Good Morning.
I'm still having trouble accessing my graphics so I may just throw in something that seems to be available to me, whether it makes any sense or not. Some in my circle would probably find that appropriate.
Today I am offering some recipes from a cookbook put together by a bunch of hockey parents
in my city. My grandson plays hockey more than any of us do anything. He plays hockey at all hours of the day and night, even at six o'clock in the morning. The only thing I do at all hours of the day and night is eat which is why I own a hockey cookbook.
In keeping with the Lenten spirit, some of today's offerings are meatless. Otherwise everything is nice and easy, and we begin with Fish Bowl Tacos.
3 to 4 cod fillets or other white fish
Olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Avocado, cilantro, and lime juice for garnish
Heat skillet with some olive oil on medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, and corn. Saute until crisp tender for about seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Add black beans and stir to heat through. Pour contents into a large bowl and add cooked rice. Mix together gently and set aside. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and garlic powder. Mix together. Sprinkle evenly and rub over both sides of the fish, followed by salt and pepper to taste. Heat skillet again, using additional olive oil if needed. Add fish and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side or until opaque throughout. Remove fish from pan and cut apart. To serve, add approximately one cup of vegetable-rice mixture to individual bowls, then top with pieces of fish. Garnish with avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime as desired.
You could certainly do a traditional taco, soft or hard shell, with these ingredients.
From my daughter who was up yesterday with the birds, the few that stuck around over this horrible winter, we have a French Toast Bake.
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 loaf crusty French bread, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups whole milk
6 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Stir one cup brown sugar and butter together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves into butter, about two to four minutes. Pour into prepared baking dish and spread a 1 1/2 to 2 inch layer of bread pieces over the top.
Beat milk, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour over bread in the baking dish and move bread as necessary to ensure all bread is absorbing liquid. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate eight hours or over night. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove and discard plastic wrap from baking dish and sprinkle remaining brown sugar over the top of bread mixture. Bake in preheated oven until brown and bubbling, about thirty minutes.
Make this in the morning and have for supper. I'd serve it with some fresh fruit and coffee with
maybe a little something added to it.
Northern Minnesota Salad
People in Minnesota are famous for hockey, the Vikings, lots of lakes, Paul Bunyon, extremely cold weather, and wild rice.
1 cup wild rice
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1 1/2 cups grapes, halved
1 cup water chestnuts, sliced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup cashews
Cook rice according to package directions. Drain well and cool to room temperature. Mix rice with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill.
You could also use that wild rice and regular rice mix. I'd do a combination of seedless red and green grapes for color and maybe chop up the nuts a bit. Serve this salad on fresh greens or on top of half an avocado.
Moving along, we have Lemon Orzo with Roasted Asparagus. I'd save this one until asparagus
is in season which is pretty soon. Asparagus needs to be fat, not spindly.
1 cup orzo
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
10 asparagus spears
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp. pine nuts
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Roast the asparagus on a cookie sheet in a 375 degree oven until crisp tender and slightly brown. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet for two minutes and set aside. Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil until well blended. Add to pasta and toss to coat. Cool to room temperature. Cut asparagus into one-inch pieces. Stir in asparagus, parsley, and pine nuts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, top with a pinch of parsley and Parmesan cheese.
This is my kind of dish and my husband would love it. He ate asparagus literally every single day
when it was in season. He also liked rice more than pasta and I liked pasta more than rice. Orzo was the compromise.
Here's a change from the cranberry meatballs everyone makes.
Peach Glazed Meatballs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp. beef bouillon granules
1 1/2 pounds hamburger, please not too lean
1 16 oz. jar peach preserves
12 oz. chili sauce
1 envelop dry onion soup mix
In a large bowl, combine eggs, bread crumbs, and bouillon. Crumble hamburger over mixture and mix well. Shape into one-inch balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs in batches until no longer pink. Drain the skillet and return meatballs to skillet. In a small sauce pan, combine the preserves, chili sauce, and onion soup mix. Cook over medium low heat for five minutes. Pour over meatballs. Simmer, uncovered, for ten minutes.
Cajun Shrimp Linguine
1 1/2 pound shrimp, peel and eat
2 tbsp. cajun seasoning, adjust to taste
2 tsp. butter
1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 containers fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 quart heavy cream
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
16 oz. wheat linguine
Place shrimp without tails in a medium bowl and add cajun seasoning. Mix to coat and set aside. Cook linguine according to package directions. Using a large pot, saute peppers and mushrooms in butter, then reduce heat. Add cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, pepper, cooked noodles, and shrimp. Warm up and serve.
I do not like green peppers for some reason. I would substitute yellow but keep the red ones. Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a paper towel rather than rinsing. I'd use more butter to saute the vegetables. I use more butter to do almost anything.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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