Fish on Friday

Not exactly fish, but seafood.  We had a GC for the fish market that I pass by at least once a day. I never remember to bring it with me, but today I was smart, I had it with me.

I wanted to use the entire GC so I bought a lot. 1.5 pounds of sea scallops, 2 crab cakes, 6 stuffed clams, and a lemon. The stuffed clams went in the freezer and he won’t know because I am pretty sure he doesn’t read this blog, so I can surprise him some night and pretend that I made them.

Crab cakes with my version of a remoulade and my version of the Barefoot Contessa’s Scallops Provencale

My go to sauce for crab cakes or fried fish is Mayo, spicy mustard, relish, and hot sauce. Not traditional but it works for us

I followed the scallop recipe pretty closely but I didn’t have any shallots, so I used scallions instead and skipped the parsley. I never have parsley. It looks pretty, adds some flavor I guess but it just seems like a waste of money to me.

Dish count? It felt like a million but then he did them for me. So the dish count (for me)= 0

Turkey? Picatta

Rainy Monday + Day after my birthday + Back on the healthy eating bandwagon = not so exciting dinner

At the grocery store I saw that Turkey Tenderloins, my new favorite white meat, were on sale.

Dredged in flour seasoned with Penzeys Sunny spain spice. It is a lemony pepper and very yummy.

Quick sautee and take the turkey out of the pan, deglaze with white wine, add some chicken stock, juice of a lemon, a handful of capers, throw turkey back in for a few and dinner is done. I added a small salad and dinner was even healthier.

 

 

What I really want is the Roasted Blueberry with Dark chocolate buttercream birthday cake that is in the fridge. He is taking that to work tomorrow, unless I eat it all tonight…

Yup, it’s been a while, but I got something for you!

I have been busy. I understand that at this rate I will not be the next Food Network Star but I kind of already figured that out.

I wanted Chinese food but I am trying to eat healthy so I was at a crossroads…Firecracker Beef from Green Tea or attempt something at home.

Guess which option won? I hate being responsible.

I didn’t take a before pic and I have no dish count; I promise I will get better at that or not.

I took my inspiration from www.skinnytaste.com I love this site and refer to it often for ideas.

Take 1 pound shrimp and toss with a few tablespoons of cornstarch

Mix some low fat mayo (5 or 6 Tbsp)  with Sweet Chili Sauce (3 or 4 Tbsp)  and Siracha. Mix this to taste. I used quite a bit because I like the spice of it.

Throw shrimp in hot oiled pan and cook for a few, 3 maybe 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and add 1 Bag broccoli Slaw* into hot pan with a few dashes of soy and some sesame seeds and cook for a few minutes, just to warm.

*Broccoli Slaw is a great easy option for oriental dishes. Add it to stir fry, or pad thai for extra veggies.

Toss shrimp in sauce and serve over the broccoli.

I added some Lean Cuisine Thai Chicken eggrolls for fun.

**I realize after writing this out that this sounds like a Sandra Lee Semi Homemade recipe. I am not a tall, blonde, skinny, drunk, over-crafting cook. OK, well,  I do love me a good tablescape, frequently look for ways to make my cooking prep easier, and I enjoy a cocktail now and again…but I am NOT tall, blonde, and skinny.

 

The picture is crappy, I took it with my iphone. I take all my food pics with my iPhone but I was starving and did not have the energy to re-arrange the counter to get  a good shot.

Next week will be better…pinky swear

 

 

 

 

 

Flexatarian?

I heard this term a few months ago and I thought it was stupid. I have no idea what the hell it really means but it has something to do with choosing to not eat meat for at least 1 meal a week or some crap like that.

If that is the meaning then we are Flexatarians, if not then we just had a meat free dinner and the term Flexatarian is stupid.

 Eggplant parmesan-ish. I didn’t have regular breadcrumbs so I used Panko. I was short on time so I baked the eggplant, topped it with sauce and parmesan cheese and baked a few minutes longer.

It was fast and easy-ish and pretty good

 

Dish count? What you see below (thanks Rachel Ray for introducing me to the every helpful garbage bowl) plus 2 plates, 2 forks, pasta pot and lid, colander, and baking sheet for a grand total of 17

 

 

 

Dish Count

I had mentioned before that I hate doing dishes but since I hate dirty dishes in the sink almost as much as my beloved husband does, I do them.

I also tend to me a mess when I cook and use far too many utensils and dishes and pots and pans and random kitchen gadgets. This usual increases my dish count to somewhere around 350,000 things to clean per average meal.

I am working hard to cut this number down but I rarely succeed. So I thought I would post a dish count for every blog post. Some blogs tell you calories or servings, I will tell you how many dishes you will have to wash or rinse or scrub or get pissed off at and throw away.

Tonight’s Dish count I already know: NONE

I am going out to dinner with the girls!

I feel like Chicken tonight

Only because that is what I had.

I used to be so good about planning a weekely menu. Pick the recipes, make a detailed shopping list and have each night prepped in advance. So domestic of me. It is now prime wedding and boating season and I am lucky if I actually have food in the house lately.

Tonight dinner was Peppered Chicken Caesar Salad burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

I cooked it all on the grill because it is hot as hell here and I hate doing dishes. I really hate doing dishes, I feel like that is all I do sometimes. I especially hate it when I open the dishwasher and it makes that CLICK. That stupid CLICK that says “Haha! You have to unload me before you can do all those dirty dishes in the sink” I hate dishes

But back to dinner. It was easy peasy tonight. 4 Ground Chicken Burgers, chopped romaine, bottle of Caesar dressing, fresh parm (more on that later), sandwich thins, and Frozen sweet potato fries (more on that now)

I love sweet potatoes. I really love sweet potato fries but I can not make them on my own. They are soggy as hell and turn black no matter what I try. I am sure it is a temperature and time issue, one I recognize that I have, but I just can not do it. I buy frozen and I am happy.

Fresh Parmesan cheese. Please step away from that damn cheese is a jar or can or whatever vessel they sell it in  on a shelf. This is aged cheese that demands a refrigerated case. It is delicious to snack on and easy to grate and get this folks…IT TASTES LIKE CHEESE!  Not powder in a can.

 I peppered the hell out of the burgers and threw them on the grill along with the foil lined pan ( if you line the pan with heavy duty foil, there is no scrubbing. Just a quick rinse) with the fries. Very hot and then I turn it town so the chicken cooks slowly and doesn’t get dry. Is that advice on how to cook chicken burgers? Sure, if it works for you. This was my first attempt at this cooking method and it worked well.

Here is my finished plate. It was delicious, easy peasy, and a very acceptable dish count

Pizza Night

Yesterday, after a long drive in the convertible, we stopped at Stew Leonards to get some Naked Chicken. We picked up some Whole Wheat dough for pizza.

With leftover spinach, some goat cheese, garlic, chopped tomatoes, and fresh parm, we had pizza night

I never have any idea how long to cook pizza and at what temperature. Tonight was 400 degrees for about…hmmm…I am not very good at this cooking blog thing because I have no idea how long I cooked it for. I am going to guess and say 25 minutes, maybe more. I promise I will get better at remembering important things like cook time.

I am happy with the temperature choice and even happier with the time it took to cook. It was perfect.