Fish & Seafood

Shrimp Salsa

Okay, I need to make another resolution. ALWAYS TAKE PICTURES OF THE FOOD AT MY PARTIES!!! This recipe I have made before but of course it was PB (Pre-Blog). Of course I never took pictures of the food because for the most part, why would I? Well now I will. Even if it’s with my cell phone. But until I make this again I do not have an actual picture of it. Use your imagination.

This week also marks my venture back into the workforce outside my house. I worked at home for 6 years and going back into an office is going to be a bit shocking to my system. So I am trying to get the week’s blogs done earlier so that if I am too tired I will still have the blog. If anything earth-shattering happens that I need to post I will add it to the next day’s blog. And since I may not be near a computer during the day as I am now, I will approve comments when I get home. Please bear with me. I normally don’t like to have to approve all comments but there has been a ton of spam lately and I don’t want anything slipping by. Thanks! So without further ado here is today’s post.

This salsa is a great side dish for the upcoming Super Bowl weekend. It’s easy, fast and very healthy for you! I know, healthy and Super Bowl usually don’t go together but why not? Who says it can’t? It can be served with tortilla chips so it won’t be a shock to the Super Bowl system. I would also suggest using endive leaves as a “chip” to eat this. Very tasty and still crunchy. It’s a very colorful salsa and will be a huge hit.

Photo is for illustrative purposes only. This is not the exact photo for recipe but it's close.

INGREDIENTS:

½ pound peeled, cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped

1½  cups salsa (your choice)

4 scallions, green and white parts, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

¼ cup minced cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until flavors are blended, at least an hour.

Serve with tortilla chips, endive, or whatever you choose.

Scallop & Broccoli Casserole

Well earlier today when I was trying to decide on what recipe to use in today’s blog I was stumped. I did come across a great breakfast dish I found in a magazine while I was in the gym (I read my food magazines while on the LifeCycle). But then I started making dinner with what I found in the fridge and freezer. So that became today’s blog. The final finished picture will be added to the post once it finishes baking!


Well 10 days from today I am returning to the land of the employed. I got a job at AAA South. It is a temporary seasonal position but hopefully it’ll become more. I will be working the reception desk. This will be a huge challenge for me as anyone who knows me, knows “the face”. I will leave it at that. But this job will also take time away from blogging. So I am going to try and get ahead for the first work week anyway. We will see how that works. Because as it is now I am just getting around to the blog and it’s almost 8pm! Imagine when I have a real job! So bear with me  when I start working (Jan.31 to be exact). So here is today’s recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound bay scallops

2 cups cooked brown rice (I like jasmine)

2 cups chopped broccoli, no stems

2 Laughing Cow cheese wedges, chopped (I used French Onion)

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped (Less if you aren’t a fan of garlic! Perish the thought)

1 teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup white wine (any kind you choose)

1 cup Locatelli romano cheese (or any kind of grated parmesan/romano you want)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

TOPPING:

4 tablespoons butter/butter substitute melted

1 cup panko bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large heated sauté pan add olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until just tender. Add the chopped Laughing Cow cheese.

2. Add the broccoli and sauté for about 3-5 minutes until all liquid seems to be evaporated. Add the basil, oregano and pepper flakes. Stir. Add ¼ cup of the white wine and sauté for another 5 minutes.

3. Place the rice in a large bowl. Add the veggie mix to the rice.

4. Add the scallops to the pan and cook for a minute or so. Add another ¼ cup of the wine and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until the scallops are opaque. Add them to the bowl of rice and vegetables.

5. Add the romano cheese to mixture and stir thoroughly. Add to casserole dish of choice.

6. Blend the panko bread crumbs with the melted butter. Spread evenly over the top of the casserole.


7. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 45 minutes. Topping should be browned and bubbly.


Tuna Burgers with Tapenade Aioli

Well today is back to the normal routine. No more birthday wishes, till next year! So that means back to a healthier cooking style again. Today’s recipe is originally from Bobby Flay. I tweaked it a bit by using agave nectar instead of honey and I used a hot chinese red pepper sauce instead of the chipotle pepper purée he called for. We also did not have them on rolls. The tapenade aioli is a very nice sauce for these. It did however turn a pinkish-purple color, I’m guessing from the color in the kalamata olives. Either way it’s pretty and tasted very good! The recipe was supposed to make 8 burgers, I got only 7. No biggy, there’s only two of us eating them! This dish is loaded with protein from the tuna and since there are no “fillers” it’s even better for you! I served a side of green beans with a little butter and slivered almonds.

INGREDIENTS:

1½ pounds fresh tuna steak, finely chopped (I used the food processor)

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red pepper sauce of your choice

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey

2 green onions, thinly sliced

salt

black pepper

TAPENADE AIOLI:

¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 lemon, zested

½ lemon juiced

½ cup light mayonnaise

salt & pepper


DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the tuna, mustard, pepper sauce, oil, agave/honey and green onion in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Shape the chopped tuna mixture firmly into 8 uniform patties about 1½ inches thick. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. They will hold their shape better when very cold.

2. Grill the burger for 3 minutes on each side for medium doneness. I did them in a large frying pan and 3 minutes each side worked great.Use medium-high heat.

For the tapenade aioli:

1. Combine the olives, garlic lemon zest and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Add the mayonnaise and process until smooth, season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Makes about 8 burgers. (I got 7)

Dublin Lobster

While I was reading through all the food emails I get on a daily basis (and I get a ton of them) I came across this one from Mr. Food. I know many of you have seen his TV spots on news shows or other places Foodies gather. He’s been around for years. Well this recipe caught my eye. Whenever I see lobster I get excited. Maybe because living down here in Florida they only have the warm water ones WITH NO CLAWS! Crazy huh! And I don’t care how many people try and convince me otherwise, they are NOT, I repeat NOT the same as lobsters from up north or colder waters. Nope, there is just no comparison. So stop trying to pass your spiny creatures off as what lobster is supposed to taste like and look like! Where was I now? Oh yeah, Mr. Food’s recipe for Dublin Lobster. He did a series of cooking segments in Ireland and was inspired by their version of this. If you ask me this version sounds incredible and I may just try it if I can find inexpensive lobster! HA! I may have to opt for the frozen kind. I know I know…nothing like fresh. But once again living in south Florida getting fresh lobster that won’t break the bank is a rare but beautiful thing. Either way this recipe doesn’t seem too hard and it looks fabulous!

Photo is courtesy of Mr. Food, I haven't made this yet.

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup (½ stick) butter
1/3 cup Irish whiskey (NOT BAILEYS)
1/3 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1½ pounds cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch chunks (see Note)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat, making sure it does not burn.

2. Stir in whiskey, heavy cream, salt, and pepper; heat until mixture comes to a boil. Add cooked lobster meat, reduce heat to low, and simmer until heated through. Serve in a casserole dish.

NOTE:

You can use either cooked fresh lobster meat that you buy at the fish store or seafood counter of your supermarket; frozen lobster meat, thawed; or you can cook up a 3-pound lobster and remove the meat yourself. It’s your choice!

Shrimp w/Sour Cream and Onion Dip

Well back to somewhat of a normal week. Christmas is over but we still have New Year’s coming up. So this recipe today is a redo of a dip I posted some time ago. Originally the recipe called for the shrimp to be chilled in it for at least 8 hours. This time I just cut the recipe in half and used it in place of the usual cocktail sauce. Nothing against regular cocktail sauce but it gets boring. When I served this dip with the shrimp last week it was a huge hit! Everyone loved it. The small amount I had left over also turned a little bit pink from the red onion in it. Festive! So make up a batch for New Year’s Eve and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup light mayonnaise

¼ cup light sour cream

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar (or Splenda)

¼ cup finely chopped red onion

1 tablespoon dried dill

1 pound medium-large cooked shrimp, shelled and deveined

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, onion, and dill. Mix well. Chill to set up at least an hour.

2. Serve with shrimp!

Garlic Cheese Grits and Shrimp

So for the next four days my husband and I are heading to Charleston, SC. I thought I’d look up some local recipes and adapt them to my cooking style. I have heard so much about their shrimp and grits so I figured I’d start there. My husband loves grits (he should marry them!) and I like them. We both like shrimp and garlic so this recipe seemed like a no-brainer. I haven’t made it yet but I do plan to once we get back from our trip. I am going to definitely try it while up there though! The original recipe called for 6 ounces of garlic flavored processed cheese. I am going to be using 8 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese. Fewer calories for sure and still with all the flavor. I would also use fat-free chicken broth instead of water when cooking the grits. Again, more flavor!


INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup uncooked grits

6 ounces Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese (8 wedges)

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons butter (or butter substitute)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

½ lemon, juiced

salt to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook grits according to package directions. Stir in the Laughing Cow cheese and cayenne pepper. Keep warm over low heat.

2. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute garlic and tomato until tomato begins to soften. Stir in shrimp and lemon juice. Saute until shrimp are pink. Season with salt to taste.

3. Spread warm grits on a serving platter and pour shrimp mixture on top.

Serves 4

Mussels in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

Well I am back from the Wine and Food Festival at EPCOT in Walt Disney World. We ate, we drank, we walked and sweated! A great time was had by all! This recipe was actually posted on Disney’s blog before the festival because it was going to be a new dish from a new country at the festival. Belgium. But before I made it or wrote about it I at least wanted to taste it. It was delicious! I would have gotten it again but we were so full we were happy to have tasted it at least once. The recipe looks long and difficult but it’s pretty straight forward. They actually call for fresh mussels that you have to scrub and “de-beard”, which is fine, but I have lots of frozen cooked mussels in my freezer so I will just cook them according to the package. Which is really just heating them up. So either way you want to do this will be fine. I can’t wait to make them at home. Maybe this weekend! If you like garlic and mussels then you will love this recipe.

Mussels in Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce at Belgium in EPCOT

INGREDIENTS:

ROASTED GARLIC PUREE:

2 large heads garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM SAUCE:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, minced

½ cup white wine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons Roasted Garlic Puree

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

MUSSELS:

4 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

4 thick slices sourdough bread, toasted

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS:

ROASTED GARLIC PUREE:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Remove excess papery skin from garlic, keeping head intact. Cut about ¼ off of garlic head, exposing the cloves.

2. Place each head of garlic cut side up on an individual square of aluminum foil. Drizzle each with oil. Wrap in foil, sealing edges.

3. Place pouch in oven and roast for 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

4. Squeeze garlic from skins into small bowl. Discard skins. Mash garlic with a fork until smooth.

ROASTED GARLIC CREAM SAUCE:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add wine and lemon juice, stirring to combine. Cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

2. Add cream, roasted garlic purée, salt and pepper, whisking to combine. Simmer (DO NOT BOIL) until sauce is slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside.

MUSSELS:

1. Place mussels, wine and water into a large stockpot over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Cook until mussels open, about 4 minutes. Remove and discard any mussels that do not open. Strain cooking liquid from mussels and discard liquid.

2. Place mussels in a large serving bowl or individual shallow bowls. Pour roasted garlic cream sauce over mussels and garnish with parsley, dill and chives. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Cauliflower au Gratin w/Panko Crusted Flounder

Today’s post I have to give props to Biz at My Bizzy Kitchen. (see the original recipe at My Bizzy Kitchen)The cauliflower au gratin part of the recipe is from her blog and it is so good I had to rave about it today. I had to make a few changes to the recipe only because I didn’t have all the exact ingredients. Original recipe called for skim milk, I didn’t have any so I used fat-free half-and-half; original recipe had mozzarella cheese and blue cheese, I used swiss and gorgonzola, which I had. It still came out great. I also didn’t cook the sauce long enough for it to thicken but it still came out great. There were no leftovers which is a good sign it was edible! I served it with panko crusted flounder fillets. For these I just dredged the fillets in a little soy flour, dunked in egg/milk mixture and then coated with panko bread crumbs. Just fry them in a large pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. You don’t need a ton of oil so don’t go freaking out that it’s fried. I used olive oil also. Actually the entire dish is pretty low-calorie.  Lots of protein and vitamins!

Flounder frying in very little olive oil

Cauliflower before baking

So before you look at the finished photo remember, the sauce was a bit watery! But, I also discovered that it tastes great poured over the fish as well! (no pic of that of course!) So all in all I would make this again. Very easy actually and cooked pretty fast. Oh also, the original recipe called for cooking the cauliflower first on the stove in water. I cooked mine in the microwave. Less heat since I was using the stove for the flounder and the oven was heating up for baking the cauliflower.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium head cauliflower, washed and cut into bite size pieces

1 cup fat-free half-and-half

1 tablespoon butter (I used a butter substitute)

1 tablespoon flour (I used soy flour)

3 ounces shredded swiss cheese (You can use mozzarella, monterey jack or cheddar too)

1 ounce crumbled gorgonzola cheese (You can use blue cheese too)

1 tablespoon Italian bread crumbs (I used panko)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe container with about ¼ cup of water. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-8 minutes, checking halfway through to see if it’s tender. Drain water when done. Set aside.

2. While the cauliflower is cooking melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook on medium heat for about 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, making a white sauce, stirring constantly. (Here is where I apparently didn’t cook it long enough. You can raise the heat a bit and keep stirring until it thickens up a bit. Don’t worry if it doesn’t. It’ll still taste good.)

Cauliflower au gratin!

3. Remove saucepan from the heat and mix in the other cheeses until they all melt. The gorgonzola or blue cheese may not melt all the way but that is fine as it will continue to melt in the oven. Add the cauliflower and mix well. If it’s easier to mix the cauliflower in the casserole dish you are going to use that is fine. That’s what I did. Top with the bread crumbs and bake at 425º for 15-20 minutes. I put the broiler on for a minute or so just to brown it up a little more. The cheese should be nice and bubbly! Serve

Voila! Flounder and Cauliflower au Gratin!

Makes about 4 servings.

Pecan Crusted Orange Roughy

I am always looking for ways to make fish differently. The thing is that when I find a good recipe I tend to make it over and over and over…My husband loves when I use panko bread crumbs so I decided to use that and kick it up a notch. Orange roughy is a really tasty, white flakey fish. This recipe can used with any white filet, like flounder, tilapia, snapper etc. Orange Roughy was on sale at my supermarket this week so I bought it. At a restaurant the other night I had almond crusted brook trout. It was delicious. So I decided to used crushed pecans with my orange roughy. It was really the first time I tried making it myself. It came out incredible! I could have eaten another filet easily. I used soy flour in this recipe also as it’s lower in carbs but feel free to use regular or whole wheat flour.

INGREDIENTS:

14 ounces orange roughy (2 filets)

¼ cup soy flour

¼ cup fat-free half-and-half (or any milk you choose)

1 egg

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup seasoned panko bread crumbs

salt & pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat.

2. Combine the pecans and bread crumbs on one plate. Combine the milk and egg in another bowl. Place flour on a plate.

3. Season the fish with salt and pepper and dredge in the soy flour. Then dip the fish into the egg/milk mixture and then bread crumbs/pecans.

4. Add oil to hot pan. Add fish to hot oil and cook 3-5 minutes on each side until fish flakes easily.  Coating should be golden brown.

Seafood & Cream Cheese Wontons

I have eaten many wontons in my life. But I have never made them myself. Well after I saw the recipe on Budget Bytes for Lobster & Cream Cheese Wontons I thought I should give it a try! How hard could it be! HA! It actually wasn’t that hard. The hard part was getting the hang of the wontons! First I put too much filling and it oozed out all over. What a mess. Then I put too little filling. And finally I think I got it right. Though my husband said it needed more filling. Next time I will improve. Promise! I found the wonton wrappers in the produce department near the organic stuff. They only had one size so that’s what I got. I also used light cream cheese, as usual. I have to say even though they were weird shapes, they did come out pretty tasty! I served them to my neighbors at the monthly “Girls Happy Hour” we have. They were a hit. The leftovers were gone that night when my husband got home. I served them with a teryiaki sauce for dipping. These little guys are so tasty and they are only lightly pan-fried to crisp and brown them a little bit. No deep-frying involved! And of course I added garlic to the recipe as well as some ginger.

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces light cream cheese, softened

8 ounces Imitation crab or lobster meat (of use the real stuff if you can afford it!)

1 large egg

2-3 scallions, chopped

1 package wonton wrappers

½ teaspoon Sriracha Hot Sauce (In the asian food section)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon ginger

Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, green onion, egg, Sriracha sauce, garlic and ginger. When it’s mixed well add the crabmeat breaking up the chunks as you mix them in.

2. Working on a pastry board or cutting board work in groups of about 6 wontons at a time. Have a small bowl of water to help seal the edges of the wrappers. Place about 1 teaspoon of the filling in the center of each wonton square. Using your fingers, wet the wrapper all along the edges on all 4 sides. Fold the wrapper over diagonally to form a triangle and pinch the edges to seal. Using more water if needed. Try to get as much air out of the center as possible and fold over the corners to wrap. If this doesn’t work, just fold or crimp the edges to seal as best you can. The shape doesn’t matter.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in groups of 8-10 wontons, drop them into the boiling water and remove once they begin to float (about 3 minutes). Place the boiled wontons on a cooling rack or large platter to drain. The wontons will look nice and transparent. Don’t put them on paper towels. They will stick to them if you do!

4. When you have all the wontons boiled and drained, heat a large non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, over medium-high heat. When the skillet is nice and hot, place about 8-10 wontons (depends on how many you can fit without overcrowding)in at a time. Cook on each side until they are golden brown, crispy and blistering a little in some spots. If you need more spray in the pan use as you go along. I had to add several times. This will crisp up the wontons nicely.

5. Serve warm with your choice of dipping sauce. Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, ponzu sauce all work nice. Even have some hot chinese mustard or extra Sriracha sauce if you want! I also had leftover filling so I added some chopped celery and we made a spread for crackers with it! Delicious!

Makes about 32 wontons.

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