Baked Lemon Tilapia with Sauteed Swiss Chard

 

Where have I been you ask?  Heavens if I know, and I'm just going to call it a mental vacation!  Actually I'm having a harder time getting back in the groove of being a "Mom" than I ever expected with Jack starting school.   It sounds silly I know after having already raised four, but boy am I ever out of practice with the whole school routine!  Not to mention the Stock Market part of my life keeping me on my toes this past month.

Now that Halloween has passed and we are officially entering the holiday season, I thought it was time I got back in the groove of things and climb back on this horse of mine.  Never easy for this sidetracked girl!

Jim and I were recently discussing my delima's with dinner planning and came to the conclusion that it's ok for me to repeat a meal.   I know most people have certain meals that they repeat over a couple of weeks, but I've never been one of them.  For instance, we love spaghetti, but I would never dream of making it more than once a month. Same goes for many of our favorites, and I need to get past that  if I am to stop making things so much harder on myself than they have to be. So, I am in the process of gathering up my favorite recipes and trying to create a repeatable menu. I might or might not share it with you when I finalize it, it all depends on whether it looks decent or embarrassing when I'm done!

I'm not terribly fond of fish, but am aware that it would be a good thing for it to be more prominent in our diet, so I went searching for fish recipes recently and came across this one from the Food Network.  It's a recipe adapted from Sunny Anderson that actually calls for Sole.  I had Tilapia though, and will more than likely never have Sole readily available, so I switched it up.  I'll tell you up front, the recipe was delicious and Jim and Jack both loved it, but as much as I love lemon, it was a bit much for me.   When next I make this, I will add half of the lemon juice while making the sauce, and taste and add as need be.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  I'll post some images and then have the recipe follow.

Gather your Ingredients

Prepare you bread crumb topping then season the Tilapia and lay in a buttered baking dish.  Set aside while you make the sauce

In a small saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add the lemon juice and capers.

Pour butter mixture over fish, and sprinkle tops with bread crumb mixture. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.
I also sprinkled just a very small amount on Panko bread crumbs over the top, just to ensure a crispy topping.

While your fish is baking, you want to prepare the Swiss Chard.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat and saute the minced garlic.

Add the Swiss chard and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot with the Tilapia.

Out of the oven!

Dang, I'm posting this at 11:30 am, having had no breakfast as of yet! This looks so yummy!

Picture is a bit blurry, but I wanted you to see how crunchy it was before I spooned the extra sauce from the baking dish over it.

So there you go!  Fast and easy and VERY flavorful!

 

Baked Lemon Tilapia with Sauteed Swiss Chard

Ingredients
For bread crumb mixture:

* 4 slices fresh white bread, crusts discarded and bread quartered
* 1 teaspoon lemon zest
* 1/4 cup walnut halves
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

For Tilapia:

* 4 Tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 4 tablespoons butter, plus extra for casserole
* 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 tablespoons capers 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 bunches Swiss chard, leaves removed and chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a food processor combine bread, lemon zest, walnuts and cheese. Pulse until almost uniform in texture. Continue pulsing while drizzling in the olive oil. Set aside.

Season fish with salt and pepper. Place 4 fillets in a single layer on a buttered 9 by 12-inch casserole. In a small saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add the lemon juice and capers. Pour butter mixture over fish, and sprinkle tops with bread crumb mixture. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Infuse the oil with minced garlic, then add the Swiss chard and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot with the Tilapia.

Notes: Rinse the capers. It didn't say to, I didn't and should have. Taste as you add the lemon so as not to go too strong. I think different lemons have differing strengths of tartness. Obviously any vegetable would be wonderful with this. I actually didn't have enough swiss chard and threw some spinach into the pan to fill in.   Also, if your topping doesn't look crunch as you're approaching the end of cooking time, go ahead and turn the broiler on for the last 5 minutes or so, just watch it carefully.

Herbed Chicken in Pastry

I'm still in the experimental stage with Puff Pastry and learn a bit more every time I cook with it.  This is the second time I've made this recipe I'm going to share with you.  The last time I made it, I wasn't very exact with the width that I rolled the pastry out to, and I made little bundles about half the size of these. Just a fyi, I preferred the taste of the smaller ones than these full size ones.  I would suggest making it both ways (in your free time ;) and seeing what you like.

These are great for guest as it appears like you put a lot of work into them, but really they are quite easy and don't take much time to prepare.  This recipe is adapted from this one at the Pepperidge Farm puff pasty website.  I'll post the changes I made at the end of this entry. I'll post a printable recipe at the end.

If you have the foresight, you will want to take the puff pastry out of the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator. I did this the night before I was going to make it.

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat one egg and 1 Tbs. of water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. (this is for the egg wash)

Season the chicken with salt and black pepper.  Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes for full breast (less for tenderloins) or until it's well browned on both sides.

Remove the chicken to a plate. Cover the plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.

I did not have any garlic & herb spreadable cheese so I made my own using cream cheese and dried dill and chives. This worked perfectly!

Next unfold the pastry and set it on a floured surface

Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square

Cut into 4 (7-inch) squares

Spread 2 tbs. of cream cheese spread in the center of each pastry square.

I used 3 tenderloins instead of 1 breast for each square only because this is what I always have on hand.
Place the chicken on top of the cheese mixture.

Brush the edges of the pastry squares with the egg mixture.
Fold the corners of the pastry squares to the center over the chicken and press to seal.

Place the filled pastries seam-side down onto a baking sheet.  Brush the pastries with the egg mixture.  You all know how much I love sharing my screw ups with you, so here comes another one! I got ahead of myself (and the recipe) and failed to turn the filled pastries seam side down before I brushed on the egg wash.  Now I learned two things from this mistake. First being that they look prettier with the seams up, but I think would be moister with the cheese mixture being on the top while baking.  So when I make these again (which I will) I will do them just like I did here except I'll put the cheese mixture on top of the chicken.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.
Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Hope you all are having a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

 

Recipe: Herbed Chicken in Pastry

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed


• 1 egg 1 tablespoon water Ground black pepper (optional)


• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)


• 2 tablespoons butter 1 container (4 ounces) garlic & herb spreadable cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F.


2. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.


3. Season the chicken with the black pepper, if desired.


4. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.


5. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides.


6. Remove the chicken to a plate. Cover the plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 24 hours.


7. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.


8. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut into 4 (7-inch) squares.


9. Spread about 2 tablespoons cheese spread in the center of each pastry square.


10. Top each with 1 chicken breast. Brush the edges of the pastry squares with the egg mixture.


11. Fold the corners of the pastry squares to the center over the chicken and press to seal.


12. Place the filled pastries seam-side down onto a baking sheet.


13. Brush the pastries with the egg mixture.


14. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.


15. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.

Quick Notes

These look pretty with the seam side up. If you want to do them this way just be sure to put the cheese on top of the chicken before folding the sides over.

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

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Looking for Something Fast and Restaurant Worthy?

I am always on the look out for a new recipe to try, but only once in a blue moon do I stumble upon one that is a true keeper.   One for me was the Tuna with Cipollini onions that I shared with you recently.  The other is the one I'm going to post to you now!  "Pasta with Bacon and Leeks".  The Pioneer Woman published this recipe a couple of weeks ago.  I have never had leeks that I am aware of and certain I have never cooked with them, but for some reason it just sounded delicious!  So this is my go at this recipe!

I've made a few changes, the biggest being that I used bacon instead of Pancetta.  I wasn't even going to bother to buy that because I know it's not a regular staple in my house and I like to make meals with things I generally have on hand.

Anyway, I made the dish last night.  It took all of 15/20 minutes to prepare.  It was AMAZING!  Not rich at all so I was able to eat enough to actually be full.  Often times when I eat pasta with cream sauces, I just can't handle the richness of them and I think it's due to the fact that I usually use butter.  I left the butter out of this recipe.  You don't need it, you really don't!  I also only used one leek.  My leek seemed humongous to me and I also wasn't certain Jack would like this.

After all was said and done, there was nothing but "Yummms and OMG's"  for dinner conversation!   This was truly as good as anything I've ever had in a restaurant and would be perfect for company as well!   For more detailed photos you can always hop over to Ree's website and take a look at her photo's and recipe for this dish.   She has a WAY better camera than I do and her pictures always rock!  (not to mention, she will have you laughing out loud!)

Gather your ingredients.....I used Penne because it's what I had.

Chop your leeks and bacon, being sure to slice the leeks thin.

Cook the bacon until it starts to brown and then add the sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes.

Pour in the wine and cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until reduced.

Reduce the heat to low and pour in the cream.

This will thicken as it simmers a bit.

Salt and Pepper to taste and stir in the Parmesan shavings.  Toss in the pasta!

Shave some Parmesan on the top and serve!

This dish comes together VERY fast!  I was unprepared for this fact, so much so that it ended up being the whole meal because I didn't have the time to throw the salad together!  The three of us put this whole recipe away. If we "had" had a salad and maybe some bread it would easily serve 4, maybe 5 depending on how big your male counterparts appetites are.  My Male is starving when he gets home and can really devour pasta!   

Recipe: Pasta with Bacon and Leeks

Ingredients

• 12 ounces Pasta, Cooked Al Dente


• Reserved Pasta Water, If Needed


• 3 ounces, chopped bacon


• 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin


• ½ cups Dry White Wine


• ½ cups Heavy Cream


• Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste


• Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Instructions

1. Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.


2. Saute chopped bacon until it starts to brown.


3. Add sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes.


4. After 8 to 10 minutes, pour in wine, then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced.


5. Turn heat to low, then pour in cream.


6. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in the Parmesan shavings.


7. Toss in pasta, adding a little pasta water to thin as needed. Serve with Parmesan shavings over the top

Quick Notes

I used only one large  leek. It was perfect. I also added a little more cream after I had mixed the pasta with the sauce, just because I couldn't help myself..:)

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Sunday Morning Yummy-ness

Remember all that frozen bread dough I brought home when we closed the Cafe'? Well these little frozen loafs of bread dough were taking up way too much space in my small side by side freezer, so I took three of these out last night to thaw for some Sunday morning adventures! (three more to go!)

Not that you are going to want to deliberately recreate these because honestly, biscuit dough taste much better as a donut, but I thought I would share them anyway in case you ever find yourself with a ton of bread dough with nothing to do with it!

Since I'm really not a baker, I don't have any of the right tools, so I improvised. I used a glass to cut out the donuts and a shot glass to cut out the center hole.

Then fry them in hot oil. I took them from the oil to paper towels and then threw them in a large
freezer bag filled with powder sugar. I didn't think to use cinnamon sugar until near the end.
The ones with the cinnamon sugar where the best by far!

We reserved a few and slathered them with hot fudge. Yes, these were to die for, but way too rich
for a morning treat! Jack is the chocolate donut eater  and he doesn't know what rich means.
I tried to explain it but just couldn't get him past the concept that rich did not always mean gold! :)

Yep, Sunday Morning yummy-nees!
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  Heat and all!

As Promised...Mini Meatball Sandwiches

A day late but here is the main course we had with the picked from the garden cucumbers!  When I first saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website, it brought back a memory of going to an Italian festival of sorts in South St. Louis when I was about 19.  I was invited into a local Italian family's kitchen and there on the stove was simmering a huge pot of meatballs. Everyone was just loading these meatballs up on hoagie bread and was it ever delicious!  This thought caused me to go in that direction with this recipe.

They didn't photograph great, but were wonderful all the same!  I'm still working on this food photography stuff, so thanks for bearing with me!

Jim and Jack loved them and I hope you do as well!  I'll let you know up front that the only changes I made with this recipe was to add Italian Seasoning to the meatball mixture and to use little mini loaf breads instead of dollar rolls.

Gather your ingredients....

In a large bowl, put in your ground beef, bread crumbs, garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt, pepper and milk

Mix that all together until it is well blended then form into small little meatballs, heaping tablespoon sized

Next, chop your onion up small and put it in the pan with the olive oil heated over medium heat, cook for about a minute.

Here is where I detoured from the original recipe. I put all the meatballs in the pan at once to cook.
I didn't see any reason to cook them a few at a time and they turned out fine.

When the meatballs are done, add your can/jar of Marinara sauce.  I never buy prepared sauce but I happened to
pick up 2 cans for $3 recently and since I wanted this to be fast and easy, that's what I went with.

Being careful while stirring the sauce so as not to break up your meatballs, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

While the meatballs were simmering, I put the rolls in the over for a few minutes just to toast them
up a bit and then sliced them in half.

Cut your provolone into pieces that will fit your bread, putting one slice on the bottom and another on top of your meatballs.
You can put one meatball or two on each sandwich, depending on just how messy you want to get while eating.
Just to forewarn you, these were very messy!

So there you go! Simple, fast and yummy (all be it MESSY) summertime dinner!

Recipe: Mini Meatball Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Chuck Or Ground Beef


• ½ cups Panko Or Other Bread Crumbs


• 1 clove Garlic, Minced


• ½ teaspoons Salt


• Freshly Ground Black Pepper


• ½ cups Milk


• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil


• ½ whole Medium Onion, Diced


• 1 jar (large) Marinara Sauce


• 12 whole Dinner Rolls


• 4 slices Provolone Cheese, Cut Into Four Wedges Each

Instructions

1. Mix meat with bread crumbs, garlic, salt, pepper, and milk.


2. Knead together with hands.


3. Roll into heaping tablespoon-sized rolls.


4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for one minute.


5. Add meatballs between the onions and brown for one minute. (You might have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your skillet.)


6. Pour in jar of marinara; shake pan gently to mix. Put on lid and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.


7. When ready to serve, cut each dinner roll in half. Place a wedge of Provolone on the top and bottom of each roll. Spoon a meatball with the sauce onto the bottom bun; top with the top bun.

Quick Notes

I added 1 Tbs. of Italian Seasoning and used Italian rolls. I cooked the meatballs all at once using the whole pan, and they turned out fine.

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Tuna with Roasted Cipolline Onions

This is my most favorite recipe of all times!  I've always had the best of luck with recipes I've tried from Giada De Laurentiis and this is no exception!  This dish isn't looking pretty in my pictures but I assure you the flavor is incredible, restaurant worthy even!  And it could be prettier for the camera if I took the onions out of the oven earlier, therefor making the sauce thinner rather than a glaze as I prefer it.  Taste of course wins over pretty!

As usual I do make some changes, but mostly in amounts of ingredients that I use. I'll post the recipe as is and leave you my notes of what I change for myself.

Pre heat the oven to  450 degrees.  Gather your ingredients and then bring a pot of water to boil.  Add the onions, cook for 2 minutes then drain and cool.

Cut off the root end of the onion and peel.

Now to the onions in their baking dish add the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and mix together.

Roast on the lowest shelf of your oven until the onions are tender and golden, stirring occasionally, 45mins. to an hour. The longer you roast these, the thicker the glaze will be.  About 3o minutes before your onions will be done roasting,   mix the 1/3 cup oil, lemon juice, thyme, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in another  dish.

Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat.  Let stand for 5 minutes on each side.

Sadly, I used up all of my fresh thyme over the holidays and had to use dried. This was not a good substitute, you really want fresh thyme for this dish.

Oil the rack and set the grill for medium-high heat. Grill the steaks to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium.

Spoon the onion mixture over the steaks and serve!

Ok so here are my changes.  First off and most important to note, I double the recipe for the balsamic reduction and only use an 8 oz. bag of these onions, which is perfect for the three of us and would actually make 2 adult and 2 children size servings using only 3 Tuna Steaks.  You may also substitute pearl onions or red onions, heck probably any onion!  As I said earlier, we love this reduction so we really pile it on!  This balsamic reduction with the onions would also be delicious served over other fish, or most any other Meat.  Be sure to stir the onions often, I do it about every 15 mins.   This will really let you get a feel for how thick the sauce is getting so you can remove them when it hits your desired consistency.

I'm sorry I didn't get better pictures of the finished product, but I promise you that if you try this dish you won't be disappointed.  You'll probably make adjustments as I have but won't be disappointed.  I call this company fare because it taste like something you would get at a fine dining establishment.  And even though it seems like it could be a bit pricey, it's way cheaper than ordering a pizza! With that in mind....here is the original recipe for you to tweek to your hearts content!

Recipe: Tuna with Roasted Cipolline Onions

Recipe adopted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cipolline onions
  2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
  3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
  6 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 1-inch thick)

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel the onions and cut off the root ends.


2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.


3. Toss the onions, vinegar, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Roast in the oven until the onions are tender and golden, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.


4. Meanwhile, whisk the 1/3 cup oil, lemon juice, thyme, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in another 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Let stand for 5 minutes on each side.


5. Oil the grill rack and prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat. Grill the steaks to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium. Cut the steaks in half. Transfer the steaks to a platter. Spoon the onion mixture around and serve.

Quick Notes

Keep in mind, this doesn't make nearly enough sauce for 6 Tuna Steaks. It barely makes enough for 3, so adjust accordingly.

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