Tilapia with Balsamic Butter sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes and Snap Peas

This recipe is so good. I do not really like fish, but I am trying.. I made this and I actually ate a whole filet.. and my husband, a fish lover.. raved. It's yummy.

THYME MASHED POTATOES
3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered
4 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons (or more) warm whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
BALSAMIC BUTTER SAUCE
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 4- to 5-ounce tilapia fillets
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes


Thyme Mashed Potatoes
Boil potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Add butter, 6 tablespoons cream, and thyme; mash. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often and adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dry.
Balsamic Butter Sauce
Simmer vinegar and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Cook snap peas in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain. Return to same pan; set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Sauté fish until golden, about 2 minutes per side.
Rewarm balsamic syrup over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup butter 1 piece at a time. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to peas; stir over medium heat until warmed. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide potatoes, tilapia, and peas among plates; drizzle with sauce.

Bon Appetit 2009

Tilapia with Green Beans, Corn & Pesto

3-4 Tilapia fillets
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil
1/2 lb green beans (i used frozen green beans, about 2/3s of the bag)
1/2 bag frozen corn
2 green onions, sliced thin
store-bought pesto


heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
season fish with salt and pepper
place fish in skillet and cook on one side for 4-5 minutes (until golden brown)

flip the fish, scatter the green beans and add 3/4 cup water. cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. the vegetables should be tender and the fish opaque throughout.

place the fish on plates, leaving the green beans and adding the corn. cover and let cook another 2-3 minutes. finally, stir in the pesto and green onions. (ok, i only added the green onions after i plated the kids food...)

serve the fish and vegetables with an additional dollop of pesto.

---seriously, i made this meal in about 15 minutes, from start to finish. super easy, super fast and super delicious. my husband told me a few times how good it was, especially with that pesto! a great summer meal!

adapted from real simple, august 2008

Pot Sticker Salad with Snap Peas

proof the kids ate it!

i found this recipe about a year ago in a real simple magazine section on 20-minute meals. (in fact, all of the recipes on this week's menu is from that section!)
and the kids actually love it!

i adapted it for our family...
and i always make brown rice to accompany it, so allow for that 45 minutes of cooking time if you decide to make rice, too.

1 (1-lb) bag frozen pot stickers --- i used fresh pot stickers from our grocery store. it cuts the cooking time in half, if that's possible!
a couple of handfuls of snap peas
2 carrots, cut in matchstick-size pieces
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 T sesame oil --- you'll find it on the asian food aisle
a handful of cashews, the recipe calls for peanuts
2 green onions, sliced

i filled a saute pan with an inch or so of water, then brought it to a boil. over medium heat, i threw the snap peas and carrots in, cover and let steam for about 5 minutes.

remove and set aside.

with the remaining water, set the pot stickers in to cook - if they are fresh, you only need a few minutes. if they are frozen, let them cook about 5-7 minutes. - don't turn them, either! they get too brown/crunchy and not as soft and delicious that way.

combine the soy sauce and sesame oil. (i don't give the sauce, onions, or nuts to the kids)

with rice ready, place on a plate, topped with the pot stickers and vegetables, then the green onions and nuts. pour the sauce on top - and i also used a few dots of the sriracha sauce.

the kids are always very unsure of this recipe - it looks different. but once i (and jayden) convinced them that it was just chinese ravioli (it worked!) they ate it all.


adapted from real simple, august 2008

menu #7

week of may 25

monday: taco salad
chips & salsa

tuesday: chicken with parmesan chive cream sauce
brown rice
broccoli

wednesday: crisp goat cheese salad
grilled chicken
bread

thursday: open-face burgers (with bacon and cheddar)
sweet potato fries

My 4th of July Menu

When I think about the 4th of July.. I think American. When I think American.. I think burgers and potato salad. This year for the 4th of July we are going to a park where they have a festival and firework display. We are packin up the neighbors, all the kids and the BBQ. Here is what I am fixing:

Burgers by Bobby Flay. I'm taking his recipe for a basic burger and creating a "burger bar" with all kinds of wacky toppings sure to make me fat. My neighbor, Lori works for Guy Fieri... So we'll have a little burger throwdown.. cuz his are good too.
Bobby's Burgers



Then there's the potato salad. My ultimate favorite potato salad is the Warm Dijon and Green Bean Potato Salad that is on this site. But I'm thinking more of an American style potato salad complete with eggs, pickles.. onions.. the works. So I'm going to try this one and hope its good.

This is Tyler Florence's recipe for Potato salad from his Ultimate Tailgate episode. It has eggs, pickles, onions.. mayo.. I'll let ya know how it turns out. I love to test new recipes on my neighbors, haha. Well if anything- the hundreds of kids we have will eat it.
Tylers Potato Salad

And then there is this:

Strawberry Pretzel Squares. Have you ever made these? They are sooo good. We have a Farmers Market right by our house and this is a perfect way to use up all those delicious strawberries. I think I'll add a little dollop of whipped cream on top of each square and plop in a blueberry.. for the red, white and blue.

Whatever is on your menu for the 4th of July.. I hope you are all surrounded by your friends and family! Happy Independence Day!!

Mojito

Since moving to California.. I have found a very swanky little place that is very popular to go to for dinner and drinks. Its FABULOUS. I was there last night celebrating my 4th anniversary.. and I ordered my favorite drink.. a Mojito. Luckily I was at the bar and I got to watch her every move.. so now I know exactly how to make it at home. Of course I have to share! These are the best Mojito's I have ever tasted. Very refreshing, not too sweet. Yum yummy!!

You'll need;
a tall glass
ice
1 tsp sugar per drink
mint leaves- about 4 per drink
2 red grapes per drink
4 lime wedges per drink
Rum.. 2 shots per glass
club soda
a muddle if you have it.. or something to do the job
a shaker or another glass

In tall glass add rum, 1 ts. sugar, 2 red grapes, mint leaves and 2 lime wedges. Muddle until nice and smashed. Add ice and dump into a shaker and shake until chill. Dump back into your tall glass. Top with club soda until full. Squeeze remaining 2 lime wedges into the drink and use as garnish. Enjoy!

Bruscetta Pasta Salad

I was craving Bruscetta today.. and since I am trying to get bikini fabulous, I didn't want to eat the bread. So I ate pasta instead. I don't really know how to justify the pasta being better than the bread.. but in my pea brain, it was. is. isn't, but whatever...

2 cups uncooked pasta

2 small(er) tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 medium basil leaves, chopped

1 small can marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

2 tbs finely chopped onion

4 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbs (ish) red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese, about a hand full.

*If I would have had goat cheese on hand, I would have crumbed some up and added to the salad as well. Just a thought.

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until just under al dente.. the pasta will continue to cook as well as plump up with the dressing. In a medium-large bowl mix the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain and dump the warm pasta into your bowl and dressing. Coat pasta. Add remaining ingredients and chill. Or eat it right there. Whatever makes you happy.