Blackened Salmon with Southwestern Cream Sauce

Jason and I were shopping at HEB today and an employee was cooking and giving samples of this recipe. Jason tasted it first and LOVED it so of course I tried it too. It was so good that we decided to buy the ingredients and cook it tonight for dinner. It turned out great! And it was so easy. We will definitely cook this again.

The sauce was the best part! The base is the HEB green sauce shown below. I had never used this until now- it's yummy!

Ingredients:
- 2 salmon filets
- a tablespoon of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of sour cream
- 4-5 tablespoons of HEB's "that green sauce"
- lime juice
- a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter
- seasoning: salt, pepper, blackening seasoning, southwest seasoning

Directions:
1) Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet.
2) Season the meat side of the filets. Cook the filets in the skillet, meat side down for about 5 minutes with the lid on (depending on how thick the filet is).
3) Flip the filets once they start to blacken and cook on the skin side for an additional 5-6 minutes with the lid on, until the salmon is fully cooked.
4) In a small sauce pan, combine the green sauce, sour cream, cilantro, and lime juice on low until warm. Do not turn the burner too high or the sour cream will curdle (yuck). Taste the sauce and see if it needs more heat (add more green sauce) or if it's too hot (add a little more sour cream). I also put a little black pepper and chipotle pepper in the sauce for an extra kick.
5) Remove the filets from the skillet and top with the sauce.
6) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Pork Chops with Pineapple Fried Rice

Not a great picture but a GREAT recipe! This is straight from the Pioneer Woman. My sister tried it first and she gave it raving reviews so I had to try it too. I'm a sucker for fried rice and this has become my favorite fried rice recipe. A few days after I made this, I tried it again but with shrimp. It was delish, too!!

Ingredients:
- 1 can of pineapple rings in 100% juice (the PW used fresh pineapple but I didn't have any on hand)
- 2 cups of rice, cooked
- 6 pork chops (or 1 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp)
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 6 tablespoons of soy sauce (I added more than this)
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of Sriracha
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 eggs
- 1 small jar of pimentos
- 1 1/2 cups of frozen mixed veggies
- I also added some shredded cabbage

Directions:
1) Cook rice and set aside.
2) Grill or saute pineapple rings until they have grill marks. Then cut up into bite size pieces and set aside.
3) Heat butter and oil over medium high heat, then add the pork chops in the pan. Saute on both  sides until they have nice color.
4) Throw in the onions and cook them with the pork chops.
5) Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, and Sriracha. Stir it all around and let it cook and bubble up for a few minutes.
6) Remove pork chops and set aside, while the sauce and onions cook for a little longer. Then pour the sauce and onions over the pork chops and set aside.
7) Add a small amount of oil to the same pan and heat over medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
8) Then crack the eggs and immediately stir them to scramble them. Add veggies and a little more soy sauce. Add cooked rice and stir around for a couple of minutes.
9) Pour the pork chops, sauce, and onions back in the pan and serve.
10) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce

This was DELISH! My photo didn't turn out as pretty as the one in the original post, however, it was super yummy. It had two of my favorite things- lots of spice and lots of fresh garlic!  The whole cooking process took about 10 minutes. This is one of the many reasons I love shrimp! We made some fried rice with these shrimp-- the meal really hit the spot for my Chinese food weakness! I will definitely make this again soon. Try it!

Ingredients:
- 1 pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of chili sauce (I use Sriracha). I love this stuff!! Maybe use a little less if you don't like spicy food.
- 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons of Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- a pinch of black pepper
- 1 green onion, chopped
- fresh asparagus (optional)

Directions:
1) In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, and sugar and set aside.
2) In a wok, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Chop the asparagus and add to the mix. Cook until tender.
3) Add the shrimp and cook until pink, about 5 minutes.
4) Add the sauce mixture and stir so the shrimp are fully coated. Season with black pepper and top with green onions.
5) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Panko Crusted Tilapia

This is a really easy week night meal! Tilapia is such a mild fish and you can do just about anything with it. I was really craving some fried catfish filets but I didn't want to go through all of the trouble of frying. I remembered that Jason and I ate dinner at a friend's house one night and she cooked something similar to this that was really good-- so I decided to go for it! I have to admit that this is a simple dish with very simple flavors (it's not my typical taste bud explosion dinner). But you can easily make a remoulade sauce, tartar sauce, or even a garlic butter sauce for dipping to enhance the flavor. The panko (Japanese style bread crumbs) gets a little crunchy when baked. I will definitely make this again!

Ingredients:
- 4 tilapia filets
- 1/2 cup of melted margarine
- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 cup of unseasoned panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning, Greek seasoning, and a pinch of salt

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking pan with cooking oil.
2) In a shallow dish, combine melted margarine, garlic powder, and lemon juice. In a separate shallow dish, combine panko, Old Bay, Greek, and salt.
3) Dip each filet in the butter mixture and then roll around in the panko mixture, completely covering each filet.
4) Place filets on a baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes, until flaky. I baked my filets for about 14 minutes, and then flipped them and continued baking for another 5 minutes.
5) Remove from oven and squeeze a little lemon juice on the top of each filet.
6) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Grilled Lobster Tails

Tuesday was our very first time to cook lobster. We "splurged" a little since it was Valentine's Day :-). We bought the tails only from HEB. We went through tons of ideas on how to cook them, but we finally decided on a simple recipe that called for lime juice and a splash of tequila. It turned out so good! And it was easy! I can't wait to cook this again.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 stick of butter (for 2 tails)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoons of lime juice
- 1 teaspoon of tequila
- sea salt and pepper

Directions: (I'm going to borrow some pictures from the original post- you can view it here.)
1)  Split the tails down the middle using a large knife. Starting at the end opposite the tail, gently pull the lobster tails meat out from the shell. Do not pull it out completely, just leave the very end attached.

2) Melt butter and mix all other ingredients together. Baste lobster tail meat on all sides and then carefully push the meat back into the shell.
3) Place the lobsters on the grill, meat side down, for a few minutes- just until you get some nice grill lines.
4) Flip the tails so that they are shell side down and baste again. Continue grilling until cooked (approx. 10 minutes total).
5) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

"Keep It Tight Tilapia"

Another Pinterest recipe! I'm pretty much hooked on that website.What else can I say? But back to the tilapia... You can click here for the original recipe.

I think it turned out great! And SO easy. Fish makes a perfect weeknight meal because it's so quick- it cooks in the oven in minutes! This wasn't one of those recipes that bursts with flavor- but sometimes "less is more" as Jason says :-). It was light and simple. The recipe used tilapia but the seasoning mixture would be delish on any type of fish. I think I want to try it with halibut next time!

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of EVOO
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon each: paprika, ginger, black pepper, dried mustard, oregano, chili powder, cayenne pepper
- 4 tilapia filets

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2) Combine all seasonings in a bowl and brush on each side of the tilapia.
3) Bake for 10 minutes.
4) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Blackened Fish Tacos

Hi! Christmas has come and gone and now...Only 2 more days in 2011! I took a little break from blogging through the holidays but I'm glad to be back. When school is out I pretty much live in the kitchen- so have so many recipes to share!

I love tacos! Any kind, really. Fish and shrimp are probably my favorite. A few weeks ago Jason and I found some super fresh and super cheap fish filets at HEB.  We decided to blacken the filets and make tacos. We also made a cilantro lime slaw- yum! So easy and so full of flavor. If you like fish- you should try these!

Ingredients:
- fish filets (about 1 per person)
- tortillas
- fresh cilantro
- fresh lime juice
- avocado slices
- coleslaw mix and dressing
- a little bit of olive oil
- seasoning: blackening seasoning ( I use Old Bay), garlic powder, Greek seasoning, pepper

Directions:
1) Heat a little bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2) Squirt some lime juice on the fish and then season both sides of the filets. Place in skillet and do not turn or touch for 5-7 minutes, depending on how thick the filets are. This will help the filets get nice and black.
3) After about 5 minutes, lift up one of the edges and peek- flip once desired color is reached.
4) While fish is cooking, chop the cilantro and add to the coleslaw mix. For the dressing I like to use half ranch dressing and have coleslaw dressing. Add as much as you like and don't forget to squeeze a little lime juice and black pepper as well.
5) When filets are cooked, remove from pan and slice. Heat tortillas in skillet and then add fish and coleslaw mix. Top with avocado slices. Voila!

In the past we have also added beans to the tacos for extra flavor- we've used both refried beans and charro beans. You can add whatever you like!

  Get Cookin'!

Seafood Bisque

A good friend of mine found this recipe online and raved about it--- so of course I had to try it for myself! Stacey, you are right! This soup is so easy and way better than most I've had in restaurants!


Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1/2 cup each, chopped: celery, onion, bell pepper
- handful of chopped green onions
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 2 1/2 cups of milk
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces of crab meat
- 1/3 pound of small shrimp
- 2 tablespoons of sherry
- 1 can of corn, drained
- seasoning: Tony's, pepper, garlic powder, Greek, Old Bay

Directions:
1) Heat butter over medium-low heat. Add veggies and saute until tender.
2) Blend in flour. Cook, stirring with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk.
3) Add seasoning, tomato paste, corn, and cream.
4) Add in the crab and shrimp and bring to a simmer.

  Get Cookin'!

Shrimp Stuffed Bell Peppers

This recipe is a cajun food lover's dream! I found a similar recipe on a cajun food blog and it made my mouth water just reading the ingredients! The bell peppers were so good- so full of flavor and spice. If you don't like seafood, you could easily just leave out the shrimp. The stuffing was really good and it would still be that way without the shrimp. Meals like this always seem hard and complicated- but it really wasn't. From start to finish it only took about 30-40 minutes.

Ingredients:

- 6 whole bell peppers, any color

- 1 pound of fresh, peeled shrimp

- 1/2 stick of butter

- 1 cup of chopped celery 

- 1 cup of chopped onions

- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic

- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

- 1/2 soup can of water

- 1 can of Rotel

- 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

- 2 cups of cooked rice

- 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

- 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

- cajun seasoning

Directions:

1) Cut off tops of bell peppers and remove seeds. 

2) In a large pot, boil the bell peppers and tops in lightly salted water for five minutes. Drain and place in a large, lightly greased pan.

3) In a large skillet, melt butter on low and saute onions, celery, and garlic.

4) Add the shrimp, Rotel, and seasoning and saute for 10 minutes.

5) Add the Worcestershire sauce, cooked rice, cream of mushroom and water. Stir well, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 

6) Fill each bell pepper with shrimp mixture. 

7) Blend bread crumbs and cheese together and sprinkle on top of each pepper.

8) Replace tops on peppers and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

9) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Rosemary Shrimp Skewers

Today is supposed to be Crock Pot Monday...but since today is a holiday I decided to wait and have Crock Pot Tuesday (so I don't have to cook tomorrow after school). I made the rules so I can change them, right? Yes!

I saw this recipe over the weekend on the Food Network. I had never heard or seen of shrimp actually being skewered on the rosemary stems. And I couldn't wait to try it! I decided to use a grill pan on the stove instead of the gas grill. It really turned out great! The flavor was explosive. I'm always amazed at how much flavor fresh herbs bring to a dish. It was just the right amount of seasoning and spice.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound of fresh peeled and deveined shrimp
- 10 rosemary stems
- olive oil (just a few teaspoons)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon of cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce (from the can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) In a bowl, mix together the olive oil, minced garlic, cilantro, adobo sauce, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
2) Remove the leaves from half of each rosemary sprig. Chop enough of the leaves to make 1 teaspoon, and add it to the mixture. Reserve the remaining leaves for another use.
3) Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss until coated. Let stand for 5 minutes.
4) Skewer 2 or 3 shrimp onto each rosemary sprig.
5) Heat a large grill pan over high heat. Add skewers and cook for about 1 minute per side. Hang the rosemary leaves over the side so they don't burn (see below).

6) Cook for about 1 minute per side, or just until shrimp are cooked through and turn pink.
7) Voila!

  Get Cookin'!

Cedar Plank Salmon

Jason and I have really been enjoying cedar planks this summer. This was our first time ever to cook salmon- and we really liked it! It wasn't "fishy" at all- and it cooked in about 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
- 1 cedar plank
- 1/2 cup of Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette dressing
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley
- a few lemon slices
- seasoning: salt, pepper, Greek, and lemon pepper
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- salmon filets- shown is about 1 and a half pounds

Directions:
1) Soak the cedar plank in water for at least 1 hour.
2) Mix dressing and parsley together and pour over salmon.
3) Lightly season the salmon and top with lemon slices.
4) Brush the top of the cedar plank with oil and place the salmon on top.
5) Heat grill to medium heat and grill until fish flakes easily with a fork.
6) Voila!

     Get Cookin'!

"Shrimp...The Fruit of the Sea!" ---Bubba Gump

Right now I'm feeling alot like Bubba Gump! I was looking through my seafood recipes and realized that most everything includes shrimp! Jason and I love shrimp and I guess we eat them more often than I thought. Which makes me laugh because I'm about to give 3 more ideas for....You guessed it, shrimp!

1) Boiled Shrimp
This has to be one of my favorite ways to eat shrimp. Boiled shrimp (and crawfish) are the taste of Louisiana! It's like soul food to me. You can keep your mashed potatoes and gravy! Just hand over some hot and spicy boiled shrimp! We also like to boil corn, potatoes, onions, celery, and lemons to flavor the shrimp. Of course it only takes a few minutes for the shrimp to boil- but the longer you leave them in the seasoned water the better they will be!

2) Shrimp Salads

Jason and I like to grill or blacken shrimp for salads. A quick, easy, and healthy meal!

3) Shrimp Tacos

This is a fun change to normal "taco night!" 

What's your favorite way to eat shrimp?

     Get Cookin'! 

Parchment Paper Packs

A very dear friend of mine introduced me to parchment paper and to the idea for this recipe! The great thing about this is that you can use this idea to create lots of different combinations! I used tilapia and shrimp because I wanted to use something familiar to me for my first attempt. My friend likes to use salmon. The fun part about these packs is you can serve them like little presents!

Ingredients: 
- parchment paper
- fresh shrimp and tilapia filets
- baby red potatoes thinly sliced
- onions and bell peppers thinly sliced
- fresh lemon juice
- butter (or you could use olive oil and this would be a super healthy meal!)
- seasoning to taste

Directions:

1) Tear off a fairly large piece of parchment paper, perhaps about the size of 13x9 inch pan.
2) Layer the ingredients. Here is a picture.

3) It's time to close up the packs. First fold the paper over the ingredients and make a fold in one of the bottom corners. 

4) Continue folding the edges in around the ingredients.

5) Here is a picture of the completed pack. I baked both packs at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. If you change the ingredients, you might need to adjust the temperature/time.

6) Here are pictures of the cooked packs! The shrimp one was my favorite!

     Get Cookin'!

Semi-Homemade Shrimp Etouffee

Hello there! I feel like it's been forever since I've blogged. I just returned from an amazing vacation in Cozumel and am having trouble getting back into the swing of things! Jason and I enjoyed SO much delish island food in Cozumel... It was a foodie's dream!

Anyway, when we returned we were still craving seafood! We have eaten shrimp for the past few days! One day we made this quick and easy etouffee (pronounced A- too- fay). If you're not from Louisiana you may be asking yourself, "What is etouffee?" Well. It's a French word that means smothered. Basically it's smothered veggies and some sort of seafood in a tomato based roux. Still sound like I'm speaking a foreign language? You will just have to take my word for it and try this!

We call this "semi-homemade" because we use a package mix for the base! I love Louisiana brand items- this one is one of my favorites! Using a package mix for the base will save you SO much time! Traditional roux will take at least an hour to make, and it's very tedious!

Ingredients:

- 1 package of Louisiana etouffee mix

- 1/2 cup of chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery (the cajun version of the Holy Trinity)

- 1 fresh garlic clove, chopped

- 1 stick of margarine

- 1/2 can of rotel

- 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp (or you can use crawfish tails)

- cooked rice - enough for your family

Directions:

1) Put all the veggies in a pan with a teaspoon of butter and saute them with some seasoning.

2) In a separate pan, season the shrimp with some blackening seasoning (I use Old Bay) and blacken them.

3) Add the rotel to the pan with the veggies- and follow the directions on the package to make the sauce, using the remaining butter in the sauce.

4) Add the shrimp to the pan and simmer until rice is cooked!

5) Volia! Easy and authentic cajun etouffee in about 30 minutes!

     Get Cookin'!

Shrimp and Tasso Pasta

This pasta is delish and more importantly, easy to make! First though, if you're not from the South...Maybe you're asking yourself, "What is tasso?" Well...let me give you a little background and then we'll talk about the recipe. Tasso is pork, similar to ham. Except tasso is smoked with lots of different seasonings and spices. Like bacon, tasso adds so much flavor to food! It's found in a lot of cajun recipes- but you can buy in any grocery store near the deli section! It comes in a package that looks similar to bacon, but the tasso itself is cut into really small pieces (or you can buy it whole). If you can find a cajun brand (like Richard's or Savoie's), definitely buy that one! I bought the HEB brand this time and it was good. Here's a picture of what tasso looks like:

Now the recipe.

Ingredients

- diced, fresh veggies: yellow onion, green onion, red bell pepper, celery, garlic, portobello mushrooms

- 2 tablespoons of butter

- a few cups of heavy whipping cream (depending on how much sauce you want to make- allow for about 1/4 of a cup of cream per serving)

- 1 package of McCormick's creamy garlic alfredo sauce mix (the dry seasoning in the package)

- 1 pound of peeled, deveined shrimp

- 1 pound of tasso

- bowtie pasta (or whatever kind you like)

Directions

1) Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the veggies with your choice of seasonings. 

2) Add the tasso and cook it down with the veggies. 

3) Add the shrimp and cook them until they are pink (be careful during all of this that your fire is not too hot or you will burn the butter).

4) Remove everything from the pot and set aside for a few minutes. 

5) Add the whipping cream and the McCormick's seasoning mix to the pot- bring to a boil. Be careful at this point because the cream will rise quickly and boil over. Continuously stir the cream and it will thicken. Then reduce the heat to a simmer.

6) Add the cooked veggies, tasso, and shrimp to the sauce. Let this simmer while the noodles are cooking.

7) Serve the sauce over the pasta- top with green onions and red bell pepper if desired!

As always, if you're not a fan of shrimp you can substitute chicken. But if you do, I would cook the chicken first, then add the tasso and the veggies to cook. 

    
      Get Cookin'!

Planked Big Easy Shrimp

I've been dreaming about this dish ever since my mom mailed me an article from a magazine about cooking New Orleans style shrimp on a cedar plank. Jason and I love seafood, but most native Louisianaians do! About a month ago, We grilled some tilapia on a cedar plank and it was delish! You can buy cedar planks at any grocery store or Lowe's. I bought 2 planks for about $7.00. The plank adds a smoky, cedar flavor that can't be beat. We sprayed the fish with butter and then seasoned it with Tony's, garlic powder, Old Bay, etc. It was super simple and cooked in about 15 minutes! Here is a picture of it (click to enlarge):

Tonight we were feeling a little more adventurous so we decided to grill some shrimp on the cedar plank. It turned out so good! Before using the cedar planks, they need to be soaked in water for about an hour. I didn't have a pan quite big enough for the plank, so I had to get creative. I used a piece of foil and a wine bottle to keep the plank submerged. This picture makes me laugh! Like I've said before, no need for fancy pots and pans!

While the plank was soaking, I marinated about a pound of shrimp in: 4 tablespoons of melted butter, a dash of Lea and Perrins, 1 teaspoon of BBQ sauce, 2 teaspoons of Old Bay Blackening Seasoning, and a little garlic powder. We pre-heated the plank on the grill for about 3 minutes, flipped it, and then placed the marinated shrimp on the plank. For a little spice we sliced up a fresh jalapeno and placed it on top of the shrimp. Here's a picture of shrimp right after we placed them on the grill:

The shrimp cooked in about 15 minutes! Here's a picture of the plank right before we took it off the grill (We also grilled some sweet corn):

Here's a picture of the final product - a success!

     Get Cookin' !