Lemon Dill Tilapia with Asparagus

I was looking online for a recipe for tilapia packets. I wanted something quick and easy and I wanted to have asparagus with it. I found this recipe from Hungry Girl and made just a couple of changes to it, added dill and white wine. The fish had great flavor. It could have used a bit more lemon and salt. I'd make it again though because it was good and very easy to make, great for a weeknight meal.


Ingredients

• 2 tilapia filets
• 1 bunch of asparagus stalks, tough ends removed
• 1 lemon
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon choppsed fresh dill
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• spash of white wine (I didn't measure, but probably 2 Tablespoons, divided)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, mix together butter, parsley, dill, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Lay out 2 large pieces of heavy-duty foil. Line up the stalks side by side in the center of the foil. Lay the fish on top of the asparagus.
4. Spread butter mixture evenly over the fish, and top with lemon slices. Juice the remaining lemon over the fish. Add a splash of white wine. Fold and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.
5. Place packet on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, until asparagus is tender and fish is cooked through.
6. Allow packet to cool for a few minutes, and then cut to release steam before opening it entirely. (Careful -- steam will be hot.) Arrange fish and asparagus on a plate (use the lemon slices as a pretty garnish), admire, and eat!

Inside Out Lasagna

I love lasagna but it always makes so much! Of course I could half a recipe or freeze half, but I never think of that. I found this recipe for Inside Out Lasagna from Eating Well and it looked really good. I made just a couple of changes. I used about half of the spinach, added ground beef and italian spices. Growing up, I loved my mom's lasagna and she used cottage cheese instead of ricotta and I have to say I still really enjoy cottage cheese in lasagna. So instead of the ricotta I used cottage cheese and I also added some mozzarella cheese. It turned out really good, nice and cheesy! I'd make it again. I'm not sure it's any easier than lasagna but it's definitely good to change things up a bit.


Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole-wheat rotini or fusilli
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef
• 8 ounces sliced white mushrooms (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon italian seasoning (I didn't measure this, just eyeballed it.)
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup mozzerella cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta; cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft.
3. Add ground beef and brown.
4. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms release their liquid, 4 to 6 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, spinach, tomato paste, and italian seasoning. Increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring once halfway through, until the spinach is wilted, about 4 minutes. Mix in cottage cheese.
6. Toss the sauce with the pasta. Top with mozzerella cheese and gently mix in.

Deviled Eggs

My friend had her baby shower today. She had a lot of people helping with the food, but I wanted to help too! So I made deviled eggs and pumpkin bars. I love deviled eggs but I'm kind of picky with them. I don't like relish or anything chunky in them and I don't like them to be too mustardy. This recipe, which I found on All Recipes, is really good. I add just a little extra mayonnaise to my liking and cut the salt down a bit. I make mine in the food processor and then use a piping bag to fill the eggs.

Ingredients

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Paprika

Directions

1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks and set whites aside. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt; mix well. Stuff or pipe into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

40 Clove Garlic Chicken & Roasted Butternut Squash

I've seen several recipes for 40 clove garlic chicken, from A Year of Slow Cooking and Crepes of Wrath. They both look so good but the thought of 40 cloves of garlic scared me. I decided to give it a try, kind of did a combination of the two recipes. I paired it with roasted butternut squash with agave and balsamic vinegar glaze from Kalyn's Kitchen. The chicken was great! I used boned chicken breasts but took the skin off. It cooked for about 6 hours and I think any longer would have dried the chicken out. It probably wouldn't have been dry if I kept the skin on or used dark meat. The squash was okay. I cooked it for almost 40 minutes and it still didn't seem done. The flavor was good but not amazing. Maybe I just should have kept it in a little bit longer. I actually had some of the chicken today with the Cottage Potatoes from earlier in the week. They worked really well together!


Slow Cooker 40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chicken (I used 4 pounds of bone-in chicken breasts with the skin removed.)
• 1 large onion (or 2 bitties, like I used), sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup white wine (I didn't measure, just put a couple of splashes in.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 40 cloves of garlic, peeled but still whole (about 3 bulbs of garlic)

Directions

1. Place onion slices on the bottom of the stoneware insert. Add white wine
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss chicken parts with olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and all of the garlic cloves. Pour into slow cooker, on top of the onion.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6.

Agave Balsamic Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 buttercup squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 T Agave Nectar (preferably amber variety)
• 2 T good quality balsamic vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray roasting pan with non-stick spray or olive oil.
2. In a bowl, mix together agave nectar and balsamic vinegar. Add butternut squash and toss to coat. Lay squash in single layer on roasting pan.
3. Roast squash 30 minutes, or until squash pierces easily with a fork and is lightly browned. Stir part way through.
4. Grind black pepper and sea salt over squash and serve hot.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf and Cottage Potatoes

It's been chilly lately which had me craving some comfort food. I haven't had meatloaf in years so I decided to find a yummy recipe. After some searching, I finally decided to try this recipe from All Recipes. I was originally thinking of doing a side of scalloped potatoes but when I found Paula Deen's Cottage Potatoes I knew I had to give them a try.

The meatloaf was really good. I might saute the onions before adding them to the meat next time. The recipe has you put the glaze on the bottom of the pan and the meat on top. I actually put 2 slices of bread in the pan, then the meat, and the glaze on top. I added the sliced bread because I heard they soak up any grease. I added ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce to the glaze and decreased the brown sugar to 1/4 cup. It was pretty sweet still so I'm glad I cut it down. Half a cup would have been way too sweet.

The potatoes were really good and easy too! I sauteed the onions before adding them to the potatoes, which was a good decision. I also had some white cheddar cheese which I grated and added to the top. It was good with the cheese but it would have been just as good without. Delicious!!! I will definitely be making these again.


Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup finely seasoned bread crumbs
• slices of bread

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
2. Place bread slices at bottom of pan. (I used 2 pieces.)
3. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Set aside
4. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the bread slices. Cover with ketchup mixture.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

Paula Deen's Cottage Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 large Idaho potatoes
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Scrub the potatoes, slice them, and put in a pot with water to cover. Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain and mash them with 2 tablespoons of the butter.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute onion until tender.
4. Add the cottage cheese, onion, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture gently, and then put in a greased casserole. Dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle with paprika. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Add the cheese after 20 minutes of cooking.

Chicken, Apple Gravy, Rice Pilaf, & Green Beans

I came across this Rachel Ray recipe the other day. The apple cider in it really intrigued me, especially since it's fall. I knew I'd have to give it a try. I didn't cook the green beans the way she said to. I figured it'd be easier to just toss them in a pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and garlic and roast at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. I also didn't add the peas to the rice because I don't like them. However, the rest of the rice recipe I kept the same and the rice was delicious! I will definitely make that again. In the future, though, I'd probably do brown rice. The gravy was really good. My butter got a little browned because my pan was too warm when I added it. But it was still very good. I will definitely make this recipe again.



Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1-1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 3-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium heat. Add the rice and toast until light brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in 2 1/2 cups broth and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, stir in the cheese.
2. While the rice cooks, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until the juices run clear, 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet, then whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the apple cider and 1 cup chicken broth and cook until slightly thickened; season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. Pour the apple gravy over the chicken and serve the rice and green beans alongside.

CrockPot Tex Mex Pot Roast

There's a wonderful blog called A Year of Slow Cooking. Stephanie challenged herself in 2008 to use her crockpot everyday for a year. Since I've been trying to find more recipes for the crockpot, her blog has been my go-to site. I found this recipe for Tex Mex Pot Roast. It turned out really good! It was so easy, practically zero prep work but the result was wonderful. The only change I made to it was added a little onion and garlic powder. Also, instead of adding canned corn I used frozen corn. Stephanie served her's on top of a baked potato, so I did the same. It was a great way to eat it. We had a decent amount of leftover. I wonder how it would freeze. Thoughts?


Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 (15-ounce) can chili beans, undrained
• 1 1/4 cups frozen corn
• 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel (tomatoes and chiles), undrained

Directions

1. Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Add your meat to the slow cooker. Add the chipotle chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, corn, and all the canned ingredients.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 6.