Fish cooked in a Bag with veg

 One of my goals this year is to eat healthier. Did you know the Food Guide Pyramid is no longer in use? Now the USDA wants our meals to look more like this:

I like it. It helps me know how much of each item we should be eating during our meals. Much more simple! So tonight, I sort of just threw this meal together. No, really. I did. And I got the recipe from Cook This, Not That!


If you haven't seen the Eat This, Not That! books, you really should check them out. They have changed the way I eat. That and Food, Inc. on Netflix instant. Worth the time, trust me!

This recipe is so simple and you can make it with any kind of fish you like.

Ingredients:

Fish fillets (3-4oz each, I used Mahi Mahi)
Onions, sliced (or fennel sliced)
grape tomatoes, halved
marinated artichoke hearts, cut up
olives, sliced (your choice here, I used manzanita)
lemon slices
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
White wine vinegar (or white wine)

Parchment paper (or foil)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Take 2 large sheets of parchment or foil, place a fillet in the center of each, and top equally with the artichokes, tomatoes, olives, fennel or onion, and lemon. Drizzle with oil and wine; season with salt and pepper. Fold the paper over the fish and seal by tightly rolling up the edges, creating a secure pouch. It's important the packets are fully sealed, so that the steam created inside can't escape.

3. Place the pouches on a baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with lemon and rice and fresh veggies.

Fish Fry Friday

 --- Fish Tacos two ways, plus sauces... in recipe card form.

Let me know what you think of the new recipe card look... Would you rather me post them this way, or the old way of typing everything out? These can be printed as regular 4x6 photos, then placed into a photo book turned into recipe book.
We had this for dinner last night (grilled version). It was delicious. I didn't have yogurt for the white sauce, so I used sour cream. It wasn't as runny as it should've been... but it had a nice kick to it. The salsa makes a ton, so be ready with a couple of bags of chips (which we are lacking... so not cool). I think this is going on the menu again for next week, it was just that good.

Lemon Chicken

Recipe courtesy of Deals to Meals. I saw this posted on Facebook a few weeks ago and thought it sounded easy and yummy and right up my husband's alley. Little did I know he doesn't like "fruity-flavored meat," as he would put it. Doh! Oh well, I thought it was delicious!! And they're totally right. You can shorten the marinade time, you can use bottled lemon juice, dried herbs, and different noodles and it tastes great! At least that's what I had to do!!


Ingredients:

1 lb. linguine (or fettuccine)
2 T. olive oil
Zest from one lemon
Juice from one lemon
½ c. chopped green onion
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese

Marinade:
½ c. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, whole
2 T. Cajun seasoning
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. minced parsley
1 T. brown sugar (or more if you like it a little sweeter)
2 T. soy sauce
2 chicken breasts, sliced. (OR 16 extra large shrimp)

Instructions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Slice thawed chicken (or shrimp). Pat dry and toss in marinade to coat. Refrigerate 1-12 hours. Cook marinated chicken with the marinade sauce in a large saute pan on medium heat until chicken is cooked. If using shrimp, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Be sure not to over cook shrimp.

Cook linguini in boiling salted water until done; drain well and rinse noodles. Combine juice of one lemon, zest, olive oil, green onions, and fresh parsley together. Add hot pasta into bowl and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken (or shrimp) with marinade into the large pasta bowl. Toss in parmesan cheese to taste and serve warm.

Another Fruit Leather: Peach, Pineapple, Mango and Orange!

Monday was a HUGE grocery shopping day for our family. I picked up some Mango/Peach Applesauce for my son, and some canned peaches and a pineapple (among other things), and I had some mandarin oranges left over in the fridge. I thought, "Hey! These might actually be really tasty as a fruit leather!" So I tried it. And.... it's a hit!

Any suggestions on a name for it? Peach, Pineapple, Mango and Orange is a bit long....

PPMO Fruit Leather

Ingredients:

3 Cups of Peach Mango Applesauce
1 Can Sliced Peaches
1/2 Fresh, diced Pineapple
1/4C canned Mandarin Oranges

1. In a blender, combine fruits and puree until smooth. Add the applesauce and continue to puree. Add a little water if too thick, or more applesauce if too thin.
2. Prepare fruit roll trays by rubbing a little oil with a paper towel all over them.
3. Carefully pour mixture onto tray (will make two trays!) and use a spoon to spread out.
4. Set dehydrator accordingly. (Mine should have been 135 for 4-8 hours, but I dried it with one last tray of jerky, so I had it at 155 for 10 hours! Needless to say, it was more like fruit chips than leather! But still tasty! )
5. Cut into pieces and roll up into plastic wrap.

Snack time! Fruit Leather/Fruit Roll-Up

My wonderful husband gave me a SWEET dehydrator for my birthday. We received one as a wedding gift and I used it quite a bit when we first moved to Utah, but it didn't last long. I went from 5 trays to 1. So I sold it at a yard sale. Most girls hate when their men get them kitchen appliances for gifts. I say, SWEET! He has seriously been given crap at checkouts for the gifts he gets me. But he listens to what I really WANT/NEED. And doesn't just get what he thinks I'd LIKE. Our first Christmas, he did give me a foot bath and such. Guess what. I used it, maybe 3 times? It's just too much work, and I don't have time for that. Last year, he gave me an electric skillet. LOVE IT! Hopefully one year I'll get that NuWave oven, or a Wok. Heaven! lol.

Anyway, back to the Fruit Leather at hand....

Have you ever tasted this flavor applesauce? My two year-old LOVES it! And that makes me happy, because it's so dang healthy! So I thought with my new handy-dandy dehydrator (that came with a fruit roll tray!), I'd make a fruit leather using said applesauce!

Doesn't it look pretty?!

Here's the recipe:

Pomegranate-Berry Fruit Leather

Ingredients:

3 cups applesauce (I actually used 2 Pomegranate cups, and 1 1/2pint homemade no-sugar applesauce)
2 cups berries (I used 1 berry pack from Schwans- strawberry/blueberry, and 1 C frozen strawberries)
about 1 C coconut water
1 packet Truvia

Instructions:

1. Lightly oil fruit roll tray.
2. Combine berries and applesauce into blender and puree, adding coconut water as needed. Add truvia, especially if berries are a little tart. Puree until smooth.
3. Carefully pour onto tray and spread out with spatula. Set dehydrator according to it's instructions (mine was 130-140 degrees for 4-10hrs).
4. Once completely dried (no bubbles or "wet" spots, easily removable), carefully cut into strips/triangles/whatever and wrap in plastic wrap.

Let me know of any of your favorite combinations! I'd love to try them!

And the best part? BOTH my boys (picky eaters) loved it!!!

**If you don't have a dehydrator at home, I HIGHLY recommend picking one up. With mine, I can dry soups/sauces, herbs, any veggies and fruit and especially jerky! One of my favorite items in the kitchen!

Sunday Dinner AND Dessert: Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken w/ Root Veggies AND Peaches 'n' Cream

It's Sunday, it's a special day. Which calls for a special meal! Tonight's menu includes a whole herb-roasted Chicken with roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and onions.
Plus, a yummy dessert of Peaches 'n' Cream. Enjoy!!

Herb-Roasted Citrus Chicken

The chicken recipe is a mixture of Ming Tsai's Cranberry-Glazed Chicken, Jamie Oliver's Herb-Roasted Chicken, and a little of my own ideas.

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (can also use 4 chicken breasts, cooking time will vary)
8 Cloves Garlic, minced (or pressed is my favorite) and separated
thumb-size piece of fresh Ginger, minced
Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon (keep rind to place inside cavity) and 2 limes
Fresh Parsley (I used 3-5 ice cubes - check under Herbs for info on that)
2 TBS Rosemary
1TBS Red Chile Flakes
2 Bay Leaves
Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Yellow Onions, diced
2-3 Sweet Potatoes, diced
sm. bag of baby Carrots (or 2 Fennel/Anise bulbs, cored and sliced)

Instructions:

1. Combine all herbs and spices- except Bay Leaves, half the minced garlic, oil, lemon and lime juices into food processor/blender. Blend well. Pat chicken dry and carefully poor marinade mixture all over. Starting at the neck, lift up the skin to break it apart from the meat and gently stuff a little marinade inside. Pour remaining marinade inside cavity, and add lemon rinds. Allow to sit at least 4 hours, or over night.

2. Pre-heat oven to 500-550 and pre-heat roasting pan. Once heated, place chicken in pan, place bay leaves on top, and brown 15-20 minutes, turning pan around half-way through. In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel/carrots, and onions. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once chicken is browned, reduce heat to 350 and cover with foil. Roast for 45-55 minutes.

3. Uncover and add the veggies to the pan. If you can, lift up the chicken a little so the veg can fall underneath. (Once again, I don't like my veg soggy, and I've found this it the best way to fully cook everything without OVER-cooking anything). Recover with foil and allow to cook another 50-60 minutes, depending on size of chicken (you're looking for a temp of 160-165). Take it out and place it on a cutting board and lightly tent with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving it. Spoon the veg into a bowl.

Enjoy!

Peaches 'n' Cream - Grandma Style

Three simple ingredients and 20-40 minutes is all it takes for this delicious recipe, brought to you by my own mom!

Ingredients:

Peaches (1-2 per person)
3TBS white Sugar (per serving)
Half and Half


Instructions:

1. If you prefer, you can place the peaches into a pot and barely boil them, then dunk them into cold water and peel them. Or you can skip this step and just cut them up.
2. Cover with sugar. Lots. Of. Sugar. Allow to sit at least 20 minutes, until a "syrup" forms.
3. Dowse them in half and half.

Just a side note: I. Love. Half and Half. Yum! This recipe also works with strawberries. When I make it with strawberries, I add about 1/4 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (remember I like texture!) to my bowl, and not as much sugar.

Enjoy! I know I just did!!