Stuffed Flounder with lemon Butter

Stuffed Flounder

For Flounder:
1 nice size Maryland crab cake (should be at your seafood counter)
3 flounder fillets (about 3/4 lb to a lb total)
Salt and pepper
Butter

For Sauce:
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper

                                Get one crab cake.

Crumble it up in a bowl. Set it aside.

Get some Flounder Filets

Lay them out on a cutting board, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Leaving two filets whole, cut the third into 4 strips.

Remember your bowl of crumbly crab cake? Take it now and pile it on top of the two filets.

Now use the four strips to form a sort of pocket on top of each filet for the stuffing. 

Place the "stuffed" fish onto a sheet pan, sprayed with Pam. Crumble a little bit of fresh butter on top to help brown it up.

Put in preheated oven - 450 - and cook about 7 minutes, till fish is all white (not transparent looking) and stuffing is hot all the way through.

While fish is in oven, make your sauce.

Here's what you'll need:
 One stick unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp lemon juice; salt and pepper

Chop butter into cubes, put into a saucepan with lemon juice. Add a touch of Salt and pepper mix. Place over medium heat and start moving the pan around, slowly swirling the mixture till all the butter is melted to create an emulsion.

Serve fish with sauce.

Glop

Glop is my mom's recipe. It was Hamburger Helper before Hamburger Helper existed. It's comfort food for me. And easy to over-eat...

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb egg noodles (about half of a regular size bag of noodles. You may want more.)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (if you like it creamier, you might want 2 cans...)
1 can diced tomatoes (or stewed tomatoes or whatever you like)
1/2 onion (any kind, but I use a sweet onion - yellow)

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.
Small dice the onion.
Heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a large-ish pan (a pan big enough to hold the meat, soup, and noodles....) over medium heat.
Add your diced onion.
Let it sizzle for a minute, just till the onions get a little bit soft but not brown.
Add the ground beef.
As the meat cooks, use a spatula or spoon or something to break it up into smaller pieces.
When the meat is all browned, drain off the excess fat (there will be a lot if you used regular hamburger meat, less if you used ground sirloin or something low in fat).
Put the pan back over the heat. Add your mushroom soup. Then fill the can about halfway with water and stir that in, too. (If you used more soup do not increase the water.)
Open your can of tomatoes and drain them well (I open the can and use the top to press down on them - over the sink of course - so most of the juice gets gone. If you don't do this, your glop will be pink.)
Add the drained tomatoes.
Stir.
Add the cooked noodles. (You can add as much or as little as you like.)
Heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you want, you can add mushrooms. Or more soup. Or more tomatoes. Or bell peppers. You can use turkey instead of ground beef. You could add a can of corn that you've drained. Or anything else you like. Experiment. Mom would be proud.

Peanut Butter Fudge

Butter                                        2 oz
Brown sugar                              7 3/4 oz
Granulated sugar                        1 3/4 oz
Sweetened condensed milk         2 oz
Oatmeal                                      3 oz
   (Like Quaker quick oats - the kind in the cardboard cylinder box - NOT the envelopes of instant oatmeal)
Creamy peanut butter                    5 oz
Vanilla extract                               1/2 tsp

Take an 8 x 8 inch baking pan and line it with foil. Butter the foil fairly generously and set it aside.
Put butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepot. Heat to rolling boil. Boil for exactly 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Beat in oatmeal.
Then beat in vanilla extract.
Beat in the peanut butter last.
As soon as the peanut butter is all dissolved and distributed through the mixture, pour into prepared pan.
Let sit at room temp till solid. Refrigerate till firm.
Serve, cut in small squares.

Chocolate Mousse

You can make this with white or dark chocolate. You can choose any type of alcohol you like, or if you prefer a non-alcoholic version you can use orange juice in place of the liquor. It's quick and easy and oh so yummy!

Sugar                                                                4 oz
Rum (or Bailey's or whatever liquor you like)        4 oz
Chocolate                                                          9 oz
Heavy cream                                                     4 oz
Heavy Cream                                                     1 quart

Put sugar and alcohol in a sauce pot. Put the pot over medium heat and melt sugar in the alcohol, stirring frequently (making a simple syrup). Set aside to cool while you do the next step.
Melt chocolate over double boiler (you can just put chocolate in a bowl, then set the bowl over a pot of boiling water and let it heat while you stir it up every now and then. The chocolate will melt in the top bowl nice and gently. DO NOT just melt the chocolate in a pan on the stove. You can melt the chocolate gently in the microwave if you like).
Pour the 4 oz of heavy cram into a bowl.
When the syrup (the alcohol and sugar mixture from above) is finished, stir it into the bowl of cream.
While that mixture cools off, whip up the quart of cream in a large bowl till it looks like whipped cream (OK, till it IS whipped cream).
Fold the syrup (sugar/alcohol mixture) gently into the whipped cream.
Refrigerate.
You can serve this in small chocolate cups (like the picture) or in small bowls or whatever you like.
**This picture is of the recipe made with white chocolate and  Bailey's Irish cream and then piped into chocolate shells. The chocolate decorations are just melted chocolate piped into swirls. And it is divine!**

Creme Brulee French Toast

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup (or honey)
• 2 loaves plain French bread
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup walnuts

Toast the walnuts (put them on a sheet pan and put the in a hot oven for about 2 or 3 minutes.. just till they give off their aroma and start releasing oil a little).

Put butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a medium size sauce pot and cook, stirring often, till the butter is pretty well incorporated into the sugar and the mixture is smooth (the sugar won't melt all the way).

Meanwhile, slice French bread into 1 inch or so slices. Remove the crusts.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray - don't forget to spray the sides. 

When the sugar mixture is ready, pour into the sprayed baking pan. Spread around to cover the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the sugar with the walnuts.

Arrange the bread pieces over the top of the sugar and walnuts to cover.

Mix eggs, cream, vanilla, salt, and orange zest. Pour over top of the bread evenly.

Cover. Refrigerate overnight (or 8 hours or so).

The next morning, or whenever you're ready to cook it, remove it from the refrigerator and set on counter till it comes to room temp (or close to it...).

Preheat oven to 325. Bake for about 40 or 45 minutes till puffed up and kind of browned on top.

Remove from oven.

Invert casserole pan over platter or baking sheet and let sit, upside down, till the french toast releases from the pan. Then remove the pan from the top. 

Serve immediately! (It gets uglier as it sits)

Roasted Chicken

 

a whole chicken

fresh rosemary and thyme

fresh garlic, minced

kosher salt

extra virgin olive oil

crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Rinse chicken and pat dry.

Truss (tie together the legs).

Put on a rack on top of a cookie sheet.

Loosen the chicken's skin by pushing fingers underneath it. Do this on breast, thigh, legs... Anywhere that you can get your fingers under the skin.

On cutting board, chop herbs, add red pepper, minced garlic, salt, and oil.

Smush up and mix to make a paste.

Place the herb mixture under the skin, coating all the meat that you can.

Then spread the paste on the outside of the bird.

Put him in the hot oven, close the door and immediately reduce heat to 350.

Roast for 20 minutes per pound of chicken.

Remove from oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving!

Take off string. Remove from wire stand. Carve and serve.

Poached Egg

Use a smallish nonstick frying pan. Put about 1/2 - 1" of water in it. Sprinkle in some salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
Carefully crack egg into the water. Gently shake the pan back and forth over the burner to prevent the egg from sticking to the bottom.
Some of the white will spread out, becoming kind of lacy. Don't worry about that part - you won't serve it. As the main part of the white begins to cook, use a spoon or your spatula to splash the simmering water over the top of the egg, cooking the yolk and the white both.
Continue the gentle shaking throughout the cooking process.
Use a spatula or slotted spoon to remove the egg.
Serve on toast, if you like.

Roasted Potatoes

2 large russet potatoes
Canola oil (or olive oil)
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Scrub potatoes. Peel if you like (you don't have to peel them).
Cut potatoes into bite size pieces.
Use a paper towel or kitchen towel to dry the potatoes. THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Drizzle with oil.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mix up so each little potato is lightly coated with oil, then spread back out in single layer.
Put in oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, then stir them or shake them up to turn them.
Continue cooking, stirring or shaking every 10 or 15 minutes, till gold and crispy.

NOTE: The larger you cut your potatoes, the longer they'll take to cook. Smallish dice-sized cubes will take about 30 minutes total cooking time.

Grilled Pork Chops

2 Center Cut Pork Chops, bone in, about 1-1/2 inches thick (6 - 8 oz. each)
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Dale's Sauce
Pepper
Canola Oil

Place pork chops on plate and pat dry. Brush top side with Dale's, then sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning and pepper. Turn chops over and repeat on other side.

Let sit on counter for 30 or 45 minutes. You don't want to cook cold chops!

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat a grill pan over med-hi. After the pan is heated, brush with canola oil and lay chops on hot pan. Don't touch them for 1-1/2 minutes. After 1-1/2 minutes, use tongs to turn chops 1/4 turn (this will make the grill marks). Grill for another minute and a half. Turn over and repeat process on the other side.

After searing the outside, place the grill pan in the hot oven. Cook for 10 minutes (or until the chops are done - mine take 10 minutes).

Remove from oven. Place chops on platter, cover with foil, let sit for 5 minutes. (This step is important. Aside from letting the juices rest, the cooking process also finishes now)

Serve.

Chicken Salad

2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup diced celery
1 cup green grapes, halved
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Black pepper 

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Add pepper to taste. Refrigerate. Enjoy.

Grilled Tuna Steak

Buy some tuna steaks, about an inch thick. Unwrap them. If they smell like fish - they aren't any good! Fresh fish should smell basically like nothing. Or maybe just a fresh-ish smell.

Pat the tuna steaks dry, and place in a dish for marinating. Pour about 1/4 cup of Dale's seasoning over them, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning and a little bit of dried dill. Turn them over and sprinkle the other side with both those things, too. Let them sit like that for about 30 to 45 minutes on the counter to let them get some of the chill off of them.

Heat a grill pan on the stove over medium high heat. Drizzle one side of tuna steaks with olive oil, and place on sizzling hot pan, oil side down. Grill for about 2 minutes, then do them a 90 degree turn (to create the cool grill marks). Cook another minutes or so, then drizzle top with oil and flip. Grill another 2 minutes, then rotate. Grill another minute or two until desired doneness. Tuna should not be well done, but doneness is a matter of taste.

Beef Enchiladas

3 cans red enchilada sauce (I strongly recommend La Preferida brand, in the white and red can)
1 large can diced tomatoes
12 corn tortillas
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium sized onion, chopped
vegetable oil (for softening tortillas)
green onion for garnish

Preheat oven to 425.
Brown beef with onion in saute pan. Drain off fat. Dump in bowl.
Open enchilada sauce, dump in a bowl.
Open tomatoes, drain well, dump in a bowl.
Open cheese, dump in a bowl.
Get out a 9 x 13 baking pan.
In a small frying pan, heat just enough oil to cover bottom of pan. Medium to medium high heat should be good.

Tear off 2 square pieces of aluminum foil. One at a time, put tortillas in oil. Fry just a few seconds, flip, fry a few seconds more. Remove to aluminum foil, covering each time with the other piece of foil. You'll end up with a stack of soft, warm tortillas in between two pieces of foil to keep them warm and soft.
When tortillas are all finished, you're ready to roll.
Place a tortilla in the sauce, covering both sides, then lay it in the 9 x 13 pan. Put a handful of ground beef in there, down the middle. Top with a handful of tomatoes and a handful of cheese. Roll up. Repeat until all tortillas are tucked nicely together in the pan. (Messy job.)
You can put any remaining tomatoes, meat, sauce, and cheese on top.
Bake at 425 about 30 or 40 minutes till bubbly.
Top with chopped green onions if desired.
Serve with refried beans and rice.

Stuffed Peppers

OK. Should have taken the picture before we started eating them. Sorry. Nevertheless...

4 Green Bell Peppers (all about the same size, all nicely shaped so they'll sit on the pan)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. cooked rice
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Carefully cut the top stems off of the peppers, then reach in with a spoon and scrape out all the membranes and seeds (compost or throw those parts away). Put the peppers in a pot of boiling water for just about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove them from the water. Drain on a rack. (The peppers will be little bowls for the filling)

Prepare a pan to cook the peppers in by spreading about 1/4 c of the tomato sauce across the bottom. This will prevent the peppers from sticking to the pan as they bake. Place the peppers, standing with the hole on top, in the prepared pan.

In a large frying pan, brown ground beef and onion till beef is no longer pink and onion is translucent. Add garlic. Cook another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Add tomato sauce to the beef mixture and stir. Next, stir in however much cooked rice looks good. Add some rice, stir, taste. Repeat till you're satisfied with beef to rice ratio.

Spoon the meat/rice mixture into the peppers, filling each pepper about half way.

Put 2 or 3 T of mozzarella on top of the filling in each pepper.

Then fill the peppers up to the top with the meat mixture. Top each with cheese. I spread any extra filling around the peppers in the pan.

Bake at 400 about 30 minutes, till cheese is bubbly. (Don't forget there's cheese deep inside each pepper, too. So give that time to get good and hot.)

Spread

Rosemary/Orange Chicken with Pasta

 

Marinade

1 c orange juice

4 T extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 T orange zest

3 nice slices of fresh ginger

Mix up the marinade in a plastic or glass bowl. Add 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Make sure all chicken is nicely coated in the marinade. Cover and let sit for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 400. Heat a grilling pan if you have one (otherwise just use a big skillet) over medium-high until it's hot. Brush pan with vegetable oil. Lay 4 stems of rosemary on the pan and immediately cover each with a chicken breast. Don't move the chicken around! Let it sear for a minute or two. Lay a stem of rosemary on top of each breast then flip (so the new rosemary is under the chicken). Sear that side for a minute or two. You want to develop a nice brown exterior (with grill marks if you're using a grilling pan). Next, put the whole pan into the preheated oven and cook another 10 minutes or until done. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before you cut into it. Remove any pieces of ginger or rosemary clinging to the outside. Place chicken on cutting board and slice.

Pasta

1 bunch or broccoli, stems removed and tops cut into bite sized florets
3/4 c matchstick carrots
8 oz wheat pasta (I used bow-tie)

Boil pasta while preparing sauce. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, add broccoli and carrot. Then drain thoroughly.

Pasta Sauce

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c minced shallot
1 c white wine
1 T red pepper flakes
1 c orange juice
1/2 c chicken broth
1 c evaporated milk
3 cloves garlic

Heat oil. Add shallots and garlic. Saute over medium to medium-low heat for 6 minutes or until cooked but not browned. Add wine. Increase heat to medium or just till it bubbles gently. Cook until reduced by half (about 10 minutes). Add orange juice and broth. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add milk. Cook another 10 or 15 minutes or until sauce is desired consistency. Add a little bit of orange zest.

Toss with pasta from above.

Put a nice pile of the pasta mixture in the center of the plate and top with the sliced chicken breast. A little touch of parmesan might be good on this, but I didn't have any. The dish could be garnished with a little twisty slice of orange. I served this with oven roasted baby carrots and a mini-loaf of whole grain wheat bread. Delicious!

Cut Out Cookies

 

Obviously, I used valentine's cookie cutters, but these would be great Chrismas cookies too.

1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. flour (all purpose flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time incorporating each. Add vanilla.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly (I use a whisk to do this).

Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet.

When nicely mixed, flop the mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten it down into a disc, wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour. You can leave it overnight if you like.

When it's time to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge. If it's too hard to roll out let it sit for a half hour or so. Cut the disc in half.

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare your cookie sheets by covering the bottom with parchment paper.

Lightly sprinkle a surface with flour, then roll out the first half of the dough. It should be about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out the cookies and place them on the sheets. These don't really expand very much so 1/2 inch or so apart will be fine.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes depending on how large your cookies are. They should get slightly browned around the edge, but still be nice and pale in the middle.

Cool on a rack. Ice after they've cooled.

You can make the icing by mixing 2 or 3 Tblsp. of very hot water with 1 cup of sifted confectioner's sugar. Or, you can buy white icing pre-made. Either way, use food coloring to make the colors you like.

Chicken Fried Rice

 

2 c. cooked rice (cold)

2 c. shredded chicken (I used one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens)

2 large carrots, coarsely chopped

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

4 green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 eggs, beaten 

Black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Butter, for cooking the eggs

Tamari sauce (or soy sauce)

Cook onion and carrot in about a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium low heat till they tender up. Add garlic and green onions for the last minute or so of cooking. 

While this cooks, put a little butter in a small pan and cook the scrambled eggs. Do not overcook them. Set them aside for now.

In a large frying pan, heat 2 T vegetable oil over med-hi heat. Do not let the oil smoke - once it shimmers, toss in the cold rice. Stir fry for a few minutes, till it starts to crisp up and pop a little. 

Throw in chicken and vegetable mixture. Stir. Turn down heat to just below medium. Cook till all ingredients are warmed and nicely mingled.

Add soy sauce (or tamari) to taste.

Remove from heat, add eggs. Stir and serve. 

Tapenade

 

1 c Kalamata olives, pitted

1 T capers, rinsed

2 anchovies, rinsed

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 extra virgin olive oil

1 c Kalamata olives, chopped

1 T fresh parsley

juice of 1/2 lemon

black pepper

Put 1 cup whole olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and olive oil in food processor. Pulse about 10 times till coarse chopped.

Transfer mixture to a bowl.

Add the cup of chopped olives, parsley, lemon, and pepper to taste.

I served this with crostini (french bread that I sliced, then brushed with olive oil and toasted in the oven at 450), goat cheese, and a little pile of roasted chicken.

Alica's Super Easy Super Tasty Pound Cake

1 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
3 c. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
6 large eggs
1 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla

DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN!

Generously grease and flour bundt, tube, or loaf pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, being sure each is incorporated before adding the next.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix well.
Add about ½ the cream. Mix well.
Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix well.
Add the rest of the cream. Mix well.
Add the last of the flour. Mix well.

Add vanilla. Mix well.

Spread batter into pan.

Place in cold oven. Set temperature to 325. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.

 DO NOT OPEN DOOR DURING BAKING.

When done, remove from oven. Cool in pan for 15 minutes.

Stuffed Shells

 

(Picture is before the shells were baked)

1 box of large shell pasta

1 pound italian sausage (sweet, mild, spicy - whatever you like)

2 boxes frozen cut spinach (completely thawed)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 c tomato sauce

1 can spaghetti sauce (any flavor you like)

16 oz ricotta cheese

1 large egg

3 c shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 shredded parmesan cheese (NOT the green container of faux cheese)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread the tomato sauce (or some of the spaghetti sauce) in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. This should just coat the bottom (so the shells won't stick). Fresh spinach leaves can be placed on top of the sauce, too, if you like - it looks pretty.
Prepare the shells until al dente (almost done, but not real floppy). Drain and set aside.
Wrap thawed spinach in scrupulously clean kitchen towel and wring out all liquid. Set aside.
Put olive oil in pan, add onion. Sweat onion for about 5 minutes. Add sausage. Break up sausage into small bits while browning. When sausage is just about done, add the garlic. You don't want to cook the garlic for a long time. When sausage is done, drain and set aside.
Mix ricotta and egg in a large bowl. Add sausage, spinach, and 2 cups of the mozzarella (save the other cup for the top).

Fill shells with the cheese, spinach and sausage mixture and place on tomato sauce (and fresh spinach if you used it) in the pan. Don't crowd the shells!
After all shells are full, pour spaghetti sauce over the top but don't drown them. You don't have to use the whole can of sauce.
Sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella. Top with the fresh parmesan.
Bake for about 45 minutes till bubbly.
This recipe makes 2 9 x 13 pans of shells!

Weight Watchers Chili

1 lb 97% Lean Ground Turkey
1 onion
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Mexican style tomatoes (or another of either of the other 3)
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans (OR 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed)
1 can chili beans
1 large can diced green chilis
1 can Mexicorn

Dice onion and saute in 1 T vegetable oil till soft. Add ground turkey and cook till not pink. Add all other ingredients and stir. Cook till heated through. I serve this with baked Tostitos (regular Fritos for those who are not dieting).

If you'd like to make the chili more spicy, make your Rotel tomatoes the hot kind. The taco seasoning also comes in various heat levels, as do the chili beans. Make your own combination.