Honey Ginger Tilapia

Fish is so great for a busy weeknight because it takes no time to cook, it's healthy and full of protein, and you won't be hungry for dessert (yeah, right!).  The downside in my family is that the kids don't like it.  Believe me, I've tried and tried.  I've even told them it's chicken.  They know. 

Even though it goes against what I believe about children eating family meals, I've dropped the fish subject with them for a while and let them have sandwiches when I'm cooking fish for dinner.  Sometimes you just have to pick your battles, ya know?  I did give them broccoli though...

Honey Ginger Tilapia (adapted from Our Best Bites)
serves 2-4

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
juice of a lime
1 teaspoon grated ginger root (you can store whole ginger in the freezer, by the way)
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 tilapia fillets
cilantro for garnish

Sauce:
1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 small clove garlic, grated on microplane or pressed in garlic press
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger root
juice of 1 lime
Sriracha sauce to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the honey, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, lime juice, and olive oil. Marinate the fish in the mixture for 10-15 minutes, but no longer, or the fish will cook in the acid of the vinegar and lime juice.

While the fish is marinating, whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Heat a nonstick pan over high heat.  Drizzle a  little olive oil and cook tilapia for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish.  The tilapia will flake with a fork when it's done. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

I made these enchiladas a while back, and froze the leftover filling since it made way more enchiladas than I needed.  It was a cinch to thaw it out and bake with fresh tortillas and cheese. This is the complete recipe if you are making them from scratch. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
serves 4-6

2 large sweet potatoes
2 cups leftover Slow Cooker Black Beans or 16 oz canned black beans, rinsed
1 cup diced green chilies (2 small cans)
About 2 cups salsa verde (buy this in the Mexican food section of the grocery)
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
10 flour tortillas
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place in a pot and cover with water; add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, around 12 to 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked sweet potato, black beans, diced green chilies, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.

In a large baking dish, spread 1 cup of the salsa verde.  Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the filling, add a handful of cheese, and roll it up. Place the enchilada seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. When all enchiladas are in the dish, top with the remaining cup of salsa verde and the remaining cheese.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly.

Baked Kale Chips with Sea Salt

Kale chips? "No thanks", I was thinking.  But then I tried them....pretty darn good.  Just like the Crispy Cajun Roasted Chickpeas, they are NOT better than potato chips.  But as a healthy, crispy, salty, snack, I give Baked Kale Chips with Sea Salt an A+.  And my kids gobbled them up before I had a chance to truly enjoy them! 

 

Baked Kale Chips with Sea Salt

about a pound of kale

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

Heat oven to 375.  Prep kale by washing well and drying thoroughly.  Remove thick stems and tear kale into 2 inch pieces. Toss kale with olive oil and salt.  Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, or until crispy.  While hot, add more salt if necessary.

Crispy Cajun Roasted Chickpeas

I finally got around to trying this little snack that is rumored to be better than potato chips.  Well, I'm here to tell you that there is no snack better than chips, duh. But if you like to snack on salty, crunchy, healthy goodness, then give these a shot.  John loves them and eats them by the handful (my husband seriously loves snacks). The kids even will have a few!

 

Crispy Cajun Roasted Chickpeas 

1 15-ounce can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 
Salt to taste
cajun spice blend (put some Tony's on it, y'all!)

Heat oven to 400.   Drain the chickpeas in a colander and rinse well.  Dry beans on a paper towel  If any of the skins come off, just discard them.  Drizzle dry beans with olive oil and toss to coat.  Sprinkle lightly with salt.  Roast for 30 minutes or until beans are golden brown and crunchy.  While they are hot, season with cajun seasoning and more salt (if necessary). 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

To me, the benefit of using the slow cooker is when you can dump stuff in and then eat it in 8 hours. Anytime a recipe requires me chop, cook on the stove, and then transfer to the slow cooker, I'm just not interested.  Are you with me?
These Chicken Tacos are perfect for the slow cooker as far as I'm concerned.  You could really pile on the toppings, but I'm watching calories these days (aren't you?) so I stuck with cilantro, lime juice, and a little cheese.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
16 oz jar salsa
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Don't forget the slow cooker liner for easy clean up! Set on low for 6-8 hours.  When cooked, shred chicken and serve with tortillas, shredded cheese, cilantro, and fresh limes. 

Slow Cooker Rosemary White Beans

When you have a simple recipe like this one that only has a few ingredients, you've got to make sure they are quality.  Don't skimp on the fresh rosemary, spend the extra dollar on the low sodium organic chicken stock (or make your own), and grate your own *Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

For the kids, I added white extra sharp cheddar cheese instead of the Parmigiano-Reggiano in an attempt to cover the green stuff in the beans (I have one child who will not, under any circumstances, eat anything green except broccoli and apple Laffy Taffy).  The cheddar was pretty tasty, and a good alternative if you can't find Parmigiano-Reggiano.   

Slow Cooker Rosemary White Beans

1 pound dried great northern beans 

4 large cloves garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
2 bay leaves

4 cups chicken stock, plus additional water if necessary
1/4 pound Parmigiano-Reggiano, shredded

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse beans well and pick out any rocks.  Place in slow cooker and add chicken stock, plus additional water if necessary to cover.  Add garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Cook on low for 5-8 hours.  To serve, remove rosemary stems, bay leaves and garlic.  Top each bowl with cheese.  

*Parmigiano-Reggiano is not the same stuff in the green can...you can get real Parm in the deli case at the grocery store (even Walmart).  To grate it, you can use regular box grater, or better yet, remove the rind, cut it into big hunks, and whirl it in the food processor until it's grated. 

Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Cranberries

Salad with Pecans, Goat Cheese, and Cranberries
serves 2

4 cups baby greens
1/4 raw chopped pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 heaping tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled
champagne vinegar
olive oil

Here's an old fashioned, but easy way to keep your salad extra healthy.  Instead of making a vinaigrette, just drizzle vinegar and olive oil. 

Marinated Tomato Bruschetta

I know tomatoes aren't in season.  I understand the carbon footprint caused by trucking tomatoes from Mexico to Arkansas and why you should buy locally and in season foods.  But sometimes in January, you just want/need to eat tomatoes.  Can I get an amen? And since tomatoes aren't that great in January, marinating them is the best way to eat them raw.

Marinated Tomato Bruschetta  

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 whole green onions, sliced
5-6 whole basil leaves cut into a chiffonade (roll 'em up longways and then cut into strips)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 pound sweet cherry tomatoes, cut up
1 whole baguette sliced

Mix the oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices, and add tomatoes.  Allow to marinate 2-3 hours or longer. 

Slice baguette, drizzle with olive oil.  Broil for 2-3 minutes, until they start to brown. Turn them and broil for 2-3 more minutes.  Top each piece of bread with the tomatoes, using a spoon to allow for some extra juice to drop onto the bread. 

Slow Cooker Homemade Chicken Stock

Did you know you can make homemade chicken stock 1) with rotisserie chicken and 2) in the slow cooker?  This is the least painful way to make delicious, healthy, cheap, homemade stock.  It's only slightly painful with the cooling and the straining and straining again....

Since I've had so much homemade stock on hand, my meals have been even more tasty.  There really is a difference between homemade and boxed!  Lemon Chicken Paillard and Phake Pho are 2 dishes I've made with the homemade stock, but I have the rest in the freezer waiting for a snow day to make chicken noodle soup, tortilla soup, or chicken and dumplings.

I had the bones of 2 rotisserie chickens in the freezer (you can use any kind of chicken bones, even the neck, ick), so I tried it 2 different methods: stove top and slow cooker.  And good news! Even though the slow cooker method took much longer, the resulting stock was exactly the same as the stove top stock. You do need a big crock pot, though (I have a 7 quart).

Slow Cooker Homemade Chicken Stock

bones, skin, and extra meat of a rotisserie chicken
yellow onion, cut in quarters, skin on
4 large carrots, cut in quarters, not peeled
2 bay leaves
4 celery ribs, cut into quarters
4 whole cloves of garlic
20 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
spring of fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley or 1/2 tablespoon dried of each (except parsley)
cool water to cover

Place everything in the slow cooker.  Don't bother to peel or chop too well because everything is discarded at the end. Cover with cool water, set slow cooker on low, and let it go for 8-10 hours (or longer). 

When the stock is finished, remove all the big stuff with a slotted spoon and discard.  Strain the hot stock first with a fine mesh strainer.  Then, place cheesecloth in the fine strainer and strain again (you can also use thick paper towels) to remove all the tiny bits. 

Pour the hot stock into a large bowl to cool.  Place the bowl in the sink with cold water and some ice to speed the cooling process.  When it's room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and place it refrigerator overnight.  When the stock is cool, the fat will solidify on the top.  Remove and discard the fat.  Transfer the cold stock to small containers or Ziploc bags to freeze.  Will keep in the fridge for a week and the freezer for 3 months.

How to Boil an Egg

How to boil an egg.  Sounds simple enough, right?  It is. Very, very simple.  But most people do it completely wrong and end up with broken shells, over or undercooked eggs, or that weird green ring around the yolk.  

Here's how to boil an egg perfectly every time:

 

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Place the pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover pan with a lid. Allow the eggs to sit for 12 minutes off the heat. Transfer eggs to a colander; place under cool running water to stop the cooking.