Tilapia and Lentils

Cooking fish can be one of the easiest things to do... and yet, it can be one of the most confusing too. Often overcooked or overwhelmed by too many flavors and ingredients, fish is misunderstood. Tilapia takes on the flavors you cook it with, its a clean slate to work with.

In this dish, I've taken super simple (not to mention cheap) lentils, cooked them with a little tomato paste and then simmered the fish on top with a slice of lemon. The fish is light while the lentils are filling, and together it's all tasty!

You can't really over cook the lentils- (let's say you walk away from the stove for a couple of hours....think of split peas, they will just form a thicker, smoother base the longer they cook.) And you will nestle the fish right into the lentils and cover, which will help keep the fish moist.

So, we've got simple flavors and cooking instructions, it's light and yet filling and easy on the wallet. It's fat and happy ... and .... forgiving! Enjoy!

Tilapia in Tomato Lentils

Sautee in olive oil until soft:
1/3 cup of each (chopped): onions, carrots celery

Add and stir to incorporate:
1 Tbls (heaping) tomato paste
black pepper

Add
1/2 cup lentils
3 cups water (or broth if you have it)
1 bay leaf

Simmer until the lentils are fork tender (this could take up to 1 hour); add the fish when there is still a little liquid in left in the lentils.

Add:
2 Tbls tomato balsamic vinegar (or plain balsamic vinegar)
Squeeze of lemon
handful of fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Now add 2 pieces of tilapia, settle it into the lentils (tilapia is delicate, so be gentle).
Top each fillet with a slice or two of fresh lemon and a sprinkling of seasoning salt, cover.
Continue to simmer for until the tilapia is flaky (just use your fork and take a peek inside the fish, this is only going to take about 5 minutes.

Serve each fillet on a bed of lentils.

Tomato Black Bean Dip Soup

The name sounds funny, right? But how often can a soup act as a dip using the same recipe? Surprisingly quite often, actually. Take this Tomato and Black Bean soup- by adding less water, or just by letting the soup cook a bit longer, you end up with a thick and hearty dip that is perfect with chips and cheese. On the other hand, as a soup it works great with a warm tortilla and cheese as well. When I began making it, I wasn't sure what I was making, and in the end I found two options on my hand. And its a vegetarian option with protein from the beans.

Whether you decide to go with a soup, a dip or split it as both- it's warming and filling- keeping you fat and happy!

Tomato Black Bean (Dip) Soup

Sautee in olive oil until soft:

1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced celery
1 Tbls ground cumin
1 Tbls lime pepper
Add, sautee for 3 minutes:
1 poblano pepper, roasted and chopped
1 garlic clove

Add:
1 can black beans - smash half of the beans with the back of the spoon
1 can tomatoes
1/2 can water (add more for a thinner soup, less for dip)
Salt and pepper to taste
Simmer 10 minutes.

Add shredded cheddar on top and serve with chips or a warm tortilla.

Fennel Sausage Spinach Ravioli

Favorite thing to make, hands down, is pasta. Maybe because I have such fond memories of making pasta with my family growing up. Or maybe it's about getting my hands in the dough, feeling the ingredients and having the option to make numerous shapes, noodles and ravioli's.

It's also super fun to make flavored dough like spinach, the dough takes on a colored hue to it- green in this case. Wanting to vary the look of the ravioli, I made one plain and one spinach dough and then striped the ravioli; it looks so cool and professional!

To create the strips, grab one hunk of plain dough and one hunk of flavored dough, smoosh them side by side as you begin to roll into the pasta maker.  Continue to roll through the pasta machine until desired thickness is reached.

The filling was created to blend with the spinach dough and it works wonderfully. Feel free to just make a basic pasta, and not mix the doughs; look at my pasta posting to find out how to make handmade pasta.


Have fun and play with your food, get your hands dirty! See where it takes you! Making pasta makes me fat and happy...how about you?

Tips and Techniques: Typically, fillings need a binder like an egg to hold them together. I didn't use an egg this time because I just wanted a looser filling. If you prefer the filling to hold together more, simply add an egg and a handful of bread crumbs to the recipe below.

Fennel Sausage Spinach Ravioli filling

1/2 cup finely diced onion
3/4 cup finely diced fennel
1/4 tsp red pepper
seasoning salt and fresh black pepper
1/4 tsp (heaping) crushed fennel seed
2 cloves garlic

2 turkey sausages (remove from casing and crumble first)
1/4 cup finely shredded asiago cheese
2 tbls fresh thyme
2 tbls chopped fennel fronds

Saute the crumbled sausages in the saute pan, cook until about half way done.  Add in the onion, fennel, seasoning salt, red and black pepper until the onion begins to soften.  You may need to add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan since turkey sausage can be dry.  


Add the fresh thyme, fennel fronds and cheese, toss lightly and remove from heat.

Cool  the filling before stuffing the ravioli.

Need the pasta recipe? Click here for fresh, handmade pasta.

Bacon Crepes with Blueberry Sauce

Everything tastes better with bacon- it's a proven fact. Watch any cooking challenge show and you'll see the judges drool at any dish with bacon. It's a sure fire win!

I had a taste for crepes one morning, and what would taste better with crepes.....than bacon! Simple bacon with caramelized onions- yum! The sauce is a bit different than what you might expect, it's a savory blueberry sauce. The blueberries lend themselves to a little thyme, resulting in a savory good sauce

Even with the bacon and caramelized onions, this comes across as a relatively lighter breakfast. And the blueberries give it a hint of a built-in-dessert. It's fat and happy together on a plate! Enjoy!

Tips and Techniques:  Don't be alarmed if the first couple of crepes don't work out- it's normal.  Just take your time with them and allow do allow plenty of time for the batter to rest.

Bacon Crepes with Blueberry Sauce

Begin with a basic crepe
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup of milk (more if needed)
1 cup flour
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a blender or whisk by hand until smooth, set in the refrigerator for about 1 hour (this gives the batter time to rest and resolve all air bubbles). The batter should be about the consistency of heavy whipping cream.

Heat up a skillet (use one about 8 inches wide) and bush with melted butter. Pour in about a scant 1/4 cup of batter- twirl the pan so only the bottom is covered with batter. Flip when the crepe begins to lightly brown, brown on second side. Repeat.

Stack the crepes and leave in a warm oven until ready to fill.

Bacon Stuffing
While your crepe batter is resting, cook the bacon and onions.

Fry the bacon to your liking, set aside
8 slices of bacon, chopped

Use the bacon pan, leaving about 2 tbls of bacon fat in it. Add the onions, sautee to caramelize.
1/2 white onion- sliced very thin
1/4 red onion- sliced very thin
add in 1 chopped clove of garlic when the onions are about half way cooked.

Place the onions and bacon in a ceramic dish- put in the oven to keep warm until the crepes are ready.

Add 1 cup of sour cream, salt and pepper to the the bacon mix before placing in the crepes, the warm mixture will 'melt' the sour cream.


Savory Blueberry Sauce

Using the same onion/bacon pan (don't wipe out, you want the hint of onions and bacon in the sauce), add in:
1 cup of blueberries (I have frozen blueberries in the freezer for such occasions)
2 tbls olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbls pomegranate balsamic vinegar (or plain balsamic)
2 Tbls lemon honey (or plain honey with a squeeze of lemon)
pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 Tbls sugar

Simmer (if the sauce gets too thick, add in a splash of stock). Add in a dot of butter just before serving.


Putting the bacon crepes and the savory blueberry sauce together

Take one crepe, place a big dollop of the bacon sour cream mixture in the middle, and fold to a square. Pour a spoon of simmering blueberry sauce over the top. Serve.

Meatball Soup with Dumplings

Nearly every recipe on my blog is my true creation; but once in a while I do find inspiration from someone else's recipe. I saw a version of this soup on a show...honestly I'm not sure which one. So this is an adaptation of that - if anyone has seen which show this is, do let me know and I'll credit it!

The mustard in the dumplings of this soup carry over and flavor the rest of the soup- it's hearty, tasty and an unexpected flavor. The hint of horseradish gives a zip as well.

My meatballs are wonderfully tasty and could be used in other recipes as well. It does take some time to roll out and brown them, but it's worth the time. This a manly soup- make it for your men today and watch them be fat and happy!

Meatball Soup with Mustard Dumplings

Sautee in olive oil:
1/2 cup chopped Onions
1/2 cup chopped Carrots
1/2 cup chopped Fennel

add stock (about 2 quarts)

add 1/2 cup red lentil beans (dried)
1/3 cup barley
cook about 10 minutes (or until your meatballs are ready)
In the meantime- turn your attention to making the meatballs. (see below)

add browned meatballs

let that simmer while you make the dumplings.

Turkey Meatballs

sautee until soft, then cool:
1/4 cup finely diced onions
1 clove garlic (pushed through a garlic press)

Mix in a bowl, using your hands:
the sauteed onions and garlic
1 pound of ground turkey meat
1/4 cup parsley
1 egg
1 tsp tomato paste
2 Tbls fresh chopped oregano
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Use a small cookie scoop, roll into tiny balls (try not to pack these too tight, you want to keep them somewhat loose so they don't get hard.)

Lightly spread flour on a large, flat plate. Roll the meatballs lightly in the flour and then lightly brown. Don't cook all the way through, because these will finish cooking in the soup.

Mustard Dumplings
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbls stone ground mustard
1 tsp creamy horseradish
3/4 cup water

Stir to incorporate all ingredients; drop teaspoons full into the simmering pot. You'll just need to push the dumplings down into the broth, they will reduce in size as they cook. Cover and let simmer for about 1/2 hour. Serve.

Bok Choy, Sausage and Thyme Polenta

I've said it before, and I'll say it again- I love polenta! But I needed to change up the topping as I often make some version of a tomato ragu. This time I went for bok choy and a thyme flavored polenta- it turned out fabulous.

The olives give a nice salty flavor to the dish and brings it all together. I think you'll find it's warm and hearty and yet light all at the same time..sort of like fat and happy.

Tips and techniques:  Use a wine you would drink, if it's not worth drinking- it's not worth eating either. You can use plain water or milk in place of the broth for the polenta.



Bok Choy, Sausage and Thyme Polenta

2 turkey sausages
1 small Spanish or yellow onion, chopped
1 large head of Bok Choy, rough chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed and chopped
2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 cup of olives, chopped (use a good black olive)
1/2 - 1 cup of white wine

Begin the polenta first (recipe below.) In a large sauce pan, cook the 2 turkey sausages until just done.
Remove the sausages, set aside.

Add the onion and Bok Choy into the pan with a little canola oil, and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes and pepper, saute a minute to allow the garlic to release its flavor.
Slice the sausages, add into the pat along with the wine and olives - simmer for about 5 minutes, longer if you want the veggies softer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over the thyme polenta.

Thyme Polenta
2 cups warmed broth, + up to 5 more cups of broth
1/2 cup polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar
2 Tbls chopped thyme

Whisk the polenta into the 2 cups of broth slowly. Stir often over medium low heat. As the polenta begins to thicken you will add another cup of broth 1/2 cup at a time.

This could take up to an hour. When the polenta is complete (taste it, is it still gritty? You may need to add slightly more broth)
Remove from stove. Add in the cheeses and the fresh thyme, as well as salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, stir to help cheese melt. Top with the Bok Choy mixture.

Smoky Cauliflower Soup

Can you ever really go wrong with a soup? And can you think of something you can't make into a soup? Even Champagne makes a great soup! (yes, it is all about the liquor.)

Cauliflower soup is nothing really new. But I do like to put a little char from the grill on my veggies to give them a smoky flavor. When its winter in Chicago- this is not really possible. So this is one of those times that I go to the liquid smoke, not a lot, but enough get the flavor in there.

I also used a head of orange cauliflower here. It was a quarter of the price of the white and after a little research, I found out that the orange head has twice the nutrients too. So now I have a creamy, smoky soup that's chock full of antioxidants and cost just pennies. How can you go wrong?

Make a soup today- you'll feel super warm and satisfied! And soups do freeze well- so make a double batch for those days you have completely no energy to make anything else. Top the soup with some tasty homemade croutons (recipe below), serve with a good red ale and you'll be fat, happy and warm!!


Smokey Cauliflower Soup

**if you can grill your cauliflower, do so. Then omit or reduce the amount of liquid smoke used later.

Toss with olive oil, roast in oven until lightly browned:
1 head of orange cauliflower, separated into pieces
1/2 large white or yellow onion, quartered

Add (half way through the cooking time)
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

Place oven mixture in large stock pot on stove
add and sautee for about 4 minutes (to help release the flavors):

2 Tbls butter
drizzle of olive oil
1 tbls paprika
2 tsp smoke
fresh black pepper
salt to taste

add enough stock to just cover the ingredients. simmer for about 10 minutes, uncovered.
add
2 Tbls fresh thyme
1 Tbls chili pepper oil


carefully blend the soup (using either an immersion blender or your counter top blender). Blend to your linking- if you like a chunkier soup, blend less or blend more for a smoother soup, and you may find you need to add slightly more stock for a thicker soup (or less for thinner).

Serve with Thyme Croutons.

Take stale bread, cut into bite sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, fresh thyme, garlic salt and fresh black pepper. Bake until crunchy.

Pumpkin Granola

Granola is something I consider a staple. I typically have it for breakfast and I do keep a baggie of it in my desk drawer at all times for a quick snack; Dave tends to eat it as a snack after work ... and sometimes after drinking...

It's pretty simple to change up the flavor of your granola by adjusting a few seeds and one base ingredient. Again I found myself with some left over pumpkin and this is where it lead me - Pumpkin Granola. The addition of the pumpkin seeds (the pepitas- which you can pick up at Whole Foods) make a big difference. Also- if you do use the dried blueberries- take a few extra minutes and soak them in orange juice or they will get too dried and burnt. You do not need to do this to the raisins however. Granola stores easily in the cupboard- or store in the freezer for longer keeping.

Mix up your granola today with a little pumpkin and see how often you find your had in the granola jar...after drinking! Be granola fat and happy!

Pumpkin Granola

begin by soaking
1/2 cup of dried blueberries in 1/2 cup orange juice

Mix all the below dry ingredients in a large bowl:

7 cups oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepita, green)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds


Whisk the wet ingredients together:

1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
4 Tbls brown sugar
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
2 Tbls maple syrup

Add the soaking blueberries and the orange juice to the wet ingredients. Now add to the dry ingredients, mix with your hands until all is covered - don't spend too much time mixing.

Spread on two lightly sprayed cookie sheets. Bake at 250 degrees. Toss every half hour until baked and crunchy. Depending on your oven, this may take 2- 4 hours.

Often I'll start it the oven and toss twice, then shut off the oven and go to bed. In the morning I have perfect granola.