Coconut Sea Bass with Spicy Apricot Dipping Sauce

 This is actually the second time that I've made this dish. The first time I tried it with tilapia and that's when I found out that I don't like tilapia. So I decided to try the recipe again but with sea bass. I recently discovered that I like sea bass when I made the sea bass with honeyed apples.

This reminds me a lot of coconut shrimp. I wasn't overly sure when I was adding horseradish into the apricot jam, whether this was actually going to turn out or not but my goodness it's good! Normally I like to sample a little bit of everything on my plate until I'm finished but I polished off the fish first before I touched anything else.

I got the original recipe from allrecipes, changed out the fish and baked it instead of frying. I think that this will be one of my go-to recipes when it comes to fish. I love coconut shrimp but find coating all the shrimp takes time, whereas you coat your pieces of fish and voila, you're done! I will definitely be making this again.

• 1 c. flaked coconut
• 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 Tbsp creole seasoning
• 4 (4 oz) fillet of sea bass
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425f.
2. Toss together the coconut, 2 tablespoons of flour and Creole seasoning in a bowl. In a separate bowl, toss the sea bass with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, and shake off the excess. Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl; dip the fillets in the egg. Press fillets in the coconut mixture coating all sides. Place on a foil lined baking sheet.
3. Bake fish for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily.

Apricot dipping sauce

• 1/2 c. apricot jam
• 2 tsp. brown mustard
• 1 tsp. horseradish

1. While the fish is baking, mix everything together and set aside.

Black Bean Avocado Brownies

No I have not lost my mind. Let me explain. It was all Pinterest's fault! But to be honest, it's all thanks to Pinterest that I came across this recipe from Monique's blog, Ambitious Kitchen. Monique is a kitchen Goddess for coming up with these brownies. Brownies are my #1 weakness. They're right up there with puppies and kittens. There is nothing that will tempt me more than a batch of brownies. And when I say tempt, what I actually mean is sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night to scarf down the rest of the brownies, so that in the morning I have to make another batch just so that the Mr. doesn't know that I ate them all in the middle of the night. Oh yes, brownies are definitely my weakness. So that's why when I saw a recipe that had no flour or butter, I was hopping aboard the black bean avocado brownie train or the BBABT for you abbreviation lovers out there.

Before you ask, no you do not taste the beans or the avocado and no I am not lying to you. What you get is a very moist (even 3 days later) chocolatey brownie with zero guilt. I brought some into work for my co-worker to try and she loved them. Just like the Mr. and me, she was surprised that they taste just like your average brownie. I of course used dark chocolate cocoa powder and dark chocolate chunks but that's because it's my personal preference. These are now my new fake out dish. I used to love bringing cheesecake to parties because people think it's so decadent and difficult to make but now, I think it's time for the BBABT to come through and make some appearances.

• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 egg plus 2 egg whites
• 1/3 of a large ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
• 1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute of choice
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 8×8 inch baking pan.
2. Place all ingredients besides chocolate chips into blender or food processor. Process or puree until ingredients form a smooth batter. Pour into prepared pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips, nuts, or swirl in peanut butter and bake for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out somewhat clean and top of the brownies begin to crack.
3. Cool pan completely on wire rack then cut into 16 squares.

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My Meatless Mondays

Hamberg Soup

We all have at least one recipe that reminds us of our childhood. That one recipe that we remember eating ever since we were itty bitty kids. Well, today I'm sharing one of my childhood favorites with you. My Grandpa DeCoursey would always make this hamberg soup and it was probably one of the only soups I actually liked. I don't know why but I've never been a huge soup eater. However, this is always a soup that I'd gladly eat as is without any delay. 

 If you thought chicken noodle soup is easy, than you've not made this soup before. Now of course, I've changed the recipe some to suit my tastes since I'm not a fan of canned veggies (which is what my grandpa used), but by all means sub out the frozen veggies and potatoes for a big ol can of Veg-All. Either way, you just plop everything into a large pot and walk away. Even if you're sick, this is just as easy as cooking up a pot of ramen, granted it takes a bit longer that boiling water, but this is not only tastier (in my opinion) but heartier as well.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 3 c. frozen mixed veggies
• 3 c. chopped potatoes, bite size
• 48 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 48 oz of water
• pinch of pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pot over med heat add all ingredients except beef. 
2. Crumble ground beef into the soup mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

St. Patrick's Day "Shamrock" Shake

I always like to try something new every year for St. Patrick's Day. This year the Mr. came home with a ton (okay, more like 4 boxes) of Girl Scout cookies. I still have 3 boxes of Thin Mint still in the freezer from last year. So since it's darn near impossible to eat just 2 cookies, which is the serving size for Thin Mints, I decided to turn it into an adult version of the Shamrock Shake using the cookies.

You can always add more or less milk depending on the shake consistency that you prefer. And of course for a child friendly version, skip the liquor and add a squirt of chocolate syrup instead.

Makes 1 shake

• 6 scoops (about 1 1/2 c.) fat free vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• 1 1/2 oz. (1 shot) Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 1/2 oz. (1 shot) chocolate liquor
• 2 Thin Mint cookies
• 8 drops of green food coloring
• 1 Thin Mint cookie for garnish

1. Put all the ingredients except for the garnish cookie, in the blender and blend until well smooth. Pour into glass.
2. Using a sharp knife, slowly slice into the cookie using short shallow strokes. (if you get too overzealous, the cookie will slit in half.)

Chicken and Waffles

I've gone my entire life without knowing the joy of chicken and waffles. I've seen it on menus and every time I thought... "nope, that's just too weird".  Well, I'm happy to announce that I've finally popped my chicken and waffle cherry and have become obsessed with the duo. It all started when the Mr. came home one day and told me how he ordered chicken and waffles for lunch. I immediately started grilling him about it. Was it gross? How'd you eat it? Do you pour syrup over it like normal waffles or do they serve it with a special sauce? Once he reassured me that it was actually good and not in fact as bizarre a pairing as I originally thought, I decided to make them for myself with the Mr's guidance. Since I had no clue what to do.

Now let me take a moment to thank my mother for the waffle iron. Without her, my chicken and waffle epiphany would not have happened. Our waffle iron didn't survive the latest move and I've been waffle-less for about 2 years now. So thank you mom for the amazing gift of being able to make waffles once again.

Serves 4

Baked Chicken Strips

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast; cut into 1 inch strips
• 1 c. flour
• 1 eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 c. breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. Season the chicken strips with salt and pepper. In a shallow dish season the flour with salt and black pepper. Beat the egg in another shallow dish with the milk. Place the breadcrumbs in a thirst shallow dish. 
3. Dredge the chicken strips in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the floured chicken tenders into the egg and finally, coat the chicken tenders with the breadcrumbs.  
4. Place the breaded chicken tenders onto a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. 

Cornmeal Waffles

• 1 c. AP flour
• 1 c. cornmeal (not cornbread mix)
• 1 TBSP. honey
• 1 TBSP. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 c. milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP. vegetable oil

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil. Whisk milk mixture into dry ingredients just until dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Preheat waffle. Pour 1 cup of batter onto the center of the bottom grid. Close top and bake until brown, about 4 minutes.

Assemble the chicken and waffles

1. When the chicken and waffles are cooked place chicken strips on top of the waffles and serve with small bowls or melted butter, hot sauce and maple syrup for dipping.