Orange Roughy a new way

Orange Roughy was on sale this week, and since it is one of my favorites I couldn’t resist.  I found a new recipe and it was actually quite yummy.  It paired well with wild rice and brussels sprouts (although I realize our love of brussels sprouts is not widely shared). 

 

MEDITERANEAN ORANGE ROUGHY

INGREDIENTS

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup dry white wine

1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped

4 (4 ounce) fillets orange roughy

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pinch dried thyme, crushed

1 pinch dried rosemary, crushed

1/4 cup sliced black olives, drained

1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in green onions, and cook until tender, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Mix white wine and tomatoes with the green onions, and bring to a boil. Place orange roughy fillets in the white wine mixture. Season with basil, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until fish is easily flaked with a fork. Remove fish fillets from skillet.
3. Sprinkle fish fillets with black olives and feta cheese.

Whirly Pop!

This past Friday night was movie night at our house.  But first… we had a little fun with the Whirly Pop.  In case you feel out of the loop, a Whirly Pop is a cool popcorn popper that makes popcorn the good, old fashioned way -on the stove.  My parents introduced us to it (thanks Mom & Dad!), and not only is saying the name tons of fun, but Jackson loved turning the little handle and hearing all the kernels “whirl” and “pop”.  The taste also got a big thumbs up.  So much tastier than microwave popcorn!

Fun With Comfort Food

 

 Happy “foodie Friday”!  So I have been craving some good ‘ole Mac-N-Cheese lately, but the boxed version wasn’t going to cut it.  I found this great recipe on The Food Network and made some alterations of my own (added extra oinions, 2 cloves of garlic, some Dijon mustard and a touch of chili powder, and used whole wheat pasta instead).  The picture is not too great since I forgot to take it until dinner was over, but as they say, it “hit the spot”!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

 

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it’s free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Some New Finds

For today’s “foodie Friday” version, I thought I would pass along 2 of my recent internet site finds.  The first is a real gem.  Let me introduce it by asking: How many times have you opened the refrigerator or cupboard, stared at the contents inside and declared, “I have nothing to make!” (It is similar to the way we open our closets and declare we have nothing to wear.  Although there are sites for that as well.)  Anyway…. this site is for you!!!  Really folks, it can’ get any easier than this.  “Cooking By Numbers” literally asks you to open your cupboards and your refrigerator, check off the ingredients that you have, and it will suggest several tasty recipes that you can make with only the ingredients on hand.  Great way to use up those things that usually end up getting thrown out only after they have tuned into something unrecognizable. 

Not only is this site useful, but witty as well.  I “tested” it by seeing what it would tell me if I checked coffee as the only ingredient available.  Here is what it said “So you only have coffee?  Well make a cup, ponder on life and why you have no food in the house.” (It also provided the “recipe” for a cup of coffee.)  For another laugh, check out the recipe for “Apple on its own” that comes up when you check the apple box.  All laughs aside, I was amazed at how many recipes it could come up with using the limited (and random) ingredients I had available.

The second site is much, much different, although it still made it into the “foodie” category.  There is not much I can do to explain, so take a look for yourself.  If you don’t find the cake you are looking for at Mike’s Amazing Cake’s, then I don’t know what to tell you.  I can think of numerous occasions where the “eyeball cake” would be just the right touch.  Not only that, but the snazzy music playing in the background, puts you in a cake-buying-mood for sure!

More red lentils please! (?)

So I bought some of these… now what?

I have decided to add more types of grains and legumes to my diet this year, and to explore more “whole food” type recipes.  (Call it a resolution if you must, but it was not an official one.)  Anyway, I read somewhere that lentils (especially red ones) are full of protein, so I purchased some on my last trip to the grocery store.  Then, having no idea what to do with them, I did a little searching for recipes.  I was surprised at how few recipes there were (recipes that actually sounded appealing that is), but I did find this one from the New York Times of all places, as well as this one.  So I will be trying one of them soon and will let you know how it turns out.  By the way, if you happen to have a good red lentil recipe, send it my way!