Quick Weekday Dinner

I'm behind on blogging because I cooked all new things this week. So #2 for the day. I made Tilapia! A friend made some for me last summer so I knew it wasn't as scary as some seafood is. I wanted something quick and easy and cheaper than salmon and that's what I got! Talapia is Green on the seafood scale of sustainability by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. And what's super great is it is farmed right here in Colorado so it's a local food too! And it tasted good! Not too fishy!

Lemon Garlic Tilapia
(1 tilapia fillet for each person)

4 tilapia fillets
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 TBS butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
pepper

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking oil or line with parchment paper.
2. Rinse fillets under cool water, pat dry with paper towels.
3. Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice and melted butter on top.
4. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley and pepper.
5. Bake in preheated oven until fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with fork. About 30 minutes.

I served with asparagus and roasted potatoes.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Risotto and an All-American Breakfast

I was all excited for the green vegetable risotto I made one night last week. I got home from work and hurried to get it on the stove. Forty minutes of stirring later, all the chicken broth is finally absorbed and the chicken in done. I didn't taste it while it was cooking, so I sat down and ate a spoonful for the first time. And wow, after that hard 40 minutes of stirring the dang risotto still wasn't done! ARG. My boyfriend didn't finish his. And you know what, I dog gone it finished mine. At the end of dinner, he was like "did you really eat all that?" I replied, "Yeah I stirred it for 40 minutes, you bet I'm going to eat it all!" But I couldn't bring myself to eat it for lunch the next day at work...... I think I messed up in a few places. First, the toasting at the beginning always throws me off. So I think I burnt the rice instead which would made it not absorb as much water. Secondly, I did not use white wine as the first liquid. Maybe that gets the absorption going. So I don't know. But I won't be making risotto for awhile. And I served the risotto with chicken breast I just baked and with lemon juice and pepper.

Meanwhile, on a good note. I made a super All-American Breakfast this weekend. I was really proud of myself and my boyfriend was super happy! Yum!

Emerald Green Risotto
Makes 4 servings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup Arborio rice
1 stalk celery, diced
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 cups boiling chicken stock
1 cup broccoli florets
3/4 cup sugar snap peas, halved
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion begins to turn golden brown at the edges, about 2 minutes.
3. Pour in the rice, and stir until the rice is coated in oil and has started to toast, 3 to 4 minutes. (Careful!)
4. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the celery and white wine.
5. Cook and stir until the wine has mostly evaporated, then stir in one third of the boiling chicken stock; continue stirring until incorporated.
6. Repeat this process twice more, stirring constantly.7. Stirring in the broth should take 15 to 20 minutes in all.

8. Add the broccoli, peas, zucchini, and green beans during the last 7 minutes of cooking, and cook until tender. All American Breakfast of hash browns, bacon, eggs and fruit!

Cookies!

I baked something and it was actually good! Surprise! And I know why! I made these cookies and they didn't have any special flour or ingredients. They were just naturally GFDF. They don't "melt" after a while (like some gf flours seem to do) And the cookies rose and were a normal cookie texture! I'm so proud of myself! Oh and the cookies were peanut butter chocolate chip, recipe below.

Now that tax season is over I have to start thinking about what to cook again. So we'll see how that turns out.

I bought this really good dairy free cheese. I was in line at Whole Foods and the person in front of me was buying and saying they just got it in (an employee). I was making pizza that night so I ran back and grabbed a bag. It melted and tasted pretty good. Best I've had for diary free. It also doesn't have any scary ingredients :) Daiya Vegan Cheese

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes about 1 cookie sheet)

1 cup Peanut Butter (or any nut butter)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 c chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix ingredients together in bowl.
3. Spoon dough pieces on to the cookie sheet. (I lined the cookie sheet with parchment paper. My cookies were about 1 inch in diameter and they cooked well)
4. Bake cookies for 15 minutes. (Mine weren't brown by this point but were done enough to harden)

Enjoy!

Easter Dinner

One week later, I have time to blog about Easter dinner.... I haven't been cooking much lately, as you can see. Tax season is upon us and when working in the financial industry that means lots of work and not much time to cook. With tax WEEK this week I have been planning meals I can cook ahead of time. Major meal planning. But last Sunday I took the time and made a yummy Easter dinner for my boyfriend and I. It turned out pretty well. I ordered and picked up a Honeybaked Ham (now the glaze is gluten free). I also made roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes. Oh and then there was the failed carrot cake. Well the cake part was great. I used Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix. The cream cheese frosting didn't quiet work. Dairy free cream cheese and marshmellow cream. It turned out so watery and would not thicken up. I tried powdered sugar (not in the recipe) and chilling it in the fridge. Didn't work. I frosting the cake anyways but it just got soggy. Gross. But I tried, I guess and that's why I don't bake.

The recipes:
Roasted Asparagus
GF Betty Crocker Carrot Cake