Garlic Parsley Roasted Salmon

Salmon is my favorite fish and my favorite fish to cook.  I especially like it roasted.  It comes out perfect, every time.  (If you like roasted salmon, you could also try Cilantro Lime Salmon or Rosemary Roasted Salmon and Tomatoes).  The thing with roasted salmon however, is that you have to turn on the oven.  It's been so hot in Philly lately that I haven't wanted to turn on the oven, even with the air conditioning on.  Today it was much cooler and I thought I could afford to turn the oven on for a half hour.  It was worth it!
This salmon is simple with butter, garlic, and parsley and a touch of lemon.  How could you go wrong with those ingredients?  Yum!
I made tomato and arugula risotto as a side dish and it was a perfect meal!

Garlic Parsley Roasted Salmon

Garlic Parsley Roasted Salmon

Ingredients:
10 oz salmon fillet, cut into two pieces
2 Tbsp. melted butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place salmon on baking sheet.
Combine butter, garlic, parsley, salt, lemon, and pepper in a small bowl.
Use the back of a spatula and spread the butter mixture onto the salmon.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Cilantro Lime Salmon

Ever since Matt came back from Santa Fe, he has had a hankering for salmon; Santa Fe is not a hot bed for seafood, you know, being in a desert.  I came across this recipe from Closet Cooking, a blog I've been following for a long time and thought it sounded perfect!  I did not realize however, that my cilantro had gone bad, so this is a little sparse on cilantro, I had to scavenge around for a few good leaves.  Oh well!
I paired this with Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad and it was a great meal!

Cilantro Lime Salmon

Cilantro Lime Salmon

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. oil
1 lime, juice and zest
2 Tbsp. cilantro, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. salmon, either one big filet, or split into 2

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400.
Combine oil, lime juice and zest, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
Rub oil mixture on salmon and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until salmon is cooked to your liking.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Closet Cooking

Fish Tacos with Cilantro Sauce and Pickled Onions

These tacos are amazing.  My only complaint is that because Matt is still in Santa Fe and Alyssa doesn't eat fish, I only made one piece... I wish I had more.  I even thought about just wrapping up the sauce and some pickled onions in a tortilla and eating that.  (I didn't.)
These tacos tasted like the ones you get at a restaurant, but healthier because I didn't fry the fish, trust me, it doesn't need to be fried.
Also, I now know why restaurants normally double up the corn tortillas... mine crumbled up, but I just grabbed a fork and ate them up.
I'm planning on crab cakes tomorrow and am stoked to top them with the leftover sauce and onions!

Fish Tacos with Cilantro Sauce and Pickled Onions

Fish Tacos

For the Pickled Onions:
1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove gaarlic
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. kosher salt

Add sliced onions to a medium bowl. Pour enough boiling water over onions so that they are covered. Count to 10, then drain.
Toast cinnamon, cloves and the red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over medium heat until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes.
Whisk in vinegar, lime juice, a 1/4 cup of the sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until sugar and salt have dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour brine over onions.
Allow to stand at room temperature until cooled, cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

For the Cilantro Sauce:
½ cup plain yogurt
½ cup mayo
½ tsp lime (I used lemon because I used all the lime for the onions, so actually, either is fine)
1 handful of cilantro..I like a lot, I usually add more than a handfull
1 Tbsp. onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender or small food processor. Blend until creamy, cilantro won't really blend, but that's okay!.  Transfer to the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving (this part is necessary for the ingredients to really shine!) Enjoy!

For the Fish Tacos

2 4 oz. mahi mahi filets
2 Tbsp. butter
4 corn tortillas (or 8 if you want to double up)
4 leaves red leaf lettuce
Salt, pepper, and cumin to taste
Cilantro Sauce, above
Pickled Onions, above
Cilantro, to taste

Place nonstick pan over medium heat.  Add butter and allow to melt.
Meanwhile, cut filets in half (it's easier to fit in tortillas), season both sides with cumin, salt, and pepper, to taste.
Place fish in pan, cook both sides about 4 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.
While fish is cooking, heat up tortillas; I like to do mine over the burner for a few seconds, but if you have an electric stove do it in the microwave!
Assemble fish tacos with lettuce on the bottom, add fish, then top with a dollop of cilantro sauce and some pickled onions.  Add cilantro, if you would like!
Enjoy!

Recipe for pickled onions adapted from Adam and Joanne at Inspired Taste
Recipe for Cilantro sauce adapted from Sherron at Simply Gourmet

Rosemary Roasted Salmon and Tomatoes

Today I splurged and cooked salmon, it was very fancy... though when I told the kids at school, they told me in fact, that I was not fancy because they had salmon all the time; such is the problem with working at a private school.  Alas, my fancy meal was delicious!   I bought salmon filets without skin, which is probably the best way for this recipe.  If you do have skin-on filets, either take it off or you should quickly crisp up the skin in a frying pan before putting it in the oven.  (No one wants flabby skin.)
I took a few liberties with this recipe, as I don't have fresh herbs, but it turned out great!  The original recipe also called for thyme instead of rosemary, but I thought with the tomatoes, I would go a little more Italian than the recipe said, but I suppose that's why this is my recipe instead of the original!

Rosemary Roasted Salmon and Tomatoes 

Rosemary Roasted Salmon and Tomatoes 

Ingredients:

1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 (6 oz.) salmon filets, no skin

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425. Line a rimmed baking dish with foil.
Toss tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. rosemary, olive oil, and 1/8 tsp. salt and pepper on baking pan.  Roast 10 minutes.
Remove from oven.  Push tomatoes to one side.  Add salmon.  Sprinkle with remaining salt, pepper, and rosemary.  Roast 10 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through.
To serve, spoon tomatoes over salmon.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from The Woman's Day Everyday Cookbook

White Wine and Lemon Scallops

Scallops were on sale at the grocery store this week, so I picked some up (yay sales!) and decided to make them in a white wine lemon sauce.  I was going to make a specific recipe, but then decided to make up my own recipe instead... it turned out delicious!  

White Wine and Lemon Scallops

White Wine and Lemon Scallops

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. bay scallops
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 lemon, squeezed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. pasta (I used angel hair, but use what you like)

Preparation:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook pasta to package directions.  Set aside.
Add butter to pan over medium high heat.
When melted, add garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add wine, lemon, and parsley.
Add scallops and sprinkle with salt. Cook until scallops are slightly firm to touch, but still have give.  (They will cook fast!  They're little!)
Remove scallops and add bring wine to a boil.
Cook until reduced by about a half cup.
Add scallops to warm.
Serve over pasta.
Enjoy!

Coconut Curry Halibut

Today I decided to make fish because Alyssa wasn't going to be home until after dinner.  I was looking through an issue of Cooking Light and landed on Coconut Curry Halibut.  It sounded good, and I had all the ingredients, so I decided to give it a try.  

It ended up being awesome!  Matt loved it, and had thirds!  He also told me that the sauce was so good that I should make it without the fish as a dipping sauce for everything.  Success!

Coconut Curry Halibut

Coconut Curry Halibut

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste

1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk

1 Tbsp. lime juice

1 /2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 halibut filets

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat, whisking until smooth.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 3/4 cup (about 25 minutes).  Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and cilantro; let stand 5 minutes.  Strain to remove solids. 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil; swirl to coat the pan. 

Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and pepper. 

Add fish to pan; cook 4 minutes  on each side, or until done.  

Serve fish with sauce.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Roasted Salmon with Shallot Cream

Alyssa wasn't home tonight, so I decided to make salmon for Matt and I.  My favorite part of this recipe (besides the fact that it was delicious!) was that it was the perfect weeknight recipe.  It took about 20 minutes in total, which was perfect!  It actually would have been faster, but my salmon was still a bit frozen, so I obviously had to cook it longer.

Roasted Salmon with Shallot Cream

I served mine with green beans, which I steamed and combined with the other half of the shallot, minced, garlic, and butter.  Super yummy!


Roasted Salmon with Shallot Cream

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche if you're really fancy!)
2 Tbsp. finely minced shallots (about half a shallot)
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. dried chives
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 (4 oz.) salmon filets
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450.
Combine sour cream, shallots, milk, dill, lemon juice, chives, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.  Whisk until combined.
Place fish, skin-side down on a greased, lined, baking sheet.  Rub fish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 12 minutes. If not done, cook in 2 minute increments until done.
Serve with cream spooned on top.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Tuna Patties

I have found that the only way I can get Alyssa to eat any type of seafood is if I use tuna fish from a can... and thus far I have only been successful making tuna salad.  Tonight however, I decided to try something a little different and make canned tuna fish into tuna patties... or burgers if you will.  She actually ate them!  I consider it to be a success!
I served mine with a spoonful of tartar sauce on top of a polenta cake and Alyssa made hers into a burger.

Tuna Patty

Tuna Patties

Ingredients:
2 cans tuna fish
2 tsp. dijon mustard
Scant 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 small onion, diced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste
1 egg
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients, except olive oil, together in a medium bowl.
Form into medium sized patties (I made about 5.)
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat.
Cook patties until browned, about 3-4 minutes on each side.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Deniece K. over at keyingredient

Beer-Battered Fish

I found a recipe for beer batter awhile back on Pinterest and thought, "Hey!  I could do that," so tonight, I did.  You could use this recipe as a base beer batter for anything you feel like cooking- onion rings, fish, chicken, green bean fries, etc... it's very yummy, plus then my vegetarian friends can get in on this!
The recipe itself was very good, though I did change it a bit, however the actual cooking of the fish was only okay.
If I had deep-fried it, everything would have been fine.  I tried to be a little healthier and pan-fried it instead.  That also probably would have been fine, except the fish was still a bit frozen, so I had to flip it more times than I intended and it kind of fell apart.  Oh well, it still tasted damn good.
I also halved the recipe and it is a good thing I did!  I coated two large pieces of cod as well as a pound of green beans in the stuff and had quite a bit leftover.  If you are cooking for a small army, perfect!

Beer Batter

Beer-Battered Fish

Beer-Battered Fish

Ingredients: 
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/8 cup beer, plus more for correct consistancy
4 large white fish filets, such as cod
Vegetable oil, for frying

Preparation:
In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, black pepper, paprika, and garlic.  Mix well.
Add beer.  Whisk.
If mixture is too dry (mine was!) add beer until the consistency of a batter.
Add about 2 Tbsp. oil to large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat two fish in batter.  Add to pan.  Cook until golden brown on one side, flip until golden brown on the other side.  Set aside to a plate.  Cover.  Add 2 more Tbsp. oil to skillet and add battered fish.  Repeat.
Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from Buzzle

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Tonight I thought I would get extra fancy and make one of my dad's favorite dishes, shrimp fra diavolo.  I know my dad wasn't here to enjoy it, but that's okay, Matt and I sure did!  I found this recipe on Pinterest, and for the recipe, I actually only changed the 1/2 tsp. oregano and basil to 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning.  It tasted great!
Also, because shrimp cooks really fast, the longest part of this conversation was waiting for the water to boil for the pasta.  A super fast weeknight dinner!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Ingredients:
8 ounces (half a box) uncooked linguine
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. Italian spices
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

Preparation:
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain; keep warm.
White pasta cooks, heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, add half the garlic and shrimp.  Saute about three minutes, or until done.  Remove from pan, keep warm.
Add remaining oil and onion to pan, saute 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.  Stir in remaining
garlic pepper, Italian spices; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato paste and lemon juice.  Cook one minute.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, salt, and diced tomatoes.  Cook 5 minutes or until thickened.  Return shrimp to pan to reheat.  Serve over pasta.
Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from My Recipes

Crab Roll

Lobster Rolls are super popular in Maine and across the Northeast.  I decided to try my hand this week at making my version, using mock crab... because I got it for a dollar/pound instead of fifteen times that much.  Obviously, real crab or lobster is more delicious, but hey, I'm trying to make dinners for cheap!
The end result was pretty good, however I definitely would have liked it better with real crab or lobster meat.  Matt seemed to like it well enough however, he ate it all week!  (The recipe made a TON!)

Whoops!  I forgot to take a picture of it IN a roll, but I'm sure you can imagine what it looked like!
This goes well with Avocado and Tomato Salad for a complete meal!

Crab Roll

Ingredients:
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. Low Fat Mayonnaise
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 pound mock crab (or if you're fancy, real crab)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hot dog buns

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients except hot dog buns, in a medium bowl.
If you would like, place buttered hot dog buns on a grill pan to heat them up.
Once heated, spoon crab mixture into hot dog buns.
Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted From Ellie Krieger

Parmesan Crusted Fish

I have been on my own initiative to include more fish in my diet as part of eating healthier.  Fish is super good for you, has a small amount of calories, and is super tasty!
Okay, that's enough on the soapbox.  I found this recipe for parmesan crusted fish in my Mom's recipes and thought it sounded good.  It's been on my weekly recipe rotation for about three weeks now, but it always seems to be the one that gets bumped if we go out to eat or something.  (That's because I don't have to buy extra ingredients, it's based on pantry ingredients!)  Anyway, it finally got made this week! It turned out pretty good, though I think the fish I used could have been of better quality.  I probably would have liked it better if that were true, however Matt liked it!

Parmesan Crusted Fish

It's so crispy!

Parmesan Crusted Fish

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 pounds fish filets
1 cup parmesan, grated
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Preparation:
Beat the egg lightly with the garlic and pepper.
Coat the fish with the egg, draining off excess.  Roll the filets in parmesan to coat.  Heat the oils in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add the filets and cook until browned on one side, about three minutes.  Turn the filets over, and brown the other side, about two minutes.  Sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice.
Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Since I have been trying to cook one seafood dish a week, I decided to try my hand at tuna noodle casserole.  Though I have no recollections of my mom making this, I feel as though this is an iconic American dinner.  I found a recipe in a cookbook my Aunt bought me for Christmas which sounded delicious!  My first predicament came when I realized the cookbook was printed in England, which meant  things like ounces instead of tablespoons.  After I figured out all of the measurements, I followed the recipe except I switched cream of mushroom soup for cream of celery because mushrooms are gross!
Edit: Though I like mushrooms now, I still always use cream of celery in this casserole.  This is my go-to when company comes over.  After you taste it, you will know why!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:
7 ounces wide egg noodles
1/4 Italian bread crumbs
1 10.5 ounce can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup milk
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
5 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 5 ounce can tuna fish, drained and flaked

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than specified on the package directions.
Drain the pasta well and set aside.
Pour the soup into the pasta pot over medium heat.  Stir in milk, celery, bell peppers, 3 ounces of cheese, and parsley.
Add the tuna and stir in so that everything is incorporated.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Heat just until bubbles form on the edge of the mixture, do not bring to a boil.
Stir the pasta into the tuna mixture.
Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top in an even layer.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the cheese evenly.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!

Source: Comfort Foods

Spaghetti con Pomedoro e Tonno

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything, but it's because it's been a long time since I've cooked anything!  I was home for the whole week of Thanksgiving and I also took all of the leftovers so I didn't cook for the week after either!  I'm glad to be back in the kitchen this week though and will be trying out a bunch of new recipes!
Obviously I love my fancy-sounding recipes on here, but mostly I'm all about cheap and easy.  This recipe may sound pretentious, but it's really just some spaghetti with tuna fish in it.  I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out, but I figured I may as well try it, especially when it cost about four dollars to make four meals!
First I cooked down some onions and garlic in a big sauce pan.  I accidently burned some of the garlic because I had the oil too hot, but the final product didn't taste burnt, thank goodness!

Onions, Garlic, and Oil.  (You can see the little burnt garlics!)

After that, I added a can of stewed tomatoes.  That was supposed to be enough sauce, but it wasn't, so I also added some jarred tomato sauce. I also seasoned it with some added garlic (one can never have too much garlic).

The sauce!

After that, I flaked in a can of tuna fish and let that cook while I waited for the water to boil for the pasta.

It took forever for the water to boil because I didn't have
another medium saucepan!

Then I added the pasta and sauce together and it turned out great!  I also was supposed to use linguini, but I had two half used open boxes of pasta, so I used those.

Spaghetti con Pomdedoro e Tonno

Spaghetti con Pomedoro e Tonno

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp. basil
1 (6 oz.) can tuna, drained
1 lb. spaghetti

Preparation:
Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Season with salt and pepper and stir in the basil.
Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Flake the tuna into the tomato sauce.  Cover and simmer until heated through, 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large salted pot of water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook al dente, according to the package directions.  Drain, then toss pasta with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil.  Add about 3 ladlesful of sauce and continue to toss.  Distribute evenly, then ladle remaining sauce on top.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food Network