Tilapia and Veggie Trio

J is on the South Beach diet, so we had this nearly carb free meal tonight:

4 Tilapia fillets
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together and pour over fillets. Marinate for 3o minutes.

Cook at 400 for 10 minutes. Broil for additional 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

2 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz. frozen spinach
1 zucchini, chopped and quartered
1/3 pint cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp parsley
salt pepper

Warm olive oil. Add spinach and zucchini and saute for about 4 minutes.

Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients and cook to your satisfaction.

These veggies nicely complemented the fish.

Meat & Two

I can't remember the last time I've eaten meat three nights in a row. J's South Beach diet is an education for all of us. Tonight we had:

The Meat
4 sirloin eye round steaks
1/2 cup diced peppers (red, yellow & green)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Brown steaks in olive oil, adding peppers and onions along with steaks.

Reduce heat to medium low, add wine, water and Worcestershire.

Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

The Two
Steamed Broccoli
Green salad with cherry tomatoes, cottage cheese and Italian Parmesan dressing

Salmon & Co.

J is planning to start the South Beach Diet soon, so I'm ramping up my repertoire of no carb meals. I'm not sure this is no carb, but it is pretty low carb:

Marinated Salmon
1 lb. salmon (4 fillets)
1/4 water
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 Tbsp olive oil

Place salmon fillets in glass dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over salmon.

Marinate for 30 minutes to one hour.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then broil for 10 additional minutes or until done.

Green Beans with Seeds
1 lb. extra thin green beans
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Mix all together. Roast at 425 for 25 minutes.

Green salad
Arugula
Spinach
Cherry tomatoes
Slivered almonds
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Light Italian Parmesan Dressing (only 2 carbs/serving)

Arugula is the best lettuce in the world, in my humble opinion - so much flavor for a leaf!

Funny story: I had put the fish in the fridge to defrost this morning, so this afternoon I grabbed a cookbook to find an easy recipe to use for salmon. In the index, I saw "fish marinade." When I went to the recipe, it was my own. I don't think I've used it since I submitted it to the cookbook years ago. As I ate my dinner, I thought, "Wow, this fish is so good. No wonder I put this recipe in the cookbook." I guess my tastes haven't changed...

Low Brow Meets High Brow

Tonight, a taco salad with traditional low brow favorite ground beef, served over arugula and spinach (the high brow portion of tonight's offering):

Salad
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1 4 oz. can green chile peppers
1 packet taco seasoning
1/3 cup water
Arugula
Spinach
Shredded Cheese
Cherry tomatoes, halved

Brown ground beef, sauteing peppers with beef.

Drain fat, if necessary, then add taco seasoning, green chiles and water.

Serve beef mixture over arugula, spinach and tomatoes.

Top with cheese and dressing.

Dressing
2/3 cup salsa (use your favorite, I had a medium one on hand)
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Mix well and serve over salad.

Somewhat to my surprise, the girls, including K, loved this salad. Oh, and the entire thing took me less than 20 minutes start to finish. (I know this because the timer was on to limit computer time for A!)

Old School

A very traditional meal tonight:

Crock Pot Roast Beef
2 lb. pot roast
1 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1/3 cup red wine (malbec/syrah blend)
2/3 cup water

Place roast in crock pot.

Stir mustard, wine and water together and pour over roast.

Cook on low for 7-10 hours.

Served with Uncle Ben's wild rice and steamed Green Giant veggies.

Not my most creative meal, but well received by the girls and easily prepared on a busy day.

Breakfast for Dinner

I have a mother who didn't like to cook. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that she hated to cook. So breakfast for supper (as we called it back then) was a pretty part of the repertoire. Today was jam-packed with work and volunteering in A's classroom, then swim lessons, so I had about 30 minutes to come up with and prepare dinner. Tomorrow's grocery day so there wasn't a lot to choose from. Here's my take on an old family classic:

Sausage
1 lb. beef polish sausage, cut up

Fry in pan, reserving grease for cooking eggs. Put on an oven safe plate and place in 250 degree oven until your husband is on his way home from from work.

Scrambled Cheese Eggs
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

Mix eggs and milk together well.
Scramble in left-over grease.
When eggs are nearly cooked, put cheese on top and cover with lid until cheese is melted.

Fruit Smoothies (Smoot Moovies, as K calls them)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2-3 cups frozen fruit (mango, papaya, strawberries, pineapple is what I used)

Pour OJ and yogurt in blender, top with frozen fruit.
Blend well.

There's nothing wrong with drinking your fruit, folks. My girls love it and it's faster than fruit salad.

Homemade Lemonade

J loves it when I make homemade lemonade from fresh lemons. I only do it a few times each year b/c I don't have a juicer. Juicing 2 lbs. of lemons by hand is not incredibly hard, but not incredibly fun either.

Here's what I did for this batch:

2 lbs. lemons, juiced
2/3 cup sugar (next time use 1 cup)
3 pts. water (next time use 2 pts.)
2-3 cups ice

Heat water in electric kettle or on stove. When boiling, stir in sugar until fully melted.

Allow sugar water to cool - adding ice to hasten the process.

Add fresh lemon juice and chill.

You can also use this basic recipe with a few additions to make lemon sorbet. I'll post that sometime this summer.