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Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help

May 18, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hi there! I’m so glad you’re sticking around while I obviously go through something here.  I’ve been so busy with end of school year stuff, business, expanding my skill set with some online, self directed learning and I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed. Yesterday was my day to go pick up our co-op produce and I knew I had to go food shopping as well.  The idea of making dinner after all of that was just too much to bear, so I wondered how I might have a fresh, delicious dinner without breaking the bank or going off the processed food deep end.  Here’s what I came up with:

I stopped by our favorite fish place (Simply Seafood in Dunnellon) to see what they might have to help.  I was looking for their tuna salad, but they were out of it.  I decided to get some shrimp and crab salad and some salmon cakes that Deb makes fresh on site. I thought I’d make a garden salad to go with it, but then while I was at Publix, I decided that cole slaw was more what I was looking for.  I grabbed a bag of the angel hair, shredded cabbage (I think Dole makes it) and then I got inspired… When I got home, this is what we did.

Tartar Sauce: in a bowl, combine:

  • a couple of big scoops of mayo
  • a couple of spoonfuls of sweet relish
  • about a half teaspoon horseradish
  • couple of shakes of hot sauce (I used Crystal)

Stir well, cover and refrigerate

Cole Slaw: in a large measuring cup combine:

  • Couple of big scoops of mayo
  • about half a cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • couple of big pinches of celery seed
  • 4 packets of Splenda or Truvia (or whatever sweetener you like)
  • couple of grinds of black pepper

Whisk together and then pour over the cabbage.  With tongs, gently toss until all the cabbage has dressing.  Cover and refrigerate.

When you’re ready to eat, heat a saute pan on med/high heat.  Add a Tablespoons each of olive oil and butter.  Add the salmon patties and cook about 4 minutes on each side, or until you have a nice, brown crust.

Plate and eat. Literally 15 minutes prep and cook and you’re sitting down to a fresh, easy, delicious meal!  The kids couldn’t believe these weren’t crab cakes.  They were so good. The cole slaw was nice and sweet, but not over dressed and the horseradish in the tartar was inspired, if I do say so myself.  I think next time I’ll add a little more to it.  Squeeze fresh lemon over the whole plate and it’s even better.

salmon patties Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help

 I wasn’t going to share this, but when it all came together so well, I thought that there had to be other people who just can’t bear the thought of making one more dinner sometimes, and I wanted to those people to know that they’re not alone and there are lots of ways to get dinner on the table.



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Filed Under: All, Condiments, Easy Dinner, Fish, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

April 16, 2012 By 8 Comments

I know I’ve said it before, but I can not believe how much fish we’re cooking!  It was really one of my most important goals for 2012 and I’m so proud at how far, not just I, but my whole family has come on this particular journey.  This dinner was ready so quickly you can’t believe it.

  • 4 Chilean Sea Bass Fillets
  • salt and pepper
  • oil
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons capers, drained and even rinsed if yours are really briny
  • the juice of two small lemons (mine were super tiny, if you have big, juicy lemons, just use one)
  • a handful of fresh, chopped, flat leaf parsley

Take your fish out, put it on a plate and pat dry.  Salt and pepper one side.

chilean sea bass 3 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Look how pretty.  You want the fish nice and firm and with no detectable odor.

Heat a grill pan to med/high heat – oil the pan well.  When it’s almost smoking, lay the fish seasoned side down on the pan and season the other side.

chilean sea bass 2 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Meanwhile, heat up a saute pan and melt the butter. Add the lemon juice and allow to cook away while you tend to the fish.  The fish only needs a couple of minutes on each side.  I just flip it when I think it’s ready and then after a couple of minutes check for flakey opaque texture all the way through. If it’s not quite there, I flip it again.

At this point things were moving so fast, that I never got a picture of the pan, but once the lemon juice is cooking off a bit, add the capers.  Let them warm through and then remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped parsley. Stir and let stand until the fish is ready to plate. Once it’s done. Put a filet on each plate and spoon some sauce over the top.  We served it with a plain tossed salad dressed with extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.

chilean sea bass 1 Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Butter, Capers and Parsley

Elegant, delicious and ridiculously easy!



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Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

April 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sabra Hummus is BOGO at Publix this week and while you could certainly make your own, I love the Sabra brand (no one gave me anything to say that).  I think the flavors are terrific and my family eats so much of this that sometimes it’s a bit of a pain to make since I don’t buy canned beans anymore and however much I make it seems to disappear twice as quickly as it took to make.  When Sabra is BOGO, I always indulge.

I had this gorgeous salmon and I thought about pairing it with the hummus.  I Googled “Salmon with Hummus” and had over 3 million results, so people were clearly enjoying them together, but I still wasn’t super sure.  I decided to give it a shot and boy were we glad that I did. It’s delicious. Here’s what I did:

  • 4 portions of salmon, skin on
  • 3 tablespoons of butter, softened to room temperature
  • salt and pepper

Take the salmon out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature, uncovered. If there’s any moisture on the skin, pat it dry. Lightly salt the skin and let it sit for just a couple of minutes. This will help to dry it a bit more so that you can get super crispy skin.

crispy salmon with hummus 3 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

Rub the butter onto the skin – I honestly didn’t need the whole 3 tablespoons, so I just scraped of the excess.

Heat the pan to med/high heat, add two table spoons of olive oil and when it’s almost smoking, add the salmon, skin side down to the pan. If you want really crispy skin, let it cook almost completely skin side down – about 5-6 minutes. Lightly salt the top side.

crispy salmon with hummus 2 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

Flip and cook on the other side for a minute or two. Just until seared.

Plate with a nice, big scoop of the hummus – we used Roasted Red Pepper.

crispy salmon with hummus 1 Crispy Skin Salmon with Hummus

That skin was so crispy and the fish was so moist and buttery and the flavors in the hummus were perfect.  We served this with a garden salad dressed simply with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and White Balsamic vinegar.

Delicious and super easy.



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Mahi Soup

March 30, 2012 By 2 Comments

This recipe was a total fluke. I had a few ingredients and nothing else in my fridge or pantry (have I mentioned how busy we’ve been?) and I threw this together because we were starving.  It was 30 minutes from fridge to table and it was shockingly good. Like, everyone was making noises while they ate, good. Heated up beautifully the next day too.

  • 3 onions, sliced (I used 2 large spring onions and 1 red onion – combine and use whatever you like)
  • about 1 lb. of sweet peppers seeded and sliced
  • 1 large tomato chopped (I would have used more, but somebody ate the other ones for lunch)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 big handful Kalamata Olives, chopped
  • 4 Mahi Mahi filets
  • salt

Slice the onions thinly, heat a large pot with a lid on medium heat.  Add a little olive oil and when it ribbons, add the onions.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let them cook down. 

mahi soup 5 Mahi Soup

While they’re cooking, chop your peppers and tomatoes, but keep them separate. I had the most gorgeous peppers.  Sweet, from the farm and just lovely.

mahi soup 4 Mahi Soup

Aren’t they pretty? Slice them up, and add them to the onions. Continue to let this gently cook, you want all the vegetables to release all their juice, that’s what will make the broth. When the peppers start to soften, add the chopped tomato.  I only had one, so that’s what I used but I would have added two more if I had them.  I added the chopped olives another pinch of salt here too.

mahi soup 3 Mahi Soup

When there’s a lot of liquid from the vegetables in the pot, add the fish.

mahi soup 2 Mahi Soup

Cover and cook for about 11 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and easily flakes

mahi soup 1 Mahi Soup

One of the easiest recipes, ever. So healthy, so delicious and satisfying.



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

March 16, 2012 By 3 Comments

This is so easy you won’t believe it and all the fresh, salty, garlic and ginger flavors really come together in a fantastic dinner. took 25 minutes from start to finish.

  • 4 orange roughy filets
  • 8 heads baby bok choy, chopped
  • 1 large onion, divided
  • sesame oil
  • about 1 whole bulb of garlic – we like things pretty garlicky, divided
  • a small knob of ginger – all together about 3 tablespoons grated
  • Soy sauce
  • Teriyaki sauce
  • Apple Cider Vinegar (I would have used rice wine vinegar, but I was out of it)
  • Vegetable oil for the stir fry

Preheat the oven to 375.  Put the filets in a shallow baking dish.

orange roughy with bok choy 7 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

In a bowl, or large mixing cup, combine 1 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 table spoon of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of teriyaki, half of the onion chopped, half of the garlic, chopped and 2 tablespoons of the ginger, grated.

orange roughy with bok choy 6 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Stir and pour over the fish.

orange roughy with bok choy orange roughy with bok choy 5 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Cook for 17-20 minutes until it easily flakes.  Don’t let it get too dry, this is a moist, flaky fish.

Meanwhile, heat a wok on med/high heat.  Add a big glub of vegetable oil to the wok, when it ribbons add the other half of the chopped onion, garlic and ginger and stir until the onions start to sweat and the garlic and ginger smell so good you just want to eat them.

orange roughy with bok choy 4 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Add the mushrooms, toss and let them cook a little bit

orange roughy with bok choy 3 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Add the bok choy and a squirt each of teriyaki and soy sauce and cook and toss until they’re wilted.  I completely over stuffed my wok, so this took longer than I expected.

orange roughy with bok choy 2 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

Spread some vegetables on the plate and top with a filet of orange roughy. Spoon a little of the sauce from the fish over the top.

orange roughy with bok choy 1 Asian Inspired Orange Roughy with Stir Fried Bok Choy and Mushrooms

So good!



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Filed Under: All, Easy Dinner, Fish, Healthy, Lowcarb, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

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