Baked Catfish with Lemon Spaghetti

I was craving fish (big shocker there) the other night and decided this would be a pretty easy meal to put together. Full disclosure - I wanted tilapia, but Harris Teeter had sold out, so I settled for fresh catfish. It still turned out well, but I would probably use tilapia if I had a choice. The Lemon Spaghetti is a recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentis on The Food Network, who just so happens to be my favorite :) I will admit that the pasta portion tasted better the second day after having some time to set.

Baked Catfish
Place fish in a baking dish greased with PAM. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper and lemon juice. Bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes, or until fish is flaky.

Lemon Spaghetti

• 1 pound spaghetti (I used linguine)
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

Mom's BBQ Pork Chops

As I've mentioned before, my Mom has so many great recipes, but I have taken my favorites and added them to my own repertoire of dishes to make! This one is healthy because you use lean pork chops; the only potentially bad thing is the BBQ sauce (sugar), but who cares? :) It's super easy and great for leftovers during the week.

Ingredients:
1 package lean pork chops (thin work best)
green pepper, cut into stips or rings
yellow onion, cut into rings
russet potato, peeled ad cut into thin slices
bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (diluted with some water)

Place pork chops in a greased baking dish (I use PAM) and season with salt and pepper. Top with sliced potato, green pepper and onion.

If possible, mix the BBQ sauce with a little water in the bottle so that it's mixed well. You'll probably use about half a bottle. In this round, I used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 45 minutes. It may take up to an hour.

ENJOY!

The Perfect Winter Soup

So for anyone that knows Nick, knows he likes to cook new things and loves incorporating sausage whenever possible! He came across this recipe for Italian Sausage Soup (courtesy of allrecipes.com). I must say, it turned out extremely tasty (not that I am surprised). It tasted even better the next day! This works best with a dutch oven if you have one. I was nice and let him use mine...after all, he was sharing his delicious soup with me.

Italian Sausage Soup:

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
• 2 small zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Date night with Duncan (Melissa)

Duncan and I set a date to cook (we used to do this a lot), and she told me about this recipe she had made that was delicious. So what kind of friend would I be if I didn't let her cook it for me? :) I poured the vino and kept her company...and baked some chicken to go with it. I know she made some minor tweaks, but I wanted to share the recipe so that everyone else can enjoy as well! I believe the main difference was that she used more white wine...when I asked how much more, she just answered "a lot more"...ha. Enjoy!

Garden Risotto:

• approximately 3 chicken breasts (optional)
• few pieces of your favorite bread (I used sourdough)
• few dashes Italian Seasoning
• approximately 2 teaspoons of butter
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 lightly packed cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 pound asparagus, steamed and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (optional)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and marinade with your favorite sauce. I tried the new Lea & Perrins Chicken marinade. Bake for approximately 20 minutes (depending on thickness).

Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly, until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of the hot broth, the salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper and simmer, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 3/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the broth to be absorbed before adding more, until rice is almost tender and creamy-looking, about 18 minutes.

Add the spinach and peas and cook until the spinach is wilted. Add the asparagus and cook just until the vegetables are hot. Stir in the Parmesan and more broth or wine if the risotto seems too thick.

 Brush the slices of bread with softened butter and sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Place under broiler for just a couple of minutes.

Seafood Feast for my Dad!

My dad and his girl friend Bev came to visit this past weekend, which was very exciting! They requested a Plated Perfection meal :) so that's what we did. Nick made lobster tails and I made crab cakes and roasted lemon chive vegetables. Dad and Bev provided the vino -- can't go wrong with that combination! I highly recommend this recipe!

Crab Cakes:

• 1/4  cup  finely chopped red onion
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 3  tablespoons  light mayonnaise
• 2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard
• 3/4  teaspoon  Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2  teaspoon  Worcestershire sauce
• 2  egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1  pound  lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
• 3/4 cup  panko or Italian breadcrumbs

1) To prepare crab cakes, combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently fold in crabmeat. Gently stir in 3/4 cup panko. Cover and chill 15-30 minutes.

2) Divide crab mixture into 8 equal portions (about 1/2 cup each); shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. If using panko, place 3/4 cup panko in a shallow dish. Working with 1 patty at a time, dredge in panko. Repeat procedure with the remaining patties and panko. This step isn't necessary if using the Italian breadcrumbs (which is what I used).

3) Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat both sides of crab cakes with cooking spray. if desired. Add 4 crab cakes to pan; cook 7 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over; cook 7 minutes or until golden. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, cooking spray, and remaining 4 crab cakes.

Roasted Lemon Chive Vegetables:
 * The vegetables you use can vary depending on what you are in the mood for. The key is to have them all cut so that they will cook evenly.  I usually rely on zucchini, squash, carrots, yellow onion and and potatoes. This go around I left out the carrots. I also peeled the vegetables this go around.

• 1 zucchini, 1 squash, 1-2 potatoes, half an onion (all chopped evenly in size)
• 2  tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil, salt and pepper

1) Coat a 13 x 9 baking pan with cooking spray. Add the chopped vegetables and coat with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and half a lemon juiced.
2) Bake at 375 for approximately 30 minutes. Juice the vegetables with the other half of lemon and sprinkle with the fresh chives. Bake for another 5 minutes or so.

Lobster Tail:

This is Nick's specialty so I'm going to take my best guess at how he provides these :) He cracks the top of the shell all the way down and separates the lobster tails (fresh from the grocery store) from their shells. He then tops the lobster tail with a little butter, lemon pepper seasoning, and garlic powder. He then broils the lobster tails in a baking dish until the meat has pulled away from the shell and they become a red color. They should be tender to the touch, and not slimy. SO GOOD. We served all of the above with remoulade sauce. I cheated and used a bottled brand I love (Louisiana Fish Fry Products).

Prosciutto Wrapped Lemon Pepper Chicken

Want an easy week night dinner? I have your solution! This was super fast to prepare and yummy. It also provided some good leftovers...and who doesn't love those?

I would use either thin chicken breasts or get regular ones and pound them out until they are about 1/2 inch thick. It's a good opportunity to let out your frustration :)

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (however many you wish to make -- I did four)
Prosciutto
Olive oil
Lemon Pepper seasoning (or your favorite herb seasoning)
Lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Kitchen string or twine (can get away without this)
Salt

Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and season with a little salt and lemon pepper seasoning. Sprinkle some garlic on each chicken breast. I left two of the chicken breasts as-is at this point.

For the other two, I laid a piece of prosciutto on top. Roll the chicken and secure with string (or in my case, place in baking dish so that it will not come unrolled). Bake all four chicken breasts at 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes.

Steam green beans and asparagus, seasoning as desired. I seasoned the green beans with salt and lemon pepper. I seasoned my asparagus with vinegar (a personal favorite).