Caper Butter Halibut

I love the magazine Clean Eating. All the recipes are so healthy and fresh-I even got my mom hooked on the magazine-I think she gets a subscription of it. I was paging through last month's magazine and came across this recipe. The recipe also calls for asparagus & baby potatoes and I was going to make all that but I decided to use what was in my freezer/pantry instead to save money-I had lots of side dishes. And instead of halibut, I decided to use mahi mahi, which I found in my freezer, which happens to be my favorite fish anyways so it was a win win. I also added some lemon juice to my rub. This dish turned out pretty good. Not sure I'd use so much parsley next time but I'm not complaining about the taste at all.

Caper Butter Halibut (or Mahi Mahi) (Clean Eating) (4 servings):

2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed & minced (I may have used 2 tbsp)
1 tsp lemon zest & additional garnish (I also added some of the juice)
4 5-oz skinless halibut fillets (or cod or haddock)

Preheat oven to 375. Form a bowl from parchment (or tinfoil). In small bowl, stir together butter, parsley, capers and lemon zest (and juice if using). Sprinkle fish with remaining 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper. Spread butter mixture over fish. Add fish to bowl of parchment or tinfoil.

Place on a sheet pan and bake in oven until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, 10-12 min. Drizzle fish with any butter mixture left in parchment and garnish with additional lemon zest.




Caper/Butter/Parsley Rub...

Ready to be baked...

Enjoy!...

Lemon Butter Scallops

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it sounded super easy to make. I make some alterations of course. I added a lot more garlic and I added lemon zest, because to throw away a lemon without using the zest just seems wasteful to me. So not too many alterations. It turned out really really good. I served my scallops over a steamed rice/quinoa pilaf from Trader Joe's that has become my new obsession. And I have no idea how many cloves of garlic I used-I'll post what it calls for you and let you decide what you want to add!

Find the recipe here




Scallops added back to the sauce...






Enjoy!...

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad

I'm currently eating this salad as I type out the recipe for this blog...it's soooo good! I found it in Rachel Ray's magazine. I've been trying to eat more salmon and apparently I've been eating the wrong kind of salmon in the past. I got a bag of sock-eye salmon at Costco and split the bag with my aunt. This salmon comes with the skin-on and it's pretty amazing! Not fishy at all and thick cuts of meat. I'll definitely be making more salmon dishes with this! The recipe serves four but I didn't want to use all my salmon up in one dish so I still made the four servings for the salad and only added one salmon fillet. I also added a tilapia fillet in case I didn't like the salmon. The way the fish is cooked, it comes out really buttery tasting. I added more lemon juice to my fish just because. I shredded my fish and added it to the salad, instead of putting the whole fillets on the salad. I will definitely make this again and again!!!

Pan-Seared Salmon with Lentil & Quinoa Salad (4 servings) (Rachel Ray Magazine):

3/4 c dried lentils, picked free of hard stones
3/4 c quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 small lemons, juiced (4 tbsp)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp EVOO
4 skin-on salmon fillets
1/2 c minced red onion
1 c chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In separate saucepans, cook lentils and quinoa according to pkg directions. Drain and cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice and mustard. Gradually whisk in 1/4 c EVOO; season with salt and pepper. Reserve 1/4 c of the vinaigrette.

In large skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp EVOO and half of the reserved vinaigrette over med-high. Add the salmon, skin side down. Cover, reduce heat to med and cook until the fish flakes apart easily with a fork, about 8 minutes.

Add the quinoa, lentils, onion and 3/4 c parsley to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss to combine; season. Divide among plates and serve the fish on top (or shred the fish and combine into the salad). Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and top with the remaining parsley. Enjoy!




Lentil & Quinoa...






Fish added...Enjoy!

Garlic Butter Shrimp & Quinoa

I was randomly looking at Pinterest one day and came across this recipe. I love garlic, shrimp and quinoa so this sounded like a good meal to try and it definitely was! Very buttery and garlicky! And topped off with some lemon juice for serving, I will definitely make this recipe again! My only small complaint was that it could have used 2 bags of shrimp! I found this on Pinterest via http://pinchofyum.com.

Garlic Butter Shrimp & Quinoa (8 servings):

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped onion
10 garlic cloves, minced or 5 tsp bottled minced garlic, divided
2 c uncooked quinoa (I used a mixture of red and rainbow quinoa since that's what I had on hand), rinsed and drained
1 tsp chili powder, divided
4 c veggie or chicken broth
6 tbsp salted butter, divided
1 lb raw tail-on shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, for serving
Fresh lemon juice, for serving

Heat oil in large nonstick pot over med-high heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add 2 tsp of the garlic and saute 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the uncooked quinoa and 1/2 tsp of chili powder. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute another minute to add flavor to the quinoa. Add the broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook 15-20 minutes. When the quinoa is done, it will be soft throughout and the liquid will have been absorbed. Fluff with a fork and toss with fresh minced parsley.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tbsp of butter in large skillet over med-high heat. When the pan is hot and the butter has melted, add the shrimp and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp of chili powder directly in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and saute until no longer translucent and golden brown on the outside. Just at the end of the saute, add 1 tsp garlic and swirl around in the pan until the garlic is very fragrant.

Melt the remaining 5 tbsp butter with the rest of the garlic to make a sauce for drizzling. Serve the quinoa and shrimp together in one dish, drizzling the garlic-butter mixture over top. Top with fresh parsley and serve with lemon juice. Enjoy!




Quinoa added to the onion and garlic mixture...






Broth added to quinoa mixture...






Chili powder and shrimp added to melted butter...






Cooked shrimp...






Cooked quinoa...






Cooked shrimp added to quinoa...






Garlic & butter bubbling...






Enjoy!...

Salmon & Lentil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

I was typing recipes into my computer when I came across this recipe and it stood out for a couple different reasons. I've been trying to find a good lentil salad recipe. I tried a Weight Watchers recipe a couple weeks ago and it was too acidic tasting and not a lot of flavor. I've also been trying to eat more salmon since I know it's pretty healthy. I like most anything with balsamic vinegar so the combo of all of these ingredients stood out. In my recipe, I only used 3 salmon fillets, which was a perfect amount for me. I also only used about a 1 tbsp of chopped mint, instead of the 1/2 cup mint, since I'm not a big fan. And once again, since I've never used scallions, I used 1/2 c green onions. Although I did try to find scallions this time, Whole Foods did not have them for whatever reason. The recipe called for Dijon, which I never have in the house and Google said that any other kind of mustard, with the exception of yellow mustard, would be a good substitute so I used Chipotle mustard and it tasted just fine. And I just realized that this recipe called for green lentils-I used brown since it's what I normally cook. All in all, the salad turned out pretty good and I ate 2 helpings of it. I think I'd definitely try this again.

Salmon & Lentil Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette (6 servings) (Cuisine Mediterranean Menus)

*Vinaigrette
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste

*Salad
1 c green lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 c shredded red cabbage
1 c shredded carrots
1 c thinly sliced scallions
1/2 c chopped fresh mint

*Salmon
1 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp honey
6 salmon fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar
Chopped fresh mint

For vinaigrette, combine 1/4 c vinegar, EVOO, 1 tbsp Dijon, garlic and 1 tbsp honey in a larg bowl; season with salt and pepper. For the salad, cook lentils according to pkg directions; drain. Transfer lentils to bowl with vinaigrette; toss to coat and let cool to room temp. Stir in cabbage, carrots, scallions and 1/2 c mint.

For the salmon, combine 1 tbsp Dijon and 1 tbsp honey; spread onto flesh side of salmon. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large skillet over med; add salmon, skin side down, and cook 2 minutes. Flip salmon, remove skin, and cook 3 minutes on flesh side; flip and cook until med-rare, 1 minute more. Remove salmon to a plate and shred.

Add 1/4 c vinegar to same skillet and reduce until syrupy. Serve the salmon over the salad; drizzle with balsamic reduction and garnish with mint.




Carrots, cabbage & green onions...






Vinaigrette...






Lentils mixed with the cabbage, carrots & green onions...






Salmon with the glaze...






Enjoy!...

Buttery Mahi Mahi

I had ordered a pkg of mahi mahi fillets from Schwan's through my parents and I was trying to figure out how to make them one night. I decided to try them baked in the buttery dish I use for my shrimp sometimes and it turned out amazing! Definitely not something I would do on a regular basis since there's so much butter but apparently this recipe works just as well for larger fish as it does shrimp.

Buttery Mahi Mahi: 4 servings

1 mahi mahi fillet
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
1-2 tbsp Italian seasoning
4-5 tbsp capers

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8-in baking dish with foil. Pour melted butter on top of the tinfoil. Place lemon slices on top of butter. Lay the fillet on top of the lemon slices. Since I used a smaller dish, I put some of the lemon slices on top of the fillet as well so I could nestle the fish deeper into the butter. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and top with capers.

Place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Once again, I served my fish over couscous since the couscous soaks up the butter mixture well.




Nestled into the butter mixture...






Fresh from the oven...






Served over coucous...

Lemon Trout in Creamy White Wine Sauce

I found this recipe in the book posted below. It sounded good and pretty simple and it was. The flavor was pretty good too. I'm just not sure about the sauce. It tasted fine but it was so thick. And since the fish was cooked in the slow cooker, it fell apart when I tried to scoop it out so it was a little bit of a mess. It looked a little weird-not like how fish normally looks but it tasted good so I guess that's all that matters. I couldn't find trout fillets so I used 3 tilapia fillets instead.

Also, the book made this note: "Trout fillets may overlap in the bottom of the slow cooker, but make sure the edges do not come in direct contact with the sides of the cooker and that they are covered with the sauce so they don't dry out." Not letting the fish touch the sides of the cooker was next to impossible but I tried to overlap them the best I could and I made sure the the sauce completely covered the fish.

Lemon Trout in Creamy White Wine Sauce (4 servings):

1/2 lb trout fillets
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4 c butter
1 tsp jarred minced garlic
2 tbsp flour
2/3 c milk
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp sugar
Garnishes: Lemon slices, chopped fresh parsley, capers

Sprinkle fish with 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper and arrange in bottom of a slightly greased 4-qt slow cooker.

Melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over med heat. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook 1 min, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk, wine and zest; cook over med, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in remaining 3/8 tsp salt, remaining 3/8 tsp pepper and sugar. Pour sauce over fish. Cover and cook on high 2 1/2 hours or just until fish flakes with a fork. Garnish.




Fish...






Sauce being cooked...






Sauce poured over the fish...






Fish is done...






I served mine on some left over couscous...Enjoy!

Slow-Cooked Jambalaya

No idea where or when I bought this book but I decided at the beginning of the week that I needed to use my slow cooker more often so I started looking at my cookbooks. I found this one to have tons of good looking recipes so I decided to start making my grocery list.




Book of recipes...






I found three recipes to make in this week/next week and I have several more book marked to make soon. This is the first recipe I made out of it and it turned out really good. I also have a fish recipe and a chicken soup recipe that I will be posting soon. For some reason, I have been craving good jambalaya lately. I blame girls' night out when I had a really good jambalaya at the Cheesecake Factory. It didn't taste as good as Cheesecake's but it was pretty good. I have lots of leftovers, so I can freeze it.

I didn't use all of the chicken it asked for, since I feel that any jambalaya has way too much chicken. I couldn't find the pkg of prechopped veggies, so I used 1 white onion, chopped; 2 med ribs of celery, chopped; and 1 yellow pepper, chopped. I think when I make this next, I won't add the cooked rice for the last 30 min-i think my rice is too mushy so I may just cook it and serve it with the jambalaya separately. And the next time I make it, I will add some red pepper flakes in the beginning. I've been using the red pepper flakes for my individual servings just to add some heat. Other than that, the dish turned out pretty good!


Jambalaya (8 servings):

2 lb skinned and boned chicken thighs (I used two chicken breasts, cut up)
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into 2-in slices
1 (8 oz) container refrigerated prechopped celery, onion and bell pepper mix
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 c chicken broth
1 tbsp Cajun spice mix
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 lb extra-large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 3/4 c converted rice
Garnish: Chopped parsley

Combine chicken, sausage, celery mix, tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, spice mix, thyme and oregano in a 5-qt slow cooker. Cook on low 5 hours.

Add shrimp and rice; increase heat to high and cook for 30 min. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, if desired.




All the ingredients added...






Rice & shrimp added...






Enjoy...

+

Buttery Shrimp

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it sounded pretty simple and easy and it tastes amazing!!! Highly recommend you try it. It originally didn't call for capers but since I love capers, I added several tablespoonfuls.

Find the recipe here



Lemon slices on top of the butter...

Raw shrimp on top...

Sprinkled with Italian seasoning...

Capers...

Shrimp & Couscous...

Enjoy!

Open-Faced Tuna Sandwiches

I don't really have set measurements for this recipe. My mom told me what to put in it so I just added everything to taste. I can give you a rough estimate of what I used. It was a good lunch and I'd definitely make it again.

1 can (3 oz) of tuna fish in water (I used the brand above)
1-2 small pieces of celery, chopped
1-2 tbsp pickle relish (I used Heinz dill relish)
1/4 c mayo
2-3 tbsp capers

Mix all ingredients together to your desired consistency, adding more mayo as needed. Serve on toast. Enjoy!

Asian Glazed Scallops

I don't know where I found this recipe. I have a habit of collecting recipes and in order to save room in my apartment, I type out the recipes that look good and keep them on my computer. I randomly went through my seafood files the other day and decided to try this one. I haven't had scallops in a while..I forgot how good they are! And they smell so good when they are cooking..kind of a buttery smell. Super easy recipe to make. I had a hard time finding the bottle of minced garlic but I finally found it at Rainbow. And I have no idea where I got the chili sauce..I've had it forever. One change I would make..less of the chili sauce..it's spicy! But still good. I'd definitely make this again. And it makes plenty of extra sauce to put on something else. The only weird thing I have noticed is that there's a slight crunch with every couple bites..from the garlic I think. It's tastes okay though..just a little weird texture. I also patted my scallops dry since they cook better that way. There's no measurement about how many green onions to use..since I love them I chopped up four of them. I served the scallops with rice I made in my rice cooker. It serves 4.

Asian Glazed Scallops:

5 tbsp sesame oil, divided
2 tbsp bottled minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 c sweet hot chili sauce
1/4 c teriyaki sauce
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
12 large fresh sea scallops
1/2 tsp salt
Garnish: Chopped green onions

In small saucepan, heat 3 tbsp sesame oil over med heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook for 2 min, stirring constantly. Add chili sauce, teriyaki sauce and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer; cook 5 min, stirring occasionally.

In large skillet, heat remaining 2 tbsp sesame oil over med-high heat. Sprinkle scallops with salt. Add scallops to skillet; cook 2-3 min per side or until golden brown. To serve, spoon sauce over scallops. Garnish with green onions.




Bottled minced garlic

Chili Sauce...

Ginger & garlic cooking...

Scallops patted dry...

Scallops cooking..

The sauce...

Enjoy!

Shrimp Orzo with Feta

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine. I had all the ingredients on hand with the exception of the tomatoes. I have several recipes using orzo but I have never made it before. I had it in my cupboard for the longest time but not knowing what I should do with it until I came across this recipe. When I first tried it, I wasn't so sure I liked it but the more I ate it the more I liked it. It has a sort of Mediterranean flavor to it. I think I would make it again. A couple things I noticed while eating it...it could have used more lemon juice and cheese so I added some extras to my bowl.

Shrimp Orzo with Feta (4 servings):
1 1/4 c uncooked whole wheat orzo pasta
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp oil
2 med tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/4 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese (I only had gorgonzola on hand)

Cook orzo according to pkg direction. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic in oil for 1 min. Add tomatoes and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in shrimp. Simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 min or until shrimp turn pink. (At this point I had to switch everything over to my Dutch oven, because the skillet I was using wasn't big enough.) Drain orzo. Add orzo, cilantro and pepper to shrimp mixture; heat through. Sprinkle with cheese.

Cooked orzo...

Tomatoes, garlic and lemon juice simmering...

Everything combined...

My portion... Enjoy!