Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with Peanut Sauce

 My family visits the "Chart House" restaurant 1-2 times a year on special occasions. One of us always gets the macadamia nut Mahi. Recently my husband went fishing and caught a bunch of Mahi, so I knew I had to try my hand at this recipe once and for all. I found a "copy cat" recipe for this Mahi, that the chef actually shared, and I'm so happy I found it!

There are so many ingredients for the peanut sauce alone, but there are other versions online if you do not want to go through all the work. I was committed, so I had to do follow the directions to a T.

Follow the link for the recipe: Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi

Ingredients for Peanut Sauce

Mahi Before

Mahi After

Served with Roasted Asparagus and Rice Pilaf

Shrimp, Tortellini & Spinach

Follow the link for this yummy pasta recipe!! 

Shrimp, Tortellini & Spinach

*Changes I made*

-1/2 cup dressing instead of 1/4

-Drained my tomatoes

-Added half a SMALL can of tomato sauce 

-Only used half a bag of spinach

Blueberry Muffins with Blueberry Sauce

Make now, and either eat right away or freeze to enjoy little by little!

Muffin Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

4 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg, beaten

3/4 cup plus 2 tbs milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Blueberry Sauce Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

1 1/2 tsp water

2 tbs orange juice

1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp cold water

1 tsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp Cinnamon

Muffins:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a muffin pan with 10 paper cups, and fill with 1/4 cup water each.

2) In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt. Stir in sugar. In a separate bowl whisk togethe the melted butter, egg and milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just well blended (mixture will be slightly lumpy)

3) Add blueberries, stir them in just enough to combine.

4) Divide batter evenly into muffin pans (about 1/4 cup each). Bake for 18-24 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

Blueberry Sauce:

1) In a saucepan over medium heat, combine blueberries, 1 1/2 tsp water, orange juice and sugar. Stir gently, bring to boil.

2) Mash blueberries.

3) In a small bowl, combine cold water and cornstarch. Stir in saucepan. Simmer gently until thick, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and cinnamon. Serve over muffin.

Martha Stewart Carrot Cupcakes

These cupcakes are pretty basic. I'm sure you could add walnuts or raisins if you prefer. I tried to stay with the recipe for my first time. 

Light and fluffy with a yummy cream cheese frosting (I left the orange zest out)!

Follow the link for the recipe: Martha Stewart Carrot Cupcakes

Chicken Cordon Bleu

One of my husbands most favorite dishes is chicken cordon bleu, so I decided to give it a try! I will say, it came out pretty damn good! This dish is definitely not the most healthy, but it's a nice comfort food.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices ham
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
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• 1) Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
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• 2) Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
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• 3) Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and 
• pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

Tilapia: Take 2!

I had leftover tilapia from my fish tacos so I decided to try and broil it for lunch! Serve with a fresh summer salad for a nice healthy, light meal!

Ingredients:

1-2 tilapia filets

1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbs melted butter

1 Tbs lemon juice

Dried Basil (eyeball to your liking)

Black Pepper (eyeball to your liking)

Onion Powder (eyeball to your liking)

1) Preheat your ovens broiler. Line a pan with aluminum foil.

2) In a small bowl mix together all ingredients, except tilapia. 

3) Place tilapia on pan and season with salt and pepper. Broil for 3 minutes, flip and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.

4) Remove tilapia from oven and cover with parmesan cheese mixture, return to oven and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until topping is browned. Serve!

Fish Tacos

I have been out of the game for a little while! I'm happy to share some new recipes with all of you!

Today, we have Baja style fish tacos.

Please follow the link for the recipe: Baja Fish Tacos

The only change I made to this was, I halved everything since I was only cooking for 2 people. Even with halving the recipe, we still only ate half. I still have 1/2 pound of tilapia left! We also had A LOT of white sauce left, but we don't like to use too much anyway.

*Reminder* 

Substitute for low fat wherever you can. Low fat Cheese, sour cream, mayo and use as little oil as needed for frying your fish. You usually do not nearly as much as a recipe calls for. 

California Burrito

California Burritos.....a San Diego staple! If you've been in San Diego for any amount of time and haven't had a Cali Burrito....I don't want to know you! ;)

 I was craving a burrito, but with that comes loads of calories! I wasn't trying to have that guilt today! I decided to just make my own!

Ingredients

(All ingredients will need to be scaled for how much you are serving)

-marinated Carne Asada (I just bought 1/4lb worth at the grocery store)

-Beans

-Light Sour Cream

-Guacamole

-Low Fat Cheese

-French Fries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Peel and cut a russet potato into small french fry strips (think McDonald's size)

3. Lay strips onto baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt, cook for 20 minutes, flipping once

4. If you want to make your own guacamole, peel and pit an avocado and put in a bowl.

5. Add juice from half a lime, garlic, Chili powder, and salt to taste

6. Mash and mix well.

7. BBQ Carne Asada

8. Layer ALL ingredients in a large burrito tortilla, and ENJOY!

Albondigas

My mom makes THE BEST Albondigas soup! Albondigas is a Mexican meatball soup, very very tasty. It is definitely invite the whole family over kind of meal for us! After many years, I decided to try this myself! Yum!

I didn't have any shallow bowls, so it was very hard to get a great picture, it definitely tastes good! try it!! This batch served 7 adults at about 2 servings each. Tons of food!!

Ingredients

Meatballs

-12 oz ground pork

-12 oz ground beef

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-2 eggs

-1/8 tsp dried oregano

-1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Broth

-12 cups of water

-2 cups of chicken broth

-6 chopped carrots

-6 peels and chopped potatoes

-6 stalks of celery

-2 wax chiles

-2 large cilantro sprigs (leaves)

Extras

-2 chopped garlic gloves

-1/3 cup chopped onion

-2 tbs olive oil

-1lb tomato puree

-8 oz tomato sauce

1. Prepare meatballs.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ALL meatball ingredients

3. Form into 1 inch balls and keep aside

4. In a very large pot, combine ALL broth ingredients and heat to a simmer

5. In a nonstick pan, heat olive oil

6. Add garlic and onions and cook for 4 minutes

7. Add tomato puree and sauce, heat for another 5 minutes

8. Add to broth

9. Add meatballs, wax chiles and cilantro to broth, cover and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. 

10. Serve with lemons, rice and tortillas!!

Baked Salmon with Brocolli

I love love love salmon! I don't eat it as often as I would like, but, when my hubby is gone, its fish night at my house. In the San Diego area, we go to a restaurant called Jimmy's Famous American Tavern they have the YUMMIEST salmon salad and strawberry ginger deluxe cocktail. I usually recreate the salad I eat there, but tonight I left out the greens and had steamed veggies instead!

Ingredients

-1 Salmon Fillet

-1/2 Tbs olive oil

-Lemon Pepper

-Parsley

-Garlic

(use as much spice as you'd like)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Grease a cookie sheet and place fillet on pan

3. Rub fillet with olive oil & spices

4. Cook for 20 minutes or until flaky

5. Serve!

Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus

Follow the link below for this recipe: Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp and Asparagus

I decided to add a can of diced tomatoes with juice for a little more substance to the sauce.