Shrimp Tacos with Garlic Cilantro Slaw & Spicy Black Beans

 

It's still been pretty hot here. The heat just doesn't want to let up. Which means I've been eating a lot of grilled or quick dinners so as to not heat up the whole house. One of the dishes I've recently made were these delicious shrimp tacos. I know they don't look all that great in the photo, but trust me, they were amazing. The Mister and I ate kind of ate the whole batch and I used the leftover slaw for breakfast tacos the next morning.

I wanted to show the tacos without the extra sauce and cheese on them

This was a quick and easy dinner to throw together. You can make the slaw and spicy black beans ahead of time and then just cook the shrimp when it's time for dinner. Just be sure to reheat the beans. The original recipe called for shredded cabbage but I went with a bagged coleslaw mix so that I didn't end up with a ton of cabbage leftover in my refrigerator. Plus, I liked the added bonus of the carrots in my taco. Made me feel like I was eating super healthy. If you can't find Cotija cheese (mine looked like a round wheel of cheese) I would substitute it out with feta, but I would really try to find Cotija.  I've never had Cotija cheese before but it reminded me of a mix between feta and Parmesan cheese. I have to say, I'm a huge fan of this cheese. I was putting it on everything.

recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum

For the Garlic Cilantro Lime Sauce

• ¼ cup oil
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• ½ cup fresh cilantro
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• juice of 2 limes
• ½ cup plain fat-free yogurt

For the Shrimp Tacos

• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper  
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 cups coleslaw mix
• 8 small corn tortillas
• 1-2 avocados
• Cotija cheese and additional cilantro for topping
• lime wedges for serving

1. Pulse all the sauce ingredients except the sour cream in a food processor. When mostly smooth, add the sour cream and pulse until combined. Taste and adjust as needed. Set aside.
2. Heat a drizzle of oil a large skillet over medium high heat. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and sprinkle with the spices, and a little salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the hot pan and saute for 5-8 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through.
3. Toss some of the sauce (not all) with the cabbage until it the cabbage is coated to your liking. It should resemble a coleslaw - you want it to be enough sauce so the cabbage is weighed down a little bit. Use leftover sauce on top of the tacos or in other recipes.
4. To serve tacos, smash a spoonful of avocado on the tortillas, top with a few pieces of shrimp, top with coleslaw, and finish with Cotjia cheese, cilantro, and lime wedges.

For the Spicy Black Beans
recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

• 2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over, soaked overnight
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a large pot, soak beans overnight covered in water by 2 inches. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, and bay leaf and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and cover with water by about 1-inch. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Taste the beans and season with salt and pepper.

Shrimp Tacos with Boom Boom Sauce

We are still experiencing warm weather here. I keep hoping it will cool down but it just hasn't abated yet. So, with my fall casseroles on hold I have continued to crank out summer dishes in order to keep the heat down in the house. One of the recent recipes I've tried are these shrimp tacos. Now I know what you're thinking but it's not the shrimp taco part that makes this dish awesome... it's the boom boom sauce.

The original recipe for this called for frozen breaded shrimp. I wanted something a little bit on the lighter side. Plus, I already had raw shrimp on hand. I honestly don't think it made much of a difference. So, if you have a bag of frozen breaded shrimp in your freezer, by all means use it. Like I said before, what makes the tacos delicious is the sauce. Since making these tacos I've come to the conclusion that I will always have a little container of this sauce on hand. The best part about this whole thing is that you can make it however you want to. You can swap out the shrimp to fresh grilled shrimp like I did, you can add more veggies to the taco, you can even tweak the sauce a bit. We like our food with a little spice in it so I added more Sriracha sauce than the recipe calls for. ;)

recipe adapted from It's a Keeper

Shrimp Tacos

• 1 1/2 cup peeled and deveined shrimp
• 8 soft flour taco shells
• 2 cups shredded cabbage (or prepackaged coleslaw mix)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Boom Boom Sauce (recipe below)

Boom Boom Sauce

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• 1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp Sriracha

 

1. Mix all the ingredients for the Boom Boom sauce and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
2. Brush the shrimp with a little bit of oil, season with salt and pepper and grill 2 minutes on each side, until the shrimp is opaque.
3. Place about ⅛ cup shredded cabbage in taco shell
4. Place 2-3 slices of avocado on top of shredded cabbage
5. Place 4-5 shrimp on top of avocado
6. Drizzle Boom Boom Sauce on top of shrimp

 

Caribbean Sea Bass

I know the kids are gearing up to go back to school and some have already started, but we're still going through a heat wave here and I find myself craving a lot of fish. Now, if it were up to me I'd be a-okay with teriyaki salmon all the time. However, The Mister is a little burnt out on my choice of fish and is a little weary when I tell him I'm making fish. If I even say the word "salmon" he looks over at me knowingly and asks, "teriyaki salmon?". So yeah, I admit I need to change it up when it comes to making fish. Which is where this bad-boy comes in. I saw a nice looking piece of sea bass at the grocery store and decided to get it because 1) it's not salmon, and 2) sea bass and teriyaki doesn't sound good. So, there would be no temptation to pull out the teriyaki sauce.

Boy, am I glad that I snagged the sea bass because I'd have never found out about this recipe otherwise. You may have noticed already but I'm one of those people who buy things on impulse and then gets home and looks up what to do with it. Which is exactly what happened with the sea bass. Now, the original recipe called for a habanero pepper but I swapped it out for a jalapeno instead. While The Mister can handle habanero, there are days where I can't even handle a jalapeno. So, I made the swaparoo and I think it worked out perfectly. There was some heat but not too much that it overpowered the fish. Plus, having the sweet pineapple and creamy avocado really helped balance everything out. This will be something I will keep in my back pocket for next summer when we have company over. It's easy enough to whip together and the presentation will definitely impress your friends.

Recipe adapted from Em-I-Lis

• 1 lb Sea Bass
• 1 tablespoon honey
• olive oil, for the skillet
• ½ a jalapeno, seeded, diced
• 2 scallions, trimmed, cut into thin rings
• ten 1/4"-thick half-moon slices of pineapple
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced into 10 wedges
• salt and pepper

1. Cut your fish into two equal portions and season very well with salt. Sprinkle with fresh pepper and drizzle the honey on top, splitting the tablespoon between the two filets.
2. Slick the bottom of a 10" or 12" non-stick skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the fish, skin-side down. Cook without moving for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness. You might want a splatter screen to help keep your stovetop clean.
3. When the fish has started to firm up, flip carefully and let the honey caramelize into a nice "crust", another 3 or 4 minutes. Remove the fish from the skillet and set aside on a warm plate.
4. In the skillet place the pineapple moons in a single layer and toss the diced jalapeno and sliced scallions on top. Season with salt and pepper. After 2 minutes, gently flip the pineapple and cook 2 more minutes. Remove the pineapple, pepper and scallions from the skillet, and set the fish, skin side down, back in to finish cooking. This will not take long.
5. To plate: alternate wedges of avocado and pineapple on two plates, sprinkling the scallions and pepper on top. Place one piece of fish on each plate atop the salad. Serve immediately.

Cajun Shrimp Quinoa Casserole

We didn't really have a winter here but there were a few weeks where it was a little chilly. By chilly I mean 50°f. However, considering we just came from the 115° desert this past summer, 50° feels like winter to us. So I started searching for casserole dishes that I could make that would not only be hearty but easy to make. That's when I found this recipe. I had some extra frozen shrimp in the freezer from new years eve that I had been wanting to use and this was the perfect recipe for it. 

This is definitely something new that we've never had before. I don't think I've ever had cheese on shrimp before. However, considering I've made and enjoyed shrimp with cheesy bacon polenta I figured this wouldn't be too far off. This was pretty delicious. I'm not familiar with cajun food so I can't say that this was authentic or reminded me of Loisianna but I can say it was different from anything I've had and it was tasty. I particularly enjoyed that you make everything in the one pan (if it's oven safe). So there aren't multiple dishes to clean up afterwards. The only downside to this dish is that you kind of have to eat it all while it's fresh. We had a lot of leftovers and they weren't quite as good after being nuked in the microwave the next day.

 recipe adapted from This Gal Cooks

• 3/4 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 4 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped sweet onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2½ tsp cajun seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2½ c. cooked quinoa
• 1 c. shredded fontina cheese
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Cook quinoa according to package, set aside.
2. Toss the shrimp and 1 tsp Cajun seasoning together, set aside.
3. Toss the tomatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp Cajun seasoning, set aside.
4. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a cast iron skillet (or any oven-safe skillet) Cook the shrimp until opaque, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan along with the onion, jalapeno and garlic. Cook until the onion and jalapeno are tender, stirring often. Mix in the quinoa, tomato paste, ½ tsp Cajun seasoning and tomato chunks. (If you don't have an oven safe skillet then transfer ingredients to a 9x9 baking dish and follow remaining steps) Top with the shrimp and then sprinkle with the fontina cheese.
6. Place in the oven and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, turn on the broiler to high and broil until the cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Grilled Rosemary Swordfish

With the recent move, the Mr. and I have been eating a lot more fish. We didn't really eat too much of it at our last base because, well to be honest, when you live in the middle of the desert on top of a mountain range, your fish isn't always that fresh. However, I'm glad to say that with living right off the coast, the fish selection is huge and we haven't purchased one rancid fish fillet yet.

The grocery store here on base has a pretty awesome fish selection. I mean, I was impressed when I saw swordfish but then they got shark and octopus! I've made shark once so far and it was good, I'm still working up to the octopus. Now as for swordfish, we never had it that often, maybe a handful of times and that was due to our grocery store not getting any in, or at least not any that looked fresh. So I was really excited to see it at our new location. I decided that because it was so fresh, I didn't want to drown it out in flavors and found this simple recipe. Trust me, you won't miss the fancy marinade or toppings with this one. I just about inhaled my plate after the first bite.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 (5 oz) swordfish steaks

1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first seven ingredients; add the swordfish. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour. 
2. Drain and discard marinade. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill swordfish, covered, over medium-high heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until fish just turns opaque.

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Dill Sauce

So you may have noticed that I haven't been posting recipes lately. There's a reason for that. The Mr. was away doing the whole military thing for the last four months. Which, for me, meant that dinners were pretty much nothing to write home about. However, I'm happy to say that the Mr. is back and recipes are being made again. Today I'd like to share a recipe that the Mr. just made for dinner.

The sauce is definitely the star of this recipe. It said to "drizzle" onto the fish but after my first taste, the sauce got drizzled onto the peas, and rice. Oh yeah, it was that good. It's got this whole sweet and tangy thing going on that went really well with the tuna. I actually ended up saving the left over sauce to put on chicken or pork chops down the road.

Recipe from AllRecipes

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 (1 1/4-inch-thick) tuna steaks
• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons dried dill

1. Combine the lemon juice with 1/2 cup olive oil in a sealable plastic bag; seal and shake. Add the tuna steaks and store in refrigerator to marinate while the grill preheats. 
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate. 
3. Whisk the brown mustard, mustard powder, sugar, vinegar, and 1/3 cup olive oil together in a bowl; stir in the dill. 
4. Remove the tuna from the marinade and discard the marinade; cook the steaks on the preheated grill until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 6 minutes per side. Drizzle the steaks with the mustard and dill sauce to serve.

Shrimp with Cheesy Bacon Polenta

I don't know about you guys but we've been having some whacky weather here. Our winter was an unusual warm 70* for the most part, then we went up to high 80's and now we are down in the 60's. I'll be honest, I was feeling a little cheated on my cooler weather. So I'm happy to start cooking some good ol' comfort food.

Ironically enough I'm not a fan of grits, but I am a fan of polenta.  They are sort of the same thing but I guess I just like the taste of polenta more.  I've made dishes with it before like the polenta lasagna and the pumpkin polenta with spinach and black beans. This recipe was great.  It had that comforting feel to it while still looking like a 5 star restaurant dish.  I was very pleased with it all the way around.  The only thing is, it doesn't heat up well as leftovers.  It turned into this congealed clump of polenta and just wouldn't go back to the smooth polenta that it originally was.  In the end I wound up throwing out the leftovers.

 Recipe from MyRecipes

·  1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

·  1 c. cornmeal (not to be confused with corn bread mix)

·  8 slices thick-cut bacon

·  2 bunches (about 16) green onions

·  3 medium tomatoes

·  1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

·  3 cloves garlic

·  1 1/4 pounds peeled and deveined shrimp

·  1/2 c. dry white wine

·  2 Tbsp. butter

·  1 c. grated cheddar cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp. salt. Pour in cornmeal in a thin stream, whisking constantly, and whisk until mixture comes to a steady simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and stir every 5 minutes until done, about 30 minutes total.
2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook bacon until fat renders and edges start to brown and crisp. While bacon cooks, trim stems and ends of green onions, leaving onions as intact as possible. Drain bacon on paper towels, chop, and set aside.
3. Remove all but 1 tbsp. bacon fat from the pan. Add whole green onions and cook until soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes; turn and brown opposite sides, about 3 minutes more. While green onions cook, halve tomatoes along the equator and sprinkle cut sides with salt and pepper. Chop garlic. Set both aside.
4. Transfer green onions to a baking sheet or platter and cover to keep warm. Put tomato halves cut side down in pan with bacon fat and cook until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook until heated through and a bit soft, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to baking sheet with green onions to keep warm.
5. Add garlic to pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until starting to turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in wine and continue cooking, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the pan, until shrimp is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
6. Stir butter, cheese, and bacon into polenta. Divide polenta among 4 to 6 plates and top with shrimp and remaining liquid in the pan, dividing evenly. Set a tomato half and several green onions beside polenta. Serve immediately.

This recipe is linked to
WFMW
Real Food Wednesday 

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.

This post is linked to
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Works for Me Wednesday

Spicy Tuna Steaks

Very rarely does the commissary here sell tuna steaks but when they have them, we buy them. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the fish, the Mr. loves it. So when he came home one day with some fresh tuna I quickly hopped on the internet to look up a quick and easy recipe that didn't require an overnight marinade.

I did end up trying a bite and I will be honest that I sort of wished I'd have made a steak for myself. It wasn't spicy but it just had a nice balanced flavor to it. I will definitely be keeping this recipe in my back pocket for the next time the store gets good looking tuna steaks in.

From Food.com

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon wasabi paste
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 lbs tuna steaks
• 1 lemon, cut in wedges

1. In medium bowl, combine oil, garlic, soy sauce, wasabi, lemon juice and pepper.
2. Rinse fish under cold water and pat dry.
3. Place fish in a shallow bowl and cover with marinade; refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Place tuna on non-stick grilling rack and grill 5-7 minutes on each side or until opaque; apply marinade while cooking to keep moist.
5. Serve with lemon wedges. 

Soba Noodles & Seared Salmon in Ginger-Green Onion Broth

Okay I know that I've been on a soup kick lately but I have been cruising through Soup of the Day (Williams-Sonoma): 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year by Kate McMillan and so far I've loved every recipe. Plus it's finally feeling like winter here in the desert. It's been in the 50's and it's pretty gloomy out, so I've been in a soup mood. This recipe was a surprise for both the Mr. and myself. I don't know why but I've always been on the fence with fish. Some days I like, and other days I can't stomach it. So I was nervous for that reason plus the fact that the Mr. does not like ginger. However, the Mr. commented how great the flavors were and I practically licked the bowl. So, I think it's safe to say that we both really enjoyed it. :)

 I love super easy recipes. Everything gets thrown in the pot and at the end you fry your fish and BAM you're done. There is no crazy prep work or cleanup needed for this. I suppose you could always slice the onions and mince the ginger ahead of time if you wanted to but as I was bring the liquids up to a boil I was chopping and dropping the ginger and onion in the pot. There isn't anything that I would change from this recipe because the soup was delicious.

 Serves 4

• 4 green onions 
• 4 c. chicken broth 
• 2 in. piece of ginger, peeled and minced 
• 1 star anise 
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce 
• 1 tsp. mirin 
• a few drops of sesame oil 
• 6 oz soba noodles, broken in half 
• 3/4 lb center cut salmon, cut into 4 equal pieces, skin and bones removed 
• 2 Tbsp. oil salt and pepper 

1. Thinly slice the green onions, reserving the white and pale green parts in one bowl and the dark green parts in a separate bowl. 
2. In a large, heavy pot, combine the broth, ginger, the white and pale green slices of onion, star anise, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil over med-high heat. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off, cover the pan, and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the soup, discard the solids and return the broth to the pot. Bring the broth to a boil. Add the noodles and cook, stirring once or twice, for 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place a small frying pat over high heat until it is very hot. Brush the salmon with oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear the salmon to med-rare, 4-5 minutes per side. 
4. To serve, use tongs to divide the soba noodles among 4 shallow bowls. Ladle the hot broth into each bowl and top with a piece of salmon. Garnish with the sliced dark green onions and serve

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Real Food Wednesday

Sea Bass with Honeyed Apples

 I really wish I had some amazing photos of this to show you guys because it was amazing! I'm not a huge fish person but after a recent trip where I spent $30 on a salmon dish because I was unsure of the other fish on the menu, I've started experimenting. The commissary had sea bass and of course being me, I grabbed it, went home and then started searching up recipes. Since I'm not a big fish person, I wanted to make something more than just grilled sea bass. I definitely found it on AllRecipes.

Now even though it may not look pretty it really did taste good. For those who've never had sea bass it is very mild tasting. My husband said the flavor reminded him of fish sticks. However, when paired with the sweet honeyed apples, you really weren't paying attention to the fish flavor at all. This recipe was not difficult to make and I did substitute half of the bread crumbs with panko since I prefer the crunchiness of panko but if you don't have panko, you can use 2 cups of bread crumbs.

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
• 1/2 cup margarine, divided
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cups dried bread crumbs
• 1 cup panko
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 (6 ounce) fillets sea bass

1. Melt 1/4 cup of the margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the apples in margarine until tender. Stir in honey, reduce heat, and keep warm.
2. In a shallow bowl, mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Mix panko and bread crumbs in another shallow bowl, and egg in a third bowl.
3. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge the fish in the seasoned flour, dip in egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Place the coated fillets in the hot skillet, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. The fillets should be nicely browned, and they should flake easily with a fork. Place fish on a serving dish, and spoon the apples with honey over the top of each fillet.

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Real Food Wednesday

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Sweet and Sour Calamari

I love Asian cuisine. The Mr. and I don't go out to eat all that often so unless I can talk him into ordering Chinese food, I'm usually stuck making it myself.

The other day I had taken out calamari rings from the freezer but wasn't exactly sure what to make with it. I was searching on the internet for a recipe when I saw one for pineapple calamari which peeked my interest. The only problem was I didn't have pineapple and I wasn't about to run to the store to buy it. So instead I stuck my head in the refrigerator to see what I had on hand and decided to make a sweet and sour sauce with what I had. I felt like a mad scientist mixing a ton of stuff together and had you seen everything on the counter you would have thought I was doing an experiment. Luckily the dish turned out delicious in the end and I quickly wrote down everything I did before I forgot it. I'm really glad that this recipe turned out because it was super simple to make and I always have these ingredients on hand. Half the time I have a container of leftover rice in the refrigerator just waiting to be used, so this is a perfect opportunity to use it. Of course, this recipe can be used with chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or even extra firm tofu.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ketchup
• 1/3 c. rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. apricot and pineapple jam
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.



Sweet and Sour Calamari

• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, wedged
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 dried red chili peppers
• 1 c. broccoli florets
• 1 1/2 lbs. calamari (squid) rings
• 1 Tbsp oil

1. In a large skillet over medium heat add oil. Once heated, add dried chili peppers until lightly toasted but not burned. 
2. Add vegetables and cook until just tender; about 5 minutes. 
3. Add calamari and cook until white; about 5-8 minutes. 
4. Stir in sauce and cook until thickened. 
5. Serve over a bed of rice.

This post is submitted in Whole Foods Wednesday Newlyweds Recipe Linky

Healthified Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Ever have one of those days where you wait until the very last minute to figure out what to make for dinner? I do it all the time and usually end up eating hamburgers or leftovers for dinner. Except last week I was lucky enough to have everything on hand for this recipe from Betty Crocker. Well... almost everything at least.

"Fried" Calamari

I love fried calamari but I rarely ever order it because of how expensive it is at restaurants. I always sit there debating if I really want it bad enough to fork over the extra money for it. Usually my penny pinching ways win out and I go home wishing I had just sucked it up and ordered it. So when it came time to think about what to make for our anniversary dinner I immediately thought of calamari. I didn't care if we had chicken noodle soup for dinner, I was going to have fried calamari on the side regardless. My only problem with making fried calamari is that I don't have a deep fryer. So I started searching on the internet to see if baking calamari was even possible and I found out that it is. So we went to the commissary and I prayed that they carried calamari in the freezer section (they don't have fresh seafood here) and we found a 3 pound box for only $4. Granted it wasn't cleaned and cut all pretty but it was a steal to me and once the Mr. promised to clean the squid for me I was heading home with a huge smile on my face. Thank goodness the Mr. cleaned them for me otherwise I would have been giving them to the kitties, I don't think that I could have hacked away at something when its eyes are staring at me. Creepy.

Firecracker Swordfish

When you think of kids and food like how one day they love broccoli but the next day they swear up and down that it is poison, well that is exactly how I am with fish. For some reason I have been on the fence about fish since I was a kid. I would eat it when out shopping with my dad but when my parents would make fish at home the smell would make me so nauseous that I wouldn't be able to eat. For some reason though, I continue to give fish another shot and sometimes I love it and other times the Mr. ends up with extra fish on his plate. I made this fish not expecting it to change anything. I had a feeling that I wouldn't eat more than a few bites before pawning it off on my husband. We were both pleasantly surprised when I pretty much finished my plate. The marinade really gave the fish a lot of flavor and it complimented the fish very well. When I grilled the fish I did brush the grill with oil because fish always stick to the grill.

Cheese Ravioli with Garlic Clam Sauce

When I made this we had 2 weeks to eat as much food left over in this house as we could before we moved. Which is where this beautiful little concoction came from. I literally just threw stuff into a pot and prayed that it didn't taste disgusting. I was a little weary at first because it wasn't looking overly appetizing but once I dug in, I was hooked. Think shrimp scampi but with clams.

• 2 lbs. cheese ravioli
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 can clams
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Cook ravioli according to package.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add garlic, clams, clam juice, bay leaf and thyme and let simmer until the ravioli is cooked.
3. Drain ravioli and pour the clam sauce over the ravioli. Serve hot.
   

Salmon Cakes

This is always my go to recipe when I have leftover salmon. It is fast to throw together and I usually have all the ingredients on hand. This is a perfect summer dish to make when you are relaxing outside enjoying the beautiful day.

• 1 lb salmon, cooked
• 1 scallion, sliced
• 1/4 c. bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1/4 c. bread crumbs

1. In a medium bowl flake the salmon and make sure that there are no bones. Add the scallion, bell pepper, chili sauce, mayo and bread crumbs and mix until well combined. Roll into 1/3 cup balls and shape into patties.
   
2. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add the salmon cakes once the skillet is hot, cook for 3 minutes, flip and continue to cook another 3 minutes or until brown on the bottom.

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Whatcha Got Cooking Wednesday

Black Bean Tuna Cakes

I am so proud of my niece for running in this years Race for the Cure. Tomorrow is the big day for her and she is really excited which really tugs at my heart strings. She is such a caring little girl, I know when I was 10 the only thing I thought about was playing barbies and watching Nickelodeon. So the fact that she is taking time out of her Saturday afternoon to participate in this great cause is just wonderful. I really have no words to describe how much of a proud aunt that I am right now. If you would like to participate in the Race for the Cure but your area does not host this event you can always go to the Susan G. Komen site and donate. Any amount helps no matter how small.

♥ More than 40,000 women will die from breast cancer in the U.S. this year.

♥ 440 Men are estimated to die from breast cancer in the U.S. this year.

♥ Breast cancer is the most frequently... diagnosed cancer......
among U.S.women

♥ One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three
minutes, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S.

♥ There are over 2 million breast cancer survivors living in the U.S today.

This is a really nice fast dish to make on a hot day. I serve mine with a little dollop of fat free plain yogurt on top to give a little bit of creaminess but you can also use sour cream.

• 1 (6oz) package whole wheat stuffing mix
• 3/4 c. water
• 1/3 c. mayo
• 1 (12oz) can tuna, drained
• 1/4 c. bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 c. onion, diced
• 1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 (15oz) can or 1/2 dried black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne

1. If you are using dried beans be sure to soak them according to package.
   
2. Mix all ingredients together, cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Shape mixture into 1/3 cupful patties. Add to the skillet in batches.
4. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides, turning over carefully.
5. Serve immediately.