Sesame Garlic Cod with Sesame Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Seafood, Side dishes...veggies

Evening kids! Hope everyone had a great weekend. We went out to Mexican Friday night, out to lunch at our favorite Chinese spot on Sat., followed by a super fun time at the Pumpkin Patch. Today we slept in until 9:30!!!! Then I made bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Always a hit! We pretty much sat around being lazy, watching TV, and snuggling together on the couch. Pure bliss! I also went to one of my favorite places; the grocery store. I know lots of people who hate going, but I adore it. I mostly bought stuff to make lunches, a few staples, and a couple of quick and easy dinner ideas. Here is the one I made tonight.

Sesame Garlic Fish with Sesame Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Sesame Garlic Fish-

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of butter, melted with 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large piece cod, cut in to 3-4 sections (or other white fish, like Tilapia)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons sesame oil.

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional- I only used it on half, since my girls would be eating this. It just adds a peppery kick, which they don’t like.) If you have a lemon or some citrus, it would be great with a bit of juice or zest in the pan cooking with it.
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat pan on high.
Melt butter and add your olive oil
Add the garlic and turn down heat to medium
Add your sesame oil and stir in with butter and garlic.
Add your fish filets- salt and pepper, but use with caution. The sesame oil is very salty. Add red pepper flakes if you wish.  If you have a lemon or some citrus, it would be great with a bit of juice or zest in the pan cooking with it.
Turn over when fish changes color one-quarter of way up and seared side has turned brown, 3 min.
Once you turn over, cook one minute, then take the pan off the heat. Let it sit for a minute or so, then take out of the pan to rest.

Sesame Bacon Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients

3 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot or half an onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Turn pan to make sure olive oil coats pan.
Add shallots/onions to the pan and saute 2 minutes.
Add sprouts and cook 3-4 minutes cut side down. Add your sesame oil in a circular motion in the pan. After they start to smoke, stir your sprouts. Cook until fork tender. Again, if you have a lemon or some citrus, it would be great with a bit of juice or zest in the pan cooking with it.

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Easy Baked Cheesy Bacon Ravioli

Pasta

Hey friends! This was so easy… Cook some bacon- 8 pieces. Chop it up. Add it to pre made alfredo sauce. Cook some cheese ravioli according to the package. Layer sauce and ravioli to a pre-sprayed pan. Top with mozzarella and parm. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. YUM!017

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Baked Ziti and Garlic Butter Toast

Breads and Muffins, Pasta

I had a little bit of time today to make an extra special dinner. I have not cooked anything interesting for dinner in a while. A lot of  pretty amazing people have been making my family some dinners, or we have gotten take out, or I have thrown together something random that was not really blog worthy. It has been a crazy few weeks.

When people find out or know you have a sick kid, it can be a bit awkward. They feel helpless and don’t know what to do. The problem solvers and leaders are the ones who want to take over and figure out a way to help. They rally the troops. They bring you food, money, toys, offer to carpool, take your dog for a walk (good luck with that- I am the only one who can get him on a leash), and pretty much give up their left kidney for you.

I appreciate it all. I am thankful. All these offers actually are amazing and do provide relief and a weight off my shoulders. As much as I love to cook, I do have a cooking blog after all, what I really want to do is sit on my couch and snuggle my girls. I want to play with them as much as possible and just relax together as a family. But lately I have been itching to get back in the kitchen for a bit.

I thought…I meandered in the kitchen; I opened the pantry;I looked in the fridge; I looked in the freezer. I had an idea. I pulled out some ground beef from the freezer, found some canned tomatoes in the pantry, borrowed an onion from my awesome neighbor, poured a glass of wine, and I started to get my groove back in the kitchen. I gave Lizzie the choice of lasagna or baked ziti based in the noodle selection from my pantry. Well, she picked this. And I gladly obliged.

I may be a bit scarce on the blog in the next couple of months. I cannot stop cooking. I won’t. It is my hobby; it is therapeutic. I may post a Sunday roast, an epic Thanksgiving dinner, a glamorous grilled cheese sammie, or a regular Wednesday chicken dish. Whatever I post, it tastes yummy and is made by my love of cooking and making my family and friends happy.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

1 pound of ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes or 1 small can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons worchestershire
2 tablespoons butter
3 sprigs thyme
1 container mozzarella- whole or shredded
1 box ziti or rigatoni noodles

Directions

Brown your beef. If there is any grease, drain it. Add your onions. Cook down for 5 minutes. Add in your garlic and tomato paste. Cook down for 3-5 minutes. You can actually smell the tomatoes when they are mixed well with the garlic. The aroma is amazing. The beef and onions should be really camariling now. Add just a splash of red wine down in the pot to loosen up all those brown bits. Then add in all your canned tomatoes. Mix well. Add in your sugar, worcestershire sauce, butter, and thyme. Mix and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better.

Make your pasta. Undercook by 3 minutes according to the package. It should still have a bit of a bite to it.

Spray your dish with Pam. Add some sauce on the bottom. Put in your noodles. Cover with sauce. Top with Mozzarella cheese.

I made some quick garlic toast by melting butter with some 3 cloves sliced garlic. I dipped the bread in the garlic butter then put them in the oven on broil. Just check the oven to make sure they don’t burn. Delish!

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Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Pork

Happy Sunday fellow foodies! These pork chops were the best I have ever made! Bold statement, I know…Pork chops in this house are a pretty big deal, so when I said I was going to try a new recipe, I was met with a bit of skepticism. The girls love their pork, so it had to be good…
I decided not to alter my pan fried pork chop recipe too much. The end result was pretty amazing. Here is how it was done…

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Ingredients
4 bone in pork chops
2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

salt and pepper both sides of your chops
3 bowls with the follow ingredients- coat your chops in order of these- add a bit of salt and pepper to each bowl
1- flour
2- 1 egg whisked
3- Mix your brown sugar in your bread crumbs
Coat the chops with each and add them in a cast iron pan on medium high heat. Cook each chop until both sides get brown..about 5 minutes or so per side (depending on size and if they have a bone or not).

Serve with your favorite sides…peas and mac and cheese. Oh, and a salad for mom.

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Creamy Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Ravioli

Pasta, Vegetarian

I made this last night to take for lunches this week. It was very easy to make; a semi-homemade dish, if you will. Ravioli was Buitoni, alfredo sauce was jarred by Classico and added caramelized onions, mushrooms, and white wine.

Pretty simple, ya’ll…Slice 1 onion nice and thin. Slice your mushrooms in half or thirds- larger sized chucks. Reduced them down in 3 tablespoons of butter. Make sure to salt and pepper your veggies. Stir and cook down for about 10-15 minutes. Add in your white wine at the end, stir, and  reduce down about 5 more minutes. Add the jar of sauce.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Add the cooked ravioli to the sauce and mix well.

Top with parmesan. So good!

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