30-Minute Meals Archives | Page 2 of 4

Sweet Potato Pad Thai with Shrimp

In Sweet Potato Pad Thai with Pan-fried Shrimp, the natural sweetness and robust texture of spiralized sweet potato noodles perfectly complements the flavors and textures of traditional Pad Thai.

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I’ll admit it – I am just now diving into the Spiralizer pool.

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years, spiral vegetable cutters, or “spiralizers,” are kitchen gadgets that cut fruits and vegetables into long noodles and ribbons, which then can be then be used in place of pasta, and as additions in salads, side dishes, etc.

There is a good reason for my reticence to Spiralize: all of the hand-held and counter-top spiralizers I’ve previously tested/used/experimented with simply don’t deliver: they crack under the strain of hard, dense vegetables; they hurt my hand and wrist to operate; and some models are a huge pain when it comes to clean up.

Then KitchenAid® came to my rescue – with a carefully engineered, well-thought Spiralizer Attachment. I couldn’t wait to try it out! (Please note: this is not a sponsored post. I just really love this thing!}

One of the first things I tried was a combination of two of my favorite things – Thai food and sweet potatoes. The outcome – Sweet Potato Pad Thai with Pan-fried Shrimp – is a deliciously tasty dish that blends the natural sweetness and robust texture of spiralized sweet potato noodles with the traditional flavors and textures of Pad Thai.

Bonus: It’s loaded with super-healthy stuff, and takes just one pan and 30-minutes to create.

Extra Bonus: Everyone in my household loves it! (Which means that there is a good chance everyone in your house will love it too!!)

Sweet Potato Pad Thai with Shrimp is a pleasure for your senses, hitting all the taste points – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami; plus it’s gluten-free (just use gluten free soy sauce or tamari), dairy-free, and naturally high in fiber. Bottom line though – it tastes amazing!

Sweet Potato Shrimp Pad Thai

Prep Time30 mins

Total Time30 mins

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Course: Main Dish

Servings: -6 servings

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Sauce

Zest & juice from one lime
1 clove garlic minced
3 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce or tamari
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Shrimp

1 lb medium shrimp 70-80/lb, shelled and cleaned
2 tablespoons peanut oil or refined coconut oil
1 clove garlic minced

Sweet Potato Noodles

2 large orange-fleshed sweet potatoes aka yams Spiralized
2 tablespoons peanut oil or refined coconut oil
1 large onion peeled & sliced thinly root to end
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red bell pepper sliced in thin strips
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Garnish

Chopped cilantro
Chopped peanuts
Sliced green onions
Crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

Sauce

Combine sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. (You can also make the sauce in a small beverage blender.)

Shrimp

Pour 1/3 cup sauce in a large ziploc bag. Add cleaned shrimp to the bag and toss around a bit to combine. Set the rest of the sauce aside. Allow the shrimp marinate in the sauce for 15-30 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high. When a drop of water sizzles in the pan, drop the shrimp in a few at a time.(I do this in 2 batches.) Let the shrimp stay where they are when they hit the hot pan so that they get a little bit browned on one side and then flip them over. This will take just a couple of minutes - don't overcook them! The shrimp are done when they are pinkish all the way through.
Immediately remove the cooked shrimp from pan with a spider or slotted spoon and set aside.

Sweet Potato Noodles

In a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, saute the sliced onion in 2 tablespoons of peanut oil until translucent; about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and sliced bell pepper and saute about 4 more minutes; until the red pepper begins to soften.
Add spiralized sweet potato noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes, gently folding up from the bottom of the pan a few times. Add 1/4 cup water to the pan and cover immediately. Steam for 2 minutes. Check for doneness, and then cover again and cook 2 more minutes. Repeat until noodles are tender but not mushy. (You are not making mashed potatoes!)
Add remaining sauce, cooked shrimp, and chopped cilantro and toss gently to combine.

Garnish & Serve

Garnish with additional cilantro, chopped peanuts, chopped green onions, and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve warm (although it is delicious cold too!)

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Recipe Notes

What the heck is a Spider? A “spider” is a type of skimmer used in Asian and Dutch cooking. It is a wide shallow wire-mesh basket with a long handle, used for removing hot food from a liquid or skimming foam off when making broths. The name is derived from the wire pattern, which looks like a spider’s web. I use mine all the time.
Why is there no tamarind paste in this Pad Thai? Pad Thai usually relies on tamarind paste for its unique flavor profile, but I think that the combination of lime and brown sugar accomplishes this well in this dish, without requiring that you search out and buy difficult-to-find ingredients. That said, if you have tamarind paste available to you, you can definitely use it here – simply reduce the brown sugar in the sauce by 1 tablespoon and use only 1/2 the lime juice. Dissolve 1 tablespoon tamarind paste in 1/4 cup warm water before adding it to the sauce. Do not add additional water.

Oh my gosh, I love those KitchenAid® people! They know how to do things right!! The KitchenAid Spiralizer lets your stand mixer motor do all the work. Once you figure out how to use the attachment (I found the instructions a little sub-par) it’s a breeze. Clean-up is super easy too. Waste is minimal, and what is made creates these cool little cores that can be sliced or used for garnishing.

For Lefties Only: Unlike almost every counter-top spiralizer out there, this one works equally well for lefties and non-lefties alike! (See, that’s me looking out for you.)

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Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish

January 6 By Renée 25 Comments

Seasoned with smokey paprika and three kinds of dried peppers, this Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish has just the right amount of kick!

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This savory Blackened Rockfish with Kale Caesar Salad from Skillet was my favorite bite at the 2015 IFBC Culinary Expo. The spicy dry rub, seasoned with paprika and three kinds of dried peppers, has just the kind of kick Mr. B and I love. In fact, I loved it so much that I contacted the nice folks at Skillet Street Food asked for permission to share their Dry Rub recipe here, which they very kindly granted.

A fresh Caesar salad on the side (traditional or kale) makes the perfect companion dish, quelling the dry rub’s heat without putting out the fire.

Once you mix up the dry rub, pan-frying the rockfish is a snap! You can literally have this made and on the table in 20 minutes; less if you have the dry rub already mixed up.

Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish

Seasoned with smokey paprika and three kinds of dried peppers, this Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish has just the right amount of kick!

Prep Time15 mins

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Course: Main Dish

Servings:

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 lb. fresh rockfish fillets or Pacific cod, red snapper or striped bass 1/2'-3/4" thick
1/2 batch Rockfish Dry Rub Mix
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat until a water droplet sizzles on the surface, then add enough vegetable oil to lightly cover bottom of skillet.
Coat both sides of each fish fillet with the dry rub mix and place into the heated skillet.
Fry on first side for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the fish is nicely browned.
Turn over with tongs and brown the other side for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the flesh is firm and opaque.
Remove the fillets from the skillet with tongs and drain on paper towels.

Notes

This pairs well with a Caesar Salad.

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Since first making this dry rub, I’ve tried the Spicy Skillet Dry Rub on Pacific Cod, red snapper and striped bass; as well as everything from everything from roasted vegetables to barbecued steak, and have never been disappointed.

Some of the ingredients for the dry rub were initially a little hard to locate, but once I figured out where to find them, it was a piece of cake.

Let me save you some time: you will find the ground pasilla pepper and ground New Mexico chili pepper in the Mexican/Hispanic foods aisle of most grocery stores (in my area, Winco, Freddy’s, and Safeway all stock them) or in your local Hispanic Mercado (i.e., Su Casa Imports, El Mercado, etc). I found the ground chipotle pepper in the bulk section at Winco. All of the dried ground peppers are very inexpensive and the recipe makes a lot of dry rub, so it will go a long way.

5 from 12 votes

Spicy Skillet Dry Rub

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

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Course: Condiment

Author: Skillet, Seattle, WA [IFBC 2015]

Ingredients

5 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoons garlic salt
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoons ground pasilla pepper
2 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
1 tablespoons ground New Mexico chili pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard powder
5 teaspoons white granulated sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt

Instructions

Mix all ingredients. Store in an air-tight container.

Notes

Ingredient Substitution: If you don't have all the dried peppers on hand, just substitute 3 tablespoons of regular chili powder for the ground pasilla, chipotle, and New Mexico chili peppers.

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Dutch Apple Cranberry Crepes {Recipe}

December 21 By Renée 9 Comments

Looking for an easy brunch that will Wow your overnight holiday guests? Dutch Apple Cranberry Crêpes are just the thing! (They will make your house smell fabulous too!

Dutch Apple Cranberry Crêpe Filling

Prep Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr

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Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert

Servings: -12 filled crêpes

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. tart apples I use about 5 Granny Smiths
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch allspice
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch only if necessary; see note

1 Batch Sweet Vanilla Crêpes

Additional Ingredients:

Whipped Cream

Instructions

Make a batch of Sweet Vanilla Crepes.

Dutch Apple Filling:

Peel, core, and slice apples into a large mixing bowl. Add dried cranberries (if desired), and then lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice. Toss to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let set for about half an hour.
In a cast iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together, stirring frequently. When mixture begins to bubble, add salt and reduce temperature to medium low.
Add prepared apple mixture and bring to mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook apples until they are no longer crunchy, but still have some texture to them. (You don’t want applesauce!)
If the mixture is very runny, add cornstarch a half-teaspoon at a time and simmer until thickened.

Assembling the Crêpes

Fill crêpes with prepared Dutch Apple Cranberry Filling, fold and garnish with whipped cream and dried cranberries.

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Sweet Vanilla Crêpes Recipe

Crispy {Vegetarian} Buffalo Chicken Salad

November 9 By Renée 27 Comments

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser (but that’s just a happy bonus, because I will never promote a product I don’t believe in). All opinions are mine alone. #FallWithATwist #CollectiveBias

Serve this Crispy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Salad on a bed of romaine for an quick family meal, or scoop it into endive cups to create an easy party appetizer that will have even your meatiest eaters coming back for more.

Between teaching full-time and prepping for our daughter’s wedding reception (which finally happened this last weekend), life has been a bit of a madhouse lately. Now, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, things are just going to get busier. Which is why I’m all about quick, easy meals right now. (Plus, who doesn’t love a Big Salad?)

With a household made up of both meat-lovers and vegetarians, I make a lot of vegetarian-friendly meals, so MorningStar Farms products have long been a staple in our kitchen. The products are dependably good, convenient, and particularly helpful during the hectic holiday season with its drop-in out-of-towners and last-minute meals. With MorningStar Farms, I don’t have to worry about planning “vegetarian” meals – I just make meals that everyone can enjoy. Their new Buffalo Chik’n products work great in this salad: they have a nice level of spiciness without being overpowering.

5 from 1 vote

Crispy {Vegetarian} Buffalo Chicken Salad

Prep Time30 mins

Total Time30 mins

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Course: Main Dish or Appetizer

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 package MorningStar Farms Buffalo Wings or two MorningStar Buffalo Chik'n Patties
1 cup chopped celery
3 ounces crumbled bleu cheese
1/2 cup crispy fried onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
½ c. buffalo wing sauce
1 cup bleu cheese dressing store bought or homemade

For Salad

8-10 cups chopped romaine
3 heads Belgium Endive

For Appetizers

Instructions

Bake the MorningStar Farms Buffalo Wings in a 375° F oven for 16-18 minutes, turning after 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

For SALAD:

In a family-size salad bowl, layer in order: 8-10 cups of chopped romaine, tomatoes, celery, prepared Buffalo Chik'n, crispy fried onions, and bleu cheese crumbles.
Serve with bleu cheese dressing and your favorite Buffalo wing sauce.

For Appetizers:

Separate endive. Spoon ingredients into endive cups in order:tomatoes, celery, prepared Buffalo Chik'n, crispy fried onions, and bleu cheese crumbles. Drizzle bleu cheese dressing and wing sauce over the top and serve.

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You can find MorningStar Products in the freezer case under the “Meat Alternatives” at Target.

Food for thought: I don’t know what your first reaction was when Target started carrying Groceries, but honestly, mine was, “Why?” We already have most of the major grocery chains within a ten minute drive, and who is going to go to Target for groceries anyway, right? But after a couple of years, I’ve noticed something: I do buy groceries there – often. Because while it may not be my destination for my bi-weekly Big Grocery Shopping Trip, it saves me tons of time when I’m making a run to Target for one of the thousand non-grocery items I get there regularly and I just need a few things to make a meal.

Be sure to check out more delicious vegetarian-friendly recipes at morningstarfarms.com. I’d love to hear about your favorite chik’n recipe!

Grilled Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Mascarpone & Rosemary Browned Butter Filling

September 9 By Renée 7 Comments

Sweet Potato, mascarpone, and fresh rosemary browned butter go together to make the most amazing filling for this delicious stuffed squash blossom recipe.

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In a previous post, I shared with you my photoshoot with Tarzan & The Squash Blossoms (and no, you may not use that as your new band name – I call dibs) and my recipe for Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone and Fresh Rosemary Browned Butter. From there, it takes just one more easy step to complete this beautiful, delicious grilled squash blossom recipe.

There are many ways to prepare stuffed blossoms once you fill them, but grilling seems to be the best option to me: not only is it healthier than the traditional deep-fry method, but it also preserves the delicate flavor of the squash blossoms without covering it up.

Growing Your Own – Which Blossoms Should You Pick?

All squashes produce male and female flowers. If you look inside the flower, the male ones will have a little stamen in the middle. We have more squashes than we will ever need, so I wasn’t too worried about this, but if you want to preserve your squash harvest, try to pick the male flowers – just don’t pick all of them! (You can find more information about distinguishing male and female squash blossoms here.)

Don’t have a garden? That’s OK! You can find squash blossoms at your local Farmers Market from early spring clear into fall.

Grilled Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Mascarpone & Rosemary Browned Butter

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time8 mins

Total Time28 mins

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Seasonal, Spring, Summer

Keyword: garden, grilling, squash, squash blossoms

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

6-8 squash blossoms
1 Batch Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Browned Butter
2 tablespoons reserved Rosemary Browned Butter
Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Instructions

Place Sweet Potato mixture in a zip-top bag, trim one comer and use to pipe into each blossom. Pipe the mixture into the flowers. Be careful to not overfill the flowers - there needs to be enough room at the top to twist the petals closed.
Spray or brush stuffed flowers very lightly with with olive oil.
Place on hot grill for about four minutes on each side.**
(I put the remaining browned butter in a small bowl for this step.) Using a spoon, skim the clear browned butter from the top, leaving the dark brown remains at the bottom of the bowl, and drizzle over the grilled squash blossoms.
Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs and serve warm.

Notes

Alternative Prep Method: You can also bake the filled squash blossoms in a 375° F oven for 10-15 minutes.

If you wish, you can use tweezers to remove the stamen from the male blossoms before you fill them.

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Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Brown Butter

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Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 lb. orange-fleshed sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ cubes
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/2 t. Kosher Salt or more, to taste
4 oz. Salted Butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary each about 4" long

Instructions

Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them, plus an extra inch.
Bring the water to a boil and cook the cubed sweet potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until they are very tender.
Drain the sweet potatoes, and place them back in the pot.
Add mascarpone, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the prepared Rosemary Brown Butter.
Using an immersion blender, puree ingredients until everything is smooth and creamy, with no lumps remaining. (You can do this step in a food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender.)

To prepare Rosemary Brown Butter:

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter and rosemary until the butter melts and begins to foam. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn the butter.
Remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool slightly.
Remove rosemary sprigs from butter.

Notes

Depending on the size of the blossoms you use, you may end up with extra filling. You will survive.

To serve this as a simple, delicious side dish, simply double the recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

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of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this recipe!

Sweet Potatoes & Marscarpone with Fresh Rosemary Brown Butter

September 8 By Renée 8 Comments

This started out as a post about stuffed squash blossoms, but this Sweet Potatoes & Marscarpone with Fresh Rosemary Brown Butter is so amazing that it earned a post of its very own.

Our zucchini plant is going gangbusters, as zucks tend to do this time of year: one last push before the cold moves in to make way for winter squashes. Last week, I decided I wanted to make some stuffed squash blossoms, so I set to work to think up a little something different to filled them with.

Before I got to cooking though, I wanted to get a few pictures of those beautiful blossoms. So I set up on the back deck (where I shoot all my images, as you have probably figured out by now).

Enter Tarzan.

Tarzan started out life as a barn kitty, and spent the first few months of his life swinging from horse tails and blanket racks down in our barn, which is how he got his name. When he got big enough to escape the barn, the first thing he did was run up to the house and find a comfy spot in the sun to lounge.

A lot of things have changed in the last decade, but Tarzan isn’t one of them.

He saw the sun warming the bench where my squash blossoms were laying, and hopped right up.

There was no way I could get him to move. I kept picking him up and putting him down on the deck, and he kept hopping right back up and getting comfy before I had a chance to turn on the camera. I finally just gave up and started taking cat pictures.

“I’ve got this, Mom. No one’s gonna mess with your flowers on my watch.”

Anyway, back to those squash blossoms – or rather the filling for the squash blossoms. Sometimes, when you throw things together in the kitchen, it works out pretty well. Sometimes it doesn’t. This time, it didn’t turn out well…

This time, it turned out Awesome!

So awesome, in fact, that I decided to give it a post of its very own.

I cannot tell you how much I love these sweet potatoes. The nutty, fragrant rosemary brown butter is a perfect complement to the sweet potatoes, and the marscarpone gives it a velvety smooth, rich texture. As we licked the last bits out of the bowl with our fingers at the end of our meal, Mr. B and I already had a long list of things I could create using it as a base: sweet potato pie (of course), and cookies, ice cream, fudge – who knows what else. I know food bloggers are always raving about how delicious their own creations are, but honestly, this stuff is good. Really good.

Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Brown Butter

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Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 lb. orange-fleshed sweet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ cubes
1/4 cup mascarpone
1/2 t. Kosher Salt or more, to taste
4 oz. Salted Butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary each about 4" long

Instructions

Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover them, plus an extra inch.
Bring the water to a boil and cook the cubed sweet potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until they are very tender.
Drain the sweet potatoes, and place them back in the pot.
Add mascarpone, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the prepared Rosemary Brown Butter.
Using an immersion blender, puree ingredients until everything is smooth and creamy, with no lumps remaining. (You can do this step in a food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender.)

To prepare Rosemary Brown Butter:

In a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat butter and rosemary until the butter melts and begins to foam. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn the butter.
Remove from the heat immediately and allow to cool slightly.
Remove rosemary sprigs from butter.

Notes

Depending on the size of the blossoms you use, you may end up with extra filling. You will survive.

To serve this as a simple, delicious side dish, simply double the recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

Click through for some of the best filled-and-grilled squash blossoms ever!

Korean-style Pan-Fried Fish {Saengsun Jun} with Fresh Zucchini & Avocado Slaw

August 11 By Renée 7 Comments

Korean-style pan-fried fish – Saengsun Jun (or “flour and egg battered fish”) – is an easy and versatile preparation, and results in a delicate egg-wrapped filet that goes with almost any side dish.

Here, I’ve accompanied it with one of my favorite summer treats: a thick slice of garden-fresh tomato and a simple zucchini slaw.

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Zucchini & Avocado Slaw

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

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Course: Main Dish

Servings: servings

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

1 pound firm mild fish fillets {Mahi Mahi, Halibut, and Tilapia are all good choices}
2 eggs
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or more
Oil for frying See Note

Zucchini Slaw

1 1/12 cups coarsely grated zucchini
1/2 medium avocado chopped
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
1/3 cup Cilantro-lime Dressing

Extras:

1 large tomato sliced ½" thick
Avocado slices

Instructions

Pan-fried Fish:

Rinse the fish filets and pat dry. Set aside.
Mix flour and Old Bay seasoning (or a little salt, pepper and paprika work) in a pie plate or resealable bag. Set aside.
Whisk eggs with a fork until well beaten and put in a pie plate or flat-bottomed bowl. Set aside.
Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add enough cooking oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Test oil by adding a droplet of water to the skillet. If it sizzles, it is hot enough. Do not let it get too hot!
Toss fish in flour mixture to coat lightly. Tap off any access flour.
Dip coated fish in the beaten eggs, and then immediately put them into the hot skillet. Do not crowd. Fry on each side 1-3 minutes, depending upon the thickness of your fish.
Top with a thick slice of fresh tomato and a generous serving of Zucchini Slaw.

Zuchinni Slaw:

After you grate the zucchini, squeeze it out to remove some of the liquid.
Toss together grated zucchini, avocado, onion and Cilantro-Lime Dressing. Serve immediately.

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It’s important to maintain the correct temperature for frying fish – 350° – 375° F. If the temperature of oil in the pan drops down below 350°, the fish will begin to absorb the cooking oil, resulting in greasy, soggy fish. If it rises above 375°, the fish will cook too quickly on the outside, and not get done in the middle. When fried at the correct temperature, the fish will come out golden brown, having absorbed very little oil.

Citrus Pasta Salad with Grapes & Red Walnuts

June 25 By Renée 8 Comments

An orange-honey dressing makes this sweet and savory Citrus Pasta Salad pop with summer flavor.

In my former life as a small acreage farm-wife, our house stood in the middle of an old walnut orchard. There were a couple hundred trees: mostly standard English walnuts grafted onto Black Walnut stock. But at the top of the orchard there were five trees that had a unique strain that had been developed by the original owner, who called them Sunshine Walnuts.

The quality that distinguished our Sunshine Walnuts from others was that they lacked the bitterness that is found in most commercial walnuts, which made them perfect for baking, salads, and so on. (Apparently, I have a very high sensitivity to bitter, and avoid it whenever possible.)

Alas, having moved away from the farm, I had just about given up trying to find a sweet, non-bitter walnut until stumbled across some red walnuts.

Red walnuts are a fairly recent creation. They are not genetically modified [i.e., non-GMO]; rather, they were created using natural methods, by grafting Persian red-skinned walnuts onto larger and creamier English walnuts. A handful of walnut growers grow red walnuts, and distribute them across the country. You can probably find them at your local Whole Foods. However, if you can’t find them, don’t sweat it – before I found them, I’d been making this salad for years with old-fashioned brown walnuts.

This Citrus Pasta Salad makes a great potluck dish, and can easily be adapted for vegetarians. Plus, Mr. B gives it a glowing endorsement: the first time I made it for him, he said (between bites), “Oh, Baby, you can make this any time!”

Citrus Pasta Salad can be made with regular walnuts, or sliced almonds, or really whatever suits your fancy, but the color and flavor of the red walnuts is really wonderful if you can find them.

5 from 1 vote

Citrus Pasta Salad

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Course: Salad

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

Salad

8 oz rotini cooked and drained
1 lbs roasted turkey julienned (optional)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese cubed 1/4"
1 lb red grapes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or sliced almonds
2 stalks celery chopped

Citrus Dressing

2 whole oranges
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Dash of salt

Instructions

To make Salad:

Combined cooled pasta with turkey (optional), cheese, grapes and almonds.
Pour Citrus Dressing over pasta mixture and refrigerate. (I like to reserve a little of the dressing to drizzle on just before serving.) Toss before serving.

To make Citrus Dressing:

Zest one orange. Juice both oranges (about 2/3 cups orange juice), and combine zest, juice, honey and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. While blender is running, slowly add oil.

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Irish Apple Pie Twice-Grilled Cheese Sandwich {Prize-Winning Recipe!}

April 14 By Renée 24 Comments

Melted Dubliner cheese, tart apples, sweet apple butter, and cinnamon bread combine to make this amazing, award winning “Irish Apple Pie Twice-Grilled Cheese.”

Thanks to Aaron Cohen of Selfless Enterprise for sharing this great picture with us!

Ahem…You may now refer to Mr. B and me as Portland’s reigning King & Queen of Grilled Cheese [2015]. In fact, we would be absolutely tickled if you did!

When we were growing up in east Portland, there were three memorable school field trips that every kid in town took – Alpenrose Dairy, the Zoo, and Franz Bakery. The first two required a long bus ride across the river to the west side, but Franz Bakery was just a few miles down Sandy Boulevard from where I lived.

The rich, mesmerizing scent of fresh Franz bread right out of the oven was as familiar to me as my mother’s peanut butter cookies. I remember going to the Bakery in first grade like it was yesterday: at the end of the tour, you got an official Bakery hat (very stylish!), and a lovely, warm, child-size loaf of bread that smelled like all was good with the world.

When I decided to enter Franz’ first ever Grilled Cheese Contest a couple of weeks ago, I did it on a whim. I had no idea that it would culminate in making over a hundred sandwiches for an amazingly patient, nearly endless line of Portlanders drawn by early spring sunshine and the promise of a free lunch.

Mr. B jumped on board the second I asked him to be my “sous-chef.” He couldn’t have been more enthusiastic or helpful, and the day would have been a complete bust without him. He chopped cheese, assembled sandwiches, and kept the flow going – even when we had ten sandwiches down, another ten stacked and ready to grill, and ten ready to plate.

Our youngest, Em, came with us for moral support, and ended up being our primary gofer, photographer and inspiration. She’s pretty awesome.

When Missy Maki was getting ready to announce the winner, I put my game-face on and got totally prepared to graciously congratulate the winner, so when she called my name, it literally took me a couple of beats to realize that she meant me!

Franz awarded all the finalists with a generous swag bag full of delicious goodies, including a variety of fresh breads, bagels, and their recently repackaged frosted animal cookies. As winner, I also received a beautiful All-Clad barbecue set and a year’s worth of Franz products. And a ribbon. (Which is so cool, I cannot even tell you.)

The field of competition included [from far right] Portland bloggers Lindsay Strannigan of Rosemarried, Rebekah Hubbard of PDX Food Love and (soon to be blogger!) Christina Johnson.

So here’s (what I hope) you’ve been waiting for – our winning recipe:

For the contest, we were limited to five ingredients, and ours came in at one under (unless you count the butter to grill it with). Each item was carefully chosen to complement the whole: Aged Irish Dubliner Cheese for its marriage of sweet undertones, slight nuttiness and just a bit of a bite; apple butter for that spiced apple-pie sweetness; Granny Smith’s for crunch and tartness; and Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread, acting as the “crust” in this apple pie, to bring it all together. The Dubliner also works very well when making cheese crisps, which are one of my favorite parts of this sandwich.

5 from 2 votes

Irish Apple Pie Twice-Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1st Place Winner! Franz Bakery 2015 Grilled Cheese Contest, Portland, Oregon

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time15 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Sandwich

Author: Renée B. ♥ The Good Hearted Woman

Ingredients

For each sandwich, you will need

2 slices Franz Bainbridge Island Cinnamon Swirl Bread
2 thin slices. Kerrygold Dubliner Aged Cheese
1/8 cup grated or finely chopped Kerrygold Dubliner Aged Cheese
1 Tbls Apple butter homemade or Smuckers
3-4 thin slices Granny Smith Apple
Butter for grilling sandwich

Instructions

Layer sandwich in this order:

Slice of Bread
Slice of cheese
Apple-butter
Apple slices
Slice of cheese
Slice of bread

Grill Sandwich slowly!

In a non-stick pan over medium low heat (or an electric grill heated to about 310 degrees), spread butter on surface of the grill. (I do this by just holding the stick of butter and rubbing it over the hot surface.)
Put prepared sandwiches onto grill. Dubliner cheese has a higher melt-point than many cheeses, so it is very important that you allow your sandwich to grill slowly. Flip over when golden: about 4-5 minutes. Grill equally on the other side.

Make the cheese crisp:

Sprinkle grated cheese on non-stick surface and allow to cook until golden onthe bottom. Using a spatula, carefully peel the crisp cheese off the grilling surface and allow to cool. You can shape it if you want before it cools, but if you do so, be extremely careful as the cheese will be very hot! You can make small cheese crisps to use as garnish, or a large one to serve over the entire sandwich.

Notes

The key to any good grilled cheese sandwich is patience. Don't rush the process, or you will just have a handful of toasted bread with cheese slices inside.

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

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The little cook in my head is already thinking up new creations for next year’s sandwich. I’d love to hear your ideas: what’s your favorite grilled cheese sandwich combo?

Eggs Provençal a la Renée

March 11 By Renée 12 Comments

My version of La Provence’s Eggs Provençal takes just 10 minutes of mild effort, and rewards you with a delicious, Pinterest-worthy plate.

Eggs Provençal is one of my favorite brunch choices at La Provence, and so of course I had to figure out how to make it at home. As it turns out, it is so quick and simple to put together that you almost don’t need a recipe at all! The big plus, though, is that it makes a light, delicious, flavor-packed brunch that won’t send you into a midday carb-coma.

Serve with roasted sweet potatoes, hash browns, or as I have here, Garlic-Almond Spaghetti Squash.

5 from 1 vote

Eggs Provençal a la Renée

Prep Time10 mins

Total Time10 mins

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Breakfast

Author: Copycat Recipe - La Provence Bistro, Portland Oregon

Ingredients

For each serving, you need:

2 eggs poached
1 1/2 tablespoons basil pesto
2 thick slices of ripe tomato
1/2 oz grated cheese I use a mixture of Parmesan & mozzarella
Paprika salt & pepper, as desired
Fresh basil

Instructions

Prepare poached eggs.
Move oven rack to highest position. Preheat oven broiler.
Put tomato slices on lined baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven.
Turn tomato slices over and spread half the pesto over each slice.
Return tomato slices to oven and broil for 2 minutes.
Remove tomato slices from oven.
Top each slice with 1 poached egg and sprinkle with grated cheese. Sprinkle lightly with paprika and season as desired.
Pop under broiler for 30 seconds to melt cheese.
Garnish with fresh basil.

Notes

Weight Watchers SmartPoints [2018]: 2 eggs = 5 SmartPoints

Tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

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In Sweet Potato Pad Thai with Pan-fried Shrimp, the natural sweetness and robust texture of spiralized sweet potato noodles perfectly complements the flavors and textures of traditional Pad Thai.

Sweet Potato Shrimp Pad Thai

Ingredients

Sauce

Shrimp

Sweet Potato Noodles

Garnish

Instructions

Sauce

Shrimp

Sweet Potato Noodles

Garnish & Serve

Recipe Notes

Remember to Pin this post for later!

Seasoned with smokey paprika and three kinds of dried peppers, this Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish has just the right amount of kick!

Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Spicy Skillet Dry Rub

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Thank you so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. ❤ Be sure to Pin and print this recipe!

Looking for an easy brunch that will Wow your overnight holiday guests? Dutch Apple Cranberry Crêpes are just the thing! (They will make your house smell fabulous too!

Dutch Apple Cranberry Crêpe Filling

Ingredients

1 Batch Sweet Vanilla Crêpes

Additional Ingredients:

Instructions

Make a batch of Sweet Vanilla Crepes.

Dutch Apple Filling:

Assembling the Crêpes

Serve this Crispy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Salad on a bed of romaine for an quick family meal, or scoop it into endive cups to create an easy party appetizer that will have even your meatiest eaters coming back for more.

Crispy {Vegetarian} Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients

For Salad

For Appetizers

Instructions

For SALAD:

For Appetizers:

Sweet Potato, mascarpone, and fresh rosemary browned butter go together to make the most amazing filling for this delicious stuffed squash blossom recipe.

Growing Your Own – Which Blossoms Should You Pick?

Grilled Stuffed Squash Blossoms with Sweet Potato, Mascarpone & Rosemary Browned Butter

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Brown Butter

Ingredients

Instructions

To prepare Rosemary Brown Butter:

Notes

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this recipe!

This started out as a post about stuffed squash blossoms, but this Sweet Potatoes & Marscarpone with Fresh Rosemary Brown Butter is so amazing that it earned a post of its very own.

Sweet Potatoes with Mascarpone & Rosemary Brown Butter

Ingredients

Instructions

To prepare Rosemary Brown Butter:

Notes

Korean-style pan-fried fish – Saengsun Jun (or “flour and egg battered fish”) – is an easy and versatile preparation, and results in a delicate egg-wrapped filet that goes with almost any side dish.

Egg-Fried Fish with Fresh Zucchini & Avocado Slaw

Ingredients

Zucchini Slaw

Extras:

Instructions

Pan-fried Fish:

Zuchinni Slaw:

An orange-honey dressing makes this sweet and savory Citrus Pasta Salad pop with summer flavor.

Citrus Pasta Salad

Ingredients

Salad

Citrus Dressing

Instructions

To make Salad:

To make Citrus Dressing:

Melted Dubliner cheese, tart apples, sweet apple butter, and cinnamon bread combine to make this amazing, award winning “Irish Apple Pie Twice-Grilled Cheese.”

Irish Apple Pie Twice-Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients

For each sandwich, you will need

Instructions

THANK YOU so much for being a faithful reader and supporter
of The Good Hearted Woman. 🌻 Be sure to PIN this recipe!