Seared Scallops with Asparagus & Linguine

Ben and I had a small celebratory dinner last night, just a little nod to the fact that we have now been together for 2 and a 1/2 years. We don't really celebrate anniversaries, why if we love each other why do we have to congratulate ourselves for sticking in the relationship? We are together and it's great, there is no reason to count or list the days, hours, minutes that we've lasted.

But nice dinners together are something that I think we both cherish, so there is no reason that we can't do that on a weekly basis, and just enjoy each other.


I sent Ben a few different options for dinner. We decided on a pasta dish because neither of us could remember the last time we had pasta (which is almost a crime.) We also like trying new things and neither of us had ever made scallops before, and they are a food that we both like. So we experimented, guided by a cooking light recipe.

Seared Scallops with Asparagus & Linguine

1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated linguine
1 bunch asparagus
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Romano cheese, divided
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Handful of chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 lbs sea scallops
1 lemon

In a medium size pot bring the water to a boil to cook the pasta. While waiting for the water to come up, rinse and cut the asparagus into bite size pieces. Once boiling place the asparagus in the water, let come up to a boil again and then add the pasta in. Cook according to the package (2-3 minutes) then drain pasta and asparagus in a colander over a bowl. Combine pasta, 1/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, chopped basil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and pepper in a large bowl; toss well.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Sprinkle salt evenly over scallops; add scallops to pan. Cook 1 minute on each side or until golden.


Serve pasta with scallops on top and extra lemon wedges on the side. Sprinkle with cheese to finish the dish.


So the pasta was good, not great, the flavors were there that Ben and I love but we had a few issues with the dish. First, apparently I don't like fresh pasta, for some reason the texture was too chewy, it stuck together and I just didn't enjoy it. So if we make this again the first thing we would do differently is use dried pasta.


The second thing we would do is not over cook the scallops. I said "Ben it says scallops one minute on each side, that's it, don't over cook the scallops" about 7 or 8 times before we started to cook them. (Ben was in charge of the scallops while I did the pasta.) It got to the point where I knew I was annoying him, but I had this feeling that he would cook and cook and cook the scallops and they would be like rubber. Well...that's exactly what happened. We sat down to eat and Ben popped a scallop in his mouth, looked at me and smiled..."I over cooked the scallops," he said. Oh well...at least we'll know for next time. I'm sure that we will make scallops again, I can't wait to perfect it.

One last thing that we would change, adding the cheese to the pasta while it was hot made one big clump of cheese in the middle of a bunch of pasta, because the temperatures of the cheese and the pasta were too cold to have the cheese mix in well, so I would just take that whole part out and add the cheese on the top over everything at the end. I would also next time use Parmesan cheese not Romano.

But all that said, the flavors were there, the lemon, asparagus, seared scallops, it was yummy and I can't wait to redo it and make the dish really a winner. Ben took the leftovers to work today for lunch so...it was good enough to keep and eat again, just not as fabulous as we thought.


The night was not ruined because this is what we love, to cook, eat and be together, it's fun to be in the kitchen, mixing, stirring and pouring. I boss Ben around, his dinner gets cold while I try and take a million pictures and for us, this works.

Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu Stir Fry

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the new year so far. I know that many people have made New Years Resolutions that include getting healthier, working out more and being overall happier with yourself. Ben and I are part of this group that made these resolutions and we've both stuck to it for the past 6 days. :)

The past few nights for dinner I've been experimenting with an Asian vegetable mix, and tonight Ben and I added Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu to the mix. It turned out really good. I accomplished making two new things (Shrimp and Tofu) and succeed in part of my resolution to try and eat more balanced, healthy meals. On my own I tend to not eat enough protein so experimenting with Tofu and Shrimp tonight was very exciting. I did try the shrimp, however I have to say it is not on my list of seafood that I like. Ben ended up eating 5 and 3/4 of the 6 shrimp we cooked.


Ben and I agreed that it was a great meal, easy, super fast and great for you. I'm not sure anyone would be looking for anything different in the New Year.


Shrimp, Chicken and Tofu Stir Fry

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
6 large shrimp, peeled and devained
1/4 block extra firm tofu
1/2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
6 Tbsp low sodium Soy sauce
1 tsp hot sesame oil
3 cups Oriental Style frozen vegetables*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
rice noodles (we followed the packaging and made about 2.5 servings at 150 calories per serving)

*French green beans, onions, broccoli, and mushroom mix.

Slice the raw chicken breast into bite size pieces. I cut the chicken on an angle so that the slices were thin and would cook as fast as the shrimp. Add the chicken and shrimp to a bowl with 3 Tbsp Soy sauce, 1/2 tsp hot sesame oil and the ginger. Let marinate for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour (or more if you have the time.) Slice the tofu into whatever size pieces you want to use and set aside.


Cook the rice noodles according to the package. While the noodles are cooking place the vegetables in a sautee pan, and let cook until warmed through (about 5 minutes) add the shrimp, chicken, tofu and marinate mixture to the pan. This will all cook very quickly, you will only need to make sure that the chicken is no longer pink and the shrimp is just turning white and pink. Add the rest of the soy, oil and the spices. Stir to combine.


Drain the rice noodles and spoon the vegetables mixture on top and pour any extra liquid over everything. This made two servings perfectly. Eat and enjoy, we did!

Thai Fish and Noodle Soup

Tuesday night dinners with Ben has become a bit of a substitute for Ben's Poker night with the boys, and I love it (saves him money and gets me a yummy dinner.) I usually look around blogs and Cooking Light to find a recipe that looks good to us. For some reason I've been trying to make a lot of fish on these Tuesday dinners. I saw Thai Fish and Noodle Soup and instantly sent the link to Ben. He was very excited about it and said "yummmm." That was it, we were making Thai Fish and Noodle Soup. I thought the recipe would be so good because it had all the flavors that Ben and I love but instead of a Spanish or Mexican flavoring it was Thai influenced. We love jalapenos, spinach, lime, asparagus and rice. This soup had all that and more.


But...there was something missing. Ben said he wanted a sauce on the noodles which I kind of agreed with, there was not a lot of soup in this soup and since it is made with water it's really thin with not a lot of flavor. It needed that little extra punch of something, I'm not sure what. But it was good for what it was and very filling. I don't know if I would make it again...I want to be clear it was good, just not great it just needed something more to make it great.

Thai Fish and Noodle Soup

1/4 lbs uncooked pad thai rice noodles
4 cups water
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp diced jalapeno
2 tbsp thin sliced lemon grass
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
6 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups julienne red pepper
1 cup asparagus cut into 1 inch slices
1 cup julienne carrot
4 (4 oz) fillets halibut (we used cod since halibut is out of season)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
10 cups chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups thin sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat your broiler and prep you fish, wash and dry the fish spray your pan with Pam and then place the fish on the pan and coat with 1/8 tsps of salt and pepper.

Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with warm water for 3 minutes and drain.

Meanwhile in a medium sauce pan heat the water through the salt in the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Add in the noodles, mushrooms, red pepper, asparagus and carrot, bring back to a boil then let simmer for 7 minutes.

Put the fish in the oven to cook, will take 6 to 7 minutes depending on thickness of fish, it will turn white and flake easily when cooked through.

Stir in spinach, green onion and cilantro into soup, let cook for a minute until the spinach wilts. Ladle and serve one fillet over a cup of soup.


This will make 4 servings (2 cups of soup and 1 fillet per serving.) Ben and I halved the recipe so that it would be enough for just the two of us. We could not finish the soup. There was a lot and the whole dinner was very filling.

We followed the cooking light recipe, we usually make some changes and we did have to use a different kind of fish but for the most part since we are not familiar with Thai cooking and did not want to make changes that would hurt the flavors in the recipe.

Cooking light had the nutrition facts as 338 calories, 4 grams of fat and 32.7 grams of protein. So a great meal all around. I served the soup with a few rolls (I know they're not Thai inspired but there was nothing in whole foods that I thought would work to keep in the Thai theme.) Both Ben and I like to dip our bread in the soup.

This meal defiantly warmed our bellies on a cold Tuesday night.

Crispy Salmon with Spinach Risotto

WOW. So good. This was I think one of the best dinners that Ben and I have ever made. The fact that it was so fabulous and so healthy too is just a huge plus. I was almost speechless to how good this dinner was, so filling and healthy! Yay. I wish I could serve this to anyone who is doubtful that healthy food tastes good. This meal puts all those bad ideas to rest. Healthy food is good food too.


It was really good that I didn't have work today and happened to be watching the Today Show this morning where Jamie Oliver was on and showed how to clean leeks. This was my first experience with leeks and both Ben and I loved them, they added a lot of flavor without being overwhelming. They are from the onion and garlic family of vegetables and have a milder onion flavor. They look like an overgrown chive almost two inches thick. You need to clean between the layers to make sure all of the dirt comes out, cut off the end and the tops of the green leaves. Chop and go. Yum. I can't wait to make something else with them. We found the original recipe here, however like always we add and subtract things.

Spinach Risotto

2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 generous cup chopped leek
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1 Tbsp white wine
3 cups chopped spinach
4 mini plum tomatoes chopped
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt*
pepper*
fresh rosemary*

*All to taste.

Salmon

1 tsp olive oil
2 5 oz fillets of salmon*
salt
pepper
fresh thyme

*10 oz of Salmon is about .65 pounds.


To prepare the risotto bring the broth to a simmer (to add in later) in a small sauce pan. In a medium sauce pan heat the oil over medium to high heat and add in the leeks, let them start to cook down about 3 minutes until tender. Add the rice to toast it, about a minute or two. Add in the wine to de-glaze the pan. Cook for 30 seconds or so until absorbed by the rice. Slowly add in the broth 1/2 a cup at a time until all absorbed should be about 25 minutes. Stir frequently.

Once all the broth is absorbed add in the spinach, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and rosemary. Stir until the spinach has wilted and tomatoes have been brought up to warm. Turn off the heat and plate.

While adding in the broth to the risotto you should start on the Salmon if you want everything finished at the same time. Heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat. Coat the salmon with the herbs and then place the salmon skin side up and cook until fish has turned to whitish pink, and then flip to the skin side down to finish cooking. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fillet. Fish will start to flake when ready.

This made 3 servings of the risotto and 2 servings of the fish. The original nutrition information that came from Cooking Light says 569 calories and 18.8 grams of fat. Since I took out one part of the original recipe (they roasted tomatoes with oil and garlic) and took out the half and half from the risotto. I think that we had a similar amount of calories that the original recipe reads even with the additional risotto. Also most of the fat in this recipe comes from the salmon which is really healthy fat. This meal also had 37 grams of protein which is almost crazy for me.


So you need to make this. That's it, no discussions you make this and you see healthy food is good and filling and makes you feel so good too. You ate something, you're full and tomorrow you're not going to feel like you ate the world, or like your arteries are closing from the fat. You're going to feel good, and when you feel good you're just a better, happier (maybe even lighter) person.

Cod the Way You Want it

I want fish. Now if you knew me this statement may be surprising. I used to hate fish for about the first 22 years of life. But in the last few months I've learned to like, no actually maybe love fish. At first I said, good, but I'm not sure I'll ever want it, like crave it and order it or make it for myself. But this has all of the sudden changes. I love fish and I want it. So we made some for dinner. Ben and I like different spices and tastes, so usually making two separate recipes is impossible, but putting different spices on to the pieces of cod and placing them both in a pan with some oil, lemon and white wine, made this very possible.


Cod
3/4 lbs Cod
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Lemon
1/4 cup White Wine

(mine)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
Sprinkling Re Pepper Flakes

(Bens)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp mixed Italian seasonings (Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, etc.)
1/2 the Zest of a Lemon


In a sautee pan heat oil on medium low, while heating season the cod (to your liking) place in pan (non seasoned side down) add in wine and squeeze the juice of half of your lemon on top. Let fish cook until the top has turned white and flakes, which means that the fish has cooked. The majority of the wine, and lemon liquid will have evaporated.


We had the fish with a side of lemon roasted asparagus and broccoli. Good, healthy, simple and cod just the way you like it.