Idiot's Kitchen

Fish en Papillote with Tomatoes & Olives

May 17th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

Fish en Papillote is a fancy way of saying Fish baked in a cute little paper packet.

I might have added the cute part.

This is a perfect method for those who are afraid to cook fish. Put the fish and some tasty ingredients on a sheet of parchment paper, fold it over into a (cute) little packet, pop it in the oven, and like magic your fish cooks into tender delicious perfection. As a bonus, you get an incredible, light sauce in every packet.

Tomatoes, olives, and orange zest might seem like unusual flavors for fish but they add interesting Mediterranean flavors without overwhelming the delicate taste of the fish.

As a bonus, this meal goes together very quickly – about 5 minutes prep and 10 in the oven.

Here’s what you need:

Parchment Paper, Fish Fillets*, Tomatoes, Orange, Kalamata Olives, Fresh Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes, Butter, Salt & Pepper. (black cat optional)

Click here for a Fish en Papillote Shopping List

*For the fish I’m using fresh American Red Snapper. How fresh? VERY!

That’s my husband hauling it right out of the Gulf of Mexico!

You could also use any mild fish like halibut, mahi, cod, or sea bass.

And if you think that’s a nice fish, check out this Amberjack caught by our friend Evan who was nice enough to sponsor Parking Dudes Go Fishing Day.

We don’t have a boat but we have Evan which, in my opinion, is BETTER because he takes you fishing, CLEANS the fish, and sends you home with more fish than you personally caught.

You’ll be seeing that amberjack again in a week or so.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Dinner, Quick & Easy, Seafood, Veggies | 4 Comments »

Spicy Southwestern Hummus

May 14th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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This healthy snack of Spicy Southwestern Hummus just might have saved me last week.

My external hard drive on the computer that was supposed to be my back up, fail safe, plan ahead, don’t be a tech moron, safe place for all my Idiot’s Kitchen photos, recipes, and info died a not so glamorous death. No warning, just files and files of gibberish nonsense where previously there had been lovely photos of cookies and cats.

So I was a little stressed. Had I not had something healthy in the fridge, I guarantee that I would have eaten every single thing that even remotely resembled chocolate in the house.

I am not known for my overwhelming will power. There is a reason why I no longer keep a dish of chocolates on my living room table.

It’s not news that if you have healthy and delicious foods in your refrigerator all ready to eat, you are more likely to eat healthy and delicious food.

This hummus is a flavorful combo of black beans and garbanzo beans. And you can spice it up as much as you’d like.

Here’s what you need:

Black Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Cilantro, Limes, Garlic, Tahini, Chili Powder (Chipotle Chili Powder is extra good), Cumin, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Spicy Southwestern Hummus Shopping List

I had leftover garbanzos and black beans in the freezer from cooking dried beans for Black Bean Confetti Salad. You can also use canned beans (14 0unce can = about 2 cups) but just be sure to drain and rinse them first.

Put about 2 cups each of black beans and garbanzo beans in a food processor or powerful blender.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Appetizers/Snacks, Mexican/Southwestern, Quick & Easy, Sides, Vegetarian, Veggies | 3 Comments »

Quinoa with Brown Butter & Arugula

May 9th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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Honestly, the recipe should be called BROWN BUTTER Quinoa with Arugula.

BROWN BUUUUTTER BUUUUTTER BUUUUTTER shouted from the rooftops.

Brown butter and quinoa are both all the rage right now in foodie circles but it had never occurred to me to put them together. Good thing we have cookbook authors like Melissa Clark to think of these things.

I made this to go with the fabulous Easy Skillet Chicken with Herbs featured yesterday. Before making this as a side dish, I’ve always had quinoa cold in salads. It’s one of those super grains that is high in protein and can be flavored any number of ways.

Put it with brown butter and arugula and I’m hooked. The bonus is this cooks in under 15 minutes!

Here’s what you need:

Quinoa, Butter, Arugula, Garlic, Water (not pictured), Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Quinoa with Brown Butter & Arugula Shopping List

Quinoa (which, by the way, is pronounced “keen-wah” – don’t ask me why) is quick to cook. There are a couple of options but this recipe recommends cooking it in a pot of boiling water similar to pasta.

No need to measure the water as we will drain the quinoa when it’s done. Bring a large sauce pan of water to a boil, season liberally with salt, and pour in 1 cup of quinoa.

Let the quinoa boil over medium high heat for about 12 minutes or until the little pieces are opaque in the center and have those tiny little white lines around the edges.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Dinner, Quick & Easy, Sides, Vegetarian, Veggies | 14 Comments »

Easy Skillet Chicken with Herbs

May 8th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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It’s not often that I’m blown away by a chicken recipe.

We can all cook chicken a few different ways, put it on the grill or roast it in the oven, change up the seasonings, or add a tasty sauce.

But honestly, it’s a little easy to get tired of chicken.

So imagine how excited I was when this simple and easy chicken recipe turned out to be INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!

It cooks in a skillet right on the stovetop. Nothing fancy. Nothing fussy. Yet prepare to be amazed by its tenderness and flavor.

Here’s what you need:

Chicken, Fresh Thyme, Fresh Rosemary, Garlic, Lemon, Olive Oil, White Wine, Butter, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for an Easy Skillet Chicken with Herbs Shopping List

Fresh herbs are essential here. Dried herbs won’t offer the same depth of flavor and in fact might be too strong and overwhelm the dish. Fresh herbs are found in almost every grocery produce section these days or are easily grown in your own yard. (More on that in a post later this week!)

IMPORTANT NOTE: For the best flavor, this chicken needs to marinate for at least an hour. Longer is better so you can even prepare this and let it marinate overnight or put it together earlier in the day before you plan to cook and let it hang out in the refrigerator. The marinating step is essential and I think what makes this better than your average chicken dish.

The marinade is simple to put together. Smash, peel, and roughly chop 4-5 big cloves of garlic.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Chicken & Poultry, Dinner, Quick & Easy | 6 Comments »

Mint Juleps

May 4th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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Tomorrow is Derby Day. Do you know how to make a Mint Julep?

Those of you who have known me for any amount of time will know that bourbon is my drink of choice. In fact, it’s a family thing.

I am primarily a bourbon on the rocks kinda girl. No mixers, please. No water. And don’t even think of coming near my bourbon with coke. Shudder.

However, once or twice a year, I like to enjoy a Mint Julep. They are lovely and light and, made correctly, not too sweet.

Grab your fancy hat, here’s what you need:

Bourbon!, Fresh Mint, Simple Syrup*, Crushed Ice, Sugar, and Water (both pictured below).

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Drinks/Cocktails | 2 Comments »

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

May 3rd, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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Peanut Butter Cookies are good.

Chocolate Chip Cookies are good.

Oatmeal Cookies, also good.

Put them all together and you go from good to AWESOME!

Nothing fancy here….I started with a good old standard chocolate chip cookie and then started adding in the good stuff.

Here’s what you need:

Flour, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Butter, Oats, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chips, Eggs, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, and Vanilla.

Click here for a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Shopping List

Bring 2 sticks of butter up to room temperature to soften.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

You can make these in a mixer or also by hand. If you’re mixing by hand, it is really important that the butter be nice and soft.

Mix 2 sticks of softened butter (1 cup) with 3/4 cup of regular white granulated sugar and 3/4 cup of lightly packed brown sugar. I personally like dark brown sugar but use whatever you have.

Mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes until the butter and sugars are light and creamy.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Baking, Chocolate, Cookies, Dessert, Quick & Easy | 4 Comments »

Shrimp Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay & Peanut Sauce

Apr 30th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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Appetizers for dinner!

It’s totally the way to go. Why save appetizers for parties and frou-frou occasions? Bust a few of them out on a week night and call it dinner.

Spring Rolls, Chicken Satay, and most importantly, Peanut Sauce are three of my favorites.

They’re all easy to make and combined can make a nice, light dinner as shown here or you can make one or two as an accompaniment to a more traditional entree like chicken curry or spicy orange beef.

Three recipes for the price of one. We’ll tackle each one individually but I’ll also put a whole mess of links for recipes and shopping lists at the bottom of this post.

Here’s what you need for Chicken Satay: (orange cat optional but highly recommended)

Chicken Thighs, Vegetable Oil, Soy Sauce, Garlic, Green Onions/Scallions, Fresh Ginger, Limes, Chili Garlic Sauce.

Click here for a Chicken Satay Shopping List

Chicken Satay is basically skewers of chicken meat that have been marinated and grilled, served with a tasty sauce. It originated in Indonesia but has been adopted by most Asian cultures and is now a carryout menu staple.

For the best flavor, try to marinate your meat for a few hours or even overnight. To make the marinade combine 1/4 cup light vegetable oil such as canola or safflower with 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce.

You can see that I’m not measuring. Marinades are not an exact science and can easily be expanded upon or improvised depending on your particular tastes. This is a good all round marinade that I often make for simple grilled chicken breasts.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Appetizers/Snacks, Asian, Chicken & Poultry, Dinner, Quick & Easy, Seafood, Sides, Veggies | 12 Comments »

Spring Strawberry Cake

Apr 26th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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Spring Strawberry Cake.

If you don’t mind me saying so, it is a thing of beauty.

If you’re not ready for spring, this cake should do the trick. It will magically get you in the mood for sunny days, crisp weather, blue skies, and sweet, sweet strawberries.

This recipe is quick and easy to put together. It’s a bit like strawberry shortcake but all in one pan. Simple and elegant enough for guests but also great just by itself with tea for breakfast….um, I mean dessert.

Here’s what you need:

Strawberries, Flour, Sugar, Butter, Egg, Baking Powder, Salt, Milk, and Vanilla

Click here for a Spring Strawberry Cake Shopping List

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Like most cakes and baked goodies, we begin by sifting the dry ingredients together.

Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder…

and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Baking, Cake, Dessert, Fruit, Quick & Easy | 17 Comments »

Vegetable Curry

Apr 24th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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It’s easy to eat your vegetables when they taste this good!

Vegetable curry is tasty and quick and easy to make.

Don’t worry about having the “right” vegetables…use whatever you like and whatever you have on hand.

I’m using mostly cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes but broccoli, zucchini, and sweet potatoes would all be good choices. Apples would be a great addition too.

I went a bit overboard here and made a ton of vegetable curry. Probably enough to serve 6-8 people. You can easily cut the amounts in half for a more moderate amount OR you can go all out and have awesome curry leftovers!

Here’s what you need:

Potatoes, Onion, Red Bell Pepper, Carrots, Cauliflower, Frozen Peas, Garlic, Ginger, Cilantro (optional but good!), Lime, Vegetable Broth, Water (not pictured), Diced Tomatoes, Garbanzo Beans/Chick Peas, Greek Yogurt or Coconut Milk, Olive Oil, Curry Powder, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Vegetable Curry Shopping List

That’s a lot of veggies and, you guessed it, a lot of chopping. It’s worth it, I promise.

I like to serve this with a cilantro rice or brown rice. If you want to serve rice, be sure to start it before you start the vegetable curry so they will be ready at the same time.

Begin by chopping a large onion, a red bell pepper, and 3 or 4 carrots. I like to do the carrots in discs for this recipe.

Click HERE, there’s more!

Posted in Asian, Dinner, Quick & Easy, Soup & Stew, Vegetarian, Veggies | 6 Comments »

Moroccan Lamb Stew

Apr 18th, 2012 by idiotskitchen

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It’s Wednesday. So,how early in the week do you start thinking about what you’re going to cook over the weekend?

Are you one of those expert planning types who makes a meal plan, shops for the whole week in advance, and knows exactly what’s going on in your kitchen?

Or are you (like me) one of those wander around the grocery store, see what looks good, see what’s on sale, see what hits you kind of cooks?

This incredibly delicious lamb stew came about because lamb was on sale for Easter. It’s a dish that I’ve made a few times and every time, I wonder why I don’t cook it more often.

Saffron, Dates, Orange, Ginger, and Carrots seem like a strange combination to put with meat but they cook up into an incredibly savory sauce.

Here’s what you need:

Lamb meat*, Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Orange, Parsley, Beef Broth or Bouillon, Flour, Olive Oil, Chopped Dates, Diced Tomatoes, Saffron, Red Pepper Flakes (not pictured), Cumin (not pictured), Salt Pepper.

Click here for a Moroccan Lamb Stew Shopping List

Although there are lots of ingredients and a bit of chopping, this is really quite a simple dish to prepare. It cooks in one pot in the oven – think the beef stew. And speaking of beef, if you don’t eat lamb, or can’t find good lamb at your store, beef would probably make a fine substitution.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Speaking of chopping…..finely chop 2 large yellow onions.