Cod Oscar

YouTube Video – Cod Oscar

Preheat broiler

Serves: 4

Estimated calories per serving: 250

Fat grams: 4

Ingredients:

Salt & pepper

6 – 8 cod fillets (about 24 ounces)

1 package bearnaise sauce

1 Tablespoon low calorie butter spread

1 cup skim milk

½ pound cooked lump crab meat

Directions:

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on cod and let sit for 10-15 minutes.
2. Whisk milk with Béarnaise sauce packet mix.
3. Melt butter spread in saucepan on medium heat.  Add Béarnaise sauce mixture on medium heat until boiling and thickened.  Turn off heat and add cooked crab meat once Bearnaise sauce is cooked.  Cover and set aside to keep warm.
4. Place fillets on a greased rack of a broiler pan and broil 3-4 inches from heat until fish just begins to flake easily with a fork, 10-12 minutes.
5. Transfer cod to a serving platter and spoon the crab meat mixture on top.

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Bouillabaisse

This is a great healthy recipe that is so easy to prepare.  I was rushing around last week and needed an idea for dinner.  I had frozen shrimp, scallops and sea bass and remembered my bouillabaisse recipe that never fails.  All I had to do was stop for the clams and I had a complete meal.  Because of my limited time, I cooked the sauce in advance then just heated it up 15 minutes before dinner and added the fish.  You can easily substitute any fish of your liking as well.

Sorry for not having a picture, I was really busy.

Enjoy…

 

Serves 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Estimated Values per Serving:

Calories: 300                        Fat: 2.5 grams

Sauce ingredients:

Olive oil cooking Spray

1 leek, chopped

½ onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons flour

1 bottle of clam juice (8 ounces)

½ cup white wine

2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 cup diced tomatoes (can be canned)

½ teaspoon saffron

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.    Heat deep sauté pan on medium low heat and spray with cooking spray.  Sauté onions and leeks until soft.  Add garlic and flour and sauté for an additional minute.

2.    Add clam juice and raise heat to medium.  Let come to a boil and add wine, chicken stock and tomatoes.  Cook until it comes back up to a boil.

3.    Lower heat to a simmer and add saffron, parsley, thyme and pepper.

4.    Simmer for 1 hour (covered).

Fish:

1 pound fillet fish (i.e. tilapia, cod, sole)

1 pound scallops

1 pound shrimp – deveined, shelled and tails off

1 dozen clams

Directions:

1.    Add fish fillet cook for 5 – 7 minutes, add shrimp, scallops and clams and cook until clams have opened, the shrimp have turned pink and scallops are firm, about 5 minutes.

Serve with rice.

 

Alaskan Crab Soup

As the weather gets cooler, the meals get cozier.  I made this for the family the other night and they loved it.  Even though it’s low in calories, it’s very filling.  It can be served for 4 people to make it a whole meal with a side vegetable or 8 side servings.

Enjoy!

Alaskan Crab Soup

Serves 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 165                      Fat = 1 gram                          Points: 3

Ingredients:

½ cup onion – minced

2 ribs celery – chopped

2 cloves garlic – minced

½ cup cream sherry

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon dill

1 tablespoon double concentrate tomato paste

Bay leaf

1 ½ pounds Alaskan lump crab meat (i.e. snow crab, Dungeness, king crab)

4 cups fat free half and half

4 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a large pot on medium heat and coat with cooking spray.  Add onion and celery and sauté for 5 minutes until slightly browned and softened.
2. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Add sherry and cook until liquid is absorbed.
3. Add chicken broth, dill, tomato paste, bay leaf and crab.  Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, stir together half and half and flour.  Pour into soup, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve hot.

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp in Wine Sauce with Angel Hair Pasta

Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 320                      Fat = 5 grams                        Points: 6

Ingredients:

8 ounces high fiber angel hair pasta

1 ½ pound shrimp – peeled and deveined with tails removed

1 clove garlic – minced

1 tablespoon reduced calorie butter spread

1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms

½ cup white wine

1 cup marinara sauce

4 8-ounce bottles of clam juice

1 cup Cannellini Beans

6 ounces baby spinach

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of water and add pasta.  Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water.  Keep pasta in a little cool water until ready to add to the sauce.
2. Heat large skillet on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and add shrimp and garlic.  Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until shrimp turns pink.  Remove from pan and cover to keep warm.
3. Add butter spread and mushrooms and sauté for 5 – 7 minutes until browned.  Add white wine and reduce by half.
4. Add sauce and clam juice and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add beans, spinach and cheese and cook for 1 minute until spinach is wilted.
5. Add back shrimp and toss in pasta that has been drained of water.  Toss to warm shrimp and pasta and then spoon onto serving platter.

New England Clam Chowder

New England Clam Chowder

New England Clam Chowder

Serves 8

Prep time: 15minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Estimated values per serving:

Calories = 195                      Fat = 2 grams                        Points: 4

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

4 slices turkey bacon

1 onion – chopped

2 celery ribs chopped

4 cans (6 ½ ounces) minced clams  – drained with liquid reserved

3 cups fat free half and half

2 cups clam broth (including the reserved clam liquid)

1 cup skim milk

¼ cup flour

3 potatoes – peeled and diced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Heat sauce pot on medium high heat and add bacon.  Cook until bacon is crisp.  Remove from heat, cool and chop.
2. Add onion and celery to the pot and cook about 5 minutes until soft and tender.  Add bacon back to the pot.
3. Add half and half, clam broth and potatoes in the sauce pot.  Cook on medium heat until mixture begins to bubble.
4. I n a small mixing bowl, mix together skim milk and flour then add to sauce pot and stir.  Lower heat and continue to cook soup until potatoes are soft.
5. Remove from heat and cool.
6. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and serve.

Poached Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce

The recipe listed below looks like it is very high in fat (about 35%), instead of the lower fat dishes I usually post.  However, the only fat grams in this recipe are from the salmon itself, which is a very healthy fish to eat.  So don’t be shy about having poached salmon.  Sometimes it is ok to eat something with a little higher fat content as long as it’s coming from a natural source (ie. fish, nuts, vegetables).

Poached Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Serves 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Refrigerator Time: 2 hours

Estimated Values per Serving:

Calories: 335                        Fat:14 grams                         Points: 7

Ingredients:

1 small seedless watermelon

2 cups white wine

6 springs plus ¼ cup fresh dill – minced

1 to ½ pounds salmon – cut into 4 fillets with skin removed

1 small cucumber – peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

Juice from 1 lemon

1 cup fat free sour cream

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Cut watermelon and remove the rind.  Cut watermelon into large pieces.  Place watermelon in a food processor and puree until liquefied. 

1. Measure 2 cups of the watermelon juice and pour into a large deep skillet.  Add white wine and dill sprigs to the skillet and heat on high until boiling.
2. Add salmon fillets to watermelon/wine mixture and poach for about 10 minutes until salmon is firm.
3. While salmon is poaching, measure ½ cup of the watermelon juice and pour into food processor; discard or store the remaining watermelon juice.  Add cucumber pieces and lemon juice to food processor with the watermelon and puree the mixture. Add sour cream and pulse until mixture is combined.
4. Pour mixture into a bowl, add salt and chopped dill and stir until combined.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
5. When salmon is cooked through, remove from the skillet and set on paper towels to dry.  Transfer salmon to a platter, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.
6. Serve cold salmon with sauce on the side.

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Serves 8

Sausage and Seafood Paella

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Estimated Values per Serving:

Calories: 285                        Fat: 5 grams                          Points: 6

Ingredients:

1 – 12 ounce package of hot or mild chicken sausage

1 cup onion – chopped

½ cup celery – chopped

2 cloves garlic – minced

1 teaspoon saffron threads

2 cups reduced fat chicken broth

1 cup long grain rice

1 cup canned diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas – defrosted

1 pound shrimp – shelled, deveined and cut into bite sized pieces

1 pound small sea scallops

Directions:

1. Remove outer casing from chicken sausages and coarsely chop. 
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Add chicken sausage and sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until browned.
3. Remove sausage from skillet and set aside.  Spray same skillet with cooking spray again and add onion and celery.  Sauté for 3 – 5 minutes until browned.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
4. Combine saffron threads in the chicken broth and stir until saffron dissolves then add to skillet with rice.  Set stovetop heat to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes, until liquid has dissolved.  Add diced tomatoes, peas, shrimp and sea scallops.  Cook for 3 – 5 minutes until fish is cooked. 
5. Add rice and sausage to skillet, heat and then serve.

Something’s Fishy…

I am not used to cooking a wide variety of fish since it isn’t Dean’s favorite thing to eat.  But since Dean is away on business and Nick loves eating fish, I decided to go for it.

I had bought some Mahi Mahi steaks and wasn’t sure what to do with them so I started looking through recipes on the internet and everything seemed a little weird for my taste.  I check out a seafood cookbook that I’ve had for years and forgot about and saw a recipe for blackened fish.  The spice combination looked like it would be a good match for Mahi Mahi so I used their dry rub recipe.  I then made up the sauce based on the spice combination they suggested for the dry rub. 

This recipe came out really good and I was impressed with the texture and flavor of Mahi Mahi.  It is one of those very mellow fish that tastes like you can do almost anything with it.  The texture was really flaky and also moist.  Since I am not used to the cooking time, I periodically used a fork and poked at it to see if it was flaky (which is how you can tell it’s done).  I have to say that after poking it about 4 – 5 times, I was really glad that it held together for a picture.  All worked out well and I will definitely be creating other meals with this fish.  Don’t be fish shy like I was, go for it and try this.

Enjoy and don’t be afraid to get something fishy going on…

I am not used to cooking a wide variety of fish since it isn’t Dean’s favorite thing to eat.  But since Dean is away on business and Nick loves eating fish, I decided to go for it.

I had bought some Mahi Mahi steaks and wasn’t sure what to do with them so I started looking through recipes on the internet and everything seemed a little weird for my taste.  I check out a seafood cookbook that I’ve had for years and forgot about and saw a recipe for blackened fish.  The spice combination looked like it would be a good match for Mahi Mahi so I used their dry rub recipe.  I then made up the sauce based what might  go well with their dry rub. 

This recipe came out really good and I was impressed with the texture and flavor of Mahi Mahi.  It is one of those very mellow fish that tastes like you can do almost anything with it.  The texture was really flaky as well as moist.  Since I am not used to the cooking time, I periodically used a fork and poked at it to see if it was flaky (which is how you can tell it’s done).  I have to say that after poking it about 4 – 5 times, I was really glad that it held together for a picture.  All worked out well and I will definitely be creating other meals with this fish.  Don’t be fish shy like I was, go for it and try this.

Enjoy and don’t be afraid to get something fishy going on…

Blackened Mahi Mahi with Tequila-Lime Sauce

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Estimated Values per serving:

Calories = 240                                              Fat  = 5

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon thyme

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 (6 ounce each) Mahi Mahi fish steaks

2 cloves fresh garlic – minced

¼ cup tequila

Juice of 1 lime

1 cup diced tomatoes from a can

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro – chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley – chopped

2 – 3 dashes Tabasco sauce

½ cup low fat sour cream

Directions:

1. To make sauce: Heat a saucepot on medium high heat, spray with cooking spray and add garlic.  Sauté for about 1 minute until browned.  Add tequila and cook until liquid is almost absorbed.  Add lime juice and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes, cilantro, parsley and Tabasco sauce and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Pour sauce into a food processor and pulse until smooth, add sour cream and pulse a few more times until it is well combined.  Return sauce to the pot and heat on low until fish steaks are cooked.
4. Grill Mahi Mahi fish steaks: In a small bowl, combine paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, thyme and cayenne pepper.  Rub spice mixture on both sides of fish steaks.
5. Heat an indoor grill pan on high heat, spray with cooking spray and add fish steaks.
6. Cook for about 5 – 6 minutes on each side or until flaky (check with a fork).
7. To serve: pour a little sauce on the bottom of each plate and place a fish steak on top.  The fish may be topped with a little more sauce if desired or served on the side.