Couscous Experiments

I tried cooking a new grain! COUSCOUS. It is made from semolina wheat and wheat flour. The flour is moistened and rolled into small spherical shapes.

There are different varieties of couscous and the specific one that I used in this recipe was Israeli Couscous, which is a larger, baked wheat couscous-like product similar to the Italian orzo. So it ends up being more like a pasta versus a rice in texture and taste.

Anywhos....on the the recipe!

~Israeli Couscous w/ Dried Fruit~

(adapted from Food Network Magazine)

2 c. Israeli couscous

2 1/2 c. boiling water + 2 tbsp.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. cranberries*

1/2 c. sliced almonds

1 tsp. chopped parsley

salt

pepper

In a med stock pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over med. heat. Add couscous and toast, until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Once toasted, add boiling water (I heated mine in the microwave). Stir to combine. Simmer, covered for 5-7 min. or until a majority of the water is absorbed. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 min. Meanwhile, in a med. skillet heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over med-high heat. Sauté onion with cinnamon until golden. Add the cranberries* and 2 tbsp. water and cook for 2 min. Once the sautee and the couscous are both done, combine them together and add the almonds, parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

*Feel free to use whatever fruit you have on hand. The original recipe called for raisins, but since I did not have them, I used cranberries. I have heard that apricots are also good in this dish.

Something that I really liked about this one was that they used cinnamon when sauteeing the onions! I think I am going to try and incorporate that into some other dishes that I like, just to give them a little bit of flair!!

I served this with some shrimp that I just baked in the oven at 375 F. and seasoned with some classic Old Bay to give them a kick. Of course, some lemon juice was squeezed over the top before eating!

ENJOY!!

Simple Fish Dinner

Dinner from Monday of this week. Red Snapper fillets and brown rice with peas and tomatoes. Simple, easy, tasty.

~Baked Snapper w/ Crumb Topping~

2 lg. Red Snapper fillets, thawed

1/2 c. bread crumbs

Various Herbs*

Salt 

Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, herbs (*I used italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder). Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and place snapper fillets on it, skin-side down. Season each fillet generously with salt and pepper. Coat each fillet generously with the bread crumb mixture. Place in oven and bake for 15-30 min. depending on the thickness of the fillets (mine were really thick), or until fish flakes and is no longer translucent. Remove from oven and serve with sliced lemons. 

For the rice I just cooked up some instant brown rice, added some butter, salt, pepper, and some cooked peas. I also baked some tomatoes along side the fish in the oven for a few min, until they popped, and then served them with the rice. (Trying to get rid of them, we have a lot.)

The fish was good, it tasted like fish. The bread crumbs were a little crumb-y if ya know what I mean. I think next time I am going to put a little less bread crumbs, pan sear it before hand, then finish it off in the oven. Now I know what to do for next time!

ENJOY!

Easy, Yummy Meal(s)

This is what the Hubbs and I had for dinner on Wednesday night this past week: Turkey sausage w/ sautéed mushrooms, herbed barley, and steamed corn. Pretty simple and pretty straight forward. And here are the "recipes"

~Turkey Sausage w/ Sautéed Mushrooms~

5 Sweet Turkey sausages, de-thawed 

5-6 sliced button mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 red onion, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat a skillet over med-high heat. Add olive oil when warm. After chopping the garlic, onions, and mushrooms add them to the skillet, stirring. Saute for about 5 min. or until onions and mushrooms are soft. Once done remove from pan. Add turkey sausage. Cover and cook for 10 min. turning every 3 min until sausages are done, or a thermometer reads 180 degrees.

The herbed barley was left over from lunch the same day. It was plain so I added in some italian seasoning, a dab of olive oil and some salt and pepper. It was yummy. The barley recipe that I made for lunch was easy as well!

~Mixed Vegetable Barley Salad~

1 c. uncooked quick barley

2 c. water

salt 

pepper

olive oil

garlic

red onion

peppers

carrots

cherry tomatoes

Bring the water to a boil in a med stock pot. Once the water is boiling, add the barley, stir, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10-12 min. Meanwhile, chop all the veggies (amount of each veggie differs based on amount of barley used). I used 2-3 cloves garlic, about 1/4 of an onion, 1/4 of a pepper, 4 baby carrots, and 4-5 cherry tomatoes. Place all the chopped veggies in a med saute pan, with a drizzle of olive oil, over med heat. Saute for about 5-6 min. or until the veggies are cooked though. Fluff barley with a fork when done cooking. Add to sautéed veggies. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Its A...

...Family Tradition!! Each nad every year for Thanksgiving since before I can remember my mother, or someone, has ALWAYS made wild rice for the holiday. I like the recipe that my mother uses the best, and I have altered it to make it my own!

I have been in a different state for the past two years for Thanksgiving and I have always offered to make some old school Minnesota Wild Rice to represent!!

Well, consider yourself lucky, here is the recipe that I use most!

~Minnesota Wild Rice~

1 lb. Minnesota Wild Rice, uncooked
4 4oz. cans mushrooms, drained
2 lg. white onions, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, diced
3-4 tbsp. Lawry's seasoning
4 tsp. garlic poweder
8 tbsp. butter, cubed
Optional Ingredients:
Celery, cooked
Carrots, cooked

To cook the wild rice I use the microwave. Place the wild rice into a microwaveable strainer and place the strainer and rice into a larger bowl. Cover the rice with water. (It is okay if it is not all covered) Cover the bowl with a large plate or plastic wrap. There needs to be an opening so that steam can escape. Set microwave for 45 min. One done, leave in the microwave over night or for several hours. In the morning strain the rice and stir to see if all the kernel have burst. If not, replace water and return to the microwave for another 30 min. (mine usually takes two more 30 min. installments to ensure all the kernels have burst)

While the wild rice is cooking, place a saute pan over med. heat. Coat with olive oil and cook the onions until translucent, add in the garlic and mushrooms and heat until warmed through. Once the wild rice is done, strain it and place in a large serving bowl. Stir in the onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture. (and any other ingredients that are used) Add the butter, and season with the Lawry's, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir to combine. Reheat if needed, server warm and ENJOY!!

This recipe makes a lot of Wild Rice, so there will most likely be leftovers, and the best thing to make with the leftovers is...

~Creamy Wild Rice Soup~

**I thought I had this recipe but I don't. I'll get it to ya though!!

There was a little booklet that came with the package of Wild Rice that I used, and It had some other recipes for the rice that i would someday like to try so I am going to post them here and hopefully be able to update my readers with pictures!

~Wild Rice Pancakes~

1 c. AP flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 egg

1 c. milk, plus extra

2 tbsp. sour cream

2 tbsp. butter, melted to room temp
Cooked Wild Rice

Sift the dry ingredients. Beat egg, milk, and sour cream in another bowl; pour into dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Add butter and wild rice. Add more milk until the consistency is right. Drop batter by tbsp. onto a preheated, lightly-greased griddle. Cook until golden brown. ENJOY!!