I had a bit of mahi left in my freezer and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Once it was thawed I saw that the fillets were quite uneven so I decided it would cook more evenly if cubed than as a fillet. So in began this yummy stir fry. I marinated the fish in soy, honey, ginger and garlic. I then strung and chopped snow peas and tomatoes and then I set those aside – in the meantime I had my rice steaming away (2 cups cooked). I heated my stir fry pan, added a bit of olive oil and put in the vegetables. When they were about 2/3rds cooked, I added in the fish and the sauce. Cooked all until done. I went for presentation here so I packed the rice in a round bottom cup and put it in the center of the plate – normally I would just throw the rice into the stir fry, but I was feeling creative. All in all, this was delicious, though in my opinion the fish was a little salty – I think it could marinate for way less time as it absorbed the salt from the soy, but it still tasted delicious and I will definitely try it again. I seem to stir fry a lot more in the summer as it is a good way to use lots of vegetables together and it is super fast.
Archive for the ‘Vegetables’ Category
Mahi stir fry
Posted in Sauces/Dressings, Seafood, Vegetables on July 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Shrimp Curry stir fry
Posted in Sauces/Dressings, Seafood, Vegetables on July 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Okay – this is delicious and a very light, summery dish.
You’ll need one can of coconut milk (I used the low fat) and some red curry paste. Heat the coconut milk until it simmers and then add a tablespoon of red curry paste, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a couple of dashes of soy sauce. Let the sauce thicken a bit and then add your veggies. I used snow peas, shredded carrots, and broccoli. When the veggies are almost done, add in 1 pound of pealed shrimp and 2 cups of cooked rice. Simmer and stir in all ingredients until the shrimp is done. Top with chopped fresh basil.
The beauty of this meal is not only in the flavors, but you only need one pan to prepare the meal. This made three servings – so we had dinner and one left over for lunch.
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Posted in Vegetables on July 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
YUM. What a fun way to enjoy summer’s bounty of fresh vegetables. This is such a simple thing to do and you can eat it as a side (as I did with some grilled chicken) or use it as a salsa.
Drain and rinse one can of black beans.
Roast or boil corn on the cob – let it cool and cut the corn off the cob
Mix black beans and corn (I used two ears of corn) add chopped tomatoes and green chilies or jalapenos for an extra kick. I also had some left over roasted red pepper that I threw into the mix. Again – it is a great and simple way to enjoy these flavors and the leftovers made a great salsa – I just added fresh cilantro and a bit of olive oil and enjoyed the leftovers with my favorite corn chips.
Grilled Mahi and Quinoa
Posted in Seafood, Vegetables on July 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I have been a bad blogger, I know. Something about actually having the time to sit down and catch up has pretty much kept me from blogging at all. Rest assured I have been doing plenty of cooking and my ever increasing scale is proof of that. This dinner was from a couple of weeks ago and while it isn’t anything particularly special, I loved the colors. It is a simple pan grilled mahi fillet served along side fresh steamed broccoli and red quinoa. I flavored the mahi with garlic and olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. After the fish was done I squeezed a bit of lemon over the fish and the broccoli – simple goodness, exactly what summer cooking is all about.
Red Curry Chicken and Broccoli
Posted in Poultry, Sauces/Dressings, Vegetables on April 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
This was a great dinner if I do say so myself – and easy too – I promise.
Dice 1 small to medium onion
saute in a tablespoon of vegetable oil
add 8 oz of chopped chicken and lightly brown
add three heaping tablespoons of curry paste – I use Patak’s
blend together – add about 1/4 cup of water
add 1 can of chopped tomatoes blend together and let it come to a boil
lower heat to simmer and add chopped fresh broccoli
Simmer for about 25 minutes uncovered – stirring occasionally.
Serve over cooked rice – I used white basmati rice – it would work well with brown or short grain rice as well.
This was a nicely spiced, but not spicy dish and a lovely way to end the week! I will definitely add this dish into the rotation. I think next time I might try chopped potatoes instead of the chicken…I’ll let you know how that turns out.
spinach, feta, rice pie
Posted in Cheese, Vegetables on April 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I served this alongside the glazed salmon…it also makes great leftovers.
Saute 3/4 cup of chopped onion;
add salt and pepper (1/2 tsp. each);
and 2 tbls of flour;
slowly add 1 1/2 cups of milk;
whisk together and let simmer for 1 minute then remove from heat;
add thawed and drained 10 ounce package of chopped spinach 1 egg and 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup of feta and 2 cups of cooked rice.
Add all to a greased casserole dish sprinkle with Parmesan and put in 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes.
Vegetable Lasagna
Posted in Cheese, Pasta, Sauces/Dressings, Vegetables on January 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It has been a pretty gloomy and cool weekend so I decided to warm the house with a freshly prepared lasagna. You can’t go wrong with lasagna and in general you simply layer the noodles, sauce and cheese and bake and it will be good. I wanted to something a bit beyond that – it took a little more time, but the end result was well worth it.
I preheated the oven to 400 degrees
half and seed a red pepper – sprinkle with olive oil
cut the top off a head of garlic – place in olive oil and wrap in foil
Put both of these in the oven – remove peppers when the skin is blistered – place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and set aside until cool – when cool – remove skin and then slice peppers into bite size pieces – you can add to sauce or just add when you layer the cheese and sauce
Remove garlic when it is soft – let cool a bit and then extract the cloves and set aside.
In a cast iron skillet I put about 15 grape tomatoes and about a tablespoon of olive oil…I turned the burner on high – when the tomatoes soften and break – reduce heat. I then added marinara sauce, and random veggies I had left over – some broccoli, a few shredded carrots and I think a few pieces of cauliflower. Add about a cup of red wine and a dash of ground red pepper and let simmer for as long as you want – I think I let mine simmer about 45 minutes. Add roasted garlic cloves to the sauce then start the water to boil for the pasta. (don’t forget to salt and oil the water)
Prepare lasagna dish with some non stick spray. When the noodles are soft – drain and rinse with cold water – put a layer of noodles in the pan – top with some sauce, and fresh spinach, ricotta, feta and a layer of mozzarella cheese…repeat process for three layers – add fourth layer of noodles – top with sauce – cover with cheeses and bake in 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes until bubbling and cheese is slightly browned.
Baked Pumpkin Risotto
Posted in Pasta, Vegetables on January 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I was watching “Ask Aida” today and she was having a vegetarian show – she made baked pumpkin risotto – despite the fact that she used chicken broth rendering it non-vegetarian – I gave this a try with veggie broth – I put my changes in parenthesis
* 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
* 2 cups arborio rice
* 2 cups pumpkin or butternut squash, small dice (I used butternut squash)
* 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
* 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil (my basil froze so I left it out)
* 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (I used yogurt)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil (I forgot to do this part)
Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Combine broth, rice, squash, puree, and onion in a 3-quart baking dish, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to evenly combine. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake, stirring occasionally, until most the water has been absorbed and rice granules are puffed, about 35 to 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, stir in remaining ingredients, season to taste and serve.
Mine took about 45 minutes – I don’t know if the oven just wasn’t hot enough or what, but I definitely needed more time than the allotted. It was, however, very tasty and something I will definitely do again. I just served this with some hot bread – no sides, it was plenty…next time I will pick up some basil and try to remember the olive oil, though it didn’t seem to need it.
Potato and Leek Gratin
Posted in Cheese, Vegetables on December 12, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I saw an ad, which I promptly lost, with a recipe for potato and leek gratin. I went with what I could remember of the recipe and this is what I came up with.
2 leeks – washed and chopped (just use the tender white portion of the leek – I soaked them in water while I prepared the rest of the dish so they would be clean)
3lbs of potatoes, peeled (I used red potatoes – I am sure russets would work equally well)
6 oz of Jarlsberg grated cheese (the recipe calls for Gruyere, but that is too pricey for me)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Saute the leeks in about 2 tablespoons of butter until tender
Slice peeled potatoes into 1/4 inch slices
butter the sides and bottom of a casserole dish
Put one layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of the casserole dish.
sprinkle with leeks and grated cheese
add another layer of potatoes – and top with leeks and cheese – repeat process until all ingredients are used – make sure you have enough cheese to cover the top layer of potatoes.
Bake covered for 20 minutes; after 20 minutes remove the cover and bake for another 25-30 minutes until potatoes are tender and the cheese is golden brown.
This is super delicious! I will definitely add this into the rotation.
Corn Casserole
Posted in Vegetables on December 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s another awful picture. I could have taken it out of the tin foil, huh?
This is another of the potluck dishes I’ve had to make over the course of the week. This particular dish is Paula Deen’s Corn Casserole. It turned out pretty well. If I do it again, though, I’ll add a can of spicy green chile to it, to cut the richness and sweetness. You can go to here if you want to see the recipe- it was very easy.
