Fish Sticks with Sauteed Swiss Chard

I never had fish sticks growing up on as a child. The closest thing was fried flounder or catfish filets. I really didn't eat a lot of fish growing up. I was in college when I started eating salmon etc. This is a more high maintenance version of the fish sticks you get in the box, at least I'm assuming. I'm still pretty sure I have had any that I can remember at least. It probably wouldn't have been so time consuming if I didn't cut the tilapia smaller than your average fish stick. These are baked not fried and crisped up nicely in the oven.

Fish Sticks (adapted from eatingwell.com)

canola oil cooking spray
1/2 cup dry seasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup corn flake cereal
1 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large egg whites, beaten
1 pound tilapia filets, cut into strips

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
   
2. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray.
3. Place breadcrumbs, cereal flakes, lemon pepper, garlic powder, paprika and salt in a food processor process until finely ground. Transfer to a shallow dish.
4. Place flour in a second shallow dish and egg whites in a third shallow dish.
   
5. Coat each strip of fish in the flour, then the egg and then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
6. Place on wire rack.
   
7. Coat both sides of the breaded fish with cooking spray.
8. Bake until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Sauteed Swiss Chard

1 tsp olive oil
2 cups torn or sliced swiss chard
3 tbsp dried currants
2 tbsp pine nuts
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch dried rosemary
1 clove garlic

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet.
2. Add currants and pine nuts and saute until pine nuts begin to turn golden brown.
3. Add garlic and saute about 1 minute.
4. Add swiss chard and rosemary and saute until wilted.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
   

Miso Glazed Cod with Stir-fried Bok choy and Onions

I have been gone a long time. I don't know what happened but I just didn't feel like blogging. I didn't want to write. I don't necessarily think I'll be doing a lot of blogging in the next few months because I have decided to take one of my grad classes during the Spring semester.

In addition to classes, my family has restarted the Biggest Loser contest and I have recommitted to Weight Watchers. This particular recipe was last night's dinner and as always no matter what I think of her personally Martha Stewart's recipes rarely disappoint. I have never worked with miso before and it was not what I expected when bought it. Although called white miso it is really the color of brown sugar and the consistency was larger grains than I had imagined. On that note it was really easy to work with. Unfortunately J informed me that could I please not put sauces on the fish he eats (this was more of a glaze than a sauce). I had also never made cod before but having eaten it the night before at Bricco, I had a decent idea of what it should be for not overcooked.

Miso Glazed Cod with Stir-fried Bok choy and Onions (adapted from Martha Stewart)
Serves 2

12 oz skinless cod

1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1/4 cup white miso paste
1/4 cup sugar

Cooking spray

1/2 sweet onion, cut into chunks
3 heads baby bok choy, sliced thickly
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp peanut oil (or canola oil)
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil

1. In a small saucepan, combine mirin, miso, and sugar. Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
   
2. Heat broiler, with rack 6 inches from heat. Spray a baking dish with oil.
3. Place fish in dish, and brush liberally with miso mixture. Reserve 1/2 the mixture for the bok choy.
4. Broil until fillets are browned on top and opaque in the center, 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile heat peanut oil in a wok on high heat. Add onion and stir fry 2 minutes.
6. Add bok choy and stir fry another 2-3 minutes. Add soy sauce and miso and cook until half the liquid has evaporated.
   
7. Add seeds and oil and serve bok choy with cod.
   

Shrimp and Zucchini Barley Risotto

I am trying to count my points better in this last week in addition to using up produce we receive in the weekly CSA box. I think this was the last of the zucchini (just in time for my favorite season, Autumn). I knew J wouldn't be entirely impressed with this meal so I made him some baked bluefish for his dinner. This was my first attempt at making barley. I thought it had a lot of nice flavor and an interesting texture. For once I didn't even change the recipe. Low in points as well. :)

Shrimp and Zucchini Barley Risotto (adapted from Health magazine)

3 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup lightly pearled barley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon butter
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
   
2. Add zucchini and onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.
   
3. Add barley; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring frequently.
   
4. Stir in 1/2 cup broth and salt. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes).
   
5. Add shrimp; cook 4 minutes. Stir in cheese, butter, and pepper.

Scallops with Summer Corn Hash

For Father's Day we were going to make scallops wrapped in bacon as a appetizer. We ended up at the Mexican Cafe and Aldo's and didn't do any cooking at all. So I ended up with lots of ingredients at my house that I hadn't planned on having. After looking at a few thing on the Internet, I came up with this recipe. This was my first time making the large sea scallops and I cut them in half to ensure more even cooking. This was also my first time using beet greens. They are related to swiss chard and cook similarly. My mom had some beets in the fridge and the greens were crisp and beautiful. I absconded with them (just the greens, she kept the beets) and a bunch of other goodies from the weekend.

Scallops with Summer Corn Hash

3 strips of bacon
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
2 red potatoes, peeled and diced
4 ears of white corn, kernels removed
greens from 2 beets, stems chopped and leaves chiffonade
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter
scallops (I used 9 cut in half)
salt and pepper to taste (season throughout process)
a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce (I used chipotle flavored)-optional

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Set aside bacon and heat 1 tbsp of bacon grease. Add potatoes to bacon grease and cook.
   
2. Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and beet greens stems. Cook until potatoes are almost done.
3. Add beet leaves and wine and cook down until greens are wilted and wine has evaporated.
4. Add Tabasco and corn and cook until potatoes and corn are done. Crumble bacon and add back to hash.
   
5. Meanwhile heat butter in another skillet.
6. Season scallops with salt and pepper.
   
7. Sear scallops in butter, turning once.
   
8. Serve scallops with hash.

I found that the potatoes were a little bland unless I seasoned liberally with salt. FYI whenever I say salt in my blog. I am always referring to kosher salt. I don't use table salt unless I am baking and even then I don't always remember. All in all it was a really fun meal to plan and cook. As you can see the last few recipes haven't been adapted, they have been all my own. I'm sure that if I made this again I would change a few things. I think I would put the onion and garlic in with the potatoes because they didn't have enough flavor. I would also use salt and pepper more liberally and more often. The beet greens were very good. I have another two sets that I plan using on pizza later this week.

Grilled Shrimp and Chopped Vegetable Salad

Sadly, the weather and timing of this dinner didn't agree with the plan of grilling but we were able to salvage the food and create something tasty anyway. Ideally, you would grill everything. I attempted to roast the vegetables and used the grill pan for the shrimp.

Now that it's been days since I cooked this, I forget the majority of what I cooked. Basically roast some bell peppers (I like red and yellow better than green but whatever) with red onion, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt. Toss with salad greens and grilled shrimp. Before I grilled the shrimp, I tossed them with a tad of olive oil and cajun seasoning. Enjoy!

Bulgur Risotto with Corn and Shrimp

Bulgur Risotto with Corn and Shrimp (adapted from SELF)
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup bulgur wheat
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 oz fresh or frozen (thawed) raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 limes (1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
4 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Cook garlic, stirring, for 30 seconds; add bulgur and salt; stir 1 minute more.

3. Gradually stir in 2 cups boiling water, 1/2 cup at a time (waiting until bulgur absorbs it to add more), until bulgur is slightly soupy, 8 to 10 minutes. (You might not use all the water.)
   

4. Add shrimp. Cook, stirring constantly, until it turns pink, 2 to 3 minutes.
   

5. Add corn, bell pepper, juice from 1 lime and red pepper flakes; stir, adding water to keep mixture creamy. Cook until corn and pepper are cooked through.

6. Add cilantro; serve with lime wedges and goat cheese.

The goat cheese is not from the original recipe and isn't in the photo but it was so good on the risotto that I highly recommend it. I was a little skeptical before I made this but it really was very tasty. It had a very Mexican flavor to it. I don't think J was a big fan unfortunately.

Ginger Shrimp Wontons with Spicy Peanut Sauce

J was helping pick out recipes last week and he must have really been craving Asian food as you can see from the previous posts. He even had Chinese Buffet for one of his lunches, so apparently dinner almost every night wasn't enough for him. These were originally supposed to be potstickers but I didn't feel like dealing with it so these were baked nice and crunchy in the oven.
These were surprisingly fast to make. Don't be afraid of wonton wrappers; they are so much fun to work with. One day I'd like to have a dumpling party and make a bunch of fillings and sit around talking and wrapper and then snack on them during game night or whatever. If I could find enough people I would love to start a dinner club (or whatever you want to call it). Anyone interested in a once a month type of thing?

Ginger Shrimp Wontons with Spicy Peanut Sauce (adapted from Cooking Light)

(makes 24 wontons, I had some filling leftover either because I didn't fill them enough or I didn't measure my shrimp carefully enough)

1 cup shredded napa cabbage
1/3 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound cooked peeled small shrimp (I used thawed frozen pre-cooked)
Dash of hot sauce (sriracha)
24 wonton wrappers

Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. To prepare wontons, combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 4 times or until coarsely chopped.
2. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to prevent drying), spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons shrimp mixture into center of each wrapper.
3. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place pot stickers on a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake wontons at 400 degrees for approx. 8-10 min. Edges should be crispy but not burnt.
5. To prepare sauce, combine 1/4 cup water and next 5 ingredients (through sugar) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Serve sauce with pot stickers. Garnish with extra chopped green onions, if desired.

Sweet Orange Salmon

I am a big fan of Cooking Light recipes. I guess it is a pretty well known fact because my good friend B gave me a Cooking Light Cookbook this year. I found this recipe in that book and salmon was on sale. The recipe was extremely easy and flavorful. The orange was not over-powering and the sugar cut through the acidity.

Sweet Orange Salmon (adapted from Cooking Light)

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 salmon fillets
Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Rub spice mixture over both sides of salmon fillets.
   
4. Place salmon on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
5. Broil for 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Asian Summer Rolls

I've been to many different types of restaurants that serve some version of this cold dish. Whether it be Vietnamese, Thai, or Asian fusion, the summer roll, or fresh spring roll is a light refreshing (normally) appetizer that leaves you wanting more food but not feeling so full that you wonder why you ordered an entree. J is a huge fan of these and tends to order them whenever possible; so when I discovered that our grocery store was now carrying rice paper wrappers (sometimes called spring roll wrappers), I knew I just had to try these out for ourselves.

I was a little nervous about these at first. Anytime you are working with a new ingredient, especially one that seems so delicate it can daunting. This was surprisingly easy. The prep work took a little but of time but the actual wrapping was fairly fast. I think the next time would be much faster because I'm used to it. You should definitely prep everything before you try to start preparing these.

Asian Summer Rolls

8 rice paper wrappers
32 small shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
1 1/2 cups rice vermicelli, cooked for cold noodle preparation according to package
1-2 cups red leaf lettuce, julienned
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp peanut butter (any variety)
1 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp ginger
1/2 cup warm water (to taste)

1. Combine first 6 ingredients of dipping sauce. While mixing with a whisk, gradually add warm water until sauce reaches desired consistency/taste. Set aside.
   
2. In a large pie plate soak rice paper wrappers (do each one right before you fill and wrap it, not all at the same time) according to instructions on the box. My package suggested hot water for 15-20 seconds. As the water cooled it took a little longer to softened. I even had to microwave my water once to keep it warm. Be sure you are using a microwavable container (my pie plate was Pyrex).
3. Lay wrapper on a very clean tea towel to dry excess moisture and begin filling.
   
4. Place 4 shrimp in a row in the center of the wrapper.
5. Top with 1/8 of the noodles. Then add one 1/8 of the mint and cilantro, then 1/8 of the lettuce.
6. To wrap, fold the top fairly tightly over the filling (do not tear). Fold each of the sides in tightly and then making sure there isn't too much air inside, fold the bottom up over it all. The roll should be firm not floppy.
7. Repeat for remaining 7 wrappers.
8. Serve with dipping sauce, makes 8 rolls.

I calculated these summer rolls at 2 WW points apiece. I did not calculate for the sauce. We at a few as a main course for something nice and light.

Shrimp and Feta Pasta

I had been putting off making this because J seemed to be very negative towards the whole idea, considering he hated it and wouldn't finish his portion may prove there is some stock in his opinion of hearing about the meals. I personally thought it was tasty but maybe not tasty enough for a repeat performance. For lunch on Saturday I whipped this up, it was very easy. I would say it's probably better to follow Kevin's recipe, because I was stuck using dried herbs and shrimp I had already cooked. Enjoy!

Mustard Maple Salmon and Roasted Carrot Couscous

As you can see I'm still using the phone to take pictures. I promise I will charge the batteries tonight! Anyway, when I was in college I started eating salmon. I don't know why it took me so long to start liking fish as much as I do now. When I was a little kid we used to eat flounder breaded in cracker meal and fried with a side of baked macaroni that my mother made using white American cheese (especially during Lent). I remember holding my nose and refusing to go in the kitchen if my mother was even cooking fish. My mother would make something else for my sister and I. Usually they only had fish on payday and many times my mother would go to buy the fish at the fish market. I really only remember them eating tuna, salmon, and swordfish. When I went to college I don't remember the first time I had salmon but I feel like I was with M at the Outback. However, if that wasn't my first encounter with salmon, this is the recipe that made me fall in love with it. This is Mustard Maple Salmon. I eyeballed the ingredients and used just 2 pieces of fish but the flavor combination is delicious.

Mustard Maple Salmon (I don't know where my mother found this)

3 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets

1. Combine first five ingredients and marinate salmon in sauce for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Prepare grill or broiler (I broil mine on high because salmon tends to stick to the grill).
3. Place salmon on broiler pan and pour leftover marinade over fish. You can also occasionally baste salmon if you prefer or you are using the grill.
4. If you are using a piece with skin on the bottom (see photo) cook skin side down for 8 min on high or until it flakes easily when tested with a fork.
   

Serves 4 (WW 8 pts)

I decided to try and use up some whole wheat couscous as my side dish. I roasted 4 carrots with olive oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon. I cooked the couscous in chicken broth and added some golden raisins to allow them to plump up. I also added some chopped hazelnuts I had on hand.

Still no camera for Pad Thai and Clams

My camera is still not charged. I am looking for the battery charger but in the meantime we are having to make due with the cell phone. It's almost not worth photographing. I have been trying to make a home version of Pad Thai at home for a few years now. I don't know what it is but the from scratch variety continued to fail miserably. This time around I used a bottled sauce and it was slightly more edible but for some reason the fish sauce taste was still WAY too strong. I have no idea what they are doing differently at the Thai restaurants but this may be one of the dishes I'm going to have to leave to the professionals. Since this isn't really from scratch here are a list of the ingredients:

pad thai noodles
pad thai sauce
frozen shrimp
scallions
peanuts crushed
egg
mung bean sprouts
garlic
peanut oil

I think I remembered it all. If not there are plenty of recipes online if you want to try your hand at it. My favorite versions are served at restaurants in Maryland, Noodles Corner in Columbia and Asean Bistro, also in Columbia. In central PA it has been difficult to find something even close to these restaurants, so far the only pad thai that doesn't taste like ketchup is Bangkok Wok in Mechanicsburg. Some people like Amy's Thai in Carlisle and Pakha's Thai House in Dillsburg. I recommend some of the other dishes there but not the pad thai.

I was having another one of those cravings of mine (at least it was something I had eaten before this time) after flipping through the weekly circular of what's on sale. Last night we had some steamed clams as a splurge with a little pasta on the side if you felt like it. The clam recipe is super simple and delicious. The only think I might do next time would be to not use cooking wine because I think it made the clam broth rather salty.

Steamed Clams

48 littleneck clams
1 cup white wine
4 cloves chopped garlic
3 tbsp butter

Wash the clams well in cold water.
Melt the butter and saute the garlic briefly.
Add the wines and the clams and cook covered several minutes until clams open. It is ok to eat clams that don't pop open (unlike mussels) but use your best judgement. Serve with crusty bread (we used a whole wheat baguette).

Asian Rice with Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas

This was another semi-disappointment. As Cooking Light goes they generally have some tasty dishes. This was another adaptation but I don't think adapted enough in this case. Originally CL was serving this as a snow peas recipe. Sadly I am not a fan of snow peas so as a general rule I sub sugar snap peas. In this case I should have stir-fried the shrimp in the sauce instead of pouring it over the shrimp later. J said I shouldn't make this again. I kind of liked it but it felt like a waste of shrimp since it wasn't very flavorful. So here it is but I would try something a little different next time.

Asian Rice with Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas (adapted from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoons bottled chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas
3/4 pounds large peeled and deveined shrimp
1/4 cup diagonally cut green onions
2 teaspoons slivered almonds, toasted

1. Combine long-grain rice, 1 cup water, and fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, hot sauce, and garlic in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Set aside.
3. Cook peas and shrimp in boiling water 2 minutes or until shrimp are done. Drain. Add peas, shrimp, green onions, and rice to soy mixture; toss well to combine. Top with almonds. Serve immediately.

Creamy Seafood Risotto

After I realized that I won't be able to make as many meals as I thought because we are going to the Blink 182 concert this week, I decided to make the risotto as soon as I bought the seafood. To my surprise I was able to buy all the seafood for less than $5. Unfortunately for me, I had to make it a little wetter to start out since J will be eating his dinner when he gets home and I ate mine when it was finished. I also forgot to crush the saffron threads so it probably is less yellow and flavorful than it would have been. This was also my first attempt at cooking calamari so it was a little bit of an adventure.

Creamy Seafood Risotto
Adapted from Culinary Adventures of a New Wife (Adapted from Cooking Light, October '08)

2 cups chicken broth
3/4 8 oz. bottle clam juice
2 teaspoons butter
1 chopped shallot
1/8 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 chopped Roma tomato
4 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 ounces bay scallops
1 squid body cut into rings
2 tablespoons light cream
Chopped parsley


1. Bring broth and clam juice to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

2. Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add shallots & onion to pan and cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add rice and saffron to pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add lemon juice to pan; cook 15 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup hot broth mixture; cook 2 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next. If the liquid is cooking off too quickly, turn the heat down a little.

3. Stir in tomatoes; cook for 1 minute. Stir in shrimp, calamari and scallops; cook for 4 minutes or until seafood is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cream.



I don't know if I would make this again. I'm going to wait for J's opinion and then decide.