A Smorgasbord!

For those of you who aren't familiar with that word, it means an extensive array or variety according to Dictionary.com. My husband had to work tonight, so I decided that I would make foods that he would never eat. I wanted to focus on making things that incorporated dill. I have a nice, big dill plant that was waiting for a haircut out in my garden.

So, what does my husband not like? Fish, sweet potatoes and raw tomatoes. Harumph! I shake my fist at him. What a combination huh? I must be ill because I am craving vegetables. Crisp, raw, tasty vegetables. Hence the sweet potatoes and tomatoes. Not that I need an excuse to eat tomatoes. They are my favorite food after all. See what I mean about the smorgasbord? I incorporated a variety of foods.

I took some recipes that I found on the net and adapted them for myself. Off to the grocery store I went. I found a beautiful halibut fillet that was 1/3 pound. Perfect serving size for one! What goes good with baked fish? Lemon and dill of course. I needed a lemon. My tomatoes needed company, so I picked up a cucumber and a red onion. What for? To make a salad of course! Not the lettuce type of salad though. You will soon see what I mean. Finally, a nice, ripe sweet potato was in store to make oven-baked sweet potato fries.

Hungry yet?

So without further ado, here is my delicious, tasty and also pretty meal:

Now I know you are hungry.

Since I adapted these recipes from the interwebs, I am going to claim them as my own. These are all very easy to make and take minimal groceries. Here is the breakdown of what everything at the store cost:

$.68 for the cucumber
$.58 for the lemon

$1.50 for the sweet potato

$3.31 for the halibut fillet

$3.29 for the pint of grape tomatoes

$.29 for the red onion

Grand total: $9.65

Now, if you usually keep these things on hand, your total will be slightly less. Or, if you happen to have a bazillion tomato plants growing (like I do), the tomatoes will not cost a penny at some point.

Have at it folks. This was a delicious dinner, and judging by the ingredients, you can tell it is also very healthy. Tons of vitamins and minerals and fiber. Plus, you are eating foods of all colors, so it's visually pretty too!

Baked Halibut

from: Pachey

Halibut fillet (I used one that was about 5 oz)

2 slices of lemon

3 sprigs of fresh dill

1. Spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the fish in the pan, cover with the dill and then the lemon slices. Cover the pan with foil.

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is flaky.

4. Remove the lemon and dill before eating.

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

from: Pachey

1 medium sweet potato

1 tablespoon canola oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the sweet potato well and dry thoroughly. Don't peel it! Trust me, leave the peel on!

2. Cut the ends off the sweet potato. Cut the sweet potato in half. Cut the halves in half. Then, finally, cut THOSE in half. You will end up with eight fries.

3. Place the fries on a baking sheet. Drizzle the fries with the canola oil. Toss the fries until they are coated well with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. No need to turn them. They will get crispy.

Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad with Dill

from: Pachey

1 large cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Splenda

1 teaspoon salt

pint of grape tomatoes, halved

2/3 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

2 tablesoons olive oil

fresh ground pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, mix together the cucumber, vinegar, Splenda and salt. Let stand on counter for an hour, stirring to coat occasionally.

2. Add the remaining ingredients. Season with pepper. Stir well and serve.

Shrimp Again

A few months ago, I posted about my first experience with using seafood in a recipe. I have done it again folks: Made something with shrimp. I think my hesitation with using shrimp in any dish is always the cost. Not that shrimp is really any more expensive than beef or chicken, but the price tag of $6.99 per pound is enough to make me think twice.

I found this recipe out of my new favorite cookbook, Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009. I love it because it's a year's worth of recipes from their magazine. Definitely worth the $35 price tag. That is the second time I have mentioned price in this entry. Hmmmmm.

The combination of ingredients seems a little strange and it was found in the creative twist to old fashioned casseroles. I don't know about you, but I have never heard of a shrimp and grits casserole. Is this a Southern dish maybe? Regardless, I wanted to try it.

Here's a confession though: Grits scare me. I have never eaten them thanks to a bad experience at a Waffle House in Pensacola, Florida. I was eating there years ago and saw the vat of nasty looking yellow grits. That killed any idea of ever eating grits. What changed? My latest motto: Branch out.

This was very easy to prepare. You have to stir the grits constantly, but that isn't horrible considering you are only cooking them for a few minutes. Here's another confession. Okay, two. I didn't use fresh herbs. I can't justify buying fresh considering how seldom I cook. So, I used dried. Second confession: I don't have an 11x7-inch baking pan. So instead, I used a Corningware casserole dish. Did either of these confessions effect the dish in any way? Well, not that I could tell.

The results were creamy, a little tangy from the cream cheese and extremely yummy! This is comfort food at its finest and who would have known that it was light? Yum.........I am already thinking of leftovers for tomorrow.

Shrimp and Grits Casserole

from: Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2009

2 cups reduced-fat milk (2%)

3/4 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1 package (3 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp, coarsley chopped

cooking spray

hot pepper sauce (optional)

* Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

* Combine milk and broth in a medium heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Gradually add grits and salt to a pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in parmesan, butter, and cream cheese. Stir in parsley and next 4 ingredients. Spoon mixture into an 11x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes or until set. Serve with hot pepper sauce if desired.

It's Not Cat Food!

This is what I was yelling as I was opening the can of tuna for the Tuna Casserole. My cats can literally hear the can opener come out of the drawer and they come running. They always seem to think that the tuna is for them. I don't know why, because I don't think they have ever even had tuna!

This recipe reminds me of a 1950's housewife. I think it's the negative connotation that tuna casserole usually gets. This one doesn't have the icky potato chip topping ::shudder::. Instead, it's topped with breadcrumbs. It still gives the casserole a nice crunch without using chips or crackers ::shudders again::.

I found this recipe years ago and have made it several times. It's actually one of my go-to casseroles. I am surprised it hasn't made an appearance in my blog before now. I make it probably around three or four times a year. This doesn't sound like a lot, but considering I only cook on the weekends, it's a lot.

This is very easy to assemble, although it looks like beach sand when it's baked. See the picture below and you will understand. The recipe doesn't say to drain the pimento, but I always do. Please drain the mushrooms as well. You don't want the mushroom juice to overpower everything else in the recipe.

All I can think of when I eat this is my cats. But, it's hard not to think of anything else when they stare at you while you are eating. I swear they think are going to get some tuna, but they never do.

Tuna Casserole

from: Pillsbury Casseroles

1 package (7 oz) elbow macaroni (1.5 cups)

1 cup milk

1 cup (about 4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can (6 oz) tuna, drained and flaked

1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, drained
1 jar (2 oz) pimento, drained

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2-quart casserole dish. In a large saucepan, cook macaroni as directed on package. Drain, return to saucepan.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except bread crumbs; stir to combine. Pour mixture into greased dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

3. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Chowda Chowda!

If you have ever seen that episode of the Simpsons where the use of the word chowder is argued, you will understand my title.

I don't like clam chowder. So what prompted me to make this? The picture looked good. Plus, there is no flour in this chowder. I think that's why I dislike clam chowder so much: it tastes like I am eating a big bowl of flour. Nasty!

This isn't exactly a summer food, but with the air conditioning on in our house, we can pretend like it's winter right? I was going to make rolls to go along with this, but someone mentioned BLT's and that sounded a lot better. BLT's it is! After all, I had a lot of bacon left over, and I didn't want it to go to waste.

This was tasty. Far tastier than eating a bowl of flour (blech). Plus, the addition of the BLT's was a nice addition. My husband, who doesn't care for tomatoes, had a BL rather than a BLT. Whatever. I will take his cast off tomatoes.

Corn and Clam Chowder

from: Pillsbury the Best of Classics Cookbook

2 slices bacon, cut up

3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (3 cups)

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

2 cups skim milk

2 cans (6.5 oz) minced clams, drained, reserving liquid

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (15 oz) cream-style corn

1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until brown and crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel to drain. Remove all but 1 tablespoon pan drippings from saucepan.

2. Add potatoes, onions and celery to drippings in saucepan; cook and stir 5 minutes. Add milk, reserved clam liquid, thyme and pepper; mix well. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3. Carefully transfer 2 cups hot mixture to food processor bowl with metal blade or blender container; process until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan. Stir in cream-style corn, whole kernel corn and clams. Return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 to 6 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.

4. To serve, ladle chowder into individual soup bowls. Crumble reserved bacon; sprinkle over chowder.

Now, for the BLT's. I shouldn't have to explain how to make these, but for those who don't know.

Cook bacon, toast bread, slice lettuce and tomato. Slap mayonnaise on toasted bread, stack bacon, lettuce and tomato.

A First

In all my years of cooking, can you believe that I have never made anything seafood related? I think it scares me a little bit for some reason. I bought a new cookbook a few days ago ($5.00 at Powell's bookstore!!) and I had to try one of the recipes. It had shrimp in it. Come on Pachey, go out on a limb!

I was a bit shocked at the price of frozen shrimp at the grocery store. I first went to the frozen section, and a one pound bag was $9.99! Luckily, the seafood counter had the same thing on sale for $4.99 a pound. All I had to do was remove the tails and thaw the little shimpies.

Besides the shrimp, this is a very inexpensive recipe to make. Most people have the canned goods on hand already, and if you add a salad and maybe another vegetable or bread, you have a hearty meal. Even with the pasta, it is pretty healthy also. I haven't calculated the calories yet, but I am sure it won't be terrible.

The recipe was simple to make, and even more yummy to eat. I don't know why I avoid seafood recipes so much, but this one was tasty. Of course, it had to have tomatoes on it, and it was even better with the pasta and cheese. Do you see a trend? I seem to make the same things over and over and over again: Pasta, tomatoes, cheese, casserole, meat. I added some garlic powder as well as extra red pepper flakes. We like our food spicy in this house. Eh, if it aint broke right?

Shrimp and Pasta Bake
from: The Best of Classic Cookbooks

1 package (16 oz) bow tie pasta
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 package (12 oz) frozen shelled deveined cooked small shrimp, thawed
1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain.

2. Place cooked pasta in ungreased 13x9 inch baking dish. Stir in tomatoes, shrimp, tomato sauce, mushrooms and spices. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.