Mahi Mahi, The Other Whitefish

Since I am usually cooking for two people nowadays, it gets a little tough finding food in proportions.  I don't like cutting steaks in half, or chicken breasts, you get the picture.  But, since I do a lot of food shopping at Trader Joe's, I started perusing their frozen section.  Now, I don't use a lot of things frozen, most of my cooking is fresh, when it comes to meat or fish.  So while looking through their fish section, they are reasonably priced by the way I just thought I would throw that out there for you, I saw packages of Mahi Mahi and thought I would given them a try.  Well I wasn't sorry, four nice pieces for less than $7.  There was a recipe for 2 different sauces right on the package, as well as lots of different ways to cook it.  You gotta love Trader Joe's, they do everything for you, and  in less than 7 minutes dinner is on the table, you can't beat that!  Check out Trader Joe's, lots of good things that are good for you in that grocery store.

Recipe below.

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Look at these beautiful cuts of Mahi Mahi, ready to sear in the pan.

Just right.....

     

 Now for the sauce - Butter, lemon, fresh parsley, salt and pepper.

     

Wow this has amazing flavor!

 

 So, I went a little overboard, everything for dinner was from Trader Joe's.  These vegetables are awesome.

 Oh, the whole grain rolls and sweet potatoes were too!  The rolls are a new favorite in the house.  

 How delicious does this look?

Mahi Mahi in Lemon Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

2 teaspoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 fillets Mahi Mahi

1/2 of a stick butter (2 oz)

Zest from a lemon

Juice from lemon

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high heat.  Sprinkle fillets with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook fish in pan for 3 minutes on each side.  In a medium microwaveable bowl, melt the butter with lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley and the remaining salt and pepper. Pour over the fish in the pan, simmer for a few minutes until the flavors meld together.  Makes 4 servings. 

We're Goin' Surfin'

Haven't had scallops in a very long time, the price of them has been up, so I don't buy!  While shopping I found some at a reasonable price, and surprised the hubby when he came home from work to a nice seafood dinner.  After all, he does work hard and pay the bills.

Rather than putting them in a pasta dish, I made the scallops with shrimp in a white wine butter, garlic and dill sauce.  YUM-O!  He loved them, but then again he loves everything I make, I'm a lucky girl I guess, or he just says that so he doesn't have to make reservations! Whatever....

Recipe below.

To print recipe click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

Rinse the scallops and pat them dry on paper towels.

 Season with salt and pepper.  Over medium high heat add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to a skillet until it melts.

 Add the scallops cook for a 1 1/2 minutes on each side, remove from pan. Drain some of the liquid off.  Return pan to the heat.

 Here comes the flavor!  White wine, garlic, butter, lemon and fresh dill.

 Mix a slurry of flour and water to thicken the sauce or you could use heavy cream.

I served the scallops and shrimp with roasted fresh french green beans and grape tomatoes, seasoned with olive oil, himilayan pink salt and pepper.

 

My other side dish, roasted purple and red potatoes with herb seasoning and olive oil.

So, this was dinner last night.  Tender, juicy, scallops and shrimp.  If I do say so myself, it was fabulous and looks pretty good too!

 I also served multi grain dinner rolls, trying to keep it healthy.

Sea Scallops and Shrimp In White Wine Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon butter

1 lb sea scallops

1 lb cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp

3 cloves minced garlic

Juice of 2 small lemons

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour mixed with 1/2 cup water (or use Wondra)

Directions

In a large skillet over high heat, heat 1 tablespoon each of the olive oil and butter.  Rinse the scallops and pat them dry. Rinse the shrimp and set aside.  Add the scallops to the hot pan and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.  If there is a lot of water from the scallops drain some of it off. Lower heat to medium.   Add the other tablespoon of olive oil and butter, saute garlic until fragrant, but do brown. Add the lemon juice, white wine (I usually remove from flame to do this, it's safer), chopped dill and salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes.  Whisk in the flour/water slurry to thicken the sauce.  Add the scallops back in along with the cooked shrimp and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.  Makes 4 servings.

Chocolate Chips Dressed Up

I bake once or twice a week, for my hubby who has a sweet tooth.  As soon as he is done dinner, he's like a little kid wanting dessert right away, so there is always something home baked in the house just for him.  I didn't want to make chocolate chip cookies, again, so I branched out, experimented and came up with a chocolate chip cookie pie.  Don't laugh, it was awesome, even I couldn't believe it! The bottom layer is chocolaty and gooey, so good.

Recipe below.

To print recipe click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

 I took the easy way out and used a frozen pie crust, and some of the other ingredients I used. 

Measuring and getting ready to mix up the batter, butter and eggs at room temperature works best.

 Beat the eggs until light yellow in color and foamy, start adding the other ingredients. 

 Beat them together, add the butter.  Cutting it into cubes blends it better.

 The batter will be very thick.  Add the chips and nuts with a spatula when the batter is mixed completely.

 Spread evenly into the pie crust, smooth out the top and bake.  I recommend putting the filled pie crust on a baking sheet to avoid any bubbling over and messes.  And of course, it was all eaten before I got to take a photo of the baked pie.

 Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Ingredients

1 unbaked deep dish pie crust

2 extra large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

11/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy and light yellow.  Beat in flour, sugar and brown sugar.  Beat in butter until combined, add vanilla.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts, spread into pie shell, this mixture will be very thick.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester when inserted in the center comes out clean and the pie is set. You may have to cover the crust edges with foil if they start to brown too much. When pie is done remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

This pie is best served when warm.  It can be slightly reheated if necessary.  Serve with Ice cream, chocolate sauce or whipped cream.

Nom, Nom, Nom....

My youngest was home for Spring break this past week, and I surprised her with one of her favorite lunch sandwiches, The Corned Beef Special.  Her and I are the only ones in the house that like this colossal sandwich, so I don't get to have one unless she's around.  So, I popped in to one of my favorite grocery stores for all the fixin's to make her homecoming special. 

 All of my ingredients for a great sandwich!

 Two slices of rye/pumpernickel swirled bread, slather each side with Russian dressing, top each side with a slice of Swiss cheese, pile on the corned beef and top with deli coleslaw.

 Look at this beautiful piece of artwork, just waiting to be enjoyed, yum.....that's all I can say, gotta run!

Spring Is Coming Soon, I Promise!

I was doing dishes the other night and happened to look up at the windowsill and saw this beauty that popped up from my African Violet, so I know Spring is not far behind.  This violet on my sill makes me happy when it blooms, I have had it for years, nursed it into this huge plant, and now it pays me back by bringing these lovely purple and white flowers from under it's leaves and brightens up my window in the kitchen.

After seeing my African Violet, I got into the mood of Spring and made a new wreath for the front door.  I purchased the flowers and the wreath over the weekend from Michael's, they had a 50% off sale (don't buy them any other way!).  So I thought, why not I'll get ready for when the sun starts really shining, and it's warm, and you can go outside and stay outside.....are ya feeling me people.

Dug out my hot glue gun, glue sticks, my paddle wire and got busy.

 I snip the flowers from the bushes with wire cutters, and then place them where I think I want them on the wreath, but don't glue them until I am sure.

 When all is placed then I glue everything.  I used coral, purple/lavender and yellow on a dogwood floral wreath. Total cost of the wreath was $16, and it now hangs beautifully on the front door.

Peppers Please

YUM!  Love roasted peppers, any color, any time.  I made these for an appetizer the other night, had guests for dinner.  They're great on lightly buttered, crusty Italian bread.  Peppers get milder, sweeter and caramelize when they roast, which makes them soooo delicious!  Here is how I made them.

  

I used 3 large red bell peppers, 1 yellow bell pepper and one orange bell pepper.  Colors are prettier, but if you don't have them just use red.

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Rinse, core and seed the peppers, then cut them in 2 inch slices.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on a baking sheet, with your hand spread it to coat the sheet.  Place the peppers skin side down, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the pepper slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.  Take out, turn each slice over and roast for another 15 minutes.

Twenty - Two Bucks

I get bored easily with things around the house, small home decor specifically.  For this reason, I don't like to spend a lot of money on these types of things.  I try to stay neutral in my purchases, but sometimes I go overboard because something is cute, or I can't pass it up because of a sale.  When this happens, I still do good with the things "I got bored with" and either send them to the thrift store (they donate all proceeds to charity), or I have a yard sale and donate to me, hahaha! 

I wanted to change out the guest bathroom with colors that flow with the rest of the house.  So I went to Ross, got lucky enough to find what I was looking for, and only spent $22 to change the room.  I didn't have to paint either, good day for me. 

I purchased the curtain on the left at IKEA for the redo back in 2013.  I purchased the new shower curtain, in a dark teal swirl pattern for $12.99, and it came with roller ball hooks, love them, and a shower liner too, SCORE for me!

 Switched out the old green towels for light turquoise ones that I already had tucked away.

 I also had the ribbed light turquoise bath towels tucked away, I found them on clearance at TJMaxx.

The new turquoise and cream runner was $8.99 at Ross, it replaced a red and beige runner.  So in a matter of 15 minutes, room complete.