We had pork chops on our menu the other night and I wanted to do something new to me and more exciting than my ole standby, shake n bake (which is still awesome). We had the ingredients for Romesco sauce, which I saw some other bloggers make here and here. I encouraged Greg to make it for us and he did. We enjoyed it a lot. So much so we made salad dressing with the leftover sauce, adding some plain yogurt and a little water the very next night. This was also very delicious!
This was a quick and easy soup to prepare that packed some great flavor with very few ingredients. 6 to be exact. It was also the first time I have ever cooked with leeks. I’ve been meaning to for a while and now that I have I don’t know how or why I waited so long! Leeks are like jumbo green onions, but you don’t use the dark green parts. They have an onion flavor that is nice and mild. They are really pretty too.
We sometimes get requests from our loyal readers for certain recipes and one we recently received was for chicken tortilla soup. This worked out perfectly because I happen to be a huge fan of tortilla soup and I have never made it before. So, I happily took on this challenge and made it on a very cold Sunday afternoon.
Summer!
This was another summery grilling inspiration. I had a hankering for seared salmon and figured to keep it light by having it on a salad with an oil based dressing. I also decided to spruce up the salad with some methods that I had never tried and some that were truly experimental, but worked out. This turned out much better than the last post, but we give you the truth here!
First off the primary ingredient, the salmon.
It did have the skin on it and I had an idea of how to get it off. I have tried to cut it off, but I always feel like I lose so much in the difficult process.
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
I sprinkled a store bought cajun seasoning on the meat side only.
Next was to prep some of the other salad ingredients. The first was to prep a foil packet of walnuts, sliced garlic, oil, and salt and pepper.
Ready for the grill
I had never roasted walnuts and garlic on the grill like this but it worked out. This packet went right onto the grill for about 6-8 minutes each side. The flavors intermingled well and I threw them right on the salad though I know some would be weary to throw the roasted garlic on the salad. Feel free to discard it or recycle it for another dish, but I think that it worked out well and was not too overpowering.
Post Grill
That was one of the new methods mentioned, the next is also a new method and one that was truly experimental and I was not sure if it would work out. I sliced 2 tomatoes in half and an avocado in half, sprayed them with a little oil, sprinkled with a little salt and pepper and then……
Whats next?
Probably not a big surprise, but right on the grill face down!
It worked out just fine and I would suggest it and try it again myself!
Maybe a minute or two less next time though
I wasn’t sure how the avocado would fare on the grill and it could have used a minute or two less but I was able to peel away some of the burnt parts sort of like peeling the blistered skin of a roasted red pepper. I sliced them and added them to the salad.
Back to the salmon. I was planning to sear it and placed it skin side down first.
Ok, I forgot my plan and put it down meat side for a second.
Once I flipped it after a few minutes, the skin came right off which was the hopeful plan!
Skin came right off. Nice!
Once the salmon was done, I sliced it and put it atop the rest of the salad ingredients.
We used some olive oil and vinegar as a dressing, though much wasn’t needed since there were so many great flavors.
In addition, I threw a little bit of goat cheese on the salad. The warm salmon and grilled veggies melted it a bit and the creaminess tasted great. Overall, was a good meal.
Sorry that new posts on the kitten have been a little sparse lately! It’s summer and work is busy (and my dropbox had been blocked for several weeks, but now it’s suddenly working again!) but here is a dish that I made recently that I hope you all will like! I started off by making a version of Smitten Kitchen’s cabbage and lime salad with roasted peanuts. Lucky for me, SK and I share an affinity for slaw and she has several recipes on her site which all look amazing. I did not have any peanuts at home (gasp! for those who know me, you know my squirrel-like nut obsession) nor did I have green cabbage or spinach. I did have carrots and bok choy (thanks to Kensington’s farmer’s market!) however, and so this is what I came up with. As you can see, I topped it with some seared (grilled) tuna and topped it with some remaining dressing from the slaw. This dish totally rocked and is pretty much summer on a plate.
First, the slaw. Per SK’s recipe, I shredded my cabbage and placed it in a colander with at least one healthy tablespoon of kosher salt. The purpose of this step is to wilt the cabbage.
While that was happening, I shredded the carrots and sliced up the bok choy. I also added some green onion.
I also created the dressing for the slaw (process not pictured). The ingredients of the dressing are certainly unconventional for a slaw (at least in my humble opinion) so check them out! Obviously you know one ingredient- limes!
Once the slaw was completed, I prepped my tuna. All I did was drizzle a little hot chili oil onto each side, and coat them with sesame seeds. Greg fired up the grill and seared each one for just a couple of minutes per side. I sliced them up and dinner was served!
Tagged bok choy, carrots, coleslaw, low carb, low fat, red cabbage, Red cabbage and lime slaw, seafood, Seared tuna, slaw
Greg made this a couple weeks ago and it was packed with flavor and very easy to put together. We used it as a topping on broiled tilapia, which is a great use for it. It could also easily be served atop any other white fish, chicken or even pork. It would also be great with tortilla chips as a dip. All in all, this is a fun little salsa to make.
fresh mango!
jalapenos for some heat and crunch
red onions add some great color to the chutney
and some citrus for acidity
serve it atop whatever you please!
Posted in Seafood, Uncategorized
Tagged chutney, dinner ideas, easy, jalapeno, low fat, mango, tilapia
Though we live in Maryland, we rarely eat crab cakes. I don’t particularly care to order them from restaurants because the crab to filler ratio is poor and they can be quite expensive. Well, luckily, crab cakes are relatively easy to make and when you can get crab meat on sale it can actually be quite inexpensive.
Such was the case when Greg found crab meat on sale at the Teeter.
On the back of the can was a crab cake recipe from Phillips. We decided to use that as our base, but also spice things up and use some ingredients we had in the house. We added jalapeno and green onion for some extra kick and used cilantro instead of parsley.
Greg originally wanted to call these ‘green crab cakes’ because of all the green ingredients we added. I was unsure about calling a seafood dish green though, but the name works once in the right context.
All of these ingredients were mixed together and formed into patties. We pan friend them in canola oil. Once they were finished we placed them on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
I just read a great article in Cooking Light that discusses how frying can be a relatively healthy way to cook foods and may not be as bad for you as once thought if done properly. Though these crab cakes were fried, they were still very light and not greasy at all.
To accompany the crab cakes I made an Asian inspired slaw. I used purple and green (white?) cabbage, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. I dressed the slaw with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. It was light and crisp and perfectly paired with the tender cakes.
When we were grocery shopping I was searching for the pre-cut cabbage but Greg encouraged me to buy the whole cabbages and use our food processor to make the slaw instead. I am so glad he did, because the outcome was so much fresher and tastier than the pre-packed cabbage.
All in all, this was one of the best meals we’ve made at home in a while. I really recommend making crab cakes at home if you are a fan of them!
Recipe for spicy cilantro and green onion crab cakes
Posted in Seafood, Sides, Uncategorized
Tagged American, crab, dinner ideas, easy, low carb, low fat, quick, seafood, semi-homemade, slaw
Well it’s official. Grilling season is upon us. Yay! We took full advantage of that and the seasonable weather and made a fabulous grilled fish dinner.
Harris Teater’s seafood selection is awesome. Greg got some really nice looking seafood while there and the prices were also very reasonable. This meal was entirely his inspiration and I am so glad it was!
On the left is the red snapper, on the right the swordfish.
He made some fresh guacamole for the topping. His recipe for guac is the same as mine (avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper) though he also added a chopped jalapeno.
He (expertly) grilled the fish and topped each fillet with a hefty spoonful of guacamole, fresh chopped cilantro, and some chopped tomato. He placed the fish on a bed of wilted spinach.
Though this dish may seem a but underwhelming, I assure you that the simplicity and freshness of the ingredients makes this dish so amazing. It was a light, but very filling meal at the same time. If you like guacamole, the possibilites seem endless in terms of what to serve it on or with. This is just another great way to use it. I preferred the swordfish over the snapper because it was stronger in fishy flavor. If you are open to eating fish, but don’t want a fish intense in flavor snapper is a great option. Both held up well on the grill so it’s really up to you.I can’t wait for more!
mmm tacos. Who doesn’t love a good taco every now and then? The beauty of the taco is that you can make it exactly how you like it and it’s still a taco (ie: hard shell, soft shell, choco taco 🙂 ). Although I do love me some of those pre-made corn taco shells or a soft flour tortilla to support my beef and cheese, we decided to go the healthier route for our taco night this time and use these large, beautiful romaine lettuce leaves. We made some fresh guacamole to complement the earthy lettuce shells and topped the tacos with cilantro and lime for a tasty version of the classic beef and cheese taco.
First, the guac. I like to make guacamole with just a few ingredients ’cause I love avocados so much.
All I use are avocados, red onion, fresh cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper.
Chop, chop, chop…
…then mash, mash, mash…
…and you have one of the most easy, yet most delicious condiments on the planet.
From here all we did was brown some ground beef, mix in a little taco seasonings, and served it atop a large lettuce leaf with some cheese, chopped tomato, guacamole, fresh cilantro and lime. Nothing fancy, but downright delicious.
Nothing processed or refined in this spin on a Mexican? American? traditional dinner food. Whole foods and tons of flavor. YUM!
I have become slightly obsessed with peanut butter lately! So when we were wondering what to do with some leftover chicken the other night it only made sense to have it with said new obsession. We stir fried some broccoli and chicken in an Asian inspired peanut sauce. We topped it over some jasmine rice and garnished it with some (more!) chopped peanuts and green onion, mmm. We made it rather spicy by adding a diced jalapeno, but the spice level you desire is completely up to you.
Unfortunately, we did not take many pictures of the cooking process. Here is a shot of the peanut sauce, which is comprised of 2 types of oil, vinegar, soy sauce, peanut butter, and some chicken broth.
We added broccoli- actually cooking it in the sauce and some already cooked chicken.
This was an easy recipe that took very little time. It was a great way to utilize the leftover chicken to make an awesome new dish. I highly recommend this one!
Starving Kitten 