Tonight was the night to indulge!  Next week we get into the full swing of healthy eating, gym going, and spin classes so it was the perfect evening to go for it.

The batter on the fish is so perfect (LOVE the cornmeal!) and the mac and cheese is sharp and delicious. The original recipe called for catfish but I used locally caught pollock, which is a nice, dense fish that holds up really well to frying.  The mac & cheese also called for onion and while I loooove onion, the Mr. does not, so I sub in shallots whenever a recipe calls for an onion (which makes the onion taste more mild).

Enjoy!

Crunchy Fish Sandwiches and Stove Top Mac & Cheese

Fish Sandwiches

Ingredients for Spicy Tarter Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise 1 lemon, juiced

3 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 tablespoons dill relish

Pinch kosher salt

Pinch ground pepper

Ingredients for Fish:

Oil, for frying

2 eggs

3 dashes hot sauce

2 teaspoons Old Bay

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 fish filets

4 sourdough sandwich rolls

4 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:

To make the Spicy Tartar Sauce:

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the Fish:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a deep 12-inch pan set over medium-high heat, add enough oil so it comes 1/3 of the way up the sides. Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.

In a wide-mouth bowl, whisk the eggs with the hot sauce, Old Bay and a pinch of salt. In a small paper bag, mix together the cornmeal, flour, cornstarch, and salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the fish in egg mixture, then in the flour mixture. Gently shake off excess flour. Set aside and repeat with remaining flounder. Fry the fish in batches until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes each side, being careful to keep the temperature at 375 degrees F. Remove fish to a paper towel to drain and immediately season with salt.

Slice the sandwich rolls in half, slather the cut sides with butter and season with salt. Arrange, cut side up, on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. An alternate is to put them, buttered side down, on a griddle or under a broiler, and toast until golden. Set aside.

To assemble sandwiches, slather the rolls with the Spicy Tartar Sauce, top with fish, and serve.

Stove top Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, grated with juices retained

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

8 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded

1 pound baby shell pasta, cooked al dente

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots, including juices, and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, white pepper, paprika, and salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Cook for a few minutes to let the flavors bloom, and then slowly stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the cheeses and stir until melted, then remove from heat. Stir in the pasta and toss until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.

]]> http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/so-about-that-eating-healthy/feed/ 0 http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/hola-mi-llamo-mexican-chicken-meatloaf/ http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/hola-mi-llamo-mexican-chicken-meatloaf/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:22:42 +0000 Tana http://littlemissblog.com/?p=350 In my hunt for healthy recipes, I came across a meatloaf recipe that called for ground beef that caught my eye… I knew I could just sub in ground chicken for the beef and make it that much better.  It turned out quite tasty and moist and it satisfied my love of Mexican flavors!

Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Meatloaf

1 lb. ground chicken
1 cup crushed Doritos
1 egg – beaten
1 packet taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded colby/jack cheese – divided
1 1/2 cups salsa - divided
1/2 can refried beans

Combine first 4 ingredients, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and 1 cup of the salsa.
Form mixture into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan.
Spread refried beans over the top of the meat loaf.
Drizzle remaining salsa over top.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

]]> http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/hola-mi-llamo-mexican-chicken-meatloaf/feed/ 0 http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/come-and-get-your-meat-a-balls/ http://littlemissblog.com/2010/01/come-and-get-your-meat-a-balls/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:56:12 +0000 Tana http://littlemissblog.com/?p=347 In an attempt to eat healthier in 2010, I’ve decided to cut out as much red meat as possible.  First step: find a solid recipe for meatballs made with ground turkey or chicken.

And I must say that I struck gold with this concoction I put together.  The problem with ground chicken or turkey is that typically, it is flavorless.  This recipe adds in lots of yummy goodness and even my red meat loving husband didn’t miss the red meat.  You could easily make this recipe with just turkey or just chicken as well but it is what I had on hand.

Enjoy!

TurChicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound lean chicken

1 pound ground turkey

1 egg

¼ cup ketchup

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 clove minced garlic

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together for the meat mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX! Roll into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes or until browned.

I chose to bring two types of Sweet Onion Tartletts to the first party and Beer Dip & Easy Goat Cheese Spreads to the second.  Everything turned out really very tasty and I would make it all again in a heartbeat.

Sweet Onion Tartletts (Thanks to my girl Emily for the inspiration!!)

Top: Sweet Onion Tartletts with Blue Cheese, Bottom: Sweet Onion Tartletts with Baby Swiss Cheese

Ingredients:

4 large red onions,  peeled and sliced into half moons

1 stick of unsalted butter

6 packets of sweet & low

1 package of phyllo dough

salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp melted butter

8 ounces shredded swiss

8 ounces blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

In a large dutch oven, melt the stick of butter.  Add onions and stir to coat with butter.  Add sweet & low.  Cover & let onions sweat out for 20-25  minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Once the onions are soft & brown, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove onions from heat. (At this point, you can choose to leave them as is, or stir in cheese.  I took half of my onions and stirred in shredded swiss and left  the other half plain, and once they were in the cups, then topped them with crumbled blue cheese)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut your phyllo dough into 2 inch squares.  Spray a mini muffin pan with Pam.  Place 2 pieces of phyllo in the cup, pressing down.  Use a small pastry brush and brush a small amount of melted butter onto the phyllo.  Cover the butter coated phyllo with 1 more square of phyllo.

Fill each phyllo cup to the top with desired onion mixture.  If you are going to top your onions with cheese, sprinkle the cheese on top of the onion filled phyllo cup.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned and bubbley!

——————————————————————————————————

Beer Dip (I adapted this recipe from one on a RI Nestie’s fabulous recipe site and it will ABSOLUTELY become a recipe that I will make again)

Ingredients:

16 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup beer
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and ranch dressing mix until smooth. Beat in cheese. With your mixer on low, pour in beer in a steady stream.  Mix until well combined.  Serve with pretzels.

——————————————————————————————————

Easy Goat Cheese Spreads (I bookmarked this recipe from the Pioneer Woman many moons ago and had been waiting for the perfect time to debut it!  Nexttime I want to try poppy or sesame seeds… and the dill was by far my favorite!)

Ingredients:

2 packages (11 Ounce) Fresh Goat Cheese

6 Tablespoons Fresh Dill (or More If Needed)

6 Tablespoons Paprika (or More If Needed)

Directions:

Finely chop your fresh dill and spread it out a bit on a piece of saran wrap.

Carefully remove the goat cheese from the packaging and gently roll it over the fresh dill, coating it almost completely.

Pour some Paprika onto a second piece of saran wrap. Roll the second cylinder of goat cheese in the paprika until it is covered completely.

Carefully wrap each roll snugly in plastic wrap and chill until it’s time to serve. (The Paprika Goat Cheese will not do well if kept for longer than one to two hours so don’t make it too far in advance).

Serve with crostini or crackers.

I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and adapted it slightly.  I changed up the amount of mayonnaise and added in a block of cream cheese for some added texture and it worked beautifully! I also upped the amount of spinach to ensure that Popeye would be satisfied with the amount of spinach in each bite!

I served my dip with a crudite of veggies and some butter crackers and it was devoured!  If you’re not an onion fan, you may not dig this dip, as you do use leek soup mix.  Other than that, it’s a hit from start to finish!

Enjoy.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients

3/4 cup mayonaise

16 ounces sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 package dry leek soup mix

4 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and rough chopped

10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, dry leek soup mix, water chestnuts and spinach.

Chill in the refrigerator overnight and serve the next day in a bread bowl.

They are super easy to make, require little ingredients, and are always a hit!

Enjoy

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

16 ounce package of Oreos

8 ounce block cream cheese, softened

16 ounces candy melts, in whatever flavor or color you want your shell to be

Directions

Place entire package of Oreos into food processor and grind until they are a fine crumb consistency.

Combine cream cheese and Oreo crumbs in a big mixing bowl until it has formed a dough (the oil in the cookies will give the dough a nice sheen and will prevent the cream cheese from sticking to anything but the Oreos).

Use a cookie scoop to scoop out bits of the dough (I used a 1 inch cookie scoop) and roll into balls.

Once your balls are formed, you can melt your chocolate and then dip them in the melted chocolate (follow the directions on your packaging for melting of the chocolate).  When dipping, I use two oversized spoons to roll the balls back and forth in.

Place the balls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and chill in the freezer.

Yield: 24-26 1-inch balls.

Last night was my hubby’s annual family cookie swap and being the newest member of their fam, I volunteered to host and provide the snacky bits.  One of the hits of the spread was this easy peasy Eggnog Cake.  As much as I enjoy a scratch cake, one that comes from a box saves time and with the week I’d had this week, I was looking for as many time saving things that I could.

This cake is super moist and dense all at the same time… the eggnog, rum, and nutmeg flavors work so beautifully together to make this cake a new favorite in our house for years to come!

Enjoy!

Eggnog Cake

Ingredients – Cake:

4 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 packaged yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups commercially prepared eggnog

2 eggs

1 teaspoon rum extract

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Ingredients – Glaze:
2c. powdered sugar
2T. melted butter
3T. eggnog
1t. vanilla

Directions – Cake:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, eggnog, eggs, rum extract, nutmeg and melted butter on low speed for 30 seconds or just til moistened. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth. Pour into greased bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Poke holes in the hot cake and brush with half of the eggnog glaze.
Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Drizzle with remaining glaze.

Directions – Glaze:
Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl, whisk well. Add more eggnog if needed for a consistency that will drizzle from a spoon.

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We are proud to introduce the Sophia Tolli line of gowns into our store!!  We have recieved a few samples in stock and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Spring 2010 gowns!  Here’s a sampling of what we can offer…

Also, we just received a fabulous and chic gown in from Mon Cheri!  This dress is certainly a show stopper… come by the store to see for yourself!

I chose to make Pumpkin Streusel Bread.  Since the recipe I used makes a ton of bread, I ended up with 2 loaves and 9 good sized muffins.  I love how this bread/ muffin recipe turned out… so moist and tasty.  The streusel topping is really the highlight (or so I think!).  I will absolutely be making this again very soon!

Enjoy

Pumpkin Streusel Bread/ Muffins

Ingredients

Bread

• 15 oz can pumpkin puree

• 4 eggs

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 2/3 cup water

• 3 cups white sugar

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Streusel topping

• 4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 5 tablespoons white sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7×3 inch loaf pans or prepare muffin pans with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

3. In a medium bowl, mix streusel of flour, sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle onto loaves.

4. For loaves, Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. For muffins, Bake for about 20 minutes in preheated oven.  Bread/ muffins are done with a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

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