Thai Shrimp Soup

This is a recipe that my old roommate actually used to cook, and when she moved out, I became the new "owner". I love the slightly spicy flavor of the broth, and I usually end up adding some rice noodles to it to make it a little more substantial. This particular night I had a mixture of shrimp and scallops, but to be honest, the scallops did not add anything to this soup, I'll just stick with shrimp next time.

Thai Shrimp Soup

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 5-6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on your spice level desire!)
• 1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons asian fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped or chopped scallion
• 
  
• Heat oil in a large pot. Add ginger and onion. Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Add broth and red pepper flakes and bring to a low boil. Add cabbage and cook for approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp, lime zest and lime juice. If you're adding noodles, this is probably the time you would add those to the broth as well. Cook just until shrimp turns pink. Serve hot sprinkled with cilantro or scallions.

Margarita Salmon

I picked up a great deal on salmon this week at the grocery store so I had pulled out a couple of fillets to grill up tonight for dinner. When I got into my office this morning, my co-worker had brought in a huge bag of Mexican limes so I started thinking about what I could do with all of those limes...margarita marinated salmon sounded perfect! I served the salmon along side some seasoned grilled baby red potatoes and sauteed snow peas. It was a perfect meal!

Margarita Salmon

1 tsp. lime zest
3-4 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. tequila
2 tsp. sugar (or sugar substitute)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. orange juice concentrate
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 salmon fillets

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-lock bag; add fish to bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Wrap in foil packets and grill over low-medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side.

Tri-Color Tuna Salad

I was in the mood for a tunafish sandwich tonight, but wanted to shake it up a little bit and try something new at the same time. Again, I looked through the veggie crisper to see what we had and decided to go with a tri-color tuna salad. I think it tasted pretty good and was definitely not your average tuna salad. The mixture of the chopped vegetables makes the mixture spread a little further than usual and I loved the crunch of the carrots and spicy bits of the red onion were a nice touch.

Tri-Color Tuna Salad

1 can tuna in water, drained
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped or shredded
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 small dill pickle, chopped
2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1-2 tsp. yellow mustard
1/2-1 tsp. Mrs. Dash original blend

Mix it all together, adjust seasoning to taste. Spread 1/4 - 1/2 of the mixture on a slice of bread, top with lettuce and slices of tomato and top with another slice of bread.

Lists

So, the other day my sister posted a blog of "lists" and it inspired me to create my own for the year. Of course I'm going to make the lists appropriate for a "food blog", but I like her idea of making New Year's Lists instead of resolutions!

Twelve new recipes to try:

1. Engish Muffin Bread
2. Chimichurri Beef
   
3. Green Garbanzo Salad
4. Chicken Pot Pie
5. Homemade Hummus
6. Spicy Szechuan Tofu
7. Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad
8. Garlic Soba Noodles
9. Seared Ahi Tuna
10. Orange and Beet Salad
    
11. Dan Dan Noodles
12. Sweet Potato Latkes

Six kitchen gadgets to get:

1. Dough Blender
2. Microplane
3. Grill pan
4. Mango slicer
5. Pasta bowl
6. Medium sized ramekins

Three things to organize in the kitchen:

1. Spice cabinet
2. Tool drawer
3. Recipe Box

Fast Fish Tacos

Last night I was in the mood for fish and we had most of the makings for fish taco's so I threw together what is possibly one of the easiest and quickest dinners I've made in quite a while. I really love the individually frozen fillets I find at Costco and we also had a happy "accidental" purchase of peach/mango salsa.

Fish Tacos
makes about 4 small tacos

2 Tilapia fillets (could use Red Snapper/Halibut/any flaky firm white fish)
Olive Oil
Salt Pepper
Old Bay Seasoning
Shredded cabbage
Cider Vinegar
Cilantro
4 small corn tortillas
Mozarrella cheese, shredded
Peach/Mango salsa
lime wedges

Season fish with salt, pepper and Old Bay Seasoning. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over med/low heat, add fish and saute until cooked through.

While fish is cooking, lightly dress shredded cabbage with vinegar and salt and chop up cilantro.

Break up fish and place into your corn tortillas and top with cheese, cabbage, cilantro and salsa. Squeeze a lime wedge over it all and enjoy!