Broiled Tilapia with Mustard Chive Sauce

Friday!!! This means a few things:

• Trying to drive home to NY tonight with Zeus annoyingly trying to get free of his leash/trying to climb on my lap
• Foxwoods with Sundar, Shaman, Schwartzy Bear and Asak!!!!!!
• Fattening food.

I'm so excited for this weekend and I can't wait to try a new pizza place before we drive on down to Conneticut!!! Although, I am not excited for the fattening food that is to come, I am pleased that I have tried my best to stick to a healthier diet during the week.

This past week, I found a great recipe by Giada De Laurentis! I half like her and half despise her. I feel like her head is unusually large, and for some reason, that bothers me. Not sure why, but it does.

But, at least I like her recipes and I'm so happy that most of them are really simple! This week I made Broiled Tilapia with Mustard Chive Sauce. Recipe follows:

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Fish:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 (5 to 6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
1/4 cup plain, full-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the fish: Preheat a broiler. Spray a small baking sheet or glass baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
Drizzle the tilapia fillets on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the fillets in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and broil until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily with a fork, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
For the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, agave nectar, and mustard until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice and chives. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer the tilapia to a serving platter and drizzle with the sauce.

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I was pleasantly surprised at how incredbly simple this recipe is. Seriously, you cannot go wrong and take less time to make such a delicious meal.

So I got this recipe when watching Giada's show on Food Network. She emphasized the fact that full fat greek yogurt for the sauce is important, but I unfortunately couldn't find any at Wegmans, so I just got the only thing they had (0% fat-boo). I'm not really sure if it was the lack of fat or if it was just the yogurt, but my sauce didn't come out very thick- in fact it was incredibly watery. I don't think it really ruined the other aspects of the sauce as it was delicious and was a delightful addition to the fish but I do recommend using full fat.

For the fish, I added some garlic powder when broiling (just because I love garlic) and it came out amazing! The fish itself is good enough to eat alone for a light meal, but adding the sweet and tart sauce really added some intense flavors but still kept it light! The lemon with the yogurt really balanced each other out while the mustard and the honey gave it some sweetness.

Again, great recipe.

I added some baked sweet potato fries (recipe to come) on the side as well as some steamed brown rice-I had such a great meal! Light and delicious, I will most definitely make this again!

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 10 minutes

Taste: 9

Zeus' stamp of approval

Dear Food Network- THANK YOU for starting to put up more healthy recipes!

To tell the truth, it's been a bit hard for me to find simple healthy recipes online- most require hard to find ingredients at high prices. (Suggestions are greatly appreciated)

I am very excited to see that Food Network is now integrating healthier recipes into their collection and now I can finally cook more of the famous chef's recipes without feeling so guilty!

So, I know that in my post about Mesa Grill in my other blog, I was sort of dissing Bobbly Flay a little. I feel like my animosity towards him comes from that time he was on Iron Chef (the original) and 'disrespected' Morimoto with his whole standing on the chopping block incident (and then a follow up episode of him throwing the chopping block off the table and then standing on the counter). Does anybody else recall that??

Anyway, after that, I thought that Bobby Flay was an arrogant prick- and I still do. But I am warming up to his food recipes and this past week, I decided to make his meatloaf recipe.

Never having made meatloaf before, I was excited to try it out- hoping to beat that stereotypical outlook on meatloaf (I mean, it does look gross).

I tried Bobby's Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze, recipe follows:

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3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed to a paste with coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 cup panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the zucchini, peppers, garlic paste, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl. Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined.
Mold the meatloaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the entire loaf. Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

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Alright, so I wouldn't be me if I didn't alter/leave out some part of the recipe (and still have it turn out great!) I didn't add any peppers, since I hate them and replaced all the meat with just 1.5 lbs of ground turkey breast (so much healthier). The recipe came out great!!! I was really surprised by how much flavor there was in this meatloaf and that contrast of texture the soft panko bread crumbs with the cooked zucchini provided! It was delicious!

I decided to throw in a few roasted zucchini in there. (Roasted at 350 F with olive oil, pepper, garlic powder and fresh thyme on top)- and it was the perfect meal! I was expecting the meatloaf to be tough, but it was just the opposite- soft and full of flavor, I was pleasantly pleased.

Zeus even begged and jumped up on the table to try some- and I reluctantly let him have some. He gave it his stamp of approval too!

Ok Bobby, I guess you win again.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 20 minutes

Taste: 8.5

Queen of butter

I'm all moved in, unpacked and ready to cook!

I have been a bit MIA- but thanks to my Bahamian adventure along with moving to a new place in Jersey- when would I even have time to cook?!


Now that i'm back- and it's a new year. I am off to a great start with cooking more often- and eating a lot healthier!

I've always loved soups- simple to make, fast, and good enough for a quick meal! What's not to love?

Last week, I decided to make White Bean Chili, recipe courtesy of Paula Deen.

Now, I know what you are thinking- how can plump ol' Paula Deen come up with a healthy recipe?! I thought that at first, but to my surprise- I loved this recipe! It was filling, flavorful and guilt free!

The recipe follows:

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2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3/4 cup diced onion
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound collard greens, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 5 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (fresh or canned)
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
2 15-ounce cans navy beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Light sour cream, chopped tomatoes and/or lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion; cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the chicken, cumin, oregano, white pepper and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and 1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is slightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the collard greens and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are slightly wilted, about 5 minutes.
Add the chiles and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in the beans and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.
Transfer the chili to bowls and garnish with light sour cream, chopped tomatoes and/or lime wedges, if desired.

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I ommited the sour cream and the other garnishes- and it was great! (and healthier, might I add) Simple and fast, this soup is packed with flavor from the herbs- and the chicken makes it hearty and great for a light lunch.

There you have it- a healthy soup recipe from Ms. Paula Deen herself!

I usually don't like Paula Deen's recipes as it calls for 3 tubs of butter and lard- but this time was an exception I guess. Has obesity taken a toll on the queen of butter?

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Taste: 7.5