27: Tilapia with Quinoa, Feta and Avocados!

If you haven't noticed, I LOVE cooking seafood.  It's fast, easy, delicious AND great for you!  Today I told Will to pick up whatever meat (he knows I prefer seafood) and he came home with Tilapia.  After a few searches, I found this recipe and of course I modified it a little.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (2 cups water, 1 cup quinoa - let it start to boil, then cover and let it simmer 15 minutes)
S&P
olive oil
1 lb tilapia fillets
paprika
1 avocado - chopped
~2 tbsp dill seasoning
~1/3 cup reduced fat feta
Juice from 1 lemon





The How To:

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil.
Season fish fillets with S&P; sprinkle with paprika and add to skillet
Cook for about 4 minutes on each side (until it flakes easily)
Stir avocado, dill, feta, about a tsp oil and lemon juice into the cooked quinoa 



Serve the fish on top of the quinoa mixture.

This is a great summer dish.  The quinoa mixture was amazing!  Will and I basically licked our plates.  Obviously, this one is Will approved.  

**Shout out! **
Today is my mom's bday.  I couldn't be more thankful for a loving, supporting mom.  I am very lucky to have you.  I love you!  Happy Birthday!! 

26: Mexican Chicken

Sometimes you just want a quick and easy dinner.  Tonight, that is totally what I was going for.  It's a total made up recipe, so no link today.  

Can you believe we are half way through the 52 meals?!  I can't.  I also can't believe I have only made 26 new meals.  It seems like so many more than that.  I look through so many recipes to figure out what I want to tweak to make it my own.  It's hard work!  Read below to see how Will feels.... 

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup salsa
juice from 1 lime
S&P



The How To:
Preheat oven to 405.
Season chicken with S&P.
In a bowl mix the black beans, lime juice, tomatoes, and salsa.
Place the chicken in a cooking dish and pour about half of the mixture over the top.
Cook for 45 minutes.
Serve with cheese and sour cream.
If you have some cilantro - throw that in there as well (I didn't have any on hand, but totally would go with this meal)

This meal might be fast, but it was delicious! Needless to say, this dish was Will approved! This might just become a Burke regular.

For some reason I can't embed this video.  But you must check it out.

25: Cheeseburger Casserole

I'm sure I've said before that Will's favorite food is a cheeseburger.  We even started to do a search for the perfect burger last year.  But we got pretty lazy and quit blogging about it.  Anyway, when I saw the link for cheeseburger casserole, I knew it was a must try.  

Ingredients: 
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup quinoa 
olive oil
2 tsp garlic
S&P
2 tbsp tomato paste
14 oz diced tomatoes
14 oz diced tomatoes with green chilis
2 tbsp mustard
2 cups shredded cheese
pickles!

The How To:
Cook the quinoa as usual (2 cups water/1 cup quinoa, when it starts boiling - cover and simmer for 15 minutes)
Preheat oven to 350.
Brown the beef in some olive oil and garlic. 
Season it with S&P.
Stir in tomato paste, tomatoes and mustard.
Leave the mixture on until it starts bubbling.
Mix the mixture with the quinoa and place in a medium dish. 
Top with cheese and bake about 15 minutes.
Place pickles on top if you so please

This is one of the easiest dishes I've ever made and Will loved it.  Needless to say this dish is fully Will approved! 

A song for your Monday.... 

24: Stuffed Flank Steak

I know you have been wondering.. the answer is yes, Will has been eating even though I haven't posted anything in a while.  But since it's been so long I figured I'd make steak, stuffed flank steak, to be exact.

Ingredients:

Flank steak - about 2 pounds
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 carton reduced fat feta cheese
7 oz diced roasted peppers
2 tbsp panko
1 egg
Garlic salt & Pepper
Olive oil

The How To:
Preheat oven to 425.
Slick steak in half, without cutting all the through - so that you can stuff the steak.
Drain all liquid from spinach.
Now, grab a bowl and mix the spinach, cheese, peppers, panko, egg, some garlic salt and pepper.
Cover the steak with the filling, leaving about an inch border on all sides
Roll the steak up - put a little olive oil, S&P on top.
Cook the steak for ~30 minutes
Immediately switch the heat to broil and broil for 5 minutes
Remove from heat and let it rest for 15 minutes.

I actually cooked mine 35 minutes, and broil for 8 minutes.  So the steak turned out a little chewier than Will and I prefer.  So, I have adjusted the times to what I think would be ideal.  With that being said, Will gave this dish a 45 degree thumbs up -- not quite yes, not quite no; but closer to yes than eh.

The star of this dinner was the side that I made up.  It was just broccoli, cheese and quinoa but man, oh man, was it tasty.  For that dish I just boiled some broccoli - made a cup of quinoa, and made a cheese roux.  Mixed it together - ta da! DELICIOUS.



So I guess this dish is 45 degrees Will approved? 

Did you notice that fancy new haircut?  Much better, don't you think...