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Showing posts with label fish. Show all posts
Ever tried farro? I fully admit I never had before this weekend. If you asked me what it was I would have said "some kind of grain?" Turns out it is a delicious, flavorful grain, that cooks up similar to rice or quinoa. Boil water, add the farro (you're suppose to rinse it first- I may have forgotten this step... whoops) and simmer until all the water is gone! How did I end up trying it you might ask? Well, the wonderful people at Tuscan Fields are pairing up for a scholarship opportunity to attend Eat Write Retreat, and I knew I wanted to give it a shot.



Having never cooked with farro before I read the instructions on the back and decided to use it like I would brown rice. The first thing that came to mind was mushrooms, and then onions, and then spinach, and then salmon, and then a balsamic reduction. Yup pretty much exactly in that order. So instead of trolling the internets for ideas I decided to go with my gut and wing it. Here's what came out at the end.


I am SO EXCITED about making this again. John loved it, I loved it, I call that a win win in this household. I used the farro perlato (plain) variety in this recipe but they also have a vegetable and mushroom blend available. I bet the mushroom blend would have been perfect in this too!! To find out if Tuscan Fields Farro is sold by you, you can check out the store locator.

Mushroom Farro with Grilled Salmon
recipe by ::steph chows::

olive oil
1 box Tuscan Fields Farro Perlato (9.1 oz)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 gloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
6oz white mushrooms, sliced
3 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and patted dry
2- 6oz salmon filets
balsamic reduction for drizzling

Cook farro according to package instructions. While it is simmering, heat a large pan and drizzle with olive oil. Saute onion until slightly brown. Add in mushrooms, rosemary and garlic and let them sit for 4-5 minutes without stirring. Add in spinach and toss until they are wilted. Once farro is done add to pan and set aside.

Drizzle salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill about 2 minutes each side (will depend on thickness of steaks and heat level). Do not over cook... seriously, overcooked salmon tastes like rocks.

Serve farro with grilled salmon on top. If desired lightly drizzle with olive oil and a balsamic reduction.


Tuscan Fields provided me with two samples of their farro products. I was not paid for this post but if I have the best recipe out of all the bloggers I would win a trip to Eat Write Retreat. Opinions are all my own. 


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Thanks to the Foodbuzz tastemaker program I got to sample some of Mrs. Paul's and Van de Kamp's ParchmentBake! My post is a bit delayed due to availability, it's so new I couldn't find it at first! Thankfully it showed up in the stores this past weekend and John and I had the roasted garlic talapia variety last night.
talapia
The fish cooked perfectly in the parchment. It's super easy to make, place the parchment pouch on a baking sheet and bake for 22-24 minutes. That's it, you're done, no mess left on the pan, no guess work! The best part is one fillet packs 13 grams of protein, only 80 calories, and .5 grams of fat. The only downside is each one has 15% of your sodium for the day, not horrible when you think how much most frozen entrees pack.

We made our meal super simple by serving the fish with its sauce over a big green salad. It was a perfect light meal for a spring evening. I liked the flavor of the roasted garlic sauce but the consistency was a little on the thick side for me. Taste and texture wise the fish was perfect. I would definitely get this again for a quick weeknight meal option, and no I'm not just saying that since I got to try these for free.

Want to try the filets for yourself? I have two more coupons that I want to share with you readers! That means 2 people get to win! To enter just tell me what you'd serve your fish with? Would you do a salad like me? Or maybe over some rice? Pasta? Asparagus?

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Sometimes you want to fill a sandwich with so much good stuff you almost don't have room for the bread... I said almost people so pick yourself up from the floor ;) You know I love bread and wouldn't want to go without it, but sometimes your sammie gets so thick you can't even fit it in your mouth!?

Enter Arnolds Sandwich Thins, I got to try some through the tastemaker program with foodbuzz and I was super excited about it.

Now let me introduce you to my dinner last night.



It's a monster, and it was delicious. Easy to make too :)

Monster sandwich ( makes 2)
by steph chows

2 portabella caps marinated in balsamic and a little olive oil (I let them sit overnight in the fridge)
2 wild caught salmon burgers (I get these at BJ's in the frozen section no added anything)
1/4 red bell pepper sliced (even better if it comes from a friends garden!
tomato slices (also from a friends garden)
home made dill refrigerator pickles
lettuce
2 arnolds sandwich thins
Dinosaur BBQ habanero BBQ sauce

On a gas grill cook ports untill fork tender. Grill frozen salmon burgers 5 minutes each side.

Stack bottom of sandwich thin with burger, port, peppers, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and BBQ sauce, top with other half of sandwich thin.

CHOW CHOW CHOW!!!



Mezzetta
sent me a fantastic gift box a few weeks ago... seriously it was probably the three best items they could have ever sent me. Roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and arrabbiata sauce!!!

John was also super excited.. I mean these are three of his all time favorite ingredients! He said I could take the night off and he'd cook something up for us... however after I snuck in to take a few shots... he informed me I couldn't post the pic of him.... after a heated debate (not really) we came to this compromise!

Now onto what he did, he cooked up some of the peppers and artichoke hearts with a little white wine and a lot of garlic. Then he added in some talapia fillets until they were cooked through.

Meanwhile he boiled up some whole wheat gnocchi, and warmed up the arrabbiata sauce in another sauce pan.

Stack it all up for a delicious, satisfying meal!!


Obviously we ate from bigger plates... but it's just so cute plated on a tiny little one bite plate :) We agreed that all of Mezzetta's products were over the top delicious!! And I must confess I went a little nutty over how good the artichoke hearts were. YUM!!

What would you have made with these tasty treats?
When John and I started dating he wanted to show me that he was able to cook. The first thing he cooked for me was a tuna melt... I must admit, I really really don't like tuna melts... but you all know how you pretend to like things when you are first in love... and he was so sweet to cook for me... so I put on my biggest smile and told him I loved it, and ate every last bit of it!


At some point later when I felt more comfortable with him... the truth came out!!! We had a good laugh, but from then on when he feels like a tuna melt, he goes solo with it :)

John's Hummus Tuna Melt

Spray two slices of whole wheat bread with I can't believe it's not butter spray, set aside

Mix together:
Can of tuna drained
2 Tbs hummus (chili pepper is a favorite)
few glugs red hot

Place a sice of bread butter side down in a pan and top with tuna mixture. Add a slice of cheese of your choice then the other side of bread butter side up. Grill over low heat until browned, flip and brown other side.


What food have you pretended to like in the name of love :D

I'm always looking for quick dinner ideas for John and I. I read this one Wednesday night and it's what we had for dinner Thursday, yup it looked that good :) The warm lentil salad calls for arugula... for some reason Wegmans was out, so I picked up a bunch of asparagus, steamed them up, and cut them into 1 inch pieces to toss in the salad... wicked good!! I'd say skip the arugula and make it with asparagus if I were you :D

Oh and since John likes more flavor with his salmon I did a quick hot wing marinade on his piece, mine was just a little sea salt and pepper. I cooked it up on the G.Forman grill (with skin on - I take it off after it's done cooking) instead of skinless and in a pan like the recipe calls for. Quick and oh so tasty!


Salmon With Warm Lentil Salad
recipe from Real Simple
serves 4

Ingredients
  • 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
  • kosher salt and black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 bunch arugula, torn (about 4 cups) (my substitution: 1 bunch asparagus steamed and cut it into 1 inch pieces )
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions
  1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the lentils and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes; drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, onion, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
  4. Add the lentils and arugula (or asparagus) to the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve with the salmon and lemon wedges.
Cooking Light is one of those magazines I can always remember being around. My mom has subscribed to it for over 20 years, and I'm a subscriber now. A woman from Time Inc contacted me and asked if I wanted to write up a post about Cooking Light and that she loved my blog (swoon) seriously?? Someone at Cooking Light knows about my blog and likes it!! Totally made my day! Week... Year... :) Now if only they wanted to feature a healthy cooking blogger!! THAT would be amazing.

I recycle most of my magazines once I'm done paging through them... Cooking Light however sticks around. I consistently dog ear a dozen pages and add them to my "to make" list. The October issue is full of ones I want to try... buttermilk biscuits anyone? how to build a better bowl of noodles (YUM!), quick and easy recipes... what's not to love.

The first page I dogeared was for Seafood Cakes with Mustard Crema. I showed John the picture and said, "So what do you think? Will you eat it?" He thought the picture looked tasty so off I went. The recipe only takes 30 minutes start to finish (gotta love that!) so this is perfect for any night of the week, and most of the ingredients I have on hand (frozen shrimp is my friend). The great thing about this recipe is it is easily adaptable too. Lump crab meat a bit too expensive for you right now? I subbed in talapia that I quickly cooked up and then tossed in instead of the crab meat. Totally delicious and more budget friendly :)

I served these with a side of baked sweet potato fries (ALSO a recipe from cooking light LOL I just realized that). The sauce for the cakes was also delicious on the fries!


Seafood Cakes with Mustard Crema
recipe by Cooking Light

4 servings (serving size: 2 cakes and about 4 teaspoons sauce)
Ingredients

* 1/3 cup light sour cream
* 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
* 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
* 7 teaspoons canola oil, divided
* 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
* 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
* 8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp, chopped
* 8 ounces lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
* 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Preparation

1. Combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons parsley, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring with a whisk until blended. Set aside.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add onion and celery; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

3. Combine shrimp and crab in a large bowl. Stir in onion mixture, remaining pepper, remaining 1/4 cup parsley, cheese, salt, egg whites, and egg; stir gently. Add panko; stir gently. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions; flatten to 1/2-inch-thick patties.

4. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully turn over; cook 3 minutes or until done. Serve with sauce.
Summer finally got here in upstate NY... I must say I was rather enjoying the long days of weather in the 70's... now it's hot and extra humid BLEH. The last thing I want to do it turn the oven on. I made this one up before I had my new grill (more on that to come!). I used the george forman to grill the shrimp... they came out ok... but really nothing great. I bet on the grill this would be over the top good!


Lettuce, tomato, feta, cucumbers, and a little of my creamy balsamic dressing. I grilled the shrimp with a little olive oil and seasoned them simply with sea salt and pepper.

What is your go to no oven required meal?
I've sure been posting a lot of baked goods... it's about time for a salad wouldn't you agree? To me a salad needs to be easy to throw together, nothing complicated going on here. Some good greens, accents of flavor and color, some good proteins and you are good to go.


This one had romaine hearts, cucumbers, some Mediterranean spiced feta, topped with a grilled piece of salmon (I gave the salmon a little drizzle of olive oil and some cracked pepper before it hit the grill). As for the dressing, I whipped up a creamy balsamic number.

Like I've said before with other proteins, they need to be moist and tender. I wont eat over cooked fish so I make sure to keep a close eye on things if not under cook it slightly. You can always put it back on the grill for an extra minute... but you can't undo overcooking.

For the dressing... it's really not a recipe more a toss it all in a bowl and mix so these measurements are a guess...

Creamy Balsamic Dressing
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
tiny bit of canola oil
3-4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chow!
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Copyright © 2012 :: steph chows ::.