Fried Catfish

We had old school Southern Night last Sunday night.  I made a basic fried catfish and it was delicious!!

Cornmeal is the only thing to use when making fried catfish.  There are a million different seasonings that you can use with your fish but since I always have Old Bay on hand I just used it.  I love to eat this with lima beans and cheese grits. 

Fried Catfish:

2 catfish fillets
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (I use Old Bay)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 eggs, beaten
Canola oil, enough to pan fry your fish in

Heat your oil in a pan to about 375.

Set up a breading station: flour in one pan, eggs in one pan, and cornmeal in one pan.

Season the catfish fillets with the Cajun seasoning and garlic powder.  Dip the fish in the flour and knock off the extra.  Dip the fish in the beaten eggs and then press the fish into the cornmeal, shaking off any extra.

Fry the fish in the oil for about 3 minutes per side.  The fish should be flaky when it's finished.

Grilled Fish Tacos

Mr. T and I do taco nights almost weekly.   I'm always looking for some new ideas and this one was right up our alley.  Basic white fish (I used tilapia) goes on sale most weeks and tacos are an easy way to get your kids to eat more vegetables.

Grilled Fish Tacos:
(Grilled Fish Tacos)

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh white fish such as tilapia, cod, sole, or flounder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Favorite fresh salsa- my favorite brand
Lettuce (optional)
7 - 8 fat-free flour tortillas

Directions:
Arrange fish in a 2-quart square baking dish; set aside. In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour over fish. Turn fish to coat with marinade. Cover and chill for 15 minutes. Drain fish, discarding any marinade. Stack tortillas and wrap in foil.

Either grill the fish or sear the fillets in a skillet over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes of until flaky.

Transfer fish to a cutting board. Cut or flake fish into 1-inch pieces. Serve in warmed tortillas topped with a salsa of choice.

Bang Bang Shrimp

I love the "Bang Bang Shrimp" from Bonefish Grill.  It's good on it's own but it's awesome as a taco as well.  I found this somewhat slimmed up version online, thanks to Pinterest, and decided to give it a shot.

I just posted the recipe for the shrimp it's self below because I figure that you can all figure out how to make a taco.

Bang Bang Shrimp:

(Skinny Taste)

Sauce:

5 tablespoons light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

1 teaspoon Sriracha (or more depending on how spicy you like it)

Shrimp:

1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon canola oil

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 cup purple cabbage, shredded

4 tablespoons scallions, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce and Sriracha. Set aside.
Combine lettuce and cabbage and divide between four plates. Set aside. 

Coat shrimp with cornstarch, mixing well with your hands.

Heat a large skillet or wok on high heat, when hot add oil. When oil is hot add the shrimp to hot pan and cook tossing a few times until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and combine with the sauce coating well.

 

Place shrimp on lettuce and top with scallions.

Broiled Shrimp

Mr. T and I eat a lot of shrimp.  We're very lucky to live in a place that is surrounded by good quality, fresh shrimp.  This was a new, but very simple recipe for me.  It was really easy to make.  In my opinion, you can never have too many recipes for shrimp.  It's awesome.

Broiled Shrimp:
(Eating Well Magazine)

Ingredients:
1 pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt


Directions:

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.


Meanwhile, toss shrimp, scallions, oil, garlic powder, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt in a medium bowl. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Broil, stirring once, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Serve with grits topped with the broiled shrimp and scallions.

Crab and Corn Chowder

I've been holding onto some awesome shrimp stock.  I have been wanting to make crab and corn chowder but i've been trying to hold off until the weather cools off some.  I just can't enjoy a bowl of soup when it's 99 degrees outside.

This recipe came out of one of my Disney cookbooks.  It was the first time I've ever made it.  I did make some changes.  The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of dill and some Pernod.  I don't like dill and I had to Google Pernod.  It's a liquor that has a licorice flavor, which I can't stand.  I decided to leave them out.

Crab and Corn Chowder:
(Disney Chefs)

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 cup finely diced potatoes
1 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
1/2 cup corn kernels, preferably fresh
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup clan or seafood broth
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

Directions:

In a 4 or 5-quart Dutch oven, heat the heavy cream, half-and-half, and milk to a simmer over medium heat.

Add the potatoes, carrots, crabmeat, corn, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are softened.

Whisk the water and the cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture and the clam broth to the cream mixture and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, or until thickened.

Just before serving, stir in the scallions.

Lemon-Chive Tilapia

In my quest to use some of my old cookbooks and cooking magazines I found this recipe for tilapia, and you all know how much my household eats tilapia.

This was easy to make and except for the fact that my fish stuck to the pan it turned out great.

Lemon-Chive Tilapia:
(Clean Eating Magazine- June 2011)

4 boneless tilapia fillets
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch chives, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Juice of a lemon

In a small bowl mix together lemon juice, chives, and salt. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and let lightly brown. Add the tilapia and cook for 3 minutes then flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until it's opaque.

Serve each fillet with a tablespoon of the lemon chive sauce on top.

Barbecue Shark

Publix sells shark meat.  Did you know that?  I didn't.  We decided to give it a shot and try it out.  We got this recipe from Publix too, it was printed on the label from the seafood department.

Barbecue Shark:

(Publix)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tabelspoons brown sugar

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons green onion, chopped

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pound shark fillet

Combine all ingredients, except for the fish, in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.  Coat the fish with the warm mixture and place on a grill with medium high heat.  Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side.  Baste the fish with the sauce as it cooks.

Cajun Shrimp

I made shrimp and grits tonight for supper.  It's my favorite meal ever.  Here's how I usually make my shrimp.

Cajun Shrimp:

1 pound of shrimp, shells removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon Old Bay Blackened Seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

In a ziploc bag add the shrimp and all of the seasonings.  Mix around in the bag so all of the shrimp are covered with the spices.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and butter.  Add shrimp and cook until all the shrimp are pink and opaque, 5-10 minutes.

Shrimp Stock

I made BBQ Shrimp last night.  I didn't want to throw all of the shrimp shells away without using them for something.  I decided to make some stock with everything so I can make some soup in the future.  The whole process was easy and homemade stock is so much better than the stuff in the can. 

Shrimp Stock:
(Emeril Lagasse)

1 pound (about 8 cups) shrimp shells and heads
1 coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
2 coarsely chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt

Place all ingredients in a heavy 6-quart stockpot. Add 4 quarts water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

Remove stock from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl; let cool completely. Refrigerate stock up to 3 days or freeze in an airtight container, up to 2 months.

Pan Seared Salmon

I'm in a wedding this coming May for one of my best friends (SQUEE!!!) and I'm using it as motivation to drop some more weight.  I've had a love-hate relationship with food for my whole life and while I love all foods I tend to love them too much.  I've had a lot of luck in the past with Weight Watchers so I'm giving it another shot.  Mr. T is doing it with me.

Tonight I decided to take advantage of the Sockeye Salmon that's on sale.  I didn't check the points out for the actual salmon before I went to the store.  The fillet I got came out to about 6 points.  This could be done with tilapia which is only 2 points per 3-ounce fillet.

Baked Salmon:(10 Weight Watchers Points)

1 salmon fillet
1 tablespoon butter (or margarine)
2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Old Bay
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix the butter, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and Old Bay together and spread on top of the salmon.

Spray a sheet pan with non-stick spray.  Place fish, crumb side up on the sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes or until the top is crispy.  Check mid way through and adjust time as needed.

Sorry for the bad picture.  I originally thought I'd just pan sear it but I think baking will turn out better, and less messy.  :)

BBQ Shrimp- Part 2

Remember when I shared my new love affair for New Orleans BBQ Shrimp?  I was determined to make it but I didn't know when.  Well, tonight was the night! 

Publix had shrimp on sale so I decided that it was better time than any to try it out.  I am so glad I did.  It's my new favorite shrimp recipe.   I used a recipe that came out of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, which is one of my favorite cookbooks.  I tweaked it a little bit and it really is fantastic.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp:
(adapted from: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea)

1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup olive oil
¼ Worcestershire Sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon blackening spice (I use Old Bay)
½ teaspoon Old Bay
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 pounds of shrimp with the shell and tails on. (21-25 count)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400*.

In a large ovenproof skillet over low heat. Melt the butter with the olive oil.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, old bay(s), black pepper, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and lemon slices.

Add the shrimp and stir to coat well with the sauce.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the shrimp is pink. Stir occasionally.

Spoon the shrimp and sauce into bowl and serve with sliced French bread.

If I was smart i'd keep all of the shrimp shells and make a seafood stock out of them.  I can't wait to make this again.  It was amazing.

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

I saw this meal on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate.  It looked amazing and next time I go to NOLA i'm going to find whatever restaurant had this on the menu.

I'm posting this as my own little shout out to the Gulf Coast.  As someone who enjoys eating shrimp and swimming in the gulf I feel like I can at least share some good food.  Anyway, enough of that.

NOLA BBQ Shrimp:
Ingredients:

3 pounds unpeeled Shrimp (21-26 Count Or Larger)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
¼ - ½ cup of Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco sauce
6 ounces of beer (not cheap Natty Light)
4 sticks butter (yes, 4 sticks)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 medium onion, very finely minced
3 - 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons Old Bay

Directions:

Rinse the shrimp to get any grit off. Be sure to leave the shell on. 21-26 count are easy to peel, so I wouldn’t go any smaller than that.

Melt a stick of the butter in a skillet. Sauté the garlic, onions, parsley, and seasoning blend for about 2 - 3 minutes.

Melt the rest of the butter. Add the beer, Worcestershire and lemon juice. Combine with the other butter mixture.

Place the shrimp on a large baking pan in a single layer and the butter. Generously sprinkle salt and black pepper over top of the shrimp. Don’t be afraid to use a decent amount. I also think it’s important to use a coarse grind on the pepper.

Drizzle the Tabasco sauce over the top of the shrimp. If you like spicy food add more hot sauce, whatever. :)

Make sure that the shrimp are pretty much covered by the butter sauce. If it’s not, add more butter. Bake at 350* for 10-20 minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through but not overdone.

** I’ve seen people add rosemary, liquid smoke, paprika, and sliced lemons to the dish. It’s a good excuse to try new things. **

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
** Photo from Southern Living Online.  Link includes their version of the recipe**

Seafood Sauce

I got this one from my mom.  It's simple and amazingly good.  It's great on shrimp, chicken, and fish but also really good on steamed broccoli, greens, lima beans, and anything else you could think of.

Seafood Basting Sauce:
(Mom)

1-2 T Old Bay Seasoning
1 stick real Butter
1 finely diced small onion
2 finely diced garlic cloves
juice of one lemon.
Saute onion and garlic in butter . Add Old Bay and lemon and stir until incorporated.

Use as a glaze on grilled, baked or broiled fish, shrimp, crab, or scallops. If you like mild flavor, cut back on the Old Bay.