Cajun Catfish

Courtesy of Plated Perfection 

Obviously, I'm not done with New Orleans flavors yet! One of my closest friends, all the way back to college, came over for dinner. We were looking for a healthy dinner, so I immediately thought of fish and veggies of course. Whole Foods had some fresh, local catfish that looked outstanding. I bought about 1.25 pounds, which served 3 nice servings (can't wait to have the 3rd for lunch this week). This was super easy to make - definitely give it a shot. You could switch out the fish no problem, and even the seasoning blend. To make this a simple weeknight meal, I bought some of the prepared vegetables from Whole Foods which I love. Enjoy!

Servings: 3 (6oz-8oz servings)

Ingredients:
fresh catfish filets (I cut mine into 3 servings)
~3-4 tb cajun seasoning (I eyeballed this, so use as much as you want)
~2 tb garlic chive butter (purchased from seafood counter at Whole Foods)
~1 cup flour
~1tb vegetable oil
juice of lime to top fish, optional

Directions:
Mix the cajun spice into the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge the fish on both sides in the flour mixture and set aside. Heat the oil and butter in a saute pan over high heat. Brown one side of the fish for approximately 4 minutes. Turn the fish and cook on the other side for about 4-5 minutes, turning the heat down to medium-low after both sides are brown. Top with juice of a lime or lemon and serve with vegetables.

Seafood Cioppino

Modified from Giada de Laurentiis

Seafood cioppino is this amazing soup/stew that you can find in San Francisco, among other places, but that's the best I've had - specifically at Scoma's! They partner it with delicious sourdough and it comes in a massive bowl with oodles of fresh seafood. I decided to try and mimic this and found a recipe by Giada, one of my favorite celebrity chefs! This recipe came out great - it was faster than I thought to make as well, maybe because I chopped up some of the vegetables the night before to save some time. I modified the seafood that was used and a few of the ingredient measurements, but followed it otherwise. Below is my version of the recipe. Her original can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/cioppino-recipe.html. The great thing about this is that you can freeze the leftover broth and throw in some fresh seafood at a later time - can't wait to have this again! Enjoy! 

Note: The below recipe was for 2 people, saving two batches of the broth. If you'd like to serve it all to a group of 4 or so, I'd double the amount of seafood.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tb split out for scallops

1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 large shallots, chopped

2 teaspoons salt

4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 (26 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice (I used San Marzano)

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

5 cups seafood stock

1 bay leaf

1/3 lb fresh halibut, cut into chunks (I cut into approx 1-2 inch chunks)

1/2 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/3 lb fresh sea scallops, cut in half if large

Directions:

Heat 3 tb oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, seafood stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes. 

In the meantime, I decided to brown my scallops to give them more flavor. In a small saute pan, use the 1 tb olive oil and set it to high heat. Salt and pepper the scallops and place in the pan. Brown the scallops on each side about 3 minutes, and then set aside on a plate to cool.

Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, stirring gently, about 5 minutes. Add the scallops and stir for another minute. Remove bay leaf. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. After eating all of the seafood, you can freeze the remainder of the broth.

Lemon Basil Grilled Pork Chops

Adapted from BitznGiggles.com

I made this recipe back in late August when it was a great night to grill out. I love thick cut pork chops, so that's what I decided on after seeing some beauties at Whole Foods. This recipe looked fairly simple for a weeknight meal, and it ended up being so tasty and full of flavor. We cooked these perfectly, so the cooking time below is what we used personally. Definitely give this a go while we're still enjoying great grilling weather! Note: I halved the recipe and changed a couple of things up, so the below is my adaptation.

Ingredients:
2 pork chops, thick cut and bone-in (you can use boneless if you prefer)
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
3 tb garlic, chopped
3-4 tb lemon juice (I used approximately 4 tb since I love lemon juice)
3/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tb olive oil

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients, besides the pork chops, and remove the pork chops from the refrigerator. Slather the pork chops with the mixture on both sides and bring to room temperature for approximately 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your grill to medium heat (or medium high depending on your grill). Grill the pork chops approximately 7 minutes per side. This was the perfect time for us, as ours were extremely thick cut and we don't like them very pink in the middle. Let rest for approximately 10 minutes. Enjoy! I served these with Whole Foods Asparagus and Roasted Veggie Salad.

Venetian Shrimp and Scallops

Courtesy of Rachael Ray

Shrimp and scallops go very well together! I decided to make a new recipe Monday night using both of these delicious seafood items. I found fresh scallops, but the shrimp were frozen, as they usually are. I cut this recipe in half and combined this with zucchini/squash noodles, so I think it threw off the sauce a little, but it was still tasty. Next time I think I'd change it up and use chicken stock instead of broth, and also use more of a tomato sauce instead of just diced tomatoes. Give it a go though - healthy and good!

Ingredients:
1 pound sea scallops
1/4 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon (1 turn around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
1 lemon, zested
Hot, crusty bread, for plate mopping (or zucchini noodles for a healthy option)

Directions:
Lightly coat the sea scallops in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Discard remaining flour.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil (1 turn around the pan) and butter. When butter melts into oil, add scallops. Brown scallops 2 minutes on each side, then remove from pan.

Add an additional drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the garlic, shallots, and crushed red pepper flakes. Reduce heat a little and saute garlic and shallots 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine to the pan and free up any pan drippings. Reduce wine 1 minute, then add stock, tomatoes and saffron threads. When liquids come to a bubble, add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Return scallops to the pan and cook shrimp and scallops 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer shrimp and scallops to a warm serving dish and top with basil and lemon zest. Pass plenty of bread to enjoy the juices.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans

Adapted from Real Simple

Tonight I had to come up with a quick back-up plan for dinner -- my original plan failed due to me not having half of the ingredients on hand that I thought I did! So, I had to come up with something involving chicken breasts and green beans -- so here we go! I found this on Real Simple, which was also posted on Pinterest. It's a really basic, fool proof recipe in my opinion. I made a few adjustments, so the below is my take on this recipe. For the original recipe, you can visit http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pan-roasted-chicken-lemon-garlic-green-beans. This was tasty, but really heavy on the lemon flavor. I don't mind that, but some people might. I'd just keep that under consideration when making this dish. It's a nice go-to weeknight meal though - next time I think I would add the potatoes like the original called for.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons olive oil 

2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

4 sprigs of thyme, to place on top of the lemon slices

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt-free Table Blend seasoning

3/4 pound trimmed green beans 

4 chicken breasts (I used boneless, but bone-in would be great)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet. Top with the sprigs of thyme.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

Roast for 45-50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans equally. Serve warm.

Seafood Marinara with Zucchini Noodles

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

Do you love Italian food? Fresh seafood? Me too! However, we've been trying to lighten up the diet, so I've been on a zucchini noodle roll -- they're just delicious and so easy (especially when Whole Foods now prepares them and sells them ready to boil)! Yes, I am paying for convenience, but sometimes I'm OK with that! This dish was tasty -- I bought some fresh scallops and shrimp today and decided to toss it in with some other ingredients I had on hand. Give this a shot! You can put in whichever seafood you want too, so get creative!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
1/3 pound sea scallops
1 tb Italian seasoning (I use salt-free)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1-2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (mine is Rao's)
~ 1-1.5 pound zucchini noodles
1 tb olive oil
1 tb butter
splash of dry white wine
parmesan cheese (topping at end)
fresh basil (optional)

Directions:
Bring your water to a boil with a dash of salt. Have the zucchini prepped and ready to go. Meanwhile, pat the shrimp and scallops dry - sprinkle with some pepper. In a separate saute pan, heat 1 tb olive oil and 1 tb butter. When hot, sear the scallops approximately 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the size of the scallops. You want to brown these and cook them through. Set aside on a platter and place the shrimp in the saute pan. Add a bit more oil if necessary and a splash of dry white wine. After about 1 minute on each side, turn and brown the other side until these are also done. Set these on the platter with the scallops. Drain the liquid from the pan, and add the marinara sauce over medium heat. Add the seafood back to the pan with the sauce, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Simmer for just a couple of minutes and then serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese! I didn't have fresh herbs on me, but fresh basil would've been a great addition!

Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken

Adapted from Skinnytaste.com

I needed a quick and easy dinner for last night, so the crock pot immediately came to mind. I really don't use it enough! We both love salsa verde, so this seemed like an easy choice. I decided to use chicken breasts since we're trying to be a bit healthier and I had them on hand. The chicken came out SO delicious and we just couldn't stop eating it - oops! So much for portion control! I decided to make the chicken into tacos, so I just threw in some corn tortillas (low carb of course), avocado, tomato, low-fat mexican cheese, and lettuce. Give it a shot, you won't regret it! This would also be great on top of rice with the sauce - yum.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs raw skinless chicken tenders (or breasts)
2 tsp salt-free Itailan seasoning
16 oz roasted salsa verde (I love Trader Joe's)

Directions:
Season chicken with garlic powder, oregano, cumin and salt and place in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with salsa verde, cover and cook HIGH 2 hours. Remove chicken, shred with 2 forks. Remove 2/3 cup of liquid from the slow cooker, and discard (unless you want it over rice). Place shredded chicken back into the crock pot with remaining salsa, adjust seasoning to taste if needed and keep warm.