The best Brussels sprouts EVER!

These are absolutely the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had!!

Leave it to Simply Recipes to find me another great recipe! I think it's definitely important to blanch them first, as this seems to really add to the taste and texture of the sprouts. We'll definitely be making this one again!!

Thanksgiving Day Sides

I did get these off the minimalist list by Mark Bittman.



These beans were my absolute favorite. I purchased 3 cans large butter beans and 1 large can of regular black olives (my kids won't eat the yummy kalamata ones). I cooked the beans, drained and rinsed them, then added them to chopped black olives, about 8 scallions (I used both the white and the green parts), and a mixture of olive oil and white wine vinegar (just enough to coat- about 1/2 cup). I used some fresh oregano (about a tablespoon) from our garden. This was definitely a favorite and I'll be making this for lunch/sides even on non-Thanksgiving Days. I'm adding this to my easy breezy meals. This also tasted better the second day (I made it the night before).



This sweet potato recipe is very different. I didn't even know you could eat sweet potatoes raw, but they were good and had a carrot texture. I absolutely loved the blender dressing made for this (jalapeno, olive oil, lime juice, and red onion). This was added to the shredded sweet potatoes and diced bell pepper. I ended up making this the night before. I suggest making it the day of because it tastes better to me that way. Or, I might suggest mixing the dressing with the potatoes the day of (even if you make them separately the night before). Also, I love spicy dishes so next time, I'll probably add another jalapeno or two.

I also tried two more of the minimalist recipes that I wasn't as thrilled about, but they were easy, different, and good:

Onion-Rosemary Skillet Bread and the Sauteed garlic/pine nuts with broccoli bake.

Yummy Yummy Polenta!!

This was polenterrific!! Definitely something I want to make over and over again. Is that too much corn for one day? I guess it depends on what we ate for breakfast and lunch. I need to remember this recipe forever. Again, I got it from The Scramble. I think I may stop blogging... because I've obviously come up with a favorite source.

Anyway, I hate to leak recipes that most people have to pay for, but really, you pay for the convenience of having the ingredients thrown into a grocery list for you... and the ability to pick your favorite recipes and lump them together. I love the Scramble... have I mentioned that yet? Anyway, I want to share the vegetable recipe because I'm in love with yellow curry these days.

Saute about a 1/2 of an onion in a little bit of olive oil... once it's pretty soft, throw in a diced zucchini (I used calabaza squash). Let that cook a couple of minutes, then throw in 2 cups of corn kernels (fresh or frozen). Cook those for a minute or two and then dash in some yellow curry powder (I probably used a teaspoon or so). Add a little bit of salt and you have a side dish that is very tasty.

I used to hate curry as a kid but now I can't seem to get enough of it. What's up with that?

Mango Salsa Shrimp -Drool

Holy smoking gun! This combo of curry rice, lime avocado and mango chunky salsa shrimp is definitely something I'll have on my list of last dishes to eat on my death bed. It's always amazing to me how something so good can be so easy to make. I have to give credit to The Scramble once again. Thanks Aviva Goldfarb!

Cold Pea Salad

I made this Cold Pea Salad as a side for our 4th of July festivities and it was soooo good! I'm definitely going to be making this quite often!!

Mumbai Meatballs and Artichokes with Rice

This dinner was so good, I can barely describe how I made it or what it actually looked like before it was eaten. The main thing is both boys liked it. I even got the 6 year old to eat an entire artichoke. Yes!

I got this meal from The Six O'Clock Scramble.

Carrot Parsley Salad

A friend posted this on a recipe group I'm on and I definitely want to try it out one night this week!!

Carrot Parsley Salad
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home

3 ½ cups grated carrots
1 bunch parsley, finely chipped (about 2 cups)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
½ tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Toss all ingredients in serving bowl. Can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, until serving time. It will keep nicely for 2 or 3 days.

Variation: Add 1 Tbs chopped fresh mint or chives or 1 tsp cumin.

Super Salmon with Lentil Stuffing Friday

This salmon was done like I do it so many times (Ziploc full of soy sauce, honey, garlic, grated ginger, rice vinegar, and pepper. Great bag for marinating the salmon). For the stuffing, I just used plain old Stove Top and threw some cooked lentils in it. The boys munch it down without ever even asking what the lentils are. Whew!

Honey Glazed Sockeye Salmon, Asparagus, and Salad

This was a hit with the whole family. The boys kept eating the salmon and asparagus. Great kids! I marinated the salmon in honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, fresh grated ginger, and pepper. I made a spicy mustard sauce to go on top. Hubby grilled the asparagus just right... with the stems over the hottest part of the flame and the tips not so much--- perfection.

Monday Dinner- Salmon!!

Salmon burgers, grilled sockeye salmon, garlic/parsley large grain couscous.

Salmon Cakes and Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans

Wow! This was a really good dinner tonight. The boys wolfed down the salmon cakes (and I even sneaked radishes and celery in them) and raw broccoli. I didn't make them eat the Swiss chard because I threw quite a few pepper flakes in there. I was amazed at how yummy it all was together. I was missing onions (had one shallot for the salmon cakes and lots of garlic for the chard instead) and bread crumbs. I ended up making crumbs out of stuffing mix and garlic bread sticks. No one complained!! Cooking can be fun!

Pan Seared Salmon with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Salad

I so wish I had taken a picture of this beautiful meal. I mashed up the garlicy potatoes while dad pan seared the salmon. He made his super yummy shallot salad dressing with oil, vinegar, and mustard as well.

Caramelized Ginger Salmon, Salad, Sweet Potatoes/Corn/Black Bean Salad Monday

This was supposed to be our dinner last night and the salmon marinated over night so it was rather salty from the soy! This is our tried and true Caramelized Ginger Salmon (I used honey instead of brown sugar though) with the Rachel Ray Sweet Potato/Corn/Bean side leftover from the other night, as well as a plain side salad with homemade buttermilk ranch (runny, not thick!).



For lunch, the boys had this (it was their day off from school):

Salmon Cakes, Salad, and Green Beans Monday

For dinner, I made the usual salmon cakes (you can search my blog for the recipe), as well as a salad, and some yummy Italian green beans (cooked in water, then added to olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, a dash of sugar, chopped onion, and a few mint leaves).



For lunch, the boys trucked off with these goodies:

Salmon Burgers and Purple Potatoes Saturday

We had the most amazing salmon burgers from Costco today! Dad grilled them up, we topped them with some condiments- lettuce, onions, etc. He also roasted the Whole Foods purple potatoes that have been in the closet for a while. The boys devoured the meal and asked for more. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture tonight! I was too hungry to even think about it!

Tilapia, Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus and Couscous Tuesday

Dinner was yummy. I think my favorite part was the sweet potato, but the rest was good (even though I way overcooked the asparagus!!). The fish was a Broiled Parmesan Tilapia (minus the mayonnaise), the couscous was cooked in vegetable broth and garlic (to up the veggie intake for the kids), the asparagus was baked with olive oil and garlic salt, and the sweet potatoes were all natural!!



Chaz's lunch of popcorn, pesto pizza, broccoli, orange slices, muffin, and yogurt pretzels. He also got some organic vanilla milk and water.

Honey Mustard Tilapia with Cauliflower and Bread Saturday

We didn't end up getting a drop of rain from hurricane Ike, but we do have about 20,000 evacuees here in Austin. I feel like I should be volunteering or something, but not sure how.

For dinner tonight, we made a honey mustard tilapia (similar to the trout we've made in the past) with some garlic Parmesan cauliflower and butter and garlic toast (on the grill). It all turned out about the same color, but it was really yummy. Luckily, we had some greens for lunch, so we did have some color throughout the day!!

The boys ate almost everything on their plates.

Caramelized Ginger Salmon, Scalloped Potatoes Sunday

A little deviation from the menu... hubby wanted salmon, so we'll be doing next Sunday's salmon today instead. We'll switch and have the pasta ramen salad next week.

I marinated the salmon in fresh ginger, soy sauce, lemon pepper seasoning, brown sugar, and olive oil. This is such a yummy dish!!



I'm scalloping potatoes similar to this (which I also found on Budget 101):

Scalloped Potatoes

Large Onion, cut in rings
3 T. Butter
3 T. Flour
Salt & Pepper
1 c. Milk
1 c. Chix Broth (make a little with bouillon)
Potatoes, washed

Melt butter, add flour, mix till pasty, add broth and milk. Stir constantly until creamy and thick ( cooking over medium heat), Cut potatoes into slices and toss'em in a 9x13 pan. Place the onion (cut into rings) all over the potatoes. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and onions. Bake at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

The potatoes took a lot longer than the recipe called for, so I ended up cooking them at a higher temperature for 30 more minutes... still not totally done. I think I may have just layered too many potatoes (they never mentioned how many to use in the recipe so I used the rest of what we had!!). So, in order to get the boys to bed at a reasonable hour, we served Ezekiel bread along with the salmon. The boys ate more than the adults.. they LOVED everything about it!

I think I'll throw the left overs into a pot with some milk or water and boil up some potato soup for lunch tomorrow.

Parm Tilapia, Couscous, Carrots/Spinach Thursday

Okay, so it's a parent/teacher night. I'm thinking I'll have all of this food ready to be eaten by 4:45 or 5 so Chaz can get a little in before going back to school. Dad will just have to eat out or get left overs after the meeting. I think I'll make a Parmesan encrusted tilapia with couscous (maybe almonds in there?), and wilted spinach and carrots. Sound yummy? I better get to working on it now!!!! Here's the recipe I'll probably go off of:

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
* 2 pounds tilapia fillets

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Here are pictures of Chaz and Cooper's lunches. Yum!!

Caramelized Ginger Salmon, Salad and Couscous Sunday

Wow! This could have been served at a 5 star restaurant (well, maybe 3 or 4 star) and had a lot of happy customers. We loved this meal and will definitely do the caramelized ginger salmon again!!

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1 Tbsp. fresh grated or minced ginger root
4 green onions/scallions or 8 chives, chopped
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs. (or use up to 2 lbs. for 6 servings) salmon fillet, preferably wild salmon

In a large measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce and the remaining ingredients except for the
salmon. Pour the mixture in a large flat dish with sides, and add the salmon, flesh down. Marinate the
salmon for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium heat; about 350 degrees on a gas grill (Or, cook the salmon in the oven at
350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes). (Meanwhile, prepare the rice.) Bend up the edges of a sheet of
heavy duty foil that is slightly larger than the fillet. Put the foil on the grill, and put the salmon on top of
the foil, spooning the extra marinade evenly on top of the fish. Close the grill, and cook it over indirect
heat for about 20 – 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish and your grill’s heat), until the
fish is cooked through in the thickest part—do not flip it.