Glazed Chicken/Fish Breast

Glazed Chicken/Fish adapted from Mr. Food
1 envelope onion soup mix (from a 2-ounce box)
2/3 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large red or green bell peppers, sliced into thin rings

Directions:  Preheat oven to broil.   In a small bowl thoroughly combine onion soup mix, apricot preserves, and water; set aside.  Place chicken breasts in a foil-lined broiler pan. Top chicken with soup mixture and broil 5 minutes; turn chicken.  Place pepper rings over chicken, baste pan juices, then broil an addtional 5 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is fork-tender and no pink remains.

Here's what you'll need:

 

Slice up the peppers.

Mix the preserves, onion soup mix, water.

Preheat the broiler.  Mine was set to 500F.

Lay the chicken out on tinfoil and spoon the mixture on top.

Broil for 5 minutes.  Pull out and flip the chicken.  Baste with more of the mixture.  Put back in broiler for another 10-12 minutes.

After flipping the chicken, I also added 2 pieces of tilapia to the pan and cover with the mixture.

Top with the peppers.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I've had this recipe sitting around for a while now and decided to give it a try this week.  Earlier in the week we went to Costco and I bought a package of fresh tilapia (TIP:  I used a few fillets fresh and then froze them in individual storage bags for later.  I defrosted a couple for this recipe by letting the bag float around in some water water for about 30 minutes). 

To be honest, the fish tasted better with this recipe than the chicken.  The chicken never really soaked in the flavor while the mild tilapia really took in the sweetness of the preserves as well as the tanginess of the onion soup.  The fish was cooked perfectly and even Scott preferred it over the chicken.

If you aren't "in" to apricots, I'm sure any preserve/jelly mixture would work.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions

Coffee-Braised Pot Roast with Caramelized Onions adapted from Eating Well

1 4-pound beef chuck roast, (see Ingredient note), trimmed of fat

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (4 cups)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup strong brewed coffee

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 300°F.  Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook, turning from time to time, until well browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in coffee and vinegar; bring to a simmer. Return the beef to the pot and spoon some onions over it. Cover and transfer to the oven.

Braise the beef in the oven until fork-tender but not falling apart, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Transfer beef to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, skim fat from the braising liquid; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, whisking, until the gravy thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Season with pepper. Carve the beef and serve with gravy.

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Slice up an onion.

Mince up garlic cloves.

Season with salt and pepper and sear in a stockpot.

Pull the beef out of the pan and lay it on a plate.

 Once you take the meat out, put the onions in.  Let them caramelize.

Once the onions are soft and brown, add the garlic and thyme.

Add the coffee and balsamic vinegar.

Add the meat back to the pot.

Pile the onions onto the meat.

Cover the pot and put in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Once the meat is fork-tender, remove the pot from the oven.  Mix the corn starch solution.

Pull the meat out of the pot and add the cornstarch mixture.

Let this simmer for a minute or so until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce back over the meat.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

My family loves pot roast.  This dish was a simple and easy way to make pot roast.  The onions did have a sweet, tangy flavor from the coffee and the vinegar and they had a good caramelization on them.

I couldn't tell that the coffee really "braised" the pot roast as it didn't have a particularly distinct flavor other than the base of onion.  The meat was tender but didn't shred apart.

As good as the dish was, we all agreed that we still preferred my Mom's Roast.

I served this with a Potato Cauliflower Mash.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Potato-Cauliflower Mash

Potato-Cauliflower Mash
2-3 potatoes
1-2 sweet potatoes
1/2-1 head of cauliflower florets
2-3TBsp Greek yogurt
Small pad of butter
Splash of milk
Salt and Pepper

Directions:  Peel the sweet potato.  Dice up the potoato, sweet potato, and caulfilower.  Boil until the potatoes are fork tender.  Drain.  Add the Greek yogurt, butter, and splash of milk.  Mash.  Salt & Pepper to taste.

Here's what you'll need:

Boil and drain.

Add the Greek yogurt, butter, and milk.

Mash

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Over the past couple of years, Scott has really started to love cauliflower.  We've had several great cauliflower dishes in the past (Cheesy Cauliflower, Cauliflower Medley, and Cheesy Artichokes, Cauliflower and Red Pepper) but this one might just be an all-time favorite!

I could go on and on and on about this dish but the bottom line, is that it was delicious.  Every single one of my kids ate it.  It actually reminded me of twice-baked potatoes with the skin of the Idaho potatoes left on.  The orange sweetness of the sweet potato reminded me of the cheese and smooth, creamy texture of the cauliflower was like the sour cream. 

You could always make this dish even healthier by reducing the Idaho potatoes and adding more sweet potato and cauliflower.  You could also cut out the small pad of butter and milk and just use more Greek yogurt.

Of course, if you are feeling really decadent, add in some cheese (your choice) and bacon bits.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with corn salsa chimichurri sauce

Easy Grilled Fish Tacos with Corn Salsa Chimichurri Sauce adapted from Momables

4-6 Pre portioned pieces of fish (trout, red fish, tilapia-your choice)

1 Cup corn

2 tsp taco seasoning

1 Lime -juiced

Olive Oil

Favorite salsa

Sour cream

Grated cheese

Flour, corn, or hard shelled tortillas

Chimichurri sauce (optional):

- ¾ Cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

- 2 TB red wine vinegar

- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil

- 20 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

- dash of oregano (or 5 sprigs fresh oregano)

- 3 cloves of garlic

- dash red pepper flakes

- ¼ tsp sea salt

Directions:  Heat broiler, with rack in highest position.  Place fish on rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil & taco seasoning.

In a separate bowl, mix corn with 2 TB of salsa and juice of 1 lime. Top fish with corn salsa.

Broil until fish is lightly browned on top, 8-12 minutes depending of fish thickness, until flesh is opaque throughout and thoroughly cooked.

Divide fish evenly among tortillas and top with shredded cheese, chimichurri sauce sour cream and fresh salsa (how you dress your taco is up to you!)

Chimichurri sauce: place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend well until you achieve a pesto-like sauce, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Info:
-I used tilapia
-I used whole wheat tortillas

Here's what you'll need:

Preheat the broiler to 500 degrees.

Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

Add corn and salsa together.  Mix.

Top the fish with the corn salsa.

Put all of the ingredients for the chimichurri sauce in a food processor and blend.

Put the fish on the high rack under the broiler for 8-12 minutes or until it is brown and flaky.

Take the fish out.

Build your taco.  I used the chimichurri, corn salsa and then the fish.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
I was excited to make this dish.  I bought a package of fresh tilapia from Costco and I wanted to use a few pieces while they were still fresh and then I froze the rest of them.

This was a very easy dish to make.  I think the recipe should have called for more than 2 Tbsp of salsa to the 1 cup of corn as I ended up adding more anyway.

The absolute star of this dish was the chimichurri sauce.  It was so fresh and earthy and light.  Since it was made with the 0% Greek yogurt, I felt no guilt in adding a good portion to each taco or burrito wrap.  I even saved the remaining of the chimichurri sauce so that I could dip my veggies in it as a snack today.  If you make this dish, you MUST go ahead and make this sauce, too. 

Since tilapia is a very mild-flavored fish, I honestly couldn't tell that I was having "fish" tacos.  I may have been too conservative with the sprinkling of the taco seasoning on top of the fish.  At any rate, the texture was good and it mixed great with the corn salsa and chimichurri.

Hope you enjoy!
April

Family CookBook Project

I have been wanting to create a family cookbook for a long time. I'm hoping to start compiling my favorite recipes from my grandma, mom, and things I've found on here, to make one.  I thought I would pass this along to you guys, as well.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Servings: 6 • Size: 1 1/3 cups soup, 1/2 cup rice • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 261.2 • Fat: 4.8 g • Carb: 37.5 g • Fiber: 4.7 g • Protein: 17.6 g • Sugar: 6 g
Sodium: 606.3 g (without salt)

Stuffed Pepper Soup adapted by SkinnyTaste
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely diced onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
1 3/4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions:  In a large pot or dutch oven, brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt. Drain fat if any, reduce heat to medium-low, then add peppers, onions and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes on low heat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, marjoram and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Serve about 1 1/3 cups of soup in each bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice.

Here's what you will need:

Chop the garlic, peppers, and onion.

Brown the beef in a Dutch oven. 

Once browned, add the peppers, onions, and garlic.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and herbs.

Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes. 

Prepare rice according to package directions.

Top soup with rice.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
This soup was a big hit in my house tonight.  We love stuffed green peppers (recipe) so I thought that this would be a hit and I was right.  All 3 of the kids ate it! (score!!)

The mixture of the 2 different peppers gave it a little variety in both color and taste. 

I used the Uncle Ben's 90 second microwaveable brown rice (a favorite of mine) and 1 package ended up being enough for all of us.  You could also use either bulgur or even quinoa.

Hope you enjoy!
April