Butter Poached Tilapia

Hey guys! I made this the other night for the girls after cheer practice. It only took 10 minutes to make, but the girls and I devoured it in less than 3 minutes! I didn’t even take a before picture, because everyone was starving and it seemed so cruel to make them wait. It was pretty. It was delicious. And this was all that was leftover in the pan.

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Butter Poached Tilapia

Ingredients
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
2 tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add fish and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on first side about 5 minutes. Turn and cook about 3-5 minutes more depending on the thickness of the fish.

Garlic Seafood Pasta

Evening kids! 2nd post of the day! Since the last time we talked, the family, including the dog, went on a nice hike at our local park. We came home and I started cooking this amazing dinner.

Earlier today we all went grocery shopping. I noticed some peeled and deveined shrimp were on sale, so I decided to make shrimp pasta tonight. Then I saw some nice clams and mussels and decided to add them to the mix. The girls were in an especially good mood and promised to try a bite of everything. Verdict? They both LOVED the clams!!  Katie loved the shrimp. Becca tried a bite after I promised I would never make her eat another bite of shrimp in her life if she tried it; she just shrugged her shoulders at it. She is just not a fan. They both ate the mussels, but BEGGED for more clams. Next pasta seafood…linguine and clams. Be on the lookout for it =)

Garlic Seafood Pasta

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 cup white wine

Directions

Start a pot of salted boiling water.

Melt 1/2 a stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil in a med/large sized dutch oven or heavy pot. Add in onions and cook down for about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, add in pasta to the boiling water.

Add the wine to your garlic and onions. Add the rest of your butter and olive oil. Mix well.

Add the clams to the garlic butter sauce; they should cook about 10 minutes total. 2 minutes later add your mussels; they should cook about 8 minutes total. In 2 more minutes, add your shrimp. They just need about 6 minutes to cook.

Just when your shrimp are turning pink, add in the pasta and a cup or so of starchy cooking water. Mix well and cook for another couple of minutes. When your pasta is perfect, you are ready to eat!
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***do not eat any shellfish that has not opened***

***freeze the shells so you can make this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/01/19/seafood-stock-2/

Fish Friday- Cod and Trout Cooked in Herb Butter

Evening guys! Happy Friday! Today the girls and I had a fun day. We went to get our nails done, which was super fun and relaxing. Then we went to lunch and the grocery store. I went to The Fresh Market to see what kind of fish they had. I ended up buying 2 kinds; Rainbow trout and cod. I served with a side of couscous and broccoli.

Tonight I prepared them so simply. For the cod, I dredged both sides in flour. I melted half a stick of butter with rosemary, sage, and thyme. Then I put in the fish and cooked the first side for about 6 minutes. The I flipped it and cooked the other side for 3 minutes. ***COOKING TIME DEPENDS ON THE THICKNESS OF THE FISH. Thinner fillets will take less time.

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With the trout, I dredged both sides in equal parts corn meal and flour. I melted half a stick of butter with rosemary, sage, and thyme. I cooked the trout skin side down for about 3-4 min or until browned and crisp. Then I carefully turned the fillet over and continued cooking until just cooked through, about 3 more
minutes.

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Both turned out so good! Looking forward to heading to the farmer’s market in the morning… thinking of getting some fresh shrimp from the seafood guy for dinner tomorrow night!

Strip Steak with Thyme and Butter

Hey, ya’ll! So Friday was my birthday. I have had a great birthday weekend full of great family, friends, and food! Here is one way I spoiled myself this weekend…I bought some strip steak that was on sale. I thought of this recipe when I remembered I had some thyme already in my fridge. SO GOOD!!!!!

Ingredients

2 New York Stip Steaks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
3 thyme sprigs
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Directions

Try to let steaks stand 30 minutes at room temperature.
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over steaks. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan and coat evenly.
Add steaks to pan; cook about 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-low; add butter, thyme, and garlic to pan. Tilt pan a bit to you so butter collects; cook 1 1/2 minutes, basting steaks with butter constantly. Remove steaks from pan; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 10 minutes.

There may be a bit more butter left in the pan. You can use that to baste the steak even more when you are ready to serve.

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Baked Ziti and Garlic Butter Toast

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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