Balsamic-Glazed Tilapia

I have a goal to eat fish at least twice a month (which is considerably more than I ever have before) so it was about time to make another fish dinner. This recipe is based on one from a Rachel Rae cookbook. This glaze would be great with any mild white fish. Although it has the balsamic flavor, it also has a very pleasant sweetness to it. I also felt like the glazed was enhanced by the use of fresh rosemary and thyme. This was my first time cooking with fresh herbs rather than dried and I liked it a lot better. Maybe I'll start an herb garden.

3 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tilapia fillets
Salt and ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1 cup chicken broth
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbsp capers, drained and coarsely chopped
1-2 Tbsp butter

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil. Season fish with salt and pepper, then cook until it is opaque and "flakes." Transfer the tilapia to a platter and cover with foil. Return the pan to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the onions, thyme, rosemary, and garlic, then saute for 4-5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, honey, and chicken broth. Cook until the glaze has reduced by about half then remove sauce from heat and add butter, capers, and parsley. Stir until butter has melted then add fish to the pan and coat in the glaze.

Potato Wedges with Bacon, Onions, and Smoked Cheddar

This week we have been trying to eat our way through several days of leftovers so I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. Finally I felt like the fridge was empty enough to cook again so I started brainstorming. My first idea was to make potato wedges and some sort of crock pot chicken. I ended up deciding against the chicken in favor of fish but the potato wedge idea blossomed into this amazing deliciousness and was a huge hit. 

4-6 medium potatoes cut into wedges

1/2-1 lb bacon (I used ends and pieces)

1 medium onion, sliced into rings

1-2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp paprika

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Smoked Black Pepper White Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 450º and heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and cook bacon and onions 4-5 minutes, until onions begin to soften and bacon pieces begin to be crisp. Drain fat from pan. Add potatoes, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper (this requires a generous amount of salt to achieve the perfect taste). Cook, stirring, until potatoes are well coated in seasonings then spread onto a cookie sheet. Let potatoes bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the oven when potatoes begin to turn golden and crispy. Move potatoes to a serving dish and sprinkle shredded cheese over top. If needed, put them back in the oven for a minute or two to melt cheese.

 

Peanut Butter Bars

I was sitting in church, starving because I didn't have time to eat breakfast, when I leaned over and told Chris that I was thinking about making these for dessert. I was very surprised about how excited he got when I told him. He said that this was one of the first desserts that I made for him when we were dating. On the way home he couldn't stop talking about how great these cookie bars were. Until that moment I really had no idea how much my cooking had influenced the progression of our relationship.

Of course I never considered these Peanut Butter Bars to be difficult to make; just throw all the ingredients together and bake them. What could possibly go wrong? Well, this time I pulled them out of the oven and they didn't look gooey at all on top, the way they are supposed to. They were golden brown, bordering on dark brown in places. So I looked at the dials on our oven and, uh-oh, the oven was set to broil.

Who's idea was it to make an oven like that anyway? You may not be able to read the picture, but on the left hand dial you have to tell the oven what to do: bake, broil, time bake, or clean. On the right hand dial you choose a temperature starting at warm and progressing from 200° all the way to broil. Apparently if you choose broil on the left hand dial but choose a temperature on the other, it still broils. Why do they put broil on the left hand dial rather than just on the right?

So I decided to cover the pan with foil and bake it again for another 6 minutes. The bars are still a little gooey on the bottom and completely cooked on top even though it should be the other way around, but they taste about the same as normal. My husband still likes them anyway....

3/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup flour
2 cups oatmeal
peanut butter
chocolate frosting

Cream butter and sugar then add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and peanut butter. Mix all dry ingredients into creamed mixture and spread on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375° (if it looks gooey but golden take it out). Spread peanut butter then chocolate frosting on top.

Broccoli Cheese Chowder

My grandma has always been a wonderful example to me. She always works very hard to take care of her family and she is a great cook! Chris and I love this soup and it was surprisingly easy to make.

Bring to boil:

1 Quart water

4 Chicken Boulion Cube

 

Add:

1 Cup chopped onions

1 Cup Chopped Celery

1 Cup Shredded Carrots

1 and 1/2 Cup Cubed Potatoes

Bring to boil and simmerfor 9 minutes

 

Add:

16 to 20 (I use 20) Ounces of Broccoli Cuts or I like Broccoli and Cauliflower cuts for a change

Bring to boil and simmer for 9 minutes or until done

 

Add:

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 # Velveeta type cheese sliced or cubed 

 

Stir and heat but DO NOT BOIL.

 

 

Alfredo Sauce

I had tried a recipe for homemade Alfredo Sauce before and it was truly disgusting. After that I started to wonder if I even liked alfredo sauce because I don't like the kind from the store and I didn't trust that a homemade one would turn out any different than that first one. But my hubby finally convinced me to try his mother's recipe and WOW it turned out great.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
about 2 cups milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet. With a whisk mix flour in, a little at a time. Cook until bubbly. Stir while slowly adding milk until you reach desired thickness. Add Parmesan cheese and stir to melt. Add garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper.

Chocolate Cookies

I have never tasted any chocolate cookies that even hold a candle to these. One of my best friends, Casey, gave me this recipe a few months back and I have already made it three or four times. I have used different types of chips: chocolate chips, white chocolate, peanut butter, mint, and they have been awesome every time. They come out of the oven soft and stay soft for longer than any other cookie.

Combine:
2 1/2 sticks margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
Once the mixture is creamy, add:
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
When all mixed together, add:
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
about 2 cups chips

In this batch I added white chocolate chips and M&M's in honor of my sweetheart, who doesn't like nuts in cookies. Bake at 350° for 8-9 minutes.

Baked Chicken Bacon Alfredo

I saw a dish similar to this on the menu of one of our local restaurants and it looked great (although I didn't actually taste it) and I decided that I could try making my own version of it at home. We tried the whole experiment and invited some friends over to eat it. It was a big hit with everyone and it is definitely something I can see becoming a family favorite. This recipe makes enough to serve 6-8 people and filled two of the casserole dishes pictured above.

Ingredients:
12 oz pasta (penne, rotini, rotelle, etc)
4 cups Alfredo sauce (see recipe in sauce section of blog)
12 oz sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 lb bacon, cut into small pieces
12 oz grilled chicken, cut into small pieces
6-8 oz Canadian bacon, small triangle shaped slices
3-5 oz sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces (optional)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Add pasta to boiling water; while pasta is boiling cook Alfredo sauce (double recipe in sauces section of this blog). Drain pasta and split into two casserole dishes (this would also fit well into a 9x13" pan) mix in Alfredo sauce, mushrooms, onion, bacon, chicken, Canadian bacon, and sun-dried tomatoes. Top with shredded mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until top begins to turn golden. I put the oven on broil for the last few minutes.