New recipes

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I found a bunch of new recipes online that I printed out to add to my recipe binder.  I was excited about them, and as it turns out I ended up using two of them yesterday! 

Spencer and I spoke in the afternoon about what he might want for dinner.  He felt like fish and suggested sole or tilapia.  I love fish, so that sounded good to me. I was still at work when I was planning my shopping list and I realized that one of the side dishes I came across earlier would go well with the fish and fried potatoes I was planning on making.  I also decided to try one of the dessert recipes I came across.  It felt good to have a plan rather than wander the grocery store after work when I'm tired, hungry and just want to get to my honey bunny!

Adtually, I love grocery shopping.  I find it relaxing.  Also, stocking up on food evokes that feeling in me that is probably instinctual in women - the desire to feed and take care of your family and those you love.  I feel like nothing bad can happen while I'm grocery shopping.  I enjoy comparing prices and finding the best deal, reading labels to find the best ingredients.  I just love it!

Anyway, the meal I put together was very easy and took about an hour. 

I ended up getting sole filets, because they seemed a little meatier than tilapia.  Tilapia is good, but can be thin and unsatisfying. I dipped the filets first in an egg and milk mixture and then in Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.  As I was frying them up, Spencer came in and added what I thought was wayyyyyyy too much olive oil, but they came out great.  Not partially burned like they usually do when I try to limit the oil.  It's the healthy kind, afterall, and a lot of the oil evaporates or is left over in the pan. 

The potatoes are just fried in a pan with red onions and some salt and pepper. I made the potatoes and corn first, as they could be warmed while I made the fish.  The fish should be eaten as soon as it's ready.

This is what I was most excited about. Confetti corn! I found this recipe earlier in the day from Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa.

Hers looked a lot more colorful, as my orange peppers turned yellow and blended in with the yellow of the corn.  But the idea is that the corn is peppered with "confetti" colors of other veggies.  It's always great to add color to your diet, and this is a quick and easy way to get some! Perfect for summer. The recipe is here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/confetti-corn-recipe4/index.html 

We enjoyed our meal with a great pinot noir from Boekenoogen Winery which we picked up in Carmel a couple of weeks ago.

To end the meal, I made something that I expect to make a lot more in the future.  It is one of the easiest and cheapest desserts imaginable. It was one of the recipes I collected that morning, and I was excited to try it.

Lemon Graham Freeze

6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 drops yellow food coloring, optional
• 6 whole graham crackers

  Directions

• Place milk in a small bowl; beat for a few seconds to get froth. Freeze for 25-30 minutes or until soft crystals form around edges of bowl.
• Beat milk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, lemon juice and food coloring if desired.
• Place five graham crackers in an ungreased 11-in. x 7-in. dish; pour milk mixture over crackers. Crush remaining graham cracker and sprinkle over top. Cover and freeze until firm. Yield: 6 servings.

 Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 164 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 8 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Mine didn't look exactly like this.  We ate it right out of the dish rather than cutting it into squares.  It was really tasty.  It was especially good for such a warm day because it was cold and light.

It tastes kind of like a cheesecake.  And Spencer loves anything with a graham cracker crust, so it was a hit! We ate most of it, even though it says it serves 6 (servings are usually way off).  Since I had a lot of the evaporated milk left, and it's so easy to make, I quickly put together another one for Spencer to eat over the next few days.