Southern Style Fried Catfish

Posted on April 23, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Southern style Catfish

Last week I was watching a documentary called, Soul Food Junkies, it was about the history and resulting health consequences of eating too much soul food. It was a great documentary, informative, and inspiring in all the right places. However, I left viewing it with a strong desire to eat collard greens and catfish. My grandmother fried fish, and cooked greens like no one else on this planet, I miss her cooking so much! I guess one could say that my craving was one more of emotional comfort rather than hunger. Whatever, the reason for my craving, it was one that I had to fulfill. It worked out perfectly, as things go, my Whole Foods had 4 catfish fillets on hand, they rarely if ever have catfish, so I took it as a sign that my grandmother was looking out for me and wanted me to have the comfort of the meal I had set out to make. I rarely cook fried fish, but when I do, I love to have it with collard greens. So I picked up a few bushels from my local farmers market and set out to make this meal. This is not my grandmothers recipe, but it’s pretty great on its own. Her recipe involved much more detail than this one does, and that required more time than I had on that Sunday. If you want, and have the time, you can crack an egg and whisk it to use as a wash to dip the fish into before putting it into the corn meal. I skipped that option and the fish was still crispy and juicy.

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Ingredients:

1 lb of cat fish fillets, quartered

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup of corn meal

1/2 cup of grapeseed oil, or safflower oil

Directions: Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet. season the cat fish fillets with sea salt and black pepper. Mix the paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder together in a small bowl, then sprinkle the mixture evenly over both sides of the fish.

Coat the fish with the corn meal then add it to the hot oil, and fry until golden brown, and cooked through…about 7-10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, and enjoy!

Sautéed Mushrooms

Posted on April 22, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Sautéed Mushrooms

One of my favorite side dishes in the world is sautéed mushrooms. I love mushrooms in general, but there is just something that happens to a mushroom when it’s sautéed perfectly that sets off a flavor explosion in your mouth. Sautéing mushrooms is easy, but there is an art to it, not all sautés are created equally. The key to a good mushroom sauté is to let the mushrooms brown. Browning is an result of the Maillard reaction, and that reaction is where flavor lives.

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Ingredients:
10 ounces of sliced mushrooms (I used crimini and oyster)
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 tea spoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley finely minced
Sea salt to taste

Directions: add the olive oil and garlic to a sauté and let cook for 10-20 seconds or until you can smell the garlic:

Add in the sliced mushrooms and season with sea salt:

The mushrooms will begin to release water, toss and allow them to cook for 5-7 minutes. The water should begin to evaporate. Add in the tab of butter and toss the mushrooms:

Cook for another 3-4 minutes without tossing, to allow the mushrooms to brown, add in soy sauce and toss, until the soy evaporates, about 1 minute:

Transfer the mushrooms to a dish, sprinkle the parsley on top and enjoy!

Crispy Smelt with a Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

Posted on April 16, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Crispy Smelt with Parsley Lemon Vinaigrette

I LOVE Smelt, LOVE them. In fact I love them so much I wish that I could eat them year round. If you’ve never tried smelt, then after you read this blog, stop by your grocery store, and get some! They are rich in omega-3 fatty acid, so not only are they delicious, but they’re great for you. Smelt are small boned fish, like anchovies, so you can eat them whole, even the head. if you’re so inclined. If you’re really lucky, like I have been thus far, you’ll find them fresh at your grocer. I’m told that most grocers sell them frozen in bags. Fresh is best, but these are so good that I would imagine they would still be good even after they’ve been frozen and defrosted. But if you have a choice, why not choose fresh?

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of Smelt (cleaned)

1/2 cup of coconut flour

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1/4-1/2 cup of coconut oil

Ingredients for Parsley Lemon Vinaigrette

1/4 cup of fresh organic flat leaf parsley finely chopped

5 tablespoons of Lemon juice

3 Tablespoons of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic grated

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: Melt the coconut oil in a cast iron skillet, and bring up to temperature. Season the smelt with sea salt and pepper:

Dredge through the coconut flour, coating all sides of the fish with the flour:

Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, about 5-7 minutes:

Add the ingredients for the parsley lemon vinaigrette to a bowl and whisk until well combined, spoon over the fish and enjoy!

These make a great appetizer at a party, just make sure that you buy enough, because no one can eat just one of these! Like this recipe? Then you’ll love my video recipes, subscribe to my Lazy Girl Dinners Youtube channel for quick do it yourself and how to cook videos.

Lamb Burgers with Yogurt Cucumber Mint Sauce

Posted on April 8, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Lamb Burgers With Yogurt Cucumber Sauce

Sometimes you just need a burger! Considering the fact that Americans consume nearly 50 billion burgers a year, I am assuming most people need more than one! Although beef burgers are great, it’s nice every once in awhile to switch meats up a bit. This lamb burger provides the perfect switch.

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Prep time: 7-10 minutes

Cook time: 7-10 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb of ground lamb

1/2 cup of mint, chopped finely

1/4 cup of flat leaf parsley chopped finely

Sea Salt & Black pepper to taste

Ingredients for Yogurt Cucumber Sauce

1/2 cup of yogurt

1 large clove of garlic grated

1/4 cup of organic Persian cucumber cubed

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of finely minced shallot

1 tablespoon of mint finely chopped

Sea salt to taste

Directions: add all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce to a medium sized bowl, mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl add the ingredients for the burger, mix with your hands to incorporate all of the ingredients, and then form patties.

Heat a cast iron skillet, then add the burgers. Cook each burger without turning them, for 4-6 minutes on each side.

Serve these on buns with the cucumber sauce or go to my YouTube channel and get my recipe for Creamy herb feta cheese spread.

Creamy Herbed Feta Cheese Spread

Or skip the bun and use lettuce as a low carb option.

Lamb Burger with Yogurt cucumber sauce

White Bean and Kale Soup

Posted on March 26, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Kale and White Bean Soup

I feel like I haven’t shared enough vegetarian recipes with you guys, at least not as a full meal. My daughter is just beginning to appreciate veggies the way my husband and I do…thank God, I was beginning to worry she would be one of those kids who would refuse everything green. But somehow, and by the grace of god she has taken to eating veggies. While I was making this she kept reaching up to steal pieces of carrots! It made my heart leap with every bite she took! She loves this soup, and I love that she loves it, because it’s nothing but veggies!

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Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bushel of organic kale, sliced thinly

1 cup of shallots, chopped

1 cup of carrots, cubed

1 cup of celery, cubed

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3/4 cup of white wine Sauvignon Blanc

4 cups of vegetable stock

1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of olive oil

15 oz can of Organic white beans, drained and rinsed

Directions: Heat the oil on medium heat, add garlic, shallots, celery, and carrots, cook until tender,

add in thyme and kale, sauté for 5 minutes.

Add in the wine, vegetable stock and beans, bring to a boil and cook until greens are tender about 15 minutes. Add in lemon juice, adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper, serve and enjoy!

Ramen Momofuku Style and Gluten Free

Posted on March 25, 2014 by lazygirldinners

D.I.Y. Ramen

Is it weird that I’m not a big fan of pasta, but that I love ramen? I’m not talking about cup o noodles here, but growing up I had my fair share of those, I’m talking about a rich and flavorful bowl of ramen. The kind of ramen one might get at David Changs Momofuku Noodle bar in New York. The kind of ramen people wait in line for, only I don’t want to wait in line. The beginning and end of any ramen–a good one anyway–is the broth! Without the foundation of a good broth, ramen is… well just ramen in water! The best way to get a good broth without spending hours in the kitchen is to use a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers aren’t as popular as crock pots, but in my opinion they should be! Other than cooking something slowly on the stove for hours, there is just no other way to get the amount of flavor you do from something cooked in a pressure cooker. You get out what you put into a pressure cooker, all the nutrients stay in the pot, they don’t cook out, unlike when you cook on the stove top, or in a slow cooker—the nutrients escape out during cooking through steam. What’s better is that it takes less time to do it than both stove top cooking and crock pot cooking! I like to think that my pressure cooker provides the best of both worlds, the flavor of something cooked for hours on a stove, and the ease of non-active cooking–ie ability to throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot, leave it for an hour and come back to the finished product, lazy cooking at its best!

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1lb of Organic chicken thighs, I used boneless, but a bone never hurt a good broth

1 large brown onion

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar

1 bushel of organic Dino Kale, chopped roughly

3 large cloves of garlic chopped

1 10oz package of Organic Rice ramen, I used Lotus Food brand it’s gluten free.

1 tablespoon of olive oil or ghee

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

7.5 cups of water

Directions: Heat the oil then add the chicken. IMPORTANT: Let it brown, do not move it, let it cook for 3-4 on one side before turning it. This browning makes a tremendous amount of difference between a broth that’s good, and a broth that’s great! Once brown turn over and add the onion, garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. Cook for another 4 minutes, then add the water. Bring to a boil, then cover and seal your pressure cooker, and let cook on medium heat for 45-50 minutes undisturbed. If you’re doing this on the stove top, without a pressure cooker, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 1.5 hours checking broth levels after an hour. At the 50 minute mark, turn off the fire, and depressurize your pressure cooker according to manufacturers instructions, remove the lid, add in the kale, turn the fire back on to medium, cover and seal the pressure cooker again. Let cook for 7 minutes, depressurize the cooker again.remove the lid, turn the fire back on, add the noodles, and cook for additional 4 minutes, add red pepper flakes and fresh cilantro, turn the fire off serve and enjoy!

Charbroiled Sardines with parsley and thyme

Posted on March 19, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Charbroiled Sardines with Parsley and Thyme

It’s not often here that I can walk up to my local Whole Foods Market fish counter and get fresh sardines. So when the opportunity to do so occurred, I jumped at it. I am a huge fan of small sustainable fish, like sardines, and smelt. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that I like smelt fish more than sardines, but smelt fish are even harder to come by than fresh sardines. If you’ve never made fresh sardines before, then you have been missing out! They’re so easy to make, and so delicious!

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Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 7-10 minutes

1 pound of fresh Sardines split down the middle

1/2 cup of parsley

1/4 cup thyme

1 clove of garlic

3 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Sea salt and Black pepper to taste

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Line a bake sheet with parchment or foil. Pulse all the ingredients with the exception of the sardines in a small blender or processor. You can skip the processor and opt to chop all the herbs finely and then mix with the oil and lemon. Place the sardines on the lined bake sheet, add the herb mixture to the inside of each sardine. Season with sea salt and black pepper then place in the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until sardines are cooked through and have charred on top a bit. Remove from the oven, serve and enjoy!

Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Posted on March 12, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad

My daughter has reached a turning point in eating! I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the fact that she her 2 year molars are coming in, which makes things easier to chew. But in the last few weeks we’ve seen a change in her mindset too. She’s taken to saying “to eat is good for you?” Or insert name of food item “is good for you?” If we say yes, then she eats it! I feel like I’ve struck the mommy lotto because now things she wouldn’t consider eating, she’s now eating, all because we say it’s good for her. One of the things I have been trying to get her to eat, but she never would, is cucumbers. It has been a complete over night shift! She wouldn’t touch them before, but now she loves them because they’re good for her. She also loves tomatoes, this Persian salad is one of my favorite salads to order when we go out for Persian food. So I thought I’d try it out on her and of course she loved it! I’m not a big fan of onions in my salads, because they tend to over power the rest of the ingredients in a salad. I don’t know where I learned this tip, but soaking the onions in water before adding them to things, mellows the onions a bit. I let them sit for 5-10 minutes and drain them before adding them to my salad, the onions still have flavor, but less of a “oh my god I just ate a raw onion” bite! I prefer to use red onion, or shallots in this recipe, but brown onion works just as well.

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Prep time: 5-10minutes
Cook time : none

Ingredients:
1 cup Organic Persian Cucumber cubed
1 cup of organic cherry Tomatoes quartered or halved
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Sea salt to taste
2 tablespoons of red onion finely chopped, soaked in water for ten minutes then drained just before adding them to salad.

Directions:
Add all the ingredients to a bowl toss well and enjoy!

Lamb Lettuce Wraps with Mint Chimichurri Sauce

Posted on March 11, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Lamb Lettuce Wraps With Mint Chimichurri Sauce

One of my favorite “cook” books is The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It is my go to book when I need inspiration for a new recipe. If you own it, then you know it’s not a cookbook in the traditional sense, because it doesn’t contain any recipes. It’s more of a reference for exactly what it title states, flavors that work well together. Yesterday I was browsing it for an idea for what I could do with some ground lamb that I needed to make for dinner. It was a hot day here in California–go figure–so I wanted something light and cooling. I opened The Flavor Bible up and landed on Chimichurri and it hit me! Inspiration at it’s best!! I decided to make lamb lettuce wraps with a mint Chimichurri! These are DELICIOUS!! My husband raved at every bite! If ground lamb isn’t your thing, or you can’t get it in your grocery store, try this with ground beef or chicken, the mint Chimichurri sauce will work with either.

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Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb Lamb
9 leaves of organic Butter lettuce
1 cup of organic Green onion sliced white parts included
3 cloves of garlic minced
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/4 cup of fresh organic mint chopped

Ingredients for Mint Chimichurri
1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup of mint
3 tablespoons oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic
Sea salt to taste

Directions:
Place all the ingredients for the Chimmichurri in a blender or processor and blend until smooth, set aside. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a skillet, add garlic, and green onion, toss for 20-30 seconds, then add in ground meat. Season with sea salt and black pepper, and cook until meat is browned and cooked through, add in the mint and toss, remove from the fire.

Scoop meat into lettuce leaves, top with Chimmichurri and enjoy!

Roast Chicken with Cilantro Pesto

Posted on February 23, 2014 by lazygirldinners

Roast Chicken with Cilantro Pes

I make roast chicken a lot for my family. Mainly because it’s easy, and I know everyone will enjoy it. However, because I make it so often, I am always trying to come up with ways to make it differently, ways in which I can add flavor, this pesto does exactly that. It adds a ton of flavor, but requires minimal extra work. You throw all the ingredients in the blender or a food processor, push a button and it’s done! Leftover, pesto, if you have any, can be spread on bread as the condiment to leftover chicken salad sandwiches…talk about yum! If you don’t want to roast an entire chicken, you can scale this down and use just 2 chicken breasts, it doesn’t matter. I find that buying a whole organic chicken is often less expensive than buying just 2 organic chicken breasts. So I always prefer to save money and buy the whole chicken. I reinvent the leftover chicken into tacos, salad, soup or tostadas.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
1 whole Organic Nongmo Air-chilled Chicken
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 Tablespoons of Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Ingredients for Cilantro Pesto:
2 cups of cilantro
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of toasted hazelnuts
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 425F. Season the chicken generously with sea salt and black pepper, then rub it with the garlic and oil. Line a baking dish with foil, place the chicken on it and place it in the oven and cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, place all the ingredients for the pesto in a blender or processor, and blend until smooth. Serve the pesto however you’d like, I smear it on the chicken, with an additional spoonful or two, so that I can dip as I go. It’s so delicious!!!! If you haven’t read my blog on How to roast Chicken, Steps to making the perfect roast chicken now would be a great time. My recipe for Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic works the pesto as well.

Roast Chicken with Cilantro Pesto

Lazy Girl Dinners

A Lazy Girls guide to quick, healthy, and easy recipes!

Tag Archives: dinner

Southern Style Fried Catfish

Sautéed Mushrooms

Crispy Smelt with a Lemon Parsley Vinaigrette

Lamb Burgers with Yogurt Cucumber Mint Sauce

White Bean and Kale Soup

Ramen Momofuku Style and Gluten Free

Charbroiled Sardines with parsley and thyme

Persian Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Lamb Lettuce Wraps with Mint Chimichurri Sauce

Roast Chicken with Cilantro Pesto