Whole Wheat Penne & Tilapia w/ White Wine Sauce

The inspiration for this meal came from two different AllRecipes.com dishes. (This one & this one.) I searched there for artichokes, capers, and seafood. These were the only two recipes that turned up. I love me some artichokes and capers, especially together. Asparagus was on sale this week and cherry tomatoes last week (so they were getting mushy and therefore perfect to add to the sauce). I thought I had a lemon here but I didn't *sad face*. BUT! In my search for some kind of citrus to add, I thanked my inner condiment junkie self for having 4+ (open) marinades on hand and in the fridge, and used a few dashes of the Lemon Pepper one to replace the lemon juice I wanted. Upon tasting, it was a bit too sweet for me. I thought it needed some sour. Then I added a splash of white wine vinegar. Oh! And wine! Fat Cat Pinot Grigio was on sale for $7.99! Of course there's wine in it. Also loaded it up with garlic and remembered at the VERY end to add my mom's secret ingredient….muahahaha. I seasoned 4 small tilapia fillets with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and put them in the pan under the boiling sauce mixture with a lid for a few minutes and stirred the pasta in at the very end. I'll tell you what: I am getting really good at mixing a bunch of ingredients together in a pan. I know the order in which they should all be added (onions and hard veggies go first). I know garlic will burn unless there's something else in there and lots of oil/butter, etc., etc.

Cutting an onion like this (throughout, two different angles, but not all the way through) minimizes the tears AND takes less time than endless chopping. 

Whole wheat penne, tilapia, artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, capers, garlic, onion. Sauce: white wine, water, juice from artichokes, juice from capers, lemon pepper marinade, white wine vinegar, olive oil, butter. Seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, garlic pepper grinder, basil, oregano, (secret ingredient).

I think it's missing something. Maybe olives? Mom?

Breaded Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries & Broccoli

A very 4th grader dinner tonight! And Grammy wasn't turning in her grave as I breaded THIS chicken!!! (Refer to my chicken-fail in Stir Pot Madness.) I suspect even my mom will turn up a smile when I tell her I used whole wheat flour! (Thanks roomie.) I even seasoned the flour just like Gram always yelled at me to do: salt, pepper, garlic powder. Added a little Parmesan cheese to the already seasoned breadcrumbs. Then egg, flour, egg, breadcrumbs. Bam. 

First about a minute on each side in a pan of hot oil. Then finished in the oven for a couple minutes. 

Crispy & tasty & juicy. And ooooo I love me some sweet potato fries!!

And of course this condiment junkie had two dipping options. BBQ & ranch would have joined the party too if Dina were here. (: #nomnom

Stir Pot Madness!!!

My day...no, my WEEK finally just got good as I got home from school: I began marinating chicken cutlets in ceasar dressing (because I didn't have a good seasons packet and my ceasar dressing is about to go bad), turn on March Madness on TBS, and sit down to check my bracket. First, I found out No. 12 Harvard beat No. 5 Cincinnati (I picked that!) Then, on tv, Florida was on its way to beat Albany (who didn't pick that?). Then, I opened a beer. It just keeps getting better. Used a Parmesan Pasta Roni side (easiest ever) and frozen green beans (ok maybe that's easier than the pasta) with my chicken, and stirred them all together in a pot. WHO SAYS I CAN'T EAT ON THE COUCH OUT OF THE POT?!

Beer, pasta in a pot, basketball. Welcome to the South Philly (all girl) Frat House. #cheers #nom 

Also, I finally learned tonight why Grammy stuck so loyally by her breaded chicken method: egg, flour, egg, breadcrumbs. In that order. I thought I'd take a short cut tonight and just sprinkle some breadcrumbs on the chicken. Well. It wasn't a short cut. And it doesn't stick to the chicken. It does stick to the pan though. Now I know why she'd always hit me and yell, "are you watchin?!" while she ran her chicken down her conveyer belt of dippings before plopping them in the hot pan of oil. Two nights in a row of live and learn here in kitchen stadium. 

Tilapia over a Spinach Salad - FAIL!

Well. Last night I learned just how much salt is in Adobo seasoning. I seasoned the tilapia with Adobo and cayenne pepper. Baked it for 10 minutes in the oven at 400°. Was so excited because I had just come from the grocery store where I bought a bunch of produce for a stellar salad! I even had an avocado on the counter that was finally ripe to use with the feta cheese as a dressing! I put it all together, mix it up, cut it up, take a bite....even the extensive amount of salt that my mom typically cooks with, and cooked with my whole childhood, did not prepare me for the bite I took. I knew not to use salt and pepper on the fish because the Adobo had salt in it!! But I still used too much Adobo. I tried so hard not to waste the dish, but I ended up tossing most of it. :( Live and learn. I still love you, Adobo.

Breakfast for Dinner: Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs w/ Capers

Who doesn't love a good brinner meal? When my dad and I eat breakfast on the ship, one of our favorites is always the plate that actually looks kind of sparse: 2 pieces of smoked salmon, about 4 capers, a ring of raw red onion, and a wedge of lemon. It's not lacking in color variety, that's for sure. But whenever my dad is up early enough to still get breakfast on the ship, he always calls me after he eats 2 plates of our favorite dish (with croissants) just to tell me that's what he had. Anyway, he called me yesterday to tell me just that, and I was craving it so badly that I bought some ingredients at the store today. I combined my two favorite breakfasts on the Holland American Line cruise ships (the salmon plate and eggs Benedict) and tried to mimic what Green Eggs Café does with their salmon breakfast dish to come up with my own creation tonight. 

3 large eggs scrambled with 2 pieces of cooper cheese and capers. Added pepper but no salt because I bought salted lox. 

Rolled up the salmon with a bit of chive & onion cream cheese. #nommmmm

Overall it was a bit salty and I probably won't buy the salted lox again if I have the option. 

Red Pepper Shrimp & Broccoli with Spaghetti

Thought I'd jump on the lent bandwagon and eat some seafood tonight...actually no I was just craving shrimp and only realized it was lent while waiting in line at the seafood counter and the guy in front of me had ashes on his forehead. I only realized he had ashes on his forehead when he turned around to apologize for his big order taking so long because, said the guy, "lent." But I'm not going to let this blog turn into a forum for discussing religious traditions. Check it out:

Whole wheat thin spaghetti, well-seasoned broccoli and shrimp, sautéed with onions and garlic. Three forms of red pepper were used!!!!! Cayenne, crushed red pepper, and spicy red pepper hummus for the sauce. Hence, "Red Pepper Shrimp & Broccoli with Spaghetti." And once again, used some of my students' favorite Adobo seasoning on the shrimp! Squeezed a bit of lemon on the top of it all for a finishing touch. So. Good. #nomnom