Menu helper and a good tilapia recipe

I've recently subscribed to a service called "You've Got Supper." It's based out of Richmond, Virgina, and is free, free, free. My kind of menu! They send me an email once a week with five recipes, and you can choose which ones you want to make and it generates a document with all the recipes, plus a grocery list. With Chris out of town a lot, I don't cook as many full meals as I normally would, and I eat a lot of leftovers, so choosing three or four dinner recipes for a whole week is plenty for us at this time.

I made YGS' Sear-Roasted Tilapia and Tomatoes last night, and it was really, really good, so I thought I'd share.

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp capers, drained
2 tsp oregano tsp balsamic vinegar
4 tilapia fillets, 4 oz each
1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, toss together tomatoes, capers, oregano, and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Dredge each fillet in flour. Heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add the fish and cook until it browns (about 2 - 3 minutes per side). Add the garlic and then the tomato mixture around the fish and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook for 4 - 5 more minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork. Serve with the tomato mixture on top.

This version obviously makes four fillets. I cut it in half and made two just for little ol' me :)

Spinach for breakfast

A friend of mine from college also has a cooking blog (Nothing Special, But It Sure Is Good) and she posted a recipe for a spinach and banana smoothie the other day.

Now, I love raw spinach. We currently have a bag and a half of it sitting in the fridge that I fully know will be gone in the next week or so. But spinach for breakfast? ... Is awesome :)

Basic Green Monster Smoothie (via Stephanie's blog and greenmonstermovement.com)

2 cups raw spinach
1 to 1.25 cups low fat or fat free milk
1 Tbsp flaxseed (optional) - I actually used wheat germ -J
1 banana
ice

Place the ingredients into the blender in the following order: 1) Flax, 2) spinach, 3) banana, 4) milk. The reason for this order is so the heavier ingredients weigh down the flax and spinach and keep it from flying up around the blender and sticking to the side. Blend everything on the highest setting for 1 minute or so. Finally, add ice and blend on the ice setting.

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

I make this macaroni and cheese for family or special occassions. The cheeses can be expensive so it's not something I tend to make just because, but everyone always really loves it so I make it for things like family gatherings or work potlucks. Gotta share the love of gouda.

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c. shredded smoked Gouda
3/4 c. grated fresh Parmesan
5 c. coarsely chopped fresh spinach
4 c. hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 c. uncooked)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in food processor to make coarse crumbs. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add garlic. Cook for a minute or two. Add flour and cook another minute or two, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil, cook until thick (just a few minutes). Add Gouda and Parmesan cheeses, stir until melted. Add spinach and cooked macaroni, stirring until well-blended. Put into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 15 minutes or until bubbly.

The key to this recipe is to be generous with cheese - I've actually doubled the cheeses from the original recipe because it just didn't taste right. I usually just eyeball the cheeses until the sauce is good and thick and cheesy. I've also omitted green onions because it didn't taste good with the rest of the ingredients.

You can also mix everything up ahead of time and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it. Enjoy!

Another easy pasta lunch

As I've mentioned before on here, I'm big on pasta dishes for lunch that I can put together easily, either to take with me to work or when I come home for my lunch break.

Rather than do my traditional mix, I opted for a more vegetable rich take and really liked the end result!

Penne pasta (my go-to brand is Barilla Whole Grain - costs the same but it's half whole grains)
Yellow, red and/or orange bell peppers
Feta cheese (I like the feta that has some basil and sun-dried tomato in it)
Raw spinach
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Put two good handfuls of spinach in your bowl. Top with two good ladlefulls of pasta, sliced or chopped bell peppers and feta. Drizzle some olive oil on top, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute - just enough to warm the oil, melt the cheese a bit, and wilt the spinach. Stir and enjoy!