Baked Fish Sticks

Something smells fishy!! I know, I know. These fish sticks look more like chicken nuggets. That's because they aren't really sticks, they are more like however many pieces I could get out of 2 fillets of fish. That's why some are bigger than others, maybe we'll call them baked fish nuggets? That doesn't sound too appetizing. Let's just stick with 'sticks.' I used cod and Italian style breadcrumbs to coat, which are packed with flavor. They have parsley, garlic, and romano cheese already mixed in so you don't have to add any additional ingredients. One less thing to worry about. If you can't find cod, any white flaky fish would do. I used frozen cod and it turned out great so don't be afraid to buy frozen. They turned out crunchy on the outside but hot and flaky on the inside—perfection. A dip is essential for these delicious fish sticks. Adam was in charge of the dips— ketchup, mayonnaise, ketchup mixed with mayonnaise, and dijon mustard. All were great, but the ketchup/mayo combo was our favorite.

Baked Fish Sticks

2 medium fillets of cod or any white flaky fish

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1-2 eggs, beaten

salt 'n' peppa

1 Preheat oven to 375.

2 Prepare 2 bowls, one with bread crumbs and one with eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper.

3 Cut 1 inch slices/pieces of fish and season with salt and pepper.

4 Dip fish pieces, one by one, into egg bowl then bread crumb bowl.

5 Once all fish pieces are coated, set aside for 10-15 minutes to allow bread crumbs to stick onto the fish.

6 Place fish sticks in preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with a dipping sauce, or two, of your choice.

Hard Boiled Eggs & Pesto Pizza

There are many things I often reminisce about my trip to Miami. The clear warm turquoise water, running my fingers through the fine sand, smelling like the beach, the cold refreshing drinks, and....this pizza. I know it might sound weird, but when I saw it on the menu I knew I would fall in love. I love finding unexpected ways to incorporate eggs into dishes and this one is a definite winner. The one I had in South Beach had some hard boiled eggs, mushrooms, and other goodies I can't remember. I decided to switch things up and put my own spin on it. I chose pesto and hard boiled eggs on my pizza— simple flavors so that the eggs will really shine. The pesto really added a nice flavor with the eggs, gooey cheese and hot tomato basil marinara sauce. Is there a dish that you've had dining out that you can't wait to try at home?

Hard Boiled Eggs & Pesto Pizza

1 store bought pizza crust, or make your own dough. (I bought whole wheat and I couldn't even tell the difference)

Marinara sauce, enough to cover entire pizza surface

3-4 hard boiled eggs, a great tutorial can be found here

A couple of tablespoons of pesto

About 2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2 Slice already cooled hard boiled eggs into thin slices, keeping the yolk and egg white intact in each slice. Set aside.

3 Spread marinara evenly onto pizza dough.

4 Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese Next, dollop some pesto wherever you want it. Top with egg slices and pop into oven for 8- 10 minutes.

The Best Bolognese Sauce Ever

....that I can't take credit for. It is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, guest hosted by Pastor Ryan. I was kind of hesitant on making a meat sauce because I usually like my pasta lighter and meatless, but I am so glad I did! I was thinking about cutting his measurements in half but Im so thankful I didn't because now I have lots of yummy leftovers! Maybe even enough to freeze! It is saucy, sweet, meaty, melt in your mouth good and Adam couldn't get enough! I served this over angel hair pasta and topped with shredded parmesan cheese. Bon Apetito!

Bolognese Sauce

1.5 cups grated carrot

1 red onion, diced

2 lbs ground beef

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried basil, I used a couple of fresh basil leaves, minced

1 6oz can tomato paste

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red wine

2 tablespoon Worcestershire

salt

pepper

3 14.5 oz cans whole tomatoes

1 cup milk, I used skim

Parmesan cheese

1 Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and add grated carrots and diced red onion and cook until softened.

2 Make a well in the center and add ground beef. Cook until browned, slowly incorporating the veggies with the meat until all the meat is browned.

3 Add oregano and basil. Mix. Make another well and add tomato paste in the center and let heat through.

4 Add minced garlic and stir.

5 Make another well and add red wine. Stir.

6 Add worcestershire and stir.

7 Add canned tomatoes, milk and stir all together.

8 Simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. I simmered for about an hour and a half and it was melt in your mouth good.

Serve over pasta and top with parmesan cheese.

Roasted artichokes

This is such a fun treat to eat. I love love eating with my hands and lickin' my fingers.  Plus, unlike other finger foods like french fries or chips, its healthy! My mom used to steam the artichoke and we would would use some sort of a mayonnaise to dip. I chose to steam then roast it for a smoky flavor and to add some color. And since were eating a vegetable here, I thought a butter sauce for dipping was appropriate, don't you think? I thought so.

Roasted Artichoke

 1 artichoke, trimmed

1 Bay leaf

kosher salt

olive oil

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 Wash artichoke thoroughly and trim the pointy ends off the leaves. Trim the stem off.

2 Place a medium pot with about 2 inches of water and a steam basket inside. Place a bay leaf inside and boil water.

3 Place artichoke on steamer basket and cover for about 25-30 minutes until tender.

4 Slice artichoke in half from tip to end and scoop out the center fuzzy choke. I used a spoon for this.

5 Drizzle artichoke halves with olive oil and kosher salt and place in toaster oven cut side up at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

6 Prepare a dipping bowl with melted butter from the microwave. Also, prepare a bowl for the discarded leaves.

7 To eat, pick leaves, dip in butter sauce, and scrape the artichoke meat off the root of the leaf using your teeth. Discard the leaf when done. Once you pick all the leaves, you are left with the artichoke heart and this part is completely edible. And delicious.

Mexican Pizza

Who loves mexican? Me! Er, let me rephrase that. Who doesn't love mexican? No one! I'm always in the mood for mexican because its just so easy to put together. Just throw a bunch of stuff in a tortilla and i'll be a happy camper. When I was younger, I used to always get mexican pizza from Taco Bell. They were soooo good! So, today I decided to make my own "adultified", healthy vegetarian version. I used my recipe for refried beans, whole grain tortillas and plain yogurt instead of sour cream! (but sometimes I do use low fat sour cream). Let the fiesta begin!

Mexican Pizza

2 tortillas

refried beans, recipe here

1 bunch green onions, sliced on the diagonal

diced tomatoes

cheddar cheese

yogurt or sour cream

1 Place tortilla in frying pan without oil, let heat and crisp up.

2 Spread a layer of refried beans over the entire surface of the tortilla and let heat through.

3 Add green onions, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce. I add a lot of green onions for the crunch.

4 Place second tortilla on top and let heat through and flip once cheese is melted.

5 Garnish with more toppings. Avocado would be good as well.

Pasta with caramelized leeks and feta cream sauce

Whenever I see heavy cream in recipes, I try and find a way to get around it. I just can't get myself to use cream in my cooking, I just feel like I'm sinning or something. This is definitely a direct influence from my mother. I was raised in a very healthy household. I was lucky to get 98% fat free popcorn. As a kid, I craved that 2% fat! Now that I'm on my own, I definitely explore other types of cooking, but I still can't do the cream. I just can't! So when I saw this recipe, I adapted it, and voila! A perfectly creamy cream-less pasta dish! The smokey flavor from the caramelized leeks and the creamy feta together create a kick ass bowl of noodles! Trust me. My apartment smelled so good my dog was going crazy!

Pasta with caramelized leeks and feta cream sauce

1 lb pasta, I used fettuccine but any shape would work

2 leeks, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup feta, more for topping

Couple leaves mint, optional

salt 'n' peppa

1 Boil a pot of water, season with kosher salt. Place noodles in rapidly boiling water and cook until al-dente.

2 Cut tall dark part off the leeks and discard. Wash light green part thoroughly and slice into thin rings.

3 Saute sliced leeks over medium heat with olive oil and a bit of butter. Cook until softened and slightly golden. Season with salt 'n' peppa.

4 Add minced garlic cloves and cook with the leeks. Let flavors meld together.

5 Pour feta into the same pan and let heat through and melt. Add some hot pasta water into the pan until it becomes creamed and saucy.

6 At this time, the pasta should be ready. Pour drained pasta into the pan and incorporate the leek-feta sauce throughout. Top with more feta and some mint if you have it. Enjoy!

Note: I put up 2 photos of the pasta because I couldn't choose! Which one do you like better?

This is my submission for Presto Pasta Night! Thanks Daphne for hosting this week's roundup!

Apricot Rosemary Glazed Roast Chicken

Summer has begun and one of my favorite summer fruits is apricot. It is fresh, juicy and portable. It's so easy to just pop one in your purse for a quick afternoon snack. I found a glaze recipe using orange and rosemary which sounded delicious, but I decided to change it up and use summer apricot instead. I used both apricot preserves and fresh apricot for added flavor. The glaze recipe is from Cooking from the seat of my pants, a great food blog to check out. I may have burned the skin of the chicken a bit, lets just call it extra crispy...

Apricot Rosemary Glaze

3 tbsp apricot preserves

1 tsp sugar

1/3 cup white wine

1 tsp fresh rosemary, 1/2 tsp dried

Chicken

1 3.5 lb whole chicken

olive oil

kosher salt

ground pepper

2 apricots

a couple sprigs of rosemary

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 Brush entire chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place sprigs of rosemary into inner cavity and apricot halves in between wings and thighs.

3 Place chicken in shallow baking dish on middle rack and bake for 30-45 minutes.

4 Combine all glaze ingredients in small saucepan over medium heat, stir.

5 Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.

6 After 30 minutes, baste the chicken and apricots with some of the glaze. Repeating every 5 minutes until chicken is done, finishing the rest of the glaze.

7 Broil for last 2 minutes for a crispy skin.

Im back!

After a long, re-routed, delayed flight I am finally back home. I had such a wonderful time and am excited to share with you some of the fun I had!

Our first stop was Miami, Florida. I shot this from the airplane window. Nice view, huh?

We stayed in South Beach, right on the white sand. The water was so clear and warm.

Our first meal was at a cute Cuban restaurant beachside. We had beef cuban sandwiches and shrimp stuffed plantain cups!

And of course a refreshment on the side.

South beach is a melting pot with a mixture of different types of food. There is a road called Española Way which is a block devoted to all international food. It is lit up at night and really very pretty. We had this pizza at an Italian restaurant. Hard boiled eggs on a pizza?? Wow! You would be surprised how good it was! I am sooo making this at home!

We came across some interesting people on Ocean Dr., the main strip of bars, clubs and restaurants. There was a group of guys rolling Cuban cigars on the street. An old man was rolling these cigars so fast, I was glad I could snap a shot of him. It was incredible to watch him.

After our two nights on South Beach, we boarded the cruise ship. It would be our new home for the next 4 nights.

I didn't take as many pictures on the ship, but we did stop at some great islands in the Bahamas and Key West. I think Key West was my favorite. Sigh. Oh, and I bought a great bottle of chocolate/coffee liquor called Sheridans. Yum! Anywho, its back to reality now. And back to the kitchen!! Get ready for some tasty treats. :)

Im leaving on a jet plane....

And I know when Ill be back again ... in a week! Im off to miami and then a cruise to the bahamas! Lucky lucky me!! Hope to be back with some awesome pics and new cooking inspirations.

xoxo zoe

Poached egg over spinach and shitake mushrooms

You know when you just are craving breakfast for dinner? Well, this was a product of one of those nights. I saw a great tutorial on poaching eggs here and wanted to test it out. It worked perfectly! So easy and simple. I sauteed some spinach and shitaki mushrooms and layered it in a ramekin, topped with the poached egg. Next time I think I'll top it off with some feta. Delicious!

Poached egg with spinach and shitake mushrooms

(serves 1)

1 poached egg (follow tutorial here)

2 cups of fresh spinach

1/2 lb shitake mushrooms (any type will work)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

 salt 'n' peppa

1 While egg is poaching, saute spinach over medium heat until softened with some salt 'n' peppa.

2 Remove spinach once done, and in the same pan saute mushroom with thyme until softened.

3 Layer ramekin with spinach, mushroom and poached egg. Top with freshly ground pepper.

"Refried" Beans

Yummy yum yum I love beans. Any time of the day, morning, day snack, night, midnight....I always wondered why they were called refried beans though. After some research, now I know why. After you cook the beans and mash them, you are supposed to re-fry them in a pan with oil and onions. I thought that this step was unnecessary, so I skipped it! What I was left with was.........the same thing! It tasted like refried beans, it look like refried beans, ant it smelled like refried beans. Except healthier! You can be creative with the leftovers – burrito, tostada topped with refried beans, cheese, lettuce, etc., dip, mexican pizza, even make falafel balls with them! The possibilities are endless.

"Refried" Beans

2 lb beans – I used a mixture of pinto and northern beans, dried

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt 'n' peppa

1 Cover dried beans with water, 2 inches higher than beans, in a bowl. Let soak for up to 6 hours.

2 Discard water and place beans into crock pot and again cover the beans with water, 2 inches higher than the beans. Set on low for up to 8 hours.

3 Add minced garlic into the crock pot with the beans and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so.

4 Turn crock pot off and transfer beans to a separate bowl. Mash with fork or potato masher.

5 Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Chicken Parmesan Bake

This is a twist on a classic italian dish – Chicken parmesan. The twist is that it is healthy! The chicken is not breaded and fried, instead is ground up and treated as ground chuck – sauteed until browned in a pan. Essentially I made a meat sauce, but with chicken. And, since chicken parmesan is traditionally paired with pasta, I made it into a (whole wheat) pasta bake! I love bakes because they are perfect for weeknight meals along with a salad and is great re-heated the next day. And the next. And the next! The sauce is made up of tomato paste, fresh garlic, oregano, and thyme. Oh, and I was out of parmesan for the top but used mozzarella throughout.

Chicken Parmesan Bake

1 lb ground chicken

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 12oz can tomato paste

1 cup water

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons chicken broth

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1/2 tablespoon thyme

8 oz pasta, rotini or penne will work

2 cups mozzarella, shredded 

1 tablespoon breadcrumbs (optional)

1 Heat pan over medium heat with some olive oil. Cook diced onion until softened. Then, mix in minced garlic.

2 Place ground chicken into same pan and break up with back of wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink.

3 Pour tomato paste, milk, water, broth into pan and stir. Mix in thyme and oregano.

4 While sauce is simmering, boil water for pasta and cook until al dente- about 12 minutes.

5 Prepare a casserole dish and layer as follows: Half of pasta, half of cheese, half of sauce, then continue in that order again. Top with breadcrumbs and bake in oven for about 25 minutes or until cheese is gooey and melted and heated through. How easy is that?!

Asparagus & Gruyere Tart

This dish is the essence of the outdoors, perfect for a patio brunch. Its colors are light and earthy and looks like you spent hours in the kitchen making it, but in reality it takes less than an hour! It has minimal ingredients and really displays the beauty of the asparagus. Fool your guests and enjoy this cheesy, crispy tart as an appetizer or side dish. I could only find thin asparagus at the market, but thick ones work just as well. Make sure to trim and wash them properly before cooking.

Asparagus & Gruyere Tart
1 frozen puff pastry sheet (you can also use 2 to make a larger one)
Olive oil
1 shallot, minced
Fresh lemon juice
1 lb asparagus, washed and trimmed
2 cups Gruyere, shredded
Kosher salt and pepper

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2 Thaw puff pastry as directed on box. Unfold pastry until flat and brush and score the dough with a sharp knife 1 inch from the border. Use a fork to prick at 1/2 inch intervals inside of the now scored border. Don't prick the border.
3 Brush the inside of the border with olive oil, lemon juice, and minced shallot. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
4 Pre-bake the puff pastry for 15 minutes.
5 While the pastry is in the oven, wash and trim the asparagus. Pat dry.
6 Remove the pastry from the oven and evenly sprinkle inside the border with Gruyere cheese.
7 Arrange the asparagus, alternating tips and ends. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
8 Return the tart into the oven for 20-25 minutes until asparagus are roasted. Let cool, squeeze more lemon juice and serve.