasoning—add salt if needed. Sprinkle on parsley.

4. Serve sauce over pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Greek Orzo Pasta

I had some leftover lamb and roasted vegetables from last night's dinner. Sorry, forgot to take a picture and post last night's dinner! So, I had leftovers and I looked in the pantry and saw that I had a cup of orzo pasta and decided a dinner could be made!

Greek Orzo Pasta with Leftover Lamb and Roasted Vegetables 

2 quarts of water ( I threw about a cup of vegetable broth in there too)
1 cup whole wheat orzo
1 cup cooked lamb ( cut into small bites) optional
1 cup roasted vegetables*
2 plum tomatoes chopped
olive oil
1 lemon--zest and juice of about half
1/2 cup sliced green olives
1/4 chopped parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook orzo according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large pasta bowl, add meat, roasted veggies, chopped tomatoes, olives, zest of the lemon and juice form half the lemon--drizzle some olive oil over all--add some salt and pepper.

When orzo is cooked, drain and add warm orzo to pasta bowl of ingredients, add the feta cheese and parsley and toss.

Great with baguette slices!

* Roasted veggies made the night before were: chopped red pepper, mushrooms, chopped zucchini, red onion and sliced carrot tossed with olive oil, Italian spices and roasted for an hour in a 350 degree oven.

Curried Sweet Potato "Stoup"

I believe it was Rachael Ray who coined the term "stoup"--stew/soup. If that appeals to you, you'll love this! I served with a green salad and a nice baguette--very yummy indeed!

Curried Sweet Potato Lentil Stoup

2 T canola oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 T minced fresh ginger ( I used the minced garlic in the tube--cheater!)
2 T curry powder
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup dried lentils
1 qt. low sodium vegetable broth
1 can light coconut milk ( I used Thai Kitchen brand)
1 huge sweet potato (or two regular sized ones), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small zucchini, roughly chopped
1 cup leftover chopped cooked pork tenderloin (totally optional--I just happened to have leftovers and threw it in)
1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 Heat oil in large deep saucepan, and cook onion for a few minutes, add garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and curry powder and stir for a minute or so.

2  Stir in tomatoes and lentils. Add most of stock and coconut milk--bring to a boil-partially cover and cook gently about 15 minutes for lentils to soften. Stir in potatoes and more stock or water if mixture seems dry--cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3 Stir in zucchini, leftover meat, and cook 10 more minutes. Spoon into bowls and top with chopped parsley. Best if it cools a bit for flavors to develop.

Orange-Sesame Chicken

I saw this recipe in Prevention magazine and I tweaked it a bit. I already had cooked chicken so I changed the recipe a bit. I will add the directions for you in case you don't have cooked chicken. The recipe called for rice and I used quinoa which worked great with the sauce.

Orange-Sesame Chicken

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 T brown sugar
2 t cornstarch
2 T sesame oil
2 large cooked chicken breasts, chunked up or *raw chicken sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t red pepper flakes
3 ribs of celery thinly sliced
3 carrots thinly sliced
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 T toasted sesame seeds

1. Prepare quinoa according to pkg directions.

2. Combine orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch in small bowl.

3. Heat sesame oil in large frying pan and add celery and carrots and sauté for a few minutes, adding garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Then add the cooked chicken and the peas, stirring around to warm. Add the sauce and stir.

4. Serve over quinoa and top with toasted sesame seeds.

*If using raw chicken, heat 1 T sesame oil and brown chicken, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes for about 4 to 5 minutes--remove to plate and do the vegetables, then return the chicken, add the peas and the sauce.

Saucy Salmon

 

We eat a  lot of salmon and usually I make a yogurt cucumber dill sauce to go with the salmon but tonight I felt like a remoulade sauce  which is a mayonnaise based sauce with “mustard, capers, gherkins, herbs and anchovies” and oh so delicious. However, quite calorie dense. So I wondered what if we changed up most of the mayo with non fat Greek yogurt and yep--it worked and it was delish!

I like to quick sauté my salmon in a skillet--just rub with olive oil and salt and pepper and cook on high heat for five minutes, flip for 2 minutes and then let it sit for awhile off the heat--yum-good

Perfect side dish--roasted asparagus: 450 oven-toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, cook ten minutes, stir, and maybe another five--done and good!

Brown rice for under the fish--

Spicy Yogurt Remoulade

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 T capers, minced
4 each cornichon* pickles, minced (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp. chili-garlic paste
2 T parsley, chopped
2 T mint, chopped
2 T mayo
Combine all ingredients together. Make a few hours ahead to let flavors blend. You will have leftover sauce which I plan to use for chicken salad!

*Cornichon pickles are made from tiny gherkin cucumbers and are often served with cheese fondue, a charcuterie plate, or in France, paté. You can substitute dill pickles. One regular size dill pickle would be plenty.

Pasta!

 Sometimes a person just needs pasta! Enjoy! This is good!


Shrimp Linguine

8 oz whole wheat linguine
some olive oil
3/4 of a lb of frozen shrimp
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 can of diced tomatoes ( I used no salt with basil)
1 red pepper sliced (you could use green or yellow-I had red)
2 lemons
a pkg of fresh spinach
grated Parmesan

Prepare pasta according to pkg directions

Heat oil in large frying pan and add the frozen shrimp and cook until shrimp are turning pink (about 2 minutes) Remove shrimp to a bowl and squeeze the juice of one lemon over them.

Add garlic, red pepper and red pepper flakes and sauté for a couple minutes, add the spinach until it wilts and then throw the shrimp back in to warm.

Drain the pasta and add to the frying pan and toss to coat. Serve with a good baguette, squeeze more lemon over each dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. YUM!

Makes two BIG portions :-)

Cuban Potatoes

24 oz small red potatoes cut into quarters
2 cans diced tomatoes, I used one regular and one with jalapenos
1 medium red onion choppped
1 red pepper, chopped
3/4 cup green olives chopped ( I used ones stuffed with jalapenos)
1/2 cup raisins
1 T soy sauce
2 t minced garlic
1 t ground cumin
1 t oregano
fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 375
Put potatoes in pan, cover with water and cook ten minutes. Drain and put into casserole dish.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then pour that mixture over the ptoatoes and mix. Bake 60 minutes.

Sloppy Lentils

Years ago when our son was little we ate a vegan diet for a couple of years and during that time one of his favorite dishes was Sloppy Lentils. He had had Sloppy Joes at a friend's house and wanted me to make that at home. Since we weren't eating meat then I had to be a little creative so Sloppy Lentils worked just fine on a whole wheat bun! This dish is also good over baked potatoes or brown rice.

Sloppy Lentils

Servings:  6-8
2 cups dried lentils
1 large chopped onion
1 carrot, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (combo of basil, oregano and thyme)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Place lentils and vegetables in a large pot with the water.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes longer.