Almond Crusted Tilapia with Garlic Wine Sauce

Sorry I have been incognito for a while! I have made a bad habit of creating meals and forgetting to either write them down or blog. So often I forget about fish for weeknight dinners and quickly realize what a great go-to meal it can be. I served this dish with a baked sweet potato and sautéed green beans.

Note: this meal serves ONE!

Ingredients: 

1 tilapia filet (Publix sells them frozen and individually packaged)

1/4 cup almond meal/flour

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 cup white wine

2 Tbs butter

salt/pepper to taste

olive oil

In small dish combine almond flour and bread crumbs. In another dish whisk egg. Salt fish on both sides. 

Preheat small sauce pan to medium heat and add garlic and wine. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add butter, salt and pepper. Reduce to low heat and allow to simmer while you prepare fish. 

Preheat small skillet to medium heat and add 2 Tbs olive oil. Coat fish on both sides in flour, egg, then flour again. Sear in skillet about 2-3 minutes on both sides. (fish doesn't take long to cook at all!)

Serve tilapia with delicious wine sauce. :) 

Serving Size: 1

Em's Mini Meals(and sweet treats!): Em's Gumbo

Em's Mini Meals(and sweet treats!): Em's Gumbo: For those of you that know me, gumbo has become one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It is by far the perfect meal for a cold winter ...

Em's Gumbo

For those of you that know me, gumbo has become one of my all time favorite comfort foods. It is by far the perfect meal for a cold winter Sunday. 

 I actually make this much at one time and then freeze individual portions for later. That way I can get a yummy dinner, lunch and then 2 surprise meals at a later time! 

As always, I got so excited about eating that I forgot to take a finished product pic. Much just take a deep breath and imagine the smell of New Orleans cuisine filling your kitchen. Ahhhhhhh

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs- cut into similar bite sized pieces

1 lb andouille sausage(I buy Aidells Cajun Andouille)cut into similar bite sized pieces

1 smoked ham hock(I highly recommend Whole Foods-super affordable, but Publix carries them too)

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

¼ cup flour

¼ cup olive oil plus 2-3 Tbs

32 oz box chicken stock
salt/pepper to taste

1 cup frozen okra

Jasmine rice- cooked according to package directions

Pre heat 2-3 Tbs olive oil in dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot to medium heat. Add all meat to pan, including ham hock. Allow to sear for 10-12 minutes on all sides.

Remove meat and set aside. Reduce heat to medium low and in same pot add ¼ cup olive oil and flour.  Whisk flour and oil constantly for 10-20 minutes or until a dark golden brown color. Once the proper color, add onion and pepper to pot. Cook veggies for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Add meat back to pan(including ham hock). Cover with entire box of chicken stock and stir to combine.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce back to medium low heat. Cook for 3-4 hours.

At about 3.5 hours, remove ham hock from pot. Pull all meat from hock and place back in the gumbo. Add okra. Cook another 30 minutes or until okra is cooked through.

Serve over jasmine rice!

Serves 4 people.

Em's Mini Meals(and sweet treats!): Chicken Pot Pie for 2

Em's Mini Meals(and sweet treats!): Chicken Pot Pie for 2: Happy Holidays fellow foodies!  I have finally taught myself how to make pot pie for 2. Or pot pie for one with leftovers for lunch or anot...

Chicken Pot Pie for 2

Happy Holidays fellow foodies! 
I have finally taught myself how to make pot pie for 2. Or pot pie for one with leftovers for lunch or another dinner! 
This is a hands on meal and not one for the early learner. 
I can tell you that I made this start to finish on a week night and ate by 7pm. Not bad! 


Ingredients: 

1 pre made pie crust(I recommend Pillsbury and not store brand, whoa what a difference)
1/4 cup frozen butter beans
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup frozen green beans
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup fresh diced carrots
1 chicken breast
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs flour
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cups milk OR chicken stock
salt/pepper to taste
1 small casserole dish(mine is 6x9)

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350. 
Place chicken in small pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, reduce to medium. Cook chicken until fork tender. 
While chicken cooks, proceed with rest of recipe. :)
Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Roll out pie crust as thinly as possible and cut in half. Place one half in bottom of casserole dish. 
Combine peas, beans, carrots, and corn in microwave safe bowl. Add about 1/4 cup water. Microwave for 5 minutes. Put aside. 
Preheat medium saucepan to medium heat. Add olive oil and onion. Cook onion for about 1-2 minutes then add garlic. Continue to cook for about 2-3 more minutes. Add white wine and cook another 2-3 minutes or until wine reduces. 
Add butter to pan and once melted add flour. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Its important to allow flour to cook to get rid of flour taste, otherwise your sauce will taste like flour. Add stock or milk. You may want to add more stock or milk depending on how thick you want your sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. 
Once chicken is cooked, take out of water and dice/shred into bite sized pieces. 
Combine veggies, sauce and chicken in bowl. Taste again for seasoning. Add salt/pepper if needed. Pour into pie crust lined dish and top with other half of crust. 
Seal edges together and cut about 4 small slits into top of crust. 
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly. 

Tips! 

• store your frozen veggies in freezer ziploc bags for longer life span
• when you bring your chicken home from the grocery, store in individual freezer bags 
• stock up of frozen veggies when on sale, these guys make great go-tos for casseroles or any meal!
• Save your time dicing garlic and just smash the clove, pick the cloves out of the sauce before mixing with other ingredients. 
• freeze your butter for longer shelf life, still able to cut off whatever you need when cooking
• buy Publix snack size bags of carrots. these make GREAT servings for any meal, AND they keep longer in their individual packages. I used one full bag for this recipe

Lentil, Kale and Sweet Potato Stew

Tis the season to make soul warming food! As the cold air rushes in, I am inspired to make soups and stews to warm up! This stew would serve 4 hearty portions or 2 with leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day!


There are many benefits to this stew recipe!

1. It is loaded with super foods like kale and sweet potatoes. 
2. It is healthier than most as it calls for water and not sodium filled stocks. 
3. It freezes beautifully! 
4. I like to freeze in individual sized portions so that I have a quick go to for lunch or dinner!

Ingredients: 

· Olive Oil
· salt and pepper to taste
· 1 red onion (finely chopped)
· 7 carrots (thinly sliced coins)
· 3 garlic cloves (finely minced)
· 1 cup lentils (rinsed)
· 2 teaspoons cumin
· 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
· 6 cups water
· 1 sweet potato (peeled and finely diced; about 1 cup)
· 1 bunch kale ( rinsed and finely shredded)

 Directions: 

In a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering and hot, add the onion. Season with salt and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until soft.


Add the carrots and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Add in the rinsed lentils and cook for about 2 minutes, toasting in the oil. Add the cumin and chili flakes, and continue to toast for another minute, or until fragrant. Add the water and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a very low heat and gently simmer for about 10 minutes.


Then, carefully stir in the sweet potato and kale. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through but not mushy. ( you may need to add a little more water, add until you get the consistency you wish for!)
Once cooked, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.


Tips for the working girl(or guy!) 

1. Wash and shred your kale the day/night before 
2. Peel and dice sweet potato. Store in fridge in a bowl of water. 
3. Rinse your lentils. 
4. Dice your carrots, garlic and onion the day/night before. 
5. With the previous tips, you can make this soup in 30 minutes on a work night!
6. Great News! You can now buy frozen kale! It comes ready to go straight from the freezer! Huge time saver AND allows you to have kale on hand. 

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Risotto

So I am going to keep this quite simple.

First, risotto is made with Arborio rice. If you shop at Publix, they carry this rice and it comes in a red/green/clear bag.

Follow the risotto instructions on the bag. Easy peasy.

(most risottos tell you to use “warm” chicken stock. I never do that. I just use room temp stock from a box. I have listed the ingredients below for both risotto and add ins, look at bag of rice for quantities. :)

Ingredients: 

1 bag arborio rice

1 onion

fresh garlic

white wine of your choice

32 oz box, chicken stock

unsalted butter

fresh Parmesan cheese

olive oil

1 butternut squash

1 4oz log goat cheese

1 handful fresh basil leaves, confettied

First, risotto is made with Arborio rice. If you shop at Publix, they carry this rice and it comes in a red/green/clear bag.

Follow the risotto instructions on the bag. Easy peasy.

(most risottos tell you to use “warm” chicken stock. I never do that. I just use room temp stock from a box. I have listed the ingredients below for both risotto and add ins, look at bag of rice for quantities. :)

If you want to make it butternut squash/goat cheese/basil……before starting risotto, start cooking squash. Squash and risotto take same time to cook. You can EVEN roast your squash ahead of time and let it chill in fridge.

·         Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds and sprinkle with olive oil, salt/pepper.

·         Place on foil lined cookie sheet and bake @400 for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.

·         Allow it to cool, then cut out in small bite sizes.

·         (a lot of people like to peel/dice their squash before baking, but I find it to be quite difficult. Totally your call)

·         Once risotto is finished cooking, stir in squash and one small log of goat cheese broken into small pieces.

·         Top with fresh basil when serving! J