Stuffed Flounder

We went to the Whole Foods grocery store and got some flounder that was on sale (always looking for a bargain!). After brainstorming together, Nate and I decided to cook together! Trust me, if you have a significant other, cook with them. It is so much fun! If you don't, invite a friend over and come up with ideas together.

Finally, we decided to stuff the flounder with steamed spinach and squash. We have been getting into making sauces, so we decided to create a creamy sauce to pour over the flounder as well.

First, we make the sauce. We didn't have a recipe to follow, so it was very interesting. Starting off, Nate remembered that we had some cream from the top of our milk saved in the fridge. We sauteed some garlic and onion powder in the cream. Then, we added about a tablespoon of flour to create a roux. A roux is a combination of fat and flour cooked slowly and used to thicken a mixture. Next, we poured in some milk, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, parsley, and paprika. We simply put in a pinch or two and tasted until it was the flavor we wanted. Have fun with it!

Finally, we added a splash of white wine and a couple tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Bring that to a boil, then simmer for a few minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Set aside and begin steaming the veggies.

We used spinach and squash, but you can use just about anything to stuff your flounder. Steam the veggies until they begin to soften. Don't over do them or they will become soggy.

Salt and pepper the flounder fillets on both sides. I sprinkled mine with a little Parmesan cheese to compliment the sauce. Place some of the veggie mixture on each fillet.

Gently roll the fillets over the veggies. Place the rolls into a glass casserole dish. Pour the sauce over the rolls.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

We had a few left over flounder fillets that we simply cooked in the skillet with the leftover sauce.

Meanwhile, Dynah and Pete went into a fish coma. They went a little crazy when we first broke out the fillets, but soon passed out...from excitement, I assume.

Voila! Stuffed flounder! ...and it was delicious!

What to do with Extras

Here is a great link on what to do with extras: Extras.

Mi Casa es Tu Casa

Tonight, I'm a little short on ingredients. When this happens, I use this handy-dandy Web site:  Supercook.com. It doesn't always give you what you're looking for, but it is a useful tool to get your gears grinding.

Step 1:  Find a starting point. I knew I wanted to make a Mexican dinner because my boyfriend loves Mexican food and I have a ton of tortillas in the fridge. On Supercook.com, I entered chicken, spinach, refried beans, cheese, and tortillas and found a recipe for Chicken-Spinach Quesadillas. Step 1 is officially out of the way. On to...

Step 2:  Work with what you know and what you have, and make changes accordingly. The recipe calls for frozen spinach, but I have fresh spinach. This doesn't require any change because fresh spinach will wilt fast. Also, Nate loves sour cream. I have to fit that in...this is also an easy change. Just plop some on top when it's done.

Step 3:  Have all the ingredients out and ready to ensure you have everything you need. Nothing worse than starting a recipe only to find out you're missing an ingredient. Don't forget, there are always substitutions! In my case, unfortunately, I am fresh out of peppers and onions. I'm going to use crushed red pepper and onion powder to get that flavor in there.

Step 4:  Cook the chicken. My chicken was not pre-cooked, so I need to cook it myself. The recipe calls for cubed chicken, but we prefer ours shredded. I have a few chicken tenders left, so I'm going to just throw those in a skillet with some olive oil.

When they are done cooking, sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper. This is also a good time to throw in my substitutions, onion powder and crushed red pepper. Place in a bowl and use 2 forks to shred them up. If you like, toss in a bit of hot sauce. Don't be scared to get in there. Use your hands if you have to.

Step 5:  Assemble the quesadillas. This recipe uses pesto. I happen to have prepared pesto on hand, but if you do not...here is a simple recipe:  Pesto. Spread the pesto on the tortilla shells, about 2 tablespoons per shell. Top with spinach, cheese, and shredded chicken. I'm just going to eyeball how much of each ingredient I want on my quesadilla. I think I'm going to add some diced tomatoes...a little hot sauce...yeah, that's it.

Top with another tortilla shell and press firmly.

Step 6:  Get 'em cooking! Now, this step can be different depending on what you're more comfortable with. The recipe I found uses a skillet on the stove top. Normally, I would put the quesadillas on a cookie sheet covered with foil and bake them at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted. Since I'm feeling frisky, I'm going to give the skillet thing a try. Here goes....

Lightly spray the skillet with Pam so it doesn't burn, and place the quesadilla gently into the skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes.

Now, the fun part (or, perhaps, disastrous). I'm going to let Nate flip the quesadilla...hands free! Yeah, I'm going there....and....

SUCCESS! He did it...I sure did pick a winner! :)


Whew! Now that that's over...I can explain the little fiasco that is Pete. Pete is one of our cats...that decided to jump over the counter and slide into the kitchen.

In the process, he managed to knock the other quesadilla onto the floor...but we saved it. We lost one tortilla...so the second quesadilla looks kind of like an omelette. Still tasty though.

Quesadillas are done. I'm going to let them cool before adding the dollop of sour cream. Just quesadillas would be too boring for us...so I'm going to whip up some cheesy nachos and chicken/bean burritos to go with it. Nothing fancy. Just put some tortilla chips on a cookie sheet covered with foil and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted. A little leftover homemade salsa for dipping.

For the burritos, I'm using the leftover shredded chicken, a can of refried beans, cheese, spinach, and hot sauce.

All I'm doing is putting it all on a shell and rolling it up. These can be made early and microwaved whenever, or you can bake them just like the nachos, 350 degrees until the cheese melts. You can even put a little extra cheese on top before you put them in!

Enjoy your mini Mexican Fiesta!

Echo...

Deanie's Chili

Just want to add my award winning chili...

I won Hottest Chili at the Chesterfield Chili Cook-off with this recipe...

Deanie’s Chili

5 lbs ground beef

2 – 12 oz tubes of fresh beef chorizo

Brown ground beef, drain & rinse.

Brown chorizo & add beef to chorizo.

1 large onion, chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded & finely chopped

2 hot finger peppers, finely chopped with seeds

3 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped

3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Sauté all of the above in EVOO, until ¾ cooked; then add to beef & chorizo.

2 – 40.5 oz cans kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 – 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies

1 or 2 – 6 oz can tomato paste

2 – 28 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups water (or beer if you prefer)

½ tablespoon crushed red pepper

7.5 oz of chili powder

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

½ teaspoon white pepper (ground)

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 teaspoons cumin

2 tablespoons dried cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together; put in a crock pot & let set for 6 hours (or more) on low, & enjoy.

The longer it sets the better it tastes, & the hotter (spice) it gets.

Enjoy!

Sangria ...

Now, for the amusement of everyone...
Let's make a drink! (I'm the sister that doesn't drink often enough).
I have found that, basically, Sangria is a drink made of wine & fruit.
That there is no great "secret" or "special" recipe to making it.
Your friends & Family will love it!
The best way of making this recipe is to use fruits that are "in season", not "out of season", & your favorite wine.
As the saying goes... "If your not going to drink it, you shouldn't cook with it"
(although I have found that sometimes that's not so true, anyway...)
You can find alot, & I mean alot, of Sangria recipes...

But here is my simple Sangria recipe:

2- large bottles dry red wine (about 3-4 liters total)
2- 20 oz bottles of lemon/lime soda
1 orange
1 lime
1 lemon
3/4 lbs of grapes
2 peaches

Wipe the orange, lime, & lemon off & then slice them into rounds. Peel the peaches & slice them into small wedges & then half the wedges. Remove the grapes from the stems, rinse, & drain.
Place all into a punch bowl (or something that will hold liquid for drinking), then pour the wine over the fruit (just enough wine to cover the fruit) & let this sit covered in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Just before serving add the lemon/lime soda, & the rest of the wine & enjoy!

As a variation...
Our Grandma Dot use to take a bag of frozen blueberries & frozen peaches, & mix them with her favorite wine! very quick & easy.

Enjoy!
Deanie

Honey Chicken

I just so happened to have accidently made an amazing recipe this evening. It started off as a quick and easy dish, but turned out fabulous! Honey Chicken:

1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
about 10 chicken tenders

Mix all ingredients in a gallon zip lock bag. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Take the chicken tenders out of the marinade, and place in a glass casserole dish. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip the tenders over. Cook for another 15 minutes. Done!

Let me know what you think if you try it, or any suggestions to make it better.

The Meatball Memoirs: Chili Episode

It was the week of the Superbowl, so what better to make than chili! Ok, maybe nachos or wings or something like that but you get my drift.

Step 1. Find a chili recipe.

So, we know what we are making but what recipe to use? In saying "I'm making chili", you would think that would explain it. But no. I think my only requirement for chili is that it uses chili powder. Everything else is left to interpretation. There's basic red chili, white chili, vegetarian chili, Cincinnati style and more. Then there are the questions of what vegetables to add, whether to add beans, what kind of beans, what kind of meat and more. I decided that my favorite way to do chili is to start with a basic ground beef, tomato base recipe and let what's in the fridge decide how fancy or plain it will be.

I searched and found a good basic recipe (<- This is a link. Click to find a good basic recipe) to use as a base. As I said before, veggies can be added (butternut squash, rutabagas, ...), meats can be changed (beef, chicken, tofu even - that's right, I said it), beans can be changed or omitted altogether. I tend to find that I like green pepper and onion, ground beef, tomato based chili with some kidney beans (but not too many). I always add either some beer or whine... ahem, I mean wine to my chili. I never cook the same recipe twice. My variations depend on what's on hand that day. Could be chipotles. Could be sun dried tomatoes.

Step 2. Find a safe place for your 6 month old daughter to watch you cook. Here's the setup with Carly in the bassinette in the kitchen. Works out awesome! (Insert cheap bragging opportunity here).

Step 3. Gather ingredients and prep. I'm the kind of gal that likes to have everything out and ready to go when I start cooking. Here are the ingredients for the basic recipe and a shot of the extras I'm adding this time: about 1/2 cup of leftover wine and some leftover homemade barbecue sauce.

Step 4. Sautee veggies until start to soften. Stir in spices and let warm to toast. MMMMM - I could eat some just like this.

What do you think Carly? Carly. Hmmmm. She seems to have lost interest.

Step 5. Add remaining wet ingredients - tomatoes, can of beans (or home cooked with liquid), beer or wine. I like to add enough liquid to require reducing. Let simmer until it has reduced to the right consistency. I prefer thicker chili but have never had to add thickener. If necessary, you can mix a little flour and butter to form a paste and stir in small amounts at a time to thicken. While I did mine on the stovetop, it can all be done using a crock pot.

Step 6. Plate and serve with your favorite accouterments. Cheese, chopped onions, parsley, sour cream.... the list is endless.

Step 7. Gather the family or invite some friends over to share. Food always tastes better with company. It's easy and tasty - ENJOY!

Stay tuned for our next Episode: Kimchee

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Food Porn

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Under Construction

This blog is still under construction, but feel free to ask any questions. I plan to add more features, and I hope to have everything completed by the end of next week. Please give me any suggestions that you think will make for a better blog. My sisters and I will begin with some cooking series shortly. Thank you for visiting!