Pan-fried Tilapia with Jalapeno Sour Cream Sauce

Gotta love those "fridge-scrounging" meals.

The recipe was born out of stale cornbread, expiring sour cream, frozen tilapia and zucchini - mmm mmm. We always have an unnecessary amount of rice in the house so that was a no-brainer side. It actually turned out really delicious. I'm not normally a "bread and fry" kind of girl, but this was super easy and tasted great without feeling oily or heavy. Good for ya too!

Pan-fried Tilapia with Jalapeno Sour Cream Sauce Recipe:

• 2 cups rice (I used half brown, half red Jasmine)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1-inch strips (kind of like french fry size)
• 1 carrot, (same as zucchini)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt, black pepper, cumin
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp jalapeno vinegar (a.k.a. the juice in a jar of pickled jalapenos)
• 1 tsp water
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp jalapeno powder
• salt, black pepper
• 4 frozen tilapia fillets, thawed
• about 2 cups stale cornbread, ground into crumbs
• smoked paprika, cayenne pepper
• salt, black pepper
• 1 egg white + 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine rice and onion and cook according to preference (I use a rice cooker). 

Coat vegetable strips with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin and bake in oven for 20 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes. 

To make the sour cream sauce, combine sour cream, jalapeno vinegar, 1 tbsp water, garlic powder, jalapeno powder, salt and black pepper. Mix together very well until smooth and creamy.

Combine cornbread crumbs, paprika and cayenne in a shallow dish. Combine egg and water in a separate shallow dish. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper fish fillets, dredge in egg mixture then in crumb mixture and place in the pan. I was able to fit 3 fillets at once. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until fish becomes tender and flaky. 

Enjoy with your roasted veggies, rice and sour cream sauce!

Spooooky Bloody Ghost Cookies

BOO!

Oh man...scary, right? You know what's not scary about these cookies? The taste. Just the perfect little recipe for cookie cutter sugar cookies. I hate sugar cookie recipes that have so much butter in them that they never keep their shapes. You basically end up with big flat no-shape cookies. Not fun. These taste rich and buttery and are easy to make! The strawberry blood filling makes it fun for Halloween, but they would be great on their own.

Bloody Ghost Cookies Recipe:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 5-6 very ripe strawberries, sliced (if not ripe, you might need to add a bit of sugar)
• 2 tbsp water

Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and combine. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture until combined - don't overwork too much or the dough will get tough. Wrap in plastic and keep in fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, heat sliced strawberries and water in a small saucepan over medium low heat until the strawberries have broken down and the mixture is thick and bubbly - like jam or jelly. Remove and keep in fridge. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour a surface and your rolling pin, roll out dough and cut out desired shapes (spooky ghosts!) Place on greased baking sheet. Add a small dollop of strawberry filling onto a ghost and top with another cookie. Using a fork or knife, prick all around the edges to seal the ghosts shut. Bake in oven for about 8 minutes or until the sides begin to get golden. Enjoy!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Ta da! Another pumpkin recipe! Because we all just can't get enough, right? 

Actually, I have to admit that I'm slowly weening off my pumpkin addiction. Every so often I get a craving for something pumpkin-y, but it's definitely mellowed out since September. 

I so often make sweet pumpkin things that I find savory pumpkin recipes to be particularly special. This soup is absolutely divine. The texture is so velvety and smooth that you just want to take a bath in it. And it's incredibly easy!

Roasted Pumpkin Soup Recipe:

• 2 small pumpkin pie pumpkins
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced 
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp fennel seed
• 2-3 cups chicken broth (depending on how much pumpkin flesh you get - start with 2 and add more as desired)
• 1 tbsp fresh sage
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary
• pinch of fresh nutmeg
• sour cream and green onion for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top off each pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Leave as much flesh and fiber inside the pumpkin as possible (the stringy fiber will actually just mash up with everything else). Place pumpkins on a baking sheet cut side up and place tops on to prevent burning. Roast in the oven for about an hour or until internal flesh is wrinkly and soft. Scoop out the flesh and set aside in a bowl. Reserve pumpkins to use as serving bowls.

In a medium pot, sauce onion and garlic until soft. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fennel seed. Add the pumpkin meat and chicken broth and stir together. Add sage and rosemary. Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blend*, blend the soup together until you achieve your desired texture. I blended it for awhile, used nearly all 3 cups of chicken broth and the texture was absolutely perfect. Grate some fresh nutmeg, cover and cook for a few more minutes. When ready, ladle into pumpkin bowls, top with fresh sour cream and green onion. Mmm mm soup goodness.

*If you don't have an immersion blender, you can transfer to a regular blender and then return to pot to continue to cook. 

Asian Coconut Curry Chicken

This dish is very special to me. 

For one, it introduced me to the world of curry - a spice blend that I now cannot live without. Whether it be Asian or Indian, curry is definitely one of my favorite things. Secondly, this dish reminds me of Pei Wei, where I first encountered Coconut Curry Chicken and where my fiance and I had our first lunch "date." Thirdly, it just tastes so darn incredible. The combination of super hot green curry paste and soothing coconut milk, paired with the crunch of strong onion, sweet red bell pepper and zing of fresh basil - phenomenal.

If these flavors sound enticing to you, give this recipe a whirl.

Asian Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe: 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into thick chunks (you can use breasts or bone-in meat, but cooking time will differ)
• 3-4 tbsp green curry paste (choose according to your heat preference)
• salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped into thick chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cayenne peppers, diced
• 4 tbsp chicken broth
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped into thick chunks
• 2 cups fresh green beans, snapped in half and blanched
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
• Cooked rice to serve (I used 1 cup brown mixed with 1 cup Jasmine)

Combine chicken with green curry paste and salt and set in fridge to marinate for 30 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken chunks and brown. Add the onion, garlic and cayenne pepper and cook together for a few minutes. Add chicken broth and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, allow the sauce to thicken, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, blanch your green beans. When ready, add bell pepper, green bean and fresh basil. Stir and serve with rice.

Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin

I'm really not big on French food. As far as cuisines go, I find the fare typically quite bland, void of spice and too rich. But I've been watching a lot of Jacques Pepin lately and I have discovered one thing that I truly love about French food - the ability to make really simple, rustic dishes that sound way fancier than they are. 

Exhibit A: Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin. 

Take away the fancy words and you have what the dish really is: broiled fish and potatoes. This recipe really wasn't that special and didn't photograph too beautifully, but the flavors well made up for presentation. Very simply, easy and delicious!

Provencal Broiled Fish & Potato Gratin Recipe:

• 2 - 3 lbs potatoes sliced thinly (I used 1 large sweet potato and a couple cups of fingerling potatoes)
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil or more (be generous)
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 3 tilapia fillets (I recommend a better fish with the skin attached, but hey this is what we had)
• 1 lemon, sliced and juiced
• salt, black pepper, dash of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• spoonful of capers + 2 tbsp caper juice
• fresh parsley, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all of your potatoes, onions and garlic in a large gratin dish (about a 9x13 baking pan). Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and toss with salt and pepper until evenly coated. Pour in the chicken stock and top with tomato slices. Bake in oven for about 50 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. While that's baking, marinate your fish with lemon, seasonings, olive oil, capers and parsley. 

When the potatoes are finished, pour the wine into the pan, place the fillets on top with all the marinade juices and place under the broiler for about 8 minutes. DO NOT put on the very top rack too close to the broiler; choose the second rack. If your potatoes are already looking too brown, drizzle some more olive oil on top before broiling. After about 8 minutes, if the fish is not to your preferred doneness, turn the oven off and let it sit in there for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes and serve!

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more pumpkin.

Seriously, cannot get enough. I'm thinking of doing a 31-days-of-pumpkin cooking challenge; I think I could incorporate it into 1 meal every day and be ecstatic with the results. 

This recipe is super easy (start to finish in like 30 minutes), and the flavor is so unique.

Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage Recipe:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb pre-cooked smoked turkey sausage link, sliced
• 1 tbsp fennel seed
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tbsp greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• handful of fresh spinach
• 2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• whole wheat pasta

Start bringing your pasta water to a boil. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium/medium-low heat. Add the shallot, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook for a few minutes until golden. Throw in the sliced sausage, fennel and paprika and cook until it starts to release some moisture and brown. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, yogurt and broth and mix until smooth. Add more or less of any of those ingredients to get your desired taste/texture. Add in the saucepan, bring to a slight boil, reduce and simmer until the pasta is finished. Throw in a handful of spinach and freshly grated nutmeg and stir. Finally, add the cooked pasta, combine and serve! 

Unbelievably Easy Black Forest Cake

Alright, alright; so I cheated on this recipe. I really didn't do anything but mix pre-made things together and throw in the oven. Well, the dark chocolate shavings were my own personal touch. Regardless, it tastes absolutely wonderful. Seriously, my fiance almost had a heart attack.

Unbelievably Easy Black Forest Cake Recipe:

• 1 box Devil's Food Cake
• 1 can cherry pie filling (with whole cherries)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1 tub Cool Whip (thawed)
• 1 package white chocolate pudding mix (or vanilla or cheesecake)
• 1 square dark chocolate (for garnish)

Depending on the pan you're using and what the boxed cake mix says, preheat oven to desired temperature. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, pie filling, water and egg. Pour into pan and bake. Remove and let cool.

Meanwhile, once the Cool Whip is completely thawed, add the dry pudding mix and combine. When the cake is cool, frost and garnish with dark chocolate.

So easy, so good.