Blackened Cajun Style Tilapia servied over a bed of Spinach

we heading to Michigan City, Indiana today, actually very shortly, and I thought I would put this recipe up quick because I making this tonight along with burgers. I allready made my rub and plan to grill the blackened fish. When Ive made this before, I have skilleted it on the stove in a cast iron pan, but tonight we will be going for easy clean up, since we are staying at friends, and there is a total of 16 of us, 11 of which are kids. Hopefully it will be fun in the sun all day at my friends beachfront house. Here is my blackened recipe, and true to form, I just worked with the spices I had, and didnt venture to the store at midnight lastnight when I was making my rub.
4 peices of Tilapia
Rub:
1 1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried parsley

Mix all dry ingredients together

rinse and pat dry Tilapia
heat skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil
sprinkle on rub thoroughly on each salmon steak
place in skillet and cook 5 or 6 minutes on each side

if grilling, coat each side in rub, and place on grill, same amount of cooking time

Homemade Spinach Pizza

Every once in a while I get a super big taste for this pizza, and I have to have it. I call it my "special" pizza, because I made up the recipe for the "crust", which is more like a cracker, and its, super healthy and can be mixed and matched with many, many diferent toppings, or eaten alone.(its that good)
2 cups soy flour(if you can find, otherwise, whole wheat or white)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary
1 tsp salt

mix ingredients together, forms kind of a paste. using your hands,(floured if necessary) flatten evenly onto a cookie sheet
bake at 300 for 20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown
can be topped with any kind of vegetble or cheese. Im going to do mine white tonight, with no tomato sauce
1 lb frozen or fresh spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic minced
salt
heat skillet on medium, add olive oil and garlic, saute for five minutes, add spianch cover with lid, stir occasionally until spinach is completely wilted, add salt remove from heat
top pizza with spinach, and 1 1/2 cup grated mozarella cheese
bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted
let stand for 5 mintues and cut peices with sharp knife or scissors

Crepe Lasagna

I cant pinpoint when, but I would guess about 15 years ago one of the amazing chefs in my family realized that if lasagna was make with crepes, it would be so much lighter(not to mention easier to make) we usually made the noodles the traditional way with eggs and flour. Crepes are made with eggs and flour as well, but it is a liquid batter vs a heavy dough. Lasagna dough is heavy and dry because it needs to go through a machine that flattens it into strips, crepes are light and airy, made with a combo of egg, flour and milk. I had never made lasagna with crepes, but I had enjoyed it many, many times because my grandma, mom, sister inlaw, aunts have all converted to making the pasta dish that way. So the other day when I was following my fellow cooking bloggers recipe for sweedish pancakes, I decided while I had the frying pans going, I would make up some crepes for Lasagna. I omited the sugar, but followed the recipe just the same, and a base for my Lasagna was born.
here is the crepe recipe again, minus the sugar
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt


mix all in blender
heat pans a little spray of oil, pour in batter and let cook, occasionally moving sides with spatula,
when crepe is easy to move in pan, flip(although I cant flip them in the air....yet) I just use my fingers and flip, and cook on otherside for another minute

depending on pan and how thick you make your crepes, you should have between 8-12 cr epes
I made 10

for sauce:
bottled marinara will do
I make a simple sauce using ingredients from my local convenient store

1 cans tomato sauce
1 can diced tomato
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried onion
salt and pepper to taste
in sauce pan combine all ingredients, and simmer for 30-45 minutes

filling:
10 ounces cottage cheese
2 egg whites
tablespoon dried parsley
salt and pepper
combine in blender or food processor

to make lasagna
take a 9 x 9 pan or similar
spoon out a layer of sauce on bottom of pan
layer bottom with three crepes
top with sauce and cottage cheese mixture
layer again with three more crepes, sauce and cottage cheese
again, making sure to use up all the cottage cheese
on top layer just layer with sauce, shredded mozarella, and a sprinkle or parm cheese
bake at 300 for 40 minutes
remove and let stand atleast 15 minutes

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

Oh, man, I totally owe you this recipe from Saturday of last week.  I've made like 16 servings of this in the past week...we've shared it with friends and family and neighbors and each time they're either being nice or really liked it - and these folks aren't usually throwin' down compliments for exercise, so I'm betting you should try it!  I loved it!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

8 ounces chunky pasta - farfalle, penne, rigatoni, etc.
16 ounces chicken breast (about 12 ounces prepared)
1 red pepper (orange can substitute - want color!)
1/3 cup low fat ranch dressing
3-4 tbsp Frank's Buffalo Red Hot sauce

Cook pasta to al dente (crunchy) per package directions.  Drain, and rinse with COLD water to begin cooling immediately.  Chill.

Prepare chicken to your liking, I've grilled it for the best flavor, but you could use ready to serve, left overs, or whatever you've got.  Chill.

Dice peppers.

Mix Ranch and Red Hot Sauce.

Mix, refrigerate, and serve over a bed of lettuce for a meal or next to your burger at a picnic.  Either way, it's a superstar meal!

Well, it's officially the "dog days of summer" for me, now! I've gone on three vacations, had our closest family friends over for a nice weekend, and now, it's time to settle down again. Get some routine back into things. And lounge and read books and sit in the sun and enjoy and soak it all in.
Yeah right on the last part...

Here's what you should be eating this week...
Italian crepe Lasagna
Homemade pizza with rosemary crust and Spinach
Blackened Salmon with Sweet Potato Fries
Mojito Marinaded pork tenderloin (grilled) with summer squash and zucchini.
wild rice pasta salad
Balsamic Miarinated Chicken over field greens
ravioli with pesto

Futtuchine with Basil Pesto

sometimes I just have a taste for something super, super fresh, and in the summer, what is better then fresh herbs grown in the garden. I am NO green thumb, but it difficult not to do basil right. Either buy a small plant and plant it in an area that gets medium sun, or buy a potted plant and let it grow. Basil, just multiplies and multiplies. Whenever I make basil pesto, I wonder why I dont make it more often because I love the flavor and texture. The whole meal took as long as it took for the noodles to boil, and I just did pasta alone with the pesto, but next time I am thinking of incorporating shrimp in the dish, yum! BTW, the recipe made two cups pesto, and I only used



Boil noodles of choice according to direction(we went fettuchine this time)

here is the Basil Pesto formula



2 cup basil leaves firmly packed

1/2 cup grated parm cheese

1/2 cup EVOO

1/3 cup walnut, pine nut, almonds(optional)

2 medium size garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste



in food processor or blender add Basil, parm cheese, nuts and garlic, puise for pulse 30 seconds

gradually add olive oil a tablespoon at a time, making sure to scrape sides in between pulsing

the mixture will come together and form a beautiful vibrant green color, with a wonderful taste to match



drain cooked noodles

toss in skillet with a cup of pesto, for two mnutes on low

This pasta dish doesnt require any additional cheese, I did add a bit of red pepper flake because i must eat everything HOT!!!

Bean Enchilladas

Found this recipe in an old cookbook of mine about low-fat eating. It was a revolutionary cookbook 20 year ago... I think this recipe sounds interesting, though WE'LL be tweaking it as we roll!

Bean Enchiladas
1 14 oz can black beans
1 14 oz can pinto beans
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder

1 cup cheese - montery jack or mexican blend would be great

8 flour tortillas

place beans in mixing bowl and mash coarsely with a potato masher (you could use a food processor, Barbara!), Add the spices
Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for 45 seconds to make them easy to bend. Divide the bean mixture onto the tortillas and then the cheese. Roll closed, place seam side down into a sprayed 9 by 13 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 ddegrees for 20 minutes.

I'm planning to top these with salsa as they come out of the oven. You could also cover with an enchilada sauce prior to baking if desired. Probably not green enchilada sauce, however.

Sausage in Veggies

Here's a great way to use up older veggies -
And, left over bratwurst or sausages work great too.
This happens to be a ring of chicken sausage that I had in the frig, but I've made this meal with whatever kind of "sausage" is available!  Also, my veggie choices probably weren't the best, but since I made this the night we got back from a six day vacation to the inlaws, the options in the frig weren't plentyful.

Sausage, cut into 1 inch chunks

Peppers (red or orange for max color/eye appeal)
Yellow Squash or Zucchini
mushrooms
red onions

Rotini or Farfalle or Penne pasta (something "chunky")

Prepare pasta in boiling water per directions
Cut all veggies into "bite size" pieces - about 1/2 inch thick and size of a quarter.  Saute veggies in a few sprays of non-stick cooking spray.  After about 3 minutes, add the sausages, and simmer until the flavors are shared and the meat is thoroughly warmed through.  This depends on how much is in your pan, how high you have the heat, and how thick your meat chunks are. 

Italian Dressing chicken

utilitarian food - the ultimate in easy food for when you gotta get the chickent to the table fast!

lowfat Italian Dressing

Chicken tenderloins

marinade tenderloins in dressing for as many minutes as you can - five is OK, 30 is great!

grill to perfection - about 4 minutes per sided

And, one of my new favorite veggie combos -

sliced mushrooms

spinach

garlic

lemon juice

black pepper

Put the sliced mushrooms in a non-stick frying pan, saute until they start to release their juices, then throw in as much spinach as will fit in the pan - allow it to wilt, and if appropriate, add more spinach!  Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, then add some garlic, lemon juice (maybe 1 tbsp), and pepper to taste - also great with lemon pepper seasoning salt.

Delish Fruit Dip

Minus the time we told you to heat bacon and serve, this might be the easiest recipe ever.  This is an awesome treat - and this dip is great inside, on, or next to pancakes or swedish pancakes.  It's also great with just some strawberries, blueberries, canalope, watermelon, etc., etc., etc.  it's also good with grapes!

So, this is my kid's favorite party faire- if we're going to a party with kids or Mrs. Hatten, we're totally going to be eating this dip. 

Fresh Fruit Dip
8 ounces Marshmallow Fluff
8 ounce container whipped cream cheese - berry flavored

fold whipped cream cheese into fluff.
refrigerate until ready to serve
insert spoon and stand back!