Breaded Lime Tilapia

I actually remembered to thaw my fish in advance this week, so that I could try a new recipe! (you can't do this if they are frozen).  I wanted something simple and light tasting, and something that Peanut would like.  I came across a recipe for "Lemon Sole" in my current favourite recipe book, "Healthy in a Hurry", and adapted it for the ingredients I had at home.  Aside from thawing the fish, it took about 8 minutes to prep, and about 8 minutes to cook.

Here's the recipe:

Breaded Lime Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 C bread crumbs (I made my own by putting a few slices of slightly stale bread in the food processor)

Zest of 1 lime (or less if you don't want it to "limey")

Sprinkle of salt\

Sprinkle of pepper

1 large egg

6 tilapia filets, thawed (or fresh)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease a cookie sheet.

2) Mix the first four ingredients together in a shallow bowl.

3) Whisk the egg in a separate shallow bowl.

4) Dip each filet (one at a time) into the egg, then into the bread mixture (ensuring that both sides get covered).  Lay each filet on the greased cookie sheet.\

5) Bake for 5-10 minutes (check at 5, then add time if needed - you will know they are done if the fish is white and flaky).

6) EAT!

I served this with quinoa and some roasted peppers and apples.  I really liked the flavour, and it was so easy!  WAY better than buying the gross breaded fish from the store.

Apricot Chickpeas

This is my favourite cookbook at the moment: Company's Coming Healthy in a Hurry

It is awesome because the meals really are healthy, and they are also easy, which is great since I have returned to work and it's nice to have something that I can whip up quickly at the end of a day.  Some of the recipes use shortcuts to save on time (such as canned sweet potatoes...yuck), but I figure that if I want to make one of those recipes, I can just plan to have it on a night that I have more time (and I can cook the potatoes myself...yum).

Anyway, I recently tried the "Polynesian Apricot Chicken" recipe, but since I don't eat chicken, I made it with CHICKpeas instead, and I served it over couscous (but rice, quinoa, pasta, barley, etc would also be great).

I admit that I was a little skeptical about soaking the dried apricots, but I was REALLY pleased with how it turned out, and I will definitely be making this again.

Apricot-Chickpea sauce, simmering away

So, here it is...

Apricot Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

Ingredients:

3/4 C dried apricots, quartered

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 can chickpeas (I prefer to use No Salt Added, or use dried chickpeas that I have soaked and cooked myself)

1 1/2 C chopped onion

1 C chopped green pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp finely grated ginger root

1/2 tsp chili powder (or, if you have it, Epicure's Louisana Hot n Spicy)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

14 oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)

Directions:

1) Put apricot into small heatproof bowl.  Cover with boiling water.  Stir.  Cover.  Set aside.

2) Heat olive oil in large frying pan on medium.  Add next 7 ingredients to the frying pan.  Stir.  Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until green pepper is tender crisp.

3) Drain apricot.  Add to green pepper mixture.  Add tomatoes (with juice).  Stir.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Boil gently, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.  Serves 4.

Real Food Day 24 - Vegetable Pot Pie

I wrote this post a while ago, but saved it as a draft, then forgot to publish it....

I love me some comfort food, and one of my favourites is pot pie!  I am terrible at making crust, so I like this recipe, which uses phyllo dough.  Now, the phyllo dough has some "no-no" ingredients, but the crust just wasn't going to happen for me.  If you wanted to make this with a homemade crust, go for it :)

Unfortunately, this picture does not do the meal justice - it was delicious!

Vegetable Pot Pie
Ingredients:
1 potato (cubed)
1/2 of 1 butternut squash (peeled and cubed)
1 large carrot (cubed)
1 onion (coarsely chopped)
1 red pepper (coarsely chopped)
1 (small) head of broccoli (coarsely chopped)
1 tbsp oil
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 C milk (I used soy milk)
1 C grated cheddar (use white cheddar...orange cheddar has food colouring!)
2 egg yolks
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt to taste
Phyllo dough - about 3 or 4 sheets per pie
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 415°F.  Grease the serving dishes.  Steam the potato, squash, carrot and broccoli until just tender (about 15 min).  Drain well and place in a large bowl.  Heat the first portion of oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and red pepper over medium heat for 2 minutes until soft.  Add to the bowl.

Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the flour.  Stir over low heat for 2 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Add the milk gradually, stirring until smooth.  Stir over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until the mixture boils and thickens.  Boil for another minute, then remove from the heat and cool slightly.  Add the cheese and egg yolks to the sauce and stir to combine.  Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.

Add the sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine.  Divide between the ramekins.  Cut off layers of the phyllo dough one, and brush one layer at a time with olive oil, then lay it over the ramekins (read the instructions on the box).  Trim off the edges with kitchen scissors.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Real Food - Day 4 (Jan 4th) - Squash Gnocchi

For breakfast we enjoyed some delicious whole grain french toast.  The bread we had at home was store bought bread, so it didn't follow all of the rules, but after breakfast I went out and bought some whole grain bakery bread which is much better - so the next french toast will be right on!  We topped the french toast with tropical fruit (I used frozen that I had thawed in the fridge), and only a tiny drizzle of maple syrup.  YUM!

Lunch - leftover pasta from last night.  Leftovers are so wonderful.

For dinner, we had guests!  My husband and I love to entertain, so we enjoy having the excuse to make something fancy or to try something new.  Last night we had salad (cranberries, walnuts and romaine...provided by the guests), and Squash Gnocchi with a Goat Cheese Rosé sauce.  I used this recipe for the gnocchi, except instead of 1 3/4 C all purpose flour, I used 1 C whole wheat flour and 3/4 C all purpose flour.  I needed to add a few more tablespoons of flour because my dough was pretty sticky, and I used whole wheat for that too.  I also did not use a potato ricer - I just threw the squash and potato into my food processor (separately).  Oh, also, the recipe says to cook it for about 15 minutes...I only cooked mine for about 5 or 6, and it was just fine.

Here are some pictures of the process.  It certainly took some work, but was a nice thing to do for company.  I have also made the dough in a big batch before, then froze it for later..  I forgot to take a picture of the final product because we were too busy enjoying our company :)

Dough separated into balls, ready to be rolled out.

Dough rolled out and ready to be sliced.

Gnocchi dumplings ready for cooking.

Starting to float to the top.

Frying them up makes the outside a little crispier.

Sauce - plain tomato sauce with goat cheese, garlic, sautéed vegetables, and herbs.

For dessert we enjoyed yogurt parfait - plain greek yogurt (with a touch of honey added), layered with fruit and granola, topped with real whipped cream.  It was delicious!  Again, no picture...but I am sure I will make it again!

The main challenge of today was that our neighbour, who makes the BEST LONG-JOHN DOUGHNUTS EVER made some and dropped them off at our house...and I COULDN'T EAT THEM!!!  Waaaahhhhh!  But, our company enjoyed them, so that's great, and now they are no longer sitting on the counter tempting me.  Challenge overcome.

Make Ahead Vegetarian Lasagna

I'm a big fan of easy recipes, and also a big fan of making things ahead so that all I have to do is pop them in the oven!  So, here is an easy AND make-ahead vegetarian lasagna!  (found on a milk ad in the November 2012 issue of Canadian Living magazine).  Prep time is about 20-25 minutes (including cooking the cream sauce), then you need to let it sit in the fridge for 8-24 hours.  I got all of the prep, dishes washed, and typed this blog while my 8 month old had her nap :)

Make Ahead Vegetarian Lasagna

Ingredients:

¼ C all purpose flour

2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning

½ tsp pepper

2 C half-and-half cream

2 C low-sodium tomato pasta sauce (1 1/2 C, then 1/2 C later)

1 C water (1/2 C, then 1/2 C later)

12 Lasagne noodles

2 pkg frozen Mediterranean vegetables

1 ½ C shredded mozzarella (or provolone) cheese (3 x 1/2 C)

Directions:

1) In a saucepan, whisk together flour, herbs, and pepper.  Gradually whisk in cream.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often.  Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, for 2 minutes or until thick.  Remove from heat; whisk in 1 1/2 C pasta sauce and 1/2 C water.

2) Pour 1/2 C pasta sauce and 1/2 C water into a buttered 9x13 glass baking dish; stir and spread evenly.  *Arrange 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce, breaking to fit.  Spread 1/3 of the tomato cream sauce on top of noodles.  Sprinkle 1 pkg vegetables on top of sauce.  Sprinkle 1/2 C shredded cheese.  Repeat from * once.  Top with a layer of noodles, then the rest of the sauce, then the rest of the cheese.

3) Cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.

4) Bake lasagna, covered, in 375F oven for about 40 min, or until hot, bubbling and noodles are tender.  Uncover; bake for 10 min, or until topping is browned.  Let stand 10 min before serving.

Meatless Monday - Fettucine with Creamy Mushroom and Bean Sauce

We had company over for dinner, so I decided to use them as "guinea pigs" for this recipe.  Unfortunately, I was so caught up in conversation that I forgot to take a picture.  But let me tell you, this meal was DELICIOUS!  I served it with the Chick Pea Salad from a previous post.

I got the recipe from one of my FAVOURITE cookbooks: "Gourmet Vegetarian: The Vegetarian Recipes You Must Have" by Jane Price.

Reasons why I love this cookbook:

1. The pictures are beautiful and inspiring.
2. The recipes are interesting.
3. Everything I have tried so far has been delicious.
4. Even though it is says "gourmet", the most of the recipes use ingredients that I can buy at a small town grocery store.  There are some things that you would need to get in the city or at an Asian market, but most of the ingredients are pretty easy to find or can be easily substituted.

Okay, here's the recipe:

Fettucine with Creamy Mushroom and Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

• 280g (10oz) fettucine
• 1/4 C sundried tomatoes
• 250g (9oz) green beens, trimmed
• 1 onion
• 250g (9oz) mushrooms
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 125ml (1/2C) white wine
• 310ml (1 1/4C) whipping cream
• 125ml (1/2C) vegetable stock
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp chopped basil
• 100g (2/3C) pine nuts, toasted (see NOTE)
• 50g (1 3/4oz) shaved parmesan cheese
• sprigs of fresh herbs (optional)

NOTE: toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown and fragrant.  Watch carefully as they will burn easily.

Directions:

1. Cook the fettucine in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente.  Drain, return to the pan and keep warm.
2. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes and beans into thin strips.  Chop the onion and thinly slice the mushrooms.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan.  Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened.  Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the wine, cream and stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl.  Stirring constantly, add a little of the cooking liquid.  Pour the mixture slowly into the pan, stirring constantly for 30 seconds..  Keep the heat low because if the mixture boils, it will curdle.
5. Add the beans, basil, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes and stir until heated through, then season to taste.
6. Serve the sauce over the pasta.  Garnish with the parmesan shavings and sprigs of fresh herbs, if desired.

Meatless Monday - Potato Garlic Gnocchi

Gnocchi - first of all, it is not pronounced "gah-nok-chi", or any variation of that.  The only somewhat accurate, but easier way of saying it is "naw-kee", but if you really want to get it right try "nyawk-kee"

Well, now that we've got that sorted out...what IS gnocchi?  It's more than one of those things you see on the menu at Italian restaurants and think "ummmm...I have no idea what that is...so, I'll just have the chicken fingers".

It's basically little potato and flour dumplings, though they can be made with many different kinds of veggies instead of potatoes.  I've made them with squash, and also with spinach - perhaps I will make one of these variations to use as a future recipe.  But, for today, we're going with a basic potato gnocchi, with a bit of garlic thrown in there for interest.  See, not scary at all.  Really quite simple, actually...as you will see below!

Here it is, folks:

GNOCCHI:

Ingredients:

3 or 4 regular sized potatoes - I like yellow, but any kind will do.

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 cups of all purpose flour (I normally would do 1 cup each of whole wheat all purpose, but I was out of ww, so this is what I did)

Directions:

1) Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks.  Steam the potatoes until soft (approx 25 min)

2) Mash the potatoes until smooth.

3) Mix in the garlic, salt and egg.

4) Mix in the flour a little at a time until you have soft dough (imagine pizza dough). Use more or less flour as needed.

5) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While you wait for the water, make the gnocchi. On a floured surface, roll the dough out in several long snakes, and cut into 1-inch sections. Gently roll each section with a fork (the grooves help the sauce stick better).  Drop the pieces into the boiling water, and allow them to cook until they float to the surface.  This will only take about 2 minutes!   Only do as much of the batch as will fit nicely in the pot, leaving room for the pieces to float up.  Remove the floating pieces with a slotted spoon, and keep warm in a serving dish.  Then repeat the process for the next batch.  Serve with sauce (below).

SAUCE:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

1/2 onion

1 zucchini, chopped

4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced

1 C chick peas

1 jar of tomato sauce

a splash of soya sauce

a squeeze of BBQ sauce

chopped fresh herbs (I like basil and oregano...dry will work great too!)...to taste

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a frying pan (medium heat).

2) Saute the onion until it starts to get soft.  Add the zucchini and mushrooms.  Cook until they start to soften up.

3) Add the chick peas; tomato, soya and BBQ sauces; and the herbs.  Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook until the sauce is warmed through.  *Optional - if you let it simmer for 10 min or so, on low, the flavours will blend more, but the zucchini will be very soft.

4) Serve over gnocchi (or whatever kind of pasta, really).  Top with grated Parmesan (optional).

ENJOY!  If you try this, leave a comment below to let me know how it goes!

Meatless Monday - Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

This is a delicious, hearty meal.  It's a good one to try if you do not eat a lot of vegetarian meals, or if you are not familiar with lentils.  It's also a nice meal to make if you are having non-vegetarian company for dinner because it is still a "meat-and-potatoes" kind of dish.  You can make it in a large casserole dish, but sometimes we like to make individual mini-dishes for something "fancy".

...this is just a picture of shepherd's pie, not MY recipe (I forgot to take a picture).  I will replace the picture when I make this again.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 large or medium potatoes (I prefer red or yellow)
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 C milk (I use soy milk, but any kind will do)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• about 10 cremini or white mushrooms
• 2 15-oz cans of lentils, drained (not rinsed), or 3 1/2 C cooked green lentils with a bit of liquid reserved*
• 1 or 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp seasoning blend (e.g. a ClubHouse mix, Epicure, Mrs. Dash, etc)
• black pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 C frozen peas or corn, thawed

Directions:

• Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a small mixing bowl
• Stir the margarine into the potatoes until melted, then add the milk and mash until fluffy. Cover and set aside until needed. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
• Add the lentils and their liquid and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the optional soy sauce, seasoning blend and pepper. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve in a small container. Stir into the lentil mixture.
• Mix the frozen peas or corn into the lentil mixture.
• Lightly oil a casserole dish.  Pour in the lentil mixture, then spread the potatoes evenly on top.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until the potatoes start to turn slightly golden and crusty).
• Take out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Cut into squares or wedges and serve!  Enjoy!

*Cooking lentils is EASY.  You can cook them in your rice cooker or a pot, just like rice.  No need to pre-soak or anything.

Meatless Monday - Stuffed Peppers

I've decided to try this new "feature" on my blog - "Meatless Monday"!  My husband and I are what you might call vegetarians MOST of the time.  We occasionally eat fish and seafood, and will VERY occasionally eat other types of meat depending on the circumstance, but for the most part we eat meatless.  I frequently get asked for ideas for meatless meals when people are having company that is vegetarian, or if they want to try something new and healthy.  Granted, not ALL vegetarian meals are healthy, but in this feature, I will try to have mostly healthy meals.

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffed Peppers
This is one of my all time favourite meals, and I often serve it when we have company.  For those of you who "don't like tofu", this is a good recipe to show you that tofu does not have to be flavourless and mushy!  Since cranberries and pecans can be expensive, I sometimes substitute raisins and walnuts, and it's still delicious.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice

• 6 large bell peppers (green, red, yellow...whatever colour you like!)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or red wine, or cooking sherry)

• 1 1/2 cups extra firm tofu (cut into 1 cm cubes - or smaller if you "don't like tofu")

• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a saucepan bring 3 cups water to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. (Alternatively, you could cook the rice in a rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile, core and seed green peppers, leaving bottoms intact. Place peppers in a steamer and steam for about 6 minutes.  (Alternatively, you could steam them in the microwave)
3. In a small frying pan bring soy sauce and red wine vinegar to a simmer. Add tofu and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Combine rice, tofu, cranberries, nuts, cheese, salt and pepper; mix and pack firmly into peppers. Put peppers into a baking dish, and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine tomato sauce and brown sugar; heat until hot throughout. Spoon sauce over each serving.

If you have leftover filling, it is delicious on its own for lunch the next day!!!