Bison Steak

Bison Steak, Sauteed Muchrooms, Roasted Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli

no surprise here as this is a weekly staple - ask if you have question, otherwise you can find the recipe on an earlier blog :)

Plate Up and Enjoy!

Ginger Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce

Ginger Poached Salmon with Dill Sauce, Steamed Broccoli, and Coucous

in a 2 inch sided skillet bring 4-6 cups of water, 4inch piece of fresh ginger chopped, the juice of one lime and it's skins, with 1 teaspoon of WHOLE black pepper (i had to used crushed) to a boil - then simmer for 10- 15 mintues to infuse the flavors into the water.

gently slip the salman into the water - cover and simmer for about 10 minutes

while the salmon simmers make couscous (near east 5 minute) and steam broccoli

stir together 2 tablespoons light mayo, 6 tablespoons light sour cream, and 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill for the dill sauce.

serve with a fresh salad

Plate Up and ENJOY!

Roasted Chicken Sandwich

Roasted Chicken Sandwich: the perfect picnic sandwich
Take the cooled and sliced Citrus Garlic Roasted Chicken from previous blog

layer it on toasted bread with tomato, arugula, spinach, or lettuce, honey or dijon mustard, avacado, and a little salt and pepper! VOILA! D - E - Licious! serve with fresh fruit salad (or spiked fruit :)) and some pita chips

add in some cheese if you would like-smoked gouda would be good - but we had cheese and wine at our picnic, so i kept our cheese intake to a minimum. :)

Picnic Up and ENJOY!

Citrus Garlic Roasted Chicken

5 ingredient Citrus Garlic Roasted Chicken

In a large Ziplock bag - add in the zest of one lime, one orange, the zest of both, 4 cloves smashed Garlic, 1/4 cup EVOO, and one chicken breast and two thighs - bone in. Marinate in fridge for 30 minutes - no longer than 45 so the citrus does not cook the chicken.

Preheat oven to 375 - place chicken on pan with rack and roast for about 45minutes to an hour or until the juices run clear.
Serve as is with your choice of sides OR - let it cool, then slice and store in fridge for sandwiches like i did. this made the perfect roasted chicken sandwich...recipe on next blog :)

Garlic Lime Cajun Shrimp

Garlic Lime Cajun Shrimp, Boiled Parsley Potatoes, Basil Farfalle, and Corn on the Cob

Cook Corn, boil new potatoes, and boil pasta - when they are about 5 minutes from being done heat a saute skillet on medium high heat. dust 3/4 pound shrimp with cajun seasoning and black pepper.
add 2 tablespoons EVOO to pan and add 3 cloves minced garlic - add shrimp, after one minute, flip shrimp, add in 1/4 cup white wine, a handful of chopped fresh cilantro and the juice of one lime. saute for about one more minute or until shrimp is done.
serve over pasta dressed with a touch of EVOO and chopped fresh basil and a little parmesan.
add fresh parsley, salt and pepper to boiled potatoes and serve butter on the corn
Plate Up and ENJOY!

Citrus Basil Tilapia with Mango Salsa

Citrus Basil Tilapia with Mango Salsa, Spicy Black Beans with Spicy Sour Cream, and Plain Couscous.

First - in ziplock bag combine 1/4 cup evoo, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 lime, 3 cloves of minced garlic, a little lemon pepper, garlic pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley - and 4 Tilapia filets. squeeze out air and marinate for about 45 minutes in the fridge.

while fish marinates - make mango salsa and black beans

put a can of black beans -undrained- in a samll pot and add in 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, and 1 teaspoon of chile paste - heat to boil then turn down and simmer until ready to serve

Mango Salsa:

dice the following and mix- 1/2 orange bell pepper, 1/2 green bell pepper, 1 whole mango, 2 tomatoes, 1 jalapeno pepper, 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 1/2 lemon- juice, 1 lime- juice, salt and pepper to taste (i omited the onion, but red onion would work well in the mix too)
Refrigerate until serving time

Heat oven to 475 degrees - put fish on pan and in the oven for 7 minutes. then turn oven to high broil and cook for another 4 minutes or until edges of fish begin to brown.

Coucous - per box instructions - i used 5 minute Near East Brand and cooked it while the fish was in the oven

and mix sour cream with chile paste for a spicy sour cream - 3part sour cream to 1 part chile paste

Plate Up and Enjoy!

Baby Scallops with Mushroom Sauce

Seared Baby Bay Scallops with a Creamy Mushroom Dijon Wine Sauce and Asparagus

Dry Scallops and season with pepper
Saute on high heat in a little evoo

Mushroom Sauce:

in pan you sauteed scallops - add in 2 tablespoons minced shallots, 1-2 cups sliced mushrooms and sautee until browned, add in 1 cup white wine, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 tablespoon dried tarragon, and a little black pepper heat to a boil then add in 1/2 cup low fat sour cream and stir until incorporated.

Top Scallops with mushrooms and sauce - serve with Asparagus

Plate up and Enjoy!

Black Pepper Citrus Chicken

Black Pepper Citrus Chicken, Sweet Buttered Corn Off the Cob, and Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Ingredients: - Bone in Chicken Breast and Thighs ( i used one breast and two thighs), 1/2 onion sliced, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 3 cloves minced garlic, 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, 1-1.5 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley chopped - 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped, 1.5 cup white wine, 4 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, evoo



coat chicken with pepper and salt - heat 2 inch sided skillet to high heat add 2 tablespoons evoo, brown chicken both sides about 2 minutes per side - remove from pan-turn heat to medium- add in onions and sugar - caramalize for about 5 minutes - add in garlic - sautee for a minute or so - add in wine, juices, basil and 1/2 parsley - and return chicken - cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until juices run clear when you poke with a fork

- remove chicken -

if juices in pan are too watery turn pan to high and boil to reduce into a thicker sauce. Top chicken with sauce and onions
i trust you know how to make mashed potatoes and corn :)

Plate Up and Enjoy!

Cajun Tilapia with Dill Sauce

Cajun Tilapia with Dill Sauce, Spicy Black Beans, and Wild Rice

Make Wild Rice acccording to packaging instructions

In small sauce pan - combine one can black beans,undrained - 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and a teaspoon of ground chile paste - bring to boil then simmer until serving time.

Preheat oven to 350

Coat Tilapia in Cajun Seasoning, a little black pepper, and a dash of ground red pepper - top with lemon slice -place in lightly evoo pam sprayed pan
place in oven for 10-12 minutes - then broil for 5-7 minutes

Dill Sauce:

2 tablespoon light mayo, 4 tablespoons low fat sour cream, 2 tablspoons fresh chopped dill, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder - mix. this is the perfect compliment to this dish - dill pairs perfectly with fish and the sour cream is the coolness to the spicy Cajun seasoning and spicy black beans.

Plate up and enjoy! (we also had roasted potatoes- but they aren't necessary for this dish)

Shamrock Cheese Toast

Shamrock Cheese Toast:

English Muffins

Shredded Cheese

Bell Peppers

Top each English muffine half with shredded cheese then a slice of bell pepper - put in 425 oven for 5 minutes then broil high for 2-3. Done!

before the oven:After the oven:

Plate Up And Enjoy!

i did this as an app/side toast - but other variations that i think would be good are...adding pizza sauce for mini cheese pizzas, using different cheeses like shredded pepperjack and pesto sauce - making a breakfast dish and putting a piece of canadian ham on the muffin, top with a poached egg, then cheese, then bellpepper and broil until cheese is melted.

St. Patty's Day Cupcakes

Rainbow and Pot of Gold Cupcakes:
Rainbow layered cupcake topped with a sweet and sour "rainbow" and chocolate 'gold'.

These are too cute - but be warned making the mini cupcakes was VERY time consuming - i suggest making these in large size or even just a cake.
First mix a box of White Cake per directions then seperate into 6 equal parts and make the colors of the rainbow - R.O.Y.G.B.I.V - indigo/violet = one purpleline muffin pan and start piping in each color starting with purple, then blue, green, yellow, orange, and last red. I had a couple of testers to get the right amount i needed of each - just make sure they stay about 2/3rds full.Bake per package directions - (sidebar - **these would make great 'noah's ark' theme with little boats or animals on top or hippie tie dyed theme with peace love and happiness on top)

Let cool then add green icing - vanilla mixed with green food coloring

Cut Airhead Extreme's (sour sugary gummy strip) into small pieces, and go to the candy store where they sell m&m's by the color and get a bag of gold ones (this looks amazing and professional if you have the money to spend on regular airheads and chocolate gold coins - i however didn't) :)

Stick in the 'rainbow' and add a few m&m's as gold at the bottom of the rainbow..ENJOY!

btw - this is one of 3 trays of mini cupcakes i made -- next year - one cake!

Wild Mushroom and Shrimp Linguini

Wild Mushroom and Shrimp Linguini

This is a MUST MAKE dish.
saute 2 garlic cloves and 1 shallot in 1-2 tablespons evoo until shallot is almost translucent add 8 ounches of mixed wild mushrooms until soft but not fully cooked add in 1/4 cup white wine when it comes to a boil add in 3/4 lb shrimp saute for about 3 minutes - add in 1/4 cup fresh basil and about a tablespoon fresh thyme - 1/2 cup chicken broth and 4 oz cream cheese - stir and bring to boil then reduce heat and stir until cream cheese has blended into a sauce. toss in about 1/4 cup parmesan right at the end. Plate up and garnish with parmesan and fresh basil. ENJOY!

this would be outstanding with grilled chicken and some frozen peas tossed in.

Pan-Asian Tilapia

Pan Asian Tilapia, Saffron Rice, and Sauteed Asparagus

Marinate tilapia in soy, apple cider vinegar, fresh ground ginger, fresh garlic, and toasted sesame oil for 30 minutes - broil until flaky about 12 minutes. top with fresh cilantro. this was delicious.

and i made yellow rice - per package and sauteed asparagus in water, garlic, and pepper.