Blackened Tilapia

This recipe is pretty ridiculously easy. Almost as ridiculously easy as it is delicious. Tilapia, truthfully, is a rather bland fish on it's own. This mix of spices and easy cooking method cranks up the flavor of this simple fish times about a thousand.

Blackened Tilapia

(From gimme some oven)

Ingredients:

2 tilapia fillets

1 tbsp. Paprika

2 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Garlic powder

1 tsp. Onion powder or dried minced onions

Instuctions:

1. Moisten the tilapia fillets. Combine all spices, press onto moist tilapia. Spray a skillet with nonstick spray and cook tilapia over medium-high heat, 3-4 minutes per side. Fish is done cooking when it flakes easily and is no longer translucent.

Revamped Sloppy Joes

I know most people will remember sloppy joes from their childhood as messy, greasy globs slapped onto misshapen buns, low on flavor and hiiiigggh on fat. Probably slapped onto a tray by some variety of lunchlady. Possibly with a mustache. 

Eeks. 

This sloppy joe is nothing like that sloppy joe (yay!). Including the fact the I don't have a mustache (double yay!).  This sloppy joe recipe is a sweet, tangy, delicious mix with a huge amount of flavor. I know it's going to be hard to believe, but before you dismiss it, promise me you'll try it. 

Promise!? Okay good. 

And if you do happen to have a mustache- no offense :)

Revamped Sloppy Joes

Adapted from Feast on the Cheap

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbs. cider vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. oregano

Hot sauce, to taste

1 avocado

Sandwich buns

Instructions:

1. In a large pan or dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper to the skillet and cook until the onions are softened. Add in the ground meat and brown, stirring frequently. 

2. Add to pan all remaining ingredients except avocado, and bring the sloppy joe mixture to a boil then reduce heat to simmer until thickens, about 20 minutes, although can be simmered longer for convenience. 

3. Cut the avocado into slices or mash. Scoop sloppy joe mixture onto your desired buns (I like Orowheat sandwich thins- only 90 calories!) and top with avocado. Makes between 4 and 6 sandwiches, depending on how piggy you want your sandwiches to be :)

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is one of my absolute favorite foods and is pretty foolproof to make. It combines:

• Mashed potatoes, which, being a maniac for carbs, is another one of my favorite foods. Creamy, buttery, potato-y (not a word, I know). What's not to love?
• A rich, delicious brown gravy sauce.
• As many veggies as I want in a form that in no way tastes like vegetables (yay!).

The absolute best incarnation of shepherd's pie that I've ever tasted is from the Cheesecake Factory. shepherd's pie from the Cheesecake Factory, calorie factory that it is, has a really rich brown sauce, large chunks of ground beef that I know is of a higher fat content than any I've ever bought, with a rather small amount of peas, shredded carrots and onions. To my version, I add a bit more veggies, lighten up the sauce a bit and voila: shepherd's pie. I also often use ground turkey for a healthier alternative! A passable imitation at least, if I do say so myself.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

6-8 cups mashed potatoes (These can be made in your preferred manner. If you're in a rush to make dinner, such as I often am after class, a box of instant mashed potatoes will work just fine!)

1 1/4 lbs. lean ground sirloin, or ground turkey

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 bag frozen peas with pearl onions

1/4 lb. sliced mushrooms (Or more if you're a mushroom fiend)

3 cloves garlic

3 tbs. butter

1 tbs. olive oil

3 tbs. flour

1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. paprika

2 tbs. chopped fresh parsley

1 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Make mashed potatoes in whatever way makes you happy. I make instant a lot for this dish because it's fast and tastes fine mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.

2. Brown the ground sirloin in 1 tbs. olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped carrot, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until carrots are mostly softened, stirring frequently. 

3. In a separate skillet, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until incorporated. Whisk in the beef broth and the Worcestershire sauce and let simmer until it thickens. 

4. Add the gravy mixture to the meat and vegetables. Stir in the peas and pearl onions, which can still be frozen. Fill a 9x13 glass casserole dish with the meat-gravy mixture.

5. Mix the mashed potatoes with the Parmesan and spread evenly and smoothly on top of the meat mixture. Broil until the top is lightly browned, and garnish the dish with the paprika and parsley.

Irish Soda Bread

Every Thanksgiving, a whole herd of relatives arrive at my house- or rather, my parent's house. The distinction is still a bit fuzzy but it would definitely be impossible to fit the 35-40 people we have for Thanksgiving in my tiny city aparment, and even more impossible to cook a turkey in my little econo-oven that doesn't even fit two baking sheets!

My mom has seven siblings, of which she is the youngest, and I've grown up amid a zoo of a family, overflowing with cousins, aunts, uncles, second-cousins, not to mention boyfriends, girlfriends, friends in general; anyone is welcome on Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving dinners are pretty traditional- if somewhat supersized. My mom cooks two large turkeys, one the night before and one Thanksgiving morning. We make pounds upon pounds of mashed potatoes that my dad boils in the pot that came with his deep fryer. And every relative brings a side dish, one of which is always Irish soda bread. As a child I was never interested in it, it seemed boring and to be truthful a bit bland. But as I got older my cousin and I discovered the deliciousness it created when combined with honey butter, and I loved the sweet honey and raisins combined with the creamy butter and the golden-brown crust of the bread. And on top of all that, it truly is a poor man's bread; all or nearly all of the ingredients are pantry staples.

This recipe doesn't have the rye or caraway commonly found in other Irish breads- truthfully I don't like the flavor. Also, if you are short on buttermilk, which I often am, you can combine one cup milk with one tbsp. white vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for five minutes. It will work in the bread nearly identically. 

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 box raisins (to taste)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl whip together eggs, buttermilk and oil. Combine the two bowls and stir until incorporated.

2. Knead the dough lightly to create a smooth loaf. Place the dough in a floured pie pan, cut an X shape in the top with a knife, and sprinkle the top of the loaf lightly with sugar.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown. Serve with butter or honey butter.

(Pictures to come!)