Category: Main Courses / Dinner

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Cilantro, Soy, Ginger and Avocado


I was perusing recipes yesterday that used avocados, as I had four ripe ones ready to eat and knew I didn’t want to make guacamole or add them to a salad, but rather in some kind of main dish. I came across one from Tyler Florence which sounded delicious using sushi-grade tuna, and decided to try it with the tilapia I had on hand. Needless to say, it was fabulous, in addition to being easy to make. Oh, and it’s healthy, too!

Tilapia with Cilantro Sauce and Avocado

Ingredients

  • 2 big handfuls fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeño, diced
  • 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
  • Pinch of granulated sugar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tilapia filets, about 3 oz. each
  • 1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, and sliced

Directions

  1. In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeño, ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated.
  2. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the remaining 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
  3. Add the tilapia to the pan with half of the cilantro mixture and sauté until lightly browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
  4. Serve with the sliced avocado and remaining cilantro sauce, drizzled over the fish.
  5. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

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Mexican Tostada


Delicious Mexican Tostada

Yesterday, I found myself craving Mexican food… maybe because I felt it only right to do my part in celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Breakfast was easy – I made a Mexican quesadilla, but couldn’t decide on something quick and easy for dinner. I love enchiladas, but wanted something simpler. I then thought about tacos, which were appealing, however, desired a dish with a crunch, so a tostada seemed to fit the bill. I was having a very lazy Sunday at home, and wanted to continue on that same path, thus made this as easy as possible by using canned refried beans and store-bought tostada shells. My normal method would be to make these from scratch, but honestly, I just wasn’t in the mood to go the extra mile last night. It was all about easy, breezy and tasty… and thankfully, that it was! As I made this just for me, I didn’t do much measuring, but will try to give you some idea as to how much you’ll need for two servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 tostada shells
  • 1 can (15 oz.) refried beans
  • 1/8 head iceberg lettuce, seasoned with salt & vinegar
  • 1/2 tomato, chopped
  • Guacamole (or 1/2 chopped avocado)
  • 2 oz. Mexican four cheese blend (or you favorite kind)
  • 4 tbsp. salsa
  • A small handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions

  1. Heat refried beans in a frying pan on medium low until warm.
  2. Chop lettuce into thin slices and add a little salt (about 1/8 tsp.) and vinegar (about 1/4 tsp.).
  3. Place tostada shells in oven at 350°F on baking sheet or oven rack, and heat for 3-4 minutes, until you can smell the aroma of them. Be careful not to burn.
  4. To assemble, place tostadas on a plate, spread the warm/hot refried beans on top, sprinkle a little cheese on top of the beans, then the seasoned lettuce, some chopped tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, a skosh more cheese (if desired), and topped off with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

Tostada

Obviously, you can add additional toppings, like chopped onion, sliced jalapeños, sour cream, etc. and tailor this to your liking. I ate this like a slice of pizza, just a little bit more carefully. 

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Vegetable Tempura (with Dipping Sauce)


Veggie Tempura

Here’s a simple recipe for veggie tempura that I made last week. As you should be able to tell by the picture, some of the vegetables have more of a coating due to dredging them through flour first, then the tempura batter. You can eliminate the flour if you like, but personally, I preferred the ones with the flour as they were crispier.

Ingredients

  • Vegetable oil
  • Vegetables of your choice (I used onions, kale, carrots and pickled jalapeños)
  • Flour
  • Tempura Batter, prepared according to box directions

Directions

  1. Heat about 2-3 inches of oil to 375°F in electric fryer or in a large, deep heavy pan on stove top.
  2. Place approximately 1 cup of flour into a bowl.
  3. Roll vegetables in flour and shake off excess.
  4. Dip vegetables into tempura batter and carefully place in oil to fry.
  5. Remove from oil when golden brown and place on paper towels to drain.
  6. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce (Tentsuyu)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dashi soup stock*
  • 1/4 cup mirin
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. grated ginger

* If you can’t find dash, you can use low-sodium beef broth. 

Directions

  1. Put dashi (or beef broth), mirin, soy sauce, and sugar in a sauce pan and mix well.
  2. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Stop the heat, add the ginger and let it cool.
  3. Serve with your favorite tempura.

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Horseradish Crusted Beef


Horseradish Crusted London Broil

For some unknown reason, I decided to pick up a London Broil when I was at the store a few weeks ago, even though I had never made it before, and usually choose other cuts of beef. I already had the idea of using a horseradish crust, and wanted to see how it’d turn out with this type of meat. Well… it was absolutely fantastic and I loved the flavor of the crust! This can be used on your favorite type of meat, and would also be great on chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 (2 lb.) London Broil
  • 1/4 cup panko
  • 1/4 cup potato chips, crushed
  • 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp. prepared horseradish
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (pick your favorites… I used Parsley, Thyme and Oregano)
  • 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Directions

  1. Sprinkle beef with 1 tbsp. salt, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400°F.
  2. Toss panko with 2 tsp. oil, and 1/4 tsp. pepper in skillet.
  3. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer to bowl, add crushed potato chips and toss with shallot, garlic, 2 tbsp. horseradish and herbs.
  5. Pat exterior of beef dry with paper towels and sprinkle evenly with remaining fresh cracked black pepper.
  6. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Sear tenderloin until well browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and let rest 10 minutes.
  7. Combine 1 tbsp. horseradish, and mustard in small bowl.
  8. Spread horseradish & mustard on top and sides of meat, leaving bottom and ends bare.
  9. Roll coated sides of meat in bread-crumb mixture, pressing gently so crumbs adhere in an even layer.
  10. Return tenderloin to wire rack. Roast until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 120 to 125°F for medium-rare, 25 to 30 minutes.
  11. Transfer roast to carving board and let rest 20 minutes.
  12. Carefully cut meat crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
With Baked Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Kale
With Baked Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Kale

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Healthy Fettuccine “Alfredo”


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I recently saw a post on Facebook from Daphne Oz about her take on Fettuccine Alfredo using a cauliflower puree as the substitute for alfredo sauce. Since I’ve made cauliflower mashed “potatoes” before, and it turned out delicious, I was overly anxious to try her recipe. And as expected, it turned out delicious! Feel free to add some chicken, seafood or tofu if you desire some protein with your pasta. I pretty much followed the recipe to a tee, which is rare, since I usually put my own take on it, but didn’t really see a need for changing anything. This does yield a ginormous amount of pasta, so divide it in half if you’re not feeding a large family or small army 😉

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fettuccine
  • 4 cups cauliflower (cut into large chunks)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1 large shallot (finely minced)
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (freshly grated)
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/3 cup Parsley (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

Directions

  1. Place the milk and the cauliflower in a large sauce pot and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. Using a slotted utensil, transfer the cauliflower to a blender.
  4. Add the milk to make a creamy puree.
  5. Add the butter and continue blending until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt (Daphne writes, “so it tastes like the ocean”).
  7. Cook the pasta one minute less than the packaged instructions.
  8. While the pasta is cooking, place a large sauté pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Add the shallot, season with salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until slightly tender.
  9. Deglaze with the white wine. Reduce by half, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  10. Add the cauliflower puree to the sauté pan and thin out with about 1/3 cup of pasta water.
  11. Remove the pasta from the water, add it to the cauliflower puree, and then sprinkle ground nutmeg over the top.
  12. Toss again and add more cooking water if the pasta seems too dry.
  13. Add the Parmigiano and parsley, and toss to coat.

Note: For leftovers, you can reheat in the microwave or on top of the stove, but may want to add a little milk or water to make it saucier after being refrigerated.

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Beer-Battered Fish Tacos With Chipolte Sauce and Salsa


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I receive numerous emails containing recipes, and got one yesterday from Kitchen Daily for this recipe, which originally came from Eating Well. As always, I modified it and came up with the chipolte white sauce to accompany the tacos. I like this because it’s not deep-fried and is really yummy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love me some deep-fried food, but prefer to eat healthier… most of the time 😉

If you want to skip the sauce and make this even lighter, you can top the tacos off with a little plain greek yogurt with the salsa.

Ingredients

Fish Tacos

  • 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or more for additional heat
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/3 cup beer
  • 8 oz. tilapia filet, cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 4 corn tortillas, warmed
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • Fresh salsa

Chipolte Sauce

  • 1/4 cup light mayo
  • 1 tbsp. low-fat milk
  • 2 tbsp. lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1/4 tsp. chipolte seasoning

Directions

Chipolte Sauce

  1. Mix all of the ingredients together and put in fridge while preparing the fish.

Fish Tacos

  1. Combine flour, cumin, garlic, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk in beer to create a batter.
  2. Coat tilapia pieces in the batter.
  3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Add the fish to the pan, letting excess batter drip back into the bowl.
  5. Cook until crispy and golden, 2 to 4 minutes per side.
  6. Serve fish with tortillas, cabbage, chipolte sauce and salsa.
With guacamole on a flour tortilla
With guacamole on a flour tortilla

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Pub-Style Chicken and Caramelized Onions with Spinach


I am always on the lookout for new recipes which are both easy and delicious, and this one definitely fits the bill. I have to thank my Mom for sharing it with me, as it has quickly become my favorite chicken dish. And when I tell you it’s delicious, that’s really an understatement. Seriously, it is the bomb! This recipe calls for fresh spinach, but I opted to go with creamed spinach simply because I love it.

Pub-Style Chicken with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 3 oz. reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
  • 1/4 cup light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. molasses
  • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
  • large zip-top bag
  • 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 cups sliced sweet yellow or white onions
  • 1 tbsp. canola oil
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup french-fried onions
  • 1/4 cup refrigerated Caesar dressing
  • 1/4 cup light honey mustard dressingDean-Jacobs-Blend-Parmesan-Stackable-r

Spinach

  • 1 bag fresh spinach (6–9 oz)
  • 1 tbsp. garlic herb butter
  • 1/2 tsp. Bakery bread-dip seasoning (Parmesan blend)

I had a hard time finding the bread-dip seasoning so I made my own using 1 tsp. Parmesan, 1/2 tsp. each: oregano, garlic powder, and kosher salt, 1/4 tsp. each: dried basil, parsley flakes and onion powder,  and 1/8 tsp. each: thyme and tarragon. Grind spices until fine, then add the Parmesan to spices and mix well. Store in container until ready to use. 

Directions

Chicken

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

  2. Combine soy sauce, molasses, garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. pepper.

  3. Place mixture in bag and add chicken, turning to coat. Let stand at least 10 minutes (the longer, the better) or overnight in the fridge to marinate.

  4. Toss fresh onions with oil, salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper.

  5. Place onions in 13 x 9-inch baking dish; top with chicken.

  6. Bake 20–25 minutes or until chicken reaches 165°F.

  7. Top chicken with crispy onions and cheese; bake 2–3 more minutes or until cheese melts.

  8. Combine both dressings; microwave on HIGH 20–30 seconds or until hot. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.

Spinach

  1. Place spinach in microwave-safe bowl and cover; microwave on HIGH 4–5 minutes or until tender. Drain, if needed.
  2. Stir in butter and seasoning, and serve.

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Homemade Version of Outback’s Alice Springs Chicken


While I was searching for honey mustard dressing recipes a couple of weeks ago, I kept seeing Alice Springs chicken in the results, and had no idea what that was all about. Obviously, I had to check it out, and discovered it’s a “famous” dish served at Outback Steakhouse. I mean, I know all about the Bloomin’ Onion, but hadn’t heard of this before, but am SOOO glad that I stumbled upon it! It definitely packs a bunch with amazing flavor!!

Homemade Alice Springs Chicken

Ingredients

Honey Mustard Marinade

  • 1/2 cup Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 tsp. Canola oil
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1 tbsp. Canola oil
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika
  • 8 slices of bacon, cooked
  • 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. Combine mustard, honey, 1 tsp. oil and lemon juice in a bowl using an electric mixer. Mix for about 30 seconds.
  2. Place chicken in a large ziploc bag and pour about 2/3 of marinade over chicken. Marinate in fridge for about 2 hours (or longer, if desired). Chill remaining marinade for later use.
  3. After chicken has marinated, preheat over to 375° F.
  4. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat, remove chicken from bag and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Throw away bag with marinade in it. Remove from heat, and place chicken into a baking dish.
  5. In a small frying pan, sauté the mushrooms in a little butter.
  6. Brush each of the chicken breasts with the reserved honey mustard marinade, saving a little to serve on the side when the dish is finished.
  7. Season chicken with some salt, pepper and a dash of paprika.
  8. Place two pieces of cooked bacon crosswise on top of each chicken breast.
  9. Spoon 1/4 of the mushrooms on top of the bacon.
  10. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, then 1/4 cup of Mozzarella on top of each piece of chicken.
  11. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is thoroughly melted and bubbly.

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Artichoke, Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna


I woke up yesterday, yearning to make a meatless/veggie lasagna. I have no idea why this particular dish was pinpointed as the object of my affection, but knew I HAD to make it. I perused some of my saved recipes, and came across a few that looked delicious. So, I took one, altered it quite a bit and came up with this one, which I thought was amazingly scrumptious. I tried to be conscientious of the exact measurements I used… hopefully, that’s the case 😉

Artichoke, Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
  • 9 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 (14 oz.) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
  • 1 (28 oz.) jar tomato pasta sauce
  • 1 (15 oz.) container Ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1 (4 oz.) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled

Veggie Lasagna

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Put butter or olive oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high.
  3. Sauté onion, garlic and mushrooms for 5 minutes, or until onion is tender-crisp.
  4. Stir in broth, rosemary and basil, and bring to a boil.
  5. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta sauce.
  6. Mix together, ricotta, egg, 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl.
  7. Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cooked noodles.
  8. Add some big dollops of the ricotta/mozzarella mixture (using half) on top of the noodles, then more of the sauce.
  9. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with sauce mixture and remaining mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.
  10. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 10 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Cut Lasagna

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Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas


Over the weekend, I found a dish that I planned on making… wrote out my grocery list, then… stumbled upon another recipe I had saved a while back that intrigued me so much I decided to make that instead (this recipe). If you like enchiladas and buffalo wing sauce, then you’ll surely love this! It’s a relatively easy recipe once you have the chicken cooked and ready to go. A way to simplify the process is to pick up a roasted chicken from the grocery story and simply shred some of it to use. I chose to poach my chicken since I had some chicken tenders in the fridge, which results in very juicy and tasty meat (instructions below). But feel free to cook the chicken (if you go that route) however it suits you.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas!

Ingredients

  • 8 large tortillas
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
  • 3 cups red enchilada sauce (from 28 oz. can)
  • 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (+ more depending on your taste buds)
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican Four cheese blend
  • 4 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
  • 5 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
  3. Pour enchilada sauce in a bowl and begin by whisking in 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce. Taste and adjust according to your desired level of heat – I added in 1/2 cup total. Set aside.
  4. Add shredded chicken to a bowl with 2 chopped green onions and 1/2 cup Mexican cheese. Pour in about a 1/2 cup of enchilada/buffalo sauce mixture and mix thoroughly. Stir until mixture comes together.
  5. Pour a drizzle of enchilada/buffalo sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Take each tortilla and fill it with a few heaping tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Roll each up and set it in the baking dish, seam side down.
  6. Pour another 1/2 cup or more of enchilada/buffalo sauce on top of tortillas and add remaining Mexican cheese.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  8. After taking out of the oven, immediately add crumbled gorgonzola on top.
  9. Garnish with the remaining onions and cilantro, and serve.
  10. Store the remaining sauce in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, and use if reheating enchiladas.

Buffalo Chix Enchiladas Serving

* To poach chicken:

  1. Start with boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders. Place the chicken at the bottom of a wide pan. Don’t overcrowd them.
  2. Add enough water so it just barely covers the chicken.
  3. Add some fresh herbs like thyme or tarragon, along with a bay leaf and a few whole black peppercorns, in addition to about a tablespoon of Kosher salt. (For this recipe, I added some Seasoning Salt and chopped onion flakes, plus the salt.)
  4. Bring the water to a boil, then lower it to a simmer. You should see a few gentle bubbles rise up from time to time, but definitely not a full rolling boil.
  5. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pot tightly and let the chicken breasts stand in the hot water for another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how big the chicken breasts/tenders are.
  6. After 15 to 20 minutes, take the chicken out and pull/shred/chop them into pieces..

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