Salt and Pepper potato chip tuna casserole

It seems like every non standard tuna casserole is referred to as not your mother/mom/mama's whatever. Makes it hard to distinguish between them all.  So this one is different because it has salt and pepper kettle chips on it.  yum.  Inspiration from Eat at home.

Yeah, and I need to turn in my mn card as i say casserole instead of hotdish.

Salt and pepper chip topped tuna casserole

8 cups egg noodles (I cooked up a whole 12 oz bag of ronzoni extra wide smart taste noodles and used slightly less than all of it. eyeball it to your desired noodleness) 

2 cans chunk light tuna in water 4.5oz each (I used a low sodium lemon pepper version)

½ small onion, minced

1 red pepper, diced

2 stalk celery, diced

4 Tbs. butter

4 Tbs. flour

3 cups milk, warmed

1-1 1/2 c frozen mixed veggies (eyeball it to your preference)

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups crushed Kettle - Salt and Pepper Chips

preheat oven to 350. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain tuna and set aside. Cook onion, green pepper, red pepper, celery in butter in a large skillet till veggies are tender. Whisk in flour. Cook for 1 minute.

Whisk in milk until sauce is well combined. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken.

Season sauce with salt and pepper. Add frozen veggies, and tuna. stir. add noodles.  Spray 9x13 dish.  pour all that goodness into your pan. top with crushed chips. bake350 for 20-25 min until heated through.

Mejadra

I'm marking this recipe as a fail.  It was super tasty but all the onions wound up giving me way too much gas and triggering my acid reflux.  While I liked it a lot, it's a do not bake again.

Mejadra from serious eats
1 1/4 cups lentils
4 medium onions (1 1/2 lb before peeling)
3 T flour
1 c oil
2 t cumin
1 1/2 T coriander
1 cupbasmati rice
2 T olive oil
1/2 t turmeric
1 1/2 t allspice
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t sugar
1 1/2 c water
Salt andpepper

Place the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain and set aside.

Peel the onions and slice thinly. Place on a large flat plate, sprinkle with the flour and 1 teaspoon salt, and mix well with your hands. Heat the sunflower oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan placed over high heat. Make sure the oil is hot by throwing in a small piece of onion; it should sizzle vigorously. Reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully (it may spit!) add one-third of the sliced onion. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice golden brown color and turns crispy (adjust the temperature so the onion doesn’t fry too quickly and burn). Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander lined with paper towels and sprinkle with a little more salt. Do the same with the other two batches of onion; add a little extra oil if needed.

Wipe the saucepan in which you fried the onion clean and put in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with the oil and then add the cooked lentils and the water. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid, and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid, and quickly cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes.

Finally, add half the fried onion to the rice and lentils and stir gently with a fork. Pile the mixture in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion.

Stuffed Krab Shells

Stuffed Shells adapted from Finger food Guru
20 Pasta Shells
1 pkg krab, chopped
1/2 Cup parsley, chopped
1/4c Mayo or til looks creamy
1 T Olive Oil or more to help spread
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 C  Italian cheese, Grated (divided)

BOIL water in a medium sauce pan. Place pasta shells and bring to low-medium heat. Cook 15 minutes until soft.

MIX crab, parsley, mayo, olive oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 c cheese

TRANSFER shells onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

FILL each shell generously with crab mixture using a tablespoon.

Top with Mozzarella

BAKE in the oven on 400 F for 10 minutes.

Top with alfredo or red sauce if desired

Bang Bang Shrimp or Chicken

BANG BANG SHRIMP or CHICKEN via Damn Delicious
1/2 c veg oil, or more, as needed
1 c buttermilk (I used powdered)
3/4 c flour
1/2 c cornstarch
1 large egg
1 T hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 c Panko
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t basil
1/2 t  dried oregano
1 lbmedium shrimp, peeled and deveined, or 1 lb chicken cut into bite size pieces

sauce
1/4 c mayo
2 T sweet chili sauce
1 T honey
1 t rice vinegar

To make sauce, whisk mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, honey and rice vinegar in a small bowl; set aside. Heat oil in large skillet over med high heat. In large bowl, whisk buttermilk, flour, cornstarch, egg, hot sauce, salt and pepper, to taste; set aside. In another large bowl, combine Panko, onion and garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, to taste; set aside. Working one at a time, dip shrimp or chicken into buttermilk mixture, then dredge in Panko mixture, pressing to coat. Working in batches, add shrimp or chicken to skillet and cook until evenly golden and crispy, about 2-3 min. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pumpkin Lentil Chili

Pumpkin lentil chili via Healthy Delicious
1 can (15.9 ounce) Black Beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 c cooked)
1 can (15.9 ounce) Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 c cooked)
1 can (15.9 ounce) Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles
1 can (15.9 ounce) Pumpkin
2 c Water
1 c Lentils
1 Onion, minced
1 Green Bell Pepper, finely diced
1 Carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 T Chili Powder
1 T Ground Chipotle Chile Pepper

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook on High 4 hrs or Low 8 hrs.

This is another dish that tastes great served over a baked potato!

America's Test Kitchen Vegetarian Chili

I am so severely backed up from things I made over the summer that I've decided I'm just going to post recipes instead of  writing up a fancy post.  Most of the recipes I made don't even have pictures.  I'm mainly putting them up on the blog for future reference.

Without further ado:
America's Test Kitchen Chili via  Cookbook Project
salt
1 lb. (2 1/2 cups) dried beans, picked over and rinsed
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried New Mexican chiles
1/2 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms, chopped coarse
4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
3 tbsp. tomato paste
1 - 2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 lb. onions, chopped fine
1 tbsp. ground cumin
7 c. water
2/3 c. medium-grind bulgur
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro


1. Bring 4 quarts water, 3 tablespoons salt, and beans to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain beans and rinse well. Wipe out pot.

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Arrange anchos and New Mexican chiles on rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant and puffed, about 8 minutes. Transfer to plate and let cool, about 5 minutes. Stem and seed anchos and New Mexican chiles. Working in batches, grind toasted chiles, mushrooms, and oregano in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle until finely ground.

3. Process walnuts in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl. Process drained tomatoes, tomato paste, jalapeño(s), garlic, and soy sauce in food processor until tomatoes are finely chopped, about 45 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

4. Heat oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add ground chile mixture and cumin; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add rinsed beans and water and bring to boil. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook for 45 minutes.

5. Remove pot from oven. Stir in bulgur, ground walnuts, tomato mixture, and reserved tomato juice. Cover pot and return to oven. Cook until beans are fully tender, about 2 hours.

6. Remove pot from oven, stir chili well, and let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve. (Chili can be made up to 3 days in advance.)





Notes: Mrblocko thought this was pretty darn good for having no meat, but he still thought it'd be better with a pound of ground beef in it.

Avocado Tuna Melt

One of Blockette's least favorite dinners is the tuna melt.  What I normally do is take some ranch dressing, mix it up with tuna, and top it with cheese.  Sometimes I put it over a baked potato instead of a sandwich.  She hates that too.

She must not be part tiger.

via

I asked her what she thought of this recipe from The Kitchen Paper, and she said she was willing to try it.  She thought the avocado would make the tuna taste better. 

When I tasted it I was worried she would turn her nose up at it.  My strange child does not like pickles either.  Even though there is not a lot of pickle relish in it, I thought the pickle flavor was quite strong.  Apparently, avocado is magic. 

She even gave a cheer the day I told her we were having it as leftovers.  Actually, her reaction was more like this:

via

If you want to take any sandwich to the next level, make this multi-grain bread.  It's totally amazeballs.  It may also have had something to do with Blockette's excitement toward tuna sandwich leftovers.

I tripled the recipe so we would have leftovers, but below is a recipe for a single serving.

Avocado Tuna Sandwich from The Kitchen Paper serves 1
1 6-oz can of tuna
2 T mayo
1 T prepared yellow mustard
1-2 T dill pickle relish
1 t lemon juice
1 splash hot sauce
2 T minced onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 slice of bread
¼ avocado
1 slice of cheddar cheese

Drain liquid from tuna, and combine with mayo, mustard, relish, lemon juice, hot sauce, and minced onion, adding more mayo if needed.  Season with salt and pepper. Toast bread, then spread on the avocado. Top with tuna mix, then cheese.  Broil 3-5 min til cheese is melted and browned to your liking.

Sweet Potato Burgers

These sweet potato burgers from How Sweet It Is, was one of those recipes that was met with a raised eyebrow from my husband.  I saw the recipe and knew it would be perfect as a meatless dinner for a Friday over Lent.

Although my husband was skeptical, he gave the burger an honest try.

And it turned out to be awesome!

It gets the carnivore's double thumbs up.

I made one tiny change to the recipe.  I decided against using the roasted garlic cream sauce/spread.  I thought the garlic flavor might be a bit overwhelming.  Instead, we tossed some onion hamburger rolls on the skillet.  They were a really tasty pairing with the sweet potato and avocado.

There was only one other thing I would change about this recipe when I make it again, I'd make more than 4 burgers!  Dividing the recipe into four burgers made some insanely large patties.  Perhaps my sweet potatoes were larger than the average potato?  I think this recipe should make 6 or 7 patties, particularly if you plan on serving any sides with your sandwich.

Sweet Potato Burgers adapted from How Sweet it Is

2 large sweet potatoes, cooked and coarsely mashed
1 c great northern beans (rinsed and drained if canned)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1 lg egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 t smoked paprika
1 t onion powder
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t cumin
2-3 T olive oil
1 avocado, slightly mashed
onion hamburger rolls

Wash, stab, and roast potatoes at 400F for about 50-60 min until fork tender. Let potatoes cool to touch and peel off skins. In lg bowl, coarsely mash beans with a fork. Add in sweet potato and mash together, then add in spices, garlic, egg, panko and flour. Mix then chill for 15-20 min. (I let mine sit in the fridge for an hour.) The chilling helps the patties retain their shape. Heat lg skillet over med heat and add 2 T oil. Remove mixture from fridge and form into 6-7 equal patties, then place in the skillet once hot. (You may have to cook them in batches depending on the size of your skillet) Cook the patties for 5-6 min on one side. Do not move the patties until they are fully cooked and golden on one side or they will fall apart. Add more oil if needed, and flip burgers carefully.  Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Toast or grill buns if desired.

St. Louis Style Pizza

I've never been to St. Louis to know if they have a different style pizza, but I thought this recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice looked really tasty AND easy.

What makes a St Louis style different from your average run of the mill pizza is the thin crust and the types of cheeses.  This type of pizza uses provolone, cheddar and Swiss instead of the traditional mozzarella. 

While I'm not the biggest fan of thin crust pizza I did enjoy this pizza.  It was probably the best thin crust pizza I've ever had. 

The dough was incredibly easy to roll out.  I usually have to fight with pizza dough crust so this is really saying something.  The crust also crisped up nicely.  Sometimes thin crust pizzas get super soggy from the sauce.  The center pieces weren't cracker crisp, but they weren't like wet cardboard either.

I made this on a friday over Lent so we just had a basic cheese pizza.  I think this style of pizza really benefits from that.  Without the distraction of the salty and spicy meats, like sausage and pepperoni, the flavor from the various cheeses really gets a chance to shine.  

This pizza was a big hit with the whole family.  I will definitely make it again.

St Louis Style Pizza from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Crust
2 c bread flour
1T baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 T EVOO
1/2 c water

2/3c pasta sauce (I just eyeballed the sauce for each pizza)
1c shredded white cheddar (I used a 3 cheddar blend)
1/2 c shredded provolone (I had 4 round slices that I snipped with cooking sheers)
1/2 c shredded swiss
pizza seasoning (I used Penzeys Frozen Pizza Seasoning)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425F.  Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment or silpat.  Spray the parchment.

Mix the crust ingredients.  Separate into 2 round disks.  Cover them and let them rest 10 min.  This will make them much easier to work with.  Roll very thin (1/8") between 2 sheets of sprayed parchment paper. (I used the sheets I was going to bake the pizzas on.)  Top each pizza with sauce, seasoning and cheese.  Bake for 9-12 min until cheese is golden and melty.  Let sit 5 min before cutting.

Sloppy Lentils

Sloppy Lentils?  What kind of dish is that?  It's like Sloppy Joes, but instead of ground meat, it's got lentils.

Did you know there are umpteen kajillion meatless versions of sloppy joes out there?  I chose this particular recipe because it contains Kitchen Bouquet.  I only ever use Kitchen Bouquet once or twice a year when I make mashed potatoes and gravy.

Kitchen Bouquet gives gravy that something extra that makes you say, "MMMM! What is that?!"  It also gives things a nice brown caramelized color.  In this recipe, it makes the end product look more like the color of Manwich.  That's a good thing when you are trying to get your 7 year old to eat something different.

I'd say this was the dish I made over Lent that Mrblocko liked the least.  And there was so much of it!

After dinner, Mrblocko and I decided this lentil concoction would taste better over a baked potato instead of on a hamburger bun.  It did.  Loads better.  I topped mine with some shredded cheddar and dill pickle relish.  YUM!

Sloppy Lentils from Feral Kitchen
1 c lentils (rinsed and picked over)
3 c water
3/4 c chopped onion
3/4 c chopped red bell pepper (I used half a chopped roasted red pepper)
1 t olive oil
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (I used roasted diced tomatoes)
8oz tomato paste
3/4 c ketchup
2 T brown sugar
2 t garlic, minced
1 t dried mustard
1/4 t black pepper (to taste)
2 t kitchen bouquet (browning sauce for color)

Cook lentils and water in covered pan on med low for 30 min until lentils cook. Drain. Mash lightly with potato masher. Meanwhile, in skillet  saute onions and pepper in oil. Cook til onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients except for lentils. Cook med low, covered, for about same  time as lentils, stirring occasionally. When lentils done, add to tomato mixt, taste, and season. Add water if necessary. Ladle on warmed whole wheat burger buns or baked potatoes, garnish with pickles and cheese. Makes lots!

Coconut Rice and Fish

Woah, I just realized I never posted about some of the meatless dishes we ate over Lent. 

I'd been wanting to try this Coconut Tilapia with Apricot Dipping Sauce from  All Recipes for at least a year.  Since fish is not my favorite thing I usually find excuses to make something else for dinner.  I was determined to make it this year.

This was the recipe I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago that called for creole seasoning.

I thought this dish would go well with rice, but I wanted to jazz things up a bit so I made Tropical Rice from Steamy Kitchen.

I really liked the apricot dipping sauce went well with the toasted coconut in the "breading" on the fish.  It also almost nearly masked the fish taste.  It was just fishy enough that I knew I was eating fish, but not enough so to be bothersome.

The heat from the creole seasoning helped balance the sweet from the sauce.  The spice neutralized the sauce from making the dish overly sweet.

As for the rice.  I really liked it.  Blockette and Mrblocko didn't.

The rice gets cooked in coconut milk and stock.  It also has crushed pineapple in it.

Sounds like a great match for the coconut fish doesn't it?

For some reason that rice did not want to cook.  I cooked it 10 min longer than the package suggests and it was still "al dente."

Mrblocko is not a fan of rice to begin with, and hates chewy rice.  I thought adding some chopped slivered almonds might help with the texture.  I thought they tasted great, but not to mrblocko.  I'm wondering if he doesn't care for coconut milk.  There are a few things I've made with coconut milk that he didn't care for either.  I'm just realizing that as I write this, so I should probably keep that in mind for future reference.

Anyhow, we had lots of leftover rice that I happily ate all myself.


Coconut Tilapia with Apricot Sauce from All Recipes
1 c flaked coconut, finely chopped
2 T flour
1 T Creole seasoning
4 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia
1/2 c cornstarch
1 (4 ounce) carton egg substitute (I used 1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk)
1/2 c veg oil

Apricot Dipping Sauce
1/2 c apricot jam
2 t spicy mustard
1 t prepared horseradish

Place conrstarch on rimmed plate. Beat egg with milk on separate rimmed plate.  On another rimmed plate combine coconut, flour and Creole seasoning. Coat fish with cornstarch, then egg. Press fillets in the coconut mixture coating all sides.

Heat canola oil in a frying pan to a temperature of about 350 F (175 degrees C). Fry fillets one or two at a time on both sides until golden brown. Remove to drain on a paper towel. Prepare the apricot dipping sauce by stirring together the jam, mustard, and horseradish in a small bowl. Serve the tilapia accompanied by the dipping sauce.

Tropical Rice from Steamy Kitchen
2 c jasmine rice (I had medium grain rice)
1 1/4 c chicken or veg broth
1 c good, thick coconut milk
1 c crushed pineapple
2 Tsoy sauce (or Tamari on a gluten-free diet)
1 T sesame oil
1 T brown sugar
1/4 c finely chopped green onion (Mine were all wilty when I went to use them so I left it out.)
Optional toppings: macadamia nuts, almonds, toasted coconut flakes

Rinse rice several times until water runs clear. Drain rice. In med pot, add rice, broth and coconut milk. Boil on high. Once boiling, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook 20 min. Turn off heat and do not open lid. Let sit off the heat 10 min to finish steaming. Fluff rice with fork and add pineapple, soy sauce, sugar and oil. Top with chopped green onion and optional toppings.

Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

This is another surprising vegetarian meal we had for Lent:  sweet potato and bean burritos from cHow Divine. It was surprising because even my husband, carnivore extraordinaire, enjoyed it.  He even said he, "barely missed the meat."  If you know my husband, that is HIGH praise.  Usually if I attempt to make something sans animal protein, he makes sad pathetic pained faces.  Not this time!  He even chose to eat this as leftovers instead of leftover fritatta.  And the fritatta had meat in it.

Woah.

Please don't judge this dish by my photos.  Mashed sweet potatoes and mashed beans ain't perty.  That's why you wrap them up in a tortilla and hide it.

See?

Much more appetizing! 

We ate our burritos topped with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, olives and salsa.  I meant to cut up lettuce, but I'm only just now realizing that I forgot to do that!

This was the first time I tried the whole wheat tortillas.  I was surprised how great they tasted.  I will buy them from now on for meals like this.  If I'm making giant burritos, or enchiladas, I'll still get the white flour tortillas.  One, because they don't make jumbo whole wheat tortillas, or if they do, they aren't at my grocery store.  Two, if I'm making enchiladas the dish is covered in sauce so you couldn't discern the subtle flavor notes of the whole wheat. 

Another great thing about this recipe is that it made two huge burritos for each of us for 2 meals.  Plus leftovers for at least two more burritos.  That's about 14 large burritos.  Not too shabby.

This recipe was definitely a winner in this house!

Sweet Potato and “Un-Fried” Bean Tacos Recipe from cHow Divine
1 1/2 c cooked pinto beans (or 1 can)
1 c cooked black beans (or 2/3 can)
2 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2  red bell pepper, finely chopped (Mine was roasted with the icky skins peeled off)
2 T soy sauce
2 T dijon mustard
4-6 TB + 1 TB at a time
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t cayenne (feel free to adjust heat to your liking.  This was just mild enough for our daughter)
2 large sweet potatoes, baked until very soft (1 hour at 425F.  Sugars should be bubbling out stab holes and caramelizing.)
tortillas of your choosing (we used burrito sized whole wheat)
canola oil for the pan


 Mash beans til smooth. In a separate bowl, peel and mash cooked sweet potatoes. Cover mashed sweet potatoes and keep warm. Heat pan on med heat. Add just enough oil to coat bottom of pan. Add garlic, onions  and peppers to pan. Saute about 5 min.  Add beans to pan. Stir until heated through. Add soy sauce, mustard, cumin, and cayenne. Add water as needed to get desired consistency.  Should be smooth and creamy. Mix well. Push beans to side and add mashed sweet potatoes to pan. Lower the heat to lowest setting to keep warm. Heat tortillas as needed.  Fill them up with beans, sweet potatoes and any other fixins your heart desires.

Breaded Lemon Cream Tilapia

It's no big secret that fish and I are not friends.  I mean I can be friends with a fish.  Especially if they are cute and squishy.  In other words, to quote the sharks from Finding Nemo, "Fish are friends, not food."

via

Ok, so I like white fish, aka krab.  I mean that stuff tastes like crab, not fish.  So it doesn't even count. 

Tilapia and salmon are edible, if they are smoked on a plank of wood over the grill.  Except our grill doesn't like to heat up when it's windy.  Lately, we've been having sustained 20+mph winds with gusts in the 40mph range.  That grill isn't even going to remain vertical, let alone maintain the proper heat.

So that leaves me with a sad face when my family wants to have fish for dinner over Lent.

Then I found this recipe for Breaded Tilapia and Lemon Cream Sauce from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake.  

The breading was nice and crispy without having to fry it in copious amounts of oil.  I wound up using half regular breadcrumbs and half panko.  I was mistaken regarding the amount of panko I had in the pantry.  I don't know if using regular breadcrumbs in addition to the panko accounted for this crispy breading, or if it was just luck. It could have been that the fish was dry before it was dredged in egg and crumbs.  Who knows!

Blockette and Mrblocko only used the lemon sauce sparingly, but I drenched my fish in it.  It was so good it covered any fish smell or taste.  I thought the lemon sauce was so yum-a-riffic that I even dipped carrots in the leftovers the next day. 

For the record, I ate my fish with way more sauce than in the picture.  I wanted you to be able to see the fish in the photo.  I added loads more sauce after I took the picture.  One could say the fish was "swimming" in lemon cream sauce.  :::groan:::

We ate our fish with a baked potato.  I didn't feel like messing with chopping or buying special potatoes like the recipe over at Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake suggests.  We had russets already so I used those.  They are topped with Italian Blend seasoning and Italian blend preshredded cheese.  That flavor combo went well with the lemony fish.

Blockette had been begging for green beans, but Mrblocko does not like cooked green beans.  As a compromise, we ate them raw with bean dip.

I'd make this meal for dinner again, even outside of Lent.

Lemon Cream Breaded Tilapia from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake
2 T flour
1 t lemon-pepper (I used Penzeys Florida Seasoned Pepper)
1 cup Panko bread Crumbs (I used half regular bread crumbs and half panko)
1 egg
4 tilapia or other white fish fillets (I used 3 frozen, defrosted tilapia as I didn't want leftovers)
4 T vegetable or olive oil for frying

On plate, mix flour and seasoning. On second plate, place bread crumbs. In bowl, beat egg. Pat fish dry.  Coat fish with flour mix. Dip into egg then coat well with bread crumbs. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add fish fillets, and cook 3 min on each side til golden brown.


Lemon Sauce
3 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 c milk
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

On low, melt butter in med pan. Add flour.  Stir in flour.  Cook for 1-2 min so flour develops nutty taste.  Whisk constantly so it doesn't burn.  Slowly add in milk.  Whisk constanly as you are slowly adding the liquid.  This will help prevent lumps from forming.  On med heat, stir til sauce thickens.  Remove from heat. Add lemon zest and juice.

Crab Penne al Telephono

Apparently there is this restaurant in the Philippines called Cibo's.  I'd never heard of it before, 'cause, well it's in the Philippines.   It's not like I can hop in the car for a quick trip or anything like that.

I have seen several blogs that "hack" their Penne al Telephono though.  It sounded mouth watering good.  Then I saw a little blurb at the bottom of one post that said if you want to copy their Rigatoni Alphonso, just add crab sauteed in butter, and swap the penne for rigatoni.  Sign me up for that!

Oh. My. Word.  This dish was KA-Ray-Zee good.

Insane.

I may have peed myself a little it was so good.

Yes, I literally patted myself on the back when I made this.

The recipe I used was from Pepper.ph.  I had to make a few minor changes to the recipe, but nothing majorly flavor altering.

First, they were all out of rigatoni at the store.  I don't get it, but there was zero rigatoni on the shelf.  Maybe everyone was making this recipe?  I don't know!  I figured since the non crab version used penne, I'd settle for that noodle shape.

Next, I discovered that I only had diced tomatoes in my pantry.  The recipe calls for crushed tomatoes, so I threw a can of fire roasted tomatoes into the blender and pulsed it so it was just slightly chunky.

Finally, I used imitation crab meat.  Yes.  I know that some of you are screaming in horror.  I've said it once and I'll say it again: I live in the midwest.  Fresh crab is insanely expensive.  I don't even want to think about it.  So I used the fake stuff.  As we don't live anywhere close to getting fresh from the ocean crab, no one in my family can tell the difference.  If you are lucky to live on the coast, by all means use the real stuff!

One thing I didn't change was the call for cream.  I knew it would make or break this dish.  I rarely use actual cream, so I thought it was time for a little treat.

Blockette wanted to know what made the dish pink and I told her it was the tomatoes and cream.  She eyed me funny and sceptically asked, "What kind of cream?"  I replied, "Cream.  Cream cream."  To which she replied, "No.  What KIND of cream."  Wherein I had to explain that it wasn't sour cream or cream cheese, but cream.  The kind of cream that they make ice cream with."  Never mind that she watched me make dinner and pull the tiny milk carton out of the fridge. 

The ice cream part must have intrigued her because after that, she dug right in.  I swear her eyes rolled to the back of her head.  Now she wants to eat this every week!  I told her that wasn't going to happen, but that I would make the dish again.

Crab Penne al Telephono from Pepper.ph
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp garlic
1 regular can crushed tomatoes (I used a 15oz can)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp fine salt (I omitted this as the bouillon was salty enough)
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2  chicken bouillon cube (I measured out a cup of boiling water, dissolved the cube and then dumped out half of the broth mixture.)
1 cup  cream
1 package of imitation crab meat
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used a preshredded Italian blend, and it was probably closer to 1 c cheese.  )
1/2 lb uncooked penne pasta

Cook pasta  directed in package. Meanwhile, heat pan and sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add in crushed tomatoes and water. Season with sugar, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Simmer for 20 minutes or until thick. Add crab and cream and simmer for another minute. Add pasta, and then cheese.  Stir for 1-2 min until cheese is melted and stringy.

p.s. It is sadness that this dish isn't nearly as good in leftover form.  I can never seem to get cream based pasta dishes to taste as amazing as they did the first time around.

Pierogi Lasagna

I really like pierogies. Although, it was another one of those things that I hadn't ever heard about until I moved to Illinois. You'd think they'd be a big hit in Minnesota, being all white and potato-y.

I've never attempted to make pierogi before. They seemed a bit complicated. I've not yet mastered the art of noodles, other than opening the box and dumping them into boiling water.  Then I saw this recipe for pierogi lasagna from Omnomicon AND The Cutting Edge of Ordinary.  I can do lasagna, so why not give it a shot.

I mashed up both recipes and came up with a tasty meatless dinner for Lent.  I swear this recipe made a metric ton.  We wound up eating the leftovers all week.  Well, when I say we, I mean Blockette and I.  I couldn't subject Mrblocko to an entire week of no meat for dinner.

After one day of leftovers he came home and said, "Do you know that commercial for Fiber One snack bars, where the husband says, 'Fiber makes me sad?'  Well that's me, but with meat." 

That made me chuckle, so I found something else for him to eat.

By the end of the week Blockette and I were totally sick of this dish.  I think once we finished the last of it I actually said, "Hooray!"

Don't mistake me.  This was a really tasty dish.  It's just too much leftovers for our tiny family. Next year, if I make this for Lent, I'll just half the recipe.


Pierogi Lasagna adapted from Omnomicon and The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
9 lasagna noodles
3-4 lbs potatoes (I used russet) to get about 6c mashed potatoes
1/4c sour cream (I used low fat)
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4T butter or olive oil
5 medium onions, finely chopped


Bechemel Sauce
3 c milk
4T butter
1/4 c flour
1 t kosher salt
pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a 9x13 dish, place noodles.  Cover with boiling water and let sit for 15-20 min.

Meanwhile, peel, dice and boil potatoes.  When potatoes are fork tender, mash.  Add sour cream, milk, salt, pepper and cheese.  Drain the noodles.  Spray the 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking: chop and saute the onions in butter/oil until light golden brown.  Fold into mashed potatoes.

Prepare the bechemel: Pour milk into a saucepan on medium heat and bring just to a boil.  Remove from heat.  (I poured the milk back into the glass measuring cup.)  Melt butter in the same sauce pan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour.  Stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Slowly add hot milk in driblets, whisking constantly.  Cook 10-13 min, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.  Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of sauce.  Then layer 3 noodles,  and a third of the potatoes.  repeat two more times and end with a layer of bechemel sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Tartar Sauce

I guess a lot of people like to fry fish in cornmeal. Not being all that into fish, I didn't have a clue. This recipe for cornmeal crusted tilapia from The Boho Birdie is a slightly more healthy version as it is baked instead of fried.

Not being all gung ho about fish in the first place, I took a bite and didn't think this recipe was any better or worse than your average fish recipe.  Mrblocko and Blockette loved it, but then again, they both really like fish in general.

Then I tried some with some Tartar Sauce.  Oh. My. Word.  I could just eat the tartar sauce by itself.  It's that good. SERIOUSLY.

I've only ever had the stuff from a jar before.  That stuff is total and utter garbage.  I didn't even know it was garbage until I tried this tartar sauce.  It is the BEST TARTAR SAUCE in the world.

Yes, yes.  I know.  A lot of bloggers say that about the things that they make, but I swear, this really is the best tartar sauce.  Mrblocko doesn't even like tartar sauce, and do you know what he said about this tartar sauce-mana-from-heaven?   "It kicks all the other tartar sauces' butts"

It really truly does.

One more quick thing before you get to the recipe, we halved the breading as I used 3 thin tilapia fillets from the freezer section.  The fillets in the original recipe are nice and thick, like the kind you might buy fresh from the fish counter.  So unless you are using the thick fresh stuff, half the amount of breading called for in the recipe below.

Also, we didn't have any Old Bay.  Instead we used Bavarian seasoning from Penzeys Spices.  It had bay in it, so I thought it would be a good swap.  The thing was, we could barely taste the seasonings.  Next time we will double the amount of spices

Cornmeal-Crusted Tilapia with Mom Pat’s Tartar Sauce from The Boho Birdie
for the fish:
2 thick tilapia fillets, cut into pieces (cod or sole would work well here, too)
1 c. flour (I used all purpose)
1 c. cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten or 1 c. egg beaters
2 tbsp old bay seasoning, divided, plus more for sprinkling (I used Bavarian Seasoning)
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

preheat oven to 350 F.

Set up an assembly line with 3 bowls for breading the fish. In the first bowl, combine the flour, 1 T old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper, in the second, eggs, and in the third, cornmeal with 1 T old bay and garlic powder.

Cut tilapia into pieces (if needed) and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Dredge tilapia pieces in flour first, egg second, and cornmeal third. Use one hand to coat the fish in the flour and cornmeal and the other hand to coat the fish in the egg. Ensure all sides of the fish are coated in each mixture before moving on to the next. Sprinkle with more old bay.

Place the breaded fish on the greased cookie sheet (or, you could place the fish on a wire rack on a cookie sheet and not have to flip it during cooking). Mist the fish with more spray if you like, this will create more browning during the baking. Cook the fish for approx 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Mom Pat’s Tartar Sauce
1/2 c. mayonnaise (I used the kind with olive oil)
1 tsp minced onion (I used onion powder)
1 tsp pickle or lemon juice (I used a tsp of each)
1 tsp pickle relish (we use dill pickle relish)
1 tsp. olives (optional) (We were out of olive so I used another tsp of relish)
Cayenne pepper or paprika to taste and add color

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drown yourself it it's goodness.

Kushari

I had never heard of Kushari before, but stumbled upon it when I was looking for meat free recipes to make over Lent. Kushari (or Koshary, kosheri, or koshari) is a popular dish in Egypt made from rice, noodles, lentils and sometimes chickpeas.

The recipe I used for kushari was from the blog Whats 4 Eats.

I really enjoyed this dish, although it did make quite a lot and I was glad when the leftovers were over.  The recipe does take up all 4 burners, with cooking the rice, noodles, lentils and onions, so that was a bit of juggling that I was not used to. I was pretty proud of myself that I managed to time the cooking so that everything was ready at the same time.

The recipe says to cook the lentils for 30-45 minutes and the directions on the lentil bag said that they only needed to be cooked for 20 minutes.  I figured overcooked lentils would be better than undercooked ones, so I cooked them for 45 minutes.  Mrblocko and I both thought that the texture was a little more al dente that it should be, so next time I'll cook the lentils for a full hour.

I'd also double the sauce and onions for topping.  I wished there was more of both.  I might try adding garbanzo beans next time too.  If I make this for dinner, not for Friday over Lent, I'll add a few diced chicken breasts to the mix as well.

Kushari slightly modified from Whats 4 Eats
1c uncooked Rice (I used medium grain)
1 c uncooked Macaroni pasta (ditalini would be great too)
1 c uncooked Lentils
1 bay leaf
2  T olive oil
1 Onion, chopped finely (increase this to 2 next time)
2 cloves minced Garlic (increase to 4-5 cloves next time)
1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes (use 2 cans next time)
1/2-1 t Pepper flakes
1 t cinnamon
1 t cumin
Salt and pepper -- to taste
Oil for frying
2 Onion, sliced thinly into half moons

Start with the lentils.  Simmer lentils in 2 c water with the bay leaf (don't forget to remove the bay leaf after the lentils have finished cooking!), covered for 45-60 min until tender.

About a half hour into the lentil cooking time, cook the rice in 2 c water, covered for 20 min until done.  Also boil the water for the pasta and prepare per the package directions. 

Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Add the sliced onions and fry until they turn brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels.(I started this at the same time as the lentils, and once the onions were cooked I started preparing the sauce.)

While the rice, pasta and lentils are cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic. sauté until the onions are translucent and wilted, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce,pepper flakes, cinnamon and cumin, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, add a little water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place the rice, macaroni and lentils in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and stir together gently with a fork. Portion the mixture into individual bowls and spoon some tomato sauce over each portion. Top with crispy fried onions and serve hot or at room temperature.

Chad's Cheater Cheater Veggie Soup

My friend Chad gave me this Vegetable soup recipe ages ago and I finally got around to making it.  I have no idea where he got the recipe from, so let's just say he made it up himself.  Hooray! 

It's the easiest thing ever. Are you ready for it?
Into your crockpot dump:
1 can each of canned corn, peas, beans, carrots, and sliced potatoes-undrained
1 bottle of V8 Regular or spicy(I'm not sure on the size, I think it was the 32 oz bottle)
1T Chicken seasoning (Um, I used chili seasoning/Penzeys Arizona Dreaming because my handwriting is so awful.  I thought it said chili.  Whoops.)
1t each onion and garlic powders

Let the concoction brew for 2 hours on high.  Then add 2 large spoonfuls of giardiniera. And 2-3 T  sugar to balance the heat from the giardiniera and the acidity of the tomato.

That's it!

We had our soup with some country ribs on the side.  Heaven forbid if we don't eat meat at every meal.

The verdict on the soup from Mrblocko that it was good, but he'd rather eat soup with meat in it.  We have mostly made the switch from eating canned veggies to fresh or frozen, so the taste and texture of the canned stuff was unfamiliar to our palates.

Did you know that I had never heard of giardiniera before I moved to Illinois?  I was talking to my mom about this recipe and she had no idea what it was.  If you don't know either, Giardiniera is an Italian mix of spicy pickled vegetables.  They use it a lot on Italian Beef, which are popular in and around Chicagoland.  I really don't care for them so go figure. 

The giardiniera was good in the soup though.  Added a tiny bit of heat to the mix.  It probably would have packed more of a punch if I had used the hot stuff.  I wanted Blockette to eat it though, so mild it was.

Anyhow, I think this soup has good bones, but there are a few things I'll change the next time I make it.  Instead of the Chicken Seasoning (or ahem...chili seasoning), I think I will try some beef flavoring. Beef and tomato pair quite nicely together.  I think this will give the soup a richer taste. 

Next time I'll also swap out the canned stuff for frozen corn, beans and peas.   I'll also add some fresh diced potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions and celery.  The combination of the frozen and fresh veggies will give the soup a bit more texture, something that we missed with the canned stuff. 

Finally, I'd add tubettini, or some other small cut pasta suitable for soups.  I think this will help thicken up the broth as well.  I've become accustomed to a thicker, less brothy soup, probably from all the bean purees I've been using lately.

Thank you again Chad for your Cheater Cheater Veggie Soup recipe! 

Moroccan Tuna Casserole

Summer is salad weather in our house. Well, it is also grilling weather. It's actually, Mrsblocko doesn't want to use the oven and heat up the house weather, but they are all essentially the same thing. So when I came across Moroccan pasta salad over at Food.com I thought it might be something interesting to try.

As I was assembling the recipe, I found that it needed to be tweaked quite a bit. The original recipe says to use an 8 oz can of corn and 2-3 Tablespoons of olives. I used an entire 15 oz can of corn and one of those short stumpy cans of sliced black olives. This made the salad seem much more substantial.As you can tell from the photo above, I used regular corkscrew noodles instead of the tri-colored. I had oodles of noodles in my pantry and couldn't justify buying another box just to be fancy. I also served this salad over a bed of lettuce. Mrblocko and I agreed that this made the salad seem more like a complete meal. I served it with some fruit on the side and viola, a one dish meal.

Finally, I used tuna in vegetable oil, not olive oil. This was my error at the grocery store. I simply grabbed the wrong can off the shelf. I didn't think it made any difference. I did drain off some of the oil in the can. There just seemed like a lot in there and while dressing on a salad is nice, oily salad is not. I also did not add any extra olive oil. If I was trying to eliminate oil, why would I add more oil?

The salad was simple to prepare and everything, but it didn't knock my socks off. The tuna wasn't overly fishy tasting, but it was lacking something. Maybe it needed more spices? I don't know. Everyone ate the salad without complaint, but we were all glad when the leftovers were gone.

Moroccan Pasta Salad with Tuna from Food.com
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
8 ounces tri-colored rotini pasta, cooked
1 (3 ounce) can tuna in olive oil, flaked apart
1 (8 ounce) can corn, drained
2 -3 tablespoons sliced black olives

Mix olive oil, mayo, and spices together in a small bowl. Mix other ingredients in a large bowl. Then stir mayo mix in with pasta. Serve cold.

Tuna melt casserole

I am trying to incorporate more fish into my diet. This is particularly difficult for me considering I can't stand the way fish smells. Usually, the smell is so overpowering that all I taste is the smell. So I've got to find a way to work around that.

Canned tuna is hit or miss with me. Sometimes the canned stuff is so super stinky and other times the smell is very mild. I found this recipe in the book "Family Feasts for $75 a week" by Mary Ostyn. This was one of the books I read in February that got me so angry. After making this recipe I still don't understand how this lady only spends $75 a month on groceries. This casserole was not substantial enough the way it was written.

First off, this recipe calls for 10-12 dry croutons. Um..really? That is not enough to soak up the liquids. I increased the croutons and decreased the liquid and it seemed like a better ratio. I reduced the amount of tuna the recipe called for because I worried about the fishy flavors/smells. Next time I will use the 3 cans that the original recipe calls for. I made a bunch of other changes to the original recipe too. I will post my altered recipe below.

One more thing before I do, this casserole is definitely not a stand alone casserole. I felt it needed at least a side salad. We ate that for dinner the first night and Mrblocko and I did not feel satisfied. By 8:00 both of us were raiding the pantry for snacks. So the next day (since I had planned on this feeding us for two meals) in addition to a side salad, I served our casserole portions over shell noodles. I also added some lightly steamed carrots. That did the trick nicely.

My additions and alterations certainly make this dish fall out of the "$75 a week" category, but it tastes better and that's good enough for me.

My altered Tuna Melt Casserole (adapted from "Family Feasts for $75 a week" by Mary Ostyn.)
2-3 cups of croutons (I make mine from leftover bread. I cube it, store it in the freezer and toast them as needed) (There should be enough bread to fill the entire bottom of a 9x13 pan)
3 5-6oz cans of tuna in water, undrained
one medium onion, minced
1 shallot, minced (I happened to have a shallot that needed to be used, if you don't have any shallots, feel free to use garlic. I happen to like garlic so I would use 4 cloves, minced)
2 ribs of celery, minced
3 T butter, melted
1/2 t pepper
heaping 1/2 t curry powder
2 c milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 c grated cheese, dealers choice (I used Sharp cheddar and Colby Jack)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Spread bread in dish. In a large bowl combine tuna, onions, shallot, celery, butter, pepper, curry, milk and eggs. Pour tuna mixture over bread. Spread the mixture with a spatula, making sure that all the bread is covered. Top with cheese. Bake until the casserole starts to puff up, and the cheese melts, 25-35 min. To reheat leftovers, preheat oven to 400F and bake for 20 min until heated through and cheese gets melty again.