Confetti Fish

My main goal these day is to not turn on the oven.  The directions are for the oven but last week I went out on a limb and did this recipe on our grill.  It worked out just fine!

Confetti Fish Fillets

vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil or butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup diced red pepper(I use MORE!)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 1/2 lbs tilapia or any firm white fish fillets

1 T fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 9 x 13 pan with vegetable oil spray.   Heat oil in skillet.  Saute onion & bell pepper for 2-3 minutes.  Turn off heat and add crumbs and lemon zest.  Stir thoroughly.

Arrange fish in pan.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt.  Spread vegetable mixture evenly over fish.

Bake about 10 minutes per inch of fish or until fish flakes easily at the thickest point.

Grill option:  Line a grill basket with aluminum foil and arrange fish in the basket.   Grill on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  (or until the crumbs start to get black—LOL)

Grilled Chicken Salad

Could we please go back to spring?  Wow it has gotten CRAZY warm here!  Not really complaining here but really June is not always swimming weather here & I am sure I would have been just fine at the pool this afternoon.

Switching to summer mode puts me in the “I am NOT turning on that oven” mood. 

I just don’t like to cook when it is warm.   So I change the way I approach meal time.

#1SALADS, SALADS & more SALADS

Our favorites

• Mexican Bean Salad
• Taco Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad(below)
• Bean & Tomato Salad
• Mexican Bean Dip & iceberg lettuce

We try to vary the salads from week to week so next week I will post a different one but my absolute favorite salad is SO easy!

#2Crockpot meals

This week it was Lemon Chicken, BBQ Chicken & Swiss Steak

#3 Favorite Freezer meals  Not this might require me to turn on the oven but most of the time I throw the meal in the crockpot in the morning(often still frozen) and let it cook all day.  But even if it needs the oven the work in the kitchen while it is warm is minimized! 

A win for those really hot days.  I'd rather be by the pool--wouldn't you?

Grilled Chicken Salad

boneless skinless chicken breasts—as many as your family will eat

Romaine &/or Green leaf lettuce or choose a prepared mix from the store(we love the Aldi organic spring mix!) to make it super easy

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/2 c. slivered Almonds

dressing—use your favorite, most of my family doesn’t even use this!

• Now for the easy part. 
• Make your salad—stick it in the ‘frig. 
• Grill the chicken(keeps the kitchen cool).  Put it all on the table. 
• EAT! 

If I am feeling like I can handle it I will cut up watermelon to go with this. 

Just sweet enough to finish the meal off!  Enjoy!

What are some of your favorite ways to stay cool with meals in the summer?

Need some more recipes?  Check out the links below!

Freezer Orange Pork Chops

I love this recipe because it is easy to prepare & throw in the freezer when you find pork chops on sale.   Definitely one of my favorite freezer meal recipes!  Don’t leave out the shallots—they are great mild flavored onion.  This is good in the oven or the crock pot.  One of the favorites around here! 

Orange Pork Chops--Serves 4-6 depending on how many chops you cook!

4-6 boneless pork chops (1-2 pounds)

1/3 cup orange juice

1 shallot, chopped

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T soy sauce

Place desired amount of pork chops in a quart size freezer bag.  Add all other ingredients & seal.  Freeze.

To Cook:

Thaw.  Place entire continents of bag in a medium baking dish.  Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

OR

Thaw.  Place entire continents of bag in a 4 quart crockpot.  Turn on low & cook for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy!

Smart Spring Meal Planning

The thermometer is inching up. 

We might(maybe hopefully) have had our last frost. 

I am thinking about fresh fruits & vegetables more to round out our main dishes. 

Planting the garden is sounding more like reality than fantasy.

When I want to be outside more I find that I am not as creative or happy about being in the kitchen.  I want to spend my days digging, planting, raking, clipping & all sorts of fun things like that.  So what is a momma to do?  The troops still need to be fed.  I have two choices & I plan to use them both!

1.  Delegate—I learned this winter what wonderful cooks my girls can be.  They know how to cook but for some reason this job seems to fall to me.

Sure they set the table & get the drinks when I ask but the bulk of the cooking seems to fall on me.   After the first of May this will change.   My goals is to have some assigned meal times so I can have a meal(or day—gasp!) off.  This will gain me some “outside” time.  It also allows my girls to get in some more practice in the kitchen & they can expand their list of recipes they feel confident fixing! 

2.  Plan—this choice is two-fold

• Choose meals that can be thrown in the crock pot & forgotten until it is time to eat.  I love my crockpot & use it several times a week.

Pirates Stew

BBQ Meatballs

Turkey in a Pot

• Choose meals that can be put together in a short time or that be prepped ahead of time.

Chicken Quesidillas

Tacos

Baked Potatoes(set the oven timer)

Freezer Meals

SALADS!!!!  We love lettuce & pasta salads.  Find a favorite & don’t be afraid to have it every week! 

Now I am off to write up my meal plans for the next couple of weeks to make this happen.  Let me know by commenting, if this is a help or you have any other great quick ideas for getting food on the table at this time of year.

Clogging Lessons & Crockpot Mexican Chicken

On Thursdays, the kids have been taking clogging lessons. 

It is great for developing coordination and is a good work out too!  I haven’t been able to join them because of my hip pain & surgery.  But now that I am recovered it is time to try something new!  The only problem is that when I get home I am SO tired from the lesson that I don’t want to fix supper.

So my answer to this problem is to get out my crockpot!  She works so well to feed my family!  Last week we tried a new recipe & it is a keeper!  So next time you need a simple meal that is filling & ready to go when you walk in the door make this one or check out some of my favorite crockpot recipes!

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in to strips

2 T flour

2 T taco seasoning mix, homemade or store packet

1 green & 1 red pepper(or any color you have)

1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can corn, drained

2 cups salsa

Pour 1 cup salsa in the bottom of a medium crockpot.  Mix flour & taco seasoning.  Coat each strip with flour mixture.  Place each chicken strip in crockpot, and add the peppers and corn.  Top with remaining salsa.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Feeds 6-8 people.  We love to have this over brown rice with chips & sour cream.  You could also add beans &/or shredded cheese to stretch it further.