Parmesan Broiled Flounder

YUMMY!!!! This is one of my favorite meals. The recipe would work for any white, filleted fish. I've made it before with tilapia, but we prefer flounder. I buy the frozen flounder fillets at BJs. 



I'll post the recipe as I found it, but I usually end up broiling the fish for quite a bit longer. I keep an eye on it and adjust the time as I need to. The first broiling period is when the fish cooks and the second is getting the topping browned and bubbly.

It tasted a little different this time and I suspect it's because I used generic mayo. I guess I'll have spring for some Kraft mayo next time!

Parmesan Broiled Flounder

Ingredients
1 lb flounder fillets or other white fish fillets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Place fillets in a single layer on a lightly greased or pan sprayed, shallow oven-to-table type broiler pan. Brush with lemon juice.
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients to make the cheese topping mixture. Set aside.
3. Broil fillets 4 to 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. (Time will depend on the thickness of the fillets and temperature of your oven/broiler.).
4. Remove fillets from oven. Spread with Parmesan topping.
5. Broil an additional 30 seconds or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly (be careful to watch it, or it can burn).
6. Garnish with lemon twists and parsley, if desired.

Pioneer Woman's Ranch-Style Chicken

Oh.My.Goodness. This was sooooo good. But really, how can anything with bacon and cheese on top NOT be good?

I don't think I will make it very often, though. For one thing, it's fairly labor intensive. I am never on the ball enough to marinate something for any length of time. Then, you fry up a lot of bacon, then you fry the chicken, then you bake the chicken. So, lots of work. Also, the way the recipe is written, it's loaded with fat. I don't worry too much about low-calorie cooking, but I think we eat fairly healthy. Although, we'll see what my gallbladder has to say about this meal later tonight!!!!!

The best thing about this meal was that I got a LOT of bacon grease to start my bacon grease jar for the fridge!!!!!

Pizza Twist

Here's a favorite in our house! It's a Pampered Chef recipe. I'll put my comments in parentheses.

One major thing I do differently is that I use black olives and mushrooms. I do mushrooms in half and black olives in half of the twist. This makes the recipe complicated, but it's what we like. Feel free to adjust the toppings to what your family likes.

Pepperoni Pizza Twist

Source: The Pampered Chef
1 (3.5 ounce) package pepperoni slices, diced (I don't really measure the pepperoni, olives, or mushrooms)
1 (3.25 ounce) can pitted ripe olives, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1/2 cup (2 ounce) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 (11 ounce) packages refrigerated French bread dough (I use Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf)
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix (This is supposed to be the Pampered Chef blend, but I just use plain Italian Seasoning.)
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 (15 ounce) can pizza sauce, warmed (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dice pepperoni. Chop olives. Snip parsley using kitchen shears. In a bowl, combine pepperoni, olives, parsley, mozzarella cheese, flour and garlic. Mix well. (For mine, I have to split this part up and do 1 bowl with olives and 1 bowl with mushrooms.)

Place bread dough, seams sides up, on smooth side of a cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf. Spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle additional flour over dough.

Using roller (I don't use a roller, I just use my fingers), roll dough crosswise to a 4-inch width, creating a well down center of each loaf. Spoon half of the pepperoni mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching to seal.

This is how mine looks since I do 2 different fillings:














Place loaves, seam sides down, in an x pattern on a rectangular baking stone or baking sheet. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure 8, keeping ends of dough 1 inch from edge of stone and leaving two 1.5 inch openings in center of twist.

Separate egg over a bowl; discard yolk. Beat egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough with pastry brush. Using serrated bread knife, cut a 3-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling.

Grate Parmesan cheese over loaf. Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and cool 10 minutes. Cut into 16 slices. Serve with warm pizza sauce, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings

Here's a little video on how to put it together ...
http://www.pamperedchef.com/public/us/pop_ups/twisttechnique.htm

Menu for First Half of January

Here's my menu for the next 2 weeks:

1/2 - Pepperoni Pizza Twist
1/3 - Ranch-Style Chicken - from Pioneer Woman
1/4 - Beef Stroganoff and Salad
1/5 - Chicken Pot Pie
1/6 - BBQ Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes
1/7 - Broiled Flounder and Salad
1/8 - Sloppy Joes w/ Tater Tots or Fries
1/9 - probably going out .....
1/10 - Spaghetti
1/11 - Salisbury Steak, Rice
1/12 - Oriental Chicken, Fried Rice, Potstickers
1/13 - Pork Medallions - from AllRecipes
1/14 - Garlic Parmesan Chicken
1/15 - Calzones

I'll try to post pics/recipes as I go ..... If you want a recipe before I post it, just ask!

Homemade Chicken Broth

Here's a great way to save some money and make some YUMMY chicken broth. We ate a Rotisserie Chicken today for lunch. There's tons of meat left over, too. Here's my "recipe":

Homemade Chicken Broth

Chicken bones, skin - basically, whatever is left over after you eat a roasted chicken
1 Onion - cut up in large chunks
a few Carrots - cut up in large chunks
Celery - if you have it. I usually don't have it, so I don't use it.
Spices - whatever you have - garlic cloves, a few black peppercorns

Put it all in a crockpot and fill up with water. Cook on Low all day, or overnight. Refrigerate the broth, then skim the fat off the top if there is any.

I usually freeze the broth in 1 and 2 cups portions and then I can use it whenever a recipe calls for it.

Lasagna

I made Lasagna last night for my family that was visiting from out of town. I don't make it too often for a few reasons ... it's expensive, it takes my little family FOREVER to eat a whole pan of it, and it takes pretty much the whole afternoon to make it. But it.is.so.good.

I really need to figure out a way to freeze half of it or something. Maybe I'll try one of these pans one day. I could freeze smaller portions maybe.

The recipe is from my friend, Becky. Here it is:

Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1 pound bulk pork sausage
24 oz. tomato sauce
12 oz. tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs
3 Tablespoons minced parsley
24 oz. small-curd cottage cheese
8 oz. ricotta cheese
½ cup Parmesan cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained (I use whole wheat noodles. Or use the Oven-Ready ones)
6 slices Provolone cheese (I usually use 12 slices because that's how the package comes.)
3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella (I don't measure. I just eyeball this step when I do it.)

In a skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the next seven ingredients (up to and including the garlic). Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You can cook the sauce for longer or make it ahead of time.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, parsley, cottage cheese, ricotta and parmesan. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce in an ungreased 13x9 pan. Layer with the following:

*Three noodles

*provolone cheese

*2 cups cottage cheese mixture

*1 cup mozzarella

*three noodles (I do an extra layer of provolone cheese after these noodles.)

*2 cups meat sauce

*remaining cottage cheese mixture

*1 cup mozzarella

Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce, and mozzarella. (dish will be very full) Cover and bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. (Serves 12)

***My Notes: Even when I let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting, it still runs all over the plate! Also, I use a special lasagna pan that's really deep because this recipe will definitely overflow a regular 9x13 pan.