Baked Mahi Mahi and Multi-Grain Rice with Craisins and Butternut Squash

We're trying to eat healthier these days. For us that means less butter and red meat and more fish and whole grains. My new favorite side is Minute Rice Multi-Grain medley. This tasty blend has brown, red, and wild rice with quinoa. Add to that my all-time favorite butternut squash and you have a hit!

The recipe below feeds two comfortably. If you're cooking for 4, make 2 bags of rice and use a larger squash along with however many fillets your family will eat.

Multi-Grain Rice with Roasted Butternut Squash and Craisins

1 small - medium butternut squash
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bag Minute Rice Multi-Grain Medley
1/2 c. craisins
Garlic Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400
Peel butternut squash, scoop seeds and dice
Toss squash lightly in olive oil, season and place on a baking sheet in a single layer
Roast for 20 - 30 minutes or until squash is tender

While the squash is roasting, prepare minute rice as directed, adding craisins after all liquid is absorbed. I toast my rice before adding water or brother. I put the rice in a pan over medium heat, stirring occassionally. You'll know it's good and toasted when you detect a faint nutty smell! Then add your liquid and...voila! Ten minutes later you have a delicious, healthy side!

About the fish: Mahi is a lovely, white fish with mild flavor that can be found in tropical and sub-tropical waters world wide. It is low in fat and high in potassium and like most fish, pairs well with citrus flavors. The fish should be opaque and will flake easily with a fork when done.

Baked Mahi Mahi

3 4oz mahi filets
Lime Pepper (or your other favorite seasoning) to taste

Prepare a glass baking dish with a quick coat of your favorite non-stick spray, season both sides of the fish and place "skin side" down. (my fillets had no skin, but that side of the fish looks smoother even when the skin is removed. Or at least mine did!).

Add to the oven when your squash is about half way through its cooking time. Bake 12 - 15 minutes or until fillets are opaque and flake easily with a fork.

Enjoy!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Maple-Balsamic Fig Glaze

This is one of my all time favorite ways to cook pork. I found the recipe online years ago and thankfully saved it. I have searched any number of times since and while I can find maple balsamic glazes and fig balsamic glazes, I have yet to relocate this particular, well-loved combination. I'm making this next weekend for some friends and serving it along with a lovely roasted butternut squash soup. If anyone out there is still reading this....I'll add pictures next week!

• Pork tenderloin seasoned to taste and cooked. 
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large shallot sliced thin
• 1 cup chicken broth or stock 
• 1/2 cup (about 3oz) dried figs, stemmed and diced 
• 1/3 c. maple syrup 
• 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 
• 1 tbsp. good dijon mustard

Pre-heat oven to 325F. Pat pork tenderloin dry and season to taste (I use sea salt, pepper and garlic). Add 1 - 2 tbsp olive oil to an oven safe skillet and place over medium heat on the stovetop until the oil begins to shimmer. Sear the tenderloin on all sides then cook in the oven until done (about 20-25 minutes per pound). When the tenderloin is done, remove from pan and allow to rest.

Return pan to stovetop over medium heat and add shallots. Cook until the shallots are softened and beginning to brown. Increase heat to meduim high and add broth and figs, bring to simmer scraping bottom of skillet to loosen any browned bits. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup. Add syrup, vinegar, mustard and any juices from resting meat and cook until thickened and reduced. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, pour sauce over tenderloin and serve.

Orange Craisin Muffins

The inspiration for these came from Paula Deen's "Best Damn Blueberry Muffins." I used her technique, substituted in orange juice for the liquid and shazam! Orange Craisin Muffins. They're really quite delicious. This season I'm making them for all the neighbors. We'll see how that works out.

Orange Craisin Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 large oranges
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup Craisins
1/2 cup pecan pieces.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare muffin pan by lightly spraying the top with non-stick cooking spray and lining with foil baking cups. In a medium to large bowl combine flour, baking powder and sugar.In a blender or food processor, place 1 peeled and sectioned orange plus the zest and juice of the second orange.Pulse until the orange is liquefied. Add the egg and melted butter, pulse just until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Fold in the Craisins and pecans.

 

This batter is pretty thick and when everything works right you should see a nice, airy texture and a batter that doesn't run. Don't worry, if the batter is a little runny, the muffins will still taste fine.

 

Spoon batter into muffin cups (I like to use an ice cream scoop coated with cooking spray), filling to about 2/3 full.Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until tops are golden. If desired, remove half way through baking and sprinkle with white or brown sugar and return to oven.

Handy Tip: Fill a clean salt shaker with sugar and use that to sprinkle your muffins.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

5 oz baby spinach
8 med strawberries, sliced
Candied Pecans (recipe follows)

Rinse spinach well and place in serving bowl
Top with sliced strawberries and candied pecans.

Candied Pecans

My father-in-law showed me how to make these years ago. I love them as a salad topping. They're also fabulous on ice cream or just as a snack. The niece thinks I should just keep them around the house on principle.

1/2 cup pecan halves or chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar (now, my f-i-l likes his with considerably more sugar, which is certainly an option. Play with it and see what you like)

Cover a cookie sheet or a plate with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Place pecans and sugar in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
You want enough sugar to cover the bottom of your skillet, but not so much that it buries the pecans.

Over med-low, heat the sugar until it begins to caramelize.
Stir frequently to avoid burning the pecans.

Once the sugar is completely caramelized it will be a gorgeous brown color that smells just amazing. Carefully scrape the pecans from the pan onto the foil and let cool.

When cool to the touch, break apart and sprinkle over salad.

Enjoy! And please don't be too hard on me for waiting so long between posts. :)

It's Grillin' Time

I am so sorry for the long hiatus! I have not cooked for a month. But, I'm back! Last night we had a relatively simple and super delicious meal of grilled chicken legs, bow tie pasta Alfredo and spinach with strawberries and candied pecans. Let me tell you, that salad was down right sexy! But I digress. This is a great warm weather meal that won't overheat your kitchen or your budget.

Lemon-Pepper Grilled Chicken (serves 3)

6 chicken legs
Lemon-Pepper Seasoning

Lightly spray the grill with a non-stick spray, then pre-heat to 350.
Season the chicken well on all sides with lemon-pepper.
Place chicken on direct heat and monitor closely, turning frequently until skin is nicely golden with grill marks on all sides.
Move chicken to top rack, close grill, maintain heat at 300 - 350 until chicken is cooked through. (About 20 minutes)

 

Citrus Alfredo with Bow-Tie Pasta

Bre made this and the recipe is a closely guarded secret. So closely guarded that even I don't know it. If I were to recreate it, I would start with a basic Alfredo recipe like the one that follows and add basil and the zest of one lemon to the sauce, plus the juice of one lemon to the cooked pasta.

2 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 6 pieces (see note above)

1 cup milk (see note above)

3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste, if needed

In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency. Cook for 2-3 minutes for a thicker sauce or remove right after the cheese is melted for a thinner sauce. Serve immediately over hot, cooked noodles (recipe source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Fish Tacos and Slaw with Basil Lime Vinaigrette

I had several pieces of  mahi mahi in the freezer and with all this summery weather we've been having I was really in the mood for some grilled fish. I also wanted a light but tasty and filling side to go with it. And so was born the idea for tonight's meal--grilled fish tacos, tangy vegetable slaw with basil lime vinaigrette and a little rice. The niece doesn't care for fish tacos, so she had her grilled fish minus the tortilla shell and put the vinaigrette over the mahi. Really very tasty.

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Juice of 2 limes
3 mahi mahi fillets (4 if you're serving 4 people. You get the idea)
lime pepper seasoning
garlic and sea salt

• Preheat grill to about 300.
• Meanwhile, marinate the fish fillets for about 15 minutes in the lime juice and season both sides with lime pepper, garlic and sea salt. Cook until fish is tender and flaky.

Veggie Slaw

1/4 head red cabbage, shredded
3 leaves napa cabbage, shredded
12 sugar snap peas, shelled, and then shells finely sliced
2 med. carrots, peeled and shredded

• Prepare all veggies as listed above and combine with your favorite dressing. I used the basil lime vinaigrette below.

 

Basil-Lime Vinaigrette

Leaves from 3 larges stems of basil
Juice of 2 limes
1/4 c sugar
3-4 tbsp blood orange infused olive oil (regular olive oil will work just fine. I happened to have this in the house)

• Place first three ingredients in a blender, puree until smooth. With blender running, remove center piece of lid and add olive oil.
• Set aside about 1/4 cup to use on the fish, toss the rest with the veggie slaw

Now to put it all together. Grab some small tortilla shells and put two on each plate. For each plate, take one of those tasty grilled fillets, tear it into several pieces and divide between the two tortillas; drizzle with vinaigrette. Top with a little slaw, add some sour cream, and put some rice on the side. Those are magic tacos. Really. I'm not kidding. They are amazing!!

Empanadas...Tasty!

I'm sorry it's been so long. Last week was a little rough. I had a friend in the hospital and I spent most of my time hanging out there with her. Let me tell you, hospitals are just no fun, and I'm not even going to discuss the food! Yuck. How can anyone get better eating that stuff?


On a tastier note, I made empanadas last night for dinner. I'm sure there are empanada purists out there who will take exception to my approach, but it worked for us! First I found a picadillo recipe that I liked. Then I broke it down, reassembled it and voila, empanadas with potatoes and black beans. No olives or raisins here. My dislike for olives is legendary and the niece is highly allergic to raisins. The potatoes and black beans were tasty but not photogenic, but that's another story.

 

Empanadas

1 pkg frozen dough discs (I used Delicious Bite - Authentic Latin American Style Easy Dough Artisan Dough Discs)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 med. bell pepper, chopped
1/2 med yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c beer
1 15oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 egg
splash of water

• Thaw frozen discs and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large, deep, stainless steel skillet, saute onion, garlic and pepper until onion is translucent and fragrant
• Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink
• Stir in the beer, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper and Tabasco sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray
• You'll need to remove a protective film from between each layer as you use it.
• Using a kitchen tablespoon (not a measuring spoon, that big tablespoon in your silverware drawer), put one spoonful of the meat mixture in the center of one disc.
• Fold the disc over and crimp the edges together. You can roll them or use a fork, whatever works.
• Place the sealed meat pie on the cookie sheet.
• Repeat the last three steps for each disc. The box I used had 14 discs which was enough to comfortably serve 4 and I had some filling left over.
• Once all your discs are filled, beat the egg with a splash of water to make an egg wash
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg wash
• Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

 Just a little note here, have I mentioned tomato paste in a tube on here yet? Best. Innovation. Ever. Seriously. I have recipes like this and I never know what to do with the rest of the can of tomato paste; with tomato paste in a tube I don't have to worry about it. I use the 2 tbsp., put the lid back on the tube and move on. No fuss, no muss, and better yet, no waste!

Potatoes and Black Beans

1 pound baking potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup black beans
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook stirring occasionally until golden brown. About 8-10 minutes.
• Add black beans and cook until heated through, 3-5 minutes more. I always have black beans in my freezer so I just grab a bag and throw them in. You can drain a can of black beans and do the same.

Leftovers? No worries! Just combine your leftover meat mixture with the leftover potatoes and beans. It's a great one dish meal that's easy to reheat and serve.