Artichoke Baked Fish Fillets and Recipe Link Up party

Special Appetizer Link Up Next Sunday June 5th 

sponsored by Chili's - Shout Out to Eat Out!

 To help spread the word about Chili's Triple Dipper (which is awesome by the way!! :) 

Next week's recipe linky will be all about appetizers- so this week prepare your favorite appetizer and write up the post so you can link it up next week!!!  At the end of the June 5th Linky 

5 winners to be selected to receive a $20 Chili's gift card each.

Hope that sounds exciting!  Help me get the word out so we have a ton of people come by and join in!

__________

I have been trying to incorporate fish into our menus more often.  With that goal in mind,  I have been looking for good baked fish recipes, cuz it would probably defeat the purpose to fry it, right?  Anyway, I found a recipe online a while ago, and while I was making it I realized that it just needed a little tweak- in the form of artichokes...  So I threw some in, knowing it would either be yucky or fabulous!   Guess what, it worked out perfectly!!  My husband, daughter and I loved it!

Best part it really only takes about 5 minutes to put together and 15 minutes tops to bake. (Dinner in 20 minutes?  Not bad! This is half of the reason I love fish so much, it is just SO quick!)

Artichoke Baked Fish Fillets
Servings:4

4 (6 ounce) flounder fillets (each fillet should weigh 6-oz.)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced green onions

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1 Lay fish out in a baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray.
2 In a bowl, mix together the cheese, mayonnaise, onions and artichoke hearts; spread mixture evenly over fish.

3. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper, then breadcrumbs
5 Bake in a 400° oven for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

What have you been cookin'?

Party Rules:

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** ALSO - I would be really thankful if when you try a recipe, you’d please link to my post for the recipe.  That way people can find and join our party, and we will all benefit from some extra traffic love!   If the recipe is a guest feature, please link to the original author's blog post that is hyper linked at the top of the page!

Thank you!

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Cafe Rio Shredded Beef Tacos and Recipe Link Up

Justin and I recently went to the Fort Worth Arts Festival (or something like that, I can't remember the actual name) and walked around looking at lovely art and smelling the very tempting naughty foods that are available at street festivals.  

In the end we settled on some brisket tacos.  They were to DIE for people.  SO delicious, all I could think about for days was needing another brisket taco.  My life literally depended on finding a recipe for them.  So my quest began.  Quests are so much easier with the Internet around.  In less than 10 minutes I found this recipe, see the delicious picture below:

image and original recipe source

Anyway, I knew I had to try it, but as always I made changes.   I used what I had... It is just how I work, but when I was done it was the perfect Cafe Rio Shredded beef- Surprise!   That happens to be one of my favorite things on the planet too- so while it wasn't exactly Brisket tacos it fit the bill.  Especially since we don't have a Cafe Rio anywhere nearby, you better believe I will be making this as often as I can!

OH!! And on the weight loss front, I worked out 5 times this week and ate so well!  And I am officially out of the 180's!  179 to be exact.  I am really working my fanny off (quite literally!)  And I am finally feeling more committed- truly!  (...uh... forgive the use of bacon grease in the following recipe!! )

On to the recipe!

Brisket tacos-

Yield: 4-6 servings

2 lbs eye of round cut into 1 1/2 -2 inch slices

Salt and black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon  bacon grease

1 large yellow onion, cut into quarters

8 cloves garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup Herdez Salsa Verde

1 Tbsp dried cilantro

For the tacos:

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)

flour tortillas

Salsa Verde

Instructions:

To your crock pot add Chicken Broth, Salsa Verde, Cumin and dried cilantro (you could use fresh if you have it).  Stir, turn on to high.

Cut beef into 11 1/2 inch slices.  Sprinkle the beef with salt and black pepper. In a large cast iron pan,  heat up the grease on medium, and brown the brisket on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.

Remove the brisket and add it to the crock pot.  In your pan add the onions . While occasionally stirring, cook until they begin to brown. Add the garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and pour into the pot the red wine vinegar, scraping along the bottom to loosen all of the pan drippings.

Pour the cooked onions and drippings into the crock pot, stir a little.  Cover with lid and cook until fall apart tender. 6-8 hours.

To make the tacos, place on one side of each tortilla some Monterey Jack and slide the tortillas under the broiler for 30 seconds or until the cheese is melted. Fill the tortillas with shredded brisket and top with some of the juice from the crock pot or more salsa verde and any other toppings of your choice.  (sour cream, sauted onions, bell peppers and fresh tomatoes might be nice!)

Party Rules:Please grab a button for your linked blog post Please become a public follower of Remodelaholic!

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Thank you!

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Hamburger and Grape-Tomato Pizza & Recipe Link Up Party

Well, I cooked again this week (wait a second while I pat myself on the back!) and was a little more committed to how I ate.  I felt it too, I just felt like this week would be better!... and it was.  I lost maybe 2 lbs or just slightly less.  So, either way that felt like great progress.

I will have to talk about my mind set right now later though cuz I am about to fall asleep!  This weekend has been busy!  We (read Justin) finished installing a deck that we technically started 2 years ago... I know, but it just wasn't a priority.  But now that we have a toddler that wants to be "out-shide" all day and all night long, we have been cleaning up the back yard!  I am really excited for the time we can spend back there!  But we worked on cleaning the yard all day!

Anyway, this week I tried out a Martha recipe that was really good and pretty simple, but a nice change from your average pizza.  I made a  few changes, but mostly just followed their instructions.

Photo via Martha!

Hamburger and Grape-Tomato Pizza

Pizza Dough -(or use frozen if you want)
Whisk 3 3/4 cups flour (I used 3 white whole wheat and 3/4 white flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, make a well in center of flour.

In a large measuring cup whisk together 1 1/3 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 packet yeast, pour into well in flour.

When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; mix till combined and  knead until smooth, 5 minutes.

Brush with olive oil, cover in a bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Divide into two 1-pound balls. Use 1 pound per recipe unless noted.

Toppings

3/4 cup store-bought marinara sauce
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (they suggested Provolone and my store didn't have it)

(next time I will add some Mozzarella s well!)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (I used the whole little clear container, I think it was a pint?)
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray your rimmed cooking sheet with olive oil spray.

On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin and your hands to roll and stretch dough into a 15-by-11-inch rectangle (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Transfer to prepared sheet.

Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Top with provolone, tomatoes, and if desired, onion; scatter beef over top. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake until crust is golden, beef is cooked, and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Party Rules:

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** ALSO - I would be really thankful if when you try a recipe, you'd please link to my post for the recipe.  That way people can find and join our party, and we will all benefit from some extra traffic love!  

Thank you!

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Carnitas And Recipe Link Up Party

Well this week has been frustrating for weight loss.  I haven't lost a single pound and technically that basically makes three weeks stuck at 184.  I haven't made the best of choices this week I will admit to that, but they haven't been awful either.  I am hoping I am not one of those persons who can't loose weight while breast feeding...  I remember now that I was still hanging on to about ten or fifteen pounds when I went to visit family after having Etta and she was 3 months old then, so we shall see.

I did cook quite a bit this week though and one of the meals I made was Carnitas, just pork tacos basically, but they are good and so here you go!

Carnitas Recipe

Boneless pork loin roast
(size needed depends on how many you are planning on serving, I cooked a 2lb roast)
Bon Appetit Season Salt

Preheat oven, sprinkle roast liberally with Bon Appetit Seasoning (technically we use my families own season salt but the closest thing to it is Bon Appetit...) Place the roast in a pan, fat side up and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or so per pound of meat or until you reach an internal temperature of 160.  Remove from oven when done, allow to rest about 10 minutes,  Slice or chop into small pieces, pour any juice back over the meat before serving.

Flour Tortillas (or Corn if you prefer)

Brown rice prepared according to package directions

Salsa Cruda Recipe
This is the simple salsa that we make for this meal.  I like it cause I usually have everything in my pantry, besides the fresh cilantro which is totally necessary so don't skip out on that.

1 quart home canned tomatoes, or 4 cups canned plain stewed tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup diced green chilies (I use canned)
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp sugar
fresh ground pepper
salt and garlic powder to taste

Pour Juice into bowl and chop or squash tomatoes to desired size (we usually do kinda chunky!)  Then just add remaining ingredients and mix together.  Best if served at room temperature.  (this is good on eggs or just with chips...

Now to serve, just assemble the meat, salsa and rice if desired over a tortilla and you are done.

Okay, now it is time for you to share!

Party Rules:

Please grab a button for your linked blog post 

Please become a public follower of Remodelaholic!

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* ALSO - I would be really thankful if when you try a recipe, and want to post about it that you please link to my post for the recipe.  That way people can find and join our party, and we will all benefit from some extra traffic love!   If the recipe is a guest feature, please link to the original author's blog post that is hyper linked at the top of the page!

Thank you!

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How to Make A Great Steak!!! And Recipe Linky

Well, I have some news....  This news may effect the blog a bit so I thought I would warn you...

I'm Pregnant!

This is very exciting news to me, BUT this also means I have a love / hate relationship with food at the moment!   Explanation: I must eat about every other hour, and if I am not on my pills, i don't keep anything down, and Saltine crackers are now a staple.  Yeah, I know stellar nutritional value in those saltines.  

Looking at the computer screen kinda makes me sick too.  So, we are going to have to get creative to keep this blog running.  Which means today, I am reposting a post from last February(09), when no one was reading this blog anyway.  And!,... this is one of my favorite recipes ever, and it just happened to be one of my pregnant cravings last time, so that seems appropriate.  I hope you don't mind me sharing this, I promise, if you are a steak person, you will like this recipe!... (Here is the old post)

Anyway, what does every crazy pregnant woman crave?

Pickles?

Pickles and Ice Cream?

Well that is just not for me, what do I want?

A good steak!

(hence my lunch....I made that!)

I am talking Texas Roadhouse Top Sirloin, medium -OR- Hamilton's in Logan, Utah my heart goes out to you! I still miss you and your 2 for $25.00 (including two meals, 2 drinks and 2 deserts)... I am not so much into Fillet minon- it's just not my thing, give me a Top Sirloin any day. Maybe Texas is the right state for me after all.

For today, all I have been thinking about is steak!

Maybe I need more iron? But then what made it worse? I watched Top Chef, on Hulu. One of the guys made steak, and some other person made grits, and my heart was set on nothing else. I could accomplish nothing. I have no leftovers that I want to eat. I don't really care for homemade sandwiches, (very often)... So I caved. I made a 5 minute run to Wally-world here are the results.

(And the second best part? I have left overs, so when I am hungry in 2 hours I can eat it again!!)

The end!

This was a really easy to make meal and only took 10 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Start water boiling for grits
• Begin heating skillet Med high. (make sure to use a skillet that can be transferred to the oven)

Add grits to boiling water and a pinch of salt. Set timer 5-6 minutes, you will occasionally be stirring this, but that is about it. Remove from heat when done.

Steak Instructions:

• Place steak between wax paper and pound with a meat mallet -not to thin it out, but just to tenderize
• When skillet is hot add 1 Tbls Butter, let brown slightly, add steak.
•  Cook 3 minutes on one side, While cooking slice mushrooms (to speed slicing I use an egg slicer), 
• Flip steak, add sliced mushrooms to skillet.  another three minutes on other side. Stir mushrooms occasionally. 

After both sides have cooked, insert a meat thermometer into center and place skillet with steak and mushrooms into your preheated oven. Watch till center is the right temp. (Rare 140, Medium 160, and well 170)

While meat is in oven, add a wedge or two of laughing cow cheese (or cream cheese) to prepared grits (I prepared 1 cup of grits and used one wedge), mound in center of plate, 

Remove steak from oven when it has reached desired done-ness and place on grits, add mushrooms and any juice from the pan onto the top of it all!

Enjoy!

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Not to Sloppy - Joes

The other day I needed a fast dinner, and on our fast dinner list, my husband had written Sloppy Joes.  Well, I decided this would be an easy quick meal, but I wanted some nutrition value, not just meat and bread - I also didn't want to have to make side dishes**, call me lazy.  So, I checked in the fridge and this is what I came up with, and actually, I WILL make this again this way from now on, and feel very good about serving it to my family.

Sloppy Cabbage Joes

1 bag of Cabbage Coleslaw Salad (the bag kind that is all cut up for you - for speed!-)
1/2 c Shredded carrots
1/2 Onion (shredded or very finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (crushed,- to save time I used the jarred kind)
1 lb Beef (97/3 is what I used or you can do ground turkey)
a little salt
Ketchup (to taste)
Mustard (to taste)
2 Tbsps brown sugar

Give a large skillet a quick spray of olive oil.  Add the bag of cabbage and a 1/4 - 1/2 c water,  Shred some carrots (if wanted, the mix already had some, but I added more) into the skillet, shred the onion into the skillet, add the garlic.  Stir and cover to steam about 4-5 minutes, take off the top and let the water steam out.

Add the raw meat and break up as it cooks.  

When the meat is cooked, add the salt, brown sugar, ketchup and mustard, start off with less and add more after you've mixed it in if you think you need it.

I serve them on whole wheat buns:

** About 5 minutes before I was done making these I thought "Wouldn't these be good with tater tots?"  

So, I literally begged my husband go to Sonic for tater tots, so much for a healthy meal!  But at least I didn't have to make a side dish.... 

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