Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

This Tilapia was fast and easy to make on a weeknight.

Baked Oatmeal Crusted Tilapia with Lemon Mayo

Ingredients

• 4 whole Tilapia Fillets (fresh Or Frozen)
• 2 cups Quick Oats **I cut this back to 1 cup**
  
• ⅓ cups Bread Crumbs **I used panko**
  
• ⅓ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Chives, Chopped
• 2 teaspoons Parsley
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 4 Tablespoons Low-fat Mayonnaise (you May Need A Little Extra If Your Fillets Are Bigger)
• ½ teaspoons Grated Lemon Rind
• ½ teaspoons Lemon Juice

Preparation Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. Defrost/rinse fish and pat dry. Place fish fillets on the baking sheet.

3. In a bowl, mix together oats, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, measure out the mayonnaise before adding lemon rind and juice. Stir.

4. Brush tops of fish with mayonnaise, then top with the dry coating. You may feel the desire to scrimp on the mayo or feel anxious about how the texture will bake. Don’t and don’t be! The mayo melds with the coating of dry materials and thickens, creating a creamy texture. It barely tastes of mayo. Don’t go overboard with the mayo, but don’t underestimate its role in the success of this dish. If you’re not a fan of mayonnaise, I’ve read that sour cream and/or plain-flavored yogurt are excellent substitutions.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes when forked. Serve over the pasta of your choice or with vegetables.

This rice went perfectly with the tilapia. I really liked the addition of carrots.

Lemon Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter **I cut the butter back to 2 TB**
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• 2 carrots, pared and shredded
• 1 1/3 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt butter in sauce pan with tight fitting lid.
2. Add garlic and carrots; cook, stirring frequently until carrots begin to color, about 5 minutes.
3. Add rice; stir.
4. Add broth, zest and salt.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer covered, about 20 minutes.
6. Remove garlic and fluff rice.

I've been wanting to try a skillet baked cookie for awhile, and I finally got around to it. This was really yummy on Easter served warm with vanilla ice cream!

One-Pan Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

Ingredients

• 1 stick Butter
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 whole Egg
• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate, Cut In Chunks **I used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate chips**
  

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.
2. Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 15-25 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but still soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

I picked up pork chops on sale last week. I was in the mood for something grilled, so I found this marinade to try. It left the pork chops with a great flavor. Since I bought 2 packages of pork chops, I marinated one for dinner and then froze the other package in the marinade. I love having marinated, ready to thaw and grill meat in the freezer.

Oh, and Ryan was sick so I manned the grill myself! It was my first time to grill a meal to completion. I didn't even lose any asparagus to the grill.

Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard *I used spicy brown mustard*
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 pork chops ( bone-in, 1-inch-thick)

Directions

1. In a shallow dish or large zip-lock heavy-duty freezer bag, stir together the first 6 ingredients; add in pork chops.
2. Cover dish or seal bag and chill 30 minutes, turning once. ***I marinated all day***
   
3. Remove pork from marinade.
4. Grill pork over med-high heat, covered w/ grill lid for 10-12 minutes (or until done), turning once.

These waffles were really tasty. I cooked them in my regular waffle iron, but I think they would be great in the Belgian iron as well.

Overnight Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Yeast
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 cups Milk
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Melted Butter
• Nonstick Spray For Waffle Iron

Preparation Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Whisk in milk and vanilla until blended. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

2. In the morning, heat the waffle iron. Beat the egg and melted butter into the batter, which will be quite thin. Spray hot waffle iron with nonstick spray. Add just enough batter to cover the cooking surface.

3. Cook waffles until crisp and brown, but not too dark, about 2-3 minutes each.

Makes 6-8 standard waffles, or 3-4 Belgian waffles.

I made this casserole without the meat and it was great. I loved all the veggies in it and the fact that it was so easy to throw together.

Breakfast Casserole Supreme

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1 small sweet onions, chopped
• 1 small green peppers, chopped
• 2 -3 medium tomatoes, chopped **I used canned diced tomatoes, drained well**
• 1 (24 ounce) bags frozen hash brown potatoes
• 12 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 lb cubed ham or 1/2 lb thin sliced ham or 1/2 lb cooked crumbled bacon or 1/2-1 lb sausage
• 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Melt margarine and place in the bottom of 9" by 13" baking pan.
2. Spread potatoes (still frozen is okay) in bottom of the pan.
3. Sprinkle chopped vegetables over potatoes.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Sprinkle meat over potatoes and vegetables.
6. Note: At this point you may continue or casserole may be refrigerated overnight.
7. Pour beaten eggs over potatoes.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese evenly over top.
10. Bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.
11. Remove from oven and let set for approximately 5 minutes.
12. Cut into 2.5"-3" squares and serve with a spatula. Enjoy.

Tasty Tuesday

I had all the ingredients to make salsa, or so I thought... I forgot the jalapenos! I remembered I had some chipotles in adobo sauce in the fridge, so I tried using them instead to make chipotle salsa. The results were fabulous!

Jen's Smokin Salsa

Ingredients
1 can Rotel Mexican style
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro
4 chipotles in adobo sauce (or less if you can't handle the heat)
3 cloves garlic
1-2 limes, juiced
salt

Directions
Pulse the ingredients in a food processor until you reach the level of chunkiness you desire. I had to do this in several batches because this is a large batch of salsa.

I was intrigued by this recipe, so I had to try it out. Simple ingredients with an outstanding flavor. It was super fast to cook up since I had cooked ground beef in the freezer. Thumbs up around the table!

Okinawan Takoraisu (Taco Rice)

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup Onion, Chopped
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  
• 4 cups Steamed Japanese Rice (sometimes Labeled "sushi Rice") *I used long grain rice*
  
• 2 cups Lettuce, Shredded
• 2 cups Tomatoes, Chopped
• 12 ounces, weight Queso Blanco, Crumbled OR 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup Salsa
• 4 Tablespoons Sour Cream

Preparation Instructions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until the onions are barely soft. Add the ground beef and break it into small chunks. Once the meat is cooked, add the soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Let this simmer until the liquid reduces.

2. Spread 1/2 to 1 cup of the steamed rice on each plate. Top with the seasoned beef.

3. Then top with the shredded lettuce, tomatoes, queso blanco (or mozzarella), and salsa, and finish it off with a dollop of sour cream.

Fun Friday

The boys are busy at school learning songs for their spring program. Hudson is obsessed with "Grand Old Flag", he sings it all the time. I have to admit, he's pretty cute at it!

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

This bread was very good and made a huge loaf. I threw the ingredients in the bread maker and set the timer to have it ready for breakfast Sunday morning. The flavor is close to a cinnamon roll. The leftovers were great toasted. It's a keeper!

Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup Water
• 1 whole Egg
• ¼ cups Butter Or Margarine, Cut Up
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3-¾ cups Bread Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Dry Milk
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons Yeast For Bread Machine

Preparation Instructions

1. Measure and add liquid ingredients to the bread pan.

2. Measure and add dry ingredients, except yeast, to the bread pan.

3. Make a well in the dry ingredients with your finger, add yeast. Be careful and don’t let the yeast touch the wet ingredients!

4. Lock bread pan into bread machine if you haven’t done that already.

5. Select “Basic White” or “Sweet” setting and choose crust color, if applicable. (Note: I usually use the Sweet setting and choose the lightest crust.)

6. Press Start.

Big City

Ryan was on spring break last week, so we took a day trip to Chicago. We started off the morning at the Lego Store.




The only thing Hudson wanted to do was ride the "Chicago train" (meaning the El). We bought a day pass and took the El to the North side to eat lunch at our favorite Guatemalan restaurant, El Tinajon. After lunch we headed back downtown and hopped on a bus to the Field museum. It was the boys first time there. They liked seeing all the dinosaurs and animals. After a quick detour to see the jellybean in Millennium Park, we headed back home.

Go Butler!