Scallops with Ginger & Lemongrass

Courtesy of Gourmet Garden

I have a new favorite grocery store item -- Gourmet Garden fresh herbs (http://na.gourmetgarden.com/us/). I don't know about you, but I always buy fresh herbs and then waste them because they don't all get used. Well, these handy dandy tubes are refrigerated and last up to 3 months. You use the same measurements as fresh herbs, and it's just super easy! I bought quite a few of these last week and tried my first recipe with them last week -- it was quite tasty! This was a really easy recipe to prepare, again, perfect for a week night meal! I served it up with some bok choy, which I love. The plate looks a little sparse, I apologize -- the bok choy didn't go as far as I had hoped. This would also go great with rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Lemon Grass
• 2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Ginger
• 1 tsp Gourmet Garden Chili Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Cilantro
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp Dry sherry
• 1 Tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 whole Limes
• 12 large Scallops

Directions:
Make marinade from juice of one lime and add all other ingredients. Retain one lime to make wedges for garnish. Marinate scallops for 15 minutes. Discard marinade. Sear scallops in hot pan for approximately 2 minutes each side (or until cooked through). I like mine with a good sear on them.

Pan-Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Courtesy of Food Network Kitchens

Lamb is a new thing for me. I never enjoyed it until this past year -- I guess taste buds can change! There were some shoulder chops on sale at Teeter, so I figured this was a great time to try it out. I also have this wine that is amazing and goes well with certain foods. It went nicely with the lamb -- Dark Lady Pinotage. I highly recommend the wine, if you can find it! I have to get it special ordered from a wine store, but very worth it! The lamb chops came out very well and were very tender. The marinade also was a hit; I think I'd even try it on pork!  Yum. The key to this was marinading the chops for about 12 hours...it's a great meal to put in the marinade in the morning and then they're ready for grilling when you get home! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Four 8- to 12-ounce lamb shoulder chops

 

Directions:

To make the marinade: whisk the lemon juice, mustard, rosemary, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt together in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil and season with pepper. Transfer the marinade to a large sealable plastic bag. Put the lamb chops in the bag, seal, and shake vigorously to evenly coat the meat. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12. Remove the chops from the marinade and transfer them to a plate. Discard the marinade. Using a spoon, lightly scrape the remaining marinade off the chops and pat them dry. Preheat a large cast-iron grill pan over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high. Season the chops with salt. Place 2 chops on the grill pan, and cook until the chops have distinctive grill marks, about 3 minutes. To make crosshatched grill marks, re-position the chops, moving them about 45 degrees on the ridged pan, and continue to cook about 3 minutes more. (The chops will have only cooked on one side at this point.) Set the chops aside and repeat with the remaining 2 chops. Return the first set of chops to the pan to cook them on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium low, and cook the chops until medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the other chops. Let the chops rest for about 5 minutes and serve.  NOTE: This did take me a bit longer to cook because I wanted them Medium -- just cook a few more minutes on each side until the desired temperature.

 

Greek Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Capers, and Feta

Courtesy of For the Love of Cooking.net

Wow -- my last posting was in June. I apologize for being MIA this summer! Life has been busy with work and some vacations thrown in there :) It has flown by as usual! This specific recipe, I have had on my list for a while, and finally got around to making it last week. It was so delicious. The sauce was so savory that I was eating it with a spoon at the end! This is a great week night meal :) If you're trying to be healthy, it's already a nice recipe, but you could even leave out the cheese if you really wanted to and it would still be yummy. I served this with some steamed broccolini (one of my faves). Enjoy!

Ingredients - Chicken:
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, flattened & trimmed of fat
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Feta cheese
Fresh parsley

Ingredients - Broccolini:
Bunch of broccolini
Soy sauce
Lawry's seasoning salt
Olive oil
  
Directions:

Flatten out the chicken thighs and remove any excess fat. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano, to taste. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, set aside. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken into the skillet and cook for 5 minutes; flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and place onto a plate loosely covered by a tin foil tent. Add a teaspoon of more olive oil to the skillet then add the onion. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes; add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and chicken broth then bring to a boil. Boil the sauce for 2 minutes then reduce to low; season the sauce with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, then add the chicken thighs and their juices back to the pan along with the capers. Cook for another 7-10 minutes. Serve the chicken with some sauce spooned over the top followed by a sprinkling of feta cheese and fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Broccolini -- Place in a saute pan with a splash of olive oil. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes. Splash some soy sauce and seasoning salt and cover for an additional minute or two. 

  

Salmon with Lemon Pappardelle Pasta in White Wine Sauce

Adapted from A Healthy Life For Me (http://ahealthylifeforme.com/2013/01/07/salmon-and-pasta-with-white-wine-sauce-topped-with-arugula-salad/)

I actually made this for dinner last night (back to posting current items, YAY)! I had gotten a gorgeous slab of Alaskan Salmon and had some yummy lemon pappardelle pasta on hand, which you know I love -- I've posted several recipes for the pasta. It just goes SO well with seafood, and you really don't need a lot of sauce or seasoning because the noodles are so well flavored already. The pasta is from Trader Joe's -- check it out! Anyway, this recipe was pretty simple and great for a week night meal. The salmon is also great on its own if you're cutting out carbs (although that's no fun). NOTE: This recipe is for my version which doesn't include the arugula and some other things. Check out the blog above if you'd like the original recipe. Enjoy!
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Salmon, skinned and any pin bones removed
• 1 cup of good white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• dash kosher salt
• dash lemon pepper
• 2 dashes dried parsley
• 2 dashes Italian Seasoning (does not contain parsley)
• Approx. 6 ounces lemon pepper pappardelle pasta (normal pappardelle would work)
• 1 lemon,juiced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Finely grated Parmesan Cheese
• Pinch of flour (to thicken sauce if necessary)

Directions:
Set large pan to boil with water and generous pinch of kosher salt to cook pasta. Sprinkle the salemon with salt and lemon pepper and set aside. When water is boiling add pasta to cook. In a large skillet over medium heat add butter and olive oil and let melt for a few seconds, add garlic and simmer till translucent, about 1 minute.  Add salmon and allow to cook 5-7 minutes.  Add wine, Italian seasoning, parsley and squeeze 1/2 lemon to pan. Cover and cook an additional 5-7 minutes, or until salmon is cooked to your liking. Carefully remove salmon to cutting board.  Lower temperature of pan to low. I added a pinch of flour to thicken the sauce a bit. When pasta is cooked al dente using tongs transfer pasta directly from boiling water to pan with wine, toss to coat evenly. In each bowl place a serving of pasta, a serving of the salmon, a dash of parmesan cheese, and an extra squeeze of the other half of lemon.

Fresh Corvina Ceviche

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

This is another May recipe -- sorry for the delay. Nick took me to a wonderful birthday dinner at Black Salt, which is in the Palisades/Georgetown DC area. It's not only a fantastic restaurant, but also a fish market! I was in heaven. After dinner, I decided to buy some of their fresh fish and make ceviche -- something I have always wanted to do! I know it's very simple, but I always wanted to make sure I had fresh fish to use...and this was my chance! The original recipe called for halibut, and you will see that the fish can be swapped out in many recipes, but the corvina looked great, so I went with that! The only thing I will note is that mine took a lot longer to cook than the recipe said -- about twice the time at least. Be sure to cut into your fish and make sure it's cooked in the middle before serving. I also just threw in the avocado, tomato, and shallot at the end. The original recipe has a separate salad which is served under the ceviche. I wasn't feeling that fancy :)

Ingredients:

One 10-ounce corvina fillet, skinned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 3 to 4 large limes)
Zest of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2-3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small shallot, diced

Preparation:

In an 8-by-8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish, mix together the corvina, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cover the dish and refrigerate for 3+ hours (took me about 6), stirring halfway through the refrigeration time to distribute the marinade.

Once the ceviche is cooked, add the shallots, tomatoes and avocado. Add another squeeze of lime juice. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Stir together and serve.

Citrus Glazed Scallops with Avocado Tomato Salsa

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Once again, I have been somewhat MIA -- my apologies.  I got nothing -- I guess life has just been busy! I can't believe it's June already. I made these scallops about two weeks ago and they were absolutely delicious. I wanted to make sure I got them on the blog! I found the combo with the salsa a bit odd, but I think that's just because I'm used to eating scallops with risotto or vegetables...or something hot at least. The salsa was tasty, but I just might go with something else next time for a better combination. Scallops though -- can't go wrong...yum. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Scallops:

• 1 1/2 pounds large sea scallops, cut in half horizontally (I didn't cut mine)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed 
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Salsa:

• 1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato 
• 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado 
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed 
• 8 Bibb lettuce leaves (optional -- I didn't use this)

Preparation:

1. To prepare scallops, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl with the scallops; toss well. Add scallops to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove from pan; keep warm.
2. To prepare glaze, combine lime juice and the next 7 ingredients (lime juice through 1 garlic clove) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add juice mixture to pan. Cook 7 minutes or until glaze becomes shiny and begins to thicken. Drizzle the citrus glaze over the scallops; add green onions and 1/4 cup cilantro. Toss well.
3. To prepare salsa, combine chopped tomato and remaining ingredients except lettuce; toss well. Serve on Bibb lettuce leaves, if desired.

Chicken & Black Bean Smoky Rice Skillet

Adapted from Picky Palate

I've had this recipe in my queue for some time, but finally got around to making it! I have been pretty busy with our new addition, this cutie pie named Patches :) -- she's a French Bulldog and so adorable that I can barely say no to her! In any event, last night I needed something somewhat easy to make that would preferably give us some leftovers. This was a great dish! We were both big fans, and I actually think it would also be good on lettuce wraps or tortillas. I just adjusted the seasoning a little and then cut the recipe in half. Definitely a great, hearty meal! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cups finely chopped white onion
• 1 cup sliced zucchini
• 1 cup sliced yellow squash
• 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1.5 cups cooked shredded chicken
• 8 ounces can black beans, drained
• 1.5 cups prepared rice medley (I used Uncle Ben's Long Grain + Wild Rice Medley)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika 
• approx 1 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions:

You can either purchase shredded chicken or make it yourself. I browned two chicken breasts in a little bit of olive oil, seasoning salt, and pepper on each side and then baked in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. I then shredded the meat with my fingers once it cooled down. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute zucchini, squash, and onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken, beans, rice, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, pepper and parsley stirring to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until hot. NOTE: I had another chicken breast left over, so I just put that on a salad the next day. This made approximately 4 servings.