Golden Lemon Panko Tilapia Sticks

I buy my son breaded fish sticks. I've tried to be a "good" Mom and bread my own fish sticks, but he has yet to give a recipe the thumbs up. I always use tilapia because of the mild flavor. How do I, being a vegetarian, know that the flavor is mild? Because my husband tells me so...and since he's eating it and I'm not, I'll trust him. So I use a mild flavored fish to try and win my son over. I found this recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine (November 2008). The fish sticks are pan-fried so I thought my little one would be more open to giving Mommy a "happy plate". Ya know...I didn't even attempt to get him to try one. Why not? Because I started dinner too late in the evening and I just quickly tossed something together for him. "Bad" Mommy.

My husband gladly ate it and he actually raved. I had the biggest smile on my face after hearing him describe the flavors and texture. At first he said it was really good (even though it wasn't hot because I took photos of it for 8 minutes). Then after a few more bites he said it was fantastic! He loved the panko coating and the lemon zest in the breading. He squeezed a little more lemon on it too. The batter is made with dark beer but it seems as though that flavor might have gotten lost as it competed with the lemon and cayenne pepper. When he went on to describe all of the effort it must take to pull off my dinners, I got the sense that he really appreciated the work that went into this meal, which to be honest wasn't any big deal. Overall, hubby gave it two thumbs up and asked me to make it again. Yay!

Adapted

Ingredients

2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into rectangular sticks
3 ounces panko breadcrumbs
1 tbs finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup dark ale
3 tbs EVOO

Directions

1. Sprinkle fish with salt & pepper. In a large bowl, combine fish sticks with next 5 ingredients.
2. Whisk egg whites and ale in a medium bowl. Add fish to ale mixture and toss to coat. Shake off excess, then toss fish in panko mixture to coat all sides.
3. Heat 3 tbs EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the fish sticks. Cook until golden and just opaque in center; about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining fish. Adding more oil as necessary.
4. Transfer fish to paper towels on a plate. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Serve immediately (don't take 8 minutes to take photos of it!).

Serve with lemon slices on the side and sweet potato fries.

Pumpkin Stuffed Shells with Hazelnut Cream Sauce

Oh how I love pumpkin. And cream. And pasta.

I get daily emails from allrecipes.com and about once a week a recipe catches my eye. This recipe had many ingredients that I enjoy. I had this recipe on my dinner calendar last month but I pushed it to this month, thinking it might be more involved than I had the energy for, especially after caring for my infant all day.

I decided to start early on dinner preparations in case something "baby related" interrupted me. I toasted the hazelnuts and boiled the pasta shells in the morning. I sauteed the ingredients in the afternoon. By evening, after my husband was off of work, I had time to stuff the shells while I had my husband stirred the sauce with my preschooler while the baby napped. This meal definitely took more coordination on my part than usual.

The results were outstanding. Let me be clearer. The results were OUTSTANDING! If someone had served me this in a restaurant, I'd go back immediately for more. The filling was savory and sweet, but not too sweet. The hazelnut cream sauce did not overpower the pumpkin filling, but rather complimented it. The nuts softened in the sauce but provided a nice texture to the meal. When I read reviews for the recipe, which is supposed to be made with pasta sheets and made into ravioli instead of shells, many people thought the hazelnuts were a waste of money and time (since they need to be toasted and rubbed). I disagree. They made the dish that much better.

I adapted the recipe based on online comments and what spices I already had on-hand.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 large carrots, cooked and pureed
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (for inside of filling)
  
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1 pinch ground cardamom
• 3 tbs unsalted butter
• 5 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 box pasta shells
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cloves garlic, minced (for sauce)
  
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch white pepper
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta shells according to instructions.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Toast the hazelnuts in a shallow pan on the middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes, or until brown and fragrant. When they are cool enough to handle, wrap the nuts tightly in a lint-free towel, and vigorously rub nuts against the towel. Continue rubbing until the nuts are almost blond.
3. Saute the onions, garlic, and spices in butter or margarine until the onions are soft. Stir together with the pureed vegetables. Add cheese, maple syrup, egg, salt, and black pepper. Adjust seasoning. Set the filling aside.
4. Cook the cream, garlic, cayenne, and white pepper over high heat; stir often, and adjust heat to keep the cream from boiling over. When the cream is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add a pinch salt. Adjust seasoning. Remove sauce from heat until you're ready to use it.
5. Stuff the shells with the filling. Cover with sauce and sprinkle the top with half of the hazelnuts. Use all of the hazelnuts if you prefer them softer. I recommend doing this.
   
6. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining toasted hazelnuts, if you didn't use them all already. Serve with a nice salad and garlic bread.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

After making a dinner or two that my preschooler gave the "thumbs down" to, I decided to make something that I was sure he'd eat and my expectation was to have a frustration-free dinner.

This Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders recipe came out of a March 2008 copy of Southern Living Magazine. I've haven't made this recipe in the almost four years since I tore the page out of the magazine. I decided it was about time to try it.

This is another recent recipe that calls for me to dredge something. I'm so over dredging in a bowl that, once again, I pulled out my plastic bags instead. Every time my husband sees me shaking something in a bag he eyes me like he knows I'm thinking, "I'm so smart. Shaking this bag when others get messy using a bowl." He'd be right. I am thinking that every time I refuse to follow a recipe and dredge.

I altered the ingredients in the recipe since I didn't want to buy saltines and my husband has a recent preference for all things breaded in panko breadcrumbs. Another change I made was with the amount of paprika the recipe called for. It called for 2 tbs. Yikes! Seems like a lot. I only have hot paprika in the house, so I opted for only 1 tbs. Next time I'll be sure to get sweet paprika.

Note: Coating the chicken in flour will lock in moisture and the breadcrumb coating will add crispness.

The verdict? Well...the preschooler gave it the "thumbs down" and Daddy gave it the "thumbs up". I think this is what happened. I feed my child organic chicken and my husband gets the chicken laden with whatever organic chickens don't get. I keep them separate when I'm preparing a meal. I did my shake-n-bake move with my son's chicken first. Maybe I didn't shake the bag enough because his chicken definitely had more of the hot paprika on it than did my husband's. My husband had some of the spicier chicken and then I had extra chicken that I tossed in the bag with what was left over of the mixture and tossed in extra panko.

My husband liked the subtle kick that the paprika gave the chicken. He didn't pick up much of the pecan flavor though. Next time I make this recipe I won't grind up the pecans. I'll crushed them. He tried my son's chicken and said it was great, but maybe a bit too spicy for a 4-year old.

Ingredients (adapted)

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs or 16 saltine crackers, crushed
1/4 cup pecans, ground (just finely chop them up)
1 tbs sweet paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 1/2# chicken tenders (I just used 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into tenders)
1/4 AP flour (place in ziplock bag)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F and mix first 5 ingredients together in a ziplock bag.
2. Whisk egg.
3. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet over parchment paper and spray rack with cooking spray.
4. Toss chicken in flour, dredge in egg (I wish I could do this in a bag too) and toss in breadcrumb mixture.
5. Arrange on wire rack and bake for 18-20 minutes, turning once half way through.

Snack Time!

My very kind and generous neighbors brought us a bunch of Christmas treats back in December. Everything was delicious but one thing caught my eye and taste buds. I love salty and sweet snacks and having those flavors together in one snack is heaven.

Do I even need to list the ingredients? Pretzels, Hershey Kisses, M&Ms.

Directions

1. Put pretzels on a sheet pan.
2. Wrap Kisses and put in the center of the pretzel.
3. Bake at 325F for 2 minutes.
4. Push an M&M in the center
5. Cool in refrigerator.

Vegetarian Curry Crock Pot

Two of my favorite things in life are massages (which I don't get often enough) and Indian food. I go out for dinner to the Indian restaurant for my birthday literally every year. I love it but yet I'm not adventurous enough to actually cook it. I have friends who have made paneer from scratch. I've watched how easy it is to make naan via the Food Network and Youtube. But I hadn't dared to actually prepare a meal...until I found this crock pot recipe. I love my crock pot and I'm always looking for new recipes to try. This one looked easy enough. I found it on a website where a lady made a different crock pot meal every day for a year. Sounds crazy to me!

I served this vegetarian curry first to my husband while we ate in shifts, which parents with babies know needs to be done on occasion. He was disappointed. It looked beautiful. It was healthy. It called for lots of curry seasoning. It made the house smell great. But, the flavor was lacking. Taking his comments, I tweaked it a bit before I ate it and his second opinion while eating left-overs was much more favorable. I've adapted the recipe to suit our taste.

Served over basmati rice with a side of garlic naan and a dollop of plain yogurt, I was able to tweak it from something disappointing to something rather tasty.


Ingredients

2 cans drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1 diced red pepper

4 tiny potatoes, or 1 regular-sized

1/2 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic

3 tbsp (yes, tablespoons!) curry

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp red (cayenne) pepper

1 lg can tomatoes (and juice)

2 cups vegetable broth

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 cup frozen peas (to add later - optional)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

1. add drain and rinsed garbanzo beans to your crockpot

2. cover with diced vegetables and add spices

3. toss in tomatoes, yogurt and broth

4. stir to mix flavors

5. cook on low for 8-10 hours, or longer. Sneak a taste and season with more salt & pepper as desired.

6. 20 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen peas. Turn to high.

Coming soon....

Kentucky Derby Museum Pie (aka Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie)

I have never known another pie to be called by so many names. Kentucky Derby Museum Pie, Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie, Kentucky Horse Race Pie. I don't care what it's called. It's rich and chocolatey, full of pecans and so easy to make. Yum! And...has just enough of a hint of bourbon for you to feel naughty! You could substitute the bourbon with pure vanilla extract, but why would you?!

I lived in Lexington, KY for almost a year after college. I was apprehensive about moving there but I fell in love with horse-country. I was unable to go to the Derby while living there since I worked in a hotel and it was their busiest time of year, but I found this recipe instead.

Ingredients

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chocolate chips
1 9" pie shell, partially baked

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs, flour, salt, and Kentucky Bourbon (or vanilla). Add chocolate chips and nuts. Stir well.
3. Pour into partially baked pie shell and bake for 30 minutes, or until center is set. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.


Yummy and rich. You definitely need whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to mellow out the intense richness. It is so good when heated and even better the next day. Butterscotch chips can be substituted for half of the chocolate chips. I like this recipe even more because it is something you can whip together in a rush, assuming you have all of the ingredients.

Breaded Baked Chicken

I'm on a roll! I've planned out all of our family dinners for the month of January and I haven't missed a day...haven't strayed off calendar. Not that straying would be awful. I should've made a New Years Resolution this year. If I had, this would be it, having a plan and sticking to it. It really makes my life so much easier. I know what to buy when I'm grocery shopping and I had an idea of when to start preparing dinner because I know what I'm going to make in advance. I must be the first Mom to ever do this! ;) It also means I'm not throwing together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my preschooler because I'm afraid he won't eat what I'm making or can't wait until I get it finished.

Tonight I went super simple with a breaded baked chicken recipe that I adapted from...Country Crock?! Sounds strange but the recipe is so simple that I had to give it a try. It does have one "questionable" ingredient. Butter. But, hey, can't always dredge in eggs. I also made a "kids tender" version for my son.

Ingredients

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used seasoned Panko)
3 tbs grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 each boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbs melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese and garlic powder. Dip chicken into melted butter, then in crumb mixture. Arrange chicken on a roasting pan.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.

I put the mixture in a plastic bag and then tossed the chicken inside. Super easy clean up. I also used pan spray on the roasting pan.

My husband, the "meat eater", really liked it. He liked it for the simplicity. He thought it was a nice light, healthy meal. I had to tell him the secret ingredient was butter. Not as healthy as it could've been. It doesn't use that much butter, but using an egg to dredge seems healthier.

My preschooler gave it the "thumbs up"! How could he not? Chicken tenders. Any way I prepare them he seems to like them.

Autumn Pear and Pumpkin Soup

I've stayed on track with my January Meal Calendar and the plan for dinner tonight was Autumn Pear and Pumpkin soup. I love pumpkin-flavored things so this recipe was right up my alley. I've adapted the recipe from BHG.com (Better Homes & Gardens).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cubes instant vegetable bouillon granules
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2-1/2 cups half-and-half or light cream
• 1-3/4 cups pear nectar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Pear slices (optional)

Directions

1. In a large saucepan combine onion, water, and bouillon cubes. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until onion is very tender; cool slightly. Do not drain.

2. Transfer mixture to a blender container or food processor bowl. Add pumpkin. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Return pumpkin mixture to saucepan. Stir in half-and-half or light cream, pear nectar, ginger, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. Cook and stir until heated through.

3. Ladle into soup bowls. If desired, garnish each serving with pear slices. Makes 6 servings.

My husband and I both enjoyed this soup. The flavors were subtle but distinct. We were both able to pick out the pear and pumpkin tones. Because the soup tasted so light, we both thought it would make a nice appetizer. I added some cheese tortellini to the soup to "bulk" it up. It added just enough hardiness to make it an entree.

The preschooler test...failed. My son, who I would describe as a picky eater, has only ever spit out food three times. This soup was the fourth. It didn't go over well at all, even after attempting to bribe him with ice cream for dessert if he finished. Nothing worked. I think the flavor is for more sophisticated palate. At least he tried it. Should've gotten a photo with the "thumbs down".

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/autumn-pear-and-pumpkin-soup/