In case you are participating in Lent

I have a few friends participating in Lent, which means on Friday's they can't eat meat. Apparantly they can eat fish (I call bullshit, fish is meat) so I figured I would pull out a few of my favorite fish recipes from the archives.

Asian glazed sea bass

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Grilled citrus halibut

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Shrimp pasta alfredo

This is one of my favorites. I made it with and with out shrimp and it was fucking unbelievable either way. It's not a cheap meal, but it's a great special occasion meal, or romantic meal, or "I can't have red meat so make me something good woman," kinda meal.

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Finally the best meal my husband makes

Shrimp fried rice

Crab cakes

Because of lent I've been challenged to make new seafood items for my husband on Friday's. He loves crab so I decided I would make crab cakes. It was much quicker then I anticipated and kind of fun.

Recipe stolen from Paula Dean (and then altered)

Ingredients

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
• 3/4 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (I used red, they are sweet)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dusting
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• Favorite dipping sauce, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and vegetable oil, reserving 1/4 cup of cracker crumbs. Combine flour and cracker crumbs on small plate. Form mixture into small patties and pat each side in cracker/flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

**Note, my crab was extra wet or something so my mixture started out very wet. I crushed up more crackers and that helped a lot. I recommend having some extra crackers crushed in case you encounter the same problem.

Quick Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie. What I don't love is how long it can take to make it when you do all the roux and thickening and shit. So I googled around, and messed around in the kitchen and I present to you my quick chicken (or veggie) pot pie. I will show you the steps for both versions. Basically I cooked the veggies and then added the chicken, reserving some veggies for me. However since my husband is a four year old about veggies I went ahead and added some peas to mine after his portion was safely out of peas harm. Keep in mind the ingredients in this are very loose, you can really adjust the veggie portion however you want, I'm just telling you my version. I'll tell you at the end a few other add ins I like.

Makes 1 9x9 baking dish or two smaller pans

1 batch biscuits (recipe below)

6 pieces boneless skinless chicken thighs or 3 breasts

1 cup celery diced

1 cup carrots diced

1.5 cups yellow potatoes diced

1/2 medium onion diced

1/2 cup frozen peas (unless you are afraid)

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup (if you are doing a vegetarian use two cans of this)

1 cup chicken stock (or veggie)

1 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Non stick cooking spray

Other additions: broccoli, mushrooms, leeks, and corn. My husband also likes his with gravy on it, since I'm being fast I boil some chicken stock or bouillon and then make a quick roux with 2 tbsp butter and 2.5 tbsp flour for about 3 cups of liquid. I put a little cheddar on mine this time and it rocked.

Pre-heat oven to 450. Coat 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat large skillet over medium high heat and coat with cooking spray. Add in carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add in celery and potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add in onions and allow to cook until mixture softens, stirring often. (Don't allow your potatoes to get mushy, you want them to just be soft). Mix up biscuits and put in refrigerator. Set veggies aside and coat pan again. Place chicken in the pan and cook on both sides until slightly brown. Do not cook all the way as it will cook more in the oven. Remove chicken and shred or cube. Add chicken and veggies back into pan over low heat with soup. Stir to combine and add in chicken stock. (or veggie). Pour mixture into baking dish. Drop biscuit dough on top and bake for 25 or until biscuits are brown. Allow to cool, and serve.

Please note the portions can be adjusted for any size family. I made all of my veggies and then split it to make dinner for me (meatless) and dinner for my husband (green veggieless).

Quick drop biscuits (really they take about 2 minutes to make)

1.75 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons chilled butter diced up

1 cup milk

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter, mixing until butter is the size of peas. Make a well in the center of mix and add in milk. Stir for no more then a minute until dough pulls away from sides of bowls. If you want to continue making biscuits drop them on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 450 for 25 minutes or until brown. If not, drop them on your pot pie and follow above directions.

Sloppy Tots and Joes

INGREDIENTS
1-32 ounce package tater tots
1 pound ground beef
1-8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1-6 ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 hamburger buns

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large skillet cook ground beef seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Drain excess fat.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Arrange tater tots in a single layer in a baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes.
5. Pour sloppy joe mixture over the tater tots. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve on buns.

Spinach Parmesan Orzo

INGREDIENTS
1-12 ounce package Orzo
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1-10 ounce bag of baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large pot of boiling water add orzo and cook 7-9 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes, cook 1 minute.
3. Stir in spinach. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in balsamic vinegar.
4. Drain orzo and rinse with hot water. Stir orzo into the skillet along with basil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Ingredient Smack Down

A reader on my website had a great idea. She suggested that Lisa and I take an out of the ordinary ingredient and then have a little challenge to see what we each come up with. In her comment she suggested Tater-Tots. So this week, Lisa and I will be on a mission to each create a recipe using Tater-Tots.

Now we want a suggestion for next week. Make sure it's something uncommon, or out of the ordinary but do keep it reigned in a little, remember we are making food that people actually want, and no one wants an anchovy or sardine cheese burger right?

So lets have it, what is your best suggestion for next weeks Smack Down?

Slow Cooked Three Bean Turkey Chili

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef
1-15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1-15 ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
3-14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 large onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. In a skillet, cook turkey or beef with onions, garlic and bell pepper. Cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
2. Transfer to a slow cooker. Stir in beans, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4 hours. Serve topped with cheddar cheese, onions, sour cream, tortilla chips or your favorite toppings.

NOTE: This is not spicy. Too kick it up add some cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper.