Pan Fried Tilapia

This is a super yummy fried fish that's light and crispy.

Pan Fried Tilapia
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp seafood seasoning or Lawry's seasoning
1 tsp salt (omit if using Lawry's)
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1-1/2 lbs fresh tilapia fillets
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Heat oven to 300F to keep fillets warm after frying. In a shallow baking dish, combine flour, seasoning, salt and pepper. Add the tilapia and lightly coat each side. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Shake off excess seasoned flour and place in skillet. Brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Place tilapia on a baking sheet lined with paper towels or a brown grocery bag, and keep warm in the over while preparing sauce.

Turn down the heat on the pan to low and add the butter. Melt the butter, then add the garlic, lemon juice and parsely and saute for 2 minutes. Serve the tilapia warm and drizzle with garlic butter sauce.

Creamy Crockpot Tilapia

This is a recipe several friends of mine are fond of, and I've been hearing them talk about how yummy it is for years. It's from A Year of Slow Cooking. I kept putting off trying it because every time I make fish, I ruin it. Not this time. This recipe was so incredibly simple and so wonderfully tasty. Both my young sons gobbled it up and told me they loved it. My husband, who doesn't like fish, cleaned his plate as well. We'll definitely be making this again soon.
  

Creamy Crockpot Tilapia

3 or 4 fillets of tilapia (or other favorite white fish)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded cheese, preferably Parmesan

juice of 2 lemons

4 chopped garlic cloves

pinch each of salt and black pepper



Mix all ingredients except for the fish in a bowl. Lay out a piece of foil. Rub a generous amount of the sauce mixture on both sides of the fish. Fold the foil over and make a little packet for the fish. Place the packets into the crockpot and cook on LOW for 2-4 hours; fish should flake easily with a fork. Take care when taking the packets out of the crockpot and when opening -- they will be hot.

Chicken Pot Pie

Photo taken with my iPhone. @modernsimplicty

Yesterday was cloudy and a bit dreary, and I had a craving for chicken pot pie. Thankfully, I was able to dig out a super easy version that tasted great, with only about 10 minutes prep time and 30 minutes in the oven.

Chicken Pot Pie
1-1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1-1/2 cups chopped chicken
1 10-3/4 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400F. In a skillet, saute chicken until fully cooked. Mix chicken and frozen veggies in ungreased 9-inch glass pie pan. Stir together soup, Bisquick, milk and egg with a fork until combined and pour over chicken and veggies. Bake uncovered 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Pressure Cooker: 16-Bean Soup

I got a really nice Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker for Christmas, and this bean soup was my first ever attempt at pressure cooking. I was nervous -- I'd heard all the stories about pressure cookers blowing up, sending soup and stew all over the ceiling. This was amazingly simple though, and the result was some of the best bean soup I've ever had. I'm actually looking forward to leftovers today!

PC 16-Bean Soup

5-6 slices bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch chunks

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 lb dried 16-bean soup variety beans (I buy them in the bulk bin at the natural food store)

6oz can tomato paste

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

Salt, pepper, Lawry's Seasoning to taste

In an electric pressure cooker, sauté chopped onion and sliced bacon in olive oil until the onion is clear. Add the dried beans and tomato paste and cover with water, about 2" over the beans. Secure the lid and turn on high pressure for 35 minutes. When the time is up, use the quick pressure release,  add diced tomatoes and season to taste. Simmer 5 minutes and serve. Makes 10-12 servings.

Note: To make this soup vegetarian, simply omit the bacon.

The Best Greek Salad Ever

We love Greek salad in the summer, and we're to the point that we've made it so much we no longer follow a recipe -- we just toss whatever's available from the garden or the produce bin into the bowl. But this has to be the yummiest Greek salad I've ever made, so I had to list the ingredients out for posterity. And so I can make it again every weekend this summer...take a look and tell me this doesn't look divine...

The Best Greek Salad

cucumber

tomatoes (cherries cut in half, or larger tomatoes cut into chunks)

olives (we like a combo of green olives and katamala olives)

fresh parsley -- lots of it

olive oil, just a drizzle

dried basil

dried Greek seasoning blend (if you have it)

sea salt or kosher salt

dried thyme

feta cheese

Combine ingredients in a large bowl (to taste) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve cold. Leftovers taste even better the next day! Makes a great side dish or a light lunch entree.

Turkey Meatballs

I don't cook with ground turkey often, but this experiment worked out so well that it's going into regular rotation. This recipe can go over pasta or on rolls for meatball subs (which is how we had it). So delicious, and healthy too! I did not measure as I was tossing stuff in, so all measurements are approximate. The next time I make it, I'll try to be more precise so I can update.

Turkey Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey
2 slices day old bread, ground into crumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp diced garlic
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp + olive oil, plus more for frying
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried celery seed
a bit of salt and black pepper

Sauce (can use premade spaghetti sauce or use ingredients below):
16 oz tomato sauce
16 oz can whole tomatoes or large diced tomatoes in juice
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp garlic salt

Mix ingredients from ground turkey down to salt and pepper together in a large bowl, then roll the mixture into meatballs with your hands. Brown in olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, just a couple of minutes on each side. Transfer browned meatballs to crockpot. Pour in premade spaghetti sauce or sauce ingredients listed above. Simmer on High for 2 hours or Low for 4 hours. Serves 6-8.

Potato Corn Chowder

I first got this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Centsational Girl. It sounded easy enough, and with fall most decidedly here, it sounded warm and cozy. And it was both. So delicious that even my picky 4-year-old cleaned his bowl. And the leftovers were even better! Of course, being me, I couldn't just make the recipe as it was posted (sorry Kate!). I had to tweak it and make it my own. So here it is, Centsational Girl's chowder with Sandy's modifications LOL!

Potato Corn Chowder

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion (or 1/2 large yellow onion), diced

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

6 medium potatoes

3/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tbsp Lawry's seasoning salt

Salt to taste

1-1/2 cups frozen corn

2 cups half-n-half

1/4 cup flour or cornstarch

Crumbled bacon (omit if vegetarian)

Sour cream for topping

Heat olive oil and butter in pan. Soften the diced onion in butter/oil mixture for 8 – 10 minutes on medium low heat. Meanwhile peel your potatoes and chop them into small cubes. Add chicken broth to your softened onions and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and thyme and cook on medium heat (low boil) for 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. Mash up your potato mixture using an immersion blender, regular blender or a manual potato masher. Add the frozen corn and half & half, Lawry's, white pepper and salt to taste. Mix a little chicken broth with the flour/cornstarch until smooth, then mix everything together in the pot. Let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Ladle into bowls, the top with a dollop of sour cream and bacon crumbles. Mmmmmm!

Ratatouille

We've been getting a lot of eggplant in our CSA boxes recently, and I'm a novice with eggplant. So we've been experimenting with different ways to use eggplant, and of course, we had to try a ratatouille. This was my first taste of ratatouille, and I am now smitten. This may very well be my new favorite summer meal. It's a beautiful dish and would make an excellent presentation for company.

Ratatouille
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried parsley
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (salt to taste)
1-1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
2 zucchini, sliced
1 large onion, sliced into rings
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat bottom and sides of casserole dish with olive oil or cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix parsley and eggplant together, and saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top, then lightly salt and sprinkle with more Parmesan. Continue layering with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper and tomatoes, covering each layer with a little salt and more Parmesan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Serves 4-6 as a main dish, 8 as a side dish.

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken

An easy chicken dish, we all loved it and will be making it often!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken
4 chicken breasts
8 small red potatoes
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2/3 can of water
2 tbsp Louisiana spice blend

Place chicken breasts and potatoes in a crockpot. Pour cream of chicken soup and water over them, then drizzle on the spice blend. Cover and cook 8 hours on low. Serves 4.

Italian Meatballs

I made these for a dinner of meatball subs, but they'd also work great over pasta with additional sauce, or as an appetizer.

Italian Meatballs
2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 slice of day old bread, crumbled
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

In a large bowl, knead together beef, egg, garlic, onions and bread. Form mixture into meatballs, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place all the meatballs in a crockpot, then cover with the spaghetti sauce. Cook on low 8 hours. Makes about 36 meatballs.

For Meatball Subs, spoon onto your favorite sub loaf or Italian roll, then top with grated Mozzarella.

Thai Chicken and Rice

This one was a big hit with the whole family, though it's not one I can let cook all day while I'm at work. It's great for half days or weekends though. I took the photo with a cell phone -- it doesn't do it justice!

Thai Chicken and Rice
1-1/2 lb. chicken cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into short thin strips
1-1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 green onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
2 tsp dried cilantro
4-6 servings hot cooked rice

Place chicken, bell pepper, 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/4 cup broth in small bowl until smooth. Turn slow cooker to high and stir in green onions, peanut butter and the cornstarch mixture, shredding the chicken and you stir. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Stir well. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro. Serve over hot cooked rice. Serves 4-6.

Creamy Beef Roast

Another version of the pot roast, this one is creamier, with a kick of onion flavor.

Creamy Beef Roast
2-3 lb. chuck roast
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of water (use the soup can)
2 dozen or so baby carrots
4 medium potatoes

Prep the roast the night before by adding everything except the potatoes to the crockpot. Quarter the potatoes and put them in a bowl covered with cold water. Place everything in the fridge. In the morning, drain the potatoes and add them to the roast. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Serves 6-8.

Creamy Chicken and Potatoes

This crockpot meal was very tasty -- even my toddler and preschooler ate without fussing!

Creamy Chicken and Potatoes
6 chicken breasts
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom soup
a dozen or so baby carrots
3 large potatoes, quartered
1 cup water

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker, then pour on cream soup and sprinkle Italian seasoning and onion powder. If prepping the night before, you can cover this and place in the fridge. Quarter the potatoes and cover them completely with cold water and place in fridge. When you're ready to start cooking, drain the potatoes and add them to the chicken and spices, then add the carrots on top. Add 1 cup of water. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Serves 6.

Two Days of Roast Beef

Monday and Tuesday's dinners both came from a roast I cooked in the crockpot on Monday. It was tasty, very tender and juicy. Monday, we had roast with potatoes and carrots straight from the crock. Tuesday, we used the leftover beef to make BBQ beef sandwiches. We made them light on the BBQ sauce to account for the kids' tastebuds, but then added in additional sauce for the adults once the beef was on the buns.

Day 1:
Crockpot Roast Beef with Potatoes and Carrots
3 lb. or so Angus roast beef, partially frozen
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
about a dozen baby carrots
3 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
2 cups water
1 tbsp or so Lawry's Seasoning Salt

I prepped the roast the night before and put the roast, soy sauce, Worcester and carrots in the crockpot and put it in the fridge. I cut up all the potatoes and put them in a separate covered bowl filled with cold water (to keep the potatoes from browning) and put them in the fridge as well. In the morning, I put the crock back on the heating element and added the potatoes (strained well), then the 2 cups of water and sprinkled the seasoning salt on top. Cover and simmer on low 10-11 hours. Serves 4 with plenty of leftovers.

Day 2:
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
leftover beef from day 1
3/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce
rolls or hoagie bread -- we used Kaiser rolls on sale at the grocery store that day

Mix the leftover beef with the BBQ sauce, then heat in the microwave about 2 minutes, until thoroughly warmed. Spread on rolls and add additional BBQ sauce to taste. Serve with leftover potatoes and carrots from day 1, or your favorite picnic sides. Serves 4.

Roast Chicken Chimichangas

These chimichangas are excellent and can be made either with fresh chicken or leftover chicken from a roasted or rotisserie bird. Very light too at only ~380 calories per serving.

Roast Chicken Chimichangas
2-1/2 cups shredded roast chicken
4 oz crumbed queso fresco or Monterrey Jack
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
1 16 oz can fat-free refried beans
6 10-12 inch flour tortillas
salsa verde or your favorite salsa to taste

Preheat oven to 500F. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Spread 1/4 cup beans down center of each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 2/3 cup of chicken mixture. Fold tortillas shut and place with seam sides down on large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of chimis with cooking spray. Bake at 500F for 7 minutes. Serve with salsa verde. Serves 6.