What's for Dinner: Fish Tacos

Last week was my birthday, so my goal was to cook as little as possible. I was actually quite successful in that endeavor, but it doesn't make for a lot to post about. I did have a few meals I prepared-- starting with this recipe. It's not really a full on recipe per say. It starts with already prepared panko breaded tilapia. I get mine at Costco -I love having them on hand. I added a creamy lime sauce from Everyday Food, some shredded cabbage and prepared ranchero sauce.

On the side, I have Mexican rice, based loosely on this recipe from Allrecipes.com. After making this, I will never go back to a box of Mexican or Spanish rice again.

Fish Tacos with Creamy Lime Sauce
4 panko breaded tilapia fillets, cut in half diagonally
8 corn tortillas
1/4 head of green or red cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, half finely zested and juiced, half cut into wedges
Hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Prepared salsa or ranchero sauce

1. To make the lime sauce, combine sour cream, lime zest and juice, and a few dashes hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
2. To prepare the tacos, warm corn tortillas one at a time in a nonstick skillet set at high heat, until they are soft and flexible. Fill with 1 tilapia piece, and top with cabbage, lime sauce and salsa. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

 Mexican Rice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon cumin (can go less on this, depending on your love of cumin)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 chicken bouillon cubes 

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with spices and salt. 
2. Stir in tomato sauce, 2 cups of water and bouillon cubes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

What's for Dinner: Cashew Chicken

I have tried at least a half dozen versions of Cashew Chicken,  both from recipes and thrown together based on what I had on hand. This time around, I opted to dust off a cookbook I've rarely used - Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Meals - and try out her version.

As a rule, I do not like Rachael Ray recipes. I will admit that I have enjoyed food produced from Rachael Ray recipes, but not enough to really try a lot of her recipes out. I tend to like a lot of order to my recipes. I am not one for pouring a couple of glugs of anything into a recipe. My glug might be different than your glug. Give me tablespoons. Give me cups. Don't give me glugs. I need exactness.

Still, when I first received the book and thumbed through it, I made a note that she had her own version of Cashew Chicken -- the name so cutsie, I refuse to post it here. Not into cutsie in my cooking (baking excluded - give me a bunny shaped cake anytime). Yet another strike against her.

But you know what? It turned out great - definitely one of the better Cashew Chicken recipes I've made at home. I'll admit that I was a little heavy handed with the Sriracha on my portion, but it was a decent recipe that actually took about a half hour altogether, even with the chopping involved (I haven't been so lucky with the few other recipes I've tried - a two hour "30 Minute" Chicken and Dumpling recipe springs to mind). As a bonus, the kids loved it too. I'll be holding onto this one. Here's the recipe - glugs removed.

Cashew Chicken
(adapted slightly from Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals)

1 cup jasmine Rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced & mashed
2 tablespoons rice wine, rice vinegar or dry sherry (I used rice vinegar)
2 pinches crushed red pepper (more or less to suit your taste)

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

 

1 tablespoon oil (recipe called for sesame oil, but I've always read that it's more of a flavoring oil, not a cooking one)
1 large carrot, peeled and diced into small cubes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 can (7 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 heaping tablespoons hoisin sauce
A couple of handfuls unsalted cashews
3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle 

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken with 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic, rice wine, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Set aside and let it hang out.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until it smokes. Add carrot and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the coated chicken and cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Toss in the bell pepper and water chestnuts. Heat through for 1 minute. Add the hoisin and a handful of the cashews and toss to coat evenly. Place chicken on a bed of jasmine rice and top with additional cashews and green onions.

 

What's for Dinner: Shells with Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Ricotta

I had this recipe from a recent edition of Everday Food. I love chickpeas, and roasting them gave them a great slightly crunchy, nutty quality. I was a huge fan, but my famiy did not seem to agree, as most of the chickpeas on their plates stayed there. We've had -- and loved -- roasted cauliflower before, and I know there's a recipe for some type of pasta with roasted cauliflower that I've tried that was enjoyed more than this one. Lots of leftovers too - I have a feeling I'll be the only one enjoying them.

Shells with Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Ricotta
(from Everyday Food)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into florets
1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 ounces crusty bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
1 pound medium shells
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh ricotta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together 2 tablespoons oil, cauliflower, and chickpeas; season with salt and pepper. Arrange cauliflower and chickpeas in a single layer and roast until cauliflower is tender and chickpeas are crunchy, 25 minutes. On another rimmed baking sheet, arrange bread in a single layer and toast until golden and crisp, 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add cauliflower mixture, 2 tablespoons oil, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. To serve, top with croutons and ricotta, then drizzle with oil.

Refocusing... a little

The other day I was scrambling to come up with a shopping list for the grocery store. Again. I do it every week, but somehow I always struggle with it. There are the basics I pick up every week - bread, milk, yogurt, juice - but when it comes time to plan out what I'll need for dinners that week, I struggle. In general the first thing I reach for when I'm putting together my list isn't my recipe box - it's the new food magazine or cookbook I've picked up. I'd much rather make a new recipe that's right in front of me than track down a recipe that I've used before.

That sounds really odd. But it's easier for me -- for some reason my mind suffers from memory loss when I think about those past dinners. There are some recipes that I've kept in mind, but many others I just can't remember. I've tried dozens and dozens of recipes and I have no clue where they came from, whether the kids liked them, or even if I wanted to make them again. I'll just have a vague recollection of a chicken recipe I liked, but nothing more. So I'll try out a new recipe for chicken, and then forget about that one too. I'll bet I've tried at least a dozen different recipes for macaroni and cheese, all from different sources, likely all bookmarked on my iPod or computer, but I have no clue which ones we really liked, which ones were not worth the effort, etc.

I was thinking about this last night and starting thing how helpful it would be to have a place to catalog the recipes I've tried, with a link or text of the recipe itself along with a few notes about the recipe, whether we liked it, if it was easy, if the kids enjoyed it. I was thinking I could start a new blog focusing on dinner and other recipes I'm trying, which would mostly be for me, but others might find use for too.

And then I thought, why not use this blog? My knitting and crochet projects aren't as frequent as I would like, certainly not often enough to  have a regular posts about them. I'm making dinner just about every night though, so it seems like it would be a good fit.

So I'll be adding something new to the blog, called What's for Dinner (I know... creative, right?). It will likely be every couple of days, with photos, a few notes and the recipe. Maybe you'll find some new recipes you'd like to try too.

Catching up

It's been a couple of weeks since the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival, but I still am feeling the creative burst of energy. I've been busy coming up with new projects, and working steadily on old ones. It's amazing what a weekend with crafty people will do for a lady.

This was my third time attending the festival, but the first time we actually made it an overnight trip, and the first time I took a class there. It was a great weekend. First, I was able to make some decent progress on my fourth "first knitted sweater" - Radiate from Knitty's spring 2009 issue. I'm to the point where I am actually thinking and believing that I will finish it. Look at it! I could bind it off now and have a... very weird cap sleeved bolero thing. But still a garment! It is very exciting to be this far along and not, a.) hate it, b.) have a mistake gnawing at me to the point where I must unravel the whole thing, or c.) be so bored with it that I must start something else. This is incredible progress, people.

The class I took was on needle felting. I have been wanting to learn this ever since last year's festival, when I came across a booth with all kinds of needle felting supplies and kits. It turns out that the booth's owner, Esther Bechler was the one teaching the class. If I had known how easy this was to do, I would have started the second after seeing her booth last year. It was a great class - and here's the project so far...

The bag itself is felted - it's a great (and free!) pattern from Knitting Daily. I made a couple of minor modifications - lengthening the handle a bit and removing the foldover button closure. I had no idea what I actually wanted to felt onto the bag, and then I came across a pattern book during our class with a lot of fun paisleys. The cloth in between the bag is a water soluble fiber - a great idea Esther came up with for those with less than desirable (or, in my case, NO) freehand skills. We traced our patterns onto this cloth, taped it on and went to work. I'm making progress, slow and steady, in between working on my sweater. I can't wait to see what else I can do with it.

The best laid plans...

It's been a while. So there's one resolution down the drain. But you can always jump back on the horse, right?

I've been busy - really busy. And drained. I redid my bathroom. Tore up floors, laid tile, wainscoting, sink, etc. etc. It might be a subject for a future blog post when it's finally finished - likely on the reasons never to redo your own bathroom.

A few photos from early on in the process...

Almost gutted bathroom -
 the closest thing I have to a "before".



Finished floor



Elsewhere in the world of failed resolutions, my goal to reduce my yarn stash is not going so well. I finished the Hurricane Hat I made with the leftover yarn from my Clapotis. I don't know if I would say that I'm happy with it. On the one hand it was a fun pattern to follow, and it turned out to be a cute hat... on someone else. But after putting it on, I've decided I'm just not a beanie type hat girl. I like my slouchy type things, and I'm a little disappointed that with the amount of leftover leftover yarn. I could have probably just knit a slouchy thing all along.


The bathroom sink adds a nice touch, don't you think?

And then there is the opposite problem -- buying more yarn to use up my stash. It seems incredibly counterproductive. But I've done it twice so far. I finished one mitten using up a stash of Patons wool, and realized I'd need a second ball -- or one less hand -- to complete the project. Buying the second ball seemed a tad more realistic. And then I had another leftover ball of Patons, which I thought would be enough for a cute felted bag. Two rows from finishing, I ran out of yarn. Grr. So I bought more yarn for that as well.

I suppose the larger dilemma is how to best use all these little leftover balls. As I've mentioned previously, I'm cheap. And a pack rat. So I have a ton of little balls of yarn, sometimes a half a skein, more likely less. I can't throw them away. I... just... can't. Do people do that? I want to use them, but I want to use them in a useful way.

I do have much much more to blog about - it has been a month, you know. I'll be back soon with more.

Resolutions

I've never been one for resolutions. Ok, ok, I've made resolutions, so I'll rephrase. I've never been one for sticking to resolutions. I guess that's pretty universal - does anybody really? I resolve on January 1 to take better care of myself. And by January 4 I'm eating a bowl of Corn Pops and three - yes, just three - bites of chocolate cake for lunch. Not one of my better moments.

But I guess you have to keep trying. The chocolate cake went into the trash, and I spent the next day trying to declutter our family room - another one of those resolutions: get our house organized and decluttered. So as I'm going through the tangle of yarn, needles, hooks, beads and wire that resides in a basket by my couch - a literal tangle of all these things, mind you- I start to think that I really should be making some crafty type resolutions as well. Keeping better track of and organizing my supplies immediately springs to mind. But it seems the right time of year to set goals for myself creatively. And considering how knitting/crochet/crafty stuff somehow always seem to take priority over those other pesky tasks like, say, cleaning and organizing, perhaps these are resolutions I might actually be able to stick to.

So in no particular order, and off the top of my head.... this year, I want to:

• Knit and FINISH a sweater for myself.
• Explore colorwork a little more - work more with Fair Isle and try intarsia.
• Start and hopefully finish a blanket for my son.
• Work more with wire knitting and crochet.
• Decrease my yarn stash by (gulp) half.
• Learn needle felting.
• Post at least weekly to my blog.

I think I like creative resolutions a lot more than the other kind. Now off to decrease that stash of mine - starting with a nice chunk of Brooks Farm Solo Silk leftover from my Clapotis.

So tell me, what are your creative resolutions?