Browned Butter and Caper Tilapia

I ate at Paris Club a few months ago and I ordered the skate wing with lemon, capers, and brown butter.  I didn’t even really know what skate wing was, but it was on the seafood menu and I was feeling adventurous so I just ordered it.  And oh my goodness was it delicious!  Sadly I didn’t take any pictures that night, but I knew I would have to recreate the flavors later on from home.

Trader Joe’s carries a good selection of frozen, individually packaged fish-perfect for cooking for one!  This became one of my go-to recipes for cooking tilapia over the summer.  Just add some veggies and it is a quick, delicious meal!

Browned Butter Tilapia

Brown a few tablespoons of butter.  Pour over tilapia fillet in small ramekins or foil pouch.  Add a tablespoon or so of capers and squeeze lemon on top.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes until flaky, or a little longer if the fish is frozen.  Enjoy!

Chile Rellenos

I made dinner for the family last night and they all loved it!  Pleasing seven people, some of whom aren’t very adventurous eaters isn’t always easy!  I made chile rellenos, acorn squash, and guac.

Lemon Bars

I was craving lemon bars the other day and remembered that I have had this post bookmarked for well over a year.  Grain free/sugar free treats usually aren’t quite as good as the originals so I was unsure if I was going to like them.

I really had no reason to be concerned-they were amazing!!  Seriously may have been better than the original recipe I used to make.  The bottom layer is a little more crumbly and a little less like shortbread, but I really liked it.  And the lemon topping was perfectly tart and lemon-ey!

I didn’t change a thing so click here for the recipe!

Coconut Flour Waffles

I have had a griddle with changeable plates for almost 2 years now and finally used the waffle plates for the first time.  I figured I would never end up using it, since I don’t generally eat grains anymore, but then Joy the Baker posted these and I knew I had to make them immediately!

And I promise you they were every bit as delicious as they look!  The maple cream was delicious, so do not skip that part!  Also I recommend the bacon to go with it as bacon goes with everything, especially breakfast.

So just because you have given up grains does not mean that you have to give up delicious waffles!!

Avocado Ranch

It has been waaay too long since I have posted!!  But second year of medical school, boards, and post-boards vacay are now done and I am settling into my family medicine rotation!  I really can’t even explain how exciting it is to have free time again!!

I actually made this a few weeks ago as a quick snack, but didn’t have time to post it.  It is super easy and delicious!  There is no reason to settle for all the crap in the bottled version from the supermarket when making it yourself only takes 5 minutes.  I based it on this recipe, but didn’t have all the ingredients so made a few changes.

Avocado Ranch
2 avocados
1 cup Greek yogurt (I used 1 package Fage Total Greek Yogurt)
Juice from half a lemon
1 TBSP parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
veggies for dipping

Mash avocados and mix in yogurt and seasoning.  Enjoy!

Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

I have been craving guacamole something fierce lately, so I picked up an avocado on my last trip to the grocery store.  I’m too lazy to actually make real guac for one though (I know, I know…), so I just threw this together because it all sounded good.  And it was!  A good quick and easy meal with minimal prep time involved!

Bacon, Avocado, and Tomato Salad:

• 2 slices bacon
• 1 avocado
• Handful of grape/cherry tomatoes
• 1 egg
• S+P

Fry up your bacon.  While you’re doing that, chop the avocado into bite-sized pieces.  I sliced the tomatoes into halves/quarters as well, but you could leave them whole too.  Once the bacon is done, chop it and throw it into a bowl with the tomato and avocado, then season with salt and pepper.  Fry up the egg in the bacon grease and put on top of the mix.  Eat.  Love!

I actually didn’t take any pictures of this because I was too hungry to think about it, but I promise it’s pretty and colorful and delicious!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Soup round two for me this week!  Other than being sick, I love making soup because it is easy and makes enough to last a few days.  I’m super busy with school right now so this is definitely needed!  I somewhat based it this on this recipe from The Nourishing Cook.  It turned out really well!

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
1 can coconut milk
2 C chicken broth
3 C cooked chicken (I used most of a whole chicken I had cooked in the crockpot)
1 bag spinach
1 tsp red chili flakes
salt & pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T coconut oil

Saute the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until onions are slightly translucent and mostly cooked.  Toss into a large pot with all other ingredients and let simmer on low for about an hour.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

I was making dinner the other night when I found some zucchini in my fridge that I had completely forgotten about.  I was already making soup so wanted something cold to go with it and had just read Smitten Kitchen’s Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon post so felt inspired.

It really wasn’t hard to do something similar with zucchini and it turned out delicious!  Perfect for summer because it doesn’t involve turning the oven on and is fairly easy!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

2 zucchini
Sea Salt
Olive Oil
Basil
Pepper
1/2 lemon

Cut the zucchini in half and use a potato peeler to shred it into ribbons.  Put ribbons into colander.  I have this awesome one from Ikea and I love it!  Generously salt and let sit for 30 minutes.

Gently squeeze any excess moisture out and add to a large bowl.  Add enough olive oil to coat, probably about 2 tablespoons but I didn’t measure.  Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and season with basil and pepper.  Enjoy!

Paleo Banana-Walnut-Maple Muffins

AKA, The Best Muffins Yet!

My google reader is PACKED with primal/paleo cooking blogs.  Most recipes are relatively appealing and I’ll star the ones that I want to try, but the majority of them stay just there – in my archives, waiting their turn.

However, when these showed up in Holly’s blog yesterday, I knew I absolutely had to make them – I had over-ripe bananas and a handful of crushed walnuts leftover from another baking adventure, so it was the perfect fit!  I modified her recipe a bit because I wanted to use up the rest of my maple syrup, but HOLY COW.  These knocked my socks off!  They smelled amazing while they were baking and rose to look big and fluffy like normal (aka non-paleo) muffins do.  This is one of those things you make when someone doesn’t believe you that paleo/primal eating is still delicious!

Paleo Banana-Walnut-Maple Muffins:
adapted from Holly Would If She Could

• 1/2 c coconut flour
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c dark maple syrup
• 1/3 c olive oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 c chopped walnuts
• 2 very ripe bananas, diced

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk the eggs and add in the coconut flour.  Once mixed, add the maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla and baking soda and stir to combine.  Mix in the walnuts, and then the bananas.  Mine were a little bit mashed/mixed up by the time I was done, and they still came out great – don’t worry too much about maintaining the banana pieces!

Divide evenly between 12 lined/greased muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  It’s torture, but try and wait a few minutes for them to cool before digging in!

Spicy Sweet Potato Beef Soup

I had other meal plans when I bought these ingredients, but then I got sick and decided I needed soup.  I was seriously annoyed that I managed to stay healthy all winter, but then got sick at the very end of April!  But I’m overworked, overtired and surrounded by people who don’t take very good care of themselves (med students).  A lot of sleep and this soup and I felt much better!

Spicy Sweet Potato Beef Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 C. chicken broth
Avocado

Cook ground beef with onion and garlic for a few minutes until partially cooked.  Add seasoning and peppers and cook until beef is done.

Add beef mixture, sweet potatoes, and broth in a large pot.  Simmer on low about an hour.

Serve with avocado on top.