New Cookbooks, New Menu, and New Fish!

We got 3 new low-carb and healthy eating cookbooks this weekend. You can always tell that a cookbook is going to be good if you're salivating after just a few page flips. All three of these did that for us, which is why we have 3, and not just one. I'm very excited about starting some new recipes again, and picking from these, as well as from some of our older books.

With this week, we're trying something new for a while. We want to have at least one fish dish per week, typically on a Sunday or Monday. To go with the new cookbooks, we're having a new fish, monkfish. I fully didn't expect to find monkfish in our area, and really didn't know what I was looking for when I went to the market. Thank goodness for store employees knowing exactly what we needed. Monkfish is not pretty, let me state that as an absolute fact right up front. It also tends to have a very strong seafood smell, which I don't enjoy. After it was cooked, though, it was buttery, tender and actually quite tasty for fish.

This week's Menu:

Sunday - Bacon Wrapped Mustard Glazed Monkfish with Spinach, Bacon and Goat Cheese Salad
Monday - Chicken Basquaise and Caesar salad with Shrimp
Tuesday - Pesto Baked Chicken and Vegetable Casserole
Wednesday - Penne pasta with Mushrooms, Sausage and Broccoli
Thursday - Stuffed Pork Chops and Spiced Carrots

Bacon Wrapped Mustard Glazed Monkfish
From the Everything Low-Carb Cookbook

4 slices high quality bacon
2 6oz monkfish fillets
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried tarragon

1. In 350 degree oven, par-cook bacon slices so that they are still pliable.
2. Drain bacon and allow to cool.
3. Coat each monkfish fillet in 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Wrap fillet in bacon. Use toothpicks to hold bacon if needed. Do not let bacon overlap.
5. In 375 degree oven, cook bacon wrapped fillets for at least 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Switch heat to low broil to crisp the bacon. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes or until crispy.
7. Add tarragon over hot fillet. Remove toothpicks and serve.


Spinach, Bacon and Goat Cheese Salad
From the Everything Low-Carb Cookbook

1/8 lb of spinach per serving
2-3 button mushrooms per serving, sliced thin
1/8 small scallion per serving, sliced thin
2 tablespoons bacon bits per serving
2 tablespoons goat or blue cheese per serving

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl.
2. Add vinaigrette dressing to taste and serve.

A great meal to set off a new week, and renewed interest in eating healthy!

Pick-me-up

It's only Tuesday and this has already been a busy week. Having a food pick-me-up is a great way to make it through the rest of the week. What could make for a better way to jump-start the rest of the week than steak marinated in coffee?

It sounds odd, but it's setting on the counter right now, creating a magnificent aroma throughout the house. I found this marinade on the Food Network website, and thought it warranted at least one try. Best of all, RedHairedCelt, an avid coffee lover is going to try the recipe tonight as well, and hopefully we'll compare notes tomorrow.

The rest of the week is going to be pretty standard dishes. I'll be making Chicken Parmesan tomorrow, and attempting Chicken Kiev on Thursday (with lots of Wednesday prep). I'm sure they'll both be great.

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.

Ultimate Comfort

With the storms that are passing through the east coast, its great to have a food made that brings comfort and warmth. Having chicken and dumplings takes me back to my childhood, and one of those foods that you didn't have often, but when you did, it was the best thing ever!

Since I had never made chicken and dumplings before, I wanted an easy recipe to follow, one that really just couldn't go wrong. I chose to go with this recipe, for which I am very glad. In the future, I might branch out and try to make the entire thing from scratch, but until then having this recipe will work out beautifully. The recipe was such a hit in the house that Staci actually went to the grocery on Friday after work to pick up enough supplies to be able to make the recipe again this weekend.

I'm boiling the chicken right now. I've made a small modification to include both white and dark meat chicken this time. I think that it will turn out great!

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.

Hurried Curried Chicken.

Chicken Curry tonight!!! One of the dishes that I enjoy the most. the recipe came from the blog Soup and Dessert, a blog that I read regularly. The author of this blog posted the Chicken Curry recipe at the end of 2009, and I immediately added it to my "to be cooked" bookmarks. It was so easy to make, and actually turned out pretty good. I still have a long way to go to make more "authentic" Indian dishes, but this one came together pretty nicely.

I called this one my Hurried Curried Chicken, because I had Staci ask me several times when the food was going to be done. The aroma from the first spices in the oil is enough to get you salivating. I could barely wait for everything to be cooked. I'm sure that the sauce could have only improved if allowed to simmer for a few more minutes, but we both got to the point that we just couldn't wait any longer. I enjoyed this curry a great deal.

I'm sure that I'll make it again, maybe in the summer when tomatoes are fresh and warm from the garden. That could only add to the flavour of this dish!

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.