Bake Me More

Photo Source (Betty Crocker)

I don’t often post about entrée’s here, however I thought this one was worth sharing. For all the health food critics out there, this is not a health food, so I’ll just leave it at that. I do normally strive to provide healthy, nourishing meals to my family, and this one was, as long as you don’t look at the processed side of it!

For dinner tonight I stepped out and tried something a little different. I have always wanted to prepare fish taco’s. I had some Mrs. Paul’s Crunchy Fish Sticks (better than some, still not the most nutritious choice), some 6″ tortillas and some broccoli slaw. I did a little research and found a fish taco recipe at Betty Crocker.com. I made my own version, but used the recipe as my base.

I think this kicker was the slaw. It was quick, easy and very tasty. The original recipe called for cabbage slaw, but I almost always substitute broccoli slaw instead. Here’s what it used:

Mexican Slaw for Fish Tacos

• 1 package broccoli slaw
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 – 3 tablespoons milk (skim)
• 1/2 package prepared taco seasoning

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to prepare tacos. *Add milk to desired consistency (mine appeared a little dry).

Truthfully, the list of ingredients aren’t half bad. For the rest of meal, I baked the fish sticks and to prepare the tacos, I warmed the tortillas in an ungreased skillet on medium for about 30 seconds, then folded the sides together to make more of a burrito look.

The tacos went over so well I didn’t even have time to take a photo. The picture above came from the Betty Crocker web site. I definitely will make these again, but will get a picture before they are devoured!

Looking for a quick, easy and healthy “one dish” meal? Foil packs are always a great way to serve a satisfying dish and the filling options are endless. Tonight, I chose to serve a fish and shrimp meal with rice and vegetables. Combining all of the ingredients into one pack make the need for added oils, butter and salt unnecessary. Even better, it makes for a quick clean up. I use a heavy duty foil, though there are ready made foil packs, if you want to spend the extra money.  Nutritionally, each pack comes out to right at 400 calories.

For the seasoning, I found this wonderful new seafood seasoning made by Weber. The first time I used this seasoning, my teenage daughter said that her fish was “fabulous”. From a teenager, I would say that is the ultimate compliment.

Foil Pack Shrimp, Fish, Rice and Veggies

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked instant rice
• 1 3/4 cups broth
• 2 – 3 tilapia fillets (about 16 ounces)
• 1 pound jumbo shrimp
• 1 pound bag of frozen vegetables (I used a broccoli, onion, pepper…mix)
• Weber Mango Lime Seafood Seasoning (to taste)
• 1 medium lemon cut into 1/4 inch slices
• Heavy duty foil, Cooking Spray, Butter

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray 5 (18 x 12″) sheets of foil with cooking spray.

Combine the broth and rice in a medium bowl. Let stand about 5 minutes to absorb broth. (This will help the rice to cook completely). Separate tilapia into 5 pieces and place one in the center of each foil piece. Season fish to taste. Spoon rice around each fillet, then top with equal amounts of shrimp.  Divide vegetables among each foil pack and place about 1 tsp of butter in each foil pack (if desired). Fold foil over so the edges meet, seal edges then fold again. Allow some space for ventilation but ensure an airtight closure.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and the fish is white and flakes easily. Place foil packs on plates, serve and enjoy!

In our current economic times, cost saving meals are becoming very popular. This meal cost under $10 to serve five people, with a small dish for a leftover snack too. It is very simple to make and quite fulfilling. It’s also a healthy choice to boot.

Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi with Baby Spinach

Ingredients:

• 1 box (16 oz.) linguine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 bunch diced green onions, divided (white part/green part)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 6 ounces baby spinach
• 1 lb. large shrimp
• 8 – 10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• Salt & Pepper
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, return to pot and toss with butter.

While the noodles are cooking, using a medium skillet, saute the garlic and the green onion (white part) in the olive oil then let simmer. When the pasta is ready, add the shrimp and lemon juice, spinach, tomatoes and green onion (green part) to the skillet. Cook the shrimp for about 1 minute, or until pink, then turn over. Cook 1 – 2 more minutes until the shrimp are pink through. Do not overcook however, or your shrimp would be rubbery. Toss shrimp mixture with linguine and place on plates. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Makes 6 – 8 servings, about 1 3/4 cups each. And your calories will run you right at 300 for each 6 serving.

Simple Shrimp Fried Rice

It has been a busy week. I have had very little time to cook, much less post anything new. I did however get to spend some time in the kitchen tonight – and it wasn’t just washing dishes or cleaning up after five messy people.

I picked up some fresh extra large shrimp at the grocery store with the intention to cook it yesterday, but it never happened. I knew it needed to be cooked today. With leftover rice screaming to be used, I knew what I could throw together. Fried rice is such an easy dish to “toss” together, and you can use just about any vegetable or meat, or both that you have on hand. For this one, I simply used onions and peppers with the shrimp, leftover rice and some egg.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Soy Sauce
• Red, yellow and green peppers, sliced
• Onion sliced
• Chilled cooked rice, I used about 2 cups
• 1 egg (or equal egg substitute) scrambled

Directions:

In a 10″ skillet, saute the onions and pepper in about 1 tbsp olive oil until translucent and soft. Add the shrimp, toss with some soy sauce and cook until pink, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add the rice and some more soy sauce. Stir frequently until heated through.  Add the scrambled egg, stir and serve with additional sauce.

Simple, easy, hearty.

No Fuss Fried Shrimp

The Thanksgiving turkey is always succulent and appetizing. The day after at a second family dinner it begins to lose its savour. The two days of leftovers that follow begin to be monotonous. Three weeks of reprieve and you do turkey all over again. The bird is still scrumptious, but lackluster. Two turkey sandwiches later you can’t take it anymore. It is probably good there are no other holidays whose food focus is turkey. It gives you almost a year to begin to want turkey again.

So to ease our weary turkey-ed-out selves I chose not only a different meat, but another method of preparation. Tonight we had a classic southern seafood dinner. Lacking in color perhaps, but that is about it. I was perusing the fresh seafood at our local Publix trying to decide what we would have for dinner. It was the lady at the seafood counter that inspired our meal tonight. She mentioned she was headed home to fry some shrimp with Aunt Jemima…not her Aunt… the pancake one! The shrimp sounded wonderful and the ease of preparing the batter signed the deal for me.

Ok, this is not my idea of a healthy meal, that is with the frying, but I do allow some leeway in our nutritional repertoire. This meal resembled that of a nice seafood restaurant but without the traffic and crowds, and for under $20.

Eat Me!

The Seafood Counter Lady’s Fried Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds x-large shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 box Aunt Jemima pancake mix (the add water only one)
• Seasoning to taste
• Hot oil

Directions:

Pour dry pancake mix in a medium bowl and add desired seasonings. I added seasoned salt and pepper. Add water until a thick batter forms. Dredge the shrimp through the batter and fry until golden. I used grandaddy fryer and kept the temperature at 350.

So easy and succulent, and I didn’t have to leave a tip either.

To the shrimp I added french fried potatoes for the kids and sweet potatoes for the adults. For the vegetable I steamed extra sweet corn on the cob. Dinner was a hit and there was no turkey involved.

 

Southern Fried Goodness