Roasted Tilapia with Potatoes, Tomatoes and Olives

I really love fish, yet I rarely cook it, so I am dedicating the next few posts to delicious and healthy seafood! This might be a good way to get back on the diet track after Thanksgiving!


This is from a Cooking for One cookbook, so the recipe is for one serving.


You will need some potatoes, cherry or grape tomatoes, olives, white fish of your choice, garlic, lemon, wine, and herbs of your choice.


Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 425. Slice your potatoes and lemons.


Chop up your tomatoes and garlic.


Chop up your olives, be aware there may be pits in them!


Mix the potatoes with olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Pop these guys in the oven for about 10 minutes.


While the potatoes get tender in the oven, juice your lemon and measure your water and wine.


When the potatoes are done, stir in the tomatoes and olives and then layer the lemons on top.


Place the fish on top of the lemons and pour the wine and water mixture over the whole thing. Season the fish with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Put this all back in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on how thick your fish is and how well you like it cooked.


Once everything is done, just put it on the plate and spoon some of the tasty juices over everything. This is a simple and filling fish recipe that you can change up to include the veggies and fish that you prefer. Stay tuned for more fish recipes coming soon and everyone have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

Chicken and Noodles for Two

I am all about casseroles that I can make in my toaster oven because there is only so much you can do on the stove top. It was 115 here in Arizona today so I am not about to turn my regular oven on!




The recipe is from Taste of Home. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, get some water boiling, and lets grab some ingredients.




You need some cottage or ricotta cheese, pimentos, paprika, egg noodles, cooked chicken, peas, green pepper, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, chopped onion and chives. The goofy looking mayo is Kewpie mayo from Japan and it is some of the best mayo I have ever had, and its cute too.




Get the noodles in the boiling water and start assembling the rest of the casserole.




Chopped green pepper.




Chopped onion or shallot. Now that you are done chopping lets assemble!




You need some tasty mayo.




You are basically just tossing everything in the bowl and getting it all mixed up! Combine everything but the peas and chicken.




I had to take this photo because the colors were so pretty.




Give everything a stir to combine, this would make a tasty dip for crackers or bread.




Drain the noodles and stir them in with the peas and cooked chicken.




Grease up a casserole dish and pour the tasty combo in it.




Sprinkle it with some paprika and get it in the oven.




After about a half an hour the casserole is ready to eat. I love when the top gets nice and crispy, yum.




This is another comfort food meal that I will definitely be making again. Its basically a variation on the classic tuna noodle casserole, so if you have a tuna hater this might be a nice alternative.

Carrot Au Gratin

After my Ham and Corn Au Gratin turned out so great I thought, I can make anything 'Au Gratin' and it would probably be good. So I went with this vegetarian version and it was delicious!! It is also from Taste Of Home Cooking for One or Two.

Ingredients:

* 3 medium carrots, sliced
* 2 tablespoons chopped onion
* 5 teaspoons butter, divided
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Dash pepper
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 2 tablespoons crushed cornflakes

Directions:
Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until carrots are almost tender. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute onion in 3 teaspoons butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and parsley until cheese is melted. Drain carrots; add to sauce.
Transfer to a greased 2-cup baking dish. Melt remaining butter; stir in cornflakes. Sprinkle over carrots. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.





Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (I used my toaster oven of course) and lets gather some ingredients. You need some carrots (or one giant one like I had) onion, butter, flour, milk, shredded cheese, parsley and corn flakes. I didn't have corn flakes so I just used crackers.




Chop up the carrot and the onion. Get the carrots in a sauce pan wiht about an inch of water and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let them cook for 6-8 minutes until tender.




Meanwhile, melt some butter and set it aside.




In another pan, get some more butter and the onion going until they are tender.




While those cook, combine the cracker crumbs or smashed corn chips in a bowl with the butter. I also added a little cheese because Cheese is delicious!




When the onions are tender, stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the milk. Do this nice and slow so your sauce isn't gritty or pasty. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes while stirring.




Remove from the heat then stir in the cheese and parsley.




Your carrots should now be done so drain those guys and we are ready to assemble!




Doesn't the cheese sauce look fantastic??




I didn't bother to combine the carrots and the cheese, I just got the carrots in a greased casserole dish. I also threw in the last of a bag of frozen peas. I used a great Pyrex dish, big surprise there.




Pour the sauce on and top with the crumb topping. Put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then you are ready for some tasty, vegetarian comfort food.




Doesn't it look delicious??




It tasted great, even better than the Ham and Corn Au Gratin I made before it!

Ham and Corn Au Gratin

Regardless of hot it gets here in AZ I still crave comfort food that requires an oven. This is where my toaster oven saves the day. This recipe is from Taste of Home magazine's Cooking for One or Two.

Ingredients:

* 2 teaspoons butter
* 5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup diced fully cooked ham
* 1-1/4 cups frozen corn, thawed
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
* TOPPING:
* 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1/4 cup crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 7 crackers)
* 2 teaspoons butter, melted
* Paprika

Directions:
In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper until smooth; gradually add the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
In a greased 1-qt. baking dish, layer the ham, corn, green pepper and onion. Pour sauce over top. In a bowl, combine the cheese, crumbs and butter; sprinkle over top . Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until heated through and top is golden brown. Yield: 2 servings.




Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lets gather the ingredients. You need, cooked ham, butter, shredded cheese, corn, flour, milk, onion, green pepper, paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper and Ritz crackers. That seems like a lot of stuff, but it is pretty simple to make.




Chop up your veggies.




Smash the crackers in a ziplock bag. I tend to just beat the crap out of them with a rolling pin. Combine the crackers with the grated cheese and melted butter. Set this aside for now.




Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan.




Stir in the flour, mustard and pepper and keep on stirring until its smooth.




Slowly add the milk and continue to stir until it is thickened.




While the sauce cooks grease a casserole dish, mine is a cute Pyrex of course, layer in the ham, corn, green pepper and onion.




Pour the sauce over the top of the ham and veggies.




Top with the cracker crumb mixture and then sprinkle with paprika.




Bake it for about 10-15 minutes and then you are ready to eat!




This is simple and was easily made in my toaster oven in no time at all. When you just have to have some good comfort food on a hot day, this is the way to go.