From my Kitchen Friday: Broiled Tilapia

This recipe is incredibly simple. I came inside last night to begin preparations for my broccoli-stuffed chicken breast dinner, but when I got the chicken out of the fridge it was still frozen. So, I switched gears to broiled tilapia, because the fish comes out so tasty, and it is very easy to make. This fish is a favorite even with my kids! I knew I was going to make rice (the slower cooking kind, not instant), so I got my tilapia out of the freezer and set it on a cookie sheet on the stove-top to thaw while the rice was cooking.

Of course, I always have a helper (or three).

Once you are ready to cook the fish (my fish was thawed in some places and still a bit frozen in others, and it still cooked perfectly in just a few minutes), brush it first with melted butter, then sprinkle a mixture of seasoned salt and bread crumbs followed by a sprinkle of finely-chopped almonds.

Put under the broiler for 6 to 7 minutes. The fish is done when is comes apart easily with a fork. I served mine with pan-cooked broccoli and rice. Everyone had extra helpings!

Broiled Tilapia
Tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp butter, melted
seasoned salt
bread crumbs
finely chopped almonds

1. Grease a pan that is suitable for broiling. Place fish on pan and spread with melted butter. Combine seasoned salt and bread crumbs (the exact measurement doesn't really matter, it just depends on how seasoned you want your fish to be) and sprinkle onto the buttered fish. Sprinkle on finely chopped almonds.
2. Place pan under broiler for about 6 minutes. You will want to keep a close eye on it, because the fish will cook quickly. It is done cooking when it flakes apart easily with a fork. Serve immediately.

You will want to be ready to serve the fish when it comes out of the broiler, because it gets cool (and therefore nasty not as tasty) quickly.

Enjoy!

Posted on Feasting in Fellowship Fridays

Garlic and olive butter

I made some garlic and olive butter the other day that was just awesome. Ever since a bad case of pneumonia went through my kids earlier this year, it seems like their immune systems have been struggling to keep up. One of the things I have been doing to try to naturally boost their germ fighting abilities is to give them lots of garlic. Fortunately, my kids like this stuff :)
At first I was just planning on making some garlic butter to put on fresh bread for the kids, but then I remembered a yummy olive butter that I had at a restaurant and loved one time. I didn't think my kids would be crazy about the olive part, so I made their garlic butter first and then added olives to the left-over butter for me.
To make the garlic butter, I finely chopped up 4 cloves of fresh garlic, and sauteed/roasted them over low eat in just a dab of olive oil in a small skillet (so that it was basically dry cooking). I put a lid over top of the garlic as it was roasting and stirred every minute or so. I cooked just until the garlic was softening and starting to smell yummy. I added the garlic to about 3 to 4 Tbsp of room temperature butter (I knew I was going to do this ahead of time, so I set out my butter while I was making the bread) and mixed it together, adding just a pinch of salt.
I only had about a tbsp of butter left once I had buttered my three kids' pieces of warm bread, so I added another few tbsps more of the plain room temperature butter. Then I got a spoonful of green olives, finely shopped them, and added them, with another pinch of salt, to the garlic butter. 

 This was delicious!

 This was the first round, and each of us had seconds. The kids actually preferred the olive butter to the garlic butter. Now you can see why I need to make bread two loaves at a time :)

Homemade taco seasoning

I have had a few requests, both here on this blog and in "real life" for the recipe that I use for taco seasoning. As I have mentioned before, we love Mexican food, but I don't like the idea of getting pre-packaged and processed food items if I don't have to. I have really loved my Healthy Choices cookbook for this very reason. The recipe that I use for taco seasoning comes straight out of there. It is easy to make up right when I need it, although you could probably also make up a big batch and use it as needed.

Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano

Mix and use as 1 store-bought package.

Food on the brain

It seems like since my success at finally having a working meal plan began, I have been making lots of yummy new recipes. This has resulted in there being more pictures of food on my camera's memory card than there are of my kids. As I have mentioned before, we love Mexican food. So, I was delighted with the result of a new salsa recipe that I came across. I changed it up quite a bit because I didn't have fresh tomatoes and I didn't want to use any hot peppers because I knew my kids would be eating it. It came together very nicely.

 Halve one red and one orange bell pepper, chunk up a small onion or halve a large one, and add 7 or 8 garlic cloves. Roast until blackened.

Pulse in food processor just until chopped up, not until pureed. 

Measure out one cup of fresh cilantro and then chop it up. 

Pour can of tomatoes into a bowl, add your chopped up pepper mixture, and mix until well combined. Add cilantro, salt, and cider vinegar. Mix together and it will look something like this. And yes, I put that whole bite in my mouth. 

 It went well with taco salad made with bulgar burger, and it was the first to disappear on my kids' plates.

 
  Fresh Salsa
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 orange and 1 red bell pepper
1 small onion
7 to 8 garlic cloves
Bunch of fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1. Slice up the peppers and onion and place them on a sprayed cookie sheet. Add whole garlic cloves. Roast in a 450 degree oven, stirring frequently, for 15 to 20 minutes or until blackened.
2. Put roasted vegetables in a food processor and pulse until chopped up, not until pureed.
3. Add chopped veggies to the tomatoes in a medium sized bowl and mix well.
4. Measure out 1 cup of cilantro leaves and then chop them up.
5. Add cilantro, salt, and cider vinegar to salsa and mix well.

Ground beef substitute

My kids are picky meat eaters, and pretty much always have been. They really have never liked any ground up meat, and the only way this affects me is when it comes to recipes for ground beef. Most of the time I either quit making something or find another way around it (adding chunks of chicken rather than shredded chicken, etc).  However, we really like Mexican dishes, and Italian dishes with meat sauce, so I was happy to find a substitute for ground beef that my kids are cool with! It is made with bulgar wheat, which I have never used before making this. I found it in the health food section of our local grocery store. If you can't find it, I'm sure you could inquire about getting it in stock. My Libby will tell you that she doesn't like beef and instead eats bulgar wheat. I also like the idea of have a "meatless" meal without really realizing it. 

 First you pour your bulgar wheat in a pot.

 Then you chop up your onion and garlic (I always use more garlic than what is called for)

 Add onion and garlic with the rest of the sauce ingredients (tomato juice, water, pecans, molasses, and taco seasoning) in a blender.

I don't prefer to use store bought taco seasoning, because I try to stay away from pre-packaged stuff when I can, so I found a recipe for making my own, which I love. 

Blend it all up until it's smooth...

and add it to the bulgar.

Cook it for 15 minutes, and then let it sit for an hour, and it has a consistency very similar to ground seasoned beef. The first time I made this, my husband saw it in fridge and thought it was beef. It also freezes well. This is great for many things! I made it into homemade spaghetti sauce for dinner last night. I used half the batch and put the rest in the fridge to make taco "meat" for taco salads tonight.

Bulgar Burger (recipe from Healthy Choices cookbook)

2 C bulgar wheat

1 C water
1 C tomato juice
1/2 med. onion, cut into pieces
1 garlic clove
1 C pecans
2 Tbsp molasses
2 Tbsp taco seasoning

Place bulgar in kettle. Blend all other ingredients in blender until smooth. Stir blended ingredients tino bulgar in kettle. Cook over medium heat for 15 min, stirring frequently. Let set for 1 hour with lid on. Use immediately, or can also be frozen.

,

So easy cheesy chicken enchiladas

(It's quite a spread when you are feeding five)

I don't have exact measurements for this recipe, because I loosely followed a recipe from my Food Nanny cookbook (actually, it's isn't mine, it belongs to the library, and just the fact that I referred to it as mine lets me know that I REALLY need to get my own copy) for the cooking times and temperature. But, it is so quick and easy that I know it will become a family favorite.

Chicken Enchiladas
-about a pound of chicken, cut into strips
-lots of shredded cheese, in any combination you choose (the recipe calls for monterey jack and pepper jack combined with cheddar, but I only had mozzarella to combine with cheddar)
-any enchilada fillers you choose (mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, etc)
-flat tortilla shells (you can use the big or small ones, but I can only find the big ones in whole wheat, so that is what I always use)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and liberally spray your baking dish with oil. I don't like much leftovers, so I just used a square baking dish and squeezed them in there.
2. Cook the chicken until done.
3. Lay your tortilla shell out, fill it as much as you want with chicken, cheese, and whatever fillings you choose.
4. Roll up tortilla shell and hold it closed with a toothpick. Place in greased pan.
5. Once all of your tortillas are filled and in your pan, spray over your shells with olive oil. This will make sure the shells are nice and golden crispy. I also sprayed the areas where my tortillas were touching each other so they didn't stick together.
6. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until golden on top sides. Take out the toothpicks and carefully flip enchiladas over. Cook for another 5 minutes or so until golden brown.

You can serve these with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, or anything you choose.

Baked Mostaccioli (perfect for Valentine's Day!)

(sorry for the poor photo quality; even though there are huge windows in this room, it is on the side of the house opposite the sun and there is not enough good light for picture taking)

This casserole is great if you are wanting to make something red for Valentine's Day. Everyone loved it, and it was even yummy as leftovers! The recipe comes from Healthy Cooking Annual Recipes 2009. I have had the recipe for a while, but this is the first time I have made it. It will definitely be a repeat.

Baked Mostaccioli
8 oz. uncooked mostaccioli (I used another tubular pasta that was cheaper)
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups cottage cheese
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook the turkey and onion until the meat is no longer pink, drain if necessary.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and marjoram; set aside. Drain pasta.
4. Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce into an 11 in. x 7 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the pasta, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Top with cottage cheese mixture. Layer with remaining pasta, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese (dish will be full).
5. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through (I baked it covered, because my family likes soft cheesy casserole and not hard baked ones).

The verdict is that this casserole got quickly eaten up by everyone, including Remi who will be 2 in a few weeks. It kind of had a lasagna-y feel to it, because of the cottage cheese layer. It went perfectly paired with fresh bread, green beans, and salad.

Easy whole wheat dinner rolls

We absolutely devour these rolls. The recipe calls for making the dough in a bread machine, but I would suppose that if you are a regular bread maker you could figure out how to make the dough by hand. I use the bread machine because I have one and it makes it crazy easy to make these.

I found this recipe somewhere online, and I apologize that I can't remember the source.

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
1 Cup lukewarm water
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 Egg
2 Cups Bread flour (I just use a finely ground unbleached wheat flour)
1 1/4 Cups whole wheat flour (again, I use a finely ground whole wheat)
1/4 Cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp yeast
additional butter melted for brushing on tops of rolls, if desired

1. Place all ingredients (except melted butter for brushing) in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer of your machine.
2. Select Dough/Manual cycle (do not use the Delay cycle). Keep in mind that this usually takes around 1 1/2 hours.
3. When machine is finished, remove dough from pan and place on lightly floured surface. Cover dough and let rest 10 minutes.
4. Grease bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch pan. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball; place in pan. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 375 degrees, and bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool on a wire rack.

We like nice big rolls, so I use a smaller pan and only make 9 rolls instead of 15.

We had these last night with yummy chicken soup (Thursday: Comfort Food :)) and a salad.

Delicious!

Finally, the Cheeseburger Soup!

As promised, a long time ago, here is the recipe for the cheeseburger soup.

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
3/4 C chopped onion
1 quart chicken broth
2 C water
4 1/2 C diced raw potatoes
1 1/2 C shredded carrots
1 1/2 C diced celery
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

White sauce:
1/2 C butter
3/4 C flour
3 C milk
3 C processed cheese, cubed

Brown ground beef with onions; drain. In large saucepan, combine broth, water, vegetables, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. To make white sauce, melt butter in saucepan; add flour and stir until smooth. Slowly add milk and cook until thickened. Add cheese and stir until melted. Combine sauce with vegetables and ground beef and onion. Do not boil after sauce is added to the soup.



And there it is! It is sort of like a potato soup with beef in it. It's very yummy! Especially with warm bread or biscuits. Or, here is the recipe for Red Lobster's cheesy garlic biscuits (a little bonus for making you wait). They are to die for!


Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

Dough:
1 1/4 lbs. Bisquik
3 oz. freshly shredded cheddar cheese
11 oz. cold water

Garlic Spread:1/2 C melted butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley

To cold water, add Bisquik and cheese, blending in a mixing bowl. Mix until dough is firm.

Using a small scoop, place the dough on a baking pan lined with paking paper (I just put them on my well seasoned/greased cooking stone). Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. While biscuits bake, combine spread ingredients.

Brush baked biscuits with the garlic topping.


Hey, I never said it was healthy ;)


For all of you homeschoolers out there, hop on over to Octamom's blog. She's giving away a really cute homeschool T-Shirt.

Menu Planning

This has been a few weeks coming (sorry Judy!). We were talking at our last La Leche League meeting about saving money and meal planning, and I shared my new inspiration. I promised to share it with them, but then I got sidetracked.

Thanks to simple mom, I rediscovered meal planning. Back before I began having babies, I was very efficient about planning meals 2 to 4 weeks at a time. It saved a bundle of money, and reduced eating out to almost nil. Then babies came, and my patience for meal planning began to wane. I ran out of new ideas for meals, and we got tired of the same thing over and over. So, we began to eat out more and more, mostly to keep from starving to death (in reality, we ate out maybe twice a week). Finally, I had enough when a few weeks ago we were out at the chiropractor's office and Libby said, "Mama, I'm hungry. I wan Taco Bell." I decided that my family needed me to feed them nutritious, homemade meals again and I needed to figure out how I was going to do that. Then, that day or the next, I came across simple mom's meal planning idea. It is a novel idea, but of course I need someone else to think of it for me. Basically, she has a theme for each day of the week. Brilliant!

Go and check out her plan, and I will also share mine here.

• Monday: Croc*Pot/Soup
• Tuesday: Pasta
• Wednesday: Mexican
• Thursday: Casserole/Stir-fry
• Friday: Homemade pizza
• Saturday: Something easy
• Sunday: Mamaw & Papaw's (dinner at grandparent's house)

By following this rotating theme idea, it was so much easier for me to think, "okay, what pasta do I want to make Tuesday?" instead of, "what in the world can we have Tuesday?" I was actually able to sit down and plan for 4 weeks and fill in all the days in no time at all! Here is what I have planned for the next 2 weeks.



Monday, Aug. 18: Chicken tortilla soup
Tuesday, Aug 19: Lasagna toss, salad
Wednesday, Aug 20: Taco salad
Thursday, Aug 21: Mexican bean and corn casserole (from this book)
Friday, Aug 22: Homemade pizza, and Blueberry cheesecake cupcakes
Saturday, Aug. 23: Grilled cheese and tomato soup


Monday, Aug. 25: Croc*Pot chicken stew
Tuesday, Aug. 26: Olive Garden fetticuni alfredo (from a restaurant's secret recipes list that I have)
Wednesday, Aug 27: Chicken fajitas, beans, rice
Thursday, Aug. 28: General Tsao's chicken (with lots of veggies and rice)
Friday, Aug. 29: Homemade pizza, strawberry peach crisp
Saturday, Aug. 30: Chicken fingers, salad





The nice thing about this is that you can adjust it to your own family's taste. Scott doesn't like soup so much, so I have it on Mondays when he is out of town for work. I don't like casseroles so much, but Scott loves them, so I alternate between casserole and stir-fry each week. I can proudly say that we have not eaten at a restaurant in over a week (how sad is that). And the only reason we did eat out is because we had family in and ate after church before they went back home. It is so nice to know where our food comes from. And, we are saving lots of money. So, I hope this helps someone else to have a much easier time figuring out what to make for their family. I know it has for me.
What about you? Do you have any creative and fresh ideas when it comes to meal planning? Has this given you a renewed determination? If so, share it with us in the comments section.