Seafood Caesar Salad

Now that lent is here, seafood is the star of the show on Fridays. I decided to make a seafood caesar salad for dinner last Friday, and it was a fast, simple meal to whip up. It would be ideal for any busy night, but especailly on a Friday where all you want to do is relax and unwind after a long 5 days at work. Opt for the light caesar dressing and leave the real flavors to the seafood.

I used scallops, shrimp and 2 sticks of imitation krab (they now carry snow krab by the stick at the deli counter in publix, which I thought was interesting and is why I bought it).

Just add butter and olive oil to a skillet on medium heat. Toss in 1 tsp minced garlic. Add scallops and shrimp - cook until the scallops begin to brown and the shrimp become pink. Flip and season with salt and pepper. Once you only have about a minute left until they are cooked through, toss in the krab to heat. Add to the top of your premixed caesar salad and top with shredded parmesan.

Lobster Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes definitely top my list of favorite foods. I have always loved them mashed, but I also love them roasted, fried, baked and scalloped. Publix had lobster and red potatoes on sale, and I wanted to cook a nice dinner for our day off, so my mind went immediately to the thought of lobster mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes because they are so easy to create; just eyeball your ingredients and add what you want. Butter, sour cream, milk, yogurt - whatever. So simple! I am also going to try to make smaller portions of foods, so that we don't have a million leftovers to eat of unhealthy things, and it is easy to do with this kind of recipe. This serves 2-4 as a side dish, using the portions below.

Lobster Mashed Potatoes

4 Medium Red Potatoes

5 oz Lobster Tail

3-4 oz Gouda Cheese

3 Green Onions, chopped

2 tbsp Butter

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

1/4 cup Skim Milk

Pinch Cayenne Pepper

S&P

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. While the water is heating, wash and quarter your potatoes. Once water is at a boil, add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 30 minutes.

When the potatoes are still a little firm, add butter to a saucepan on medium/low heat. Cut lobster meat into small, but still chunky, pieces and add to melted butter. Saute until cooked through and no longer translucent.

Add cream and milk to a small sauce pan and place on medium heat, stirring until warmed.

Strain potatoes and place in a bowl. Mash (use a whisk if you don't have a potato masher) and add lobster and butter mixture. Stir in cheese until melted, then slowly stir in milk mix. I only used half of the liquid to reach the consistency that I like. Add green onion, cayenne and s&p, the mix until combined.

Lobster Tails on the Grill

I failed to take a picture of the cooked lobster tails, so you are just going to have to trust me that these were delicious. For our Christmas Eve (one week early) dinner, we decided to cook lobster, as it was on sale. Adam surprised me with filet to go along with it, and he grilled it all to perfection. I love seafood and even after I had 3 tails, I wanted more! I suggested that it become our tradition to eat this every holiday, because it was just a nice way to kick off the time together. The recipe is also super easy and fast, so go ahead and try it next time your seafood store has a sale!

Grilled Lobster Tail
Lobster Tail
Butter, melted
Large pot Boiling Water

Butter Mixture for cooking:
Butter, melted
Olive Oil
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt

Place Lobster Tails on Skewers and place in boiling water for 8 minutes (make sure the water covers the tails)

Take the tails out and place on a baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit on the bottom side of the lobster shell, until you hit the end of the meat.

Mix together the butter ingredients and brush along the slit side of the lobster. (amounts will depend on how much you need - this you can just eyeball)

Take the lobster off of the sheet and place on the grill for 8 minutes (slit side up). Brush again with butter mixture once you remove it from the grill. Serve with melted butter for dipping.

Fish Tacos - Bobby Flay

 

Since I am getting back into eating healthier on the weekends, Adam grabbed some fresh Mahi that was on sale at the local fish market. He found this recipe for mahi fish tacos from Bobby Flay and we both put them together for a Friday dinner. The fish was good, although I suggest that you saute the fish instead of grill, as we put it on the grill for twice the amount of time the recipe called for and the fish was still raw in the middle. We will probably be making these again, the fish turned out well and we love mexican to begin with!

Fish Tacos
Fish
1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi or orata
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Garnish and Such
8 flour tortillas
Jalapenos, sliced long ways
Green Onion, chopped
Red Onion, sliced
Bell Pepper, sliced long ways
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Lettuce, chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Sour Cream
Salsa
Cumin
S&P

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in a medium size dish. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, ancho, jalapeno, and cilantro and pour over the fish. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place red onion, bell pepper and jalapeno in a skillet with a little bit of evoo or cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin and saute until warm and softened.

Remove the fish from the marinade place onto a hot grill, flesh side down. Grill the fish for 4 minutes on the first side and then flip for 30 seconds and remove. Let rest for 5 minutes then flake the fish with a fork.If fish is not fully cooked, go ahead and flake it and throw in a pan on the stove until cooked through.

Seafood Stuffed Salmon

Fish is something that is not yet in my comfort zone when it comes to making a nice meal out of it. I have not experimented much with it and don't know exactly which flavors go well with each type of fish. Honestly, I didnt even know where you stuff a salmon filet. Since we are in lent, Friday night dinners tend to be tough to figure out since there's no meat involved.

I really wanted to try a stuffed salmon dish, so I took to google and got ideas from probably 7+ recipes I saw. This came out amazing. With the amount of fish I bought, you could make 4 servings, but I chose to make 2 large ones that lasted us about 3 days. This is definitely something you could get in a restaurant and has an amazing flavor. We were both extremely impressed, and I think my slight fear of fish is fading!

Seafood Stuffed Salmon
2 lbs fresh Salmon, either 2 or 4 pieces
10 large White shrimp, chopped into small pieces
6 oz fresh Backfin Crab Meat
5 oz chopped Spinach (I used the packaged frozen kind)
1/4 White Onion, small/medium size
6 tbsp Stuffing Mix (I used Stove Top, Homestyle)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 tbsp Butter
3 Green Onions
1/4 cup White Wine
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
S&P
Extra Virgin Olive oil

Heat oven to 370 degrees.

In a large skillet, melt butter. Add shrimp, crabmeat, spinach, garlic, green and white onions. Stir every couple minutes, making sure to cook shrimp all the way through. Add white wine, then stuffing. Stir until combined and the stuffing is soft. Add garlic powder and a pinch of S&P. Remove from heat.

Cut slits into the salmon on the sides, where the fish is thickest. Place them on an aluminum wrapped baking sheet. Stuff with the seafood mixture.

Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over each piece and add a pinch of S&P. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes with a fork.

Shrimp Pasta Salad

a Usually when you think of pasta salads you think of summer and cookouts, both of which are the opposite of January. Right now its cold and you want warm food, but when you have tailgating leftovers, that usually means burgers and hotdogs. On Saturday we were stuck having to eat these things, following a tailgate for the bowl game here in Orlando, and I needed to add a little something else to the mix. We both love this shrimp pasta salad, which is originally from my parent's friend, then my sister always made it and now Ive been making it also. It is the best pasta salad! Also, I got a chance to use my new crab bowl that my mom got me for Christmas; very fancy! You basically add all of the ingredients to taste, as some people like the flavors in different amounts.

Shrimp Pasta Salad

1 box Shell Pasta, cooked according to package

1 lb Shrimp, steamed and chopped

2 Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 block Fresh Mozzerella, cubed

1 can of Corn

5 Green Onions, choopped

Duke's Mayonnaise (you can also use another kind, but this always tastes the best)

Durkees (use less than the amount of mayo, this is found by the condiments)

Old Bay Seasoning (I tend to use a lot because it gives it such a good flavor)

S&P to taste

Cook pasta according to package and put in the fridge until completely cooled off. Meanwhile, steam the shrimp and then put in fridge to cool also.

Once everything is cold, add in the remaining ingredients. I usually use about 2 big spoonfuls of mayo and one of the durkee's, and a couple tbsp of the old bay.

Shrimp and Vegetable Sautee

I needed something quick and healthy for dinner last night, and frozen shrimp always do the trick. I put them in some cold water while I finished by school assignments and they were ready to go when I was done. This meal cooked in about 10 minutes and was so easy, Ill definitely make it again although next time I would use even less olive oil.

Shrimp and Vegetable Sautee
makes 1 serving
8 medium size frozen Shrimp, thawed
1/4 package frozen chopped Spinach, thawed (the small package in the freezer aisle)
8 spears Asparagus, chopped into smaller pieces
2 tbs EVOO
1.5 tbs Garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Oregano, dried
1/4 tsp Basil, dried
S&P

On medium heat, place EVOO, garlic, basil and oregano in a skillet and cook until garlic becomes aromatic.

Turn the heat up to medium/high and add chopped asparagus. Place lid on top and cook for 5 minutes, stirring at 3. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Take the lid off of the skillet and add spinach and shrimp. Turn shrimp when they start to get pink. Heat for another minute or 2.

Clam Chowder

We are in the midst of Thanksgiving leftover, and while I am still enjoying and looking forward to them, you need something else to break up the continuous stuffing/turkey combo. Adam woke up yesterday wanting Clam Chowder, which sounded good to me! Hey, while we were on a non healthy binge why not throw in some cream based soup? I have no clue where he found this recipe online, because he has yet to send me the link to it. It was really good and cooked in no time. I took down this picture as I dont think it was very appealing.....clam chowder is not the most photogenic thing!

Clam Chowder (adapted from about.com)
26 oz (about 4 cans) chopped Clams (found by the tuna, I would use 5 one next time)
1 Sweet Onion, chopped
6 medium russet potatoes
1/2 lb Bacon, chopped
4 cup Half & Half
3 cup Water (next time I will reduce this to 2 cups and add all of the juice from the clams)
3 tbsp Cornstarch
1 1/3tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

In a large skillet, saute onion and bacon with salt until cooked through. While this is cooking, peel and dice potatoes and place in crock pot. (I suggest boiling for a few minutes before putting into the crockpot.)Put clams, water and pepper in the crock pot as well, followed by the onion and bacon when done cooking.

Place on high for 2 hours. Add half&half and cornstarch and continue cooking for another hour. Salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

In the search for a great shrimp recipe I came across a lot of asian/stirfry ideas. I really enjoy spicy foods and love things that resemble a better version of chinese take out. I was inspired by a recipe I found on allrecipes and tailored it to what I had on hand to cook with, so I didnt have to go to the store. I went off of some great suggestions from previous people who cooked it and added some things of my own. There's only 161 calories per serving and I went ahead and served with brown rice. It was very spicy so I would suggest limiting the amount of chili powder you add if you like your food a little more tame. It was a good dish and I liked that it was easy to make, perfect for a weeknight! Also, I didn't have hoison sauce and was set on not going to the store, so I made my own and the recipe follows.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry (inspired by allrecipes.com)

1 lb Shrimp, peeled

2/3 Red Onion, chopped

2/3 cup Carrots, sliced

1/2 cup Peas, cooked

3/4 cup Broccoli florrets

5 Green Onions, sliced

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tbsp Olive Oil

4 tbsp Garlic, minced

2 tbsp Hoison Sauce (recipe follows)

1 tbsp Chili Powder

2 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp Ground Ginger

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/8 cup White Wine Vinegar

Shrimp Marinade

2tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Garlic

1 tsp Splenda

Pinch Ginger

Directions

Steam broccoli and carrots, until tender but not fully coooked. In the meantime, toss shrimp lightly in cornstarch. Put in a plastic bag and add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp splenda and a pinch of ginger. Set in fridge to marinate until veggies are steamed.

Place a skillet over medium/high heat and add the oil. Toss in shrimp, green onion, red onion and garlic. Cook until shrimp is no longer translucent.

Add the hoison sauce, chili powder and soy sauce to the shrimp mix. Stir and then add ginger, red pepper, black pepper and white wine vinegar. Simmer for a minute or 2. Add in broccoli, carrots and peas and toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Hoison Sauce

4 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Honey

2 tsp White Wine Vinegar

1/8 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Olive Oil

1/8 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Few drops of hot sauce

Combine in a bowl and mix until peanut butter is evenly distributed. This made about 2x what I needed.

Fish Tacos

, I decided to try fish tacos last night for the first time. I had found this great mango-lime seafood seasoning that I wanted to try out and wanted to make something pretty healthy. Since I don't have a grill pan (it's on my list of things to get) and I didn't want to fire up the big grill, I just cooked on the stove in a skillet. I probably would grill it next time, but it turned out moist and flavorful and now I have some yummy leftovers for lunch! I paired with a mexican salad.

Fish Tacos

1.5 lbs Tilapia

2 tbsp Weber Lime-Mango Seafood Seasoning

2 Limes, juice

4 Soft Tortilla Shells (I used whole wheat, 75 calories wraps)

4 Green Onions, chopped

Salsa, Sourcream (I used nonfat), Avacado, Lettuce for filling tacos

Marinate Tilapia in seasoning and lime juice for about 30 minutes, in a ziplock bag. Cook until done throughout center (grill, stove, whichever you prefer). Spread 1 tbsp sourcream on shell and add lettuce. Layer on tilapia and top with green onion. Add any other condiments you'd like.

For the Salad, mix bell pepper, red onion, black beans, avacado, corn and romaine. Top with sourcream and salsa.