New Twist on Traditional Potato Salad

I am a sucker for all things potato and I REALLY enjoy potato salad. However, I am not a huge fan of mayo or mustard so I was really excited when I found an alternative to traditional potato salad in my Cooking Light cookbook.

Here it how it is done:

First, start boiling some water in a big pan. Then cut up some potatoes and throw in there once boiling. I think I boiled for about 15 minutes but honestly I can't recall. Just pick a potato out and see if you like how hard or soft it is... yes, that is what she said ;-)


While the potatoes are boiling, slice up some cucumbers, tomatoes,green onions, red and yellow bell peppers, and olives. Throw them in a bowl. (The onions and olives are not in this bowl cuz my SIL does not like them so I had them in separate bowl and added them once she got her serving)


Then you want to put some canola oil (1/4 cup) , rice vinegar (seasoned or plain) (2tbsp), some salt (1/4tsp) and pepper (1/8tsp) in a bowl and whisk it all together.

Once the potatoes are finished, drain them and put into a big bowl then add in the oil vinegar mixture and the veggies and toss around to coat. I forgot to take a pic of the finished product, but it should look like this.

Thanks Cooking Light

90 Calories per 3/4 cup!!!!

I hate love pasta!

Ok, so I am was not a huge fan of pasta. However, I have been getting a little tired of the dinner routine around here which consists of: fish, chicken, or steak. I cannot remember the last time I made it before tonight; it has been that long. And let's just say that after tonight's meal I will be making it much more often!

Here is what you need and what you will do:

A few portobello mushrooms. You can use big caps like these or pre-sliced ones. Be sure to take the stem off and brush them off with a wet towel; though not too hard or you will tear the skin off



Then cut the shrooms. First in half then across. You can do them however big or small you want.


Next heat up a large pan with 1TBSP of butter and olive oil. Once that is melted, throw in your sliced shrooms and let cook for about 8 minutes


You know they are done when they looks like this.


While your shrooms are cooking, cut up some asparagus (remember to cut off the hard ends!) using however much you like. I used about 3/4 of a bunch.


Next start to boil some water. While that is getting started go ahead and turn the heat on the shrooms down.

And throw in some chicken broth


As well as 5 ounces of Boursin cheese. If you can't find that, just ask anyone at the supermarket what cheese they suggest to substitute with or you can be super crafty and make your own. Paula Deen has a good recipe. Just google it!


And just let the suckers simmer; stirring occasionally of course.

Once the water is to a boil throw in medium sized pasta shells and let boil for about 6 minutes. After that, throw the asparagus into the boiling water with the pasta and cook for another 4 minutes.

Once the pasta/asparagus is done, drain it and mix in a large bowl with the sauce!! You can also add in a protein if you like. I didn't eat any today so I quick thawed some cooked shrimp, cut them up and threw them in the bowl.

Voila!!!


Buon Appetito!!

BTW, this recipe is relatively fast to make!

Never Doubt Trout!

Here is a delicious and easy trout recipe!

You will need:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (You can use dried if that is all you have, just cut the amount in half as dried herbs are much more potent than fresh!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (8-ounce) dressed whole trout
4 (6-inch) rosemary sprigs

What you do:

1. Turn grill to medium-high heat.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Cut 3 diagonal slits on each side of fish (You have to use a really sharp knife because the skin is kinda touch to pierce) and rub rosemary mixture evenly over fish.

4. Place 1 rosemary sprig in cavity of each fish.

5. Place the fish on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

This is seriously an EASY recipe!! We grilled some fresh veggies with the fish but I forgot to take pictures!

Fish with Rosemary Mixture on it!


Not so little fishies grilling!

Eyeball YIKES!!

Momma eating the eyeball!!

My favorite Cat

My favorite Cat besides my niece Kitty is the catfish. It is soooo incredibly delicious and does not really have a fishy taste or smell (if bought @ the right place- trust me, I know!).

Tonight I made Cornmeal Crusted Catfish w/couscous and a salad!

To start out, you dredge the Cat in yellow cornmeal that has been mixed with creole seasoning. I didn't use measurements this time as I have made this dish so often that I no longer need any. However, I will say that you just need enough cornmeal to cover the Cat- nothing too extravagant. And as far as the creole seasoning goes, WATCH OUT, a little goes a long way! If you end up putting too little, don't worry because you can always sprinkle some on the fish after it is cooked and you have tasted it!


After dredging, the next step is to heat up and pan that has either been oiled or sprayed with pam. I start out on high to warm it up, but when I place the fish on the pan I move it down to medium high/medium. You cook the Cat for roughly 5 minutes on each side.

While the Cat was cooking, I started on this great 5 minute couscous that I bought @ Whole Paycheck.

It ended up looking like this:


I also made a salad! I used a spring mix and added cherry tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, red onions, an artichoke heart, freshly ground pepper, parmesan, and an olive oil dressing.



Seriously, this is a really easy and fast meal! You can literally make it in under 10 minutes!!! That deserves an A+ in my book!!! :-)

Quick Meal: Fish

Tuesdays and Thursdays are extremely busy for me. I am in class literally all day and by the time I come home for both lunch and dinner I am usually too tired to make anything because I "think" it will take too long. In reality it is just an excuse to eat like sh*t and pick up some fast food. Thank God for Quick Meals that are healthy AND delish!!



My sister T introduced me to this fish recipe: Baked Lemon Cod. It is extremely easy to make and really yummy! If you don't like cod, you could substitute it for any white fish such as tilapia or sole.



2 pieces of Cod

2 tablespoons butter

1/8 cup of flour

2 tablespoons of lemon

salt

pepper

paprika

1. Preheat oven to 350
   
   
2. Toss the butter into the mikee (microwave) for about 40-45 seconds (until melted)



3. Add the juice of one whole lemon (usually one half of a lemon is a tblsp)
4. Mix these two in a bowl and set aside.

5. Add the flour, salt, and pepper into a bowl. I like to use a fork to mix the ingredients around. And use as much or as little S&P as you like.

6. Now take the Cod and place into the Lemon and Butter bowl.
   
   
7. Then place the cod in the Flour mixture. I like to tap the fish up and down because the last time I made this I rolled it around in the flour and it got clumpy and gross.

8. Next, place the cod in an ungreased baking pan. Add the remainder of the Butter and Lemon mixture and top it off with as much or little Paprika as you like!



9. Throw the tray into the oven and bake for 27 minutes!

I like to get some carbs and veggies in with every meal, but because I am on the go I need something fast; so no grilling summer veggies here!!!!



For my veggie on a quick day, I like green beans from a can. If you don't want extra sodium, they sell it "salt free". If you have a few extra minutes to spare, you can cut up some yellow onions and tomatoes, saute them in the pan, then dump the green beans in. It gives it a good flavor that isn't so mundane.



For carbs, I like Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Brown Rice. I never thought I would like brown rice, but seriously, it tastes better than white rice! This isn't really a recipe because you just follow the directions box if you are making instant rice how I am. To put it simply: Just take a package out, toss into a medium sized pan, and fill it up with water until about 1-2 inches from the top of the pan. (If you want to give the brown rice some flavor, u can always throw in 2 garlic cloves!) Bring it to a boil and then cook it for 10-12 minutes. When done, rinse off and cut open the package.



Enjoy!