Cajun Catfish with Over Easy Eggs

I did not realize it had been so long since I'd blogged! I've really been slacking. School has started up and I've been crazy tired. In addition to pre-k 3, Calvin has started t-ball and I was elected as team mom. In case you missed it, I'm also the room mom of Calvin's class and we've decided to take on a bunch of new projects at work. I come home, cook dinner, watch a little bit of Reba - my new favorite show - and am usually out by like 10. I haven't even been drinking!! In any case, cooking and blogging about it is something I very much enjoy doing so I've upped my Cravings game and added some new recipes to my meal plan this week.

I have to say, this did not sound appetizing. And in reality, this recipe is mostly Cajun catfish and I think she just threw in eggs on toast to make it sound like an actual recipe. I don't think the two are meant to be eaten together. So. In that case, I made only the Cajun catfish and opted out of the egg and toast side. Everyone knows what that tastes like. You don't need me to tell you.

I decided to make this on a night when Calvin had a t-ball game. Fish generally doesn't take long to cook and I paired it with steam-in-the-bag veggies and mac & cheese. Easy peasy. Of course, in true Ashley fashion, the catfish were not completely thawed when I needed to begin dinner. I knew this would add on some cooking time, but we wound up cutting it extremely close to when we needed to leave and I basically spoon fed Calvin dinner so we could leave on time.

In a nutshell, you mix together the stuff for the Cajun seasoning, rub it on the catfish, stick that sucker in the oven and bake for like 12 minutes (or in my case, 20).

These fillets were fucking huge.

This came out pretty much how you would expect it to taste. Like Cajun catfish. There were no raving reviews from the family, but no complaints either. Her Cajun seasoning will be nice to have around but, honestly, it's nothing special. 

SS: Loaded "Baked Potato" Casserole

Cauliflower has become my new favorite thing. Lately, it has replaced so many carbs - tortilla chips for nachos, mashed potatoes....okay maybe just those two things but it's done a great job. It seems as though my efforts to become low carb are battled by Collin's insistence to continue buying me candy though. Hey, Reese's and peanut M&M's are low carb so it still counts.

This was so easy to make and I've found a new love in the form of turkey bacon. I'm also pretty sure I used more then the recommended 1 cup of ham but, like I always say: when in doubt, add more ham. This was amazing. Calvin mentioned several times how good it was and I had to stop myself from eating more. Freaking yum.

I broke this dish while taking it out of my cupboard, but it's my favorite so I'll just have to deal.

Ingredients:

2 (12-oz) bags frozen cauliflower

1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup light sour cream - I used plain greek yogurt

1 (1-oz) packet ranch salad dressing mix

Salt

Pepper

1 (12-oz) bag frozen broccoli florets

1 cup diced ham - see my motto, above

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chives, chopped

5 slices lower sodium turkey bacon

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

Serving size: Heaping 1 1/3 cups

Cal: 258 Fat: 11g Carbs: 16g Fiber: 4g Sugar: 7g Protein: 19g

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 (or your favorite pan - use caution)

2) Cook cauliflower until soft. Drain.

3) Put the cauliflower in your kitchenaid mixer with the chicken broth, ranch mix, salt and pepper, and sour cream. Mash/blend to your desired consistency. 

4) Cook the broccoli until soft; drain. Toss it in the kitchenaid with the ham, half the chives and half the cheese. 

5) Spread the cauliflower/ham mixture into a baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. 

6) Meanwhile, toss the bacon on a paper towel lined plate and put in the microwave for like 3 minutes. When it's cool enough; crumble. (Yeah, this doesn't crumble - you're going to have to chop it up)

7) Top the casserole with the remaining chives and cheese and toss the turkey bacon on top. Bake until the cheese melts - maybe 7-8 minutes more.

A smorgasbord of Skinny Suppers

I have done nothing but cook out of Skinny Suppers lately. They are just so easy and quick and good for you and since I've been feeling so lazy lately, it's really been a life saver. Because typing up the recipes is really a huge pain in the ass when there is just one, for this post I'm going to post my thoughts and pictures about each recipe and if you want the recipe, just let me know and I'll pass it your way.

Crispy Coconut Fish Sticks

I was so proud of myself when I flipped to this recipe because it gave me an excuse to use the rest of the tilapia from the other day's recipe. This meant one less meat to buy from the grocery store and that made me very happy because we all know that meat is not cheap. Unless you're in target and you go right when the meat guy marks everything down and then you're in meat markdown heaven. Just another reason to love target.

I made this a few days ago, but I think I paired this with salad. A random, fruity summery salad that did not go with the seafood flow at all, but was about to expire. I'm glad I added the salad in there because these were so freaking good that I ate double the serving size. It's like I was half healthy.

These were so. freaking. good.

Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

I love this recipe because, thanks to Cravings, I already had the ingredients in the house. For this recipe and the next one, it uses a sauce blend that is really delicious. I actually think it might be the same blend...Ok it's not but it really only differs by like 1 ingredient. Anyway the sauce is:

2 tsp cornstarch

3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs sesame oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbs soy sauce

1/2 tbs oyster sauce

2 tsp sugar

Dissolve the cornstarch in the broth first, then mix all together and dump over dinner. Delish.

I was starving and not about to spend 10 minutes on lighting, so this is what you get. 

Quick Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

Well, for me this was quick chicken and vegetable stir fry because that's what I had. I think everyone has made stir fry at least once in their life and it's great because you don't need a recipe to make it. That's the beauty of a stir fry. So when I was making this I was like ok why is this recipe even in here? But then...the sauce. And this turned out so good that Collin's co-workers ate all of it and Collin didn't even get any. You snooze, you lose dude. So much that I never even got a picture, so use your imagination. This sauce is:

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs minced garlic

2 1/2 tbs rice vinegar

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tbs light brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbs corn starch

Mix it all together and you're done.

Grilled Chicken and Fruit Salad Wraps

I hate fruit in salad. I've never once thought that my salad ever needed to be sweeter and I just don't like it. But. I was feeling lazy and I had all the ingredients for this and technically, it's not a salad so I went with it. 

Now, don't be like me and make it in the amount of the recipe. Make this with the amount of people who are eating it in mind. Make adjustments. I did not do this and the recipe serves 6. Normally this would not be an issue and I would just refrigerate the leftovers, but you mix the dressing in with the other stuff and it makes it soggy after a while. You could put the dressing on the side, but then you have a dry wrap and have to dip the fucking thing in sauce every time you take a bite.

This was good. I ate it with no issues. Could have used more chicken and less dressing, but I ate it. Collin ate what was necessary to not get the side eye and I had to force Calving to eat it, but that sounds like a normal day at my house.

It tastes better than it looks. 

Zucchini Taco Boats

This recipe is fun. What a great way to get rid of carbs during taco night? She has a nice, elaborate recipe for her taco meat (or in my case, black beans bc I didn't have ground beef). Here's a tip that will save you a lot of time: make tacos the way you usually do and put that shit in a zucchini boat.

There's a zucchini under there, I swear.

Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

I really saved the best for last. I really enjoyed these. Making them was kind of a pain in the ass because you have to mash up a bunch of freaking black beans with a fork, but hey, beauty is pain. Or something like that. 

Ok let's take a BIG note here. This recipe states that you use 2 cups of vegetable broth for 1/4 cup of quinoa. That is a ridiculous amount and I re-read this recipe several times to make sure that shit was right. Then I thought, Ok maybe the broth is necessary. When the quinoa was done cooking, there was still way too much broth. Nowhere in the recipe does it tell you to drain the quinoa after it cooks, nor does it mention any use for the excess broth. Why the fuck there was so much broth I really, really don't know. Take caution. I did what the recipe said and dumped the pot of quinoa in there thinking maybe magic was about to happen. Nope. What it did was make black bean and quinoa soup. Not patty consistency at all. So I was pissed and managed to squeeze the excess liquid out through a dish towel and then all was well again. 

Collin was confused and not amused, but he ate them.

The patties firmed up nicely as they cooled.

Cheesy Jalapeno Bacon Cornbread

I swear I've been cooking, I have just had a lot of things going on and I got sick for a few days there so I hadn't really felt like blogging. Last night, I was not in the mood to cook at all. BUT we've been eating a lot of crap lately and I figured I'd better cook something. 

So I threw some chicken thighs in a crock pot and tossed a bunch of shit together to make a nice sauce and - BAM - part one was done. Next, I figured I should probably do something from Cravings since it feels like it's been forever since I've made anything from there. I decided everyone likes a nice cornbread so I pulled out the ingredients and began to prep this bad boy. 

Instead of doing it all at once, like cooking usually goes, I did this in batches throughout the day because I still didn't feel well. I cooked the bacon at, like, 1 pm and set it aside. I mixed together the dry ingredients a half hour later...chopped up the jalapenos at like 2:30...and decided to suck it up and cook the damn thing around 4:30.

You cook this in a cast iron skillet which is great because that makes for less dishes to clean. It's very cut and dry. Mix everything together and bake - very much the cornbread fashion. And when you pull it out of the oven, it looks like this:

Now isn't that a sight for OCD eyes?

Collin walked in the kitchen and was all "What's that? It looks good." It does look good, doesn't it?

Look at that nice chunk of bacon.

This was good. I may or may not make it again, but it was good. Now, this isn't the kind of cornbread you would put honey and butter on. I mean, it's got bacon and jalapeno in it. Collin got up and had thirds of this, though. I mean, he raved about it. I guess if you stick enough bacon and jalapeno in something it's bound to be a winner. The verdict is that this is easy and delicious enough that everyone needs to toss the Jiffy or the Martha's White aside and make it at least once in their life. 

King's Hawaiian BLPTS

To start, I must have passed by this recipe 50 times and I even made it the other night (obviously) and I just realized it says BLPTS instead of BLTS. I guess that just shows you how attentive I am. The "P" stands for pineapple, by the way. I'm a fan of pineapple. I have to be in the mood, but I'll eat it. I really like it in my smoothies - I don't have to be in the mood for that...that's always good.

These are your standard BLT except for the addition of pineapple, which you broil until it gets brown spots. I used canned pineapple instead of fresh, like she suggests, because I absolutely hate cutting up fresh pineapple. It's a huge pain in my ass and I don't think it tastes all that different than canned. She also adds onion, which I also omitted because raw onion on things is disgusting. Basically, you cut everything up and stick in on a King's Hawaiian bun.

I made double the bacon she suggests and ate that while I got these ready. Nom. 

Now, this was interesting. I didn't use mayo, but in the book she says to use "as much as you like". I don't like any, so there goes that. I did, however, spread avocado on mine and that's always a crowd pleaser. (For the sake of the recipe though I did try one without avocado.) Now, the addition of the pineapple threw me off. I did not like it on this at all. The broiler made it kind of dry and weird tasting and it didn't do much for the sandwich except add a strange taste. I had like 4 of these and didn't even add it to the last 2. I like BLT's though so I'll make those again. Hold the pineapple, please.

Buttery Glazed Green Beans

I can say pretty confidently that I've never met a green bean I didn't like. I love them raw, canned, casseroled, dipped, sauteed, stewed, dried, fried...I mean I really don't discriminate. I have not, however, had them sweet. Which is basically what this recipe is. I've always liked the idea of keeping my green beans on the savory side, but what the hell. I gave it a try.

In true side dish fashion, the effort required for this recipe is minimal. Basically you dump the green beans in literal sugar water and boil them. Side note: am I the only one who thinks of Men In Black when you say "sugar water"? I always follow it up with "Edgar your skin is hanging off your bones". 

Annnyway. These babies are sweet. Sweet, sweet, sweet. These were a little too sweet for me actually. I'll probably stick to my savory green bean recipes because I just couldn't get in to these at all. I ate them because I wasn't going to waste a pound of green beans, and because they weren't terrible, but I won't ever make them again. I guess I have now met the green bean I just don't like. That's a little sad.

Don't let the almonds fool you. These suckers are sweet.

SS: Tuna Rice Casserole

I need to start this off by giving mad props to Brooke Griffen of Skinny Suppers for realizing, and utilizing, the beauty that is peas with tuna. Seriously though, screw "peas and carrots" that shit should be "peas and tuna". My earliest memories of the dynamic duo are accompanied by macaroni and cheese. Our mother was (and still very much is) a culinary genius and, as far as I'm concerned, she made up this delectable combo all on her own. *Applause*

That being said, this recipe was already a huge hit in my mind. I actually completely fucked up this recipe by not really having all of the ingredients and it still turned out absolutely wonderful. Very little prep and very little cleanup. *Ding! Ding!* We have a winner!

It looks so freaking good.

Recipe:

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6 (1 suggested serving, 1 husband size serving, 1 toddler serving and 1 lunch serving - so really it serves like 4.)

Serving size: 1 1/3 cups 

286 Cal, 8g Fat, 37g Carbs, 5g Fiber, 7g Sugar, 18g Protein

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs. minced garlic

1 red bell pepper, diced (I only had green so that's what I used)

1 (8 oz. container) baby bella mushrooms, sliced (I just used some white mushrooms bc no)

1 (10.5 oz can) Campbell's Healthy Request condensed cream of mushroom soup (I thought I had some, but I was wrong, so I used Aldi brand Fit and Healthy cream of chicken soup, mildly expired)

1 cup Prego Light Homestyle Alfredo Sauce 

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 (12 oz) bag frozen peas, thawed (Meh. My bag wasn't completely full and about half thawed)

2 (5 oz) cans solid white albacore tuna, drained and flaked

1 (8.8 oz) pouch Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Brown Rice (you don't have to cook it first, just dump it in)

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup whole wheat Ritz cracker crumbs (about 13 crackers) (I was not about to go buy a box of wheat Ritz, so I just didn't use these or any breadcrumbs for that matter)

1) Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 13x9 with cooking spray.

2) In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Then add the garlic, onion and pepper. Cook for like 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Cook for like 5 more minutes.

3) Stir in the mushroom soup and Alfredo sauce. Add salt and pepper. Toss in the peas and tuna and stir in for like 2 minutes.

4) Remove from the heat and rip open your ready rice and dump it in there. Stir. Transfer to the baking dish and top with cheese and cracker crumbs. Bake for about 20 minutes. 

Mom bought me this pretty bowl today and it makes me so happy :)