Lemon Garlic Tilapia

No picture, sorry! This was good and again very easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 4 tilapia fillets
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, and pepper.
• Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 30 minutes.

***NOTE: Instead of just pouring the lemon/butter/garlic over the fillets, I sauteed it a bit first. I think it would have been too much of a raw garlic taste w/o doing that first. Once it was sauteed, i then poured it over the fillets and cooked.

Chicken and Mushrooms in Garlic White Wine Sauce

This dish has a great flavor. Its not dry at all, has a nice sauce to keep it moist. Delish!

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (im not a fan of tarragon so i used a teeny bit of dill. you can use parsely or basil instead too)
  
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
  
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
• Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken breast halves in a shallow dish.
  
• Combine 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring well with a whisk. Sprinkle flour mixture over chicken; toss to coat.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
  
• Add chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned.
  
• Remove chicken from pan.
  
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan.
  
• Add garlic, tarragon, and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms darken.
  
• Add white wine to pan; cook 1 minute.
  
• Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  
• Stir in broth, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.
• Return chicken to the pan.
  
• Cover and simmer 2 minutes.
  
• Uncover; cook 1 minute or until chicken is done.
  
• Stir in noodles; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.
  
• Place about 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

I didnt stir the noodles into the chicken. I just plated the noodles then put the chicken over it.

Dijon Chicken with Panko Crust

This chicken was very tasty. Its extremely easy to make too. Great for a work night when you don't have a lot off time to cook. I made with it garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus (for the asparagus i marinated it in EVOO, minced garlic, salt and pepper then roasted for about 10-15 minutes).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed (as usual I used more)
  
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs; see notes)
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (I had fresh grated romano on hand so I used that)
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced parsley (used dried parsely)
  
• 8 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (6 to 7 oz. each)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together butter, mustard, and garlic. In another bowl, mix panko, parmesan, and parsley.

• One at a time, turn chicken breast halves in butter mixture to coat completely. Dip rounded side of each breast in panko mixture. Place breasts crumb side up in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

• Bake chicken in a 500° oven until crumbs are golden and breasts are no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), about 15 minutes.

Cornish Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

These hens were very juicy and tender. The rosemary and garlic gave them a nice flavor too. I made sugar snap peas with this...and if you can't tell from the picture I overcooked them a bit. oops.

Ingredients:

• 4 Cornish game hens (I only made 2)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary (Only used 2 since I only made 2 hens)
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 24 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

• Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

• Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.

I found that using the amount of wine/broth for the recipe of 4 hens wasn't even really enough for 2 hens. I would probably double the sauce next time.

Yummy chocolate trifle

Jakes coworkers wife (Katherine) made this a few weeks back. My cousin Sam and her husband were coming over to visit so I decided to give it a shot. It is SO good and really easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 2 packages chocolate pudding (I used fat free)
• milk (for the pudding)
• 2 8oz containers of cool whip (again, I used fat free)
• 1 package oreos (I used reduced fat)

Directions:

• Mix the pudding according to the directions on the package
• Layer the pudding, cool whip, then crumbled oreos. Repeat until you get near the top.

And voila! You're done! I dont think it gets much easier than that!

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

For something that is for the most part 'healthy', these were really good. The recipe says it makes 8, but I only fit 6 in my dish and really there wasnt enough filling to make 8. I might have used a bigger size tortilla though.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde
  
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
  
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco (I couldnt find this so I used shredded cheddar)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 4 lime wedges
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425°.

• Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.
  
• Combine chicken and cream cheese in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.
• Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels.
  
• Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up.
  
• Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.
• Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder.
  
• Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.