Flounder with peppers and olives

Like everyone else out there, we are trying to improve our eating habits. I have been researching different recipes and diet plans to find more healthful meals for my family. One blog I found that I love is Kayln's Kitchen.

Kayln's blog has many recipes following the South Beach diet and the recipes are low carb and low on the glycemic index. This is important to me now because someone I love was recently diagnosed with diabetes and I want to be able to make fabulous meals for her so she does not feel like she is missing out on all the goodies that were a part of her diet.

With this change of eating, not only are we going to be leaving out sugar and flour, we are also going to be adding more fish to our diet. I am not a big fan of fish but I love almost all other seafood. I can eat fish if it is very flavorful so I am always on the look out for fish recipes with a lot of strong flavors. I found this recipe on Kayln's blog. I had flounder in my freezer so I used it instead of tilapia.

Even if you don't like fish, give this a try. The topping is great and I bet it would be good on chicken breasts as well. I think we will be giving it a try on other fish and chicken.

Park City Cashew Chicken

This is another Rachael Ray 365 meal. It is a favorite around here. It is spicy and a little sweet, plus the cashews add a wonderful crunch. I have said before how much we love stir fries and this resembles a stir fry but with less Asian flavors. It may seem like the chipotles and maple syrup should not go together, but they do.

I have made this recipe many times because everyone here loves it. One change I have made is Rachael's recipe calls for more chipotles than I use. The first time I made it, I cut back a bit on the chipotles and it was too hot for us and we love spicy food. Once we cut it back, it was much better.

The recipes I have found online for this is different than the one in the 365 book. Most of the online recipes include water chestnuts and garden peas. I think those added ingredients makes it more Asian. I choose to leave them out and follow the recipe in the book.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cups jasmine rice
4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds chicken meat (tenders; skinless, boneless breasts; skinless, boneless thighs), cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend, such as Montreal Steak Seasoning blend by McCormick
2 to 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce, such as tamari (eyeball it)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped (available in the international foods aisle), or 1 1/2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder **if you don't want super spicy food, cut this back to 1 tablespoon. You can always add more if you need more heat**
1 tablespoon ground cumin (a palmful)
2 to 3 tablespoons honey (2 healthy drizzles)
1/4 to 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (eyeball it)
2 to 3 tablespoons cilantro (a handful), chopped
1 cup raw cashews

1. Start the jasmine rice. Follow the directions on the bag.

2. While the rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Season the chicken with the grill seasoning. Add the vegetable oil (2 turns of the pan) and then the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides, season with the soy sauce, then move the chicken to 1 side of the pan. Add the sliced onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then mix the vegetables and chicken together. Add the chipotle chiles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the chicken mixture with the honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add the chopped cilantro and the cashews.

3. Spoon the rice into bowls, top with the cashew chicken and serve.

A different stirfry

This is another stir fry dinner we enjoy. It is quick, easy, and healthy. You can change up the vegetables to whatever your family enjoys. We used ground chicken this night and along with the broccoli slaw, I added a bag of coleslaw mix instead of the napa cabbage because our market didn't have any the day I was shopping for this meal. I love stir fry because of it's ease and it is great to have on a night when you need a quick dinner.


1/2 lb ground beef or ground chicken
1 TBSP toasted sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1 C broccoli slaw
1 C napa cabbage, shredded
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 TBSP lite soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Prepare rice according to its package directions

2. While the rice is cooking, in a medium skillet or wok, brown the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Remove the beef from the skillet, drain and set aside.

3. Heat sesame oil in the skillet over med-high heat. Add garlic and green onions; stir-fry for 2 min. Add the broccoli slaw and cabbage; stir-fry for 2 min. Add rice and soy sauce, stir-fry for 2 min.

4. Return the cooked ground beef to skillet with rice and vegetable mixture and season with red pepper flakes, to taste. Stir until ingredients are well combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.

Braised Chicken Thighs and Vegetables

I received a wonderful new 6.5 quart cast iron dutch oven for Christmas from my dad. I love it! We have other dutch ovens, but they are used for camping and have feet on them. I wanted one I could use in the oven and on the stove top. I've already used it twice with great results both times.



Tonight's dinner came from a Cooking Light recipe but it doesn't taste like a light meal. I didn't even realize it was "light" until I was already making it. This may have to be one of the New Year dishes when everyone is trying to watch their diet.




Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons paprika
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), skinned
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups (2-inch-thick) slices carrot
* 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
* 1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, quartered

Preparation

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag, shaking to coat.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and remaining flour mixture to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly brown. Add carrot and onion; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth, wine, and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is done and vegetables are tender.

(I put mine in the oven at 375 for an hour with the lid on, the vegetables were perfect and the chicken was as tender as could be. Delicious!)

Chicken Kabobs - Grilling for Summer

It's hot. It's time to crank the grill and leave the oven off. We look for meals where almost everything can be cooked on the grill. One of our favorites is chicken kabobs. You get your meat and veggies all in one. It takes a little prep, but you can make it the night before and let it marinate so the night you throw it on the grill, it's a quick dinner.

You can use any vegetables you like, but our favorites are onion, peppers, mushrooms, squash, and grape tomatoes. Cut everything in relatively the same size. Cut chicken breasts into one inch cubes.



Remember to soak your wooden skewers in water so they don't burn. Stack your skewers in any way you want, if someone doesn't like squash or loves tomatoes, you can make the skewers to match each person or you can do them all the same. I tend to be random when I'm making the skewers. I try to make sure I have all the colors on the skewers.



For the marinade, I usually use a zesty Italian dressing. I use full fat for the oil to keep the kabobs from sticking. You could use low fat but you would have to be sure to oil your grill grates. Sometimes I will use the a Greek style marinade (olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and garlic)

These are delicious. You'll have to take my word for how good they look when they come off of the grill. They looked and smelled so good, folks were diving in before I could get my camera out. Give them a try and see how quick they will fly off of your plate.

Try Tri Tip: It's what's for dinner

I've heard about tri tip from all of my west coast friends. They all love it and tell me how great it is on the grill. I have looked for it all over. I finally found one the other day at the commissary. I grabbed it as soon as I saw it even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it when I got it home.

I talked to a couple of my friends and they all told me to grill it whole. I decided I'd give it a rub much like that we use on our briskets. I went a little less sweet and a bit heavier on the heat. I let it sit with the rub for about an hour at room temperature so the meat would grill more evenly, plus it gave it time for the rub melted into the meat. I put some hickory chips on the grill and oh man, I wish you could have been here to smell the smoke coming from the grill.



What goes better with steak than grilled mushrooms and onions? (yes more of those vidalias) Now I know why my west coast friends love the tri tip. I'll be keeping my eye out for another one.

Grilled Red Snapper

Grilled red snapper is divine. I think it is even more so when you know you're the one who caught it and you know it is absolutely fresh. Ever since our fishing trip, I've been searching for different ways to cook red snapper. I knew we wanted to try it on the grill. A lot of the recipes I found online with pictures had the heads still on the fish. I didn't think I could cook something that could look back at me, so when my husband cleaned them he removed the heads.

Most of the grilling recipes I found had the fish's cavity stuffed with a citrus, onion or garlic and an herb. For our first try, I went with what was on hand. I sliced up a lime, onion and garlic, and picked some oregano from my herb garden. I rubbed a bit of olive oil on the skin of the fish so it wouldn't stick to the grill then gave a liberal sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

It was delicious. I can not wait to cook the others waiting for us in the freezer.

Bloomin' Onion

or Part two of how to use up 20 pounds of vidalia onions. When my cousin Jennifer saw I had 20 pounds of vidalias, the first thing she said was "I want to see a bloomin' onion on that blawg of yours". Of course she really knows it's blog, but we are from the south and sometimes we try to out southern ourselves. I think either is correct, because after all we say dawg instead of dog.

She was right, with all those onions I had to fry a couple. Once up on a time when the blooming onions were all the rage, I bought a cutter for the onions. I think I used it once or twice and then it got tossed on one of our many moves. We saw the kits in one of the stores, but I figured my knife skills have improves and I didn't need no stinking special cutter. Besides, I've reached max capacity for kitchen gadgets for a while (or until something new and shiny catches my eye)

I have Todd Wilbur's Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains book which has the recipe for the Outback Bloomin' Onion. I've tried many of Todd Wilbur's other recipes and they never disappoint, so I knew this would be just the thing to try.

Serves 2 to 4 as an appetizer or snack

* Dipping Sauce
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 2 teaspoons ketchup
* 2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
* Dash ground black pepper
* Dash cayenne pepper

* The Onion
* 1 egg
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 11/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/8 teaspoon cumin
* 1 giant Spanish onion (3/4 pound or more)
* Vegetable oil for frying pepper

1. Prepare the dipping sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Keep the sauce covered in your refrigerator until needed.

2. Beat the egg and combine it with the milk in a medium bowl big enough to hold the onion.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, peppers, oregano, thyme, and cumin.

4. Now it's time to slice the onion-this is the trickiest step. First slice 3/4 inch to 1 inch off the top and bottom of the onion. Remove the papery skin. Use a thin knife to cut a 1-inch diameter core out of the middle of the onion. Now use a very sharp, large knife to slice the onion several times down the center to create the "petals" of the completed onion. First slice through the center of the onion to about three-fourths of the way down. Turn the onion 90 degrees and slice it again in an "x" across the first slice. Keep slicing the sections in half, very carefully, until you've cut the onion 16 times. Do not cut down to the bottom. The last 8 slices are a little hairy, just use a steady hand and don't worry if your onion doesn't look like a perfect flower. It'll still taste good. (I only made 8 slices because I can't count to sixteen. No really I can, I just made the 8 and got too excited to get the onion in the oil. )



5. Spread the "petals" of the onion apart. The onion sections tend to stick together, so you'll want to separate them to make coating easier.

6. Dip the onion in the milk mixture, and then coat it liberally with the dry ingredients. Again separate the "petals" and sprinkle the dry coating between them. Once you're sure the onion is well-coated, dip it back into the wet mixture and into the dry coating again. This double dipping makes sure you have a well- coated onion because some of the coating tends to wash off when you fry. Let the onion rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes while you get the oil ready.



7. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 350 degrees. Make sure you use enough oil to completely cover the onion when it fries.

8. Fry the onion right side up in the oil for 10 minutes or until it turns brown.

9. When the onion has browned, remove it from the oil and let it drain on a rack or paper towels.

10. Open the onion wider from the center so that you can put a small dish of the dipping sauce in the center. You may also use plain ketchup.




Eat and enjoy. Now someone explain to me how we ate this onion and we decided it was enough for dinner but when we go to Outback Steakhouse we end up eating the onion, salad, steak, potato and lots of bread.

Vidalia Onion Tarts

Or part one of how to use twenty pounds of vidalia onions. My cousin's high school FFA was selling vidalia onions as a fund raiser. I am going to use at least one ten pound bag and I am planning on slicing and freezer the remaining ten pounds. Get the tissues ready because any onions, even sweet ones, make me cry.

Part of tonight's dinner includes these vidalia onion tarts. They were super simple and delicious. This would also be a great recipe made in a pie crust like a quiche. Served with a simple salad, and it would be a great summer meal. Or you could make them in mini muffin pans for a great party appetizer.




Ingredients:

ready made pie crust (or your favorite pie dough)
1 large vidalia onion, sliced thin
2 Tbls butter
2 eggs
1 cup of cream
salt
fresh thyme
grated Monterey jack cheese

Step 1: roll out pie crust. Cut out 3 inch circles and put each round in a muffin pan. Bake for 7-8 minutes at 350. Let cool.

Step 2: Melt butter in pan. Add onions and allow to caramelize. At the end of cooking, add salt and fresh thyme. Allow to cool.

Step 3: Mix eggs and cream together.

Step 4: Add 1 tablespoon onions in each muffin cup. Pour egg and cream mixture over the onions. Top with just a little cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.

Step 5: Allow to cool briefly and enjoy.