The fish was simple and delicious; we followed the recipe for the slaw, but would probably go back and use my own recipe for slaw when we make these again.  Overall, very good and very quick for a weeknight summertime meal.  Ididn’t get my own photo, but below is the one from the mag.  Doesn’t it look good?

(image from cookinglight.com)

• catfish fillets
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• olive oil
• bag of carrot and cabbage slaw
• 1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (from my herb garden!)
• slices of sourdough bread, toasted

Combine first five ingredients in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over fish, coating well on both sides.  Heat cast iron skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat.  Add fish and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done.

Combine yogurt, juice and honey in a large bowl; toss together with slaw and cilantro.

Top bread slices with slaw, fish and remaining slaw.

However, in celebration of reaching 37 weeks, I branched out last night and tried a new recipe that sounded good (for once) that I found in March’s Clean Eating magazine.  If you haven’t heard of this magazine, check it out.  A lot of the recipes are vegetarian, which doesn’t fly for Frank, but every now and then I find something we both really like.  This recipe was definitely one of them and when the veggies are fresh this summer, I bet it’s even better.  Definitely a do-over and super-easy.  Was ready in under 30 minutes (the magazine claims it only take 15 minutes, but I had to chop everything first).

 Paprika Pork Tenderloin with Succotash (adapted from Clean Eating, March 2011)

• 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat and sliced into about 12 medallions
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed and drained
• 1 cup of white corn niblets
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to blend together the rub for the pork tender (olive oil, paprika, cumin, S&P) and then toss the meat with the rub, coating well.  Seat bowl aside.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil to medium heat.  Saute the red pepper and onion for 3 minutes or until onion is translucent.  Add corn and lima beans, sauteing another 3 minutes or until heated through.  Pour mixture into another mixing bowl, toss with healthy dash of S&P to taste and cilantro (optional) and set aside, keeping warm.

Wipe out pan and heat last tsp of olive oil to medium heat.  Add pork medallions and cook about 3 minutes on both sides or until done.

To serve, spoon succotash onto plate and then place 2-3 pork medallions on top.  Can also spoon a little of the pan juices over the pork if desired.  Serve with a side salad and crunchy roll. 

Will be PERFECT for summer!

I saw these muffins on my friend Jen’s blog and while she is a master baker and takes much better photography than I do, these were still delicious.  I need to figure out how to get the nice rounded tops to the muffins like hers (maybe it’s my aversion to the word ‘muffin top?’)  I think it might have to do with the fact that I accidentally used a whole can of pumpkin instead of a half can, but oh well.  They were still fabulous.   And best of all, they were a healthy adapation from a more indulgent recipe, making them a relatively healthy choice for breakfast. 

Apple Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• small pinch of ground cloves
• 1/2 can of pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup of applesauce
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tin.  In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flours down through the ground cloves).  In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin, applesauce, oil, sugar, and eggs together, blending well.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, whisking well until completely blended.  Fold in apple.

Fill the muffin tins up about 3/4 full and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and brown sugar if desired.  Bake for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely before removing from wrapper.

Make this part of your summer grilling repertoire.  I think I threw in some grilled okra (tossed with olive oil, Cavendars Greek Seasoning and pepper — thanks, Amanda!) and a fresh fruit salad to round out this summer meal.

Prepare the marinade before work and when you get home, it will be perfect and ready for the grill.  Remember to  remove the chicken and let it sit out at room temp for about 10-15 minutes before grilling.  This helps the meat cook more evenly.  If it’s too cold, the inside won’t always get cooked through before the outside is charred.

Grilled Rosemary Chicken

• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• little salt
• as much fresh rosemary, finely chopped, as you want
• 2-4 chicken breasts

In a small bowl, whisk together the marinade.  Place the chicken breasts in a ziplock baggie and pour the marinade over it, turning several times to coat well.  Chill for about 8 hours.

Heat grill to medium heat, about 350-375.  Grill chicken until desired doneness, about 10 minutes on either side, depending on how thick the chicken is.

These are super-simple and make a great, healthy, cheap and fast side-dish.  Can’t beat that!

• Several zucchini, washed with both ends trimmed
• tablespoon olive oil
• S&P
• fresh mint leaves, torn

Preheat grill to 350.  Wash zucchini and trim both ends off.  Slice zucchini lengthwise into spears.  Place on cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil over the veggies, coating well.  Shake a healthy amount of salt and pepper onto the veggies and grill for 10 minutes or so, until tender.

Garnish with fresh mint leaves.  Serve with pan-fried chicken (find that recipe here) and a fresh salad or slaw.

I decided to make these little bite-size ham biscuit things my mom makes for the party — it was in the evening and called for heavier hor d’oeuvres than I probably would have done during the day.  They are really simple to make, and so good.  It’s basically ham and swiss with melted butter poured over them.  The ultimate comfort food.  They are also great for a party because you can pile them up on a tray, making them great finger food!  Put these on the list for your next get-together.  I know it’s like a zillion degrees outside, but these are great for winter holiday parties as well. 

• 2 packages of small party rolls (try finding them at the Pig; Pepperidge Farm makes good ones.  look for the kind that come in an aluminum tray, wrapped in plastic)
• 1 lb very thinly shaved ham
• 1 package of shredded swiss cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp mustard
• 1 splash worchestershire
• 1 – 2 tbsp poppyseeds

Preheat oven to 350.  Take the rolls out of the package and using a bread knife, cut the rolls in half, treating them as one large roll.  Top the bottom roll with ham and then swiss.  Put the top of the roll back on and put the rolls back into the aluminum tray they came in.  Cut the individual rolls at this point, now that they are back together in the package. 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and the rest of the ingredients together over low heat and whisk well until thoroughly melted and mixed.  Pour the mixture over the rolls, using a brush or spatula to cover the top of the rolls well. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden on the top.  Serve immediately while hot.

I had found this recipe in June’s Cooking Light and had a xerox of it in my office (long story) and had everything at home to make it, including the shrimp.  We only had to substitute whole wheat penne for linguinne, but no love lost.  Carbs are carbs in this house.  We really enjoyed this dish and you can make it healthier by using olive oil instead of butter and probably (not totally sure about this) skim milk with a teapsoon of flour for thickening instead of cream.  But try this once the right way.  Then figure out how to cut it back. 

Another bonus:  it was on the table in 20 minutes flat.  Serve with a green salad and maybe French bread to soak up the extra sauce?

Spicy Shrimp with Linguine (or whatever)

• 8 ounces of uncooked linguine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lb peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (with like Tony’s)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and keep warm.  In the bag that the shrimp came in, add the Cajun seasoning, red pepper and salt; shake well to coat the shrimp.

  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute about 3 minutes, until tender.  Add tomatoes and garlic, saute another 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic (might have to adjust the heat). 

Add shrimp to pan; saute for 5 minutes or until almost done.  You don’t want them opaque yet, but just about there.  Remove from heat and stir in cream.  Let sit for a minute or two, until the shrimp are done. Pour shrimp mixture over pasta, mix well.  Top with chopped parsley.

Tonight, we’re doing simple kabobs, lake rice and a fresh, summer fruit salad.  Kabobs are a very simple way to pack in protein and veggies without having to prepare separate dishes.  Sometimes I make my own, especially if we have veggies in the fridge to use up, and sometimes we buy them already prepared (how many times have I mentioned my obsession with Publix?).  You can include anything you like, but I’ve found that bell peppers, onion, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, squash and zuccini hold up the best.  But, that’s the great thing about them, you can build your own!

We’re out on the porch, in 95 degree weather, including a cold glass of white wine and grilling these guys:

Hope you’re doing something equally fun with your family!

Sunday Kabobs

• 2 chicken breasts or a filet, chopped into large cubes
• 1 bell pepper, chopped into squares
• 1 onion, chopped into squares
• cherry tomatoes, whole
• fresh pineapple chunks (not pictured)
• wooden or metal kabob spears
• olive oil or steak marinade
• S&P or other preferred seasoning (maybe Cavenders?)

Light the grill to medium-high heat.  Soak your kabob spears in water, if they are wooden, for a few minutes.  This reduces the risk of them catching on fire on the grill.  Make your kabobs in any order you prefer.  I usually grill a separate kabob of only pineapple chunks for two reasons — one, Frank doesn’t like it, and two, they cook at a different speed than the meat and other veggies.

Drizzle oil and seasoning on the chicken and rub in gently with your fingers…if you went with steak, you might want to have marinaded the kabobs in Worchestershire or something similar for an hour or two to tenderize the meat, so you can skill the olive oil here.

Grill, turning occasionally, for about 5-7 minutes on either side.

I won’t do it again, this is it.

The popcorn gets so much hotter, crunchier and more flavorful when done properly on the stove and it really takes no more time than microwaving a big bag.  And you get a LOT more popcorn.  And it’s cheaper.  I could go on and on why it’s better for you.  But trust me, just try this the next time you need a casual appetizer, especially for a large group.  You can make as little or as much as you want and it’s so worth it!  YUM.

Freshly popped popcorn

• 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels
• 1 tbsp olive oil (doesn’t have to be exact; eyeball it.  More oil for more flavor)
• salt

In a heavy saucepan, pour in the tablespoon of olive oil and the kernels and cover with a lid, leaving it ajar just a bit to allow steam to get out, but not enough that popcorn will fly out.  Heat the pan to medium heat and let the popcorn do its thing.  When the rapid popping slows to 2 seconds between pops, take it off the heat so it won’t burn.  Usually takes about 5 minutes total.

Salt well, shake and serve!